Chapter 54: One-on-One

The restless air suddenly froze.

“Is there anything else you want to ask?” Minamoto Kiyomoto stood on the shoulder of the reclining Great Buddha, one foot on the Great Buddha’s head.

The girl with the rabbit mask glared at him fiercely.

Minamoto Kiyomoto returned an apologetic smile, still looking down at them.

The rabbit mask turned and made eye contact with the people from the ninth group, conveying the meaning of ‘we can only break through’.

Everyone understood and took out their weapons. The brilliant divine power burned like a candle flame.

“Wait!” Itomi Sayaka slowly walked to the front and looked at the three people on the Great Buddha.

“What? Have you decided to be my girlfriend?” Minamoto Kiyomoto asked with a smile.

The people from the ninth group started cursing again. A few male cultivators were even preparing to make a move.

Itomi Sayaka raised her right hand, and these people quieted down.

She said in a calm tone:
“If I didn’t hear wrong just now, it should be the whistle of the Enoden—you only evacuated the tourists and haven’t had time to evacuate the nearby residents. You haven’t even stopped the Enoden.”

Minamoto Kiyomoto fell silent.

“Are you threatening us?” When he spoke again, his voice was obviously lower.

“We just want to live,” Itomi Sayaka replied. “The students and office workers on the Enoden who are on their way home now, they also want to live.”

“Despicable!” the sweet-looking Minamoto Kiyomi cursed.

“The people of Shintoism really should be killed,” the heroic and valiant Minamoto Kiyone said coldly.

Even the dignified and noble beauty of the dynasty—Fujiwara Shino—frowned slightly.

“What do you think?” Itomi Sayaka ignored them and asked Minamoto Kiyomoto.

Everyone looked at him. At this time, for some reason, Himemiya Izayoi suddenly let out a series of silver-bell-like happy laughter.

The few sentences Itomi Sayaka had just said were all instructed by Minamoto Kiyomoto in the morning, except for that ‘what do you think’.

“Miss Catwoman, you can cultivate to the level of a Kosen, which means you’re different from those uneducated fools under you who only know how to meditate and practice curses. You should understand the principle of ‘sacrificing oneself to achieve benevolence’.”

“How do you know if the residents of Kamakura are willing to sacrifice themselves to achieve benevolence?” Itomi Sayaka retorted with a sneer.

“That’s not important,” Minamoto Kiyomoto said with a smile. “Mortals are mediocre and can’t even live their own lives well. If we have to ask for their opinions on everything, this world would have been finished long ago.”

“Shameless!”

“You say we’re evil, but we think you’re the evil one!”

No matter how the people from the ninth group cursed, Minamoto Kiyomoto ignored them all.

“Is there anything else you want to say? If not, let’s begin,” he said to Itomi Sayaka.

“Boom!” Minamoto Nagatoku was enveloped in an earthy divine power.

“Boom!” “Boom!” “Boom!”

Minamoto Kiyomi, a light pink divine power; Minamoto Kiyone, a green divine power; Fujiwara Shino, a purple divine power.

The fierce wind danced wildly, and the fallen leaves and flowers flew everywhere.

The clouds in the sky seemed to be fast-forwarding as they fled into the distance.

The birds fled in panic. Only a few ominous crows squatted on the ridges of the temple, looking down at the crowd in silence.

The setting sun was like a broken egg, scattered all over the temple.

The torrential aura poured in like seawater, and the people from the ninth group quieted down.

The shadow of death enveloped everyone, making it difficult for them to breathe.

When they opened their mouths to curse again, their voices were angry, terrified, and wretched. They stood back to back, relying on each other.

“It’s over, it’s over, it’s over!” The girl with the rabbit mask, instead of cursing with everyone, muttered quickly in a low voice.

Beside her, Yuka silently looked at Minamoto Kiyomoto. Under the mask, her eyes were sometimes angry, sometimes pained, and sometimes sad.

At this moment, she suddenly heard two “zheng” sounds, like glass beads falling into a plate.

Circles of green light arcs spread out like ripples, gushing outwards layer by layer.

“Hmph!” The divine power of Fujiwara Shino and the other three swayed with the sound of the pipa, and for a moment, they couldn’t control it.

