Yama Rising

Inside the tomb of swords with boundless Yin energy swirling all around him, Qin Ye was charging forward with unstoppable might, while Lust was waiting for him at the center of the tomb.

The sword strike of King Yanluo caused all of the Yin energy on the entire second level to tremble violently, and boundless Yin energy rose up from the ground like a flurry of inky-black feathers. At the same time, gusts of ferocious wind were swept, causing all of the swords in the tomb to ring and tremble.

Lust's crimson eyes abruptly widened beneath her black hair. Even she could clearly sense Qin Ye's fierce battle intent.

This feeling of encountering a formidable foe was one that she hadn't experienced in thousands of years, and Lust's fingers were digging so viciously into the hilt of her giant sword that several white marks were left on its surface.

This was a worthy foe!

In the face of Qin Ye's all-out attack, Lust threw her head back and roared to the heavens. In the next instant, she abruptly vanished on the spot, and as soon as she reappeared, her black hair fanned out like a pair of black wings, and she made no attempt to retreat as she charged directly toward Qin Ye while wielding a wooden sword.

At the same time, the demonic ghostly immortals gathered in the entire tomb of swords roared in unison as they released their Yin energy in full force, advancing to meet the boundless black wave that was Hell's army.

The two armies rapidly approached one another, and in the blink of an eye, there was only a distance of around 300 meters left between them.

The tension in the air was palpable, and right at this moment, Hell's army split apart once again as they charged directly toward the bronze gate up ahead, while the 100,000 troops at the center clashed viciously with the oncoming demonic ghostly immortals.

Having split up yet again, the army had been reduced to only 200,000 troops, and there were still two levels left before they reached the top of the pagoda.

It was as if two tsunamis had collided with one another as the two armies clashed with all their might. The enemy was reflected in the netherfire in the eyes of both sides, and even if they had to die, they were going to take as many of their enemies down with them!

Yin energy erupted through the area as layers of shockwaves, and within the span of no more than several seconds, hundreds of specks of soulfire had risen up into the sky.

Neither side was holding back at all, and the battle instantly reached white-hot intensity as every attack was unleashed with the intent to kill. Meanwhile, the Yin soldiers of Hell on both sides were charging as quickly as they could toward the giant bronze gate at the back of the sword tomb.

East Vanquishing General Fang Changqing raised his sword as he roared, "Everyone, follow me!"

200,000 troops galloped along behind him, causing the entire sword tomb to tremble and quake. Having already built up significant momentum, Hell's army had transformed into an unstoppable juggernaut, and any demonic ghostly immortal that became entangled in it would quickly meet their demise.

"You're not going anywhere!" Lust screeched as she rose up into the sky, and her black hair shot forth like lightning in all directions before plunging into all of the antiquated swords in the tomb.

"Rise!" With an earth-shattering roar, all of the swords in the entire tomb were pulled out of the ground by her hair.

Bursts of sword energy rose up from the ground toward the heavens, while Lust wore a twisted expression as she watched the two branches of Hell's army that were traveling around her.

All of a sudden, she twisted her own head around 180 degrees with all her might, and bursts of sword energy erupted out of all these antiquated swords in a frenzy, forming a long river of destructive sword energy that was several dozen kilometers wide.

However, the two advancing branches of Hell's army didn't even take a single glance at the oncoming attack. Right as the river of sword energy was about to strike them, a giant paw suddenly appeared in mid-air before quickly swatting the sword energy away!

Lust faltered slightly upon seeing this, then immediately raised her head with a wary expression.

She could sense that she had been locked onto by an incredibly fearsome burst of killing intent.

Layer upon layer of Yin energy rose up in front of her, rising to several hundred meters in height like a powerful tsunami. Within this tsunami of Yin energy, a pair of golden eyes abruptly sprang open, staring intently at Lust.

"Courage!" A rumbling voice rang out throughout the entire level, and the morale of Hell's army instantly received a boost. The two opposing armies were evenly matched just a moment ago, but the demonic ghostly immortals were suddenly being forced back!

"Wisdom!"

"Spirit!"

The voice was like an enormous gong being struck, and cracks began to appear all over Lust's skin from the resulting soundwaves. However, the voice didn't stop there, and with each word that it uttered, the power of Hell's army would receive a noticeable boost.

"Essence!"

"Fortune!"

"Wealth!"

"Luck!"

"Vitality!"

"Power!"

In the instant that the last of the nine words was uttered, Yin energy gushed out of Lust's entire body in a frenzy, and she screamed as she retreated over 100 meters. At the same time, a nine-colored divine beast suddenly landed on the ground in front of Lust with a rumbling thud.

"What kind of monster is this?" Even Lust was slightly dazed at the sight of her assailant.

The monster had the head of a tiger, upon which was a single horn, the ears of a dog, the body of a dragon, the tail of a lion, and the paws of a qilin. This was the God of Nine Energies that had faded into the pages of myths and legends for a century, but it had made its return here in the Myriad Soul Pagoda!

Boundless Yin energy was gathering within the Harken's mouth, and the Yin energy was so fierce and formidable that Lust's hair was blown into a chaotic frenzy. Even the scales all of the Harken's own body were rattling incessantly.

Lust's pupils abruptly contracted as a burst of white light illuminated the entire world.

