The afterlife blew up Gensokyo

What Shiro saw when he arrived was this kind of Gensokyo.

"A Saigyou Ayakashi? No, the real Saigyou Ayakashi shouldn't have been born yet... So this really was created by Eirin Yagokoro?"

Looking at the cherry blossom trees that had almost covered the entire Gensokyo, Shi Bai couldn't help but press his forehead with a headache.

"Tsk... How dare she scheme against her own teacher like that? I'll have to teach her a lesson next time I see her..."

Once you understand one method, you understand all methods. The answer to one question often leads to the sudden realization of several other questions.

In his heart lies a prison containing 13 prisoners. Each and every one of them, from the most dangerous one in the sequence number, "Time Darkness," to the last one, "Death Mourning," possesses the power to easily destroy a world.

He had spent a great deal of effort building this prison in his mind to firmly seal and suppress these prisoners, but the main purpose of this prison was not to lock them up, but to use them to protect his secrets—this was the most reliable and foolproof way to preserve secrets that he had spent a long time exploring and finding.

Although he couldn't kill them, there were countless ways to deal with these prisoners. If he were ruthless, he could simply release them all into the myriad worlds and leave them to their fate. After all, those apocalyptic evil gods and the like wouldn't be missing a few more...

Their destruction of the world is their business, what does it have to do with me? The person you're looking for is Lu Xun, what does that have to do with me, Zhou Shuren?!

However, Shi Bai still locked them up, even at the cost of taking on those heavy burdens.

He had to protect those secrets, because it was his mission.

Every prisoner, even the one who thinks he has risen to the status of a chess player, is actually just a pawn in his game, a tool being used without his knowledge. They are all unconsciously guarding those secrets.

Yuuka wanted to help him, Eirin Yagokoro wanted to help him, and Sayo wanted to help him even more, but they had no idea that he had actually made these choices on his own initiative.

If he wanted to let go, it would be very simple. Did he really think those prisoners could pose any threat to him? Even Shi Hei's existence was just a charade he put on to give those prisoners a sliver of hope for escape.

Even Shi Hei himself didn't realize that he was just a pawn in his scheme.

Want to escape from prison? That's absolutely impossible, but shouldn't we give those poor prisoners a chance to escape? Giving them a glimmer of hope and a tiny bit of chance every now and then will prevent them from despairing and causing any accidents or problems.

To deceive the other party, you must first deceive yourself; this is one of the main reasons why he chose to suppress his desires.

However, after such a long time, for those prisoners who have already deeply believed in the system, there is no need to suppress their desires anymore. Even if Riluoyuan did not help them, they would still regain their desires when the system was unsealed. But who knew that Riluoyuan would go to such great lengths to help them?

So even now, Shi Bai still doesn't understand when he actually won over that little girl... It seems like he didn't do anything at all.

Because of this time difference, he, having regained his desires earlier, failed to notice Eirin Yagokoro's subtle actions...

Escape is impossible; those prisoners simply cannot succeed in escaping. Eirin Yagokoro's actions essentially separated the power of Number 13, [Death Mourning], thus taking on some of the pressure for him.

Shi Bai had considered this method to reduce the weight he was carrying before, but there were several problems he simply couldn't solve.

None of the prisoners' powers were easy to deal with. Even the lowest-ranked [Death Mourning] was a terrifying power capable of easily annihilating all living beings in a world. All resistance was futile. Unless you had truly transcended the limitations of life and death, this ability was unsolvable and would kill you without any reason.

Beings capable of bearing such forbidden power are extremely rare, one in a billion, chosen ones. You couldn't find even one in a world, let alone a "Guardian" with the necessary special qualities.

Let's not even talk about that one in a million chosen one. Where can we find that necessary [Guardian]? That is a unique existence that is half-alive and half-dead, neither alive nor dead, existing between life and death. Shi Bai thought for a long time before he could come up with a barely fitting existence.

That's right, be confident, just as you think, the most suitable guardian that Shi Bai thought of is [Schrödinger's cat].

...But the problem is, where is he going to find this cat?

This was only prisoner number 13; the previous 12 were even more difficult. The higher you go, the harder it gets, requiring a lot of time and not even guaranteeing results. So Shi Bai gave up on that idea.

But Shi Bai never expected that his idea, which he had already given up on, would actually be accomplished by Yagokoro Eirin.

Shi Bai was shocked.

Eirin Yagokoro, forever a goddess!!!

(Pure Fox: It's me! It's me! It's me!!!)

"Hmm... a unique existence existing between life and death, half-human and half-spirit seems to fit the bill perfectly... but can the Journey to the West monk really withstand that kind of power?"

As if he had thought of something, Shi Bai frowned slightly.

Long ago, there was a great singer in Gensokyo.

The poet, a lover of nature, is said to have traveled until his death. When he realized his impending demise, he entered eternal sleep under the most beautiful cherry blossom tree, as he wished. Since then, that cherry blossom tree has bloomed more and more brilliantly, captivating many, and as a result, many have entered eternal sleep there. The cherry blossom, possessing this allure of death, somehow acquired a mystical power.

