Since a ninja's soul was fragile and could not withstand the power of Yin-Yang.
What about a demon's soul?
The Land of Demons' process of sealing Makyo had involved splitting it into body and soul, sealing them separately.
This alone proved the resilience of a demon's soul.
Therefore, Yuto had suddenly conceived this idea. To his surprise, the experiment had actually succeeded!
After completely dispersing the soul containing Makyo's memories and consciousness, Yuto turned to look at Chiyome below.
Sensing Yuto's gaze, Chiyome's body trembled, and she instinctively took two steps back.
At this moment, whether it was Yuto's godlike appearance or his ability to freely manipulate souls, Chiyome felt an overwhelming sense of power and shock.
Yuto glanced at Chiyome and, finding her apparently unaffected, breathed a slight sigh of relief. He turned back to face the remaining soul essence in his right hand.
"Soul essence? There should be no more danger."
Yuto made up his mind and opened his mouth directly, swallowing the soul essence in his right hand.
The moment the soul essence entered Yuto's mouth, an indescribable mysterious power surged into his mind, making his entire being tremble.
This was an extremely wondrous feeling!
To put it simply – it went straight to his head!
Yuto felt as if his entire soul was a starving man who had not eaten in ages, suddenly presented with a feast.
An indescribable sense of peace and comfort enveloped him, as if he were immersed in a warm environment. Every cell in his body seemed to moan with pleasure.
This feeling came quickly and faded just as fast!
In mere moments, Yuto's mind became crystal clear. Even his soul seemed to have grown more resilient.
Yuto opened his eyes. A brilliant light flashed through them. In this instant, the entire world seemed clearer than before.
No.
It wasn't seeing – it was an extremely wondrous sensation.
Like a nearsighted person suddenly putting on glasses, the entire world becoming more vivid and clear.
"My spiritual power has also grown stronger."
Yuto sensed himself briefly and murmured softly.
If before, Uchiha Itachi's Tsukuyomi could have pulled Yuto into its genjutsu space, then now, with spiritual power alone, Yuto could repel such a technique.
This improvement left even Yuto somewhat surprised.
Wait!
Yuto sensed something and raised his arm with a curious expression, waving it casually.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Deep rumbling sounds rose from underground, as if something terrifying was about to erupt from the earth.
Crackling sounds spread rapidly across the ground.
Under Chiyome's astonished gaze, terracotta warriors nearly three meters tall rose from the earth, appearing before everyone.
"This is… Makyo's Undying Army!"
Chiyome gasped and turned to look at Yuto hovering in midair, her face filled with indescribable astonishment.
Not only was Chiyome surprised – even Yuto found it somewhat unexpected.
After devouring Makyo's spiritual essence, not only had his spiritual power increased, but he had also gained Makyo's abilities!
Yuto didn't know how to describe his current feelings. This was truly a pleasant surprise.
Yuto's eyes gleamed. He hadn't expected that devouring a demon's spiritual essence would bring such benefits.
According to the books in the shrine, demons all possessed unique and bizarre abilities.
If he could find more demons to devour, he could significantly enhance his spiritual power while also gaining their respective abilities – truly killing two birds with one stone!
But when this thought arose.
Yuto suddenly realized a problem – the current shinobi world had almost no demons left.
According to his collected information, the only demons remaining in the entire shinobi world were Makyo from the Land of Demons and "Gomo," the demon sealed in the Blissful Death Box in the Blood Prison.
"The demon 'Gomo' has the ability to read others' actions in advance. This ability would be extremely useful in combat."
Yuto's eyes narrowed as he murmured softly.
Of course, Makyo's "Undying Army" was also quite formidable. It could single-handedly wage a devastating war. However, it did not greatly enhance personal combat strength.
Crack!
Rumble!
Due to Yuto's sudden summoning of the Undying Army, the stable foundation began to crack. The entire underground palace shook, with rubble falling from above.
"The palace is collapsing!"
Chiyome felt the underground palace tremble, her pupils contracting as she shouted.
Seeing this, Yuto knew they couldn't linger. He quickly withdrew from Six Paths Sage Mode, returning to his original state. Then he appeared before Chiyome in a flash.
Under Chiyome's blushing gaze, Yuto scooped her up in his arms and vanished from the spot.
At that moment.
Outside the underground palace's stone entrance, Ashidzu and the other guards watched the terracotta warriors rising from the earth, their faces changing simultaneously.
"This is Makyo's Undying Army!"
One guard, seeing the terracotta warriors, showed a panicked expression.
"Has Makyo broken free?!"
Another guard also cried out, his voice trembling.
As guards of the Land of Demons, they naturally knew certain secrets. They feared Makyo's resurrection all the more.
"No, the shrine maiden must be in danger. I'm going in to save her!"
Ashidzu watched the terracotta warriors rising from the ground and assumed Makyo had broken free. His face changed drastically.
As Ashidzu finished speaking, two figures swept through the air and appeared before the Land of Demons' guards in the blink of an eye.
