"Die!" Bella sidestepped a bolt of lightning, spun around and drew her blade, cutting down a lightning-wreathed dog at an angle...
This was why she looked down on the Fountainhead Palace's Lightning summon technique, or rather, the Way of Tomoe. Even a dog here knew this move! What was so special about that?
Jason and Arin moved like ghosts through the buildings, eliminating Palace Nobles while the Snake Eyes clan fought to the death with Okami female warriors outside the palace on the rooftops.
Pyramid Head single-handedly killed a monster called the Sakura Bull of the Palace.
Afterward, everyone worked together to eliminate an immortal creature called the Great Colored Carp that occupied the center of the Fountainhead Palace's lake. The Flying Dutchman absorbed the concentrated immortal power within the Great Colored Carp's body.
After killing two lightning-summoning dogs, Bella climbed alone toward the mountain's highest peak. She felt the Divine Dragon's call, and after divination showed no danger signals, she followed the path upward.
Passing through several torii gates, a gap half a person's width opened in the air, extending an invitation. This was also a test. She used psionic energy to widen the gap and walked calmly into the space the Okami clan called the Divine Realm.
The magical energy concentration increased another level. She felt as if she were floating on a calm sea, the sky high and the clouds pale, able to swim freely here without restraint.
Natural, serene—time couldn't take away this tranquility, space couldn't limit her thoughts.
In a sense, she'd achieved true spiritual freedom.
"Mm, still somewhat false... too limited, not suitable for me." As she freed herself from the power's temptation, the scene before her gradually cleared.
White mist surrounded everything. Not far away stood a massive ever-blooming cherry tree. At its crown coiled a winding, sprawling, azure dragon-shaped creature hundreds of meters long.
Dragon cries echoed continuously through this small space, carrying sorrow and pain, various emotions—everything except joy.
The Divine Dragon wasn't happy here. She longed to go home, to return to her birthplace.
Though Bella knew the answer, she still wanted to confirm.
"Was everything that happened in Ashina because of you? What's your name?"
Perhaps it had been a long time since she'd spoken. The Divine Dragon stuttered somewhat: "Ying-ying-ying... Divine Dragon..."
Bella's forehead creased. You've lost all your dignity, you know? Ying-ying-ying—what kind of sound is that?!
Appearances could be concealed, the spirit could be sealed, but the heart couldn't be hidden—and she was a master of telepathy.
Right now, she got a feeling—this creature seemed very young, very easy to deceive...
"I can help you. I think you know this, right?"
The Divine Dragon's voice took a long time to drift down from above, this time wrapped in dragon cries, sounding much more normal.
"Outsider, I cannot trust you."
"You can try trusting me. I have absolutely no interest in your immortal power." Bella wasn't lying—she truly looked down on that level of immortality.
She looked toward the Divine Dragon coiled on the ever-blooming cherry tree.
A typical Eastern dragon, though this dragon was injured.
The Divine Dragon's left arm was missing, leaving her body in a broken state. The wound couldn't heal, and life essence continuously flowed from the ever-blooming tree into the outside world. The Divine Dragon's wound was the source of all immortal power in Ashina.
"You're injured?"
"...Yes."
Bella nodded lightly. "So this so-called immortality is just residual energy from the loss of your life essence? This is even more primitive than I imagined."
Psionics—the mind was fundamental, spells were the means to elevate the mind to higher levels. What they valued most was the mind; the body held secondary importance.
Strictly speaking, techniques like the Ancient One's—abandoning the physical body, the soul transforming into a rainbow and departing, completely changing one's life form—seemed more aligned with psionics.
Viewing the body as a mere shell—perhaps this was the Ancient One's method of seeking higher-level recognition and breakthrough after absorbing extensive Buddhist thought during her long years at Kamar-Taj.
By comparison, many religions actually had similar methods, suggesting everyone made similar choices at that final moment.
The human body was simply too fragile. When the body became aged and decrepit, it would inversely affect one's thoughts. At that point, many practitioners would seek deeper forms of life existence. The Divine Dragon's brand of immortality seemed far too primitive.
The Dragon's Heritage power within Kuro was merely a technique for absorbing surrounding life force. Many mages could achieve similar effects. There was no need to pursue such immortal power—at most, it would take time to develop a similar spell.
"Perhaps someone would covet your immortal power, but it won't be me. This power seems crude to me. Immortality doesn't equal eternal life, and even eternal life falls short of eternity. Can you give me these things? So I have no interest in you."
Bella's tone was sincere, her voice full of conviction. This was her truth.
This bit of residual life energy, already contaminated—what did this count for in the Marvel universe?
She kept praising the Divine Dragon relentlessly.
The Divine Dragon carefully examined her thoughts, but with Bella's mental shield always active, she couldn't detect any issues.
"Outsider, then why did you seek me out?"
"Open the barrier of this small world, this pocket dimension. I need to return to my own world. I have friends and family there."
Bella added, "I don't need you to expend much power. Just open a gap, and my ship and I can return to the material plane."
The Divine Dragon's voice rang out like thunder: "Do you know where we are right now? Do you know our current spatial coordinates? Are you certain you can find the path to the material plane?"
The Divine Dragon's words carried a hint of tsundere attitude, though Bella scratched her head without immediately refuting.
This touched on her blind spot. For the past two years, she'd stayed obediently in the material plane—incredibly well-behaved for a mage capable of causing major trouble.
Why so well-behaved? Because she didn't dare venture into unknown spaces. Without a teacher's guidance, without proper inheritance, one step out and she might never return!
The cosmic space was vast. For mages, they could observe and access many worlds that physical means couldn't detect. The most famous of these was the Astral Plane.
Unlike the dream world or spirit realm that all intelligent beings could access, the Astral Plane was higher level and more dangerous—a world where magical energies dispersed and various cosmic energies mixed.
Powerful beings abounded there. Supposedly, the Vishanti—the trinity worshipped by the Kamar-Taj lineage—resided deep in the Astral Plane.
The Astral Plane also connected to numerous hidden dimensions like the Crimson Cosmos and Dark Dimension. Each place was more dangerous than the last.