The Demon King, reborn in Japan as a monk

“Kill people, refine treasures,” Ishihara Sho said bluntly.

“If that’s the case, I will follow you, but I won’t help you. I hope you’re prepared.” Yun Xiangxiang’s surprise became more and more obvious, and then she shook her head slightly in response.

“It doesn’t matter,” Ishihara Akira laughed, then stood up from his chair. “I’ll pick you up tomorrow morning, and then we’ll set off together.”

After saying that, without waiting for Yun Xiangxiang to reply, he disappeared into thin air in a flash.

……

"I've investigated the origins of Tianxiang Tower thoroughly." Shi Yuanzhang, who had returned to Su Mu's side at Sanhua Tower, plopped down on Su Mu's bed and said, looking at Su Mu in the room.

"Oh?" Su Mu showed a curious expression.

"Behind Tianxiang Tower is the Wenxiang Sect, and the current manager is Yun Xiangxiang, the previous Holy Maiden of the Wenxiang Sect. I don't need to introduce her deeds any further, do I?"

"The Scent-Enjoying Cult? They've resurfaced. They really haven't given up their evil intentions." Su Mu frowned and said unhappily after hearing Ishihara Akira's introduction.

"It's a pity that the Dao Lord can't spare the energy right now, otherwise he would definitely come to Yujing immediately to deal with Yun Xiangxiang."

“Dream God Machine? If he really comes, I will stop him,” Ishihara Akira interrupted.

"Hmm?" Su Mu looked at him with a puzzled expression.

“I made a deal with Yun Xiangxiang, promising to take her with me when I transcend in the future. So, in return, she will give me the three volumes of the Heavenly Book of the Fragrance Sect. In other words, before I get the Heavenly Fragrance Scroll, no matter who it is, they will have to get past me first if they want to kill her.” Shi Yuanzhang slightly composed himself and said seriously.

"Transcendence? You're not even a Yang God yet, and you're already thinking about transcendence? Don't you think that's a bit too early? And what makes you so sure you can definitely transcend it?" Su Mu asked with a strange yet amused expression.

"I can only say that I am 90% confident that I can transcend. If I can transcend, would you be willing to leave this world with me?" Ishihara Akira asked with a confident smile.

“If I can transcend it, I certainly won’t refuse.” Su Mu glanced at Ishihara Sho and smiled in agreement.

"Then you should intensify your cultivation. I don't want to be the one who transcends while you're still just a ghost immortal," Ishihara Akira reminded him.

"..."

……

Then nothing happened that night, and the next day arrived once again.

In the morning, after washing up and having breakfast, Ishihara Akira appeared in the courtyard where he had met with Enoki earlier, just as he had said.

"You've arrived early." Almost the instant Ishihara Akira appeared, Yun Xiangxiang opened the door and came out of the house, speaking softly to Ishihara Akira who was standing in the courtyard.

"Are you ready?" Ishihara Sho smiled and asked Yun Xiangxiang directly.

“I’m ready to leave anytime,” Yun Xiangxiang nodded.

"Then let's go." After saying that, Ishihara Sho decisively soared into the sky and arrived in the heavens.

Then came Yun Xiangxiang, who quickly appeared beside Shi Yuanzhang, along with his physical body.

After all, the physical body is precious and cannot be left out casually. Moreover, after the tribulation of lightning, ghost immortals are basically able to fly in the sky with their physical bodies without worrying about their soul power being devoured by their blood and qi. Therefore, there is no need to leave the physical body far away from itself for the sake of convenience.

It's not like I'm undergoing a tribulation.

So the two of them didn't waste any words. After exchanging a glance, they sped straight towards the east of Daqian, or rather, Tianzhou.

On the way, Ishihara Sho, thinking that this opportunity to take off in flight was rare, did not sit idle. With a thought in mind, he once again collected the Heavenly Gang Qi from the Nine Heavens, as a reserve for refining treasures or strengthening the Chaos Bell later.

……

Both of them were moving at a fast pace, especially since they were traveling on the Heavenly Road, so it didn't take long before the boundless ocean came into view. Then, their gazes shifted, and a place that stood tall and majestic like a cliff on the edge of the coastline, thousands of feet high, with thick clouds swirling around it, making it look like a fairyland from afar, also came into Ishihara Akira's eyes.

And that place was none other than the ultimate destination of Ishihara Akira's trip—the East Sea Cloud Mist Mountain!

Then the two flew to the sky above Cloud Mist Mountain. First, they gestured to Yun Xiangxiang to hide to the side, and then they released their divine soul power, covering Cloud Mist Mountain from all directions.

That powerful aura caused Yun Xiangxiang's expression to change instantly upon sensing it—

"It's actually the Creator!" Yun Xiangxiang thought to herself in surprise.

Originally, she thought that Ishihara Akane was just an ordinary ghost immortal. Even if he had passed the tribulation of lightning, he would only be at the first, second, or third level of cultivation. Compared to her, who had already passed the sixth tribulation of lightning and was only one step away from becoming a creator, he was nothing special. There was no need to be too wary or take him seriously. However, she did not expect that the little guy in her eyes was actually a big bad wolf. This forced her to readjust her mindset and think about how to get along with Ishihara Akane in the future.

