The Warrior of Love

If it doesn't want to, it won't attract any attention even if it stands in front of millions of people.

He was a short, skinny, bald old man with a long beard. His facial features were not ferocious, but rather looked a bit like Buddha statues, especially his pair of huge earlobes, which almost made people misjudge his identity.

The kimono she wears is of the highest quality, luxurious and light.

After seeing it appear, all the monsters stopped their movements as if frozen, and then either bent over or exposed their bellies, each expressing their obedience in different ways.

There are many in the front row who are stronger than Tsuchigumo, but have not reached the level of Daitengu. It seems that even among the hundred demons, there are very few strong ones like Daitengu.

"Well, almost everyone has arrived today."

The short old man glanced at it and nodded indifferently.

"Yes, yes... If there are so many, the master will be very happy."

The old man turned around leisurely, stretched out his hand and pointed at the empty space. At that moment, it was as if the fog was torn apart, and the illusory world revealed its true appearance.

The gate of Edo had changed from its daytime appearance to another one at some point. It was a stone gate held down by a statue of an evil spirit. It was so majestic and tall that it did not seem to be made by human hands.

——Rashomon.

Although he had never seen it before, Jiang Liu had this thought for the first time.

According to Japanese legend, this is the gateway to hell, but here it seems to be reversed, with evil spirits passing through this door to the human world.

"Let's begin tonight's Hundred Demon Hunt!"

Chapter 118: The Mountain That Swallows Darkness

Jiang Liu was far behind the end of the Night Parade of One Hundred Demons, mixed in with a few weak minnows, attracting no attention at all. Occasionally he would glance at the movement ahead but would immediately lower his head.

He was very worried about the old monster, he could even be said to be wary and afraid of him, to the point that he had to control his vision for fear of being noticed by the other party.

In fact, the aura that guy exuded was not that scary. In terms of magic reaction, he was only average among the hundreds of ghosts, far inferior to the great Tengu that Jiang Liu had killed before.

But Jiang Liu understood that this was just a disguise. This guy's essence was far more terrifying than an ordinary evil ghost.

The abilities, powers, and even physical forms displayed now are all disguises for some purpose.

As for the specific reasons and how strong it is...that is not something Jiang Liu can guess.

However, one thing is certain: Jiang Liu did feel the threat of death when they passed each other.

"It seems that there is no way to carry out the decapitation operation." Jiang Liu thought with regret.

Although he told Ritsuka that it was an investigation, Jiang Liu's original idea was that if there was a chance, he could try to decapitate the monster general.

He is not bragging, but he really has a certain degree of confidence to think so.

You know, with his current strength, if he uses assassination methods, he has a certain chance of killing even a person of Daitengu's level with one strike. Even if the leader of the hundred ghosts is one level higher than Daitengu, he still has a chance of winning if he fights for his life...

Then, when the old man in gorgeous clothes appeared, the little thought in Jiang Liu's heart was ruthlessly crushed.

If you want to kill this kind of target with one strike... then there's a greater chance that you'll be killed with one strike instead.

Before we actually do anything, we should at least figure out what this thing is.

"Nurarihyon... it's not that simple."

After all, Jiang Liu has lived in Japan for more than ten years, so he has some understanding of the "One Hundred Demons Night Parade".

The so-called "One Hundred Demons Night Parade" does not actually mean "one hundred ghosts wandering the streets", but a summary of the many ghosts that appear in folk legends. "Night Parade" is just an activity imagined by humans after assuming that these ghosts gather together.

In fact, the ghosts are not arrogant enough to organize a "military parade", and it is impossible for many ghosts to live in harmony with each other.

There are some discrepancies in the number of "Hundred Demons", but in general there are indeed more than one hundred types. Their sources are mainly ghost stories among Japanese folks, and they are also the products of the evolution of demons, gods and ghosts recorded in classics such as "Kojiki".

The former is not scary, after all, it is just a "ghost story". The abilities of many monsters can only be said to be weird but not powerful, such as Zashiki-warashi... It is even difficult to define whether they are good or bad.

This kind of monster born from strange stories cannot become a Heroic Spirit according to the "Type-Moon" system, even if it has a certain degree of fame. It will only be classified as a vengeful spirit, or at best a "phantom spirit", barely qualified to be summoned as a Servant.

But the latter - those monsters derived from mythological stories - are quite bad.

Strong ones like Shuten Douji, Ibaraki Douji, Tamamonomae, Daitengu... Some are top demons native to Japan, some came from the Celestial Empire and India, and some are simply people who have fallen from the position of gods.

