Destroying the Gate to the Underworld / Stepping into the Yin Spirit ...

Countless bolts of dark lightning struck again, penetrating the layers of defense of the magic array, and finally landed on Zhang Qiudao's head, obliterating his physical body.

In the instant the physical body was annihilated, the thirty-two Soul Body merged together, and Zhang Qiudao's face appeared within this mass of Soul Body.

"Today, the Myriad Tribulations Soul Body no longer exists; it must be the Soul-Devouring Dao Body."

As they spoke, countless powerful Soul Body surged into this strange Soul Body, making the already deformed Soul Body even more deformed. Multiple arms and legs appeared on this Soul Body, and countless human faces surrounded Zhang Qiudao's face.

The Yin lightning struck again, hitting the Soul Body. However, it was to no avail. The Yin lightning, which had originally obliterated the physical body and the True Spirit, did not cause much damage to the Soul Body. It merely condensed the deformed Soul Body into a more solid form, reducing its deformity, just like an iron hammer.

"By refining my soul with Yin Lightning, my Soul Body will only become more solidified. Eventually, Myriad Transformation Demonic Thought will merge into one. At that time, I will be immortal and my True Spirit will live on forever."

Zhang Qiudao spoke, he looked indifferently at the Golden Giant Eye that suddenly appeared in the sky.

"I don't know, how do you plan to crack this?"

The giant eye merely looked at him and offered a description.

You can't see it.

"The form of the Tao cannot be seen."

Chapter 274 Destroying the Gate of the Underworld

There are no records of anything before the Dark Ages.

It was only in the dark ages that people gradually gained knowledge about writing and about things like life and death, fire, and lightning.

In the dark ages, there existed many gods who appeared and disappeared suddenly, some bringing blessings and others bringing death.

With the help of these gods, people gradually grew stronger. And then, demons began to appear.

Meishouin's change in understanding gods and demons stemmed from one of the gods— Huiming Qiyue, a transliteration of her name.

Initially Huiming Qiyue were the same as the Huori Jue, and another powerful god came to this world during the battle. They were opposing sides.

The Huiming Qiyue slaughtered the world, while the Huori Jue protected them, until the appearance of demons.

During this process, some humans, out of fear of death, chose to worship the Huiming Qiyue in order to preserve their lives; among them were the ancestors of the Meishouin.

The fate of these people is self-evident, as Huiming Qiyue was inherently cruel, causing countless deaths and injuries. The ancestors of Meishouin were among the few who survived.

However, thanks to Huiming Qiyue, this ancestor was spared the calamity of demons and survived the most tragic and dark era unscathed. After the dark era, the inherently cruel Huiming Qiyue finally settled down.

According to the myths recorded by the world, Huiming Qiyue and Huori Jue gifted the Human King a Divine Sword, and it was the Human King who wielded this Divine Sword to sweep away the calamity of demons. This part is correct. The ancestors of Meishouin were fortunate enough to witness the cooperation between these two main gods who hated each other, to witness the appearance of the Human King, and to monitor the Human King's actions as Huiming Qiyue's agent.

After this, Huiming Qiyue, moved by his merits, bestowed upon him the surname "Meishouin" and transferred the right to possess the Divine Sword of the Human King to him and his bloodline, thus achieving a balance between the two agents. Without Meishouin's approval, the Human King's offspring cannot use this Divine Sword.

With the arrival of the Candlelight Era, the brutal god of death, Huiming Qiyue, gradually faded from people's sight.

Her temperament underwent many changes, and she often confided many Xin Mi about the divine realm—that is, Xin Mi about the world Gate of the Underworld —to her retinue, namely Meishouin.

She said that in the realm of gods, she was nothing more than a weak being, and it was only because of her weakness that she was willing to remain in this world and never leave.

She said that she had long since severed Huori Jue and no longer harbored any hatred towards him, but the divine realm was not so simple, so she preferred to die in that realm.

She said that this world is weak, and after her death, there will be no more extraordinary beings in this world.

She said...

The ancestors of Meishouin -in recorded her words in their library so that future generations could know them.

"As expected, he is a Golden Core cultivator."

Yotsuya Miko stroked the yellowed pages of the book before her and put it back in its original place.

Although there had been many speculations before, she still felt more or less emotional when she saw the real records about the dark era.

"The Gate of the Underworld connect this world with the Xuanhui Realm. Many cultivators have mistakenly entered these Gate of the Underworld scattered throughout the world. Some cultivators only stayed for a while before leaving, while others never left in their entire lives. Huiming Qiyue and Huori Jue are examples of this. Indeed, there are countless Golden Core cultivators in the Xuanhui Realm."

"As for the demon calamity, it was probably caused by demonic beasts straying in. Such a large-scale intrusion of demonic beasts... must have been deliberately orchestrated. Although we don't know what happened at the time, it's likely related to Huiming Qiyue. This cultivator is very likely a demonic cultivator. As for what happened later..."

