Yama Rising

“Is this… supposed to be an episode of Kill Bill?” One of the female employees dressed in overalls asked her colleague with great astonishment.

“It seems to be that way…” Her colleague responded with an equally stunned expression. And he wasn’t the only one. Everyone who was hiding under their desk right now were completely flabbergasted by the appearance of this peculiar Yin spirit.

I mean… something doesn’t feel right about this image! We… weren’t prepared for something like this! Aren’t Yin spirits supposed to be terrifying, frightening and shrieking at us from the moment they appear? Why… would these legendary Judge-class Yin spirits appear with such ghastly tunes?

Qin Ye was naturally unaware of these thoughts in the hearts of the television station employees. With his head held high, and his palms hidden under his sleeves, he drifted high into the sky, riding the majestic riffs of the familiar tune.

Ah, that’s right. And there was also a bashful-looking Yin spirit who went before him, hiding in any way he could as he scattered paper money before his master.

The television station was a two-storey building. As soon as Qin Ye arrived on the second floor, the doors to the rooms all flung wide open on their own. The staff within screamed and reflexively lowered their heads. Documents were tossed about by the playful nethergale that swept through the rooms. Countless people huddled underneath their desks and shivered in fright.

Is he an idiot?

Indeed, he must be an idiot.

Unfortunately… none of them were able to bring themselves to laugh at Qin Ye!

His overflowing Judge-class Yin energy was oppressive and stifling. It swept through each room and crashed against the walls like powerful tsunamis. The primal realization that they were completely helpless against such a terrifying, otherworldly existence filled the staff’s hearts with fear and reverence.

The sky was filled with fluttering paper money everywhere. Two black-robed Yin spirits hovered in the sky against a backdrop formed from dense clouds of Yin energy, walking out proudly to the riffs of a familiar Kill Bill tune like the self-absorbed idiots they were. Nobody dared to look up, because they didn’t know why exactly these Yin spirits had called on the television station today. None of them knew who or what they were looking for, so the only thing that they knew to do was to clasp their hands together and humbly pray that they weren’t the targets today!

Clatter… The door to the broadcasting room opened up, and the two startling figures stopped right outside. An endless nethergale appeared to howl and billow outside, while a man and a woman were trembling under their desks within, praying with bated breaths that the two figures would just pass them by. And then… they slowly heard a soft rustle.

It was the sound of a nethergale sweeping straight into the room.

T-t-t-t… The female broadcaster’s teeth chattered wildly, and her complexion promptly grew pale as she looked up, only to notice Qin Ye and his fluttering robes standing right in the center of the room.

“Don’t… please don’t!!” She had bitten down so hard on her lips that a trickle of blood was already running down her mouth. Tears were streaming from her eyes, and she clutched desperately at her head and screamed at the top of her voice, “Don’t kill me… I don’t want to die!!!”

Wang Chenghao’s lips were practically twitching at this point in time - Hang on, lady… May I know how you’re sensing the threat of death from such a ridiculous image as this?

The only thing this theme song is killing is the mood over here…

Whoosh… Qin Ye slowly reached out with his hand. A split second later, both the male and female broadcasters screamed at the top of their voices. Then, before their fear could even subside, both of them flew straight up into the air, before being placed gently back down onto their chairs once more. Unfortunately, their eyes soon rolled back, and they both passed out at exactly the same time.

“Such tacit behaviour… I refuse to believe that they aren’t husband and wife…” Qin Ye sighed. They were now entering into the climax of the piece, Battle Without Honor or Humanity.

He nodded at Wang Chenghao, and made a firm gesture. Wang Chenghao rolled his eyes in response, before softly switching off his phone.

Alright… Whatever you say, boss… My heart is already dead from this entire incident... This is practically the most shameful thing I’ve done in my entire life…

The surroundings grew silent. The only thing that remained was the endless Yin energy that roiled around them. Even the lights had all fizzled and snapped out, only to be replaced by the eerie glow of netherflames. Qin Ye hovered behind the podium softly, and drew a deep breath before calming his heart down.

Damn, this song is toxic…

Dong… Just then, the clock in the room struck six. The witching hour had finally arrived.

“Brother Qin… shall we begin” Wang Chenghao retracted the peculiar smile on his face and asked with a grim expression.

