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“Brother Mauro, if I remember correctly, back in Yomi-no-kuni, Kagami Lily could only flee for her life after being beaten by you. If the other factions hadn’t interfered later, she would’ve probably been captured by you already! But how has she improved so unbelievably fast?”

Across the wilderness, a procession of dark-skinned bull demons marched forward. It was Mauro’s group. After being driven out of the mortal world by the Dark Celestial Maiden Army, they had heard news of the Oborozuki Souls and joined the growing scramble for them.

The Mauro clan could only be considered a minor overlord force in Yomi. They could not even defeat the Celestial Maidens of the mortal world, much less dream of reaching Takamagahara. Still, they were unwilling to return empty-handed. They hoped that luck might allow them to seize one or two Oborozuki Souls and sell them afterward. For a force of Mauro’s level, that alone would be a fortune beyond imagination.

The three-eyed bull demon Mauro snorted heavily through his nostrils and slammed his giant axe into the ground. “How should I know? I’ve heard that this Kagami Lily even slew two Supreme Gods on the Celestial Demon Path. She’s defeated even more Supreme Gods besides that! And that’s not even counting all the other treasure hunters.”

“S-Slain Supreme Gods?” The smaller brown bull demon who had asked the question possessed only Throne Stage strength. His legs immediately gave way beneath him, and he collapsed onto the ground in fright. “S-She’s just a woman. How can she be that terrifying…?”

“What’s so strange about that? The strongest being in Yomi is a woman too!” another black-and-white-furred bull demon said.

“That’s different! That Madam was already a world renowned deity before she even came to Yomi-no-kuni. They say she was a great god born during the primordial chaos before all creation. But this Kagami Lily? Wasn’t she still unable to beat Brother Mauro in Yomi-no-kuni just last year? What kind of medicine did this woman take? How could she grow so quickly?”

“Enough!”

Although Lily had once been weaker than him, Mauro now secretly prayed that he would never run into her again. Yet he could not bring himself to admit that in front of his subordinates.

Among the powerful demons arriving from Yomi-no-kuni and the seraphim descending from Takamagahara, terrifying rumors about the red-clad Blade Maiden were spreading further and further.

“I heard a red-clad Blade Maiden slew one of Takamagahara’s great figures!”
“She killed a Supreme God!”
“What!?”
“How many ages has it been since a Supreme God last fell in Takamagahara?”
“Without tens of thousands of years of training and unimaginable fortune, becoming a Supreme God is impossible. Otherwise, one would need a background powerful enough to cover the heavens themselves. Yet several have already fallen within mere months of the Celestial Demon Path opening?”

Gradually, the stories became more and more exaggerated. The Red-Clad Blade Maiden had practically become the most dangerous legend on the entire Celestial Demon Path.

“B̲a̲s̲t̲a̲r̲d̲s̲!” A towering powerhouse with a seemingly indestructible physique roared in anger. Though immensely muscular, his fingers were posed in an oddly sinister gesture as he balanced on one leg. Clouds of divine power billowed around him. In his hand was an ancient brown parasol.

He was none other than the God of Mount Tamon, a colossal floating mountain located in the remote reaches of Takamagahara.

“If the many mighty experts of Takamagahara are frightened by a wanted criminal, then it will be a disgrace to all Heavenly Gods!” Bharata-Tamon snarled.

“Your Holiness, I believe these rumors have become increasingly exaggerated as they spread,” said a seraphim wearing a black headscarf, his plump body adorned with two long carp-like whiskers. “Based on my many years of wisdom, that woman Kagami Lily may not actually be that powerful.”

“Oh?”

“I’ve heard that Kagami Lily is the greatest beauty in all Three Realms. It’s entirely possible that she waited until those experts were isolated, seduced them with her beauty, then struck while they were distracted. That would explain her repeated successes!”

“What a shameless harlot!” Bharata-Tamon cursed.

“They say her charm is irresistible. If any of us face such a woman alone, naturally we’ll struggle to guard against her tricks. Your Holiness, why not use your prestige to gather together the seraphims and gods searching for treasures? If we form a unified group, then no matter how seductive Kagami Lily may be, how could she possibly use her beauty against so many of us at once? She would be completely out of options!”

