Chapter 200: Mountain Wind Cave

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Akagi Akio sat in the corner next to the car door. The seat had no massage function, and the fabric was dirty and very old.

He had never seen such a carriage before, let alone sat in one. He had never even imagined that such a carriage still existed.

His expression was calm, his hands folded on his lower abdomen, looking as if he were going to a meeting somewhere as usual.

A whistle, which could not be distinguished as a “drip” or a “woo,” sounded. The train clattered and began to move forward.

Akagi Akio thought of his daughter. Before the New Year, she had said she was going on a trip with her classmates. He had not yet waited for her to return.

My daughter should be having a good time with her classmates now. I wonder how sad she will be when she comes back and finds out that her father is dead.

He looked out the window. The snow was falling heavily, and the world was silent.

Snow?
Right.

He raised his hand and gently brushed his shoulder, where some snowflakes had fallen.

Before he could use any force, as soon as his hand touched it, the snowflakes melted, wetting his suit, and his fingertips were icy cold.

“Clang, clang!” It should be an illusion. He felt that the train was getting faster and faster, even faster than the newest train he had ever taken.

Unable to bear the speed, he gripped the armrest tightly, his face pale.

The practitioners lurking on both sides of the iron bridge held their breath and watched the train slowly drive in the heavy snow…

“Boom!” The train drove onto the snow-covered iron bridge.

At this moment, a surprisingly strong mountain wind suddenly blew.

The train, like a piece of paper, flew into the sky.

The howling wind came from the bottom of the valley, and hundreds of ghostly figures spewed out, pale and ethereal, pouncing on the train in the air in the snow.

“Do it!” Minamoto Kiyomoto ordered resolutely.

Akagi Kasen pressed the hilt of his sword, and his right eye closed slowly as if he were asleep.

“Secret Sword: Broken Stone”

In the dark world of his right eye, lines appeared one after another.

Boulders, iron bridges, practitioners, trains, yokai, as far as the eye could see, there were no exceptions.

With a flick of his thumb, the sword was unsheathed. As long as he cut along the lines, taking advantage of the gaps, the sword’s edge would be invincible.

The ghostly figures swam in the sky like mermaids, and at the same time, they let out a sharp shriek, as if to pierce everyone’s eardrums.

Akagi Kasen’s calm heart, which was as calm as a lake, was stirred up with fine waves.

His mind was affected, and the illusory world he saw with his right eye disappeared from his vision, and the lines disappeared.

Akagi Kasen’s left eye, which could only see the real world, widened.

In the shriek, the snowflakes flew, and the train was like a piece of meat that had fallen into a sea of snow. The ghostly figures, like sharks that had smelled blood, swarmed up.

In the silent world, the practitioners ambushing on the opposite side held their heads in their hands, and their wails were also silent.

In this sudden shriek, everyone’s attack was interrupted, and they lost their hearing.

It was too late!

Akagi Kasen watched helplessly as these ghostly figures rushed towards the train carrying his son.

Akio was his son with a maid. He had always thought that he could not cultivate because of his birth.

But in fact, it was his mother who had died early. Before she died, she had begged him to let Akio be an ordinary person, not to take risks, not to suffer, and to live the life of an ordinary rich man.

In this deep silence, the image of Akio’s mother, which he had long since forgotten, suddenly became clear again.

She was a plump woman, and her appearance was not really beautiful.

In the silent snowflakes, a broken sound was heard.

“…st!”

With a buzz, this was not the sound of this world, but the sound of the world, as if a bowstring had been tightened, the world was held down, and stopped flowing.

Everything, was still.

A red-gold dragon rushed out from behind him. Its body had not yet fully formed, and it only had a golden, sacred head.

The snowflakes were pushed away by the airflow it caused and rushed towards him.

In the next moment, the train’s piercing siren, the practitioners’ wails, and the howling of the mountain wind rushed into his eardrums without any reason.

“Boom—”

Above the valley, the ghostly figures and the dragon collided, and a strong shockwave swept in all directions.

The mountains trembled, and the snowflakes scattered and flew, losing their direction, like a rocket that had failed to launch.

The dragon’s head exploded. Minamoto Kiyomoto forcibly twisted his body in the shockwave and kicked the carriage out of the aftershock.

With the sound of the siren, the carriage shot into the sky.

The dozens of ghostly figures that had disappeared in the collision, with a spin, their number returned to hundreds.

These ghostly figures let out a shrill shriek one after another, wanting to devour Minamoto Kiyomoto in the air.

