My personal opinion on Gensokyo

...completely filled with warm colors.

PS1: Ten thousand words, changed to five chapters. Well, I said I would write faster and faster.

PS2: Small five-line strategy in progress.

Volume 3: Above the Moon Sea: Chapter 93: The Boundary Line Connecting the Moon Sea

Gently picking up the petite girl with short lavender hair, the young man with gray hair felt extremely satisfied to be able to do something for the girl.

However, after a few seconds, the young man frowned slightly, sighed, and gently let go of the girl he was hugging.

Under the confused gaze of Jue and Shana, Shang Yang raised his right hand and pointed his slender index finger at a place in the sky. Green magic power condensed at his fingertips, and the nature of space was twisted in subtle ways.

Immediately, a torrent of magical power composed of vast magical power violently rushed towards the sky where the young man was pointing.

"The fluctuation of yin and yang."

One of Shang Yang's hidden skills in the Monster Level era, the "Liang Yi Wave", which could be used in reverse to unleash a map cannon effect when facing most powerful energy-based attacks, is now easily released by Shang Yang in the form of a magic cannon.

Influenced by the power of the two yin and yang, the originally calm magic power became agitated, violent and unstable. After Shang Yang released this agitated magic power as a magic cannon, the agitated, violent and unstable magic power torrent instantly rushed towards the air where Shang Yang's index finger pointed. The air waves and wind pressure generated by the huge energy movement once again caused a whirlwind in the originally calm nameless mountains.

This variant of the magic cannon can be called the "Spell Magic Cannon".

The torrent of magic power from the magic cannon instantly reached the sky where Shang Yang was pointing, and in front of the torrent of magic power, a huge black crack suddenly opened up in the sky that was originally empty and without any abnormality. In the deep crack, countless crimson pupils opened.

"gap".

This is the name of this dark, crimson-eyed space crack. When the name "Gap" is mentioned, we can instantly identify the true identity of the monster hiding behind the gap.

A torrent of cyan mana from the magic cannon poured into the vast, dark void. Although Shang Yang had casually fired this spell, for Shang Yang, a Great Monster, each of his casual attacks was an attack that the monsters below him could hardly resist. Furthermore, the magic cannon, rendered unstable by the Yin-Yang power, was itself an unstable mana bomb.

However, it was obvious that Shang Yang's magic cannon had no effect on the black gap in the sky, which was filled with deep red pupils. After the blue mana torrent poured into the gap, it did not cause any damage to the gap.

Seeing the crack in the sky, Jue and Shana felt a chill in their hearts. Jue instantly raised her slender white hand, and lavender magic power surrounded it. At the same time, the big eyeball floating on her chest - Jue's pupil suddenly widened, and an inexplicable fluctuation flashed by.

Of course, Komeiji Jue knew who was coming due to this gap.

Compared to Jue's cautious vigilance, Shana directly drew out her "Heavenly Fire Sword", with red lotus flames dancing, ready to attack at any time.

However, the young man gently waved his hand towards Shana and Jue, and whispered a warning.

"It's okay, leave it to me."

After giving the instructions, the young man with gray and white hair, the great monster of Mount Yoshino, casually waved his right hand, which was still pointing to the gap.

There was clearly nothing around, but Shang Yang's right hand seemed to have hit transparent glass, and the air was filled with the sound of glass shattering.

Click!

The empty space suddenly "dented" as Shang Yang knocked, and spider-web-like cracks covered the "space".

The cracks in the "space" did not end. With continuous, teeth-grinding crackling sounds, the spider-web-like cracks rapidly extended, and countless cracks spread towards the space cracks in mid-air.

Shang Yang's attack will shatter the space itself where the space rift is located.

The big monster hiding in the gap could naturally see the nature of Shang Yang's attack, but this kind of tentative attack would naturally not be taken seriously by the big monster in the gap. A white and slender jade hand stretched out from the gap and slowly "smoothed" it.

The cracks in the space spider web that were about to approach the gap began to gradually disappear with the gentle movement of this jade hand, until they disappeared into thin air, no longer causing any damage to the nature of space.

"Yes, this is the power of 'realm'."

Seeing that the cracks caused by his knocking on the space were smoothed out, Shang Yang also clearly felt the realm power filling the space cracks. The young man nodded slightly and completely confirmed the identity of the person who came.

At this time, new changes occurred in the gap.

