I transformed into a demonic spider lily.

The scattered bodies must have been buried with the help of people from other villages, but bloodstains can still be seen on the ground, which is enough to show how cruel the situation was.

The houses showed signs of being scorched by flames, and many more had collapsed. This caused panic among the villagers in the vicinity. Even Kikyo had to take a deep breath to calm her slightly anxious emotions.

"As expected, there is a very strong demonic aura. Even after several days, it has not dissipated. Flower, can you sense where this demonic aura ultimately goes?"

The demonic aura was too scattered for Kikyo to follow, so she had no choice but to ask the spider lily beside her.

"ocean."

In fact, the spider lily couldn't sense where the demonic energy ultimately went, but she didn't need to, because the hundred ghost bats would naturally return to their nest during the day, which was a certain isolated island in the sea.

"...Then let's set sail now."

Kikyo said without hesitation.

"Need not."

But the other shore flower shook her head slightly and said, "Even if you can find them at sea, it's useless on the sea surface no matter how strong your spiritual power is, unless you can fly. Otherwise, the sea surface is not suitable for you to fight. Moreover, the time of encountering demons is coming soon. You should change your bad habit of always fighting when other monsters have the advantage of their home ground. This time, the opponent is more troublesome than the old fire demon."

"But I can't keep waiting; if I wait even a day longer, more people might suffer," Kikyo said righteously.

"I've discovered that you, the priestess, are sometimes even dumber than me, the monster. If the Hundred Demon Bats want to bring disaster to humans, they will inevitably pass by the beach. Given their dense demonic aura, they can be sensed within two thousand meters. You can fight them then. Otherwise, they will fly over as soon as you set out to sea, and you will have to row back. Do you think you can turn your oars into a turbine and use it as a speedboat?"

To be honest, I feel that Kikyo's mentality is typical of someone who gets carried away. She's a marksman with six items, and now she and a mage with three items are chasing down a group of opponents with two items, even trying to tower dive, cross the crystal, and dive the fountain. Don't think that just because you can kill people instantly, you can do whatever you want.

"Then what should we do?" Kikyo asked, ignoring the latter part of Higanbana's words.

"We can stay here and wait for them to come. As long as they come under the cover of night, we can launch a surprise attack. If they don't come tonight, we can raid their base tomorrow when the intense sunlight suppresses their demonic power. In short, we need to have a strategy!"

The red spider lily clenched its fist and said confidently.

"Ah~" How insidious.

Kikyo thought there was some truth to what Higanbana said. After all, she wasn't a yokai, and at night her vision would inevitably be limited, making her unsuitable for fighting. So she nodded slightly and accepted the other party's suggestion.

Having somehow acquired a bunch of branches, the spider lily set up a bonfire in front of the beach and wove a flower basket out of vines, which it then tossed to the bellflower.

"This is……"

Kikyo, holding a flower basket, looked puzzled.

"Stand there and don't move." As day turns to night, the tide begins to rise, and the spider lily unleashes its "Enchanting Spell" on the boundless ocean, its crimson glow seemingly painting the azure sea.

At first, Kikyo did not understand the intention of the spider lily, but then she saw fish swimming in the sea rushing forward as if the Dragon Gate was right in front of them.

With a soft thud, it went into the flower basket.

What you are watching now is Food Wars! Season 2020, the Higanbana arc. At this moment, she is displaying exquisite knife skills that can be described as unparalleled. No wonder she is ranked first among the hellish chefs. Legend has it that at least 99% of those who have eaten her food have already gone to hell!

The fantasy mini-drama ended, and it was actually just an ordinary dinner. After all, it was in the wild, so we couldn't expect too much. It was just a simple grilled fish with seasonings.

Why doesn't it explode?

Afterwards, the other shore flower still thought about it for a moment.

Why are you such a good cook, you monster?

Kikyo, who was enjoying her dinner, felt that her feminine charm had been completely defeated. She gently blew on the hot food and looked at the demon fire burning in front of her. Sure enough, this meal was not something a human could make. Kikyo comforted herself with this thought.

