I Am a Heroic Spirit

Chapter 173 Seal

"Namo Demachakra. Nioh Kurikara, charge the celestial elephant! Going to attack! The swordsman draws his sword...Isena Great Celestial Elephant!"

"Noble Phantasm released! Lord Hachiman of Shiragi Castle!"

-

"The Noble Phantasm has been released. It seems the Time Travel Army has begun a large-scale siege."

Feeling the magic power flowing through his body at an extremely fast speed, Zhang Luo looked up. Even through the wall and the distance of thousands of miles, he could see the brilliance of the magic power reaching all the way to the sky and the earth.

The one who could force Miyamoto Musashi and Princess Geibu to release their Noble Phantasms seemed to be no one else but the Time Traveling Army who attacked Himeji Castle.

However, Zhang Luo was not worried about this. After all, the heroic spirit's ability to transform into a spirit body could be said to be an external skill. If he really encountered danger, he could run away and then transform into a spirit body, and his life would not be in danger.

In the room next to Zhang Luo lived Ashiya Doman, who had also received the news from Himeji Castle.

Sure enough, those time-traveling troops were his pawns.

After learning that the number of the time-tracing army attacking Himeji Castle had exceeded 100,000, including a group of tsukumogami such as Kokarasuma, Ashiya Doman came to this conclusion.

Otherwise, knowing that they had already left Himeji Castle, why would they go through the trouble of attacking Himeji Castle?

He gently pushed open the door, took a step and disappeared. When he appeared again, he was already on the top of a mountain three hundred meters away.

The Liuren style disk appeared in Ashiya Doman's hand. The disk kept spinning, occasionally stopping for a few seconds, and then spinning quickly again.

The moonlight shone down from the sky, casting a layer of silver light on the Liuren style plate. The runes on the plate flashed dazzling light at a speed of once per second as the sky plate rotated.

Finally, after flashing for the 356th time, the sky plate stopped rotating.

"Oh no! This is terrible! Something has happened to the seal of 880!"

Ashiya Doman's face suddenly changed. The divination result of the Liuren style plate was not good news.

Ashiya Doman looked a little anxious. The demon inside the seal was not an ordinary demon. Once the seal was broken, it would be a catastrophe for the entire Japan.

The gods of Tianjin once paid a huge price to seal that person, resulting in few Tianjin gods surviving today. Even if there are a few who survived, they fell from their position as gods and had to reincarnate or take other special methods to survive.

If that person breaks the seal, there won't be so many Tianjin gods who can seal him again.

"This is no longer something I can handle alone. It seems I need to notify others."

A few minutes later, Ashiya Doman made a decision.

There were nine seals in total, and the one holding Himeji Castle was only one of them, a relatively insignificant one at that. If it were only one-ninth of the seal, it wouldn't be a big deal. Not to mention that Himeji Castle's current strength should be more than enough to hold the seal, even if it couldn't, that person, while powerful, was no pushover. With only one-ninth of their power, and no intelligence, even if they were incompetent, they could still defeat them if they joined forces.

However, the crucial issue is that since that person has revealed their intentions, they naturally won't just break the seal at Himeji Castle. If you really think about it, this drastic action is more of a demonstration than a desperate attempt to break the seal. After all, it's just a portion of power without intelligence, and even if released, it would be useless. =L

The most important thing now is to go to Kyoto. As long as the seal there is not broken, it won't be the worst ending.

Taking out a few talismans, Ashiya Doman put the talismans to his lips, muttered a few words, then took the talismans away and shook them lightly. The talismans spontaneously combusted and soon disappeared.

iq扌

-

Thousands of miles away, in a tattered temple, lived an old man with white hair and a white beard. He was wearing a tattered linen shirt, a belt tied around his waist, flat-soled wooden clogs on his feet, and a cane in his left hand. His white hair was disheveled, his coat was open, and in his right hand he waved a tattered fan to drive away the summer heat.

This person was not someone else, but the famous Japanese alchemist Dan Mushi, the master of Abe Haruaki and a good friend of Kamo Tadayuki. His magical skills were no less than Kamo Tadayuki's.

