I, Uchiha Hikaru, have joined the chat group.

Chapter 209 The Throne of Ice and Snow

This moment.

Apart from Erii, Kikyo, and the others who were behind Uchiha Hikaru, everyone else felt a powerful gravity pressing down on their shoulders, causing them to involuntarily prostrate themselves, their limbs trembling.

Good thing...

Gravity comes and goes quickly.

In just a few seconds, Uchiha Hikaru dispelled the gravity field of the "Judgment Spear" and then put the Imperial Arm away again.

Kakashi and the others also felt a lightness on their bodies at the same time.

Only the Cloud Village ninja who was lurking in the soil was directly trapped deep in the soil. After struggling for a few moments without being able to break free, he began to let out a faint moan.

The two Yugitos and the others noticed this and cast resentful glances at them.

Uchiha Hikaru had no intention of explaining in detail: "Once you're out of my sight, you can do whatever you want, but... don't try to be clever in front of me. If you don't want to die."

"..."

Several Cloud Ninja clenched their fists, daring not to speak out in anger.

"...Speaking of which, it seems Obito isn't planning on showing up."

Uchiha Hikaru scanned her surroundings, waiting a while, but still didn't see Obito. She figured he was either not here, or hiding somewhere too afraid to show himself. So she turned her gaze to a spot not far away:

"...He's still alive?"

Lying there was none other than Mingtu, the leader of the Yellow Springs Cult.

This guy had been nearly killed by Tsunade, but thanks to the powerful physical abilities granted by the spirit, he recovered from the brink of death. At this moment, he was swaying as he got up from the ground, seemingly in a state between sleep and wakefulness.

suddenly.

Mingtu suddenly clenched his hands into his chest, his ten fingers, enveloped in chakra, piercing through the skin and digging into the flesh.

"?!"

This scene startled Genma Shiranui, who was watching him from the side.

But the next moment.

Then, streaks of purplish-black runes appeared on Mingtu's body, emitting an eerie light, and then spread rapidly like a spider web. During this process, Mingtu's body gradually began to swell, and a faint mist emanated from his body, completely enveloping him.

"That is..."

Tsunade also noticed the changes in the Underworld at this moment, and a look of surprise and uncertainty appeared on her face.

Even someone as knowledgeable as her couldn't decipher the meaning of the changes in the Netherworld, only finding the runes somewhat familiar. They looked like... a necromancy spell?

"It's a demon!!"

Maitreya was the first to react: "This person harbors the power of a demon, and it's trying to possess this fresh body!"

"Um?"

Uchiha Hikaru raised an eyebrow.

Stored power, possessing the body...

These methods sound a bit like Orochimaru's "Heavenly Curse Seal," don't they?

It only took a few moments.

Suddenly, the Netherworld exerted force, tearing open the chest and exposing the internal organs and skeleton inside.

This action seemed to cause him pain, eliciting a piercing wail. However, soon, a large amount of purplish-black substance further stretched his body open, as if something was trying to crawl out from within—

It all happened in the blink of an eye.

The Netherworld had completely changed its appearance. The person had been swollen into a gigantic monster tens of meters tall, with a dark purple body. Its original limbs had been replaced by thick tentacles, and its body had changed to resemble that of a reptile. Its head, shaped like an Eastern dragon, was raised high, emitting a deep roar.

Well...

This look should have been quite imposing. It has a kind of ugly-handsome feel to it.

but……

Contrary to expectations, the tentacle monster that burst forth was covered in a large number of white ice crystals, as if it had just crawled out of a frigid sea. Several sharp ice spikes, tens of meters long, were embedded in its back, making it look quite wretched.

"……I see."

When Uchiha Hikaru saw the ice spike, he instantly understood.

This monster has probably just escaped from Inashiki Castle.

—Because the shadow clones had not yet dissipated, Uchiha Hikaru did not see the scene of Inashiki Castle, but the person who could create those ice spikes and beat "Mouryou" like that, apart from Esdeath, was no one else.

So it seems...

The demon does indeed have a method similar to the "Heavenly Curse Seal," which allows it to entrust its soul to the person it has empowered, and then, at a crucial moment, use the latter's body as a medium to revive.

