Chapter 174: 【epic】 Hundred-eyed Demon’s Possibility! Answering The Death-call Phone, Sea Of Qi’s Prerequisites
【Hundred-Eyed Demon】
【Quality: Epic】
The deep blue 【Rare+】 tag that was originally floating above the black-haired Hundred-Eyed Demon loli’s head had dramatically turned purple 【Epic】!
The black-haired loli proficiently crossed her legs, sitting on a throne forged from White Bone and blood, far more exquisite than before, boredly yawning.
As if she never slept well.
One by one, scarlet eye pupils moved along with her gaze, as if crossing the barrier of the Gacha Pool and meeting Shangshan Che’s eyes.
But if looked at closely, one could see that the black-haired loli’s pupils weren’t precisely focused, but scattered across every part of the black sky background hanging with dual moons.
Edo Castle’s Gacha Pool itself hadn’t changed at all.
What changed was only the Hundred-Eyed Demon on the throne.
After promoting from “Rare+” to “Epic,” although the Hundred-Eyed Demon’s appearance hadn’t changed obviously.
Whether it was her temperament, gaze, or the leisure in her every gesture, all proved her “powerful” essence without exception.
“So… she always wanted ‘Hundred-Eyed Demon’s Eyeball’ and even used treasures in the Gacha Pool to exchange for it, in order to promote herself.”
Shangshan Che stared at the black-haired loli in the Gacha Pool who was amusingly fiddling with her fingers back and forth, feeling even stranger involuntarily.
Because, for ordinary demons in the Mortal Realm and Eternal World seeking promotion of their own essence, it was very reasonable.
—Even if they didn’t know what the so-called quality was, the instinct from the bloodline would still make them subconsciously pursue higher quality.
The problem was, the black-haired Hundred-Eyed Demon loli existed in the Two-Star Gacha Pool · Edo Castle.
What exactly was she?
A real existing “Hundred-Eyed Demon” demon that had already reached Epic quality?
Or just a phantom in the Gacha Pool that would dissipate into smoke after being drawn by him?
Shangshan Che examined the black-haired loli who could make the entire Edo Castle start drizzling just by lifting a finger, and for now, he didn’t know.
But one thing was certain.
That was—the Hundred-Eyed Demon’s quality promotion in the Gacha Pool was absolutely beneficial to him!
Shangshan Che was about to close the Gacha Pool page, thinking of saving more Soul Ash to pull the Gacha Pool, when a big prompt popped up in the center of the Gacha Pool.
【Hundred-Eyed Demon has issued a new request to you!】
He looked down, his gaze sweeping from bottom to top in an instant over the treasure hill and the jade-white bare feet dripping with raindrops, landing on the Hundred-Eyed Demon loli who was raising her index finger toward the sky—
Or rather, toward him, revealing a smile with a “victory in hand” feeling.
The detailed prompt about the request appeared the next moment.
【Hundred-Eyed Demon’s Request】
【Task Description: Hundred-Eyed Demon needs more “Hundred-Eyed Demon’s Eyeball” material to continue promoting quality!】
【Note: “Hundred-Eyed Demon’s Eyeball” material can be substituted with various “Eyeball materials” in unequal amounts.】
Shangshan Che spent two seconds reading the prompt, understanding why the Hundred-Eyed Demon loli showed such a smile.
Because, she was probably certain that now, after her quality had promoted due to absorbing so many eyeballs—
Even without picking good things from the treasure hill for transactions anymore, she could absolutely continuously harvest “eyeballs” that could elevate her quality.
Regarding this, Shangshan Che silently thought…
The Hundred-Eyed Demon loli was right!
—The one that had already reached Epic grade, and would surely become one of his incarnations in the future, Hundred-Eyed Demon, could actually continue promoting her quality!
Moreover, she only needed to eat big eyeballs from various demons to continue promoting!
If he missed this village, where would such a good thing come from!
