The Twelve Trials Starting from Zero

Inuyasha, who was on his way to find Naraku, rushed back upon hearing Kagome's exclamation. He leaped onto the demon's head, scooped the girl up with him, and jumped down while still in mid-air. He then unleashed a Wind Scar, tearing the suddenly appearing demon to shreds.

But the next moment, as the monster's body exploded, as if a balloon was deflating, a large amount of miasma was spewed out, instantly enveloping an area within a ten-meter radius, and continuing to spread outward.

"It's miasma! Kagome, be careful!"

"Let me purify it!"

Kagome was taken away by Inuyasha, and then she shot out a demon-slaying arrow, purifying most of the miasma. However... there were still hundreds of such demons in the city. If they all released miasma, could she purify them all?

Then, the camera zooms back to the battlefield where Su Qi and Naraku are fighting. As the two are locked in combat, a white rainbow suddenly streaks across the sky, purifying the miasma in the courtyard.

Naraku, who was slashed several more times by Su Qi but managed to survive thanks to the Shikon Jewel, let out a cold snort. His body suddenly swelled and grew larger, and spider legs with sharp bone blades pierced through the air, forcing him back.

Then, its lower body completely transformed into a gigantic spider form, looking down at Su Qi and Kikyo who were walking towards them, and sneered, "Did you hear that? Many monsters are rampaging through the city, and the people in the city are being slaughtered by them. They are defective products that I separated and buried underground before. Their bodies are full of miasma. If they are not dealt with carefully, the ordinary people in the city will be poisoned to death in an instant."

"So now, do you choose to fight me here, or go outside and drive away the monsters, saving as many of their lives as possible?"

Chapter Ninety-Three: A person must rely on themselves

Just as Naraku had said, although the earthquake in the city had subsided, flames were everywhere and demons were running rampant. Many houses were destroyed, and the sleeping residents were awakened. They screamed and fled in terror as they were chased and toyed with by the demons.

In just a short while, the streets were stained red with blood. Hundreds of residents were eaten or killed. Various sounds of destruction, screams, and strange roars of monsters filled the city and could be heard clearly even in the inner city courtyards.

Su Qi and Jie Geng didn't even need to see it with their own eyes; just by hearing those sounds, they could imagine the horrific and bloody scene outside.

"That's despicable!!"

Having just dealt with Juro-maru, Miroku and Sango arrived together on Kirara, angrily shouting, "Naraku, just how despicable will you become? This is a feud between us, don't drag innocent people into it! Or is it that you can't fight us fair and square without resorting to these underhanded tricks!?"

At that moment, Inuyasha, carrying Kagome on his back, jumped over and glared at Naraku, saying, "You bastard! You're the one who orchestrated all of this, aren't you!?"

"Hmph, in my eyes, those people outside are nothing but insignificant insects. What's wrong with me crushing a few hundred insects if I want to?"

Naraku showed no remorse, only a slight smile: "Let me kindly remind you, if you don't act soon, those people outside will almost all be killed by the demons. Also, you'd better be gentle, because once you tear those demons' bodies apart, a large amount of miasma will escape, turning this place into a dead city. Finally, that's all for tonight, we'll meet again in the future."

Having said that, a large amount of miasma emerged from within, swirling around him, as he prepared to leave.

"What should we do? Continue to attack Naraku, or go to rescue him?"

Inuyasha and his group looked at each other, hesitant and unsure of what to do.

Su Qi also turned to look at Kikyo, his heart sinking.

Although he had already guessed that something was amiss in this city, he couldn't deduce that Naraku would pull this stunt based on just that one clue. Now, Naraku was putting his own life and the lives of everyone else in the city on a scale, forcing them to choose. Based on his memory, Inuyasha and Kikyo would probably choose the latter.

As a result, he had no chance of killing Naraku on his own, and his plan to team up to clear the dungeon naturally failed.

Moreover, Naraku's move was truly despicable. If he cared about those people's lives, killing him would require eliminating the miasma, which would inevitably alert him, allowing him to escape. If this dilemma couldn't be resolved, even if Su Qi repeatedly rewound the game, it would be to no avail, unless he could find a way to lure Naraku away from the city, but that was easier said than done.

While everyone hesitated, Naraku had already wrapped himself in miasma, forming a large cocoon, and soared into the air, flying away. Kagura, who had been standing aside with Kanna, trying to minimize her presence, also removed her hair ornament, transforming it into a large white feather, and carried the two of them as they chased after him.

"Haven't you made a decision yet? It's going to be too late."

Su Qi narrowed his eyes, staring coldly at Naraku in mid-air, and spoke up to warn him.

