Demon Sword Maiden

Book 12: Chapter 60: Bathing In Stars

The entire expanse of Lunar Crystals reflected on Lily's skin, glittering and sparkling as if she were bathing in shattered moonlight. It was immensely beautiful yet tragically sad.

Lily stood in disbelief, her eyes lighting up as she gazed in awe.

"Lunar Crystals are immensely rare. A single one would cause a bloodbath among experts. But here, they're as common as wildflowers… How is this possible? What kind of place is this?" Lily wondered, dazed.

Lunar Crystals were reflective but didn't emit light. They only reflected the Heaven's Scar when placed at a specific angle. From the opposite side of the trench, she had only seen the pitch-black ground.

The powerhouses defeated the Celestial Maiden projection and stood at the trench's edge. They stared at Lily on the opposite side but didn't dare to cross recklessly.

The energy emitted by the trench blocked all Spirit Power and sensory abilities. They could only use their eyes, occasionally catching faint glimmers.

"What? This woman actually jumped over the Scar of Heaven?" Jamako's massive body trembled with rage and disbelief.

Although the female demon didn't fully understand, she sensed the incredible power and knew not to get close.

Lily, shocked, pondered whether she could touch these Lunar Crystals. Suddenly, the countless crystals began floating one by one.

"What…" Lily felt surrounded by sparkles, as if bathed in starlight.

Despite knowing the crystals' value, Lily had already absorbed three, surpassing the limit for a Throned Stage expert. She didn't know if she could absorb more. Even if her sisters needed them, this was the Ancient Battlefield, where ancient Celestial Maidens had fought and died. Claiming these for herself felt disrespectful to the Celestial Maidens and Tsukuyomi no Mikoto. So, Lily left them alone.

However…

The Lunar Crystals flew close to her, emitting a strong yet chilling light, like moonlight condensed into a river. They moved autonomously, beyond Lily's control, flying toward her.

"Eh?" She felt an ancient power she couldn't resist. Tender and comforting rays of moonlight surrounded her, slowly merging into her body.

"What?" The powerhouses on the other side of the trench were also shocked. They saw it clearly now. These were all Lunar Crystals! All of them!

These were Miracle Treasures that could change an adept's life in any realm! They had suddenly emerged over a thousand years ago but remained incredibly rare!

At this moment, Lily was already levitating in the air. The powerhouses watched in disbelief as the Lunar Crystals transformed into rays of moonlight and entered her body.

"How… how is this possible?" Jamako stammered, shocked.

"This woman is a Big Dipper at best. She should only absorb three! Even we can only absorb six! Why is she still absorbing them? How many has it been already?" The female demon was stunned.

With the bounty right in front of them, they disregarded the danger.

Jamako, though reckless, wasn't stupid. Unwilling to risk himself, he summoned a Big Dipper tortoise demon Shikigami to fly across the trench.

As it flew into the cloud of energy, it was rendered to dust and dissipated. Despite being a Sextuple-soul Big Dipper with exceptional defensive abilities, the tortoise demon Shikigami was instantly reduced to ashes.

Unwilling to accept this, the female demon swung her whip, extending it across the trench. However, just as the whip reached the middle… The front end of the whip crumpled like a burnt candlewick, disintegrating into dust and dissipating into the wind.

"What?" The female demon and Jamako were shocked.

Jamako might have accepted the destruction of the Big Dipper Shikigami, despite its powerful defenses. However, the whip in the female demon's hand was a Superior Spirit Treasure! Its durability far exceeded that of any Infernal Stage demon. Yet it was reduced to ashes…

The powerhouses despaired, knowing it was certain death to try crossing the trench. Flying over was also impossible. The trench spanned over 10,000 miles and its influence reached the skies, leaving no gaps.

They would need to travel thousands of miles to bypass the trench's endpoint. However, Celestial Maiden projections occasionally emerged on this Ancient Battlefield. By the time they reached the other side, Lily would be long gone, assuming they could even make it.

At this moment, Lily nearly lost consciousness.

"Ah… Ah…" The Lunar Crystals ignored Lily's condition, merging instantly into her body and forming incredible essences that were fully absorbed.

Lily's body began changing in unimaginable ways.

A hundred! Including the few she had absorbed earlier, she absorbed a total of 100 Lunar Crystals. Only then did it stop, as her body became completely saturated.

However, the remaining Lunar Crystals were still beyond her control. As she trembled, the endless amounts of Lunar Crystals turned into rays of moonlight, bypassing her storage item's spatial restrictions and directly entering her Ancient Mirror1.

Rays of moonlight danced in the Ancient Mirror. For a moment, even the sisters training inside were stunned. The moonlight rays ignored them and flew into the cave containing the stele inscribed with Tsukuyomi Swordstyle.

