Deep within Ryūchi Cave, billowing sulfurous vapors filled the air, their pungent odor suffocating. Tian Uguisu knelt on one knee, her fingertips stained with blood, digging deep into the Ryūchi Cave's sticky rock walls, as if searching for a foothold. Her Mangekyō Sharingan spun eerily in the darkness, its pupils reflecting the enormous and terrifying body of the White Snake Sage. The White Snake Sage coiled atop a stone pillar, its body, over ten meters thick, gleaming with a jade-like fluorescence. Eight heads flicked their scarlet tongues, each adorned with dark gold Sage patterns, emanating a chilling aura.
"Little girl, don't think you can challenge me just because you're wearing some magical equipment?" The White Snake Sage's central snake head sneered, its venomous fangs dripping slime that corroded deep pits in the ground, silently proclaiming its power. "This Earth Spirit Set is nothing more than ordinary equipment forged by Hokage Tsubasa, with your Super Kage Level Chakra cultivation..."
Tian Uguisu abruptly stood up, the black cloak of her Earth Spirit Set fluttering behind her as if in response to the White Snake Sage's provocation. She drew the Earth Spirit Divine Spear from her waist, the cold light emanating from its tip instantly dispelling the surrounding poisonous mist. This divine spear, forged from extraterrestrial meteorite iron and Chakra Metal Mother Essence, was now shrouded in pale golden runes—sealing incantations personally inscribed by Tsubasa, containing immense power.
"Enough with the nonsense! You must submit to me today." Tian Uguisu's voice was firm and powerful, her eyes flashing with an undeniable determination.
The White Snake Sage unleashed a deafening roar from all eight of its snake heads, its massive body striking like lightning. Tian Uguisu's pupils contracted, and she activated her Mangekyō Sharingan's " Genjutsu " to try and confuse the White Snake Sage. However, the White Snake Sage broke through the Genjutsu directly, its snake tail sweeping across. Tian Uguisu narrowly dodged to the side, her Earth Spirit Divine Spear sweeping out, the tip colliding with the snake scales, instantly creating dazzling sparks, like fireworks blooming in the darkness.
"Taste the forbidden techniques of Ryūchi Cave!" The White Snake Sage's eight serpent heads simultaneously uttered different serpent incantations, their voices deep and eerie. Suddenly, the ground trembled violently, and countless giant skeletal serpents burst forth from the earth. Their skeletons shimmered with a ghostly green light, as if they were evil spirits crawling out of Hell. These giant skeletal serpents opened their blood-red maws and pounced towards Tian Uguisu, as if to tear her to pieces.
Tian Uguisu bit her tongue, spitting her blood onto the Earth Spirit Divine Spear. The moment the blood touched the spear, it emitted a dazzling light. She roared, " Earth Spirit - Demon-Slaying Strike!" Golden spear light swept out like a storm, shattering the giant skeletal snakes into dust and turning them into a pile of broken bones. However, even more snakes surged out from the mist, seemingly endless.
As the two were locked in fierce combat, Tian Uguisu suddenly felt a powerful surge of Chakra emanating from the depths of her body. She gritted her teeth and endured the powerful energy flowing through her; this was the awakening of the spirit of the Earth Spirit Divine Equipment, granting her even greater power. At this moment, the entire suit emitted a dazzling light, as if injecting new vitality into the battle.
The White Snake Sage seemed to sense something, and its attack suddenly accelerated. All eight serpent heads simultaneously spewed corrosive venom, which, like black raindrops, carried a pungent odor and possessed powerful corrosiveness, hurtling towards Tian Uguisu. These venom droplets landed on the ground, instantly corroding deep pits, a horrifying sight.
However, the Earth Spirit Divine Equipment on Tian Uguisu's body displayed astonishing defensive capabilities. The venom that landed on the armor was instantly blocked by an invisible shield, unable to reach her body. Not only that, the Earth Spirit Divine Equipment also began to automatically repair the wounds on Tian Uguisu's body. Her wounds healed at a speed visible to the naked eye, as if they had a life of their own.