As the cracks in space were smoothed out by the big monster in the gap, the big monster in the gap withdrew its jade hand. Then, the deep gap that was originally only a few meters in size suddenly expanded into a narrow space gap of dozens of miles across the sky.

It looks like a wound on the sky.

In the deep dark gap, deep red pupils were densely packed, and thousands of dark red pupils stared directly at the young man on the ground, giving people a great sense of shock.

However, such a sense of shock naturally had no effect on Shang Yang, who was familiar with the identity of the big monster in the gap.

A black and white Yin-Yang aura rapidly emanated from the young man's arm, still with that strange, seemingly simultaneous, counter-rotating motion. The black and white vortex rose into the sky, and as it approached the narrow gap spanning dozens of miles, it instantly split into countless intertwined black and white currents, enveloping the gap in the sky. Furthermore, as the Yin-Yang power manifested, the previously empty space surrounding the Yin-Yang airflow took on an extremely strange, distorted feel.

It seemed as if it was trying its best to stay away from the Yin-Yang airflow, but also seemed to be extremely yearning for the Yin-Yang aura of black and white.

Although it covered a narrow crack that was dozens of miles long, this process was actually completed in an instant. The gap that was originally like a wound in the sky was wrapped by countless black and white intertwined air currents. At some point, the black and white intertwined air currents also lost their color and turned into faintly visible clear air.

As a result, the narrow gap disappeared without a trace, and what remained in the sky was a huge, vaguely visible cocoon of clear air that was dozens of miles long.

Inside the giant cocoon.

"The dangerous ability to transform Yin into Yang, overturn the world, turn the vast ocean into mulberry fields, and distort the essence of all things..."

In the interval, the big monster opened the folding fan in his hand with a snap and whispered to himself.

"It seems that the information we got from Guidu is correct."

The big monster moved the fan slightly to hide the smile on his beautiful face.

The big monster walked out of the gap and stood in mid-air. As far as he could see, the giant cocoon was filled with ethereal and empty scenery. There was only one color in the giant cocoon, and that was "clear color".

The dark and deep space rift closed as the big monster walked out, leaving no trace.

The big monster's long golden hair adds a bit of weirdness to this void realm. The gold color is both rejected by the "pure color" of the void and extremely compatible with it.

Although he has the iconic long golden hair of the Germanic people, who were regarded as barbarians by the Roman Empire, whose territory spanned Asia, Africa and Latin America at that time, the monster's clothing is clearly in the Central Plains style.

No, it is not entirely true to say that it is a Central Plains style. This is a costume that is mixed with the big monster's own understanding of "heaven" and comprehension of "Tao". The "hexagrams" of the wisdom of the "Book of Changes" of the Tang Dynasty in the Central Plains are embroidered on the purple dress.

The forty-fifth digit of the Book of Changes is the gathering of marshes and lands. 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 also overlapping clouds embroidered on it, which is called "Yakumo".

The main culprit of the disappearance is "The Youkai Sage Yakumo Yukari".

The great monster Yakumo, feared by the world.

The sage of monsters, Yakumo Yukari, stood defenselessly in the unknown space formed by Shangyang's "Liangyi Qi", carefully observing the "pure color" in this space.

I have tried it just now. The gap of the monster sage can still be opened freely within this giant cocoon, but the exact position outside the cocoon cannot be located.

It seems that inside the giant cocoon is a closed world independent of the outside world.

Such a small cocoon naturally cannot be a complete world, so the only explanation is that something inside the cocoon has been distorted, or a certain detail has been changed, which causes the outside world to be a "different world" with completely different rules from the inside of the cocoon.

In other words, the sage of the monsters, Yakumo Yukari, is now completely trapped by Shangyang's "Liang Yi Qi".

Even if she couldn't use the gap to move outside, Yakumo Yukari wasn't worried. She was simply pondering, or rather verifying, her own conjectures. Upon seeing this "clear color," the Youkai Sage's stunningly beautiful face smiled even brighter.

Then, the big monster in the realm closed the folding fan with a snap, stretched out the jade hand holding the folding fan, faced the nothingness in front of him, and lightly stroked the folding fan.

Outside the giant cocoon, in western Japan, deep in the mountains where few people go.

Shang Yang would never think that he could trap the monster sage Yakumo Yukari with just his "Liang Yi Qi".

Therefore, when the young man with gray hair saw a straight line drawn on the giant cocoon in the sky, he was not surprised at all.

