My personal opinion on Gensokyo

Outside the deep and dark cave, countless light points of pale white brilliance filled the entrance of the cave.

Standing outside this deep cave, the witch raised her slender white jade hand and slowly swept it across the diffuse light.

Shallow ripples like water waves appeared on the empty atmosphere.

Sensing the pale white light that permeated the place and the warmth and softness that reached her fingertips, a trace of admiration rose from the depths of the witch's heart.

Even hundreds of years after her death, the spirit of that witch from the war-torn world is still guarding this cave, preventing the evil spirit from deep within the cave from leaking out and spreading.

Instead of using her spiritual power to dissolve the defense of the ancient protective barrier covering the cave entrance, Kikyo opened her mind and let her thoughts be transmitted to the pure and kind heart of the priestess who had died hundreds of years ago and was condensed in the protective barrier.

As if sensing Kikyo's equally kind and pure heart touching the barrier, the barrier guarding the cave removed its defenses and allowed Kikyo to slowly step into the barrier.

As he stepped into the barrier, the filthy evil energy accumulated in the cave was so strong that it would make ordinary people who rashly stepped into the cave faint and die.

Kikyo frowned slightly.

Even though she is now a non-human and will not be affected too much by the evil spirits of monsters, she is still not used to being in an environment filled with such evil spirits.

What's more, the dense evil energy accumulated in this cave is also a hidden danger to nearby creatures.

The protective barrier that embodies the soul of the witch hundreds of years ago will eventually disappear. When that happens, the dense evil energy accumulated in the cave will leak out, and ordinary creatures within dozens of miles will be threatened.

While the witch was thinking, the young man with gray hair naturally passed through the barrier guarding the cave entrance and came into the interior of the cave.

Unlike Kikyo, he did not seek the recognition of the barrier. After the death of the witch hundreds of years ago, the protective barrier condensed by her will could not prevent the master of Yunzhongting from breaking through its defense.

The power that turned the balance of all things eliminated the resistance of the barrier, and the barrier's obstruction did not fall on Shang Yang at all.

Seeing this, the shrine maiden beside him was not surprised. The spiritual power of the shrine maiden hundreds of years ago could not hinder the master of the monsters in the human world.

They went deep into the long and deep cave, and then, in the magnificent cave that suddenly opened up, Shang Yang and Kikyo saw the secrets buried in this cave which was regarded as a holy place by the people in the monster extermination village.

Countless hideous and terrifying monsters of various appearances twisted their bodies together and transformed into a huge, strange and terrifying monster, roaring and greedily rushing towards a certain part of their strange bodies.

There, a beautiful and awe-inspiring shrine maiden with long black hair and snow-white skin, wearing armor and wielding a sword, was bravely fighting against the attack of strange monsters.

But even so, the solitary witch had already reached her limit. The terrifying monster formed by the fusion of countless monsters had already swallowed up the witch's lower body with its ferocious and terrifying mouth, and was about to eat up her entire body.

However, this terrifying giant monster could no longer devour the priestess completely.

Its huge body has long been transformed into a stalactite-like stone statue after being deposited over the long years.

Along with the remaining body of the fearless and selfless witch, she was forever frozen in the depths of this dark cave.

This was the final scene of the final battle between the shrine maiden and the monsters hundreds of years ago.

"Miko Cuizi..."

Standing in front of countless monsters and the stalactite-like remains of the shrine maiden who lived hundreds of years ago, Kikyo whispered the name of the shrine maiden who lived hundreds of years ago.

The shrine maiden Tsuiko was a shrine maiden who was born hundreds of years ago, at the end of the Heian period.

In that era, the power of the nobles who had governed the world for hundreds of years was slowly declining, and the samurai gradually gained power and seized control of the imperial court in Kyoto. To determine who would ultimately rule the country, the samurai leaders, the Taira clan and the Minamoto clan, waged a long and turbulent war across the land.

In the war-torn world of the Genpei War, countless soldiers and civilians died in years of famine and war, and countless corpses were eaten by monsters lurking deep in the mountains and forests. As a result, countless greedy monsters were born that harmed the people.

