Help! I changed the gender of the male protagonist in the yandere game.

Chapter 231 The Sword Saint's Guidance

The Tottori Desert was originally located within the territory of Hōki Province. It was also an ancient battlefield.

One hundred and fifty years ago, this was also the site of a major battle between one of the legions of the Bloodstained Six Gates Army and the exorcists in the Western Kingdom.

The great war caused immense destruction, shaking the spiritual veins of the surrounding land. Without the protection of spiritual energy, this vast desert began to expand continuously, and the sand dunes that originally only occupied a part of the coastline gradually swallowed up large areas of the surrounding region.

This is a typical natural disaster caused by the destruction of a spiritual vein, leading to environmental degradation. However, both the scale and the speed at which this disaster spread were beyond the norm.

The Kingdom of Hoki and the surrounding Inaba region were affected. Although the imperial court wanted to stop the spread of this natural disaster, it was powerless to reverse the situation due to the severely damaged spiritual veins and the excessively deteriorated natural environment.

In addition, because this desert was an important battlefield of a great war 150 years ago, the demonic energy formed from the corpses of monsters who died here, as well as the resentment, killing intent, and anger of those exorcists before their deaths, also cause evil winds to blow in this desert, and strange beings are often born here.

According to the findings of the Shadow Legion, which has explored the area multiple times, there are several old castles buried by sandstorms within the Tottori Desert.

In this environment filled with evil and demonic energy, the most common monsters are various old objects abandoned by people, namely, everyday objects such as pots, pans, and bowls that have been transformed by demonic energy into tsukumogami.

In the depressions beside the sand dunes, which are covered with gray bone fragments, various skeletons tremble at night, and skulls spew flames, soaring into the air and turning into fireballs like demonic fire and foxfire that move around everywhere.

In addition, the sand worms that absorbed the corpses of demons and the resentment of the dead, as well as the areas inhabited by monsters and undead such as skeletons and bone spiders, gradually turned into "dead lands" where the living were forbidden to enter.

Besides this, there is another legend about this "Land of the Dead": a warrior spirit dwells here, presumably from a prestigious family of exorcists, who has been wandering this desert, collecting swords and blades, and is passionate about swordsmanship. It is said that this warrior spirit was a powerful swordsman in life, and remains devoted to swordsmanship even in death.

Every swordsman who enters this desert will encounter this warrior's ghost, who will demand the sword from him.

If you refuse this samurai spirit, it will kill you with its sword, and your weapon from your previous life will fall into its hands.

"I don't want to hear these strange rumors at all..."

In the old city, almost completely filled with sand, Ye Ming let out a distressed sound. Without stopping, she sprinted and leaped towards the earthen wall on her right, landing on the severely desertified buildings and running.

Behind her were pursuing enemies, bizarre spiders the size of small mountains, their bodies made of white bone with several jointed legs like claws. These were "bone spiders," their form more like a spider-like demon, with a face-like protrusion topped with curved horns.

'…Spiders don't have bones, so why would they grow like this? It doesn't make any sense at all!'

Ye Ming's heart was filled with doubt, unease and confusion, but she did not stop. Instead, she moved while unleashing slashes behind her.

This was a slash that cut through the air, carrying with it the sharpness of a gale and metal, severing the bone spider's two legs, but its massive body did not stop its charge.

"hateful."

Ye Ming nimbly leaped to the other side, while the bone spider, having lost both of its front legs, lost control of its momentum and crashed directly into a thick wall of sand in front of it.

With a loud bang, the bone spider tumbled out amidst the flying dust.

The black-haired girl ran non-stop, using the ruins buried in the sand as steps, and in the blink of an eye, she rushed to another battlefield.

Those were various demons planning to attack the city, the most common being various skeletons, and undead mixed in with them.

These beings, however, were all wearing tattered armor or wielding weapons, and they attacked from all directions.

This was clearly an army of the dead, but mixed in were also undead skeletons and tall, zombie-like ghosts.

Ghosts are a superior race among demons. The ghosts here are several times larger than humans. Their skin is usually red or blue, and they have a layer of body hair. Their faces are rugged and they look extremely ferocious.

These are zombies, and there are many of them, in red, blue, black, and brown, big and small, fat and thin. Some don't even have a single horn, while others have countless horns hanging from their heads.

Many of them were carrying weapons, usually iron bars or spears.

