Chapter Summaries

Suren, Qiantiao, Miko, and Lolota were ambushed by Koga ninjas while returning to Edo, and they fought their way out of the encirclement. Qiantiao stayed behind to test her newly acquired Demonic Blade Munemasa against Kato Danzo, while Suren led the others onward.

• Suren practiced inscribing the Golden Dragon Pattern rune while the group waited for Miko’s imperial guards, but the guards never arrived.
• The Death Announcing Bird warned of fatal danger, so Suren led the group off the main road just before an ambush began.
• Suren detected a ninja hiding inside a tree, and Miko identified the attackers as Koga ninjas; the group fought off attacks from Ueno Sasaki and Kobe Kaoru while continuing through the forest.
• Suren sensed a powerful enemy underground, and Miko identified him as Kato Danzo, the Koga school’s Shadow Buddha and a Kage-level ninja.
• Qiantiao chose to stay and test her blade against Kato Danzo, who flooded the forest and summoned a gigantic Thousand-Armed Stone Buddha; Suren led Miko and Lolota away with their pursuers.

Suren lured the Koga pursuers away from the real Kamifuku Miko, then stayed behind to fight and kill Ueno Sasaki, one of the Koga Sannin. He learned from Sasaki’s memories that Miteya Hime led the Black Dragon Society, leaving him with more questions to pursue in Edo.

• Suren used an illusion of Kamifuku Miko to draw the Koga ninjas away while the real Miko escaped.
• Kobe Kaoru discovered the decoy, and Ueno Sasaki sent her and the other ninjas back to search while he faced Suren alone.
• Suren chose to fight Sasaki inside his Chessboard space, but Sasaki’s speed and wind techniques repeatedly wounded and nearly killed him.
• Suren used Nightfall, Wind God Ichimoku Ren’s weakness to Sweet Flag, and a swarm of puppets to confuse and exhaust Sasaki before killing him with the Black Scythe.
• Suren stripped Sasaki’s soul and discovered that Miteya Hime was the mysterious leader of the Black Dragon Society.
• Suren left the Chessboard space and disappeared into the mountains and forests, intending to seek answers in Edo.

After escaping the Takeda Shogunate’s pursuit, Suren boarded a ship bound for Edo and discovered that an elderly woman had used a strange influence to draw him onto the deck. She revealed that she was Katyusha’s great-grandmother, spoke cryptically about fate and love, then returned to her cabin, leaving Suren wondering why she had sought him out.

• Suren learned that Qiantiao had escaped, disguised himself as a poor samurai, and traveled to Izumo City’s harbor.
• As Suren waited for a passenger ship, travelers discussed the King of the North Sea’s Ninth Fleet and the likelihood of war in Hidden Mountain.
• Suren paid extra to board an official merchant ship bound for Edo and spent two days meditating during the voyage.
• On the third day, Suren sensed that something had prompted him to go outside, then met an elegant old woman who said she had deliberately arranged their encounter.
• The old woman identified herself as Katyusha’s great-grandmother, recalled meeting Suren at the Three Birds Abode, and spoke about Katyusha, fate, and love before returning to her cabin.

Suren arrived in Edo, learned that the North Sea Fleet’s occupation had inflamed student opposition, and investigated the mysterious writer Fujiwara Hayato. At Tenkai Pavilion, he saw Mitejima Yo and recognized her as Pandora, realizing she was the Cursed Object the Rune Old Man had brought when he defected from Lu Ying.

• Suren arrived in Edo and learned from student leaflets that the Takeda Shogunate had signed a Non-Resistance Treaty with the North Sea Fleet.
• Suren speculated that a hidden Third Party Force might be manipulating the student movement and wondered whether Miko was in danger.
• Suren bought books by Fujiwara Hayato and learned that the writer had disappeared after working on an unreleased masterpiece about the gods.
• Suren responded to Qiantiao’s message and went to Tenkai Pavilion, where he watched sumo matches while waiting for the famed Mitejima Yo to appear.
• Mitejima Yo appeared before the crowd, and Suren recognized her as Pandora, the Cursed Object brought by the Rune Old Man when he defected from Lu Ying.

Suren recognized Miteya Hime as Pandora, the artificial human created by his teacher Seraya, and suspected her beauty and power were tied to Hidden Mountain’s monster faith. Abe Taihe confronted her at Tenkai Pavilion, then unleashed his Hundred Demons against her as Suren escaped and realized Pandora seemed poised to make a major move in Edo Castle.