Above the second floor of the cave, the moonlight rays formed a third floor.

The cave became empty as countless rays of moonlight formed by the Lunar Crystals gathered on the third floor. Eventually, they coalesced into a projection of a female statue radiating immense Lunar Energy.

Finally, the last Lunar Crystal flew into her Mirror Dimension. After a blinding flash of light, the female statue revealed its true form.

It was a female goddess of war, holding a long sword and wearing flowing robes. She seemed immensely powerful, exuding a presence capable of eradicating all darkness across the three realms!

Though this goddess' beautiful face was veiled in a glowing light, no other divine being could compare. This was a statue of Tsukuyomi!

Across the trench, both infernal powerhouses were stunned into silence. They watched as Lily absorbed all the Lunar Crystals, nearly an infinite amount scattered across the entire landscape!

If they could acquire even a handful, they would become richer than any Supreme God. Yet, all the Lunar Crystals in this land were claimed by Lily. This felt utterly unfair!

Meanwhile, Lily had absorbed 100 Lunar Crystals, and her body had undergone unprecedented changes! Not only had she become even more beautiful, but she had also become indescribably strong!

Her talent and Spirit Power aside, her body alone was now comparable to Sugawara no Michizane's. Only the ancient Supreme Gods, created by the heavens with the strongest physical bodies, could compare to Lily's current physical strength2. Perhaps they were even weaker.

At this moment, Lily's techniques, comprehension of abilities, and Spirit Power were still lacking compared to Infernal or Celestial Stage powerhouses. However, her physical body was now stronger than most Supreme Gods. Even if she couldn't defeat an Infernal Stage expert, it would be impossible for them to kill her.

Not to mention killing her. It would now take tremendous effort just to injure her!

Despite this, her body remained filled with feminine charm, her presence even more enthralling. Her figure was still perfect, now with an added hint of nobility, like a goddess.

Most Yomi Archdemons would lose composure just by glancing at her from afar. They would become obsessed, potentially going insane or dying outright if they couldn't control their urges.

Lily slowly landed, sensing the changes in her body with deep disbelief. She gently clenched her fists, creating spatial energy. By caressing her wet hair, she generated a massive wave of Charm Intent.

"What… happened to me? I absorbed a hundred Lunar Crystals. How is that possible? How did it happen?"

Even Lily herself doubted it. She questioned whether she was truly an ordinary person who had come to this world by accident.

She looked at her thin fingers and touched the air, condensing it into tough, crystallized ice.

"Who am I really? Who am I…" she whispered.

"Agh!" Suddenly, shattered memories from the hundred Lunar Crystals invaded her mind. The rapid influx of disconnected memories gave her a massive headache, causing her to collapse to the ground.

"Ah… Ah!" she cried out in pain.

Lily felt like she was floating in an endless void as the chaotic, shattered memories began altering the world around her.

"Whose memories am I seeing…" she wondered.

In a flash, Lily found herself standing in a completely frozen world. The palaces around her were tragically beautiful yet lonely.

Suddenly, she saw numerous high and mighty Celestial Battle Maidens forming ancient formations, bending their knees to her.

In a blink, she became a vanguard in battle, moving so quickly her mind couldn't comprehend it. Countless demons, ten or even a hundred kilometers tall, were vaporized by her attacks!

This person was incredibly powerful and imposing… Could it be…

These memories belonged to Tsukuyomi no Mikoto!

Lily had once seen Tsukuyomi no Mikoto slaughter all demons through the perspective of other Celestial Maidens. But now, she was Tsukuyomi no Mikoto herself, seeing everything from her perspective.

It was unbelievable!

Through Tsukuyomi no Mikoto's eyes, stars twinkled and shifted. Tens of thousands of years passed in the blink of an eye.

She traversed millions of miles in an instant. Before Lily could even notice the endless armies of demons, they were slaughtered in a blur!

Is this how the strongest warrior in Takamagahara saw things? It was too fast! She couldn't make sense of anything, yet countless demons were already exterminated!

She had no clue how the goddess identified her targets or killed those incredibly dangerous Demon Gods! This combat speed was at least a thousand or ten thousand times faster than anything she had personally experienced!

After experiencing Tsukuyomi no Mikoto's shattered memories, Lily finally understood true power! She felt so insignificant. With her current abilities and achievements, she was worse than a newborn compared to these divine warriors at the pinnacle of existence!

She had thought herself talented and lucky, but after seeing Tsukuyomi no Mikoto's perspective, she realized how incredibly inferior she was!

"I fell into Yomi and got stuck in a desperate situation. Yet, I was lucky enough to witness Tsukuyomi no Mikoto's memories… What mighty deeds have I done to receive such a blessing?" she wondered.