Akagi Kasen’s heart was as calm as still water.

His right eye closed again, and he drew his sword.

Before the sword’s edge arrived, golden light, flames, and snowflakes had already rushed towards the ghostly figures like a river washing away mud.

The ghostly figures closed in, and then let out a wail in unison. Not to mention reality, even the golden light, flames, and snowflakes couldn’t help but tremble.

Akagi Kasen’s mind, which had been cultivated through hardship, shook again, but the sword was already unsheathed. At this time, he had lost his human emotions and had become a sword.

“Secret Sword: Broken Stone.”

This sentence was like a switch. His mind naturally became clear, and his eyes became sharp.

His mind recovered, and the ancient waves were not alarmed. The lines on the ghostly figures, which had gradually faded, became clear again.

The battle changed in an instant, and the flaws were like a snake constantly swimming. Only by concentrating all his spirit could he capture and accurately hit.

The sword’s edge was invincible, tearing apart dozens of ghostly figures, and also cutting a fifteen-meter-long, but fifty-meter-deep gully in the snow mountain.

Golden light, flames, and snowflakes rushed past, and the gray sky was colorful.

The number of ghostly figures went from hundreds to single digits, but in an instant, they returned to their original number.

With another shriek, the ghostly figures scattered like snowflakes, rushing towards the practitioners one by one.

“Ah!” The weaker ones were instantly wrapped in the ghostly figures and fell into the valley.

“Get lost!”

“Watch your back!”

“Shibata!!!”

Shouts, roars, fear, and wails. The ghostly figures were heavy, and the snow was falling heavily. The valley became a battlefield and a purgatory.

Itomi Sayaka’s divine power was not as good as Kamibayashi Miko’s, and her mind was not as strong as Akagi Kasen’s. She was the last of the Kasen to recover.

She had originally wanted to support Minamoto Kiyomoto, but she withdrew her hand and did her best to protect those weak practitioners.

Yuka, Rabbit, and the other six, with their backs to each other, were already used to fighting together and were not taken down the mountain by the ghostly figures at the first moment.

They were panting, facing the ghostly figures, feeling as if their hearts were being gripped by a cold hand, trembling with fear.

Hanyu Chika controlled the six flying swords made of meteorites, which flew in a circle, repelling and destroying the pouncing ghostly figures.

Itomi Sayaka put some of her attention on them and constantly rescued the practitioners who were taken down the mountain by the ghostly figures.

“Everyone, gather at the top of the mountain!” Akagi Kasen shouted, swinging his sword to kill a ghostly figure that was holding a practitioner.

“Ah!” With another wail, another practitioner on the opposite side of the bridge was entangled by a ghostly figure and fell into the valley.

He turned around and saw Itomi Sayaka flying close to the cliff, so he turned back and continued to eliminate the ghostly figures.

There were many practitioners who could destroy the ghostly figures, but the ghostly figures would die and be reborn. Even if their strength was stronger than them, if they were not careful, they would be taken away and fall to their death at the bottom of the valley.

The wind rushed towards her. Itomi Sayaka quickly caught up with the practitioner who was wrapped in the ghostly figure.

With a chop of her hand, a crescent-shaped blue divine power cut past, and the ghostly figure wailed and dissipated.

The practitioner was dizzy from the wail, almost losing consciousness, unable to use his divine power, and still fell towards the valley like an ordinary person.

Itomi Sayaka made a sudden rush and grabbed the practitioner’s collar.

This was a female practitioner who was as old as her sister. She looked like she had just graduated from the practitioner’s academy.

She opened her eyes in a daze.

“It’s okay,” Itomi Sayaka smiled at her.

“Look…” the practitioner murmured something.

Itomi Sayaka had no time to comfort her. People were constantly falling from the cliff. She turned into a blue light and began to rescue them.

The ghostly figures’ attack was as fast as the mountain wind, and there was a piercing shriek. Even if the practitioners followed Akagi Kasen’s order and consciously gathered together, some people were still taken away.

It was overwhelming. Even Kamibayashi Miko and the others found it troublesome.

The cold air released by the Hokkaido Miko wanted to freeze these ghostly figures, but they treated it as air and easily drilled out.

This yokai, in terms of strength, was only at the village level, and even at the village level, it was on the weaker side, only at the level of one or two Kasen, but these ghostly figures could not be killed.

After observation, it was not that they absorbed divine energy to recover, but that they were simply ‘endless’.

“Mmm—” a strange buzz, like a church choir.

Everyone, all of them, quieted down.