• Suren identified Miteya Hime as Pandora, an artificial human whose complete soul and supernatural beauty astonished him.
• Abe Taihe arrived, confirmed his interest in testing Miteya Hime, and asked Suren to return the Ghost Warriors; Suren agreed.
• Abe Taihe suggested the Kamifuku Imperial Palace as a safe place to study, and Suren considered seeking shelter there.
• After Miteya Hime’s dance enthralled the crowd, Abe Taihe sensed that Suren had recently encountered a god and warned him that the gods were watching.
• Abe Taihe unleashed his Hundred Demons: Night Parade against Miteya Hime, while Suren left the collapsing Tenkai Pavilion with Qiantiao.
• Suren watched the battle erupt across Edo Castle and suspected Pandora was planning something major.

Suren and Chijou investigated Pandora’s possible abilities while the Great Black Sun Festival brought the dead into the living world. After Chijou killed pirates who attacked a blind musician, Yagyū Jūbei’s soul appeared and killed Yagyū Hanjirō; the musician then revealed that she could see and asked to speak with Chijou.

• Suren called Mr. Mirror, who said Pandora’s soul might be tied to faith and that Seraya and Sir Isaac had researched how to create gods, but she believed Pandora had a weakness.
• At a ramen stall, Chijou told Suren about her search for the Sword Saint Akutagawa Ryuichi and Yagyū Hanjirō, while a blind musician played a song that Chijou recognized as carrying sword intent.
• Pirates assaulted the performers and tore the blind musician’s coat, so Chijou killed Marquez and the other pirates when Yagyū Hanjirō’s group refused to help.
• A hemp-clad swordsman appeared, killed Yagyū Hanjirō with Yagyū Ittō-ryū’s Moon Chapter, and vanished; Chijou identified him as the soul of Yagyū Jūbei.
• Chijou told Suren that the dead were returning from Yomi-no-Kuni and that famous historical figures were appearing during this Great Black Sun Festival.
• The blind musician met Suren and Chijou at an alley entrance, opened her eyes, and asked to speak with Chijou; Suren suspected she had the Heavenly Sight Eye talent.

Suren learned that Chijou was fated to die in flames, then stayed with Miko at the Imperial Palace to study Hidden Mountain’s ancient texts. While exploring the Library Tower, he discovered a mural of the Great Black Sun Festival’s Kagura Dance and began rapidly reading its collections.

• The young musician revealed that her grandfather, Akutagawa Ryuichi, had died and gave Chijou his secret Akutagawa One-Sword Style inheritance.
• The young musician foresaw Chijou dying in flames, but Chijou accepted the vision calmly after learning she would die smiling without regrets.
• Suren carried Chijou to a rooftop, where she met Miko and arranged for Suren to stay in the Imperial Palace and use its Library Room.
• Miko guided Suren through the Library Tower, explained that some texts were destroyed by the gods, and told him that Yamata no Orochi was said to be sealed at Asakusa Temple.
• Suren saw a mural depicting a bare-breasted Saiou performing the Kagura Dance and learned that the ritual was performed privately for the gods.
• After Miko left him alone in the Library Tower, Suren used his Eight-Armed Spider Spear Implant to pull out books and began reading several texts at once.

While preparing for the Great Black Sun Festival, Suren completed the basic Rune Vajra framework and uncovered Fujiwara Hayato’s encrypted account of visiting the Land of the Dead, along with a Ghost Train Ticket and another of Sam Bellamy’s gold coins. The chapter ended as Suren sensed General Gluttony Ixil Peon arriving at the Imperial Palace, apparently with the pirates ready to pressure the Kamifuku Imperial Family.

• Suren spent eight days studying the Library Tower and engraving runes into his bones to complete the basic framework of the Rune Vajra.
• Suren deciphered an encrypted message hidden in Fujiwara Hayato’s novel, which revealed that Hayato had visited the Land of the Dead using Ghost Train Tickets.
• Suren obtained a Ghost Train Ticket and a second Cursed Gold Coin linked to Pirate King Sam Bellamy’s shipwreck treasure.
• Suren decided against risking a trip to the Land of the Dead but wondered whether Fujiwara Hayato’s final manuscript might be at Asakusa Temple.
• Suren sensed General Gluttony Ixil Peon arriving at the Imperial Palace and suspected the pirates were moving against the Kamifuku Imperial Family before the Great Black Sun Festival.

