Chapter 1 A Living Hell

The white mist turned into a sea of clouds. Ji Xiang, invading this Peach Blossom Spring world, saw a human hell where people were devoured without even the bones being spat out. However, Ji Xiang didn't feel much about this. He looked at the city he had reduced to ruins with a single palm strike and turned to Musashi.

"Living and dying aren't that different. Although the people of the world live similar lives, it seems yours are more miserable."

Musashi was silent for a moment before respectfully replying, "If you hadn't shattered this barrier, they could have lived happily."

The old abbot also said from behind, "What the living cannot see, the dead will not fear. But if the living see some things, then even death will not bring peace. Are you doing good, or are you doing evil?"

Ji Xiang didn't care. "For those mortals, it's probably evil. But so what? I am a Heavenly Demon. My actions are unrestrained and free from any shackles."

"I am here to subdue demons, not to save the people here. Eliminating the barrier is a necessary means to destroy demons in this world. Removing the illusion in their eyes is merely following the operation of the Heavenly Dao."

Then, Ji Xiang turned his gaze towards Izumo Grand Shrine. Although the shrine was collapsing, the burning incense within remained. Ji Xiang opened his mouth wide, and the intense incense, which had already solidified, was swallowed by Ji Xiang as if river water was flowing into the sky!

Within the ruined Ashihara City, there was movement!

The wails of vengeful spirits sounded painful and miserable, spreading from the dust into the sky and the world. Ji Xiang looked down and saw the few vengeful spirits who had been beaten extremely miserably.

A black humanoid monster with sixteen arms, holding eight red spears and eight red shields.

A golden humanoid monster with sixteen arms, holding eight black spears and eight black shields.

And a humanoid monster covered in decaying mirrors, wearing luxurious blue-purple robes, looking like an ancient monarch.

The decaying dust was scattered by the wails of the three great vengeful spirits, and the true face of the collapsed Ashihara City was revealed to the world. It turned out to be a giant tomb. After being destroyed, a bottomless black hole appeared above the tomb, and then it wriggled like flesh and blood, frantically devouring everything that existed in this Peach Blossom Spring world!

First, the nearby land disappeared, leaving only a bottomless pit. Then the ground rumbled, and the flesh-like tomb swelled up a large circle, with endless death energy gushing out from the hole.

"Kill him!"

Without superfluous words, Ji Xiang, with no one in his eyes, destroyed this Peach Blossom Shangri-La and removed the barrier they had set up. This was a great sin!

"Intruding into the origin of the gods, devouring incense, and destroying the divine city! You have committed a grave crime against the divine kingdom! Which immortal are you, or are you their subordinate, daring to betray the order of the Divine Warrior and come here to display your power!"

"You have committed a great sin! You are sure to die!"

"Look at the good things you've done!"

The bodies of the three great vengeful spirits swelled, expanding to the size of towering giants. The ancient monarch vengeful spirit, wearing blue-purple robes and covered in ancient mirrors, had demonic energy soaring into the sky, which could even briefly confront the Ancient Heavenly Demon Qi emanating from Ji Xiang. This made Ji Xiang exclaim in surprise.

This demonic energy was even more terrifying than the demonic energy in Oda Nobunaga's corpse. It was not only filthy but also carried an extreme evil and strangeness. This feeling reminded Ji Xiang of the power he sensed when he met the Heavenly Net King.

It was the effect of the black Qi!

Ji Xiang then carefully examined the vengeful spirit of this ancient monarch, who used his own erupted demonic energy to push back Ji Xiang's Ancient Heavenly Demon Qi. At the same time, he questioned and scolded Ji Xiang in a cold voice:

"No matter who you are, you have shattered the only spiritual sustenance of these mortals, completely depriving them of their faith in the gods. Now the world is about to collapse, and all these people must be killed to prevent them from telling the truth to the outside world. We will have to spend a lot of effort to erase what is happening now!"

"Use your life to rebuild a more solid barrier. Next time, no one will dare to break this Peach Blossom Spring world."

Ji Xiang was expressionless, but Musashi retorted angrily, "What are you, setting up this world according to Xu Fu's orders? This is the origin of the gods, yet you have defiled it so much, turning it into a terrifying world where corpses fill the hills and rotten oil turns into rivers. Is this what you call a Peach Blossom Spring!"

"I didn't expect this sacred Land of Reeds to turn into this."

The vengeful spirit of the ancient monarch mocked Musashi, "From the very beginning, the gods have always been like this. Where do you think the gods come from, and why were the eight million gods born?"

"The sacrifices, incense, wishes, and prayers of mortals give rise to folk gods, while the status of the Heavenly Gods comes from ancient myths and legends. As long as we set up a Peach Blossom Spring here, the origin of the gods itself will become a new story after thousands of years. In fact, it is about to succeed now."

