Chapter 313: Hundred-eyed Demon’s Heavenly Path Trial WitnessingThe sea changes into mulberry fields! Wagatsu-sama’s Little Burial Nurturing Plan
Shangshan Che was stunned.
His gaze swept past the silently falling white hair and landed on the cola bottle in Huo Jin’s hand.
He hadn’t even taken the item out of his Storage Bag yet, so how did she have cola in her hand?
After a while, Shangshan Che, having reacted, asked, “Wagatsu-sama, haven’t you finished the cola I gave you last time?”
The Magatsu-kami, who unexpectedly heard the title that had been sealed in history, was silent for a long time before nodding.
“Mhm.”
Huo Jin gently placed the cola on the immaculately clean stone slab, hugged her legs, and said, “This ‘cola’ is one of a kind. I can’t open it, nor do I want to break it.”
Huo Jin said, “Therefore, I have kept it safe until now.”
Shangshan Che was speechless for a moment.
He had initially wanted to say it was fine if it broke, but before he could speak, he suddenly realized that Huo Jin’s actions were entirely reasonable from her perspective.
Because if one were to trace back to the last time someone gave her something, it might have been over a thousand years ago.
And in the intervening years, it was possible that someone had gifted something to the Magatsu-kami that she had accidentally broken, and then she had never seen that person again.
The ordinary item he had casually gifted might be a unique, one-of-a-kind item.
That was why the Magatsu-kami was being so careful…
Shangshan Che thought for a long while without speaking, and Huo Jin did not prompt him.
She had long grown accustomed to waiting that was infinitely long, possibly without answers, to silence, and to solitude.
“Wagatsu-sama, I won’t just disappear without any warning.”
Shangshan Che pointed at the cola bottle, where all the bubbles had disappeared while everything else remained unchanged, and said, “So please, feel free to use it. Even if you break it, there will be another.”
“Many people have told me that before.”
Huo Jin quietly gazed at him, her expression devoid of joy or sorrow. “Even if they appear normally for the first few dozen times, they still disappear suddenly and are never seen again.”
The atmosphere suddenly became heavy with the Magatsu-kami’s words.
Shangshan Che sighed inwardly with resignation, and with a smile, he said, “Wagatsu-sama, I’ve brought you three things to help pass the time at the assembly.”
He took out a new bottle of cola from his Storage Bag, slowly and clearly twisted open the cap in front of the Magatsu-kami, and then brought the opening to his mouth, glug-glug-glugging.
After drinking half of the cola, Shangshan Che placed a bottle of iced cola before the Magatsu-kami, spread his hands, and gestured for her to open it herself.
“In any case, try drinking this first.”
The Magatsu-kami looked at the cola, then at Shangshan Che, who had an expression of “deliciousness” on his face. Her gaze flickered between them several times before she nodded.
She extended her slender, perfect fingers, like white jade, and carefully gripped the cola bottle cap, then twisted it open, bit by bit.
*Hiss…*
A soft hissing sound of escaping air caused Huo Jin’s movement to abruptly stop.
Only after the sound disappeared and she received a nod of affirmation from Shangshan Che did Huo Jin continue twisting the cap.
It took nearly half a minute for Huo Jin to unscrew a small 500ml bottle of cola. She then cupped it in both hands and poured a mouthful into her mouth.
Instantly, Shangshan Che noticed the Magatsu-kami’s eyelashes tremble, and her eyes widened slightly.
After taking a sip, the Magatsu-kami stared at the cola, which was churning with yellowish-brown bubbles, for a long time before finally giving a serious review:
“Delicious.”
“Right?”
Shangshan Che finally breathed a sigh of relief, thinking that Happy Water was truly invincible.
“As long as you’re happy, Wagatsu-sama.”
Then, Shangshan Che took out a bag of potato chips, tore it open in the usual manner, and crunched loudly in front of the Magatsu-kami.
Huo Jin took the round bag of potato chips and fumbled with it for a long time, from front to back, left to right, but couldn’t remove the packaging.
It wouldn’t tear…
Instinctively, the Magatsu-kami increased her strength.
*Bang!*
In an instant, the entire bag of potato chips vanished into dust with a piercing shriek.
