Chapter 816: Heading to the Oni Territory

Seeing Lingyun like this, Yakumo Yukari could not help but heave a sigh of relief. Although long before she came to find Lingyun, a voice in the depths of her heart had been telling her that Lingyun would not refuse her request. But once Lingyun truly opened his mouth to agree, she still discovered an irrepressible joy in her heart, a feeling she had never experienced before.

"Alright, now you can tell me what this is all about," Lingyun said, shifting his body slightly backward as he looked at Yakumo Yukari.

"Mr. Lingyun, what do you think of the Fate of the Youkai race in this world right now?" Yakumo Yukari asked. The term 'Fate' was something she had learned when she secretly went to the Celestial Empire to study.

"Fate? Prosperity leads to decline," Lingyun said straightforwardly.

"Indeed, prosperity leads to decline. Yet, there are still a great number of fools who are smug about their own strength and do not take this grand trend into account at all," Yakumo Yukari said, a trace of melancholy in her tone. "Lingyun, do you think it is possible to reverse such a thing?"

"The grand trend is inevitable; it cannot be reversed," Lingyun said, placing the teacup in his hand onto the table.

"The grand trend is inevitable, yes, the grand trend is inevitable. Even the legendary gods and buddhas in the sky crumble before the grand trend; with the strength of mere Youkai, how could one possibly reverse this unstoppable trend?" Yakumo Yukari's eyes were somewhat unfocused.

"The grand trend cannot be changed, but the minor trend can."

"The minor trend can be changed, but to shake this minor trend is no easy task," Yakumo Yukari shook her head. The more she understood the reality of this world, the more she felt her own insignificance.

"By gathering the abilities of many Youkai, it is not impossible to give it a try!" Lingyun said, thinking of the Gensokyo of later generations.

"Gathering the abilities of many Youkai?" Yakumo Yukari's eyes lit up. "Lingyun, your thoughts truly coincide with mine!"

However, truly wanting to gather the abilities of many Youkai was not an easy matter. Youkai were all unruly and rebellious; trying to unify their power was difficult beyond measure. Yakumo Yukari already had a plan in mind, but if she could pull a combat force of unfathomable depth like Lingyun into her camp, her plan would surely proceed much more smoothly.

"Tell me, in whose hands do you think the future grand trend will lie?" Yakumo Yukari asked suddenly.

"Humanity!" Lingyun said without hesitation.

"Humanity, what an incredible race they truly are!" Yakumo Yukari sighed. "Then Lingyun, are you willing to take a trip with me now?"

"As a dignified Sage of Youkai, is there no problem with you bringing a human like me along?" Lingyun raised an eyebrow.

"No, what I am more concerned about now is, as a human, is there no problem with you following a Sage of Youkai like me?" Yakumo Yukari retorted.

"What do the gazes of others have to do with me?" Lingyun said indifferently. "But you, where are you taking me now?"

"Old Hell!" Yakumo Yukari said. "I am taking you to meet my friends, and at the same time, I need you to do me a favor."

"Old Hell, isn't that the territory of the Oni?" Lingyun raised an eyebrow.

"That's right, the Oni are having a banquet tonight, and we can just go over and discuss some things with them," Yakumo Yukari said.

"If we are going to be guests of the Oni, then some things will be indispensable," Lingyun said, his fingers tapping lightly on the table.

"I have already prepared those things!" Yakumo Yukari said with a smile.

"Prepared? It seems you had a premeditated plan!" Seeing Yakumo Yukari like this, Lingyun knew she had prepared everything in advance.

"What, you said you would help me just now, and now you regret it?" Yakumo Yukari glanced at Lingyun.

"No, I just think you are working too hard," Lingyun shook his head.

Lingyun naturally knew how much effort Yakumo Yukari had put into the future of the Youkai. When the vast majority of Youkai were enjoying the golden age of Youkai, only a few saw that the Youkai had already entered a state where prosperity leads to decline. And among these Youkai, perhaps only Yakumo Yukari was running about for the future of the Youkai.

And for this matter, she did not know how long she had been laboring. The Youkai in this country were more than just hundreds or thousands; they were like the so-called eight million gods, truly too chaotic. Even if not all Youkai were fortunate enough to be on Yakumo Yukari's list, the workload involved was absolutely large enough to be despair-inducing.

To tell the truth, Yakumo Yukari had truly exhausted her heart for the future of the Youkai. In this regard, no Youkai had the qualifications to blame her. Perhaps this was why Yakumo Yukari was crowned as the Sage of Youkai. It was no wonder that after Gensokyo stabilized in the future, Yakumo Yukari directly became the Idler of Youkai; perhaps she just wanted to make up for all the time she had not rested during this period.

And now, Yakumo Yukari's plan could be said to have entered its final stage, but her plan was at its most difficult at this final stage. The ones Yakumo Yukari had to face now were the stubborn ones she could not perfectly resolve by herself, and these were existences that needed to be dealt with by force. Although Yakumo Yukari's strength was considered top-tier among Youkai, she was not invincible, which was why this step of the plan was proceeding with such difficulty. It was precisely for this reason that Yakumo Yukari wanted to pull Lingyun into her plan after meeting him.

"Alright, I will go get some things first," Lingyun turned and walked toward the Bamboo House.

Watching Lingyun's back, a trace of hesitation appeared in Yakumo Yukari's eyes for the first time. As the Sage of Youkai, she did not know what kind of influence adding a variable like Lingyun to her plan would have. After all, this plan concerned the future of the Youkai, but Lingyun was a human. When she first saw Lingyun, besides feeling that inexplicable sense of familiarity from him, the thing that left the deepest impression was Lingyun's martial prowess; after all, the momentum when Lingyun fought the Saigyou Ayakashi was not small at all. And she was fixated on that martial prowess, which was exactly what she lacked most right now.

Hundreds of years of non-stop running about had long left her exhausted, especially now that she had reached this final stage, the pressure on her was even greater. If one step of this massive plan were to go wrong, everything would be lost.

But in Lingyun, she felt a kind of aura she could rely on. And it seemed that she had once had such a reliable existence a long time ago, but when she tried to recall it, it was just a blank space. Yet, when thinking of Lingyun, there was a strange feeling: no matter what was in front of her, this person would definitely stand by her side.

Yakumo Yukari had always trusted her intuition, because this thing had helped her more times than she could count. Moreover, Youkai had always been existences that followed their own hearts; after confirming her thoughts within the Gap, she had come straight to find Lingyun.

"Yukari?" Lingyun murmured after returning to his room, "Maybe I'm overthinking it..."

Lingyun waved his hand, and a portal opened in front of him, revealing a massive wine cellar. Lingyun selected several wooden barrels from the cellar and then walked out.

"I have the things; let's go," Lingyun said, reminding the dazed Sage of Youkai.

"Oh, let's go," Yakumo Yukari finally came back to her senses, pulled her hand, and a Gap opened in front of the two of them.