Great, we're doomed now!

Unlike his current high spirits, back then Ye Shou had not yet stepped into the realm of the extraordinary. When he first heard of Su Nagaki's existence, it was like a bolt from the blue, and it completely changed his original life plan.

In order to suppress Sukuna Oni, Ye Shou invested heavily and successfully rebuilt the shrine, attracting worshippers and increasing its popularity for Nishikida Keiryu. The "Cat Priest" was actually created to represent Sukuna Oni.

However, due to the combined effects of his "unlucky constitution" and the "golden rule," Ye Shou has always had "strong luck" in this area. Whether good or bad, he's always prone to unexpected gains.

Speaking of which, I even had someone gender-swap Sukuna-ki in a manga back then... Of course, it had no real meaning, it was just to vent my anger, and thinking about it now makes me smile.

Thinking this, Ye Shou arrived at the worship hall, led by his staff.

Because of its high location, it's easy to see that the approach to the temple is full of tourists. At least a thousand men, women, and children pass through the first torii gate. Some will enter the forest through the side paths, while others will go straight to the main attraction, passing through the torii gate passage to reach the worship hall and the main hall.

Upon seeing this, Ye Shou exclaimed in surprise, "So many people?"

In modern Japanese society, people only visit shrines during the Lunar New Year and at most visit famous shrines when traveling. But now, even though it's not peak tourist season, there are so many tourists.

"This is already a result of limiting the flow of people due to security concerns."

Liuli had anticipated Ye Shou's reaction. She took out her tablet and brought up a chart: "After the release of the hot-blooded adventure manga based on Lord Jinglong, the response was initially lukewarm due to the old-fashioned theme, and the popularity was mediocre."

I know that Lord Ye Shou values ​​this project highly, so we immediately moved into the stage of adapting the manga into an anime series. We also invited doujinshi artists to create a lot of derivative works. As for promotion, we added collaborations and dungeons to several popular online games such as ALO, GGO, and Tomorrow.

Judging from the data, the anime's popularity increased significantly after its release—after all, we allocated a theatrical budget to each episode.

The multi-faceted and in-depth promotional activities involving games, music, fan works, and merchandise have also helped maintain the momentum.

Incidentally, due to this popularity, the black cat that serves as a priest at the shrine recently became a phenomenal mascot, deeply loved by the public.

"Who? Xiao Hei?" Ye Shou was taken aback, just looking at that cold and fierce aura...

"You'll see when you take a look."

Ye Shou was led into the shop, where he saw a large cat dressed as a priest sitting cross-legged behind the offering box. It was motionless like a Buddha statue, coldly watching each believer with its long, narrow pupils.

Parents brought their children over for photos, but the cat priest remained seated and motionless, not only refusing to perform his duties but even giving them a look of disgust and displeasure—but the family seemed quite excited.

After several rounds, some children even cried from being frightened when they stared at the big cat. As a result, the surrounding crowd rushed to take out their phones to film the scene, as if they had won the lottery.

"..."

What the heck? I don't understand!

Ye Shou blinked, his gaze turning to the maid with a puzzled look: "What's this?"

"The cat priest's 'persona' is that he can scare children to tears."

"This can be used as a mascot?"

"That's just how the Japanese are!"

Liuli bluntly commented, "About half of the mascots for various events are the work of lunatics. In comparison, our Cat Priest is quite tasteful."

"...That's true." Ye Shou glanced at them a couple more times, but couldn't figure out what these tourists were so excited about, so he gave up indifferently.

-

Without any staff, Ye Shou, his two companions, and a cat arrived at the Dragon Cave where Sukunaki's heart was sealed. The repeatedly reinforced barrier effectively dissipated the malevolent energy, but Sukunaki was, after all, a character capable of appearing in the Arcane Realm. The deeper they went, the more terrifying the oppressive feeling became, indicating that Sukunaki still retained considerable power.

[Hehehehe... Ye Shou... Jing Long... you're here again.]

In the dark space, a heart the size of a house was slowly beating, and Sukuna's sinister voice rang out.

What's wrong? Did you miss me?

"I guess so, I just came to see you."

Ye Shou said gently, "Since you're not doing well, I'm relieved."

"..."

A gust of cold wind blew, and a phantom giant ghost head appeared before everyone. Sukuna-ki glared fiercely at Ye Shou.

It's you! It's definitely you!

I know you've always wanted to destroy me, and you even spent a fortune rebuilding the shrine for it, but so what? My resentment will never be quelled.

Perhaps you think you can make Jinglong famous through storytelling and Kabuki performances, but you've overlooked the fact that I, his nemesis, will also gain the same level of fame!

"..."

Why aren't you saying anything? Have you realized how foolish you've been?

"It's nothing, it's just... um."

Jinglong hesitated for a moment, but still honestly said, "Actually, what we call storybooks nowadays are comics, and in comics... how should I put it, you are not my nemesis, the demon Onijuro is."

What?! Who is that?!

Sukuna was extremely shocked, and even his hideous demon face twisted in shock.

[Jinglong, you bastard, how could you resort to such tricks, deliberately belittling my status? Don't you feel ashamed?]

"...No, not really."

Jinglong pondered for a moment: "Ghost Tenro is indeed much stronger than you. If we have to talk about a nemesis, he is more suitable than you."

【Huh?! Jinglong!】

As the roar reached its final point, Sukuna's voice suddenly became shrill, and the giant demon head blurred into a whirlwind before coalescing into a two-meter-tall humanoid form.

