Chapter 200: Second Resurrection, Exorcising Sickness Incarnation! Wish Power Torrent, Two-foot Adult’s Mad Promotion!
Shangshan Che raised Kaga Kiyomitsu, which was so quiet that its blade tip was still, and aimed it at the Affliction holding the censer staff.
The effect of the Hannya Mask — changed from “Berserk” to “Greed, Anger, Ignorance”!
He could feel that the power within him, which was originally more surging than the wildest tide, had slightly decreased.
In that instant, all fourteen of the Affliction’s pupils shrank, and the superfluous expressions on its seven faces vanished simultaneously.
Although Shangshan Che had not yet drawn his sword, and even appeared unchanged externally, he could feel that something was different.
“It’s best not to get cut by him…”
The Affliction slightly shook the censer staff in its hand, causing the three bone rings at the top of the staff to tighten abruptly!
There was no process for reaction at all; three unknown characters from some ancient language appeared consecutively above Shangshan Che’s head: 「cough」, 「pant」, 「vomit」.
“Cough, cough, cough—!”
Along with violent coughing that almost coughed out his internal organs, Shangshan Che’s intended step was forcibly halted.
At the same time, with every cough, he felt as if countless invisible hands were gripping his throat.
Making every breath require his full effort to extract a minuscule wisp of air from the atmosphere.
In that case…
Within the Qi Circulation, bursts of blue and purple lightning surged into his physical body, electrocuting the related organs and nerves to death, and then, under the control of the Spirit Control Technique, intertwined with the Qi, replacing them.
In this way, Shangshan Che no longer needed to breathe or pant, and naturally became immune to these two instinctive biological reactions that humans cannot control themselves.
After his five senses were completely enveloped by lightning and Qi, Shangshan Che calmly thought,
“Within ninety seconds, I will die.”
But ninety seconds was more than enough for himself in his current state.
If he couldn’t defeat the Affliction in ninety seconds, then in nine hundred or nine thousand seconds, he would still be helpless against the Affliction.
The next instant, as the feeling of nausea rose to his heart, Shangshan Che once again employed the same tactic, replacing the relevant parts of his body with lightning and Qi.
“The time has shortened again…”
Shangshan Che thought expressionlessly.
If he hadn’t activated “Wrath” yet, he would probably have collapsed on the ground under the slight sway of the censer staff in the Affliction’s hand, dying as a result.
This is the Eight Sufferings in their full prime… even if it’s just an insignificant Incarnation.
These few instantaneously cast, seemingly area-of-effect auras alone could cause a large number of Samurai with strength reaching Two-Star or even Three-Star to die rapidly.
Fortunately, he didn’t let Imagawa Yoshimoto bring the army, otherwise their only fate would be to be mowed down like grass by the Affliction.
—All thoughts flashed away like lightning.
—In the eyes of the Affliction, it was as if he had just inflicted three curses that ordinary people could not avoid upon Shangshan Che.
But before it could blink, the curses inexplicably failed.
Instead, Shangshan Che’s Qi became even more powerful.
The Affliction’s thoughts and ideas also transcended the constraints of its physical body.
As soon as it perceived all this, it wanted to merge into the miasma field that had completely engulfed the Sorrow of Parting.
As long as it distributed itself throughout every inch of the miasma, the damage it received would be greatly weakened, and it could easily drag on for enough time.
Merging into the miasma would only take a gap of less than 0.01 seconds.
But in this fleeting moment, the tranquil lightning seemed to traverse the distance, and at some unknown time, it pierced the very center of the Affliction’s seven heads.
The dense blue-purple color then split into three on the blade of Kaga Kiyomitsu.
Connected, they bloomed with a roar!
Natural Reason School: Three-stage Thrust!
A pillar of lightning Qi, almost indistinguishable from a Kamehameha, shot straight backward from the Affliction’s body, even piercing through the upper half of an entire small mountain!
This was less like a thrust and more like a laser cannon firing.
Within the blazing pillar of lightning Qi, the process of merging into the miasma field was abruptly interrupted, and the Affliction’s body, thus torn apart, remained silent.
