Chapter 85: The Incubator of Sake Tōshi

The Void Demon Realm.

The Buddha’s hand, capable of toppling heaven and earth, never came down—not because it didn’t want to, but because…

A hand capable of dimming sun and moon, causing stars to fall and heaven and earth to sink was halted by a single figure.

It was a figure whose attire, speech, and demeanor all exuded elegance, looking nothing like a Void Demon, yet identical to a human.

But it was not truly human either—there was still a distinction.

That distinction lay in his bearing, temperament, cultivation, and aura—too noble, too elegant, utterly impossible to find any human who could compare, not even the imperial families or nobility of all nations, not across all known history.

As if he were the very embodiment of elegance itself, as if the word “elegance” had been born because of him.

And not only his aura—his appearance was unmatched, even the half-wooden mask he wore could not conceal his immortal-like beauty.

At this moment.

At this instant.

That elegant figure simply stood there, not moving a single finger, merely standing, and through the aura radiating from his body, he halted the Buddha’s hand capable of annihilating a realm.

This sight struck deep into the hearts of the Demon Lord of the Demon Temple and other great figures of the Void Demon Realm, stirring an urge to kneel and submit.

His appearance—

At this moment, heaven and earth fell utterly silent.

The sky ceased its collapse, the earth ceased its sinking.

…

Tokyo, Japan, Arakawa Ward, Higashi-Ōku.

Here too, at the moment the voice sounded, all fell silent; Director Takahashi and the others stared toward the old monk and the shattered space.

They wanted to see who had spoken.

The speaker was in the Void Demon Realm, too far away—separated by at least ten thousand li—impossible to see.

But even without seeing, they were certain: the one who stopped the world-destroying Buddha’s hand was connected to the speaker, and likely the same one who had appeared in the Yunhu incident—Cimu Tōshi!

No other reason—their voices were identical.

This “identical” meant not just tone, but the elegance, dignity, and aura embedded in the voice—utterly indistinguishable.

Then, their thoughts were confirmed by the old monk’s next words.

The old monk clasped his hands together, his gentle eyes, calm as water, gazing toward the Void Demon Realm; within them, divine light and stars seemed to swirl, as if stars were being born, capable of seeing far across the distance, perceiving the vastness.

Then, softly, he spoke.

“So it is Master Cimu.”

At his words, countless people trembled violently.

Indeed! I didn’t hear wrong—that’s Cimu Tōshi! The very same Cimu Tōshi who saved the human who wandered into the demon world during the Yunhu incident!

The next instant.

Everyone shuddered, everyone feared, feeling as if doom was imminent, as if Earth would be destroyed.

This was Cimu Tōshi—the demon who terrified the Heian era; demons like Dainyūdo were nothing compared to him. Now, Cimu Tōshi had blocked Kūkai’s palm, clearly intending to protect the demons of this realm.

One was the demon who terrified the Heian era; the other, the monk whose fame echoed through the Heian era—both were legendary, mighty beyond measure, their power immeasurable.

So if they fought…

Everyone’s scalp prickled; they wanted to slap themselves.

Damn it, why did I just think, when the Six-Eyed Demon World was collapsing, “Thank goodness the transcendent beings aren’t fighting on Earth, Earth’s so tough”? Fuck, now my stupid wish came true! I never win the lottery, but now my thoughts manifest?

“We’re done, we’re done, Earth’s going to explode,” the Prime Minister said, face on the verge of tears.

On the other side.

Outside the Higashi-Ōku lockdown line, Director Takahashi gripped Professor Nakata’s shoulder tightly, eyes blazing:

“Professor Nakata, analyze this fast! Will Cimu Tōshi and Kūkai fight? Did they have any historical grudge? Stop smoking, damn it, talk!”

Professor Nakata’s mouth twitched; he wanted to curse.

If I don’t light a cigarette, how the hell am I supposed to stay calm? What the hell do you expect me to analyze?

“Although Cimu Tōshi and Kūkai both lived in the Heian era, historical records show no interaction between them—meaning no grudge.”

But before Director Takahashi could exhale, Professor Nakata added:

“However, now that Cimu Tōshi has blocked Kūkai’s Buddha hand, clearly to save the demons, given Kūkai’s temperament….”

He didn’t finish, but Director Takahashi and the others understood perfectly.

Kūkai had a violent temper—not at all Buddha-like; if provoked, he’d kill a thousand, annihilate a realm. With such a temper, now that someone had blocked his attack and tried to save demons from his hands, Kūkai would never let it go.

“Wait, maybe it’s not like that.”

Mori Tian Takeshi suddenly spoke.

“I don’t know if it’s my imagination, but why do I feel Cimu Tōshi and Kūkai’s words toward each other lack the sense of absolute good-versus-evil? It feels… calm, peaceful, like friends, or even allies.”

Instantly, Director Takahashi, Professor Nakata, and the others froze. Earlier, they’d panicked over the fear of a fight—but now, thinking carefully, Mori Tian Takeshi was right.

Besides Mori Tian Takeshi, many viewers and netizens on the livestream and online also noticed this.

Confusion arose.

Did we misunderstand something? Are demons, shrines, and temples not as irreconcilable as we thought?

At this moment,

From within the shattered space came a cold, clear voice—Cimu Tōshi speaking.

“Kūkai, stop. You cannot destroy this realm.”

The next instant,

Under everyone’s gaze, Kūkai frowned slightly, his tone questioning.

“Master Cimu, have you also fallen to that side?”

As soon as the words left his mouth,

Director Takahashi and the others felt their bones freeze, their souls turn to ice, trembling violently, as if heaven itself were about to collide, as if two worlds were about to explode against each other.

They believed—if Cimu Tōshi answered as Kūkai suspected, this world would surely be crushed beneath their clash.

“Kūkai, you overthink. Even if I die and my Dao is erased, even if I fight until my last drop of blood is spilled, I will never take that side.”

Cimu Tōshi smiled, his demeanor elegant, always composed, as if nothing in the world could move him.

“Yet I clearly sense the aura of that side’s beings in this world’s creatures—I cannot be mistaken,” Kūkai said, hands clasped, his face solemn as a living Buddha, as if he had stepped forth from a Buddha realm.

“You are not mistaken. They do carry the aura of that side’s beings—but they are not those beings.”

As he spoke, Cimu Tōshi glanced at the Void Demons of this realm, calmly saying:

“These beings are experiments created by him to explore the mysteries of that side. Unfortunately, after a while, he abandoned further exploration, distracted by disturbances on that side, and lost interest in these test subjects within his incubator.”

Kūkai stared, astonished, at Cimu Tōshi: “You mean… this was created by Sake Tōshi?”

“Yes,” Cimu Tōshi gave a slight nod: “He originally planned to return and resume his research once matters on that side stabilized. But he got caught up in the chaos, forgot entirely—and even if he remembered, he had no desire to bother again.”

At this, the ever-elegant and calm Cimu Tōshi showed a look of exasperation.

“He’s always been like this—loves to invent new things, yet lacks patience, won’t listen. For him, the only things he ever remains patient with are women and wine.”

…