Female Swordsman Training Dojo

To put it simply again, Lingbo Hell is the outermost layer of hell, the necessary passage for all the dead to enter. In other words, it is "Yomi" (the underworld). Because in Japan, there is only one hell, Yomi (the underworld).

"So, the Christian Church has gotten involved too, right?" Harunobu wasn't too surprised, after all, Shintoism and Buddhism were causing trouble, it would be strange if monotheistic religions didn't go crazy.

“Judging from this method, it’s most likely the work of the Catholics,” the Celtic Knight King said seriously. “The Puritans and Anglicans couldn’t do such meticulous work. There’s no such thing as Limbo in the hell on the island of England.”

Speaking of which, isn't Avalon considered hell? It's a place for the dead, right...?

"However, it's also possible that this is a joke. After all, someone who can create a plane like Limbo would at least be a cardinal, and I don't think I've ever seen anyone like that in this city."

"No matter what, we'll find out by going to check it out." Qingxin ended his baseless speculation. In any case, this area wasn't too far from the location of the Yellow Spring Reincarnation Array. Instead of guessing here, it was better to go to the site and see for himself.

As for the Three Heavenly Kings...

Noticing Harunobu's malicious gaze, the three Heavenly Kings were terrified and hurriedly begged for mercy, "Spare us! Lord Taira! We've told you everything we know!"

"What do you think, Xiao Yi?"

Harunobu didn't answer directly, but instead touched Izanami's face in his arms. Izanami's reply was also simple: "Let's leave them for now. They can't escape my seal; after all, they are three powerful Vajra Heavenly Kings. They might come in handy later."

The corrupting power transformed back into black mist, carrying the three Heavenly Kings back into a Buddha statue. The originally fierce-looking Heavenly King statue suddenly became as hideous as a demon.

"Monk, I'll leave this place to you for now. Don't let me down." Izanami was in a good mood, so she gave the monk Kakumei a few simple instructions and then left Shitennoji Temple with Harunobu.

Only after Qingxin and King Arthur rode away on their little motorcycles did Monk Jueming finally breathe a sigh of relief, knowing that his life and the temple were safe. As for the Three Heavenly Kings… he was very grateful for the selflessness of the three guardian deities. Now, he had to get to work!

……

The location of the Yellow Springs Reincarnation Array.

This magic circle had long been copied and then destroyed, leaving only ruins that looked quite ordinary. At least, Harunobu had looked at it carefully several times but couldn't find any strange barriers. However, Izanami and King Arthur immediately showed solemn expressions upon landing, one drawing her sword and the other summoning a large amount of black mist.

"Found it... Harunobu, look here." The black mist that filled the entire room suddenly cleared a space, which happened to be the shape of a door. As Harunobu's attention was focused on this, a strange sense of incongruity suddenly appeared in the seemingly ordinary ruins, as if he had seen a "Frankenstein's monster." Although the stitching technique was very good and the appearance was also good, it just felt very awkward.

At that moment, King Arthur, in perfect coordination, slashed with his sword. The indestructible sword in the stone easily pierced through the heavily guarded, even corrupted, gate to the demon realm, revealing the eerie scene behind it to Qingxin.

It was a boundless wasteland, where countless black lotuses bloomed amidst the desolation. One after another, foolish souls wandered through it, heading towards the tallest and most beautiful lotus. And upon that lotus sat a middle-aged man draped in a black robe. He had a bald head, behind which shimmering golden light floated, and he raised one hand, chanting scriptures in a deep voice.

I must say, it actually sounds pretty good.

However, as King Arthur shattered the gate with his sword, the middle-aged man's calm and composed demeanor, or rather, that of Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva, instantly shattered. He didn't even dare to utter any harsh words, immediately forming hand seals in an attempt to unleash magic to escape, and golden Buddhist light shone brightly for a moment.

But when the light faded, he was already tightly bound by the black mist and knelt on the ground in a sorry state.

"In the demon realm connected to the underworld, you still think you can escape in front of me?" Izanami sneered, tightening her corrupting power. "Are you that confident, Jizo? Or are you that afraid?"

"Izanami..."

Jizo knelt on one knee, glaring at Izanami nestled in Harunobu's arms with gritted teeth: "Why won't you just die?!"

