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“Hehehehe, as expected of you, Miss Kagami. You truly have extraordinary discernment. Of my favorite men, you didn’t fancy a single one of them.”

A sultry laugh rang out as the Sanzu Demon Queen entered the tent. Seeing the maidservants lying on the ground under the effects of the drug, she frowned. “Why are they still here? Take them away at once!”

A group of demons rushed in and dragged the maidservants out.

Lily rose to her feet, her expression anything but pleasant. “As long as they’re men, I won’t fall for them. Of course, I mean in a romantic sense. As for truly honorable men, those who are upright and steadfast, who don’t resort to despicable tricks, who face their own desires honestly yet would never force themselves on others, I genuinely admire such men from the bottom of my heart.”

“Miss Lily possesses remarkable grace and lofty aspirations. I’ve lived countless years, yet I truly cannot compare.” The Sanzu Demon Queen smiled.

At that moment, another powerful presence approached. The tent flap was lifted aside, and the absurdly obese old man, Kawara no Hakushaku, was carried in atop a couch by eight graceful young women. Fortunately, the tent was spacious enough.

“Miss Kagami, I must once again thank you for cleansing me that day.” He was referring to the incident at the end of Hyakki Street, where Lily had purified him.

“No need to thank me. If you must thank someone, thank Madam. I was merely completing her trial. Whether it meant purifying you or killing you, I would have done it all the same.”

The displeasure in Lily’s tone was unmistakable. And who could blame her? They had invited her here only to send handsome male escorts and drug her. The fact that Lily had restrained herself from resorting to violence already demonstrated tremendous patience.

“Miss Kagami, what happened earlier was merely a small misunderstanding. Some of my subordinates thought themselves clever and made arrangements without authorization. I will punish them severely. Please, I beg you, do not take offense.” The Sanzu Demon Queen bowed to Lily.

As she spoke, a short blade materialized in her hand. “Inside are five Oborozuki Souls. Please accept them as a token of our sincerity.”

“Oh?” Many treasures might fail to interest Lily, but Oborozuki Souls were different. No matter how many there were, she wanted them all. She had to collect every single one. Without the slightest hesitation, she waved her hand and accepted the blade.

“Very well. Then let’s consider the matter settled. But surely you didn’t invite me here merely to put on this farce and hand me five Oborozuki Souls?”

“Miss Kagami naturally understands the wonders of the Oborozuki Souls. They are treasures of Great Imperial God caliber. However, these souls can only be forged into an Imperial Artifact when every single one is gathered. If even one is missing, the completed artifact cannot be taken out of the Celestial Demon Path. That leaves us two old folk rather uneasy.” The Sanzu Demon Queen spoke softly.

Kawara added: “Cough, cough… Indeed. We are old now, unlike you young people who enjoy fighting and killing. We merely came to join in the excitement. But if things continue like this, a bloody conflict among the seven great powers will be unavoidable. We possess enough strength to preserve our own lives, but we fear for the smaller ones who trust us and follow us. If they were to suffer harm, we would find it difficult to bear. After all, age softens the heart.”

Lily sneered inwardly.

*Softens the heart?*

Had she fallen for those domineering pretty boys earlier, or been subdued through underhanded means, or succumbed to the drug’s effects, these two cunning old schemers certainly wouldn’t be talking about kindness now.

“Since you invited me here today, I naturally did not come intending to seize your Oborozuki Souls. However, as you yourselves have said, when the time comes, conflict over the Oborozuki Souls within the Celestial Demon Path will be unavoidable. In truth, I do not wish to fight either of you seniors. But I have my reasons. I must obtain every Oborozuki Soul. Not a single one can be allowed to fall into someone else’s hands. On this matter, there can be no compromise.”

Lily sat down directly. She clearly did not regard these two ancient elders of Yomi-no-kuni as worthy of concern and openly issued her warning.

“Miss Kagami is certainly young and spirited. Such domineering words!” the Sanzu Demon Queen laughed. “Then again, with your strength and beauty, you have every right to speak with such confidence. Since you are determined to obtain the Oborozuki Souls in our possession, and since neither side wishes to shed blood, there is another way.”

