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Lily focused her mind completely, utterly unaffected by the disrespectful words thrown at her. A faint, chilling coldness gleamed within her gaze.

Her composure far exceeded the expectations of even the strongest among the gathered gods, especially that foreign, dark-skinned deity.

Standing before the burly childlike god, he spoke in clumsy, heavily accented words, “Young master, this woman… facing so many of us powerful ones, yet she is not flustered at all. To seize treasure alone here… she must also have that… what was it… that soul?”

“Oborozuki Soul!” a nearby attendant god quickly reminded him.

“Right, the ‘orolosugi’ soul. She, this woman, has a very strong ‘orolosugi’ soul fluctuation. That means she may have defeated many opponents. We must not… not… not what was it?”

“Not be careless!” the follower added.

“Exactly! This woman is likely not simple. We must be cautious!” said the foreign god with a robust, dark complexion.

“Hmph, Nizeyan, do you take me, Marusaburo of the Kegaretsu, for a three-year-old child?” The plump, sturdy boy who called himself Marusaburo sneered. “With the treasure my father gave me, I can see through any opponent’s true realm, no matter how well they hide their aura. Do you think I would wander the Celestial Demon Path without a bit of caution?”

As he spoke, he stroked the thick, gaudy ring on his chubby finger and continued, “This Eighty-Bib Ring has already measured her power level. She is merely a Celestial Stage maiden. There are plenty of high-tier Celestial experts roaming here, many at the very peak, but she absolutely cannot defeat me. Not to mention, I still have you, Nizeyan.”

“…That may be so, but even a Celestial Stage expert who dares to venture here must possess extraordinary means,” Nizeyan replied hesitantly. “We cannot be careless. And for some reason, this woman looks rather familiar to me…”

“Of course we shouldn’t be careless. Anyone at the Celestial Stage who dares to roam here must have exceptional survival methods. But since she’s run into me… heh heh heh…” Marusaburo let out a sinister chuckle.

“Young master!” At that moment, a god in a bluish-gray hunting robe behind him pointed at Lily and shouted, “I remember now! This woman is Kagami Lily from the Takamagahara wanted list!”

“Oh? So it really is her! I thought she looked familiar too!” Nizeyan stammered, pointing awkwardly at Lily. “I heard this woman recently caused some major incident in Takamagahara, alarming the gods!”

Though Nizeyan was a Supreme God, and with his vast lifespan and wisdom he could easily master the language of Takamagahara, his peculiar temperament and certain deeply ingrained habits from childhood made him unable to speak it fluently.

“Young Master Marusaburo, this Kagami Lily recently joined forces with the Celestial Maiden Rebels to break into a prison. It’s rumored she rescued an important Celestial Maiden prisoner! They say she causes havoc across heaven and earth, with extremely bizarre methods. We must not underestimate her!” warned a pale-faced guard.

As for the matter of Bishamonten being rescued, although rumors had already spread within Takamagahara, the upper echelon of gods had tried their best to suppress the truth and refused to acknowledge it publicly. After all, such an incident would severely damage the dignity of the gods.

“Perfect, then. We’ll capture her, have our fun, and then send her back to Takamagahara! Capturing such a major criminal will surely earn my father’s praise!” As Marusaburo spoke, divine power surged throughout his body.

“Such a pity. You may be skilled at using your beauty to manipulate others, but your rebel companions aren’t here. With just your Celestial Stage power, how could you possibly escape my grasp?”

Marusaburo tossed a leather sack toward Lily. A massive “calamity” character was emblazoned upon it. The sack rapidly expanded as it flew, its opening stretching wide, releasing a terrifying suction that sought to swallow her whole.

“What!?” Lily had fought the armies of Takamagahara before, mostly against blades and spells. Faced with such a strange treasure, she was momentarily unprepared.

The suction was overwhelmingly powerful. It actually dragged her body forward, pulling her toward the gaping sack.

“Hahaha! Look, it worked! I have plenty of treasures, all gifts from my father. But this one… this was given to me by my uncle when I became a Supreme God! This Island-Devouring Sack can swallow an entire small island. And when it comes to capturing women, it works wonders. The stronger your Charm Heavenly Path, the easier it is for you to be sucked in!”

Seeing Lily struggle as she was steadily dragged closer into the sack, Marusaburo burst into smug laughter.

“Young master, this Kagami Lily is said to be the most beautiful woman in all three realms. I wonder… how she feels to play with?”

“Oh? So that’s the rumor? Well, she really is quite beautiful. Heh… we’ll find out soon enough.”

“What is happening to me…?” Lily’s body trembled as she struggled. She had not expected the sack to be so powerful. The more she resisted, the stronger the suction became.

“Stay calm… stay calm. Don’t let the resentment cloud your mind. No wonder Senior Sister told me to remain wary of Takamagahara. This boy’s strength isn’t great, yet he possesses such bizarre treasures…”

She could not help but think that if she were facing an ordinary Supreme God skilled in swordsmanship while wielding Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi, she would be in grave danger as well.

In that instant, a surge of crimson divine power erupted from Lily’s body. The energy condensed into a beautiful higanbana. As the flower bloomed, its petals spread outward, completely dispersing the sack’s suction.

“What!?” Marusaburo was stunned.

The power of the Blood Lunar Force could break all techniques. Though this treasure was especially effective against women like Lily, whose charm was profound and whose Charm Heavenly Path was advanced, it was utterly useless against the Lunar Force’s power.

“So this is the toy your father gave you? Then it’s my turn.” Lily swung the Oborozuki Muramasa, now elevated to the level of a Dotsu Artifact. A blade of Blood Lunar Force slashed forth, tearing through the air toward Marusaburo.