"Tsk tsk tsk, husband, doesn't he look like a dog?"

"You're insulting dogs. They're man's best friend." Harunobu chuckled and patted Izanami's bottom, then turned coldly to Jizo. "By the way, do you know where the members of the Tongxin Society, especially their leader Orochi, have gone?"

Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva, looking at the various instruments of torture lurking around him, spoke without fear: "Don't think you've already won—Aaaaaah!!!"

Chapter 441: The Reason King Arthur Left Behind (3k)

As it turns out, even the toughest tongue softens when cut into thin tofu. In just one hour, even Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva succumbed to Izanami's inhumane torture, becoming a robot capable of answering any question.

"Where did the Tongxin Society and Orochi escape to?"

"They fled in different directions and should be hiding in various demon realms; the only ones who are still willing to take them in are those old guys."

Why are you helping the Tongxin Association?

"To become the true ruler of the underworld, instead of just a smuggler and thief who can only sneak around."

"Besides the Four Heavenly Kings and the Tongxin Society, who else do you have as allies?"

"...The Christian Church, their goal is also to control the Underworld, but they don't want to clash directly with Shintoism, and I'm not willing to share it either; so apart from this demon realm and some magical support, they haven't provided any other support."

Although they had already guessed this would be the case, hearing it from Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva himself still annoyed Harunobu and Izanami. Nobody likes suddenly having an extra enemy, but it's better than an enemy lurking in the shadows.

So Izanami quickly adjusted her mindset and continued to ask about other information. Finally, she casually asked, "So who woke you up?"

Chapter 471

"

Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva obediently replied, "Of course, it's my followers. Izanami, you were sealed away before and had no control over matters of the underworld... It's Izanagi, he—"

The Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha's eyes widened in terror, his face contorted in agony as he tried to shut his mouth. But just as he was uncontrollably speaking the truth, his mouth was now completely out of his control. He was very familiar with this situation; it was clearly a case of being under the influence of a soul-searching spell, completely controlled!

But how could that be! He's Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva! With his soul strength and power, how could he be silently controlled by a soul-searching technique! And even if we concede that he was overwhelmed in terms of perception, Izanami kept talking and didn't use a soul-searching technique at all! It's even more impossible for anyone else; he's currently enveloped in corrupting power. Besides Izanami, who else could possibly cast a spell on him…?

"As expected of Jizo, he reacted so quickly." Harunobu waved his hand, dispelling the corrupting power he controlled. Izanami, who had been leaning against him, pretending to ask for information, straightened up slightly and clapped her hands. The Soul Searching Technique, which had been silently eroding the Spirit Pool through the Underworld, was no longer concealed and erupted completely.

A final struggle flashed in Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva's eyes before being completely swallowed up by Izanami's soul-searching technique.

Next, Izanami asked the same questions again to Jizo Bodhisattva, who had now become a veritable question-and-answer machine. Sure enough, a small portion of the information was false, including who had awakened him. However, the parts concerning the Tongxin Society and the Christian Church were all true, proving they were indeed just superficial allies.

So, Harunobu has both good news and bad news.

The good news is that the first mission of the Exorcism Course can be said to have ended almost perfectly: the anti-rebellion organization, the Doshin-kai, which intended to assassinate the Emperor, was defeated; traitors within the bureaucracy were exposed and purged; heretics within religious forces were also exposed in the chaos and were similarly purged; and even the incident involving Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva provided a pretext for war against foreign countries.

It's fair to say that Harunobu's achievements were worthy of a prime ministership, though he himself had no such intention. Furthermore, there's no precedent in Japan for a princess's husband to be prime minister—perhaps this is a copy of the Tang Dynasty, offering the same treatment as Tang Dynasty prince consorts.

But just like the good news, the bad news was also not simple: the Tongxin Society had collapsed but not been destroyed, and it was highly likely that it would collude with other demon kings and make a comeback sooner or later; the deaths of a large number of traitors and collaborators had greatly affected the operation and stability of the bureaucracy; the emperor's authoritarian suppression had aroused dissatisfaction among the feudal lords and nobles, and even the military had some complaints this time; finally, Taira no Harunobu seemed to be a bit too good at fighting.

