Kiyohime and the Earth Spider

On the battlefield stood a colossal creature, with the head of a tiger and the body of a spider. It had eight long legs, a mouth full of fangs, and bristles all over its body that looked terrifying. It stood seventy or eighty meters tall.

This was the famous great yokai known throughout Japan—the Earth Spider.

A giant spider monster captured and sealed by Emperor Jimmu. Yet after Emperor Jimmu died, the seal had weakened, and the Earth Spider had long since escaped.

And at this moment, the renowned Earth Spider was staring in terror at something ahead of it, something not even as large as its eye.

It was a woman, one with a pair of delicate, deer-antler-like horns on her head.

She wore a kimono and held a folding fan. Her long black hair draped down her back, and her face bore a leisurely expression.

"Princess Qing, you have already slaughtered countless of my descendants; what more do you want!!" the giant Earth Spider spoke in a human voice, its tone laced with fury... and a trace of fear.

"What do I want? Of course... I want you dead!" The woman still looked at it calmly, but her voice carried a hint of resolve.

"Don't go too far!!!"

At those words, the Earth Spider was completely enraged! This was utterly intolerable...

Hadn't it merely accidentally destroyed the place where she lived? It had not done so on purpose. Who would have known that when it woke up, there would be a temple beside it—and that a powerful great yokai would be living inside?

"You destroyed my Dojo Temple. You destroyed my only remaining memory of Anchin. If I don't kill you, I will never quell the hatred in my heart." As she spoke, Princess Kiyo's face twisted into a bloodthirsty expression as she stared at the Earth Spider.

Kiyohime had originally been human. From her name, one could tell that she had been the daughter of a noble family.

Later, she fell in love with a monk named Anchin. But Anchin abandoned her, using a pilgrimage to Kumano as an excuse. He left Kiyohime behind alone, leaving her to wait in anguish.

When Kiyohime, who had waited in vain for her beloved's return, realized she had been deceived, she chased after Anchin madly day and night without even putting on shoes. She endured untold hardships along the way, and when she finally nearly caught up with Anchin on the road to Dojo Temple, she no longer looked human or ghost.

The moment Anchin saw that his lie had been exposed, he hurriedly prayed to the Kumano deity to trap Kiyohime. He swiftly crossed the Hidaka River, fled to Dojo Temple to seek the abbot's help, and hid inside the temple's great bell.

By the time Kiyohime reached the banks of the Hidaka River, there were no boats left. Yet she still resolutely leaped into the river, transforming into a creature with a human head and a snake's body as she continued chasing him ashore. In the end, she reached Dojo Temple and perished in flames together with Anchin.

However, Kiyohime did not die. Driven by her endless obsession with the one she loved, she transformed into a dragon through her "obsessive thoughts" alone.

After that, Kiyohime remained at Dojo Temple, hoping that one day she would meet Anchin again.

Who could have expected that a few days ago, the Earth Spider before her would suddenly burrow out from underground? The ground collapsed over a vast area, and Dojo Temple was caught in it, completely caving in.

It had nearly driven Kiyohime mad. She had hunted the Earth Spider for days, slaughtering countless spider offspring it had raised.

"This is too much! I'm a great yokai too!"

Seeing that Kiyohime still refused to spare it, the Earth Spider stopped fleeing. It opened its horrifying maw and spat a massive torrent of venom at Kiyohime.

The venom surged toward Kiyohime like the waters of a great river!

Yet Kiyohime remained utterly calm. Just as the venom was about to reach her, she waved the folding fan in her hand.

A huge fire dragon appeared, instantly turning the Earth Spider's venom into steam.

Seeing that venom was ineffective, the Earth Spider did not care. It shook its enormous body, and countless spiders the size of washbasins crawled out from within it.

Their densely packed bodies were terrifying to behold.

All the little spiders crawled toward Kiyohime. The Earth Spider itself crawled toward her as well, and with every step of its enormous body, the ground trembled.

Watching the Earth Spider's movements, Kiyohime did not hesitate in the slightest. She directly transformed into a massive horned serpent—a dragon.

The giant serpent opened its jaws and unleashed an immense breath of dragon fire...

Everything before it was reduced to ruin...

Facing the dragon breath, the Earth Spider hurriedly retreated as well.

Because of Kiyohime and the Earth Spider's battle, yokai within a hundred miles fled in all directions.

After all, when great yokai fought, one careless moment could drag others into the conflict. They could die for nothing...

Do not think a hundred miles was far. For most great yokai, the range of a battle extended far beyond that.

Then... at this time, Yae Sakura encountered more and more yokai.

Until... she encountered a hundred demons traveling together!

If a hundred demons traveled together at night, it could be called the Night Parade of One Hundred Demons. But it was currently daytime, and a hundred demons traveling together were far less formidable than a night parade.

The Night Parade of One Hundred Demons referred to an association formed by over a hundred yokai and ghosts.

When these yokai formed an organization and concentrated the power of the ghosts, the yokai leading them would benefit from it and gain formidable strength.

That strength drove many yokai to strive to become the lord of all demons and spirits.

Because once one became the lord of all demons and spirits, even if only recognized in name, that yokai could advance further. Becoming a true great yokai would no longer be impossible.

Looking at the hundred demons before her, Yae Sakura became excited!

She had not obtained a single crystal so far. Now... they had finally come to deliver crystals to her.

"Lady Yae!!"

Xia Ji tightly clutched Yae Sakura's sleeve. There were actually so many yokai before them... and Xia Ji was terrified.

With so many yokai, could Yae Sakura alone... really defeat them?

She was very worried.

"Just stay behind me. Don't run around. I won't let them touch you." Yae Sakura comforted Xia Ji, then directly led her before the hundred demons and blocked their path.

Leading the hundred demons was a very famous yokai—Jorogumo!!