The魍魉's impotent rage did not change its current predicament.
Not only that, but when the Nine-Tails saw this creature daring to be distracted by other matters under its attack, it felt a sense of being underestimated.
It opened its mouth wide, and a terrifying Yin-Yang Release chakra began to gather in its throat.
Orochimaru's lips twitched. Only a wisp of the primordial source of dark chakra remained within him, and the rest was released in its entirety.
While accelerating the rate at which the dark chakra devoured the魍魉's power, he shouted a reminder.
"Kurama, don't be too rough!"
The Nine-Tails nodded vaguely and spat out a small Tailed Beast Bomb, which directly hit the soul of the魍魉 beneath it.
"Rumble!"
The altar seal trembled violently. The魍魉's soul wailed under the impact of the Tailed Beast Bomb containing Yin-Yang Release chakra, and the chakra snakes bound to the Nine-Tails uncontrollably loosened their grip.
With its body freed, the Nine-Tails, undeterred by the disgust, bit down on the魍魉's distorted chakra body. Its nine long tails thrashed wildly, severing countless chakra snakes that had been posing a threat moments before.
Seeing this, Orochimaru's eyes lit up.
"Peacock Myōhō - Animal Mimicry!"
Under the impetus of Orochimaru's now considerable chakra reserves, a torrent of azure chakra rapidly took the form of flying birds in mid-air. They then rained down upon the severed limbs below.
Passing through the colossal net formed by dark chakra, the birds gave the severed chakra snakes no chance to return to their main body. With pecks and claws, they exerted all their strength to snatch them.
If one bird couldn't move a severed limb, then several would combine their efforts, carrying the severed chakra snakes together towards the great net.
The dark chakra readily accepted these temporarily ownerless powers, quickly absorbing and assimilating them into its own strength.
This process repeated itself. After only a few exchanges, the chakra snakes severed by the Nine-Tails were completely plundered by the swarms of birds.
Seeing that Orochimaru was using this method to have the void devour the魍魉's power, the Nine-Tails found a swift way to deal with such a large entity.
It lowered its head and opened its mouth, unleashing another Tailed Beast Bomb.
Its power was not immense, but it was precisely enough to disrupt the魍魉's attempts to reclaim its lost power.
"Kurama, that guy has indeed become much smarter!"
Orochimaru praised inwardly, controlling the birds spawned by the Peacock Myōhō to clear the scattered chakra snakes around them, while he himself flashed to the Nine-Tails' side.
"Kurama, leave the troublesome tentacles to the birds manifested by the Peacock Myōhō."
"It's time to start dealing with this guy's primordial power."
"Good!"
The Nine-Tails nodded, pressing its front claws onto the魍魉's body, exposing its soul core, encased within purple chakra, to Orochimaru.
A glint flashed in Orochimaru's eyes. The Yin-Yang Release chakra within him rapidly transformed into wind, fire, and earth attributes. He faced the魍魉's soul core with both hands and formed the hand seal for Dust Release.
"Sage Art - Dust Release - Detachment of the Primitive World!"
A milky-white beam enveloped in azure light was unleashed and withdrawn in an instant, stopping precisely after piercing the chakra layer surrounding the魍魉's soul core.
The Nine-Tails let out a low growl. Its right claw reached into the hole created by the Dust Release, and with a swift closing of its sharp claws, it yanked out the魍魉's soul origin.
Its mouth moved forward and, with a crunch, swallowed a shadowy soul projection radiating evil power. The魍魉's painful wails immediately ceased.
"Ugh..."
"Much less tasty than grilled meat!"
The Nine-Tails muttered disdainfully. Releasing its grip on the魍魉's body, which could only spasm in place, it nodded at Orochimaru.
"The rest is up to you!"
Orochimaru nodded gently and, with a thought, summoned the great net of dark chakra from above.
"Go!"
"Devour the魍魉's power and let's see if your growth has any limits!"
A sense of joy was transmitted from the nascent intelligence within the dark chakra, and it eagerly lunged towards the魍魉 below.
Without the魍魉's soul to support it, how could its chakra withstand the ravenous consumption of the void, which was also a demonic entity?
Powerlessly wrapped by the black net, it struggled symbolically for a moment before being pulled into the dark chakra's seal.
With the vast amount of魍魉's chakra flooding in, even Orochimaru, with his current strength, felt a sensation of fullness in his lower abdomen.
He adapted with a strange expression for a while, realizing that the dark chakra would take some time to digest the魍魉's power. He quickly used a sealing jutsu to seal the mixed chakra of the void and the魍魉 in his lower abdomen, which provided some relief.
The Nine-Tails stared at Orochimaru's abdomen for a moment, a hint of worry on its face.
"The power of such demonic entities can only be suppressed by extremely profound Yin-Yang Release."
"Orochimaru, after the void's primordial source within you digests the魍魉's power, it will likely grow to an unimaginable extent!"
"Aren't you afraid that just in case..."
Orochimaru understood what the Nine-Tails was worried about and shook his head with a light smile.
"Kurama, you might not know, but before I devoured the魍魉's power, the void's power within me had already given birth to a brand new consciousness."
The Nine-Tails' pupils constricted, and it exclaimed in shock.
"You scoundrel, why didn't you say so sooner?"
"How dare you let the void develop a consciousness? Don't you know how troublesome a demon with its own consciousness is?"
"Do you think the old man back then lacked the ability to obliterate their souls?"
The Nine-Tails looked at Orochimaru with an expression of utter disappointment, its eyes filled with concern.
"It's impossible to clean them out completely!"
"Most of these demonic entities originate from this world itself, born from disaster, death, pain, and other negative things."
"As long as there are complex-minded beings like humans in the ninja world, these demonic entities will have a day to revive."
"The old man finally had no choice but to resort to sealing as a means."
Orochimaru was touched by the deep concern in the Nine-Tails' voice and smiled, gently rubbing its nervous fox face.
"That's why I chose to seal all these demonic entities within my own body!"
"When the void's power reaches a certain level, perhaps I will become the first demon-jinchūriki in the ninja world, comparable to a Nine-Tails jinchūriki!"
The Nine-Tails immediately became furious, swatting away Orochimaru's hand and roaring in anger.
"You scoundrel, are you even listening to what I'm saying?"
"Once the void awakens its consciousness and its strength becomes greater, you might be the one controlled!"
Orochimaru waved his hand indifferently, a meaningful smile on his face.
"My strength will not be weaker than the void's power. Furthermore, with the sealing jutsu and your help, I have no fear of being controlled by the void's power."
"And besides..."
Orochimaru gently embraced the Nine-Tails' shrunken body and soared towards the exit of the seal.
"After personally meeting the Six Paths Sage, I've had a premonition."
"Without the bloodline of the Ōtsutsuki clan, relying solely on the chakra cultivation methods derived from the Ōtsutsuki clan's power system is insufficient for me to confront more members of the Ōtsutsuki clan."
"The Senjutsu originating from the ninja world itself, combined with the endless evolutionary characteristics of these demonic entities, might become a powerful trump card to overwhelm the entire Ōtsutsuki clan."
"Kurama, my ambition..."
"is not merely to achieve the Six Paths level!"