“This pain… what kind of strange power is this again?”
Its dark pupils rotated stiffly, squeezing out a few drops of pus and blood, which were then vaporized by the continuous pillar of lightning Qi, leaving nothing behind.
It didn’t matter what lightning or Qi, more of it would only damage its exterior and slow its regeneration speed.
However, a strange power that was not there before appeared on that blade.
This strike had almost damaged the very foundation of this Incarnation.
If it hadn’t timely distributed most of the damage into the miasma, this strike might have shattered the censer staff it had materialized.
To this day, the power wielded by this fox spirit once again forced it to retreat.
But running was definitely impossible.
The pillar of light, clearly visible from Nishio City and even farther away, slowly disappeared.
The Affliction, holding its censer staff which had been polished smooth and new, said hoarsely, “Fox, as you can see, your full-power strike did not kill me.”
The remaining three and a half mouths moved in unison, emitting a seductive melody that would make ordinary people cease resistance immediately.
“And this is merely an Incarnation I casually released into the Mortal Realm.”
There was no anger in the Affliction’s voice, nor even a hint of threat.
It simply stated, “But if you kill this Incarnation of mine now, you will forever make an enemy of ‘Affliction’.”
“And if you stop now, I will let bygones be bygones for everything that has happened.”
The Affliction said to the empty air, “A fox spirit like you, who is so powerful at such a young age, will undoubtedly achieve limitless success in the future…
Sooner or later, you too will come to the Eternal World.”
“At that time…”
“Enough with the nonsense, are you finished?”
Along with the words crackling with electricity, the blade of Kaga Kiyomitsu, which had cut through the Affliction’s body, appeared.
Jingle bells~
This strike had not yet fully cut through the Affliction’s body when the seven bells on its censer staff began to shake.
In an instant, seven distinct plagues, each capable of instantly causing death and turning an entire city into a dead land, firmly enveloped Shangshan Che.
—Smallpox, Miasma, Tuberculosis, Pestilence, Malaria, Leprosy, Gu.
Infinite pustules appeared on Shangshan Che’s body, pathological fever penetrated every inch of muscle, and his iron bones, which were originally as hard as fine steel, instantly became riddled with holes, small wounds immediately expanding into purple-black buboes…
Seven types of plague, seven kinds of suffering!
Even the surging lightning could not extinguish the torment that fell upon his physical body, continuously afflicting Shangshan Che’s already chaotic mind.
But suffering is just suffering.
It could not slow the speed of Kaga Kiyomitsu’s blade by even a single fraction!
Pale white lightning bloomed from countless wounds, and even the blood gushing from his veins was no longer bright red, but nearly liquid lightning slurry!
At this moment, under the Affliction’s renewed pressure, the blood flowing within Shangshan Che’s body had almost been replaced by lightning.
He had never experienced such an uncontrollably powerful force, and even his consciousness seemed to be bursting out of his shell along with the wisps of lightning.
Likewise, he had never experienced the flow of life so clearly.
In twenty seconds, or perhaps ten seconds, this physical body would surely collapse.
Then he would, for the first time in a long time, enter death.
“And before that—”
His lightning-spewing eyes were bright, and the White Hannya’s Mask was reflected as majestically and solemnly as a deity in the heavens.
Kaga Kiyomitsu couldn’t help but tremble under the pressure of this power, which was as formidable as that of a ghost god.
“—For this fox spirit to burn thousands of years of his life to kill my Incarnation… it’s completely not worth it!”
Just as the Affliction was about to speak, Kaga Kiyomitsu thrust directly into the last mouth, filled with rotten flesh, shoving all its words back in.
The power of Greed, Anger, Ignorance followed along the blade as it was drawn, causing the Affliction to inevitably weaken further.
Finally, a hint of anger surfaced in the Affliction’s mind.
—If this continues, its Incarnation will truly be lost to this fox spirit!
Damn it, if only this were not just an Incarnation where ninety percent of my abilities cannot be used…
It would take time for my Kin to arrive.
Moreover…
One of the Affliction’s pupils tilted stiffly upwards, vaguely seeing through the shroud of lightning a phantom of a block-like object galloping freely under the moonlight.