After the lines appeared on the giant cocoon, they suddenly opened up like a crack, creating a huge hole in the cocoon.

Feeling the crack in the giant cocoon, the young man flashed the power of the realm, shook hands gently, and the clear giant cocoon in the sky disappeared instantly.

Almost at the same time, in the deep mountains, in front of Shang Yang and others, a long and narrow dark space crack opened up, and a huge monster in the realm walked out of the crack.

A sage monster with a white round hat with lace, long golden hair flowing like a waterfall, dressed in a purple dress, holding a Western umbrella, her beauty completely surpasses that of a human woman.

Looking at the leisurely and comfortable monster sage holding an umbrella, Gu Mingdijue frowned slightly, took a step forward unnoticeably, and stood side by side with Shang Yang, facing the smiling monster sage.

Komeiji Kaku has her own pride and self-esteem. As a great monster, Komeiji Kaku has a status and position that is completely equal to Yakumo Yukari and Shang Yang, and there is no need for her to retreat at all.

What is worth noting is that Shana has no intention of backing down at all.

"The fame of the Tang dynasty's Yoshinoyama master, the Heavenly Demon Shangyang, has spread far and wide throughout western Japan. "

The great monster of the realm, "Yokai Sage Yakumo Yukari", approached with a smile. Although he spoke very politely, the Yokai Sage would not show any sign of giving in to the master of Yoshino Mountain.

This was as it should be. As both of them were great monsters at the top of the world, their status was completely equal, and monsters did not need any hypocritical courtesy, so the blond monster sage simply told his name calmly.

"I'm Yakumo Yukari."

"The omnipresent great youkai, 'Youkai Sage Yakumo Yukari', has also been famous for a long time."

The young man with shaggy gray hair, the great monster of Mount Yoshino, responded calmly.

"I am Shang Yang."

This was the first formal meeting between Yakumo Yukari and Shang Yang.

For Shang Yang, although it was the first time for the sage Yakumo Yukari to face the monsters, the young man who was extremely "familiar" with her information was extremely calm.

However, for Yakumo Yukari, the Monster Sage is extremely interested in Shangyang, a great monster who is as elusive as herself and achieved a realm beyond the "principles of this world" nearly a hundred years ago. Corresponding observation is naturally indispensable.

Randomly scattered gray and white hair, bright and handsome young face, light blue as decoration, gray and white as the base, looks like Tang-style clothing.

The cuffs and hems are decorated with light blue silk thread embroidered into a pattern that symbolizes the sun and clouds hanging high in the sky. This pattern originated from the cloud pattern of the Central Plains people who worshipped the sun during the Three Emperors era.

On the gray and white top in the Tang Dynasty style, three light green bamboo nodes, which represent integrity in the Tang Dynasty, and light green bamboo leaves growing on the bamboo nodes are embroidered with light green silk threads.

The direction of the tip of the bamboo leaf was a little strange. After a quick observation, the knowledgeable and intelligent monster sage realized that this was an embroidery method of "hiding words".

As long as you connect the tips of the bamboo leaves with lines, you will naturally write the seal script character "棋".

The qi of heaven and earth is like playing chess. Although the clear and turbid qi are clearly black and white, they are constantly intertwined.

In addition, the green cloud pattern on the edge of the young man's clothes also embroidered the "hexagram" derived from the wisdom of the "Book of Changes" in the Central Plains Tang Dynasty.

The Kun hexagram of the Book of Changes: Chu Liu, stepping on frost leads to solid ice. Xiang says: Stepping on frost leads to solid ice, the yin begins to condense; if you follow the right path, you will eventually reach solid ice.

There will be signs before the cold weather comes. When you see frost, you know that the cold season is coming and you should prepare early.

A gentleman is good at observing worldly things and can understand the omens of heaven from them. When he sees a falling leaf, he knows that the year is about to end; when he sees water in a bottle freeze, he knows that the weather is about to turn cold.

Seeing the patterns on the clothes of the young man with gray and messy hair, the monster sage was thoughtful.

Putting aside his speculation about the patterns for the moment, the blond youkai sage turned his gaze to the expressionless girl with short lavender hair and the petite black-haired girl standing side by side with the young man with gray hair.

Seeing the big eyeball floating on the chest of the lavender-haired girl - the Eye of Awakening, the blonde monster sage frowned imperceptibly, but still asked with a smile, elegantly and calmly.

