Chapter 204: Second Resurrection, Incarnation to Exorcise Sickness and Suffering

Uesugi Toru raised Kaga Kiyomitsu in his hand, quiet as a blade's edge not moving an inch, and aimed it at the Sickness and Suffering holding the Staff of Bones from afar.

The effect of the Hannya Mask—changed from "Berserk" to "Greed, Anger, Ignorance"!

He could feel that the power within him, originally more surging than the most turbulent tide, had dropped slightly.

In this instant, all fourteen pupils of Sickness and Suffering shrank, and extra expressions on seven faces disappeared simultaneously.

Although Uesugi Toru had not yet drawn his sword, and even looked unchanged from the outside, he could feel that something was different.

"Best not to be slashed by him……"

Sickness and Suffering slightly shook the Staff of Bones in hand, causing the three human bone rings at the top of the staff to suddenly tighten!

Without any process that would allow a reaction, above Uesugi Toru's head appeared successively the unknown characters "Cough," "Pant," "Vomit" from some ancient language.

"Cough cough cough——!"

Accompanied by violent coughing that almost coughed up his Five Viscera and Six Organs, Uesugi Toru's foot, just about to step forward, was forcibly stopped.

At the same time, every time he coughed, he could feel as if countless invisible Big Hands were gripping his throat.

Making every breath require all his strength, just to wring a trace of insignificant air from the atmosphere.

Since that is the case……

Within the circulation of Gang Qi, green-purple lightning surged into the flesh in a rush, electrocuting the related organs and nerves to necrosis, then under the control of the Spirit Control Technique intertwined with Gang Qi, replacing them.

Thus, Uesugi Toru no longer needed to breathe or pant, and naturally became immune to these two biological instincts that creatures cannot control themselves.

After all five senses were completely enveloped by lightning and qi, Uesugi Toru calmly thought,

"Within ninety seconds, I will die."

But ninety seconds, for himself in his current state, was already more than enough.

If ninety seconds cannot solve Sickness and Suffering, then nine hundred seconds, nine thousand seconds would still be helpless against Sickness and Suffering.

The next instant, just as nausea surged into his heart, Uesugi Toru once again repeated his old trick, replacing all the related flesh parts with lightning and Gang Qi.

"The time has shortened again……"

Uesugi Toru thought expressionlessly.

If he had not yet activated "Anger," he would probably have gone limp on the ground from the slight shake of Sickness and Suffering's staff, and thus died.

This is the Eight Sufferings at its peak……even if it is merely an insignificant incarnation.

Just these few instant-cast, suspected group Golden Halos could allow warriors of two-star or even three-star strength to die quickly in large batches.

Fortunately he did not let Imagawa Yoshimoto bring an army, otherwise their only fate would be to be cut down like grass by Sickness and Suffering.

——All thoughts flashed by like lightning.

——In Sickness and Suffering's eyes, it was just that he had just placed three curses that ordinary people absolutely cannot avoid on Uesugi Toru.

But before he could blink, the curse inexplicably failed.

Instead, Uesugi Toru's aura became more powerful by a fraction.

Sickness and Suffering's thoughts and ideas likewise transcended the binding of the flesh.

While sensing all this, he wanted to merge into the miasma domain that had completely devoured the Separation Sorrow Domain.

As long as he distributed himself in every inch of the miasma, the damage he suffered would be greatly weakened, and he could easily drag out enough time.

Merging into the miasma required less than zero point zero one seconds of gap.

But at this hair's breadth moment, the quiet lightning seemed to cross the distance, and had pierced into the exact center of Sickness and Suffering's seven heads at some unknown time.

The rich green-purple color then split into three on Kaga Kiyomitsu's blade.

Interconnected, they burst forth with a boom!

Tennen Rishin-ryu · Three-Stage Thrust!

A pillar of lightning and qi, hardly different from a qi energy wave, started from Sickness and Suffering's body and rushed straight toward the rear, even piercing through the upper half of an entire small mountain!

This was more believable as a laser cannon firing than as a thrust.

In the fierce pillar of lightning and qi, Sickness and Suffering, whose process of merging into the miasma domain was suddenly interrupted and whose flesh was thus reduced to a mess, said nothing.