The high hopes that the Doshinkai placed on the present-day God were not unfounded. Without Harunobu temporarily controlling the Mother of the Underworld and transforming into Kamen Rider to defeat the King of Growth, Osaka would likely have completely fallen into the hands of the Doshinkai. In this era without missiles or airplanes, the Doshinkai, with the present-day God and the large city of Osaka as its base, might very well have succeeded in declaring independence.

It could be said that Osaka was saved entirely thanks to Harunobu. But on the other hand, if Harunobu could even dismantle the living gods, what if he suddenly wanted to dismantle the Emperor...? Even if he didn't, it doesn't seem impossible that he could open the shogunate again?

"I hope that Emperor Taisho won't make any decisions that would upset everyone because of his nervousness."

Harunobu shook his head. He had no intention of becoming the Japanese Emperor or the Shogun. He wasn't cut out for politics; all he was good at was killing and having sex. Although it's said that the most important matters of state are sacrifice and war, those two skills alone weren't enough.

"Forget it, there's no point in thinking about it so much. Anyway, I'm definitely going back to Tokyo." Harunobu stopped thinking about the trust issue between him and the Emperor. At worst, he'd just have to fight—if all else fails, he'd take his wives and go with King Arthur to England.

But before that...

Harunobu looked at King Arthur. Ever since the Red Dragon Queen used the Sword in the Stone to dismantle the gates of Limbo, she had been in a deep thought, which seemed very suspicious.

"Hey Arthur, what are you thinking about?"

"It's nothing, just some personal issues..." King Arthur shook his head subconsciously as if waking from a dream, but then changed his words: "No, I was thinking, since this monster doesn't intend to share the country's only hell, why would a cardinal create a demiplane for him, and at such a high level?"

Even Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva didn't know the answer to this question; in fact, he also suspected there was something wrong here. However, his plan to seize the Yellow Springs failed, and he couldn't escape far, so he had no choice but to hide here. Furthermore, because of his initial carelessness, he hadn't concealed the existence of the Spirit Prison from the Four Heavenly Kings, which led to his betrayal by the remaining three Heavenly Kings.

However, Harunobu didn't care about that now. Instead, he looked at King Arthur and nodded: "So, you stayed because you still have things to do?"

Although he was now quite aware of his charm, the memories he received from Vortigern made him acutely aware of the difference between humans and dragons. The aesthetic of a genuine dragon like the Red Dragon Queen was definitely not his type, and Harunobu had no intention of turning into a giant lizard... although he was indeed somewhat attracted to the Red Dragon Queen's human form.

In short, he had always felt that King Arthur deliberately stayed behind for another reason, and now he had finally found a clue.

Faced with Harunobu's question, King Arthur rarely showed a helpless expression: "You could say that, although I didn't really want to do this; after all, I'm not a Christian, and I really have no interest in helping them find any traitors."

"Help them find the traitor? Who? And I've been curious for a while now, who could command the great Knight King to purge a bunch of lowly alchemists?"

“Who else could it be…” the Knight King clicked his tongue softly, “Of course, it’s the King and Protector of the entire United Kingdom and its overseas territories, and the hereditary head of the Anglican Church, India, the Bahamas…”

A string of titles that sounded like a headache came fluently from King Arthur's mouth, prompting Harunobu to quickly interrupt: "That's enough, there's no room for so many people here—besides, I don't think any of them are as great as the legendary King Arthur, are they?"

“Even the legendary King Arthur couldn’t withstand too many cannons. Even if I could, my people couldn’t.” King Arthur showed a worried expression for the first time. “The walls of Camelot are too old. Even though they are protected by magic and can repair themselves, they still can’t withstand a barrage of cannons. Compared to rare magical materials, gunpowder and cannons are far too cheap. Besides, the British have more than just gunpowder and cannons.”

“Why not try killing the people who are using gunpowder and cannons?” Harunobu offered King Arthur a military suggestion. “For example, launch a direct air raid on London, wipe out His Majesty the King and his council… Perhaps the French will even call this the Red Dragon Revolution?”

The French joke successfully amused King Arthur, though he only chuckled briefly before his expression tightened again, but at least his tone softened considerably: "I don't like those Germanic barbarians, and the king isn't so easy to kill. The archmages and Templars hiding in London might be hoping I do it."