Therefore, in that war-torn world hundreds of years ago, many brave warriors and compassionate monks and mages worked to eliminate monsters. Among them, the shrine maiden Tsuiko was one of the most powerful shrine maidens of that time.

The shrine maiden Tsuiko used the secret technique of extracting the souls of monsters, making them lose their power, and then killing and purifying them. She protected countless people and farmers who were attacked by monsters and was the most well-known and famous shrine maiden at that time.

However, because of this, countless monsters who deeply hated the shrine maiden Tsurugi gathered together and fought a decisive battle with her.

In order to defeat the priestess Tsuriko, countless greedy and ferocious monsters who hated her forcibly merged and devoured each other, turning into a huge and terrifying monster.

The shrine maiden Tsuiko, with the determination to sacrifice herself, fought a desperate battle with this huge and terrifying monster.

After the brutal battle lasted for seven days and seven nights, the human priestess Tsuiko finally ran out of spiritual power and physical strength, and was trapped by huge strange monsters and fell into the monsters' greedy and ferocious mouths.

However, just as the exhausted shrine maiden Tsuiko was about to be swallowed up by the monsters who were greedily gnawing at her body, she used her last bit of strength and used the secret technique of extracting souls, sucking all the evil souls of countless monsters into her own soul.

However, the witch Tsuiko eventually no longer had the strength to purify the evil souls of the monsters. The souls of the monsters entangled with the soul of the witch Tsuiko and merged together, turning into a crystal of the soul, which bounced out from the heart of the witch Tsuiko.

Therefore, the terrifying monsters that lost their souls and the remains of the shrine maiden Tsuiko turned into stone statues like stalactites.

Since then, the Four Souls Jade, which was formed by the entanglement and fusion of the souls of the monsters and the priestess Tsuiko, has been passed down through the hands of countless monsters and mortals, bringing countless lamentable misfortunes to the world.

Looking at the remains of the shrine maiden Tsuiko, who was forever frozen here after being eaten by countless monsters, Kikyo's heart was unexpectedly calm.

After gently paying homage to the shrine maiden who had protected countless suffering people hundreds of years ago, before Kikyo could make any further move, the incomplete remains of the shrine maiden Tsuiko, which were about to be eaten up by countless monsters and turned into stalactites, suddenly shone with a warm and soft faint light.

In the soft and gentle aura, the shadow of a beautiful woman with long black hair, snow-white skin, wearing protective armor and holding a samurai sword gradually emerged above the remains of the shrine maiden.

The beautiful woman with long black hair and snow-white skin slowly opened her eyes. Her clear and bright eyes looked indifferently at the witch and the young man who came to visit the place where her remains were left for the first time in hundreds of years.

The beautiful woman's gaze only lasted for a very short time. Then, the shadow of the beautiful woman turned into a bright spiritual light. After circling around the remains of the shrine maiden Cuizi and the terrifying monsters, it slowly fell and landed in the palm of... the young man's hand.

Shang Yang was a little surprised when he saw the tiny jade bead of soul transformed from the spiritual light that fell into his hand.

Similarly, Platycodon, who was standing next to Shang Yang, seemed to be thinking about something.

Volume 6: Thoughts Across Time and Space: Chapter 459: A Mysterious Place in the Mountains

This jade bead, which radiated a warm glow and fell into Shang Yang's hands, was obviously the soul of the witch Cui Zi that remained deep within the remains.

But what surprised Shang Yang a little was that the soul of this priestess who passed away hundreds of years ago did not choose to give the last power to Kikyo who had completely given up her heart to her, but instead formed the Pearl of Dead Soul and fell into his hands.

According to the original historical trajectory, Kikyo would come here while chasing Naraku, and gain recognition from the remaining thoughts of the shrine maiden Tsuruko, and use the residual power of the shrine maiden Tsuruko's dead soul to restore her injured soul.

The reason why Kikyo came to visit this place now was that she intended to completely resolve the last regret of the shrine maiden Tsuiko who was trapped here, and let the shrine maiden Tsuiko get rid of the remaining thoughts here.

However, what was unexpected was that the witch Cui Zi who remained here missed her. After seeing all the causes and conditions in the depths of Kikyo's soul, she did not let go of her regrets. Instead, she formed a dead soul pearl with the dead soul deep in her remains and voluntarily entrusted it to Shang Yang.

