"Where!"
The purple-robed witch scanned her surroundings, including the sea of clouds floating from another world before her, but no matter where she looked, she neither saw nor sensed Ji Xiang's presence.
But what was that voice just now?
It had indeed appeared.
"Did you hear anything?"
The purple-robed witch immediately questioned the other Shinto cultivators. To her surprise, those Shinto cultivators looked bewildered, stating that the heavenly demon had already been banished by her, so how could a voice appear in this world?
The old cultivator came forward with a fawning expression and said,
"Your Excellency the Miko's eradication of the heavenly demon is a great achievement for the world. However, that demon was indeed ferocious. Perhaps Your Excellency the Miko's mind was shaken by that demon just now, which is why you heard the demon's voice."
"It's caused by excessive mental tension."
The purple-robed witch felt that what the old cultivator said was likely incorrect, but she hadn't found any trace of Ji Xiang at the moment. Thus, she temporarily set aside this strange situation and ordered the others to immediately capture the old abbot of Honno-ji.
Those Shinto cultivators with blood-red eyes immediately obeyed and surrounded the old abbot.
"If we can't kill the heavenly demon, can't we kill you!"
"Abbot of Honno-ji, we want to ask you what happened that made you betray our country and consort with that heavenly demon!"
The old abbot clasped his hands together and said nothing.
After all, what good would it do to speak?
Toyotomi Hideyoshi was definitely going to kill him. He knew the secret beneath Honno-ji, so his life was at its end.
Why consort with a heavenly demon? Of course, it was to survive. If he didn't cling to such a powerful figure, would he throw himself into the net?
"Everyone, there's no need to rush."
"The heavenly demon will soon break through the formation. Be extremely careful."
The old abbot spoke to deceive them. The surrounding Shinto cultivators sneered at him with ferocious expressions: "Don't delude yourself that the heavenly demon can save you."
"He has been imprisoned in the cloud sea realm of Kuninotokotachi-no-Kami, where his vital energy, magic power, flesh, and soul will be gradually annihilated by the torrent of divine power within the cloud sea, leaving nothing behind, thus perishing completely!"
"He is dead, and so are you."
"Sealed by Your Excellency the Miko with several layers of magical methods and pulled into the world of Kuninotokotachi-no-Kami, there is no possibility of survival!"
"Don't waste any more words with him. I'll take this old monk's head!"
Shinto and Buddhism have old grievances. After all, being largely incorporated into Buddhism was a great humiliation. This was not like Buddhism actively aligning with Chinese Taoism for the sake of spreading its teachings, but rather Japan's Shinto, due to its own lack of strength, was forcibly incorporated. If it hadn't been incorporated, the era of spreading its teachings would have ended before the Nara period.
"I am deeply moved that you all have survived to this day for the sake of your lineage."
Seeing that these people were about to make a move, the old abbot, not knowing if he could wait for Ji Xiang to emerge, decided to boast a bit before his death.
He was someone who survived by relying on a heavenly demon.
And they were all people who survived by relying on Buddhism!
As expected, as soon as these words were spoken, the surrounding cultivators were immediately enraged. Their red eyes wished they could transform into beasts and tear the old monk to shreds. The purple-robed witch even said,
"You brought the heavenly demon here today, betraying Lord Kanpaku and Emperor Jinmu. You must know that your death..."
Before she could finish speaking.
The sea of clouds ahead, seeping through from another world, suddenly became restless. The ground of the divine palace rumbled!
At this moment, within the ground cloud sea realm.
The vital energy that rushed towards him was like an unhindered torrent, galloping wildly. No power could stop its advance, and anything that dared to block its path would be crushed!
Even sound disappeared, and dust was swept away and swallowed. Everything in sight was reduced to that sea of clouds. The divine image in the divine palanquin, high above, seemed to be the only true god of the past and future at this moment, releasing an incomparably solemn and vast divine might!
At the beginning of the creation of heaven and earth, a thing grew in the center of heaven and earth, like a reed sprout, which then transformed into a god, named Kuninotokotachi-no-Kami.