These guys are qualified to be summoned as heroic spirits, especially a certain fox, who even guarded the tomb of Emperor Xuanyuan in the setting of "Type-Moon"...

If this guy's true form appeared, Jiang Liu would definitely run away with Ritsuka without saying a word, but fortunately, although there were many monsters in Edo Castle this time, there were no such outrageous creatures.

There is no consensus on the leader of "One Hundred Demons Night Parade". Some say Shuten-doji is the leader, while others say Nura-oni is the leader.

There is no need to mention Shuten-doji, he is one of the most famous demons in Japan, and if he fights on his home turf, he might be able to overpower the top servants. As for Nura, we need to analyze him a little more, he is a very interesting guy.

In theory, it is just a "little monster" from rural ghost stories. Its abilities are similar to completely erasing its own presence, or perfectly blending into the surrounding environment. According to the Servant system, it is a standard assassin.

But this monster does not have any direct combat capability, or there are not many records about it.

The only evil thing it did was to go to someone's house and eat without saying hello... Compared to a certain evil ghost who likes to eat young girls' breasts, the slippery ghost can really be said to be harmless to humans and animals.

However, it is quite interesting that such a guy is considered the leader of all ghosts.

(It is worth mentioning that although Nura-Oni looks like a loser, it was indeed considered a great monster in ancient Japan. In order to make this background reasonable, the anime "Nura-Oni no Mago" gave Nura-Oni a lot of cheats.)

But then again, if it were truly harmless to humans and animals, how could it be possible to scare off so many ghosts?

It is hard to imagine that the monsters, who have no morals or etiquette and obey the strong and violence, would be so afraid of Nura: Oni just because of the title of "leader".

Moreover, just that brief moment of passing by... made Jiang Liu certain that this old monster was truly extraordinary.

The question now is: is it really Nura? And could it be the root of the distortion of this era?

Jiang Liu still doesn't know all this.

He walked and stopped along the way with the group of Hundred Demons, and finally came to the foot of a large mountain range outside Edo.

The monsters' actions were quite strange. They seemed to be just walking along this mountain road with no other purpose, and they just circled around the mountain...

Jiang Liu didn't know if it was his physical sense that was wrong, but he felt that the night was particularly long. He couldn't see the stars or the moon so he had no way of telling what time it was. It seemed as if the darkness would last forever.

However, gradually, Jiang Liu felt something strange in the air.

"This is?"

Jiang Liu closed his eyes and tried to perceive the world using only his observation Haki. With his current level, it could be said that he had used his "mind's eye" and he soon discovered things that ordinary people could not see.

"fog?"

It was hard to tell whether it was fog or gray black particles, which gathered together like smoke and flowed slowly and neatly in a certain direction.

If you can zoom in to cover the entire mountain area, you will find that the turbid current of the Hundred Ghosts emits these black particles, and also gathers into a torrent and rushes towards a certain place in the mountain, and quickly disappears without a trace like a mud cow entering the sea.

Pursing his lips, Jiang Liu began to discern the essence of the black particles from the subtle details, and even used the power of the devil fruit -

"No way... negative emotions materialized?"

Chapter 119: Pupil

If these mists are really all materialized negative emotions...that would be too scary.

Although these things have no actual killing power and cannot cause any impact on the material world, the harm to the human body can only cause minor illnesses such as colds and fevers, and it cannot even be considered a "curse".

However, quantitative change leads to qualitative change. A wisp or two of fog is nothing, even if it covers an entire football field, it doesn’t matter, but how can it fill the entire mountain like it does now?

If all of them were gathered together, it would be enough to form a torrent that covered the sky and the sun. Not to mention humans, even monsters born with malice would not be able to survive in such a harsh environment.

After Jiang Liu's observation, he concluded that the mist should be emitted from the "hundred ghosts". When they walked around the mountain, they would scatter inconspicuous "dust".

Although the amount of each one is not much, they gradually accumulate to form a hazy fog. The evil spirits all over the mountains also spread this ominous fog to every corner of the forest.

Jiang Liu saw that the fog was getting thicker and thicker, and he could even observe it without his Observation Haki. He realized that in addition to the "hundred ghosts" that came this time, there were definitely other monsters in this mountain, and the number was probably even greater!

With so many monsters gathered together, the demonic energy alone is enough to form dark clouds that cover the sky, and these materialized negative energies have accumulated to a quite exaggerated level.

However, the interesting part is that the black fog that has accumulated to a certain extent will suddenly decrease a lot after reaching a certain "limit", become thin again, and then slowly return to its original state with the passage of time.

The increase and decrease repeats continuously, as if breathing.

