Su Daji was wringing her handkerchief between her fingers in a white-knuckled grip as she cast an uneasy gaze out across the surface of the sea with her lips tightly pursed.
It had been far too long since Qin Ye had disappeared, and she was feeling extremely anxious. What would become of them if something were to happen to Qin Ye? While it was true that the perilous situation that he had placed himself in had nothing to do with them, they had accompanied him on this trip!
They would for sure be executed!
This thought was constantly racing back and forth in her mind, and even her lips had turned quite pale. She took a deep breath before asking, “What’s going on right now, Mr. Qin?”
“How would I know?” Qin Hui’s expression was also extremely grim, and he was clenching his fists so tightly that his fingernails were digging into his palms. “How about you go down and take a look?”
“Why me?”
“Because your true body is larger than mine!”
“Where is your chivalrous spirit as a man?”
Qin Hui couldn’t help but burst into laughter upon hearing this. In the face of life and death, chivalry was completely worthless.
The two of them were constantly accusing and blaming one another, hurling spiteful insults back and forth, but neither of them attacked the other. They both knew that if something were to happen to Qin Ye, their executions would surely follow, yet their extreme selfishness and self-serving mindsets prevented them from taking any action.
After growing tired of the battle of verbal insults, Su Daji took a deep breath, and she was slightly out of breath as she said, “If Lord Qin really has… you know, and his body comes floating up to the surface, do we recover it or not? I can’t help but feel extremely uneasy, Mr. Qin. You have to be the one to make the decision here.”
I would be an idiot if I accepted responsibility at a time like this!
Qin Hui cast a cold glance at her before replying, “If Lord Qin’s body really does come floating up to the surface, then we turn around and run. Don’t forget that we’re currently outside of Cathay’s territorial sea.”
Su Daji’s eyes immediately lit up upon hearing this.
Indeed, they were currently outside of Cathay’s territorial sea!
There were no other Emissaries of Hell here, so if they were to flee, then they really would be free to go wherever they wanted! Both Qin Hui and Su Daji’s hearts began to thump rapidly in their chests as this thought occurred to them. Su Daji pretended to cough, taking the opportunity to bring her fan up to her face, and her gaze was already beginning to wander around the area. As for Qin Hui, his gaze had never been settled in the first place.
All of a sudden, a sense of extreme peril welled up in both of their hearts, and the two shuddered in unison as any plans to flee the scene instantly vanished.
I forgot about the seal of the Sixfold Ghost Kings! Su Daji’s hand began to tremble as she held onto her fan. Just now, she was almost unable to repress the urge to scream and fall to her knees while reverting to her true form. Thankfully, that feeling of extreme peril faded after only an instant, but she was still left with chills running down her spine.
That was a blatant warning, reminding them to serve King Yanluo with the utmost loyalty. If they dared to try and betray King Yanluo, they would be killed on the spot!
Su Daji gulped nervously as she struggled to calm her racing heart, and she quickly withdrew her wandering gaze as she yelled in a trembling voice, “Where are the four generals of the Hungry Ghost Legion? What are you all standing around for? Hurry up and start looking for Yanluo Qin!”
She was so terrified that it looked as if she were fanning herself, but in reality, it was just her hand trembling uncontrollably!
“Where are the troops of the Asura Legion? Lord Qin has disappeared, yet none of you look worried at all! How could you be so disgraceful?! Where is your loyalty to your master?!”
Right at this moment, the surface of the sea suddenly began to churn violently, and everyone could sense that the sea level in this area was rising rapidly. Before any of them had a chance to react, a massive splash rang out as a gargantuan object slowly floated to the surface.
The process wasn’t very violent or rapid, but it was irreversible. The thing that was rising up was simply far too massive. It was like a new continent that was rising up in the aftermath of a devastating tsunami, like an unstoppable force of nature.
In the extremely far distance, the submarine had already floated to the surface, and Mo Changhao and Liao Changhui stood up within it, looking at this scene with astonished expressions through the satellite images being presented to them.