Of course, I also became more convinced of the transcendence that Ishihara Sho spoke of.

After all, humans are creators, so achieving the status of a Yang God shouldn't be too difficult. Even if it requires accumulation, it should be enough for her to complete within this lifetime. Perhaps she really can achieve something that others cannot.

Meanwhile, in the misty mountains...

Following Ishihara Sho's uninhibited, or rather, impolite, scan, a loud shout echoed from the Cloud Mist Mountain.

"Who is this esteemed person who has graced us with their presence? Don't you think such behavior is a bit too presumptuous?"

Then, a figure flew out from the misty mountains and appeared in mid-air, in the sight of Ishihara Sho and Yun Xiangxiang, who were hiding in the shadows.

He was quite burly, about two meters tall by sight, with solid muscles and a fierce face. If he were to wear a suit of armor, he would look like a fierce warrior on the battlefield. His eyes were bright and sharp, like arrows that struck Ishihara Sho. It was only because he was in his primordial spirit form that he was in his flesh and blood form; otherwise, the hair on his body would probably stand on end.

"The Heavenly Demon Hercules Ape Ba?" Ishihara Sho sized up the other party for a while and asked with certainty.

“Indeed, it is I, Ba. May I ask who you are?” Ba carefully examined Ishihara Sho for a while, and after realizing that he was not a familiar face, he frowned and asked.

They're up to no good.

Chapter 529 Five Finger Mountain

Heavenly Demon, Reborn as a Monk in Japan

"If it's you, then it's fine," Ishihara Sho replied, seemingly unrelated to the question.

Moreover, he acted swiftly. As soon as he finished speaking, he immediately used the technique of separating the two worlds to form a barrier that encompassed the space where he and the East Sea Demon Ape Ba were located, severing it from the Great Thousand World.

Ba probably didn't expect Ishihara Sho to act so decisively. After a moment of stunned silence, he suddenly flew into a rage, roared, and leaped in front of Ishihara Sho. His powerful and domineering fist, carrying terrifying demonic power, struck Ishihara Sho in an instant.

Ishihara Sho's body immediately exploded, turning into countless crystalline thoughts that drifted in all directions.

Babel may appear to be in human form now, but that is because it is its soul body. Just like the soul of the Great Golden Spider is a cute little girl, its true form is still that of a powerful demon ape. In essence, it is still a monster, and its temperament is naturally not as peaceful as that of a human. So, after seeing that its attack had worked, it decisively unleashed its power and grabbed at the thoughts of the surrounding Ishihara Sho.

But just as the giant hand formed, a melodious bell suddenly rang out in the void—

"when!"

Instantly, Ba's movements paused, and at the same time, the divine thoughts belonging to Ishihara Sho flashed around him. With the sudden rise of the two bright pearls, the entire space changed again in an instant, as if day and night were reversed, from the bright daylight to the falling night. Countless stars twinkled in the sky, emitting strange primordial magnetic star power, surrounding Ba in the middle.

Then, the planets began to move around, forming a kind of large array, which further compressed and suppressed the magic power and space for movement of the East Sea Demon Ape Ba.

Then, in the next moment, countless bolts of lightning and thunder shot towards Ba, who was in the middle of it, like a rain of arrows.

Although Ba couldn't understand what was happening before it, its instinct told it that everything it saw was dangerous and needed to be dealt with carefully. So it once again used the Heavenly Demon God-Slaying Technique that it had learned from its ancestor, and used all its skills to fight against the lightning, thunder, fire, and magnetic energy shooting from all around.

However, this was only the beginning. Immediately afterward, with the ringing of another bell, terrifying icy cold air spread throughout the entire magic array space, reaching far and wide. In an instant, it filled the entire magic array space, enveloped Ba, and climbed onto his body, causing his spiritual thoughts to stagnate and his physical movements to slow down uncontrollably.

Then the bell rang again, and a sacred light, seemingly representing heaven and earth, shot out from the void and struck Ba, whose movements were sluggish due to the bell and the cold air, causing his soul and body to shake violently.

Ba felt the crisis of life and death, and dared not hesitate, so he used the profound meaning of the True Scripture of Moment.

Instantly, the passage of time before its eyes began to slow down, and even the trajectory of the stars seemed to stop, allowing it to pass through various gaps with ease.

And Ba did just that, using his superhuman agility to dash toward the outer edge of the magic array as if he were teleporting.

"Go back now." Seeing this, Ishihara Sho shook the Chaos Bell in his hand again.

Then, as if time had reversed, Ba's figure returned to the center of the magic circle, receiving a full-scale, all-around attack from the magic circle.

"Reversing the tide, what is your relationship with Meng Shenji?!" Ba, enduring the pain all over his body, questioned loudly.

