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Within a branching canyon near the Takamagahara side of the Celestial Demon Path, the remnants of Kiyoshi’s army had set up camp.

Following Amanozako’s orders, they had retreated into the Celestial Demon Path. The journey had been fraught with danger, and by the time they reached this place, the army of one hundred thousand had been reduced to only a few thousand survivors.

Inside a dimly lit military tent…

“Ahhh, ahhh…” the Cloistered Emperor wailed in a shrill, affected tone. “This place is unbearably hot and wretched! Vengeful spirits haunt every corner! This old monk wants to return to Heian-kyo! I want to go back to Heian-kyo!”

“Your Majesty, please endure a little longer,” Kiyoshi said, trying to encourage him despite his own injuries and dispirited state. “Takamagahara has promised to help us reclaim the mortal realm. With our current strength, we cannot contend against the Celestial Maidens led by Lily. But we must not lose heart. If our will collapses, then no outside force can possibly lead us to victory.”

“If I had known things would come to this…” the Cloistered Emperor lamented. “I would have preferred to retire to the mountains and spend the rest of my days in a temple! Why did it have to become this? That Kagami Lily surely wouldn’t kill this old monk, would she?”

At this moment, various thoughts swirled through the Cloistered Emperor’s mind. He had even considered officially recognizing Lily’s position among the warrior clans through his imperial authority if it meant preserving his own status.

“That old fool is whining again!” An arrogant female voice rang out from outside the tent.

Amanozako returned. Dressed in revealing attire that accentuated her voluptuous figure, yet wearing an ugly tengu mask, she strode into the tent with an overwhelming aura of power.

With a single flap of her wings, a violent gust blasted the Cloistered Emperor across the floor. He rolled into a candle stand, knocking it over and setting his own robes aflame.

“Owww! It’s hot! I’m on fire! Fire!” the Cloistered Emperor screamed.

“Shut your mouth! Or I’ll kill you, disgrace of the tengu!” Amanozako snarled, genuine killing intent flashing in her eyes. Only then did the terrified Cloistered Emperor shrink into a corner and dare not utter another sound.

“Lady Amanozako, you…” Kiyoshi stared at her in surprise. The aura surrounding Amanozako was completely different from before. It was incomparably fuller, vaster, and more overwhelming.

“Kiyoshi, you truly are worthy of being chosen by that great one,” Amanozako said. “You’re merely a human. Your strength is only at the Throne Stage, and yet despite being unable to perceive my true power, you can still sense the change in me.”

She spread her wings proudly. “That’s right. Previously, the Celestial Demon Path was sealed by the rebel goddess Tsukuyomi no Mikoto, preventing passage between the Three Realms. I could only condense a divine avatar and send it to aid you. That avatar was far too weak and incapable of fighting directly.”

She pointed at herself. “But now, what you see before you is my true body! One of the Five Shining Stars of the Celestial Battle Maidens: the Female Tengu, Amanozako!”

Kiyoshi had long learned much about Takamagahara from Amanozako and knew that the Five Shining Stars of the Celestial Battle Maidens were the five great divine generals serving under Takamagahara’s new Goddess of War.

“Kiyoshi greets the Goddess.” Ashikaga Kiyoshi bowed respectfully.

“My, my. What a handsome young man,” came another voice, seductive as that of a courtesan, yet carrying a divine authority that made one’s very soul tremble. “Not only are you remarkably handsome, but you’re so courteous as well. Though your strength is modest, your bearing is anything but ordinary. As expected of a man chosen by the Heavenly Path.”

Kiyoshi raised his head. A tall woman in black entered the tent. Her makeup was heavy, her figure unbearably alluring, and half of her black hair concealed one eye.

It was none other than Tennin-Mikoto. Kiyoshi had seen Tennin-Mikoto many times through communication flames.

“Lady Tennin-Mikoto.” He bowed once more.

“Hehe, no need to be so formal.” Tennin-Mikoto smiled. “No wonder. The more I look at you, the more familiar you seem. You really do resemble him from back then.”