The divine spirit's phantom opened its hands, and its divine light could be seen outside the palanquin, as if accepting the worship of all spirits. At the same time, a mysterious voice was transmitted, reciting ancient myths in the vast sea of clouds. All things in the beginning worshipped him, for he was the first god after the creation of heaven and earth, governing the four extremities of the earth, not the god of the earth, but the supreme god who presided over concepts like the four extremities of the earth, the root of all gods on earth.
Solemn and majestic divine music played in the void, and all spirits transformed from the cloud sea devoutly worshipped him.
Thus, amidst the myriad spirits and music, a voice was heard, accompanied by the powerful divine force that disturbed the soul and shaped the spirit, warning Ji Xiang to bow before the ancient god before him!
All things that stood on the earth could not escape his judgment!
Ji Xiang sensed his own condition.
His vital energy was being corroded, his magic power was draining, and everything was returning to the earth, nourishing the divine spirit's phantom before him.
But!
"Ah... so that's how it is..."
Ji Xiang was not panicked at all. Instead, he showed a look of "as expected."
Words appeared in his eyes.
And the divine spirit's phantom was still releasing its power.
Therefore, it should accept the worship of all beings on earth, even inanimate objects like soil, sand, dust, and flowing clouds, all the myriad phenomena. Everything that stood on the earth was subject to its worship...
Boom!
A spear suddenly cut through the torrent and extended from not far away, moving forward unimpeded.
The surging clouds of mist automatically parted when they encountered the tip of the spear, as if they were inherently unable to touch this spear. The vast torrent of divine power was thus scattered to both sides from the center, until the spear shattered the barrier of the divine palanquin and pierced the divine spirit's phantom within!
"Hoo!"
A gentle breeze swirled around Ji Xiang, then transformed into a raging storm. It was the vital energy of heaven and earth being disturbed for the second time. Ji Xiang's eyes and face showed no respect for this divine spirit's phantom.
That spear was the "Ama-no-Murakumo-no-Tsurugi" obtained from the land of the Yellow Springs!
With one blow, it shattered the world!
The Ama-no-Murakumo-no-Tsurugi shattered the divine palanquin. Then, Ji Xiang flicked his Jin Jizi, recited the mantra of "Pudu Tianren," broke through the divine power clouds blocking his path, and with one blow, hammered the divine spirit's phantom until it bloomed on the spot!
The divine spirit's phantom shattered simultaneously with the explosion of the divine artifact!
A massive amount of incense offerings poured out from the palanquin!
Ji Xiang opened his mouth wide, and all those incense offerings were swallowed. As the clouds churned, a towering bright smoke erupted from Ji Xiang's body!
The sea of white smoke collided with the clouds that devoured vital energy and flesh. The power of the towering bright smoke was even greater, seizing all these clouds and pulling them into Ji Xiang's body!
Boom!
At this moment, all the fleshly power that had been dissolved in the sea of clouds surged into Ji Xiang's body. Through the blank divine tablet as a medium, it began to fill his limbs and bones, reaching the purple-gold elixir. Blood energy then gushed from his seven orifices!
Vital energy, blood energy, soul power!
"The incense offerings accumulated over a thousand years, and the beings that were once annihilated, their lives, vital energy, fleshly power, soul essence, and spirit, are all within these clouds. Now, they all become my sustenance."
The clouds dispersed, rushing towards the eight directions of the earth!
The illusion shattered!
Dark clothing appeared in the purple-robed witch's eyes. Her expression was first one of shock, then of terror!
"Four Symbols!"
The purple-robed witch quickly activated her magic.
The energy of all mountains, rivers, trees, and grass in heaven and earth transformed into the phantom of the Four Symbols, forming a great formation that began to erase Ji Xiang's existence. Once within the encirclement of the Four Symbols, anything considered an enemy by the caster would be completely refined and returned to the energy of mountains, rivers, trees, and grass!
From heaven and earth, it returned to heaven and earth. All things came from nothingness and finally returned to nothingness!
Becoming an immortal through pure Yang energy is called a Celestial Immortal. Becoming an immortal through merit is called a Merit Immortal. Becoming an immortal through consuming elixirs is called an Elixir Immortal. Becoming an immortal through energy is the path of the pre-Qin era.
Becoming an immortal through fleshly energy?