"This pain……what strange power is this?"

The pitch-black pupils stiffly turned, squeezing out a few drops of pus and blood, and then continued to be evaporated by the sustained pillar of lightning and qi until nothing remained.

Whatever thunder, whatever Gang Qi, it didn't matter; even more coming could only hurt his appearance and slow his regeneration speed.

But on that blade, a strange power that had not existed before appeared.

This slash almost injured the root of this incarnation of his own.

If not for timely sharing most of the damage with the miasma, this slash could have shattered the Staff of Bones manifested in his hand.

Until now, the power this Hua Hu mastered once again forced him to retreat.

But running away was definitely impossible.

The pillar of light clearly visible throughout Nishio Castle and even farther away slowly disappeared.

Sickness and Suffering held the staff washed smooth as new, and spoke in a hoarse voice: "Kitsune, as you see, your all-out slash could not kill me."

The remaining three and a half mouths moved simultaneously, issuing forth bewitching sounds that would make ordinary people immediately stop resisting,

"And this is merely an incarnation I casually cast into Genjitsu."

There was not a trace of anger in Sickness and Suffering's voice, not even a threatening tone.

He merely stated: "But if you now slay this incarnation of mine, you will be eternally feuding with 'Sickness and Suffering.'"

"And if you stop now, I can let bygones be bygones for everything that happened before."

Sickness and Suffering said to the empty air with no human shadow: "A kitsune as powerful as you at such a young age, your future achievements will surely be limitless……"

"Sooner or later, you will also come to Chang Shi."

"By then……"

"Nonsense, are you done talking?"

Appearing alongside the voice laden with electric current was the sword blade with which Kaga Kiyomitsu had slashed through Sickness and Suffering's body.

Ding-ling-ling~

Before this slash had even fully passed through Sickness and Suffering's body, the seven bells on the staff of bones in his hand began to shake.

In an instant, seven utterly distinct plagues, each without exception capable of killing in the blink of an eye and turning an entire city into a dead zone, wrapped Uesugi Toru up tightly.

— Pox, miasma, consumption, pestilence, malaria, leprosy, gu.

Endless pox surfaced on Uesugi Toru's body surface, morbid high fever permeated every inch of muscle, originally iron bones hard as fine steel turned riddled with holes in a flash, tiny wounds instantly expanding into purple-black swollen lymph nodes...

Seven plagues, seven sufferings!

Agony that even surging lightning light could not extinguish descended upon the flesh, continuously torturing Uesugi Toru's already chaotic mind.

But pain is only pain.

Unable to slow the speed at which Kaga Kiyomitsu's sword blade fell by even the slightest fraction!

Bleak white lightning light burst forth from countless wounds, even what spurted from the blood vessels was no longer bright red blood, but nearly liquid lightning plasma!

At this moment, driven once more by Sickness and Suffering, the blood flowing within Uesugi Toru's body had almost entirely been replaced by lightning.

He had never experienced such power, so powerful it was difficult to control, his very awareness seeming about to burst out of his physical shell along the strands of thunder.

Likewise, he had never experienced the passing of life being so clear.

Twenty seconds, or perhaps a dozen-odd seconds later, this flesh body would certainly collapse.

Then he would step into death once more after a long absence.

"But before that——"

Eyes spraying lightning light were bright, the white Prajna mask reflected like a god high in the heavens, majestic and coldly stern.

Kaga Kiyomitsu couldn't help but tremble slightly, driven by this power so formidable it was akin to a ghost god.

"—— This demon fox, even burning a hundred or thousand years of lifespan, wants to slash my avatar... this is simply not worth it!"

Sickness and Suffering had just wanted to open his mouth when Kaga Kiyomitsu stabbed straight into this last oral cavity filled with rotten flesh, stuffing all words back inside.

The power of greed, anger, and delusion extended along the sword blade and was slashed out, causing Sickness and Suffering to weaken further unavoidably.

Finally, a thread of resentful anger surfaced in Sickness and Suffering's heart.

—— If this continues, this avatar of his will truly be lost because of this demon fox!

Damn it, if not for the fact that this is only an avatar and ninety percent of his methods cannot be deployed...

The retinue arriving also needs time.

Moreover...