Kiyoshi did not understand her meaning, nor did he press the matter. Instead, he said, “Now that Your Excellencies have descended in person, I ask for your guidance. How may I reclaim the mortal realm?”

“Kiyoshi, why are you so obsessed with reclaiming it?” Tennin-Mikoto asked. “With your Heaven-blessed destiny, you could simply return to Takamagahara with us. We could easily grant you a comfortable divine office. Wouldn’t being a god be nice?”

“There are still unresolved ties in the mortal world,” Kiyoshi replied. “I have no interest in the divine path. There is a woman in my heart whom I cannot forget.” His voice trembled, yet remained unwavering. “I already died once for her. I devoted all of my selfless love to her. Now that I have been reborn, dying for her again would hold no meaning. This time, I wish to live for myself.”

He knelt deeply before them.

“Tch. Why waste so many words?” Tennin-Mikoto brushed aside her long hair dismissively. “You could’ve just said you want to sleep with her.”

“Yes.” To everyone’s surprise, this refined and elegant samurai answered without the slightest hesitation. “But my feelings for Miss Kagami are far more than mere desire.”

“Sure, sure. That’s what they all call love.” Tennin-Mikoto waved her hand dismissively. Then her eyes suddenly brightened. “Well, your opportunity has arrived.”

She circled the kneeling Kiyoshi on her long, fair legs. “That great one thinks very highly of you and wishes to bestow upon you a power. A power sufficient to conquer that little minx.”

Her smile became increasingly wicked. “Do you want it? Of course, you’ll probably have to pay a tiny little price.” She intentionally described one of the greatest opportunities in all Three Realms in the most vulgar manner possible.

But Kiyoshi was not a man concerned with such things. Among all the men under heaven, only a handful could rival the breadth of his spirit. “So long as it grants me power sufficient for Miss Kagami to look up to me…” he declared obsessively, “no price is too great.”

From a dark corner of the tent, the Cloistered Emperor let out a quiet chuckle. “Ohhohoho… Youth truly is wonderful. Kiyoshi really is devoted…”

“Excellent.” A strange, enchanting mist seemed to gather within Tennin-Mikoto’s dark eyes as she gazed at him.

With a flick of her hand, a pitch-black magatama appeared. The black magatama floated above her pale palm. At its center burned a tiny dark-purple flame, eerie and faintly violent.

“This is an Aramitama Spirit Jade.” Tennin-Mikoto held it up. “It took me an incredible amount of effort to create recently. Within it resides a fragment of an Aramitama belonging to a great existence.”

Her voice lowered. “If you merge with this Aramitama, you’ll gain a portion of that great being’s power. But naturally, if your soul becomes compatible with this fragment of that great one’s Aramitama, then you won’t entirely remain yourself anymore. For a man like you, that’s probably not an easy thing to accept.”

Then she added casually: “Oh, and one more thing. The process is unimaginably painful. And it might fail.”

“Lady Tennin-Mikoto,” Kiyoshi asked without hesitation, “if I fuse with this Aramitama, will I gain power sufficient for Miss Kagami to fear and respect me?”

“Ah, probably. More or less.” Tennin-Mikoto answered casually.

“Then I ask Lady Tennin-Mikoto to teach me the method.” Kiyoshi’s voice carried the weight of obsession. “I ceased being myself long ago.”

“Oh?” Tennin-Mikoto raised an eyebrow. “And you’re not going to ask what happens if you fail?”

“Whatever the outcome, I accept it.”

“Good! That’s a real man. With your Heaven-Blessed Physique, you’re worthy of this Aramitama.” She beckoned him closer. “Now bring your ear over here. This old lady will teach you the power needed to conquer that woman.”

As she spoke, Tennin-Mikoto knelt on one knee. One hand cupped Kiyoshi’s face and pulled him close, while the other held the Aramitama Spirit Jade aloft. Leaning toward his ear, she whispered in a voice dripping with mysterious charm…

That night was destined to become a night upon the Celestial Demon Path when darkness spread unchecked and the Heavenly Path itself underwent a fateful transformation.

