Chapter 1 Nightmare

The Yellow Springs, a sinking, frigid air, as if something slumbered within. Countless souls, beckoned, unconsciously walked the Yellow Springs Descent Slope.

The Yellow Springs Descent Slope, in Japanese mythology, is the road to the land of the dead, the boundary between the living and the dead. To walk the Yellow Springs Descent Slope is to arrive at the Izumo Province's Ifuyazaka.

A great stone blocked the road on the Yellow Springs Descent Slope. This great stone was called the Chi-biki Stone, also known as the Great God of the Pass.

Amidst the swaying of mist, souls, and spider lilies, the frigid air of the Yellow Springs seeped out from beneath the great stone, and a samurai clad in armor raised his head, seeing a black-robed Daoist youth, and then....

The Chi-biki Stone turned to dust under the lightning in his hand.

And the youth's face was blurred, soon transforming into.....

.....

Uesugi Kagekatsu suddenly opened his eyes, the frigid air of the Yellow Springs gradually permeating his surroundings, to the point that the entire room seemed to have entered a scarlet hell, cold, eerie, and terrifying.

"Nightmare."

Undoubtedly, what he had just seen was the most feared apparition in his heart, an uncertainty about his own power.

The key to the Land of the Yellow Springs, the Chi-biki Stone, was now Uesugi Kagekatsu himself, but even if he opened the Yellow Springs, could he truly fight the immortals?

"The Ming Dynasty immortal in my dream, his face was that of Emperor Jinmu.... From the very beginning, the Immortal Dao has suppressed the mortal world, allowing me to obtain the position of Great God of the Pass, as the guardian who opens the Land of the Yellow Springs. Emperor Jinmu, he does not fear my rebellion."

"Even pseudo-immortals are so unafraid, with only the power of the Yellow Springs."

"If facing a true immortal, what then?"

Uesugi Kagekatsu didn't know why he was having such a terrible dream. He seemed to be bewitched by some power, and couldn't quite remember what had happened before.

How did he fall asleep?

How did he start having this dream?

The sky gradually brightened. Uesugi Kagekatsu put on his armor, and when he came outside, he found the third young master of the Shimazu family, the young samurai, waiting outside his gatehouse with his guards. His shadow stretched along the wall, extended in the dawn light, almost reaching the entrance to his house.

"Lord Uesugi, you are awake. Nothing happened last night, no intelligence was delivered."

"A message came from the Royal Palace, instructing you to go to the council hall after waking up, to discuss how our army will counterattack the Ming forces."

The young samurai named Shimazu Tadatsune respectfully saluted Uesugi Kagekatsu, and upon hearing the report that nothing had happened last night, Uesugi Kagekatsu didn't know whether to breathe a sigh of relief, or to be angry and suspicious.

"The Ming army is as silent as the dead. It has been at least five days since they captured Gyeongseong without any movements."

"All the Ming forces in every location, there is neither any movement to leave the city, nor any sound of counterattack, and we haven't even seen their scouts."

Something abnormal must be a sign of something sinister!

"You are overthinking it. Having just experienced a major battle, the Ming army also needs time to rest. Only five days of silence doesn't mean anything."

Shimazu Tadatsune listened to Uesugi Kagekatsu's muttering, following behind Uesugi Kagekatsu towards the council hall, offering well-timed "comfort."

"Five days is not enough time to do anything. To mobilize forces, to restore morale, to replenish elite soldiers, to conduct simple training, to build city defenses, to ensure the supply of materials, to formulate strategic plans, these are many things, and definitely cannot be completed in five days."

"You don't need to be so nervous. Just increase the number of troops in Wangjing (King's Capital) to prevent the Joseon dynasty from being restored."

Uesugi Kagekatsu didn't turn his head, quietly listening to Shimazu Tadatsune's advice, slowly analyzing, "What you say is indeed reasonable."

"Five days, for the Ming army who just experienced a hard battle, is indeed a relatively long period of rest."

"Although the power of the immortals is strong, there is only one immortal. The Ming army that captured Gyeongseong cannot get support from Goksan and Hwangju, and many strongholds on the road have been abandoned. Material supplies can only be obtained from Haeju. Now they should be busy building logistics and transportation.... That should be right."

