I transformed into a demonic spider lily.

Higanbana was startled. Kikyo's fashion sense was truly indescribable. Fortunately, the shrine maiden had a standard outfit, which barely preserved Kikyo's elegance.

The floral jacket is not something an ordinary woman can pull off, even if it's Kikyo. The other woman, Higanbana, gives up thinking and tries to salvage her image of Kikyo.

Then, the other shore flower quickly changed the subject, saying, "When you were changing my clothes, did you do anything strange to my body? For example..."

"I didn't see it."

Kikyo answered quickly, but she bit her lip lightly, her gaze was unfocused, her hands were placed in front of her chest, her shoulders were slightly shrugged, and she suddenly became very fidgety.

You don't look like that at all.

"……Really?"

The red spider lily looked at her with suspicion.

"Yes, no."

The bellflower spoke with particular purity.

"Oh, so you don't care about my injuries at all? You didn't even look at them..."

The expression on the red spider lily's face suddenly darkened.

"No, no, I see... uh, no."

Upon hearing this, Kikyo panicked and hurriedly tried to explain to Higanbana, but Higanbana's face suddenly lit up with a smile, and she realized that she had been tricked by the latter.

"...How much did you watch?"

With her eyes slightly narrowed, the spider lily asked curiously.

"Although I did look at it correctly, it was all to observe your injuries, not because I was interested in your body."

Taking a deep breath, Kikyo suddenly realized that this kind of topic shouldn't be making her blush. It should be the one being looked at who should be shy. Is it because she's a yokai that she doesn't care? It's even absurd that she could take the initiative.

"Alright, stop moving around. Stretch out your arms and I'll help you tie your clothes."

Kikyo changed the subject, saying that she could never handle the seductive words of the spider lily. She gently pulled up the other person's clothes and tied the belt around their waist. Her movements were gentle, but as she did these tedious things, her lips were full of smiles, and she always felt a sense of satisfaction.

Then, Kikyo placed the spider lily next to the bronze mirror in front of the window and looked at the somewhat blurry reflection in the mirror. She patiently combed the other person's hair with a red comb. The latter did not speak, but just sat there, obviously enjoying it very much.

While taking care of the flowers, Kikyo also chatted with the Lycoris radiata about Penglai Island.

The other shore flower still remembers the situation at that time. At the last moment, her power awakened. In that state, although her consciousness was still clear, she always had a sense of illusion, as if she was dreaming. It seemed that she was controlling everything, but more so, it was this demon body "acting on its own".

The words spoken, the power exerted.

These are all things she couldn't do.

-

[True Name: Spider Lily (SR)]

[Level: 26]

[Attribute: Unawakened]

-

Now, the awakened state has regressed.

The other shore flower couldn't understand it, but she knew the root of all the problems lay in the matter of awakening. The power hidden deep within her demon body was completely unleashed. Compared to that state, she was now using at most 30% of her power, or even less. In other words, she had hired a substitute to fight back then.

"What exactly is awakening?"

The word is clearly easy to understand, but the other shore flower just can't grasp it. Of all the monsters she has seen so far, only two have awakened.

Furthermore, both of these monsters share a common characteristic: they are exceptionally powerful. There are tens of thousands of low-level monsters, but none of them have awakened their powers.

"What do you ask for this?"

Kikyo seemed to understand, and thus frowned slightly.

"Kikyo, please tell me about it!"

"I am very curious," said the red spider lily.

"Don't move, I'll tell you."

Upon hearing this, Kikyo lowered her head and recalled, "The so-called awakening, in its literal sense, is waking up from a dream. I know that's not what you want to hear, but please let me finish. Life is like a dream, and you need to gain a new understanding of yourself in this dream. It is the collection of enlightenment, awakening, and everything else. Some people awaken and become Buddhas, while others awaken and become demons. This is a change that happens later in life. However, the gods in the heavens are probably born as spirits of awakening."

"I see~"

After hearing Kikyo's explanation, Higanbana suddenly understood. Wasn't this just like Zhuangzi dreaming of being a butterfly, or the butterfly dreaming of being Zhuangzi? It seemed that when Zhuangzi began to ponder this question, Higanbana was already an awakened being.

But the other shore flower felt that she couldn't reach that level. Enlightenment and awakening are not things that can be achieved by just talking about them; first, one must have a clear understanding.

It's impossible; the red spider lily knows this very well.

She could only let nature take its course.

However, on the other hand...

"...Kikyo, how do you know all this?"

The other shore flower asked this with particular confusion.

“My teacher once told me this. He hoped to become a Buddha one day, but because his obsession was too deep, it became his only obstacle.”

After saying that, Kikyo threaded a red rope through the spider lily's ink-black hair and skillfully tied it into the shape of a flower, clearly showing that she had practiced many times.

In this way, Huahua becomes cute again.

"Oh, right, I just remembered something I brought back from Penglai Island last time. I think you might need it, since it's a relic left behind by you demons."

