Yama Rising

Chapter 55: Night of a Thousand Ghosts (3)

“Sir!” Just then, the door opened and a burly officer strode in hurriedly, bowed respectfully, and whispered, “The ten hunting zones in the City of Salvation… have begun to move.”

Yin spirits weren’t of the greatest concern. Their numbers were indeed a problem, but they were a problem that could be resolved in just a matter of time.

Each and every hunting zone contained a vengeful apparition that possessed abilities equivalent to that of an Operative-class Emissary of Hell. In fact, there were just too many such places in Cathay, and too few Hunter-class experts to go around.

“This old one awaits your instructions.” Elder Mei made a palm and fist salute and took one step forward.

Elder Mei was taken aback, “Sir, I’ve got to remind you that the probationary cultivators… aren’t even at the Operative-class level.”

“Tomorrow, I only want to see the living flying their banner high in the sky in every corner of this city - no matter the sacrifice!”

Elder Mei grew sullen. Several seconds later, he sighed wistfully, “Only two to three hundred thousand in every 1.5 billion possess an aptitude for cultivation… that’s a ratio of one in every five to six thousand… But since it’s your orders, I’ll pass it on…”

………………………………………………….

Back at the hotel, Qin Ye looked out the window with a fiery gaze in his eyes. He could see the tens of thousands of Yin spirits toting their red lanterns marked with the word “Cao” drifting across the city and combing through every nook and cranny. It was almost as though these drifting spirits were innumerable bloodshot eyeballs surging across the entire city, looking for the slightest trace of Qin Ye’s existence.

Cao Youdao had made his move in a completely unbridled, unrestrained fashion. How was the mortal realm going to react?

Time trickled by, and half an hour had passed now. All of a sudden, an intense aura emerged from the salvation plaza located in the very heart of downtown city!

With a powerful, rumbling tremor, the small garden above, including the fountain and seats, began to separate from each other. Then, a five-meter tall statue with half its body and half its head missing began to rise from the ground.

“The City of Salvation’s City God sculpture… I heard that it was smashed to smithereens during the great cultural revolution. So that’s where it’s been hidden all this while…”

Boom!! An ethereal wave of might exploded from the City God statue, causing a tremor to run across the entire surface of the city. Even the countless families hiding in their homes felt it. Shortly after that, the seven lamps around the City God statue lit up one after another, and the only remaining eye on the statue slowly opened.

A pure-white wave rippled across the surface of the city. Then, in the very next second, a somewhat illusory glow appeared around the entire City of Salvation.

The supernatural perimeter served two purposes. The first purpose was to seal in all supernatural activity, transforming the City of Salvation into a battleground between the living and the dead. And, the other, more important purpose was that it was… a plea to the other cities and provinces around to send help!

In an instant, hundreds of vehicles began to pour out of every single military base, Public Security Bureau offices, National Guard bases, police stations, etc. The stillness of the night was completely shattered.

Rumble… He could sense that the entire City of Salvation was trembling as a result of the earth-shattering clash between the Yang energy, true energy and Yin energy. However, he could hardly care less about the rest of the city. Right now, he only had one goal in mind.

“Over here!” Several seconds later, his eyes opened abruptly once more. A massive wind gale swept around him, and he donned a mask and shot out of the house in an instant.

…………………………………………….

Back then, this was supposed to have been the first skyscraper erected in the City of Salvation. The municipal party leaders had even personally graced the groundbreaking ceremony. Unfortunately, after five gruelling years of construction work, the developers suddenly went bankrupt, and the company dissolved overnight, leaving an unfinished building where it was.

But tonight, in the very building where the rumours of supernatural incidents in the City of Salvation first began, three brave men wearing camouflage uniforms stood back to back as they glanced at the roof above them with a somber expression on their faces.

That was the roof that nobody had stepped foot on before.

There were bloodstains all around - large splatters of blood that dyed the roof and walls with more red than anything else. It was evident just how many people had perished in this place. These victims could have been the homeless or others who might have had a reason to enter the building. Regardless, the trio’s eyes were transfixed at the ceiling above them. The lady that was sometimes seen dancing on the roof by others was currently hanging just above their heads, almost akin to a spider.

“Sss… haaa…”

“Avoid it!!” The leader was a young man with a chiseled face with strong features. Needless to say, all three men leapt away from where they were standing in an instant. Unfortunately, even though they reacted quickly, the female ghost was even quicker! Her black hair flailed about like innumerable whips dancing wildly in the air. With a harsh swishing sound, the three men groaned and were instantly swept five meters away with a dull thud.

“Are you really still in the mood for jokes?” A tall man wiped off the blood from his lips and leaned heavily on the wall as he clambered back onto his feet, “This is the City of Salvation’s first hunting zone… we’re talking about a fifteen-year evil ghost here… Shit. I think my ribs are broken…”

“Sss… haa…” The female ghost hanging from the ceiling rotated her head a full 360 degrees, as though sizing up the three men standing about. She saw the three men charge straight back towards her in an instant. The man with the chiseled face swiped his hand across his waist and immediately pulled out a rope with hundreds of talismans dangling from its length.

Kkkrrrrrrrr… The sound of a bowstring tightening echoed through the air. The tall man’s eyes were bleary, and even the muscles on his arms began to bulge in a riotous fashion. At the same time, and with a loud bellow, a muffled sound rang through the air. A one-meter long flaming arrow shot straight towards the female ghost!

The ceiling exploded with a thousand flaming embers scattering about. The man with the chiseled face wiped off the profuse sweat on his forehead, “Is it over?”

The other two were taken aback, and immediately turned around to look at the bespectacled man, only to realize… his chest appeared to be growing larger and larger! And it finally grew to a size of about one meter!

Everything could be seen with the naked eye. They could even see the vicious expression on the female ghost’s face, replete with her gaping wide mouth and her dark, fetid teeth!

With a loud cry, the two men charged straight towards the bespectacled youth even though a chill had now set over their hearts.

The Yin spirits that we’d been practising with… are simply worlds apart from such levels.

The two men were quick. Unfortunately, the apparition was even quicker. In an instant, her dark nails had already completely dug themselves into the neck of the bespectacled man. As blood began to flow profusely from the bespectacled man’s neck, the female ghost finally emerged from within the man’s camouflage uniform and opened her mouth a full foot wide.

The other two men had bloodshot eyes. The bespectacled man bit down on his trembling lips as he reached for the hilt of the wooden sword hanging from his waist. Then, just as he was about to thrust it at the female ghost, a voice rang aloud.

“I was just wondering where all of the Yin spirits in this hunting zone had vanished to. So, it turns out that there are still some who are still alive…”

The three men were also completely stunned.

Yet before they could react to the situation, the female ghost let out a scream laced with abject disbelief. A single hand grabbed tightly onto her hair. With a powerful yank, the female ghost that the trio had been so helpless against was pulled right out of the bespectacled man’s uniform!