In a hell-like inner world, Yang Tao stared blankly at Triangle Head and Sadako, who was dressed in white.
Elisa had told him before that Sadako wasn't dead, but the current situation couldn't be explained by whether she was dead or not.
Looking at Sadako's bulging belly and the small hand she held Triangle Head's with, Yang Tao felt this world was so unfamiliar.
'Holy crap, this world is too crazy, no, I need to calm down…'
The flames rising from the ground were no longer just a visual effect; the little devils who were dragged into the inner world with them all let out shrill screams.
"It hurts so much…"
"Mommy, it hurts so much!"
Seeing the little devils being harmed, Kishimojin didn't consider the power gap between her and Elisa at all. Black energy boiled on her solid body, and she charged towards Elisa, baring her fangs and claws.
"Don't hurt my children!!"
In the blink of an eye, Triangle Head appeared on Kishimojin's path, and a sharp long blade mercilessly slashed towards Kishimojin.
Kishimojin tried to reach out and grab the sharp blade coming down from Triangle Head, but Sadako also appeared out of thin air beside her, a terrifying eye peeking out from her long black hair.
"You all deserve to die…"
Sadako's special ability activated, directly freezing Kishimojin's body. Although it was only for an instant, it was enough for Triangle Head's great blade to come down.
Pfft.
Kishimojin's head flew high into the air, accompanied by blood.
Triangle Head seized the opportunity to slash upwards, shattering Kishimojin's head. A lot of black energy overflowed and flew into the bodies of Triangle Head and Sadako.
Kishimojin, having lost her head, had a new one grow out from her neck after a period of wriggling.
The little devils surrounding Kishimojin roared and leaped towards Triangle Head and Sadako. Their strength was very low, but they were endless, like a tide.
Triangle Head quickly swung the broad cleaver in his hand. All the little devils hit turned into black mist and were absorbed by Triangle Head.
"No! No! Don't!"
Kishimojin became even more frantic. She was originally a righteous deity, and even though she was corrupted, she still felt protective of these little devils.
She struggled constantly, reaching out and grabbing the little devils that jumped out, pulling them back onto her body to protect them from harm.
But these little devils kept jumping out to their deaths.
Elisa looked at Kishimojin, walked forward, extended her fair palm, aimed it at Kishimojin, and squeezed hard.
Pfft… Kishimojin's body instantly disintegrated.
Although health points are not the standard for judging strength, the health point gap was simply too vast.
Dense black energy quickly merged into this world.
After the black mist dissipated, a golden figure condensed in place. It was a woman who looked to be around thirty, and it was clearly Kishimojin's original appearance.
"Thank you…"
Kishimojin, transliterated from Sanskrit as Hariti. One of the Twenty Devas of Dharma Protectors. Also known as Joyful Mother or Loving Mother.
Of course, this was not the true Kishimojin, but merely Kishimojin appearing through the condensation of belief power.
In the Han region, 'Kishimojin' functions similarly to the Taoist goddess of birth, Zhu Sheng Niang Niang.
Because 'Kishimojin' vowed in the Lotus Sutra to protect its practitioners, in Japan, Japanese Buddhist sects that practice the Lotus Sutra, such as the Tendai sect and the Nichiren sect, often enshrine and worship 'Kishimojin' statues in their temples.
Kishimojin reached out and picked up a completely black little devil from the ground. Instantly, the black energy dissipated, revealing a two-year-old infant.
The infant giggled twice, and then its body turned into countless specks of light and dissipated.
Elisa just watched Kishimojin silently. Triangle Head and Sadako also stopped moving. All the little devils were confined in place by an invisible force.
Kishimojin showed no sign of annoyance, always wearing a serene smile on her face. She reached out and picked up one little devil after another, purifying, sending to rebirth, purifying, sending to rebirth…
Just like that, Kishimojin's originally golden body gradually became stained with a lot of black energy.
At this moment, Yang Tao finally understood how this Kishimojin had been corrupted.
If this continued, it wouldn't be long before Kishimojin would revert to her previous appearance.
But looking at Kishimojin's current situation, it was clearly impossible to make her stop and ignore these ghost infants.
Elisa also saw this. Everything around them was like time flowing backward. The world previously covered in flames instantly returned to its original state.
Perhaps because she left the inner world, Kishimojin's efficiency increased significantly. Wherever she went, all the ghost infants were purified.
However, her body became black faster. Elisa walked forward and placed her hand on her body, and dense black energy surged into Elisa's body.
Kishimojin became golden and radiant again, but the color of her body became lighter.
Purification required the consumption of her belief power; otherwise, Kishimojin would not have been corrupted.
By the time Kishimojin had sent all the ghost infants to rebirth, her body was almost only a vague outline.
"Thank you…"
Golden light scattered, and Kishimojin's body transformed into countless specks of light, which, with a gentle breeze, merged into the statue in the shrine, awaiting the next lost ghost infant.
Elisa returned to Yang Tao's side and said, "She is too weak now."
Yang Tao nodded lightly. Kishimojin's health bar on her head would decrease by a small amount of its maximum for every ghost infant she purified.
Currently, Kishimojin's health had already dropped below three digits, with only a few tens of points left…
"In modern society, too few people believe in her, and with the population surge… this has clearly entered a dead loop."
"Let's go, we'll offer her some incense. What happens in the future is not something we need to consider."
… …
Leaving the shrine.
Yang Tao also had a rough estimate of the evil spirits in this city. The evil spirits here were indeed stronger than those in Miko's city, but only by a thin margin.
Glancing at the exploration value, which had reached 59%, Yang Tao suddenly remembered something about Sadako and turned to Elisa, asking:
"Sadako is pregnant??"
Elisa nodded gently and said calmly, "She might have been with Triangle Head for too long; an unexpected affection developed between them."
"Then they decided to each split off a portion of their souls to conceive their child."
These two short sentences were like a supersonic missile hitting Yang Tao's head.
"Affection? Soul? Conception?"
He knew these words separately, but strung together, they made him feel incredibly unfamiliar.
Triangle Head and Sadako conceiving a child together? Even cartoons wouldn't dare to film this.
"Alright, Elisa, you win. Don't forget to tell me when the child is born."