Chapter 192: The Hundred-Eyed Demon's Upgrade Materials, the Might of Gods and Demons, Crushing Three-Star-Half

The midday sunlight was blazing, yet inside Yoshida Castle it was desolately quiet as night.

Like a demon realm.

A faint stench of rot drifted from nowhere through the city's streets and alleys, drilling through every seam into every resident's home.

In the marketplace that should have been bustling at this hour, almost no shops were open now — even those that were, were only two or three daily necessities stores, and the front desk staff receiving customers also had sickly complexions.

Because of the plague.

Since several days ago, since those bizarre and terrifying yokai appeared inside Yoshida Castle.

Diseases of all sizes, with unknown causes, unknown prevention, unknown treatments, and varying symptoms, began to spread with incomparable ferocity like ink dropped into clear water.

Just the common, recognizable diseases alone included pustular sores that covered the whole body in pus and brought high fever, measles that made children cough violently day and night...

And dysentery, even dropsy that should not have appeared in the city.

And it was foreseeable that after large numbers of residents died from disease, the resulting epidemics would trigger even more terrifying chain reactions.

The faint stench of rot in the city now was an omen.

Yet although the vast majority of people in the city had contracted at least one disease, the number who had actually died from illness was not high.

This was not because the diseases they contracted were not high-risk, but because Sickness and Suffering had deliberately weakened the mortality rates of these diseases.

Naturally, this was not Sickness and Suffering suddenly developing a kind heart.

Because what Sickness and Suffering sought was "sickness" and "everything born from sickness," not mass "death."

On the contrary, if people died too quickly, it would run counter to Sickness and Suffering's purpose.

Sparsely populated villages were another matter — just let the kin play as they pleased...

But once the mortality rate in a densely populated city rose to a certain level, the subsequent deaths would explode exponentially.

Ku Bak and Kaibozu had been strictly controlling the death rate these past few days, which was also the important reason they did not intervene when they occasionally saw Damo saving people.

But the residents of Yoshida Castle did not know this.

They only knew that they themselves, their families, their acquaintances, everything familiar was slowly stepping toward death.

Oppression, dead silence, despair.

Such an atmosphere likewise spread through the Matsudaira household, watched over by swarms of kin.

Aside from those samurai who had cultivated Qi circulation and barely retained a measure of health, even the direct-line nobles of the Matsudaira clan had not escaped the phenomenon of falling ill.

Under the plague, all beings were equal.

"Lord Honda... do we just sit here waiting to die, watching helplessly as Yoshida Castle and the entire Matsudaira clan march toward destruction!

If Lord Motonobu were here, he would absolutely not be willing to see this scene either!"

In a side room of the Matsudaira household, after Ku Bak and Kaibozu had gone out, a youth wearing a robe printed with the Matsudaira Clan Crest spoke hoarsely.

Opposite the youth, Honda Tadataka, cradling a boy who kept coughing with a flushed face, glanced at him indifferently,

"If you draw your sword and rush out this door now, after killing these scattered yokai, what then?"

He countered: "Go to your death?"

The youth's face twisted ferociously, wanting to retort, but he gripped his sword hilt at his waist for a long time and could not utter a single word.

Because... what Lord Honda said was the truth.

Even if he killed these hundred-odd yokai guarding the Matsudaira household, what difference would it make?

Inside and outside this city, there were still thousands upon thousands, even terrifying yokai stronger than Lord Honda.

But he was unwilling...

Boom!

Rumble—!

Just as the youth was thinking thus, a deafening bolt from the blue suddenly rang out from outside.

The youth froze slightly, and together with Honda Tadataka turned his gaze toward the wide-open window.

Thus the youth witnessed an unforgettable scene.

Above the azure sky bathed in sunlight, a vast swath of black clouds like a living thing was surging — yet in mere moments, it was annihilated, devoured by coiling, roaring lightning dragons.

That lightning was blue-violet; even separated by a distance of over a thousand meters, it stabbed his eyes with stinging pain.

Amid the furious thunder, the father of Honda Tadakatsu, who would become one of the Tokugawa clan's Four Heavenly Kings.

