Shikon Jewel? Farewell, Midori!

Bai Ye took stock of everything he could currently fuse into his blade.

Corpse Qi and Corpse Poison, according to Zombie Byakuya, were meant to prevent recovery and inflict debuffs. As for turning the opponent into a jiangshi, that effect seemed to be gone.

A trace of Spiritual Energy could suppress Corpse Poison. At the same time, when attached to a weapon, Spiritual Energy could deal tremendous damage to creatures such as yokai and Ghosts.

Adding the Sacred Tree he was about to seek out, fusing those three powers together should be about enough, Bai Ye thought.

If he could later feed the blade a Devil Fruit—specifically the Weapon-Weapon Fruit—then this sword would truly be complete.

"Totosai, I've roughly figured out the materials I need. I'll bring them to you later. Other than those materials, you need my fangs too, right?"

"Young Master Byakuyasha, I'll also need your demon power. Once your demon power is infused into it, you'll find this blade much easier to wield."

During the forging process, Bai Ye's demon power would be infused into the blade. Later, a special connection would form between man and sword, making it easier for him to use.

Totosai patiently explained it to Bai Ye, though he was also curious about what materials Bai Ye would find to forge this Demonic Blade.

"I understand. I'll come find you again after some time."

"Very well, Young Master Byakuyasha."

After saying that, Totosai paid Bai Ye no further attention and lowered his head to begin forging new weapons.

Recently, the Dog Demon Clan had been at war with the Leopard Cat Tribe. He needed to rush the weapons out at full speed. They did not need to be exceptional, but they could not be too shoddy either.

He had no leisure to invite Bai Ye to stay for tea.

After leaving, Bai Ye immediately prepared to retrieve the Sacred Tree. Its location was not difficult to find. In truth, most people knew of its existence. This tree had stood for many years.

Bai Ye held high expectations for the Sacred Tree.

A well made from the Sacred Tree could make any yokai thrown into it disappear naturally. It even possessed the ability to travel through time and space, though it required the Shikon Jewel as a medium. It also had the power to seal time.

Even more absurdly, this tree had remained alive for so long.

A tree that looked like such a treasure had, in fact, drawn the interest of very few yokai or even humans.

Perhaps because they did not understand its effects?

But Bai Ye himself did not know whether the Sacred Tree truly retained those effects, and how to fuse it into a blade was another problem. Was he supposed to forge himself a Peachwood Sword?

Just as Bai Ye pondered what path to take next, he suddenly raised his head and looked ahead.

Not far away, a figure was slowly approaching him, yet he seemed not to have noticed at all.

"What pure demon power."

"An Onmyoji?"

Bai Ye raised his head and glanced at the newcomer. A Child followed beside him.

"Ah, yokai, how about we each go our own way?"

The Onmyoji raised his head. The wind lifted the veil on his hat, revealing a handsome and gentle face before Bai Ye. Yet Bai Ye instinctively felt a trace of disgust toward him.

It was as if he detested this man's very existence.

And...

What did he mean by "each go our own way"?!

Since last time, the Miko who had seen him had not attacked. Now this Onmyoji was not attacking either.

Midori was strong enough to kill him, but if Bai Ye did not wish to fight, she would not be able to kill him either. With the Rumble-Rumble Fruit, he could flee at any time, and he also had the Mangekyo. In terms of raw strength, Midori was certainly stronger than him, but once all their strange abilities were included, it was hard to say who would kill whom.

"Shouldn't an Onmyoji be in Heian-kyō? What are you doing in a little mountain village like this?"

He was already very close to the village where the Sacred Tree stood.

An Onmyoji like this would never normally appear in such a place.

In this era, compared to samurai, monks, and Miko, Onmyoji stood in a class of their own.

Only nobles could afford to hire an Onmyoji, and Onmyoji themselves were few in number.

Anyone capable of becoming an Onmyoji was an unparalleled genius, one in ten thousand.

Bai Ye could tell that although the other man was not deliberately targeting him, he was certainly far stronger than the Midori he had met last time.

