Tokyo: The Player Behind the Scenes

The off-key nursery rhyme echoed in the closed room, interspersed with faint laughter.

game.

Compared to the fates of Iwasaki and Nobi's team, Uesugi's team fared slightly better, although the input box was also completely locked, preventing any intervention.

But at least, the player's perspective is no longer stuck in one place, but closely follows Doman Akatsuki's actions, and they simultaneously ascend Mount Fuji, which is covered in snow.

It was the dead of winter, and Mount Fuji was covered in snow from the halfway point, creating a pristine white landscape.

Xiao Che's footsteps crunched through the snow, echoing dully in the silence as he climbed upwards.

Ahead, amidst the swirling snow and mist, a blurry figure quietly appeared, seemingly having been waiting there all along.

Amidst the wind, snow, and white mist, the figure's face remained indistinguishable.

Only when they were just a few steps away did the layers of snow and mist reluctantly part, revealing the man standing there—his father, who should have been dead.

That face, so rigid and stern in his memory, now wore a gentle smile that Xiao Che had never seen before, silently gazing at his approaching son.

"Everyone is waiting for you, Xiaoche." His voice was so gentle.

Everyone?

Daoman Xiaoche opened his mouth slightly, but didn't say anything.

"follow me."

The father said no more, turned and walked deeper into the snowstorm, his figure appearing and disappearing in the swirling snowflakes.

Daoman Xiaoche silently followed.

After walking for an unknown amount of time, we finally approached the crater at the summit.

In a daze, it was as if after passing through a thin membrane, everything around me underwent a complete transformation.

The snow-covered ground vanished into thin air, revealing a vast expanse of lush green grass beneath one's feet and warm sunshine overhead.

The previously thin and faint spiritual energy in the air suddenly became much more abundant. The harsh cold and raging snow on the mountaintop just now seemed like nothing more than an illusion.

Where is the crater now?

It was clearly a secluded mountain paradise, where spring reigned all year round.

Dozens of people stood silently on both sides of the path.

They were all dressed in simple, spotless white robes, their faces bearing the same gentle smiles as their fathers, their eyes fixed on Dao Manxiaoche.

The father walked straight to an elderly man at the front of the crowd.

When Xiaoche saw the old man's face clearly, his breath hitched.

That old man was none other than his grandfather, Shigemitsu Michimitsu.

Could it be that these people in front of us are the ancestors of the Dao Man family, who were summoned by that mysterious bloodline when their lives were about to end?

After they arrived here, have they lived to this day?

Doman Akatsuki was filled with doubt and uncertainty, only making a vague guess, but Uesugi and the others were already certain.

Because they also saw Doman Tadakatsu.

“Don’t worry about us,” Michimitsu Shigemitsu slowly shook his head, his gaze fixed on the center of the open space ahead. “Your mother has been waiting for you for a long time.”

Everyone's gaze then turned to the center of the open space.

There grew a strangely conspicuous tree there.

A cherry tree with gnarled and thick branches, but it only grew to less than four or five meters tall.

The blossoms on the branches were not ordinary cherry blossoms, but rather clusters of almost translucent, crimson flowers that emitted a faint glow, like a dream.

Under the tree, there was only one woman in this space.

She was an elderly woman with a withered appearance and sparse white hair. She wore a simple, wide white dress, the hem of which spread out on the grass like a cloud.

With her head bowed and eyes closed, she was the mother from the game's opening scene, Dao Man Huiming.

Under everyone's watchful eyes, Daoman Xiaoche took a step with legs that weighed more than a thousand pounds and slowly walked to the cherry blossom tree.

Beside the old woman was Daoman Huiming.

He slowly stepped forward from his mother's side, shielding the old woman behind him, and with a smile on his face, looked at Daoman Xiaoche in front of him.

"Child, have you fulfilled the mission of the Daoman family?"

Under the expectant gaze of the other party, under the watchful eyes that had pierced through countless years, Xiao Che could feel immense pressure.

His throat bobbed, and finally, very slowly and heavily, he gently shook his head.

"Is that so? Time is running out." A hint of surprise flashed in Dao Man Huiming's eyes, and his smile slowly faded. "I heard that the bloodline of the Serpent of the Other Shore has been corrupted. Have you dealt with it?"

