Chapter 263: Matsudaira Motoyasu Bows To Me, Who The Hell Are You? Onmyōdō Flame Armor That Points Straight At Ghost Gods!
The good news is that there were no changes in front of Shangshan Che.
The big black cube factory still stood above the wilderness, and the factory owners who could kill him a thousand times over with a single glance had not appeared.
Walking to the doorway, he could still see the Great Blacksmith’s corpse that had been placed here for who knows how long, cold through and through with no one to clean it up, along with the light orb floating above.
Entering the Hanafuda Market in the Edo Period again should still be fine.
But the bad news is that Shangshan Che’s intuition told him that something crucial had changed.
And his intuition was generally very accurate.
Shangshan Che, who breathed a sigh of relief but still couldn’t relax, touched the memory orb again and entered the cutscene animation.
He once again savored the Great Blacksmith’s boring life of screwing screws.
After his vision went black, Shangshan Che could hear the same lively sounds entering his ears.
As soon as he opened his eyes, he saw the fox-faced woman who had been looking around left and right in front of him staring at him—probably because he was also wearing a “fox mask,” making him particularly eye-catching in the crowd.
Shangshan Che had not forgotten that his current identity was a Ghost God level six-tailed fox.
“Want to come in and play a round, sir?”
Ignoring the fox-faced woman’s first solicitation, Shangshan Che looked around, and even the Eye of Interpretation found no changes whatsoever from before.
It was as if the scene of everything being destroyed before had never existed.
This Edo Period street district should be something similar to an illusion, but different in certain ways.
Because illusions do not contain reality.
And the “memory orb” was undoubtedly real.
Shangshan Che wondered in his heart: “Strange… how exactly was this special region formed.”
The factory owners of the Eternal World were indeed impressive; even something created by a bunch of Ghost God Wild God level and above existences working together, though long abandoned and forgotten, was beyond his current understanding.
He didn’t think any more and walked straight up to the fox-faced woman, interrupting her speech every time she opened her mouth to say only one word, quickly skipping the cutscene plot.
—According to the time the onmyoji holding Tokugawa Yugoro’s memory orb had bet with others last time, if he went a bit earlier, he might still be able to get involved and see the situation.
In the short time before coming, Shangshan Che had memorized most of the waka and could be considered to have grasped the basics of the karuta game.
“Alright, this isn’t my first time at the Hanafuda Market.”
Shangshan Che walked quickly through the crowd, with the slightly astonished fox-faced woman following behind him, hearing him say,
“Answer what I ask, and keep quiet the rest of the time.”
Arriving quickly at the place from memory last time, Shangshan Che discovered that the purple memory orb belonging to Tokugawa Yugoro had just been taken out and was about to be placed on the scale.
The middle-aged onmyoji and the Tokugawa family youth knelt facing each other.
The bet had not yet begun.
He had come at just the right time.
Under the mask, Shangshan Che’s expression showed slight delight as he asked the onmyoji: “Onmyoji, do you have any other orbs like this memory orb? And how did this memory orb come about?”
He pointed at Tokugawa Yugoro’s memory orb.
The middle-aged onmyoji, who had been meditating with eyes closed, opened his eyes, his gaze falling on Shangshan Che, whose qi was extremely eye-catching.
Great Demon?
He asked indifferently: “Why should I tell a great demon I have no acquaintance with?”
Shangshan Che replied matter-of-factly: “Because I have one that’s not much different, so I want to collect a set.”
After saying this, Shangshan Che could clearly feel the Tokugawa family youth’s sharp gaze like knives and swords falling on his mask, trying to cut through it to peer inside.
Shangshan Che paid it no mind and called the fox-faced woman beside him to bring out the scale, then carefully placed his fingertip on it.
With the experience from last time when letting the memory flow freely caused an “explosion,” this time Shangshan Che deliberately controlled the amount of memory released.
He only released that small part related to Tokugawa Yugoro.
Then, a purple small orb condensed at one end of the scale—the other end corresponding to four purple chips and three blue chips.
“This is it.”
Shangshan Che picked up the memory orb and waved it in front of the onmyoji and the samurai.
—Memories do not disappear when condensed into a memory orb; only when lost to others does that part of memory truly enter the orb and fall into others’ hands.
“Oh?”
The onmyoji’s expression showed slight surprise; he hadn’t expected Shangshan Che to be telling the truth.
So the onmyoji replied: “Unfortunately, I only have this one, and it was won from betting with others.”
Shangshan Che nodded; this was within his expectations.
As for the Tokugawa family youth samurai… his face was already one of shock and fury.
If this were outside the Hanafuda Market, he might have drawn his blade in anger.
The youth samurai took a deep breath to calm the shock in his heart.
—Your Excellency Yugoro’s memory had actually leaked out another copy; if it were just the first one, it could be pure accident.
But the second one appearing before his eyes changed the meaning entirely.
If there was a second, there could be a third, fourth, fifth, and even more.
Could it be that what happened to Your Excellency Yugoro back then had some hidden story?