"Aaaaaah! Damn it! Naraku, you bastard, just you wait, I'll definitely kill you next time!!"

Inuyasha roared in fury, then glanced at Kikyo before finally turning and walking away with Kagome on his back.

Maitreya and Coral exchanged a glance. Although they could both see the anger and resentment in each other's eyes, they nodded to each other and urged Mica to go outside.

"Kikyo, what about you?"

Su Qi wasn't surprised by Inuyasha and the others' choices, because they were the protagonists and would naturally make such "correct" choices. As for Kikyo, the priestess with a more mature worldview than Kagome, he still held a sliver of hope, even though he knew it was extremely slim.

"Sorry……"

Faced with Su Qi's urging, Kikyo, who had been hesitating, finally sighed and gave her answer.

"As expected..." Su Qi sighed, "The doctor was right. People have to rely on themselves."

Kikyo didn't say anything, but walked behind him and patted him on the shoulder.

"what happened?"

She still didn't answer, but took half a step forward, pressed against his back, grabbed his shoulders, and said coldly, "Let's go, fellow traveler."

In an instant, Su Qi understood what the bellflower meant.

The apology I just gave wasn't for him, but for the people outside.

"Unbelievable! I thought you would choose to save people. Why did you change your mind?"

Su Qi's eyes lit up. As he spoke, he sheathed his sword, took out four Shikon Jewel shards, and slapped them all onto his body. With Kikyo by his side, he didn't need to worry about the Shikon Jewel being corrupted for the time being, and could use its power to catch up with Naraku.

“If there’s a first time, there will be a second time…” Kikyo’s eyes were icy as she watched Naraku gradually disappear into the distance and leave the city. “Only by killing Naraku here can we save more people.”

“Very good…” Su Qi finished preparing, picked up Kikyo on his back, and smiled, “Let’s set off now. Remember to set up the barrier and don’t let the wind mess up your hair.”

A few seconds later, after Kikyo erected the barrier, he finally leaned forward, took a step, and rushed out with all his might.

boom!!

Instantly, the ground beneath his feet shattered, and the air behind him swirled wildly. Su Qi's figure was stretched long in an instant before turning into a blur and vanishing in a flash. His true body, however, shot away like a meteor, leaving his shadow behind and creating a shockwave, like a storm passing by, covering a hundred meters in the blink of an eye and reaching the edge of the city.

Looking up again, Naraku's figure had already appeared diagonally above, no more than ten feet long.

At this point, Su Qi slowed down, gradually closing the distance to the target. Meanwhile, Kikyo on his back took the opportunity to draw her bow and nock an arrow, aiming at the large purple cocoon in the sky. Unlike the novice Kagome, for someone with superb archery skills like her, such a distance, even with a moving target, was no problem at all.

The next moment, Kikyo released the bowstring, letting the arrow in her hand fly through the air, turning into a white rainbow that struck Naraku directly.

boom!!

A dazzling white light exploded in the night sky, and the purple cocoon shattered instantly, revealing Naraku, who had regained his human form, his left arm shattered by an arrow, and looked astonished and incredulous.

How could this be?! Why was it Kikyo's exorcising arrow?! Why did she chase after them? If Kikyo, the priestess overflowing with compassion, was willing to lend a hand even to Onigumo, she would never have abandoned those people! How could my calculations about her have gone wrong?!

Although he was puzzled, he immediately realized what was happening, erected a protective barrier, released miasma to cover himself, and stopped his falling body.

Below, Su Qi stopped, Kikyo drew her bow, her robes fluttering in the wind, her bright, star-like eyes locking onto Naraku. Without hesitation, she unleashed the second arrow of destruction, which transformed into a white rainbow and soared into the sky.

Chapter Ninety-Four Unexpected

boom! !

The second arrow of purification cleansed the miasma, shattered the barrier, narrowly missed Naraku, and flew out into the sky.

Damn it! I have to get out of Kikyo's sight immediately!

His pupils contracted, and he turned his gaze to Kagura and Kami, who had arrived not far away riding on white feathers. Just as he was about to speak, the third Demon-Slaying Arrow swept through the air.

boom!!

The white rainbow pierced through, and Naraku's lower body was blasted apart once again.

Too fast! Kikyo is determined to kill me here!!

He could feel the chill of death's scythe reaching the back of his neck. His mind was on edge, his thoughts racing at an almost overheated pace, driven by his survival instinct. Instantly, a heart materialized in his remaining right palm, stared at Kagura, and shouted, "Kagura! Do you want to die with me?!"

That's my heart!?