—This is a historical record about the monk who traveled to the west.

If he were truly the chosen one, then he could never have died, and the Saigyou Ayakashi could never have been born.

Thinking of this, and seeing the beautiful cherry blossom tree in front of him, Shi Bai couldn't help but press his forehead with a slight headache.

The truly one-in-a-billion, one-in-a-world chosen one should definitely be Saigyouji Yuyuko. After Saigyou's death, the power of [Death Mourning] began to gradually go out of control and spread, eventually forming the extremely terrifying existence of Saigyou Ayakashi.

Shi Bai knew the power of [Death Mourning] all too well. If Saigyouji Yuyuko hadn't sacrificed herself to seal the Saigyou Ayakashi, at most within three days, everyone in the world except for himself and a few other Hourai people who had taken the Hourai Elixir would have been declared dead.

"Thinking back now, the reason why the Saigyou monk died young was probably related to the gradual loss of control over the power of [Death Mourning]. The cherry blossom trees that cover the entire Gensokyo can vaguely prove this point, that is, the power within him was gradually getting out of control..."

With his eyes slightly narrowed as he looked at the cherry blossom trees around him, Shi Bai walked towards the direction of the Monster Mountain.

Although he already understood most things, there were still some things that interested him, such as the nameless person who manipulated the three sacred artifacts beside Saigyo and Konpaku Youki.

The Kusanagi Sword, the Yasakani no Magatama, and the Yata no Kagami—the names of the three sacred treasures. Could the being who can wield these three sacred treasures be Morichika Rinnosuke?

P.S.: Today is Children's Day, so hurry up and wish me a happy holiday!!!

Chapter Twenty-Seven: My Lord, Times Have Changed

Compared to the past, there seems to be no change on the Monster Mountain, except that the level of vigilance has obviously increased by more than one level.

The entire Monster Mountain seemed to be shrouded in an atmosphere of impending storm.

"...Those were three monsters."

In the council hall of the Tengu clan, Hirain Hana took a deep breath.

"There's no way to resist that terrifying power. I even feel that if they wanted to, they could wipe out all the monsters on Monster Mountain... Do you know anything about them?"

"Ah... I guess I can still know a little bit..."

Leaning back in his chair, Shi Bai rubbed his forehead with a slight headache.

“I’ll handle this. You’d better not leave Monster Mountain until this is over.”

"What kind of beings are they exactly?"

Sensing the helplessness emanating from the man in front of him, Hirain Hana's eyes flickered slightly.

"You may not know what they did after they left here, but I can tell you now. The war between our monster side and the Moon Capital was still going on, but because of the appearance of these three, the war was forcibly stopped... This is a historical fact that will never be recorded in history."

"...What did they do?"

“Killing, massive killing.”

Nichirain took a deep breath.

"They entered the Monster Mountain with the original plan to kill all the monsters on the mountain, but they stopped for no reason. If they had really done that, we wouldn't have been able to stop them, and what you see here is my corpse."

"Slaughter..."

As if he had thought of something, Shi Bai frowned slightly.

"This is a long story, I'll tell you about it another time later. For the next while, I'll be staying around Monster Mountain... please find me a place to stay."

How long do you plan to stay here?

Upon hearing this, Riluoyuan's eyes immediately lit up.

"It depends on the situation... By the way, you were attacked by the Lunar Capital before, right? Could you tell me in detail what happened at that time?"

"That matter..."

Seemingly recalling some unpleasant memories, Hirain Hana's expression darkened slightly.

"As you know, a large number of malevolent monsters gather around Monster Mountain. I had to stay here to prevent them from attacking Monster Mountain. But before those monsters could make a move, the gods from the Moon Capital broke the non-aggression pact they had signed with the Oni Clan and launched an attack on us."

When talking about this matter, Hirain's face clearly showed a hint of anger.

"Those gods of the Moon Capital clearly saw the changes in the environment and wanted to return to Earth, which is why they wanted to seize places like the Demon Mountain. They even said that the ones who signed the treaty were their past selves, not their present selves, so the treaty's contents have no binding force whatsoever. I've never seen anything like this before... this..."

"Such a shameless person!!"

Shi Bai couldn't help but chime in.

"That's right, it's shameless!!"

After a slight pause, Hirain Hajime nodded heavily.

"After the war between the gods and the demons ended, most of the gods went to the moon with Tsukiyomi, while most of the demons went to live in hell. The difference in strength between the two sides was simply incomparable. In addition, those moon people who possessed the blood of the gods had strange weapons in their hands, so at the very beginning of that war, our Demon Mountain suffered heavy casualties. If it weren't for the sudden arrival of strong reinforcements from the Oni clan, Demon Mountain might have already changed hands."

"Hmm... please continue."

"Actually, there's not much to say. It's just the beginning of another protracted war. If the gods want to return to the earth, they will inevitably have to fight for dominance on the ground again. Compared to the weak humans who can be ruled at any time, they are more concerned about their old rivals."

