"Is this... a tengu?"
Han Chang couldn't determine what exactly was standing in front of them. It cannot even be called a living creature, for no living thing reeks of death. From the ordinary five senses to the unusual intuition, there is no signal of ease and peace from any of the senses. They could only deduce its race from its general outline and experience - although it was very different from Shigetsuki-kun's. The purest white and the darkest black are completely different in their existence. It is hard to overstate the horror.
"This is the Nightmare Dog..."
That’s it—the culprit who seriously injured Mutsuki-kun.
Xie Zhe stared at it blankly. Its sword-shaped brow was not just a pattern, but a real sword. It glowed with a cold light, replacing its eyes, releasing silent sorrow and malice.
And this is resentment.
The Nightmare Dog exudes a strange smell, which is very similar to the smell of the doll that was beaten to pieces by Ling Huan before. Xie Zhe stared at the terrifying monster with red eyes, and it was also staring at them with its non-existent, empty pupils. Han Chang twitched his nose slightly and said softly:
"The scent of a poor imitation of the soul."
"Really?" Lord Ruyue pinched the bridge of his nose and said, "I have basically no sense of smell..."
Ling Huan asked: "The smell of the soul? That's the same as those dummies..."
"It's not the same as those puppets, but it's not the real soul. The real soul is pure and tasteless, and only fake products can emit this kind of smell..."
Zhen did not interrupt their discussion, but the terrifying monster howled angrily, as if the sound of their discussion was disrespectful to it. They all shut up and looked at this terrifying thing in horror. It's huge, but the big part isn't entirely its substance. It seems that the only thing that can really be touched is the dark skeleton in the center. But it's not just the skeleton. The skeleton is wrapped with a layer of dry skin, without hair, replaced by mist-like dark aura. The skin was also black, with a strange oily sheen, and rugged outlines were highlighted under the skin, as if white bones would be exposed if there was a slight trauma. Its festered beak, which had almost completely fallen off, looked uneven. Greenish-green pus flowed out of its mouth and dissipated when it hit the ground. Its wings are only skeletons, decorated with pitifully few mottled feathers. But people can still see the outline of the original wings, and the undulating dark momentum outlines its former appearance on the skeleton.
Its claws as hard as strange rocks scratched the ground, leaving several deep ravines, ready to attack.
"You are right."
Zhen stretched out his hand and gently stroked the strange fire surrounding the tengu. It is roughly temperatureless and has no form, but it can also be touched. It exists in the form of special resistance. They didn't know if there was any emotion in this touch, after all, Shigetsuki-kun also treated her shikigami so affectionately. However, in the eyes of some people in the Wuyong clan, treating someone gently is not the same as being treated gently. Who knows why his Tengu became as virtuous as it is today?
Kisaragi-kun raised a key question.
"Is this...really your Tengu?"
"Your suspicion displeases me." When he said this, the Nightmare Tengu actually bared his teeth at Lord Kisaragi, "It is definitely mine. People without the blood of the Tengu clan have no ability. Harness them.”
Ling Huan couldn't bear it anymore. She screamed, her voice was so sad: "How can there be someone like you! It's unreasonable! It's already like this, how can you enslave it with peace of mind!"
"Have they done this often enough?" Han Chang sneered.
"If you don't know the situation of others, just make unreasonable accusations. If you want to stand on the commanding heights of morality, you are hundreds of years too early." Although Chen was not provoked, his tone was somewhat sharp, "I dare to ask among you here, who are you? Are there people who have made a blood contract with Tengu? They are closely connected to our blood, and until the separation of Yin and Yang, it is just death that blocks the contract. Tengu's lifespan is far longer than that of humans, and in the short life of humans, they all I will follow my master's will to the death. I am just removing the barrier of death. It is naturally happy for it to meet me again."
"Nonsense! If Mr. Shuangyue hears your bastard words, he will never be done with you!"
It was rare for Ling Huan to say those vulgar words. It could be seen that her anger was reaching its limit, and even the previous fear was weakened. She had seen the way Shigetsuki-kun got along with the Tengu as white as snow, knew how uneasy she felt for the Shikigami because of the constraints of this contract, and understood how an Onmyoji with true conscience and responsibility would treat the Shikigami. They were their companions, just like the friends around her, not belongings, servants, or tools.
"Shuangyue Lord? I've heard that he seems to be an impermanent person with similar blood to me. But what does that have to do with me? However, that fox brother over there has a very sharp nose. He wants to make inanimate things Spontaneous activities do require a soul. However, those puppets do not need self-consciousness, and imitation of the soul is also regarded as a taboo in the world. So, we are not without shortcuts. The soul is not the only thing that can drive the body... "
"Jing Yuan?" Xie Zhe understood something.
"You are indeed smart. This kind of thing is much easier to forge than a soul - it doesn't bring unnecessary emotions."