Arrows and strange gray-white weapons were constantly being shot from it, pinning large numbers of Half-dead Birds.
By the time its Kin arrived, this Incarnation would probably have already turned into a pile of charcoal.
“There’s no choice…”
The Affliction sighed.
Then, for now, he would let Lotus Light, that human, have his way.
Shangshan Che, who was continuously swinging his sword, suddenly heard the Affliction’s almost ethereal whisper,
“Ten Thousand Plagues Wheel, manifest.”
*Click.*
Outside of Shangshan Che’s field of vision, something greatly terrifying seemed to manifest in the Mortal Realm.
Under the moonlight, an ancient bronze wheel, divided into twelve sections and inscribed with twelve different characters, appeared in mid-air.
*Click.*
A large bronze pointer rotated, illuminating one section.
*Click.*
*Click.*
*Click.*
Without any further hesitation, the pointer rotated ten times in an instant.
Then Shangshan Che felt that “death,” which had been more than ten seconds away, suddenly had its distance vanish at this moment.
No pain, no torture, no wailing.
The lightning that illuminated the sky over more than half of Nishio City as if it were daytime suddenly vanished.
Everything, absolutely everything, dissolved when the pointer rotated to the tenth click.
It came to an abrupt end.
…
On the Floating Cube, Two-Foot Adult, who was wielding two 12.7mm machine guns and continuously sweeping away the flock of Half-dead Birds, froze.
She felt her heartstrings become incredibly clear, and so she opened her mouth in astonishment,
“Che Adult, how did you come b—”
But before she could finish speaking, Two-Foot Adult’s little head turned.
She gazed at the Four-tailed Fox with all its fur red and immediately understood everything.
—Che Adult hadn’t returned; he had died.
Just now, killed by that Affliction.
“Hmm?”
Imagawa Yoshimoto was about to nock the next enchanted arrow on her bowstring when she couldn’t help but pause.
She looked at the fox spirit in front of her, wearing a Hannya Mask, exuding an astonishing aura, with four blood-colored tails swaying behind it. She blinked and subconsciously asked,
“Tetsu-kun?”
“I’ll explain this appearance later,”
Shangshan Che said, then plunged Kaga Kiyomitsu into his own body once more.
Qi Barrier erupted, lightning roared.
The Four-tailed Fox descended from the sky.
—The Affliction, having just released the Ten Thousand Plagues Wheel, exhaled unhappily and was about to summon its Kin to shoot down that thing in the sky and see what it was.
But as he turned, Kaga Kiyomitsu, empowered by Greed, Anger, Ignorance, which grew stronger with any emotion, descended like a new moon!
Splitting the unsuspecting Affliction in two!
In his last few dark pupils was reflected a Four-tailed Fox, unblemished by any disease, more complete than before, and with a more robust aura.
Even the Affliction’s thoughts were inevitably sluggish at this moment.
What is this situation?
Just now, the Ten Thousand Plagues Wheel had successfully activated.
Not only had the other party’s aura vanished without a trace, but half of the fundamental power within him that maintained this Incarnation had also disappeared.
All of this could prove that this fox spirit had entered death under the shroud of the Ten Thousand Plagues Wheel just now.
Yet, now, that blade had fallen upon him again.
Shangshan Che lowered his gaze.
The Hannya Mask contorted into a cold, ferocious grin, “Round two, is just beginning now.”
The Affliction remained silent, completely unable to comprehend the situation.
This fox spirit is wrong.
“Does it… have immortality?”
He shifted his gaze past Shangshan Che and looked up at the sky.
Just now, the fox spirit’s aura had descended from above.
In other words, this fox spirit, the human on the floating block, and another demon with a strange aura were all working together.
The Affliction understood.
The human on the block was sent by Great Onmyoji Che, and this fox spirit and the other demon were Che’s Shikigami; this interpretation should not be too far off.
A Great Onmyoji could naturally achieve what ordinary people could not.
Otherwise, there was no logical explanation for all of this, including the resurrection, and the fox spirit’s inexplicable hostility.