Hirain Hana sighed helplessly.

"Thus, the Youkai Mountain, which had been peaceful for many years, was once again forced into this war. No one understands the cruelty of war better than us, the race that survived from the previous era. We are all prepared to fight to the death with those gods. Although it seems that the Moon Capital is much stronger than us youkai, the large number of youkai emerging from the old hell beneath Youkai Mountain gives us the confidence to fight to the death... By the way, during the battle to attack and defend Youkai Mountain, we also captured some strange weapons from the Moon Capital, but I gave most of those weapons to the Kappa clan of Youkai Mountain for research."

What kinds of weapons were there?

Upon hearing this, Shi Bai couldn't help but appear quite curious.

"I can't really explain it in detail. It's just an ordinary iron object that looks like a stone, with no spiritual energy fluctuations. But its destructive power is much stronger than some magical weapons. Many tengu on the Monster Mountain died at the hands of that strange weapon... Anyway, I'll take you there to see for yourself."

Shaking his head as if he didn't want to say more, he jumped off the chair and grabbed his hand, walking towards the exit of the conference hall.

"Because the war shows no signs of ending, the Monster Mountain has been under martial law for years... What's wrong?"

"It's nothing, thank you for your hard work."

Shi Bai shook his head slightly and reached out to pat the other person's head.

"Next time something like this happens, call me."

"Don't be rude to me! And don't touch my head!!"

Seemingly annoyed by his treating her like a child, the black-haired girl slapped his hand away, her tone quite fierce.

"If I don't grow taller in the future, I'll bite you to death!!"

"Well………"

Because we are currently in a very critical phase of war, the martial law level at Monster Mountain has been raised to the highest level. While it's not to the point where even a fly flying into Monster Mountain would be shot down immediately, it's definitely possible to detect it.

Following the footsteps of the black-haired loli in front of him, Shi Bai arrived at a hidden cave on the Monster Mountain.

Although the surprise attack launched by the Moon Capital on the Monster Mountain happened many years ago, even after all these years, Shi Bai can still see the various traces left behind in that war.

It's important to understand that the Lunar Capital has already built technologically advanced structures like space battleships; a single main cannon shot could blast a huge hole in Monster Mountain. Even after so many years of repairs, the traces of war are still not so easily erased.

After walking through a long, winding passage in the cave for nearly ten minutes, Riluoyuan led him to a seemingly spacious stone hall.

In this mountain base with its complex terrain and numerous passageways, Shi Bai encountered many monsters along the way. A small number were white wolf tengu used for guard duty by the tengu clan, as well as nose-high tengu that seemed to be working here. The majority were kappa, who were uniformly dressed in white coats and were conducting research on those strange creations.

Because of the strange weapons manufactured in the Lunar Capital, the Youkai Mountain suffered heavy casualties at the beginning due to a lack of understanding. Therefore, after seizing these items, it was natural to conduct reverse research on them.

For these monsters who had never seen technological creations before, those objects that had no spiritual energy fluctuations and were like iron stones couldn't possibly have much power. At most, they could just be thrown at them—this was their common sense.

This is like when Ye Gucheng and Ximen Chuixue agreed to a sword duel atop the Forbidden City. One of them drew a sword that could cut through iron like mud, while the other solemnly raised an M4A1...

After suffering several major losses, the demons would definitely notice the strange weapon the other side was carrying. It would be only natural for them to snatch it and study it. Moreover, the demon sage Yakumo Yukari was on their side, making stealing things a piece of cake.

Unfortunately, even though these kappa have been studying here for nearly a few decades, they still haven't figured it out. The technological gap is quite terrifying.

Even if you asked a famous craftsman from the Tang Dynasty to research electronic watches, even if you gave him 100 years, he would still have no chance of making any progress.

This is the situation of the kappa who bear important responsibilities and have stayed here for decades to study those magical creations.

"...You even stole a small warship?"

Looking at the enormous, futuristic warship that occupied almost half of the hall, Shi Bai was completely stunned.

"This? This was stolen directly by that sage demon."

Seemingly unimpressed by Yakumo Yukari, Hirain Hana snorted softly.

"Even if we stole it, what's the use? After all this time, we still haven't figured out how this thing, which has absolutely no spiritual energy fluctuations, flies. The kappa can't even understand the most ordinary things, let alone such a high-level item. We can only leave it here as an exhibit."

"Uh……"

Looking at the warship in front of him, Shi Bai couldn't help but feel ashamed.

But when his gaze inadvertently swept over a corner, a bead of cold sweat involuntarily trickled down his forehead.

If his eyesight is still sharp and he hasn't made a mistake, and that thing isn't some kind of disguise... then that round object casually placed in the corner should be a nuclear warhead.

"A nuclear bomb? Is this round thing called a nuclear bomb?"

Hirain Hana kicked the nuclear warhead in the corner with a curious look on his face.