The Sakka, who was under Qi Xuansu’s control, trailed several paces behind Sage Qingwei. Thus, when Sage Qingwei spoke, the Sakka had only just stood next to him, allowing Qi Xuansu to see the entirety of the hollow golden body. Though its radiance was dulled, the golden body bore no trace of decay. However, it was far from whole. Upon closer inspection, the golden body bore clear bite marks. It was also hollowed out, barely retaining its silhouette. This husk was 30% of a complete golden body. It was like a ruined house with fallen roof tiles, broken walls, and no furnishings, wind whistling through every gap. Yet the frame was still discernible. From afar, yin energy veiled this golden husk, so one could make out a vast figure lying on the ground. But up close, its shattered state was unmistakable. With a thought from Qi Xuansu, the Sakka used the Earth Qi Recall Technique. The dense yin energy lent power to the effect. The yin energy swirled, gathering to form a mirage. The colossal husk lay where it had fallen, still broken, but far more intact than its current state. Around it stood three figures, each with a halo of light behind their heads. The central figure was a woman, noble and resplendent. To her left stood a brooding, graceful man, and to her right was a burly, rugged man. Three pairs of eyes were fixed on the husk. The rugged man lunged first, tearing into the husk with beastlike savagery, gnawing at the golden body. The graceful man followed, feeding like a bloodthirsty fiend upon its essence. The woman was far more refined. Her motions were elegant as she gathered some fragments of the golden body into her sleeve, perhaps to savor later or to deliver elsewhere. Despite her poise, it still could not conceal the cruel and ghastly nature of this act. The rugged man noted what the woman was doing, so he began tucking fragments of the golden body into his bosom. Thus, by hoarding rather than devouring, the two left more to the brooding man, who ended up consuming the lion’s share of the golden husk. Through the Sakka’s eyes, Qi Xuansu immediately recognized the three figures—the Three Noble Children. The woman was Himiko, the rugged man was Susanoo, and the brooding man was Tsukuyomi. These were Izanagi’s three children who had toppled his rule. Clearly, they had once come to Yomi-no-Kuni to gnaw on this golden husk. Sage Qingwei had entered Yomi-no-Kuni with the protection of the Imperial Succession Seal. Its Northern Dragon’s yellow breath shielded him with abundant yang energy so that he would not be eroded by the yin energy. The Sakka, being but a corpse bereft of consciousness yet imbued with a Longevity-stage Immortal’s strength, was barely affected by the yin energy. But how did the Three Noble Children set foot here? Qi Xuansu soon saw the halos glowing behind their heads, each like a solar disk. Unlike Izanagi’s sun wheel, these shone with rainbow brilliance, an unmistakable Buddhist radiance of Vairocana’s halo. As one of the Buddha’s three bodies, Vairocana possessed the strength to resist yin energy. Under his protection, the Three Noble Children had freely entered Yomi. It became clear that the integration of the Tenmon Sect and the Buddhist Sect was not just a political coup against Izanagi but part of a far-reaching pact touching every realm. Qi Xuansu also noted how Himiko, who was the leader of the three, slipped fragments into her sleeve. Besides her own consumption, could this be the key to the later resurrections of Tamamo-no-Mae and Yamata-no-Orochi? The timing matched. Whether it was Susanoo’s slaying of the Yamata-no-Orochi or the Tsuchimikado’s suppression of Tamamo-no-Mae, both had occurred during the shinbutsu-shugo era after the Three Great Kami had overthrown Izanagi. Qi Xuansu recalled an old legend. When Izanagi enfeoffed the Three Noble Children, Himiko and Tsukuyomi dutifully governed their realms. Only Susanoo refused, weeping ceaselessly as though he would not stop for ages to come. Susanoo’s cries droned like summer flies, heralding endless calamities. Finally, Izanagi asked why he was constantly crying and neglecting his realm, to which Susanoo replied, “I long to descend to our dead mother’s Yomi-no-Kuni, so I weep.” Furious, Izanagi exiled Susanoo. Looking at matters now, perhaps Susanoo had already sensed the secret of Yomi-no-Kuni back then, which was why he wished to enter it. Izanagi’s fury stemmed from his desire to monopolize that secret, not even permitting his own children a share. The other two Noble Children must have known as well. If they were aware of it beforehand, they likely had suspicions yet lacked proof. So they sent the