Ishihara Sho didn't speak, but controlled the thoughts of the 48,000 stars that made up the Zhou Tian Star Array to change the formation again. He operated it according to the release methods of the Light Mandala Garland Barrier and the Dark Mandala Garland Barrier, forming the Light and Dark Mandala Garland Barrier. Like the union of heaven and earth, it enveloped Ba from above and below, which was still restricted by the Zhou Tian Star Array composed of 365 main stars.

Seeing this, Ba gritted his teeth and released his Dao Fruit—the Heavenly Demon Dao Fruit—transforming it into its original physical form. He directly unleashed the blood and qi of a Human Immortal and punched the Light Mandala Womb Realm barrier that was descending from the sky.

Unmoved, Shi Yuanzhang simply murmured a Buddhist chant—Amitabha—before suddenly opening his eyes wide. While loudly reciting the six-syllable mantra, he pressed down with his free hand. His five fingers, carrying the radiance of the five elements, seemed like a mountain, breaking through space and directly pressing down on the physical body created by the demon ape Bayi Tianyao Daoguo.

The void became the ground, suppressing him directly on the spot.

"Monkey, why don't you experience what it was like for the Great Sage back then?"

Then the Chaos Bell continued to shake, vibrating the soul of the demon ape Ba and slowing his movements, allowing the Great Barrier of Light and Dark Mandala to work smoothly on him and seal him inside.

Then Shi Yuanzhang continued to reinforce the seal on top to prevent the demon ape Ba from breaking through the seal and escaping. Then, with a thought, he collected the demon ape Ba's soul and his Dao fruit.

"Done, job done." Seeing that he had so easily suppressed the demon ape whose strength was comparable to a sixth-tribulation ghost immortal and who also had a human immortal clone, Ishihara Sho nodded and muttered with satisfaction.

……

"Your skill is impressive." Seeing that the battle was over, Yun Xiangxiang also appeared from the void. Looking at Ishihara Sho, who had easily suppressed the demon ape Ba, whose strength was equal to or even slightly stronger than hers, she congratulated him with a complicated expression.

Since Ishihara Sho could easily handle even Ba, he could naturally handle her, a sixth-level ghost immortal.

Most importantly, she actually saw the shadows of the Great Zen Temple, the Supreme Dao, the Xuantian Pavilion, the Peach God Dao, the Five Elements Dao, the Ice Soul Dao, and other cultivation methods that she couldn't recognize in Shi Yuanzhang's methods! It can be said that, apart from the methods of the True Gang Sect and the Essence Divine Temple, he had mastered all the methods of the six great holy lands in the world.

Now I understand why Ishihara Akira's other goal is the Temple of the Spirit.

It seems that the purpose was to collect the cultivation techniques of the six holy lands.

With the addition of skills from other sects, and by integrating the essence of all scriptures into one's own body, it's possible that Ishihara Akira could indeed achieve the transcendence that so many saints throughout history have coveted.

"Let's go down and loot its lair, see if we can find anything else." Ishihara Akira smiled, looking down at the Cloud Mist Mountain.

"it is good."

Then the two descended together and entered the Cloud Mist Mountain, which from the outside appeared to be only a thousand feet high, surrounded by thick clouds and mist, resembling a rocky cliff, but inside was a lush mountain of flowers, grass and trees, just like a real Flower and Fruit Mountain. They found the cave of the East Sea Demon Ape Ba and plundered its collections and the cultivation techniques he practiced.

"It seems that's all we have. If we want more, we'll have to start with him personally," Ishihara Akira said to Yun Xiangxiang beside him, not entirely satisfied with the results.

Chapter 530 Entering the Nine Abyss

Heavenly Demon, Reborn as a Monk in Japan

With the help of the magic on the Earth Incense and Heaven Incense scrolls that could affect the soul, Shi Yuanzhang quickly got some of the information he wanted to know from the East Sea Demon Ape Ba.

For example, cultivation techniques such as the Heavenly Demon God-Slaying Technique and the Instantaneous True Scripture have fallen into his hands.

Then came various martial arts, Taoist techniques, and secrets.

Only after extracting everything from the East Sea Demon Ape Ba did Ishihara Akane make his move. Using the Soul Vortex and the Peach God Path Yin-Yang Vortex, he refined Ba's soul, extracted his consciousness, and reviewed it again. After confirming that there was no hidden content, he swallowed the purified soul power into his stomach.

Instantly, Ishihara Akira felt his spiritual power begin to expand, splitting into more thoughts, while simultaneously making his magical power even stronger...

In short, after he had completely digested the divine soul power of the East Sea Demon Ape Ba, the total number of his thoughts increased significantly, from the original 74,000 to 86,000. Although he still hadn't reached the number of one Yuan, it was still a great improvement over before.

"It's a pity that the Dao Fruit can't be refined. I can only use it to digest the Divine Stone Spiritual Platform after it hatches. I wonder how much it can raise the level of the Divine Stone Spiritual Embryo." Shi Yuanzhang looked at the only remaining Dao Fruit in his hand and thought with some insatiable greed.