Yama Rising

"Is that supposed to be a joke?" Qin Ye took a step backward as he drew upon all of the Yin energy within his own body, ready to unleash it at a moment's notice. "If so, that's not a very funny joke."

"I never make jokes." Nothingness's voice was as graceful and mysterious as ever. "If you want something, then you have to give up something for it. The Heavenly Dao has always upheld fairness. You attempted to destroy the first-ever treaty of the underworld, and for that, you must be punished."

"What's the punishment?"

"The trial of inner demons." The radiance in the Heavenly Dao's palm was growing brighter and brighter as They spoke. "It's a divine art created by the ruler death gods of the four pillars, alongside Mictlantecutli and Mictetikasiwa of the new continent."

Qin Ye didn't say anything. He could tell that Nothingness definitely wasn't kidding.

"Will I die?"

"No," Nothingness replied. "You'll only be forever lost in an illusion unless you can break through the cycle of fate and return to this time and place."

A divine art related to time, eh?

Qin Ye was feeling extremely wary at this point. All arts related to the domains of space and time were arts of the highest caliber.

"Are you ready?" Nothingness didn't wait for a reply from him, and the light glowing from Their hand had already become bright to the extreme.

Right at this moment, Qin Ye suddenly said, "Wait!"

The light was still as dazzling as ever, but it wasn't unleashed.

Looks like there's no way to weasel my way out of this one…

Qin Ye took a deep breath before continuing, "You see yourself as the embodiment of fairness?"

Nothingness provided no answer to that question.

"In that case, why are you being unfair to me?"

"Oh?" Nothingness finally responded upon hearing this.

Qin Ye stared intently at Nothingness, observing every single minute change in Their facial expression as he continued, "I did indeed do something that placed the treaty under threat, but I also found the root of the Caribbean death gods' grand script of death for you! That should cancel out this transgression, so I shouldn't receive any punishment."

Nothingness's expression changed once again.

Their brows furrowed ever so slightly, as if They were finally realizing the complexity of the situation. However, They only hesitated for a short while before replying, "Regardless of who has attempted to destroy the treaty and for what reason, they must undergo the trial of inner demons as a punishment. This is a rule that all of the death gods decided on, and I bore witness to that decision."

Not only was Qin Ye not disheartened by this, he mockingly applauded the decision as he said, "So this is what you see as fair. I tracked down Medes for you, yet you've offered me no reward. How is that fair?"

There was no way for him to avoid the trial of inner demons, but he had to make the most of the situation and gather as much information as possible.

He certainly didn't dare to look down on a divine art like this, and any information could be extremely beneficial to his current situation.

Furthermore, there was one thing that he had to clarify before he began the trial.

The Heavenly Dao was clearly hesitant about how to proceed.

The light in Their hand flashed a few times, then faded away in the end.

A conflicted look appeared on Their face for the first time. The question that Qin Ye had raised was completely pointless to a human, but for Them, who was the embodiment of fairness and justice, it was a moral dilemma to be grappled with.

Several seconds later, Their body suddenly scattered as countless specks of light, then reformed into a Caucasian woman wearing the attire of Europa nobles from ancient times.

She had shoulder-length golden hair with a diamond-studded crown on her head, and her clothing was extremely lavish. Furthermore, she was clearly breathtakingly beautiful, but as soon as one moved their gaze away from her face, they would instantly forget her appearance.

"What is this?"

"This is my kind side," Nothingness replied with a smile, seemingly far more willing to put on human expressions in this form. "The Heavenly Dao is an entity formed by the combination of all things in this plane, and that naturally includes emotions."

She picked up the hem of her dress before extending a slight curtsey.

"You are correct. The Heavenly Dao has always been fair, and you've attempted to destroy the treaty, so you should be punished, but at the same time, you discovered the origins of the Caribbean Sea's grand script of death, so you should also be rewarded. Thus, I'll grant you 10 minutes to ask me any questions you want, but you can't ask about the fundamental details of the trial of inner demons. Your time begins now."

The space rippled slightly, and a pure golden hourglass appeared out of thin air. The sand within it began to trickle downward, yet instead of immediately asking a question, Qin Ye's mind began to race as he thought about what questions he wanted to ask.

There was one question that he had already decided to ask, but there were other questions as well. This was the Heavenly Dao, the being that had witnessed the birth of humans and civilizations! They were the most comprehensive encyclopedia in this entire world! If he were to miss this opportunity, there wouldn't be a second chance.

After the hourglass had already been set into place for 30 seconds, Qin Ye finally asked, "What is that sword?"

He was referring to the sword hanging above the peace treaty. He wanted to know why this sword was here, and what gave it the right to be here.

Nothingness smiled as She replied, "Given how much time you've spent in the mortal realm, you should be very familiar with this sword. In the 4th century BC, there was an official who served Dionysius I of Syracuse, Italia. He really liked to flatter Dionysius, and he felt Dionysius to be extremely fortunate. Thus, Dionysius proposed that they swap identities for a day so that the official could experience what it was like to act as ruler. The official agreed to this, but only when he sat onto the throne did he notice a sharp sword hanging above the throne, suspended by a strand of horsehair. The official's name was Damocles."