One of Sickness and Suffering's pupils stiffly rolled upward, vaguely seeing through the lightning's envelopment what seemed to be a square block's phantom still galloping freely under the moonlight.

From within it arrows and strange gray-white weapons continuously flew out, dragging large batches of half-dead birds together in one place.

By the time the retinue arrive, this avatar of his has likely long since turned into a patch of scorched charcoal.

"No choice..."

Sickness and Suffering sighed.

Then, for now, let that person Renko win one hand over himself.

Beside the ear of Uesugi Toru who was continuously swinging his blade, Sickness and Suffering's nearly illusory murmur suddenly rang out,

"Myriad Plague Wheel, manifest."

Click.

Outside Uesugi Toru's field of view, something seemingly terrifyingly large appeared to have manifested in the Genjitsu.

Under the moonlight, an ancient copper wheel divided into twelve Areas, engraved with twelve types of characters, floated in midair.

Click.

The giant copper pointer turned, lighting up one Area.

Click.

Click.

Click.

Without any further hesitation, the pointer turned ten times in a single instant.

Thus Uesugi Toru could feel that the "death" originally still ten-odd seconds away, the distance in between vanished abruptly in this moment.

No pain, no torture, no wailing.

The lightning light that had illuminated the skies over half of Nishio Castle bright as day abruptly vanished.

Everything, all of it, dissolved the moment the pointer turned to the tenth click.

Abrupt halt.

On the Floating Square Block, Erchi Adult, who was carrying two 12.7mm machine guns continuously sweeping the half-dead bird flocks, froze.

She felt her heartstrings instantly become incomparably clear, so she opened her mouth in some astonishment,

"Toru-sama, how did you retur——"

But before this sentence was finished, Erchi Adult's little head turned around.

She gazed at the four-tailed fox with fur all red, and immediately understood everything.

—— Toru-sama didn't return, but died.

Just now, killed by that Sickness and Suffering.

"Hm?"

Imagawa Yoshimoto was just about to nock the next Jufu Jian on the bowstring, yet couldn't help but freeze.

She looked at the demon fox before her wearing a Prajna mask, emitting a startling aura, with four blood-colored tails swaying behind it, blinked, and subconsciously asked,

"Tetsu-kun?"

"I'll explain this state of mine later."

Uesugi Toru left those words and once again sheathed Kaga Kiyomitsu into his own body.

Gang Qi erupted, lightning roared.

The four-tailed fox descended from the heavens.

——Having just finished releasing the Ten Thousand Plagues Wheel's Sickness and Suffering, he displeasedly exhaled, intending to summon his retinue to strike down that thing in the sky and see what it was.

But the moment he turned around, Kaga Kiyomitsu, wrapped in the greed, anger, and ignorance that grew more powerful with every emotion, fell like a new moon!

Cleaving the defenseless Sickness and Suffering in two!

In his few remaining pitch-black pupils was reflected a four-tailed fox unstained by any disease, more complete than before, with a more robust aura.

Even Sickness and Suffering's thinking unavoidably stagnated for a moment.

What is this situation?

Just now, the Ten Thousand Plagues Wheel had clearly activated successfully.

Not only because the other party's aura had vanished without a trace, but the origin power within his own body used to maintain this avatar's existence had also disappeared by half.

All of this could prove that this fox demon had just stepped into death under the Ten Thousand Plagues Wheel's shroud.

Yet now, this blade edge had fallen upon his body.

Uesugi Toru lowered his eyes.

The Prajna Mask grinned with an indifferent, ferocious wild laughter, "Round two, only starts now."

Sickness and Suffering fell silent, completely unable to understand the situation before him.

This fox demon, something's off.

"Possesses... an undying body, does he."

He cast his gaze past Uesugi Toru, looking toward the heavens above.

Just now, the fox demon's aura had fallen from above.

In other words, this fox demon and the humans on that cube and that other yokai with a somewhat strange aura are in cahoots.

Sickness and Suffering understood.

The human on the cube was someone dispatched by Great Onmyoji Toru; this fox demon and the other yokai are Toru's shikigami — understanding it this way shouldn't be too far off.

A Great Onmyoji, naturally, can accomplish what ordinary people cannot.