The Sanzu Demon Queen approached Lily. An earth-shaking fragrance of enchantment drifted from her body. An ordinary woman would have collapsed weakly upon smelling it.

Although Lily’s body reacted to such influences ten, even a hundred times more strongly than that of an ordinary woman, her endurance and willpower were thousands, even tens of thousands of times greater. Only the slightest fluctuation appeared in her breathing. “You are truly willing to hand over the Oborozuki Souls?”

“Indeed. However…” the Sanzu Demon Queen replied. “There are countless mighty experts who desire the Oborozuki Souls. That means it depends on what price Miss Kagami is willing to pay.”

“Name your price.” Lily’s voice was icy. If they wanted money, everything was negotiable. But if they intended to exploit the situation, demanding that she submit to some secret punishment technique of the Sanzu Demon Queen, or dance and pour drinks for the Lord of Oblivion, or agree to some other humiliating condition…

Then Lily intended to stop showing courtesy and simply seize the souls by force.

“We currently possess one hundred and twelve Oborozuki Souls. We all understand their value. Trading a few at a time is meaningless. If you want them, Miss Kagami, then take them all. What do you think? While we two old folk don’t particularly care about money, most of these souls were obtained through the life-and-death efforts of the poor demons beneath us. We must provide them with a satisfactory return, mustn’t we? Since you want them, why don’t you name your offer?”

Hearing this, Lily relaxed slightly. So they had invited her here to do business. Their earlier methods had likely been a test. If she couldn’t even handle tricks of that level, then she deserved to have her Oborozuki Souls taken from her and suffer a major loss. Such a person wouldn’t be qualified to negotiate with them.

Lily fell silent for a moment, her expression unchanged. Then she waved her hand.

Kunitsukami Artifacts, three Dotsu Artifacts, and several Amatsukami Artifacts appeared before her. Among the Dotsu Artifacts were the Nine-Star Defilement Orbs and emerald-green fruit from Marusaburo, though Lily had not taken out the Island-Devouring Sack. She felt it might still prove useful.

“Wow! Wow! Miss Kagami truly acts on a grand scale! Ten Divine Artifacts with a casual wave of your hand! And three of them… they’re likely Dotsu Artifacts! As expected of the legendary woman. Even we two old fossils are dazzled by the sight.” The Sanzu Demon Queen gasped in amazement.

Kawara stared with bulging eyes, his massive layers of flesh quivering uncontrollably.

“However…” In truth, the Sanzu Demon Queen was already overjoyed. Ten Divine Artifacts! Aside from someone like Lily, a slayer of Supreme Gods, who else could casually produce ten Divine Artifacts without blinking? Even if they refused to sell the Oborozuki Souls to Lily, their own strength was insufficient to protect them against the other six major powers.

Yet the Sanzu Demon Queen still wanted to squeeze out a little more, so she feigned reluctance. “Compared to more than a hundred Oborozuki Souls left behind by Tsukuyomi no Mikoto…”

“Hmph. Say no more.” Lily waved her hand once again. The Divinity of Lord Shikikai appeared before them.

“M-My heavens!” Upon seeing Lily casually produce a Divinity, the Sanzu Demon Queen was so shocked she nearly lost her composure entirely.

Even Kawara’s eyes nearly popped out of their sockets. Divine Artifacts were precious, but they could still be acquired. A Supreme God’s Divinity, however, was an entirely different matter.

Every Path was unique. Once a path had been occupied by a single individual, no one else who walked that same path would ever have another chance. Only by killing a Supreme God could one obtain a Divinity. But killing a Supreme God… how easy was that?

It was not difficult for Supreme Gods to determine victory or defeat between themselves, yet for one to actually kill another was unimaginably difficult. Even if several Supreme Gods joined forces to hunt a single target, if that target was determined to escape, succeeding was almost impossible.

Killing a Supreme God was simply too difficult. Despite their immense age, neither the Sanzu Demon Queen nor Lord of Oblivion had ever slain a Supreme God.

“Well? This is my bottom line. Take it or leave it. If not, I’ll be on my way. The next time we meet, our blades will do the talking.” Lily spoke coldly.

