Book 12: Chapter 246: The Fading Blade Scar
Lily pulled Rei along as they soared toward a massive island shaded in dark cyan. This island stretched several hundred kiloters in diater, roughly the size of an entire province of the Heian Dynasty. Despite its imnse size, the entire landmass floated upon a sea of clouds.
They landed near the island’s edge. Standing on solid ground, Lily turned to look behind them. The place resembled a sheer cliff, and in the distance, the boundless sea of clouds rolled like ink, dark and endless. Amidst the swirling mist, the vague outlines of distant peaks and islands appeared, as if hidden within a mountainous realm forged from the shadows of the clouds.
Yet, when one stood at the brink of the cliff and looked down, only a vast, grey haze greeted the eye. Like a cloud ocean, it churned endlessly without any visible foundation. It was endless, void, and bottomless.
The island itself was blanketed in dense forests. The trees here were exceptionally tall, with most rising several hundred ters, and so even stretching over a thousand. These were colossal ancient pines.
“What thick trees…” Lily muttered as she gazed at a towering pine that stood straight like a mountain peak. Its trunk alone spanned several dozen ters in diater.
These ancient pines had likely stood for millions of years. Ti had rendered them not only thick and gnarled but gave them fierce, almost grotesque shapes. They lood like somber, majestic mountain gods, glowering down at the two intruding girls with ill-intent.
“Is this really… Takamagahara?” Lily asked uncertainly. To her, it felt more like the mountaintop forests above the realm of Yomi. Wasn’t Takamagahara supposed to be an expanse of azure sky and drifting white clouds, with floating golden palaces dotting the heavens?
Rei shook her head. “I’m not sure either. Lily, neither of us has ever been to Takamagahara. Perhaps… the legendary place is simply different from what we imagined.”
A gloomy wind swept through like the breath of a giant mountain god, blowing across Lily’s chest. Her scarlet robes trembled in the wind, occasionally revealing a flash of pure white beneath, tender, youthful, and innocent.
“Whether or not this is truly Takamagahara… where exactly are we? And how are we supposed to find the place where Bishamonten is imprisoned?” Lily asked.
“Lily, since we ca from the sa Hekiraku Realm, that female torturer and the celestial maidens who brought her here shouldn’t be too far away from us. Why don’t we look around and see if we can find any clues?” Rei replied. She was always full of confidence, no matter how disorienting the situation. That was sothing Lily admired deeply, she always felt that Sister Uesugi was a dependable woman.
“Clues, huh…” Lily glanced around but saw only an endless forest of ancient pines, like a landscape painting of ink-washed mountains stretching endlessly.
“It really looks desolate around here. Not a single trace of human presence,” Lily said. “Let use my divine power to probe the area.”
“Be careful, Lily. Don’t let anyone discover us instead.”
Divine probing could detect things from a great distance, but if it triggered any sophisticated detection formations or encountered soone of equal or greater strength, it could expose her location instead. Worse still, if soone vastly outclassed her, she might not even realize they had noticed her in return. It was a risky move, especially in this completely unknown territory.
“Lily, hold off for now.” Just as she was about to unleash her Celestial Stage divine power to probe, a familiar voice called out to her.
“Senior Sister?”
“There’s no doubt,” Rinne said calmly. “This is indeed Takamagahara. However, we’re currently in an extrely remote and low-lying area of it.”
“What? Really?” Lily found it hard to believe. Could this gloomy place truly be Takamagahara?
“Lily, have Rei place her hand on the mirror. That way, she can hear too.”
“Eh? Okay…”
Lily guided Rei to place her hand on her abdon, where she could feel the ancient mirror hidden beneath her sash begin to pulse with energy.
That said, if anyone happened to stumble upon the scene from afar, they might’ve thought the two girls were touching each other in so inappropriate way amidst the forest. Lily couldn’t help feeling a bit embarrassed. Still, this was a remote place, there shouldn’t be anyone else around to see them.
Rinne spoke to Lily and Rei. “Although I originally did not support you two venturing into Takamagahara at this ti, Bishamonten truly must be rescued, and there is no other way. You must not be careless. Even in this desolate fringe of Takamagahara, danger lurks at every turn.”
“Thank you for the warning, Lady Rinne,” said Rei. She had never quite understood the term Senior Sister and always found it a little odd. After all, there was no such concept in the Heian Dynasty. Calling her senior martial sister also felt sowhat inappropriate. So, at so point, Rei had simply settled on calling her Lady Rinne.
As for Lily, she had long since grown used to addressing her as Senior Sister, fully understanding its aning. Naturally, she saw no problem with it.
“This place is indeed extrely remote. You were right to suspect as much. No matter which path one takes from the Hekiraku Realm to Takamagahara, they should all lead in this general direction. But even within the sa direction, the distances can span thousands of kiloters. The vastness of Takamagahara is beyond anything you can imagine.”
“I don’t know the exact location of this place either. It appears to be one of the more secluded islands. Within Takamagahara, countless islands and isolated peaks float in the skies. Remote and barren islands like this one are called Hakanajima, while the solitary peaks nearby are known as Hizan. Closer to the center of Takamagahara, there are even larger islands, so of which surpass the size of the entire Heian Dynasty in land area.”
