The hall was so silent that even a pin drop would be audibly heard. Qin Ye paused momentarily before raising a finger. “Firstly, I want the cooperation of the Cathayan government. If our experiment succeeds, then I would like the Cathayan government to conduct surveillance on the entire national population!”
Xu Lin’s brows furrowed slightly upon hearing this, and he turned to Zhao Xiangyun, who immediately nodded in response without any hesitation. “We can do that.”
“Secondly, if we really decide to strike, I want the Cathayan government to lock down the city as quickly as possible and think of an appropriate story to tell the general public.”
“Of course.”
“Thirdly, I need your trust.” Qin Ye looked directly into Zhao Xiangyun’s eyes as he spoke.
On this occasion, Zhao Xiangyun didn’t answer right away. Instead, he looked straight back at Qin Ye with a neutral expression.
This was a very simple request, but the implications behind it were far from simple.
The inner demon was a monster that had existed for as long as human civilization. Thinking back, it would’ve most likely already emerged back during the era of Homo Sapiens. In other words, the inner demon had come into existence alongside the emergence of intelligence in humans.
Thus, it had to have existed for at least over 10,000 years, perhaps tens of thousands of years. It had witnessed the entire history of the human race, and there was no way to tell just how many humans it had possessed in the past. It had most likely possessed everything including and in between emperors and normal people.
If it were to be said that a certain high-ranking official had been possessed by the inner demon and needed to be controlled, what would the Cathayan government do?
If it were only someone like a village mayor, then that wouldn’t be a major problem. However, it would be a massive issue even if the possessed target were only a county magistrate!
County magistrates weren’t all that high up on the political hierarchy, but each of them governed tens of thousands, up to even hundreds of thousands of people. There were only less than 1,500 counties in the entirety of Cathay, so even if the county party secretaries were thrown into the mix, there would only be less than 3,000 of them in total, and they were certainly not to be looked down on.
What could they do in that hypothetical situation? Apprehend that county magistrate right away? In that case, what would become of their future political career?
Furthermore, who was going to run the county in the interim? Was the county party secretary supposed to take over?
“I’ll do my best,” Zhao Xiangyun sighed. “It’s not as simple as you think, Yanluo Qin. Think about it: how much of a stir would be caused in the local area if an official were to suddenly be removed from their post? Also, would that not essentially put an end to their political career? You’re a ruler of a nation as well, so I’m sure you can understand these concerns. All that I can say is that I’ll do our best to fulfill this request.”
Qin Ye was indeed also aware of this, and he nodded in response with a faint sigh.
This was the most difficult part about capturing the inner demon. If it were to possess a high-ranking official, extremely complex logistical issues would arise, and that could have far-reaching consequences.
“Alright, I won’t take up any more of your time then,” Qin Ye said as he rose to his feet. “I’m very grateful that all of you have come to attend this meeting, even though it’s already quite late in the night. Before I go, I would like to issue one final reminder to all of you: if we fail to eradicate the inner demon, then you will be facing a cruel and ruthless Yama-King. If that happens, the 10 years of supernatural disasters would most likely escalate into a permanent purgatory for Cathay. In the meantime, please await further news from us.”
After that, he and Zhao Yun vanished as gusts of Yin wind.
No one else in the room stood up, and only after a long while did Zhao Xiangyun break the silence. “Do you think that parting reminder from Yanlou Qin was an attempt at fearmongering?”
“Definitely not!” Master Chan Ming and Sword Master Xuanyuan replied in unison. “Deputy Prime Minister, during Hell’s extensive reign, it has never troubled the mortal realm before. This is a first.”
Xu Lin’s brows were tightly furrowed as he speculated, “What if it’s because they’ve lied dormant for too long, and they want to increase their influence and speaking rights in the mortal realm?”
“I think that’s very unlikely,” Master Chan Ming replied. “According to past records, all of the past King Yanluos have kept their distance from the mortal realm to the best of their abilities, and there’s no reason to think that the successor that they chose would buck this trend. Also, if they want to gain more speaking rights, there would be countless better ways for them to achieve that.”
