I transformed into a demonic spider lily.

The red spider lily said, of course.

The mother goddess Izanami gave birth to countless children, but in the end, none of them were willing to meet her. Even Ebisu was filled with fear and came to the underworld with a purpose.

"Let's go." Higanbana and Kikyo set off to chase after the Demon King Yamamoto Gorozaemon.

……

The Tokyo Metropolitan Area Sword, Nikko Toshogu Shrine.

This is where the Demon King Yamamoto Gorozaemon finally fled. His demonic body is bloated and his face is covered in sweat. The side effect of the Blood Escape is a decrease in vitality.

"You are my last trump card, Reverse Pillar, dedicate your power to me!"

Demon King Yamamoto Gorozaemon shouted.

Nikko Toshogu Shrine is located in Nikko City, Tochigi Prefecture. Although it is in the Tokyo metropolitan area, it is not within Tokyo itself. Hundreds of years ago, this area was part of Shimotsuke Province.

The main deity enshrined is Tosho Daigongen, also known as Tokugawa Ieyasu. The shrine was built during the Edo period.

These are creations that the Demon King Yamamoto Gorozaemon cherished when he was still human, with the Yomeimon as the main one, consisting of twelve pillars arranged in a row.

Among them, there is a reverse pillar.

Made of sacred wood, it can travel through time. Although it is just a rumor, the Demon King Yamamoto Gorozaemon had heard that the sacred wood of Kaede Village could bring travelers from the future back to the past, so he spent a lot of money to acquire it as timber.

“O evil-repelling pillar, take me to the past and unleash your power for me.”

Demon King Yamamoto Gorozaemon grabbed the inverted pillar and poured a large amount of demonic power into it, thus opening the portal to time and space.

"Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!"

If he could go back to the past, how could the spider lily and the bellflower have caught up with him? Demon King Yamamoto Gorozaemon felt that the advantage lay with him.

……

The spider lilies and bellflowers followed the lingering demonic aura until they reached Nikko Toshogu Shrine, where the aura of the Demon King Yamamoto Gorozaemon ceased.

Kikyo looked at the pillar on the left side of the main gate of Yangmingmen and felt an overwhelming sense of familiarity.

"The trunk of the sacred tree."

The spider lily immediately recognized the source of this inverted pillar. It was sealed in such a place, no wonder the human-faced tree could not be found, and the demon king Yamamoto Gorozaemon probably escaped through this inverted pillar.

"Should I open it?"

Kikyo asked.

"Wait a mininute."

Higanbana took out her phone and called Xuelu.

"Uh, uh ah~ Lycoris radiata? Why are you calling me at this hour? I'm here... um~ Shirley, be gentle." As soon as the call connected, Shirley made a strange sound.

"...No, it's alright, you can continue."

The other shore flower felt that the timing of her phone call was not good.

"What happened on Xueji's side? She sounds very tired."

Kikyo didn't react in time.

"Just doing things I love."

Higanbana simply sent a message, asking Yukiro to tell the Human-Faced Tree that its trunk was at the Yomei Gate of Nikko Toshogu Shrine, and to come and pick it up when she had time. She also mentioned that she and Kikyo would be leaving for a while, and asked Yukiri and Yukiro to stay here with the child.

"Is it alright to leave Xuelu and Shirley here?"

There are still concerns about the bellflower.

“It’s alright. Wives always need time alone together. Maybe they feel one child isn’t enough and are planning to find Bingli a companion? Or maybe Xuelu wants to feel more involved.”

The spider lily didn't say much about this. She raised her hand and pressed down on the reverse pillar, channeling the power of the underworld into the sacred tree, which took them to the era of the Demon King Yamamoto Gorozaemon.

……

"Hahaha, I escaped!"

Demon King Yamamoto Gorozaemon felt extremely comfortable breathing in the fresh air. Although he had lost most of his power due to the Blood Release technique, he was still able to rebuild it through the Hundred Tales.

First, we need to determine the era of this place, and then find a secluded place to rest and recuperate.

Demon King Yamamoto Gorozaemon didn't think he was very strong. There were many beings stronger than him. Back then, he couldn't even defeat Nura Koihan.

He took out a scroll from his bosom, rewrote the Hundred Tales, and then drew upon its power to return to his peak—no, to become even stronger than at his peak.

The original Hyakumonogatari only started with minor demons, but now that the Demon King Yamamoto Gorozaemon has enough power, let's start with the executive level.

The more powerful the Hyakumonogatari is, the stronger he will become.

