Don't force me to use my right fist.

"I'm telling you, if you're in this state, you're not going to mess up today, are you?"

Saku looked at the girl, who seemed weak and about to collapse at any moment, and asked her with half-closed eyes.

"Don't worry, I'm a monster. At most, I'm just overthinking. I'll take a nap in the carriage later."

Tamamo-no-Mae waved her hand without explaining further, and then beckoned Saya to board the carriage heading to the ceremony site outside the city.

In ancient times, there were no means of live broadcasting; it was all passed down by word of mouth. Even so, the sense of ritual had to be maximized.

As for propaganda, Tamamo-no-Mae managed to infiltrate the imperial court precisely because she recognized the propaganda and appeal capabilities of these humans.

It's difficult for people to believe in a monster, but it's very easy for them to believe what the ruler says.

So all Tamamo-no-Mae had to do was to project an imposing aura in front of the officials who were going to the ceremony to witness the manifestation of Inari.

As for the famine problem, with the bone meal provided by Sōyū and the absence of the Saigō Ayakashi, it's much easier to solve.

The more troublesome issue is what follows. The influx of a large number of believers will inevitably allow her to break through the last layer of faith shackles in an instant. However, this will mean she will have a long period of transformation, and at this time, her enemies will not stand idly by.

Fortunately, she wasn't without any trump cards, and with the enigmatic Sayu helping her, Tamamo-no-Mae wasn't overly anxious.

The carriage quickly carried Tamamo-no-Mae and Saya to the temporary prayer site. There, a huge fox statue was placed in the center of a square, surrounded by equatorial guards and various ministers who had come to observe the ceremony.

"Judging from this, you have quite a grand entourage."

Sawa squinted at Tamamo-no-Mae, who had transformed into the handsome Onmyoji, and whispered a joke to him.

"You have no idea how difficult it is to deal with this group of people. Just do what you promised me, and leave the rest of dealing with people and hosting ceremonies to me."

Tamamo-no-Mae looked like she didn't want to chat with Saya. She rolled her eyes at him and then pulled Saya, who had also used the Dream Summoning Card and transformed into a green-clad, white-haired dual-wielding swordsman, down from the carriage.

Tamamo-no-Mae led Saku through the bustling crowd to the back of the stage in the ceremony square. She patted him on the shoulder, indicating that he could stay backstage.

"You noticed it just now, didn't you? There are at least two powerful demons below the stage, meaning these are the ones you need to keep a close eye on."

She hadn't anticipated that besides the Cihang National Preceptor, other powerful demons would be present. Her original plan was for Zuo You to hold off one while she used her trump card to hold off another; as long as she held out until she became a god, nothing would be a problem.

But now she has to deal with at least three powerful demons, which is somewhat unexpected.

Now, all we can hope for is whether Sawa can step up his game. If it's two powerful demons, how long can he hold out?

"Then I might have noticed a little more than you. Besides that bald-headed national teacher, the other two hidden under the stage have been enhanced by the Shikon Jewel fragments."

Zuoyou snapped his fingers and pointed in the direction of the two men, one large and one small, who were hidden in what appeared to be an Onmyoji team.

From the two of them, Saya sensed a strange aura that only corrupted Shikon Jewel shards possess, and judging from their appearance, their excessive handsomeness was enough to arouse Saya's suspicion.

Tamamo-no-Mae looked in the direction Saya pointed and saw a handsome young man with white hair wearing a white kimono, and a black-haired man beside him who exuded an irrepressible demonic aura.

If things are really as Saya said, and these two great demons have been strengthened, then this is not good news, and it's enough to give her a huge headache.

"Can you find a way to hold off these two? As long as you can last until I become a god, that's fine."

Tamamo-no-Mae pursed her lips, knowing that her suggestion wasn't really in a way that would do Saga a favor.

Rather than saying that making him face two great demons alone is already forcing him to do something against his will.

As expected, Saya shook his head at Tamamo-no-Mae.

"Tsk, so I guess I can't do it after all. Am I really going to have to give up such a good opportunity?"

"No, what I mean is, I didn't mean to hold them off. If you don't mind, I hope you can give me these two guys, including that Cihang National Master who might appear later. After all, I'm the kind of person who feels restless if I don't fight."

He rubbed his palm against the Louguan sword through the scabbard, his face showing no sign of distress, but rather a look of anticipation.

This kind of powerful demon is a sure-fire easy target, a real money pit. If he were to give it to Tamamo-no-Mae, wouldn't he be at a huge loss?