“Alas…”
The Affliction sighed calmly.
His Kin couldn’t reach him, there was nowhere to run, and Lotus Light happened to be out at the moment.
After painstakingly planning for over a hundred years, it all went to waste because of Great Onmyoji Che and the fox spirit under his command.
Furthermore, he hadn’t even seen the face of the Great Onmyoji he had planned for so long.
Since things have come to this, there’s nothing more to say.
Regret is the most meaningless thing.
Under the shroud of countless sword lights, Sickness Incarnation suddenly opened its last eye and uttered a series of unintelligible ramblings,
“I declare.”
Shangshan Che’s movements did not falter in the slightest due to Sickness Incarnation’s inexplicable actions.
But Sickness Incarnation did not resist, merely stating word by word: “If I die, the curse of my dying wish shall descend upon you all.”
Shangshan Che swung his sword silently, letting Kaga Kiyomitsu, which vibrated thousands of times per second, sweep across Sickness Incarnation’s constantly regenerating body.
Slash, slash, slash, slash, slash!
The ominous premonition in his heart grew stronger, but Shangshan Che remained silent, responding only with the blade in his hand.
The cascading pale sword light formed an entire circle.
Under the cover of violent Qi Barrier, Sickness Incarnation’s final black lips opened and closed: “I curse you all…”
Before the words were finished, the pale torrent annihilated everything belonging to Sickness Incarnation in the Mortal Realm.
On the scorched earth of the mid-mountain, Shangshan Che, feeling his second life nearing its end, shifted his gaze and stared at the prompt that appeared before him,
【You have killed Sickness Incarnation, Three-Star, and obtained 1500 Soul Ash! 【
【You used Kaga Kiyomitsu to slay Sickness Incarnation. The quality of Kaga Kiyomitsu·Blade of Parting has greatly increased! 【
【Your Kaga Kiyomitsu·Blade of Parting has undergone an unknown change! 【
【Your skill, Natural Reason School proficiency +300! 【
【Your skill, Five Thunder Technique·Qi Infusion proficiency +300! 【
【Your skill, Spirit Control Technique·Qi proficiency +200! 【
“It’s dead, huh…”
Although Sickness Incarnation was dead, Shangshan Che felt no sense of relief.
Every time he recalled Sickness Incarnation’s curse, his clear mirror felt as if it had been covered by a layer of haze.
It was as if some ominous event was destined to occur in the future.
“Eight Sufferings… truly an endless scourge.”
Shangshan Che gripped the hilt of Kaga Kiyomitsu and looked up at the sky.
With Sickness Incarnation dead, these Half-dead Birds and the further swarms of Shijie Worms immediately scattered like birds and beasts, each with their own thoughts.
He was about to pursue the fleeing Shijie Worms with Two-Foot Adult—after all, a major objective of his was to collect their eyeballs.
Moreover, it could increase Kaga Kiyomitsu’s Soul Spirit Points.
But Shangshan Che suddenly realized that even though his Natural Reason School proficiency was full, he hadn’t broken through yet.
Was it because the system determined he was still in the same battle?
But Sickness Incarnation was clearly already…
As soon as this thought arose in Shangshan Che’s mind, he saw golden light shooting into the sky from the other side of Nishio City, dispelling the dark clouds.
Even from several kilometers away, Shangshan Che could clearly feel a dense aura of Buddhist Dharma.
He was startled.
This is, the Hōshu of Jodo Shinshu, Lotus Light?
A giant halo rose from the ground, and a grand, furious voice echoed through the night sky: “Who dares to cause trouble in Nishio City!”
Shangshan Che, however, smiled.
—Originally, he had thought about letting Lotus Light off the hook for now as the effect of his anger was about to end, but he didn’t expect such a big fish to deliver itself to his doorstep.
Before taking a step, Shangshan Che briefly sensed his current condition.
His Spiritual Power and Qi Barrier were almost depleted within the dozen seconds it took to slay Sickness Incarnation, but his Sea of Qi was continuously replenishing the void in his Qi Barrier.
Moreover, due to the Five Thunder Technique and the recent excessive strain, this life wouldn’t last much longer.