The war of hundreds of thousands of people is by no means comparable to the war of hundreds or thousands of people.

In Japan's Sengoku period, wars involved dozens of people at the smallest, hundreds in the middle, and thousands at the largest. For most famous generals, battles with less than 10,000 people were where they could fully demonstrate their skills. Beyond that number, their ability to lead troops decreased geometrically.

Indeed, it is difficult to manage a large number of people, just like Konishi Yukinaga. He used to be a top-ranked general in the country, but since encountering the Ming army, he has basically become responsible for suffering losses. Katō Kiyomasa didn't encounter much resistance when he initially fought the Joseon army in the east, but once he returned to the western front, he could only defend the city, defend the city, and defend the city again, and was forced from an offensive general into a turtle.

Although there were a large number of demons assisting, this was the key to reversing the battle situation not long ago, but the Ming army.... had cannons.

So what if there are demons? Even if they are false creations shaped by wishes, they would dissipate on the spot if hit by a cannon. Although wishes don't cost money and can be continuously created, it seriously affected the progress of the siege, that was a fact.

However, it was better than not being able to capture the city at all.

Arriving at the council hall.... This was the first meeting since retreating to Wangjing, and the reinforcements arrived one after another.

The person at the head was dressed in luxurious clothing, with an arrogant expression. He merely nodded casually when he saw Uesugi Kagekatsu enter.

At this time, they were discussing the matter of continuing to send reinforcements. It seemed that they hadn't started the formal discussion yet. The casual discussion before the official meeting had already caused them to argue incessantly.

Most people were in favor of increasing the troops stationed in Wangjing. At the same time, in response to the upcoming follow-up reinforcements from the Ming army, and the blocking plan for this, the various legion commanders in Wangjing also expressed their opinions, each speaking of their own thing, and could not come up with a stable and unified idea at all.

Similarly, some people said that the Ming army's movements did not need specific attention, holding the same opinion as Shimazu Tadatsune, believing that the Ming army was now weak and could only hold on to Gyeongseong and wait for the completion of logistics and transportation. Of course they were not moving, after all, people were not made of iron.

The luxuriously dressed man opened his mouth with disdain: "What can you do in a mere five days? City defenses, road repairs, logistics guarantees, morale training, strategic deployments? There is no need to worry too much...."

"People are not made of iron? How ridiculous!"

At this moment, a gloomy voice appeared, rudely and barbarously pushing open the gate of the council hall! The gate made a "clang" sound, smashing against both sides. The newcomer was draped in dark heavy armor, with a full set of jet-black plating, wearing a helmet with a huge crescent, holding four samurai swords, and walked in with great strides, like a dragon or tiger.

"Date Masamune! Why are you only arriving here now! You were ordered to join Tachibana Muneshige, but Tachibana Muneshige has been dead for more than ten days!"

Seeing the person who arrived, someone immediately jumped out and shouted loudly, "Baka! We thought you were dead!"

The person who spoke was dressed in luxurious clothing, and was very young, only sixteen or seventeen years old, with an unruly expression.

"Join Tachibana Muneshige? He's already dead, what's the point of joining him? Of course I went to scout out the Ming army's movements for you. You are all ungrateful, and dare to speak wildly to me here."

"Kobayakawa Hideaki, don't think that just because you were once an adopted son of Lord Kanpaku, and are stationed in Wangjing as the supreme commander, you can talk to me like that! Everyone here probably knows whether you have the talent of a supreme commander! You are just a figurehead, don't take yourself too seriously."

"Am I right, Mr. Yamaguchi Masahiro? Without your assistance, he is just a waste."

"Yet you, who have such great merit, have not yet become an independent daimyo, all because you are following this incompetent person!"

Beside Kobayakawa Hideaki, another samurai holding a sword silently looked at Date Masamune, and Date Masamune's mockery had not stopped:

"While you were sleeping soundly in Wangjing, I was out there risking my life and working hard!"

Kobayakawa Hideaki's expression was gloomy at this moment: "You fellow, dare to speak to me like this! You are just a legion commander under Lord Kanpaku, a mere fellow who prostrates himself before Lord Kanpaku, where does your pride come from!"