You know, now whether Hannya Incarnation or Four-Tailed Fox Incarnation, although they could continue rising stars, Shangshan Che had no clue about quality promotion after Epic.
No many clues, and no idea if they could continue promoting quality without hindrance!
So, helping Hundred-Eyed Demon was helping himself…
Shangshan Che thought smoothly:
As for those fragmentary small objects and items, no need for them!
Anyway, in the end, your whole self will be mine.
Thinking this, Shangshan Che closed the Gacha Pool page, marking this “Hundred-Eyed Demon’s Request” as top priority in his mental to-do list.
Pat.
Before he could take a step, an ancient Parchment Map slowly unfolded before Shangshan Che’s eyes.
He raised an eyebrow.
What now?
Staring at this inexplicable national map for a moment, Shangshan Che saw the label above it—
【”Eyeball” Hunting Ground Markers】.
“Eyeball” Hunting Grounds?
Shangshan Che immediately understood, narrowing his eyes and seeing sporadic light spots on the map that could be zoomed in and out arbitrarily to a certain multiple.
This map must have been made by Hundred-Eyed Demon to mark for him where the prey carrying “eyeballs” were.
She could even do this?
It could only be said, as expected of Epic-grade Hundred-Eyed Demon…
Staring at the enlarged map for a moment, Shangshan Che compared it with the Mortal Realm map and Sengoku Period map already memorized in his mind, suddenly freezing in place.
Because, the location of these light spots happened to be on the Sengoku Period map…
Mikawa Province!
A guess rose in Shangshan Che’s heart.
Could it be… the Great Demon stirring chaos in Mikawa Province, bewitching the crowd, is also a Hundred-Eyed Demon?
This possibility wasn’t nonexistent.
On the contrary, it was quite high.
After making this guess, Shangshan Che didn’t show any wariness, instead involuntarily grinning.
Extremely pleasant.
If the Great Demon in Mikawa Province was a Hundred-Eyed Demon, then it would really be… getting it without any effort.
It seemed that Gacha Pulls in Edo Castle’s Gacha Pool could be paused for now.
—If he accidentally drew out the still only Epic-grade Hundred-Eyed Demon Incarnation, and then found out in reality it couldn’t absorb eyeballs to promote quality, that would be tears of regret.
In short, Shangshan Che was already a bit impatient to rush to Mikawa Province and pluck all the eyeballs from that Great Demon.
“Let’s keep going.”
Shangshan Che led the two little ones to the doorway of Imagawa Residence with a full smile.
Just stepping over the threshold, he saw Okabe Motonobu lying on the steps with her wine Gourd on her belly, head tilted back, sleeping soundly with relish.
No samurai guarding the door nearby, probably afraid of disturbing her.
The footsteps of the three approaching naturally woke up Okabe Motonobu who was within arm’s reach.
She half-opened her eyelids in a daze, chuckled “hey hey” after exhaling a strong smell of alcohol,
“Ah… it’s Tetsu-sensei, good morning.”
Shangshan Che looked at the sun about to set on the distant horizon, couldn’t help feeling somewhat speechless.
He lowered his head again, looking at Okabe Motonobu with flushed cheeks, disheveled clothes, and speech slurring, kindly advised,
“Sister Motonobu, it’s better to sleep back in your room.”
“No problem, no problem~ Isn’t it cooler outside?” Okabe Motonobu fiddled with her clothing belt tied into a dead knot for some reason, getting more irritated the more she fiddled, until sweat seeped from her forehead.
Ten seconds later, after failing to untie the belt, Okabe Motonobu twisted her body, sprawled on the ground flattening out, and asked dazedly,
“Right, Tetsu-sensei… what did you do when you went out just now?”
“Taking a stroll. See, I’m dragging my family along.”
Shangshan Che sighed, averted his gaze and pointed to the two little ones behind him staring in shock.
“Oh oh, like that…”
Okabe Motonobu’s tone was erratic, until suddenly rising at the end,
“Then in a couple days, I’ll take you to some must-visit places in Sunpu Castle— to have fun!”