At the critical moment, Tian Uguisu activated the Earth Spirit Set's equipment skill— Ultra-Light-Weight Rock Technique. Her body instantly became as light as a swallow, as if weightless. She leaped into the air, rushing towards the White Snake Sage like an arrow released from a bow. Activating the Mangekyō Sharingan skill "Prediction," Tian Uguisu's vision instantly revealed the White Snake Sage's movement trajectory. She precisely locked onto one of the snake heads, and the Earth Spirit Divine Spear thrust out instantly, easily piercing one of the snake heads.
The White Snake Sage let out a painful hiss, its massive serpent body writhing wildly, crushing all the surrounding stone pillars. Its seven remaining serpent heads stared warily at the divine spear in Tian Uguisu's hand, their eyes filled with disbelief. It had never imagined that its proud defenses could be so easily breached.
"How come this woman is more than ten times stronger? My defenses can't stop her in this state at all!" The White Snake Sage was filled with shock and fear.
"I surrender!" The White Snake Sage finally stopped attacking, its seven snake heads warily staring at the divine spear in Tian Uguisu's hand, as if waiting for her next move.
Tian Uguisu sheathed the Earth Spirit Divine Spear and took out the scroll from the Ryūchi Cave from her bosom. Her breathing was slightly rapid, but her eyes were incredibly determined. She knew that the victory in this battle was only the beginning, and her journey to find her husband was far from over. However, with the powerful strength of the Earth Spirit Divine Equipment and her own resilience and courage, she was confident in facing any challenges Mirai.
The White Snake Sage's enormous body coiled atop a stone pillar, its eight serpent heads gleaming eerily in the darkness. Its gaze, sharp as a knife, was fixed on the scroll in Tian Uguisu's hand.
"Where did you get the Ryūchi Cave Contract Scroll?" The White Snake Sage's voice was deep and majestic, as if it were a whisper from ancient times.
Tian Uguisu was panting heavily; though her body was exhausted, her eyes were exceptionally determined. She slowly unfurled the scroll in her hand, which was densely covered with the names of all the contractors from the Ryūchi Cave throughout history. Most prominently displayed was Tsubasa's flamboyant signature. "With this scroll, you may sign a master-servant contract with any spirit beast of the Ryūchi Cave."
"Sign a contract with me." Tian Uguisu forced herself to stand upright, her Earth Spirit Divine Spear pointing directly at the White Snake Sage, the tip gleaming coldly. "I will help you break through the False Core and become a true Golden Core demon beast."
The seven snake heads of the White Snake Sage simultaneously murmured, filling the air with a dangerous aura. It seemed to be weighing something, and after a long while, the central snake head slowly lowered. "Human woman, do you know what you're saying? You'd better keep your word. If you dare to break your promise..."
"Don't worry, I clearly have the Ryūchi Cave Scroll that Tsubasa gave me, which allows me to directly sign a contract. The reason I chose to defeat you before making you sign the contract is to prove my strength." Tian Uguisu bit her fingertip, and blood dripped onto the scroll. Instantly, golden runes surged from the scroll, enveloping the White Snake Sage in a dazzling light. The White Snake Sage let out a painful hiss, its massive body twisting wildly, but the power of the contract was irresistible. As the light gradually faded, a pale golden Cursed Seal collar appeared around its neck.
"From today onwards, you'll be called Bai Jiu. That way, it'll be easier for you to navigate the human world." Tian Uguisu put away the scroll, her Mangekyō Sharingan slowly returning to its normal form. "Then come with me to find the Tsubasa, Hokage. This is your first order."
"I want to get out too, but there's a seal in this Ryūchi Cave that's designed to trap me. My true form can't get out at all." Bai Jiu's seven snake heads simultaneously let out a resentful hiss, their voices filled with helplessness.
