Chapter 1 The Land is Torn, The Sky Collapses

The earth-shattering battle ended, and the power of the immortals terrified the mortals of the world, as well as the demons in the mountains. Even though the battle here was over, some demons still hid fearfully in their caves. Even though the spiritual energy here had dried up, and even though they would face the terrible consequences of being unable to cultivate and their demon power regressing if they didn't leave, these demons still didn't move a single step.

All because of the word "fear."

If they went out, and those two people happened to start fighting again, they would really die.

Staying here, at least they wouldn't die now.

But that being said, they would have to leave here sooner or later. The battle between the immortals had wiped out the spiritual energy of a large area of land. This level of power was something that mortals and demons had never seen before, let alone dared to imagine.

Of course, compared to the demons who were terrified all day long, hiding in the mountains, or preparing to leave and discussing where to flee, the mortals near Osaka Castle who had survived the immortal battle by chance, after a brief period of sadness over the destruction of their homes, someone cheered instead.

It was as if the dark clouds that had been pressing down on their heads for hundreds of years had been dispelled, and today they could finally breathe a sigh of relief. Even though they were covered in filth and dust, and looked disheveled, they still howled with extreme joy!

"It's the Konishi family's merchant."

The famous double agent of the Great Ming and Japan, Konishi Yukinaga, who was known as one of the two great geniuses of the 16th century along with Shen Weijing, his father Konishi Ryūsa was a wealthy merchant who served Toyotomi Hideyoshi. Most of Hideyoshi's war funds were obtained from Konishi Ryūsa, and Konishi Yukinaga was a military commander born from a merchant's family.

As a true Osaka native, Konishi Yukinaga completely adhered to the Kansai spirit, just like the millions of other Osaka people: "War is just doing business," and "The orders of the lords are just for me to slack off." When fighting in Korea, he even secretly traded weapons with the Korean army. In order to prevent the business from being ruined, he even secretly passed intelligence to the Korean army.

He was a true "not a spy, but even better than a spy" type of person.

The Konishi family in Osaka took in many orphans and taught them about doing business. This had already started during the time of Konishi Yukinaga's father, Konishi Ryūsa. After all, to expand one's trading house, orphans were the most loyal subordinates. At that time, the Warring States period had just ended, and there were displaced people everywhere. Orphans were not difficult to find.

Therefore, in Osaka, the Konishi family was known for their commercial methods.

The mortals who had escaped the disaster asked what this person was so happy about. Now they had nothing. Other than preserving their lives, what else was there to be happy about?

"The unknown immortal fought with His Majesty Emperor Jinmu, and this place has become a land without magic. For those demons and cultivators, it is a catastrophe, but for us, it is a great thing!"

"This place will become a paradise for mortals, and even the light of the Divine Kingdom will not shine on this land. We don't have to be oppressed by the lords, because no lords will come here! We have nothing now, but soon, we will own everything here and under the heavens!"

The mortals suddenly realized.

Yes, Osaka Castle and the towns outside the castle had mostly been turned into ruins, but they, the mortals, were still alive. They had seen the white jade hand that appeared in the heavenly gate that day. That earth-shattering palm could destroy mountains and collapse seas, but it did not kill them. This was undoubtedly the "compassion" from the other immortal.

There was nothing here, but there were still 100,000 people here.

From this day on, no lords would come to this Osaka, which had been turned into ruins. No demons would approach this land of extinguished magic. Even Emperor Jinmu might choose a new place to live after the destruction of Osaka Castle.

The environment of this land had been permanently changed, making it unsuitable for cultivators to survive, but not necessarily unsuitable for mortals to live in, because mortals did not need that spiritual energy in the first place.

Now that magic was extinguished here, they didn't have to worry about those cultivators wreaking havoc here!

————

The sky and earth were dark, and near Kyoto, many of the rotten flesh monsters had already been killed by the cultivators. Because Emperor Jinmu had entered Kyoto, the atmosphere of Kyoto became even more magnificent. Its aura was like raging flames, and under the night sky, the flame-shaped clouds rose into the high sky, spreading out to the four seas and eight directions of this world.

Toyotomi Hideyoshi对外宣称 these rotten flesh monsters, were the result of the Heavenly Demons of the Ming Dynasty, and this also conformed to most people's understanding of "demons." All kinds of strange and evil things came from the arts of demons and monsters. No one would suspect Emperor Jinmu of this.

All the cultivators heard was that Emperor Jinmu had fought with the Heavenly Demons of the Ming Dynasty, and the Heavenly Demons had fled. But during the battle, magic had affected Kyoto, killing the current emperor with a great and terrible curse.

As for Emperor Jinmu, he was injured and recovering, and would recover soon.

At the same time, an order was issued, that Toyotomi Hideyoshi required the cultivators of the world, especially those near Osaka and Kyoto, to focus on finding the hiding place of this Heavenly Demon, so as to prevent it from causing trouble again. In fact, this did not need to be emphasized by Toyotomi Hideyoshi. These frightened ordinary cultivators had already formed groups of three or five, and were spontaneously searching for Ji Xiang's whereabouts everywhere.

Even if it wasn't for Emperor Jinmu, but for their own safety, they would never dare to let Ji Xiang exist.

Like locusts, the cultivators left Kyoto. There were many Shinto and Buddhist people, but few Onmyoji. This was because Toyotomi Hideyoshi hated Onmyōdō, so he sent a large number of Onmyoji to the Korean battlefield to die. The Onmyoji also wanted to use military merits to win Toyotomi Hideyoshi's favor. Throughout the country, except for a few great Onmyoji of the Tsuchimikado family, all the others had gone to the Korean battlefield.