The heavy aura that was like the sea just now instantly dissipated without a trace.

Minamoto Kiyomi, Minamoto Kiyone, and Fujiwara Shino, the three young and beautiful girls, looked at Yanagi Michiko, who was holding a pipa, in shock.

Minamoto Nagatoku’s face was expressionless, but he was even more surprised than them in his heart.

As an elder of the Minamoto clan and a nominee for the Kosen, even if he was not Yanagi Michiko’s opponent with the Genjo Biwa, he did not expect that under her two casual notes, he could not even control his divine power.

“Sister Yanagi is so amazing!” The girl with the rabbit mask immediately cheered.

“Who kills whom, it seems it’s not certain yet!” The man with the horse mask laughed loudly.

Himemiya Izayoi sneered, raised her snow-white hand, and as if she had plucked a cloud from the sky, she threw it down.

The thunder roared, and the waves of fire rolled.

The excited members of the ninth group, under this move, their breaths were stuck in their lungs, and they were almost suffocated to death.

Yanagi Michiko’s heart tightened. Although her expression could not be seen clearly with the mask on, her slender fingers suddenly began to sweep the strings.

Zheng, zheng, zheng!
The sound of clashing weapons rose from all sides.

The green light transformed into countless iron cavalry, roaring and charging towards the fire thunder.

“Boom!”

The air wave emptied, and the green light and red fire mixed and crossed. The huge pressure crushed the four directions.

The stone slabs exploded, and the bricks and tiles of the temple, like bullets leaving the chamber, shot out and disappeared into the sky.

A blue light flashed in Itomi Sayaka’s eyes, and a water-flower-like blue light shield protected the members of the ninth group.

Under the blue light shield, the hearts of the members of the ninth group beat wildly. Right before their eyes, outside the light shield, the fire wind, thunder light, and green waves were like the end of the world.

When everything finally passed, they saw the setting sun again. The temple, which had been bombed by cannonballs, actually had a sense of surviving a catastrophe.

Then they quickly looked at Yanagi Michiko. Compared to her previous position, she had retreated three steps.

At this time, her palm was pressed tightly on the strings, ready to pluck them at any time. It was obvious that she was on high alert against the miko of Ise Shrine.

Everyone’s hearts relaxed. It was good that she was not injured—Himemiya Izayoi had killed a Kosen with one move at Lake Ashi, which was really shocking.

“You actually weren’t blown away?”

The voice was charming and pleasant. It was Himemiya Izayoi. The people from the ninth group quickly looked over, wanting to see if she had retreated a few steps.

She hadn’t retreated a single step.

She was still standing on the back of Amitabha Buddha, her small face wearing fashionable sunglasses. Except for her hair flying in the night wind, her figure hadn’t moved at all.

Looking in the direction she was speaking, it was Minamoto Kiyomoto.

Looking closely, they found that two halos were hanging behind Minamoto Kiyomoto’s head. The first circle was clear, and the second was faintly visible.

He also hadn’t retreated a single step. Could it be that the Divine Miko or Himemiya Izayoi had made a move and blocked it for him?

If not, in the shockwave just now, not to mention Minamoto Kiyomoto, even Minamoto Nagatoku in front of them would have been sent flying into the sky.

While everyone was guessing in their hearts, Himemiya Izayoi asked with a smile, “Is this the second turning of the ‘Mahavairocana Sutra’?”

“No earth, no water, no fire, no wind, no coming, no going;
“No dwelling, no death, no birth;
“No this world, no other world, no sun and moon;
“The second turning of the ‘Mahavairocana Sutra,’ the unconditioned nirvana.”

Minamoto Kiyomoto’s voice, with a hint of a smile, was cadenced. Just listening to it was refreshing, as if it were the sound of nature, and it also contained the principles of boundless curses.

“You talk big, but if it wasn’t just momentum just now, and there was a stone in the middle, you would have had to hide behind your Miss Kamibayashi’s butt, right?” Himemiya Izayoi said mockingly.

“If I had enough divine power to use the Mahavairocana Dharma Body, not to mention a stone, I could even fix a meteorite in the sky,” Minamoto Kiyomoto replied with a smile.

“It’s only been a month since the battle of Hakone, and you’ve already cultivated to the second turning?” The girl with the rabbit mask couldn’t help but ask.