The sun had already sunk below the horizon, and the fiery clouds on the horizon gradually returned to their original white color, while the sea was tinged with crimson, until night enveloped the earth, covering all the beautiful colors.

This was the first time Kikyo had ever witnessed such a magnificent view. She then asked the spider lily beside her, "Flower, what do you think of the sunset at the beach?"

"...Huh? It's nothing special." The Red Spider Lily didn't feel anything, because she could overlook the sea from the top of the mountain, and she was already used to this view.

"Never mind, you can just eat yours."

Kikyo knew she shouldn't have discussed such matters with a yokai. She stuffed the grilled fish into the mouth of the spider lily, which couldn't understand why she was so "angry".

Then, Kikyo asked, "Flower, don't you really think the sunset's glow is remarkably similar to your crimson?"

Now that you mention it, it does seem quite pretty.

This time, it was the other spider lily that couldn't wait to praise it.

"They're all very beautiful."

With a smile, Kikyo responded in agreement.

What was clearly a simple dinner took an hour to prepare in a warm atmosphere. The spider lily played with her demonic fire, while the kikyo beside her suddenly wrapped her arms around herself.

Are you cold?

The setting sun seemed to take away all the warmth, and with the bleak sea breeze, the bellflower, dressed in thin clothes, clearly had this problem in mind.

"A little bit."

Kikyo lowered her head and said softly.

"What a coincidence, I didn't feel cold at all!"

Temperatures from -50 degrees Celsius to 150 degrees Celsius are the same for the red spider lily, because it should be classified as a cold-blooded animal.

In theory, plants do not have body temperature and usually do not feel temperature. They may feel a stinging sensation when the temperature is too high or too low, which is a sign of damage.

I knew it……

Kikyo thought to herself, but then she felt a garment being draped over her. She looked up and saw Higanbana with her hands behind her back, saying, "I don't need it anyway, so I'll lend you this garment."

The pure white clothes were the "Mountain-bound Clothes" that the other shore flower used before, but now that she has the "Spirit-Communicating Umbrella" armor, she has never used them again.

"...Thank you."

Kikyo decided to take back her previous thought. She just hadn't expected that the spider lily would be so hypocritical in such matters.

The clothes felt warm against her skin. Kikyo looked at Higanbana, who was still playing with the campfire. Higanbana was dressed even more lightly than Kikyo. Although she knew that Higanbana didn't care about such things, she couldn't help but say, "Hana, come here."

"Is there anything else?"

The red spider lily walked over, puzzled.

But then Kikyo raised her hand and pulled her to her side, draping the other half of her clothes over Higanbana's body. The two were very close, almost touching, and Kikyo even put her arm around Higanbana's shoulder to prevent her from escaping.

"Hana, has anyone else told you that your body is actually very warm?" This is what Kikyo feels.

"No, you're the first person to dare hug me like that," the spider lily said softly.

"There will be a second and a third in the future, and they will definitely say the same things as me. Even if you are a monster, you are never alone. You just haven't met anyone else besides me yet."

Kikyo comforted him, saying that for humans, the greatest loneliness is never being embraced by another, and this sentiment should also apply to yokai.

Kikyo felt that her feelings for the spider lily were becoming increasingly strange. Sometimes she saw it as a younger sister, sometimes as her child, and perhaps there were other feelings as well, but she couldn't sort out all these thoughts yet.

Thinking this, Kikyo closed her eyes slightly, but felt a slight heaviness in her body. She saw Higanbana leaning on her shoulder and softly saying, "Mmm."

It's outrageous! It's outrageous! It's outrageous!

I should be the one leaning on you, not the other way around!

Kikyo sensed something was wrong, but seeing the other person's calm and resting expression, and noticing the traces of her own stitching on their clothes, she remained silent.

Only the crackling sound of the campfire remained.

This peaceful atmosphere, as if painted with ink in a scroll, lasted until…

That blood moon descended.

After resting for a while, the bellflower opened its eyes, and the spider lily beside it said regretfully, "They've arrived."