There, on the surface of the sea, a gargantuan turtle was floating lifelessly on the surface of the ocean like a continent.
It was impossible to describe this scene. The surface of the sea was basked in the light of the moon and the radiance of the stars. The sea was as placid and calm as black jade, and a new continent was slowly rising up from the depths.
Countless pavilions, buildings, streets, alleys, and exotic mountains and rocks formed what appeared to be a crystalline palace on the surface of the sea. This was supposed to be a magnificent and spectacular scene, but most of the grand buildings were damaged, and there were countless craters and trenches on the ground. The toppled buildings told a story of violence and chaos, and it was clear that a battle had just taken place here.
Bursts of Yin energy rose up straight into the heavens like plumes of black smoke. Illuminated by the pristine moonlight, the wreckage was made all the more apparent, and seawater was flowing off all of the buildings like crashing waterfalls, presenting an awe-inspiring sight to behold.
“It’s so beautiful…” Liao Changhui stared at the scene before him for a full five minutes before sitting down in an entranced manner. “Those are complete buildings from the Qin and Han Dynasties… This is a miracle in Cathay’s architectural history! If the historians from the lab were to see this, they would go insane!”
Mo Changhao remained completely silent as he observed the gigantic beast floating on the surface.
Is this the giant sea beast? Now that it’s floated to the surface, does that mean it’s been defeated? In that case, where is Mr. Qin? Why can’t I sense his Yin energy?
Not only was Mo Changhao’s attention focused on the ghostly city, Qin Hui and Su Daji were also observing it intently. All of a sudden, a clear crack rang out from the entire Mirage City.
It was as if heaven and earth were crumbling away, giving way to chaos as a streak of white light erupted out of a crack that had opened up on the surface of the giant beast. The streak of light outshone the moon and the stars, becoming the only beacon in the dark night. Immediately thereafter, the giant beast began to rise up rapidly as more cracks rang out incessantly.
It was as if a moon were rising up from the sea!
“My god!” Mo Changhao and Liao Changhui stood up in unison as they stared at this immortal palace with astonished expressions, while Su Daji and Qin Hui, as well as the entire Hungry Ghost Legion and Asura Legion, let loose cries of surprise as they reflexively retreated to close to 20 meters away.
At this point, everyone had identified the giant beast to be a turtle.
Such an enormous turtle was a miracle in itself, yet right now, there was another miracle taking place right before their very eyes.
The shell on the back of the giant turtle spread open like a blooming flower, the largest and most spectacular blooming flower in existence. The vast turtle’s shell split up into three layers in total, and a series of mechanical arms could be clearly seen inside it. In addition to that, there were also countless specks of light that resembled stars.
On a small island not far away, there was a Nipponese underworld emissary wearing a kimono and a tengu mask. The underworld emissary drew a sharp breath as he stared at the giant turtle with an astonished expression. “What is that?!”
“Impossible… How is this possible?!” Elsewhere, there was a mummy wearing a Hindustani monk robe, and he was accompanied by around a dozen Hindustani monks, all of whom were looking on in shock and awe.
Elsewhere yet again, a string of astonished gasps rang out from a lavish Europa style carriage, following which four heads flew out of the carriage with netherflames burning fiercely in their eyes as they stared intently at the giant turtle’s back.
This was… an energy resource!
Yin energy filled the entire heavens, while countless specks of dazzling light spread through the air. It was as if a resplendent galaxy of stars had appeared above the sea. The countless specks of light were outshining the netherflames of all of the underworld emissaries, and even the evil ghosts that had already been captured by the Hungry Ghost Legion couldn’t help but turn to stare at the giant turtle’s back with incredulity in their eyes.
What was this light being produced by?
It certainly wasn’t the electricity of the mortal realm! Everyone could sense the powerful Yin energy flowing within the giant turtle’s body.
Did that mean that all of the residents of Mirage City had been living on top of a giant factory this entire time? Furthermore, this was an underworld electricity factory, which was something that had never been seen before!