Daoman Xiaoche remained silent and shook his head.

This time, Daoman Huiming's eyes were filled with surprise and doubt, and his aura was surging: "I know that the souls of the Holy Sword have been gathered, but you didn't bring them, did you?"

Daoman Xiaoche drew his Demon Slayer Crimson and finally spoke: "Ancestor, can you tell me why the Underworld was rebuilt?"

"For the sake of all living beings, for the reconstruction of reincarnation, for the restoration of spiritual energy in the human world." Dao Man Huiming's gentle gaze vanished completely as he stared at him with deep disbelief. "We exist for this very purpose."

The members of the Daoman family stepped forward and slowly surrounded Daoman Xiaoche, their eyes filled with complex emotions.

"The common people do not need to be saved. Our existence and that of the demons is the greatest injustice to them. Rebuilding the Yellow Springs and restoring spiritual energy will not benefit them in the slightest. It will only make the demons more rampant and the cultivators who control the power even more superior. Meanwhile, the mortals of the world can only live without dignity, hoping that the demons and gods will have a change of heart."

Xiao Che's voice was deep yet exceptionally clear, echoing in the quiet paradise.

Are we saving lives or creating suffering?

"Shut up!" Daoman Huiming roared, pointing at Xiaoche. "This is the destiny of our Daoman family, our survival, our root! Don't forget, you! As the head of the Daoman family this generation, the proud son who flows with Daoman blood and inherits the name of Daoman! How dare you forget your roots!? How dare you question me!?"

Dao Manxiao sighed, closed his eyes and then opened them again: "No, this should not be the fate that our family has borne for generations. Let everything be severed from me, even if it means eternal damnation."

"Therefore, enough people have died. Let the world return to the world. They do not need the salvation of cultivators, the harm of demons, or the lofty gods."

"Your demonic aura cannot be hidden from me, ancestors. In order to survive, you willingly merged with demons, and your souls have already fallen!"

"How much of your empty shells are left to call yourselves human?"

The battle begins.

Daoman Xiaoche fought against his ancestors for eighteen generations.

Players can now control the game again, but Uesugi would almost prefer it to remain locked!

The battles remained turn-based, and they were relatively respectful of martial ethics, so the ancestors did not swarm in.

The first opponent was Xiaoche's father.

"You beast! The painstaking efforts of generations, the accumulated achievements of the Dao Man family over hundreds of years, have all been destroyed in an instant by you, you unfilial son!"

The familiar face was no longer gentle and calm, only filled with ferocious resentment.

kill!

Daoman Xiaoche closed his eyes.

Next came Xiaoche's grandfather, Daoman Shigemitsu, who sighed heavily, "I regret it, I regret entrusting this position of family head to you, this rebellious son."

kill!

Dao Manxiaoche's breathing was heavy.

One after another.

Daoman Xiaoche's face was filled with sorrow. It was as if he was playing a tower climbing game. Facing one enemy after another of his predecessors, he raised and fell his sword, and he was basically no match for them after a few moves.

However, as time progressed and the era of Doman-Akimei approached, the battles became increasingly troublesome.

When they are low on health, their bodies will twist and swell violently, revealing a half-human, half-demon form.

The shapes are extremely varied, as if they were randomly pieced together by some Frankenstein's monster.

When faced with these monsters, He Ye, whom he brought, showed extreme resistance and discomfort, but under Xiao Che's strong command, he could only reluctantly continue fighting.

“My father and my uncles all died in vain because of your obsession.” Daoman Tadashi knelt on the ground, sighing endlessly, “Everything was just a bubble.”

After saying this, he collapsed.

In the end, all that remained of this paradise, whether it truly existed or not, were broken, twisted, and shapeless fragments of remains, exuding a demonic aura.

Covered in blood, Doman Akatsuki stood panting before the only unharmed Doman Hikari, leaning on his crimson sword.

Doman Hikami, however, did not step forward to fight. He simply knelt in place, sitting right in front of his mother.

“Mother.” Dao Man Huiming’s expression was unusually calm at this moment, ignoring the corpses of his kin scattered on the ground. He gently grasped the old woman’s hand, his tone filled with deep guilt and a sense of relief, “I’m sorry. This is the only last resort I can do for you.”

