Chapter 1013: The Might of the Warden
Qin Ye slapped a hand to his own forehead. "How did I not think of that?"
The foundation of the new six paths of reincarnation was the Chalice of Preiddeu Annwn, and following its fusion with Yu Kiang, they were still yet to find the correct way to use the resulting creation-grade divine artifact. Of course, that was also due to the fact that they didn't have enough time on their hands.
"The six paths of reincarnation are actually not an area. Instead, it's the first divine artifact in history to have arisen from the fusion of the body of an ancient god and a creation-grade divine artifact! We originally speculated that its ability was one of purification, restoration, or decomposition, so it should possess the ability to isolate this new energy resource!"
Zhao Yun immediately chimed in, "On top of that, its power is superior even to my own, and as the core of Hell's reincarnation system, it belongs to the Heavenly Dao, just like the three realms!"
"Hold on, Your Excellency, would you be able to explain all of this to me?" Xu Chengyang hurriedly asked in an excited voice. From the depths of despair, he had been shown another glimmer of hope, and this one seemed to be brighter than all of the previous ones!
Zhao Yun and Qin Ye exchanged a smiling glance before the latter replied, "Basically, there should be nothing in this world that the new six paths of reincarnation aren't able to break down!"
"Then what are we still waiting for?!" Pang Hai asked in an urgent voice. "Your Excellency, please allow us to travel to Westriver Province right away! Every second counts!"
"Of course," Qin Ye said with a smile. "We'll set off right away!"
He definitely had to be present to witness this historic scene in person!
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"I'm so hungry!!" In the new six paths of reincarnation, there wasn't a single underworld emissary to be seen on the Inner Demon Path. In the palace at the end of the path, Arthis was frantically devouring worship, but it did nothing to satiate her hunger.
Right at this moment, a respectful voice rang out nearby. "Warden Arthis, Yanluo Qin is here to see you."
"I don't have time to see him!" Arthis spat out a reply as she continued to drag worship into her own mouth with her long hair, much like an octopus hunting for food in the sea with its tentacles.
So what if you've come to see me? I don't have to see you if I don't want to! Once I become a Yama-King, I'll show you who's boss!
"Ghost King Zhao is also with him," the underworld emissary in the corner said in a tentative voice.
In the next instant, something flashed before his eyes, and when his vision cleared again, Arthis was already nowhere to be seen.
By the time Qin Ye's group arrived at the Inner Demon Path, they were greeted by the sight of Arthis wearing a white dress, holding an oil paper umbrella with a rain of red spider lily petals falling upon her.
Qin Ye's eyelids twitched slightly as he cast his gaze toward the pillars on either side of the path. Atop the pillars stood hundreds of underworld emissaries with resigned looks on their faces, grabbing handfuls of flower petals from the baskets they were holding before tossing them down and generating Yin wind to blow them through the air. It was clear that they had all been forced to do this by Arthis.
"Your Excellency, what's going on here?" Lu Ban asked with a bemused expression.
Qin Ye was silent for a moment before heaving a faint sigh. "Not a day goes by where she doesn't make a fool out of herself..."
He was suddenly very grateful that he had made the wise decision to instate Arthis as the warden of the new six paths of reincarnation. If he had put her in Everburn, the culture of the entire government would've been ruined by her!
Arthis's attention clearly wasn't focused on Qin Ye. In the blink of an eye, she arrived beside Zhao Yun like an obedient little bird, holding her umbrella above them with one hand while playing with the material of her dress in a shy display.
"Brother Yun, what brings you all the way here?" she asked as she put on a seductive smile. "If you need something from me, you could've just sent me a message, there's no need for you to be so polite and formal with me."
Qin Ye looked on with a wooden expression. He could tell that Arthis was doing everything in her power to become as open and daring as the modern woman, but she was still struggling to overcome the values of restraint and chastity that had been drilled into her mind from ancient times.
At this rate, when is she ever going to be able to hit it off with Brother Yun?
The conscientious Yanluo Qin was beginning to worry about the future happiness of his valued subordinate...
Zhao Yun smiled as he replied, "I want to use the new six paths of reincarnation for something very important. Would you be able to give me a hand, Warden Arthis?"
Arthis's smile became even more seductive as she complained, "Don't call me warden, call me little sweetie pie like you always do..."
The sound of Qin Ye violently clearing his throat suddenly rang out, and Arthis glared at him before rolling her eyes and drifting away. "Come with me."
As they made their way down the path, Qin Ye snuck closer to Zhao Yun and gently bumped his shoulder as he asked, "Brother Zhao, what type of woman do you fancy?"
Zhao Yun replied with a serious expression, "There's no need for you to concern yourself with such trivial matters, Yanluo Qin, although what I can tell you is that I'm definitely not into her type."
"That's good to hear, but can you try and lead her on anyway? She's been a bit disobedient of late, and it would be great if you could help keep her on the end of my leash..."
Zhao Yun turned to Qin Ye with an appalled expression, and Qin Ye immediately put on a serious display as he said, "That was just a joke. Men who lead women on without any intention of giving them happiness are scum!"
Finally, they reached the palace at the end of the path, and serious looks appeared on everyone's faces in anticipation of what was about to come.
The entire area fell completely silent, and Zhao Yun made a grabbing motion, upon which a ball of energy that resembled lightning appeared at the center of the hall. He then made an inviting hand gesture before backing away to the side.