Qin Hui and Su Daji exchanged a glance, and both of them could see their own astonishment mirrored in one another’s eyes.
They were currently still exempt from participating in the most important meetings in Hell, but they were still well aware of just how massive a breakthrough it would be for all of the underworlds if a new energy resource were to emerge!
The vastly renowned industrial revolutions in history had all been set into motion by the discovery of a new energy resource!
Massive changes were about to take place in the underworld. Whoever could master this new energy resource would be the ruler of the next era!
Qin Hui and Su Daji took a deep breath in unison before immediately rushing toward the giant turtle’s back.
On such a joyous occasion, they naturally had to be the first ones to offer up their congratulations. They could already sense Qin Ye’s Yin energy, so they knew that he was inside the back of the giant turtle.
The two Abyssal Prefects were flying extremely quickly, and they flew into the air above the giant turtle in the blink of an eye. However, all of the congratulatory words that they had prepared were completely stuck in their throats.
They were too overwhelmed to speak.
Down below, countless specks of light were outshining the radiance of the celestial bodies. It was far more spectacular than even the grandest of light shows in the world. The specks of light were arranged layer upon layer in an extremely orderly fashion, guided by a series of mechanical arms as they changed directions and transitioned between different formations. For those situated inside the giant turtle, it was as if they were wading through a sea of light.
The spectacular lights were awe-inspiring enough in themselves, but in addition to that, who could’ve imagined that the giant turtle’s body would be housing such a gargantuan yet intricate machine? It would be no exaggeration to refer to it as a mechanical city!
Countless gears and channels combined with streaks of Yin energy presented a sight of technological beauty that belonged only to the underworld. This was not something that could be built in even 100 years! Even for an entire nation, it would take centuries to complete this monumental project! It was grand, vast, magnificent… It was worthy of all of the praise in the world!
Qin Hui and Su Daji were completely rooted to the spot. Only those who had seen this miraculous spectacle could understand what they were feeling right now. It was as if they had suddenly traveled to the distant future and witnessed the perfect integration between technology and cultivation. This was the future of Hell!
Indeed, they were seeing the future.
At the center of the sea of mechanical parts was a small island, and Qin Ye was standing on the island with his hands clasped behind his back. He was also reveling in the astonishment brought on by this incredible sight.
Xu Fu really had succeeded in achieving his goal!
While it was true that Qin Ye had already seen mention of this in Xu Fu’s diary entries, seeing it for himself in person was an entirely different experience.
Machinery, civilization, evolution, energy resource! These words were reverberating through Qin Ye’s mind over and over again. He was more aware than anyone of just how important Gui Xu was to the Cathayan Underworld. It was the key to a new era!
However, this key wasn’t complete yet. Qin Ye forced himself to calm down as he inspected his surroundings. This was an energy resource that could be used in both the underworld and the mortal realm, but what Hell needed was a pure Yin energy resource!
It could be said that Xu Fu had completed a third of this monumental task, but the remaining two-thirds had to be completed by Hell.
“I’m not a petty ruler…” Qin Ye suddenly smiled as he murmured to himself, “Xu Fu, if you’re willing to return to Hell and design a complete energy resource system that can be used in the underworld, I would be willing to spare your life and even grant you a lofty position in Hell.”
As a ruler, his love for exceptional talents was outweighing his killing intent.
How many underworld emissaries had there been in history? How many underworlds had there been? How many death gods? How many scientists?
Looking at all of the underworlds, there was Archimedes, Newton, Einstein, Edison… All of their souls still existed, and none of the underworlds were willing to admit this, but all of them were participating in a secret war, a war to see who could create the next new energy resource.
However, no one had managed to achieve this.
Over the span of the past several thousand years, Xu Fu was the only one who had managed to do this!
“I really can’t wait to track you down…”
For the crimes you’ve committed, there’s no way you should be allowed to live, but I can extend to you one final act of leniency.