“Sure.”
Just as Shangshan Che responded, he saw her already sprawled on the ground, snoring loudly again.
Shangshan Che: “…”
With the mentality of not letting her freeze to death, Shangshan Che squatted down to check Okabe Motonobu’s Qi Circulation.
After confirming it was intact, he called the two little ones to step over Okabe Motonobu, who had suddenly rolled over becoming the second uneven “threshold” at some point.
The rest of the way was unobstructed.
Shangshan Che returned to his Small Courtyard, discovering that the Plain Spear custom-ordered earlier at the Blacksmith Shop had its shaft assembled and was leaning against the room’s threshold.
His eyes lit up, striding over to grab the Plain Spear and check its information.
【Plain Spear】
【Quality: Rare】
【Effect One: Piercing. Thrusting with Plain Spear will cause massive additional damage.】
【Effect Two: Integral. Spearhead and shaft are one, spear endures as long as the tip does.】
【Effect Three: Restoration. When not in use, Plain Spear will continuously restore durability.】
【—Plain Spear forged with care by Sunpu Castle’s “Blacksmith.”】
Like the Tachi, unworthy of a unique name.】
Still three short effects similar to the previous Tachi, but changed quite a bit to fit the Plain Spear’s role.
“Solid, very solid.”
Shangshan Che stroked the smooth spear shaft with his hand, not stingy with his praise.
He took a breath, Lightning surging in his palm, instantly covering the entire Plain Spear shaft with fine Lightning.
Moments later, the Lightning extinguished.
Shangshan Che examined the Plain Spear in his hand again.
But no signs of damage were found on the spear tip or shaft.
This formed a stark contrast with the two Special Affairs Office Plain Spears he used before.
—Those two spears basically became one-time use after he used Five Thunder Technique · Qi Union.
And this Plain Spear completely wouldn’t have the awkward situation of reaching durability limit and breaking midway like in the previous True Sword Match.
This Blacksmith was indeed worthy of praise from Imagawa Yoshimoto, with consistently reliable skill.
Worth the price.
Simply twirling a spear flower, Shangshan Che stored the space-hogging Plain Spear into his Storage Bag, turning back to the two little ones not far behind who started whispering again.
The relationship between Nishaku and Shiraishi has indeed improved…
Since that’s the case.
Shangshan Che thought for a moment and said to them: “You two play by yourselves for a bit, you can cultivate if you want. After that slash at Trial Cut Ground, I have some Perception and want to seclude for one or two hours.”
Saying this, he plucked Heartstring to inform Two-Foot Adult of the real purpose, and instructed,
‘Don’t let anyone enter the room.’
‘Popo!’
Two-Foot Adult blinked and replied seriously in the Heartstring Channel.
Shangshan Che wasted no more time, returned to the room, closed the sliding door, and simply locked it with Qi Barrier to prevent accidental pushing.
He took out Key of History · Shrine, and used it without a word.
Massive water pressure surged, sending Shangshan Che back to the Mortal Realm.
“Hoo—”
Opening his eyes on the hotel’s big bed, Shangshan Che immediately pulled out his Mobile Phone from the bag, not wanting to waste a second.
Because the time flow between both sides was 15:1, so casually chatting a few minutes in the Mortal Realm would pass an hour on the other side.
Opening the contacts, he dialed Nanjo Emi’s number.
Shangshan Che peered out through the Curtain gap, seeing the deep inky sky.
The call connected instantly.
“State your business.”
Nanjo Emi’s steady and cold, but clearly more fatigued than before voice came from the Speaker.
Hearing it wasn’t as curt and exhausted as recent days, probably the workaholic bloodline kicking in, making her adapt to the current workload.
Shangshan Che got straight to the point, telling Nanjo Emi about his need for “Eyeball materials.”
Best if he could also slay some demons incidentally—after all, the Soul Ash shortfall was still quite large.