The man who now held the Matsudaira clan's authority and had been resisting the Imagawa clan's infiltration and erosion revealed an indescribable smile in his astonishment.

Honda Tadataka murmured,

"Such thunder... it's Toru, it's that Great Onmyoji Toru who has come."

Not only him, not only within the Matsudaira household.

At this very moment, countless people in Yoshida Castle deeply entangled by the plague all raised their heads, reflecting those coiling, roaring thunderbolts in their eyes.

The rumors and reputation that had spread widely beforehand took effect, causing most who saw this scene to subconsciously murmur,

"Toru."

"The legendary Great Onmyoji, Toru."

"Right now, only he can remove the yokai and save Yoshida Castle."

"Using all the commoners in Yoshida Castle as hostages, then having the Half-Dead Birds spread this information to that Onmyoji, will surely exert mountain-like pressure on him."

Kaibozu's face, covered in festering sores, stretched into a sinister smile,

"Even forcing the Onmyoji to surrender without a fight and beheading him effortlessly is not impossible."

Damo listened quietly to the end.

He took a step and said blandly: "This poor monk naturally will not stop the two benefactors... after all, this counts as a novelty never before seen, beneficial to this poor monk's cultivation."

"As long as the two benefactors believe it can be done and will have effect, that is enough."

Damo spoke indifferently to the two Sickness Retainers behind him.

For this kind of trivial small matter, Damo had always been indifferent.

How the people in Yoshida Castle fared, how many lived and how many died, whether the purpose of Sickness and Suffering had been achieved, what the consequences were of doing as He said...

These trivial matters, Damo never cared about.

He only cared about what he himself thought and saw.

For example, rescuing those about to be dragged into death by plague to observe changes in their flesh and spirit, or giving a meal to a pregnant woman fallen into despair and receiving gratitude.

Whether saving people, or killing people, or saving them and then killing them...

All such matters before his eyes were what Damo cared about.

Because these were all worldly trials, a part of his completing himself, his cultivation.

Next, the Scabby Monk said quite a lot more beside Damo.

The wooden, poorly dressed monk listened to it all without a word, then nodded the moment the Scabby Monk stopped speaking,

"Then we shall do as the two Benefactors say."

The Scabby Monk couldn't help revealing a vicious smile, and left after bowing to Damo.

Kufu continued following behind Damo, advancing in silence.

As he walked, he would notify the Half-Dead Birds on standby around them, then have them notify the Vision Calamity Insect swarms, and the other usable retainers to prepare.

The horde of yokai advanced slowly toward the area outside Yoshida Castle's west gate.

"Lord Imagawa, next, please remain here with Lord Whale Three and wait for a while."

Uesugi Toru likewise did not mount; he stood at the Mountain Whale King's feet and raised his head: "Because the enemy's numbers and strength are both unknown, I also have no absolute grasp on being able to protect you."

Imagawa Yoshimoto's palm resting on the sword hilt pressed down hard, yet he closed his eyes with unchanged expression and said,

"Reasonably, so it should be."

Uesugi Toru nodded: "When the time comes, please wait for me to exorcise all the yokai inside Yoshida Castle, then return to escort you, Lord Imagawa."

Finished speaking, Uesugi Toru, fully equipped, turned and walked alone toward the direction of Yoshida Castle.

"Tetsu-kun."

Uesugi Toru's footsteps paused slightly, he turned back, and saw Imagawa Yoshimoto bow deeply,

"Martial Luck."

He did not reply, only set off with Kaga Kiyomitsu at his waist.

Ten-odd minutes later.

Uesugi Toru, already having reached the broad open ground before Yoshida Castle, raised his head soundlessly and saw the Half-Dead Bird swarms continuously surging out from within the castle.

Ghastly pale and black feathers intertwined, transforming into a spiral rising to the Sky before rapidly dispersing.

It seems they probably learned a lesson from the large batch that was wiped out by the Thunder just now.

Uesugi Toru twitched his nose tip, smelling the dense despair emotion and rotten stench transmitting from within the castle.

Wait, despair emotion...?

Uesugi Toru froze slightly — so the "Qi" in Spirit Control Technique also contains this?