All living things in the world are composed of body and soul, both of which are indispensable. People or other creatures with incomplete souls are useless. Sometimes it manifests itself explicitly in behavior, and sometimes it reflects implicitly in mind. A person who lacks a soul completely loses the ability to move his body and becomes a corpse. This is why people everywhere unanimously call moving corpses living corpses. After all, no matter how they move, they are just dead people who will rot. The soul without a body is a ghost and will soon dissipate. Like flowers leaving the land, no matter how much rain and dew they give, they will eventually exhaust their vitality and die.
All things have animism, and spirit is not just a soul. Souls are souls that contain spiritual power. They cannot be separated in any way, otherwise they would not exist. But after all, there are strong and weak spiritual powers. Even if some people have weak spiritual powers, they still have spirits in their bodies, but they are so weak that they can be ignored. Those with strong spiritual power can produce essence. Jingyuan is a product of spirit, a feedback of vitality, and at the same time... it is also something that can be cultivated without being physical.
So what Wuyong did was to generate the essence outside the body and then implant it into the puppet. It is not a soul in the true sense, but it allows the puppet to act as if it has a soul. Although the effect is somewhat inferior, there is still room for improvement and refinement. Furthermore, it also gives inanimate objects the ability to cast spells.
After understanding all this, the expressions they looked at the Nightmare Dog also changed subtly.
"I know what you are thinking. But unfortunately, with this blood contract, this magic sword, some... other things, and the necessary complex rituals, its soul can also be fixed in the body. . It is still it, but its appearance is slightly different than before. I like its current appearance more, just like these puppets... They are an immortal legion. Compared with living corpses, they will no longer Festering will not emit a bothersome smell, and it is easier to hide its whereabouts. If the dead will not die twice, and the unborn have never even had a life, what does it mean to welcome death? Why fear the final arrival? No one is A rival to this kind of creation. However, it will take some time to perfect."
"That's nonsense!" Kisaragi-kun's voice was a little excited. "You took advantage of a loophole in the rules and dared to show off your power here. You even went to the Tengu Tomb! You used its bones, didn't you?! "
"how?"
"Those who have been to the Tengu Tomb will not come back alive easily. It is a cursed place where the remains of our ancestors guard it."
"But I'm back."
"Can you now be called a human being?"
The words used in this sentence have several meanings.
Zhen stopped talking and didn't want to waste more time. He whistled lightly, sounding in a good mood. The Nightmare Dog seemed to have received some kind of order and suddenly became excited. It slapped the ground with its terrifying front paws, causing the earth to tremble and the bricks and tiles on the building to rustle down. Immediately afterwards, the Nightmare Tengu suddenly rose into the sky and was about to launch an attack on this land.
The first is miasma - a large amount of miasma spurts out from its mouth and instantly fills the entire courtyard. They dare not take a big breath anymore, because a large amount of miasma accumulated in the lungs will inevitably cause paralysis and nausea, and all organs will inevitably fail. Black flames swept the ground, and when they were about to approach, Han Chang raised his sword. But at this moment, Xie Zhe suddenly knocked his sword aside and blocked himself against it. An invisible wall formed in front of Fengyun Zhan, isolating the black flames.
"what are you doing?!"
"These miasmas can burn!" Xie Zhe turned around and snapped back, "Only its flames can, but you can't!"
Han Chang understood his intention, showed a confused expression, and instantly felt a little sorry. If he also used open fire to fight against the Nightmare Tengu, the entire courtyard would be detonated, playing into the evil angel's plan. However, at this time, the Nightmare Dog hovering in the air with its huge mouth opened stopped the black flame's attack. It flew lower, and a lot of saliva spilled from its mouth. What was unusual was that this time the liquid did not evaporate and dissipate as it hit the ground like before, but instead dripped onto the barrier created by Xie Zhe. The saliva was the color of green algae in a stagnant pool, thick and disgusting. They quickly spread in the barrier layer and easily destroyed Xie Zhe's defense. Just as a drop of saliva was about to fall on Xie Zhe's head, Han Zhang pulled him back.
"Don't risk your life!"
"But--"
Before he could finish his words, Xie Zhe immediately noticed the changes around him. After the dark clouds in the sky dispersed, the moonlight once again breathed life into the puppets. They started to move again one by two, slowly approaching them. With enemies on all sides and the Tengu threatening them above, this is bound to be a tough battle. It was obvious that they were outnumbered, but no one was prepared to admit defeat. Lord Ruyue and Han Zhang were responsible for repelling the puppets that kept attacking, while Xie Zhe used Fengyun Slash to fight against the Nightmare Dog. It would have been very difficult to fight three against a hundred, but now it was even more difficult for the two of them to withstand this "rabble". Fortunately, Ling Huan seemed to have discovered her own power, and everyone also had a feeling... similar to fear towards her. Although it was strange to think so, she did feel that almost no one took the initiative to attack her anymore. The evil angel over there just watched, as if he didn't intend to personally participate in the dispute.
During the fierce battle, Han Chang suddenly said to them:
"You guys run away, I'll deal with that Tengu."