The brilliant white radiance swept over heaven and earth, completely eradicating the darkness, and Yin energy surged through the air as the entire space began to fluctuate violently.

All of the underworld emissaries faltered slightly upon seeing this, following which thunderous cheers rang out across the entire level. "Long live, Hell!"

However, right in this instant, wisps of Yin energy began to converge, and within the Yin energy, a monstrous figure that was also several hundred meters in size with disheveled hair and hundreds of thin arms had appeared.

The figure's fearsome Yin energy and formidable killing intent were no lesser than those of the Harken!

"It hurts… It hurts so much!" An agonized howl erupted from behind the Yin clouds, and it sounded like the collective voices of thousands of tormented Yin spirits. In the next instant, hundreds of bright red eyes and mouths sprang open in unison within the Yin cloud before turning toward the Harken.

"Tsk, what a troublesome opponent this is," the Harken said with a grim expression.

As soon as its voice trailed off, the two giant beasts clashed violently like an asteroid crashing into Earth!

Neither side was willing to back down, and the only way to survive would be to tear the other to shreds!

………………………………………………..

Right as the battle on the second level was reaching white-hot intensity, Qin Ye and the remaining Yin soldiers had already rushed into the bronze gate.

Once again, they entered an independent, isolated space, and at the same time, Nothingness's voice rang out again. On this occasion, even Their voice was tinged with a hint of caution. "The flame of the Vermilion Bird has gone out, and the flame of the Xuanwu Turtle has just been lit. You don't have much time left."

Qin Ye paid no heed to the voice as he continued to charge forward at full speed. Fierce wind was howling past his ears, and Yin energy was swirling violently over 10 kilometers away, indicating the presence of an exit.

His gaze was focused intently forward, and he was already beginning to calculate in his mind. There were only 200,000 troops left, and all of them had to fill the last two levels. There was no way that they would bring any Yin soldiers into battle against the inner demon as they would only be cannon fodder.

Lust and Envy had already appeared, and they were locked in battle with the Harken and Arthis, respectively. Zhao Yun was going to face the Yama-King stationed on the next level, while Qin Hui, Su Daji, the 12 envoys, and all of the generals were going to lead the entirety of what remained of the army against the Yama-King on the final level. They were going to do everything in their power to keep the inner demon's subordinates occupied, even at the cost of their lives.

There were still close to three hours left.

"The inner demon is not someone that can be killed in three hours!" Qin Ye said in a frustrated voice. "Why aren't you getting directly involved? I have a vendetta against the inner demon, so I'm happy to be used by you, but you have to do your part as well! Are you just going to stand by idly and watch?!"

In the face of Qin Ye's outburst, Nothingness remained completely emotionless as They said. "You're still too young… You don't understand what it entails for one to be protected by fortune and faith. They are the ones chosen by the plane. The Battle of Zhuolu was the origin of human civilization in Cathay. Let me reiterate that Chiyou's fortune and faith aren't inferior to those of the Yellow Emperor, and as the will of the plane, there's no way for me to strike at someone chosen by the plane."

Before Qin Ye had a chance to say anything, Nothingness continued, "Chiyou's orifices, killing intent, body, and will are all sealed here. The inner demon is protected by Chiyou's fortune and faith, and there's no way I can strike at it without a suitable opportunity."

"What constitutes a suitable opportunity?" Qin Ye asked with gritted teeth while rushing ahead toward a chaotic halo that had appeared before him.

However, there was no reply.

"Fuck!" Qin Ye swore to himself before vanishing into the vortex.

Even the Heavenly Dao was wary of Chiyou, and he definitely didn't want to face Chiyou and the inner demon at the same time.

He had to get to the top of the pagoda as quickly as possible to prevent the inner demon from completing the ceremony. Otherwise, the consequences were going to be catastrophic!

……………………………………

At the top of the pagoda.

Countless threads of blood were extending out of the pond of blood at the very center, quickly spreading along the runes that the inner demon had inscribed onto the ground. Two-thirds of the required runes had already been completed, and bursts of crimson light were rising up into the heavens, basking the Myriad Soul Pagoda in a crimson glow.

A vast, primitive and antiquated aura was filling the entire area, making one feel as if they had gone back in time and returned to a far more primitive era. If anyone below a high-grade underworld emissary were to enter this place, they would immediately be crushed to the ground by this aura alone!

All of a sudden, the inner demon, who was inscribing runes onto the ground, raised its head before casting its gaze behind it.

There, the flame of the Vermilion Bird statues had already faded, while the flame of the Xuanwu Turtle had been lit.

There are still three hours left…

It cast its gaze downward as it raised an eyebrow.

I'll admit that you're a troublesome opponent. You prepared this trap with the mortal realm, and I fell into it, but did you ever consider that what you thought was the prey could actually be the hunter? In one more hour at most, the blood array will be complete, and Chiyou's body will be restored. Who in this world will be able to stop both me and Chiyou?

A faint smile appeared on its face as it extended its bone brush toward the ground again, but right at this moment, the third sound of a bell being struck rang out, and less than 20 minutes later, a fourth bell chime rang out!

The inner demon looked up with a bewildered expression.

They've already reached the third level? What the hell are the four ominous stars doing?! How were they able to break through the third level so quickly?

It lowered its head to inspect the blood array on the ground, wondering if it could finish the array in time.

The enemy was already right beneath its feet!