A divine might gradually rose from his body, and Date Masamune was not to be outdone. A black dragon appeared behind him, with thunder and fire boiling in its mouth. It was the Kurikara Dragon King, a Buddhist deity who specializes in breaking evil obstacles and the power of outer demons, and can be said to be a deity who specializes in slaying demons.

At this time, Uesugi Kagekatsu stepped forward to mediate, without saying a word, just standing there, the frigid air of the Yellow Springs gradually overflowing, so Date and Kobayakawa immediately glanced at each other, and slowly retracted the boiling divine power in their bodies.

However, Date Masamune still sneered, and ridiculed Kobayakawa:

"What can you do in five days? Heh, decades ago, Qi Jiguang could travel two hundred and twenty li in one night. The Qi Family Army under his command fought continuously for two days and two nights without stopping. Although they were killing those pirates and ronin, the number of opponents was often two to three times that of the Qi Family Army!"

"Gyeongseong is only a hundred li away from Wangjing!"

"Five days? It's enough for him to run from Gyeongseong to Wangjing, and kill ten times back and forth!"

Date Masamune angrily scolded the legion commanders here, especially Kobayakawa Hideaki, and of course he was not convinced, and said coldly:

"Qi Jiguang's fame was a matter of decades ago, what is the need to mention it now? Where are there such figures in the Ming Dynasty anymore."

"The only thing to be wary of now is that immortal, so the two fake immortals, and General Uesugi are waiting here! Protecting Wangjing! So what if that immortal comes, he came in and out twice, that's because he escaped quickly!"

As soon as these words came out, many people burst into laughter. Date Masamune swept his sharp gaze over them: "A light heart, a proud soldier will be defeated. What's more, you just fought a losing battle, but you look happy and indifferent?"

"You haven't seen the power of the Immortal Dao, and you only rely on demons to capture cities. If you really had the talent, you wouldn't have been beaten so embarrassingly by the Ming army before."

He stopped the crowd. Just as they were agitated and about to start a scolding war, Date Masamune's words calmed all these excited legion commanders down.

"I came here to tell you that not long ago, we saw that immortal. He appeared less than ten li away from Wangjing!"

"I'm afraid, he will take action soon!"

This remark caused an uproar, and Kobayakawa Hideaki now started arguing with Date Masamune again, but his expression was also uncertain, after all, this information was not necessarily false. When it came to the power of the immortal level, he could distinguish between life and face.

"Mr. Uesugi, that person is the supreme commander?"

"Yes, he's only two or three years older than you, and can be considered your peer. A young hero."

Uesugi Kagekatsu answered Shimazu Tadatsune's question, and at this time, a demonic light flickered in the eyes of this young samurai.

"Is that so... He is... the supreme commander."

"He is indeed very young."

"But with his attitude, I am just thinking, please forgive my disrespect....."

"It's okay, I know what you're thinking."

Uesugi Kagekatsu shook his head. Of course he knew what the young samurai was thinking, nothing more than that if such a person lost his power, he would be a pile of dog shit, but there was no way to avoid it, who told him he was born into a good family.

"Without cultivation, you can obtain powerful strength. Once this power disappears, you yourself will become fish meat, at the mercy of others."

"But that is impossible. That immortal who can strip divine positions of their power has no chance of entering."

.......

The night deepened, but the halls were brightly lit, and all the Japanese soldiers and generals were on full alert, not daring to be negligent in the slightest.

Uesugi Kagekatsu was also the same. He wore armor and dared not sleep, letting Shimazu Tadatsune guard him, ready to go out of the city to fight at any time.

The lights flickered, and the shadows of the two were reflected on the screen.

"Enemy attack!"

Suddenly, a violent alarm sounded, and countless people picked up their weapons in an instant! Following the alarm, they climbed onto the city wall, and the two fake immortals also appeared above the city at the first moment!

The moonlight shone, and in the distance, Ji Xiang was suspended in the sky!

"It's the Ming Dynasty immortal!"

The two fake immortals were on full alert, and immediately rose into the air! Two vast immortal mights, thunderous sounds shaking the heavens and the earth, rivers and waves boiling, the ground stones humming, and a great wind rising!