“Great Demon.” The youth samurai spoke coldly, “Don’t go; bet with me later.”
Shangshan Che balanced the orb above his fingertip: “If you use a similar memory orb as stake, then yes.”
“I know whose memory orb this is; don’t think you can fool me.”
Under the mask, a ghostly voice emerged.
—Even though he also cultivated the Tokugawa family’s Life River Breathing Technique, Shangshan Che still wanted Tokugawa Yugoro’s version more.
Because he was not only a genius who could fully master this breathing technique, but his attention to detail in cultivation was terrifying.
Watching it all the way, it was almost like Shangshan Che had cultivated it once in a dream himself.
If it were another mediocre Tokugawa family samurai cultivating step by step, he probably couldn’t even provide the full Life River Breathing Technique.
“Impossible!”
The youth samurai’s eyes widened in wrath, slamming the tachi on his lap heavily to the ground with a clang.
For a moment, the surroundings fell silent.
He had come to this den of filth, the Hanafuda Market, precisely to recover Your Excellency Yugoro’s memory orb; how could he possibly gamble with such huge risk!?
Not to mention he didn’t even have a memory orb related to Your Excellency Yugoro in his possession!
Staring at the unmoved fox-faced great demon, the youth samurai’s thoughts were in chaos; in a heated moment, he impulsively shouted,
“Great Demon, I advise you to hand over this memory orb now and exchange it for something useful!”
He shouted: “Otherwise, as soon as you leave here, the Tokugawa family will not let you go!”
Hearing this threat, Shangshan Che laughed.
Using the Tokugawa family to pressure him?
Never mind that this was just a mere illusion; even if it were real, so what?
Not to mention everything was set in the Edo Period, centuries away from the mortal realm, so they couldn’t catch him…
“Just over two hundred years ago, I saw that chubby kid Takechiyo change his name to Matsudaira Motoyasu at the Imagawa clan’s coming-of-age ceremony; he even bowed his head and greeted me.”
Shangshan Che lowered his gaze, six snow-white fox tails extending from behind him, his cold gaze flowing out through the slits of the fox mask: “Even your ancestors were like that…”
“What are you to dare speak to me like this!”
Staring at the youth samurai whose face had stiffened, Shangshan Che sneered: “Changed your mind? No matter what you do or bring out today, don’t think about taking this memory orb back.”
With that, Shangshan Che flicked his sleeve and left under the youth samurai’s furious gaze.
“Damn it, damn it damn it!”
The youth samurai’s hand gripped the hilt tightly, not believing Shangshan Che’s words were true.
So what if the other was a Ghost God?
He also cultivated the Life River Breathing Technique like Your Excellency Yugoro, and had the clan’s trump card; slaying a mere Ghost God was no issue.
It was just the rule “no fighting inside the Hanafuda Market.”
This was the rule that even legendary Wild Gods or the Tokugawa clan’s current head must obey.
Let alone him being just one of the more outstanding young ones in the Tokugawa clan.
The youth samurai was furious to the point of heart attack, unable to calm down.
In the end, he was naturally caught in an opening by the middle-aged onmyoji who was only surprised once from start to finish and easily defeated, accomplishing nothing.
He lost completely.
But that was a later story.
……
After leaving the familiar betting area, Shangshan Che wandered a full circle inside the Hanafuda Market.
He looked at hundreds of memory orbs placed on scales but never found a second one belonging to Tokugawa Yugoro.
There wasn’t even a single memory orb marked as belonging to a Tokugawa family samurai.
Though somewhat regrettable, it was to be expected.
Because any pure-blooded, higher-status Tokugawa family samurai’s memory orb would likely involve the Life River Breathing Technique.
And something concerning the Four Extremes Breathing Technique, the foundation of the Tokugawa family, was almost impossible to circulate.
Encountering Tokugawa Yugoro’s memory orb last time was pure luck.
Since that was the case, he would just normally participate in this karuta competition.
Finding more memory orbs related to the Life River Breathing Technique would be great, but it didn’t matter if not.
Because just the current Sea of Qi and Palace of Flesh chapters alone would keep him cultivating for who knows how long.
—He hadn’t practiced the Minor Heavenly Circulation, hadn’t connected the 108 Great Acupoints, let alone linking them to open the Star River Qi Sea and complete the Four Great Ultimate Forms.
Shangshan Che stopped and said to the fox-faced woman: “I want to participate in this match; arrange it for me.”
“As you command, sir.”
The fox-faced woman smiled.
In less than two minutes, she led Shangshan Che to an onmyoji whose face was obscured by flickering firelight.
The fox-faced woman said softly: “The Under Heaven First Karuta Competition has five rounds total; this is your opponent for the first round, sir.”
“Only five rounds?” Shangshan Che was somewhat puzzled. “How many people does that allow to participate?”
The fox-faced woman still smiled: “This decision was made considering your identity.”
The words were simple.
Because Shangshan Che was a Ghost God, he only needed to play five rounds to win, without dealing with the previous small fries.