After Hakone, the mysterious “Mahavairocana Sutra” had been unveiled to everyone.

From the first turning to the ninth turning, one turning, one divine ability. Accompanied by the Mahavairocana Dharma Body, after the ninth turning, one would be a living World-Honored One, invincible in the world.

But so far, not to mention ordinary people, even the high monks of the major temples, none of them had entered the first turning.

And Minamoto Kiyomoto himself, in just a short month, was actually about to enter the second turning.

If this continued, wouldn’t he really become a Buddha in a short time? When everyone thought of this possibility, they felt an indescribable fear in their hearts.

At the same time, their hearts were full of unwillingness.

A guy like Minamoto Kiyomoto, who disregarded the lives of the residents of Kamakura, could actually receive the Buddha’s teachings and advance so quickly.

Looking at Minamoto Kiyomoto, who was stepping on Amitabha Buddha’s head under the setting sun, and the two halos of Buddha’s light behind his head, they felt that this was the most ironic scene in the world.

Fujiwara Shino and the others, who had retreated to the sky, also looked at Minamoto Kiyomoto with various thoughts.

“In that case,” Itomi Sayaka proposed according to the plan, “I don’t want my subordinates to be injured. You say it doesn’t matter, but you don’t want Kamakura to be damaged in your hearts. I’ll go to the Pacific Ocean with the Divine Miko for a battle. If I win, let us go; if I lose, I’ll go with you.”

“Leader!” Everyone looked at her quickly.

“This is an order,” before they could say anything, Itomi Sayaka had already interrupted them.

Minamoto Kiyomoto looked at Kamibayashi Miko, seeking her opinion.

“Okay,” she nodded lightly.

She was originally beautiful and otherworldly, like a fairy who had come to the human world. Her voice was even more like the stream of a melting snow mountain. Everyone present couldn’t help but look at her sideways.

She was the most beautiful person present.

The only one who could compete with her, Himemiya Izayoi, was wearing large sunglasses to be fashionable, and half of her face could not be seen.

After saying this, Kamibayashi Miko turned into a golden comet, crossed over the Enoden, and rushed towards the vast Pacific Ocean.

Under the worried gazes of the members of the ninth group, Itomi Sayaka also turned into a blue comet and followed closely.

Just as everyone was uneasy and relieved, Hanyu Chika, wearing a calamus mask, stood out.

“Let me ask you,” she stared at Minamoto Kiyomoto, “you said just now that you know who killed my brother. Is that true?”

“I read the books of the sages and never lie,” Minamoto Kiyomoto nodded.

“Who is it!”

“Your brother is very powerful,” Minamoto Kiyomoto showed a look of recollection. “I pretended to be the Divine Miko and sneak-attacked him first, but I was still almost cut off by him. But human strength is limited. Whether it’s cultivation or battle, it all depends on fate and luck. I was lucky that day and happened to have a breakthrough on the spot, so he died.”

“It was you,” Hanyu Chika said word by word, her killing intent shaking the gravel on the ground.

“It was me,” Minamoto Kiyomoto said with a smile. “Your brother must not have read books, otherwise his cultivation would not be so poor.”

If Hanyu Chika’s killing intent was a turbulent stream just now, now it was a dam bursting, releasing a flood.

The petals of the hydrangeas fluttered and spun in the air like a tornado.

“Sister Ayame!” The people with the rabbit masks and others quickly blocked her.

A few people looked at Yanagi Michiko.

Although she had just joined the ninth group, the leader was not here, so everyone could only listen to her.

“Wait for the leader to come back,” Yanagi Michiko’s voice was soft and weak, like a catkin in the sky, scattering with a single blow.

It was hard to imagine that such a person could have played such a murderous tune just now.

“I can give you a chance,” at this time, everyone heard Minamoto Kiyomoto say loudly.

The people from the ninth group were shocked and all turned their gazes to him.

“I killed your brother, and I’ll give you a chance to kill me, one-on-one,” Minamoto Kiyomoto continued.

“Brother Kiyomoto!” Minamoto Kiyomi shouted.

The people from the ninth group were still there. Except for Yanagi Michiko, this woman with the code name Ayame was considered a top-notch expert.