"Ye Shou, Jing Long! How dare you fool me like this! When I break through this barrier, I will make sure you are reduced to ashes!"

"..."

"..."

From Ye Shou to Liu Li, from Jing Long to Hei Mao, everyone stared wide-eyed at the scene before them in astonishment.

"Why aren't you saying anything!"

Sukuna-ki grinned, "Are you intimidated by my mighty power?!"

"This is no longer a matter of whether you're virile or not... Although it's abrupt, I'd like to ask, Lord Sukuna, you wouldn't be using the incense and faith from outside to cultivate, would you?"

Ye Shou looked at it sincerely: "How long has this been going on?"

"Hahaha~ You didn't expect that, did you? Besides my martial arts skills, I also know a little about magic."

"You want to strengthen Jinglong, but I want a piece of the pie too! I'll get this seal sooner or later—what are you doing?"

Su Na Gui was stunned when Ye Shou pulled out a full-length mirror from somewhere and handed it to him.

"It would be best to take a look."

Ye Shou's expression was so serious... even a little sympathetic.

pity?

Is there anything about me that deserves sympathy?

I felt a little uneasy...

"Playing tricks!"

Sukuna snatched the mirror and casually glanced inside—

"This, this..."

A figure nearly two meters tall froze on the spot.

His tall frame, with two plump, fruit-like mounds, and a waist that, while not slender, exuded strength without an ounce of fat, perfectly connected to his rounded, firm thighs.

The figure in the mirror had a pair of demonic horns, a head of long, pale hair, eyes as red and ferocious as a demon's, white bone skulls adorning its earlobes, and a ruthless and cold expression—

"A woman! It's a woman! Ahhhhhh!"

The mirror shattered instantly!

"No! What's going on?!"

"This humble servant—bah! This great lord—this great lord… how could I possibly be a woman!"

The ground shook violently.

-

Everyone looked somber as they emerged from the Dragon Cave.

"Speaking of which, doesn't 'Two-Faced Nuo' originally imply the unity of Yin and Yang?"

Ruri explained from a folklore perspective: "Two heads and four arms, this may be a legend left by conjoined twins... Of course, Sukuna-ki is probably not like that."

"Judging from the situation when I fought him, all his vital organs were in duplicate, so he should indeed have a 'sibling,' but he probably ate the other one while still in his mother's womb."

Jinglong pondered, "Is it because the yin aspect has always existed within the body, and it has been induced, that's why such a drastic change has occurred?"

"What a misfortune," Ye Shou sighed. "Alas~ I actually had someone's gender changed. You should know that this was not my intention. I still have great respect for Su Nagiya."

Upon hearing this, the other two people and the cat couldn't help but look at Ye Shou with surprise. Even Liuli couldn't help but bite her lip, as if she was enduring something.

Chapter 157 Now you know what cutting-edge technology is, right?

Despite all that happened, Ye Shou still managed to obtain a biological tissue sample from Sukuna and brought it to Dr. Yao's research institute.

After the Kuze Group made a large-scale investment in TPC, most of the scientists received financial and equipment assistance and began to collaborate with the group's laboratories, especially in Japan. It can be said that Kuze and TPC have become one entity.

The Kuse father and son showed great patience towards these idealistic researchers, neither pressuring them to produce results quickly nor rushing to monetize their efforts, but simply serving as a "reliable support."

Scientific research is never a solitary endeavor. No matter how brilliant someone is, they need a team to realize their ideas. Kuze's support is comprehensive, and they even help them navigate government relations and access some sensitive resources.

The scientists had nothing to object to except gratitude and joy. Even if they had some concerns, they were ultimately converted into trust thanks to the consistent and unwavering support of the Kuze Group.

The same applies to Dr. Yao's "Megasys Institute," and his project receives special attention, receiving several times the funding of others.

Liuli once said that if Dr. Yamata refused Ye Shou's request, she could bypass him and steal the core data directly. She wasn't one to speak carelessly; she must have been very confident to say that.

In fact, from Dr. Yao down, most of the people in the institute were on the list of the Kuze Group's "talent training program" and received funding for both their work and life... Strictly speaking, it was not theft, but rather a legitimate random inspection.

Of course, Ye Shou would not allow such an extreme situation to occur, which is why he would reveal some confidential information in order to achieve mutual understanding between the two sides.

When Yao Meifan saw the sample brought by Ye Shou, even though he was mentally prepared, he still couldn't help but say, "Is this the living sample of the monster codenamed [Sukuna Oni]? It's unbelievable... With so much evidence in front of me, it's still hard for me to believe that there is such a 'creature' that completely subverts common sense."

The video of Obik's battle with the tanuki had already spread all over the world, and scientists were naturally very interested. However, both the government and the Kuze Group tacitly blocked the news, and the scene had been cleared in advance, so the outside world did not know the details.

The idea of ​​aliens or man-made weapons is also widely circulated.

When Ye Shou told two trustworthy scientists about the existence of "Sukuna-ki" and the inside story of that great battle—Yao Meiban and Professor Agasa (this is his real name; the pronunciation of his surname Agasa is similar to that of the famous detective novelist Agatha Christie, and "Professor" is his given name).

Both of them were extremely shocked, but now that Sawai had vouched for them, had personally spoken with Dr. Nezu, and had brought biological samples, they had no choice but to believe it.