Qin Ye gave a slight nod in response before falling into deep thought.
Just as Zhang Ting had said, the most important thing to do now was to decide on the next step to proceed toward.
Even though they had decided on pursuing space exploration, their knowledge of space was currently only limited to several buzzwords, such as planar scale, supercritical tide, and Yin Space River. Furthermore, according to the second King Yanluo, supercritical tides arose once every 50 years, which meant that an opportunity to go to space would only emerge once every five decades.
If they missed the opportunity, then they would have to wait for another 50 years. How far away was the next supercritical tide, and where was it going to take place?
These were questions that had to be answered.
Before Qin Ye had a chance to complete his train of thought, Tao Guoqiang said, “There’s also another reason why you must go to the new continent, and that is the scale of space exploration.”
“The scale?” Qin Ye was rather perplexed to hear this.
Tao Guoqiang nodded in response, then explained, “After our meeting with the 12 envoys, I approached them to ask some further questions, and in doing so, I found out something quite concerning.”
He pressed a small button beside the table, and four LED screens immediately descended around the room, each depicting a map of the underworld.
In contrast with a normal map, the territory of each underworld had been annotated using different colors. For example, the Cathayan Underworld’s territory was red, while the new continent was yellow.
“Please take a look here, Yanluo Qin.” Tao Guoqiang stood up, then made his way over to one of the screens before pointing a finger at the new continent. “The term ‘new continent’ derives its origins from Columbia, and it’s split up into two sections, namely Southern Usonia and Northern Usonia. Due to how far away this continent is situated from Europa and Asia, they never underwent any industrial revolution. Thus, the gods of the new continent completely failed to anticipate that the firearms of the mortal realm would ravage their entire race, resulting in a severe shortage of followers and the collapse of their religions. Prior to those events, the native religions on the new continent were the Aztec religion, the Incan religion, and the Native Usonian religion. Among the three, the Aztec religion is the most resolute and has the longest history. In fact, the mighty Pyramid of the Sun of the Aztec religion had already been constructed prior to the first century BC. What’s interesting is that the Aztec religion is mainly situated in Mexico, which is located in Central Usonia. This geographic advantage has allowed it to develop toward both Southern Usonia and Northern Usonia. Thus, following a lengthy battle waged between the gods, the one who became the death god of the new continent was Mictlantecutli.”
He paused here momentarily before asking, “What does this entail?”
If any other official had raised a question like this to Qin Ye, then they would most likely receive a stern glare from Qin Ye before being forced to sheepishly answer their own question. However, this didn’t apply to the advisors, who could communicate with Qin Ye as equals.
Qin Ye pondered the question for several seconds before shaking his head in response.
Tao Guoqiang continued in a grim voice, “This entails that the new continent’s underworlds are extremely powerful! They possess the largest territory and the most death gods out of any underworld, and if it weren’t for the tragedy that befell them in the mortal realm, there would most likely be five pillars instead of four, and there’s a very good chance that they would’ve been no less powerful than our Cathayan Underworld.”
Qin Ye’s brows furrowed slightly upon hearing this, and he was finally beginning to sense that something wasn’t quite right.
Tao Guoqiang continued, “How had the Aztec religion managed to achieve this? After learning that branching out into space is their only chance for survival, I think it’s very safe to assume that Mictlantecutli and Mictetikasiwa would’ve begun developing space exploration technology right away. After all, judging from the current chaotic state of the new continent, it’s clear that all they want is to survive at all costs. However, they hadn’t restrained their insanity at all even after learning about the existence of space. Why is that?”
An enlightened look appeared in Qin Ye’s eyes as he replied, “Is it because they don’t want other underworlds to know that they’re working toward space exploration? But why would that be the case? Why wouldn’t they want others to know about this? Could it be that the new continent wants to keep the space exploration technology all to itself? That doesn’t make any sense… All that Mictlantecutli and Mictetikasiwa care about is survival, so they should actually be eager for other underworlds to join in on their research.”
No one interrupted his train of thought, and after a full 10 minutes, Qin Ye abruptly raised his head as he exclaimed, “Unless there are restrictions to space exploration!”
Tao Guoqiang extended a genuine bow of admiration. “Your wisdom is truly unmatched, Yanluo Qin.”
Qin Ye gently drummed the surface of the table with his fingers as he murmured to himself, “What could the restriction be? The number of people? The total sum of Yin energy? In any case, there must be some type of restriction that prevents too many Yin spirits from going into space at once. Perhaps… only two Yama-Kings can pass through at once, and they’re not confident in their ability to outcompete the other underworlds. If they were to reveal their space exploration aspirations to the world, then all of the other nations would pounce at the opportunity. Thus, they chose to keep this a secret.”
This was the importance of information.
Qin Ye had confirmed the existence of space with the second King Yanluo, then learned about the past from the 12 envoys, allowing him to glean the truth being hidden by the new continent little by little, thereby placing himself in a more and more advantageous position.
Tao Guoqiang nodded as he said, “That’s right, but this still isn’t the most important part.”
He pointed at the new continent on the map as he continued with a serious expression, “The most important thing for us to find out is how much the new continent has expended for the sake of space exploration.”
Qin Ye immediately understood what Tao Guoqiang was trying to say, and he finally realized why he had felt like something was not quite right before.