“But for a Hakanajima, this one isn’t exactly small. Generally, islands of this size have a city or fortress built and guarded by Celestial Maidens or mbers of the Amatsukami. You two should search the island carefully, locate the fortress, and try to capture a battle maiden or a soldier of the Amatsukami. From them, you might be able to learn sothing about those who ca from the Hekiraku Realm. If my guess is correct, the Celestial Maidens who brought the interrogator from the Hekiraku Realm likely arrived closest to this island. That ans they probably stopped by the fortress here before continuing on deeper into Takamagahara,” Rinne explained.
“I see! So as long as we trace the movents of the group from the Hekiraku Realm, we can find out where Lady Bishamonten is being held,” Lily said, suddenly understanding.
“Exactly. In fact, a divine being of Bishamonten’s level would never be imprisoned in an ordinary place. Across all of Takamagahara, there are only three locations capable of confining soone like her. I just don’t know which one it is. And second, I cannot determine where we are right now. This area is simply too remote,” Rinne said.
“Understood, Lady Rinne. We’ll begin searching for the fortress on this Hakanajima. With the island only a few hundred kiloters across, it shouldn’t be too difficult to find,” said Rei.
“Yes, but even in a remote place like this, you must not be careless,” Rinne reminded them.
“But… Senior Sister, do we really have to capture a Celestial Maiden? Can’t we just try asking nicely?” Lily asked. To her, weren’t the Celestial Maidens on their side?
“Don’t be naive. Have you forgotten what I told you? The Takamagahara of today is filled with enemies. Even among the Celestial Maidens, there may still be good ones, but it’s better to stay cautious than to blindly trust. Lily, rember this well: until the situation is clear, treat everyone in Takamagahara as a potential enemy.”
“Understood…”
“This island is only a few hundred kiloters across. Finding the fortress shouldn’t be too hard. Avoid using divine probing unless absolutely necessary. If the fortress or the island has a defensive formation in place, you may be detected,” Rinne warned.
Lily and Rei nodded.
“A few hundred kiloters is manageable.” The two of them looked toward a particularly massive ancient pine that soared several thousand ters high. With a leap, they bounded onto its thick, gnarled trunk, and in a few agile movents, they had reached the treetop. From this height, they could see across vast distances.
The entire island was a sprawling expanse of peaks and pine forests. Even though their vision extended for several hundred kiloters, much of it was obscured by the terrain, towering trees, and drifting mists. Visibility was limited.
Still, they could easily determine their current location on the island from this vantage point.
They dared not take to the skies, fearing they might be spotted. So Lily and Rei continued moving by leaping from tree to tree, heading deeper into the island. As they advanced, they carefully surveyed the surroundings.
“Sister, look!” Lily called out.
After traveling roughly 50 kiloters, the two of them stood between the cliffs of a steep, slanting mountain wall. Looking into the distance, they spotted it at last. Dozens of kiloters away, nestled among the mountains and towering pines, was a fortress. Nearby, several plus of smoke rose into the air, there even appeared to be a small village hidden within the pine forest.
“That must be the fortress guarding this Hakanajima.”
Rei and Lily exchanged a nod, then sprang into motion once more, leaping through the treetops and heading toward the fortress veiled in mist and pine.
***
At the very edge of the vast realm of Yomi lay a battlefield of ancient wars, steeped in centuries of silence and gloom.
This land was desolate and chilling, where the lingering grievances of countless fallen Celestial Maidens still echoed faintly. Their indomitable resentnt mingled with the wails of millions of divine and demonic souls who had also t their end here.
Amidst this ancient battlefield stretched a colossal blade scar, running nearly across the entire border of Yomi’s domain. It resembled a massive canyon, as though carved by the upheaval of heaven and earth itself.
Within this blade scar pulsed an endless aura of killing intent. No monster, demon, ghost, or even deity could cross this scar. Not from either side.
On one side stretched the endless expanse of Yomi. On the other was the Scar of Heaven, with a path leading toward the lofty realm of Takamagahara, known as the Celestial Demon Path.
Long ago, divine forces from the heavens descended this road to wage war against the legions of darkness. Likewise, the demon gods of Yomi once stord the heavens through this very path.
This road had, since ancient tis, been a battleground of endless war between divine beings and demonic creatures. No one knew how many gods had perished, how many demonic souls had been annihilated.
Yet it was during that great war a thousand years ago that Tsukuyomi no Mikoto, in her dying monts, gathered the last of her power and delivered a single, decisive slash that split the ancient battlefield of Yomi.
That slash embodied the entirety of her killing intent. Even in death, she would protect her sister, Amaterasu-Ōmikami, and uphold her unshakable resolve to defend the Three Realms.
It was the final strike of her life. The will and insight contained within that scar were beyond comprehension. Anyone beneath the rank of Supre God would die the mont they tried to cross.
Even the most powerful Supre Gods would face near-certain death.
A Great Imperial God might be able to force their way across while enduring injury, but would such a deity willingly risk harm to their divine body and face peril alone?
Though Tsukuyomi had fallen, that one slash had sealed the Three Realms for a thousand years.
However, now—at this very mont—the boundless killing intent and seething resentnt that had once saturated the blade scar were beginning to fade…
***
#Author’s Note:#
Thus concludes the **Yomi-no-Kuni Arc**, spanning over two hundred chapters. Up next is the even more thrilling, soul-stirring **Takamagahara Arc**!
*Demon Sword Maiden* is now entering the final stages of its epic journey. Many of the long-hidden secrets that run throughout the story will be gradually unveiled in the next volu.
A heartfelt thank you to all the brothers and sisters who have supported this work along the way! Because of you, this novel has grown ever more exciting!
The next volu, **Takamagahara**, is coming soon! Please look forward to it!
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