Otherwise there's no way to explain everything before his eyes, including returning from the dead, and also this fox demon's baseless hostility.

"Sigh..."

Sickness and Suffering sighed calmly.

His retinue wouldn't make it in time, there was nowhere to run, and Renko just happened to be out.

He had painstakingly plotted for over a hundred years, yet it all came to nothing because of Great Onmyoji Toru and this fox demon under his command.

Even now, he still hadn't seen the true face of that Great Onmyoji he had plotted against so much.

Things having come to this, there's nothing more to say.

Regret is the most meaningless thing.

Under the shroud of countless blade lights, Sickness and Suffering suddenly opened his last pupil, letting out indistinct delirious words,

"I declare."

Uesugi Toru's movements did not pause in the slightest because of Sickness and Suffering's inexplicable action.

But Sickness and Suffering did not resist in the least, merely speaking word by word: "If I die, then the Curse of the Dying Wish shall descend upon you all."

Uesugi Toru swung his blade silently, letting Kaga Kiyomitsu, trembling thousands of times per second, sweep across Sickness and Suffering's constantly regenerating body.

Slash slash slash slash slash!

The ominous premonition in his heart grew ever thicker, but Uesugi Toru said nothing, only answering with the blade in his hand.

Countless pale blade lights fell, connecting into a complete circle.

Under the shroud of violent Gang Qi, Sickness and Suffering's last black lips moved: "I curse you all..."

Before the words fell, the pale torrent annihilated everything belonging to Sickness and Suffering in the mortal world until nothing remained.

On the scorched mountainside, feeling his second life about to reach its end, Uesugi Toru shifted his gaze, staring at the prompt that popped up before him,

【You killed Sickness and Suffering Avatar (Three-Star), gained 1500 Soul Ash!】

【You used Kaga Kiyomitsu to slay Sickness and Suffering Avatar, Kaga Kiyomitsu: Blade of Parting's quality significantly increased!】

【Your Kaga Kiyomitsu: Blade of Parting underwent an unknown change!】

【Your Skill, Tennen Rishin-ryu Proficiency +300!】

【Your Skill, Five Thunder Method: Kiai Proficiency +300!】

【Your Skill, Spirit Control Technique·Qi Proficiency +200!】

"Dead, huh..."

Though the Sickness and Suffering Avatar died, Uesugi Toru's heart held no sense of relief.

He needed only to recall Sickness and Suffering's curse just now, and the Mirror of the Mind in his heart seemed shrouded in a layer of haze.

As if some ill-fated event was destined to occur in the future.

"The Eight Sufferings... truly are endless calamity."

Uesugi Toru gripped Kaga Kiyomitsu's sword hilt, looking toward the sky.

With Sickness and Suffering's death, these half-dead birds and the more distant Vision Calamity Insect swarms instantly scattered like birds and beasts, each with their own ideas.

He was just preparing to pursue the fleeing Vision Calamity Insect swarms together with Adult Nisun — after all, one of his major objectives was to collect these eyeballs.

Moreover, it could also increase Kaga Kiyomitsu's Soul Spirit Points.

But Uesugi Toru suddenly discovered that even though Tennen Rishin-ryu's Proficiency was maxed, there was still temporarily no Breakthrough.

Is this a Judgment that he is still in the same battle?

But Sickness and Suffering had clearly already……

Just as this thought surged from Uesugi Toru's heart, he saw Golden Light rush skyward from the other end of Nishio Castle, dispersing the Clouds.

Even separated by several kilometers, Uesugi Toru could clearly sense the rich Buddhist Dharma aura from within it.

He froze for a moment.

This is, Pure Land True Sect's Dharma Master Renko?

A massive halo of light rose from the Ground, a grand and furious voice resounding through the Night Sky: "What petty villain, dares to haunt Nishio Castle!"

Uesugi Toru, however, smiled.

——He had originally thought Anger's effect was about to end, and planned to temporarily spare Renko, but never expected the big fish would actually deliver itself to his door.

Before stepping forward, Uesugi Toru slightly Perceived his own current situation.

Spirit Power and Gang Qi had both nearly Bottomed Out within the ten-odd seconds of killing Sickness and Suffering, but the Qi Sea was Continuously replenishing the Gang Qi's deficit.

