Chapter 201: Xin Guan Xi Fa · [Gui Yuan], Iron Bones Cultivated

The girl's pale palms held a large mass of flesh.

The surface of this mass of flesh was crimson and pitted, uneven as if many pieces of meat had been forcibly fused together.

It writhed constantly before Uesugi Toru's eyes, exuding an inexplicably appetizing crimson juice.

In contrast to this somewhat bizarre appearance was the panel that made Uesugi Toru involuntarily swallow his saliva—

【Aggregated Blood and Flesh Essence (Extremely Active)】

【Quality: Epic】

【Effect: After consumption, greatly enhances the cultivation effect of the "Palace of Flesh".】

【—As the name suggests, the blood and flesh essence of yokai forcibly aggregated by special means.】

【Note 1: Please consume it as soon as possible; this blood and flesh essence will completely lose activity after ten minutes.】

【Note 2: After consuming this blood and flesh essence, similar blood and flesh essences will become ineffective for you from now on.】

From the introduction, the origin of this mass of flesh was already obvious.

It was the "Ten Complete Great Tonic Pill" that Minamoto Shizumi had kneaded out of that mountain of yokai corpses just now.

But how did she do it?

Uesugi Toru recalled and found that Minamoto Shizumi had simply reached out a hand to complete this feat that could be called difficult.

And there was not the slightest fluctuation of spirit power.

That is to say, this was achieved by the other party using a breathing technique or some other unknown means...

Minamoto Shizumi raised her eyes slightly, and after seeing the doubt flash in Uesugi Toru's eyes, she tilted her head strangely.

"You actually don't know?"

—Uesugi Toru, so you didn't know this is the power of the Xin Guan Xi Fa she cultivates.

—But even if you don't know now, you will know sooner or later.

Since that's the case, it's better to say it now.

She thought for a moment, pointing at the mass of flesh as she explained: "It is kneaded by me using one of the Xin Guan Xi Fa I cultivate, 【Gui Yuan】."

"As for the specific method, it's very simple..."

Minamoto Shizumi gestured slightly twice.

According to what she said, it's like this first, then like that, and thus one can use the power of Gui Yuan to knead so many corpses into this mass of essence.

Uesugi Toru completely didn't understand but felt it was awesome.

But to this day, Uesugi Toru finally learned what one of the four quarters of the Xin Guan Xi Fa is called, though it was told to him by his future rival.

Although he still didn't understand what characteristics one of the Four Extremities, 【Gui Yuan Breathing Technique】, has, nor what fundamental difference it has from ordinary breathing techniques like Solar Corona.

But one thing can be certain.

—That sword light just now should also have been slashed out by Minamoto Shizumi activating one of the Four Extremities, 【Gui Yuan Breathing Technique】.

One sword, and it completely wiped out a powerful yokai comparable to a great Dharma Master.

The consumption didn't seem to be much.

Uesugi Toru clicked his tongue in his heart: "Terrifying..."

Such a person would actually be his opponent standing right across from him on the stage in the future.

Fortunately, the Seed War wouldn't officially begin until next month, or even dozens of days later.

Otherwise, if they started fighting now, he would have no chance of defeating her at all.

Facing Minamoto Shizumi before him, even if he transformed into a four-tailed fox and activated "Anger" at the first moment, he couldn't be sure he would definitely win.

Not to mention that the Seed War should have a group of big shots including Nanjo Sister watching, and he absolutely couldn't transform into a yokai.

This was not an emotional thought produced after seeing that sword just now, but a very rational and precise analysis.

Minamoto Shizumi was just very strong.

This was a fact that must be admitted.

The power of the Xin Guan Xi Fa could also be seen from these two "small matters".

As expected, its reputation was well-deserved.

Uesugi Toru blinked, breaking his train of thought, tightened his five fingers, and grasped this scorching blood and flesh essence.

"This mass of flesh, I'll take it."

