“Ahhh… Gui Yifa Yan! I will kill you! Kill you!!!”
In Aki Province.
Just as Wu Ming destroyed one of Ye Bai’s avatars, a voice filled with hatred and resentment rang out from within a certain sake house.
“Lord?!”
A servant girl rushed in, startled, but immediately screamed as she was cut down by Ye Bai, blood gushing.
“Cursed! Cursed!”
His figure moved like the wind, quickly leaving the scene and arriving in the wilderness. Layers of azure scales emerged on his body, interlaced with streaks of black.
“Cursed Gui Yifa Yan! He actually destroyed my avatar, leaving not even a trace of residual soul…” Ye Bai’s face was extremely pale, like a corpse that had never seen daylight. “After losing two avatars, I can no longer suppress the innate nature of this body. Worst of all, my Tri-Soul Seven-Slaying Avatars have lost two lives… Ahhh…”
He roared, in a frenzy: “Gui Yifa Yan! I will never coexist with you!!!”
Hiss!
A terrifying teng snake suddenly emerged from behind him, unleashing its demonic power wildly, stirring up sand and stones, and plunging the surroundings into chaos.
After a long time, having vented his fury, Ye Bai became puzzled: “How did Gui Yifa Yan discover my fundamental cultivation technique?”
The cultivation technique he practiced was the “Azure Cloud Scale Twelve Layers” for his physical body, while for his soul, it was the “Tri-Soul Seven-Slaying Avatar Method”!
This technique was quite mysterious, possessing the ability to split the soul. Once successfully cultivated, one gained two additional lives! Infinitely profound, yet the cultivation process was extremely cruel.
Tri-Soul Seven-Slaying, as the name implied, first required collecting a hundred kinds of magical herbs, combined with celestial and terrestrial energies, to cultivate one’s yin soul into a Seven-Slaying Soul! Naturally, this process was extremely painful; it could be said that among a hundred cultivators, few could endure it!
Once the Seven-Slaying Soul was partially formed, seven people with different fates and physical characteristics needed to be found. After torturing them with various cruel methods and killing them, their resentment was used as a blade, merging into one’s own soul, forcefully splitting the soul into three!
Finally, three excellent physical bodies and cauldrons were needed to possess and revive, thus completing the “Tri-Soul Seven-Slaying Avatar Method.” The soul was split into three avatars, each independent yet unified, infinitely wondrous.
Moreover, these three physical vessels were best related by blood to the original body, thus minimizing soul rejection!
This method was extremely cruel and vicious, and those who practiced it must be heartless and merciless, facing endless heavenly and earthly tribulations!
Yet Ye Bai was ruthless enough to cultivate it successfully through the power of the Main Shrine, gaining not only three lives but also tripling his cultivation speed, thus achieving his current status!
But now, losing two avatars meant all his previous efforts were in vain!
Unlike the “Sanqing Manifestation” great technique on the Heavenly Rankings, which could endlessly regenerate avatars as long as the original body remained.
Quite the opposite! The three souls were interrelated; losing one meant permanently losing that part of the soul, never to be cultivated again, and it would also cause injuries to the other avatars!
Like last time, when Wu Ming destroyed one of Ye Bai’s avatars, the other two were also damaged, forcing them into hiding, taking three or four years to recover slowly.
This time another avatar was destroyed, and it might take ten years to recover!
“My time is limited… Cursed!”
Ye Bai’s face twisted with bulging veins, and snake scales began to form, a result of his damaged soul losing control over his bloodline.
“All my achievements, besides the Seven-Slaying Soul method, were invested into the teng snake bloodline of these three bodies. How unfortunate! I originally heard that there was a way within the Main Shrine to resist the consequences of failing the main task, but I failed to obtain it…”
A deep fear suddenly appeared on his face: “The ten-year limit, originally thought too long, now seems too short. Should I abandon the Mouri family and use the delaying tactic? But if the deadline passes, I will still be destroyed…”
“Yokai! Demon!”
Beside him, a hunter-like man accidentally saw Ye Bai in this form and immediately screamed.
“Tsk!”
Ye Bai snapped his fingers, sending a blue scale flying into the hunter’s forehead.
His throat moved, and he couldn’t help stepping forward, absorbing the blood…
Moments later, a streak of blue light flew out, revealing Ye Bai’s figure: “The only solution now is to use that method, collecting the essence of ten thousand people to refine the Tri-Soul Great Pill, which might restore my soul. However, even if my strength returns to its peak… it still cannot rival Gui Yifa Yan…”
Recalling how the other had effortlessly moved about, defeating them like nothing as the national master, even Ye Bai couldn’t help showing concern on his face.
…
“Ye Jun! You also wish to confront Gui Yifa Yan?”
Suddenly, the surroundings changed; trees and grass withered, decaying and rotting, soaked in the Yellow Springs, carrying the scent of death.
A spring emerged from the ground, continuously gushing out Yellow Spring water, carrying an unfathomable will.