Minamoto Kiyomoto gave her a reassuring smile, and in his heart, he forgave her for what had happened before.

“Are you serious? Really one-on-one?” The girl with the rabbit mask seemed to be the negotiator of the ninth group.

“I said, I read the books of the sages and don’t lie.”

“But you also said yourself that Wang something said, ‘With great kindness in one’s heart, one will use any means necessary’.”

Minamoto Kiyomoto was stunned, then he clapped his hands and laughed loudly:
“Drawing inferences from one instance, you’re still salvageable! I like you! What’s your name?”

The twilight light shone on the sky, giving him a golden edge, heroic and handsome.

The girl under the rabbit mask, hearing him say ‘I like you,’ was obviously shy.

It wasn’t her fault. Minamoto Kiyomoto’s charm was really too great.

“Let me ask you!” After a second, she calmed down. “Do you guarantee that others won’t make a move?”

“For Miss Rabbit’s sake, I’ll tell the truth for once,” Minamoto Kiyomoto said with a smile. “I guarantee a one-on-one, but if I’m in danger, Izayoi will definitely make a move to save me. Miss Yanagi can make a move to obstruct, it all depends on Miss Ayame’s own ability.”

“Then what if Sister Ayame is in danger?” the girl with the rabbit mask asked again.

“Of course you can also make a move, but except for me and Miss Ayame, no one else will be in mortal danger. This is a promise to your leader.”

The people with the rabbit masks discussed with the people from the ninth group again.

Minamoto Kiyomi and the others came down and tried to persuade Minamoto Kiyomoto, but he refused.

After a while, before the girl with the rabbit mask could announce their final decision, Hanyu Chika had already shot up into the sky.

“Sister Ayame, be careful!”

“Kill that kid!”

“Avenge Gray Mouse!”

The ninth group shouted loudly, cheering for Hanyu Chika.

On the Buddha statue, Minamoto Kiyomoto was about to fly up. After hearing this, he turned his head and said to Himemiya Izayoi:

“Izayoi, can you shout for me too?”

“I can’t shout as loud as them,” Himemiya Izayoi said with a smile.

“Brother Kiyomoto, go for it!” Minamoto Kiyomi raised her snow-white arm, but unfortunately, her voice was too sweet and had no momentum at all.

Minamoto Kiyomoto stared at Himemiya Izayoi without blinking.

Himemiya Izayoi sighed, “What a difficult young master to serve.”

She held a fan in her right hand and clapped to the beat with her left hand. In a gentle Kyoto dialect, she sang with a smile:
“A great wind rises~ the clouds fly up~”

“Hahaha!” Minamoto Kiyomoto couldn’t help but laugh loudly. “Izayoi, you tell me, how can I not like you?”

“Young Master Kiyoshi likes so many people, it doesn’t matter if there’s one less Izayoi,” saying this, Himemiya Izayoi became self-pitying, like a young lady from somewhere.

“That’s nonsense, I…”

“Minamoto Kiyomoto, come up!” From above, Hanyu Chika’s angry shout came down.

“Look, another woman is asking you out,” Himemiya Izayoi stomped her foot like a girl and turned her back in a huff.

Minamoto Kiyomoto suddenly understood the reason why the king did not hold morning court. He didn’t want to go anywhere now, just wanted to stay by Himemiya Izayoi’s side.

“Sure enough, the existence of a beautiful woman is a sin,” he said with a sigh. A black divine power billowed in the wind, and he slowly flew up.

Hanyu Chika looked at the slowly rising Minamoto Kiyomoto and remembered the night she had brought her brother to join Shintoism.

At that time, her brother was only fifteen. Because she had told him not to talk about cultivation outside, in the taxi to the cultivation site, he excitedly pressed his forehead against the car window and stared at this Tokyo at night.

“Sister, do you think there are people like you among these people?” he turned his head and asked, pointing at the Shibuya crossing outside the window.

“Maybe,” she replied with a smile.

“What kind of code name should I take?” her brother’s face was full of excitement.

At that time, she thought that the two of them were on the road to happiness. The brilliant lights outside the car window transformed into a colorful galaxy.

I’m sorry, Nobuhiro, I’m sorry. It was my fault. I shouldn’t have let you walk this path.