Minamoto Shizumi lightly tapped her chin: "This item is a gift of compensation to you, Uesugi-kun; if you don't take it, I'd be troubled."

Just as he grasped the blood and flesh essence, Uesugi Toru could through Spirit Control Technique extremely clearly feel the extremely tyrannical vitality forcibly compressed in this small space within it.

Seeing him grasp the blood and flesh essence, the corners of Minamoto Shizumi's lips couldn't help but curve into a smile.

She exhaled a breath of relief, feeling that a deep polishing mark had once again been added to the surface of her Heart Embryo.

The eighty-first refinement... completed.

—It's really important to have a clear mind.

"Then, Uesugi-kun, you consume this blood and flesh essence, sit down here and begin cultivation." Minamoto Shizumi pressed out a section of deep blue sword blade with her thumb, "I will protect the Dharma for you here."

She said: "I won't let you be affected in the slightest."

Hearing this, Uesugi Toru lowered his head to look at the mass of flesh in his hand.

Consume within ten minutes.

Minamoto Shizumi, as its creator, naturally knew that the faster it was consumed, the better the effect.

But Uesugi Toru always felt that Minamoto Shizumi's purpose wasn't that simple.

—Actually, Minamoto Shizumi had long heard that after cultivating the breathing technique to the Palace of Flesh Stage, the qi and blood on one's body would be extremely powerful.

If cultivation began, the qi and blood usually hidden would surge forth and be difficult to conceal.

Her idea was actually really simple.

She simply wanted to use "Uesugi Toru during cultivation" as bait to lure out the yokai in the surrounding mountains and forests for her to sharpen her blade.

That was all.

——Uesugi Toru pondered for a moment, then sat down.

Since she had said so, he could not well refuse.

Anyway, there was still about an hour before the safety line of returning to the Sengoku Period, so cultivating for a while would do no harm.

Still, he had to add one more layer of insurance.

After setting a forty-minute alarm in his body with Spirit Control Technique, Uesugi Toru threw this blazing blood essence into his mouth and swallowed it straight down.

Naturally, he did not forget to use a portion of Soul Incense Ash (Small).

The next instant, that fragile membrane wrapped in vast vitality was instantly decomposed by the quietly circulating Corona Breathing Technique and Spirit Control Technique.

Boom!

Uesugi Toru felt only that a bomb loaded with qi and blood had exploded violently within his body.

Causing his thoughts, which had been forcibly calmed by Soul Incense Ash, to gradually heat up and become scalding.

If this torrent of qi and blood were allowed to rampage within his body, the consequences would probably not be good.

Uesugi Toru took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and drove the Corona Breathing Technique to the extreme.

Bone Forging, begin!

Instantly, a deafening crackling sound transmitted from within Uesugi Toru's flesh.

Equivalent pain and change arrived together!

Following that, the qi and blood that dispersed shot straight toward the clouds like a dragon.

"Quite well trained……"

Minamoto Shizumi withdrew her gaze with satisfaction, shifting her faint gaze onto those greedy gazes emerging from the viscous darkness.

She tapped the Yamato at her waist, which likewise radiated a thirst for blood, and curled her lips coldly like an Evil Ghost,

……

The thirty-eighth minute.

The rumbling sounds of Bone Forging within Uesugi Toru's body gradually faded, returning to silence.

That straight pillar of qi and blood was also gathered back into his body from above the sky without a single difference by Spirit Control Technique.

He slowly opened his eyes, a trace of unexpected astonishment flickering in his eyes: "The entire Iron Bone stage was actually completed within a single cultivation session."

Was it because the effect of this blood essence was truly too good, or because……

【Because you consumed "Aggregative Blood Essence (Highly Active)", and used Spirit Control Technique·Qi to perfectly absorb its effects, then after difficult Bone Forging……】

Indeed, it was the effect of Spirit Control Technique.

Uesugi Toru silently said to himself.

If it were before Spirit Control Technique had the suffix "Qi", even if he consumed this essence, the effect would absolutely not be as powerful as now.

