In Genshin Impact, I'm really not Muzan.

If the heart of God is not in the shadow, then wouldn't all the plans I've laid out over such a long time become a joke?

"In whom does the heart of God reside?"

The thought filled Sanbing with immense anger, even an urge to destroy the entire Inazuma.

But that's absolutely impossible. Shadow wouldn't let him do that, and he himself simply couldn't handle such a powerful being.

"On me."

Suddenly, a cluster of cherry blossom petals inexplicably drifted down from the sky, and at the same time, a third person appeared in the Pure Land of One Heart.

That was the Eightfold Divine Child. Although she wasn't directly permitted, she still entered the Pure Land of One Heart through some special means.

As the high priestess of Narukami Shrine, she naturally knew what was happening on Narukami Island and even sent people to fetch the island's residents to Narukami Shrine for refuge.

But that's not a long-term solution. Narukami Shrine can only accommodate a limited number of people, and it's impossible to gather all the island's residents together in a short period of time.

Therefore, she chose to take matters into her own hands.

"Son of God?"

The moment she saw Yae no Miko, Kage was stunned; she couldn't understand how the other had gotten there.

The Pure Land of One Heart is her inner world, a space existing within the puppet General Thunder. Without her permission, no one can enter this place.

"Why are you making that face? Don't forget, who taught you to project your consciousness onto objects?"

"But..."

"Oh dear, although the result is good, it took me a lot of effort to get into your inner world."

After Yae no Miko finished speaking, she turned her gaze to the scattered soldiers not far away.

"Oh? Isn't this the one you dumped back then..."

When she said the word "abandon," Yae no Miko sensed an overwhelming killing intent emanating from the scattered soldiers, so she didn't continue.

The soldiers naturally recognized Yae no Miko. To be honest, the method used by the Shadow when he created him was taught by Yae no Miko.

However, he didn't have a deep impression of Yae no Miko, and because she was a member of the Thunder God's family, the soldiers didn't have a good impression of her either.

"Another troublesome fellow, but it doesn't matter. The fact that the two of you are here at the same time means that no one outside can stop the spread of the demon god's resentment."

Facing both Shadow and Yae no Miko, Sanbing showed no panic, because he held the initiative. As long as he didn't reveal the method to resolve the demon god's resentment, they wouldn't do anything to him.

Unless they can make preparations that result in heavy losses for Inazuma.

"Don't say that. Although I haven't figured out exactly what happened, didn't I just hear Shadow say that you wanted the Heart of God?"

"Yae no Miko said, and then she took out a small object from her body, which looked like a purple chess piece.

Shadow and the Scatterers were no strangers to that thing, for it was the Heart of God, a treasure bestowed by Sky Isle and symbolizing the status of the seven rulers of the mortal world.

Chapter Fifty-Six: Eternity Greater Than the People's Wishes

The moment the skirmisher saw the Heart of God, his eyes widened, and he almost had the urge to rush up and snatch it away.

But that's impossible. Putting aside Ying, Yae no Miko's strength is already quite good. Even if I'm a little stronger than her, their strength won't be that much different.

"I never expected you would entrust something so important to someone else for safekeeping."

Forcibly suppressing his inner excitement, the soldier looked at the shadow.

Shadow remained silent. While the Heart of God was important, it was now dispensable to her.

To others, the Heart of God is a supreme treasure bestowed by Sky Island, but only the Seven Rulers of the Mortal Realm know that the Heart of God is merely something Sky Island uses to bind them.

If we could hand over the Heart of God, that would be a good thing; at least we wouldn't be under so much pressure anymore.

"For a god, nothing is more important than the people he protects. You said that if we obtain the Heart of God, we will be able to find a way to deal with that big guy outside. Okay, then I will give you the Heart of God."

Yae no Miko handed over the Heart of God in her hand. Just as the soldier reached out to grab it, the other party suddenly withdrew her hand, along with the Heart of God.

This action made the soldier's face darken, because he always felt that the other side was making fun of him.

"Don't be in such a hurry. Who knows if you'll go back on your word after you get the Heart of God? It's always good to be cautious. How about this, you tell me first how to deal with that big guy outside, and then I'll give you the Heart of God."

Yae no Miko's proposal was quickly rejected by the scattered soldiers.

"If that's the case, then you might also break your promise, so why should I believe you?"

"Hey, that's so true, how come I didn't think of that?"

Yae no Miko adopted a thoughtful expression.

"In that case, let Ying do it. You don't trust me, but you can't not trust her either, can you?"

Yae no Miko tossed the Heart of God to Kage, who seemed somewhat bewildered, as she hadn't expected the other party to ask her to be the one making the deal with the scattered soldiers.

But as she said, Shadow is indeed a samurai, and samurai value their word above all else. Once they have made a promise, they will do it even if it means going through fire and water.

“I promise you, if you tell me how to resolve the crisis outside, I will give you the Heart of God.”

After hesitating for a moment, Ying spoke to the stragglers.