Not to mention fragments of the bag and chips, not even dust or fine particles remained!
Heaven knows how the Magatsu-kami did it!
Shangshan Che’s eyebrows twitched slightly—for the Magatsu-kami, he probably wasn’t fundamentally different from that bag of potato chips.
Now he truly understood why Huo Jin didn’t open the cola.
In the silence, Huo Jin’s already half-closed eyes drooped.
She was disappointed!
Shangshan Che could see the Magatsu-kami’s emotional change at a glance and immediately took out several more bags of potato chips, arranging them one by one.
“It’s okay, there’s still a lot more.”
Under Shangshan Che’s persuasion, the Magatsu-kami finally took another bag of potato chips.
This time, she easily tore open the packaging.
“Mmm, this is also delicious…”
Seeing Huo Jin eating delicately in small bites, Shangshan Che was not idle. He finished his own bag and reached for the one in her arms.
When he grabbed, it was empty.
Looking up, he saw that Huo Jin had dodged his grasp with the bag, and she frowned slightly, saying,
“Didn’t Shangshan Walker say there was a lot more?”
Yoho, our Wagatsu-sama is being possessive of her food.
This is a good thing.
After all, a thousand years ago, or even several thousand years ago, there weren’t any delicious things… it’s likely that the most exquisite delicacies of that era wouldn’t even be picked up by a beggar in today’s times.
“Yes.”
Shangshan Che nodded cheerfully and brought out several large boxes of soda and potato chips of various flavors from his Storage Bag.
“But I think sharing makes it even more enjoyable, don’t you think?”
“Sharing?” Huo Jin seemed a bit confused.
“It means we eat a bag of potato chips together,” Shangshan Che said, holding up a finger. “Eating together with two people is definitely more interesting than eating alone.”
This statement made Huo Jin fall into thought. After a full tens of seconds, she placed the potato chips back down.
“Thank you very much, Wagatsu-sama.”
After they emptied a bag of barbecue-flavored potato chips, Shangshan Che looked at the pile of sodas placed on the stone slab in the distance and asked, “Wagatsu-sama, do you know Five Elements Onmyōdō?”
—If they can’t be refrigerated, their taste will be greatly reduced.
“I know some superficial and basic aspects of it.”
Huo Jin, having learned instinctively, sucked her ten fingers clean and then spread her hands.
A bright little flame flickered in her palm, instantly forcing out Shangshan Che’s Flame Armor, and in the blink of an eye, it burned through it along with the Qi Circulation using its residual heat.
“Stop, stop, stop!”
Shangshan Che, who would have been roasted into charcoal if he were a second later, quickly called out to stop and then meticulously taught the Magatsu-kami at what temperature these sodas should be stored.
“Simple.”
After listening, Huo Jin clapped her hands together, and the bottom of the several large boxes of soda was immediately enveloped by an incredibly complex Onmyōdō Spell.
A faint coolness emanated from there.
Just as Shangshan Che was about to praise her, he heard Huo Jin’s voice, tinged with a slight curiosity, from behind him.
“Also, what about the last item?”
“You can get it downstairs, this place is too small.”
As soon as Shangshan Che finished speaking, the scenery before his eyes changed dramatically.
The moment he came to his senses, he found himself in the Assembly Plaza, along with the potato chips and sodas above.
It seemed the Magatsu-kami was still quite interested in these modern industrial crystals…
After a flurry of activity, Shangshan Che set up the photovoltaic power generation device and the game console, then placed a PS5 controller into Huo Jin’s hand.
“This is…”
“It’s for controlling the little guy on the screen to move later,” Shangshan Che smiled at her. “You’ll understand after you see me play it once, Wagatsu-sama.”
“Mhm.”
“Also, Wagatsu-sama, can you make the sky shine a bit?”
Shangshan Che had discovered that the “sky light” on the dome was not a conventional celestial body and could not power the solar panels.
As soon as the words fell, the heavens bloomed with a soft radiance.
“Is this okay, Shangshan Walker?”
“Mhm, of course it is.”
Shangshan Che nodded, then taught Huo Jin how to play Snake. After she learned, they played Snake together for over an hour.
