Pyramid Head led the assault, with Bella and Jason providing support. Finally, the Centipede reached its limit.
Pyramid Head's blade struck the connection point between the Centipede and the neck of the Folding Screen Monkeys. With his left hand, he forcibly extracted the massive worm from the long-decayed corpse of the monk.
Even with the Centipede's formidable vitality, it had reached the end of its life.
Pyramid Head set his great blade aside and knelt beside the monk's body. Palms pressed together, he silently chanted something.
The Snake Eyes clan and Arin were locals, familiar with many Buddhist rituals.
Bella needed no introduction—she didn't practice Buddhism, but she understood it. Her expression was equally solemn.
Only Jason, despite his significant contribution to the battle, looked around in confusion, unable to figure out what everyone was doing.
Pyramid Head brought his palms together before his chest and struck his palms together three times. For the first time, his voice emerged from behind the iron mask: "Mercy!"
The monk's body dissolved into ash. A hundred years of practice ended here.
Obscure ripples of energy flickered around Pyramid Head. In the next instant, he pulled from the air a crimson-black Buddhist robe that replaced his filth-covered apron. A Tantric prayer bead appeared in his left hand, while his right arm remained bare—though now golden Tantric mantras were visible from his hand to his shoulder.
Pyramid Head's body grew even taller, now approaching nearly ten feet (3 m).
His original six-foot (1.8 m) blade transformed into a naginata. He still dragged it with his right hand, though it looked like he could now carry it on his back.
With prayer beads in his left hand, naginata in his right, and Buddhist robes flowing, Pyramid Head cut an imposing figure—truly resembling a Buddhist guardian deity.
What delighted Bella even more was that Pyramid Head had acquired Buddhist nature. When she summoned him in the future, she wouldn't need to maintain the summoning with psionic energy anymore. Pyramid Head had shifted from virtual to real—from this day forward, he was no longer a dream creature.
However, Bella needed to reconsider where to store Pyramid Head. Previously, she could keep him in the dream world, summoning him at will. Now he'd clearly been expelled from that realm.
She needed to find him a storage point in the material world and consider the matter of faith. Pyramid Head had evolved from an executioner to a cultured executioner. Each month, he would need time for Buddhist practice to maintain the divine powers the monk had bestowed upon him.
Pyramid Head didn't like the Flying Dutchman—his combat style wasn't suited for naval warfare. Even if he boarded the ship, arranging accommodations would be difficult. He could now easily dominate Jason and his crew, and she couldn't ignore Jason's feelings.
The only place he could go was a temple. Buddhism didn't require him to immediately achieve the level of a Vajra or Arhat, but ability was one thing, willingness another. He had to have the intent to cultivate—that was the basic requirement. Half-hearted effort wouldn't cut it.
Buddhism was vast, and practice could happen anywhere, but Tantra had even more rules. In the moment, Bella could only think of one place: the temple surrounded by mountains far north of Ashina—Senpou Temple, Mt. Kongo!
The matter of Senpou Temple wasn't urgent. First, they needed to completely resolve the Fountainhead Palace.
The group crossed the vermilion bridge, pushed open the great doors, and officially entered the Fountainhead Palace.
The Fountainhead Palace was a massive architectural complex built in the Japanese Heian period style. Constructed against a natural backdrop with layouts following the terrain's contours, the architectural style was relatively simple, emphasizing simplicity and elegance.
Though the Heian period constantly imitated Tang Dynasty architectural styles, Japan was limited by terrain and manpower, often having to adapt to local conditions.
The Fountainhead Palace's layout was typical of Heian period architecture—built into the mountain, appearing magnificent but ultimately somewhat cramped.
Upon reaching the palace their ancestors had dreamed of for generations, the Snake Eyes clan was most excited. But after pushing open the doors, they all stood dumbfounded.
The palace exterior was quite beautiful, the scenery enchanting, the environment seemingly suffused with an air of mystery. But once inside, the Snake Eyes' expressions could only be described as disappointed.
Decay—that was their first reaction upon entering the Fountainhead Palace.
Followed by desolation.
Floodwaters had inundated the Fountainhead Palace. Many palace buildings had become rubble, with only a few structures on higher ground remaining. The entire palace was like a vast lake. Compared to its heyday, less than a tenth of the buildings survived.
"This... this is the holy land our ancestors yearned for generation after generation?" Snake Eyes Shirahagi and Snake Eyes Shirafuji felt an inexplicable sadness. They'd thought the Fountainhead Palace would be their paradise, but this paradise didn't compare to Ashina at the mountain's foot.
Their arrival caught the attention of the surviving Okami clan. Battle began in the next moment.
Among the Okami clan, males were called Palace Nobles and constantly researched the secret of immortality, while females were warriors and samurai.
Okami warriors were the female warriors of the Okami clan—not beautiful female warriors. Their bodies had also mutated, their skin seemingly filled with excess water, appearing somewhat bloated, necks elongated like serpents, faces bearing no resemblance to beauty.
They retained some combat instincts and now emerged from hiding to engage the enemy, movements like ritual dances.
"Kill them all. They're already dead," Bella said, her gaze sweeping over them. The Okami warriors had consumed Divine Water for so long that their souls and consciousness had been completely worn away. Calling them animated zombies wouldn't be far off.
What more was there to say? Kill them all!
The Okami clan's female warriors could be described as skilled in archery and horsemanship. However... times had changed!
They'd barely drawn their bows when the Snake Eyes clan raised their firearms.
"Bang! Bang! Bang!" A continuous barrage of gunfire erupted. Headshots at eight hundred meters (half a mile) were commonplace. The effective range of arrows didn't reach half that distance.
The Okami clan possessed martial arts that summoned lightning for combat—leaping up and using their katanas to channel lightning from the sky to strike enemies. This technique had caused Ashina tremendous suffering during wartime, though Ashina—where everyone was practically a sword saint—had quickly developed a secret technique called Lightning Reversal.
The technique involved jumping up to catch the opponent's lightning with your weapon, then sending it back. This required exceptional eyesight, speed, and aerial control. If you caught the lightning with your katana and immediately landed, you'd be electrocuted. Catching, conducting, and returning—all three actions had to be completed in midair.
The Okami clan's Lightning summon technique had impressive visual effects with dramatic presence, appearing like a thunder god descending—highly intimidating to common people and warriors of Japan's Warring States period.
In reality... you could actually dodge it! When lightning struck, just get out of the way—problem solved. It had no tracking ability. What was there to fear?
Bella still didn't act. She assigned her subordinates to eliminate the Okami clan members in the Fountainhead Palace.
Male or female—kill them all.
This area already belonged to the Divine Dragon. No matter how much killing occurred here, Shura could not be born in this region.