Psychic power, like an invisible rope, looped around the ninja’s neck. No matter where he fled, he was like a kite on a string, yanked back, unable to go anywhere.
Feng Lin was tired of playing with him. After such a long exchange, he had fully figured out the ninja’s strengths and weaknesses. Though skilled in hidden weapons, blade techniques, ninjutsu, and many other tricks, the man was sneaky and suited only for assassination—his direct combat ability was weak.
Facing someone like Feng Lin, who was impervious to all attacks, the ninja was a tragedy. He had exhausted every trick, yet it was all useless.
Feng Lin’s eyes gleamed with a deep, abyssal light, devouring all radiance.
He pushed his psychic power to its maximum, forming a golden rope that bound the ninja inside and out like a mummy, hoisting him into the air.
Ninja Yamamoto Ichiro’s eyes bulged. Even his fingers were tied up, leaving him unable to pull any tricks.
Feng Lin stepped closer, staring into his eyes, and asked coldly, “What are you here for in this demon illusion realm?”
“This is a secret of our Eastern Ying nation. Do you think I’d tell you?” Ninja Yamamoto Ichiro gritted his teeth, his face twisted with rage, ready to die. He tried to bite off his tongue.
“Dying isn’t that easy.” Feng Lin had anticipated this move. These Eastern Ying people were always quick to disembowel themselves in death, never lacking in backbone. He squeezed the ninja’s jaw, dislocating it, making tongue-biting impossible. Now, the man could neither live nor die.
Bang!
Feng Lin’s palm struck the ninja’s crown, dazing him. By the time he came to, a pair of hands loomed before his eyes.
Yin-Yang Mirror Seal.
Fingers danced like butterflies among flowers, and an invisible psychic wave hypnotized his mind.
Having awakened his psychic gene and strengthened it to 6 points, Feng Lin’s hypnosis skills were now more advanced. He could ensnare someone silently, reaching at least the level of an intermediate mental hypnotist. Even the most elite interstellar cultivators would struggle to evade it.
This ninja was no match. His consciousness sank, plunging into boundless darkness.
“What is your purpose here?” Feng Lin asked again.
“To capture shikigami and subdue the Ame-no-Murakumo-no-Tsurugi!” The ninja’s eyes were vacant as he droned.
Feng Lin’s heart stirred, and he pressed on with questions.
Yamamoto Ichiro’s mind had collapsed, offering no resistance. He spilled every secret from his heart without reservation.
Feng Lin learned the true goal of these Eastern Ying people.
The Ame-no-Murakumo-no-Tsurugi was a demon sword, dug from the belly of the calamitous beast Yamata no Orochi by Eastern Ying’s native gods. Mortals could not touch it, lest they suffer a vicious curse, dying miserably with no remains.
The true demon sword had long vanished into the river of time. Though the sword enshrined in the temple was only a high-quality replica, it was still a relic from ancient cultivation civilizations. Even with just one percent of its power, it possessed incredible abilities.
The demon sword led to an independent dimensional space. The demons within were phantoms formed from the essence of those slain and absorbed by the sword, creating a demon illusion realm.
The most fearsome among them was the calamitous beast Yamata no Orochi, the sword’s spirit. Only by slaying or subduing this beast could one become the master of the Ame-no-Murakumo-no-Tsurugi, using its absorbed demon essence to enhance oneself, breaking through realm limits and unleashing transcendent power.
This intrigued Feng Lin greatly.
He was at the peak of the interstellar cultivator stage. If he could gain the sword’s enhancement, he might break through to the perfect stage, even surpassing the life limit of 100. Even if he didn’t reach the elite cultivator level, taking this half-step could shatter life’s shackles and grant him a portion of transcendent essence.
As for using demonic power, Feng Lin had no concerns.
Power had no inherent good or evil; it was the user who defined it. Used rightly, it was right; used wrongly, it was wrong.
As an interstellar cultivator, power was merely a tool. To be swayed by it would be a complete joke.
“What is a shikigami? How do you control it?” Feng Lin asked further.
Ninja Yamamoto Ichiro answered in full detail, holding nothing back.
It turned out that the Eastern Ying people followed a unique mythological path called the Onmyoji path. At the interstellar cultivator stage, they could awaken the shikigami gene, refining demons for their own use to enhance their abilities.
He also revealed the shikigami gene formula.
Shikigami Gene = Spirit Gene 8 + Imp Gene 6 + Goblin Gene 6
“You’re just a ninja, without the shikigami gene awakened. How do you capture shikigami?” Feng Lin pressed.
The ninja answered without reservation.
Those following the Onmyoji path could use their abilities to create various artifacts capable of subduing demons.
But this came with great limitations. Each artifact could only subdue one demon, unlike the Onmyoji, who, with sufficient spiritual power, faced no limit on the number of shikigami they could control.
Feng Lin then had the ninja produce his artifacts: a purple gourd covered in cryptic runes, along with various other tools—an invisibility cloak, a face-changing skin, smoke bombs, and more, each with its own function.
“Entering this demon illusion realm, the spawn points are completely random. How do you gather?” Feng Lin asked, curious.
“The Yamata no Orochi’s power is too terrifying to face head-on. So, upon arrival, we use the map of Izumo to subdue other powerful demons as shikigami, combining their strength to take down the serpent. This is the method our Eastern Ying predecessors found most likely to succeed.” Yamamoto Ichiro replied, eyes vacant.
“Oh.” Feng Lin was noncommittal, then hit the key point. “Tell me about your companions’ abilities.”
Unable to resist, Yamamoto Ichiro spilled all the details about his allies.
“Among us, Fuma Taro is the strongest. He follows the Fuma clan’s inherited path, having awakened the mutated primal gene, Wind Sword Gene, enhanced to 7 points. He can use the Wind-Cutting Sword Technique, which can sever even the wind. Tanaka Jiro has awakened the high-level primal gene, Fire Demon Gene, enhanced to 4 points, turning into a fire demon who controls flames and ghostly power. Matsumoto Shinzan has awakened the high-level primal gene, Earthquake Gene, controlling the earth’s pulses…”
Truly the elite of Eastern Ying!
Feng Lin noted that the primal genes these people had awakened were at least high-level or above.
“And the shrine maiden?” he asked, puzzled. The ninja had talked for so long without mentioning that eerie shrine maiden. “What mythological path does she follow?”
Ninja Yamamoto Ichiro’s face twisted in struggle as he stammered, “That is the shrine maiden of Amaterasu, following the path of the Sun Goddess. Her ability is… hehehe…”
As he spoke, his throat suddenly seized up, and he couldn’t continue.
Feng Lin looked in surprise to see the ninja bleeding from all seven orifices, already dead.
Clearly, something had been planted inside him. He had leaked a secret he shouldn’t have, and the backlash killed him.
Though he hadn’t uncovered the shrine maiden’s secret, Feng Lin had learned plenty.
In fact, his knowledge of Eastern Ying mythology might surpass that of the Eastern Ying people themselves. From the myths alone, he could deduce a great deal.