Chapter 21: Return to the Right Path
When she heard Hikigaya say, "Everyone, calm down," Luo Hao felt that maybe putting a slight pause on her and the Great Sage Equal to Heaven's matters wasn't entirely out of the question.
So, she calmly unleashed a full set of the Twelve Divine Palms of the Soaring Phoenix, chasing Hikigaya around in a frantic mess, making him dart up and down desperately.
"Little brother, where are you going?" Luo Hao called out cheerfully, watching his disheveled figure.
She moved through the air at lightning speed, keeping pace effortlessly and refusing to let him escape.
This was the domain known as Divine Speed.
Among all the god-slayers of today, anyone possessing this domain did so through the effect of their Authority.
Luo Hao alone had entered this realm purely through martial arts.
At the same time, due to her continuous unleashing of her cursed power, the Phantom Realm around them was becoming even more unstable.
Meanwhile, as the one being pursued, Hikigaya ran straight toward the stables, where the golden light had already started to fade.
From his point of view, continuing the fight with Luo Hao was meaningless.
He had already gained everything that could be obtained from this battle. There was no need to keep tangling with this ancient god-slayer.
If he ended up wasting one of his precious revival tokens, it would be a huge loss.
When the stables came into view, he charged right in.
The moment he entered, Hikigaya felt a certain power within the golden light around him invade his body—but before he could react, it disappeared from within him.
At first, he thought it was the effect of the god-slayer's cursed power.
But when he noticed that Luo Hao, who had been chasing him closely, didn't follow him in, he realized this was likely due to some Authority of his own.
But now wasn't the time to investigate further. He could use this chance to escape.
Everything inside the stables had turned to stone. However, on the ground, Hikigaya spotted Ena and Mariya Yuri, who both appeared unharmed. But Mariya Ikari was nowhere to be seen.
At the place where the Great Sage Equal to Heaven lay, a massive boulder now stood, emanating golden light. Wherever the golden light directly touched had been turned to stone.
Hikigaya drew the Ame-no-Murakumo from Ena's waist and stabbed it into the ground. Then, with one girl over each shoulder, he picked up the unconscious duo.
It looked a bit comical—but this wasn't the time to dwell on minor things.
"Hey, stupid sword! Time to work!" he shouted.
"Hey!" The Ame-no-Murakumo, which had just been pretending to be dead, responded irritably. "We might have shared the experience of roasting dogs together, but if you keep calling me that, I'm gonna flip out."
Hikigaya nearly stomped it into the ground.
"Then how about calling you 'cane-sword'?"
"What's that supposed to mean?" the sword asked, puzzled.
"I'll explain later. This place is about to go down. There shouldn't be any restrictions on you anymore, right?"
"Of course not," the sword replied proudly. In the next moment, darkness spread out from where it stood, forming a pitch-black tunnel.
Hikigaya immediately jumped in, followed closely by the sword, which reattached itself to his waist.
"Move back a bit—you're jabbing me." He adjusted the two girls on his shoulders. The adjustment went too far, and he ended up getting smothered by two big butts.
Definitely built for bearing children...
"You're such a pain," the sword muttered, seemingly unaware of what had just happened, only shifting slightly to adjust its position.
And with that, Hikigaya made his way to the exit.
.
.
.
Meanwhile, at the place he'd just escaped from, Luo Hao stepped onto the now-petrified ground of the stables. She looked around at the empty stone surface before her, clearly displeased with what she saw.
The golden light of the stables had already faded, allowing her to enter freely.
"Escaped, huh... That was definitely a teleportation technique."
Luo Hao had to admit that even in the final moments, Hikigaya had once again surprised her.
It had been a long time since she'd met someone so interesting.
Before she had the chance to summon Ajari Nioh, Hikigaya and his shrine maidens had already disappeared.
As the greatest master of sorcery in this world, she could tell that it was a kind of transfer method used for traveling through the Netherworld.
Of course, this was also because this realm had already been too badly damaged by the powers of her and the Great Sage. Otherwise, the barrier would have blocked such techniques.
Still worried, Luo Hao used detection sorcery again, but couldn't locate anyone. That confirmed it—this young King of Wa had indeed broken through the barrier and escaped to the outside world.
He actually had such a treasure?
Luo Hao wasn't one to obsess over collecting artifacts—she trusted her fists the most. But that didn't mean she was ignorant of the famous treasures of the world.
"It looked like a sword… must be one of the divine swords of Wa," she mused.
But her thoughts were soon interrupted.
"You really are reckless."
The voice came from her old rival, emerging from the now-dimmed stone.
Calling it a stone was an understatement—it was more like a mountain, and it was slowly growing larger, although most people wouldn't notice it at first glance.
"Seems you haven't fully awakened yet."
Luo Hao stood before the "mountain" and spoke.
From its contours, it was clear that the final form of this mountain would have five peaks.
"Although I'd love to return to the surface and settle things—looks like I'll need to wait just a bit longer. Breaking the Bimawen Spell takes time."
"No problem. I can wait." Luo Hao thought of the joy she'd reap upon returning to the surface, and her mood brightened significantly.
She was also concerned about the current state of the surface world. That lazy disciple of hers always needed strict teaching and supervision to get things done properly.
"I understand. I'll return to the surface first and wait for the day we fight again."
"Ah, I'll make sure to live up to your expectations. Keep your eyes wide open and wait for me, God-Slayer!"
The Monkey King's booming laughter echoed from the mountain, his spirit bold and powerful—quite different from before.
The Wulin Supreme of China had finally achieved her goal.
Using the fallen dragon and serpent as sacrifices, she allowed the Wayward Monkey to return to the Right Path.
At the same time, she sensed that they were being watched.
Of course, most of these eyes were focused on the mountain in front of her.
The mountain trembled slightly—clearly, the Great Sage Equal to Heaven could feel it too.
"Seems the ones who sealed you in the past are watching again. I, Luo Hao, have no interest in such roles, so I'll be off."
With that, Luo Hao's body turned into colorful clouds and vanished from the area.
Just as she disappeared, a monkey-shaped figure emerged from the mountain.
It was called monkey-shaped only because it looked like one. The figure was entirely made of stone.
Apart from its face being somewhat distinguishable, the rest of it blended completely with the mountain rock upon close inspection.
"You again? Why are you always spying on me?" The Stone Monkey looked up at the shattered sky with dissatisfaction. "At this point, you can't stop me anymore. Just sit tight and wait. I'm not petty enough to come for revenge, but if you try anything funny, don't blame me."
The prying gazes all dispersed.
Sensing this, the Stone Monkey laughed gleefully, his eyes gradually turning blood red.
Those gazes had come from the ones who had once used the sealing spell Bimawen on him.
In the past, they used to spy on him quite openly—probably never imagining that he would ever break free. Among those gazes just now, some had even shown fear.
But, as he had said, he had little interest in taking revenge on those people now.
Because as long as he walked the surface once more, those people would suffer enough—and that alone delighted him greatly.
"Ah, I even went to the trouble of hiding the shrine maiden. And yet none of them dared to come ask me for her. How boring." The red faded from the monkey's eyes as his form slowly retracted back into the mountain.
"Can't let all this effort go to waste… Might as well make use of this body…"
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