"As long as you destroy all the crystallized bone marrow on the island, the demon god's resentment will dissipate because it has no source of power. For you, doing this only requires one strike, right?"

In the end, the stragglers told Shadow how to resolve the crisis outside.

Just as he had promised, after he said those words, Shadow tossed the Heart of God to him.

After taking the Heart of God, the soldier looked it over for a while and found that it was not a fake. He then left the Pure Land of One Heart, but he still had to get Shadow's permission, otherwise he would not have been able to leave on his own.

After the scattered soldiers left, only Kage and Yae no Miko remained in the Pure Land of One Heart. The two stared at each other for a while.

"What? We haven't seen each other for hundreds of years, don't you have anything to say to me?"

Yae no Miko spoke first. Perhaps because she was a fox spirit, her tone always carried a hint of allure, enough to make countless men swoon.

"Those with different aspirations cannot agree on the same path, and I don't think I have anything to say."

Ying replied calmly.

"I see. So you know about what's happening outside...?"

What do you mean?

"The war between the Shogunate army and the rebel army; the destruction of the talisman on Hachiman Island, which led to the rampage of the remaining forces of Orobas; and there's a guy named Kibutsuji Muzan, who has killed quite a few people."

Even Yae no Miko's face would show a hint of seriousness when these things were mentioned.

“I know all of this,” Ying said.

"But so what? My goal is to get Inazuma to step into the realm of [Eternity]. The things you mentioned may be worth noting, but ultimately, none of them pose a threat to [Eternity]."

Yae no Miko's answer to the shadow was not unexpected, but she still felt a little emotional.

"Why, why won't you believe in your people, believe in the power of their will?"

"It's not wrong to pursue eternity, but does true eternity exist in this world? Time will temper everything, and even the most solid things will become flawed as a result."

"But those desires have transcended distance, time, and space; they are things that no one can extinguish. What you are doing is no different from going against the will of heaven."

On her path to eternal life, Yae no Miko has witnessed too much suffering. Even though she feels it, she cannot save everyone. Whenever she thinks of this, a sense of powerlessness arises in her heart.

"The promise I make to my subjects is to remain unchanged for thousands of generations. Desires are inherently detrimental to eternity; in pursuing desires, one often loses more."

"Just as the act of confiscating the Eye of God itself does not lead to death because the Eye of God is removed from the body, it is those who insist on pursuing their desires who lose their lives."

"The facts are as they are, and my will will never change unless... you can come up with something more convincing."

Looking at his old friend, Yae no Miko sighed softly.

She understood the other person, so she knew how stubborn Ying would be in pursuit of eternity, and asked her to come up with something more convincing... To be honest, Yae no Miko couldn't come up with anything, at least not right now.

It seems that her attempt to persuade the other party is unsuccessful.

A cherry-colored light emanated from her body, and Yae no Miko began to gradually dissipate.

"Oh dear, it's time. I can't stay here any longer, or it will harm my true form."

Before leaving, she left Ying with a few final words.

"Shadow, I can't judge whether what you did was right or wrong. It wasn't something I should have done."

"But I know that one day someone will come to stop you. That person may be someone you know, or they may be someone you have never met before. [An unexpected event in the pursuit of eternity]."

"As a friend, I have a piece of advice for you: never underestimate any potential threat, even if it is as insignificant as an ant now. Who knows, in the future, that ant may grow into a towering tree, or even crush you."

"That's all I wanted to say. Actually, I'm quite happy to see you again after so long, but it seems we don't have time to catch up."

"Take care of yourself..."

Chapter Fifty-Seven: A Single, Unthinking Strike

Yae no Miko left, her body turning into a speck of light and disappearing without a trace.

Within the Pure Land of One Heart, only Ying remained, and as usual, her heart was filled with endless loneliness and solitude.

"Me too, it's great to see you again."

......

"Breathing of Thunder - Land Form: Thunder and Lightning!"

Centered on himself, Ryoujiro Yu unleashed countless lightning-shaped sword energies in all directions as he swung his blade, each of which could cleave the approaching black mist in two.

Suzumiya Yu, Kamisato Ayaka, Karasuya, and Udagawa had been fighting the black mist for an unknown amount of time, at least an hour.

If it weren't for the fact that each of them possessed considerable strength, they would probably have been possessed long ago.

Ayaka Kamisato was the first of the four to lose her fighting ability. After all, she was human and needed to pay attention to the consumption of her physical strength and power at all times.

Exhausted and covered in sweat, Ayaka Kamisato could only follow behind Yuu Suzumiya, barely able to move forward until Suzumiya took a step.

Udagawa and Wuye are fine protecting themselves, but if they were to bring along a burden, they would be extremely likely to lose their lives.

These black mists do not directly harm the physical body; instead, they invade the body and control the entire body from within.

Although ghosts can regenerate infinitely, this kind of direct attack on the body's internal organs is probably impossible to resist.

Now, they have two choices: one is to go to Narukami Shrine, which is arguably the only safe place on Narukami Island at present.

Another option is to leave Narukami Island, but either option would be extremely disadvantageous for them.