"I think the same, if it's an evil demon, the only thing on this little piece of land that could make it covetous would be those Spirit Stones I've collected over the years... Naturally, I won't let it succeed."

Saito Dosan slowly nodded. Lately, things have been going wrong on the mountain side, and even without Abe no Seimei's mention, he would naturally link the two events together, his expression becoming even gloomier. Though he's always been careful to conceal and hide things, there's no wall in the world that doesn't let the wind through.

Now, after all, someone ambitious has come knocking, and they've even laid hands on his daughter.

How hateful it is!

"Yoshitaka, how did you fall into the trap?" Only when looking at his second daughter did the elder's expression soften, asking as gently as possible. "No need to worry, explain carefully, there won't be any problem..."

Yet, seeing her rare unease, shy demeanor with her face flushed red like a little girl, and then looking at the hateful guy next to her, the old man still felt extremely annoyed, couldn't help but snort angrily, making a heavy nasal sound.

Even knowing this was unavoidable, it still infuriates him to just look at it...

"Hey, why are you glaring at me again, venerable elder, how about this... Should I move away a bit?" Gu Mo looked innocently at the old man, pretending to want to get up and walk away, wondering why, out of nowhere, the old man started glaring at him again, nostrils flaring, eyes wide.

I really didn't do anything, if anything, it's all thanks to me.

If not, it might have ended up like the original fate, with the scene of a kind father and filial daughter, but ending up with sisters killing each other, where the old man would have been forced into a dead-end by the possessed Saito Yoshitaka. And later when Hidechika captures Rice Leaf Mountain, he would also witness his own sister die before his very eyes.

So, technically, the old man should really be thanking me.

"You! Don't move... Stay right there, like that! Don't move!"

Saito Dosan was seething inside but still gritted his teeth, frustratedly waved his hand, and diligently looked away from him.

Yoshitaka's situation is tricky at the moment, temporarily they can only rely on this kid to suppress it. No matter how much it aggravates him, he can only maintain things like this for now. It was just confirmed that the moment this kid removes his hand, Yoshitaka turns into another person as before...

But as an old father, he always feels that his two pearls might be in danger, and he can only watch helplessly, how infuriating is that!

Gu Mo shrugged, he couldn't do anything about it.

Though since it's cutting down based on his true attributes, this incarnation's spiritual power remains the strongest.

But because the Incarnation Walking Technique has only recently been successfully deduced and not yet perfected, there are still many shortcomings. For instance, the incarnation lacks a True Body of flesh and blood matter, being purely a projection force of Vast Spirit —

To form and stably maintain a "human form" physical entity, the core is to compress the spirit using the technique to restrain the dispersal of Divine Will.

Like a balloon, the Divine Will is the gas inside, once the gas is fully leaked out, the form's outline naturally can't be supported... Based on such a situation, currently, he has no choice but to maintain this look... Of course, based on this reason, he doesn't necessarily have to use his palm to touch the girl's forehead —

Holding her hand might work as well.

Though maybe the old man's blood pressure would be even higher, and that would seem even stranger.

"This... this, I..."

The kimono-clad girl subconsciously bit her white teeth, trying hard to dismiss the chaotic thoughts in her head, and as much as possible not to think about the warm hand on her smooth forehead. She forced herself to stay calm, pondered seriously for quite a while, and finally shook her head slightly.

"I have no impression of anything, haven't encountered anything strange recently either..."

She knows nothing, just like she doesn't know what happens when her heart demon acts up, naturally she doesn't know when she got ensnared either.

Recalling everything, she hasn't come across anything bizarre, her days have been ordinary, either practicing martial arts or reading military books, acting only out of her own interest with no special incidents, hasn't met any peculiar people nor encountered anything unusual...

Saying this, her cheeks blushed slightly, sneaking a glance at someone beside her.

"No clues at all? Seems that guy might be more troublesome than imagined..."

Gu Mo pondered too, that evil spirit wasn't easy to deal with, really hard to handle, a highly feared Illusion Technique master who especially likes hiding like Naraku.

No, perhaps even more pure than Naraku...

Because Naraku still has various human desires, but that evil spirit is an embodiment of negative wicked thoughts from start to finish, creating chaos and waging wars, acquiring Spirit Stones only to break seals, at its core is just that chaotic.

"Do you know anything?" Saito Dosan asked gruffly.

"Oh, it's Qingming who knows, I just heard it from him before..."

Gu Mo calmly indicated towards the Onmyoji, being young without substantial notoriety or reputation in this instance, combined with the old man's prejudice against him, better let the Great Onmyoji explain, he is more convincing when it comes to such expositions.

Abe no Seimei smiled helplessly, but he knew his thoughts and didn't push any further. After pondering for a moment, he said, "Lord Dao San, I'm sure you know why Raiko and I are here, right?"

"Of course..."

The old man nodded, unable to stop himself from glancing at Hidechika's direction, then looked at the brat nearby, feeling somewhat skeptical, his eyes reflecting a trace of doubt.

