Chapter 207

Ba Yun Zi is definitely a master at express delivery—by someone who wishes to remain anonymous.

Splash! Splash!

The sound of water rang out continuously in his ears.

Thick smoke rose from the tops of the distant peaks, the distant sky was a faint grayish-black, and if one sniffed carefully, there seemed to be a faint smell of sulfur in the surroundings.

That's right, Mount Fuji is an active volcano, and after feeling it carefully, one can discover that the mountain is filled with majestic water vapor that possesses both spirituality and vitality; the water vapor is mixed with a trace of scorching heat, which can be called the harmony of water and fire.

"It's so beautiful, family!"

Compared to Mount Dajiang, which is filled with soaring demonic energy and is essentially a settlement for primitive cavemen, Mount Fuji is at least several grades more beautiful, with countless lush, towering trees and a ground covered in fallen flowers and a riot of colors.

Beside them was a waterfall that rushed down like a bolt of silk, a large amount of water flowing into a pool, the churning spray surging without a moment's rest.

It was unknown how deep the middle of that pool was; in any case, the rocks and broken branches washed down by the waterfall would disappear into a burst of foam.

And at the very edge, that is, the shore near their feet, the water surface was calm and clear enough to see the bottom, where rocks cracked like the shell of a turtle.

It was a super-large pool over a mile long and wide, pieced together from hexagonal basalt blocks left behind after the volcano erupted and cooled.

The surrounding cliffs also seemed to have been cut by sharp blades into hexagonal columns, a work of divine craftsmanship.

"Isn't this the Swamp of Basalt? Is Kappa Heavy Industries up to something?"

Although the Tengu, like the Ghost Tribe, are spread across every region of this country, their tracks and legends are mostly only passed down in certain remote mountain wildernesses.

They have their own set of behavioral patterns and codes of conduct, and have even formed a strict social system with clear divisions of labor, making them more civilized than humans and other barbaric yokai.

However, because this place itself is a "secluded mountain" area, the outside world cannot know if all this is true, and only some rumors circulate outside.

But the more civilized they are, the more arrogant the Tengu become, and the less willing they are to interact with the commoners at the foot of the mountain, maintaining their own independence and noble detachment.

The traditionalist Tengu who advocate for seclusion mainly live in various famous mountains and rivers, such as Mount Atago, Mount Kurama, Mount Kōya, Mount Asama, etc... and the peak that appears before Jia Ji at this very moment—Mount Fuji—is the holy land for all Tengu!

Excuse me, to answer some doubts, let me interrupt for a moment... Isn't the highest peak in the Neon country Mount Fuji? How did it become Mount Fuji again?

—It was done by the God of Fuji, the God of Cherry Blossoms, Konohanasakuya-hime.

The mountain god of Mount Fuji is "Shi Zhangji," who is a sister goddess to "Kaguya-hime," but the bond of "sisters" is purely plastic for gods; it might have been intimate at first, but...

It wouldn't... last long...

Soon, as expected, one day the two sisters argued over the trivial matter of which mountain was higher, Mount Fuji or Mount Fuji, and proposed connecting the two mountains with bamboo and pouring water into it; as a result, the water flowed from Mount Fuji to Mount Fuji.

Kaguya-hime, who lost, was so embarrassed that she flew into a rage and struck Mount Fuji, knocking it down to an altitude lower than Mount Fuji.

"This lady seems a bit too extreme."

However, there is a reason for mentioning her at this time—the mastermind behind the postscript of The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter is Konohanasakuya-hime!

Hundreds of years ago, the Princess of the Moon, Kaguya Houraisan, who descended from the moon, left behind an elixir of immortality. At that time, the Emperor, under the influence of various factors, had to make the decision to destroy the Hourai elixir at the place closest to the moon, throwing away this hot potato...

The mean-spirited Goddess Kaguya-hime rejected the Emperor's request and, after bewitching the samurai escorting the Hourai elixir into killing each other, created an immortal Hourai person by chance at the cost of the death of an upright man.

In terms of bloodline, that Hourai person, who is currently out there somewhere slaying demons, is exactly the ancestor of Youmu several generations removed—Fujiwara no Mokou!

The complexity of it all is comparable to a grand theatrical drama.

"We're not sisters, why didn't you call me when The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter was happening!"

Jia Ji, who missed the famous scene of Kaguya and the fragile little Mokou, questioned the Spirit Sage beside him with a pained heart.

"My fault?" Ba Yun Zi pointed at her own face in disbelief, then prepared to immediately unleash the "Boundary of Waves and Particles" on this unreasonable guy, ready to cover his face with barrage.

"Wait..."

Jia Ji raised his hand to stop her with a strange expression on his face; his expression shifted as if he had sensed something.

The sound of the wind and the flow of the air became slightly discordant; although it was very faint, almost as if it had merged into the wind, it still couldn't deceive him... A flash of black flickered in the corner of his eye and vanished in an instant.

"Looks like a crow's feather?"

Ba Yun Zi asked uncertainly; the thing was so fast that even she only saw a slight afterimage.

"Wrong, it's a Crow Tengu!"

A wicked smile appeared on Jia Ji's face.

A sudden chill surged in Ba Yun Zi's heart, as if some yokai was about to be unlucky.

Standing above the tens of thousands of low-level Tengu, such as Yamabushi Tengu, White Wolf Tengu, Konoha Tengu, Sly Tengu (bushi)... and so on, are the Great Tengu.

And the Crow Tengu are the middle-to-high-level members of the tribe, below the Great Tengu and above the low-level Tengu, and their characteristic is... they are extremely good at flying!

As a legend of speed, the strong among them can break the sound barrier with a slight flap of their wings, and the one that suddenly appeared in front of them just now was even faster.

"Miss Crow Tengu in front, wait—!"

Before the word "wait" had even left his mouth, Jia Ji's figure disappeared from where he stood.

"Boom!" "Boom!"

Although Jia Ji's build was tall and muscular, making him look like a slow, short-ranged fighter, under the propulsion of the Thunder God's Feet, his speed surged to a level far exceeding the sound barrier; he shot out like a meteor, even carving a faint white trail in the air.

As the second word "wait" was uttered, Jia Ji's legs seemed to swell violently at that moment, and majestic power exploded in the air; a wild wind that seemed capable of blinding one's vision erupted from his toes with immense momentum.

Perhaps he lacked agility and could not sustain it for long, but in a full-speed short-distance dash, he would not lose to any yokai.

"—Down!!"

A hand like iron pincers broke through the wind pressure, reaching forward with five fingers curled into a claw.

Loud noises came from behind, and the subtle sensation of his fingertips touching wings was transmitted to his brain; if time were slowed down, one could clearly see a certain young lady's mouth opening bit by bit, her pupils slightly contracting, and she let out a shrill, terrified scream while gasping for air:

"Eeeeeee?! I'm going to be caught!"

(End of chapter)