Seeing the still-beating heart in Naraku's hand, Kagura's heart skipped a beat, and her face instantly turned incredibly grim. No! She absolutely couldn't let him get hit again! Otherwise, while Naraku was being purified, she would surely die too! That bastard was threatening her to die in his place!

She had been hesitant to go forward immediately, but now she had no choice. She could only curse Naraku in her heart while driving her mount, White Feather, to fly over quickly and catch Naraku, who was still falling with only half of his body remaining.

At this moment, Kikyo below had already climbed off Su Qi's body, and was about to draw her bowstring again to shoot her fourth arrow.

Compared to the first arrow, the preparation time for this fourth arrow was noticeably longer. This was because firing two arrows in quick succession had severely depleted his spiritual energy, forcing him to adjust his state and thus delaying the process. It was precisely because of this that Naraku had a chance to catch his breath.

"Kagura..." At this moment, he was being supported by Kanna, staring at Kagura, and said coldly, "If you don't want to die here, use your wind to block Kikyo's exorcising arrow. Although her arrow is imbued with powerful exorcising power, it is still just an arrow in essence. You can definitely do it!"

"Hmph, if you can't do it, then you can only die."

Kagura glared at him fiercely, while urging the white feather carrying the three of them to fly upwards at top speed. At the same time, she raised her folding fan, gathered all her demonic power, and activated her supernatural ability, "Wind, heed my command!"

In an instant, a fierce wind arose, sand and stones flew everywhere, and a tornado quickly formed in mid-air amidst the swirling air currents, enveloping the three people in its eye.

The next moment, Kikyo's purifying arrow struck directly at the wind barrier set up by Kagura.

boom!!

A flash of white light, an explosion of air, the demonic energy in the wind was blasted away, and a white rainbow pierced through the tornado, its momentum still undiminished, still shooting towards Naraku, who was being protected in the center by Kagura on the white feather.

However, despite easily breaking through the wind barrier, the light arrows were still inevitably veered off course by the wind and ultimately just missed them.

They actually... made it through?

Kagura breathed a sigh of relief, but a wave of fear washed over her.

"It's not over yet..." Naraku didn't relax at all. While using the power of the Shikon Jewel to quickly recover his body, he said coldly, "Kagura, continue until we get rid of them."

At the same time, Su Qi below frowned.

"Kikyo, this won't do." He looked up at the tornado that had reappeared in mid-air and said in a deep voice, "Kagura's ability is just the perfect counter to your arrows. Continuing to shoot like this is just a waste of energy."

As Kikyo nocked an arrow, she asked, "Is there a way?"

“I’ll go first.” Su Qi narrowed his eyes and drew his sword. “I’ll make them unconscious for a while, and you can take the opportunity to shoot Naraku.”

"understood."

"Then I'll go!"

Before he finished speaking, he bent down and stomped on the ground, causing the ground to shatter. Then, with a loud bang, debris flew everywhere, and a shockwave exploded. He shot out like a cannonball and instantly appeared in front of the tornado in mid-air.

"cut!!"

With the blessing of the four pieces of the Shikon Jewel, all of Su Qi's attributes were greatly enhanced. With a single slash, he forcefully cleaved through the wind barrier in front of him.

At this moment, he was not afraid that Naraku would corrupt the Shikon Jewel and affect him. First, corruption would take a short time, while this confrontation would be instantaneous, and he would not give Naraku any chance; second, he was prepared to go all out in this attack, so even if something unexpected happened and he was corrupted, he would be no threat after exhausting all his power.

boom!!

The shockwave exploded, and Su Qi passed through the wind barrier, instantly flying to Naraku and the other two. However, due to the turbulence and a slight error in his directional estimation, he would miss them as he was thrown by inertia. But that didn't matter; this slight error was within his calculations.

"A fleeting dream!"

At the moment he was closest to Naraku and the other two, Su Qi's eyes narrowed, and he perfectly seized the opportunity to unleash the sword of intent he had been preparing. Moreover, to be on the safe side, he struck three times in succession, once for Kagura, once for Kagura, and once for Naraku, to ensure that no accidents would occur.

Kagura was instantly trapped in an illusion, and the remaining wind barrier around her vanished at the same time. However, Naraku encountered a problem. Although his consciousness was momentarily blurred, he quickly recovered and did not lose consciousness.

It's the Shikon Jewel! He has more Shikon Jewels in his hand than last time, which greatly enhances his demonic power, thus increasing his resistance!

Su Qi instantly realized the problem, suppressed the dizziness caused by the mental backlash, gathered his spiritual power again, and exerted all his strength to squeeze out all his potential, unleashing three strikes at the limit!