"Oh?"

At this moment, something abnormal suddenly appeared in the space in front of Dan Chong.

Dan Chong opened his squinting eyes and looked up. He saw dust coming from nowhere, floating in the air, forming a talisman. A familiar voice came from the talisman.

"How could this happen! That guy should have been sealed forever! Seriously, now an old man like me has to keep busy."

Listening to the words coming out of the talisman, Dan Chong complained indignantly, then stood up from the ground, picked up the package, and walked out of the temple.

-

At Kongobuji Temple in Koyasan, Wakayama Prefecture, the founder of Shingon Buddhism, named Kukai, who was supposed to have died decades ago, also received a message from Ashiya Doman.

"Ah! A demon wants to break the seal. This can't happen. It seems I have to go to the seal and take charge quickly."

After hearing the message, Master Kūkai was horrified. He walked out of the temple quickly, summoned the powerful monks in the temple, and went down the mountain to the nearby city. The nearest seal was here. It could be said that Master Kūkai placed the sect headquarters here in order to guard the seal here.

-

At Enryakuji Temple on Mount Hiei, northeast of Kyoto, Master Saicho, the founder of the Tendai sect, was the third person to receive the message from Ashiya Doman after Master Kukai.

"It's really incredible. Jingzang, Liangyuan, lead your disciples and follow me down the mountain to defeat the demon." Master Saicho threw away the talisman, stood up, and said seriously to the monk who was sitting on the side and chanting.

"Yes, uncle."

The two middle-aged monks responded respectfully.

Soon after, Yama in hell, the gods wandering in the human world, Ara, Ootenzu, the Two-Faced Buddha, Ichimokuren, and Kamo Tadayuki in Heian-kyo also received this information.

In Heian-kyo, at Kamo's home, ever since Abe Haruaki was split into two and then lost his memory, Kamo Tadayuki has been claiming to be sick and staying at home, not seeing outsiders.

This is not because Kamo Tadayuki has any dissatisfaction with Abe Haruaki, but because in his eyes, the Black Haruaki separated from Abe Haruaki is a disaster destined for Abe Haruaki. If he can survive this disaster, Abe Haruaki's attainments in Yin-Yang magic will definitely reach a higher level.

Since he and Tamamonomae were both in Heian-kyo, there was no need to worry about anything really happening to Abe Haruaki.

Until today, Kamo Tadayuki could no longer hide at home and relax. Ashiya Doman's message made him dare not be negligent. He left home immediately and went to check the seal of Kyoto.

You should know that there are a total of nine seals in Japan, and among these nine seals, only the seal of Kyoto seals the spiritual intelligence of that existence. As long as the seal of Kyoto is not lifted, the only ones who escape from the other seals are beasts without wisdom.

While all parties were taking action, in the small village shrouded in darkness, a figure quietly sneaked into the village chief's house from outside the village and knocked on the room where Zhang Luo was.

Zhang Luo opened the door, and the figure outside was none other than Shuten-doji.

Ashiya Doman's actions did not escape Zhang Luo's notice, because Zhang Luo had been asking Shuten-doji to keep an eye on him, so as soon as Ashiya Doman set off, Shuten-doji was sent out by Zhang Luo.

After welcoming Shuten-doji into the room, Zhang Luo quickly closed the door and asked Shuten-doji, "How is it? Did you find out what Ashiya Doman is hiding?"

"It's a seal. There are nine seals set up in Japan, and Himeji Castle is one of them. Ashiya Doman has always referred to the person sealed there as that person, and has not revealed the real identity." Shuten-doji answered, but he had already guessed the real identity of the sealed person in his heart.

"Seal?" Zhang Luo asked in astonishment. It shouldn't be like this. If it was just a seal of some demon, Ashiya Doman would have no need to hide it from him.

"Well, it seems like the nine parts of one existence are sealed in different places, but Ashiya Doman has never said where exactly." Shuten Douji said lightly.

Zhang Luo became distressed again. His doubts did not decrease because of the information he obtained from Shuten-doji, but increased instead.

