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Lily felt nothing but disdain for such crude, provocative words aimed at her, and she refused to answer in kind. Retorting with that sort of vulgarity would only put a girl at a disadvantage.

Her response was simple: she cut him down!

The red-haired deity before her surged forward with fierce momentum, his gaze filled with teasing lust and the intent to toy with her. He unleashed his full power in an attempt to subdue her, a crimson short staff appearing in his hand, radiating a scorching aura of karmic fire.

“Upper Celestial Stage strength?” Lily let out a cold laugh inwardly. Reaching such a level was no small feat, yet it was a pity that everything would end here today.

Without invoking divine power, she relied solely on her physical strength, her form streaking through the darkness like a flash of rainbow light.

“Hahaha! Your speed may be fast, but you’ve got openings!” the red-haired deity roared arrogantly. His staff suddenly erupted with a massive wheel of fire nearly 330 meters wide, crashing down toward Lily.

“I’ll smash you unconscious, take your treasures, and then strip you of those beautiful robes and all the valuables on your body as well! Hahahahahaha!”

The karmic flames burned far hotter than ordinary fire, and they seemed almost alive, surging forward with murderous intent. Just as they reached Lily, they split instantly into six streams, each striking toward vital points; her chest, abdomen, back, and more.

Lily responded with a single slash. The Blood Lunar Force could break all techniques. With one stroke, she severed the six converging flames and carried the momentum straight into the red-haired deity’s body.

The deity, whose face had been filled with arrogance and desire, did not even have time to cry out.

Carrying a trace of Lily’s anger, the Blood Lunar blade pierced clean through the body of this Celestial Stage god, splitting the Blood Spirit Magatama within him into two in an instant.

The Oborozuki Muramasa struck against his Amatsukami divinity, carving a ruptured gap through his godhood itself. As for the soul within, it was shattered into dust in a heartbeat.

His eyes rolled back, his expression frozen in that final moment—shifting from contempt to shock—as blood burst from his entire body. He died on the spot.

With a flick of her hand, Lily collected the red-haired deity’s belongings. Sending out a thread of divine probe, she retrieved a soulforged short blade from his waist and casually tossed the rest of his items to Nanako.

Treasures of this level held no appeal for her. That short blade, however, carried an unusual spiritual glow. Using Oborozuki Muramasa as a conduit, Lily drew out the Oborozuki soul attached to it.

Such souls could not be stored within spatial treasures; they could only remain bound to blades.

“This dagger is also forged from Oboro Tamahagane.” Lily examined it briefly before storing it away. Even if such weapons were not particularly powerful, she still regarded those forged from Oboro Tamahagane with a certain respect.

After all, it had once been the most cherished material of the Celestial Battle Maidens.

She looked over Oborozuki Muramasa in her hand, sensing its power had grown stronger once again.

“With just physical strength and the current Muramasa, I can already carve such a massive fracture into a Celestial divinity. If I were to use the Sword Heavenly Path and divine power together, a single strike would be enough to shatter it completely.”

It seemed the blade’s might had increased significantly. Even with only four fragments fused, it had already become a top-tier masterpiece among Dotsu Artifacts. If she could fuse twenty or thirty, it might advance into an Imperial Artifact.

Imperial Artifacts were exceedingly rare, existing on an entirely different level from Dotsu Artifacts, they were weapons wielded by the Great Imperial Gods.

“Nanako, let’s go.”
“Yes!”
‘Sister is so cool… and so powerful… she’s amazing,’ Nanako thought to herself.

Once she entered a state of killing and treasure hunting, Lily temporarily suppressed the turbulent surges within her body. Still, whenever she flew into regions thick with resentment, the disturbances would flare up again, growing more intense each time.

Over the next dozen days, Lily and Nanako continued to traverse the Celestial Demon Path, gathering six more Oborozuki souls. Three of them had been taken by slaying two peak-tier Celestial gods.

“So far, we haven’t encountered any Supreme Gods.”

Lily knew she surpassed most Supreme Gods in strength, yet if she encountered a truly powerful one, killing them would not be easy.

“Hm? Sister, wait.” Nanako, who had been silently following behind, suddenly called out.

“What is it? Did I miss an Oborozuki soul?” Lily was in poor condition today, her mind felt hazy, her cheeks flushed, her flight slightly unsteady.

“No… Sister, the Sakura Parasol is resonating.” In Nanako’s hand, the parasol trembled gently. Beneath it, faint golden wind chime phantoms seemed to appear, swaying softly and releasing enchanting, delicate chimes.

Several cherry blossom petals drifted beneath the parasol.

“Sister, follow me.” Nanako flew in the direction indicated by the parasol’s resonance, and Lily followed close behind.

One after the other, they entered a massive fissure within the towering cliffs of the Celestial Demon Path. The crack ran deep, pitch-black and devoid of light. With a thought, Nanako summoned three red paper lanterns adorned with cherry blossoms, which floated beside her, casting three small pools of light.

The two girls flew through the narrow, towering chasm for more than half a day as the parasol’s resonance grew stronger and stronger.

Ahead, deep within a bend in the rock passage, a golden glow suddenly shone forth.

“Light!”

At the sight of it, Nanako’s eyes lit up. She seemed instinctively drawn to that warm, golden radiance, her expression turning serene as she flew toward it, as though guided by the light itself.

Lily felt a flicker of unease and hurried after her, tense. Yet her entire body was drenched in sweat, the suppressed surges within her reaching an overwhelming intensity. She was on the verge of losing control, her focus wavering, her decisiveness slipping away. Torn between concern for Nanako’s safety and the certainty that this light must be a treasure, she followed hesitantly.

The path curved, and at the end of the rocky passage, the golden light burst into view. It was a radiant glow filled with pure, immense divine power; brilliant, yet gentle.

Even within this boundless darkness, even after being eroded by countless millennia of killing intent and resentment, the golden light remained untouched, incomparably pure.

“This is the power of the solar corona!” Lily and Nanako cried out almost in unison.
“Nanako, quickly! Take in that golden light.”
“Mm.”

Nanako’s expression turned solemn and elevated. Raising the Sakura Parasol, she seemed to embody a pure beauty untouched by the surrounding battlefield of endless slaughter.

Her soft pink lips moved in silent incantation as her Spirit Palace began to circulate the secret art taught by Rinne.

The Sakura Parasol began to rotate slowly. The faint, phantom-like golden wind chimes hanging beneath it swayed along, releasing a sound that pierced deep into the soul, irresistibly captivating.

Drawn by the chimes, the golden light responded like an innocent child, fluttering joyfully as it flew toward the parasol.

When the golden light entered the Sakura Parasol, it was as if it had found its true home, merging seamlessly into the core ribs of the parasol.

“It worked!” Lily exclaimed with delight.

At that moment, a gentle and radiant glow spread beneath the parasol’s canopy. Nanako stood gracefully beneath it, her posture elegant, her expression serene as she bathed in the golden light.

“Nanako… so beautiful…”

She lacked a tall figure, lacked the intoxicating fragrance and pronounced curves of a mature woman, and among the many goddess-like sisters, she had never been particularly striking.

Yet now, without realizing it, Lily found herself drawn to this girl who still basked in sunlight even within the depths of darkness.