A large, blue-skinned demon looked up at Ye Ming, who was flying down.

The girl with long black hair had her clothes and sleeves fluttering in the night wind, while the knife in her hand pierced his brow like lightning.

As Ye Ming landed on the ground, she kicked out, piercing the forehead of the large, blue-skinned demon. The girl somersaulted in the air, and in the process, she slashed off the head of a small, red demon beside her.

Her movements were fluid and graceful. She kicked the headless zombie in the chest, revealing the head of another skeleton behind the body.

It was emerging from the ground, presumably planning a surprise attack from underground, but was kicked by Ye Ming's right foot after he saw through its plan.

The kick, imbued with spiritual power, shattered the massive skull, extinguishing the two ghostly flames within its dark, empty eye sockets.

Without hesitation, Ye Ming charged into the floating army of undead. The True King's short sword was thrown into the air, and then fell back to the ground like a vajra thrown by Master Kukai.

The blade contained a burst of yang energy, and a glowing golden halo expanded outwards on the flat sand.

A massive amount of golden light particles rose up. In that instant, countless spirits wearing triangular headscarves let out wails, forcibly converted into Buddhas by the golden light.

She continued her charge in another direction, where various tsukumogami attacked, including a Tang umbrella floating in the air. The umbrella was an ordinary umbrella on one side, but beneath it was a large mouth filled with rotating sharp teeth, its blood-red tongue lolling out as it fell from the sky.

Ye Ming cleaved Tang Umbrella in two with a backhand slash, and the old cabinet dripped saliva from its drawers, making a "clattering" sound as it rushed toward her.

He punched it away, and then a huge stone lantern came crashing down from the other side.

Ye Ming leaped away, causing the sand to sink. A wooden barrel with legs tried to trip her, but was pierced by a knife tip.

Behind her, a child wearing only a straw raincoat crouched on the ground, sticking out a sharp tongue, which was shattered by a precious sword wrapped with a long whip of lightning.

Yuejia Mingye was extremely agitated, but regardless of her mood, she did not stop moving.

—Slash, slash, slash!

—Stab, stab, stab!

—Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill!

She could even faintly hear the voice of a frail old man.

"The honing of swordsmanship should begin with the ability to control one's breath at will, spending half a quarter of an hour inhaling, half a quarter of an hour holding one's breath, and half a quarter of an hour exhaling."

"If you can master the art of breathing over a long period of time, you will be able to control every inch of your body with your mind. This practice does not require a sword; you can do it while walking, sitting, or lying down. The most important thing is to always have the sword in your heart at all times."

It must be said that she has kept all the guidance she received from the old swordsman in her mind during this period.

Whether it was attacking or striking, her use of the sword had clearly reached a new level.

"……finished?"

Finally, as the sun shone on the desert, the eerie aura of this great desert gradually dissipated, and the sand and dust swept up by the great battle fell like a torrential downpour.

"I'm so tired."

Ye Ming plunged her knife into the sand, and as if letting out a sigh of relief, she said, "But how long will this fight last?" She looked displeased at her bare feet, where a pair of silver shackles were attached. These shackles were not chained and did not hinder the girl's movements; she continued to run, move, and wield her sword.

These shackles on his feet will not have any effect. However, once Ye Ming puts on these shackles, he will be unable to escape this desert, and he will not even be able to go too far before he is pulled back by some kind of magic sealed on the shackles.

In addition, the power of her "Eye of Heavenly Awareness" was forcibly sealed. Now, Ye Ming cannot rely on the power of the "eye" and can only fight by relying on his own spiritual power and swordsmanship.

"When will you finally let me leave here?"

She shouted at the sky.

"That's all... You little brat, don't tell jokes like that."

The voice came from behind Ye Ming, where a straw mat had appeared out of nowhere, along with a magnificent umbrella that was shielding him from the sun.

On the straw mat is an elegant female shikigami, dressed in a gorgeous kimono resembling that of a courtesan, serving an old man who is drinking.

He was an unkempt old swordsman with dark skin and pointed ears, a trait that indicated he was a descendant of the long-lived Ainu people. His warrior's clothes were tattered, and he didn't seem to care about his messy white hair.

His face was covered in wrinkles, and he looked quite old. If you only looked at his face, you would mistake him for a mummy.

This old man, who looks very old, is none other than the Sword Saint, Kibune Kyouunzai.