Well... to be precise, it's not exactly "resurrection," but rather "spiritual communication."

The runes that just appeared on the Netherworld clearly contained the principles of summoning magic, and it was with this that the Wraith summoned itself from Inashiki Castle and escaped Esdeath, who was fighting it.

As soon as we arrived here.

The demon sensed Maitreya's presence, its lantern-like eyes staring intently at him before it spoke in a deep voice.

"...So you really are here, Miroku."

"I've been looking for you for a long time."

"If our powers are combined, we will become an unimaginably powerful force. At that time, no one in this world will be able to stop us... Come, come into my body, and I will accept your power."

Under the cover of night, the eerie voices of demons drifted over, seemingly possessing a bewitching power.

Do not……

It's not just a feeling, it really can bewitch people!

Everyone who heard the voice of the demons was instantly thrown into a dazed state.

Among them, Uchiha Hikaru, with her strong mental resistance, broke free almost immediately after being bewitched, followed by Miroku and Kikyo, two priestesses from different worlds.

But the others, including Tsunade and Erii, were also confused and began to unconsciously lift their feet and walk towards the direction of the demon.

At this moment, the demons stretched out their tentacles, shooting out like lightning, as if to roll them up and swallow them whole.

"……snort!!"

Uchiha Hikaru snorted coldly, and the skeleton Susanoo reappeared behind him. He then rushed out at an extremely fast speed, slashing down the tentacles of the demon one by one. He then picked up Tsunade, Kakashi, and the others and threw them backward.

the other side.

At this moment, Maitreya formed a hand seal and released a spell.

Her hand seals were somewhat similar to those of ninjas, but not quite; they seemed to belong to a different system of techniques.

As the hand seals were formed, Miroku's white robe billowed, and his moon-white hair rose without wind. Clusters of firefly-like lights scattered outwards, entering Tsunade and the others' bodies and waking them up.

then.

Miroku let out a soft breath, a resolute glint in his eyes: "Miss Hikaru, Lady Tsunade, I beg you to cover my actions... Although I haven't reached Mount Fuma as planned, given the current situation, I'm afraid I have no choice but to resort to my final measure. I will sacrifice my life to fall into slumber with it!"

As they were talking.

Maitreya raised his hand and grasped the bell hanging around his neck.

This thing seems to be a magical artifact, containing a considerable amount of spiritual power, and it looks like it's about to be activated.

But just then...

Kikyo suddenly drew a longbow from her back, drawing it to its full extent, like a scepter: "It is true that it is a priestess's duty to exorcise demons, but don't take everything upon yourself, and don't give up on life so easily. Although it is only a small amount of strength, I am willing to offer you some help... 'The Arrow of Exorcism'!"

The words fell.

Kikyo loosened her slightly white fingertips.

The next second, accompanied by the sound of the bowstring trembling, the arrow, surrounded by powerful spiritual energy, shot out into the air!

call out--!!

The sharp arrow tore through the air, making a sharp whistling sound. The arrowhead was even emanating spiritual energy, forming a semi-transparent, light-colored light shield, and flew whistlingly towards the demon.

The latter intertwined a large number of tentacles in an attempt to block the arrow, but the trajectory of the arrow seemed to have been calculated in advance by Kikyo. Although it was grazed by two tentacles, which slightly reduced the spiritual power it was attached to, it still passed through many obstacles with lightning speed and hit the body of the demon!

Snapped! !

It was like a burst of firecrackers!

To the others, all they saw was a flash of silvery-white light, and then a circular gap appeared on the massive purplish-black body of the demon. It was the flesh that had been obliterated by the arrow!

Without any hesitation, Kikyo drew her bow and nocked an arrow once more.

shhhhh--

This time, it was clearly a barrage of arrows!

On her journey from Penglai Island, Kikyo had prepared four quiver full of arrows, which she carried on her person. She drew her bow, pulled the arrow, and released it in one fluid motion. In the blink of an eye, she had fired dozens of arrows.

In an instant, round, hole-shaped wounds appeared one after another on the demon's body, and the ensuing excruciating pain drove the monster into a state of near madness.