The distance to Lotus Light was still so far; he wouldn’t even be able to swing twice even if he got there.
It would be better to release the brilliance of this life upon the surrounding birds and insects.
After a simple decision, Shangshan Che shot straight into the nearest swarm of insects like a cannonball.
…
“One last time.”
On the Floating Cube, the Four-tailed Fox wearing a Hannya Mask reappeared.
Shifting his gaze from the large number of eyeballs and Soul Spirit Points he had gained, Shangshan Che said to Two-Foot Adult, whose mouth was almost split to his ears from killing birds,
“Stop for now, Two-Foot. Take Lord Yoshimoto and get further away.”
He turned his head and looked at the man in the distance who was sitting motionlessly in mid-air, like a Buddha: “That Lotus Light is no ordinary opponent.”
Hearing this, Two-Foot Adult immediately dropped the two machine guns that wouldn’t overheat and suppressed the somewhat exaggerated smile on her face.
Imagawa Yoshimoto stared at him for a moment, her gaze moving up and down, changing several times.
But her first question was,
“That Sickness Incarnation…”
“Is dead.”
A discordant, gentle smile appeared on the pale Hannya Mask.
Shangshan Che continued, “Now I’ll go slay that Lotus Light, and the matters in the Mikawa Region should be concluded.”
However, before he could finish speaking and jump off the Floating Cube, he felt a gaze he absolutely could not ignore piercing directly at him from afar.
—From the other end of Nishio City, Lotus Light, having a sudden inspiration, looked up, knowing from the depths of his being everything that had just happened.
Sickness Incarnation was dead, and the one who killed him was a fox spirit…
No, it was Great Onmyoji Che disguised as a fox spirit.
Accompanying this Great Onmyoji were his Shikigami, and…
“Imagawa Yoshimoto!”
The edges of Lotus Light’s eyes, which had held anger and Buddhahood, trembled, and were immediately filled with ecstasy.
Imagawa Yoshimoto, abandoning her army, had come to the front lines and appeared before him in Nishio City!
This was simply a divinely granted opportunity!
If Imagawa Yoshimoto died here today, the external crisis that had constantly plagued him would be resolved without a fight!
Lotus Light immediately stood up, and the thought of negotiating with the person who killed Sickness Incarnation vanished completely at this moment.
Thus, he followed the premonition from the depths of his being and looked towards Shangshan Che’s location, laughing heartily,
“Head of the Clan! I see you!”
“We’ve been discovered.”
Shangshan Che said calmly—no matter how formidable Lotus Light’s abilities were, they couldn’t surpass Sickness Incarnation, one of the Eight Sufferings.
Moreover, he had learned about Lotus Light before coming.
Prior to this Mikawa incident, Lotus Light had only touched upon Qi Circulation, and his mastery of breathing techniques was even inferior to Imagawa Yoshimoto’s.
After a two-second pause, Shangshan Che raised an eyebrow with slight surprise: “He’s not running. It seems he’s very confident.”
Now, he was somewhat hesitant.
Because if Lotus Light possessed a powerful, unknown means to kill him again, things would become troublesome.
After dying this time, Shangshan Che would need a full twelve hours of Mortal Realm time—even using Awakening Spirit Mist would require eight hours to return.
Converted, that would be a full five days.
Five days was too long, not to mention it would be after Sickness Incarnation’s death and while Lotus Light was still alive.
Heaven knew how many things could happen in the five days he was gone.
—Regardless, Two-Foot Adult has the curse positioning, so no matter how much Lotus Light flees, he can’t escape far.
Furthermore, the Imagawa Clan’s army would be deployed soon, making it easy to find Lotus Light.
With this thought, Shangshan Che spoke,
“Two-Foot, we…”
Before he could finish this sentence, Shangshan Che’s expression suddenly changed.
He turned his head and saw milky white radiance rising from the streets and alleys of Nishio City from the other side.
Countless rays of light converged, forming a surging, milky white torrent flowing through the air.
It seemed as if one could still hear countless faint murmurs from it.
For some reason, looking at that milky white torrent, Shangshan Che felt a premonition of great terror.