About seven or eight chapters are owed.

Chapter Sixty-Five Great Prison Pill

……

Rewind to half an hour ago...

Beyond the sea lies a cave on a secluded island, the stronghold of the Hundred Ghost Bat Clan, which has been occupied for hundreds of years.

Above the cave, a figure over seventy meters tall hovered in mid-air, its bat wings spread outwards, completely blocking the moonlight shining into the cave. With a blue face and fangs, it was a true demon, and its identity was none other than the patriarch of the Hundred Demon Bat Clan—Daigokumaru.

"Father, stop!"

In the cave below, there was another man with brown skin and pale silver hair. He had a long sword at his waist and was dressed in luxurious clothes, giving him the air of a young master from a noble family. In fact, he was indeed a "young master".

The young master of the Hundred Demon Bat Clan—

"Tsukiyomaru, in order for you to inherit the Blood Jade Coral, a blood sacrifice is necessary." Daigokumaru took out a deep red coral bead, about the size of a basketball, but containing several times more demonic power than it was originally.

Passed down by the patriarchs of the Hyakki Bat Clan, it contains the crystallized demonic power of all the previous patriarchs and has existed since the Heian period or even earlier.

The protective barrier it releases is the most powerful treasure that has enabled them to dominate Shimōsa Province for hundreds of years, and almost no monster has ever been able to break through its barrier.

However, not just any monster can use Blood Jade Coral, and even the user cannot use it for long. The bloodline of the clan leader is a necessary condition. However, if it is used for too long, its power will continue to decline, so it needs to be handed over to the next generation of successors.

Without the Blood Jade Coral, the Hundred Demon Bat Clan would inevitably have its position shaken by other demon races, something that Daigokumaru would never allow to happen.

Therefore, he decided to hand over the Blood Jade Coral to Tsukiyomaru, so that the protective barrier could shine again, and at that time, their Hundred Demon Bat Clan could maintain its rule for at least another hundred years.

"That's enough! The ritual could have proceeded normally since last month, so why do you continue with those meaningless killings?"

Tsukiyomaru questioned this matter.

As the successor of the Hundred Demon Bat Clan, even though the Blood Jade Coral was not yet in his hands, Tsukiyomaru still had some basic understanding of it. The blood sacrifice was a ritual, and the blood required for the ritual only required the amount of blood from a few people.

But now they have collected the blood of hundreds of people and stored it in the blood pool. Almost every three days, they go out hunting. The day before yesterday, they even killed more than two hundred people from a village.

Tsukiyomaru knew his place as a yokai well; killing was inevitable, but meaningless slaughter was something he could never accept.

"The ritual cannot tolerate the slightest mistake, so extra blood is needed to fill in the gaps. This matter concerns the future of our Hundred Demon Bat Clan," Daigokumaru explained, a hint of disdain lurking deep in his eyes.

Among the yokai, there is a yokai who is friendly to humans. If it weren't for the fact that the other party needs to inherit the Blood Jade Coral, Daigokumaru would definitely have dealt with Tsukiyomaru, even if the other party was his son.

It is a disgrace to let such a guy inherit his position as clan leader, but the bloodline cannot be broken for the time being. Before a second successor appears, Daigokumaru can only turn a blind eye and let the other party go.

No, no, that's not right!

Tsukiyomaru knew the truth: Daigokumaru collected that blood for cultivation. They were bat demons who could only rely on blood to quickly improve their cultivation.

However, even knowing the truth was useless. He had no ability to control the matter, and few of his own kind were willing to follow him. Tsukiyomaru could only watch helplessly as Daigokumaru took away 90% of the Hyakki Bats and nearly 200 demons, surrounding the latter.

With the sound of bat wings flapping, a group of demon bats hovered above the cave, then flew with Daigokumaru towards the land. Even the pure white moonlight was stained blood red by their demonic power.

……

Having left the cave, Daigokumaru naturally had a target to attack. They had ravaged a village the day before, and today they only needed to choose another nearby village.