Hanyu Chika raised her head and looked at Minamoto Kiyomoto, who was not far away.

“Nobuhiro, I’ll avenge you now!” A green divine power, like a calamus, grew out of her body.

Minamoto Kiyomoto stood still in the air, spread his big hand, and a black light swallowed and spat out. A black light sword appeared in his palm.

The people below looked at the two of them nervously.

The people from the ninth group no longer shouted “go for it,” but clenched their fists and prayed for Ayame in their hearts.

Minamoto Kiyomoto held the divine light sword diagonally, and Hanyu Chika stared at him with burning eyes.

He remembered what he had read in Zhuangzi’s “The Dexterous Butcher”: “He stood with his knife, looked around, and was full of satisfaction.”

A cultivator should be like this!
Otherwise, what’s the point of cultivating?
Standing still in the air, his heart was filled with infinite pride. He raised his eyebrows and said with a smile:
“It’s a pity it’s not raining today. I heard that the fragrance of the calamus flower is strongest in the rain. What a pity.”

The rumbling of the Enoden passed by in the distance, and the sound of the whistle came from afar.

Hanyu Chika’s green divine power was like a fierce wind and a torrential downpour, transforming into countless weapons, smashing towards Minamoto Kiyomoto like a meteor shower, the same curse as her brother’s.

The attack was fierce and the momentum was astonishing. In an instant, Minamoto Kiyomoto was buried.

“Sister Ayame, go for it! Kill that kid!” The people with shallow cultivation from the ninth group shouted in unison, thinking that Hanyu Chika had the upper hand.

But Yanagi Michiko and the others with high cultivation began to worry about Hanyu Chika.

Facing the avalanche-like attack, Minamoto Kiyomoto was not flustered at all, as calm as water.

The Buddha’s light hung high behind his head, and he could see any changes at all times. With a flick and a parry, he really dismantled Hanyu Chika’s attack like a dexterous butcher.

He was as motionless as a rock. After getting used to the attack, he slowly stepped forward.

Just this move was enough to shock people.

As long as it was a wind control curse, it was not difficult to pursue speed blindly, but to walk in the air like Minamoto Kiyomoto without falling was really as difficult as ascending to heaven.

As Minamoto Kiyomoto approached, even those with shallow cultivation could see that something was wrong.

“Miss Ayame, if you have a stronger curse, use it quickly. Otherwise, I’ll have to send you to see your brother!” Minamoto Kiyomoto said with a smile while knocking away various weapons.

Hanyu Chika didn’t say a word. While maintaining her attack, she continuously formed hand seals with both hands, and finally, she clapped them together.

The thousands of divine weapons suddenly dissolved and turned into a huge green light sword.

The light sword did not stop for a moment, as fast as lightning, and stabbed towards Minamoto Kiyomoto with a furious spin.

“Bang!” Minamoto Kiyomoto’s long sword swept upwards.

The light wave exploded, and Minamoto Kiyomoto’s long sword instantly disintegrated.

The people from the ninth group shouted in unison, their saliva flying.

The green light sword paused for a moment, then stabbed towards Minamoto Kiyomoto’s celestial spirit cover.

The huge sword was more than thirty meters long. Minamoto Kiyomoto, at the tip of the sword, was just an ant.

The girl with the rabbit mask felt a little unbearable in her heart, but she still immediately looked at Himemiya Izayoi, afraid that she would make a move.

Himemiya Izayoi stood on the Great Buddha, fanning herself lightly, with a casual look as if she were watching fireworks.

Seemingly noticing her gaze, Himemiya Izayoi slowly turned her head and stared at her with a half-smile.

The girl with the rabbit mask was startled. For some reason, she felt that this person was very scary.

“Ah!” A partner beside her sighed with regret.

She quickly raised her head again and looked at the battlefield.

Under the huge light sword, Minamoto Kiyomoto supported an umbrella-like water shield.

The tip of the sword and the water shield collided, and the divine power scattered like sparks from forging iron.

“Brother Kiyomoto,” Minamoto Kiyomi couldn’t help but shout.

“Don’t worry,” in Himemiya Izayoi’s sunglasses, the divine power light was reflected. “Your Brother Kiyomoto hasn’t used his full strength yet.”