Before he could think further, the rather crude castle gate of Yoshida Castle actually swung wide open right before his eyes.

The Sickness Retainers actively opened the gate; this was somewhat beyond his expectations.

The next moment, dense swarms of insects with crimson compound eyes, each the size of an infant's fist, surged out like a tide.

Yet this not only failed to frighten Uesugi Toru, it instead made his eyes brighten.

Because these Sickness Retainers with a pair of huge compound eyes, probably called "Vision Calamity Insects," should be one of the materials marked on the Hundred-Eyed Demon's "map"!

Unexpectedly, these Vision Calamity Insects would actually actively run to his front.

This truly is, obtained without the slightest effort!

As for the Vision Calamity Insects' ability, it is irrelevant — they merely interfere with a person's mind, thereby distorting the target's visual cognition.

But how powerful is Uesugi Toru's mind?

Not only does he have Technique · Zan Shin's protection, granting immunity to the vast majority of control and charm effects, he has even reached the Clear Mirror Still Water realm, and is about to forge his own Xin Zhi Chen.

At such a realm, how could these tiny insects possibly affect him?

Because Uesugi Toru placed all his gaze on the Vision Calamity Insect swarm, he didn't even notice Kufu and the Scabby Monk slowly stepping out from the castle gate.

Only after the retainers scattered like a tide, clearing a broad avenue in the middle, did Uesugi Toru shift his gaze again.

Among the dense small prompts, three large prompts were particularly conspicuous.

——【Kufu (Three-Star)】.

——【Scabby Monk (Three-Star Half)】.

——【Wooden Fish Damo (Two-Star Half)】.

Among them, Kufu's color was slightly deeper compared to Karma Disease Old Man, but only by a hair; the Three-Star Half Scabby Monk's name was tinged with a fresh red luster, the most dangerous prompt he had seen since coming to the Sengoku Period.

Last was...

Uesugi Toru narrowed his eyes in puzzlement, gazing at the monk walking in the very center of all the retainers, his complexion ruthless as wood.

Wooden Fish Damo what the heck?

Isn't this a Buddhist tsukumogami?

It seems this Wooden Fish Damo hasn't been mentally controlled either — and a mere Two-Star Half has no need to be controlled.

So why is he mixed together with these Sickness Retainers?

Also, the color of the two characters "Wooden Fish" in "Wooden Fish Damo" has already become very pale, as if about to disappear at any moment.

These subtle small abnormalities tugged at Uesugi Toru's mind.

But he discarded those extraneous thoughts the very next moment.

Because now that things had come to this, none of it mattered anymore, right?

Since he was already staying with the Sickness Retainer, and since he had become an enemy yokai, there was really no need to say anything more, right?

Slay, exorcise, annihilate—no matter what words were used, it made no difference; in short, just turn this bunch of ghostly things into Soul Ash.

Uesugi Toru looked around ahead.

Half-dead birds, Calamity Worms, miasma ghosts, rotten scholars, translucent, bloated things filled with turbid pus inside their bodies, and even more unrecognizable stray retainers.

With so many of them, I'm afraid maintaining the Four-Tailed Fox Incarnation state would no longer be easy to deal with.

Because over that bolt of thunder just now, Uesugi Toru had already expended too much Spirit Power.

Even now, while maintaining the Four-Tailed Fox Incarnation, he could only release some ineffective thunder.

Thinking thus, Uesugi Toru reached his hand toward the White Hannya Mask that had been swaying at his waist for a long, long time, fierce and hideous.

"Ga——! Great Onmyoji Tooru, listen——!"

Above the Sky, the hoarse cry of the Half-dead Bird made his movement pause slightly.

Uesugi Toru heard hundreds and thousands of Half-dead Birds speaking in unison to him: "The people within this city, within Yoshida Castle, have all been sown with the seeds of plague!"

He was at first confused, but as the next words from the flock of Half-dead Birds were spoken, Uesugi Toru showed a look of sudden realization.

"If you insist on resisting, the seeds of plague will all erupt!"

By then, even if you slaughter us all to the last, you can only harvest a dead city!"