Suren and Chijou prepared for the Great Black Sun Festival while the Kamifuku Clan, North Sea Fleet, and Takeda Shogunate moved toward conflict. When the eclipse began, the sun became a cursed portal that dragged them into the Yellow Springs Cursed Space, leaving Suren suspecting Miteya Hime was responsible.

• Suren watched the North Sea Fleet’s tense negotiations with the Kamifuku Clan and learned from Kamifuku Miko that the Takeda Shogunate was preparing to target the imperial family.
• Kamifuku Miko warned Suren and Chijou to stay away from Iga Shrine, the Imperial Palace, and White Sun Divine Mountain during the festival’s expected fighting.
• Suren and Chijou discussed the Land of the Dead and the rising number of spirits and monsters, and Suren wondered whether the Yellow Springs Manifestation was man-made.
• At the Great Black Sun Festival, Suren and Chijou observed the North Sea Fleet and Takeda Shogunate gathering near the shrine from a distant hillside.
• Suren’s left eye identified the sunlight as cursed, and he opened his Rune Black Umbrella and pulled Qiantiao close as the eclipse formed a Cursed Space called Land of the Yellow Springs.
• Suren realized Fujiwara Hayato’s novel had manifested as a powerful Cursed Object, then suspected Miteya Hime as he and Qiantiao were pulled into the space.

Suren and Qiantiao were dragged into a seemingly complete version of the Land of the Dead depicted in Fujiwara Hayato’s novel, where they searched for a way to escape. At Akiku’s Izakaya, Granny Akiku revealed that the dead knew they were living people and warned them to flee, just as the customers turned on them.

• Suren realized the eclipse had pulled him and Qiantiao into the Land of the Dead, a Grade T Cursed Space, and explained that gaining a deity’s recognition might be their way out.
• Suren and Qiantiao disguised themselves as local ronin and entered Edo Castle, where they saw North Sea Fleet pirates eating cursed food and indulging in pleasures that eroded their wills.
• Suren and Qiantiao suspected the inhabitants of the Land of the Dead were fully realized characters from Fujiwara Hayato’s novel and looked for clues about the world.
• At Akiku’s Izakaya, Suren recognized the shop and questioned Granny Akiku about Ueda Sakurai; Granny Akiku revealed that Ueda was her daughter and warned the pair to seek safety at Asakusa Temple.
• The customers twisted their heads toward Suren and Qiantiao with eerie smiles after Granny Akiku exposed them as living people.

Suren and Qiantiao fought their way through Yomi-no-Kuni’s ghost-filled Edo Castle, then confronted the Ghost King Shuten-doji. Suren joined Qiantiao against the nearly invulnerable enemy and used a calculated trap to restrain and decapitate him with Hypnos’s Night Black Scythe.

• A Swallowing Ghost attacked Suren and Qiantiao in a tavern, forcing them to flee as Edo Castle transformed into a Ghost City.
• Suren and Qiantiao battled through the monster-filled streets while the North Sea Fleet pirates succumbed to the ghosts and General Gluttony, Ixil Peon, devoured them at the cost of his own assimilation.
• Suren and Qiantiao hid briefly with Black Crow and Robert, then encountered Shuten-doji, who overwhelmed Qiantiao’s attacks with his Red Lotus Flame and Indestructible Adamantine Body.
• Suren activated Rune Vajra and Fourth-Stage Hormone Rampage, then joined Qiantiao in attacking Shuten-doji while searching for a way through its defenses.
• Suren baited Shuten-doji into striking his abdomen, trapped its arm with Qiantiao’s blades and his silver threads, and used the Death God’s Phantom to distract it.
• The Living Corpse struck Shuten-doji’s neck with the Black Scythe, severing its head, and Suren had the Death God’s Phantom devour the corpse.

After killing Shuten-doji, Suren discovered that absorbing faith-infused Demonic Energy strengthened his Death God's Phantom, but he and Qiantiao were nearly overwhelmed by ghosts and a Great Tengu. Beggar God rescued them with mud pills that concealed their yang qi, and they escaped to hide before planning to recover and go to Asakusa Temple.