"Um……"

Uchiha Hikaru narrowed his eyes slightly.

She had witnessed Kikyo's actions and had even teamed up with her a few times, such as when dealing with Naraku and Ryukotsusei.

Compared to then, Kikyo's archery skills have clearly improved, and her spiritual energy has become more abundant.

—Regarding spiritual power, we should mainly thank the former priestess of Hourai Island, Kanade. After rescuing the half-demon children, including Ran, Kanade gifted Kikyo with her remaining spiritual power. Because of this, Kikyo's strength, which had been somewhat diminished due to her incomplete soul, has subtly returned to the level of her prime.

Each arrow trailed a silvery-white arc of light.

Like a sky full of shooting stars, they shot towards the demons.

A few of them were stopped by the tentacles of the demon.

The rest, without exception, struck its body, leaving behind gaping holes filled with blood and flesh.

Despite being repeatedly injured, the demon let out a deafening roar, its massive body stretching wildly, dozens of tentacles simultaneously emerging from mid-air, the ground, and even the soil beneath its feet, attacking Uchiha Hikaru and his group. Its dragon-shaped head also raised its head and opened its mouth, unleashing a beam of purplish-black light several meters in diameter, sweeping across their area!

The priestess Miroku also made her move.

After a slight hesitation, she activated the spiritual power within the bell, raising the finger-sized bell in front of her. At a speed visible to the naked eye, a silver-white barrier rapidly opened, blocking the beam of light spewed out by the demon.

The moment the purplish-black beam of light collided with the barrier, a tremendous roar was heard, and shockwaves spread outwards like flowing water!

Then, the "barrier" began to change shape, transforming from a hard barrier into a soft net, forming a huge hemisphere that wrapped around the demon's body!

Kikyo also timely fired several "sealing arrows".

If a demon of the level of a demon were placed in the world of Inuyasha, it would undoubtedly be classified as a great demon. Moreover, it might be comparable to, or even surpass, the strongest of the great demons, Inu no Taisho.

Therefore, it is unrealistic to expect an arrow to work as effectively as it did when sealing Inuyasha.

Each "Sealing Arrow" can only temporarily disable a part of its body.

For example, a few tentacles.

During this process, the demon continued to resist frantically, constantly emitting terrifying roars. Its momentum surged again at an astonishing rate, and its tentacles lashed out with the force of thunder. Even a slight touch could kill a well-trained Jonin on the spot.

Just then.

A sudden gust of frigid wind blew from the distant horizon, causing the demon to pause in its movements, as if a feeling of fear had arisen within it.

Then, a purplish-black cloud appeared, flying from a great distance to this place, and began to slow down when it was still hundreds of meters away from the battlefield.

As everyone felt a sudden darkness overhead, a hundred-meter-diameter ice meteorite suddenly appeared in the sky, held in the hand of a tiny figure who exhaled and forcefully threw it downwards!

BOOM—!!

The demon tried to dodge, but restrained by Kikyo and Miroku, it only managed to dodge slightly to the side before being slammed hard on the head by the ice meteorite and plummeting downwards.

The instant the meteorite struck, a violent hurricane rose from the ground, and a massive crater appeared within seconds, with countless cracks spreading wildly around its perimeter. The once arrogant and domineering demon was slammed directly into the earth!

Smoke and dust filled the sky.

Uchiha Hikaru looked up at the night sky and saw two figures standing side by side on a purplish-black cloud, surrounded by dozens of huge ice cones as big as small mountains, like a giant ice throne, making the two figures look like kings in the snow.

"Oh."

Esdeath spotted Uchiha Hikaru in the crowd at first glance, a slight smile playing on her lips: "I thought the battle would be over by the time I caught up with him... Looks like he deliberately left it for me. In that case, I'll reluctantly defeat him one more time!"

next moment.

With Esdeath's outstretched hand.

Countless icicles fell from the sky, piercing through the numerous tentacles surrounding the demon, just like the "Immortal Technique: Bright God Gate," pinning the demon, who was still struggling to get up, firmly to the ground!

(End of this chapter)