***

**Crash… Splash…**

The waves washed endlessly across the snow-white beach. Bright sunlight bathed the shore, while a warm sea breeze drifted through the air, leaving the atmosphere pleasantly mild and refreshing.

A mature woman dressed in an exquisite kimono, half soaked and half dry, had been cast onto the sand by the tide. A tiny hermit crab scuttled sideways past her, curiously glancing at her once before continuing on its way.

The woman possessed a flawless figure and striking beauty. Though her face usually carried the traces of countless worldly experiences, with her eyes closed she appeared unexpectedly innocent.

Upon her disheveled gray-white coiffure stood a pair of tall, fluffy fox ears, which twitched twice in discomfort.

“Mmm…” Her brows knitted slightly as a seductive moan escaped her lips. Slowly awakening, she sat up groggily and opened her eyes.

Sunlight. Beach. Cactus. Her intelligent, alluring eyes blinked repeatedly in confusion. Behind her, nine magnificent tails swayed absentmindedly as if equally bewildered.

“Oh my? Where… is this?” Tamamo-no-Mae rested the back of her slender fingers beneath her chin. Though lost in confusion, her expression somehow carried the delight of someone who had just discovered an entirely new world.

After breaking through to the Celestial Stage, she had also become aware of the destiny awaiting her.

“Our fox clan has always been judged and reviled by others. Even little sister Lily probably sees me as a monster, doesn’t she? Well, that part doesn’t really matter.”

A mischievous smile surfaced upon her lips.

“What matters is that I no longer possess the power to stand above her, control her, or toy with her. Without that, where’s the fun? I don’t want to stand before her looking like some bitter, resentful woman. An older sister should act like an older sister, shouldn’t she?”

Upon reaching the Celestial Stage, the awakened ancestral memories of the fox clan had revealed an ancient legend. According to a tale passed down since time immemorial among the fox spirits, there lived a remarkable immortal sage somewhere beyond the seas.

And so, immediately after her breakthrough, Tamamo-no-Mae had cheerfully made a decision. To sail across the ocean in search of immortals.

She kicked Nurarihyon off the ship and boarded Fuyutsuki alone. Trusting the instincts granted by her ancestral memories, she set sail toward the endless sea. Who could have known that she would encounter a tempest so overwhelming that even Celestial Stage power could not withstand it?

The ship capsized. The Nine-Tailed Fox and an entire vessel full of demons sank into the ocean depths.

After that… After that, a long stretch of emptiness remained. She remembered nothing. The ocean was simply too vast. In terms of power, it rivaled the sun and moon themselves.

The deeper one ventured into its depths, the more inconceivable that power became. Even after her breakthrough, she had been utterly unable to contend against the might of the sea. And when she finally awakened, she found herself washed ashore in this place.

“Hey! @#￥￥%*&!”
“Arulu! &…%&*!#!”

Suddenly, a series of incomprehensible shouts erupted around the bewildered fox lady. Tamamo-no-Mae had only just awakened and had not yet raised her divine senses in caution. Turning her head, she saw seven or eight dark-skinned natives surrounding her.

Grass skirts hung around their waists. Strange tattoos covered their bodies. Rings and ivory ornaments pierced their noses and various other parts of their faces. They held poisoned spears and bows, forming a circle around her.

“My my… Are these dark-skinned fellows… humans? Or demons?” Tamamo-no-Mae was exceptionally clever. She recalled having seen people of this appearance in Heian-kyo before. They were known as Kunlun slaves, a type of Southern Outlander who had crossed the sea from Nanban Island.

In her understanding, there were two kinds of Southern Outlanders. One group had deep-set eyes, golden hair, and prominent noses. The other consisted of dark-skinned natives dressed much like the people before her.

Regardless of which group they belonged to, they tended to be uncivilized, immature, resistant to proper governance, and entirely ignorant of spiritual training.

The fair-haired, blue-eyed ones at least possessed some knowledge of mechanical arts. The firearms and cannons used by mortal armies had originally been introduced from the Southern Outlands.

But these dark-skinned natives… To Tamamo-no-Mae, who had spent centuries immersed in the elegance and refined culture of Heian-kyo, they seemed little different from primitive tribesmen.