Between the mountains, the huge Coral Demon Moth spread its wings, like a god patrolling the human world.

The group stared blankly at the sky.

Akagi Kasen turned his head to look. On the mountain-like Coral Demon Moth, he could not find a single line.

“This is a county-level yokai,” he murmured, his open left eye trembling.

The magnificent coral horns, with three-colored divine light flowing, like a dam opening its gates, and the celestial river collapsing, rushed down.

The valley, the iron bridge, the practitioners, the ghostly figures, the trees, the snowflakes, everything was submerged in the three-colored divine light.

When the divine light disappeared, the ghostly figures disappeared without a trace.

The practitioners were still stunned. Under the pressure of the Coral Demon Moth, they couldn’t even cheer.

‘Strange, I didn’t absorb any divine energy,’ Tamahime pondered.

Itomi Sayaka breathed a sigh of relief, landed on the iron bridge, and put down the female practitioner in her hand.

“I saw it!” the female practitioner pounced over and grabbed her clothes.

“Don’t worry, it’s okay,” Itomi Sayaka smiled and rubbed her head.

“I saw it!” the female practitioner excitedly shook Itomi Sayaka’s body. “There’s a cave in the valley!”

“A cave?”

At this moment, with a whoosh, a fierce mountain wind rushed up from the valley.

Fierce, unreasonable, almost materialized. Not to mention the female practitioner, even Itomi Sayaka couldn’t stand firm for a moment.

Many people were caught off guard and were blown into the sky.

The train carriage, which was already about to fall, was thrown up again.

Between the mountains, a huge wind pillar that was visible to the naked eye formed, and the gray clouds were pierced.

Hundreds of ghostly figures rushed out along the mountain wind, trying to fly in all directions.

Minamoto Kiyomoto did not dare to use too strong an attack, afraid of blowing up the mountain, and still released the three-colored divine light.

The ghostly figures disappeared, and no divine energy was absorbed. The wind pillar was not affected at all, and constantly released new ghostly figures, hundreds of them each time.

‘I don’t believe it. Aim at the valley!’ Tamahime was a part of the Coral Demon Moth, which was equivalent to being there in person.

Minamoto Kiyomoto did not act rashly. He wanted to try to capture the yokai.

He had seen Tamahime’s memories and had also asked Himegami Izayoi. So far, there had been no record of successfully capturing a yokai.

Of course, there were various sealing spells, but the captured yokai all self-destructed without exception.

Even if the divine energy was fixed, it still could not prevent this self-destruction.

And the energy during self-destruction was very huge. A village-level could explode with the power of a town-level, and a town-level was a destructive blow, with the strength of a county-level yokai.

For countless years, after repeated exploration and verification, the only thing humans could use was the remains of yokai.

But humans couldn’t, which didn’t mean yokai couldn’t.

Using only the remains of yokai, Minamoto Kiyomoto was still a complete human. Now that he had completely fused with the entire “Coral Demon Moth,” even he himself did not dare to say that he was 100% human.

Whether his body was human or yokai, Minamoto Kiyomoto didn’t care, as long as his heart was still human.

Tamahime was also the same. She was already dead, a ghost, but she still considered herself human, and he also treated her as human.

‘Are you thinking about something rude?’

‘I’m thinking of a way.’

Tamahime certainly knew what Minamoto Kiyomoto was thinking.

During the time the two of them were thinking and communicating, Kamibayashi Miko, Himegami Izayoi, the Hokkaido Miko, Itomi Sayaka, Akagi Kasen, and some other high-level practitioners attacked the valley.

The powerful divine power had the power to pierce the earth.

This time, the mountain wind defended itself, spitting out many ghostly figures to block this attack.

“Troublesome,” Himegami Izayoi withdrew her hand, held her chin with her fan, and pondered.

“Can you seal it with the Divine Medium’s綾?” Kamibayashi Miko asked her.

At some point when they were taking a bath together, she had learned Himegami Izayoi’s identity and knew that she was the Lord of Kyoto.

“Even if I can seal it, you don’t want the Divine Medium’s綾 anymore?” Himegami Izayoi said.

Kamibayashi Miko didn’t care about the Divine Medium’s綾, but it wasn’t hers. She didn’t want to use this method until the very end.

The mountain wind constantly spewed out ghostly figures, and they were constantly eliminated.

Sealing spells, freezing, flooding, burying, all methods were tried, but they were all blocked by the ghostly figures, and there was nothing they could do about the mountain wind itself.