• Suren stripped Shuten-doji's soul, learned about Izanami and the Land of the Dead, and gained the Imperial Flow: Hegemon Body secret technique.
• The Death God's Phantom absorbed Shuten-doji's Demonic Energy and Power of Faith, becoming more solid and greatly improving Suren's comprehension of the Law of Death.
• Suren and Sister Chijou fought through the ghosts while injured, but a Great Tengu defeated Sister Chijou and trapped them among the ruins.
• As the Great Tengu attacked, Beggar God intervened with a bowl and whirlwind, then gave Suren and Qiantiao mud pills that concealed their yang qi from ghosts.
• Suren and Qiantiao used a spatial rift to hide in an empty house, then decided to recover and head to Asakusa Temple, which Suren suspected was important to escaping the Cursed Space.

Suren and Qiantiao escaped the monster-filled city and found the ruined Old Asakusa Temple, where they treated their serious injuries and rested. They remained trapped in the Land of the Dead, but the temple and the Sword Saint who had recently stayed there might offer clues to their way out.

• Suren and Qiantiao disguised themselves among the monsters, left the city, and struggled to find Asakusa Temple in the wilderness.
• Suren identified the ruined site as Old Asakusa Temple, and he and Qiantiao found lifelike Buddhist statues bearing the sword intent of a Sword Saint who had left a few days earlier.
• Suren and Qiantiao decided to shelter at the temple, where Suren used his medical skills to treat both of their wounds.
• After changing into a robe, Qiantiao rested beside Suren in the tent, and they discussed their chances of escaping the Land of the Dead.
• Suren moved under Qiantiao's blanket and put his hand against her as they settled down, and both slept through the night.

Suren and Qiantiao took refuge at Asakusa Temple, where they met the dead Sword Saint Akutagawa Ryuichi. Akutagawa revealed his understanding of swordsmanship to Qiantiao, leaving her motionless in a breakthrough-like state, while Suren asked him about the Lord of the Underworld.

• Suren prepared a meal for himself and Qiantiao, and they rested at Asakusa Temple while recovering and searching for clues about leaving the Land of the Dead.
• The Black Crow spotted an old man approaching the temple, and Suren and Qiantiao recognized him as the Sculptor Monk, Akutagawa Ryuichi.
• Akutagawa allowed the two living visitors to stay and identified Qiantiao's blade as Onimaru Hyakume Munemasa, which he had once wielded.
• Akutagawa explained that swordsmanship came from the spirit in one's heart and demonstrated his Hell Path swordsmanship by drawing an overwhelming aura with his carving knife.
• Qiantiao stood unmoving in the snow after witnessing Akutagawa's demonstration, while Suren asked him whether he knew the Lord of the Underworld.

Suren and Chijo investigated a beam of light that appeared over Yomi and discovered it had revealed a projection of Iga Shrine. They found Kamifuku Miko fighting monsters inside the shrine, leaving them to decide how to reach her.

• Suren reflected on the nature of Yomi and continued seeking a way out while Akutagawa Ryuichi guided Chijo's sword practice at Asakusa Temple.
• After half a month of searching the city for clues, Suren prepared to go out again, but a beam of white light appeared over the eastern city.
• Suren and Chijo followed the light and identified its location as Iga Shrine, then watched the beam vanish and the shrine's projection begin to fade.
• As ghosts and monsters rushed toward the hill, Suren and Chijo approached the ruined shrine and sent Black Crow to scout it.
• Suren recognized Kamifuku Miko inside the shrine, where several monsters were attacking her.

Suren and Qiantiao rescued Miko from monsters in the Cursed Space, where she explained that Tsukuyomi-no-Mikoto had proclaimed Takeda Nobuno the Moon Emperor before exiling her. After a monster stole Qiantiao’s blade, Suren identified the thief as Hakuzosu and prepared a treasure-filled trap to recover it.

• Suren and Qiantiao found Miko surrounded by monsters at a ruined shrine, fought their way to her, and carried her to safety.
• Suren explained that they were in a Cursed Space rather than the Land of the Dead, and Miko revealed that Tsukuyomi-no-Mikoto had named Takeda Nobuno the Moon Emperor and banished her.
• Miko said only fifteen minutes had passed outside while Suren and Qiantiao had spent half a month inside the Cursed Space.
• Qiantiao reported that Demonic Blade Munemasa had vanished, and Suren suspected that the treasure-stealing monster Hakuzosu had taken it.
• Suren proposed luring Hakuzosu with valuable treasures and laid out a large collection of Sealed Items, Cursed Objects, and other prized possessions as bait.