“Ah, hahaha! Miss Kagami, what are you saying? Had we known you valued the Oborozuki Souls so highly, we should have gifted them to you outright. Taking so many treasures from you makes us feel terribly embarrassed.” Though she said that, the Sanzu Demon Queen was already eager to snatch up the Divinity.

Even Kawara looked restless, afraid the Demon Queen might claim the Divinity and refuse to share it with him. After all, a single Divinity represented the possibility of nurturing a new Supreme God.

Of course, that was only possible if the recipient had already cultivated that particular Path to a sufficiently advanced level.

As for Lily, throughout her journey across Yomi-no-kuni and the Celestial Demon Path, she had already slain several Supreme Gods. She still possessed several Divinities in her possession. Most belonged to twisted and unorthodox Paths. Though priceless, none of her sisters could make use of them.

**Clang!**

Just as the Sanzu Demon Queen was about to sweep all the treasures into her possession, a flash of Lily’s blade cut across the air, stopping her in her tracks. “The Oborozuki Souls.”

“Hehehe, of course, of course. The souls first, then the treasures. Naturally, naturally.” The Sanzu Demon Queen secretly rejoiced. This transaction was yielding a tremendous profit.

But in Lily’s eyes, the Oborozuki Souls were priceless.

Kawara and the Sanzu Demon Queen each produced a large box.

When the boxes were opened, several unfinished blades forged from Oboro Tamahagane flew out. They had been in such a hurry that they had not even bothered attaching hilts. Neither had intended to forge divine swords themselves. The blade blanks merely served as containers for storing the souls.

Lily guided the blades to circle around Oborozuki Muramasa. A poignant lunar radiance shimmered through the air. One by one, the Oborozuki Souls finally escaped their humiliation and flew toward a place they much preferred.

There were exactly one hundred and twelve souls. Not a single one was missing.

The Sanzu Demon Queen and Lord of Oblivion each took five Divine Artifacts. As for the Divinity, the two appeared to intend discussing how to divide it between themselves.

“If you have no more Oborozuki Souls, then I’ll be taking my leave.”

“Hehe, Miss Lily is decisive and carries great responsibilities upon her shoulders. We wouldn’t dare detain you any longer. By the way, if we happen to acquire more Oborozuki Souls in the future…” The Sanzu Demon Queen asked cautiously.

“You may come find me again. I’ll exchange treasures worthy of their value. I, Lily, won’t take advantage of the elderly.”

“Hehehe, what a righteous and sincere young lady. If only I had a daughter-in-law as wonderful as you…” The more Kawara looked at Lily, the more pleasing she seemed.

“I’ll be going.” Lily simply waved her hand and departed with Nanako.

“Hm? Who was that little girl following behind Kagami Lily? Her strength seemed anything but ordinary as well…” After Lily left, the Sanzu Demon Queen sighed wistfully.

“This woman is truly unbelievable…” Kawara shook his head in amazement.

Thus, the seven factions competing for the Oborozuki Souls had effectively been reduced to six. However, as she flew away from the area, Lily could not help but feel that the remaining factions would not be nearly as easy to negotiate with.

Even if she wished to trade treasures for the souls, several of those factions harbored deep grudges against her. They certainly would not let her off so easily.

***

“What!?” Approximately 15,000 kilometers away, a handsome man with azure-blue skin suddenly reacted in shock. A faint sparkle gleamed within his captivating eyes.

His physique was lean yet powerfully built. Exotic black curls framed a face so handsome it seemed unreal, while magnificent golden ornaments adorned his hair. Though bare-chested, his waist and arms were decorated with numerous golden Divine Artifacts and dazzling gemstones.

Behind him spread two enormous wings adorned with splendid peacock tail feathers.

“Just now, two forces possessing large numbers of Oborozuki Souls converged? And now all of those souls have become concentrated in the hands of one side? Could it be that two of the great factions have already determined a victor?”

Kujaku Myōō’s devastatingly handsome eyes, so magnificent they seemed to rob heaven and earth of their light, flashed brightly.