Nanjo Emi: “Oh, that. I happened to see it a couple days ago while checking the task library.”
Hearing the unexpected news, Shangshan Che let out a “ha.”
A task location meeting such strict conditions actually available right away?
Could it be he’s been having dog luck lately…
As if to refute Shangshan Che’s thought, Nanjo Emi continued,
“This task was taken by locals about a week ago… but I think they probably can’t handle it.”
Click.
The sound of a ballpoint pen clicking came through, Nanjo Emi pondered for a moment before saying: “So if they request aid from Special Affairs Office, I’ll put your name first, okay?”
“Big help, Sister Nanjo.”
A hint of smile leaked in Nanjo Emi’s tone: “But if you parachute in, be prepared to babysit a dozen adults.”
Babysit?
Shangshan Che sneered: “Knock out the disobedient ones, beat the unknockoutable until they submit, no time to explain facing dangerous demons.”
“Then do your best.”
With the keyboard tapping ending, it seemed a new document was sent.
Then, Nanjo Emi’s tone became somewhat serious,
“Besides that, Shangshan Jun.”
She said: “Don’t answer random calls during this time.”
Shangshan Che puzzled: “Calls?”
Nanjo Emi: “Yes. Recently, there’s a phenomenon where ‘answering unknown incoming calls leads to death soon after.’
Started with ordinary people, then quickly spread to some Special Affairs Office agents investigating it.
Current scope covers half of Tokyo.”
Shangshan Che subconsciously asked back upon hearing,
“Supernatural Phenomenon?”
“Probably.”
Nanjo Emi’s voice wasn’t fast, revealing overtime irritation: “Maybe the already eliminated Supernatural Phenomenon · Black Phone Booth reappeared, but some details revealed so far don’t match it.
So I suspect it’s an even stranger Supernatural Phenomenon wearing Black Phone Booth’s skin.”
Shangshan Che: “Special Affairs Office can’t track it?”
Nanjo Emi sighed,
“Because this Supernatural Phenomenon picks easy-to-kill targets… More importantly, when we try Divination investigation, we find bigger hands have erased traces.
That’s why I mentioned the skin-wearing possibility.”
“Although it’s quieted down after catching attention from me and other Great Officers, this Supernatural Phenomenon is still extremely dangerous.”
Nanjo Emi solemnly said: “If you accidentally answer a call, tell me immediately.”
“Got it.”
After confirming Nanjo Emi finished, Shangshan Che hung up, then opened Line and told Lili Zi and Kitano Runa about it.
Especially Kitano Runa.
With her constitution, the possibility of encountering this was extremely high.
But he didn’t expect Kitano Runa to reply instantly too.
【Never Be a Loser!: This has been spreading fast in Special Affairs Office since yesterday, I already know, but thanks for reiterating, Shangshan Jun!】
【Never Be a Loser!: Sincere thanks.jpg】
【Moon Sand Sauce: Good then.】
Then Kitano Runa sent him a group invite.
Shangshan Che glanced at the group nicknames, all acquaintances, and joined.
Scanning the group, all were potential seeds from Arakawa Ward Special Affairs Office, like Hattori Ayako, Makiya Hitomi, even Lili Zi was pulled in.
And the group owner was Kitano Runa.
Shangshan Che smiled.
—As expected of the offline social anxiety, equally online social anxiety two-dimensional Girl, not surprised she did this.
Probably because it’s late at night into early morning, even after Shangshan Che joined, no welcome messages.
Casually setting “Mute Group Messages,” Shangshan Che checked the time, only three minutes passed.
Still half of the six-minute limit.
So Shangshan Che clicked Lili Zi’s Profile Picture, thought for a moment, and messaged her.
He knew Lili Zi definitely wasn’t sleeping, either fake sleeping and cultivating in the Visualization World.
