Chapter 530: Central Palace of Heaven

"That is the family of Tachi."

"The Emperor is the family Tachi asked me to find, and also the person to whom her letter was to be delivered."

Kurama Heihachi said calmly, with a smile.

"At first, I naturally dared not believe it, so I did some confirming... Since the Emperor had already left, the security of Kyoto would naturally relax slightly. I would turn back and head toward the Imperial Palace where the Emperor resided at the same time the Emperor departed."

"I didn't want to do anything; I just wanted to take a look at someone, and then leave once I had seen them... I am not greedy, so I succeeded."

"I saw a young princess, who looked five parts similar to Tachi. After seeing her, I turned and left, and from then on, I never mentioned this matter to anyone."

"What happened in the second half of my life also had nothing to do with this... until a few days ago, when a strange Central Plains woman found me and gave me a condition I could not refuse."

"She would give me everything I needed for revenge, and I needed to give her everything I knew, had done, and possessed in my life—for someone who is on the verge of death and all alone, this is a deal that can only be won, isn't it?"

"So I told her everything I knew, including this past event from nearly seventy years ago. Coincidentally, she was very interested in this and was very willing to provide me with another—a plan for revenge."

Kurama Heihachi reached into his bosom. His clothes were already shattered beyond recognition, with only the fabric under his armpits still intact, so he pulled out a cloth bundle from there.

He unfolded it.

It revealed dozens of torn rags inside.

Red and white torn rags.

Rags belonging to a shrine maiden's outfit.

Boom!

As these rags were displayed before the woman in the priestess's robes, the violent Qi and killing intent could no longer be suppressed, exploding within inches. The intense wind pressure almost blew the dying Kurama Heihachi away.

Fortunately, he managed to steady his figure.

"You recognize them."

"That's right, these are the test subjects that woman gave me—shrine maidens abducted from several of the most important Shinto shrines, including the Ise Grand Shrine."

"Don't worry, they are all alive; I am not as beastly as you all... I just taught them a sword move."

"A very simple sword move, without any tricks—it reawakened them, and they were no longer those faces as cold and hard as pig iron, but filled with the fear, panic, and agitation belonging to their age."

Within inches, the cold voice of the woman in the priestess's robes sounded.

"Are you finished?"

Kurama Heihachi said without fear.

"Not yet. The clues have been laid out, but the conclusion has not yet been stated... I think you should also want to hear if I have approached the truth, or at least want to know something from me about that strange woman, right?"

Seeing that the woman in the priestess's robes did not make a move, Kurama Heihachi smiled.

"Let's start with the conclusion."

"That strange Central Plains woman told me a lot. Through that knowledge, I was finally able to piece together the truth hidden beneath your veil and the truth Tachi wanted to tell me back then."

"The shrine maidens within the three most critical core Shinto shrines—Izumo Taisha, Hachiman-gu, and Ise Grand Shrine—share the same lineage as the Emperor."

"The so-called saying that the divine painting of Amaterasu in the Venerable Divine Sword Art cannot be contemplated is also wrong—there is a bloodline in this world that can contemplate the divine painting of Amaterasu and cultivate the Venerable Divine Sword Art that honors Amaterasu."

"And if one traces this bloodline all the way up to its source, one can find a name, the name of a Central Plains person."

"Xu Fu."

Kurama Heihachi said calmly.

"Nearly two thousand years ago, the First Emperor of the Central Plains sent the alchemist Xu Fu to take three thousand boys and girls out to sea to search for the immortal islands. But he did not truly go to search for the legendary immortal islands; instead, he came straight to Fusang."

"The Emperor on the throne at that time was Emperor Kōrei, who reigned for seventy-six years and lived to be one hundred and twenty-seven."

"One hundred and twenty-seven years old—even now, this is a lifespan that exists almost only in legends. How could Emperor Kōrei, who was still wearing animal skins and eating raw meat, live to that age?"