But they discovered that the Ming Dynasty immortal on the opposite side had already discovered the two of them at this time, so the action of summoning lightning, which was originally prepared to be cast, stopped abruptly, and then, unexpectedly, without much nostalgia, he drove the wind and clouds away!

"Unexpectedly, General Date was telling the truth!"

"We were almost killed by lightning!"

The samurai on the city wall had just felt an extremely great sense of oppression and fear. Fortunately, their side also had two immortals, so they deterred the other side. And the two fake immortals also looked at each other, and nodded.

"There is indeed the pressure of the immortal level."

"Can't see through his realm! However, he retreated so decisively..... It seems that this is a cautious immortal, who would not do such a risky thing as entering the enemy camp alone."

People who use the shadow god transformation naturally have no realm, and the momentum can only be imitated, but in the eyes of the two fake immortals, this is an infinitely real "immortal"!

"Wangjing cannot be lost. It seems that this immortal wants to regain Wangjing with thunderous force, and seize the Joseon qi, so as to weaken our military strength. This is indeed what an immortal would do. After all, with such powerful strength, it would be a pity not to carry out a beheading operation."

"He will come again, we just need to be on full alert!"

The two fake immortals looked at Uesugi Kagekatsu, who also nodded with a serious expression.

"Hey! Why don't you take the initiative to attack! Is that what you call immortals of the same level!"

"That was such a good opportunity to kill him, and you just let him go!"

An angry and arrogant rebuke came from behind. Kobayakawa Hideaki, fully dressed, arrived late, but he also saw the scene of the immortals confronting each other earlier, and the sudden change of wind and clouds in the sky.

......

"What truly foolish things, to not proactively attack, wasting such a great opportunity!"

Kobayakawa Hideaki returned to his mansion in anger. This was the original Joseon royal palace, and now it had become his lair. Those generals had to be stationed outside, while he, as the supreme commander, of course had to return to the house to "strategize".

"Damn it, they all look down on me! But no matter how much you look down on me, I also have the vast power of the heavenly gods on my body! You bunch of incompetent people...."

He sat on the throne, and his shadow, illuminated by the lights, stretched on the screen.

He was facing away from the screen, and didn't notice at all that at this time, in the screen, the shadow began to squirm, stood up, and stretched out two slender arms.

Thump!

A dose of sleeping powder was instantly slapped on his nostrils. Kobayakawa Hideaki hadn't reacted yet, and his eyes lost their gleam in an instant, and then a decisive stab pierced through Kobayakawa Hideaki's heart.

Blood fell on the shadow on the ground, disappearing without a trace.

After a while, the shadow devoured Kobayakawa Hideaki completely, and then merged. Kobayakawa raised his head, the gleam in his eyes returned, and everything was as if nothing had happened.

.......

The demonic light in Shimazu Tadatsune's eyes gradually dissipated.

It was done.

Moving the body was very simple, you only need the spirit, just like the control method of zombies.

As for the thinking, it was imitated by the shadow soldiers.

The sleeping powder given by Lord Ji Xiang, indeed had the power of gods and ghosts that was difficult to predict, and actually had an effect similar to the Tongtian Mingyan, which could make the divine position temporarily invalid, and be used by himself. At the same time, use the heavenly demon means to eliminate the ghost and god power on his body, to prevent rebound, so that he completely received the other party's inheritance.

In this way, even shadow soldiers, which have no attack ability, only need to hold an ordinary weapon that has been consecrated, and they can kill a Dengxian!

After all, shadow soldiers have no aura, they are just shadows.

This kind of magic, was a strange technique handed down from the Tang Dynasty. Now this technique of stepping on shadows has long been lost with the decline of the Tang immortals.

As for Mr. Uesugi.... whether to assassinate him.

Shimazu Tadatsune had observed him for many days, and found that the power on this person was not ordinary, and he vaguely learned from various conversations that the other party's divine power might be related to death. Rashly launching an attack, the result was very likely that he would die, while the other party would not die.

However, it was not important. The position of supreme commander had been replaced. Although most of the orders issued by this Kobayakawa were hardly listened to by people at the daimyo general level, there were always commanders below who could obey.

How important is a terrible teammate?

Even if other people don't listen to him, if he keeps sending junk information in the chat channel, and you can't block him, that's enough to ruin other people's mentality!