“Adult Che, we need to escape quickly!”
Two-Foot Adult’s small face became extremely stiff.
She stammered a few times before exclaiming loudly: “That’s Wish Power! It’s a torrent that can only be controlled by those who have been assimilated by Wish Power! And it has already locked onto us!”
“If we are washed over by so much Wish Power all at once, our self-awareness will absolutely be assimilated! We’ll turn into Bodhisattvas, Arhats, or something from Buddhism, and spend our lives acting according to the thoughts within the Wish Power!”
Two-Foot Adult, who used Wish Power as a means of promotion, cried out,
“I guarantee it! No accidents! Wish Power cannot be blocked by ordinary means!”
“So let’s quickly—”
Two-Foot Adult’s peripheral vision swept over Imagawa Yoshimoto, whose face was solemn.
Her words suddenly stopped.
Yes.
Adult Che and she could escape from this Sengoku Period, but what about Miss Imagawa?
Miss Imagawa couldn’t return to the Mortal Realm with them, so she would only become a puppet of Wish Power…
She was also the key core of Adult Che’s plans in this era…
Imagawa Yoshimoto could not be eroded and assimilated by Wish Power just like that.
While Two-Foot Adult was brainstorming, countless ferocious lightning dragons descended from the distant sky, attempting to evaporate the torrent of Wish Power surging towards them.
But it was useless.
Wish Power was not something that ordinary Onmyōdō could influence.
Shangshan Che narrowed his eyes, wanting to summon Kaga Kiyomitsu to blast this so-called torrent of Wish Power to smithereens.
But his clear mirror told him that doing so was absolutely not allowed.
If he was hit by it, he would absolutely become a puppet driven by Wish Power, just as Two-Foot Adult had said.
—Even after returning to the Mortal Realm, this would not change.
Because this Wish Power did not seem to be a negative status, but rather a powerful positive buff.
His intuition told Shangshan Che that if he were to be hit by this torrent of Wish Power, his abilities in all aspects would be greatly improved.
It was just that there would be a “negligible” side effect.
Now, what should he do?
Shangshan Che felt two gazes fixed upon him.
He was uncharacteristically silent.
Now, was there truly no second path other than abandoning Imagawa Yoshimoto and leaving the Sengoku Period?
“Adult Che.”
In the quiet night sky, the petite girl suddenly spoke.
Her voice was filled with joyful surprise: “I think I can absorb this Wish Power!”
“Because I’ve been absorbing Wish Power from Buddha statues for a long time, I have strong resistance to this kind of Wish Power!”
Shangshan Che looked at her in astonishment: “You can?”
“Po!”
The girl puffed out her chest proudly and patted it forcefully: “Don’t worry! Leave it to me! Watch me level up several times in one go!”
Having said that, without waiting for Shangshan Che to say more, Two-Foot Adult took out a small floating board and stepped onto it without hesitation.
Then, she charged alone directly towards the hundred-meter-long torrent of Wish Power!
Her white skirt fluttered in the wind.
Two-Foot Adult’s eyes were firm, carrying a sense of resolve.
Two-Foot Adult transformed into the appearance of a giant Hachishaku, plunged into the torrent, and her voice pierced the sky,
“Stop!”
Before Shangshan Che’s eyes, a screen of prompts instantly flashed—
【Your Shikigami “Hachishaku-sama” is absorbing a massive amount of ownerless Wish Power… 【
【Your Shikigami “Hachishaku-sama” absorbed a massive amount of ownerless Wish Power and has now broken through from Two-Star to Two-and-a-Half Star! 【
【Your Shikigami “Hachishaku-sama” absorbed a massive amount of ownerless Wish Power and has now broken through from Two-and-a-Half Star to Three-Star! 【
【Your Shikigami “Hachishaku-sama” has had its quality improved and has now broken through its rank limit! 【
【Your Shikigami “Hachishaku-sama” has now broken through to Three-and-a-Half Star! 【
【Warning! Your Shikigami “Hachishaku-sama” has undergone an unknown change, please check it as soon as possible! 【
Today’s 7.1k!
One installment of catch-up updates!