Moreover, because of Five Thunder Technique and the overexertion just now, this life wouldn't last more than a few dozen seconds.

The Distance to Renko was still this far; even if he rushed over he couldn't swing two blades.

Better to release this life's brilliance on the surrounding flocks of Birds and swarms of insects.

Having simply decided, Uesugi Toru charged straight into the nearest insect swarm like a cannonball.

……

"Last time."

On the Floating Square Block, the four-tailed fox wearing a Hannya Mask appeared once more.

Moving his Gaze away from the large amount of incoming Eyeballs and Soul Spirit Points, Uesugi Toru addressed the two-chi-tall Human Dao whose Mouth corners were nearly split to his ears from killing birds:

"Stop for now, Nisun Adult. Take Lord Imagawa and get far away."

He Turned Head, Looking at that man sitting motionless in midair far away, like a Buddha: "That Renko is not an Easy Solution."

Hearing this, Nisun Adult immediately tossed the two machine guns that wouldn't overheat aside, Converging the somewhat exaggerated Smile on his Face.

Imagawa Yoshimoto stared at him for a moment, her eyes moving up and down, changing several times.

Yet her first sentence was still to ask,

"That Sickness and Suffering……"

"Dead."

On the pale Hannya Mask emerged a very incongruous gentle smile.

Uesugi Toru continued: "Now I'll go behead that Renko, and the Mikawa Region matter should be able to reach a conclusion."

But just as he finished speaking, before he could Jump Down from the Floating Square Block, he felt an absolutely unignorable Gaze shoot straight over from the distance.

——At the other end of Nishio Castle, Renko Raised Head as if divinely inspired, knowing from the dark all that had happened not long ago.

Sickness and Suffering was dead, and the one who killed him was a Hua Hu……

No, it was Great Onmyoji Toru disguised as a Hua Hu.

Along with this Great Onmyoji came his Shikigami, and……

"Imagawa Yoshimoto!"

The edges of Renko's pupils, originally holding Anger and Buddha-nature, trembled, immediately surging with wild joy.

Imagawa Yoshimoto, actually abandoned her Army and came to the front lines, appeared before his eyes at Nishio Castle!

This is simply, a heaven-given opportunity!

As long as Imagawa Yoshimoto dies here today, the external crisis that constantly plagued him would resolve itself!

Renko immediately stood up, the thought of negotiating with the one who killed Sickness and Suffering also vanishing in a Clean Sweep at this moment.

Thus he followed the Premonition from the dark and looked toward Uesugi Toru's location, laughing loudly:

"Head of Family Adult! I see you!"

"We've been Discovered."

Uesugi Toru said blandly——no matter what supernatural powers Renko has, he cannot be stronger than Sickness and Suffering Transform, one of the Eight Sufferings.

What's more, he had investigated before coming.

Before this Sanzhou Incident, Renko had only just touched Gang Qi Circulation; in Breathing Path attainments he was even inferior to Imagawa Yoshimoto.

After pondering Two Seconds, Uesugi Toru raised a brow slightly surprised: "Actually not fleeing, looks like he has quite a Grasp."

This makes him somewhat hesitant.

Because if Renko has some powerful unknown means to kill him once more, things would become Troublesome.

After this death, Uesugi Toru needs Genjitsu time to pass a full twelve hours——even using Awakening Spirit Mist requires Eight Hours to return.

Converting, that's a full five days.

Five days is really too long, let alone with Renko still alive after Sickness and Suffering's death.

Heaven knows how many things would happen in the five days he's absent.

——Anyway Nisun Adult has Curse Positioning, Renko can't escape far no matter what.

And soon Imagawa Clan's main force will be deployed; finding Renko will be an Easy Solution.

Thinking to this point, Uesugi Toru spoke:

"Nisun, we……"

Before this sentence was finished, Uesugi Toru's Complexion abruptly changed.

He twisted his head, and at the other end of Nishio Castle saw milky-white radiance rising from the city's streets and alleys.

Countless rays of radiance converged, turning into a milky-white torrent surging through the air.

It was as if one could still hear from within it an unknowable number of fragmented murmurs.

For some reason, just by looking at that milky-white torrent, a sense of great terror rose in Uesugi Toru's heart.