【Moon Sand Sauce: Lili Zi, I completed Skin Tempering.】
【Moon Sand Sauce: Also, luckily found the follow-up Muscle Casting method, will teach you when I return.】
Sure enough, when Shangshan Che silently counted to ten in his mind, a big exclamation mark popped up.
【Lili: !】
【Lili: Good!】
【Lili: Wait for your return!!!】
—Arakawa Ward, in Shangshan Che’s Villa.
The Girl sitting cross-legged before the big “Martial” character, in the clear moonlight, fell into contemplation after replying.
—How much time has passed since Shangshan Jun “went on a business trip”? A whole day? He went from just completing Tough Skin to finishing the entire Skin Tempering stage.
Palace of Flesh cultivation must be done step by step in reality, no faking even a bit.
What method did Shangshan Jun use to achieve this speed?
Ununderstandable.
A fleeting distress expression appeared on Lili Zi’s small face.
She stared at the three words “luck good” on the Phone Screen, exhaled: “But good thing is, although lagging behind Shangshan Jun in Palace of Flesh progress…”
Lili Zi closed her eyes, “Internal Vision” on herself.
She murmured softly: “But after two thousand three hundred attempts, it finally worked, Internal Quenching of Five Organs is perfectly complete, Qi Four Extremities should be achievable in a few days.”
Of course, there’s also the 【Dual Heavenly Cycle Unceasing】 that follows,
—And the most important 【Clear and Bright Hundred Apertures】 in Sea of Qi stage!
Although no clear clues yet, with the first two completed, the latter two shouldn’t completely block her.
Try more, err more, die more.
Standing on countless fallen “selves,” there will be results.
According to Third Sister’s Notebook, Clear and Bright Hundred Apertures is a prerequisite for opening Sea of Qi.
Moreover.
One aperture, ten apertures, and hundred apertures have heavenly gaps between them.
From the information Lili Zi gathered so far, complete Clear and Bright Hundred Apertures is only recorded in Four Extremes Breathing Technique.
This is one reason why geniuses rarely emerging from small places and Small Dojos get beaten by even mediocre clansmen in the Three Great Families.
Because Four Extremes Breathing Technique is really not on the same level as most other Breathing Techniques!
“Then I’ll do my best.”
Lili Zi lowered her gaze, deleting the words she wanted to say one by one, wanting to surprise Shangshan Che when he returns home.
He scouted the Muscle Casting path for me, so I’ll forcefully open this Sea of Qi shrouded in fog for him—
Pioneer it!
On the other side.
Shangshan Che watched the long “typing…” disappear, smiling silently.
It’s probably less than 24 hours since he left home, so Lili Zi being shocked is normal.
After sharing the good news, Shangshan Che tossed the Mobile Phone back into Storage Bag, closed his eyes again, lying on the bed.
Everything in the Mortal Realm instantly receded with this somewhat familiar strange distortion.
Splash—!
But this submersion seemed different from before.
Not sure if illusion.
Before his consciousness sank, Shangshan Che seemed to see far away, at the sea level at the edge of his vision, unknown how far…
A sky-obscuring colossal wave rising!
…
Imagawa Residence, Shangshan Che’s room.
He panted heavily twice, expelling all the stuffiness and oppression from his chest, then lightly jumped to retrieve the Key of History from the beam.
Before Shangshan Che recovered from that trance scene, he heard Two-Foot Adult’s extremely panicked voice from outside the room,
“Eeeh! That, that!”
Two-Foot Adult blocked left and right, anxiously saying,
“Imagawa Adult! Can you wait to enter? My Che Adult instructed no one enters, if I let people in, I’ll get my butt spanked hard tomorrow!”
Unfortunately, these words seemed to further fuel the already strong curiosity of the Girl clan head outside the door.
Through the thin sliding door, Imagawa Yoshimoto’s deliberate light chuckle and Two-Foot Adult’s despairing voice, who didn’t even notice Heartstring changes, sounded together,
“Wuuu, Imagawa Adult…”
“Tetsu-kun, I’m coming in oh…”
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