What kind of monsters or gods in Japan would be treated like this? In China, there was only Chi You who was divided into five parts, but the unlucky guy here was divided into nine parts, and the seal was very special, so that Ashiya Doman would rather spend all his wealth to fight for his life than tell himself and ask for help.

"What's so hard about guessing? There must be some powerful treasure in the sealed place, and that guy is worried that you will be tempted by the money and steal the treasure." Ibaraki Douji was sitting at the table. Seeing Zhang Luo's puzzled expression, he guessed casually.

"Treasures? What kind of treasures could there be in Japan? Even if there are treasures, with nine of them, they're not worth mentioning."

Zhang Luo said with a hint of disdain. It wasn't that he looked down on Japan. Even if there were treasures worth stealing in Japan, there wouldn't be as many as nine. Haven't you heard that scarcity makes things valuable? In a small place like Japan, having two or three treasures worth stealing would be normal, but nine suddenly appearing didn't seem like anything special.

Ibaraki-douji and Shuten-douji looked at each other, their expressions becoming strange. If the sealed existence was really the one they guessed, then the treasure used to seal it might really be a treasure comparable to an A-grade treasure.

Chapter 174 The end of the battle

At this moment, Tamamo the cat, who had been staring out through the crack in the door, jumped over and said cautiously, "Ashiya Doman is back."

Zhang Luo quickly shut up, exchanged glances with Ibaraki-douji and Shuten-douji, and quietly returned to bed. Ibaraki-douji and Shuten-douji also pulled Tamamo-neko into the spiritual state.

It was late at night. Unlike the quiet little village, Himeji Castle was bustling with people and flames were everywhere. The ancient buildings were emitting crackling howls in the flames, smoke rose straight into the sky, and the flames burned the night sky red.

A few hours ago, after Miyamoto Musashi and Princess Gyobu released their Noble Phantasms, the disappearance of tens of thousands of time-traveling troops and Princess Gyobu's defensive capabilities allowed Himeji Castle, which should have been defeated, to hold out for a long time.

However, the current situation at Himeji Castle was not very good. Tens of thousands of Time Travelers had already gathered outside the city, led by the Tsukumogami, excluding Kokarasuma, and were attacking Himeji Castle with all their might. It had been seven or eight hours since the release of the Princess's Noble Phantasm. While the city hadn't been breached, it wouldn't hold out for much longer. After all, Zhang Luo's magic power wasn't sufficient to sustain the release of an A+-rank Noble Phantasm for such a long time, not to mention that some of Zhang Luo's magic power was still supporting Miyamoto Musashi.

Miyamoto Musashi would go out of the city from time to time to fight a few times, and Princess Xingbu was not idle either. Her paper escape technique, comparable to Konan's, almost never stopped. However, given the absolute number of people, it would be useless to rely on only one or two strong men.

Time passed quickly, and in the blink of an eye it was early morning. The sky gradually brightened, and the morning glow could be seen faintly appearing in the sky. However, the fire in Himeji Castle completely obscured the dimly lit sky.

The city was broken. Just half an hour ago, due to insufficient magic power supply, Luan Honglian's roaring wave blasted open the city gate and led the army into the city.

The time-traveling army that entered the city did not gather together to fight against the military forces of Himeji Castle, but instead separated a part of them to attack the humans in the city. The irrational time-traveling army would neither be lured away by the bait nor be reluctant to let go of innocent or innocent humans, and would not arouse any suspicion.

Even though a part of the military force was allocated, the remaining time-traveling army still quickly defeated the resistance army of Himeji Castle. Only the Onmyoji of the Hanakaiin family could act in an organized manner. They blocked the attack of the Tsukumogami, but they had no time to take care of other things. Miyamoto Musashi and Keibuhime were given special attention and could not be distracted.

At this time, the Onmyoji of the Hanakaiin family was finally going to use his last resort.

The fifty-five Onmyojis, led by Hanakaiin Harima, formed a strange formation. The unknown rules gave people a headache just by looking at it. The Onmyoji Hanakaiin who formed the formation also looked unhappy. It seemed that even as the leader, he was also affected.

