The Dangerous Mount Oe Controlled by Shuten Douji!

Oni are born from various "thoughts."

And these "thoughts" significantly affect the surrounding environment of the place where they exist.

For example, the place where "Kodama" is located is filled with a faint fragrance emanating from the trees that have gained spirituality.

For example, the house where "Narikam" is parasitic, people walking in it can hear the creaking of the wooden boards.

In a sense, "thoughts" are actually giving the place a special nature.

If it is a powerful onmyoji, you can detect this abnormality at a glance.

And the Mount Oe in front of you—

Ian's realization fell on the dark and deep entrance of the mountain, and his expression became serious.

Not only are there countless "thoughts" intertwined here, but even the mountain itself is in a state surrounded by many obsessions.

Rather than calling it by its original name.

It is more appropriate to use the description of "Oni Mountain."

In this environment, the ability of the monsters themselves may be greatly activated, and each one is likely to be several times stronger than before.

Minamoto no Yorimitsu, who was beside him, quickly noticed Ian's abnormality, and she asked directly:

"Husband."

"Judging from your appearance, this place seems to be much more dangerous than expected?"

"Yes."

Ian did not intend to hide anything.

"Wife, I'm afraid we have to get them ready early."

"I understand."

The cooperation between husband and wife has always been brief and clear.

Minamoto no Yorimitsu turned to the four adopted sons behind her and said in a commanding tone:

"Tsuna, Sadamitsu, Suetake, and Kintoki."

"Act immediately as I ordered you before."

"Yes!"

[Talent Great Onmyoji++ activated: The charms you prepared for all the oni-slaying blades began to work.]

[This is the most basic oni-controlling technique.]

[It doesn't directly kill the oni—but tells them that a powerful onmyoji is watching everything.]

[In this way, the oni who know what's good for them will naturally not dare to attack rashly.]

[And the oni who don't realize this are relatively easy to deal with.]

[This is what you prepared specifically for this journey.]

[But you know that this alone is far from enough.]

[Shuten Douji is unlikely to have no way to deal with this technique.]

[And your hunch soon became a reality.]

It was foggy.

Although the mountain was still clear just now, it was foggy for no reason.

Even if Ian didn't get off his horse to confirm, he knew that this fog must have been caused by Shuten Douji.

Fortunately, he and Minamoto no Yorimitsu had been keeping a very close distance.

So even if there was such a thick fog, they could feel each other's existence.

"Wife, can you hear my voice?"

"Yes, I can still see you."

Minamoto no Yorimitsu's answer briefly summarized the useful information.

This was the cooperation between husband and wife.

Ian quickly made a judgment.

This was just a simple fog moved from other places in the mountain, not a demonic technique made using oni abilities.

Then it was much easier to deal with.

Ian raised his hand and sensed the surrounding environment.

Soon, a ball of fire appeared in his hand.

In the blink of an eye, it spread around at a terrifying speed.

*Sizzle sizzle.*

The water mist in the air was burned by the fire, making a series of noises.

Ian only used a short while to evaporate the water mist around the two of them.

"Husband."

Looking at the gradually clear environment around her, Minamoto no Yorimitsu couldn't help but feel a little confused.

"If I remember correctly, you used the oil lamp on the walkway last time, right?"

"So this time, how did you make the fire appear out of thin air in your hand?"

Ian did not hesitate and explained directly.

"There is a banquet being held nearby."

"Banquet?"

Minamoto no Yorimitsu heard a noun that was almost impossible to appear here at this time.

She was about to ask what was going on, but suddenly realized.

That's right.

For "people," it is indeed impossible to hold a banquet here at this time.

But if—

It's an "oni"?

For the oni of Mount Oe.

Seeing a group of people who don't know what's good for them break into this territory, it must be a very interesting thing.

Maybe they are watching everything somewhere now, and then enjoying it happily.

Minamoto no Yorimitsu, who had figured it out, looked at Ian, who was beside her, and found that he was also looking at her.

The thoughts in the minds of the two people were self-evident when their eyes met.

