The third day after returning to Kaede Village.
Kikyo went into seclusion.
This was something Kanbe Hikaru had not anticipated.
The blending of spiritual power that night had a greater impact on her than Kanbe Hikaru had imagined.
According to Kikyo's own words, in the process of transferring spiritual power into Kanbe Hikaru's body, a subtle change occurred in her state of mind.
That change was hard to describe in words—it was like a string that had always been taut suddenly relaxed, or like a long-blocked acupuncture point suddenly cleared.
As mentioned before,
A shrine maiden's spiritual power is closely related to her state of mind.
The purer the heart, the purer the spiritual power; the firmer the heart, the more powerful the control over that spiritual power.
And after that night, Kikyo's power, far from weakening due to 'falling in love,' became even more condensed and pure than before.
This further proved that Kanbe Hikaru was right; her 'feelings' were never distracting thoughts, but something closer to her true heart.
But this change required time to digest and consolidate.
"I need a few days of quiet cultivation."
Before entering seclusion, Kikyo said this to Kanbe Hikaru.
She stood at the door of the shrine's back hall, wearing her white robe and red hakama as usual, her jet-black long hair tied with a simple white ribbon, her delicate and beautiful face carrying a rare seriousness.
"I need to settle the previous realizations and let my spiritual power stabilize completely."
"How long will it take?"
"Seven days."
Kanbe Hikaru nodded. "Then leave the outside to me."
Kikyo looked at him, her dark eyes full of softness.
"I have already reinforced the Barrier; ordinary demons cannot enter."
"If there is an accident—"
She took a talisman from her waist and handed it to Kanbe Hikaru.
"Crush this, and I will sense it."
Kanbe Hikaru took the talisman and tucked it into his robe.
"Don't worry."
He said.
"I'll wait for you to come out."
Kikyo said nothing more and turned to walk into the back hall.
The wooden door slowly closed behind her, isolating everything from the outside world.
...
In this world, for humans with high spiritual or magical power, quiet cultivation was a very common occurrence.
The world is turbid, and they need to maintain their purity from time to time.
Furthermore, Japan's mainstream Shinto system was a mix of Yin-Yang theory and Pure Land Zen Buddhism; 'frequently wiping away the dust' was an absolute necessity.
Before Kanbe Hikaru arrived, Kikyo would spend at least one or two months a year in quiet cultivation.
Thus, Kanbe Hikaru began his days of guarding the home alone.
To say he was guarding the home was actually more like a solitary cultivation session.
Thunder Muscle had just finished merging, and he still needed time to become familiar and adapt to it.
Although that power of thunder had become a part of his body, he was still far from being able to release and retract it at will.
Kanbe Hikaru spent a lot of time training every day.
He would go to the clearing behind the village at dawn, mobilize the thunder within his body, and feel the trajectory of that power as it moved through his muscles and bones.
Sometimes he would deliberately suppress it, letting the thunder lie dormant in a certain muscle; sometimes he would erupt instantly, seeing how quickly the purple electrical arcs could cover his entire body.
This training was tedious, but the results were significant.
And besides training his Thunder Muscle, Kanbe Hikaru's other important task was naturally to win over the remaining Demonic Tools.
The poison jiao scale, the Nekomata Claws, and Yura of the Hair.
These three things had vastly different personalities, and the methods to win them over were also completely different.
First was the poison jiao scale.
This thing was the hardest to deal with.
Kanbe Hikaru would set aside half an hour every afternoon, holding that dark purple scale in his palm and attempting to communicate with it.
"How's your mood today?"
He asked the Reverse Scale.
There was no response.
The scale just lay there quietly, its surface occasionally seeping a faint, ethereal purple mist.
But Kanbe Hikaru knew it could understand.
Because every time he spoke, that poisonous mist would slightly retract—as if it were on guard, or perhaps testing him.
"Stop pretending."
Kanbe Hikaru lightly touched the edge of the scale with his demonic power.
"I know you're listening."
Still no response.
But that wisp of purple mist clearly twitched.
"Do you think that as long as you play dead, I won't be able to do anything to you?"
Kanbe Hikaru's tone became playful.
"Then you are dead wrong."
He pulled another item from his robe—the Nekomata Claws.
He casually placed that withered black claw next to the Reverse Scale.
"See this? This guy is much more honest than you."
"I pour some demonic power in every day, and its favorability shoots right up."