According to the game's setting, Kifune Kyōunsai is a master of ultimate swordsmanship and a divine craftsman capable of forging various demonic energies. He is also a strange character in the game.

"I've already said that before."

The old swordsman picked his teeth with the bones of a dead monster while drinking wine.

"If you want to leave this Tottori Desert, you have to do at least three things. No, you only need to do one of the three things to get your shackles off. Otherwise, you'll have to stay here for ninety-nine days. Oh, that's one of the things."

Previously, the Sword Saint Kibune Kyōunsai arrived like a tornado, saying something like, "I promised your father two things back then. One was to keep the family heirloom sword safe, and the other was to properly guide you, you brat."

Then, the old swordsman forcibly took her away and dumped her in this desert.

"The Hidden Flow Sword Technique of the Azure Sky Moon is a sword technique passed down by my disciple. As the founder of this sword technique school, it is only natural for me to train you, a junior."

The old man was domineering and unreasonable, but he made an agreement with her that if she wanted to leave, she only needed to fulfill three things.

Firstly, the Sword Saint Guichuan Kuangyunzhai would only stay here for ninety-nine days. He would never instruct his disciples for more than a year; ninety-nine days was the limit.

If he could not grasp the profound meaning and essence of the swordsmanship taught by the old man within ninety-nine days, the old swordsman lost interest in continuing to teach him.
Secondly, defeat the legendary samurai spirit in the Tottori Desert. Of course, this is just a legend, and no one knows when the samurai spirit will appear, so this request is rather absurd.
Finally, the third rule is to master the supreme level of swordsmanship and spearmanship, which is the ultimate realm, within ninety-nine days.

Bai Jie learned a little bit from the Spear Saint and even used the "End of the Realm". However, there is still such an incredible realm in swordsmanship, only the name and understanding are different.

According to the old sword saint, it is a state of mind without thoughts or intentions, where "the mind is as still as water, which is the greatest virtue," and it is also the principle of mind and form being in harmony.

From the perspective of Buddhist teachings, a swordsman who comprehends the mysteries of this Dharma form possesses eyesight that, based on the principles he observes and the knowledge he comprehends, reveals the ethereal and indistinct nature of the world as clear and bright as a mirror, even discerning the ends of time and space.

Both swordsmanship and spearmanship will eventually reach this level, and one of the three conditions set by Kifune Kyōunsai is to force Yomei to learn this level.

"It's simply asking the impossible. Unless I use the Eye of Heavenly Insight, there's no way I can do this anymore..."

Ye Ming was very dissatisfied.

Because Kibune Kyouunzai was clearly acting recklessly, she didn't think she could unleash that move without relying on her eyesight.

"You little girl, so many people want my guidance, and they would offer you thousands of gifts but still not get it."

The old swordsman also frowned.

"If I hadn't promised your father, how could such a good thing have fallen into your lap?"

"I'm not complaining."

Ye Ming sighed helplessly, "The timing is wrong. I was supposed to be here to defeat the evil god Kotankoro Kamui, but I'm stuck in this place."

"With your strength, you'd only be sending yourself to your death."

Kifune Kyouyunzai sneered, "It's the same whether you go or not..."

So it really doesn't make sense?

Ye Ming sighed again.

There is no escape by running away.

She also tried to fight Kifune Kyouunzai, but he was able to defeat her with ease.

Even when reasoned with, the old swordsman ignored it.

She had exhausted all her strategies and had no other energy left.

However, Ye Ming suddenly remembered something else and couldn't help but ask the old swordsman for confirmation.

"Kurohimeyama Kohagi, is she also your disciple?"

"You mean that little girl?"

Kifune Kyouunzai shook his head: "That little girl is not a swordsman at all. Her methods are just tricks... I have never taught her any swordsmanship. She only learned the technique of forging demon swords from me..."

"is it?"

Ye Ming recalled Kohagi from Kurohime Mountain.

She still remembers the moment when Kohagi appeared on Black Shark Island, from Hyakusuke's shadow.

Now, after experiencing so much, she has many thoughts in her mind and is no longer as clueless as before.

Not only did Yoruichi begin to suspect the relationship between Kohagi and Hyakusuke, but the events that had happened to him also deepened his doubts.

Suddenly, the old swordsman raised his head.

"Hehe... We have guests coming."

Next, a violent gust of air swept in from afar, swirling countless grains of sand and dust that drifted in all directions.

(End of this chapter)