“What did that thing grow up eating?
Not only is he that tough, his regeneration is insane too.
No wonder most oni in the story get sealed instead of killed!” Kamamara, who had finally managed to shake off his pursuer, leaned against a tree trunk and panted, his expression as ugly as could be.
Not only was the Shikon Jewel’s corrupting energy eating deeper into him, what truly frightened him was that he had clearly cut off two of Akaoni’s fingers just now.
Yet before he had even escaped very far, those two severed fingers had already grown back.
He suddenly remembered Tsubaki from the original story.
She had used the Shikon Jewel to devour the oni power sealed inside the pagoda, transforming into an oni whose body could withstand Inuyasha’s Wind Scar head-on.
The Akaoni before him was not as strong as Tsubaki after her transformation, but he was absolutely not something Kamamara could handle right now.
He was not like Tsubaki, someone who became obsessed with power and truly fused with the Shikon Jewel.
Right now, he was only forcibly borrowing the jewel’s power, and he was already close to his limit.
If he did not remove the Shikon Jewel soon, its power would eventually consume him completely and turn him into a puppet that knew only slaughter.
Wrapped in demonic power and riding the raging wind, Kamamara traveled through the forest for another stretch before finally finding a hidden cave.
He hurried inside.
“Splurt!” With his back against the cold stone wall, he did not dare hesitate for even a second.
Demonic power gathered in his palm, and he drove his hand straight into his own chest.
A sharp pain shot through him.
He clenched his teeth and forcibly dug out the Shikon Jewel embedded inside his body.
As the jewel left him, the violent demonic power around him instantly dispersed.
His blood-red pupils returned to gold, and the blue demonic markings on his cheeks gradually faded.
Kamamara let out a long breath and collapsed weakly onto the ground.
The wound on his chest was already healing at a speed visible to the naked eye.
The Shikon Jewel lay in his blood-covered palm, still spotless.
In the dark cave, it gave off a faint violet glow.
Although it had stayed inside his body for so long, the Shikon Jewel had not been stained by corruption.
“Good thing I had spiritual power in me to resist it.
Otherwise, I really would’ve turned into a monster that only knows how to kill.” Kamamara wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, a trace of relief flashing through his eyes.
Although the previous owner had been a half-demon, he had inherited his mother’s talent for spiritual power and had even learned priestess arts from her since childhood.
If not for his half-demon identity, the previous owner might have become a respected spiritual practitioner instead of an outcast wandering from place to place.
With a thought, the translucent panel appeared again.
[Eight Inner Gates Formation] [Gate of Opening: 5%] “What a terrible deal.
I suffered that much, and the progress bar didn’t move at all!” Kamamara looked at the unmoving number and rolled his eyes helplessly.
Then he raised his head and looked toward the sun gradually climbing outside the cave.
His expression instantly turned serious.
“I have to deal with Akaoni before night falls.
Last night, I was lucky he didn’t find me.
I’m not betting my life on luck and hiding through another night on edge.” Thinking of that, he ignored the lingering pain left behind by the Shikon Jewel’s erosion and immediately stood up.
He used his demonic power to sense the airflow around him.
After confirming there was no danger, he rushed out of the cave without hesitation.
“No time to waste.
Before Akaoni finds me, I have to kill enough yōkai to fill the progress bar.
At the very least, I need to unlock the Gate of Opening!” As a half-demon who had wandered the mountains for years, Kamamara knew very well where yōkai liked to hide.
Using the previous owner’s memories as a guide, he avoided the lairs of powerful yōkai and headed specifically toward places where small-fry yōkai gathered.
The previous owner had always kept far away from such places.
Now, Kamamara charged toward them like a starving wolf scenting prey.
Before long, he found a dark cave shrouded in foul energy.
Kamamara did not rush inside recklessly.
He reached back and took down the scythe from his back.
Although the blade had snapped and lost a section, it could still be used for now.
He poured demonic power into the scythe and swung it forward fiercely.
“Wind Blade Slash!” A crescent-shaped wind blade howled out and shot straight into the cave.
This could be considered his signature move.
It was similar to Inuyasha’s Iron Reaver Soul Stealer, forming crescent wind blades from demonic power to attack.
Using the scythe was only a habit left behind by the previous owner.
Still, he was far too embarrassed to shout such a dramatic move name out loud, so he only recited it in his head.
“Boom!” The wind blade exploded inside the cave.
After a muffled blast, the foul energy within suddenly surged.
The next second, amid piercing shrieks, a swarm of roughly formed yōkai shaped like long snakes rushed out one after another.
“They’re all jerky-stick yōkai cannon fodder?” Kamamara’s mouth twitched as he complained speechlessly.
These yōkai were nothing more than weak mobs formed from resentment and foul energy.
They posed no real threat at all.
Still, disdain was disdain.
Since he was already here, there was no way he would leave empty-handed.
His figure flashed, and he rushed into the swarm like a gust of wind.
The broken scythe in his hand carried demonic power as he began slaughtering them like wheat before a sickle.
It did not take long for all the jerky-stick yōkai to be wiped out.
Kamamara flicked the blood from the blade and summoned the panel again.
[Gate of Opening: 12%] “Not bad, not bad.
Each yōkai gives barely anything, but there are a lot of them.
Great value for the effort.
Keep going!” Looking at the rising progress bar, his motivation surged.
He immediately turned and searched for his next target.
Over the next stretch of time, he ran through several yōkai hiding places in a row.
Apart from two empty nests where he found no yōkai at all, the rest gave him a pretty good harvest.
But just as he finished clearing out a nest of stone-scorpion yōkai, his expression suddenly turned cold.
The wind carried over a familiar, violent aura.
“Roar!” A heaven-shaking roar rang out, followed by the crash of breaking trees and the heavy tremor of the ground.
Kamamara did not even think.
He shook the blood from his scythe, gathered his demonic power into a whirlwind around his body, turned, and ran.
“This guy is chasing way too hard!” While pushing his demonic power to the limit and speeding through the mountain forest, he cursed inwardly.
Behind him, Akaoni advanced like a moving fortress.
Everywhere he passed, trees snapped and stones flew.
But with a Kamaitachi’s sensitivity to wind, Kamamara could always predict his route in advance.
Combined with the complicated terrain of the forest and his own growing speed, he narrowly shook off the pursuit again and again.
Finding a brief moment to glance back, he saw Akaoni in the distance, glaring with eyes like bronze bells and roaring furiously.
Kamamara summoned the panel again.
Looking at the number on it, the corner of his mouth curled into a cold smile.
[Gate of Opening: 63%] “Just wait a little longer.
Once this progress bar is full, you’ll be the one running.” This cycle of grinding mobs, getting chased, and escaping had already repeated several times.
As the progress of the Gate of Opening increased, his physical strength, speed, and power were all rising along with it.
Shaking off Akaoni’s pursuit was becoming easier and easier.
Now, he only needed to kill a few more waves of yōkai to unlock the first Gate of the Eight Inner Gates Formation.
When that happened, he would be able to turn around and face Akaoni head-on.