Uesugi Kagekatsu believed he had been sufficiently vigilant.
After all, he had dispatched Date Masamune, who specialized in countering the powers of demons and monsters, to scout the preceding city. Should any incident arise, Date Masamune could escape even if unable to slay the opponent, as he was unaffected by curses and poisons. To kill him, one could only rely on overwhelming him in direct combat.
But the sudden appearance of [Da Liang Jian] was entirely unexpected!
A divine artifact rumored to cleave mountains and rivers with a single strike, this weapon should have been in the hands of the Sword Saint Yagyu Munenori!
It should have been at Mount Yuan on the eastern front!
He himself had departed from Mount Yuan to this western front, as had Tachibana Muneshige and Date Masamune! Therefore, he knew precisely how many experts were stationed in Mount Yuan!
That was a heavily fortified city, guarded by several legion commanders, empowered by national prestige, several great yokai, the third-ranked figure in the current Onmyōdō, Yukii Tomokage, and the peerless Sword Saint Yagyu Munenori!
Even an immortal would meet their demise there!
An immortal going there...
Uesugi Kagekatsu suddenly realized something!
The opponent's immortal had gone to Mount Yuan!
And several days ago, Mount Yuan should have already fallen!
Then...
"How could this be! Even for an immortal, attacking Mount Yuan would be akin to seeking death! The Sword Saint and the great Onmyōji, the legion commanders and the great yokai, were they all slain? How could they possibly possess the ability to contend with so many powerful individuals simultaneously! Moreover, the Sword Saint is not only Myōken-ten, but he also possesses the divine artifact Da Liang Jian! It can slay even celestials from the heavens, how could he have been defeated!"
"And those rituals, the rituals of Onmyōdō can reverse life and death, and inflict poison. Does this Ming Dynasty immortal's divine position also not fear the power of poison? It shouldn't be! He killed Tachibana Muneshige, his divine position should be related to lightning techniques. In fact, many gods find it difficult to resist the corrosive power of equivalent poisons... and that power originated from the Peacock Myōō, even immortals are not immune!"
"I cannot comprehend it, I cannot understand!"
Uesugi Kagekatsu, his head bleeding, his hands trembling uncontrollably, gripped the Tenroku Bow tightly!
His divine position was extremely sensitive to the aura of death. At this moment, his eyes could already see the path leading to the underworld, signifying that the situation he faced was extremely perilous, with the threat of death looming at any moment!
"Mr. Uesugi, we may have misjudged."
Two pseudo-immortals stood up from the collapsed ruins of the mountains. The previous strike had been earth-shattering, reducing tens of thousands of soldiers to dust in an instant! Only a handful had survived by luck... excluding the two pseudo-immortals and the forty vengeful spirit samurai.
At this moment, from the dust of the fallen, souls filled with fear and bewilderment drifted out. The vengeful spirit samurai who had just risen began to greedily absorb the souls of these unjustly deceased, their power increasing visibly at a rapid pace. The dark energy emanating from them surged more intensely, and the red light in their eyes became increasingly chilling.
One pseudo-immortal, with a grave expression, looked at the black-clad youth descending from the sky and spoke with a hint of dread:
"Regardless of how it happened, killing the Sword Saint in a one-on-one duel is unlikely, especially with other powerful experts present. It is unrealistic for one person to conquer Mount Yuan. Of course, under normal circumstances, the answer we might consider is that the opponent brought an elite force to raid Mount Yuan, then broke through, and killed the Sword Saint at a great cost."
"As long as the Sword Saint is dead and Da Liang Jian is seized, the subsequent combat strength will be skewed. This is our conventional thinking..."
"However, to snatch the enemy general's head from amidst a million soldiers, and that general is the top military commander of the era, it's as absurd as asking Hua Xiong to kill Guan Yu."
"Therefore, therefore, the other possibility we can conceive of..."
The two pseudo-immortals exchanged glances and said to Uesugi Kagekatsu, "Mr. Uesugi, for today, please be prepared to fight to the death!"
"Perhaps, we have misjudged the combat power of true immortals from the very beginning!"
Their astonishing words delivered an immense shock to Uesugi Kagekatsu!
How strong were pseudo-immortals?
Everyone knew they possessed the combat power of immortals, but lacked the immortal form and spirit, which made their opportunities to act extremely rare. Every action required careful consideration, judging whether to intervene, lest they accelerate the decay of their own form and spirit, leading to loss of control over their power and a rapid decline towards death.
Pseudo-immortals were powerful, at least much stronger than experts at the Pure Yang level. In Japan, those who achieved immortality were granted blessings by Emperor Jinmu. Of course, what was called a blessing was actually control, preventing them from obtaining the power of true immortals. The power siphoned off would then strengthen Emperor Jinmu.
But most immortals felt that even with a portion of their immortal power drained, they could still recover through cultivation. And because their immortal power had decreased, their mortal form and spirit had become much more stable, which was considered a good thing.
Therefore, some believed that the strength of true immortals, when fighting desperately against pseudo-immortals, might be roughly comparable.
But now, the two pseudo-immortals suddenly realized.
All their past judgments might have been wrong!
"Ultimately, no one has seen a true immortal on this side since the late Heian period. It is said that the world was in great chaos then, and what happened is unknown. Later, for several hundred years, there were no further exchanges... and we immortals, under the blessing of His Majesty Emperor Jinmu, have limited lifespans."
"No one would become an immortal unless absolutely necessary. To know what happened in that era, one would have to ask the ancient great yokai..."
However, for beings below the immortal level, they could not distinguish the combat power difference between pseudo-immortals and true immortals. In any case, both could kill them with a single blow.
So, was the terror of true immortals actually far superior to that of pseudo-immortals?
"Hmm... that's not quite right."
At this moment, one pseudo-immortal observed Ji Xiang and instantly felt something was amiss.
It was the cultivation realm!
Although he possessed immortal power, his realm was too low! Only the Golden Core realm!
Merely the physical body of an Earth Immortal!
"I know!"
This pseudo-immortal suddenly produced an immortal artifact, and at this moment, Ji Xiang's second strike was already upon him!
With a single blow, the heavens and mountains were once again shattered!
The power of Da Liang Jian was fierce and unparalleled. Without any flashy additional abilities, this divine artifact's sole move was an extremely powerful slash!
The immortal artifact in the pseudo-immortal's hand let out a mournful cry, and behind him, another group of survivors who had narrowly escaped death were turned to ashes by this second strike!
"I know! I know!"
The pseudo-immortal spat out a mouthful of blood, his aura in disarray for three moments. The other pseudo-immortal also produced an artifact, these were all things granted to them by Emperor Jinmu!
This was a war to conquer the nation, so important immortal and divine artifacts naturally had to be deployed accordingly! Considering the need to capture and kill experts of the immortal level, immortal and divine artifacts were bound to be used!
"What do you know?"
The second pseudo-immortal asked the first. Although the latter's nostrils were bleeding, his expression became excited, and he shouted loudly and with great emotion:
"He is bound to die! Do not fear! He is not a true immortal!"
"His physical body is only at the Earth Immortal level, yet his cultivation is at the true immortal standard. This is clearly..."
"He is a broken immortal!"
This pseudo-immortal raised the treasure in his hand, and Ji Xiang's gaze sharpened. He saw a gleaming golden seal in the pseudo-immortal's hand. This golden seal withstood the strike of Da Liang Jian without any damage, emitting rolling golden light that coiled around the pseudo-immortal like wind and thunder!
The golden seal bore the inscription: Golden Seal of the King of Wa, Slave of Han!
Bestowed by Emperor Guangwu!