As for whether or not there will be any mishaps, that's not even on Zuoyou's radar. As long as the opponent hasn't reached the level of a god, Zuoyou is confident that even a few more wouldn't be his match.

It's not that Sayu is bragging, but Sayu really feels he's qualified to strive for the title of the number one person below the gods.

Chapter 460 An Unexpected Surprise

"Then I'll have to trust you this time. I hope you're right."

Tamamo-no-Mae glanced at Saya with some confusion, but didn't say anything more.

She didn't have a proper understanding of Sōyu's strength; all she knew was that the mysteries surrounding him were ever-deepening, and his hidden cards were constantly being revealed. And since he said that, it meant he might actually have the confidence to do it. The harvest prayer ritual had to be completed first.

Sawa, who had absolutely no interest in these superstitious rituals, found a cool spot and leaned back, yawning as he surveyed the crowd below the stage.

Famine is not a bad thing for everyone.

While some people hope that everyone can have enough to eat, there are naturally others who wish that no one would have anything to eat.

Indeed, for some businessmen, a poor harvest is actually the best time to make money. After all, they have enough grain in their hands to keep them living a life of plenty. If there is a prolonged famine, they can make an unknown amount of money.

Even worse, some people would rather let their grain rot and mold in their warehouses than sell it to the poor, simply because they cannot afford the high prices.

So if hatred can be considered a form of faith, then Tamamo-no-Mae must have been under a lot of pressure from humans.

This is why Tamamo-no-Mae said that human faith is always full of impurities, because that is indeed the case.

Fortunately, Tamamo-no-Mae didn't care what these people thought. Since she wanted to become the goddess in charge of harvests, the majority of the faith would still be the poor people who buried themselves in farming, not the group of fat and rich people in the audience.

After uttering some polite and formal words that Saya couldn't understand at all, Tamamo-no-Mae, disguised as a handsome man, finally placed a huge magic circle in the middle of the plaza, muttering words of gratitude for the blessing of Inari God, and directly activated the magic circle.

In the blink of an eye, the phantom of a giant golden fox covered most of the sky. Although it was a wild beast, it had a holy aura in its eyes. Its nine huge tails throbbed rhythmically behind it, and in no time, a golden cloud condensed in the sky.

It has to be said that, judging from the effect alone, her style and the scale of the event were truly impressive. It was no wonder that she had prepared for such a long time, and she probably spent a lot of her demonic power on this kind of thing.

At least Sawa felt that she absolutely couldn't achieve this level of special effects using magic alone; at least after doing so, her style was maintained.

As for the key to a bountiful harvest, that became the area where she least needed to expend her demonic power.

A light golden rain swept across the entire neon-lit landscape, coating all the plants it could reach with a thin layer of golden moisture before disappearing into the air.

Soon, whether it was the grassland, the trees, or even the crops in the fields, everything radiated a vibrant energy that was visible to the naked eye.

The once withered and thin seedlings of crops thrived under the nourishment of the golden moisture, and various trees became even greener in the long-awaited rain.

But Sawa knew in his heart that no matter how magical this thing looked, even though it only had a layer of water mist that achieved such a terrifying effect, in fact, it was just the reason why he gave Tamamo-no-Mae that pile of bone powder that was like a small mountain.

Although Tamamo-no-Mae covered it with a layer of gold to make the visual effect more stunning, it was actually just a watered-down fertilizer.

It's just that it's more effective and faster-acting than regular fertilizers.

But at this time, what the farmers in Japan, who were struggling to survive, needed most was this.

Nothing brings them more hope than seeing their planted crops thriving, and all of this is thanks to the rain brought down by the golden fox that appeared in the sky.

The farmers may lack knowledge or understand the underlying principles, but they only need to understand one thing: their crops were able to thrive thanks to the fox.

Almost without Tamamo-no-Mae making any further moves, and without even knowing her identity, the farmers responsible for cultivating the land and supporting their families immediately prostrated themselves in her direction, sincerely worshipping her. In a short time, an immense wave of faith, almost visible to the naked eye, poured into the golden fox in the sky. Tamamo-no-Mae, who was supposed to be presiding over the next ceremony, vanished from the center of the arena, transforming into a beam of light and merging with the fox's phantom in the sky.

But none of this was what shocked Zuo You. She had long anticipated that she could become a god in one fell swoop by relying on this faith. But what Zuo You did not expect was that under that enormous faith, strands of somewhat familiar golden threads gathered towards him at some point and eventually disappeared into his body.

The faith points that had previously dwindled to single digits suddenly increased by nearly two hundred, and as the golden threads fell, the value continued to rise slowly.