“Young master, be careful!” Nizeyan’s bluish-bronze divine power burst forth as he dashed forward, placing himself before Marusaburo. With a fierce roar, he raised an ancient beast skull shield radiating savage energy and used it to block the incoming slash.

**Boom!**

Only upon contact with the blade light did the terrifying power contained within it truly reveal itself. Nizeyan was blasted backward together with his massive shield, crashing straight into the plump body of Marusaburo behind him. The two of them tumbled violently into the rocky ground, exploding it into a massive crater.

It was no wonder that the Celestial Demon Path stretched for millions of kilometers as barren rubble. Clearly, it had been shattered time and again by countless battles between gods and demons.

“Ow! That hurts! What are you doing!” Marusaburo clutched his face and complained.

Nizeyan hurriedly pulled him back to his feet. The entire group stared at Lily in disbelief. “T-This… this can’t be! Young master, this woman must possess a treasure that conceals her true strength. That strike just now was profoundly mysterious, its might overwhelming! Even among Supreme Gods it would rank as extremely powerful! She absolutely cannot be merely at the Celestial Stage!”

“Nizeyan, what nonsense are you spouting? My treasure cannot be wrong… unless…” Marusaburo stared at Lily in shock. “Unless this woman has an Imperial Artifact that conceals her aura?”

“What, only you are allowed to have many treasures?” Lily replied coldly, deliberately provoking him.

Marusaburo’s expression turned vicious. “I was planning to capture you alive, so I held back. But since that’s the case, then try this! You wretched woman, die!”

He hurled out a filthy, ancient bronze sphere. It was immensely heavy, and as it tore through the air, it dragged countless fragments of rock along with it, forming a chaotic, swirling mass of debris that slammed toward Lily.

Facing such a formidable artifact, Lily did not attempt to meet it head-on. She leapt aside in a flash, narrowly avoiding it, but to her surprise, the sphere curved and pursued her relentlessly.

However, tracking abilities were not uncommon among artifacts of this level, so she remained calm. She accelerated midair, weaving and darting through evasive paths as the sphere chased after her. At the same time, Marusaburo’s subordinates began unleashing talismans toward her; some offensive, others binding spells designed to slow her down.

While flying at high speed, Lily’s divine power blossomed like a crimson higanbana around her, repelling all techniques.

Of course, this was only because the spells were cast by Celestial Stage beings. If they had come from peak Supreme Gods or even Great Imperial Gods, her current Blood Lunar Force would not have been enough to block them. Circling once through the air, she suddenly reversed direction and charged straight at Marusaburo.

“Trying to use my own treasure against me? Dream on, you brainless woman!” Marusaburo suddenly hurled another filthy bronze sphere at close range, sending it crashing directly toward her.

With Lily’s physical resilience, she might have endured a few direct hits. However, the foul energy clinging to the sphere carried an intense corrosive force. Even from several meters away, the lingering waves ate away at her clothes, leaving them tattered and torn, while her skin prickled with pain.

Unable to approach the sphere, she could only maneuver swiftly between the filthy orbs, dodging with razor-thin precision.

“Hahaha! Let’s see how long you can keep dodging!” Marusaburo flung out more and more of the tainted spheres in rapid succession.

“How many are there!?” Lily exclaimed in shock.

Nine in total!

“These are the Nine-Star Defilement Orbs! How do they feel, hahahaha!”

The nine spheres attacked from every direction. Not only did they collide with Lily, but when they struck one another, they rebounded and accelerated, creating unpredictable trajectories. Their repeated collisions produced endless variations, making them nearly impossible to anticipate or defend against.

Even with Lily’s extraordinary reflexes, there were moments she could not evade in time. Reaction speed alone was not enough; anticipating an opponent’s intent was equally vital. Yet with these spheres colliding chaotically, driven by immense randomness, prediction became impossible.

“Ah!” One of the filthy spheres slammed into her back. Instantly, a large portion of her clothing dissolved away, revealing her snow-white back despite her formidable defenses.

“Sister, catch!”

Nanako’s voice echoed in her mind from afar. The Sakura Parasol shot toward her like an arrow. Lily caught it midair and, in one fluid motion, snapped it open as she swung it outward.

One after another, the filthy spheres struck the parasol and were deflected away. Not only were the orbs repelled, but even the bursts of foul energy upon impact were blocked by the parasol. If she had tried to parry them with her blade, the violent corrosion would have inflicted far greater damage than the collisions themselves.

Using the Sakura Parasol to ward off the spheres, Lily pressed forward, advancing directly toward Marusaburo.

“You Celestial fugitive! Don’t think you can harm the young master!” Nizeyan erupted with divine power and soared into the air. In one hand he held his great shield, and in the other, a foreign scimitar etched with eerie, shifting patterns. He charged straight at Lily.

As the two closed in, Nizeyan swung his scimitar toward her shoulder. The scimitar tore through the air, igniting a blazing golden flame that seemed ready to burn the very atmosphere itself.

Lily’s gaze sharpened. Holding the parasol in one hand to block a filthy sphere striking from the side, she gripped her sword in the other and flicked her wrist.

With exquisite precision, she deflected Nizeyan’s scimitar aside with a sideways strike. In the same motion, Oborozuki Muramasa reversed its arc and slashed back toward him.

The Dotsu Artifact-level Oborozuki Muramasa was incomparably sharp. Though Nizeyan desperately tried to evade, a deep gash was carved from his shoulder down to his chest. Even his Kunitsukami-level soft-metal armor was split open, and divine blood poured out.