“That’s great then.”
Shangshan Che went along with it and sat across from this onmyoji who wielded flames with proficient skill.
Just sitting down, Shangshan Che could clearly sense the opponent was extremely close to Great Onmyoji, just a hair’s breadth from Four-Star Ghost God.
If placed in reality judging purely by strength, he would be a strong contender for top three in the seed battle.
The fox-faced woman whispered in his ear: “Same rules before the match, sir; you and he need to first negotiate a stake both are satisfied with.”
“Are you the six-tailed fox who publicly slapped the Tokugawa family’s face?” The onmyoji laughed loudly. “I didn’t expect to run into you; truly my honor.”
“Small matter, no need to dwell.”
Shangshan Che took out the purple orb he had condensed earlier: “Would Your Excellency be satisfied with this as the stake?”
“A memory orb related to the Tokugawa family is of course fine; very valuable.”
The onmyoji chuckled: “But I’d only dare say that inside the Hanafuda Market; outside, I’d turn and run without a word… this thing is completely a hot potato.”
“So what does Your Excellency Six-Tailed Fox want?” The onmyoji asked directly. “I don’t want to waste too much time on guessing games.”
Shangshan Che rubbed his chin, thought for a moment, and asked: “Memories related to Spirit Control Technique, possible?”
The Spirit Control Technique was originally a fragment of Great Onmyōdō; though he couldn’t sense it fundamentally, completing it would surely bring no small benefits.
“Spirit Control Technique?!”
He immediately shook his head and said loudly: “Sorry, I don’t have anything like that.”
From the tone, Shangshan Che sensed the other’s face under the flames had suddenly changed.
Noticing this, Shangshan Che asked somewhat strangely,
“Spirit Control Technique, is there something special about it?”
The onmyoji stared at him silently for a good while before sighing: “You don’t know… right, you’re a great demon, no wonder you don’t know.”
He snapped his fingers to set up a simple small soundproof barrier, then softly explained briefly,
“Spirit Control Technique is one of the foundations of the Nanjō family. Legend has it that those who master it can absorb spiritual energy across a hundred li with their own power, turning the world upside down, cultivating at ten or hundred times the speed of ordinary onmyoji.”
The onmyoji’s tone was somewhat displeased: “These three words are a topic you can’t even touch in the outside world.”
“Thank you for the explanation, Your Excellency.”
After thanking him, Shangshan Che’s mind entered high-speed operation mode.
Nanjō family?
Judging from this onmyoji’s cautious and displeased attitude, the Nanjō family should also be an ancient onmyoji family of unmatched power.
Even if not matching Tsuchimikado, it shouldn’t lose to the likes of Fujiwara or Kamo.
But how had he never heard any news about the “Nanjō family” in the mortal realm?
The tide had passed, the great era had arrived, yet the Nanjō family remained completely hidden… this was hiding too deeply.
And this “Spirit Control Technique” was given to him by the netizen “Work to Die.”
In other words, this netizen was very likely from the Nanjō family, and not of low status.
As for Sister Nanjo, Shangshan Che figured she must definitely be from this Nanjō family too—among all the people he knew, she was the only one surnamed Nanjo, and strong to that extent, how could she not be.
Realizing this, Shangshan Che understood.
No wonder, when he had told Sister Nanjo before that he wanted to specialize in Lightning Magic, that netizen immediately sent him the equally powerful Five Thunder Technique.
—Very likely, Sister Nanjo and “Work to Die” knew each other well, both from the Nanjō family!
Later, just ask Sister Nanjo if she knew about the Nanjō family.
The onmyoji stared at Shangshan Che wordlessly for a long time, thinking he hadn’t figured it out, and spoke,
“I see Your Excellency Six-Tailed Fox has achieved success in Lightning Magic cultivation and seems quite interested in our human onmyōdō as well.
How about this memory orb mainly on fire arts, combined with some Astronomy Path principles, Flame Armor Technique of practice method?”
The onmyoji reached out and produced a deeper purple memory orb: “Flame Armor Technique was my main cultivation method back then; with this alone, reaching Ghost God should be no problem.
Its cultivation requires successively planting five fire seeds in the five viscera to enhance qi and physique; once achieved, Flame Armor can form on the body surface, resisting external attacks and possessing many wondrous effects.”
Deep purple?
Shangshan Che was stunned: “This Flame Armor Technique orb seems even more precious.”
“What’s the difference?”
The onmyoji said forthrightly: “Once I defeat Your Excellency Six-Tailed Fox and get this Tokugawa memory, I can go rip off the Tokugawa clan hard, right?”
“Your Excellency is quite confident.”
The onmyoji’s tone was full of confidence: “No choice; I’m here aiming for the title of Under Heaven First!”
Shangshan Che said no more; under the mask, a pleasant smile appeared as he mentally pocketed this Flame Armor Technique that sounded pretty good.
—Even if this onmyoji was indeed a karuta expert, how could he withstand countless restarts?