Ji Xiang sensed that this massive blood energy had reached an extremely high level. If he were not in the stage of refining the sun, ordinary Pure Yang realm existences would probably not be able to swallow such a vast amount of blood energy in one gulp!
It seemed that no one in ancient times had ever become an immortal solely through blood energy!
Becoming an immortal through blood energy had never existed because refining blood energy to a certain extent was itself the threshold for entering the path of cultivation. The early stage of Earth Immortal cultivation was the cultivation of the physical body, but after the Golden Core was perfected, it was the Nascent Soul. The power of blood energy would then stop there and could not advance further.
Becoming an immortal solely through blood energy was unimaginable. How much blood energy would it take to achieve a qualitative change?
At this moment, the purple-robed witch's voice sounded:
"How could you escape from the ground cloud sea realm!"
"You actually... killed Kuninotokotachi-no-Kami?!"
Her tone was filled with disbelief, but Ji Xiang scoffed, telling her she was too foolish!
"A mere shadow formed by the divine power left by a divine artifact, and you dare to bring this out?"
"Although my vital energy is destroyed, my aura originates from the Primordial Azure Heaven. Even your master, Emperor Jinmu's Penglai Immortal Arts, cannot restrain me. A minor god from the earth, using a divine artifact as a carrier, dares to act presumptuously before me?"
Ji Xiang looked up, saw the cracked palanquin, formed a giant palm, and smashed it towards the sky! He completely destroyed that divine artifact!
The imperial divine palanquin shattered in this world, turning into dust. The power within the divine artifact was extracted by Ji Xiang. This thing was just an empty shell, easily destroyed. The purple-robed witch's eyes widened in anger, and holding the Five Peaks Bright Scepter, she activated the Four Symbols Magic. Four phantoms simultaneously projected the four powers of wind, thunder, water, and fire onto Ji Xiang!
"The 午 fire is hidden in 巳, 戊 prosperity is in 巳, the spirit manifests the light of 离 fire! Refine!"
In the Great Law of Mountains and Rivers Four Symbols, the Vermilion Bird leads, not the Azure Dragon. This is because the grand avenue leading directly to the Heavenly Palace in front of the Tang Dynasty imperial palace was called "Zhuque Street," and its gate was called the Vermilion Bird Gate. The rise and fall of dynasties were reflected within this gate. When the empire established its capital, it sought prosperity and endless continuation for the dynasty, hence the Vermilion Bird as the formation master.
Seeing Ji Xiang enveloped by the energy of the Four Symbols and fiercely refined by the Vermilion Bird's fire, the purple-robed witch's pale face regained some vital energy, becoming slightly rosy. As for the other Shinto cultivators, they were already stunned by the scenes that had just unfolded. The old abbot, meanwhile, had timely escaped.
"The heavenly demon, the heavenly demon is dead!"
"This is Your Excellency the Miko's great victory!"
The Shinto cultivators found that Ji Xiang in the Four Symbols fire had completely disappeared and made no sound. They could only see vigorous energy and flames. They all thought the heavenly demon had been eliminated. After all, if their magical methods summoning divine power couldn't kill him, could this ultimate art passed down from ancient times in their opponent's homeland not refine him to death?
How could such a thing exist in the world!
The Shinto cultivators thought this way.
There was no one who absolutely could not die, not even a heavenly demon. The ancient Four Symbols Law, wielded by a peak human using a divine weapon, possessed power that could even restrain their own country's immortals and force them to confess their crimes. Could an immortal from a foreign land not be restrained and refined to death?
"Immortals from foreign lands are also immortals, so why can't they be killed? Heavenly demons are also at the level of immortals, and they can also be refined to death."
"Our country's immortals, it is said, are not true immortals... but only half of their bodies have stepped into it..."
"What if it's only half a body? The difference is just the other half! Now this heavenly demon must be completely dead. He was so weak, he probably exhausted all his strength to destroy Kuninotokotachi-no-Kami's divine image?"
"Yes... ah! That's right! That's it! It's only natural for him to die at the end of his strength!"
The Shinto cultivators forced smiles, and of course, some genuinely believed Ji Xiang was dead, as there had been no movement from him.