"But if you surrender right now, we will withdraw from Yoshida Castle within ten days, leaving you a glimmer of life!"

The Half-dead Birds kept repeating those words, transmitting them into the city, into every resident's home, into the ears of every person still awake.

Countless scarlet gazes fell upon him, as if waiting for his decision, yet as if people's scrutiny brought an invisible heavy pressure.

In the midst of the Half-dead Birds' repetition, Damo was about to say something, when he saw Uesugi Toru a hundred meters away remove his white robe, then take a Hannya Mask from his waist.

Then, slowly covering it over his handsome face.

Crack.

The mask was fastened on.

Transformation—Yokai Avatar: White Hannya!

In an instant, a cold, solemn, mysterious aura emanated from that Onmyoji Tooru, making Damo shiver all over.

Above the Sky, the words repeated by the Half-dead Birds jammed.

Instead, those Half-dead Birds began to subconsciously move their gazes away, yet because of the command, they did not actually move their gazes back—a conflict of orders.

The Calamity Worm swarm also began to stir restlessly, some even launching abilities at Uesugi Toru, then dying alone from backlash.

"Ghost God…"

Kusan spoke slowly, a flicker of shock appearing in his turbid pupils beneath the yellow-white cloth strips.

His voice trembled slightly: "I once traveled the four seas with Your Excellency, but only on a Ghost God did I see such an aura."

Kai Buddha Beads also felt this aura, but he forced himself to speak disdainfully: "Merely a human, how could he be compared to the mysterious and unfathomable Ghost God?"

"In my opinion, he's just wearing a tiger's skin," Kai Buddha Beads sneered, "an Onmyoji's little trick—you and I have seen such things before."

At this moment, Kusan said faintly: "But what if he isn't?"

"The Spirit Qi between Heaven and Earth is inherently extremely thin, and Onmyoji among humans are merely playing tricks… I have never before heard of the rise of a Great Onmyoji who can control thunder."

This Great Onmyoji seems to have grown out of the ground—isn't that strange?"

Only after Kusan finished speaking did Kai Buddha Beads once again face the White Hannya, whose countenance was stern and cold and who had already drawn the Pale Blade at his waist.

"You mean, that Great Onmyoji Tooru is a Ghost God disguised as a human?"

Under the cover of this aura, Kusan felt his body stiffen considerably: "Perhaps he has lived for over a hundred years."

"But if Tooru is a Ghost God, why would he assist that human named Imagawa Yoshimoto?"

By this point, even the strongest Kai Buddha Beads couldn't help but feel cold feet in his heart.

Ghost God.

That was a terrifying existence even the esteemed Your Excellency would give some face to.

Kusan shook his head: "The thoughts of a Ghost God—how could we possibly guess them?"

"Alright, two Benefactors."

Damo spoke lightly.

"The enemy hasn't attacked yet, you've only changed your attire, and already the two of you are trembling with fear like this?"

He calmly stared at the White Hannya who said nothing, only raising his blade toward them,

"Benefactor Sickness and Suffering ordered the two of you to take Yoshida Castle, and Tooru wants to retake Yoshida Castle, so it's a fight to the death, isn't it?"

"That is so…"

"Then why still discuss and hesitate?" Damo was confused, "Would Tooru show mercy just because of your hesitation and fear?"

"Master Damo, you haven't seen a Ghost God, you don't understand…"

Kusan saw the Pale Domain constantly expanding, now nearly spreading to their feet.

Damo slowly said: "This poor monk only knows that if the two Benefactors face battle with such a mindset, the outcome needs no further words."

"Enough!"

Kusan's whole body trembled violently, and he stepped into Kaga Kiyomitsu's Separation Sorrow Domain.

Amidst intense burning sounds, Kusan said hoarsely: "Kai Buddha Beads, Master, let me go up and negotiate first before…"

"No, no need."

Uesugi Toru's bland voice sounded.

The roar of lightning and the howl of wind followed, turning a large number of Calamity Worms not far away into powder.

A pale blade light emerged from upper right to lower left across his extraordinarily tough and resilient flesh, cleaving his remaining words and body in two.

