Yuki Tsukumo frowned deeply, staring at the grocery store in front of her.
She pulled out her phone and dialed.
Listening for a few seconds, before the person on the other end could answer, she said impatiently, "We're a step too late."
After a moment, a voice came from the phone: "In other words, the King of Curses' master really is Ashiya Magon?"
Yuki Tsukumo said coldly, "This should be your responsibility."
"I have been monitoring all the Ancient Sorcerers in Japan, and Ashiya Magon is just one of them," the voice said slowly.
"He isn't even the strongest; on the contrary, he is very honest."
"He is the only Ancient Sorcerer who actively exposed his life to me."
"I was certain he was simply living."
"As long as nothing went wrong in the Jujutsu world, he would never act."
"But now there's a problem," Yuki Tsukumo sighed.
"The King of Curses appeared out of nowhere, and his debut battle was the destruction of the Zenin Clan."
"Yes," the voice said faintly.
"So, I immediately sent you to find him."
Yuki Tsukumo said irritably, "But it's still too late!"
"You should have found all the Ancient Sorcerers you know the moment you learned of the appearance of an Intelligent Cursed Spirit!"
"Then let Satoru Gojo go to each of them!"
"That would count as a crisis warning."
"I can't do that," the voice sighed again.
"Why?" Yuki Tsukumo asked, annoyed.
"Because I am Tengen," the voice said.
Yuki Tsukumo fell silent.
After a long time, she asked helplessly, "Fine, because you are Tengen, unless you encounter an act of God, you are not allowed to interfere with the Jujutsu world."
"You must remain high above, being a happy puppet!"
"I told you long ago, if you really cared about the Jujutsu world, you shouldn't have let the Jujutsu Higher-Ups run wild there."
"I am over a thousand years old, child," Tengen said softly.
"My thoughts and style are no longer suited for this era."
"You think the modern Jujutsu Higher-Ups are old-fashioned now, but if I really replaced them as you suggested, you would only think the current Higher-Ups were doing a decent job."
"Your stepping down and yielding your position has also led the Higher-Ups to their current state," Yuki Tsukumo said coldly.
"Didn't Satoru Gojo emerge?" Tengen smiled.
"I believe he will eventually change the Higher-Ups, just as they used the name of righteousness to bind me here with a Binding Vow back then."
"Satoru Gojo can always forge a great path... That is what humans are."
Fine.
Being so noble and righteous, I have nothing more to say.
Yuki Tsukumo massaged her temples and gave a helpless sigh.
After a while, Yuki Tsukumo asked, "So what do we do now? We've lost the trail."
Indeed, when Tengen learned that the Immortal Master had an old-fashioned master, she immediately thought of Ashiya Magon.
It wasn't that Tengen hadn't thought of Kenjaku, but Kenjaku and Ashiya Magon were two different kinds of people.
One couldn't see any of Kenjaku's meanness or ruthlessness in the Immortal Master; instead, he everywhere revealed the clarity and benevolence belonging to a samurai.
Tengen knew the information on all Immortals in Japan, and therefore, after carefully inquiring about the intelligence from Yuki Tsukumo and Satoru Gojo, she immediately locked onto Ashiya Magon.
Only Ashiya Magon would care so much about so-called benevolence; it must be him.
If it were a disciple taught by other Immortals, it would be impossible to spare the old and weak of the Zenin Clan, nor would they loudly announce their name before a battle.
This kind of behavior, similar to samurai films, could only be taught by Ashiya Magon.
As for whether this was the Intelligent Cursed Spirit's own will?
Not to mention Tengen, even Yuki Tsukumo and Satoru Gojo hadn't considered that possibility.
You must be joking!
With the identity of a Cursed Spirit, it's impossible from the start to hold tolerant thoughts toward humans!
Not to mention Cursed Spirits, just look at the moral bottom line of some people in reality, and you can imagine how evil and arrogant an unscrupulous bastard could be.
So from the very beginning, everyone in the Jujutsu world believed the Lord of Curses' personality was definitely due to later teaching.
"Don't you have the phone number of Gojo's student?" Tengen said slowly.
"I remember you called him before contacting me."
"Did he call back?"
"No, I called him before I contacted you, probably about half an hour ago," Yuki Tsukumo frowned.
"He said he would keep an eye out."
"He hasn't seen the King of Curses?" Tengen asked.
"He didn't say if he had seen him or not; he just said he would keep an eye out," Yuki Tsukumo said thoughtfully.
"He should have seen him, and it's very likely he was placed under a Binding Vow," Tengen said faintly.
"Although Ashiya Magon comes from a samurai background, he doesn't lack caution."
"Rather, it's precisely because of his caution that I've allowed him to live until now."
"If he is sincerely teaching the King of Curses, then he must have taught his own caution to the King of Curses as well."
"Anyone the King of Curses meets will surely be placed under a Binding Vow."
Yuki Tsukumo's eyes flashed.
"In other words, as long as we keep a close eye on Hakari now, we'll definitely find the King of Curses?"
Tengen said cautiously, "Theoretically."
"Theoretically?" Yuki Tsukumo's voice grew sharp.
"Do you know how fast the Lord of Curses' growth rate is?"
"Satoru Gojo and I went to the Zenin estate and looked around, and we generally believe that the time it took him to destroy the Zenin Clan was no more than three hours."
"In those three hours, he evolved at least three times!"
"An average of one evolution per hour!"
"He is growing every second, without stopping!"
"He can already wipe out the Zenin Clan now; I can't imagine what level he'll grow to next time."
"What did Satoru Gojo say?" Tengen asked.
"That guy told me to do whatever I want," Yuki Tsukumo said through gritted teeth.
"Since he still has confidence, things won't slide toward the worst-case scenario," Tengen comforted.
"I know Ashiya; he isn't the calculating type."
"Even if he wants to fight, he'll do it honorably, just like when the King of Curses went to the Zenin Clan—it announced its name openly and gave the Zenin family all the time they needed to prepare before starting the battle."
This was also why Tengen could be so relaxed.
If it were Kenjaku's scheme, Tengen would certainly be nervous.
Upon learning that Kenjaku had appeared and sealed Satoru Gojo, she immediately found a way to open the Seal and cautiously left behind guards.
Tengen knew Kenjaku's target must be her, and she couldn't die—if she did, the whole of Japan would fall into chaos.
As it turned out, Tengen did indeed know Kenjaku very well; she saw through all of Kenjaku's actions.
But as it also turned out, Kenjaku also knew Tengen very well and saw through all of Tengen's actions.
Between these two arch-enemies who had been entangled for a thousand years, Kenjaku ultimately came out on top.
This was because Tengen was confined to one spot, rarely contacting the outside world, with thoughts still stuck a millennium ago—only through merging with a Star Plasma Vessel could she glimpse the development of the era.
Kenjaku, however, had personally experienced the changing times and felt the shifts in the Jujutsu world at every moment; this was the gap in practical experience.
"Are you saying we should just ignore everything now?" Yuki Tsukumo asked.
"I remember you contacted me because the Jujutsu Higher-Ups allowed it, right?"
"It's because the Culling Game Supervisors truly felt the pain and fear that they opened the door for me to meet you."
Exactly, this was precisely why Yuki Tsukumo could contact Tengen.
Compared to Satoru Gojo's students, Tengen's information sources were naturally more credible.
Thus, Yuki Tsukumo, prepared to be a nuisance, demanded the Jujutsu Higher-Ups contact Tengen.