"So, to put it simply, the great King Arthur was trapped by advanced science and had to become a vassal of the Anglo-Saxons in exchange for the survival of his people, right?"

Harunobu tried to summarize what King Arthur had said, but King Arthur shrugged: "In fact, you could say that King Arthur has been defeated and has become a knightly vassal of England."

"But what about Vortigern?"

If King Arthur truly became a vassal, how do we explain Vortigern's situation? It can't be that Vortigern and King Arthur were arguing over who should become a vassal of England.

"Uh... let me think about how to make this story more plausible..." King Arthur pinched his chin with one hand.

Chapter 472

She tried to control the upward curve of her lips, but soon she didn't have to try so hard anymore.

Izanami appeared in Harunobu's arms, smiling as she translated King Arthur's words into Japanese for him: "Simply put, she's like our Shuten-dōji and Tamamo-no-Mae, becoming a demon king outside the government; however, she's a bit smarter, having learned to feign compliance with the government."

King Arthur—no, the Red Dragon Queen—narrowed her eyes.

The author says:

Author's Note: A Major Failure in Timing

Chapter 442: The Tongxin Society's Method of Revenge

Within the demon realm of Mount Ooe, in a magnificent hall atop the mountain, the Yamata no Orochi, disguised as a cold-faced man, knelt behind a low table. Around him and in front of him were many others in the same posture, including his followers from the Tongxin Society, demons from other factions, and even humans.

In front of these two rows of dozens of people, deep within the main hall, on the magnificent throne, sat a man with black demon horns on his head, a burly and robust physique, and bulging muscles all over his body, as if his muscles had become a spirit—this was Shuten-dōji, the lord of Mount Ōe!

Like Yamata no Orochi, he is not the legendary Shuten-dōji, after all, that one had already had its head cut off by Minamoto no Yorimitsu. Moreover, unlike Yamata no Orochi, who belongs to a unique race of yokai, Shuten-dōji is essentially a demon, and "XX-dōji" is actually the title of a demon king.

But this doesn't mean that Shuten-dōji was weak. On the contrary, the new Shuten-dōji, like Yamata no Orochi, has embraced the changes of the new era and become far stronger than the legendary one.

This is also why Orochi chose this place as its first stop.

Yes, Orochi doesn't intend to stay here long. While Shuten-dōji is slightly stronger, especially within Mount Ōe where he could easily overwhelm him, to say he could reliably defeat Taira no Harunobu... let's not even discuss individual strength. Taira no Harunobu is a government lackey; if he were to directly deploy artillery to blast Mount Ōe to smithereens, how would you possibly cope?

The biggest difference between the Demon Realm and the Hidden World is that the Demon Realm requires a stable external space to ensure its existence. Once Mount Ooe in the mortal world is flattened, Mount Ooe in the Demon Realm will also cease to exist. As for going out to fight and destroying the cannons—Taihara Harunobu probably wishes for that, as it would save him waiting time.

So he definitely won't stay here for long. In fact, once the banquet is over, he's planning to run away with his men.

And before that...

"Yamata no Orochi, what was the gift you promised me?"

Shuten-dōji sat arrogantly on his throne, one hand holding a sake jar hanging down, the other supporting his chin, watching Yamata no Orochi with a mocking expression. He and Yamata no Orochi had a long history together; they had eaten people together during the Warring States period hundreds of years ago, and dismantled foreign ships together decades ago. So seeing Yamata no Orochi beaten to a pulp now made him extremely happy.

"You bastard, you stole my spoils back then, and now you're getting beaten up and coming to me for help, huh? Haha! You idiot!" — That's roughly the thought.

Orochi stood up and handed a stack of documents he had prepared to the red-skinned female demon who had come to greet him: "This is all the information our Tongxin Society has on living gods and demonized humans. You may not understand it, but Ibaraki will definitely be able to."

Shuten-dōji glanced at the document in his hand with some displeasure, then casually tossed it to Ibaraki-dōji, who was kneeling behind his throne. The blue-haired female demon, completely hidden in the shadow of Shuten-dōji's throne, took the document and patiently began to read it from beginning to end.

