Following orders from the front, a contingent of two thousand and forty vengeful spirit warriors arrived in the Korean capital from the Jinshan region without significant delay. Concurrently, the "Heavenly Deer Bow" and "Heavenly Feather Arrows," reputed to slay gods, were also secretly delivered.
"In mythology, these two divine artifacts were used by Prince Ame-no-Wakahiko to pacify the evil spirits of the Ashihara-no-Nakatsukuni. They could even wound ancient Emperors. A mere immortal will surely bleed across the azure sky under these arrows."
Uesugi Kagekatsu, clad in black armor, rendezvoused with Shimazu Yoshihiro, Ukita Hideie, and other legion commanders in the capital. Upon seeing the divine artifacts, their expressions relaxed.
"With the supreme divine weapons blessed by Emperor Jinmu, we are bound to achieve victory this time!"
"The Ming immortal is finished!"
Uesugi Kagekatsu addressed the legion commanders, "Not only are the divine artifacts here, but three immortals from our homeland will also arrive shortly to reinforce us."
The legion commanders beamed with joy. One, noticing forty individuals with extraordinary auras within Uesugi Kagekatsu's vengeful spirit legion, inquired,
"Who are those people?"
"Ah... they are the resentments of Izumo Province, powerful鬼神 (guǐ shén) who have returned from the Yomi-tsu-Higan, fierce gods that exist only in the moon realm."
"Emperor Jinmu has commanded them, and they are under our full command. Previously, I did not join forces with you, as I was handling logistics in the rear. My arrival in Korea was also recent, and I hadn't brought them to the battlefield, keeping them as a reserve force.
"And they were waiting for a moment of crisis like this."
A terrifying and chilling pale aura emanated from those forty Yomi鬼神 (guǐ shén).
...
While the East Land of Huaxia was in turmoil, Japan had experienced a prolonged period of isolation since the Song Dynasty. During this time, although the subsequent Warring States period saw much conflict and many deaths, some ancient immortals survived, though their numbers were never large.
This was related to national circumstances, not necessarily a lack of talent. After all, regardless of race, gifted individuals inevitably emerge over the long river of time. However, in Japan, a significant portion of national destiny was locked within the country, concentrated on Emperor Jinmu, making it difficult for masters at the immortal level to appear in large numbers.
The concept of a divine nation had been in progress for two thousand years, marked by constant failures and experiments, with population being a major issue. Without a sufficient population base, strong faith could not be generated. While there were many immortal mountains and blessed lands, due to Xu Fu's suppression, very few could break through to the immortal level.
After all, Xu Fu, a pseudo-immortal himself, could not tolerate the appearance of true immortals on his native soil, as he would eventually be replaced. Thus, he would stifle those with true immortal potential, refining them into elixirs to enhance his own power.
Of course, although the entire nation was under Xu Fu's control, some were still permitted to become immortals, albeit only "pseudo-immortals" like himself.
To become a pseudo-immortal meant being controlled by him and residing within the divine nation, serving as an outer defensive tower. In this analogy, there were the inner towers, the high-ground towers, and Xu Fu naturally became the spring at the high ground.
This layered accumulation, however, provided defense but lacked offensive capability. Therefore, in addition to pseudo-immortals, "fake immortals" were also a key area of development. For these beings who possessed immortal power but lacked an immortal form, Xu Fu had researched a treasure that could provide them with long-term "sustenance," namely the "Qing Zhu Zhi Jin" (青烛之津 - Azure Candle's Ferry).
This was originally a valuable medicine sent to Chen Tai Chu by the Fang Shi (方士 - Taoist sorcerers/alchemists) of Lishanhe. Xu Fu learned of this from the Longyou Merchant Guild and had them intercept the Fang Shi's birthday tribute, thereby obtaining a sample of this treasure, which resolved the problem of the fake immortals' forms and spirits decaying.
With the original sample, replicas could be easily produced.
Xu Fu was very proud of his abilities in this regard, as he was a Fang Shi even earlier than Dongfang Shuo and Li Shaojun. Strictly speaking, he was an ancient ghost from the pre-Qin era, and thus possessed his own pride, refusing to admit that his sorcery was inferior to those who came later.
Therefore, even though they were replicated inferior products, they still had the effect of helping fake immortals maintain their forms. However, there was a side effect: if one consumed this substance once and then ceased to do so, the aging of their form and spirit would accelerate.
To maintain their power, they had to continuously consume this drug, which Xu Fu used to control the fake immortals for his own purposes.
After all, these fake immortals did not wish to die a stifling death in the mortal world due to their forms and spirits decaying, causing the immortal power within them to annihilate.
The reason the Fang Shi assisted Ji Xiang and sent him the Cicada Molting Pill was precisely because of this matter.
...
Dark clouds churned in the sky, and demonic energy surged. A large number of demons emerged from one side of the mountain, launching fierce attacks on several cities!
If the strategically important cities of Huangzhou and Gushan were captured, the Ming reinforcement army in Haizhou City would become an isolated force, unable to continue its advance, and would be surrounded on three sides and annihilated.
Tachibana Muneshige was originally fiercely attacking Gushan City, but the subsequent dispatch order compelled the "Unrivaled of the West" to immediately proceed to another battlefield.
"Kato Kiyomasa is dead? How is that possible!"
"The Thunder Master... I understand!"
Tachibana Muneshige, wearing blue-black armor and wielding his Raijin (雷切 - Thunder Cutter), led several thousand troops to the designated rendezvous point.
However, on a mountain path, lightning flashed in the sky. The other side of the mountain was enveloped in demonic energy, clearly indicating that a large number of yokai were gathering and moving towards Haizhou.
"The order I received was to reach Kaesong within fifteen days. Haizhou is to the west of Kaesong..."
"Imjin River..."
Tachibana Muneshige followed the Imjin River southward, departing from Gushan City and arriving near Kaesong in a very short time. As he advanced, the demonic energy in the distance suddenly vanished without a trace!
The previous thunderstorm weather intensified! Dozens of lightning bolts suddenly struck the sky, accompanied by rumbling thunder!
"Wait a moment!"
Tachibana Muneshige immediately halted the march of his main force, looking with apprehension towards the other side of the mountain.
The demonic energy had disappeared, and the cloud sea of demonic energy was also gone. It was replaced by dark clouds, but these were thunderclouds.
*Clang—*
Tachibana Muneshige drew his treasured sword, Raijin, and vigilantly gazed at the road ahead.
The main road was wide, and a bolt of lightning descended from the sky!
The surrounding moisture was completely evaporated. The person who finally appeared before Tachibana Muneshige was a young Taoist priest dressed in black.
"Hey? Do you recognize a Taoist child wearing green, about 1.6 meters tall, around fifteen years old?"
The black-clad youth asked, his gaze scrutinizing. Tachibana Muneshige could determine it almost instantly!
The person before him was the "Thunder Master" mentioned in the previous battle report!