Tian Uguisu smiled slightly and said, "Leave the seal to me. From now on, you just need to follow my orders."
Bai Jiu wanted to resist, but the contract forced it to lower its proud head. The giant snakes throughout the Ryūchi Cave roared, as if trembling at the arrival of the new master of the Ryūchi Cave.
Tian Uguisu examined the seal on Ryūchi Cave. It was set up by a powerful Onmyoji in ancient times, and its complexity and power were awe-inspiring. The seal's power mainly restricted the White Snake Sage's freedom; breaking such a seal would be no easy task.
Tian Uguisu knew this all too well, but she did not back down. She knew that only by completely breaking the seal could Bai Jiu truly gain freedom, and the spirit beasts of Ryūchi Cave could also regain their vitality. So, she began her attack to smooth out the sealing runes.
The core of the seal in Ryūchi Cave is located at the deepest part of the temple, where a huge magic array, composed of countless runes and incantations, radiates powerful energy fluctuations. Tian Uguisu stood before the magic array, her Earth Spirit Divine Equipment fully activated, and she could feel the power of the seal pressing down on her shoulders like a mountain.
"The power of this seal is too strong; I must find its weakness," Tian Uguisu muttered to herself, her gaze sweeping across the magic circle, trying to find a flaw.
At the core of the seal was a massive crystal ball, radiating a ghostly blue light, seemingly the "heart" of the seal. Tian Uguisu knew that to break the seal, she had to destroy this crystal ball. However, countless runes surrounded the crystal ball, acting as defensive lines to block her attacks.
"These runes are the key to the seal; I must break them first." Tian Uguisu gritted her teeth and began trying to attack the runes with the Earth Spirit Divine Spear. However, each attack was easily deflected by the runes, even backfiring on her. She felt a powerful force impacting her Chakra, almost unbearable.
"No, this won't work." Tian Uguisu wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth. She knew that directly attacking the runes wouldn't work. She needed to find a way to weaken the runes' power and find a breakthrough.
So, Tian Uguisu began to study the structure of the seal. She discovered that the runes on the seal were not static, but constantly changing according to a certain pattern. These changes in the runes seemed to be related to the energy fluctuations within the Ryūchi Cave. Tian Uguisu realized that only by understanding this pattern could she find a way to break the runes.
Over the next few months, Tian Uguisu activated the Earth Spirit Divine Equipment at full power every day, carefully observing the changes in the sealing runes, trying to find the pattern within them. Her body was battered and bruised by the backlash, but she never gave up. She knew that she carried the hopes of Bai Jiu and all the spirit beasts of Ryūchi Cave on her shoulders, and she could not back down.
Finally, by chance, Tian Uguisu discovered the pattern in the rune changes. She found that when the runes changed to a certain combination, the sealing power would fluctuate briefly. Although this fluctuation was small, it was an excellent breakthrough for Tian Uguisu.
"Now!" Tian Uguisu shouted, raising the Earth Spirit Divine Spear high and thrusting it towards the crystal ball with all her might. In that instant, the sealing power paused briefly, and Tian Uguisu's attack, like a sharp sword, pierced through the rune's defenses and struck the core of the crystal ball.
The crystal ball shattered with a crisp sound, and countless rays of light surged forth from it, as if imprisoned light had finally been released. The sealing power collapsed instantly, and the energy fluctuations within Ryūchi Cave began to become active.
"Success!" Tian Uguisu felt a powerful force surging from the Earth Spirit Divine Equipment, enveloping her body as if she had gained new life. She knew that the seal of the Ryūchi Cave had been completely broken.
Bai Jiu sensed the seal being broken, and its body instantly felt lighter. It raised its head and looked at Tian Uguisu with a complex expression. "Human, you did it."
Tian Uguisu smiled slightly, "I am your master, and also your partner. From today onwards, we will face the Mirai together."