I became the Lord of the Eternal World in Tokyo.

I wish he could get some kind of "short-time card" item someday.

Unfortunately, these kinds of props are mostly hard to come by.

Uesugi Tetsu sighed softly and stuffed the Hannya Mask back into his dantian.

He leaped out of the clear spring water, climbed the rock wall in a few steps, and came to the ground.

As soon as he got ashore, Uesugi Tetsu noticed that the Tang Umbrella Monk, who was standing a few meters away, had grown taller, and the red umbrella on his head seemed to be even shinier.

It was still standing there, swaying unsteadily, looking completely bewildered.

——【Tang Umbrella Monk (1.5 stars)】.

The change in the prompt indicates that Uesugi Tetsuya's feeling was correct.

Perhaps due to absorbing the dissipated mist, Tang Sanzang, who was originally just an unwitting bystander, also rose by half a star level.

It was like a windfall.

Uesugi Tetsu didn't disturb him. He walked straight towards the young man sitting on the moss-covered rock not far away, wanting to express his gratitude.

The young man, who had already noticed the commotion, looked at Uesugi Tetsuya, but couldn't see much difference.

He squinted: "Is this spring water useful? Or is that guy just lying to me?"

“I have learned a great deal.” Uesugi Tetsu bowed to the young man, his tone sincere. “Thank you, Village Chief, for bringing me here.”

"Wow, that's pretty good."

The young man raised an eyebrow in surprise, staring intently at Uesugi Tetsuya for a while, but still couldn't find any changes compared to before.

His curiosity was boundless and burning brightly.

But the young man ultimately didn't ask such a private question. If he couldn't find it, he couldn't find it; he could only blame it on his lack of insight and insufficient knowledge.

Asking about it would be extremely impolite.

At this moment, the little monk with the umbrella beside the cliff had also regained consciousness. It hopped over on one leg and bowed deeply to both Uesugi Tetsuya and the young man.

"Village Chief and Elder Traveler, thank you both."

The young man thoughtfully stroked his chin, then chuckled.

"No need to thank me, it's all thanks to your excellent comprehension, Miaofeng. Given time, you might even surpass your grandmaster!"

These words made the young monk with the Tang umbrella turn pale red. He lowered his head deeply and stammered, unable to reply.

The young man stood up and waved to Uesugi Tetsuya.

"Now that we've come all this way, let's go back to the village first."

……

This time, thanks to the improved strength of the Tang Umbrella Monk, the return journey took a full third less time.

As soon as he arrived at the village entrance, the young man noticed that most of the villagers had gathered together, looking towards him... no, towards Uesugi Tetsu behind him.

"So this is the legendary Walking Master..."

"The older brother actually looks quite ordinary, like a good person."

"His aura is almost that of an ordinary person; this walking aura concealment technique is truly superb."

Chattering voices rang out among the spirits, most of which were related to Uesugi Tetsu and the walking token at his waist.

Uesugi Tetsu listened for a while and found that most of these spirits had a pretty good impression of him, but because they were strangers, they didn't dare to go up and say much.

Only an old woman with a full head of white hair, leaning on a cane, spoke in a hoarse voice: "Village Chief, you haven't seen this old woman for over eighty years..."

These words finally drew the attention of the surrounding spirits.

"village head?"

"Is this the village chief?"

"Huh? Does our village have a village chief?"

The young man stopped and looked at the wrinkled old woman, taking a while to slowly match her with the image of the woman in his memory.

"Has it taken that long?"

The young man muttered, "I just thought of a better structure for the transmission of Yin-Yang techniques and wanted to put it into practice. I never expected that decades would pass in the blink of an eye."

He gave the old woman and the villagers an apologetic look.

"Ladies and gentlemen... I'm sorry, but after being alone for so long without any threat to my lifespan, my sense of time has become rather blurred."

The villagers waved their hands repeatedly.

—The average age of the villagers standing here is not even fifty, so they don’t really feel the weight of what the village chief said.

The old woman didn't say much.

She smiled at the young man, then slowly walked over and placed a pale yellow brocade pouch in front of Uesugi Tetsuya.

"My dear traveler... if you encounter any difficulties in life in the future, perhaps it can help you solve some of your troubles."

Uesugi Tetsu accepted the brocade pouch with both hands and thanked him sincerely.

The old woman in front of him was the same "fortune teller" he had met when he passed through the village before.

"I will accept your thanks, sir."

After a slight nod, the smiling fortune teller turned and slowly walked away.

As the fortune teller delivered her gift, the other spirit villagers also brought some "local specialties," though most of them were mainly for commemorative purposes.

Regardless of the value of the gifts, Uesugi Tetsu thanked each person sincerely.

After the cheerful and lively villagers had left, Uesugi Tetsuya sighed, "This place can truly be called a paradise."

The young man, who had never heard of this idiom before, pondered for a moment, and after roughly understanding its meaning, gave a noncommittal answer.