Fierce qi, pale color, formless fire, and indigo lightning spread rapidly from the wound together, devouring Kuibaku who had not finished speaking.

Tennen Rishin-ryu, Second Stage!

Uesugi Toru, who had not expected the first kill to come so easily, frowned in confusion.

He had thought this was a trap.

Because how could a yokai, after clearly noticing the Separation Sorrow Domain, still lift its foot and step into it?

He couldn't figure it out.

But a dead yokai is a good yokai.

Uesugi Toru was about to retreat to avoid being encircled, only to discover in astonishment that his physique had suddenly risen by a great amount!

Probably by as much as one-fourth!

Did White of Fear actually take effect?

And with such good results?

Uesugi Toru was now truly bewildered.

Although this group of Sickness Retainers were numerous and did possess spiritual wisdom, they were many in number, and there was even a Three-Star Half Tenraku leading them, so what reason was there to fear?

"Forget it, it's all a good thing."

White Hannya grinned happily, raising Kaga Kiyomitsu, equally excited and trembling, toward the Tenraku within arm's reach: "What, not attacking?"

Damn, damn it...

To reduce a Kuibaku with extremely vigorous vitality to nothingness in an instant—could it truly be a genuine Ghost God?

The Tenraku's complexion was hideous, but his heart was already filled with the desire to retreat.

Not to mention him alone, even counting all the retainers in the city probably wouldn't be enough to fight... wait, aren't there still so many hostages in the city?

So the Tenraku suppressed some fear and said with a grim complexion: "Toru, if you strike again, all the residents in the city will be planted with the seeds of plague, and if planted..."

Uesugi Toru nodded without thinking: "Oh, then let them all die."

The Tenraku's complexion froze.

Unbelievable.

"If I kneel and surrender, will you spare Yoshida Castle?"

"In this world, is there any reason not to eat meat delivered to your mouth?"

White Hannya revealed a mocking smile: "Anyway, everyone in the city is bound to die, so why shouldn't I choose to take revenge for them, to comfort the spirits underground?"

Gang Qi circulation suddenly expanded, knocking aside the half-dead bird attempting to obscure his vision and the sky full of pus together.

Feeling the slight ripple on the lake surface within his heart, Uesugi Toru extended his five fingers.

Azure lightning burst forth like thousands of threads, bypassing the Tenraku and racing toward the swarm of insects.

At this moment, Hundred-Eyed Demon's urgent prompt popped up, and was quickly discarded and hidden by Uesugi Toru.

"So you are also a yokai of the powerful physique type."

Uesugi Toru saw the Tenraku exchange an iron pestle from nothingness, and said with a light laugh,

"Then it's easy..."

"Toru! Don't think I'll fear you just because you're similar to a Ghost God!"

The Tenraku roared in anger, stomping the ground beneath his feet to create cracks spreading tens of meters, transforming into several phantoms and charging up.

Uesugi Toru stood motionless in place, slightly turning his body, only letting the iron pestle deeply cut the surface of his skin, further enhancing his physique.

"Your qi is chaotic, very obvious."

His wrist turned, and amidst Kaga Kiyomitsu's joyful shriek, the blade deeply pierced into the Tenraku's back as hard as refined steel.

Tennen Rishin-ryu, Tenraku!

Fourfold residual wave damage burst forth instantly at the wound, causing the Tenraku to groan.

But that was all.

He instantly reacted, roaring to the sky: "Damn it! You're not a Ghost God at all! Not at all!"

"I never said I was any Ghost God..."

Uesugi Toru raised his brow, and the Separation Sorrow Domain accumulated for a long time surged like a tide, enveloping the Tenraku.

Boom!

The solid iron pestle, its surface layer corroded, smashed through the pale wave, revealing the Tenraku's pair of scarlet angry eyes.

"Damn it... damn it damn it damn it damn it!"

Accompanied by the Tenraku's continuous angry muttering, the iron pestle like an iron-colored missile slammed toward Uesugi Toru.

The force of this strike was so great and heavy that it had already produced a pure white qi wave in the air!

If it hit, not to mention Gang Qi circulation, even Uesugi Toru himself would probably be directly splattered into a large area.

