The court lackeys of the eight-hour workday

Chapter 589 The Legend of the Shadows
"Just like Lord Li."

Ji Tianrui said with a smile.

“The profound vision of Master Sanfeng also connects to the Jiezi. However, unlike the ‘bottom force’ that you take brute force to the extreme and squeeze every bit of strength out of your marrow, the ‘Two Elements’ is a divine ability that takes the manipulation of force to the extreme.”

"Since he mastered the Yin-Yang, at least in my knowledge, no one has been able to defeat him... To break through his fully activated Tai Chi energy, it would probably require a landslide or a meteorite to hit him on the head."

"He may not be able to defeat Kawakami, but Kawakami cannot defeat him either, let alone kill him."

Li Miao closed his eyes and pondered for a while, then practiced a few Tai Chi moves with one hand before finally letting out a long sigh.

"We must not underestimate the heroes of the world."

"Master Zhang Sanfeng's extraordinary skill is a perfect counter to my fighting style... I really want to find him soon and have a good fight with him!"

Ji Tianrui covered her mouth and chuckled softly.

"As expected of Lord Li."

“The power of Master Sanfeng is beyond doubt. Kawakami Takehito, who was able to trap him in the Ise Grand Shrine for two hundred years, is definitely not easy to deal with. He will surely give you a good time... But these are things for later. You can put them aside for now.”

"What Lord Li really wants to ask is whether I know what Master Sanfeng did after he came to Japan. Apart from this sword move that can awaken the shrine maiden, did he leave any other tricks up his sleeve?"

Unfortunately, I don't know any more.

Ji Tianrui sighed with a smile.

"After the Taoist master Zhang Sanfeng crossed the sea to the east, he conquered the capital in just half a day. I think the sword technique to awaken the priestess was left behind at that time."

"But afterwards he went straight to Ise Grand Shrine, and after leveling half the mountain, he disappeared without a trace... I can only be sure that he is still alive."

Li Miao nodded.

"Master Ji is known for his secretive ways. I imagine the reason you are so certain that Master Sanfeng is still alive is related to your experience of receiving the inheritance of the Heavenly Master Wutian... To this day, I still don't know what you did after you infiltrated the Ise Grand Shrine."

He pointed to the priest's robes that Ji Tianrui was wearing.

"Since you won't tell me why you keep wearing the same clothes and what kind of profound and wondrous cultivation you've achieved, I'm too lazy to ask."

Their eyes met for a fleeting moment before looking away.

This wasn't the first time the two had collaborated or clashed; their attitudes were clear without needing to be explicitly stated.

Although Ji Tianrui always acted as if she would let Li Miao do whatever he wanted and grant him any request, while Li Miao seemed to be an ungrateful wretch... in fact, both of them knew very well that things were not like that.

Ji Tianrui must have already mastered the Xuanlan cultivation, but she has never said what her Xuanlan supernatural abilities are. Instead, she has been probing and investigating Li Miao's background, realm, and methods.

For a martial artist, concealing a weapon from a partner is itself a threat and a test. Although the two have cooperated several times, their relationship has only appeared harmonious on the surface... in reality, they could clash at any moment.

Li Miao's pointing this out was a warning.

If Ji Tianrui makes any threatening moves, Li Miao will not hesitate to kill her... even if it means losing the help he has in dealing with the old man from the river.

Everything is unspoken.

The two tacitly ended their conversation and turned their gaze back to the end of the passageway.

Li Miao shook his wrist.

“From here back to Kyoto and then to Ise Grand Shrine, it will take no more than five days. After five days, everything in Japan should have a result.”

"The drama at Hachiman Shrine is about to come to an end."

Ji Tianrui smiled and nodded.

"Yes."

"Fortunately, Kurama Heihachi finally succeeded, so my efforts to complete his swordsmanship were not in vain."

Swish!
The final downward movement of the saddle horse with a flat eight-handed slash.

This is the last resort.

Although Ji Tianrui possessed exceptional comprehension and held the inheritance of the Martial Heavenly Master, the preparation time was limited. Expanding from the original single move to more than a dozen moves was already her limit.

With a final swing of his palm, the strength he had forced out dissipated, and countless bumps suddenly appeared all over his skin.

Splatter, splatter, splatter... A series of sticky sounds rang out as the pus from the bulges broke through the skin and flowed down the body, wriggling faintly on the ground.

Upon closer inspection, one can find countless tiny Gu worms, about the length of a finger and the thickness of a hair, wriggling in the red and black blood.

That was precisely the method that Ji Tianrui had prepared for him when he was on the verge of death. It was because of these Gu worms that he was able to transform from a dying old man like a candle flickering in the wind into a Kurama-ryu swordsman who could climb the Hachiman Palace corridor and kill more than ten sword saints.

And now these Gu worms have escaped from their host, naturally because... he is really going to die.

Kurama Heihachi let out a long sigh.

The sighs drained his strength and spirit.

puff.

He could no longer hold on and collapsed to the ground. His already injured spine let out a mournful cry, and then he could no longer feel any pain from his waist down.

More and more pustules swelled up all over his body, quickly destroying all his still intact skin and leaving him unrecognizable. His once swollen, firm muscles also collapsed and became dry.

Kurama Heihachi barely managed to lift his eyes to look.

The final act of this revenge was him using his half-crippled body to wave his hand at his enemy in the air. Thinking of this, he suddenly laughed.

Fortunately, his life was not wasted.

Just a few feet away, the woman in priest's robes had not moved for a long time, simply standing there, her veil occasionally fluttering in the breeze, revealing expressions that changed like a revolving lantern.

The coldness and murderous intent are diminishing.

Fear and naivety, however, are increasing.

Finally, her expression froze on that initial cold, murderous look as she gritted her teeth and glared at Kurama Heihachi, who was coughing up blood and chuckling softly.

"Are you very proud?"

Kurama Heihachi shrugged upon hearing this.

"Yes, I succeeded... Can't I be proud of myself?"

The priestess's expression began to shift again, as if the consciousness belonging to the true body was about to be awakened, at which point she would completely dissipate.

This is the method of revenge that Kurama Heihachi has devised.

She was killed, but the original owner of the body was not harmed. Before she completely disappeared from the body, she could only say a few words at most.

"you win."

In her final moments, she showed no anger or resentment; aside from a slightly hoarse voice, her tone returned to calm.

"You won, so what?"

"You're just a pawn."

"It doesn't matter whether it's Li Miao or Ji Tianrui behind you, or who's hiding behind the illusion of Jizhao to watch the show."

"Even if you slaughter everyone in the Hachiman Palace, you won't get what you want!"

She suddenly burst into laughter.

"Let me guess, do you want to obtain the swordsmanship inheritance of the Yin-ryu school from Hachiman-gu Shrine? And then, using what Jianzhen left behind, cultivate to the level of Shinjō before going to Kyoto?"

"Hahaha—wishful thinking!"

"Let me tell you... the Yin River has long been destroyed!"

"Even if you raze Hachiman Shrine to the ground, you will not get what you want!"

"Let me tell you something else... What you've done has alarmed the Ise Grand Shrine! Amaterasu Omikami is about to awaken and personally exorcise the demon. Until then, relying solely on the three original sword techniques, you will absolutely not be able to deduce the true cultivation method, nor will you be able to achieve the state of unifying the six paths!"

"I'll be waiting for you in hell!"

"Hahahaha!"

(End of this chapter)