This Spirit Control Technique……although it had no direct help in combat, in terms of assistance it was simply terrifyingly powerful.

Whether it was Spirit Power cultivation, or his current greatly improved control over all "Qi".

【Finally, your skill, Corona Breathing Technique proficiency +497!】

【You completed Flesh Palace Cultivation · Iron Bone Stage in one go!】

【Your bone strength slightly increased!】

【Your qi and blood strength increased!】

【Your Physique +2!】

【Corona Breathing Technique (Jade Bone 0/400)】

【Effect: Cultivate to Perfection, bones like jade marrow.】

【——Wood, Iron, Jade. Then……after this?】

"The strength of Iron Bone is not just a little better than Hard Bone."

Uesugi Toru lightly tapped his joints, feeling those blocks of bone that firmly supported the muscle texture, like immovable steel tendons.

The help that further increased bone strength gave to the whole body could not be reflected by the simple Physique attribute.

He slightly twisted his joints, and squeezed out crackling sounds far exceeding those of the past.

Minamoto Shizumi, who had just swung the final slash, turned back, her eyes widening slightly.

This Uesugi Toru actually broke through a small bottleneck all at once thanks to this.

Covered in blood of all kinds, her white clothes no longer white, she praised: "Your talent is surprisingly good."

Uesugi Toru's eye twitched.

——Just how many yokai had he attracted in the end?

"Average."

Uesugi Toru shook his head, but the other party rarely did not think he was being modest, instead nodding in agreement.

Because, as the fourth daughter of the Minamoto Clan, Minamoto Shizumi, who had stayed in the Minamoto Clan since childhood, had seen too many geniuses.

Just among peers, there were many who could compare with Uesugi Toru before her eyes, and not a few who surpassed him and left him far behind.

After scanning the surroundings and finding no fish that slipped through the net, Minamoto Shizumi, with her face covered in blood, nodded at him,

"Then, let us part here."

She sheathed her demon blade, and the inexplicable pressure on Uesugi Toru's shoulder lightened a bit.

"When we meet next time, we might be enemies." Minamoto Shizumi's gaze was deep, carrying two or three parts of anticipation, "Uesugi-kun, I very much look forward to you standing opposite me."

Uesugi Toru nodded to her: "Goodbye, Miss Minamoto."

Minamoto Shizumi did not turn her head, did not gather power, and did not take a step.

Instead, it simply vanished without any warning, as cleanly and decisively as an illusory dream-bubble disappearing from Uesugi Toru's eyes.

If a metaphor were needed, it was like a character on a layer being suddenly erased by an artist with a giant eraser.

Uesugi Toru was slightly stunned, and immediately searched within his perception field for Minamoto Shizumi's aura.

But there was nothing.

In that brief moment just now, Minamoto Shizumi had actually left his perception field, which encompassed several hundred meters around him?

Yet scanning the skies all around, there was not a single trace of air waves left behind by supersonic speed.

This was truly coming and going without a trace.

"The Return to the Abyss Breathing Technique..."

Uesugi Toru, who completely failed to understand the underlying principle, squinted his eyes and murmured softly.

Minamoto Shizumi's appearance once again proved that the "Three-Star Half" rank was an incomparably vast great river.

Within the great river, there were land-ducks who had just stepped in from the shore; there were also river-crossing dragons who had plunged thousands of li into the water and could traverse thousands of meters in a single breath.

And if he wasn't mistaken, the Return to the Abyss Breathing Technique that Minamoto Shizumi cultivated seemed to still be at the Sea of Qi stage.

Because there were no traces of Muscle Forging at all on her membrane.

"These heroes of the Tenka are truly a delight."

Uesugi Toru couldn't help but sigh.

Next, he took out the History Key and held it in his hand, injecting Spirit Power into it.

Everything was ready.

It was time to return to the Sengoku Period.

Above West Mikawa, inside the one-way transparent Floating Square Block.

Noon.