The train carriage fell in the middle. Minamoto Kiyomoto, to prevent the yokai from disappearing without the train, still let it fly in the sky.

‘You see, sealing spells are useless. What other way is there?’ Tamahime asked.

‘Do you still remember the turtle that I enlarged in the Pacific Ocean?’

‘You mean?’

Human habits were hard to change in a short time. There was no need for the words ‘you mean?’ between the two of them.

“Mmm—”

In the buzz, everyone stopped and looked at the Coral Demon Moth.

“It seems Master Kiyo has a way,” Himegami Izayoi said.

The coral-colored divine energy burned around the Coral Demon Moth’s body, like a light flame, and also like blood.

‘As big as you want!’

Similar to the red-gold dragon’s “imprisonment,” the sound of the world sounded again.

‘Bang!’ ‘Bang!’ ‘Bang!’

The mountain wind cave gradually shrank.

‘Alright, alright, that’s enough, that’s enough. The divine energy is about to be used up!’ Tamahime shouted with heartache.

The divine energy absorbed on the sea, plus some that had slowly recovered during this period, by the time the mountain wind cave shrank to the size of a human palm, the Coral Demon Moth’s divine energy was only one-third left.

It came like a brick, and when it was used, it was like demolishing a building.

‘Is it necessary to be so small? You’re crazy!’

The mountain wind cave rose from the bottom of the valley. It was a small valley, exactly the same as the real scene in front of them. The only difference was that there was no iron bridge, let alone a train.

Minamoto Kiyomoto flew out from the coral horns and descended towards the mountain wind cave that had risen into the sky.

The Coral Demon Moth’s demon body collapsed into a smoke-like coral-colored divine energy and poured into his back.

As long as the Coral Demon Moth’s capacity was in his body, it didn’t matter whether the divine energy that constituted the Coral Demon Moth’s body was there or not.

But Tamahime was reluctant and collected every drop.

Minamoto Kiyomoto caught the mountain wind cave. The ghostly figures no longer appeared. He turned his head to look. The train had been caught and put back on the tracks.

‘Yokai, what exactly are they?’ he asked subconsciously.

‘Who knows? Anyway, they’re not good for humans,’ Tamahime replied.

Kamibayashi Miko and the others flew over.

“Lord Shinto, are you planning to turn it into a new demon body?” Akagi Kasen asked with confusion.

“No,” Minamoto Kiyomoto replied.

If it were a remnant, as long as he could make the yokai’s remaining capacity submit, any number would do.

A complete yokai, the moment Minamoto Kiyomoto fused with the Coral Demon Moth, he vaguely sensed that there could only be one.

In fact, as for the remnants, although he could have as many as he wanted, he could only fuse with one at a time.

A complete yokai could also be replaced, but he had to kill the original yokai.

If there was a stronger one, Minamoto Kiyomoto wouldn’t mind changing.

‘Wait, if you change, what about me?’

‘I mean, I’ll change after you’re resurrected.’

Kamibayashi Miko glanced at the valley model in Minamoto Kiyomoto’s palm and asked him, “Are you going to destroy it?”

“I have an idea,” he naturally smiled at her. “See if I can subdue the yokai.”

“This ghostly figure is troublesome, but that’s for humans. It’s too weak against yokai,” Himegami Izayoi said.

“Then let’s use it against humans. It can also be used to send messages, communicate, and blow some wind for you, Koyako. Isn’t that good?”

“I dare not blow this wind,” Himegami Izayoi laughed.

“Lord Shinto,” Akagi Kasen reminded, “yokai cannot be captured. Since ancient times, the yokai captured by humans through sacrifice have all self-destructed.”

“It’s okay,” Minamoto Kiyomoto didn’t care. “If it self-destructs, it will just fill my Coral Demon Moth’s stomach.”

I don’t know if it was an illusion, but the mountain wind cave in his hand trembled.

Minamoto Kiyomoto had a bit of confidence in taming the yokai.

He also thought, if he could succeed, could he also subdue other yokai?
However, yokai below the county level, even if subdued, were just a drop in the bucket.

If he didn’t deal with the “Eternal Life Jade Fan,” “Konohanasakuya-hime,” and “Akan,” he would never be safe.

But there was progress, no, even just having a direction was enough!

Minamoto Kiyomoto landed in the snow and walked towards the train.

Without the mountain wind cave, the heavy snow began to fall again. Akagi Akio staggered and trembled as he walked out of the carriage.

“Thank you for your hard work,” Minamoto Kiyomoto comforted.