The impatient Shuten-dōji banged on the armrest and picked a fight with Yamata no Orochi: "Yamata no Orochi, why are you getting more and more cowardly? You were beaten by a samurai and ran away in a panic without even daring to fight back?"

Orochi was too lazy to waste words on this muscle-bound brute who had brains but didn't use them, and retorted on the spot: "If you have the ability to beat the King of Growth in his prime like a dog, then I'll run away immediately; but I seem to remember that someone was chased all the way from Kazusa to Mount Ooe by a Bodhisattva Hachiman, and only managed to save his life thanks to the Demon Realm."

"You bastard! Whose fault do you think that is!"

"Ah, yes, yes, it must be because I ate the offerings that the daimyo of Kazusa Province presented to Hachiman Daibutsu, not because someone raped the daimyo who had kept them for his own use."

Listening to Orochi's biting and irrefutable sarcasm, Shuten-dōji's crimson skin deepened, but he knew very well that he couldn't possibly win an argument with Orochi in a verbal battle—after all, that guy had eight heads. So, he had to resort to a real man's method—well, well, he'd always wanted to fight Orochi anyway.

"You bastard! Die!"

Shuten-dōji threw down his sake jar, picked up the katana leaning against the throne, and pounced directly at Yamata no Orochi. Yamata no Orochi, who was prepared, transformed, its human head becoming eight snake heads, attacking from the side and blocking directly, spewing fire and poison, or stealthily chanting incantations… nimbly and skillfully engaging Shuten-dōji in battle.

The two demon kings were locked in a fierce battle in the main hall, while the other guests and ghosts showed no sign of being neglected. Instead, they all stared wide-eyed, diligently absorbing the techniques and experience of the battle—even they rarely witnessed such a battle between demon kings; and this kind of situation, where there were no safety concerns, was a first for them.

A dozen minutes later, the Yamata no Orochi had several more wounds on its head, and Shuten-dōji's muscular body was covered in colorful marks, with several muscles missing. However, this level of injury only fueled the fighting spirit and desire for victory of the powerful demon king, and Shuten-dōji's eyes began to turn red.

Just as Shuten-dōji was preparing to reveal his true form and engage in battle, a blue-haired female demon appeared behind him: "Your Majesty, they are all genuine."

Shuten-dōji paused, then put down his sword: "Yamata, are you serious?"

"I'll say it again, you can't beat Hiraharu Shin, even if you call on your Four Heavenly Kings." Recalling the terrifying figure of Kamen Rider Yomi, Orochi's eight heads shuddered simultaneously. "So if you don't want your whole family to be suddenly killed one day, hurry up and start preparing for the Great Construction; Hiraharu Shin already used his full strength against a living god, if you can prepare more, even without a veteran god like the Heavenly King of Growth as a pilot, it won't be a problem to make Hiraharu Shin hesitate to act."

"Tsk..." Shuten-dōji lost interest in continuing the fight and sat back down in his seat. "So you're still planning to leave. Who are you going to next? Those tengu? Or that fox that just ran away?"

"It seems the Grand Master has recently woken up, hasn't he?"

“That big guy… well, that makes sense. He’ll definitely love these big toys you made.” Shuten-dōji sighed. “Alright, thank you, Orochi. I agree to your request. I’ll have… well, Hoshiguma, you take charge of this.”

The tall demon leaning against a corner of the main hall nodded and caught the magatama thrown by the Yamata no Orochi.

After completing the last task, Orochi transformed back into human form and touched his shattered skull: "Hurry up, or the cost and time spent gathering materials will be incomparable to what we have now."

"I should thank you," Shuten-dōji sneered. "Get lost, the Great Master hasn't been awake for long."

"I hope we can meet like this again next time, Shuten-dōji." Yamata no Orochi waved his hand, and the officers of the Tongxin Association put down their sake from Mount Ōe and followed their leader.

Soon, information about the gods and yokai spread like wildfire throughout Japan, from giant yokai whose original form was taller than the gods, to the golden-haired, jade-faced nine-tailed fox who was still alluring even though he was seriously injured; from the swift tengu to the lazy and inactive tree spirits... information about the gods and yokai spread like wildfire throughout Japan, and almost every yokai with any power got their hands on it.