"I merely came out to relax. Staying in Heian-kyō all the time gets rather boring. Well then, yokai, we'll be leaving first."

As he spoke, the man and the servant beside him vanished from where they stood.

"That meaningful look he gave me before leaving..."

Bai Ye had already prepared himself for battle, yet the other party had simply left.

Moreover, that meaningful gaze before he left truly made Bai Ye uncomfortable.

Sure enough, he still needed to increase his strength. After becoming a First-Rate Yokai, Bai Ye had been somewhat pleased with himself. In the world of yokai, his talent was already considered exceptional. Even Sesshomaru had progressed much more slowly than he had.

But after coming out into the world, first Midori and now this Onmyoji had made Bai Ye understand that this was not Inuyasha's era. In that era, he truly could have felt proud of himself, but not now!

He could no longer view this world through the fixed storyline of Inuyasha.

Withdrawing his gaze, Bai Ye looked toward the small village in the distance. The Sacred Tree was there.

He needed to forge his weapon as quickly as possible, then join the war against the Leopard Cat Tribe.

"Master, why didn't you make a move just now?"

After leaving, the Child looked toward Seimei. That yokai's demon power had been extraordinarily pure, making him an excellent target. It would not have been difficult to capture him then.

In the Demon World, powerful yokai did not necessarily possess pure demon power, and yokai with pure demon power were comparatively rare. The Child also knew that Seimei had his own plans and particularly needed yokai like that.

"The time has not yet come."

Seimei shook his head. Smiling, he glanced back in the direction where they had met Bai Ye and could not help sighing. "This outing has not only allowed me to encounter a suitable Miko, but also find a yokai. I had originally thought that if I could not find a suitable yokai, I could make do with a mixed-blood one and create something comparatively imperfect."

Abe no Seimei even felt fortunate. Coming out on a whim had indeed helped him find a suitable candidate.

"So he needs to be raised for a while longer?"

After saying that, the Child asked curiously, "But Master, aren't you worried that yokai might die?"

"That fellow should be Inu Taisho's son. I originally wanted to use Inu Taisho, but his demon power was too strong. It might suppress the spirit inside, so his son is quite suitable. But if he dies, then that is fate."

Abe no Seimei deeply believed in fate. He had already calculated everything. At a specific time and place, he would complete this matter. If Bai Ye died before then, that too would be fate. He would not lightly alter fate.

"Then would this still be the perfect jewel Master seeks?"

"Life was never perfect to begin with."

Abe no Seimei shook his head. The Shikon Jewel... If perfection were possible, then of course he wished to have it. But unfortunately, life was never so perfect.

He did not necessarily have to pursue perfection.

Encountering Bai Ye this time was already fortunate. If Bai Ye and Midori could later become part of his Shikon Jewel, then that would naturally be perfect. But if not, having Midori alone would be enough.

Finding a suitable Miko was truly no simple matter.

At the Sacred Tree.

Bai Ye looked at the woman before him, and a trace of surprise flashed through his eyes.

He had thought that after meeting by the lake last time, they would never encounter each other again.

But fate truly seemed to enjoy playing jokes. He had met Midori again.

As if sensing something, Midori turned to look at Bai Ye.

"A yokai?"

A trace of surprise crossed her calm face. Then, as though recalling something, a fleeting flush appeared on her cheeks before her expression returned to normal.

"..."

Bai Ye glanced at Midori. Kirara, off to the side, had already risen and was watching Bai Ye warily.

It had clearly mistaken Bai Ye for someone following them.

Otherwise, the coincidence would have been too great.

Bai Ye said nothing. He looked at the Sacred Tree, then leaped onto it, snapped off one of its branches, and prepared to leave.

But the instant he took the branch, Bai Ye frowned. The broken branch seemed to have lost its original magic, looking like nothing more than an utterly ordinary branch.

"Once a branch from the Sacred Tree is broken off, it loses its original effect. Without a special method of preservation..."

"You know?"

Bai Ye turned to look at Midori. He had not wanted much interaction with her.