“That makes sense!” said Bharata-Tamon. “From what I’ve heard, the top experts already inside the Celestial Demon Path include Takamagahara’s Kujaku Myōō and Yomi-no-kuni’s Kuroyoku Tateo-no-Kami. Both are terrifying existences we cannot afford to provoke. Add to that Kagami Lily’s underhanded methods, and if ordinary experts like us don’t unite, obtaining treasures will become far too difficult!”

“Exactly. I’ve heard that on Yomi’s side, the Sanzu Demon Queen and Kawara no Hakushaku have already gathered over a thousand experts into a single alliance. If we don’t unite as well, we’ll have a hard time even dealing with Yomi’s forces should we encounter them!” another seraphim said.

“Good! Then let us all join forces! One-on-one, we may not be a match for Kagami Lily or Kujaku Myōō. But if we work together, even Kujaku would have to give us some respect. And if Kagami Lily appears…” A sinister grin spread across his face. “We’ll all attack together and capture her. The treasures can be divided equally afterward. As for the woman herself… hehehe…”

“Hahahahahaha!”

The gods had grown increasingly discouraged since entering the Celestial Demon Path. Yet once these disappointed and frustrated individuals united, their confidence surged back with renewed strength.

Gradually, more and more such alliances emerged. Below the level of Supreme Gods, solitary treasure hunters became increasingly rare. It was simply too dangerous.

As for the Kujaku and Kuroyoku, both had entered accompanied by large retinues and followers from the very beginning. Along their journey, even more powerful experts continued flocking to their banners.

Only Lily continued to travel alone. There were advantages to solitude. A lone person could claim every treasure for herself. But it also made her the easiest target of all.

However, these were the Oborozuki Souls left behind by Tsukuyomi no Mikoto. There was no possibility that Lily would share them with anyone else.

As a result, people united against her for two reasons. First, to seize treasures. Second, to capture her. After all, who wouldn’t want to personally capture the greatest beauty in the Three Realms?

Yet before these treasure-hunting alliances ever encountered Lily, their common enemy, they frequently encountered one another instead. And whenever they did, bloody clashes inevitably followed.

“Kanan-Mugaku! What is the meaning of this? We all came from Takamagahara. Are you really planning to fight us?” a group of Kunitsukami shouted angrily toward a gathering of Woodland Gods whose foreheads bore feather-like antennae and whose backs carried pairs of wings.

“Shut up! You Kunitsukami have always strutted around Takamagahara as though nobody else mattered. Hand over your Oborozuki Souls, or don’t blame us for showing no mercy!”

“You think we’re afraid of you? We had to restrain ourselves in Takamagahara, but we’ve wanted to slaughter some Amatsukami for a long time! Kill them!”

The Woodland Gods, a branch of the Amatsukami, beat their wings and unleashed dazzling rainbow divine arts. Others charged forward with steel tridents and long spears.

The Kunitsukami retaliated with hellfire and curse arts. Nearly a hundred combatants fought on each side, and the battlefield instantly descended into chaos.

**Shiiing!**

Suddenly, a crimson streak flashed across the battlefield.

The leader of the Woodland Gods was struck by a blade and tumbled from the sky. At the same time, the unfinished Oboro Tamahagane sword hanging from his waist, which housed an Oborozuki Soul, disappeared into the hands of a red-clad girl who shot past like a meteor.

“What!? What just happened?”

“It’s her!” one of the Kunitsukami cried out. “T-That red-clad Blade Maiden… Kagami Lily!”

The Kunitsukami leader watched as the Woodland God leader crashed to the ground wounded, his treasured blade and its Oborozuki Soul stolen. Unable to suppress his delight, he laughed loudly. “Hahahaha! Well done!”

But before his words had even finished leaving his mouth, Lily vanished. A flash of red light swept before his eyes. A fragrant breeze brushed past him. Then came a burst of searing pain. His thick arm was severed cleanly from his body. At the same time, the Oboro Tamahagane katana in his hand was snatched away by the red-clad maiden.

“B̲a̲s̲t̲a̲r̲d̲s̲!”
“Catch her!”