"Eternal peace and joy... these peaceful spirits truly enjoy this atmosphere."

Uesugi Tetsu understood the implication in his words.

—I thought that only a few decades or a hundred years would pass, and I wanted to avoid the monsters that I could never defeat and make a name for myself in the new era.

But one day, they were suddenly told by outsiders that a thousand years had passed in the outside world.

A thousand years is too long.

Dust to dust, dust to dust.

Everything that belonged to him, and everything he had experienced, had been left in the Heian period a thousand years ago, a time when the world bordered the ordinary world, but also a time when the art of Yin and Yang flourished.

"Then, Village Chief, how shall I leave?"

Uesugi Tetsu asked him.

"That's easy, just take me there from where you appeared."

The young man gave him a hearty smile.

Before long, the three of them arrived at the dense forest that Uesugi Tetsu had seen when he opened his eyes.

Under the dumbfounded gaze of the young monk with the Tang umbrella, the youth simply waved his hand, and a light white vortex appeared above the grass for people to pass through.

Even though they were right next to each other, Uesugi Tetsuya, who had opened his Eye of Insight, couldn't figure out the trick.

The only finding is that this is related to the deep application of spiritual power.

The young man pinched his nose, sensing a familiar aura emanating from the other side of the vortex.

"Huojin? Is she still alive?"

"Village Chief, if there's nothing else, I'll take my leave now..."

"Uesugi-kun, can you do me a favor?"

The young man smiled nostalgically, interrupting Uesugi Tetsuya's farewell.

"Please say."

Curiosity flickered in the young man's eyes.

"If you have time to come next time, could you bring some historical documents? I'd like to learn about what happened over the past thousand years."

Uesugi Tetsu blinked and nodded at him: "It's nothing."

—For young people, the history that has happened over the past thousand years is the "future." If Uesugi Tetsu had the opportunity to see the next thousand years, he would ask others for it.

The young man waved to him: "Then I thank you in advance, Uesugi-kun."

After waving goodbye to the young man and the Tang-style umbrella-wielding monk, Uesugi Tetsu stepped into the pale white vortex.

……

"Uesugi, it seems you've gained quite a bit in the secret realm."

The God of Calamity's tone carried a hint of joy.

She waved her hand lightly, instantly clearing Uesugi Tetsuya's mind and allowing him to see her clearly.

"Indeed... But without Lord Huojin's guidance, I might not have been able to enter this secret realm at all, let alone obtain what I wanted within it."

Just thinking about the upper limit of the "four-star" rank of White Prajna made Uesugi Tetsuya feel that the future was really bright.

"These are just things I should do."

The God of Calamity clasped his hands together, his expression calm: "There's nothing to praise."

After saying that, she sighed softly again.

"I originally intended to do what I always did and give you, Uesugi, some simple, easy, and rewarding tasks."

Unfortunately, I can no longer do that.

The God of Calamity gently stroked the empty stone slab beside him, which had been renovated but still bore the marks of time.

“I will stay here now to ensure that the walking assembly will always exist and become the last resort for all walkers.”

Her tone was surprisingly calm.

Uesugi Tetsuya was silent for a moment, then asked her, "If it is presumptuous of me, may I ask how long your lifespan is, Lord Mokujin?"

The God of Calamity did not answer.

But Uesugi Tetsuya sensed an aura of desolation and loneliness emanating from her.

I imagine the answer will be a very, very, very large number...

Uesugi Tetsu rubbed his fingers together, recalling the request the young man had made to him earlier.

So he asked, "Lord Mojin God, what are your hobbies, what books would you like to read, or what food would you like to eat?"

The girl, wearing a white hood and as still as a plaster sculpture, froze.

She blinked, looking somewhat bewildered.

After a long pause, he hesitated and shook his head: "I...I'm not quite sure."

“Such memories are too distant, and far too fragmented and vague,” the God of Calamity said helplessly to him. “Please forgive me, Uesugi.”

This answer was exactly what Uesugi Tetsu had expected.

Uesugi Tetsuya took a bottle of chilled soda from his storage backpack and handed it to the girl.

"This drink is for you..."

After giving a mysterious smile, Uesugi Tetsu waved to her.

"Then, Lord Calamity God, please look forward to our next meeting."

The faint white light disappeared before the Goddess of Calamity's eyes. She tilted her head blankly and looked at the slightly icy dark brown cola.

She rubbed the condensation droplets on the plastic bottle a couple of times, carefully picked up a drop with her index finger, and tasted it on the tip of her tongue.

Drinks...?

Is it something like water?

The Goddess of Calamity was somewhat confused, just as she was confused about how to open this fragile bottle and see what was inside through the outer membrane.

From then on, in addition to cleaning up the empty walking gatherings, the God of Calamity had an additional daily task.

— Researching how to open this strange and fragile bottle.