Miko had been pondering, he looked up at the sky and didn't say anything more.

There aren't many things that could keep two Golden Core cultivators trapped in such a weak world, preventing them from advancing further in their cultivation.

"To make two Golden Core cultivators willingly become nourishment for this world, what a cunning scheme."

She murmured to herself, her gaze shifting slightly.

There were quite a few schemes against her, or rather, some of them had started long ago.

Why was she targeted by Zhang Qiudao? Because of her eyes.

Her eyes possessed an extraordinary power, allowing her to see the state of life and death of things, which was precisely why she was able to kill the Xuanming Python and the inner demon.

According to Zhang Qiudao's concept of the Heavenly Mandate Holder and the World Consciousness, it is clear that her eyes are a result of the World Consciousness.

Because of her World Consciousness, she possessed such extraordinary eyes, which is why she was later targeted by Zhang Qiudao, who then imparted all his skills to her.

Zhang Qiudao's scheme was not directed at her as a person, but at the pair of eyes brought about by the World Consciousness.

What about the calculations of World Consciousness?

Scheming against Zhang Qiudao?

Yotsuya Miko shook her head, feeling it was unlikely.

She had some ideas, but she couldn't figure out the reason behind them. She didn't know how the World Consciousness was plotting against her, and she had no idea what Zhang Qiudao wanted to do.

All she knew was that she was currently facing an extremely serious transformation, a transformation that would completely turn her into a demon.

"Since you don't know, don't overthink it."

After reading through the books in the Meishouin, she finally gained a partial understanding of this world. She learned how the Divine Gate came to be and how exorcists were created—undoubtedly remnants of these cultivators. However, due to the changing times, many techniques were lost, leading to numerous modifications and the result in its current weak state.

That leaves only one more question: How did the spirits of this world come about?

The people of this world are undoubtedly of the Yin element, which is associated with water. People with this constitution are most likely to be Ghosts after death.

These Ghosts are strangely able to survive for a long time without needing spiritual energy; they either dissipate on their own, die fighting each other, or exist in the world forever.

Is this world perhaps more suitable for Ghosts to exist than for the living?

Yotsuya Miko didn't understand, but she had a general idea in her mind.

"Once I reach the stage of Nascent Soul Stage, I can verify this idea. But before that, let's do something else first."

She wasn't in a hurry to improve her cultivation level, because the mutation would help her continue to do so.

Having seen the books in the Meishouin, it's time to fulfill the request of the head of the Meishouin family, but his request is truly unexpected.

"So, you want me to destroy all the Gate of the Underworld in this world?"

When she heard this request, Yotsuya Miko was somewhat surprised. It wasn't that she couldn't do it, but rather that doing it to that extent would be tantamount to jeopardizing the world's potential for development.

The World Consciousness would do everything in its power to stop her.

However, she agreed, even if it meant going against the World Consciousness.

Chapter 275 Entering the Yin Spirit

He went to study the Gate of the Underworld again, and was almost at the level of his Nascent Soul Stage his body.

Yotsuya Miko gazed at the perfectly sealed Gate of the Underworld before her, a different feeling washing over her.

When she was in Kawase, these Gate of the Underworld were a disaster for her, but now they are something she can manage.

The World Consciousness leniently did not stop the head of the Meishouin family from uttering the words to destroy the Gate of the Underworld, because such remarks were all too common. Many members working at the Divine Gate had threatened to destroy the Gate of the Underworld, and many more had cursed the heavens for being blind.

Without any concrete action, this will not elicit any response from the World Consciousness.

The same applies to Yotsuya Miko's World Consciousness. If it were just a few words, there would be no problem. However, as Yotsuya Miko approached the Gate of the Underworld, the sky darkened.

"Oh? Lightning?"

Her Spiritual Sense swept across the Gate of the Underworld. These Gate of the Underworld, which had once been extremely obscure to her, were now very clear under her current level of cultivation. To the point that she could see the very essence of these Gate of the Underworld.

She didn't care much about the darkening sky, because it was impossible to kill her simply with the power of natural disasters. The external forces in this world were far too weak for cultivators, even the most lethal weapons created by technology—she couldn't withstand them, but she wouldn't be hit.

As for manipulating fate, methods like altering her thoughts as Divine Gate did before are completely ineffective now. The demonic mutation within her is enough to resist the manipulation of the World Consciousness. In this respect, the demons are also experts, and they are at an extreme point completely incompatible with the World Consciousness.

"And what good is it?"

Several incantations were cast from her hands, covering the Gate of the Underworld. Thus, the Gate of the Underworld in that location vanished, never to be seen again.

"Boom--!"

As the Gate of the Underworld vanished, thunder roared in the sky, as if enraged by her actions. Suddenly, a bolt of lightning shot out, striking towards her location, but missed.