"Toru-sama, we have to escape fast!"

Two Shaku Figure's small face became incomparably stiff.

She stammered twice before shouting: "That is Wish Power, a torrent that only those who have already been assimilated by Wish Power can manipulate! And it has already locked onto us!"

"If we get washed by that much Wish Power all at once, our self-awareness will absolutely be assimilated! When that happens, we will directly become Buddhist Bodhisattvas, Arhats, and such, and for the rest of our lives we will act for the desires within the Wish Power!"

Two Shaku Figure, who used Wish Power as a means of promotion, screamed,

"I guarantee it! No accidents! Something like Wish Power cannot be blocked by ordinary means either!"

"So let's hurry—"

Two Shaku Figure's peripheral vision swept past Imagawa Yoshimoto, whose face was full of gravity.

Her words suddenly stopped.

Yeah.

Toru-sama and herself could escape from this Warring States Period, but what about Miss Imagawa?

Miss Imagawa cannot return to Genjitsu together with them, so she can only become a puppet of Wish Power...

She is still the key core of Toru-sama's plans in this era...

Imagawa Yoshimoto must not be eroded and assimilated by Wish Power just like this.

While Two Shaku Figure was still brainstorming, countless ferocious lightning dragons fell from the distant sky, wanting to evaporate that torrent of Wish Power surging toward them.

But it was useless.

Wish Power is not something that ordinary Yin-Yang Technique can affect.

Uesugi Toru narrowed his eyes, wanting to lift Kaga Kiyomitsu to blast this so-called Wish Power torrent to smithereens.

But Mirror Heart told him that doing so absolutely would not work.

If he were struck by it, he would absolutely become a puppet driven by Wish Power, just as Two Shaku Figure said.

—Even if he returned to Genjitsu afterwards, it would not change.

Because this Wish Power seems not to be a negative state, but a powerful positive buff.

Intuition told Uesugi Toru that if he stood there and was struck by the Wish Power torrent, all aspects of him would gain a huge improvement because of it.

Just, there would be a "trivial" side effect.

Now, what to do?

Uesugi Toru felt two gazes fall on him.

He rarely fell silent.

Now, is there really no second path besides abandoning Imagawa Yoshimoto and leaving the Warring States Period?

"Toru-sama."

Above the quiet night sky, the petite girl suddenly spoke.

Her voice carried a tone of surprised delight: "These Wish Powers, I seem to be able to absorb them!"

"Because of absorbing Wish Power from Buddhist statues for a long time, I have very strong Vow Power Resistance against this kind of Wish Power!"

Uesugi Toru looked at her in astonishment: "It can actually be done?"

"Po!"

The girl held her head high and chest out, patting her chest hard: "Relax! Just leave it to me! Watch me rise several levels in one go!"

Having said that, without waiting for Uesugi Toru to say anything more, Two Shaku Figure took out a small Floating Board, and without hesitation stepped onto it.

Then, alone, she charged straight at that Wish Power torrent a hundred meters long!

The white skirt fluttered noisily.

Two Shaku Figure's pupils were firm, carrying a certain color of resolve.

Two Shaku Figure transformed into the incomparably tall Eight Shaku Figure, plunging headfirst into the torrent, her voice piercing the heavens,

"Stop for me!"

Before Uesugi Toru's eyes, a line of prompts immediately popped up like a scrolling screen—

【Your Shikigami "Eight Shaku Woman" is absorbing massive amounts of ownerless Wish Power (Misc)...】

【Your Shikigami "Eight Shaku Woman" absorbed massive amounts of ownerless Wish Power (Misc), has now broken through from Two-Star to Two-Star Half!】

【Your Shikigami "Eight Shaku Woman" absorbed massive amounts of ownerless Wish Power (Misc), has now broken through from Two-Star Half to Three-Star!】

【Your Shikigami "Eight Shaku Woman" absorbed massive amounts of ownerless Wish Power (Misc), quality improved, has now broken through Rank Limit!】

【Your Shikigami "Eight Shaku Woman, has now broken through to Three-Star Half!】

【Warning! Your Shikigami "Eight Shaku Woman", has undergone an unknown change, please check as soon as possible!】

(End of Chapter)