seemingly rash Susanoo to test the waters, knowing his behavior would draw little wariness. Izanagi’s enraged response confirmed their suspicions and steeled their resolve to overthrow him. The quarrel between Susanoo and Himiko came only after she had seized power. Exiled, Susanoo went to Izumo Province and slew the Yamata-no-Orochi that lurked there. He then offered the Ame-no-Murakumo Sword to his sister and sought reconciliation. Check latest chapters at 𝓷𝓸𝓿𝓮𝓵⁂𝓯𝓲𝓻𝓮⁂𝓷𝓮𝓽 The pieces aligned at last. Himiko and Susanoo had taken fragments of the golden husk from Yomi, feeding them to Tamamo-no-Mae and Yamata-no-Orochi to resurrect them. Though Tsukuyomi did not hoard the golden body, he devoured most of it on the spot, thus gaining more power to control yin energy and becoming Yomi-no-Kuni’s nominal master. The only mystery left unresolved was why Shuten-Doji could rise from death. Strictly speaking, the Minamoto clan was of imperial blood, descendants of Himiko carrying out her will. Perhaps after slaying Shuten-Doji, they sought to resurrect him as a slave to the Tenmon Sect, yet something went awry. Perhaps they had too few fragments of the golden body, or something else was missing. Thus, he was revived but untamable, driven mad like the cursed son of Zhulong, Yayu, whom the Ancient Great Witches once raised from the dead. Thus, the Tenmon Sect sealed Shuten-Doji’s head, leaving a headless corpse at Mount Oe. The Sakka continued the Earth Qi Recall, going further back into an older age. The figures of the Three Noble Children faded away, and the gnawed golden husk grew whole once more until it was perfect in form. Then came another figure, taller than the Three Noble Children and nearly equal to the husk itself—Izanagi. At first glance, Izanagi seemed to be kneeling and weeping on the husk of Izanami, mourning his wife who died during childbirth. But upon closer look, Izanagi was gnawing at the golden body’s insides. Though the husk had no organs, its interior brimmed with crystalline divine power, which Izanagi devoured in its entirety. Was this Izanagi’s secret? At that moment, Qi Xuansu could not help but suspect that the story of Izanami dying from birthing the Fire God was false. Perhaps there had been no Fire God at all. Izanagi killed Izanami, so he fabricated the tale of killing the Fire God in grief over his wife. If the Fire God never existed, only Izanagi would remain to dictate the story, and no one would question him. Of course, this was only Qi Xuansu’s conjecture. No one but Izanagi and Izanami would ever know the truth. As Izanagi gnawed endlessly at Izanami’s husk, the flames in him shifted. They were no longer blazing bright but tinged with a yin shadow. It seemed that Izanagi’s demonic fire had not been born from centuries of suppression beneath Mount Fuyo. It had been within him long before from devouring his wife’s golden body. Sage Qingwei had a puzzled expression as he murmured, “There was a Buddhist disciple called Jinchan who once reincarnated as a man. His name meant shedding one’s husk, so the cicada’s molting became a symbol of longevity and rebirth. It is said that whosoever consumes Jinchan’s flesh gains eternal life or revival from death.” Qi Xuansu pondered, faintly grasping the meaning. Izanami was likened to the Buddhist disciple Jinchan, with the ability to shed her husk. What she left behind was like an Elixir of Immortality, capable of granting longevity and resurrection. This husk-shedding was a divine ability of the Heavenly Immortal and the Corpse Liberation Immortal. For Banished Immortals, it appeared as the Tribulation Substitute. For Rogue Cultivators, it was the Cicada Molting Technique and the Golden Cicada Escape Technique. Indeed, only Heavenly Immortals could return to the mortal realm after ascension. Daoist Master Nanhua described Heavenly Immortals as butterflies, flitting freely through the realms—a fitting metaphor. However, Heavenly Immortals did not descend to the mortal realm in their true body. No being could do so. Instead, they deceived the heavens by severing their incarnations, akin to the Banished Immortal’s incarnations of their Three Corpses. Qi Xuansu knew a bit about this. For him, ascension was impossibly distant, let alone descending to the mortal realm again after ascension. At a loss, he asked in a whisper, “Earthly Preceptor? Heavenly Preceptor?” This time, the Heavenly Preceptor’s voice resounded, “A second ascension...amazing! Though still not quite the level of the Primordial Daoist Ancestor and the Emperor of Heaven, this ancient god is no lesser than Daoist Master Nanhua, a being of extraordinary greatness indeed.”