Tokyo: The Player Behind the Scenes.

Chapter 251, Page 249: Fragments of Memory

"The Way is complete."

The sound seemed to come from the depths of distant time, carrying a faint, unreal echo.

"Daoman?"

"Ah, yes! Master!"

Ashiya Dōman suddenly woke up and subconsciously responded. He looked around blankly, his gaze landing on the old man kneeling opposite him.

That was his master.

My mind was a complete mess, my memories were like a thick fog, fragmented and difficult to piece together.

I felt a strange sense of unease, as if I had forgotten something extremely important.

He lowered his head in confusion, staring at his hands.

Is this my hand?

"Ahem. Sigh, I warned you long ago that there's always someone better. That giant serpent coiled around the Yu Kingdom is far beyond your current strength. The worst thing you can do on the path of cultivation is to be overly ambitious."

This is a remote shrine.

The faint light of the oil lamp flickered in the dimly lit main hall of the shrine, making the crisscrossing wrinkles on the master's face appear even more somber.

His hair and beard were all white, and his body was replaced by an undeniable decay. His loose robes hung loosely over his emaciated body, unable to conceal the loss of flesh and blood.

He paused, his cloudy gaze sweeping over Ashiya Doman. After confirming that he was alright, he continued, his tone carrying a barely perceptible urgency: "Alright. It's good that you've returned safely. I summoned you back urgently because there's something important. Your master needs your protection."

"I will obey your orders, Master." Ashiya Dōman bowed almost instinctively in response, as if the reverence etched into his very bones was driving him.

But the question in his heart compelled him to ask, "Master, what kind of important ceremony is being held?"

The master's lips curled into a smile, the dim lamplight flickering in his pupils like a fervent flame. He stared at his disciple, speaking slowly and deliberately.

"Longevity."

Ashiya Dōman was startled. The word seemed to touch his heartstrings. The surrounding scenery began to overlap and distort, sometimes bright and sometimes dark, like a Rubik's Cube changing.

"Doman? Are you ready?"

With another word from the master, the scene quickly changed and then settled again, but it was now a different scene.

This must be a basement, with countless burning lamps stuck into the walls, completely dispelling the darkness.

The ground was meticulously engraved with a huge and intricate magic circle, its patterns deep and obscure. In the center of the magic circle stood a naked master craftsman. His withered body appeared even more emaciated in the firelight, but the desire in his eyes was enough to burn everything away.

"Daoman! What are you standing there for? Sit down immediately!"

The master's voice was sharp with excitement, and it carried a hint of dissatisfaction.

However, Ashiya Dōman's gaze was involuntarily drawn to the scene on the other side.

It was a cage built against the stone wall, constructed of thick iron bars, and covered with talismans with a yellow background and cinnabar.

Trapped inside was a creature with excessively pale skin, a voluptuous figure, and completely naked.

Ashiya Michiman was unsure whether it was a person or not.

Because "she" had lost an arm and was covered in wounds, from which flowed blood that resembled golden sand.

Her head had disappeared, but even so, she was still alive.

More importantly, she also had a pair of broken white wings on her back, giving her an overall sense of devastation, suggesting that she had experienced some terrible ordeal before.

The master looked very anxious, but seeing the curiosity in Ashiya Michi's eyes, and considering that the upcoming ceremony required the disciple's help, he took a deep breath, suppressed his displeasure, and patiently began to explain:

"I discovered this some time ago when I was observing the celestial phenomena at night."

"She fell from the sky and landed in the forest, and I followed the trail to find her."

“She looked like this when I found her, but,” the master couldn’t help but take two steps closer, staring at the winged human’s mangled body in the cage with fascination, “even so, she is still alive.”

“This must be a deity who fell from Takamagahara to the mortal realm. Even if he is weak, he is still a deity.”

"What I need to do is take his place and become the new god! In this way, the path to immortality that I have been pursuing for so many years can be achieved immediately!"

"Daoman, I promise you, as long as I can become a god, you can become my subordinate god, and together we can enjoy eternal life and the worship of all living beings!" The master's voice was full of temptation.

Ashiya Doman instinctively sensed something was wrong, but dared not disobey his master's orders.

It seems that their fear of him was already ingrained in their bones.

"Yes, as ordered."

Ashiya Dōman seemed to know what to do, and sat down cross-legged on the spot.

Seeing this, the master nodded in satisfaction and said no more. With a solemn expression, he returned to the center of the magic circle and began chanting incantations at an extremely fast pace.

"The Nine Heavens Mysterious Demon, the Netherworld opens together. Bearing Heaven and Earth, guiding the spirits back to their remains."

“O soul and spirit, depart from that jade palace. Forsake your divine bodies, and offer yourselves to ascend the throne.”

The chanting grew more urgent and louder, piling up and shrieking in my ears.

The light from the magic circle suddenly surged, transforming into a blood-red pillar that simultaneously enveloped the master craftsman and the remains of the winged man in the cage.

"open!"

The master suddenly opened his bloodshot eyes and let out a deafening shout.

Bang!

The talismans on the iron cage spontaneously combusted without wind, instantly turning to ashes, and the iron gate burst open with a roar.

The headless, winged human's remains, like a puppet pulled by invisible threads, stiffly and contortedly stepped out of the cage, heading straight for the master in the center of the magic array.

Under Ashiya Doman's gaze, the master opened his arms, his face contorted with a mixture of ecstasy and agony. The winged man's mangled body, like a melted wax figure, clung eerily to the master's withered form.

The integration has begun.

The golden sand flowing from the winged man's wound made a sizzling sound as it touched the master's flesh.

The broken wing bone fragments pierced the master's back, taking root like newly formed limbs.

The master's body underwent a dramatic transformation at a visible speed. His loose, dry skin quickly became firm and smooth, wrinkles were forcibly smoothed out, his hunched back straightened little by little, and his white hair turned black. A powerful aura gradually took shape on his body.

"Ha, ha ha ha! I've done it! I've done it!" The master looked down at his hands, which had become young and strong, and felt the surging power within him that far surpassed his former strength. He let out a maniacal laugh, which echoed in the stone chamber and made the candlelight flicker.

His laughter gradually subsided, and his gaze fell upon Ashiya Dōman, who looked utterly shocked, a hint of arrogance and coldness emanating from him.

"Hehehe, Daoman! You truly are my good disciple. Now, let me have you."

Stopped abruptly.

The master's face froze in ecstasy.

His youthful body suddenly swelled violently and uncontrollably, as if countless living things were writhing and colliding wildly under his skin, and his bones made cracking sounds.

"No, impossible! Why?! I clearly had it under control! Ahhhhh—!"

The mournful echo reverberated.

The master's body, like a balloon inflated to its limit, swelled under Ashiya Doman's stunned gaze.
boom! !

A dull bang.

Blood mist, mixed with bits of flesh, bone fragments, and the not-yet-fully-fused remains of the winged human, poured down a foul rain in the secret chamber, instantly flooding the entire underground stone room.

The shockwave swept across, and all the oil lamps went out in the same instant.

The darkness, accompanied by the stench of blood and burning, engulfed everything.

"Ho ho."

In the darkness, Ashiya Dōman felt himself struggling to breathe.

My palm seemed to touch a small, hard object with a strange, jade-like texture.

It feels like a severed finger when I touch it?
　Thank you to "行者商丘" for the 500-coin reward.

　　Thank you to "pi=3.14" for the 200 coins donation.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)