"Are they playing with us?"

Minamoto no Yorimitsu held the famous sword Hizamaru, looking a little angry.

As the eldest daughter of the Minamoto clan, this was the first time she had been teased like this.

"I think so."

Ian looked at the road ahead.

"And... I'm afraid it's not just the fog."

"Not just the fog?"

"Yes." Ian nodded.

"Wife, we are no longer in the position we were just now."

Looking at the different environment around her, Minamoto no Yorimitsu did not doubt Ian's words.

But she also had a layer of doubt in her mind.

"But husband, didn't we not take a step?"

"That's right."

"We really didn't take a step."

Ian said, taking out his knife.

"But that doesn't mean we won't move."

"...I don't quite understand." Minamoto no Yorimitsu told the truth.

"Let me put it this way, wife."

"If there are chess pieces on a chessboard, how do you move the position of the chess pieces without touching them with your hands?"

"..."

Feeling that Ian was guiding her to think with this question, Minamoto no Yorimitsu began to think seriously.

Suddenly, she understood.

"Husband, didn't you turn the chessboard while keeping the chess pieces still?"

"You are indeed very smart, wife."

Ian looked at Minamoto no Yorimitsu with a smile, his eyes full of relief.

This is something that is often overlooked in chess.

There are more than just chess pieces that can move.

The chessboard is also something that can move—just because the rules limit it.

And for the current situation, it is equivalent to Shuten Douji directly moving the land under their feet.

"Husband, this oni seems to be very powerful."

"Then are you afraid, wife?"

"No."

Minamoto no Yorimitsu looked directly at the road ahead, her eyes firm.

"Rather, this is the first truly powerful oni I have encountered."

"I can't lose to her."

"Sure enough, wife, you think the same as me."

Ian showed a confident smile.

"Onmyoji really can't let the oni provoke us and continue to be tolerant."

[You absolutely cannot let Shuten Douji make fun of you like this.]

[You decided to crack it.]

[Talent Great Onmyoji++ activated: You realized that Shuten Douji's demonic technique was based on the ground.]

[This is a direction to think about.]

The flow of the land realizes the change of scenery.

This leads to the people in it falling into chaos.

Then—

As long as you find something other than the land that can be used to identify the position, you can continue to move forward, right?

There are such things nearby.

Ian looked at the trees around him.

"Wife, let's move forward according to the direction of the trees."

[Your judgment is correct.]

[No matter how the land flows.]

[The position of the trees is always relatively static.]

[This also means that if you move forward in the direction of the trees, no matter how the land flows, it will not affect your and Minamoto no Yorimitsu's observation.]

[And the fact is indeed so.]

[You quickly got rid of the constantly changing land—Shuten Douji does not seem to have set all areas of Mount Oe to this flowing state.]

[You realized that everything was not over yet.]

"Husband, the horse won't move forward."

"It's probably scared."

"Yes—"

Minamoto no Yorimitsu got off the horse.

"It's great that it can accompany us to this point."

"Indeed."

Ian also got off the horse.

"Wife, let's go on foot next."

"Yes."

Ian and Minamoto no Yorimitsu moved forward in a mutually supportive posture.

They were careful and cautious—after all, the other party was a monster that could even control Mount Oe at will.

"Speaking of—"

"This Mount Oe is so dangerous, will Tsuna and the others have any problems?"

Minamoto no Yorimitsu asked worriedly.

"Wife, trust them. They've been learning onmyoji techniques from me for three years."

"And—"

Ian looked at everything around him.

"Don't you think Shuten Douji's attention is completely on us?"

"Yes, that's true."

Minamoto no Yorimitsu nodded and then tightened her grip on the sword.

"For example, those vines in front of us, were they also arranged by her?"

Just as Minamoto no Yorimitsu said.

As soon as the two of them got rid of the flowing land, they were immediately met with attacking vines.

"She really underestimates people."

"Does she think these things can stop me and my husband?!"