A wry smile appeared on his face as he said, “They have the Book of Life and Death, which governs life and death. If he tells me to do something in exchange for a 20-year extension on my lifespan, even I would be tempted to do their bidding. As such, there’s no need for them to employ such a foolish method if their objective is to have more of a presence in the mortal realm.”
Zhao Xiangyun nodded in response. “My thoughts exactly.”
He turned toward everyone else as he said, “We all know what happened to Hell not long ago. The fact that this new King Yanluo was able to lead Hell on such a stirring resurgence in less than 20 years means that he’s definitely extremely capable, so I believe we should trust him. In that case, we will have to deal with the reality that there really is an evil ghost above the Yama-King level lurking in the mortal realm, and that is an extremely daunting prospect.”
He rose to his feet as he continued, “I do not want to ever see a repeat of the supernatural disasters. No matter what needs to be done, we must cooperate with Hell to the best of our abilities!”
“Yes!!”
……………………………………………………
Qin Ye and Zhao Yun passed through Limbo, heading directly toward the underworld, and Qin Ye remained silent throughout this entire journey.
In the clash against the inner demon, all beings below the Yama-King level would be nothing more than cannon fodder. Furthermore, given the ability of the inner demon to possess others, the more people it was confronted by, the less likely it would be caught.
Thus, he had to assemble a small, yet powerful team.
He was frantically arranging his own thoughts, and he already had an initial plan. In order to set a trap, he had to invest sufficiently alluring bait to lure the inner demon in.
However, prior to this, there were several things that he had to verify.
Firstly, was the inner demon actually more inclined to target humans with lofty statuses in the world?
Theoretically speaking, this made complete sense, but it was very much worth considering whether this was actually true.
If it turned out to be a false assumption, then the trap would’ve been set up for nothing, and the elite team that Qin Ye was going to bring to hunt down the inner demon would undoubtedly create massive Yin energy fluctuations in the mortal realm. The inner demon would definitely notice this and be alerted to their plan. Thus, if it failed the first time, then it would never work in the future.
Secondly, what were the signs that indicated how long the inner demon had possessed a host?
This had an important impact on the timing of their strike. If they were too late, then the inner demon could already be gone, and if they struck too early, the inner demon may not have arrived yet. Similarly, if their timing were off, and the operation failed, then there would be no chance that the inner demon would ever fall for this plan again.
This was a Yin spirit that had existed for tens of thousands of years, yet it had barely been noticed at all throughout all of history, and that indicated that it clearly possessed certain special properties.
It had to have been extremely cautious throughout history, and that was why there were so few records on it, even from the Divine Protectors of the country.
In any case, the first thing that they had to do was to find the place where the inner demon had most recently been staying, and only then could they track it down from there.
If they were to use their Yin energy to conduct large-scale searches in the mortal realm, they would essentially be holding up massive neon signs, telling the inner demon that they were coming for it.
As a result, they would most likely be met by fierce retaliation, and that would certainly be a terrifying prospect, considering that it was one of the most powerful beings in existence.
Zhao Yun seemed to have gleaned Qin Ye’s thoughts, and he suddenly asked, “Your Excellency, are you thinking about how best to approach the inner demon?”
Qin Ye’s hair was flapping wildly in the fierce wind, and he nodded in response with tightly furrowed brows.
There were nothing but dark Yin clouds up ahead, and they were forming a revolving vortex due to the Yin energy fluctuations, presenting a muddled and chaotic sight that reflected the state of Qin Ye’s mind.
“There’s actually no need for you to actively track it down,” Zhao Yun said. “I finally understand why the netherworldly citizens of the Cathayan Underworld had risen up in revolt for no reason now.”
Qin Ye nodded in response. He wasn’t in the mood to speak.
It was because of the inner demon, of course.
They had met during the trial of inner demons, and both of them knew that they were out for each other’s blood.
It was only a matter of time before one side struck first, and the inner demon had chosen to seize the initiative.