Sōyū was truly surprised by this unexpected windfall. He had only provided Tamamo-no-Mae with some bone powder, and the fact that he could gain so much faith from it was something he hadn't anticipated.

But upon further reflection, Sawa felt relieved.

Since Tamamo-no-Mae has analyzed that her beliefs may have originated from plants and crops, then she herself, who provided her with bone meal, is indeed the source that revitalized and allowed them to grow again.

As mentioned before, these things have very pure faith. Zuoyou provided them with the extra help they needed, so it is perfectly normal for them to return a portion of their faith to Zuoyou as a reward.

Chapter 461 Don't Ask, the Answer is Support

While it's really nice to have faith arrive, this isn't the time for Zuoyou to worry about that.

Tamamo-no-Mae's first step in her plan has been completed without any unexpected incidents, but at the same time, she has also entered the most dangerous period.

As the phantom of the enormous golden fox in the sky continuously merged and contracted, absorbing the faith surging towards it, a pale red barrier rose simultaneously, enveloping the area around the platform.

While Tamamo-no-Mae's barrier couldn't be expected to stop the group of great demons, it was not difficult to prevent some minor monsters from getting in the way.

But just as the barrier unfolded, a chanting sound, seemingly from nowhere, resounded throughout the entire venue, instantly causing the officials and commoners who had come to watch and observe the ceremony to lose consciousness.

"Amitabha! Demons and evil spirits also want to become gods. This humble monk cannot tolerate this happening."

A golden gap melted open in the middle of the pale red barrier, and a group of black-veiled maids escorted a sedan chair covered in gold leaf as it entered. The sedan chair seemed to have its own built-in sound system, emitting unsettling chanting sounds like reciting scriptures, causing even Sōyū to frown.

The onlookers, including civilians and officials, were even more devastated; they all knelt on the ground, clutching their hair and screaming in agony.

"All beings suffer; those who believe in me will be liberated."

The curtain on the sedan chair was lifted by a maid, revealing a pale-faced monk with feminine features. He looked compassionately at the people kneeling before him and pointed his finger at the phantom of a fox in the sky.

The white-faced monk named Pudu Cihang narrowed his eyes, righteously blaming all his crimes on Tamamo-no-Mae, who was gradually transforming into a god in the sky.

He naturally knew that this was the time when Tamamo-no-Mae was at her weakest, and his words were nothing more than an attempt to gain a righteous cause for his intervention. As long as it caused her some trouble when absorbing faith, it would be a very useful preparation.

"He should be executed!"

Nodding in satisfaction, Pudu Cihang's compassionate face suddenly flashed with murderous intent. He swung his hand fiercely at the fox in the sky, and a golden palm print left his palm and slammed towards it.

A green sword aura blocked the palm print flying towards the illusory figure. Below, Zuo You, who had been watching this guy's impromptu performance, supported himself with one hand on his Louguan Sword, his eyes filled with disbelief.

I have a feeling that when this guy is fooling others, he fools himself along with them. Anyone who didn't know better would think he's some righteous, enlightened monk preparing to subdue demons.

In the end, isn't it just a worthless monster that plans to launch a sneak attack when no one is paying attention, and then tries to shift all the blame onto the other side?

Originally, Zuo You thought that this Pudu Cihang might be somewhat different from the one he knew in the original work. He sighed and slowly drew both swords from their sheaths.

"Why are you interfering in my affairs, benefactor? Subduing this fox demon is the most important thing right now. Don't be deceived by her." whl

The pale-faced monk frowned slightly when he saw Sawa blocking his way, but his face remained that of a calm and composed high monk, and he even tried to persuade him earnestly.

"Hey, there aren't any ordinary people around now. What's the point of you keeping up this act? Don't you have any idea who's actually a monster who's bringing disaster to the country?"

Zuoyou rolled his eyes. What kind of time is this to be pretending to be compassionate? If he didn't know what kind of person this guy really was, he might have actually been fooled by him.

"It seems that your mind is filled with too many distracting thoughts, and you may have been bewitched by that fox spirit. Let this humble monk help you to transcend this."

Pudu Cihang, who had been mercilessly rebuked by Zuoyou, could no longer maintain his calm and composed expression. With a hint of anger, his lips moved rapidly, and a stronger chanting arose from his mouth.

"The death-reaping chant, is it? I've been waiting for you for a long time."

As he listened to the scriptures being chanted by the monk in front of him, Sawa scratched his head, which was a bit of a headache, but his hands didn't stop moving. He flipped his hand and threw several record players in front of him.