Why can't humans do it too?

It seems like it will be a long process of persuasion.

No, you really can.

"No, I really can't... I'm so sorry, my abilities have raised your expectations too high. It's all because I'm not strong enough. I will definitely work hard to become stronger and improve myself in the future—so I really can't do it now!!!"

This was the first time Su Er had heard Yakumo Yukari speak so fast, and the first time he had heard this female youkai, who always wore a fake smile, shout out words that cracked in her voice... Su Er couldn't help but wonder if he and Xin Ke had pushed this female youkai a little too far.

“It’s not as difficult as you think, calm down,” Xin Ke said as she poured tea for Yakumo Yukari. “All you need to do is change your perspective slightly.”

Chapter 73 Yakumo Yukari Transforms and Attacks

"How about a different approach?"

“That’s right, come here… Have you ever washed your face by a river?” Xin Ke asked, raising her hand to summon a curtain of water.

In this primitive world, mirrors naturally don't exist. There aren't even polished obsidian mirrors, let alone bronze mirrors that still look somewhat foggy. Fortunately, this world has magic, which is a convenient thing. When gods or monsters need to see their own appearance, they only need to use magic to create a water curtain.

The translucent ripples undulated between Xin Ke's palms, quickly calming down and no longer penetrating Xin Ke's body behind her. Instead, they revealed Yakumo Yukari's appearance on the opposite side, as if she were reflected on a windless lake.

She held the teacup in both hands, her long golden hair falling down from the sides of her slightly thin face. The purple dress she wore didn't look strange on her; on the contrary, it looked exceptionally appropriate... Yukari Yakumo didn't understand what Shinko meant.

Is this to let her see what she looks like?

I'm already very familiar with it, there's no need to look at it again.

“Actually, we’ve tried the method of directly crossing the Milky Way to reach the moon, but we also think it’s impossible. We specifically called you over to help, of course, not to use such a crude method,” Suer said, gesturing for Xin Ke to lay the water curtain flat. The scene inside the water curtain then rotated to become their roof. Suer continued, “Although it’s not visually apparent, the other side of the Milky Way is already beyond the world, a place that even my power cannot reach… well, I guess it’s beyond the world. I can’t really say for sure since I haven’t been there myself.”

Sue picked up an apple from the side and placed it above the water curtain. When he let go, the apple, like Newton's coffin lid, floated in mid-air.

"Outside the world?" Actually, Yukari Yakumo wanted to explore Sul's abilities more, but she knew that the man opposite her would definitely not reveal such secrets to her, so she could only raise another question, "Isn't that the moon?"

"It is the moon, but I don't know if it's because of the Milky Way blocking it, but in any case, my power really can't affect that place. Let's ignore that for now and assume that this apple is the moon—"

"Yes, it's the moon."

When Sue solemnly pointed both palms upwards at the apple, Yukari Yakumo nodded blankly as well.

"Pfft...cough cough, and then you see, the moon has a reflection in the water. Although it's an illusion, you still call this reflection the moon, right?" Xin Ke was inexplicably amused and quickly explained after laughing, "Even if you remove this layer of water, you can't see it, but it is indeed connected to the moon."

"What you mean is...?" Yukari Yakumo felt like she had grasped something, but she couldn't quite believe it. This line of thinking was something she had never considered before, and it was a blind spot in her thinking that she couldn't even imagine.

Is this okay?

"It's actually quite easy to understand. It's like I drew two circles on each side of this piece of cloth... The line in the middle is what you usually call the Milky Way... Then I fold this piece of cloth in the middle, so that the two circles overlap... Do you understand now?"

Suer took out the cloth she had prepared beforehand and began to describe and sketch on it. When she finished speaking, she folded the cloth in half and held it upright between herself and Yakumo Yukari, erasing the two overlapping circles. Through the circular opening, they could see each other.

"I understand... But is this really okay?" With the door to a new world opened up, Yukari Yakumo realized for the first time that her ability could be used in this way. This was an extension of her abilities that she had never needed to do before and had never even considered. Therefore, she covered her mouth and nose in disbelief.

