Chapter 334: Do All Otherworlds Have Manjushage?

They flew for a day and a night.

Alegu and the others were growing impatient; as divine demons, their speed could circle the Earth countless times in a day and night, yet in this bizarre realm, the journey seemed endless, with no end in sight.

Most crucially, no matter how they advanced, the scenery remained nearly identical—those unaware might think they were caught in a ghostly loop, circling endlessly.

"When will this ever end? Is this realm infinitely vast?"

One divine demon grumbled.

Another divine demon chimed in: "Could this place not be a real realm at all, but merely an illusion, designed to trap us here and keep us from reaching the end?"

"Unlikely. I've observed closely along the way—the surroundings may seem similar, but they're not identical. We can be certain we're not trapped in an endless cyclic illusion; we are truly moving forward."

The divine demon beside him rebutted.

In this endless, aimless place, the six divine demons had nothing to pass the time with but complaints or tales of the past.

"Look over there."

At that moment, the first speaker suddenly spoke, pointing ahead.

A hundred li ahead, the scenery was no longer unchanging—it had shifted.

One, two, three… before them, the hills and fields were blanketed in flowers, as if an ocean of blooms; when the wind blew, the sea of petals swayed, vivid crimson, hauntingly beautiful and magnificent, unforgettable.

The sea of flowers was not composed of many varieties—it was all one kind of red flower.

The flowers had no leaves; their petals resembled dragon claws, long and pointed, unfurling like inverted umbrellas, stained as if with blood, brilliantly red as fresh blood.

Countless crimson flowers covered the four directions.

They carried a haunting beauty that drew the eye, and an unforgettable quality that held one's gaze.

Looking at the flowers, one felt as if seeing one's own soul—somehow, these flowers seemed like whisperers, guides.

They whispered at the ear, murmuring all one had heard and spoken in life, guiding those who saw the crimson flowers toward the distant horizon.

Shhh!

In a Tokyo apartment in Arakawa Ward, watching this vast, ocean-like sea of crimson flowers through the six divine demons' eyes, Kamikawa Mitsu froze, then blurted out:

"Manjushage?"

There could be no mistake—these flowers looked exactly like Manjushage.

Others might not know Manjushage, but it had another name—Manjushage.

Too similar.

These crimson flowers were nearly identical to a flower native to the Yangtze River basin in China, known as "Wu Yi Cao" or "Dragon Claw Flower."

Many folk tales in China circulate about this flower—it is called Manjushage.

Legend says Manjushage blooms on the far shore of the Wangchuan River in the Netherworld, its color as brilliant and crimson as blood.

When a soul crosses the Wangchuan, it forgets all its past life.

Everything once known remains on the far shore.

There, it forms the dazzling flower—Manjushage.

Another legend exists.

Manjushage grows along the banks of the Wangchuan River as a guiding flower.

Its fragrance holds magic, capable of awakening the memories of the dead.

Manjushage: when it blooms, it blooms on the far shore; when it blooms, no leaves are visible; when leaves appear, no flowers are seen—flowers and leaves never meet, doomed to miss each other across lifetimes.

Legend says this flower is the only one in the Netherworld's underworld, blooming only along the Huang Quan Path, where vast fields of it grow, appearing from afar like a carpet woven of blood. Because of its fiery red color, it is called the "Path of Firelight," and it is the sole scenery and color along this long Huang Quan road.

"A river of blood-yellow, crimson flowers—could this be the Netherworld?"

Kamikawa Mitsu's deep eyes gleamed; things seemed to be unfolding in an unexpected direction, stoking his curiosity.

Facing the possibility that this was the legendary Netherworld, he felt no fear.

Instead, he felt a growing anticipation and curiosity—the system had said Earth held no transcendence, so why was this mysterious mist-shrouded world so similar to the Chinese mythological Netherworld?

Did ancient times truly have transcendence?

Or had someone from ancient China once come here, brought back word of this place, and thus gave rise to the legends of the Netherworld?

Could there be another hidden truth?

Kamikawa Mitsu pondered the crimson flowers, while Alegu and the others observed them too.

"These flowers look so much like… Manjushage."

Alegu frowned slightly, halting before the sea of flowers, choosing neither to approach nor to touch or pluck any.

In this realm full of strangeness and danger, even a single splash could kill a divine demon; now, such vividly crimson flowers appeared—who knew what danger they might hold? Caution was wise.

"Manjushage?"

The other five divine demons turned to him.

One of them, gazing at the sea of flowers, murmured:

"Huh, now that you mention it, they do resemble Manjushage—but wait, that's odd, Alegu my lord, you and I aren't from the same world."

The corpses of divine demons collected by Ashiya To and the others came from various otherworlds—either enemies they'd slain or divine demons found by chance.

These six divine demons hailed from three distinct worlds.

Alegu and the divine demon who recognized Manjushage came from different otherworlds.

Generally, different otherworlds have different environments and different divine herbs and spirit flowers; even if identical flowers existed, their names would differ due to cultural variations—yet here, they all knew this flower as Manjushage.

Even Kamikawa Mitsu was stunned.

He knew Manjushage only because of Chinese folk tales—how did Alegu and the others know it too?

"Including Earth, are there three worlds that all have Manjushage?" Kamikawa Mitsu murmured.

On the other side.

As Kamikawa Mitsu had thought, Alegu and the others also sensed the strangeness—how could flowers from different worlds share the same name? Could it be…

They looked toward a god-demon named Etu.

Alegu and two other god-demons came from one world; Hunduolun, the god-demon who recognized the Other Shore Flower, and another god-demon came from another world, while Etu came alone from a third world.

Feeling the eyes of all upon him, Etu replied with an awkward expression:

"In my Tu Ming Realm, there is also a flower called the Other Shore Flower, but I have never seen this flower—I've only heard of it. I don't know if the Other Shore Flower in my realm is the same as the Other Shore Flower you speak of."

Everyone fell silent.

There is also an Other Shore Flower?

So does that mean the three worlds where the god-demons come from all have a flower called the Other Shore Flower?

Etu continued:

"In my realm, the Other Shore Flower is said to grow at the boundary between life and death, and this flower is responsible for guiding the souls of the dead. Thus, its effect is quite useless—only used to repair shattered divine souls.

Since there are many precious medicines to mend divine souls, and no one knows where the boundary between life and death truly lies,

Very few god-demons with shattered souls go out of their way to seek the Other Shore Flower; they'd rather find other medicines to mend their souls than search for the Other Shore Flower.

It's simply too hard to find. It's easier to spend that time seeking other medicines to repair the divine soul.

The reason my realm has records of the Other Shore Flower is because, over countless ages, some people have accidentally stumbled upon the boundary between life and death and brought back the Other Shore Flower.

Precisely because so few have ever seen the Other Shore Flower, most believe it to be nothing more than legend, mere rumor."

……