"...Do I have to see the Four Souls Jade completely disappear?"

Looking at the soul bead, Shang Yang sighed.

"You are also very obsessed."

Hundreds of years ago, after the final battle between the shrine maiden Tsuiko and the monsters, her soul was forced to combine with the evil thoughts of countless monsters into a Four Souls Jade. She was trapped in the depths of the Four Souls Jade, fighting the evil thoughts of the monsters forever, unable to be freed. The remaining thoughts outside were also trapped at the place where she died because she did not completely eliminate the obsession and regret of the monsters.

Hearing Shang Yang's comment with a sigh, Kikyo was no longer surprised.

She cannot let go of the Four Souls Jade that will always bring disaster to the world, and the shrine maiden Tsuiko will not let go of this obsession and seek liberation.

She is very similar to the shrine maiden Tsuiko, both of them have deep obsessions and find it difficult to let go.

Shang Yang, who had already considered how to use the Soul Pearl, which was formed by the remaining thoughts and dead soul of the priestess Cui Zi, put it away casually.

Without the suppression of the remaining thoughts of the priestess Tsuiko for hundreds of years, countless dead souls emitting greedy and evil thoughts surged from the hideous skeletons of countless monsters that turned into stalactites, roaring and gradually filling the depths of the cave.

Because of the regret of not completely eliminating the monsters and the disaster caused by them, the thoughts of the shrine maiden Tsuyoshi from hundreds of years ago remain here. Similarly, the monsters that did not completely devour the shrine maiden Tsuyoshi also left behind a lot of greedy and evil thoughts in the depths of this dark cave.

Without the suppression of the priestess Cuizi's thoughts, only the greedy and evil spirits of the monsters remained, unconsciously devouring each other, and even rushed over, instinctively wanting to devour Shangyang and Platycodon.

Of course, the master of Yunzhongting does not need to care about the greedy souls of these long-dead monsters.

The Yin-Yang power that distorts everything and the "principles of this world" is like having an independent consciousness. It instantly transforms into pure white "Yin-Yang Yang Energy", entwining and trapping countless greedy souls of the dead monsters, twisting them at will.

The countless greedy souls of the long-dead monsters were arbitrarily crushed by the yin and yang energy and no longer existed.

The pure white "Liang Yi Yang Qi" not only crushed the countless greedy souls of the dead monsters, but also instantly dispelled the filthy evil spirits that had accumulated in the cave for hundreds of years.

His spiritual sense passed through and confirmed that inside the cave, whether it was the protective barrier formed by the remaining thoughts of the witch Cui Zi, or the greedy evil thoughts and dead souls of the long-dead monsters, all had dissipated. Then Shang Yang casually raised his hand and snapped his fingers lightly.

The power of yin and yang transformed into the power of the shrine maiden Tsuiko, who had died hundreds of years ago, and once again set up a barrier exactly the same as the shrine maiden Tsuiko's protective barrier, covering the entrance of the cave.

After setting up an identical barrier to ensure that the remains of the shrine maiden Cuizi, which had turned into stalactites, and the remains of countless long-dead monsters would not be destroyed by others who entered the cave, under the shrine maiden's clear eyes that were slightly puzzled, the gray-haired master of the Cloud Courtyard, as if he was still in the Maple Village decades ago, took the initiative to raise his hand and grasped the shrine maiden's slender white hand, and explained casually.

"Now we have to go and resettle the villagers of the Monster Extermination Village in Yuanshen Qinglian."

Knowing that Shang Yang was going to go with her directly to the place he had prepared for the people in the monster extermination village, Kikyo, who had previously promised to work with Shang Yang in the near future, let Shang Yang hold her hand.

In a flash, Shang Yang and Kikyo disappeared into the cave where the witch Cui Zi and countless monsters died hundreds of years ago.

In the East, there are deep mountains with no human habitation.

In the deep and quiet mountains and dense forests, as a gray-white light flashed across, two blurry figures appeared in the depths of the forest.

As soon as she arrived here, Kikyo frowned slightly.