I see…

Qin Ye finally understood that this was the Sword of Damocles. It had been placed here not because it was superior to all other divine artifacts. Instead, it served as a warning to all death gods, telling them that with great power came great responsibility, and that they had to exercise restraint when wielding their immense power.

Qin Ye nodded in response before asking, "What is the true name of this place?"

"This is the Land of Origins," the Heavenly Dao replied. "Everything began here. Old Hell's Legacy began 3,000 years ago, and prior to that was the era known as the Souldoom Era. Due to the vast number of Yin spirits that had been destroyed during that period of war and chaos, the four pillars began to emerge as a stabilizing force of peace in this world, and thus, this conference was naturally held."

She cast her gaze toward the gates down below as she continued, "There are a total of 108 gates here, trapping 108 extraterrestrial gods behind them."

How is that possible?!

Qin Ye cast an astonished gaze toward the Heavenly Dao, who seemed to have gleaned his thoughts, and She continued, "That was my original intention. However, I only managed to capture five or six extraterrestrial gods in the end. Thus, most of these gates are empty, and Medes dug through to one of those gates in order to reach this place without being detected. After all, it's already been far too long since anyone has set foot in this place. Even if they had been detected, there would be no need to address them anyway as there is no way out of here."

"What are extraterrestrial gods?" Qin Ye asked with a grim expression.

"They are gods that are not from this plane," the Heavenly Dao replied. "I'm sure you've already inherited a black box. The black boxes of the four pillars contain the biggest secret in this world. You may think that the biggest secret in this world is the existence of space, but have you considered how these extraterrestrial gods were able to enter our plane? How did they manage to confirm that Earth has an underworld? You're only seeing the tip of the iceberg here, and I advise you not to waste any time on this question until you've seen the contents of the black box."

Qin Ye cast his gaze toward the hourglass to find that half the time had already passed. There were too many questions that he wanted to ask, and nowhere near enough time to ask them!

"Third question: how many beings are there above the Yama-King level in this world, including Yin beasts?"

"Including me, there are a total of four," Nothingness replied. "They are the second King Yanluo, Ghost King Zhao, myself, and the inner demon."

The inner demon? The same one as the one in the trial of inner demons?

"What is the inner dem…"

Before he had a chance to finish his question, Nothingness interjected in a cold voice, "Yanluo Qin, I already told you that you can't ask me any questions about the fundamental nature of the trial of inner demons."

"Yes, but I'm not asking for any of the fundamental details, all I want to know is the makeup and basic concept of this divine art," Qin Ye countered.

Silence.

Qin Ye stared intently at the hourglass. He really wanted to urge the Heavenly Dao to extend the timer to make up for this silence, but he remained silent in the end, patiently waiting for the Heavenly Dao's reply.

Only after a full 20 seconds had passed did Nothingness speak again. "The inner demon is something that has existed longer than all underworlds and death gods. Ever since humans came into existence, it has been present in the hearts of humans. It's a soul that possesses a form, but cannot be seen. Even for beings above the Yama-King level, not everyone is able to see it. As he is now, Ghost King Zhao would not be able to see the inner demon. It feeds on all negative emotions for sustenance, and it exists in the mortal realm. It has some connection with the underworld because without the inner demon, the underworld wouldn't have the 18 abysses of punishment or the six paths of reincarnation. It is the underworld's duty to reward kind souls and punish malicious ones, so from that perspective, the inner demon shares some duties with the death gods. Thus, you can refer to it as a quasi-death god. However, its powers are superior to virtually all death gods of the underworld. This divine art incorporates some of the inner demon's unique characteristics, and if you can emerge safely from the trial of inner demons, then there won't be any weaknesses in your psyche. On top of that, you'll also discover why the system of reward and punishment exists in the underworld. Finally, you'll be able to see the shadow of the inner demon."

At this point, there was only a tiny amount of sand left in the upper half of the hourglass. "Final question: are there any other defensive measures set up here aside from yourself?"

"No," Nothingness replied in a calm voice. "I am the only and ultimate defensive measure here, and the only way that I can punish those who attempt to destroy the peace treaty is through the trial of inner demons."

There were only a few grains of sand left now, and Qin Ye hurriedly blurted out, "Bonus question: how dangerous is the trial of inner demons?"

A smile appeared on the Heavenly Dao's face. This was the first true smile that had appeared on Their face.

"It's invincible," She said as she raised her hand again, and the eyeball on her palm began to glow with golden light. "Anyone with emotions will inevitably be lost in it, and throughout the course of history, the second King Yanluo is the only one to have emerged from it safely."

The light instantly devoured Qin Ye.

Everything in the surrounding area became murky and unclear. Qin Ye was overcome by a rush of intense dizziness, following which his consciousness completely faded.

After an indeterminate period of time, an indistinct voice rang out beside his ears. "Dogballs… Dogballs! Wake up…"

The voice was filled with concern and benevolence. "I just picked some wild vegetables for you from the mountains, wake up and have some…"