Volume 5 Chapter 123

Volume 5 + Chapter 123: Takamagahara

“Ultimate Sword Art, Ascending Dragon!!”

Bai Yang unleashed a dazzling sword technique, like a dragon soaring into the heavens. A surging arc of sword energy erupted forth, blasting away a vast swath of paper shikigami and shredding them to pieces midair.

“So powerful!!”

Upon witnessing this scene, the fox clan soldiers burst into excited cheers.

Before Mizuo Castle, Bai Yang and Yue Liu had engaged in a life-and-death duel between master swordsmen. The one who benefited from it was not only Yue Liu, but Bai Yang as well.

After crossing blades with Yue Liu, he gained new insight. His long-stagnant swordsmanship had, at last, achieved a fresh breakthrough.

“Don’t just stand there shouting, the battle isn’t over yet!” Bai Yang called out loudly. “These paper shikigami are nothing but empty shells. Do not fear them! Summon your courage and your ferocity, crush these soulless things!”

“Yes!!” the fox clan soldiers responded in unison.

“Could it be that Yue Liu went to face the White Night Cult Leader alone?”

Yue Liu had already left the battlefield for quite some time, and there was still no news. This made Bai Yang deeply uneasy.

Yet he also knew that the only thing he could do now was to join forces with the fox clan army, defeat the paper shikigami legion as quickly as possible, and then go reinforce Yue Liu.

Just as he was about to rejoin the fight, something abnormal occurred.

Nearly all of the paper shikigami suddenly lost their combat capability, as if half of their magical power had been drained away, collapsing to the ground.

“What… is going on?” Bai Yang frowned.

Not just him, every fox clan soldier was equally confused.

“Lord Bai Yang!”

Fenghua, who had rushed over from another part of the battlefield, found him.

“Fenghua, do you know what happened?” Bai Yang asked urgently.

“Lord Bai Yang, all the paper shikigami across the Qiuqianyuan battlefield have collapsed, whether ordinary or elite… It seems the trap set by the White Night Cult Leader has lost its threat. We can continue advancing!” Fenghua reported.

“Could it be… Yue Liu defeated the White Night Cult Leader?”

Bai Yang wasn’t certain. After all, he had no idea what had happened in the central region of Qiuqianyuan.

“This may not be a good thing. If we advance now, the White Night Cult Leader might be plotting something else!”

“Understood!”

Fenghua agreed.

He immediately issued orders, commanding all fox clan forces to tighten the encirclement and advance once more toward Qiuqianyuan.

However, at the far end of the sky, a pillar of light descended, landing upon the central region of Qiuqianyuan. It rapidly expanded, sweeping across all the fox clan members.

The blinding brilliance forced everyone to shut their eyes. Even someone as strong as Bai Yang had to shield his vision with his arm, feeling as though he had fallen into an ocean of light.

When everything gradually settled and their sight returned, he stood frozen in shock.

The sea of reeds had vanished. In its place was a scene that could not possibly exist in reality.

Before Bai Yang stretched an endless expanse of jade palaces and celestial towers, immortal energy lingering in the air. A golden sea of clouds spread outward, supporting a vast and magnificent complex of structures, forming a divine paradise.

Mythical beasts that existed only in legends soared and circled in the sky, accompanied by ethereal celestial music.

It was utterly breathtaking.

One moment it had been a battlefield, then, in the next, it became a land of ultimate bliss.

“This looks like the dwelling place of the gods from mythology… Takamagahara!” Bai Yang’s body trembled.

“Lord Bai Yang, look, that sun!” Fenghua pointed out.

Under normal circumstances, gazing directly at the sun would injure one’s eyes with its harsh light.

Yet the sun of Takamagahara was extraordinarily gentle. The cluster of radiance it emitted cast down a warm glow that soothed the heart and healed the spirit of all who beheld it.

Almost everyone lowered their weapons, staring blankly at the sun of Takamagahara.

Each person saw something different.

Some saw themselves possessing endless wealth, becoming magnates beyond comparison.

Others saw themselves mastering supreme martial prowess, becoming generals who safeguarded the nation…

As for Bai Yang, he saw himself once again breaking past his limits, attaining the supreme path of the sword.

“No… no… this is…”

Suddenly, Bai Yang felt a sense of familiarity.

This was an illusion!

Just like when Bai Lian had once controlled him using the Fox God’s Eye.

He clutched his face, dropping to one knee as he desperately resisted the invasion of the illusion.

“You all… wake up…!”

Bai Yang shouted at the top of his lungs.

But his voice could no longer reach the others. Every fox clan member had already sunk into the illusory world.

Even though he had experienced illusions before and recognized it now, he could only maintain a sliver of clarity. Being consumed was inevitable.

The fox clan’s army of one hundred thousand, within the domain of Takamagahara, was completely annihilated.

…

…

“Y-you… you’re using illusion techniques…!”

Within the domain of Takamagahara, Yue Liu realized that the White Night Cult Leader was casting an illusion.

She immediately activated her own Fox God’s Eye, countering it with divine fox power and barely maintaining her consciousness.

“Long ago, when faced with a powerful invading enemy, the Red Fox God infused the Yasakani no Magatama with divine power and unleashed Takamagahara.”

The White Night Cult Leader slowly rose into the air, looking down upon Yue Liu from above.

“Within this domain, all beings will be eroded by illusion, their minds controlled, even kings of higher species cannot escape. That is how the Red Fox God repelled formidable invaders!”

“Does that mean… the fox clan’s hundred-thousand army has already…!”

Yue Liu turned her head, looking behind her with a frown.

“However, to maintain Takamagahara, one must continuously supply divine power. The consumption is terrifying, even the Red Fox God could not sustain it for long, nor use it frequently.”

“…”

Yue Liu fell silent.

But this still did not explain why the Red Fox God had sealed away the Yasakani no Magatama.

Even if no one in later generations awakened the Nine-Tailed Fox God bloodline, it shouldn’t have been erased entirely, nor should the key to activate it have been sealed.

“I know what you’re thinking. Even with the Nine-Tailed Fox God bloodline, one cannot sustain Takamagahara,” the White Night Cult Leader said. “But in reality, there is one very special exception.”

“An exception?”

Yue Liu was about to ask what it was, when she suddenly realized something.

The disappearance of the White Night Cult followers.

Her expression changed drastically, her pupils trembled.

“White Night Cult Leader, you bastard!!”

“Heh, that’s right. The fox clan can ascend into the Nine-Tailed Fox Clan, and the Nine-Tailed Fox Clan can ascend into the Nine-Tailed Fox God… Every fox has the potential to become a fox god. One could say, they are all proto-gods!”

The White Night Cult Leader spread his arms wide.

“Burn ordinary foxes as fuel to power Takamagahara. As long as the numbers are sufficient, it can be sustained! First the White Night Cultists, next the hundred thousand fox clan army here in Qiuqianyuan, and then the entire fox race. Once enough divine power is gathered, Takamagahara will expand to every corner of this land, and I will completely control… this world!!”

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