One of the Hundred Tales: The Snake Bone Woman.

He holds a red snake in his left hand and a green snake in his right.

"Go and kill, collect more blood for me, so that I may have enough ink to continue writing."

Demon King Yamamoto Gorozaemon released the Jabakuba, allowing her to create chaos at will.

……

The surrounding scenery changed again, and the spider lily and the bellflower arrived at an open area. It was obvious that they had returned to ancient times.

Just by looking at the clear sky, you can tell that this place has not been polluted, conservatively estimated to be before the 18th century.

"...I can smell that guy's stench."

The red spider lily directly locks onto its target.

"That direction..."

Kikyo turned her head to look east, clearly sensing the presence of the Demon King Yamamoto Gorozaemon.

Standing in the field, a familiar forest lies ahead.

The red spider lily knew that it was her territory, and now the Demon King Yamamoto Gorozaemon had run into it, so she took Kikyo and chased after him. But as soon as they reached the edge of the forest, they stopped and looked at each other.

"Did you sense it too? This forest has the presence of many familiar faces: White Wolf, Wild Wolf, and me, though their strength is quite weak."

The timeline was roughly determined; it must have been before she and Kikyo made love.

That is, 550 years ago in modern times.

"Then we'll have to be a little more careful."

The bellflower nodded slightly.

The spider lily directly enveloped her and Kikyo in a concealment spell, making their figures illusory and ultimately invisible.

As they ventured into the mountains behind the forest, the spider lily gradually sensed the spiritual power of the bellflower.

"It seems this is the day we met."

Kikyo recalled what happened back then, never expecting that heartless demon would eventually succeed in pinning her down. It just goes to show how unpredictable fate can be.

"The aura of the Demon King Yamamoto Gorozaemon is here, but it's too weak."

The red spider lily looked up and saw her and Kikyo defeating the snake-bone woman from back then.

At the moment the Snake Bone Granny died, black ink gradually overflowed and was then swallowed by the vines.

"She carries the aura of the Lord of a Hundred Tales; what we are sensing should be her."

Kikyo realized that with the death of Jabba, their connection was severed.

"If the Demon King Yamamoto Gorozaemon discovers that these two weaklings are our past selves, he will most likely choose to kill them, thus making our future selves disappear."

The other shore flower pondered, "Just as I expected, it won't be long before that fat pig comes looking for trouble again, and we just need to wait a while."

……

In the Ou region, the Demon King Yamamoto Gorozaemon chose this place as a place to recuperate. Through the tales of yokai he was sent out, he also learned many things. He never imagined that this era was more than 500 years ago.

With her commander-level strength, Snake Bone Granny swept through the land until she reached the coastal region of Musashi Province, where she was defeated by Higanbana and Kikyo. Demon King Yamamoto Gorozaemon was shocked and then realized that his "old friend" was far too weak.

Compared to what he had seen, it was nothing.

If he wasn't mistaken, this should be the past of the spider lily and the bellflower.

If we kill them here, they will no longer be hunted down in the future.

With this in mind, the Demon King Yamamoto Gorozaemon began to write new ghost stories.

The seventh of the Hundred Tales: Grandma's Fire.

During this period, the Demon King Yamamoto Gorozaemon has created several monsters and spread them extensively throughout the Oshu region.

"Go and kill those two men."

"Demon King Yamamoto Gorozaemon gave the order."

The four Granny Fires immediately left the Ou region.

……

"The Ou region..."

The spider lily and the bellflower seized the opportunity to gather this information.

"Aren't we going to deal with those monsters?"

Kikyo watched as her grandmother and the firemen gradually disappeared into the distance.

If we extinguish Grandma's fire here, the bellflowers and spider lilies in the house will also calm down a bit, referring to them in the past.

"Need not."

The other shore flower knew that her past self needed to kill strong people to become stronger. Granny Fire was just experience. If she were to be dealt with by them, her past self would find it difficult to grow. To be honest, she even thought about turning into some monsters and sending them back.

However, considering that doing so would likely disrupt the schedule again, we decided to abandon the idea.

Upon entering the Ou region, both Higanbana and Kikyo sensed several yokai auras associated with the Demon King Yamamoto Gorozaemon.

"It would be a bit troublesome to solve them one by one."

Kikyo thought it would take several circles to clear it away.

"No, Lu Xun said that we should use the power of the Hundred Tales to deal with the Hundred Tales."

It's just a strange tale; even the Spider Lily can do it, and coincidentally, she also has an SSR-level and an SP-level Aoandon shikigami card.