“Why not? By the way, I call this plan ‘Skipping the Galaxy,’” Suer said enthusiastically, but Xinke poured cold water on his enthusiasm the next second.

"I disagree. I still oppose this name."

"Dissenting opinions are permitted!" With a wave of his hand, showing his magnanimity, Su Er turned to Yakumo Yukari and continued, "My power can ultimately be summarized as the utilization of the rules, but no matter how I utilize them, it is still within the scope permitted by the rules. But you are different."

Several people recalled the scene in that bamboo house when Yakumo Yukari demonstrated her power, and the teacup that was crushed and then restored to its original state.

“If I can only dance within the rules, then you can extract or distort the rules, and paste completely opposite rules together. This is a power that is completely above mine, just as you said yourself—the creation and destruction of logic,” Sue showered Yakumo Yukari with a string of praises, but the effect seemed to be less than ideal, as Yakumo Yukari did not believe a word of them.

"Perfect! Powerful! Superb! Elegant! Mysterious! Ultimate!"

Suer continued, but no matter how much he belittled himself, the mere thought of that towering earth dragon, Yakumo Yukari, would cool him down very quickly and thoroughly.

“…I understand, please rest assured, I will definitely do my best to help.” Seeing that Su Er was racking her brains to come up with some flattery… I mean, praise, Yakumo Yukari quickly raised her hand to beg for mercy: “But connecting the moon with its reflected phantom like this, uh, can I really do it, little demon?”

To be honest, she got goosebumps all over.

"Just like I said before, in the end I am just a monster. Even if my abilities are a little special, there are many things I can't do if I go beyond my limits... Besides, after becoming a concept-like existence, I will lose my own will and will not be able to continue to do things for you." Yakumo Yukari was desperately stacking buffs on herself, fearing that Suer would force her to the point of collapse.

“Of course, of course, don’t worry, it won’t go that far. In fact, according to our speculation, all you need to do is deepen the connection between two already related things, without touching the separate concept of the galaxy, so there’s no need to worry.” As they spoke, Suer and Xinke exchanged another glance. “Besides, we’re not entirely unprepared…”

"what?"

"To be precise, it's Xin Ke. She'll help you then," Su Er pointed to the semi-transparent soul beside him.

When Yukari Yakumo looked over, Shinko smiled slightly at her.

"..."

How to do?

Yukari Yakumo felt herself becoming even more panicked.

In my memory, this woman's spirit has never been friendly... Am I really not going to become a victim?

Chapter Seventy-Four: Reversal of Reality and Illusion

The moon is bright and the stars are numerous.

The sun had already set below the horizon, but without any clouds to obscure it, visibility at night was not much different from during the day. The moon illuminated the earth clearly—it was indeed the moon emitting its own light, not reflecting the sun's rays.

"Do you feel it?"

"not yet."

"Oh, good."

Two voices exchanged a brief conversation, then silence returned.

This is a clearing in the woods far from Izumo City. Although it is a clearing, there is a pond of moderate size, about the size of a room. The tall trees around it provide good shelter from the cool night breeze. Although the dense trees make it seem a bit secluded, they are not scary.

What's more, there were lively little creatures leaping on the branches, curiously tilting their heads to look at the figures by the pond. There were more crows in this desolate woods than Suer had imagined.

"Do you feel it?"

"……No."

"Huh? Not yet?"

The speaker's voice seemed to carry disappointment and doubt. Without a doubt, the only people who would appear in this place at this time were Su'er and his group. He had already driven away all the monsters within a few miles in advance, ensuring that no unexpected events would occur tonight to disrupt things.

"Could something have gone wrong?" Su Er couldn't help but turn to Xin Ke and ask, sounding like a father in front of a delivery room. "Could it be because the moon isn't full enough yet? Wouldn't it be better if we came back tomorrow?"

He couldn't help but make a circle with his hand to compare with the full moon in the sky. Suer was puzzled by the fact that Yakumo Yukari hadn't made any unusual moves yet. He was a little impatient—thump!

With a muffled thud, Suer felt a heavy blow to his back.

"Quiet down, it's not time yet, what's with all this panicking?" Xin Ke glared at Su Er and continued to examine the spells around Yakumo Yukari.