"In another month, it will be completely mine."
"And you?"
He looked at the Reverse Scale, his tone full of boastful pride. "Still putting on airs?"
When facing 'vessels' with different personalities, one had to use different methods to win them over.
Kanbe Hikaru was very clear on this.
Silence.
The Reverse Scale still didn't respond.
But the flow of that purple mist changed—it was no longer the uniform seepage from before, but began to surge toward the Nekomata Claws.
It was like... a provocation?
Kanbe Hikaru raised an eyebrow.
"Is this jealousy?"
[poison jiao scale: favorability +1]
[Current favorability: 22]
[It won't admit it, but it is indeed displeased.]
As expected of a sinister fellow.
Even expressing jealousy had to be done this way.
Kanbe Hikaru put away the Reverse Scale and continued to the next conquest.
By comparison.
The Nekomata Claws remained the most worry-free.
This thing was like a sponge that absorbed demonic power.
Kanbe Hikaru poured a bit of demonic power into it every day, and it would honestly accept it, and then its favorability would increase a bit.
No interaction, no waves.
Dull, but convenient.
Although it was indeed very boring.
[ Nekomata Claws: favorability + 2 ]
[ Current favorability: 33 ]
[ It still had no reaction. ]
[ Unlocked first bond: Nothing ]
[ Unlocked first talent: Undead Affinity (All low-level undead without self-awareness will show goodwill towards you) ]
"Can't you show some reaction?"
Kanbe Hikaru muttered to the withered claw: "Even just moving a little bit would be fine."
The claw remained motionless.
"...Forget it."
Kanbe Hikaru sighed.
Chatting with a piece of wood was truly meaningless.
As for the final one, Yura of the Hair—this one was the first Kanbe Hikaru obtained, and also the noisiest among the three.
"You're ignoring me again!"
The skull on the red comb vibrated indignantly: "I've been waiting for a whole afternoon!"
"I'm busy."
Kanbe Hikaru didn't even look up.
"Busy!"
Yura of the Hair was displeased: "It's just that stinky Reverse Scale and dead claw, right!"
"You only know how to hold them all day, and you don't care about me at all!"
"I was the first one you caught!"
"I have the most seniority!"
"Why should they be ranked ahead of me!"
Kanbe Hikaru finally looked up, staring at the comb vibrating incessantly in his arms, somewhat speechless: "Do you want to listen to what you're saying?"
Just like that, time passed by.
Five days flashed by in an instant.
Kanbe Hikaru's cultivation and strategy were advancing steadily, and Kaede Village was also peaceful.
Occasionally, a few low-level demons without eyes would approach the Barrier, but they were all easily dealt with by him.
Kaede, who was being fostered at a villager's home, would bring meals every day and ask about her older sister.
The villagers' attitude towards Kanbe Hikaru was becoming increasingly close—that feat of slaying the vanguard of the four directions and forcing back Kidomaru that night had already spread throughout the entire Musashi Province.
People began to call him the Thunder-Slaying Demon God.
Although this title sounded a bit chuunibyou, Kanbe Hikaru couldn't be bothered to correct it.
Anyway, he was indeed a demon, and he could indeed slay lightning.
...
It was evening that day.
Kanbe Hikaru was sitting on the veranda of the shrine, letting his Demonic Qi seep into that piece of Reverse Scale.
"You cooperated well today."
He said to the Reverse Scale: "Keep it up, and in two more months, it will be fused."
The Reverse Scale still did not respond.
But the flow of that poison mist was clearly smoother than before.
[ poison jiao scale: favorability + 1 ]
[ Current favorability: 23 ]
[ It still doesn't want to pay attention to you ]
[ But it has already started to get used to your presence ]
The progress was faster than expected, probably because the trick of using the Nekomata Claws had taken effect.
This sinister guy really responded best to that.
Just as Kanbe Hikaru was thinking this, he suddenly stopped his movements.
He looked up, casting his gaze towards the north.
The sky there was shrouded in a large expanse of smoke and dust.
It wasn't Demonic Qi.
It was—people.
And, the human presence gathered from a large number of people.
The sound of hooves, the sound of iron armor, and the sound of flags flapping in the wind—although they were dozens of miles away, with his current perception ability, he could still capture them.
"This is..."
Kanbe Hikaru's brows furrowed.
War.
Human war.
"Is it coming again?"
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