Battle Aura Eruption, Kai

Bai Cangshu and Suguru Geto learned from Tsuchimikado Ochiai that the way to break the Mount Tai Imperial Lord Ritual was to find more than half of its ritual nodes and erase the other party’s blood marks attached to them.

Suguru Geto and Bai Cangshu immediately realized one possibility.

Yet no matter what methods they used to force Tsuchimikado Ochiai, the old man merely clenched his teeth and refused to admit that the Mount Tai Imperial Lord Ritual could be altered by human intervention after it had been activated.

No matter what, the price of the Mount Tai Imperial Lord Ritual was actually paid by the direct descendants of the Tsuchimikado Clan.

The Abe Clan, and later its descendant Tsuchimikado Clan, had always worshipped the Lord of Mount Tai as their Main God. Moreover, among this clan’s Onmyōdō arts, the Mount Tai Imperial Lord Ritual was of paramount importance.

Tsuchimikado Ochiai had thought the age of Onmyōdō was over, but that cloaked fellow holding a sacred relic of the Mount Tai God had given him hope.

The Mount Tai Imperial Lord Ritual had not, as he claimed, been obtained by White Face after she swindled it from some unknown person. It had been handed over voluntarily by the Tsuchimikado Clan’s head in the hope of reviving the family.

But White Face had betrayed the Tsuchimikado Clan. Having seized the Destiny of Night Light, she would never truly use such a powerful ritual as the Mount Tai Imperial Lord Ritual to reincarnate some Plot Characters or reverse Japan’s national fate in a mission world.

What she wanted was power!

After the direct bloodline of his family had all died in Tokyo and he heard of that terrifying Spirit Disaster, Tsuchimikado Ochiai had already realized this.

But just as Bai Cangshu and Suguru Geto could guess that the ritual had not been fully completed, Tsuchimikado Ochiai knew as well.

He would never allow outsiders to use his clan’s bloodline to perform the Mount Tai Imperial Lord Ritual and seize all its benefits from the Main God his clan worshipped.

But no matter how he concealed it, it was useless before Bai Cangshu, who could see through others’ muscles, breathing, and heart and lung activity.

With just a few simple methods, he could find the right answer.

While Suguru Geto, Fifth Element, and the others confronted the mysterious reincarnators, Bai Cangshu relied on his perception of killing intent to rapidly locate the nodes and smear them over with his own blood.

The only reason he had appeared before them and attacked with Secret Rite: Inari God’s Strike was to divert their attention.

He and Suguru Geto had both acted to make the other side believe they wanted to kill him.

Suguru Geto had made an even greater show of it.

Bai Cangshu sneered. He knew what Suguru Geto wanted—to die in Satoru Gojo’s place.

Suguru Geto harbored the intention of using the Mount Tai Imperial Lord Ritual to reverse life and death.

Just as the earliest records described, one life for one life.

During the time after Satoru Gojo’s death and the extinction of Tokyo’s human population, Suguru Geto had come to realize just how small a group Jujutsu Sorcerers were.

Wanting to slaughter all ordinary people and turn the world into one belonging to Jujutsu Sorcerers was utterly unrealistic.

The disparity in their numbers was simply too great.

If ordinary humans went extinct, Jujutsu Sorcerers would soon follow.

And after being given the title of Savior by that monkey bearing the title of prime minister, Suguru Geto became even more aware of his own insignificance.

Whether it was the despair Shoko Ieiri had hidden away or the Jujutsu Sorcerers fleeing Japan,

all of it made Suguru Geto realize his own limitations.

Bai Cangshu then hinted to him that the Mount Tai Imperial Lord Ritual could change everything.

Thus, the two formed their subsequent plan.

Suguru Geto gave up on the idea of nuking Tokyo to create a special-grade cursed spirit, while Bai Cangshu completed the faction mission.

But having reached this point, Bai Cangshu revealed a triumphant smile.

What one life for one life, what reviving Satoru Gojo? Nothing mattered more than power resting in one’s own hands.

"Mount Tai Imperial Lord Ritual, activate!"

Powerful spiritual energy erupted from the many nodes in an instant.

White Face was still wantonly scattering Shamanic Power through the air. Even in terms of direct combat strength, she did not believe Kai was necessarily stronger than her.

But Fox Fire itself possessed the trait of shifting between substance and illusion, making it a near-perfect counter to a fighter like Kai.

"Every attack you make against me is killing Satoru Gojo’s spirit body."

"The weaker Satoru Gojo’s spirit body becomes, the faster the Gate of Yellow Springs will open."

For the first time, White Face revealed her face from beneath her hood. It was exquisite and petite, probably not even as large as one of Kai’s palms. Yet the expression on that delicate-faced woman now looked as though it had broken.

Soon, she would cross life and death amid the cleansing of Yellow Springs and become someone who, in a sense, had approached the highest realm of Onmyōdō.

Through this path, she could swiftly transform her spirit into an Over Soul, breaking past her own shackles in a single step and entering the Fierce Tier. Perhaps she might even go on to claim the position of Shaman King.

Kai furrowed his brow. He became increasingly aware of his own shortcomings. It seemed that ever since the team had suffered devastating losses and Yan Qiu, the team’s strategist, had been killed, his decisions had gradually lost their balance.

At this moment, White Face’s words left him somewhat lost. He actually did not know whether he should continue attacking.