"Dead..."
The purple-robed witch also thought so. Then she noticed that the energy of the Four Symbols began to dissipate. As the situation within was revealed, after a brief silence, a burst of cheers erupted!
He was truly gone, vanished, nonexistent!
That heavenly demon had been refined to death!
They laughed heartily, and the purple-robed witch smiled. The breath she had been holding in her heart finally exhaled.
Hoo—
"Buzz—"
A sword edge suddenly appeared before the purple-robed witch.
In an instant, everyone around was engulfed in a fire barrier. The Four Symbols formation was suddenly activated again. The purple-robed witch held the Five Peaks Bright Scepter and struck at Ji Xiang. She didn't expect Ji Xiang to reach out and smash at her!
With one palm strike, he turned half of her body into a pulp!
Her entire right side was obliterated. Her Pure Yang body was as fragile as tofu. Ji Xiang snatched the Five Peaks Bright Scepter and used the pure magic power of the Northern Divine King to erase the original owner's aura from the scepter, turning it into an ownerless object!
"I have preserved you in this land for a thousand years. Today, the Five Peaks Bright Scepter is returned to its homeland."
Ji Xiang showed no mercy, sweeping her lower body into ashes with one kick. The surging blood energy could even damage the opponent's physical body and soul if it merely brushed against them!
The chaotic blood energy disrupted her body, and the purple-robed witch regenerated her physical body with her Pure Yang magic power, but her heart was already filled with extreme terror as she understood the gap between them!
A casual strike could damage both the body and the soul?
What a joke!
The purple-robed witch still wanted to struggle, but she was suddenly immobilized. She lowered her head, her face instantly turned extremely pale, and she let out a terrified scream!
The energy of the Four Symbols was enveloping her, about to refine her, the caster!
"What's going on! How can I be refined by my own magic? What exactly happened!"
"Stop it quickly! Activate... return my Buddhist artifact!"
Death was imminent, and the purple-robed witch's soul was shattered by terror. She looked up and saw five rotating auras appearing in Ji Xiang's palm.
Gold, wood, water, fire, earth.
The five elements generate each other!
"The Great Law of Mountains and Rivers Four Symbols. A lost immortal art from the Tang Dynasty, indeed very powerful."
"But the energy of mountains, rivers, trees, and grass originates from the generation of the five elements in heaven and earth. You should know this."
"The Five Teeth Heavenly Book, manipulates the five elements."
"All the incense offerings of the Heian Jingu, I have accepted them here. Thank you for your contribution to me. May you fall into the eighteen hells and never be reborn."
The energy of the five elements in Ji Xiang's hand rotated and finally merged into one.
The purple-robed witch was bewildered and helpless. Facing the immense question and the brink of life and death, she could no longer think. Death was just a moment away, and the energy of the Four Symbols completely enveloped her head!
Refining her in the blazing flames!
Ji Xiang moved forward, unimpeded. The Shinto cultivators were annihilated in the flames. Only one person remained, whom Ji Xiang grabbed. He reached the final divine palace and absorbed all the incense energy within. The magic power around his body surged, and he couldn't help but let out a long roar!
Heaven and earth rumbled and shook!
Ji Xiang turned around, and a golden light flashed beneath his feet.
In the next moment, he had returned to Honno-ji using the Golden Escape technique. He looked forward, and Oda Nobunaga's corpse had somehow appeared outside the large pit, his eyes closed, as if he had come back to life.
In Ji Xiang's right hand, a crimson divine banner appeared.
"All demons in the world, knowing I have arrived, will tremble in fear."
In Ji Xiang's left hand, the Shinto cultivator he had grabbed was thrown to the ground. At this moment, he began to demonize.
The form of a Yaksha was completely generated, but in the next moment, Ji Xiang pierced his chest with his left hand. Simultaneously, the mark of hell opened.
"Danmiluo."
Ji Xiang recited the name of the great ghost.
The voice from Avici Hell reappeared.
A green treasure sword, along with the golden sand of Jambunada gold, gushed out from hell and fell to the ground with a clang.
Ji Xiang merely glanced at it, and his gaze immediately trembled!
"This sword is...!"