“Yomotsu Okami?!”
Ye Bai’s face showed alertness, then turned into a sneer: “You want to help me?”
“Of course…”
Gurgle! Gurgle!
The Yellow Spring domain continuously expanded. Suddenly, a massive skeleton emerged, connected bones with eight heads.
“This was the skeleton of the ancient Yamata no Orochi, preserved by me in the Yellow Spring. You only need to merge with it, not only recovering your original soul’s injuries but also advancing further!”
Yomotsu Okami’s voice came from the depths of the Yellow Spring: “After gaining power, you must kill Gui Yifa Yan and assist my Kaguya Hime… She and your child will be the true ruler of Japan!”
“Fine!”
Ye Bai’s eyes gleamed with cruelty and malice as he stepped forward without hesitation, merging with the skeleton of Yamata no Orochi. Countless waves of Yellow Spring water surged forth, weaving into a tawny cocoon that gradually sank into the spring.
“Hehe… Yomotsu Okami, you want to use me, but am I not also using you?”
Feeling his bloodline rejoicing, Ye Bai sneered inwardly: “Gui Yifa Yan possesses the national master’s fate, being equivalent to a land immortal in Izumo. Even if you personally went and subdued him, you would inevitably be injured, giving the other two noble gods an opportunity. Thus, you want me to be your sacrificial pawn?”
“That Gui Yifa Yan possesses the dragon aura, likely supporting either Amaterasu Omikami or Susano-o no Mikoto. I would be a fool to go to Izumo and fight him to the death!”
“You’ve hidden a trap within Yamata no Orochi’s skeleton, intending to corrode me and make me a vessel for your descending power, yet you don’t know that I also have plans. I will use this opportunity to activate the teng snake power, devour Yamata no Orochi, advance my bloodline, and elevate my ‘Azure Cloud Scale Twelve Layers’ to ‘Heavenly Clarity and Earthly Brightness Teng Snake Sutra’!”
“Ha! Teng Snake bloodline, Azure Cloud Scale, transform!”
In an instant, a teng snake phantom emerged from the tawny cocoon, gazing at Yamata no Orochi’s skeleton, its vertical pupils showing a glint of greed.
…
Meanwhile, in Numata Castle.
“Father!”
Finally, Gui Yijing had cleared the rear and arrived with his troops.
Although still a teenager of fifteen or sixteen, dressed in black armor, he now bore a calm demeanor and the authority of one who held life and death in his hands.
“Hmm, what about the other clans?”
“They have all responded. This time, I not only brought two thousand foot soldiers from our clan but also ten thousand troops contributed by other daimyo and noble families, totaling over ten thousand soldiers!”
Yijing said excitedly: “This time, we will surely conquer Aki!”
“Originally, after obtaining Izumo, our clan should rest and recuperate. Unfortunately, with the fall of Goryu Castle and the destruction of the Daisoji clan, the situation in Aki has drastically changed, forcing us to react!”
Wu Ming explained his thoughts: “…Aki also has a rice production of over three hundred thousand koku, comparable to Izumo. If we wait until the Mouri clan fully consolidates Aki, our conquest will cost ten or even a hundred times more effort. Compared to that, marching now is not a big deal, especially since our clan stabilized Izumo before the Mouri, giving us an advantage! …Of course, now you are the clan head, so the final decision to march rests with you!”
This statement was actually insincere, yet it had to be said.
After all, the strong suggestion was already deep interference. The final decision, however, Wu Ming definitely would not make for him.
Nevertheless, with his current prestige, Gui Yijing had little chance of opposing him, especially regarding such a beneficial matter.
“I think… this is a good opportunity…”
Gui Yijing hesitated: “Izumo and Aki are both large neighboring states. Once someone unifies the two, the surrounding noble clans will be powerless to resist, inevitably submitting, rapidly expanding the territory to a million koku, enough to influence the national situation!”
“Indeed! When that day comes, you can restore your Susano name. The Gui family will fully support your march to Kyoto!”
Wu Ming assured him: “Furthermore… you can send one of your sons later to formally inherit the Gui family name and territory!”
“Father!”
Gui Yijing was immediately moved.
This was not sending a hostage. On the contrary, Japanese daimyo often liked to rename their second or third sons and send them to other families to eventually inherit the clan headship, a peaceful way to expand their territory.
Wu Ming’s gesture was a promise that even after conquering Aki, the million koku territory would ultimately go to Gui Yijing.
A million koku territory! In this chaotic era, it was enough to sway the national situation. Even if Gui Yijing became the ruler of the land in the future, it still represented a significant benefit, naturally moving him greatly.
“Good! With so much invested, surely it will eliminate Yijing’s dissatisfaction and wariness, making him willingly serve as a shield?”
Seeing this, Wu Ming slightly nodded.
What he sought and what Gui Yijing sought were entirely different matters, just like the lofty Main Shrine would not care about earthly gold and silver.
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