"...I don't know, these two?"

Before the blonde youkai sage could finish his words, the girl with short lavender hair introduced herself calmly with an expressionless face.

"The monster 'Jue', the eldest daughter of the Gu Mingdi family - Gu Mingdi Jue."

"...A mind-reading monster of the great monster level!"

After hearing the self-introduction of Komeiji Kakui, the sage of the monsters, Yakumo Yukari, kept smiling.

"It seems that we have no choice but to be frank."

"Shana."

Shana also introduced herself lightly, but after just giving her name, she didn't intend to say anything more.

"Since Miss Jue is here, I'll just speak frankly."

Yakumo Yukari didn't care about Shana's brief self-introduction. She went straight to the point and stated her purpose directly.

"I hope that the three of you can go to the Moon Sea with me."

PS1: In the description of Yakumo Yukari's ability, it's actually inappropriate to directly translate the Japanese kanji for "境" (realm) into Chinese—all things considered, it would be more appropriate to translate it as "界境" (boundary realm). This is because the Japanese word "境界" (realm) expresses the original meaning of the Chinese word—similar to "border, boundary." However, the Chinese word "境界" (realm) has long since abandoned its original meaning and now uses an extended meaning, similar to the concept of "level of cultivation." Therefore, the "境" (realm) manipulated by Yakumo Yukari's ability should be more appropriately translated as "界境" (while still retaining the original meaning of "border") in Chinese—this would avoid confusion and be more consistent with the meaning in modern Chinese.

PS2: The above is quoted from Gensokyo Encyclopedia as supplementary explanation for this chapter.

PS3: Shang Yang's ability and Yakumo Yukari's realm seem similar, but in fact they are essentially different. The realm controlled by Yakumo Yukari is the "boundary" between all things, while the two yin and yang controlled by Shang Yang distort the nature and essence of all things. It represents the process of redefining and creating all things after all things return to the origin of the universe.

Volume 3: Above the Moon Sea: Chapter 94: The Origin of the Moon City

"The Moon Sea?" Shang Yang was a little surprised to hear Yakumo Yukari talk about the Moon Sea directly, but he pretended to be confused and asked, "Is there anything on the Moon Sea that is worthy of the attention of the Youkai Sage, Yakumo-sama?"

Hearing this, Yakumo Yukari smiled playfully.

"Well, there are indeed some things I'm concerned about... Lord Shang, have you heard of the 'Moon City'?"

"I've heard a little bit about it," the young man said slowly, his expression unchanged, as the youkai sage mentioned the "Moon City." "It's said that on the moon, which has hung high in the night sky since ancient times, on the eternally tranquil Moon Sea, lies a Moon City that will remain unchanged for eternity. Legend has it that it was founded by the Moon People, who worshipped the "Moon God of Night and Moon, Tsukiyomi," as an eternal Moon Kingdom. Since the founding of the Moon City, the Moon People have lived there, observing the rise and fall of the human world with aloof eyes, enjoying eternal peace. It is a pure land on the Moon Sea, an eternal kingdom that ordinary people can never reach."

"The pure land on the moon's sea, the eternal kingdom that ordinary people can never reach?" Hearing Shang Yang's words, the demon sage smiled and said, "Sir Shang Jun, do you believe this?"

"I'm just repeating the legends I've heard," the gray-haired Yoshinoyama Great Monster shrugged. "As for the Pure Land of the Moon, the Kingdom of Eternity, Lord Yakumo, you and I are both great monsters who transcend the 'principles of this world,' immortals who pursue the Way of Heaven. Even the legendary Three Nobles of Takama-ga-hara—'Tsukiyomi, the God of the Night's Food and the Moon'—are merely immortals on the same level as you and me."

"As for the human legends of the Pure Land on the Moon and the Kingdom of Eternity, they have nothing to do with you and me."

"Indeed, Your Excellency Shang Jun is right. I really shouldn't have asked such a joking question." After hearing Shang Yang's indifferent answer, Yakumo Yukari maintained a playful smile and continued, "Indeed, 'Yezhishiyuan and the Moon Goddess, Tsukiyomi' is only an inhuman being who has achieved a complete godhood. The Moon City established by the Moon People she rules is naturally not a pure land for ordinary demons like us. However, I know some interesting information about the Moon City on the Moon Sea. I wonder if Your Excellency Shang Jun would be interested in hearing it?"

"Appreciate further details."