This Miko's fate was tied to many of his future lottery chances.

But Midori's words had truly made Bai Ye curious.

He had indeed been pondering this before coming.

Why had no one set their sights on the Sacred Tree?

Perhaps not everyone knew what effects it had, but someone surely did. In that case, it should have been cut down and taken away long ago, yet the Sacred Tree still stood here.

After he personally snapped off a branch, the tree not only recovered quickly, but the branch in his hand had also lost its original effects.

"I thought you were mute."

Midori muttered inwardly. She had felt rather awkward just now. After all, no matter how strong her heart was, she could not calmly face what had happened last time.

But Bai Ye's indifferent attitude—his outright disregard for her—gave Midori a different feeling.

That was why she had suddenly spoken up to remind him.

She wanted to see whether, when Bai Ye encountered a problem that she could solve, he would still choose to leave or ask her for help.

As it turned out, just as she had expected, Bai Ye had spoken to ask her.

"I know, but why should I tell you?"

Was this really Midori?

A trace of astonishment flashed through Bai Ye's eyes. There was practically no description of Midori in the original work.

Bai Ye had always assumed her personality was probably similar to Kikyo's.

"I need to take a batch of Sacred Tree branches to build a well. If you help me transport these branches, then before you leave, I can give you a branch that has preserved the Sacred Tree's power."

Midori stated her condition. This straightforward girl was unexpectedly easy to get along with.

Bai Ye had been ready to leave. Rather than discuss with a woman what he was supposed to do for her, he would rather turn around and walk away.

He would not submit to a woman over something like this. He was the eldest young master of Dog Castle—when had he ever done such work?

But Midori had directly made a request. In exchange, she would reward him with a Sacred Tree branch that retained its power. Bai Ye felt as if she had him in her grasp.

He did want to leave. After all, he was not here to help her carry firewood. He was the eldest young master of Dog Castle; when had he ever done this sort of thing?

But he had come all this way. If he simply left now, it felt as though something would be missing.

"Just carry them over?"

He looked at the branches. There was not much. He could finish it all in one trip.

"And help me build a well. That way, I can save quite a bit of time."

Midori's eyes lit up. Though obtaining a branch was not difficult for her, having someone help would save her a great deal of time.

She intended to use the Sacred Tree to build a well.

Recently, there had been many yokai around the village. Although she had eliminated quite a few, whether the corpses were piled up or buried, their demon aura would remain.

And that demon aura would attract even more yokai.

It was something of a vicious cycle.

So Midori planned to use the Sacred Tree's wood to build a Bone-Eating Well. From then on, all yokai corpses could be thrown into it. Using the Sacred Tree's properties, their remains would gradually disappear, solving the villagers' problem.

"Then it's settled. Let's start now. Consider it a transaction between us!"

Mm.

A transaction did sound much better.

Bai Ye gave Midori a surprised look. Did this woman know what he was thinking?

It was only transporting some branches, and he did not think it would be difficult. Besides, he could not solve the Sacred Tree issue himself, so he could only obtain Midori's help through a transaction.

"This well needs that much Sacred Tree wood?"

Bai Ye had already made no fewer than four trips. The wood was piled up, yet Midori was still not satisfied.

"Because this well is somewhat special."

Then Midori explained the purpose behind building the well. After hearing her description, Bai Ye finally understood. So they were building the Bone-Eating Well here!

No wonder the well had been so powerful in the original work and was connected to the Shikon Jewel. Midori had been behind all of it?

Come to think of it, an ordinary person really could not have built this well.

After all the Sacred Tree wood had been transported and the framework and everything else had been prepared, Midori's Spiritual Power seemed to communicate with the Sacred Tree. A dazzling white light flared, and within that light, Midori's hair began to float upward.

Bai Ye felt a Spiritual Power that made his heart tremble. No wonder this woman could fight so many yokai for so long. Simply standing beside her Spiritual Power felt terrifying.

As for the woman herself, bathed in holy light, she suddenly seemed to gain a special kind of allure. No wonder men had such particular enthusiasm for certain professions.