Harvest

Amidst the dense forest, Taira no Kageyori lay in a pool of blood. The area around him, where he had been flung by the Explosive Current Wave, was a mess of fallen trees. He lay directly in the center of this scene, his body covered in lacerations, blood flowing out and staining everything.

Taira no Kageyori had survived the demonic energy tornado of the Explosive Current Wave. Even though a yokai general would almost certainly not survive a direct hit from the Explosive Current Wave, it failed to kill Taira no Kageyori. This was all thanks to the light green scales covering his body, which allowed him to be merely cut, not torn to shreds, within the violent demonic energy tornado.

Struggling to stand up from the ground, Taira no Kageyori looked at the slowly healing wounds on his body, his expression exceptionally grim.

“Black robe... bandages... one-eyed... yokai...”

As he spoke, Taira no Kageyori flicked out his forked tongue, disturbed the surroundings for a moment, and then retracted it.

...

At Fangshan Castle, Nura Rihyon's trio had reached the final stages of their cleanup work. Most of the yokai had been rescued and returned to the mountains, while some, being too far from home, planned to settle near Heian-kyo.

“Phew... finally done...” Tamamura let out a long sigh, collapsing onto the ground.

“You're really out of shape, Tamamura... You're a yokai, and you're tired from such a small task?” Nura Rihyon, having just retrieved his weapon, said with a chuckle, looking at Tamamura.

“It's mental fatigue... Don't you get annoyed doing the same thing over and over?” Tamamura retorted, rolling his eyes at Nura Rihyon. Just as Nura Rihyon was about to say something more, Yamausagi's voice suddenly drifted down from the Manor above.

“Big discovery~ Big discovery~ Bunny has a big discovery, big tanuki's hair is turning white~”

Hearing this, Nura Rihyon and Tamamura exchanged glances, then walked up to the Manor above. They saw Yamausagi standing with her hands on her hips atop a box.

“What have you found now, little granny?”

“Hehe~ Watch closely~”

With that, Yamausagi jumped down from the box, landed beside it, and with a strong heave, flipped open the box. Inside, a box full of coins appeared.

“Th-this is...”

Seeing this scene, Nura Rihyon and Tamamura immediately straightened up, their eyes gleaming.

“There's more~ there's more~”

As she spoke, Yamausagi gleefully flipped open the lids of other boxes, all filled to the brim with coins. One small box even contained a pile of gold ingots.

These all belonged to Gonnosuke, money he had prepared to buy an Itsumaden. In other words, there was enough money here for the Taira clan to sell him an Itsumaden.

This was a colossal sum, one that even an ordinary human lord could not possess!

Nura Rihyon and Tamamura, who had never seen so much money in their decades of life, froze in place. It was well known that human currency was almost universally accepted in the demon realm.

“We're rich... we're rich! We're loaded!!” Seeing the huge pile of money, Tamamura's eyes turned into stars, drooling as he charged forward, only to be lifted entirely by Nura Rihyon mid-way.

“Hey! What are you doing, Nura Rihyon! Let me go, let's hurry and split the money!” Tamamura, held aloft by Nura Rihyon with one hand, struggled, kicking his legs.

“We can't split this money yet. Take it all back, and we'll discuss how to use it when Lord Owl arrives. Don't forget, we're a team now,” Nura Rihyon said with a smile.

“Tch... Since when did you care so much about the group? No one would know if we split the money now...”

“These funds should be used for something more meaningful than mere enjoyment. Besides, I don't believe Lord Owl wouldn't know about their existence; he was the one who defeated the guards protecting this money,” Nura Rihyon continued. After hearing Nura Rihyon's words, Tamamura seemed to have a sudden realization.

Right, these money boxes were in the Manor's main hall, very conspicuous, even a bit in the way. There was even a lot spilled on the floor, and so many frozen guards nearby. It would be hard to say that Owl hadn't noticed this money.

At this moment, Tamamura suddenly felt that Owl telling them to handle the aftermath wasn't just about releasing the captured yokai.

Thinking of Owl, Tamamura involuntarily shivered, no longer entertaining the idea of splitting the money.

...

Meanwhile, Miketsu, having missed out on the immense fortune, was leisurely riding her small donkey back towards Heian-kyo, explaining various matters to Itsumaden along the way.

“Uka-no-Mitama... I truly didn't expect you to be the daughter of Susanoo-no-Mikoto, that Uka-no-Mitama-no-Mikoto, a true deity of Takamagahara...” Itsumaden said in surprise, flying low above Miketsu's head.

Although she had guessed before that the other party was a god, she hadn't expected her to be a true deity, a child of the Mihashira-no-uzunomiko.

“Hmm... I suppose so. I fell into a deep sleep for some reason and have only just awakened. My memory isn't fully intact, and I can't use my powers much right now. In short, don't see the current me as omnipotent...” Miketsu told Itsumaden while riding her donkey, also giving her a heads-up.

“But speaking of which, you actually know of my existence,” Miketsu continued, curious that Itsumaden had heard of her.

“Your name is recorded in the Kojiki, listed alongside other true deities. I saw it when I read the Divine Records from a very young age,” Itsumaden recalled. At the time, she had only thought myths were illusory, distant stories, never imagining that one of the figures from those myths would appear before her.

One must know, being recorded in myths is the biggest difference between a true deity and a wild god.

“Aren't you a yokai? Why are you so interested in myths?”

“Itsumaden are not ordinary yokai. We have a special connection to the Celestial Realm, so it's natural for us to pay attention to myths,” Itsumaden continued to explain to Miketsu. At this moment, Miketsu recalled something Itsumaden had told her earlier.

Legend has it that when an Itsumaden lives long enough and replaces all its feathers with Golden Feathers, it can ascend to the Celestial Realm, transform into a heavenly demon, and reside with gods and Buddhas.

“What exactly is a heavenly demon...?” Thinking of this, Miketsu directly asked, and the one who answered her was Tsuruha from her sleeve.

“A heavenly demon refers to a being from the demon realm who, through various means, transforms its life form and ultimately ascends to the Celestial Realm. You can simply understand them as incredibly powerful celestial yokai. This is quite similar to humans who cultivate to the point of ascension and eventually become immortals or Buddhas; they are all transcendents of this mortal world.”