Redemption of a Born Demon

Chapter 232 - 203: Piled-High Blood Debts, a True God Descends and Swallows All with One Qi (Part 1)

After all, the Soldier Technique was ultimately centered on the user’s own body. The various soldiers were merely auxiliary measures.

But the Yin Yang Art of Japan seemed different.

These Demon Spirits all had an incredibly ancient feel to them. Their level of independence was comparable to that of true living beings, which was simply inconceivable.

Yi Beidou’s observation was, in fact, correct.

The Yin Yang Masters of Japan cultivated the arts of "Nourishing Spirit" and "Spirit Control." Shikigami were their very foundation. The progenitors of Yin Yang Masters had hoped to create Spirit Bodies that could be passed down through generations, allowing their strength and power to endure indefinitely.

The Twelve Divine Forms within the Heaven-Reaching Lodge were born from this very principle. After generations of Sacrificial Refining by the Tsuchimikado Clan, their power had long since reached a terrifying level.

The twelve Shikigami were practically equivalent to twelve Saint Realm experts.

"That’s right. This time, I will need all of you to give me your full support."

Inside the room, Tsuchimikado Kazai spoke faintly, his voice carrying far and wide.

"I refuse. This guy’s ridiculously strong, and I’m not about to go get myself killed. This isn’t what we agreed to. You shouldn’t have provoked an enemy this powerful, kid."

"Besides, the ’offering’ you promised us before is nowhere near enough to take on an opponent like this."

The completely snow-white Three-tailed Fox spoke, its voice unexpectedly coarse.

"I can sense that this young man’s power is no less than that of the true Immortals we’ve encountered in the past. I advise you to abandon this notion at once and get us out of here. Otherwise, even if we manage to defeat him, I fear more than half of our brothers will be destroyed in the process."

The giant, blackish-purple scorpion also spoke up.

Among the Twelve Divine Forms, nearly a third of the Demons voiced their opposition after seeing Yi Beidou, clearly wanting to refuse the battle.

Furthermore, this one-third faction consisted of the strongest and most intelligent among the Twelve Divine Forms.

"As long as your Life Artifacts remain intact, I can resurrect you. Annihilation is not the end for you," Tsuchimikado Kazai said.

"I refuse. You should know full well that the ’me’ who is reborn won’t be the ’me’ I am now."

A tall, red-skinned monster covered in intricate black Spells spoke up.

Their very existence was fundamentally dependent on the Life Artifacts refined by the first Yin Yang Master progenitor. Theoretically, as long as a Life Artifact wasn’t destroyed, its host could spend a certain amount of time and resources to nurture it, allowing its magnetic field to re-coalesce.

However, this re-nurturing process was equivalent to "formatting" them. The Shikigami’s prior personality and intelligence would be completely reset.

The longer a Shikigami had existed—and the stronger and more intelligent it had become—the more unwilling it was to lose its current consciousness.

The being that was reborn would no longer be them.

As for those who didn’t object, they were typically ones that had already undergone a "reboot" and had yet to develop sufficient intelligence.

This was the greatest drawback of controlling Shikigami.

After all, these Shikigami had been passed down through generations.

Since their power didn’t come directly from the user, a great deal of effort had to be spent on negotiation and mediation.

If he hadn’t used his Tsuchimikado Clan bloodline to form a Contract with the Life Artifacts, these Shikigami would have likely rebelled long ago.

The Shikigami and their master were at an impasse.

Fortunately, the house where Muraoka Rui and the others were located was protected by an Array that shielded its magnetic field. This blocked the magnetically transmitted voices from getting inside. Otherwise, if their argument were captured by a camera and broadcast online, the Great Trend that Tsuchimikado Kazai had so carefully cultivated would likely collapse in an instant.

"Infighting? Still, I don’t have time to watch you bicker," Yi Beidou said calmly, walking step by step toward the main building.

SKREEE!!

Swarms of lesser Shikigami shrieked and charged at him from all sides, but before they could even get close, they were engulfed by the blazing Demon Flame, twisting and struggling as they vanished into thin air.

’Those fools.’

Tsuchimikado Kazai shook his head slightly, a harsh glint flashing in his eyes. He had, in fact, anticipated this.

He didn’t need the cooperation of the Twelve Divine Forms. This time, his goal was to seize complete control over them.