As soon as she finished speaking, Kikyo took out a handkerchief from her bosom. The thing wrapped inside gave Higanbana a familiar scent, and her eyes widened in surprise. She seemed to have already guessed what was going on, but she still waited for the other party to give an answer.

"These jewels are the sealed power of the Four War Gods, but we have already defeated them. So, do you think the jewels still need to be sealed, Hua?"

Kikyo opened her handkerchief, and four kinds of precious stones—red, blue, black, and white—appeared before the other flower's eyes. She placed these precious stones in the other's hand.

"Kikyo, I love you to death!"

The red spider lily immediately hugged the bellflower tightly in excitement.

Chapter 127 SR-Rank Shikigami, Yuki-onna!

"Mua~"

Without thinking twice, Higanbana kissed Kikyo's cheek. The battle on Penglai Island was too intense, leaving her no time to absorb the power of the Four War Gods. She thought she was going to miss out on another wave of experience, but unexpectedly, the other party brought back the treasure orb for her. The treasure orb was the crystallization of the demon power of the Four War Gods, so it could be said that she had delayed the time to absorb the power.

【妖力宝珠：四斗神的妖力结晶，使用后能够获得大量经验值，对30级以下目标可提升一级；对30级以上、35级以下目标可提升0.5等级；对35级以上目标可提升0.25等级，最低使用等级：25级。】

wow~

Four precious pearls, each enough to level up one level. A glimmer of light appeared in Higanbana's eyes. She really wanted to kiss Kikyo in front of her again; the other party had been so good to her.

"I'm glad you like it..."

Kikyo's neck suddenly flushed slightly. She hadn't expected the spider lily to be so frivolous, making advances without any warning. However, she didn't dislike the feeling and even hoped that the other party would come to her senses and try again. But she still had to maintain her composure, so she quickly got up and said, "You just woke up not long ago. I'll go and make some porridge for you."

"……Um!"

The spider lily smiled, and as Kikyo turned away, she shoved the pearls into her mouth and swallowed them whole, but suddenly coughed: "Cough, cough cough..."

"What's wrong, Flower? Are you feeling unwell?"

Upon seeing this, Kikyo's face immediately turned worried.

"...Water, water, water!"

"The other shore flower said, clutching her neck with both hands."

Upon hearing this, Kikyo panicked. There was a pot of tea on the table next to her that had long since gone cold, and she was also looking for a cup, making a complete mess of things.

However, the red spider lily ran over, picked up the teapot and poured the tea into her mouth. Finally, she swallowed the last breath and said, "I'm saved! I almost choked to death."

Those pearls were about the size of a quail egg. The spider lily thought she could eat them, but they got stuck in her throat. Although demons don't choke to death, they still felt uncomfortable. She could spit them out, but it would damage her image.

"What exactly did you eat?"

Kikyo seemed to have already figured out the answer.

"Hehehe~"

The red spider lily smiles but remains silent.

"Then I'll go to the kitchen to cook for you. Please don't cause any more trouble." Kikyo's expression gradually became helpless, hoping that the spider lily could take good care of herself.

After Kikyo left, Higanbana lay on the quilt. The pearls did not immediately increase the level after use, but required a period of absorption, just like the blood jade coral that she had ground into powder. With her usual cultivation speed increased a hundredfold, it would take more than a month for the four pearls to be used.

Thank you, Four Gods, for the amazing upgrade gift pack!

The red spider lily rolled around on the blanket, not knowing how long it had been asleep. When it woke up, it wanted to move around, feeling uncomfortable all over.

However, before that, Higanbana still needs to sort out her gains from this trip. After all, this BOSS is only one step away from SSR level, so the rewards can't be bad.

-

[Path of Fire: Summons the gates of the underworld, unleashing endless crimson flames. Once the flames descend upon the mortal realm, they burn for ten minutes, inflicting continuous true damage on the target's soul. The damage decreases over time and is divided into two phases: Burning Away and Lingering Flame.]

【焚寂（第一阶段）：红莲之火降临的前五分钟，可造成500％、400％、300％、200％、100％，合计攻击1500％真实伤害。】

【残烛（第二阶段）：红莲之火降临的后五分钟，可造成100％、80％、60％、40％、20％，合计攻击300％真实伤害。】

[Note: Releasing this skill consumes 70% of your base HP and 70% of your base demonic power. Please use it with caution!]

[Skill Usage Level: 35]

-

This was the ability that Higanbana accidentally gained when she resonated with the Roaring Cauldron during her battle against Long Luo, and it almost instantly overwhelmed the opponent's arrogance.

Unfortunately, it can't be used now. The stronger the ability, the greater the limitations. It actually requires her level to be over 35. However, it can still be used as a trump card.

then……

-

[Killed: Beast Luo*1, Gang Luo*1]

[Rewards: 79161 Gold Coins, 27 Jade Coins, 5 Broken Amulet]

[Killed: Long Luo*1]

[Rewards: 50000 Gold Coins, 30 Jade Coins, 2 Broken Amulets, 1 Mysterious Amulet]