This was a warning to the Cathayan Underworld, stating that just because it had no anchor in the underworld didn’t mean that it couldn’t do anything to Hell.
It was also a tactic to stall for time. According to the Heavenly Dao, the inner demon hadn’t completed its soul fusion yet, and it was trying to strike caution into the heart of the Cathayan Underworld in order to buy itself time to complete its fusion… Hold on!
Qin Ye abruptly stopped cold in his tracks, then turned to look directly into Zhao Yun’s eyes, and Zhao Yun gave him a grim nod in response.
Qin Ye’s eye’s immediately lit up as he clapped his hands together. “You’re right! Why do I have to actively track it down? It’ll give up its own location!”
He began to pace in mid-air in an excited manner.
“All we need to do is find out where the next riot takes place, then track down the corresponding Yin Yang Mezzanines in that area! Once we do that, we’ll be able to find the place where the inner demon has stayed in the past!”
Hell had three divine artifacts, and with Zhao Yun lurking as a threat, there was no way that the inner demon would dare to stay for long. It was like a virus that planted itself into the souls of the netherworldly citizens, then quickly spread before erupting at once. However, the timeframe that this took place over definitely wouldn’t be very long.
Even though Zhao Yun was inferior to it in power, he was also a being above the Yama-King level, and if it lingered for too long in the Cathayan Underworld, Zhao Yun would definitely be able to detect it.
There was a very good chance that this timeframe was within three days, and even if it wasn’t, the inner demon would’ve given up its location anyway!
It was still like searching for a needle in a haystack, but on this occasion, he was equipped with a magnet!
The inner demon would never be able to anticipate that both the mortal realm and the underworld would be striking against it at once!
“Let’s go back first.” Qin Ye transformed into a gust of Yin wind again as he traveled directly toward the underworld. “Gather the seven leaders of the darkfeathers and bring all of the records of the prior riots. Once I arrive in the North Yin Pavilion, we’ll be holding a meeting right away!”
“Yes!”
………………………………………
This was a spacious conference hall constructed completely in an antiquated Cathayan style, with heavy, wooden furniture that filled the hall with a serious atmosphere.
Seated on the redwood chairs were several Yin spirits wearing feiyufu robes, sipping on some tea.
There were a total of nine Yin spirits present, including the seven leaders of the darkfeathers, one of whom was Li Jixi.
To the left of the head of the table was Qian Duolai, while Qin Changxin was seated on the right. They were the first and second-generation commanders of the darkfeathers. It had already been over three years since Qin Changxin handed the reins over to Qian Duolai, but due to how enormous the archives were, there were still some handover duties that were yet to be completed, so Qin Changxin had stayed on as a vice-commander of sorts.
However, he no longer cared about this title.
The only thing that he was focused on at this moment was advancing in his own cultivation, rather than his status.
He and Arakshasa had been at around the same level for a long time, yet she was already a Yama-King now, while he was still only an Abyssal Prefect.
He knew that ultimately, his roots lied in the Nipponese Underworld. If he wanted to become a Yama-King, not only did he require the approval of the Cathayan Underworld, he required the approval of the Nipponese Underworld as well.
This was something that he wouldn’t even have dared to dream of in the past, yet it wasn’t all that far away from him now.
In the instant that they conquered Amano-Iwato, he would be able to make his long-awaited breakthrough!
“Mr. Qin, do you know what this meeting will be about?” Qian Duolai asked.
Qin Changxin shook his head in response, and another voice provided an answer to Qian Duolai’s question. “He has to have encountered something extremely troublesome. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have the time to meet us in person.”
The voice belonged to a woman, and it was very familiar, but no one was able to immediately identify it.
However, it only took a second for Qian Duolai to figure out who it was, and he immediately rose to his feet before extending a respectful bow. “I was not aware of your arrival, Reincarnation King. Please forgive me for not coming out to greet you sooner!”
Arakshasa?
Qin Changxin cast a complex gaze toward the direction that the voice had come from.
All underworld emissaries yearned to reach the Yama-King level, yet she had gotten there before him!