At the same time, a scarlet-armored army appeared in Kyoto. This was the Akazonae army under Takeda Shingen during the Warring States period, an elite among elites, but now they were more like a group of undead, wandering in the city to guard it.

"The army used to guard that useless emperor has unexpectedly become the last remaining force. As long as your Akazonae army is here, enemies below the level of immortals are not to be feared."

Toyotomi Hideyoshi looked at the wandering scarlet-armored cavalry with satisfaction, and a thin and short scarlet-armored samurai beside him responded to Hideyoshi's感慨:

"If I had been stationed in Osaka at that time, I would have fought to the last moment, and would not be able to serve you as I do now."

"Nobushige... If you were in Osaka... Don't even mention fighting, that would be impossible. You would have suddenly died, dying inexplicably."

Toyotomi Hideyoshi turned to look at the scarlet-armored samurai, praising his loyalty. This man was named Sanada Nobushige, and Toyotomi Hideyoshi had bestowed upon him the surname of Toyotomi.

"It's great that you didn't die. As long as you are here, the world will still be firmly in my hands, and no daimyo will start a foolish war, trying to replace my position."

"After I ascend to immortality, the next one will be you. Wielded as the sharpest sword in my hand... Before killing that Heavenly Demon, you must take good care of your life."

————

"Those cultivators are all searching for a Heavenly Demon from the Ming Dynasty who came here. If I kill him, will I be able to become famous immediately?"

"That's for sure. At that time, you will probably not only become famous throughout the world, but also shake the four seas. Emperor Jinmu will even take you into his command as a great servant of the Divine Kingdom, right?"

"Since that's the case, I will search for this Heavenly Demon and kill him."

A fourteen-year-old samurai said eagerly, looking at the horrified expressions of those cultivators when they heard the words "Heavenly Demon of the Ming Dynasty," which was very different from their usual矜持 arrogance. This made him have the idea of challenging them, thinking that as long as he killed the Heavenly Demon of the Ming Dynasty, he would immediately reach the peak of his life. However, the young monk who was talking to him shook his head and told him:

"No matter whose disciple you are, this Heavenly Demon is not someone that one person can kill. Emperor Jinmu was injured and needs to recuperate because of him. It is said that he is an immortal-level existence. If you find him, don't provoke him. You must report to Kyoto immediately."

The young samurai laughed: "Then why did you just say that as long as I kill the Heavenly Demon, I will be able to shake the four seas?"

The young monk was annoyed: "That depends on whether you can kill him or not! If you go to your death for nothing, who can you blame? Just don't come and blame me! Amitabha!"

The monk left with the other Buddhists, continuing to search for traces of the Heavenly Demon, while the young samurai turned to look at a tall woman behind him:

"Tachibana-nee, is this Heavenly Demon of the Ming Dynasty your enemy? He seems to be a very powerful existence."

"Let's have a competition, and see who can kill that Heavenly Demon first."

The woman was wearing samurai armor, and her face was not visible. Only her eyes seemed to be surrounded by lightning. She looked in one direction, and did not pay attention to the young samurai's suggestion. Instead, she muttered to herself, the lightning in her eyes jumping more and more violently:

"There's no mistake, it's over there."

"‘Raigiri’ is calling to me!" (Raigiri = Thunder Cutter)

After sensing it, she turned to look at the young samurai and refused coldly: "I don't have time to play with you. There are many ways to become a famous swordsman. Challenging me is the most wrong path."

"We shouldn't have met here. As for your surname, Miyamoto, I have never heard of it. I won't fight with an unknown person like you. Now I have important things to do. If you dare to stop me, your life will end here!"

The young samurai smiled, and still said to himself: "If I win, can I have your sword?"

He pointed to the long sword at the woman's waist, and the latter was already angered, and drew her sword in that instant.

Just drawing the sword caused a great storm!

This divine sword struck, but was unexpectedly blocked by a long katana in the other's hand!

Clouds rose, sparks flew, and the divine sword and the divine katana trembled and struck each other!

The woman saw the long katana at a glance, and was greatly shocked, while the young samurai looked at the unsheathed divine sword, and was also excited. The two shouted out the names of each other's divine weapons:

"Ama-no-Habakiri!" (Heavenly Feather Sword)

"Ame-no-Murakumo!" (Sword of the Gathering Clouds of Heaven)

——————

The two divine statues inside the temple gate were both in the form of Vajra, with ribbons wrapped around their bodies. They were typical Niō statues, but both statues held sacred mirrors in their hands.

Holding the Sacred Mirror of Niō, the sun and moon regain their light; driving the golden wheel of Brahma, thunder and lightning are silent.

The Buddhist disciples practiced here, but because Toyotomi Hideyoshi had asked them to search for the Heavenly Demon, many virtuous monks had already gone out, and there was no one else in the temple except for the abbot sitting in charge.

Golden light flashed, and a black-clothed Taoist appeared in this temple with weak incense.

Ji Xiang glanced at it, and then waved his hand, and the two sacred mirrors were immediately smashed to pieces.

The sacred mirrors turned into dust, and there was a stone tablet in front of the temple. Ji Xiang looked up and saw the terrified abbot in the temple, and then looked at the temple plaque.

"Honnō-ji Temple."