Although the Magatsu-kami didn’t speak much, the rare and distinct emotions that flickered across her usually expressionless face were enough to show her level of engagement and enjoyment.
After dying again by eating her own tail and seeing “GAME OVER” displayed on the screen, Huo Jin lightly squeezed the controller in her hand, then quickly released it as if shocked.
“Whoosh…”
The timing was perfect.
Shangshan Che retracted his gaze, coughed, and asked, “Wagatsu-sama, could I have a drop of your blood?”
Upon hearing this, Huo Jin put down the controller and turned to gaze at him quietly.
After a moment of hesitation, Shangshan Che added, with some difficulty, “As material for forging the Myriad Spirit Cauldron…”
“Shangshan Walker, so that’s why you’re doing this.”
The Magatsu-kami said emotionlessly.
This is bad.
Shangshan Che thought.
Because my intentions were too strong… has she come to dislike me?
He took a deep breath and was about to apologize to the Magatsu-kami when he heard her continue,
“You don’t need to do all this for me, nor do you need to explain the reason or purpose. Just ask… and I will give it to you.”
Under Shangshan Che’s gaze, Huo Jin actually revealed a distinct smile and gently thanked him,
“Thank you, Shangshan Walker.”
Saying that, Huo Jin lightly drew her fingernail across the pad of her index finger.
A drop of blood, crystal clear, as red as agate, and upon closer inspection, showing an endless stream of black incantations like tadpoles, emerged.
In an instant, a rich fragrance permeated the entire Walking Assembly, almost shattering Shangshan Che’s thoughts and reason.
Fortunately, this drop of blood and its scent immediately disappeared.
It was placed by the Magatsu-kami into a bronze pot engraved with ferocious evil spirits.
Shangshan Che, who had been momentarily dazed, shook his head vigorously, thinking “how terrifying,” and took the bronze pot.
He had not expected, however, that a panel would pop up on the pot—
【 Hungry Ghost Pot 】
【 Quality: Super Epic 】
【 Effect: Seals and suppresses all supernatural power within the pot. 】
【—The path of the hungry ghost lies within. 】
This pot, which looked like something from an antique carpet going for 1000 yen, had a higher Quality than Little Jia?!
“This is… a bit too precious…”
Shangshan Che said with a wry smile.
“But Shangshan Walker gave me so many things.”
Huo Jin tilted her head, not thinking the items she gave away were precious.
Wagatsu-sama, if you continue like this, you’ll end up counting money for others even after being tricked…
Shangshan Che had no choice but to accept it reluctantly.
“Well then, Wagatsu-sama, you play by yourself for a while. I’m going to deliver something to that person in the Secret Realm.”
“Mhm, okay.”
The light before his eyes flashed again, and Shangshan Che saw a green forest.
And… a familiar young man in plain clothes.
“Yo.”
The young man’s eyes, as unchanging as ever, sparkled. “A few days ago, I divined by counting my fingers and predicted that Shangshan Jun would bring me something I desired.”
He grinned, revealing a row of white teeth.
“Now it seems my divinatory skills haven’t deteriorated much.”
Shangshan Che was straightforward and placed a stack of thick Historical Scrolls in front of the young man.
“Good stuff! Good stuff!”
The young man sniffed the ink smell from these copies and picked up a scroll with great novelty, stroking it. “This texture is truly new…”
“By the way, Shangshan Jun,” the young man said after examining the scrolls for a while, then looked at Shangshan Che, “how much time has passed outside?”
“About a month, around thirty days.”
“Only this much time?”
The young man put down the scrolls and said with surprise, “Shangshan Jun… you’ve gotten stronger remarkably fast.”
“Perhaps you’ll be the Abe no Seimei of this millennium, and I’ll be stuck here suffering for a thousand years!”
Without waiting for Shangshan Che to ask anything, the young man laughed heartily twice and turned to leave.
The thick scrolls rose, floating unsteadily behind him.
“No more talk, no more talk. I’m going to read now.”
“If there’s a chance, we’ll talk again next time!”
Shangshan Che, with a pile of questions accumulated in his stomach, clicked his tongue and returned to the Walking Assembly through the vortex.
Upon his return, he found the Magatsu-kami still playing the two-player mode of Snake by herself.
