Abduction

In Fangshan Castle's dungeon, due to the immense pressure faced by Nura Rihyon's side, the Taira samurai originally tasked with guarding could finally no longer hold back. To avoid fighting alone later, they drew their blades and joined Nura Rihyon's trio in battling the yokai. This action directly provided an opportunity for Morimura Saemon, who had been observing from the shadows for a long time.

Morimura Saemon stealthily bypassed the raging battlefield, slowly approaching the entrance that had originally been guarded by the Taira samurai. All the yokai controlled by the Minamoto clan ignored him, continuing their assault on Nura Rihyon and his companions. This allowed Morimura Saemon to pass through the entrance unhindered and enter the small secret room behind it.

A huge iron box stood in the center of the secret room. Upon seeing it, Morimura Saemon trembled, then carefully examined the box and found the padlock bound by chains.

Taking out a bamboo tube with a talisman affixed to it from his person, Morimura Saemon opened the lid and poured its liquid onto the chains. Immediately, a sizzling sound erupted as the entire chain was rapidly corroded by the liquid inside the bamboo tube, continuously emitting thick white smoke.

Finally, as the chains corroded, broke, and fell to the ground, Morimura Saemon directly pushed open the iron box's door, revealing the startled young girl behind it.

Itsumaden watched the man who had suddenly opened her cage and appeared before her. Instinctively, she recoiled, her eyes wide, unsure of the man's intentions.

Morimura Saemon looked at the yokai girl before him, an exaggerated smile spreading across his lips. Countless emotions surged within him, and his body trembled uncontrollably.

Itsumaden! A genuine Itsumaden! The Taira clan used the mountain castle for defense, and the Minamoto clan led a host of yokai in attack, all for her! The legendary yokai, Itsumaden, capable of growing golden feathers!

The moment he saw Itsumaden, a torrent of greed violently washed over Morimura Saemon's mind. He was acting on the Minamoto clan's orders, and after success, the Minamoto clan had promised him a great reward. However... what reward could be more precious than Itsumaden!?

If he just took Itsumaden and escaped from both the Minamoto and Taira clans, with Itsumaden's golden feathers, he could become immensely wealthy and never worry again! This opportunity... was right before him.

Reining in his exaggerated smile, Morimura Saemon's expression suddenly became kind and approachable. He extended his hand towards Itsumaden, making an inviting gesture.

"I'm here to save you. Come with me quickly, I'll take you away from here."

Morimura Saemon's smile was kind, his tone gentle, truly appearing as a savior. Itsumaden, seeing this scene, paused slightly. As if seeing hope, she slowly extended her wings.

But just then, Itsumaden saw Morimura Saemon's eyes, which revealed an undisguised look of desire and greed. Itsumaden had seen this kind of gaze many times since she was young; every human who had tried to capture her had worn such an expression.

"No, don't!"

Seeing through Morimura Saemon's true intentions, Itsumaden quickly pulled back her hand and, with a wary expression, retreated behind the iron box, moving away from him.

Seeing this, Morimura Saemon's face suddenly twisted, his eyes filled with rage. He reached out and slapped Itsumaden directly across the face. Itsumaden cried out in pain and fell to the ground.

Extremely weak and with her demonic power bound by cursed chains, she was utterly unable to contend with an adult human male.

"Damn bitch, you refuse a toast only to drink a forfeit?! Just a mere yokai, and you dare to show defiance?"

Watching Itsumaden lie helplessly on the ground, the distorted-faced Morimura Saemon was about to kick her a couple more times, but just then, a colossal boom suddenly echoed throughout the entire space. The ground shook violently, nearly causing Morimura Saemon to fall.

After the tremor subsided, Morimura Saemon suddenly realized the critical situation. He couldn't waste any more time on pointless actions; if he wanted to keep Itsumaden for himself, he had to leave immediately.

At this thought, Morimura Saemon immediately threw out a paper doll. After burning, the paper doll transformed into a black wolf, slightly smaller than Yura's Tanrou.

Having summoned his shikigami, Morimura Saemon then immediately used the liquid from the bamboo tube to further corrode the ankle chain connecting Itsumaden to the iron box. He then forcibly pulled Itsumaden up and placed her onto the black wolf.

"Let's go! Once we escape, you'll be mine!"

With a greedy smile, Morimura Saemon also mounted the black wolf. Then, carrying Itsumaden, he rode the black wolf and began to rush towards the exit.

Itsumaden, powerless to resist, could only submit during this process. With dim eyes, she tried to murmur something, but in the end, nothing came out.

At this moment, she took out a tiny paper crane from her clothing and silently gazed at it.

...

The dark night sky was illuminated by intense white light, and a violent explosion from the earth itself reverberated for a thousand li. The fierce blast knocked down many humans who had retreated to the mansion, and the entire yokai army was almost completely engulfed by this incredibly powerful explosion, submerged beneath a torrent of spiritual power.

Under this earth-shattering explosion, almost all defensive fortifications on the south side of Fangshan Castle were destroyed. Because the explosion originated from the ground, no large crater appeared; instead, countless deep fissures cut directly into the mountain, completely altering the appearance of the southern mountain's terrain.

The originally formidable yokai army was almost completely annihilated in this cataclysmic explosion, leaving only a few yokai who had pursued the retreating humans too far. The entire battlefield situation was reversed in an instant.

"Is this... the so-called Asakura Style Onmyojutsu?"

Looking at the devastated mountain castle, the samurai captain swallowed hard. Amidst the earth-shattering chaos, the sudden disappearance of vast demonic energy and the abrupt silence of the howling yokai all indicated the immense power of that explosion. If the human forces hadn't retreated early, they likely would have been buried with that horde of yokai.

This is the Asakura family's Onmyojutsu? This is the power of Heian-kyo's Onmyoji? Everything that just happened completely defied the samurai captain's common sense. He had originally thought Asakura Hao was going to perform some large-scale barrier technique or something, but he never expected her to blow up the entire enemy formation in one go!

That single strike completely surpassed his understanding of the concept of Onmyojutsu. He had seen Onmyoji cast spells before, but none were like her.

Simple, direct, and incredibly powerful—perhaps these are the characteristics of the so-called Asakura Style Onmyojutsu?

More than one samurai present had this thought.

Standing on the high platform of the mountain castle, Miketsu nodded with satisfaction as she surveyed the situation below.

She extended her hand, and the spirit spear, lying amidst the ruins, felt her call. Breaking through the rubble's embrace, it sliced through the sky and returned to Miketsu's hand.

The spear was imbued with Miketsu's blood, allowing her to remotely recall it directly within a certain range.

Just as Miketsu was about to turn back north, she suddenly shivered, as if sensing something, and looked in another direction, murmuring softly to herself.

"Itsumaden..."