Because of the existence of the half-dead bird that could fly, Adult Ni-shaku consumed a large amount of life points, transforming the originally single-sided Floating Board into a floating six-sided cube.

This way, even if a half-dead bird appeared outside their field of vision, it usually could not discover the existence of the Floating Square Block.

At this moment, Adult Ni-shaku maneuvered the Floating Square Block flying at a thousand meters high to stop, and asked Imagawa Yoshimoto, whose leg edges for some reason were trembling slightly,

"Lord Imagawa, where should we go first to investigate the specific situation?"

—This is also a bit too high.

Imagawa Yoshimoto felt an inexplicable dizziness just by lowering her head to look down, and her legs suddenly went slightly weak because of it.

She didn't know why she felt this way.

It was she herself who had ordered Ni-shaku to rise to this height, so that she could better observe the terrain.

And she herself could still see clearly.

This should have been a good thing.

Imagawa Yoshimoto secretly took several deep breaths, wanting her disobedient body to adapt quickly.

But it was only when Adult Ni-shaku repeated for the third time that she heard the latter's words clearly.

Imagawa Yoshimoto clenched her fists, closed her eyes to think, and then gave an answer,

"Isshiki Town."

After closing her eyes, her thoughts suddenly became clear,

"—That place is a key point for water transport, so there are many and varied people coming and going; going there will be convenient no matter what one wants to do.

Moreover, this should be the city/town in West Mikawa hardest for yokai to invade; if this place falls, there is no need to look at other places."

Imagawa Yoshimoto said in a steady tone: "The intelligence given by Hanzō also says that Isshiki Town has the fewest yokai, but whether there have been changes until now still needs to be confirmed with our own eyes."

"The more critical the moment, the less one can be careless." She stared seriously at Adult Ni-shaku, "At key nodes, even the slightest oversight could lead to irreparable failure."

"I stand corrected."

Adult Ni-shaku, who had originally been paying attention to the Heartstring, straightened her expression and nodded heavily.

"So, Ni-shaku."

Adult Ni-shaku suddenly heard Imagawa Yoshimoto switch to an indifferent tone, and without giving a reason, said,

"Can we lower the altitude a bit first?"

The puzzled Adult Ni-shaku had not yet answered when she suddenly felt the originally ethereal and illusory Heartstring connection become extremely clear!

Standing inside the Floating Square Block, Uesugi Toru looked around with slight novelty.

Then, he looked at Imagawa Yoshimoto, who even in this uninhabited high sky still maintained a formal upright seated posture.

Sitting like that while wearing Gusoku must be very uncomfortable, right?

Uesugi Toru reached out and patted Imagawa Yoshimoto's shoulder; she was lowering her head, not knowing what she was looking at: "Lord Imagawa, I..."

"Mmh!"

From the intense trembling sensation transmitted from his fingertips, Uesugi Toru could clearly feel that Imagawa Yoshimoto had been given a great fright by his action.

Huh?

Strange, wasn't my appearance obvious enough?

He clearly hadn't concealed his aura; with Imagawa Yoshimoto's attainment in the Breathing Technique, she should have discovered him immediately.

Only after several seconds, when Imagawa Yoshimoto had calmed her breathing, did she turn her head as if nothing had happened and ask in doubt,

"Tetsu-kun, how did you appear?"

"Through contact with the Shikigami, that is, Ni-shaku..."

Uesugi Toru raised his hand and smiled embarrassedly: "I suddenly moved my hands and feet just now and startled Lord Imagawa, sorry."

"It's nothing, a small matter."

Imagawa Yoshimoto had just finished shaking her head and was about to point her finger downward when she saw Uesugi Toru take out her great bow — taller than a person — and hand it over.

Then he took the quiver and a large bundle of arrows that Uesugi Toru had "enchanted" and handed those over as well.

This interruption thoroughly robbed Imagawa Yoshimoto of any chance to propose lowering their altitude.

She silently accepted the great bow, and then she and Uesugi Toru began briefing each other on the current situation.

