Netherworld Stone

A few days later, Mingye and Chongli reached the Dog Tribe Base, following the map Red Evil Ogre had left them.

It lay within a sprawling mountain range shrouded in thick white mist. This was no ordinary mist.

It held the power to conceal auras, another manifestation of a barrier.

The moment Mingye and Chongli arrived at the mountain range, sentries hidden in the shadows spotted them.

Red Evil Ogre had already told them that the demon wolf Mingye would soon arrive.

Thus, Mingye's arrival caused no alarm among the sentries.

As for his appearance, Red Evil Ogre had naturally described him to his subordinates after returning.

"Lord Mingye, this white mist is strange..."

Chongli's eyes seemed to shine as he discerned the mist's unusual nature.

"Yes. It's a manifestation of the barrier the Dog Tribe uses to conceal its base. Without a special map, finding this place would be difficult!"

Mingye spoke calmly. The mountain range surrounding the Demon Wolf Burial Grounds he had visited before had possessed a similar barrier.

Such measures were commonplace among the great tribes and were nothing unusual.

"If a yokai accidentally wandered in here, they would not only lose their way, but also be easily killed by the yokai hidden inside."

Still, creating a white-mist barrier that covered an entire mountain range required considerable demon power and control.

As they spoke, the white mist before Mingye suddenly changed, revealing a passage.

Red Evil Ogre emerged from the passage with a smile and said respectfully:

"Lord Mingye, our great general has been waiting for you for some time."

"Lead the way." Mingye nodded, his expression unchanged.

Red Evil Ogre had some understanding of Mingye's temperament, so he dispensed with pleasantries and led them onward.

After following him for a while, they finally left the expanse of white behind.

It was remarkable. From outside, everything appeared shrouded in white mist, yet after walking some distance, they could clearly see their surroundings within.

They could even observe the world outside with ease.

With such an extraordinary secret art, the Dog Tribe truly deserved its standing as the foremost power in the Western Country.

Upon entering, Mingye had already caught the scents of many yokai. Most belonged to the Dog Tribe, though there were plenty of other yokai as well. In his eyes, however, they were far too weak to merit attention.

"I heard your leader challenged Michinaga of the Leopard Cat Tribe?"

Mingye stopped surveying his surroundings and turned his gaze to Red Evil Ogre.

He had heard this news during his journey over the past few days.

He did not know whether it was true, hence his question.

"That's right. The great general challenged Michinaga, the Panther Tribe Leader, to a battle at Heavenly Lake ten days from now!"

Red Evil Ogre was not surprised that Mingye knew. Even if they had done little to publicize it, word would still leak from the Leopard Cat Tribe.

"A battle at Heavenly Lake in ten days..."

Mingye sank into thought. Challenging him at a time like this... could Inuyasha be about to be born?

After all, in the original course of events, Inuyasha had been born after this very battle.

That was most likely the reason. From what he knew of Tōga, the man had gone to extraordinary lengths for Inuyasha, his half-demon son.

Not only had he left Tessaiga behind after his death as a weapon to protect Inuyasha's life, but he had also split off the power of Meidō Zangetsuha into Tenseiga, using Sesshomaru's strength to bring the technique to perfection.

Then it would be passed to Inuyasha. Tōga truly loved his youngest son to the utmost.

Almost every benefit had been left to Inuyasha.

Such devotion showed just how much Tōga valued Izayoi and Inuyasha.

That was what led Mingye to deduce why Tōga had issued the challenge.

Seeing Mingye lost in thought, Red Evil Ogre fell silent. After all, even Mingye would struggle to intervene in a battle between Greater Yokai.

After they walked a little farther, Red Evil Ogre stopped, turned, and pointed toward a nearby cliff.

"The great general is waiting for you over there."

Red Evil Ogre's voice drew Mingye's attention back. He nodded slightly and walked toward the cliff.

Chongli followed closely beside him.

At the cliff, Mingye and Chongli met Tōga, the renowned overlord of the Western Country and leader of the Dog Tribe.

On his back, he carried Sōunga, the ancient Evil Sword that struck terror into countless yokai even as they coveted it.

Though Sōunga remained sheathed, Mingye could clearly sense an intensely evil aura emanating from it, as though it sought to stir the dark thoughts in his heart.

But Mingye had lived one life as a human and a second as a yokai. With his firm resolve, how could an Evil Sword that had not even been drawn corrupt his mind?

The two demon blades at Tōga's waist possessed extraordinary auras as well, and they suppressed the release of Sōunga's evil power.

Mingye merely glanced at the Three Swords of Heaven, Earth, and Man, without a trace of longing or fervor in his eyes.

The Evil Sword at his own waist was no inferior weapon and could certainly rival Tessaiga.

Tōga turned around. At the sight of Mingye's exceptionally young face and the aura surrounding him, a flicker of admiration crossed his eyes.

"Demon Wolf Mingye, truly, the younger generation is formidable."

Tōga had an exceptionally discerning eye. With a single glance, he could tell that Mingye's future achievements would be no less than his own.

"You flatter me."

Mingye spoke calmly, neither servile nor overbearing, his expression composed.

"I assume you've already guessed why I invited you here?"

Tōga smiled faintly. Since Mingye had agreed to come, he must have some inkling of his intentions.

"You want me to join your side?"

Mingye nodded as he spoke.

"We share a common enemy. As the saying goes, the enemy of my enemy is my friend. You're quite impressive."

As the overlord of the Western Country, Tōga rarely held a yokai in such high regard, yet he had already praised Mingye twice.

"That reason isn't enough."

Mingye shook his head. Expecting him to help Tōga fight the armies under the Leopard Cat Tribe on that basis alone was impossible.

Work for free?

Not a chance!

"What are your terms?"

Unsurprised, Tōga asked.

He had read the information on Mingye, and now that they had met in person, he understood his temperament a little better.

A yokai with the potential to become a Greater Yokai would naturally not fear one.

A true warrior dared to draw his sword against someone stronger, and Mingye was just such a yokai.

The mere possibility of Michinaga of the Leopard Cat Tribe taking action was indeed not enough to make a yokai like Mingye slay enemies on his behalf.

"I heard you obtained Shinigami Oni's Meidō Zangetsuha. I'm very interested in the power of this Mystic Art."

Mingye's gaze fell on the demon blades at Tōga's waist. Meidō Zangetsuha could cut open the Netherworld Path and reach the Underworld—a truly extraordinary power.

"You want to learn Meidō Zangetsuha? I haven't mastered its power myself."

Tōga was surprised. News of his victory over Shinigami Oni had naturally spread far throughout the Demon World, but few knew that he had taken Shinigami Oni's Meidō Zangetsuha.

Moreover, he had rarely used the technique after taking it.

That was because he could not fully control its power.

In his view, Sesshomaru might be able to master it completely in the future.

After all, Sesshomaru's talent surpassed his own.

"You can't master it?"

Mingye was somewhat surprised, but after a moment's thought, he realized that Tōga had indeed almost never used this technique.

"However, if you want to learn it, you may be able to gain an understanding of it through this gemstone."

Tōga took out an ink-black gemstone. It gleamed in the sunlight, clearly no ordinary object.

"This is... the Netherworld Stone?!"

Tōga tossed the ink-black gemstone to Mingye, and it landed securely in his hand.