This place seemed to be affected by some obscure barrier power, which made her feel a little strange.

A mysterious voice: "...On my first arrival here, you can already sense traces of my realm?"

In the air far away from the ground, a dark and deep crack strangely appeared.

From deep within the dark crevice, he spoke softly with a playful tone.

As the big monster walked out, it closed and no trace remained.

A sage with long golden hair, noble and elegant, and beauty beyond that of an ordinary person, slowly walked out of the deep and dark crevice.

Although she had long golden hair like a southern barbarian, the beautiful sage's clothing was clearly in the Tang Dynasty style.

Originating from the Tang Dynasty, the "hexagrams" representing the wisdom of the "Book of Changes" are embroidered on the dark purple dress.

The forty-fifth chapter of the Book of Changes is about the gathering of marshes and land. Its "Dui" corresponds to the fire of the south, and its "Kun" corresponds to the green wood of the east. Green and red become purple, and there are overlapping clouds embroidered on it, which people call "Yakumo".

A monster in a realm that is rarely seen in the human world.

The Youkai Sage - Yakumo Yukari.

The extremely beautiful monster sage, who is rarely seen in the human world, stared thoughtfully at the shrine maiden who was wearing traditional shrine maiden clothes and had a cold expression. She seemed to be on guard against her and shook her head slightly with a hint of regret, and her drooping golden hair swayed with it.

"What a shame... a miko with such talent is a deceased person who still lingers in the world after death."

"It's hard to be the shrine maiden who protects Gensokyo."

"...You're here, Zi."

Looking at the golden-haired monster sage walking out of the crack in space, Shang Yang was not surprised, but just sighed.

"It seems that you have already made your home in the nearby realm."

"After all, this area is of great importance. I'd feel more at ease if I took care of it myself."

The golden-haired youkai sage slapped the folding fan in his hand shut and smiled playfully.

"In the past few hundred years, it seems that I have always been the one to take the initiative to visit others. It is indeed unprecedented for others to visit my home, and it is even more precious that you have taken the initiative to come."

At this point, the golden-haired Sage of the Monsters shrugged indifferently.

"Well, since you're a guest from afar, come to my house for a cup of tea and we can talk in detail."

As the monster sage finished speaking, a wide crack appeared in front of Shangyang and Kikyo, wide enough for the two of them to enter.

Unlike the usual deep and dark cracks, as Shang Yang and Kikyo looked, they could vaguely see a Japanese-style house deep inside the crack that opened in front of them.

"Please come in, both of you."

Leaning sideways on the gap in the air, the golden-haired youkai sage invited lightly.

"Welcome to Yakumo's House."

Volume 6: Thoughts Across Time and Space: Chapter 460: Conversation with the Yokai Sage

Gazing at the Japanese-style house deep inside the crack, Shang Yang took the lead and stepped into the crack.

The house where the Yokai Sage lives stands in a "different space" constructed by the power of the realm.

Shang Yang was not surprised by this. Manipulating the boundaries of space was the area that the monster sage Yakumo Yukari was best at.

A soft, pale glow emanates from within the crack. Even without the sun's rays, the interior of the crack is still as bright as day.

In this very spacious and bright space, there stands a Japanese-style house and courtyard.

The simple wooden structure of the house gives people a refreshing and relaxing feeling.

Click...

The bolt clicked softly, and the tightly closed door of the courtyard house was gently pushed open from the inside.

Pushing open the door, they saw a beautiful woman standing in front of Shang Yang and Platycodon. She was wearing a blue and white robe, a large light-colored hat over her conspicuous fox ears, and nine light golden fox tails spread out behind her like a folding fan.

The nine big fox tails trembled slightly, and the charming and beautiful woman bowed politely to Shang Yang and Platycodon.

"Master Shangyang, Master Miko, welcome to the Yakumo House. Master Murasaki has instructed me to receive you. Please come in. Master Murasaki is waiting for you in the main hall."

In the gap between realms, the living room of "Yakumo House".

The host and the guest sat down, and after Yakumo Aran, the Yakumo Yukari Shikigami, politely served tea to the three of them, he quietly left the living room.

"This is the first time that I have a guest visiting my home."