She's got that head nurse vibe.

Beside the pond, Yukari Yakumo sat on a chair, looking extremely nervous and anxious. It was the first time Suer had ever seen this female demon so nervous that she unconsciously fidgeted with the hem of her clothes.

However, it's not surprising that she was blamed. Unlike the peaceful and serene pond on the other side, which was filled with the breath of nature, the grass around Yukari Yakumo had been scraped away, replaced by dense, unidentified markings that were now emitting a faint blue-green light and absorbing a massive amount of spiritual energy. Apart from a few special places, Yukari Yakumo had never seen a place with such abundant spiritual energy.

And this place has developed from nothing special to this extent right before her eyes, in just a few hours.

To be honest, when she first saw that translucent soul engraving these completely incomprehensible spells around her, Yukari Yakumo barely managed to suppress her urge to run away. She persevered only by constantly telling herself that as long as she held on, she would receive a favor in return.

After all, these spells seemed to be about to sacrifice her, and this feeling gradually disappeared as spiritual energy flowed in after the spells were officially activated.

As a youkai, Yukari Yakumo naturally cannot use spiritual energy, but she can after transformation. The spell inscribed by Shinko around Yukari Yakumo serves this purpose. If one looks closely, one can see that as the massive amount of spiritual energy flows along the spell to Yukari Yakumo, its color gradually dims, changing from pure to eerie, and then…

“…I…I…”

"Finally a response!" Sur appeared before Yukari Yakumo immediately, his eyes lighting up as he shouted, "How is it? Can we begin?"

"...I...feel so full," Yakumo Yukari said weakly, her demonic energy never having been so abundant before. She even felt like she had eaten too much at noon and didn't want to move at all, and was starting to feel sleepy.

This feeling is so blissful, like being immersed in an ocean of magical energy, where she can indulge herself however she pleases. Can she swim? She can, right? Light and airy, warm and cozy.

"Hello? Are you there?"

Until a sound woke her up.

"Give it a try! Give it a try!"

“…Okay,” Yakumo Yukari finally remembered why she was here, and answered with difficulty. This was the first time she had felt this way in her life as a youkai so far, like the instinct of bear-like youkai to hibernate in the snowy winter.

Looking up, I saw that the full moon in the sky had reached its highest point, pure white and without a trace of impurity, like a jade plate radiating a soft glow. It was a perfectly round shape, and the concept of it was so vivid that it didn't need to be measured; just seeing it would create such an impression in the mind of the observer.

'Go to the moon?' Thinking about what she was about to do, Yukari Yakumo couldn't help but smile with anticipation. It was the look of joy she had when she discovered a secret hidden in something she was already very familiar with in her daily life.

The moon is in the sky.

The moon is also reflected on the mirror-like surface of the water.

Like the finest and most fragile silkworm thread, Yukari Yakumo could only vaguely sense the existence of that connection. However, the next second, one end of that connection swelled up as if it had been injected with energy. Although it still looked very thin, it was much better than at the beginning.

The man had stopped smiling and sat down in front of her with his eyes closed... Was it because of him?

She shifted her gaze temporarily and reached out her hand, not to grasp anything tangible, but merely with her five fingers outstretched. Yet, in Yakumo Yukari's eyes, she seemed to see an intangible and formless concept, and she opened her mouth.

"—The realm between reality and illusion."

A half-dried leaf twirled through the air and landed on the smooth water. After Yukari Yakumo finished speaking, everything around her was perfectly calm. The wind blowing overhead did not stop for a moment. There was no special light or oppressive pressure. It was as if nothing had happened.

But whether it was Suer, Xinke, or Yakumo Yukari, they all knew that this was just an appearance. They could clearly feel that the pond in front of them had undergone a strange change. The calm water surface was no longer water, but had been replaced by something else - the moon.

Yukari Yakumo did succeed; their plan did indeed succeed.

Even setting aside their mysterious feelings, the massive amount of spiritual energy that disappeared and the massive amount of demonic energy that was transformed and almost submerged Yakumo Yukari were proof of all this. Feeling the inescapable weakness in her body and the demonic energy that disappeared into the void, Yakumo Yukari became even more drowsy.