"Please be extremely careful. This blade cannot be drawn; to this day, no one has ever survived after drawing it." Seeing Xia Yu take out the immortal severance directly, the young girl hurriedly warned him.
"That's only for ordinary people, and I am no ordinary person." Xia Yu waved his hand dismissively, though he didn't immediately move to draw the blade.
He claimed not to care, but he couldn't skip the necessary preparations.
Thus, Xia Yu began to buff himself. Although that fellow Ashen One hadn't learned the Soul World's Tears of Denial yet, spells that could substitute for death weren't limited to just Tears of Denial.
The zombies in Gourmand Dungeon also possessed such a death-substituting spell, known as the Potion Stewed Ribs dish. Eating it allowed one to substitute for death once.
Furthermore, this death substitution wasn't a one-time thing; it just required time to slowly recover the effect after use—essentially, a cooldown.
The magic formulas the zombie had organized last time recorded the method for setting up this death-substitution spell.
After Xia Yu carefully recalled the death-substitution formula, he tapped his chest with one hand, and the magic formula was instantly inscribed onto his body.
Having finished his first preparation, Xia Yu pulled out a bottle of golden Healing Spell Potion, bit off the cork, and gulped it down directly.
Enormous vitality erupted from within his body in an instant, even tinting his black hair with a touch of golden yellow.
Right now, he looked like a Super Saiyan, except his hair wasn't standing up and his eyes hadn't changed color.
With preparations complete, Xia Yu raised the immortal severance, mimicking Wolf's movements from the game. He pressed his thumb against the tsuba, and with a 'clink,' he pushed the blade out.
In an instant, an ominous red miasma emerged from the blade, and a violent suction suddenly emanated from the immortal severance.
"Ngh!"
Even with his preparations, Xia Yu's lip twitched involuntarily. The overflowing vitality in his body was being consumed at high speed, with one-fifth of it drained in an instant.
However, this was only the sudden initial burst. After the explosion, it gradually began to weaken. As the golden light on his body dimmed, the violent suction of the immortal severance also slowly ceased.
Once three-fifths of the excess vitality had been consumed, the immortal severance seemed satisfied, and the suction gradually disappeared.
"It seems it doesn't necessarily lead to death after all," Xia Yu said indifferently as he looked at the now-calm immortal severance. The so-called 'certain death upon drawing' was only for ordinary people.
Whether it was slaying the undying or the death upon drawing, it was likely just a relative consumption of vitality. If it were truly a blade of absolute death, the Divine Dragon should have died the moment Wolf stabbed it in the eye.
Clang—!
Xia Yu pulled the immortal severance fully from its scabbard. In an instant, the red miasma on the blade surged, spreading across nearly the entire length of the sword.
Its appearance was even more ferocious than in the game; the ominous miasma was almost tangible, even hiding the blade itself.
"You succeeded!"
The girl nearby walked forward excitedly. Xia Yu hadn't been cursed by the Dragon's Heritage, yet he could draw the immortal severance. This made the possibility of the'Severance of Immortality' he mentioned even greater.
"Yeah." Xia Yu swung the odachi trailing red miasma, and a faint whistle sounded in the air. "immortal severance... I'll take it."
After a few swings, Xia Yu sheathed the immortal severance with a 'clink'.
However, feeling the remaining excess vitality in his body, Xia Yu wasn't very happy. He didn't want to go back with a head of golden hair. Should he stuff the extra vitality into a Red Envelope?
Just as he was thinking this, the Rice Maiden nearby entered his field of vision.
Hmm... there's a way.
With a gentle smile, Xia Yu reached out and stroked her head. Though the girl was a bit confused by the sudden head pat, she didn't dislike it.
But in the next moment, a massive surge of vitality suddenly came from that warm palm, pouring completely into her body.
"Ah..."
The girl let out a soft cry, her eyes shimmering with tears. Her body went limp, and she slumped to the ground, bringing her hands together. A hazy white light suddenly appeared between her palms, and then milky-white rice condensed out of thin air—each grain plump and white as jade.
But just this handful of rice was insignificant compared to the excess vitality. Therefore, the girl had no choice but to continue using the Dragons Heritage power to condense the fruit of the harvest.
Rice pitter-pattered onto the ground, and in no time, a small mountain of rice appeared.
"No... I can't..."
By the time the height of the rice mountain was about to cover the girl, her faltering moans sounded. Hearing this, Xia Yu let go, feeling somewhat unsatisfied.
All his excess vitality had been converted into harvest rice by the Rice Maiden using the Dragons Heritage power. Now his hair color had returned to normal. Although some residue remained, it wouldn't have much of an effect.
Looking at the rice mountain in front of him and the slumped Rice Maiden, Xia Yu knelt down. Just as he reached out to stroke her head, her body suddenly stiffened. Only after she felt no more vitality flowing did she relax.
"Thank you for your hard work."
Xia Yu gently patted the Rice Maiden's head. Not only was the excess vitality not wasted, but he had also gained so much rice. It was a win.
Feeling the palm on her head, the girl gave Xia Yu a resentful glance, but Xia Yu ignored it and waved his hand to store the mountain of rice.
This was the Rice Maiden's rice; not a single grain could be wasted.
"Can you still stand?" Xia Yu asked, looking at the slumped Rice Maiden.
Hearing this, the girl tried to push herself up with her hands, but after two attempts, her body still lacked strength.
This was different from the weakness of consuming vitality to condense rice in the past. This time, not only was no vitality consumed, but it seemed quite a bit had been replenished.
It was just that her body was exhausted from using the Dragons Heritage power for so long for the first time.
Though she didn't speak, Xia Yu could guess from her movements that she was likely drained of strength.
"It's okay, I'll carry you."
As he spoke, Xia Yu didn't wait for her to refuse. He used both hands to lift the Rice Maiden in a princess carry.
The girl was startled by being suddenly picked up. Once she realized what was happening, her face flushed red and she lowered her head. This was the first time in her life she had been so close to a strange man. Though she was shy, she didn't dislike it.
After holding the Rice Maiden securely, Xia Yu reached out with his foot to pick up the immortal severance as well, then walked toward the entrance of the Inner Sanctum.
He didn't plan to just open a portal back to Ashina. He had promised to let Senpou Temple sink into the flames of ruin, so naturally, the victim should witness it with her own eyes.
But before that, there was one more thing to do.
[Sekiro] @ [Gourmand Dungeon]: Brother, do me a favor and cook the Rice Maiden's rice. Hehehe, Rice Maiden's rice (﹃*)
[clash of clans]: Hehehe, Rice Maiden's rice (﹃*)
[Nioh 2]: Hehehe, Rice Maiden's rice (﹃*)
[Sekiro]: Get lost, that's mine!
[Gourmand Dungeon]: Holy crap? A mountain of rice? How is there so much?
[dark souls iii]: Holy crap! A mountain of rice! You beast! What did you do to the Rice Maiden!
[Sekiro]: –_–
[Sekiro]: Just say if you're eating or not! Are you eating?!