"Don’t listen to her deceptive nonsense! The King of Curses, Satoru Gojo, has already awakened! Kill her, Kai!"

Old Ghost, burning in Fox Fire, roared. His soul was rapidly being weakened, but the man suddenly crushed some kind of item.

Bang!

A powerful aura spread outward in a ring.

Old Ghost let out a painful roar. His body immediately stretched taller, his hair turned white and rapidly streamed behind him, and his frame elongated further. Even his loose robe could not conceal how his body was being torn apart.

"Aah!"

He completely transformed into a demonic swordsman, a hannya mask fused to his face.

The katana in his hand slid back into its sheath as he lowered his center of gravity. The next instant, amid the surging Demonic Qi,

a dazzling flash of sword light lit up.

Clang!

The brilliance of that sword stroke overwhelmed Suguru Geto’s Jujutsu Cannon in an instant. White Face’s heart trembled as she raised both hands. Amid surging Shamanic Power, Azure Flames burned and formed a blue-white wall.

Pfft!

The sword light plunged into the flames and instantly pierced through them.

Blood sprayed from White Face’s waist and abdomen.

But at the same time, a massive gash appeared across Old Ghost’s waist and abdomen, his intestines spilling out at once.

His body hunched over, and he no longer had the strength to resist as Azure Flames swallowed him whole.

"Kai… kill her!"

Old Ghost’s final voice rang beside Kai’s ear, and the indecisive man finally seemed to awaken.

Bang!

Ripple Power shone across his body as a silver-white ripple instantly spread outward.

Kai’s body swelled slightly, seemingly wrapped in Ripple Power and shining with silver-white radiance.

"Sorry, Old Ghost. And… thank you for being willing to trust me."

White Face’s earlier words surfaced in Kai’s mind. She truly had seen through him. Ever since the brothers who had trusted him and followed him all the way had died one after another, he had begun to doubt himself.

Time and again, he had let White Face escape through all sorts of strange abilities, watching as she gradually surpassed him. Even he had begun to lose faith in himself.

Without even realizing it, he had merely blindly followed White Face’s trail, converting resources into all kinds of attributes and abilities, while the conviction that he would definitely win had long vanished from his heart.

In the past, he would not have cared about any ritual. He trusted his fists, believing they could break through every obstacle and shatter White Face herself, leaving every conspiracy without a foundation.

But this time, he had begun to fear, begun to think…

With his own death, Old Ghost had torn apart the illusion that White Face’s abilities were invincible.

She needed to defend herself as well. She could be injured as well.

After explosively unleashing his Battle Aura, a terrifying pressure spread from Kai’s body. At this moment, a true Strong-Upper Tier reincarnator began to display his presence.

"Jiasu…"

Jiasu hid several hundred meters away, his face pale as he had no idea what to do. Suddenly hearing Kai’s voice, he turned around.

"Uh, boss, what do you need me to do?"

Kai did not turn around. He merely said,

"Run."

"Ah?"

Jiasu had yet to recover his senses, but where Kai stood had already become the center of a hurricane.

"I said, run."

"Find Issho, and run as far away as you can with him. Tell him Fifth Element will be his from now on."

You have transferred the position of team leader

Jiasu froze. At that moment, the powerful ripples, like a hurricane, completely dispersed the curse within the barrier, restoring normal visibility.

Other than Satoru Gojo in the sky, who still seemed to be slowly reviving and mutating, everyone’s movements were laid bare.

Kai’s hair danced wildly like weeds in the wind, and his somewhat old-fashioned jacket snapped loudly around him.

Yet that unprecedentedly powerful aura struck Jiasu’s heart bit by bit.

At this moment, Jiasu was certain that this truly was Kai—the pure martial-arts reincarnator who had led Fifth Element to rise rapidly and smashed countless powerful enemies with his fists.

The relaxed smile on White Face’s face had vanished as well. She looked down coldly at Kai, who had regained his fighting spirit, as though she had lost a beloved toy.

She enjoyed toying with people’s hearts, especially men like Kai, who appeared incomparably tough.

"White Face, I may die in this battle today."

"But you definitely won’t leave in one piece either."

Kai’s expression was grave. The next instant, he moved.

Without Bai Cangshu’s exaggerated display, Kai could already completely control nearly forty points of strength.

With one step, dozens of afterimages appeared. White Face once again drew up a wall of Fox Fire. Her abilities were both real and false, her true abilities forever concealed beneath that exterior.

Kai knew the wall could reflect damage, but it did not matter. All he needed to know was that she could be hurt too.

Kai threw a punch. Green, red, yellow, and countless other colors shone simultaneously around his fist. Carrying resplendent colors, he appeared before the fire wall almost as if teleporting and punched out.

Bang!

The air caved in, then abruptly shattered.

One sonic boom cloud after another exploded before Kai’s fist.

The terrifying impact burst forth with destructive force.

His immense Battle Aura instantly pierced straight through White Face’s defenses and erupted from her body.

Her powerful Shamanic Power failed to fully reflect the attack, and blood instead spilled from her mouth.

More than that, the intense Battle Aura and Ripple Power stiffened White Face’s body, briefly robbing her of the ability to move.

Her pupils contracted as she watched Kai turn, shift his center of gravity backward, and tense his muscles. Her heart sank.

Kai exhaled a breath of turbid air, powerful Battle Aura spreading around him as if it were burning.

"Clench your teeth and take this attack."