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Deep within Tsukushi Island, a vast mountain range rose into the sky. It was the tallest peak on the island.

At the foot of the mountain stood a shadowy castle complex. Parts of it had clearly fallen into age and decay, yet many towers had been newly constructed, and even the fortress tower had been significantly expanded, its additions obvious at a glance.

“Lord Ashikaga Kiyoshi, the grand detection formation just reported several extremely powerful presences. They appeared suddenly from a distance of nearly a thousand kilometers from the Yamatai region, then rapidly flew toward the direction of the Heian Dynasty!” a black-robed female Onmyoji reported urgently.

“Extremely powerful presences?” Kiyoshi lifted his head, his gaze turning grave.

“Just who… could they be?” Behind a dim curtain nearby sat the cloistered emperor, his tone eerie and ambiguous.

On another side sat Shizuka Gozen.

There was also another figure present, a woman with a striking physique. She wore a sleeveless cloth outfit and short skirt, a large, distinctly tied rope knot hanging behind her back. Covering her face was a tengu mask.

She was none other than the female tengu of Takamagahara, Amanozako.

However, the one seated here was not her true body, but a Big Dipper Stage incarnation she had refined. This avatar had long since infiltrated the human world, and it was she who had previously rescued Kiyoshi.

The black-robed Onmyoji said, “They are several rare and extremely powerful female auras. They resemble the fluctuations of Celestial Maidens.”

“Why are you speaking so vaguely?” Amanozako’s incarnation snapped coldly. “With the grand formation personally crafted for you by Tennin-Mikoto, this is the best you can detect?”

“T-this formation is far too complex. Though we’ve studied its operation with everything we have, we can only use it at a very superficial level…” the Onmyoji replied with difficulty.

“Useless trash!” With a sudden flap, a black crow’s wing burst out from behind Amanozako’s back.

**Rrip—!**

In an instant, the black hunting robe on the Onmyoji was shredded to pieces, leaving her pale body exposed. Her face flushed crimson as she trembled, hastily covering herself in fear.

“Am I supposed to stand guard over the formation every moment myself?” Amanozako barked angrily.
“What a useless woman, good for nothing but ruining things! But just who exactly has come?” a burly oni below growled.
“There is no need to continue blaming her,” Kiyoshi said calmly. “The ones who have come can only be Kagami Lily.”
“Oh? And how do you know that?” Amanozako asked.

Kiyoshi turned his gaze toward the window, watching the scattered petals of falling cherry blossoms drift in the wind. “Lily… you have finally come, haven’t you…” His eyes grew complicated, filled with emotions difficult to discern.

Meanwhile, on Lily’s side. Yoruko scanned the surroundings cautiously. “Lily, is this really a safe place to talk?”

“There’s no need to worry. My domain has enveloped the area. No one will hear our conversation.” Now that Lily had found Yoruko, she had reduced the range of her domain, maintaining it only for defense. There was no need to waste excessive divine power any longer.

From behind her, Yoruko drew out a long, cloth-wrapped box and opened it, revealing a katana. The blade shimmered with flowing spiritual light, crystal-clear and radiant.

“What…?” The moment the spiritual blade left the box, Lily felt a familiar yet incomparably sharp and overwhelming presence surge toward her.

A deep sorrow rose uncontrollably from the depths of her heart.

“Tsu… Tsukuyomi no Mikoto…”

“Lily, this is precisely the item Madam entrusted me to deliver to you. It is of utmost importance. The Oborozuki Soul.”

“The Oborozuki Soul?” Lily was startled.

Even Rei and Shimizu drew sharp breaths, stunned. “We’ve never seen a spirit blade with such terrifying fluctuations…”

“That’s right. The spiritual blade formed from the Oborozuki Soul is far too powerful. Ordinary storage treasures cannot contain it. Only the special box given by Madam can conceal it without being detected,” Yoruko explained.

Earlier, when they were with Yanagihada, Yoruko had no choice but to reveal both the box and the blade to dispel suspicion. She had judged clearly that Yanagihada was someone trustworthy.

“Lily, judging from the direction you came from, before you learned my whereabouts, were you planning to head toward Yamatai?”

“That’s correct.”

“Then it seems you already know. The blade scar left by Tsukuyomi no Mikoto has vanished, and the only unrestricted passage between the three realms, the Celestial Demon Path, has now fully opened.”

“Yes.” Lily nodded solemnly.

“However, although the blade scar has disappeared, the power of that strike still remains. The peerless sword Tsukuyomi wielded in life shattered after that final strike, dispersing into countless strands of sword energy throughout the Celestial Demon Path. The blade scar once blocked the demons of Yomi, while the sword energy prevented even the gods of Takamagahara from descending into the mortal world.”

“Tsukuyomi…” Lily felt her reverence deepen even further. Having fallen in battle, her life extinguished, she had used the final power of her existence to seal the three realms, securing a thousand years of peace.

“So the Oborozuki Soul… is actually a fragment of Tsukuyomi herself…” Lily received the spiritual blade with both hands, faintly sensing the cold elegance, peerless beauty, and fearless valor of that divine being within it.

Why did such a perfect woman exist in this world? And yet, her beauty had only ever served to illuminate the darkness. What had she ever asked for in return? A deep sorrow welled within Lily, unwilling to accept the tragic end of Tsukuyomi.

“Lily, take out your Oborozuki Muramasa. The Oborozuki Soul can merge with the blade’s core,” Yoruko said.