The light extended from Hanakaiin Harima's body and connected with other Onmyoji. Looking down from the sky, you can find that the Onmyoji connected by the light formed a grid with four vertical and five horizontal lines.

"Hmm? What is that?" Kogumaru, who had been hiding in a place and had never moved, looked at the square formation formed by the Hanakaiin family with a look of surprise on his face. He recognized the symbol. It looked like the hexagram spell created by Abe Haruaki. Ashiya Doman also created a spell that belonged to him.

"It's really confusing. This curse shouldn't have appeared at this time." Xiao Wuhuan's expression became serious. This time, he might have to take action.

The four vertical and five horizontal grids slowly rose up, emitting a strong spiritual light that prevented the fallen Tsukumogami from approaching. Then, changes appeared on the four vertical and five horizontal grids. The light transformed from spiritual power was moving, and gradually formed the shape of a crow with three legs.

"Those who are about to fight, all must march forward in formation! Hurry as ordered!"

A heavy voice came out of Hanakaiin Harima's mouth, and a strong spiritual power wave burst out from all the Onmyojis of the Hanakaiin family, converging on the pattern in the sky.

The air became hot and dry, and the three-legged golden crow, which was originally a pattern, became lifelike under the influence of spiritual power. Both its feathers and eyes became extremely lively, as if it were a living being.

"Ashiya Doman actually has this trick up his sleeve."

However, Xiao Wuwan knew that no matter how realistic the pattern looked, it did not really exist. At best, it was the incarnation of the three-legged golden crow. But even so, the three-legged golden crow was stronger than his own Yatagarasu, which contained some of the power of the sun god.

Under the charm of the three-legged golden crow, it seemed as if a sun was hanging in the sky above the entire Himeji Castle. The powerful divine power made the Time Travelers below unable to move. Black gas continued to float up from the bodies of the Time Travelers. Within a few minutes, the Time Travelers fell one after another and then disappeared completely.

The Tsukumogami were not having an easy time either. The evil demons were restrained by the sun. Although they still retained some divinity, they were unable to move. Even if they did not die, they could only wait for Miyamoto Musashi and Princess Keibu to kill them.

Kogumaru refrained from taking action because the Onmyoji of the Hanakaiin family had not yet launched the attack, but he was also ready to take action at any time.

Finally, the three-legged golden crow on the pattern moved. The three-legged golden crow stretched its wings and suddenly flew into the sky. In an instant, it rose to the sky, emitting strong light and heat, like another sun rising before the sunrise.

Miyamoto Musashi and Princess Gyobu also stopped their movements and quickly retreated into the distance. Even if the target was not them, such a presence would be enough to cause them trouble when it launched an attack.

Xiao Wuhuan pulled out his body and stared at the sky intently, not paying any attention to anyone else.

In an instant, the sun fell. This scene was definitely not Yi shooting down nine suns, but the sun god's punishment.

The three-legged golden crow fell at a very fast speed, so fast that people could not react, even Xiao Wuwan was no exception. Before Xiao Wuwan could draw his sword, the figure of the three-legged golden crow disappeared, leaving only a golden afterimage left on the retina.

However, Himeji Castle did not change at all, as if the three-legged golden crow was just an illusion and had no real power.

However, just when everyone in the city except the Onmyoji of the Hanakaiin family was puzzled about this, thinking that something had gone wrong with the Onmyoji of the Hanakaiin family, and that they had made such a big fuss but had no practical effect, the earth shook.

The ground was shaking violently, as if something was going crazy underground and wanted to rush to the surface. Everyone could hear the loud sound of birds singing and the angry roars of alien creatures.

At that moment, thousands of feet of golden light shot out from the ground, illuminating the sky and the earth into a golden glow. Even if you were thousands of miles away, you could still see this strange scenery.

In the golden light there is a huge golden crow. The crow has three legs and one of the three ancient sacred artifacts, the Yasakani no Magatama, is hung around its neck. Its whole body radiates a strong sunlight that even the golden light cannot cover.

To ordinary people, this was just a sight, but to monsters, it was a deadly threat. Under the influence of the scorching sun's strong light, a large number of time-traveling troops vanished. Even Fusangshen, who had practiced for a thousand years and became a monster overnight, groaned in pain under the strong light, and the bone spurs that grew out of his corruption began to melt at an extremely fast speed.

