Chapter 106

Even though her body had become a ruin, Yaobikuni threw her head back and laughed amidst the sound of thunder strikes.

"Hahaha! Impressive, Master Leipu… To be able to beat me into this state without using the authority of the silver coin… I concede, I truly concede…"

"What are you laughing at?"

Qi Xing also descended to the rocky shore, his expression cold and stern.

Binding techniques were ineffective against her, and the [Dominator] could not influence apostles who shared the authority of the silver coin. He could only rely on the most primitive method: tearing this crazy woman to pieces.

Hopefully, this clumsy method would work.

"Cut the crap," he said. "What is your plan with all of this? What kind of trick are you trying to pull? What is the background of that Silver Coin Messenger behind you?"

"Tell me obediently, and I can give you a quick end; if you continue to resist stubbornly, you have heard of the methods of Master Leipu."

The methods of Master Leipu were, of course, those used to fight violence with violence and intimidate all evil. If he was determined to act, he wouldn't just dig out the testicles of evil cultivators or extract the fetuses of demonesses; he could even drag their ancestors out to be refined into artifacts.

Then again, if he really dismantled Yaobikuni's bizarre, incubator-like body to refine it into an artifact, he didn't even dare to imagine what kind of ghost of an object it would turn into.

But even Qi Xing himself felt disgusted, so he didn't really want to try.

However, Yaobikuni seemed not to have heard him at all. Wuji Vibration Zen had beaten her body into a pulp, leaving it in tatters, yet she was still laughing hoarsely. It wasn't until she coughed up a few mouthfuls of blood that she slowly stopped laughing.

Then, she tilted her head slightly, her tone suddenly becoming calm, even a little compassionate.

"Master Leipu, I have indeed lost completely."

"But that doesn't mean… that we apostles of the White God, disciples of the Peacock King, have all been defeated by you."

She raised her remaining half-arm and gestured around, as if to signal, "What kind of myth do you think this deep layer of the Inner Realm is alluding to?"

Qi Xing remained vigilant, scanning his surroundings. Actually, this was not hard to guess. After all, Qi Xing understood Japanese mythology.

A boundless sea of blood-red amniotic fluid. A giant divine spear descending from the sky, stirring the tides. Isn't this exactly the creation myth in Japanese mythology—the [Myth of Nation-Birth]?

The "Kojiki" records it this way: The supreme Kotoamatsukami bestowed the [Heavenly Jeweled Spear] upon the two deities, Izanagi and Izanami. The male and female deities stood in heaven, reached into the sea with the Heavenly Jeweled Spear, and stirred. When they lifted it, the water dripping from the spear tip condensed into an island.

The male and female deities descended onto this island, erected a heavenly pillar, and built a palace. The male deity Izanagi used his male organ to join with the female deity Izanami's female organ. Thus, [Yin and Yang first joined as husband and wife], and they birthed offspring.

They first gave birth to Hiruko, a deformed child that was underdeveloped, with no hands or feet. Thus, the deity couple placed him in a reed boat and cast him into the sea.

Then they continued to give birth, and they gave birth to all eight islands of Japan: Honshu, Kyushu, Shikoku, Awaji, Iki, Tsushima, the Oki Islands, and Sado Island—this is the creation myth of Japan.

That's right, Japan's creation myth is a story about the ancestral husband-and-wife deities on the sea, constantly engaging in intercourse to birth the land. That is why it is academically called the [Nation-Birth] myth.

Actually, there's nothing wrong with this. After all, compared to the kind of ejaculation-based creation myth from African tribes that Romanie had played with, creation through marital intercourse is quite wholesome.

Now let's look back at the surrounding [Inner Realm] scene. The sea is the sea at the beginning of creation, and the giant spear descending from the sky is the [Heavenly Jeweled Spear]… Then there is a dead water snake on the shore, its body as huge as a mountain ridge.

A sea of blood, a divine spear stirring the sea, and the [Corpse of a God] washed up on the shore. Strange, where did this last dead snake come from?

"We of [True Buddhism], that is to say, believers of the White God and disciples of the Peacock King. Our faith has always been established on one fundamental truth."

Yaobikuni spoke, her tone sounding like a whisper and yet also like a divine revelation.

"All the myths and religious stories in this world—in their essence, are merely re-enactments of the struggle between the Peacock King and the god from beyond the heavens."

"The true creator of this world is the great White God, the Mahamayuri, the True Buddha."

"But this world is incomplete. Because two thousand years ago, the [Black God] descended from beyond the heavens, defeated our White God at Golgotha, and killed our World Mother."

"The [Black God] rewrote the laws of this world, and Her will changed this world."

Huh?? Qi Xing was stunned for a moment, but immediately realized—so that's it, this is how they, [True Buddhism], or rather the [Peacock Disciples] and followers of Samael, understand the history of this world.

The divine spear that descended from the sky and stirred the [world], isn't that the [Spear of Longinus] that restrains Samael?

That dead snake on the shore—no need to think, it's certainly Samael. No wonder Sasa was unhappy as soon as she saw this thing.

No wonder this crazy woman's [Inner Realm] was constructed so precisely and terrifyingly. And even more bizarrely, in a sense… this worldview explanation of [True Buddhism] really couldn't be said to be entirely wrong…

"Master Leipu." Yaobikuni tilted her blood-stained half-face up, looking straight at Qi Xing, "The goal of us [Peacock Disciples] is to untie the distortion this world has carried for two thousand years and correct all these cruel mistakes."

"To end all the suffering and darkness of the past two thousand years." "To let this world—return to its original compassion and light." "In this world, there is nothing more important or meaningful than this."

"Of course, the great cause of resurrecting the White God cannot be achieved overnight, and the followers of the [Black God] are still obstructing our every step to this day."