Before he could finish speaking, Dao Man Huiming's body suddenly twisted violently, and then with a loud bang, he exploded into a cloud of blood mist.

This was like a signal, and all the remains and fragments of the Daoman family on the ground, whether human or half-demon, exploded one after another in response to the sound.

It transformed into countless wisps of blood mist, which, as if attracted by a magnet, rapidly converged and finally formed a swirling blood-red tornado, pouring into the wide white skirt of the old woman sitting under the cherry tree!

The originally pristine white dress was instantly stained with an eerie, dark red that spread like ink.

As the last wisp of blood mist merged into the tree, the strangely shaped cherry blossom tree that emitted a faint glow silently split open from its center.

Inside the crevice, a dark red, semi-transparent placenta, about half the height of a person, was clearly visible, pulsating slightly.

Its surface resembled a sticky jelly slowly wriggling, exuding an intensely nauseating, eerie aura.

The placenta slowly "flowed" to the ground, gently swallowing the old woman whose dress was stained red, completely enveloping her figure.

Then, the placenta throbbed weakly and slowly like a heart. The split tree trunk slowly closed up, but it didn't completely close up. A wide gap was still visible, through which the throbbing placenta could be seen.

At the same time, the input guidance function was finally unblocked.

Seven years. I only have seven years left.

Seven years from now, a terrifying being will be born from Mount Fuji, and I will be powerless to resist it.

Uesugi and his group chose to set off in 1700 when they felt the call, instead of enduring seven years like Iwasaki and his group.

It was this choice that gave Daoman Xiaoche these last seven years, and presumably he set up the formation during this time.

This suggests that their current choice is most likely correct.

“I see that ‘Yui’ and ‘Tada’ are already official players, and they have both achieved the first ending. I wonder if they made the same choices as us.”

This is what Uesugi noticed in the player lobby after a wave of players had just died in battle.

"Huh? They did it at the same time? So fast!" Hayato asked anxiously, seemingly unwilling to fall behind the other newcomers.

"What's the rush? Didn't I tell you? This game isn't about finishing as quickly as possible. It's about the rating you get on your first playthrough. That's the most crucial reward."

Considering that Hayato was also a buyer of her game data and a teammate, Uesugi reminded him.

"Oh, I'm so sorry, ladies. I'm just not used to feeling like I'm a step behind. I'll remember that! Fast doesn't mean good!" Hayato quickly said.

Muramasa Taki remained silent.

Does this guy have some kind of emotional intelligence problem?

You said something about being a step behind. As the captain, Uesugi would definitely not be happy to hear that, although she should be able to roughly understand from that sentence that Hayato is probably a guy with about 70% new brain.

Don't get angry, don't get angry, harmony brings wealth. Uesugi takes a deep breath.

"That makes sense. Keep it up and try your best to get the perfect ending on your first try!"

Thank you to "Invincible Wind and Fire Lips" for the donation.

Chapter 238: The Nine Star Seal

Setting up the formation took a long time, almost seven years, and almost all of that time was spent on it.

Based on the knowledge of formations learned from the Nine Formations of Ksitigarbha and player tips (mainly from Muramasa Takii), the first step is to find suitable basalt, then consecrate it according to Buddhist teachings, and finally carve it into different Ksitigarbha statues. When the time and place are right, they are placed in the corresponding positions.

Without Muramasa Takii's direct copying of the location, seven years probably wouldn't have been enough. I don't know how Doman Akatsuchi in history managed to do it.

This also convinced Uesugi that he had made the right choice.

If I hadn't immediately responded to the call of my bloodline and come to Mount Fuji, and instead chosen to fight it head-on, my understanding of formations might have improved a bit, but there certainly wouldn't have been enough time.

At least she was certain that if continuing to play now didn't lead to a perfect ending, it would definitely be an excellent one, the most promising ending she had ever had in the game.

I just don't know if this perfect ending will reach the level of historical events, or go even further.

Historical records indicate that on October 28, 1707, the Hoei Earthquake struck the Kii Peninsula. The earthquake was so powerful that it caused significant damage to Edo, which was 400 kilometers away from the epicenter. Moreover, a strong aftershock of magnitude 7 occurred just one day later at the foot of Mount Fuji.