At this moment, a huge black crow, which looked almost exactly like the three-legged golden crow but exuded an extremely demonic aura, took off from a corner of Himeji Castle and flew towards the three-legged golden crow.

However, upon closer inspection, it was discovered that it was not the three-legged golden crow, but a small crow wrapped in a black shadow.

Because of Xiao Wuwan's identity, he will not be restrained by the three-legged golden crow's solar power, which also gives the Time Travel Army a glimmer of hope.

"Destroy the external enemies, and endure the pain of this body! The true sword will kill! Cut, cut, cut!"

With a loud shout, Xiao Wuhuan raised the sword in his hand and released a power that surpassed Miyamoto Musashi. The sword energy composed of black flames cut through the void and split the three-legged golden crow into two.

The three-legged golden crow, split into two halves, let out a mournful cry in the sky, and then exploded with a bang, with golden sparks flying all over the sky.

Xiao Wuwan, who had passed by the three-legged golden crow, couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. His face was pale and exhausted. A feeling of powerlessness he had never experienced before appeared in his body. Then he saw Xiao Wuwan falling straight from the sky like a discarded rag doll.

"go!"

Miyamoto Musashi did not move forward to finish off the enemy, but instead took a step back, shouted to Princess Kobe, and then disappeared.

Princess Keibu was stunned for a moment, and then she saw that the Tsukumogami who had escaped danger had sent a few people to pick up Kogumaru, and the remaining part was divided into two groups, charging towards herself and the Onmyojis of the Hanakaiin family.

Princess Xingbu's heart skipped a beat and she quickly retreated, avoiding the attack range of the Fusangjin. Then she also transformed into a spirit and disappeared.

After all, although the Tsukumogami were in poor condition, the two of them were in even worse condition after fighting for a whole night. Even the weakest Tsukumogami would have a chance to kill them both, not to mention that the Tsukumogami were numerous and powerful. Even if they were in good condition, she would not be their opponent.

Seeing Miyamoto Musashi and Princess Gyobu suddenly disappear, the group of Fusangshen tentatively swung their swords a few times and found that Miyamoto Musashi and Princess Gyobu had indeed left, not become invisible.

After confirming this, the Tsukumogami who was about to capture Miyamoto Musashi and Princess Keibu turned to the Onmyoji of the Hanakaiin family. However, the Onmyoji of the Hanakaiin family was not slow either. Before the Tsukumogami arrived, Hanakaiin Harima made a hand seal with his hands, and the Onmyoji behind him also made the same movement at the same time. Then the Tsukumogami saw a golden light flash before their eyes, which almost blinded them. When they opened their eyes again, the Onmyoji of the Hanakaiin family had disappeared.

Well, after all, he is the successor of Ashiya Doman, so he has prepared a backup plan for himself. He uses the power of Yasakani no Magatama to blind the eyes of the Tsukumogami, and uses the spell to transfer space, almost at the same time, making it impossible for the Tsukumogami to chase him.

After a night of fighting, the 100,000 time-traveling troops in this area were completely wiped out, more than half of the Fusangshen were lost, the Kokaramaru were extremely weak, and most of the lives in Himeji Castle were gone. Only a few poor people, even homeless beggars, escaped by hiding in garbage dumps and other places where no one would rummage through.

This result is considered good for the overall situation. After all, only ordinary humans in the city died. The Onmyoji of the Hanakaiin family and the heroic spirits under Zhang Luo were not killed, and a large number of combat forces of the Time Traveling Army were wiped out.

At this time, the tsukumogami were integrated under the leadership of Daitenta Mitsuyo and Mikazuki Munechika, and the Kokarasuma also initially regained their ability to move.

Seeing that little Karasuma was no longer seriously injured, Sangetsu Munechika asked, "Father, how should we proceed?"

Xiao Wuhuan was silent for a moment. According to the order, it was time to start the blood sacrifice. Although the power of Himeji Castle had been defeated, he knew that there must still be many humans hiding inside.