At this moment, Minamoto Kiyomoto let out a long cry and withdrew the water shield.

The huge sword slid down and was about to pierce his body.

“Ah!” Everyone gasped in surprise.

“Thunder and fire rise quickly, the red sky’s might!”

Thunder and lightning were like pythons, rolling out of Minamoto Kiyomoto’s body and continuously biting the huge sword.

In a blink of an eye, the body of the thirty-meter-long huge sword was already covered with black thunder and lightning.

“Ah—” Hanyu Chika shouted, her long hair flying. The green light on her body suddenly dimmed. At the same time, the huge sword instantly expanded by a few meters!
“Boom!” The huge sword sank a few points.

“Forget it, forget it! I lose!” Minamoto Kiyomoto said with a smile, suddenly twisted his body, and his figure was like a swimming dragon, escaping from the tip of the huge sword.

His figure spun, wrapped in black light, and rushed towards Hanyu Chika.

“Sister Ayame!” Everyone couldn’t help but shout.

Hanyu Chika had given all her divine power to the light sword. Facing Minamoto Kiyomoto’s sudden change of moves, she had no way to deal with it.

But Hanyu Chika herself did not give up.

Her clasped hands suddenly separated, and the huge sword split apart, turning back into thousands of weapons, chasing after Minamoto Kiyomoto.

Because she had forcibly changed her moves, her divine power was turbulent. She let out a “wah” and spat out a mouthful of blood.

Seeing that the weapons behind him were about to catch up, Minamoto Kiyomoto was about to be cut into pieces.

“Thunder and fire sparkle, a thousand miles of mighty light!”

The “Fire Thunder” that he had been learning for a long time was finally used.

A fire light in the sky, mixed with thunder and lightning, flew over in a blink of an eye, and crashed into it with a loud bang, blowing away the weapons behind him.

“Sister Ayame!” The people from the ninth group finally couldn’t hold back and all rushed up.

Yanagi Michiko didn’t move, and Himemiya Izayoi didn’t move either.

Fujiwara Shino and the others made a move to intercept, but in the end, one person still rushed into the battlefield. It was Yuka, who disregarded life and death.

“Get lost!” The black divine power around Minamoto Kiyomoto, which had always been as calm as the night, suddenly boiled.

The Mahavairocana divine light behind his head erupted and crashed into Yuka. She was sent flying by the air wave.

Yuka’s chest shook violently, and her breath was chaotic. She was sent flying into the sky.

“Boom!”

The air wave was torrential. The surrounding trees and rocks broke and flew. She crashed into the temple, and the courtyard wall collapsed with a loud bang.

She spat out a large mouthful of blood with a “wah”.

A clear thought flashed through her mind: “How is this possible!”

Without the Mahavairocana Dharma Body, the Mahavairocana divine light actually had such power!

What was even more terrifying was Minamoto Kiyomoto. Last time, he seemed to be no match for her, but this time, she couldn’t even take one of his moves.

That’s right, Sister Ayame!

She raised her head and looked.

Because of her obstruction, Hanyu Chika had gathered a little more divine power and transformed it into a weapon to meet Minamoto Kiyomoto.

Minamoto Kiyomoto spread his big hand, and a black light sword instantly condensed.

The black light danced furiously, and the long sword sang as it cut through the wind. Sometimes it was as fast as a rushing thunder and lightning, sometimes it was like a long stream, and sometimes it was like a boundless falling wood. The moves changed, making it unpredictable.

In just a dozen moves, Minamoto Kiyomoto had already parried all the weapons and was heading for Hanyu Chika’s head, slashing down furiously!

“Be careful!” Yuka shouted in alarm.

Hanyu Chika closed her eyes. The fierce air wave blew her bangs away. She smelled the grassy fragrance on Minamoto Kiyomoto’s body.

“Sister Ayame!” She heard the surprised cries of her companions who had survived the catastrophe.

Hanyu Chika slowly opened her eyes and saw Minamoto Kiyomoto looking at her with a smile. The setting sun shone on his side profile.

“…Why didn’t you kill me?” she asked in a daze.

“Killing is not my purpose,” Minamoto Kiyomoto raised his hand and wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth with a smile.

(End of Chapter)