Yotsuya Miko slightly shifted her position, effortlessly dodging the lightning bolt without any real danger.

She looked up at the sky and felt a strange premonition. She immediately used the Falcon Spirit Wind Control Incantation to head to the next Gate of the Underworld.

"I was quite puzzled by the sudden appearance of that inner demon connected to Zhang Qiudao. I don't know why this inner demon sought me out and developed a grudge against me."

Muttering to himself, he destroyed the Gate of the Underworld in one fell swoop, and then sped off to another place the instant before lightning struck, leaving the World Consciousness helpless.

"So, after overcoming my inner demon, I found the shrine and learned where its seal was located. After that, I gradually traced the inner demon's movements by following the aura from other places."

"First, there was that poor former head of the Special Affairs Department who destroyed the main hall of the shrine. After he died, he was thrown into the river, and his inner demon possessed me, a mortal who was already skilled in magic. Then, due to the opportunity of contact, it possessed Natsukawa Yuki, well, an unlucky guy."

When Yotsuya Miko saw this half-dead, vegetative patient at the hospital, she felt that this person's luck was simply too bad. After obtaining information about her inner demons from her, and as a way of making amends for the karma caused by the Talisman Iron Pellet, she restored the poor woman to normal.

"She was hit by a car and became a vegetable, which happened shortly after the mutation occurred. The inner demon possessing her was discovered by you, and you instinctively dealt with it. But unfortunately, at this crucial moment, One Kyojun appeared."

After breaking through another Gate of the Underworld and following the aura to this point, the matter was almost resolved.

"After One Kyojun, then One Iu, and finally, the inner demon appeared before me, standing right in front of me as if it were perfectly natural."

After thoroughly analyzing the situation, I looked up at the high heavens.

"What I'm curious about is whether you had any involvement with One Kyojun. After all, One Kyojun originally planned to go directly to the Divine Gate branch, not to witness that car accident. But what benefit would it bring you to do something like that?"

She was indeed puzzled by this. If she had been confident that she could control her own life before Zhang Qiudao gave her the information about the Heavenly Mandate Holder, she would no longer dare to be so sure after learning about the Heavenly Mandate Holder.

"From the day I could see Ghosts, the day Zhang Qiudao imparted all his knowledge to me, until now, how much of a role have you actually played? Or were you merely an observer, only intervening because of your inner demons? Hmm, the time with the Xuanming Python, wasn't it?"

She pointed to her eyes, which were now certain to be a creation given to her by the World Consciousness. These eyes, capable of seeing life and death, were beyond Zhang Qiudao's ability to explain; they represented a completely new realm that Zhang Qiudao had never explored.

"I wonder, would Zhang Qiudao forget about your World Consciousness?"

This is obviously impossible; this madman who dares to scheme against the will of Heaven couldn't have overlooked this.

"Or are you, in fact, part of his scheme?"

While she was talking to herself, dozens of Gate of the Underworld had been destroyed by her own hands. These Gate of the Underworld weren't particularly powerful, and they had lost their original strength over time. In her country, there were no Gate of the Underworld to speak of, only the Ghosts that belonged to this world.

"Speaking of which, I suddenly remembered one of the spells that old devil chose for me back then."

Dispersing the Falcon Spirit Wind Control Incantation, Yotsuya Miko landed on the ground, recalling past memories in her mind.

After destroying all the Gate of the Underworld in this country, her aura grew stronger and stronger, and a chilling aura emanated from her, causing the plants that came into contact with her aura to wither in an instant.

The Profound Nether Qi condensed from the Nine Nether Profound Soul Treasure Record gradually converged, forming a dark purple monster phantom. If one looked closely, one could see some resemblance to a demon, but more so to Yotsuya Miko herself; it was a fusion of Yotsuya Miko's transformation into a demon.

"The Heaven Imprisoning Desire Calculation Scripture"

A chilling aura swept across the land, threatening to completely engulf the mountain, when Yotsuya Miko used several spells to suppress its spread, firmly locking it within the wild mountain.

"So, I think I understand a little bit."

Her voice became hoarse, and she lost her human form, as if she had used the Heavenly Devil False Body True Understanding. Her entire body was covered in black armor, resembling a demon from within.

"He's using this little space to conduct experiments."

Chapter 276 Let's Go Watch the Meteor Shower

"Miko, what's wrong?"

The hand that appeared before her eyes waved, startling Yotsuya Miko from her reverie. She blinked before realizing it was Hana's hand.

"Nothing, I was just thinking about what to do with you this weekend."

She smiled, her golden eyes were beautiful. Whether it was Yurikawa Hana's imagination or not, she suddenly felt a hint of purple in those golden eyes, but upon closer inspection, she couldn't see any trace of it.

Illusion?

As he thought about it, his thoughts quickly turned to what Miko had said.

"You still haven't made any plans for the weekend? The cultural festival is almost here!"

"I'm sorry, I really don't know what to do."