"Izumo has already become a sacred place in the world. The stories passed down from generation to generation by mortals, with the help of the power of time, will allow us to successfully transform into Heavenly Gods, and the divine kingdom will be perfected as a result. The eight million gods, the folk gods, have transformed from demons, relying on the souls of mortals and the wishes generated by sacrifices."

Musashi was horrified.

The old abbot then said, "In our country's legends, demons and monsters are themselves branches of the gods... So the root lies here?"

Ji Xiang stared at the vengeful spirit monarch for a moment, then suddenly asked:

"Have you seen the *Golden Crow Jade Rabbit Collection*?"

"In your so-called operation, what key role does this book play?"

Speaking of this book, a faint green light appeared in the hollow eyes of the vengeful spirit monarch, and his voice became ferocious and evil, "Who exactly are you? Is the *Golden Crow Jade Rabbit Collection* something you can inquire about?"

"Enough talk. We will take your flesh and soul here!"

The other two giant vengeful spirits also echoed, "Although we don't know where this fake immortal came from, he must have the cultivation of entering the Immortal Path to force his way in here. Kill him to replenish this place, and then kill those mortals to prevent the news from spreading. Let's make a quick decision!"

The two strange vengeful spirits, each with sixteen arms, launched an attack on Ji Xiang. Their figures were huge, supporting the sky and trampling the earth, and the wriggling great tomb of flesh was even taller than them, almost taking on the posture of swallowing the sky. Nothing could escape its next action!

In Ji Xiang's eyes, words appeared on the Inner Vision Divine Tablet:

[Mosasaka God: A giant vengeful spirit god in the legends of Izumo, the beginning god of Shintoism! In charge of the disaster of war!]

[Osaka God: A giant vengeful spirit god in the legends of Izumo, the beginning god of Shintoism! In charge of the disaster of drought!]

[Emperor Sutoku: The Japanese monarch of four hundred years ago, who had great resentment in his life and transformed into a powerful vengeful ghost god after his death, known as the greatest vengeful spirit in the world!]

[Ama-no-Iwayato: The giant cave where the goddess Amaterasu hid in the legend. After entering it, the world would lose its light and fall into darkness. In this land of Izumo, affected by Ama-no-Iwayato, after all living beings die, their bodies die first, and their souls transform later. This rule is actually a transformation of corpse liberation.]

[Destroy their foundation with Ancient Heavenly Demon Qi!]

[Strip away their ancient divinity with Penetrating Bright Smoke!]

[Transform their disaster power into merit with the power of the Heavenly Opening Yellow Path Heavenly Lord!]

[Completely kill them with Manjushri's Great Wisdom Sword!]

Once the Ancient Heavenly Demon Qi came out, all laws were forbidden. Only the Jade Purity method could suppress it. It seemed that, from the Korean battlefield to the Japanese mainland, the most worthwhile battle in this great war that lasted for hundreds of days was still the one that entered the Land of Yellow Springs.

Refining the Spear of Heavenly Jewels, obtaining the Dust of Supreme Simplicity and the Qi of Chaos, and using these two things to complete the Heavenly Demon transformation, returning from the Jade Purity Heavenly Demon to become an Ancient Heavenly Demon, the suppression of these worldly demons became countless times stronger!

And now....!

The Ancient Heavenly Demon Qi had an excellent use! Destroying the other party's foundation was equivalent to directly attacking their origin. This meant that almost nothing in the world could restrain it!

Ji Xiang laughed.

"What are you laughing at?"

The three great vengeful spirit gods couldn't help but ask when they saw Ji Xiang suddenly laugh.

Already in a desperate situation, why laugh here?

"I laugh at you for being ignorant of your impending death, lacking wisdom, and rushing to your death instead of escaping!"

These words made the three great vengeful spirit gods furious. The intruder not only destroyed the Peach Blossom Spring, defiled the sacred land, and destroyed the divine city, but now he was also uttering such insults against them, the ancient gods!

Emperor Sutoku said gloomily:

"You are a bit strange. Your clothes don't look like those of the descendants of Shinto, but there seems to be some connection. The samurai and the monk beside you already have demonic energy on their bodies. Are you also demons or something?"

"However, no matter what you are, wearing black, clumsily imitating the clothes and costumes of Shinto, wanting to open up a new path for yourselves, and thus coming here to try to challenge our existence?"

"If that's what you think, then it's really foolish enough! You will die knowing exactly why, and you don't know what kind of ancient existences you are facing!"