Suren, Sister Chijou, and Miko trapped Hundred Treasures Master and recovered Sister Chijou’s sword, Munemasa. The monster’s ransom also yielded a Demonic Bodhi Seed for Sister Chijou and a Legendary Void Roaming Whale’s Endless Stomach for Suren.

• Suren, Sister Chijou, and Miko rested in a cave and agreed to lure monsters with Miko’s aura while preparing to seek Izanami.
• Suren detected Hundred Treasures Master stealing the Sands of Time, and the three companions worked together to trap and seal it.
• Sister Chijou beat the monster until it surrendered its genuine demon core and returned Munemasa.
• Hundred Treasures Master offered Sister Chijou a Demonic Bodhi Seed, which Suren recognized as protection against the dangers of her Hell Path sword training.
• Suren demanded compensation for the stolen Sands of Time, and Hundred Treasures Master offered a Legendary Void Roaming Whale’s Endless Stomach that could grow into a plane.

Suren identified the Void Roaming Whale’s Endless Stomach as a powerful augment armor and decided to return to Asakusa Temple to fuse with it. While he prepared, Chijou took Miko into the wilderness, where their conversation about Suren left Miko flustered.

• Suren recognized the Void Roaming Whale’s stomach pouch as an augment armor suited to his Reaper Talent and returned the weasel’s demonic core after it refused to become his subordinate.
• The weasel told Suren that only Lady Izanami might know how to leave the Land of the Dead, then vanished.
• Chijou discovered that the Bodhi Seed let her control Zongzheng’s demonic energy more safely and increased her combat power.
• Suren left for Asakusa Temple to fuse with the augment armor, while Chijou took Miko to camp in a remote wilderness.
• Chijou teased Miko about her possible match with Suren, leaving Miko confused and embarrassed.

After fusing with the Void Roaming Whale’s Endless Stomach, Suren rescued Qiantiao and Miko from a Ghost King and followed a clue to an underground palace beneath Cangshan Shrine. Qiantiao entered a sudden breakthrough before a statue of Takemikazuchi-no-Kami, Miko discovered a complete Divine Witch secret art, and Suren continued searching for a way out of Yomi-no-Kuni.

• Suren fused with the Void Roaming Whale’s Endless Stomach, gaining a large pocket dimension and testing its costly, limited swallowing ability.
• Suren ambushed the ghosts pursuing Qiantiao and Miko, and Qiantiao killed the Red Yokai while Suren absorbed its remains and learned of a secret beneath the ruined shrine.
• Suren, Qiantiao, and Miko traveled to Cangshan Shrine and drilled into an underground palace containing a statue of Takemikazuchi-no-Kami.
• Qiantiao experienced a sudden breakthrough in her swordsmanship before the god’s statue, while Miko found all twenty-four panels of the Divine Witch secret art on the palace walls.
• Suren sealed the underground palace, mapped the shrine, and considered possible ways for the group to escape Yomi-no-Kuni.

Suren and Miko fled the monsters drawn to the shrine while protecting the Shinto records, until a Ghost King army trapped them near Mount Cang. As Suren fought to hold the encirclement, Qiantiao arrived with her newly mastered Thunder Roaring Hell and destroyed the Hundred-Face Hair Ghost with one slash.

• Suren killed monsters gathering near the shrine, then brought Miko out and packed away the shrine’s twenty-four relief carvings with a Space Sealing Scroll.
• Suren and Miko fled through the mountains, rested in an abandoned village, and discussed the Shinto records and Qiantiao’s teasing surprise.
• After several days of pursuit, Suren and Miko learned that Ghost Kings were coordinating an attack and were forced into an encirclement.
• Suren defended Miko from the Hundred-Face Hair Ghost and Ghost Hero: Toyotomi Hideyoshi’s Ghost Samurai army while waiting for Qiantiao.
• Qiantiao descended from Mount Cang with a thunderous sword aura, revealed that she had reached completion in Haki, and killed the Hundred-Face Hair Ghost with Ittō-ryū: World Banishment.