“Huh? Really?”

No wonder even the anima of a Supreme God had been rejected by the Oborozuki Muramasa. It had been waiting… for this very fusion.

“Lily, what comes next is extremely important. Although each Oborozuki Soul contains unimaginable power, there are many, many more of them. They are fragments formed from the scattered sword energy and blade scar of Tsukuyomi. Right now, all of them linger deep within the Celestial Demon Path. You must go and seize them as quickly as possible!” Yoruko urged anxiously.

“There are… many more Oborozuki Souls like this?” Lily asked in shock.

“These are fragments of Tsukuyomi no Mikoto’s peerless divine sword, transformed from its countless shattered pieces. They embody the very power that once sealed the three realms. If Tsukuyomi had not suffered a mortal wound back then, who in existence could have ever stood as her opponent?”

“Lily, you must head to the Celestial Demon Path immediately. The secret of the Oborozuki Souls is not known to Madam alone. I fear other great powers will also send their subordinates to seize them. As long as one possesses a blade core forged from Oboro Tamahagane, it can absorb the Oborozuki Souls. Even absorbing a small fragment will drastically strengthen the blade. Whether used to enhance one’s own blade or traded to powerful individuals seeking to refine theirs in exchange for vast treasures, these souls hold immeasurable value across the three realms! Such a heaven-shaking treasure will not remain secret for long. Once the news spreads, experts from every realm will come to fight over it. You must act quickly! Although the Oborozuki Souls can strengthen the blade core, only by gathering all of Tsukuyomi’s scattered fragments can the supreme sword of the three realms be reforged!” Yoruko said, her expression grave.

“Gather them all?” Lily’s heart tightened. “The Celestial Demon Path is so vast and endless… I’m afraid…”

How could Lily not wish to collect every Oborozuki Soul infused with Tsukuyomi’s sword intent? She refused to let even a single fragment fall into another’s hands. Yet the Celestial Demon Path stretched across millions of kilometers. No matter how hard she tried, she could never block every powerful figure along such an immense expanse. If someone far away seized a fragment and fled, how could she possibly stop them?

“Lily, you don’t need to worry too much about that. The Oborozuki Source is formed from the most refined sword intent deep within the blade scar. Madam had me wait there in advance. After all, although she foresaw that Tsukuyomi’s blade scar would eventually fade, she could not determine the exact timing. It could have been days, or it might have taken decades to dissipate.”

“Madam also told me that bound by Tsukuyomi’s lingering resentment, the Oborozuki Souls are connected to one another and unwilling to separate. As long as even a single fragment remains within the Celestial Demon Path, none of them can be taken out. No method can restrain them. Only by gathering all of them and forging them back into a complete divine sword can they be brought out!”

“Moreover, within a certain range, the Oborozuki Souls can sense each other. In other words, you will be able to detect the presence of others within the Celestial Demon Path who have obtained fragments.”

“I see…” Hearing Yoruko’s explanation, Lily calmed slightly, yet an unprecedented sense of crisis rose within her.

“The presence of others who have taken Oborozuki Souls… This is destined to become another storm of bloodshed and slaughter!”

These were the remnants left behind by Tsukuyomi no Mikoto, forged from her sacrifice to seal the three realms, carrying fragments of her soul and the weight of her dignity! How could Lily allow these Oborozuki Souls to fall into the hands of others? How could she tolerate such desecration?

Even if she had to slaughter her way across the entire Celestial Demon Path, she would seize every single Oborozuki Soul, to honor the greatest benefactor of her life, Tsukuyomi!

A boundless killing intent surged violently within Lily’s body. Tsukuyomi had entrusted nearly everything she had to her.

“Madam Yoruko… I do have one question,” Rei said, looking at the spiritual blade in Lily’s hands with confusion. “If the Oborozuki Souls cannot be taken out before they are fully gathered, then how was this one brought out?”

“The intricacies of that, I do not fully understand either. Madam only taught me a unique secret method and instructed me that the Oborozuki Soul must be stored in this box to be carried out safely,” Yoruko replied.

Lily, however, gazed at the box with shimmering tears in her eyes, her expression filled with quiet yearning. She lifted the box with both hands and held it close to her chest, gently sensing its presence.

“This box… belonged to Tsukuyomi no Mikoto during her lifetime,” Lily said softly.

“What? How do you know that?” Yoruko asked in surprise.

Lily shook her head. “I have no proof. But I can feel it. This box carries a faint trace of lingering emotion. Its aura resonates with the Oborozuki Soul and the resentment left within the blade scar… it must have been a container used to hold a gift Tsukuyomi once prepared for Izanami-no-Ōkami.”

“A relic from Tsukuyomi’s lifetime… no wonder it can suppress the resentment of the Oborozuki Soul and carry it out of the Celestial Demon Path,” Rei said with a sigh.

Unlike Lily, who called her “mother” as an adoptive bond, Izanami was Tsukuyomi’s true mother.

Yet Lily felt that the lingering emotion within the box also carried a trace of sorrowful resentment. She could not help but wonder if the relationship between Tsukuyomi and Izanami had not been harmonious.

Tsukuyomi had been the supreme blade of Takamagahara, slaying across the three realms, an absolute force that maintained balance through fear. Because of that, perhaps even meeting her own mother had been a rare luxury.

‘Tsukuyomi no Mikoto… you were far too lonely…’ Lily could not stop the tears as they quietly fell.