"Lady Chiyome…!"
Ashidzu saw two figures and cried out joyfully. But seeing Chiyome held in Yuto's arms, he froze.
The other guards also showed peculiar expressions.
Yuto felt the stares and his mouth twitched slightly as he set the blushing Chiyome back on the ground.
The moment Chiyome left Yuto's embrace, she retreated two steps and lowered her head, her face red.
Ashidzu seemed to sense the awkward atmosphere and cleared his throat, his expression grave:
"Lady Chiyome, that is Makyo's Undying Army. Has Makyo broken free?"
Chiyome shook her head gently, her gaze lingering on Yuto beside her with a mix of confusion and shyness.
He could use Makyo's ability – was it because he had devoured Makyo's soul?
Inside the barrier, Yuto's actions had been clearly visible to Chiyome. His ability to command the Undying Army was clearly related to his devouring of Makyo's soul.
Ashidzu and the other guards showed astonished expressions. If Makyo hadn't broken free, how could the Undying Army have awakened?
"Makyo has already been dealt with. This matter is concluded. Also, if you don't want to be buried underground, you'd best leave quickly."
Yuto cut through the conversation directly, speaking flatly.
At this moment, the entire underground palace was shaking violently. Many pillars snapped and crashed from above. Yuto's reminder brought everyone back to their senses.
They quickly retreated from the underground palace. Everyone present was far from ordinary, so their pace was swift.
After everyone made it to the surface from the underground palace and caught their breath, not much time had passed.
Boom!
With a tremendous roar, the ground where the underground palace had been suddenly shook, then rapidly collapsed, becoming nothing but ruins.
One hour later.
In the reception hall.
Chiyome had changed into fresh clothes and knelt on a slightly elevated platform.
Ashidzu still stood behind Chiyome, his gaze fixed on Yuto.
"On behalf of the Land of Demons, I thank Lord Yuto for eliminating Makyo."
Chiyome still had a faint blush on her face, but her expression was extremely solemn as she bowed deeply to Yuto.
Standing behind Chiyome, Ashidzu also bowed deeply.
Yuto had destroyed Makyo – the disaster of the Land of Demons. In Chiyome and Ashidzu's eyes, this was equivalent to saving the Land of Demons and sparing all its citizens from future calamity. This was an immense kindness.
Moreover, it had indirectly avenged the previous shrine maiden, Mirei.
Seeing Chiyome and Ashidzu bow in gratitude, Yuto waved his hand casually, as if it were nothing.
"Save the thanks. I've already done what I needed to do."
Yuto shrugged, his tone meaningful.
Hearing Yuto's words.
Ashidzu lowered his head to glance at their shrine maiden, a complex expression crossing his face, mixed with a trace of relief.
Having watched Chiyome grow up, seeing her find a suitable husband meant he could face the previous shrine maiden in good conscience.
"Whether it's the matter of Makyo or Lord Yuto pulling me from the quagmire of believing in fate, it has taught me much."
"The shrine maiden is my calling, and this power needs to be passed to the next generation. So from now on, I trouble Lord Yuto."
Chiyome's face flushed crimson as she bowed gently to Yuto once more.
Seeing the expressions on Chiyome and Ashidzu's faces, and hearing Chiyome's words – if Yuto still hadn't caught on, he would be far too dense!
"Wait – have you two misunderstood something?"
Yuto swallowed hard and made a stop gesture, hastily speaking.
Seeing Yuto's expression, Ashidzu furrowed his brow.
"Lord Yuto must have read the relevant materials about shrine maidens in the shrine. The shrine maiden's power has always been passed through a single bloodline."
"If you wish to obtain the shrine maiden's power, you must naturally unite with Lady Chiyome."
Ashidzu's tone was grave, and his voice even carried a trace of anger.
Hearing this, especially seeing Chiyome's completely red face, Yuto knew they had truly misunderstood!
He possessed the ability to devour energy. As long as Chiyome released her power, Yuto could directly absorb her shrine maiden power.
But Yuto had forgotten to mention this beforehand, leading Chiyome and Ashidzu to misunderstand entirely.
[
Dear Readers,
I need your help. My financial situation is critical, and I can't continue without support.
Despite this, I'm still posting 5 chapters daily across all my fictions because I love what I do and don't want to stop—but I can't sustain this alone.
Support Tiers:
Adventurer ($3/month): 20 chapters ahead + 150 chapters/month across all fics
Warrior ($7/month): 40 chapters ahead + 150 chapters/month
Immortal ($10/month - Best Value): 60 chapters ahead + character images/visuals + bonus content + 150 chapters/month
Important: Subscribe through your browser (not Apple App) to avoid 30% extra fees and 2-3 month payment delays.
Even $3 helps immensely. If you can't subscribe, please share my work with someone who might enjoy it.
Thank you for reading and considering support.
Patreon: patreon.com/anish_44
Ko-fi: ko-fi.com/anish_44
]