“There’s no hurry.” Qin Ye glanced out of the window, “The King Yanluo of Hell is personally here, so how can we begin without any audience?”

Hell was unable to manufacture a great number of things right now, including clothes, daily necessities, and even construction equipment and materials. Rather than sneaking purchases from the mortal realm indefinitely, why not explore the possibilities of… a mutually beneficial partnership?

Naturally, this was only if something like that were truly possible.

And today was the prime opportunity to explore such prospects of cooperation. After all, ever since he’d learnt of the true state of matters surrounding the tension between the mortal realm and the netherworld, his heart was fraught with a deep sense of crisis. Naturally, he wouldn’t let any possible opportunity slip by.

After all, nothing was for certain until it was properly put to the test.

If I don’t succeed, I would still walk away from the potential collaboration without any regrets.

On the other hand, if I succeed… Qin Ye eyes flickered, but his thoughts soon faded away, because he could see that a convoy of over a dozen military vehicles had just appeared on the horizon, and were quickly approaching them.

Wooooop wooop-- Three seconds later, the sound of blaring sirens instantly cut through the tense silence of the night, and a line of athletic figures armed with guns immediately rushed forward towards the television station building. Dong, dong, dong… They ran up the stairs and took their position. Within thirty seconds of their arrival, the entrance to the broadcasting hall was already filled with countless police officers and military personnel, all of whose infrared sights were clearly aimed directly at Qin Ye’s forehead.

Right behind them, Chen Nian, Zeng Shuai, and several other cultivators whom Qin Ye had never met before, were all peering intently into the heart of the broadcasting hall. The source of the Judge-class Yin energy caused their eyes to remain transfixed on Qin Ye’s body.

Infernal Judge… an incarnate revenant!

It truly is an incarnate revenant… but… why hasn’t it begun its slaughter of the people around?

Nobody said a single word. They simply peered into the room, staring at the clumps of netherflames darting like meteors in the sky. Qin Ye’s lips twitched slightly as he stared at the infrared aiming devices that were trained on his forehead. Although such firearms are probably no longer effective against me, a King Yanluo of Hell can still be afraid of these things!

Qin Ye lowered his head and softly muttered to Wang Chenghao, “Stand in front of me.”

Wang Chenghao turned and stared at Qin Ye as though he had just seen a ghost. What… the hell do you mean?! Do you think I’m no longer plagued by the lingering fears of the mortal realm?!

“It’s an honor to be able to die on behalf of the King Yanluo of Hell! What are you still waiting for?”

No response. Seconds later, Qin Ye’s eyes twitched in rage as he watched Wang Chenghao slowly sneak behind his own back. Then, just as he was about to slap Wang One Tail to death with two powerful smacks across the cheek, a commanding voice soon broke the tense silence for the very first time, “The weapons you see right now are known as BH21, special guns developed by the government for use against Yin spirits.”

Su Defang and another bespectacled middle-aged man stood in the center of the armed forces, where they stared vigilantly at Qin Ye, “Additionally, the ammunition loaded in these guns are forged from talismans designed to cripple Yin spirits. We’ve also just dispatched two Judge-class cultivators from Echo City twenty minutes ago, and there are other high-ranking cultivators who are also on their way right now.”

Not bad.

Qin Ye turned away from Wang Chenghao and slowly sized Su Defang up. With a man of such courage helming the operations here, Valley County is certainly in good hands. The man beside… must be his secretary, right?

“Ordinary firearms are useless against powerful Yin spirits.” Qin Ye depressed the button on the podium and responded placidly, “Echo City is thirty minutes away from Valley County. That’s more than sufficient time for me to eliminate all of the current leaders of Valley County.”

“Cathay has a population size of well over a billion people. We can always find someone to replace a mere secretary like myself.” The bespectacled man responded boldly, “Leave Valley County immediately! Otherwise, we’ll record your Yin energy signature and spread it throughout the entire nation! When that time comes, you’ll have no other place to hide within the vast reaches of Cathay!”

Qin Ye chuckled.

And as he did, his Yin energy instantly surged like a tidal wave, causing the temperatures around to dip by several degrees. Clack, clack, clack! The sounds of the cocking mechanisms meant that they were now locked and loaded. Meanwhile, the cultivators around mustered what they could of their true energy and prepared themselves to launch their most devastating attacks at Qin Ye.

