Gacha games can't save this bizarre world.

The biggest beneficiaries were Nagen and Nakano.

With the blessing of that unknown crimson jade, he tore the Gecko Zen Master apart with his bare hands and absorbed its spiritual energy/miasma. He has directly evolved from an ordinary person with the ability to see ghosts into a Black Iron 2-star superhuman!

Zhao Hao: So, the reason I slacked off at first was actually to avoid interfering with them and allow my disciples to make greater progress in the long run! (Not really)

Zhao Hao speculated that before that, they had actually snatched the "opportunity" from Yuan and Nakano.

If all five barriers were broken by Nakano, then he should have reached the peak of Iron 5-star by the end!

Chapter 435 Schemes, who knows!

The act of Miyoshi Shochu giving the three men a "bath" at the city gate alarmed the gatekeepers who were already watching them.

These people are actually respected Onmyoji!

Immediately, one of the foot soldiers dropped his spear and ran towards the castle tower in the city to report the news.

Meanwhile, Zhao Hao had already walked over from not far away.

"Well done, you didn't embarrass me," Zhao Hao said with a smile.

Everyone felt relieved when they saw Zhao Hao.

Previously, Zhao Hao gave them the impression of being unfathomable and astounding!

The adventure in the secret realm was hard-fought and fierce, and it was hard-won for everyone. This reminded them of the ease they felt when they were with their master Yasuo.

Seeing Zhao Hao return, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

At this moment, Erqian jumped out and said, "Master, look what good things I brought you!"

"Huh?" Zhao Hao was taken aback. There was a gift too?

Er handed over a pink meat belt, saying, "Hey, this is the tongue of a big toad. I specially picked it up to make a belt for my master!"

Zhao Hao immediately thought of Nezha, who pulled out the dragon's tendons to make a belt for his father!

Go to hell with you! Keep it as a belt for yourself!

I was very upset before. This thing is just the right tightness, it can be long or short, it's such a wonderful thing to use as a belt.

Ah! I know, Master must want me to keep it for myself! Master, you love me so much! Waaaaah~

Before anyone could even tie their belts in public, a group of people poured out of the city gate. The leader was dressed in elaborate and ornate clothing, followed by a group of followers and warriors.

"It is an honor to meet you esteemed Onmyoji. I am the steward of the Shimoyashiki family. I humbly request that you grace me with your presence and that the lord of the castle host a banquet in my honor..."

While Zhao Hao and the others were being invited into the castle tower in the city to eat cold food, Na Gen and Nakano also arrived outside the city.

Although he had already washed the bloodstains off his body in the stream, his clothes were still tattered.

Because he looked like a beggar, he was driven away by the spearmen and not allowed to enter the city.

Hungry and exhausted, Nakano huddled in a corner outside the castle, unsure of his fate...

Zhao Hao and his companions were warmly received by the lord of Yashiki Castle.

Initially, the samurai under the command of the lord of Yashiki Castle were very dissatisfied with Zhao Hao's careless attitude and felt that he was very rude.

However, Zhao Hao's single glance was enough to make a group of warriors sweat profusely and freeze in place, too afraid to move.

This undoubtedly demonstrates the strength of the visitors, so naturally they were very welcoming.

In Japan, this intimidating, murderous gaze is called "eye sword," while the ability to sway an opponent's mind with words, even indirectly causing death, is called "tongue sword." Both are military tactics!

Lord Yashiki Castle was a sickly man, very young but also very weak. He would cough every few words during meals, looking like he wouldn't live much longer.

According to him, Yashiki Castle has been plagued by yokai for quite some time, and demons roam freely in the countryside. They desperately need powerful swordsmen and onmyoji like Lord Yasuo to slay the demons and rid the people of this scourge.

Zhao Hao readily agreed, since monster-hunting quests were the easiest. He didn't like puzzle-solving. A mid-lane free-for-all would be much better! He could play all day without getting tired!

That night, as the sun set, a hundred ghosts roamed the night!

Miasma permeated many parts of the city, and demons were causing trouble.

Zhao Hao and his men split up and wiped out the remaining enemies, achieving a small but significant improvement.

Meanwhile, Yuanhe Nakano outside the city was not idle either, because a yokai took the initiative to seek him out!

An uncontrolled battle ensued, resulting in the deaths of a large number of demons, both large and small, leaving behind a trail of severed limbs and a pervasive miasma.

Nakano's eyes were bloodshot, and the magatama on his neck gleamed crimson...

The next morning, Zhao Hao and his friends finished their night of super-experience-boosting monsters, and Zhao Hao encountered Yoshino Rei entering the city.

She is, after all, a young lady from a wealthy family, and she has plenty of supplies. It's impossible for her to be denied entry into the city like Nakano was, simply because she looked like a beggar.

When Yoshino Senta saw his young mistress, he was so excited that he almost knelt down and kowtowed.

Yoshino Rei had been fawning over Zhao Hao, and she'd finally realized he was a golden goose! A golden goose, time to cling to him!

As the saying goes, plans can't keep up with changes, especially since this plan was made hundreds of years ago.

This is like Ashe using her ultimate to cross the entire map and shoot a low-health enemy in the top lane. Admittedly, it involves a lot of gambling.

And sure enough, things went wrong. Zhao Hao and his group got involved.

Because of Zhao Hao and others' strong intervention, not only were the Five Poisons, Five Directions, and Five Elements Realms quickly broken, but even the "hundred ghosts causing chaos" in the city were wiped out overnight, directly pushing the side quest to its end!

However, the chosen protagonist not only failed to meet the required strength, but even entering the city was difficult!

Nakano was starving, and after killing a group of monsters the night before, the energy (spiritual energy) in his body had increased. As he drifted off to sleep, a voice whispered in his ear, urging him on.