"Don't think that just because you invaded this Peach Blossom Spring you can suppress us. So what if you destroyed Ashihara City with one strike? Ama-no-Iwayato is the true face of that city. This Peach Blossom Spring exists with the divine kingdom. Even if you enter the Immortal Path, even if you are stronger than each of us, the final victory will still be ours."

"We will drag you into the abyss and let you die without a burial place!"

The divine kingdom stood here, and Izumo was the origin of the gods, so it was also most closely connected to the High Celestial Plains Dharma Realm. This place was like a Dharma Realm existing in the human world, but it did not have the power of a true Dharma Realm, which was powerful and could transform at will. To kill the three great vengeful ghost gods here was impossible for the false immortals of Japan.

Even if half of their body was already standing in the Immortal Path, a false immortal was still a false immortal. Without being able to act freely, they could easily be exhausted to death by the three great vengeful spirit gods of Izumo!

Of course, saying it a thousand times was useless. The completely black Mosasaka God had already spoken. His sixteen arms, supporting the sky, holding eight blood-red spears and eight shields, were already attacking Ji Xiang!

The overwhelming atmosphere of war, with hateful wails and slaughter, was filled with the aura of death, and there was also the cold air of the Yellow Springs mixed in. Although the power was mixed, each one was extremely powerful and could destroy a mountain and river!

He waved a spear, and three spears stirred up a blood-red storm. A piece of land in Izumo was immediately smashed to pieces, destroyed by heavy pressure, and all the mountains, rivers, and dust were turned into powder and scattered into the sky like dark clouds, drifting hundreds of miles across the land!

"A mere false immortal dares to be presumptuous here! You can't even take one of my blows. I thought you were so powerful..."

Mosasaka God's tone was disdainful. The figure of Ji Xiang had already disappeared between heaven and earth. He thought that the other party had been completely destroyed in the previous blow, but the Osaka God beside him suddenly howled!

Immediately afterward, a slash that cut off heaven and earth had already fallen head-on!

With a loud noise, the black shield in Osaka God's hand was split into three pieces, and the golden giant figure was knocked back. The Mosasaka God on the side was shocked!

The next moment, the mountains and rivers beside him were directly divided into two!

Ji Xiang's form appeared, and the solemn face of the Heavenly Opening Yellow Path Heavenly Lord illuminated heaven and earth. The white sea of clouds rose and fell, and the thunder and precious light that blasted open heaven and earth swept away the atmosphere. With a wave of his hand, several divine swords flew out from his body!

This time, even Emperor Sutoku was horrified!

"That is... what is that!"

As an ancient emperor, Emperor Sutoku certainly recognized the many divine swords that Ji Xiang had now arrayed in the sky. Except for the Thunder Cutter and the blue great sword that he did not recognize, he could name all the other divine swords!

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

The Mosasaka God also recovered at this time, and was extremely surprised: "How can an unorthodox false immortal have the Ama-no-Murakumo-no-Tsurugi!"

"No, who exactly are you!"

Osaka God was injured by the Ama-no-Murakumo-no-Tsurugi in one blow, but this place was the origin of the divine kingdom, so the vast national prestige and national fortune began to gather on him, quickly repairing the injuries on his body, but Osaka God's expression was already extremely solemn.

He said word by word:

"Ama-no-Murakumo-no-Tsurugi, Totsuka-no-Tsurugi, Ame-no-Habakiri, how is this possible? Treasures passed down from the Age of the Gods, divine weapons made with the original Qi of the Dharma Realm, are actually all in the hands of one person... What is that blade, it has the feeling of thunder, but it cannot be compared with the divine swords... That blue sword has the majesty of Buddhism... Could that be the Wisdom Flame Sword in the hands of Manjushri Bodhisattva...!"

This was an unbelievable thing, his entire existence was already dumbfounded!

The Mosasaka God, in his horror of the wisdom, became furious!

"Why would Emperor Jimmu do such a thing? Are you sent by him to kill us!"

He could not accept this ending! And it was completely inexplicable!

Ji Xiang did not respond at all, only arranged several divine swords in the sky, and Emperor Sutoku and the three great vengeful spirits were instantly faced with a great enemy!

"Disaster is eliminated, receiving the spirit of heaven, all impurities, sink ten thousand zhang into the earth."

Ji Xiang's voice was deafening, the divine swords themselves sought out targets to kill, and the Heavenly Lord's image raised the Manjushri Wisdom Sword, with the fire of wisdom appearing on it! And Ancient Heavenly Demon Qi was entwined around it!

He waved it down!

"Heavenly Opening Yellow Path Heavenly Lord!"

Red demonic Qi, golden Buddhist Qi, and blue Daoist Qi, the three Qi resided together, scattered into the world, presenting an overwhelming trend!