Five minutes later.

Uesugi Toru nodded in agreement: "Then let's go observe the situation in Isshiki Town first."

Adult Haku immediately drove the floating square block, and half an hour later the block arrived in the sky about three ri from Isshiki Town.

Only Imagawa Yoshimoto's pair of eyes could see clearly at this distance, and it was likewise a range those half-dead birds would not focus on.

Imagawa Yoshimoto narrowed her eyes, her long narrow eyelashes trembling slightly.

A full several minutes passed before she spoke:

"Isshiki Town... at least on the surface, there is no difference from what Hanzō said."

"No corpses strewn outside, normal trade continues, the streets are not lacking in people — the situation is far better than at Yoshida Castle."

Uesugi Toru listened silently, looking at Isshiki Town on the panel map which likewise showed many red dots.

Inside Isshiki Town, there are quite a few Vision Robber Insects.

In other words, the Sickness Retainers inside the city are not few.

More importantly, this place is less than ten kilometers from Nishio Castle where the Sickness resides.

At this distance, the Sickness need only wave its hand to easily turn this place into a purgatory.

So how could the situation inside this city be this good?

Strange, far too strange.

Uesugi Toru not only did not lower his guard, but in his heart he was determined to figure out this bizarre phenomenon today before he could set his mind at ease and go to Nishio Castle.

So he immediately said: "I'll go down into Isshiki Town to investigate on the ground first; Lord Imagawa and Haku will stay in the block for now."

"Because I need someone with a God's-eye view... hmm, someone who can oversee the whole picture and warn me."

Uesugi Toru looked at Imagawa Yoshimoto, whose expression underwent several subtle shifts following his words.

He then took from his storage backpack a yellow talisman paper flashing with spiritual light and handed it to her,

"Lord Imagawa, this is a 【Transmission Talisman】; stick it on your hand and we can speak at a distance."

The Transmission Talisman is a minor Onmyo Jutsu Formula that even a half-star Onmyoji apprentice can easily learn — not very practical.

Because the transmission formula is easily interfered with by fluctuations of spirit qi in heaven and earth, causing frequent disconnections at critical moments and leading to major accidents.

To the point that this thing is not even as reliable as an ordinary police radio.

But in the Sengoku Period, spirit qi in heaven and earth is pitifully scarce, so the Transmission Talisman is very useful right now.

Onmyo Jutsu Formulas must also be used according to local conditions.

Although maintaining the Transmission Talisman's effect requires continuously consuming Uesugi Toru's internal spirit power, to the current him that is merely a drop in the bucket.

Imagawa Yoshimoto tried slightly and mastered it at once.

She raised her hand, placed the yellow paper near her mouth, and lowered her voice: "Can you hear me, Tetsu-kun?"

"Very clearly."

Uesugi Toru's spoken words were as fine as a mosquito's hum, yet they let Imagawa Yoshimoto, who also had a Transmission Talisman stuck on, hear crystal clear.

The head of the Imagawa Clan instantly widened her eyes, staring at the not-large-not-small yellow talisman in her palm.

Her beautiful eyes shone with wonder; she had already thought of how much this little thing could improve the efficiency of army intelligence transmission.

Imagawa Yoshimoto held her breath: "Tetsu-kun..."

Uesugi Toru, just preparing to leap down into the refugee column on the ground, looked back; seeing the girl's expression, he understood what she was thinking.

He shook his head with some regret: "After heaven and earth revive, it will almost completely lose its effect."

Finished speaking, without looking at Imagawa Yoshimoto's stunned look, Uesugi Toru leapt down from this kilometer-high sky.

His falling speed was very fast, yet he made no sound that ordinary people could detect.

Because air, too, naturally counts as a kind of qi.

A few seconds later, at the tail of the refugee column numbering over a hundred people, there appeared an additional young man of ordinary height, ordinary looks, ordinary clothing — utterly unremarkable among the hundred, attracting no attention at all.