So, after not doing anything wrong for seventeen or eighteen years, he stole something—food—and managed to sneak into the city.

He worried that he would encounter a large number of monsters outside the city.

The rules of the secret realm continued to operate, albeit haltingly.

……

"So this is the final boss!" Zhao Hao said softly.

Given the strength displayed by Zhao Hao and his group, and considering the urgency of the situation, the lord of Yashiki Castle told the truth: his family had been cursed for generations, and virtually no one lived past thirty!

He's 24 now and still doesn't have any children; it looks like the Yashiki family line is about to end.

So asking Zhao Hao and the others for help to lift the curse was a last resort.

After seeing the curse on his body, Zhao Hao understood seven-tenths of it.

At this moment, many eyeballs grew on the chest, abdomen, and back of the lord of Yashiki Castle!

That's right, they're eyeballs that dart around randomly, capable of closing their eyes but without eyelashes, totaling twenty-four. No head of a household has yet been able to handle thirty eyeballs.

Legend has it that there was once a wealthy young lady who lived a life of luxury but was spiritually empty. One day, she suddenly discovered that she felt an unusual sense of satisfaction from doing bad things, and so she fell into depravity.

However, evil deeds have their retribution. Over time, a tumor grew on her body, and when the tumor opened, it was an eye.

For every evil she did, she grew an extra eye; when she had a hundred eyes, she died.

After she died, she transformed into a hundred-eyed demon.

It is said that this monster can kill people and steal their eyes. If it collects a hundred suitable eyeballs, it can advance to the Bronze level and become a great monster.

Legend has it that when a sorcerer went to subdue her, she already had 98 eyes. The evil light emanating from her 98 eyes rendered the sorcerer unable to move. In order to prevent the demon from gathering a hundred eyes, the sorcerer destroyed his own eyes. Finally, he used the ash of incense to seal the two main eyes on the head of the hundred-eyed demon before he was able to subdue her.

Although the legends differ slightly, they illustrate how terrifying the Hundred-Eyed Demon is. It is a demon with great potential, capable of reaching the Bronze level.

The Yashiki Castle lord family was possessed by a Hundred-Eyed Demon. Or rather, their family was the sealed vessel of the Hundred-Eyed Demon.

Is this the ultimate test Ashiya Dōman prepared? Or does he have other plans?

Zhao Hao disliked solving puzzles, so he found Yuanhe Nakano, who was hiding in the city, in the east. Now, the entire secret realm held no more secrets for Zhao Hao.

Meanwhile, Nakano was debating whether or not to steal a piece of clothing.

Fortunately, Zhao Hao resolved his worries.

"Come with me. I think you've been terrified here too. Don't worry, it'll all be over soon, and we'll be back in the real world!"

Nakano didn't understand Zhao Hao's meaning, but he gritted his teeth and followed anyway, as he had no other choice.

……

"We need to release this hundred-eyed demon and then deal with it," Zhao Hao said to the others.

As for what will happen to this secret realm in the end, that's another story. Anyway, Zhao Hao is going to pack it up and take it with him.

Zhao Hao had Qian Ge lead everyone to set up a barrier, which he then reinforced himself, trying his best not to interfere with them and thus avoid wasting this rare opportunity for growth.

At that moment, the steward of the Yashiki family rushed over, carrying a jar.

"Lord Yaso, this... this is a jar passed down from the Yashiki family ancestors. They say that if one day we want to remove the curse, we will need to use this jar!"

Zhao Hao took the jar, held it up to his eyes with one hand, and laughed. "So that's how it is."

It seems that by throwing punches and beating the master, he has forced the master to reveal himself.

"Hey, Nakano. Here, open this and take a look." Zhao Hao tossed him the small jar, which Nakano hurriedly caught, flustered and clumsy.

"Me? Me?" He didn't understand why Yasuo, the swordsman, would open this thing for him.

Among all these people in front of me, I should be the most clueless novice.

However, he obediently opened it, and a ghost floated out of the jar.

"Who disturbed the sleeping spirit? That's very impolite!" The ghost dressed as a monk, but with hair, holding a staff, and with squinty eyes but quite handsome, and seemed rather approachable.

"Who...who are you?" Nakano asked.

"Me? Just a washed-up ghost. Ashiya Dōman, have you ever heard of me?"

……

The Hundred-Eyed Demon was released from the Lord of Yashiki Castle. This was not an ordinary Hundred-Eyed Demon, but a creature with an extremely deformed, twisted, and swollen appearance, resembling a fusion of an elephant, a rhinoceros, a giraffe, two lions, and five hyenas. It was enormous, nearly five meters tall!

Its body parts are twisted and bizarre, some are thin and long, some are short and thick, some have sharp claws, hooves, fish tails, bird claws, you name it. Its lower body is a wriggling mass, and its upper body is covered with eyes of different sizes and shapes, even the pupils are all strange and bizarre!

This is a hundred-eyed demon that transformed from a monster into a cursed spirit, and was further bewitched by some unknown strange object!

Those ordinary people and samurai only needed to glance at this thing to go blind and bleed from their eyes!

Zhao Hao stood beside Ashiya Doman's spirit, watching his disciples fight the pseudo-bronze Hundred-Eyed Demon, and said softly, "Master Doman actually studied such extraordinary things, truly admirable!"

Ashiya Doman, while casting a spell to restrain Hyakume's movements, replied, "That was hundreds of years ago. I'm just a remnant soul now. Besides, all my scheming ultimately resulted in this grotesque transformation. People these days are truly amazing. Lord Yasuo, at such a young age, has already achieved such cultivation. It's truly... unbelievable!"