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Chapter 619: Opening Curtains (2)

They were all Yin spirits that had experienced their fair share of tumultuous times, so they were quickly able to regain their composure. Moments later, they all turned to Qin Ye for his instructions.

He leaned over the table, almost ravenously, and then spoke in a deep voice, “I’ve thought about these matters as well, and there are some questions on my mind that I’m afraid only you scholars are able to answer.”

“It will!” Zhang Zhongjing stroked his beard, “I’ve heard that when the Resentment Crystals first appears, an area within a ten mile radius will instantly be purged of all living things. Any living creature that steps into this domain will instantly perish without fail. Day and night, you’ll be able to hear a chorus of ghosts wailing from within.”

“That’s not all.” Zhang Heng quickly chimed in, “I’ve personally participated in the design and construction of a spirit crystal reactor. Resentment Crystals. Its name makes it sound far more unassuming than it actually is. After all, the truth of the matter is that its natural function… is to act as a filter! Even though it is a material found only within the mortal realm, its purpose is to filter out everything that is not of the netherworld!”

Qin Ye nodded, “That must also mean that this process runs slowly?”

“In essence, it’s no different from a black hole to the mortal realm!”

The eyes of the Yin spirits flickered wildly. Seconds later, Shang Yang took a deep breath, “Are you saying that… the Resentment Crystal Vein is so large that they simply cannot keep its existence under wraps?!”

“Join these two, and you’ll essentially have yourself the very core of a Forbidden Art - the means of ignition to a Forbidden Art!”

Shang Yang’s eyes flickered with great excitement, “That’s the only means they have of dragging Hell out of seclusion after all. In turn, that would allow them to formally enter into negotiations with Hell. And if Hell doesn’t even respond to Liu Yu’s declaration of independence, then they would probably wait a couple more years before finally moving to extract the Resentment Crystals at their own time. In other words… the incidents in Daehan were all an opening act to the true plot that has just unfolded before our very eyes!”

Silence.

“The Russian Underworld is essentially asking Hell…” Shang Yang looked menacingly out of the window, almost as though he were glaring directly at the Tsar in contempt, “They’re asking for our permission.”

“If we allow them to take it, they will most certainly repay the favour with a multitude of rare gifts commensurate to the value of the crystals we have ceded to them! And then, in exchange, they will completely trample over the Mongol Empire and even blot out the entire country without even requiring us to send a single troop. This is… probably what they are going to do next.”

It’s all coming together… He suddenly recalled something that seemed to cohere with everyone’s conjectures.

Why would they need to mobilize two Yama-Kings for such an inferior underworld?

“There’s more.” Shang Yang’s voice grew somber, “And this concerns the epitome of breakthroughs in the field of Yin Talismanology, and is one of the defining features of the top underworlds in existence. We’re talking about something that is difficult, even for first-rate underworlds. You have to tread carefully. If the Russian Underworld is truly developing Forbidden Arts, then…”

If that were indeed the case, then there could be a chance that one of the four top underworlds might even be secretly plotting against Hell! They must have disclosed their research behind Forbidden Arts to the Russian Underworld!

Hell’s century-long lockdown had come like a bolt out of the blue. Even though nobody knew what exactly happened to Hell, anyone could guess that something earth-shattering was taking place within! Had Qin Ye been the lord of any of the other top underworlds around, he would probably have done the same thing!

“Unfortunately, we don’t have sufficient information to say for certain.” Shang Yang’s eyes flickered wildly, “But even if they’re harbouring designs against Hell, what we know for sure is that they’re still using the Russian Underworld as a pawn to test the waters. All they would need to do would be to disclose a thing or two about Forbidden Arts to the Russian Underworld, and then wash their hands off the matter altogether. This isn’t very different from how things work in the mortal realm. For instance, the Aegyptian Underworld could easily have a secret bilateral meeting with the Russian Underworld and say - ‘Hey, I’ve got something about Forbidden Arts to share with you. Interested?’”

Shang Yang sighed softly, “Using the Russian Underworld to test the waters is the best possible method. Besides, they don’t even need to disclose the exact means of developing Forbidden Arts. All they need to do is to disclose a little bit of the concept behind Forbidden Arts. After all, the process of research and development is something that will take a long time. If Hell still has its edge, and is still qualified to take its place among the P4, there’s no chance that Hell wouldn’t notice something like that brewing in the Russian Underworld. Hell would never allow any of their neighbours to even come close to developing Forbidden Arts. Conflict would be unavoidable.”

Shang Yang smiled coldly, “Then, the top underworlds of the Federation of Underworlds will naturally step in and forcibly prohibit the Russian Underworld from further researching and developing Forbidden Arts.”

Even the winds and the clouds that rolled in the international arena were incredibly treacherous. All must tread lightly.

The conference room was silent as a morgue. Seconds later, Qin Ye looked up, “Who is it?”

Shang Yang shook his head, “Nothing more than speculations. Unfortunately, the truth of the matter is that Hell simply cannot afford to open its borders right now, nor can it send out Emissaries of Hell to ascertain any of these conjectures of ours. That said, we can always see who stands to gain most from such courses of actions. To this end, it’s anyone’s guess which of the three other top underworlds it could be. In fact, I’m more inclined to think that the three other top underworlds might even be acting together at the same time! After all, they had all once sieged Hell together, but to no avail. Besides, I reckon that they wouldn’t act so boldly if they were merely acting alone.”

The Yin spirits were all deep in thought. Just then, Qin Ye suddenly smiled, “So, now, we’ve found the problem, and we’ve also done a thorough analysis of it. The next step is to find the solution to this problem.”

“If we want to extricate ourselves from this conundrum, we’ll have no choice but to give the Russian Underworld a tight rap on the wrist and deter them by force so that they’ll abandon these reckless designs of theirs once and for all. But… Lord Qin, we might be playing straight into the hands of the scheming underworld. This is a problem that can only be classified as a diplomatic dispute. And something of this scale is far more serious than the incident that had just transpired in Daehan. We’re talking about Forbidden Arts after all! This is something that will have to be announced internationally, so that the Federation of Underworlds can take notice and be on alert!”

Shang Yang continued with gritted teeth, “We’ll first have to send missions to consult with the other underworlds. And then, the leaders of Hell would have to take to the stand! Your Excellency, if this is the scheme of the top underworlds out there, I’m afraid that this would be what they’re really after! They would be able to assess the current situation in Hell and the forces available at Hell’s disposal through the attitudes and demeanors of these missions!”

That was certainly neither a desirable nor a viable option.

How were they supposed to send out an ambassadorial mission right now? Who are they supposed to choose? What are they to say? There was a potential pitfall at every turn of the way! Forbidden Arts was a matter of such gravity that the King Yanluo would necessarily have to be involved, and yet… he barely knew as much as the Yin spirits standing around him right now.

“Yanluo Qin, I think that you will first have to determine Hell’s attitude towards Forbidden Arts, and then decide what to do next.” Wu Daozi finally chimed in, “We must first decide whether to develop Forbidden Arts right now. That will give us more clarity on the attitude we should take towards the Resentment Crystal Vein.”

“In other words, your opinion on Forbidden Arts will determine everything in the near future! It represents the will of the new Hell, and it will manifest in an overt stand that Hell will take on the international arena!”