Time travel, returning to the past, Taichu Warrior...

Wait, wait, wait.

These things sound really mysterious and speculative, let alone it's said that because Ah Xiu traveled back to the past, that's how the demon-slaying sword appeared, and that sword later became the origin of what is known as Chuye Village, which was also the village I come from as a Demon Exterminator in my early years...

But in such a case, which is the beginning, and which is the end?

Even though I am the father, even the place I was born existed because of the sword left by my daughter in the past?

The old man couldn't help but feel a bit befuddled, and many times he found himself entangled in the thought, getting more confused the more he thought about it, unable to figure out the logic and the sequence of relationships.

"Raiko and I are here to prevent the calamity of the Byodo-in Temple, the loosening of its seal is one thing, and additionally, there's this calamity... Lord Dao San, have you heard of Layman Guoxin?"

Abe no Seimei spoke softly, observing the changes in the old man's expression—

"That is the embodiment of the negative malevolent thoughts of the once Great Demon Ootakemaru, sealed within the Ghost Horn by Chuye Shiwan, but as time has passed, at some unknown time a thought managed to escape, possessing humans and demons across different eras, inciting wars. Based on the investigations of Raiko and me over the past few years, in this current era, that entity should be that Layman Guoxin..."

Perhaps it transformed into Layman Guoxin, or perhaps it possessed this Layman Guoxin, but essentially, there's not much difference.

"I've also heard that Layman Guoxin is quite a mysterious person, but his whereabouts are unpredictable. I originally thought he was a decent ninja, but it turns out he's a demon in disguise..."

Saito Dosan had naturally heard of this figure's reputation, and his eyes exuded murderous intent, regardless of how fierce that demon was, he had the heart to chop it down.

"This issue is extremely difficult, as the enemy is in the dark while we're in the open, and it is adept at possession, often not showing up directly, just somehow stirring up the evil thoughts in others' hearts..." Abe no Seimei shook his head and looked at the silent Saito Yoshitaka, "Moreover, the immediate priority is to first resolve Lord Yoshitaka's issue."

"Indeed, that is more important..."

As his eyes shifted, the old man nodded repeatedly, "Then I'll entrust it to Lord Qingming to quickly create an item that can temporarily suppress Yoshitaka's blood."

Saying this, he looked to the other side, unable to restrain himself from twitching his face and simply turning his head away in fury, deciding to ignore it completely.

"No need to be polite, it's my duty... but Lord Dao San, you must also be cautious, Layman Guoxin is especially adept at manipulating people's minds, even Lord Yoshitaka fell for it, so you must be on guard too," the Onmyoji smiled and nodded, also warmly reminding him, he wouldn't want to see his daughter just returned only for the father to fall into trouble again.

That would indeed make things severely worse.

After all, at present, the entire Mino Country still belongs to this old gentleman. If he were manipulated, issuing any harmful command would definitely be a headache.

......

Despite a portion being merely a clone to linger on through the ages, the proficiency in Yin Yang Technique was still remarkable, and Abe no Seimei took some time to craft a Protective Talisman.

Probably due to the previous preparation of many related item blanks, it was completed swiftly, and with Saito Yoshitaka's cooperation from the heart, it did successfully suppress the boiling blood, without any mishaps occurring. She herself felt quite thrilled at this.

Lushan City was sealed that very night, and the wolfish soldiers conducted a massive search across the city, even though they knew it would be to no avail and that Layman Guoxin could not be caught this way, but the old man could not sit idly by.

The result was as such, no definite form of the evil demon was captured, but quite a few enemy spies and ninjas, being misfortunate enough to be caught, were given a proper reception...

Minamoto no Yoshiie also went out to tend to some affairs, missing this event, and only learned of it upon returning that night, frowning with his brows raised sharply, dragging Abe no Seimei around the city for inspection all night, then tirelessly heading up the mountain, preparing to unearth everything inside and out of the Viper Divine Domain.

Everything was so intense and spectacular, that even the Monkey was startled.

From the great noise from the Heaven-Defending Tower, subsequently controlled by Saito Dosan, to the city-wide lockdown...

A series of haphazard actions initially intended to catch a mysterious demon but instead thoroughly frightened the slumbering Fujikichiro, who thought someone had finally angered the overlord of Mino, leading to outright conflict and unrest ensued...

Having been extremely fatigued beforehand, this added scare led to him falling ill.

That night.

Silence enveloped everything, while Gu Mo sat alone on the watchtower of the Heaven-Defending Tower, facing the bright moon.

He gently extended his finger, as if to catch the moonlight, but nothing happened. This body couldn't sense the affinity and unique aura of the moonlight, night was an ordinary occurrence, and nor was it his ally, realms of dominion seemingly non-existent.

"What exactly is amiss..."

He pondered slightly, having confirmed the situation after entering the instance, then hurried back to Lushan City, later encountering Layman Guoxin causing havoc...

Not until now did he finally have the time to thoroughly examine the state of this clone.