As a result, because no one was operating on the other side, the difficulty surged instantly, directly ending the game.
In this regard, Magatsu-kami is truly ignorant and naive…
Shangshan Che walked to her side and taught her that Snake not only had a single-player mode, but also many other games that could be played on the game console.
As long as you follow the novice tutorial, most games can be played.
However, Magatsu-kami felt that they were still not as fun as Snake.
“Also, you can play while drinking soda and eating potato chips…”
“Mhm.”
After the last affirmation, Magatsu stared at the hundred-inch large screen not far away and asked,
“Are we leaving?”
“Yes… The Eternal World is currently rising, and time waits for no one.”
“Okay.”
Magatsu-kami offered her blessing,
“Shangshan Walker, Martial Fortune.”
Beyond that, she didn’t say much more.
Shangshan Che was about to leave the assembly when he suddenly had a flash of inspiration and asked, “How about I come to the assembly at least once a week from now on, and bring you, Wagatsu-sama, some delicious food and fun things?”
No need…
The Snake being controlled by Magatsu-kami crashed into the wall.
Before she could reply, Shangshan Che had already made his decision and left the Walking Assembly,
“—It’s decided then, it won’t take much time anyway!”
Magatsu’s hands, which had been raised halfway, stopped and slowly lowered onto the controller on her lap.
She gazed at the two controllers, gazing at this novel and excellent player.
After a long while, she responded.
“Mhm.”
……
In the quiet room of the Exchange Office, Shangshan Che, lying on the ground, opened his eyes with immense ease.
He hadn’t expected to obtain the Blood of Magatsu so much more easily than imagined, and even got a Super Epic-grade Demon Pot as a bonus…
Originally, Shangshan Che thought he would have to complete some kind of quest to get it, like in a cliché scenario.
His own Wagatsu-sama didn’t even know when she was sold.
He should ask Nishaku and Chisa what they like later; Magatsu-kami might also like what girls their age like.
Shangshan Che took out his phone again and checked the time.
【22:09】
There was still some time before the appointment with Nanjo Emi. Anyway, the Sky Castle didn’t have closing hours, and he could leave whenever he wanted.
It was a good opportunity to see how Hundred-Eyed Demon would be promoted from Three-and-a-half Star to Four-Star…
Would it really take a hundred days?
Shangshan Che, who could easily gather the Soul Incense Ash needed for upgrading but was disgusted by the upgrade time, opened the panel for Demon Incarnation and clicked on “Rank” with a “+” sign next to it.
A prompt immediately popped up.
【To promote Demon Incarnation · Hundred-Eyed Demon to Four-Star · Ghost God, the following requirements must be met—】
【1. Soul Incense Ash required for upgrade: 2000（Soul Incense Candle ×1, Soul Incense Ash（Large ）×4）】
Soul Incense Candle, this was as expected.
Although more than half a stick had been used, it wasn’t particularly difficult to obtain.
Next… are there any other materials needed for the upgrade?
【2. Required materials: Hirasaka Pupil Spring, Star Rainbow Tear Drop, Earth Vein Dragon Qi…】
【3. Unlock and complete the Heavenly Path Trial for Demon Incarnation · Hundred-Eyed Demon — “Witness of the Great Changes”】
Seeing these materials with their strange and high-end names, Shangshan Che felt a sense of foreboding.
He clicked on the first one.
【Hirasaka Pupil Spring: An eyeball soaked and scoured for a thousand years in the river of Izanagi-no-Mikoto’s passage.】
?
Opening the subsequent ones one by one, Shangshan Che found that the preciousness of the thirty-nine materials decreased roughly in order, but the first few were similar.
No, with so many precious materials, how am I supposed to gather them?
Do I have to go to the Yellow Springs?
Shangshan Che, whose gaze was firmly fixed, didn’t even have the mood to notice Requirement Three.
Amidst the silence, two golden prompts squeezed in from the side.
【Because you obtained the Three-and-a-half Star Demon Incarnation · Hundred-Eyed Demon, the Demon Heavenly Path has been unlocked!】
【The original Three-Star and Three-and-a-half Star Salvage has now been merged into Ghost God Promotion · Limited Special Salvage…】
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