Saying this, Minamoto no Yorimitsu tightened her grip on Hizamaru and began to parry the vines in front of her.

As Ian's true disciple, she knew that when fighting oni, it was necessary to cut off the roots.

So—

The moment the blade touched these vines, Minamoto no Yorimitsu's purple pupils flashed.

Then, lightning came out of Hizamaru's blade.

Just for a moment.

These lightning bolts were transmitted along the vines.

This was a silent thunder, but it had enough spirit.

Light flashed;

Vines withered;

The vines that were originally attacking the two of them turned into black, withered ashes in an instant and fell to the ground.

Ian was a little surprised.

After all, he had never seen Minamoto no Yorimitsu use this kind of power before.

"Wife, when did you learn this swordsmanship?"

"I don't know either."

Minamoto no Yorimitsu looked at Hizamaru in her hand.

"At first, I could only release some small lightning bolts."

"After getting used to it, it became like this."

"This—"

Ian smiled.

"It seems that in addition to constantly practicing the roles of 'wife' and 'mother,' you haven't given up on swordsmanship."

Minamoto no Yorimitsu's face turned slightly red, and her eyes were full of tenderness when she looked at Ian.

"Didn't you also forget your oni-slaying principles, husband?"

"At this moment—"

"Husband, don't you think Shuten Douji is arranging things according to the five elements?"

[After all, you are her true disciple. Minamoto no Yorimitsu's thoughts on oni-slaying are always very similar to yours.]

[The fog at the beginning was water.]

[The flowing ground was earth.]

[The attacking vines were wood.]

[You realized that Shuten Douji was still provoking you—she was "testing" you in reverse according to the five elements of onmyoji.]

"She is truly an oni with bad character."

Ian made this comment after realizing this.

"It's okay."

Minamoto no Yorimitsu tightened her grip on Hizamaru.

"Anyway, as long as you and I are together, Shuten Douji's tricks are meaningless."

"Because we will definitely solve it!"

"Yes... you're right, wife."

[You and Minamoto no Yorimitsu continued to advance into the depths of Mount Oe.]

[Just as you had guessed, Shuten Douji was indeed "testing" you according to the five elements of yin and yang.]

[What you faced next was a rain of unguided arrows.]

[This was the manifestation of "metal."]

[But just as Minamoto no Yorimitsu said.]

[As long as you are together, there is no problem that cannot be solved.]

[Talent "Strange Couple" replaced with "Two Hearts as One": When you and Minamoto no Yorimitsu are around each other, you can provide each other with a steady stream of power.]

[Swords crossed, arrows broke.]

[You felt that there was something subtle happening.]

[But you also knew that this was not the time to think about these questions.]

[What you had to do now was to find Shuten Douji, who dared to provoke you.]

But—

Ian and Minamoto no Yorimitsu walked on the road of Mount Oe for a long time, but failed to encounter the last "test" of the five elements.

This was not a difficult trap to set.

After all, compared to the other four elements, fire was definitely relatively easy to use.

Ian didn't think Shuten Douji would forget it.

After all, if she could come up with the five-element "test," she would naturally not leave out any of them.

You have to be careful.

She must be planning something.

But after searching vigilantly for a while, the two of them did not encounter any difficulties.

Instead, they walked out of the dark mountain forest.

And the unexpected happened at this moment.

On a giant tree at the end of the mountain road, Shuten Douji was sitting on a thick branch with a wine bowl.

Slightly drunk, she looked at the two people under the tree, burped, and said:

"What's wrong."

"There's nothing behind this, and it took so long to get out."

"The banquet is over."

"But it doesn't matter—"

Shuten Douji drank the wine in the bowl in one gulp.

"I know you must still be wondering what the 'fire' test is."

"I'm very kind—I'll reveal the answer to you now."

After saying this, Shuten Douji disappeared from the tree.

The next moment.

She appeared in front of Ian in the air.

"I am the final 'fire' test."

With a bang.

In front of Minamoto no Yorimitsu, flames burst out from Shuten Douji's lips.

A red light enveloped her and Ian!