A Pawn's Passage

Seeing that her attempt to extort Qi Xuansu had failed, Little Yin could only give up. Of course, she had not come with any urgent errand from Sage Qingwei. She had come to collect a debt.

Little Yin produced the promissory note Qi Xuansu had written earlier. “Look, it’s written clearly in black and white, and with your official seal on it. You can’t deny this debt!”

“Of course, I won’t deny it,” Qi Xuansu replied. “But I told you already. I’ll settle the accounts once the Daoist Order takes Ise-jingu. That hasn’t happened yet, has it?”

Little Yin added, “Oh, and one more thing. A few days ago, I went out with Old Lin to play...”

“I was about to question you about that! Who allowed you to run off?” Qi Xuansu interrupted sharply.

Little Yin waved her hand dismissively. “I didn’t run off! Old Lin and I went treasure hunting.”

Qi Xuansu did not press the matter further and asked, “So what did you find?”

Little Yin then recounted her treasure-hunting adventure with no shortage of embellishments.

After listening, Qi Xuansu grew thoughtful and murmured, “Perhaps there’s more than one such seal...”

Little Yin gazed at Qi Xuansu with wide eyes. “When will you have time?”

Qi Xuansu pulled back from his thoughts. “I definitely don’t have time now. At the very least, we’ll have to wait until after Ise-jingu is taken.”

Little Yin pouted. “It should’ve been attacked long ago. Instead, they fuss about peace talks. That’s like taking off your pants just to fart!”

Qi Xuansu scolded, “What would a little girl like you know? How dare you speak recklessly about the Daoist Order’s decisions?”

Just then, Zhang Yuelu and Yao Pei came out together and saw the two standing there conversing. “What are you two talking about?”

Qi Xuansu repeated Little Yin’s discovery to them.

Zhang Yuelu said solemnly, “There’s truly no time to waste. Once the banquet ends, we must leave for Mie District overnight.”

Qi Xuansu was a little surprised. “Is it so urgent?”

Zhang Yuelu replied, “If even you didn’t think of it, then the people of Ise-jingu likely haven’t either. In this assault on the Ise-jingu, the army is secondary. The key lies with the Heavenly Beings. We will go first. The Sage Commander and the others will follow soon after.”

Qi Xuansu never expected that Little Yin’s casual nonsense would turn out to hit the mark like a blind cat catching a dead mouse.

Qi Xuansu asked, “What about Yong Yan, then?”

“He’s coming too. All of us are,” Zhang Yuelu simply replied.

Sure enough, less than half an hour later, Li Changge also appeared.

Li Changge wasted no words and cut to the chase. “I’ve brought the Moon Mirror. Let’s go.”

The four prodigies left Xiujing, boarding a Purple Flood Dragon one by one, and headed straight for Mie District.

Ise-jingu was located on Mount Omikami in Mie District, covering more than 700 hectares.

By the time Qi Xuansu and the others reached Mie District, the assault on the outskirts of Ise-jingu was already underway.

To defend against Daoist aerial assaults, the Ise-jingu had sunk its entire inner complex deep into the mountain. The Daoist forces had no choice but to gather their Diviner Corps to forcibly split open the mountain with large-scale spells, carving a tunnel in short order that connected to the shrine deep within.

The tunnel was about 10 meters wide and 12 meters high, which was quite spacious for ordinary people but too narrow for large-scale deployment of Daoist heavy artillery or heavy cavalry. So they could only rely on Spirit Guards to force their way in.

But once the Spirit Guard units entered the tunnel, they were immediately met with hordes of monsters, ghosts, and demons launching into fierce combat against the Daoist forces.

This was the famed Night Parade of One Hundred Demons.

Ise-jingu had suppressed countless demons for years. Now, all of them had been unleashed. With the Shinkan-dan wielding large-scale spells to direct them, they had formed into a demonic tide to resist the Daoist army’s advance.

However, these monsters were at best on par with the weakest Xiantian Beings. Their power was limited, so they could only serve as a hindrance and could not actually inflict heavy casualties on the Spirit Guards.

Just as the Spirit Guards continued their advance, a surge of crimson radiance, like the glow of a setting sun, burst forth from the mountain’s depths, flooding every inch of the tunnel with searing heat.

At the same time, the demons seemed to be covered in a layer of crimson light. Their eyes gleamed with a nearly tangible blood-red ferocity, and they now bore a touch of the divine aura. Each of their attacks carried fiery damage, as if they had been empowered by Himiko-no-Mikoto.

The Spirit Guards hurled Phoenix Eye Grenades into the demonic tide. The explosions tore the hordes of demons into bloody fragments. However, many of those creatures rose again from the flames, more violent and frenzied than before, surging forward like waves under the influence of fire.

It was clear that at this critical juncture, Himiko-no-Mikoto, had torn off her Buddhist disguise and begun wielding the demonic fire inherited from her father, Izanagi-no-Mikoto. With it, she greatly empowered the demons and, to some extent, suppressed the Daoist firearms.

The lower-grade Phoenix Eye Grenades could hardly kill these demons completely, while the higher-grade bombs could not be deployed in such a confined space.

The advance of the Spirit Guards stalled. It was at this moment that Qi Xuansu and the others joined the battle.