Then, just when everyone thought that Qin Ye was actually going to make his move, he instead flicked on the radio broadcast switch.

“Fellow residents of Valley County. It’s 6.00 p.m. again.” His voice was broadcasted throughout the entire county. In that instant, countless citizens of Valley County looked up in astonishment, wondering why the content of today’s broadcast sounded different.

The usual announcement was a replay of a recorded audio that they were all too familiar with by now. However, this announcement was obviously a manual broadcast.

“Today’s announcement is going to be slightly different from before…” His voice echoed throughout the streets in the county. Hundreds of thousands of people in the county listened intently for the new message they were about to receive, “Because from today onwards, Valley County will not be hearing this message for a long, long time.”

It was a simple statement, and yet Su Defang, Chen Nian, the bespectacled man, and all of the others looked up at Qin Ye in unison.

Why?

What does he mean by that?

Their thoughts were all over the place, and everyone had their own guesses. However, Qin Ye simply ignored the confusion in their eyes and continued with gusto, “Tonight, the government shall be experimenting with some weapons of mass destruction. Following this announcement, we ask that you kindly evacuate from Valley County. All residents who choose to ignore this message and remain on the streets by 8.00 p.m. shall bear the consequences of their own actions and choices.”

Click… With that, Qin Ye switched off the radio broadcast. Dozens of eyes were pinned on him right now. An elderly cultivator drew a deep breath and forcibly suppressed his great fear of incarnate revenants, “What do you mean by that?”

Qin Ye smiled and raised his right hand, “Nothing much.”

Pak! Someone snapped. Simultaneously, a captain yelled at the top of his voice, “FIRE!!!”

Bang, bang, bang!!! The sounds of gunfire rattled the air for a long time. However, everyone’s eyes soon widened in horror when they realized that… all of the projectiles had been stopped mid-flight by the dense Yin energy around!

It was almost like the Matrix’s bullet time! No… even more terrifying than that!

In this instance, the projectiles actually came to a complete halt!

“So, this is the strength of an incarnate revenant…” Chen Nian’s back was completely drenched with cold sweat. He couldn’t help but think of his wife and his daughter… I’m sorry, I’m afraid… that this might very well be goodbye…

“Die!!” His body moved on its own. Mustering every ounce of true energy within his body, he rushed right forward into the direct line of fire, only to realize that all of the other cultivators had done exactly the same thing!

However, speed was a relative thing.

In Qin Ye’s eyes, their movements were as slow as a turtle. In that instant, another snapping sound soon echoed out into the surroundings.

Snap. BOOM!!

It was almost as though Yin energy had come to life as it swept across and filled the entire hall. Within moments, Su Defang, the bespectacled man and the captain soon discovered that…

Their field of vision had been completely blotted out by the dense Yin energy around, so much so that they could only see each other right now!

Everyone else, including cultivators, soldiers and police, had completely vanished altogether! It was almost as though they had been isolated and cut off from the entire world!

So that’s what a true supernatural incident is like… A great wave of immense fear surged through their spines. But before they could even pull themselves together, the Yin energy crumbled away as quickly as it arrived, and they soon realized to their dismay that they had at some point been dragged into the broadcasting room, right in front of Qin Ye’s face!

Thump… thump…

Nobody said a single word. Their hearts were all beating out of their chests right now. It was only when they came face to face with such a powerful Yin spirit that they understood how terrifying the supernatural could be. However, none of them took a single step back.

The captain gritted his teeth, “If you dare touch even a hair of the county governor and secretary, I assure you that your wanted poster will be spread all across the nation in an instant.”

I guess this is it… With that, the captain shut his eyes and waited for the curtains to be drawn.

If resistance is futile, then at least die with your dignity!

However, the excruciating pain that he had so anticipated never quite arrived. Instead, all he heard was a soft chuckle.

“Don’t be so nervous.” Qin Ye bowed elegantly to them all, before placing his hand across his chest with a respectful salute, “Let’s make some formal introductions. I’m Kui Wood Wolf, an Infernal Judge of Fengdu Necropolis. I’ve been tasked to resolve the issue of Yin spirits that have been plaguing Valley County.”

Boom!

It was like a bolt out of the blue - everyone reeled back, completely dumbfounded. They opened their eyes abruptly and stared at Qin Ye with great disbelief.

What did… we just hear?