Akagi Akio wanted to speak, but he couldn’t open his mouth.

Being in the air with the train was not only uncomfortable, but he also had to endure the panic of dying at any time.

“Have someone take a look at him,” Minamoto Kiyomoto said to a group leader.

“Yes!”

The group leader called out, and a practitioner from the treatment department who was good at alleviating panic walked over and helped Akagi Akio away.

After he left, Minamoto Kiyomoto said to Akagi Kasen, “Next time something like this happens, when the second train sets off, send a few practitioners to accompany it.”

“It was my negligence.”

“It’s not negligence. It’s the first time you’ve encountered this situation. No one could have expected it. But you can’t use this as an excuse and pretend nothing happened. You have to learn from it.”

“Lord Shinto is right. After this incident, I will personally accompany the next train,” Akagi Kasen replied.

Minamoto Kiyomoto nodded.

At this time, Itomi Sayaka led Hanyu Chika, Rabbit, Yuka, and the others over.

Yagyu Michiko returned to Tokyo and was handed over to Kyoto. No matter what, the face of the Lord of Kyoto had to be maintained.

She was now scrubbing the floor in the Imperial Palace and would not be able to finish her labor reform until February.

“Are you injured?” Minamoto Kiyomoto asked Yuka and the others.

Perhaps they didn’t expect Minamoto Kiyomoto to care about them. No one spoke for a moment.

Only Fatty hehe laughed shyly, touched his hair, and said, “No, it’s just a little cold. My bangs are like I’ve used half a bottle of gel.”

Minamoto Kiyomoto glanced at the few of them. Their hair was indeed as hard as steel wire.

“Let’s go,” he called out and turned into a black light.

Kamibayashi Miko, Himegami Izayoi, the Hokkaido Miko, and Itomi Sayaka followed closely behind, flying towards Tokyo in the increasingly heavy snow.

After they all left, the woman in the withered leaf-colored clothes came to the side of Akagi Kasen, who was as short as a rock.

“Father, you’re really going to listen to that kid and stay behind to wait for the new train?” the woman asked.

“What else?” Akagi Kasen asked back.

“That kid is so arrogant. He actually dared to use a teaching tone to his father.” In the woman’s eyes, her father was the greatest and most noble.

In Gunma Prefecture, Akagi Kasen was the emperor.

Outside of Gunma Prefecture, even the Ogosho was polite to Akagi Kasen. He was a top figure among the thirty-six Kasen.

“He’s a young man,” Akagi Kasen said. “He’s proud of his youth and thinks there are many places that need improvement. He likes to meddle in everything.”

“Humph, I admit he has some ability, but do you know, father? As soon as he took office, he dealt with the son of the Ibuki Kasen and sent the judgment to all the Kasen in Honshu. Your… your copy has already been sent to Mount Akagi.”

“Then you should cause less trouble and cultivate well.”

“I just don’t like the way that kid treats his father,” the woman pouted.

Akagi Kasen looked at the heavy snow, “It’s not just you who doesn’t like him. The ones who really don’t like him, ha.”

“Father?” the woman looked at her father.

“Don’t worry about these things. No matter what, Minamoto Kiyomoto is the number one in the world now. We don’t need to go against him,” Akagi Kasen looked at his daughter. “Cultivate well. In February, the Hokkaido Ice Lantern Festival, there will be another Kasen position vacant.”

“Really?” the woman’s eyes widened in surprise.

“During this time, you follow me. I will teach you the secret sword.”

“Thank you, father!”

If she could also become a Kasen, the Akagi family would have two Kasen and could rule another county!
“Hmm,” Akagi Kasen nodded. Just as he was about to leave, he suddenly remembered something. “Take good care of Akio’s matter. Don’t let anyone bully his son.”

“Yes!”

In the vast white valley, Akagi Kasen walked towards the house that had been built yesterday, preparing to wait for the third train.

As for the environment, he didn’t care. In order to cultivate the secret sword, he had slept in the rubble for ten years until he could see the lines and shatter the hard stones with just his sword, without using divine power.

He remembered what Minamoto Kiyomoto had just said about the mountain wind cave, and also thought of his mind that had been affected by the ghostly figures. He walked slowly in the snow, deep in thought.

As he walked, black suddenly appeared in his vision. His heart jumped, thinking it was a ghostly figure again.

He pressed the hilt of his sword, and his right eye was about to close. He looked carefully and breathed a sigh of relief.

A few crows were standing on a tree branch, staring at them as if waiting for them to leave.