Yama Rising

Chapter 526: Arrival of the Deities

Black Yaksha’s jaws dropped, and his mind instantly went blank.

Very well…

“No.” The Harken smiled. “And this is the beauty of the paper flower boat punishment. The light in the middle of the boat would protect his soul and keep it from dissipating. The debilitation only eats away at his physical body.”

The Harken sighed, “It depends entirely on the strength of the one who metes out the punishment.”

Black Yaksha’s eyes rolled back at once, and he nearly passed out.

The Second King Yanluo of Hell?! Doesn’t this mean that I’m going to suffer until the end of time?! I won’t be granted any moment of reprieve!

Qin Ye heaved a sigh of relief. Then, just as he was about to rise from his seat, the Second King Yanluo suddenly shook his head, “Please wait a moment.”

Unfortunately, the Second King Yanluo nodded, “The ceremonial procedure requires all officials of Hell to pay tribute to the new King Yanluo of Hell as soon as he ascends the throne.”

“I’m not talking about them.” The Second King Yanluo turned back and glanced at the vast expanse of the skies, “I’m talking about the ones out there who are able to return to Hell.”

“Although they have no divine abilities, they are still the only ones from the heavenly realm who possess the ability to travel to Hell. I’m sure they must all be eagerly awaiting your summons right now. We… probably shouldn’t keep them waiting, should we?”

His voice wasn’t loud, but it clearly sent ripples travelling through the boundaries of Hell and straight into the two other realms. Meanwhile, the echo from his voice lingered endlessly in Hell.

He can directly transmit messages across the three realms without King Yanluo’s Token? Once again, Qin Ye discovered something new about the transcendent might of the Second King Yanluo of Hell. Ten minutes later, over a thousand pillars of light suddenly plunged straight through the vast canopies of the skies and straight into Hell!

Back on Spider Lily Island. A Yin spirit was just screaming atop the roller coaster when he suddenly blinked vacantly and yelled at the top of his voice, “Look!! Look over there!”

“Is the sun finally shining upon the abysses of Hell?” “No… Perhaps it’s because one of the great officials of Hell has gained enlightenment!” “Could Yanluo Qin be introducing something new to Hell again?”

Just then, the timbre of a clear voice suddenly echoed throughout the vast expanse of Hell, “Yuen Long, Lord of Muyin County, answers Hell’s summons.” “Zhou Chaofang, Lord of Zhenshan County, answers Hell’s summons.” “An Yitai, Lord of Heiliang County, answers Hell’s summons.”

On the other side of Spider Lily Island. Tang An’s jaws dropped, and he stared vacantly at the sky above Ashmound City some distance away. It just dawned on him that Hell was far more formidable than he had previously imagined.

“These are all Lords of the Land… The mythical existences known as the Lords of the Land…” Tang An exclaimed with a soft sigh as he felt a tingling sensation run down his spine. He glanced around at the Yin spirits beside him, only to realize that everyone was gazing intently at the magnificent sight some distance away.

They might have thought highly of Kong Mo earlier, but that was because they hadn’t personally witnessed what the true Hell was like. But today, they had finally witnessed the grand arrival of the deities!

Back on the city walls. Countless Yin soldiers watched with great disbelief as the brilliant eruption of golden light continued to dazzle the skies in Hell. And then, they turned to look at the front of the city tower, where countless figures dressed in pure white robes and jade crowns bowed deeply in reverent worship. At once, the hearts of the Yin soldiers stirred with pride.

It included the soldiers of the Yang Clan and Nobunaga’s Umamawari horse guard. There were even the other elite Yin soldiers that used to form a part of the defences of Shanhai Pass. Previously, Kong Mo would repeatedly assure the citizens that they were the one true Hell, but it was only Hell seized control of Ashmound City that they finally witnessed Yanluo Qin assuring them with actions, rather than words.

It was glorious. At some point, one of the Yin soldiers couldn’t help but fall on one knee as he declared at the top of his voice, “May the King Yanluo of Hell reign for all eternity!”

Meanwhile, the 1,400 Lords of the Land remained completely silent as they continued to maintain a bowed posture towards the city tower. They comprised people of all ages, whether young or old, men or women. Back in the mortal realm, each of them were gods in their own rights. But here, none of them dared act brazenly.

There was a pin drop silence. Several minutes later, a tide of boundless Yin energy erupted from the heart of the city tower.

A moment later, the Harken appeared right above the sixth floor of the city tower. With the snap of its finger, stairs that were 300-meters wide coalesced entirely from Yin energy began to unfurl from the sixth floor of the city tower and extend all the way to the ground. Then, it spoke with a lofty voice, “Greetings to all.”

They were immediately greeted by a lush red carpet adorned with accents of glorious gold. However, nobody dared raise their heads in the slightest. Instead, they knelt down as soon as they entered the sixth floor. A man who appeared incredibly old took a step forward from and lay prostrate on the ground, kowtowing as he spoke, “On behalf of the Golden Immortals, greater deities and lesser deities from the heavenly realm, this lesser deity, Sun Lifa, Lord of Chaoyang County, Yan Capital, sincerely congratulate to King Yanluo for your honourable ascension to the imperial throne.”

“You’d be treated on the same level as the Jade Emperor. Both are considered the lords of an entire realm.” The Second King Yanluo lowered his voice to a hush, “This is nothing. Back in the glory days of the old Hell, we used to have a great pilgrimage every fifty years, where officials from everywhere would send greetings to the imperial throne of Hell. Back then, even getting through the congratulatory words was something that could easily take an entire day. Once you reassemble the King Yanluo’s Seal, you’d be able to communicate with the heavenly realm, and you might be required to head up to the heavenly realm whenever something important happens. At that time, you’ll come to realize that save for a handful of Golden Immortals, not a single one of them would even dare make eye contact with you.”

Is this the might of the King Yanluo of Hell?

Qin Ye wasn’t one who dreams about waking up to the world beneath his feet and his arms wrapped around the bosom of countless beauties. But now… he couldn’t help but savor the sweet, intoxicating first taste of power.

“Nothing. This is the first pilgrimage, so you can just sit back, watch, and learn. The Lords of the Land will pay you a visit every five years to brief you on any updates. You’ll have to do this on your own next time.”

It was only then that the Lords of the Land finally stood up. Yet, even then, they continued to keep their heads bowed low. Nobody dared to meet his eyes.

“Yes, sir!!”

“Yes!!”

Qin Ye raised an eyebrow quizzically, but he didn’t say anything more. He continued listening intently.

“Yes, sir!” Sun Lifa responded on behalf of all of the Lords of the Land. Following that, they each retrieved a scroll from within their sleeves and held it up gingerly with two hands as they retreated to the sides of the imperial hall.

“Of course.” The Second King Yanluo responded indifferently, “Remember this - in their eyes, you’re someone no different from the Jade Emperor. Don’t act out of line.”

The Second King Yanluo didn’t keep him around any longer. After all, he could tell that Qin Ye had a multitude of things to process from this eventful night.

He needed to digest what exactly it meant to be a King Yanluo of Hell, and how exactly he should behave moving forward.

“After all, anyone who’s consumed the taisui fungus would have accrued sufficient life experiences to handle something like this. Even if they wish to simply cruise along, it wouldn’t change the fact that they’d already be equipped with all the right skills.”

“I’m looking forward to it.”