Arthis made her way over to the ball of energy, and during this brief span of time, she had already put on a lavish, red dress in the style of the Tang Dynasty with a bright yellow bandeau, as well as a silken sash around her waist, and a silk ribbon slung over her shoulders, both of which were trailing at least two meters along the ground.
She took a deep breath, and in the next instant, her Yin energy erupted forth in a frenzy!
The entire hall trembled violently, and Qin Ye and Zhao Yun's pupils instantly contracted slightly.
She had become more powerful yet again!
At this point, she had already reached the mid Abyssal Prefect level!
"She'll definitely become a Yama-King in the next 30 years," Zhao Yun said in a confident voice.
Qin Ye nodded in response, but there was no elation on his face at all as Arthis's Yin energy was different from theirs.
Their Yin energy was the purest Yin energy that was pitch-black like the void. However, Arthis was different. Yu Kiang had been devoured by the Chalice of Preiddeu Annwn, and as the warden of the new six paths of reincarnation, her Yin energy was tinged with hints of red.
"She's not going to experience any problems, is she?" They were always bickering with one another, but deep down, Arthis meant a lot to Qin Ye. After all, they had been through some serious hardships together.
For some reason, she was the type of friend with whom he could only endure hardships, but they seemed to be unable to remain on amicable terms in times of peace and prosperity.
Zhao Yun shook his head in response as he replied with a grim expression, "I'm not sure. She's the only underworld emissary who has progressed in her cultivation in this unique manner in the past several thousand years. However, the second King Yanluo is aware of her situation, and he didn't say anything, so she should be fine."
They didn't continue discussing this subject as the scenes unfolding before them had caught their attention.
Instead of injecting her Yin energy into the energy resource, Arthis had directed it into the entirety of the new six paths of reincarnation! Immediately thereafter, wisps of golden karmic fire began to ignite within the rifts on the ground.
As soon as the karmic fire emerged from the rifts, they rose up layer upon layer to form a fiery lotus flower, with the energy resource enveloped at the very center. As the flames rose up higher and higher, the energy resource began to give off an indistinct white radiance!
Deng Ruifeng adjusted his own glasses, and as he stared intently at the scene unfolding before his eyes, he felt as if his heart was about to jump out of his own chest. All of the scientists were also looking on with rapt focus and anticipation, hunched over like hunting leopards about to pounce onto their prey at any moment!
However, before they had a chance to say anything further, the white light began to slowly disperse through the air like shockwaves, and at the same time, countless irregular lumps began to appear at the center of the energy resource!
Dead silence.
No one dared to say anything in fear that their voice would wake everyone up from this beautiful dream.
Pang Hai was leaning forward at such a sharp angle that he was on the verge of falling over, but he didn't notice that at all. The netherfire in his eyes had already sprung up to over three meters in height as he murmured to himself, "Something's finally changing!"
Scientists were never afraid of change. On the contrary, they were afraid of things that never changed!
"Thank heavens, something's finally changing!"
"It's happening! We made the right choice to come here!"
"We're going to make history!"
The white light was becoming brighter and brighter, and several minutes later, the indestructible ball of energy resource suddenly split up into three parts with a faint buzzing sound!
One part was a fist-sized black object, another part was a green object of around the same size, and the final part was a thumb-sized white object!
In that instant, Qin Ye felt as if a jolt of electricity were running through his entire body. This feeling stemmed from the astonishment and excitement of witnessing history unfold right before his eyes!
He knew that this moment was going to change the trajectory of the entire underworld's future.
His fists were clenched tightly, and the veins on the backs of his hands were bulging as he struggled to contain his own emotions.
"It's been eight months of work without rest..." Lu Ban was beginning to choke up as he said, "Even though we were wrong, thank heavens Yanluo Qin was able to make this revelation! Finally, we've arrived at the beginning of the right path forward!"
"Lord Qin!" Xu Chengyang suddenly turned around, and his voice was also choking up as he fervently expressed his gratitude. "Thank you! Thank you! I apologize for my misjudgment and for doubting your decision! If it wasn't for you, there's no way we would've discovered such a massive issue so soon!"
Pang Hai's lips were tightly pursed as he said, "If it wasn't for you, we most likely would've failed to discover the presence of a third element in the energy resource until the very end, and by then, it would've already been far too late! Prior to this, I was only around 30% confident that we would be able to develop the new energy resource, but now, I'm over 60% confident that we'll be able to do this! Now that we know what the fundamental components of the energy resource are, we'll be able to compare them with Yin runes and find substitutes, then test to see what kind of changes will take place in the new energy resource once the components from the mortal realm and Heaven are replaced! This sets the foundation for the development of the new energy resource! I have no doubt that our research will progress by leaps and bounds from here onward!"
Right at this moment, Zhao Yun's voice suddenly rang out. "Don't celebrate too early, everyone."
A smile appeared on his face as he continued, "There's most likely something better still to come! My Yin energy can sense that the purification, decomposition, or restoration of the new six paths of reincarnation still isn't over!"
It's still not over yet?
Qin Ye turned to the energy resource with an intense gaze upon hearing this.
All of the scientists faltered slightly before they were instantly overcome by a wave of elation, then immediately turned their attention back to the energy resource as well.
The fact that the process was still ongoing meant that there was still a more fundamental form that the components could return to!
In that case, they would even be spared the effort of having to find similar substitutes!
The new six paths of reincarnation was truly the most effective decomposer of matter in this world by far!