Knowing that there must be something fishy, ​​Jiang Liu put on a Tengu mask and mixed into the group of ghosts. He secretly used his observation Haki to carefully explore the flow direction of the black mist, observing and deducing carefully.

He was originally a user of the "Insight Fruit" ability, and his perception in all aspects was greatly enhanced. Even without unfolding the "Transparent World", his insight was first-rate, and he quickly found the specific direction.

So he left the main force and sneaked into the darkness quietly.

"Watching" wisps of black mist being slowly sent into the depths of the mountains and forests, entangled and merged with each other, but remaining consistent in the general direction. There was an inexplicable order and regularity. Jiang Liu felt something in his heart: This seemed a bit like blood circulation.

However, if the massive amount of negative energy is regarded as blood, then this "giant" must be an incredible guy.

Following the end of the flowing fog, Jiang Liu restrained his breath and entered a perfect stealth state. The deeper he went, the more cautious he became. He had a premonition: at the end of this road, there would be some kind of horrifying existence waiting for him.

Maybe it was a psychological effect, but Jiang Liu gradually felt that it was difficult to breathe. The air seemed to become thinner. Every time he pumped his lungs, he had to exert a lot of effort to complete the air circulation, and sweat began to seep out of his body unconsciously.

"Well……"

After walking for thousands of meters with great difficulty, Jiang Liu finally arrived at the place where the black fog gathered, which was also the place where it was most dense.

Here, the black fog can be observed with the naked eye, but it is not clear under the moonless night sky, and can only be seen as a group of swaying phantoms.

"That's almost it."

Jiang Liu silently calculated the time in his heart, waiting for the next cycle of the black fog changing from thick to thin, that is, when the concentration of the black fog reached its limit.

"It's now!"

Click...

There was no loud noise as expected, only the sound of something breaking coming from the opposite mountain wall, like the cracking sound of rocks expanding and contracting due to sudden heat and cold.

Ka-

Under Jiang Liu's astonished gaze, a crack appeared in the "mountain wall", and then the crack continued to expand with a sound like gravel, and finally turned into an elliptical cave more than one person tall, and its depth was unimaginable.

It was at this moment that a huge attraction suddenly came from the "cave", and a gust of wind blew up the thick black substance, and it was all sucked into the cave.

Jiang Liu was sucked by the wind and almost fell down, but fortunately the distance was still far and he stabilized his body in time.

But after about ten seconds, the strong wind gradually stopped, and the cracks on the mountain wall slowly closed, and it was impossible to tell that there was a cave here before.

Before the black fog gathered again, Jiang Liu walked forward cautiously, first to the place where the mountain wall was cracked, but did not see any crack.

"What the hell is this?"

In Jiang Liu's imagination, the one absorbing the black mist should be some peerless monster, but the scene he saw... was a bit puzzling.

Is there another secret in the cave, and we need to go deeper to discover it?

Thinking of this, Jiang Liu couldn't help but hesitate, because his animal instinct kept warning him: If he continued, he would die!

Not to mention moving forward, if this body was not controlled by reason, it would have run away long ago.

But now that we have come this far, it would be a shame to go back without finding out the truth...

Just as Jiang Liu was struggling, suddenly a chill rushed from his spine to the back of his head and spread throughout his body in an instant. Every muscle seemed to be frozen and stiffened.

"Uh..." A ball of red light rose from behind Jiang Liu, illuminating his lonely figure.

The red light became stronger and stronger. From the dim shadows at the beginning, in just a few seconds it turned into a pool of blood that could illuminate all things in the world. Jiang Liu's back was also floating in it.

Jiang Liu didn't look back.

It is no exaggeration to say that he dare not look back now.

"Human?"

However, although Jiang Liu did not look back, the existence behind him had no intention of letting him go.

"It's great to be able to come to a place like this."

It was not a particularly ferocious roar, but rather a steady and heavy roar, sounding like that of a respected elder.

Jiang Liu turned around slowly with an expressionless face and looked at the "stone wall" again.

I saw that in the crack of the cave - a little further to the side, there was an inlaid huge gem that was as clear and transparent as a glass mirror, but appeared to be a scarlet color. Judging from its size, it seemed that it was more than enough to fit several people inside. It was several times larger than the previous cracked cave.

No, it's not a gem.

Although this is the impression given at first glance, the pitch-black pupils in the center of the glass mirror are the best proof.

Now, this huge vertical pupil only reflects Jiang Liu's appearance.

Chapter 120: The Invitation of the Great Snake

A world covered in white, magma spewing out from the depths of the earth, endless tides, thunder that resounded through the sky, howling storms, and unshakable mountains...