Oppressive.

Extremely oppressive.

The group of three didn't say anything, they just continued traversing through the forest where paths were nearly impossible to find, as if they hadn't noticed how the environment around them had increasingly become abnormal. Or maybe they had noticed but chose not to show it.

"Hidechika..."

While moving in the darkness, Gu Mo softly recited the name. Under the influence of this strong demon qi and the shroud of constant darkness, he recalled the identity of the Lord of Constant Darkness that lurked in the scene—a giant owl-like monster bird capable of creating darkness.

Though they had only just entered this forest, it seemed they had already stepped into the domain of this powerful demon.

His current feeling was as if trapped in a black abyssal sea, surrounded by pure darkness. Ordinary visual abilities had lost their meaning, and he could only move normally by cooperating with other forms of perception to understand the surroundings.

The Second Miss, from behind, keenly heard his voice and frowned in the darkness, asking, "Do you think it's Hidechika? I've heard of such a demon..."

Although she couldn't see much now, relying more on hearing, perception of qi, and the slight vibrations on the ground to confirm the precise positions of the two in front, she still habitually looked around and muttered softly:

"But it's said that such a thing is formed by a large gathering of dead spirits, an owl-like demon, why would such a thing appear here?"

"It also makes sense; it indicates that the conditions for its birth are here..." Gu Mo responded, "Otherwise, why would Old Sir Dao San come over looking for something? He walked out from this very place once."

The original base camp of the Chuye Yashou was located here, though now the village in the deep mountains was abandoned, leaving only the ruins.

The demon exterminators naturally wouldn't willingly abandon their base camp, but they were utterly slaughtered by demons, and countless resentful souls gathered to become what Hidechika is now. However, to create such a vast dark domain covering a whole area's forest, this monster bird might be stronger than imagined.

Gu Mo was also observing carefully, trying to find the only light in the darkness. If three blood-red giant eyes appeared in the sky, that should be the location of Hidechika.

However, he didn't find it—

He wasn't sure if it was because his experience came from game mechanics, which did not translate to reality, or if that Hidechika's constant dark domain was so vast. It wasn't just that it had set its sights on them, but they happened to walk into its domain.

"Father..."

The Second Miss frowned deeply, wondering if Father had walked out from here?

Whoosh!!

At this moment, there was a particularly noticeable disturbance ahead, as if a foul wind was stirred up or something was ramming through the forest, crashing through countless vines and branches, viciously attacking forward. But then... everything abruptly stopped.

Walking in front, Hidechika didn't pause at all, seemingly not delayed in progress, only a faint sound of a blade being sheathed could be heard.

The two following behind were also unconcerned, walking past the huge corpse that had collapsed in the darkness without batting an eye.

They weren't interested in identifying what had just charged at them, nor did there seem to be any need. Except for Hidechika, which might be a bit more troubling, other demon ghosts posed no threat. The group's focus was more on finding the old man's trail.

Not long after, their movement came to a halt again.

"The trail has ended here again..."

Gu Mo sighed, "The weeds grow too fast. We didn't arrive in time. The old man's tracks in the forest were already faint, and with this time lapse, they naturally became even harder to find..."

"..."

"..."

The two young ladies fell silent.

They both knew this, and immediately felt quite anxious.

"That old man's nature is really frustrating, or did he want to come back and take a look long ago...?"

Gu Mo attempted to gauge the old man's reasoning and felt it might just be that. The leaves fall back to the roots; people often feel homesick. If Saito Dosan was indeed inspired by his question to recall memories and finally made such a decision, it was rather unlikely. Most likely, he had long wanted to return once more.

It's just that previously, he had the heavy burden of governing Mino, which was just a thought in his mind. Only after the power transition was complete, and the old man's presence wasn't indispensable to Mino, was it possible for him to leave.

Couldn't help but shake his head, Gu Mo understood.

Just like he is now, unable to leave, currently only learning the nesting doll behavior of that Flower Magician, venturing into the Jinqi Region's mountains as a shadow...

Originally, he just wanted to scout the situation himself, but the two Miss Saitos really had no means to wait around, so the three hurried here as fast as possible.

"The trace ends here... But it's clear there was a fight here before, but the demon qi has already dissipated." The Second Miss said anxiously, relying on her strong perception to survey the surroundings in the dense darkness.

The trail of Father ended here, perhaps encountered some danger, even though the surrounding plants displayed an extremely tenacious life force, it was also evident that there had been powerful combat here back then.

Afterwards...

No clues remained.

"Don't worry, you have to trust my divination results, fortune will turn disasters to blessings, the old man will be fine..." Gu Mo comforted, "If you don't believe it, I can do another reading now..."

As he said this, he habitually looked up at the sky, but found that because they were enveloped within a dark domain, all he could see was darkness, completely devoid of stars.

Pitch black, unable to see one's own hand.

Gu Mo grimaced and cursed internally.

Ugh, this ominous owl still needs to be dealt with.

......

In a very dense mountain crevice somewhere, within the ruins of an abandoned village.

Saito Dosan walked with tears in his eyes, trembling as he trudged through the long-abandoned village, staring at what was once vibrant but now desolate and ruined, and his heart was flooded with mixed emotions. He had left this place a long, long time ago, and this return only to witness such devastation was unexpected.

"Lord Dao San, please be cautious, there are still some demon ghosts lingering in the village. I didn't clean them out as they didn't seem to harbor grievances, but they might still be harmful..."

Beside him, a young man, charming and heroic, supported him while saying.

"I understand...,"

The old man nodded, looking around, and couldn't help but gaze at the young man—

"Lord Yoshiie, what you spoke of before... is it true? Can such a peaceful era really be achieved?"

"Of course, Lord Dao San, you need not doubt," the heroic young man smiled frankly and nodded in acknowledgment. He glanced toward the cliff edge in the distance, where the moon in the sky was partially hidden behind clouds. The era was still chaotic, but he had glimpsed what a truly peaceful epoch could be.

Star Ring Great Wall...

Lunar Base...

"My Guardian Spirit can traverse time and space; I have already witnessed the golden great era depicted by that lord."