The Oborozuki Souls that the two sides had been fiercely battling over were snatched away in an instant when Lily suddenly appeared and seized them. What was left for them to fight over now?

Without even needing to discuss it, both sides simultaneously unleashed divine arts toward Lily. Spears and arrows rained through the air, but Lily’s speed was simply too great. She could not even be bothered to entangle herself with them. Already transformed into a streak of crimson light, she shot toward the distant horizon.

They could neither hit her nor catch her! The two groups chased after the direction in which Lily had disappeared, shouting and cursing all the while, but by then she was long gone without a trace.

“This is outrageous! Absolutely outrageous!”

“It’s because we were fighting amongst ourselves that we gave that woman an opportunity!” the leader of the Woodland Gods said, clutching the wound at his waist.

“Exactly! We should pursue Kagami Lily first. She stole treasures belonging to both our sides! Our grievances can wait until later. If we continue bickering now, both our clans will become the laughingstock of Takamagahara!” the Kunitsukami leader growled, holding his severed arm.

“When we catch her, I’ll torture her to death!” snarled the Woodland God leader. With his antennae and moth-like appearance, he held no interest whatsoever in human women. Only hatred and cruelty filled his heart.

“We’ll make that woman pay back everything a hundredfold!” the Kunitsukami leader swore through gritted teeth, equally consumed by rage.

But Lily had already flown far away. It was not that she feared these two groups of treasure hunters. Rather, she wished to accelerate her collection of Oborozuki Souls. None of these experts below the Supreme God level possessed treasures that interested her. If their internal conflict allowed her to achieve her goal so easily, why waste time on pointless slaughter?

Throughout the entire Celestial Demon Path, finding Oborozuki Souls was becoming increasingly difficult. What remained afterward was largely mutual slaughter between competing treasure hunters.

At the same time, the remaining Oborozuki Souls were gradually concentrating into the hands of several top-tier experts and enormous treasure-hunting factions whose strength even surpassed that of individual top experts.

Yet the person they hated most was still Kagami Lily.

Kujaku and Kuroyoku were both Supreme Gods who had already stood at the pinnacle of their respective worlds. Their power had existed long before many of these experts had even begun to understand the world around them. As such, everyone accepted their dominance.

But Lily was different. Just last year, she had merely been a female warrior of average strength, hunted across Yomi-no-kuni by countless demons. She was also a wanted criminal in Takamagahara and, on top of that, a lone woman.

She belonged neither to Takamagahara nor to Yomi-no-kuni. Yet this solitary woman had seized more Oborozuki Souls than anyone else. How could she not become the target of everyone’s resentment and jealousy?

After all, Kujaku Myōō and Kuroyoku Tateo-no-Kami had both arrived with armies at their backs.

“The one I hate most is that Kagami Lily!” roared a Celestial Stage deity from Takamagahara who had been defeated by Lily and forced to surrender to that woman whose entire body seemed to exude an intoxicating fragrance. “I don’t care if I never get even half an Oborozuki Soul! I absolutely refuse to let her gather them all and forge that divine sword!”

Meanwhile, on Yomi’s side, two major factions had gradually taken shape.

One was the Abyssal Faction, led by Kuroyoku Tateo-no-Kami and backed by the three Supreme Gods from the Boundless Abyss. The other was the Yomi Faction, led by the Sanzu Demon Queen and Lord of Oblivion.

As for Takamagahara, three major treasure-hunting forces had emerged. The first was Kujaku Myōō’s legion. The second consisted of the combined forces of numerous Kunitsukami and Kegaretsu deities. The third was an alliance of Amatsukami and various unaffiliated gods.

Beyond these, there existed an even more terrifying force: a true army. It was none other than the legion of Ashikaga Kiyoshi, which had already joined forces with a powerful Heavenly Army dispatched from Takamagahara.

However, this legion’s primary objective was not the Oborozuki Souls. Their true mission was the capture of Lily herself, though they would naturally seize Oborozuki Souls whenever the opportunity arose.

Thus, a total of six major treasure-hunting factions had formed. Of course, the seventh great treasure-hunting force was Lily herself.