He suddenly realized exactly what space exploration entailed in this context.
If everything had gone smoothly, the new continent would currently be the most powerful of the four pillars.
Unfortunately, the events that transpired in the mortal realm spelled an inevitable demise for the continent’s ruler death gods. However, that didn’t do anything to prevent them from accumulating wealth!
The Aztec, Incan, and Native Usonian civilizations all used gold to craft their accessories. This was the case in the mortal realm, and Yin spirits came from the mortal realm, so the traditions and habits of netherworldly citizens were always quite similar to those of the mortal realm. According to the Cathayan Underworld’s records, the Usonian Underworlds were just as wealthy and lavish, with even more accumulated wealth than the Cathayan Underworld.
As such, this was an enormously wealthy underworld, and all of its power had been dedicated to developing space exploration technology for several decades, yet apparently, they had nothing to show for it!
Given how urgent Mictlantecutli and Mictetikasiwa’s situation was, there was no way that they would be taking things slowly. However, not only did they have nothing to show for their efforts, the new continent was becoming more and more chaotic!
“I heard from the resistance of the new continent that whole villages and towns are disappearing one after another. This means that they are taking wealth and manpower from the continent even more frantically than before. That can only mean one thing… In order to send someone into space, all of the wealth accumulated by a powerhouse underworld over thousands of years must be exhausted!”
Prior to the first century, gods were free to roam the land, and the world was ravaged by constant war. At the time, the Cathayan Underworld had only been a collection of tribes and villages, fighting for a place in the underworld.
During the first century, all of the major underworlds were established, and the four pillars were elected, thereby giving rise to the foundation of the present-day world.
The downturn of the Usonian Underworlds had begun during the 17th century, which meant that they had over 1,700 years of prosperous development prior to that!
Mictlantecutli and Mictetikasiwa had a foundation built up over the course of 1,700 years at their disposal, yet it was clear that they were beginning to struggle!
Just how terrifying a project was space exploration going to be? How could it possibly require the expenditure of such a vast amount of resources!
A chill ran down Qin Ye’s spine as these thoughts passed through his mind. With the Cathayan Underworld in its current state, there was no way that it would have a stronger foundation than the new continent. If even the new continent was struggling with this project, then the Cathayan Underworld certainly wouldn’t fare any better!
“We have to work together with the entire world here. This is not a project that any single nation can complete on their own,” Zhang Ting summarized. “At the very least, that’s what it seems like given the current information that we have. However, we’ll have to trouble you to pay a visit to the new continent to find out the exact details.”
Qin Ye nodded in response with a sense of admiration toward his advisors in his heart.
There were many things that he had failed to consider, but they had filled in all the gaps for him, putting their capabilities and diligence on full display.
A contemplative look appeared on his face as he considered what he was going to do next.
He definitely had to pay the new continent a visit, but the questions were how, and when.
He massaged his own glabella as he fell into deep thought. The new continent was an extremely chaotic place, and he had just revealed the existence of space to the entire world, so everything that he did from here onward would definitely be put under intense scrutiny.
There was a very good chance that the new continent had already been developing space exploration technology for the past few decades, and the ruler death gods of the three pillars certainly weren’t idiots. If he were to travel to the new continent at a time like this, it was very likely that they would also realize the inconsistencies in Mictlantecutli and Mictetikasiwa’s actions for the past century. They could then draw a link between that and space exploration, and that was something that Qin Ye definitely didn’t want to see.
The verbal agreement made between the second King Yanluo and the two ruler death gods of the new continent was the Cathayan Underworld’s biggest advantage when it came to space exploration, and he didn’t want any other underworlds to approach Mictlantecutli and Mictetikasiwa.
As for the possibility that Mictlantecutli and Mictetikasiwa would refuse to follow through on their agreement, that was impossible. No one in the entire underworld dared to revoke a promise made to the second King Yanluo.
Will I have to use that?
He raised his head and gave all of his advisors a nod as he said, “Alright, I know what needs to be done. Make sure to keep the contents of this meeting strictly confidential, and we’ll hold a second round of discussion when I return from the new continent.”
“May I ask when you’re planning to go?”
“Now!”
As soon as his voice trailed off, Qin Ye vanished on the spot, then quickly reappeared in a spacious hall in the North Yin Pavilion.
The room was completely isolated, and there were no ornaments or embellishments aside from the palatial lanterns lining the walls. At the very center of the room was a statue of the Goddess Earth Mother, with lamps in the shape of lotus flowers positioned all over its body.
This was a silent meditation chamber, and only he was able to access this room.
Entering this place was equivalent to going into seclusion, and he wouldn’t be able to hear anyone calling for him until he left the chamber.
Qin Ye glided over the bluestone floor, then sat down with his legs crossed in front of the statue of the Goddess Earth Mother. He then cleared his mind of all thoughts so that his body and his mind became one.
In the next instant, his eyes abruptly sprang open.
Yin energy surged out of his body before swirling incessantly around him, and an image completely different from the Cathayan Underworld had already appeared in his eyes.
The image depicted a series of tall pyramids, a lush rainforest, and other snippets of scenery that couldn’t be found anywhere in the Cathayan Underworld. In the blink of an eye, he had already broken through the boundaries between the mortal realm and the underworld, traveling toward the Caribbean Sea, where Dax was situated.