From a nearby collection of Dharma Artifacts, he retrieved a palm-sized object wrapped in black cloth. Unwrapping it revealed a Tomoe that seemed to be soaked in blood.

The instant the Tomoe appeared, the entire room seemed to turn sinister. A bone-chilling cold filled the air, and an unnatural wind began to blow.

Fine cracks could be seen all over the Tomoe’s surface, looking as if it might disintegrate at any moment.

"There’s only enough for one last use," Tsuchimikado Kazai muttered to himself.

「Meanwhile, outside.」

The strongest and most intelligent of the Shikigami seemed to sense something. Their bodies trembled slightly, and their expressions changed drastically.

"You brat! Why did you take out the Ten Thousand Resentment Jade?! What are you planning?!" the completely snow-white Three-tailed Fox bellowed.

"What am I planning? To complete my grandfather’s dying wish, of course."

A smile touched the corners of Tsuchimikado Kazai’s lips as a radiance bloomed from his palm.

The next moment.

SHREEEEE!!

The palm-sized Tomoe seemed to be fully activated by Tsuchimikado Kazai. A bloodcurdling shriek erupted from within it as a violent magnetic field was triggered, and the entire room began to flash with a crimson light.

Twisted, ghostly faces seemed to materialize within the Tomoe.

A psychic magnetic field—thick with resentment, hatred, indignation, and madness—spread outward. Even Tsuchimikado Kazai could not avoid its influence; his face contorted and his eyes turned crimson.

He hastily formed a Seal Technique. Guided by a soft glow, the intense magnetic field was drawn in by his own Life Magnetic Field, connecting with the twelve strange Dharma Artifacts before him.

These twelve artifacts were none other than the Life Artifacts of the twelve strongest Shikigami outside.

The moment the vast magnetic field from the Tomoe poured into the twelve Life Artifacts...

"No! NO!!"

The bodies of the most intelligent Shikigami began to contort. Crimson light radiated from within them, and their already terrifying forms underwent a drastic transformation.

Patterns resembling demonic faces appeared on their skin as their bodies rapidly swelled. Vicious spikes sprouted all over them, and all reason vanished from their eyes, leaving only the purest, bloodthirsty killing intent.

They appeared to have entered a demonic state.

Just eighty years ago, they had gone through a similar experience.

Only, it hadn’t happened in Japan, but in the Donghua Land.

Tsuchimikado Ryouta—the previous Daoist Lord of the Heaven-Reaching Lodge and Tsuchimikado Kazai’s grandfather—had been one of the twelve Martial Saints who invaded Donghua back then.

His goal had been twofold: first, to seize territory in Donghua and secure benefits for his own sect; second, to complete his ancestor’s plan to merge the Twelve Divine Forms, break through their limits, and create a True God.

To achieve this, the first step was to stimulate the powers of the Twelve Divine Forms to their absolute peak.

The Twelve Divine Forms were originally malevolent spirits born naturally in the world of Japan. They were later subdued and altered. The most effective way to stimulate their powers to the absolute maximum was through immense amounts of resentful and malevolent Qi.

Back then, the Japanese army had burned, killed, raped, and pillaged its way through Donghua. Countless people lost their lives. Entire villages, even entire cities, were massacred. The amount of resentful Qi generated during that time was simply unimaginable.

Tsuchimikado Ryouta had harnessed this vast reservoir of resentful Qi to refine the Ten Thousand Resentment Jade. He then set up an Array to channel the jade’s power into the Twelve Divine Forms, successfully stimulating their abilities to the absolute limit.

However, he failed at the final step.

Stimulated by the vast, malevolent, and resentful Qi, the Shikigami had completely lost their minds. The very first thing they did was turn on their master.

Tsuchimikado Ryouta lacked the power to completely suppress the Shikigami’s rebellion. In the end, he was forced to destroy nearly half of them, causing them to enter the "reboot" state. He managed to successfully purge the resentful Qi from the remaining Shikigami, returning them to normal.

But because of this, Tsuchimikado Ryouta’s Primordial Qi was grievously wounded. He withdrew from the Donghua battlefield prematurely and died an early death.

Now, Tsuchimikado Kazai was walking his grandfather’s path once more. Only this time, he had learned from his predecessor’s experience and was far better prepared.

And the Great Trend he had personally set in motion was his greatest asset!