When she said this, her smile suddenly became subtle, with a hint of secret pride at the corner of her mouth. "In order to resist the legacy of the [Black God], to resist the heavenly demons from beyond the realm, we obtained inspiration from the rituals before the fall of the Third Reich… It allows us to mobilize the legacy of the [White God] without needing the [silver coin]."

"The price is to use the legacy of the [Black God] as shackles, as a sacrifice—allowing us to wield the great power of the White God's kin with a human body."

The Third Reich? Some kind of ritual? Nazi stuff again? Qi Xing always felt that this sounded familiar, as if he had heard someone talk about it…

However, Yaobikuni had already continued: "Master Leipu." Her tone was low and hoarse, yet it seemed to carry a certain solemnity as if a miracle were about to be triggered. "The false [Black God] faith that has lingered in this land of Mutsu for over eight hundred years… why exactly does it exist?" "Please, witness it with your own eyes!"

No sooner said than done! Before her voice had even faded, Qi Xing had moved like a lightning bolt. Thunderlight erupted, and his fist power slammed down like a falling star!

This punch was without reservation, driven by true killing intent! But just as the fist was about to strike her blood-stained forehead— "Clang!!"

Qi Xing only felt his fist power sink as if into a quagmire, unable to advance even half an inch. It was as if his fist were striking the entire [Inner Realm], colliding with infinite resistance. Yaobikuni's head was within reach, yet the entire space seemed to have been fixed in place, not moving a single bit!

The [Inner Realm] itself was protecting her?!

Yaobikuni was half-buried in the rock pit, her wounds still bleeding, yet she looked like a sacrifice at the center of an altar, a tragic and solemn smile on her lips. And her final chant rose slowly at this moment: "With reverence, I pray to you." "Our Lord who art in heaven," "Please descend in your glorious form."

Tsk! Qi Xing immediately flipped his palm and blasted out several Thunder-Fire Sword beams; the light blades slashed out like a violent storm, striking directly at Yaobikuni—but it was useless. Those attacks seemed to all cut into the surface of water, unable to splash even a ripple.

This [Inner Realm] was too huge, having accumulated too much time and energy! Centuries of sedimentation had long made it impossible to be broken by simple, brute force!

Moreover—Master Leipu looked down at his right fist. That charred arm had not yet healed, the flesh cracked like charcoal, and even the bones were emitting a faint light.

Meanwhile, Yaobikuni was still chanting: "Glory! With the three sacred treasures, I worship you!" "If the ritual is completed, the heavenly truth will be revealed," "On the day the Lord is resurrected, the earth shall become a paradise again!"

Her singing voice was as soft and beautiful as a god's mercy, yet it echoed like a funeral bell. It was like a forbidden key, slowly turning.

…Tens of kilometers away, in Shingo Village, at the Ten Graves. That quiet forest park Qi Xing had once visited, that [Tomb of Christ] which had absolutely no traces of the supernatural—suddenly began to shake violently!

A roar that seemed to tear the sky apart blasted the entire burial mound open from the inside out, and in an instant, dust filled the sky. What on earth exploded from the [Tomb of Christ] and shot into the sky?

It was a five-colored light! Not daylight, not moonlight, but a five-colored divine light of white, red, yellow, green, and blue. It broke through the firmament, flew over mountains and rivers, flew into [Sugisawa Village]—and slammed into the [Inner Realm]!

The entire small world shook violently at this moment! And at the same time, right in front of Qi Xing, that giant snake corpse, which had long been dead and lying on the shore of the sea of blood… suddenly bulged, trembled, and split open!

The five-colored divine light shot out from the split wound. The giant snake corpse separated as if shedding its skin. A new [Life] was slowly [born] from within it.

The first thing that appeared in Qi Xing's eyes were six pale yet slender arms, extending in an orderly arrangement, just like a multi-armed Guanyin in a temple. In each of her hands, she held a brilliant, radiant divine treasure.

The first was the solar Yata Mirror, representing wisdom and justice, symbolizing the authority of royal rule; the second was the golden rice ear, with crystal clear grains, representing perpetual harvest and life; the third was the Yasakani no Magatama, curved and pointed, governing the divination of mysterious fates; the fourth was a long bow and sharp arrows, silent judgment, punishing all kinds of sins; the fifth was the Totsuka no Tsurugi, mighty and brave, severing and exterminating filth; the sixth was a wine gourd, controlling weather phenomena, summoning wind and thunder.

She had three faces, born back-to-back on the same head, and each face wore a Noh mask. The front face had a smiling face like a flower, the mask's lips upturned, carrying the dazzling glory of the sun. The right face had slanted eyebrows and angry eyes, with thunder hidden within, as if a storm were about to erupt; it was indeed [Susanoo's Wrath]. The left face was cold and lonely, with eyes filled with tears, silent like the moon shining on cold frost.

The three aspects appeared simultaneously, yet they incredibly coexisted on the same head. Joy, anger, and sorrow achieved her divine [Three Intents].

And her body was bound layer by layer from shoulder to waist by a long golden chain, which was crossed and wrapped in a style resembling shibari. Behind her, a five-colored wheel of light rotated slowly, like a peacock spreading its tail, or like lotus flowers and flame rings spreading layer upon layer in a mandala, radiating infinite majesty that surpassed the mortal world.

This was—this was the Peacock King born from the corpse of that decaying snake god—

"Uh oh." Sasa, standing on Qi Xing's shoulder, looked quite terrible at this moment, both shocked and angry. She hadn't even shown such a panicked expression for a long time.

"—Qi Xing, retreat quickly, retreat!" "You can't possibly beat this thing right now!"