The first to act was Yao Pei.

With Yield Sovereignty, Yao Pei employed the Heavenly Blade Technique. In an instant, nine slashes of blade light crisscrossed in all directions. Wherever they passed, all demons were cleaved in two. Some unfortunate ones were struck by several slashes at once, instantly carved into multiple pieces.

The blade light grew denser, like a web of a thousand threads. Alone, Yao Pei advanced with her killing net. Any demon that touched it was cut into neat, tiny squares. As long as the creatures had a physical form, none escaped this fate.

Behind Yao Pei came Zhang Yuelu. With Purple Afterglow in hand, she summoned thunder, conjuring countless slithering electric serpents. They wove through Yao Pei’s killing net, writhing across the ground like a frenzied dance of purple snakes. Where they passed, the demons without physical bodies were reduced to ash under the lightning.

Thunder techniques were famed as the most yang type of methods, which was a natural bane to these yin creatures. Formless specters were especially vulnerable to heavenly wind, light, and thunder. Here, thunder techniques could slay specters with half the effort.

With their combined efforts, the slain demons could no longer resurrect from the flames. Their numbers within the tunnel visibly dwindled.

Though more continued to surge forth, the once-stalled Daoist forces were now able to press forward once again.

Qi Xuansu and Li Changge found no need to intervene. They were merely watching on the side as the two women annihilated the demons.

Meanwhile, Suzuka Gozen had departed Mount Suzuka and now hovered above Mount Omikami. She wore a white top, a red hakama, and went barefoot. A tall eboshi cap rested on her head, and three blades at her waist. These were the Three Radiant Swords of Fenglin—Daitsuren, Shotsuren, and Kenmyoren. These swords had once been the weapons of Ootakemaru and were divine artifacts. Had Suzuka Gozen not deceived her ex-fiancé and stolen them away, Ootakemaru would never have been defeated.

Great Sage Zhang Qihan stood beside Suzuka Gozen.

On the surface, the Daoists had held a banquet, seemingly with no intent to attack. But as the banquet drew to a close, their top-tier combatants swiftly gathered at Mie District and launched the assault without delay.

Suzuka Gozen did not join the fray immediately. Instead, she spoke slowly. “I once heard Ootakemaru say that the second-generation deity, Izanagi-no-Mikoto, was the Lord of Ten Thousand Fires, master of all flames under heaven. Gods rarely bore offspring, yet he was an exception. With Izanami-no-Mikoto, he birthed the Fire God Kagutsuchi. But upon his birth, Kagutsuchi burned Izanami’s mortal form to death, forcing her into the divine kingdom. For reasons unknown, her divine kingdom later fell into the netherworld and never returned to the mortal realm.

“Izanami-no-Mikoto was the goddess of Yomi-no-Kuni. After her passing, that portion of divine authority also fell into Izanagi’s hands. That is one reason why his demonic fire contains so much yin energy.

“In his grief, Izanagi killed Kagutsuchi in an attempt to save his wife, Izanami, but he failed. From his left eye, Himiko was born, inheriting dominion over the sun and fire. From his right eye, Tsukuyomi was born, inheriting dominion over the underworld and the moon. From his nostrils, Susanoo emerged, inheriting his indestructible and immortal physical body.

“These Three Noble Children took Izanagi’s place in ruling the mortal realm and thereby became deities. They once sought aid from the Central Plains. The Buddhist Sect seized the opportunity and came to Fenglin, promising the Three Noble Children that they could help them overthrow Izanagi on the condition that the three must convert to Buddhism.

“Himiko agreed to this condition and joined forces with the Buddhist Sect to storm Izanagi’s divine kingdom, shattering his golden body. It is said that fragments of Izanagi’s golden body fell into the mortal realm and became various fire-demon clans, such as Shiranui, Phoenix Fire, Heron Fire, Battlefield Fire, Grave Fire, Fire Monk, Fox Fire, Sogen Fire, Hanging-Bucket Fire, and Hag’s Fire.

“These demons each embodied one of Izanagi’s divine powers. For example, the Phoenix Fire has the power of rebirth, and the Shiranui has fire that water cannot extinguish.

“Izanagi’s mortal form was even harder to destroy, as it was nearly indestructible and immortal. Thus, the Three Noble Children divided it into five parts: the torso, the left hand, the right hand, the left leg, and the right leg, each sealed away. The most powerful torso was sealed beneath Mount Fuyo, while the four limbs were sealed separately in Heian Capital, Ise, Emishi, and Kyushu.”

Zhang Qihan said, “Suzuka Gozen, you seem to harbor some concern. Speak freely.”

Suzuka Gozen finally said, “What I fear most is mutual destruction. The Tenmon Sect holds knowledge of these sealed locations. If they see the tide turning against them, there’s a possibility that they might deliberately break Izanagi’s seals and release that evil god. If they truly did so, what would be the consequences? I fear half of Fenglin will be transformed into a land of ghosts. Those sneaky Westerners would likely delight in such a catastrophe, seeing Fenglin turn into a land of the dead, and perhaps they would even stoke the flames further.”

Zhang Qihan’s expression grew more solemn. “Suzuka Gozen, your words are well-founded. We cannot afford to dismiss this danger.”