Another nearly half hour passed before Uesugi Toru, following the column, reached the city gate of Isshiki Town.

He glanced at the monk-soldiers on both sides with their silent expressions, and couldn't help feeling strange in his heart.

The Pure Land True Sect holds great power in West Mikawa; seizing authority while they're at it is one thing... but why are these two monk-soldiers completely unmoved by this hundred-person column?

Don't they fear these hundred people might carry some fatal disease, or that there might be dangerous elements among them?

— The Pure Land True Sect colludes with yokai.

The words Hanzō wrote in the intelligence surfaced in Uesugi Toru's mind.

It seems the credibility of those words is also very high.

At this moment, he heard someone in the refugee column exclaim in surprise:

"No one's stopping us? They're not stopping us? Hahaha! I thought I'd be refused at the gate and starve to death!"

Another refugee rasped: "I said long ago, the Pure Land True Sect treats everyone equally."

Yet another added dryly: "And there's a Master here who can dispel disease... this is my last hope."

"And there are Teachers here who can dispel Disease..." another Single Person added in a shriveled voice. "This Is my last hope."

In Uesugi Toru's eyes, the person who spoke was already covered in festering red sores; if left untreated, he would likely be a corpse in the wilderness within two or three days at most.

Once the topic of the Master came up, the column immediately erupted in sparse, weak cheers:

"Where's the Master, I want to go!"

"Where is Teacher? I'm going!"

"I want to go too!"

Now Uesugi Toru finally understood.

These refugees who had somehow rushed to Isshiki Town had come entirely for that so-called Buddhist Master who could dispel and cure diseases.

Because almost every one of them carried some illness, great or small, with only a few maintaining relatively healthy bodies.

Uesugi Toru looked over the market street that could be called somewhat lively, and found that the surrounding crowds were not at all surprised by the arrival of these refugees.

What was incomprehensible was that almost no one kept their distance from this long line of people all carrying illness, as if they were used to it.

Those who should do business did business, those who should eat ate, and even passersby treated them as if they were invisible.

Clearly this was a phenomenon that could be considered good, yet Uesugi Toru felt an indescribable sense of eeriness.

He walked a while longer and found that most people carried Buddha beads, small Buddha statues, or performed prayers before eating.

These people believed in the Pure Land True Sect.

And crucially, those who believed were not infected with disease.

Not one!

Could it be that the master of this Pure Land True Sect truly had profound Buddhist attainments, able to easily cure all these miscellaneous diseases, sending these sick and suffering followers back empty-handed?

Uesugi Toru sensed the strange peaceful atmosphere in Isshiki Town, utterly baffled.

Suddenly, Imagawa Yoshimoto's voice rang out through the transmission talisman: "Toru-kun, hurry to the north, many people are swarming over there!"

Uesugi Toru's expression turned stern, no longer following at the end of the line, but instead passing through the crowd without a trace, quickly heading north.

On the way, the conversation of two women came,

"Has your son caught a cold?"

"Yes... but it's fine. Now every afternoon the temple holds a Gratitude Lecture; as long as the Buddha Child bestows Buddhist grace, this small illness will be cured right away."

There were many such conversations.

All about who caught what illness, including fatal diseases like smallpox.

But people simply did not take it to heart.

It was as if, as long as one went to the Pure Land True Sect's temple and received the grace bestowed by the Buddha Child, all illnesses would be cured.

This was not normal, too abnormal.

Where in the world could there be such a good thing, merely believing in a religion to be free from all disease disasters?

Uesugi Toru narrowed his eyes and coldly snorted in his heart.

He wanted to see just what kind of demon monster this so-called Buddha Child was.

"Toru-sama!"

Adult Er's urgent words interrupted his thoughts: "Can you go touch that Buddha statue beside you!"

Uesugi Toru turned his head and discovered a lifelike wooden Buddha carving with a lotus growing beneath its seat.

The Buddha statue's eyeballs were lively, holding a compassionate smile, as if...

staring straight at him.

End of Chapter