I transformed into a demonic spider lily.

If there aren't any extra guys talking...

"It was the same when my brother and sister went down."

Asagi said in a very low voice.

"……Um?"

Upon hearing this, Higanbana turned around and glanced at Asagi. This guy kept saying those unlucky things, and she was worried that his words would become a causal law and curse them to death.

"No~"

Asagi immediately shut his mouth.

"flower."

The interior of the Roaring Cauldron was like an abyss; standing on the edge and looking down, one could not see the bottom. Kikyo gripped the hand of the Spider Lily even tighter, but felt no fear, for the other gave her a sense of security.

"Ah."

After exchanging a glance, the red spider lily and the bellflower silently counted down in their hearts: three, two, one. Almost at the same time, they jumped down together.

The flames inside the furnace attempted to burn them, but Kikyo immediately adjusted her posture in mid-air and hugged the waist of the spider lily. Her "Phoenix Feather Robe" exempted her from the first wave of heat.

The bottomless pit was filled with flames and countless boulders suspended in mid-air. Beside the boulders, numerous loose stones swirled. To the falling spider lily and bellflower, these stones appeared to be rising upwards, hurtling towards them with the same force.

Seeing this, the spider lily wrapped one arm around the bellflower's waist, and with the other hand, she held down her umbrella, spreading out a scarlet barrier, and continued to descend towards the bottom, avoiding the boulders blocking her way.

But the further down she went, the weaker her demonic power became. By the middle of the journey, she couldn't even open her barrier anymore. Her color gradually became transparent, and she even turned into smoke and dissipated. Just then, a huge rock was about to collide with her.

—Umbrella Sword!

The other shore expended great effort to split the boulder. Skills that she used to use casually now required a three-second charge before they could be released. The suppression of the Roaring Cauldron was far too great for her, even more severe than she had anticipated. No wonder the Four Gods of War, knowing that their power was sealed here, dared not venture deep inside to reclaim it.

The giant rock was cleaved in two by the umbrella sword, but after it was cleaved, another giant rock "rose" up from below. It was a case of surviving a great calamity only to be followed by a finishing blow, which disgusted the spider lily.

"Go, Arrow of Destruction!"

Kikyo drew an arrow. Since her current posture was not suitable for drawing a bow, and given the proximity of the boulder, she could simply throw it to shatter it. The boulder was shattered into fragments by the deep purple spiritual energy, scattering in all directions. She stretched out a hand, and a spiritual energy barrier enveloped her and the spider lily.

After a series of close calls, Higanbana landed on a boulder with Kikyo in her arms. She looked at the other person in astonishment, who could still use his abilities so smoothly.

“Hana, I can feel your demonic power waning, but my spiritual power seems unaffected. Perhaps this sacred artifact is only effective against demons,” Kikyo explained.

"Unexpectedly, this thing is quite hypocritical." The other shore flower steadied herself, patted the dust off her clothes, and realized that this matter was more dangerous than she had anticipated.

What exactly are you looking for?

Kikyo asked again, explaining that she and the Lycoris radiata had ventured deep into the Resonating Cauldron, but there was nothing else around them except for flames and boulders.

"If we obtain the power that the Four War Gods have sealed, we can draw them all out," said the Spider Lily.

"How do you know that the power of the Four Heavenly Kings is sealed in a place like this?" Upon hearing this, Kikyo was indeed puzzled. Could this be information that the other party had found out? The yokai that was asked about must be quite powerful as well.

"It was Asagi who said it."

The other shore flower remained unfazed.

"is it?"

I have absolutely no recollection of bellflower.

"Now is not the time to discuss such things. We probably need to continue downwards. Kikyo, perhaps I need your help."

Higanbana clenched the "Mermaid Soul Crystal" in her hand. The demonic power inside was enough for her to take Kikyo away from the Roaring Cauldron, but leaving now would be meaningless.

"Hua, there's something I have to say. Although the sacred artifact doesn't affect me, the flames here have exceeded our limits."

Kikyo had no specific concept of temperature; she only knew that the flames burning around her were hotter than any flames released by any yokai she had ever seen before. Fortunately, the flames were burning silently to the side rather than turning into streaks of fire to attack them.

Even so, she couldn't hold on for much longer. Asagi's reminder wasn't without reason. If they stayed any longer, Kikyo judged that they would be buried here forever in less than fifteen minutes.

"whispering sound……"

Upon hearing this, the other shore flower glanced down at the bottom of the resounding cauldron, but still couldn't see the bottom. Who knows how such a sacred artifact was made? It must be at least two thousand meters deep. Maybe they dug all the way to the underworld.

In ancient times, the underworld and the mortal world were on the ground and underground, respectively. Later, they were separated for some reason. If the depths of this place are connected to the underworld of this world, then this endless flame can be explained.

This is the true Red Lotus Karmic Fire.

Rather than a manufactured counterfeit.

However, in this era, the underworld is separated from the mortal world. Although the Roaring Cauldron is deep, it cannot truly reach the "underground," which is why it appears here as a bottomless pit.

This became a bug in the world.

In other words, there was no point in going any further down. The other shore flower clenched her fists. Was she going to leave empty-handed this time? She felt a headache coming on.

"……Why?"

A voice came from the side.

"Kikyo, let's go."

The red spider lily thought it was the bellflower urging her on.

"Wait, are there other people here?"

But Kikyo realized what was happening and immediately turned around, shouting in the direction the voice came from, "Who is it?!"

Holy crap?

They actually came out...

Higanbana, who had already given up searching for Souhime's soul, suddenly felt her headache disappear. She turned her head to look behind Kikyo and saw a wisp of light flickering there.