But the Uesugi Toru remaining in place was merely a lifelike phantom.

The three straight blade lights slashed by Kaga Kiyomitsu merged into one midway, piercing through the Tenraku's most resilient chest.

"I already said, your qi is too chaotic."

Uesugi Toru's indifferent voice came.

The Evil Ghost's pupils were as cold as his complexion,

"I thought this would be a desperate fight to the end, what a pity."

What a pity, this rare whetstone had too many unnecessary emotions mixed into the fight, making it not as good as a stubborn stone.

The Tenraku, whose body had been ravaged into a mass of minced flesh, turned around with difficulty, his face twitching as he let out a final roar, and swung the iron pestle with all his strength once more.

Bang!

The protective Qi circulating around Uesugi Toru's body shattered with a boom under this horrifying immense force, and even the lower half of the Mask along with half his face exploded into blood mist, dispersing into the air.

Pain unbearable to ordinary people continued to torment Uesugi Toru's consciousness along his nerves.

But it ends here.

Uesugi Toru, who had long calculated the distance, only expressionlessly extracted the Sword Blade after receiving Kaga Kiyomitsu's confirming hum in his Heartstring.

【You killed, Sickness Retainer · Ku Bakku (Three-Star), gained Soul Ash 552 points!】

【You killed, Sickness Retainer · Kaji Bozu (Three-Star Half), gained Soul Ash 711 points!】

【You used Kaga Kiyomitsu: Blade of Parting to slay Ku Bakku, Kaji Bozu, Kaga Kiyomitsu's quality Medium Increase!】

【Your Skill, Five Thunder Method: Kiai Proficiency +194!】

【Your Skill, Tennen Rishin-ryu Proficiency +84!】

He didn't even spare a glance at the heavily fallen Kaji Bozu, merely shifting his gaze, covered by a faint Blood Color.

He directed it at that Wooden Fish Damo who had stood in place watching all this until now, also not revealing a shred of superfluous Emotion, as if a lofty, uninvolved observer.

Even the surrounding Sickness Retainers began to flee and scatter, yet this Damo still didn't move an inch.

He's even only Two-Star Half.

Uesugi Toru could solve him with One Slash.

While using Five Thunder Technique to chase down the surrounding Sickness Retainers, Uesugi Toru indifferently asked: "Damo, not running?"

"Why run?"

Damo, who had just been standing amid the protection of the crowd of Yokai, was now alone; he pressed his Hand Palms together in Prayer: "Could it be that if this poor monk moves his legs and runs, he could outrun Benefactor Toru?"

The wooden monk's Gaze calmly fixed on Uesugi Toru, without a trace of fear.

No Matter whether toward Prajna, or toward death.

"One sip one peck, one Birth one death, one movement one stillness, all are Cultivation, all are destiny."

Damo spoke with some Curiosity:

"Besides, this death, how is it not a kind of brand new Cultivation?"

This Yokai is truly a bit Strange...

If he swings his blade and slashes down now, won't a Hidden Boss slash out?

Uesugi Toru felt the violent surging and tranquil flowing Thunder within his body, almost about to burst out, and grinned:

"Never mind, Hidden Boss or not."

Uesugi Toru took a deep breath, gathered his Jing Shen, and adjusted his state to the optimal.

Then, he assumed the Three-Stage Thrust Stance before Damo who still calmly watched him,

—A lion hunting a rabbit also uses full strength, let alone facing this unknown Yokai with Sufficient confidence.

In the space of a breath, Kaga Kiyomitsu merged as one with the sunlight descending from the nine heavens, flowing toward Damo!

Clang!

The envisioned slaying was not completed.

Instead, an incomparably smooth Wooden Fish flew out from Damo's Robe, perfectly blocking the Sword Blade's path forward, taking this strike head-on in his stead.

"No."

An ancient resonant voice surged out from the cracks of the shattered Wooden Fish, growing louder.

That Wooden Fish trembled violently, emitting a rumbling sound enough to shake an ordinary man until blood flows from seven orifices,

"Damo — for the sake of this Teacher, for the sake of the Yokai Guidance Association, you must escape!"

(End of Chapter)