"The door to the Roaring Cauldron was opened once three months ago, so why is it being opened again now?"

The voice was filled with confusion until the fluorescent light coalesced into a ball of light. The other party seemed to "see" the two people in front of them and asked again: "Youkai, priestess, did you open the door to the Roaring Cauldron?"

"……Who are you?"

The red spider lily asks a question knowing the answer already.

"I am the guardian priestess of this island—Kanade."

After saying that, Zouhime's soul changed form again, transforming from the original ball of light into a woman of about twenty-five years old. She wore a light gray top and a light purple skirt, with long, straight black hair reaching her waist. She wore a cross-shaped headband, giving her a somewhat samurai-like appearance.

With her emerald green eyes fixed on the spider lily and the bellflower, Souhime continued, "Why have you come? I don't want to ask anymore. Shrine maiden from another land, you have the mark left by the Four War Gods on your back. You must have clashed with those guys."

Kanade turned to look at Kikyo.

"Hmm, could you please tell us about the Four War Gods?" Kikyo suddenly remembered that Asagi had mentioned a shrine maiden who taught their older sister a lot of knowledge, and this was probably the one in front of them.

"The Four War Gods, Long Luo, Xiong Luo, Shou Luo, and Gang Luo, these four demons, about three hundred years ago in the outside world, together with a group of demons, tried to seize the sacred artifact, the Resonating Cauldron, from the island. I fought alongside the demons on the island, but unfortunately, I was not skilled in exorcising demons and was ultimately defeated. Even so, at the last moment, I still used my own life to seal the power of the Four War Gods, right here in this endless Red Lotus Karmic Fire."

Upon hearing this, Zou Ji didn't mince words and continued, "I already know your purpose in coming here. It's to find a way to fight against the Four War Gods, isn't it?"

Kikyo replied, "That's right."

"But unfortunately, I am powerless to help you. Compared to my advice, priestess, your innate power to ward off evil is no weaker than that of the one I once knew. With such spiritual power, you should be able to defeat the Four War Gods whose power I sealed on your own."

Zouji looked puzzled, as if asking, "How did you guys get so thoroughly beaten?"

"It's just that they've been accused of 'lacking martial ethics'."

Higanbana gave Souhime a perfunctory reply, then went straight to the point: "I need the power of the Four War Gods that you sealed away. You know those guys can't beat us, so they've stopped fighting us. And the 'Time Barrier' you once set up on the island will be repaired at dawn. If we want to leave then, it will be another fifty years. We can't wait until then..."

"……I see."

Upon hearing this, Zou Ji was no idiot and instantly understood the other party's purpose. So she nodded slightly and said, "Of course, no problem. Although I sealed the power of the Four War Gods back then, the sealing technique is never eternal. My soul is not what it used to be due to the erosion of time. I can still maintain a human form now, but perhaps not long after, I will not even be able to maintain a human form, let alone my sealing technique."

After saying that, Kanade took out an exquisite box from somewhere and handed it to Kikyo, continuing, "The power of the Four Gods is inside this box. I put a barrier on the box, but the effect of the barrier is weakening year by year. I suppose the seal will be broken in another twenty or thirty years."

"Or perhaps a monster no weaker than the Four War Gods in their prime could be defeated. In any case, please be careful not to open this box before all the Four War Gods are defeated, otherwise, their power will be restored," Kanade solemnly reminded her.

"I see."

Kikyo accepted the jade box with both hands.

However, just as their hands met, Kanade suddenly exclaimed in surprise, "Huh? Why do you have that shrine maiden's aura in your spiritual power?"

"Who is that priestess?"

Kikyo asked, puzzled.

"Suiko! Could she be your ancestor? No wonder you have such powerful magic-breaking abilities. Like mother, like daughter... Uh, what generation would that be after three or four hundred years? I never expected that the shrine maiden would actually get married."

For some reason, Zouji suddenly muttered to herself, "Liar!"

The tone was quite resentful.

“Miko the Shrine Maiden? You mean the Shikon Jewel, right?”

Upon hearing this, Kikyo realized what was happening and placed the Shikon Jewel in front of Kanade, explaining, "Suiko was besieged by demons hundreds of years ago. In the end, due to exhaustion, she could only seal the demons and herself together. The aura you just sensed is probably this."

"Sealing technique?"

Upon seeing this, Zou Ji first breathed a sigh of relief, then looked very worried.

"You...know that witch?"

To be honest, Higanbana was a little curious because both Midori and Kanade were quite famous priestesses in "Inuyasha," so how did these two priestesses know each other?

"Suiko, she's a very good woman."

That's what Kanade said.

"???"

The red spider lily and the bellflower together asked a question.

Something's wrong with you...

Their expressions were exactly the same.

Chapter 115 Kikyo's Epic Enhancement; Kikyo Takes the "Blue" One [4K]

"Ah~ don't misunderstand, I only met Midori by chance." Seeing the increasingly subtle expressions on Higanbana and Kikyo's faces, Kanade said evasively.

"Oh, we believe you."

The red spider lily and the bellflower spoke in unison.

"Actually, it wasn't too superficial. I was born in Sado Province as the daughter of refugees, while Midori came from Kyoto as a descendant of a noble family. We met in Echigo Province and spent some time together. I still remember those days vividly..."

So women all have one thing in common: they tend to cover up certain embarrassing things. But this covering up isn't to make the other person believe them; rather, it reinforces their belief that their guesses are correct. This contradictory conflict is exactly what Kanade wants to express. She's saying, "My relationship with Midori is anything but ordinary!"