A person in Japan, a sword that soars to immortality.

Nara Juku.

After a three-day boat ride, Taiichi, Sakiri, and the female ninja finally felt their feet touch the ground again, and they all felt incredibly grounded.

It's June now. Although we can't see the cherry blossoms, the hydrangeas and azaleas blooming along the roadsides, along with the ancient buildings, still allow Taiyi, a stranger in a foreign land, to feel the ancient charm of his hometown's Tang Dynasty.

The three strolled through the streets of Nara-juku, buying whatever snacks they came across.

Watching the female ninja arguing and laughing with Saki, Taiichi sometimes sighed in his heart, thinking that if they were destined to meet, then no matter what they went through, they would meet.

"I just wonder, in this crossover anime world, who else will I meet by chance, as fate would have it?"

Touching the prosthetic arm tucked behind his back, Taichi narrowed his eyes, involuntarily recalling the scene when he met Gyokko on his last night in Himeji.

To be honest, even now, he still doesn't understand why the other party would give him something like the prosthetic hand.

If you intend to use it yourself, then Taiyi can only apologize.

Because of the system's additional effects and his current strength, Taiyi would have to cut off his own arm to use this thing.

Otherwise, this thing would be just a decoration for Taiyi.

"Although it's not very useful to me, I can't throw it away."

The thought of the Asura power contained within the Ninja Gaiden, and the fact that the more people it kills, the stronger the host will become, makes it clear that he cannot hand it over to anyone else.

But not using it doesn't mean it can't be studied.

Taichi really wanted some of the functions of the Shinobi Prosthetic, such as "Mist Crow" which is similar to a teleportation function, "Rusty Ball" which can poison swords, and "Whistle" which can control beasts.

Especially the Mist Crow, which can be described as a defensive divine skill for dodging attacks, comparable to a supernatural power.

Taiichi believed that as long as he could understand the workings of the Shinobi Prosthetic, he would be able to develop spells that suited him.

"Sigh, even though there's a system, every step I take is like feeling my way across a river by touching the stones."

Looking back on his journey from the time he transmigrated to the present, although his strength has been constantly improving, only he knows the dangers and hardships he has faced along the way.

And the future opponents will all be top-tier bosses, so Taiyi estimates that he won't be able to relax for the next ten or even a hundred years.

"So far, it's clear who our opponents are: Muzan and Sakura Ryu."

"Muzan's fighting strength can be roughly estimated based on the Demon Slayer storyline, but the Sakura Dragon..."

Taiichi strolled down the street, his hand resting on the hilt of his sword, while his other hand unconsciously began to rub his chin.

Demon Slayer is a manga, Sekiro is a game.

Having arrived in this integrated world, I can confirm through observation that the original characters' fighting power in Demon Slayer is basically the same as depicted in the manga.

However, things like Sakura Dragon cannot be measured by the standards of a game.

After all, in order to improve playability and to cater to the player experience, the bosses in Sekiro have all been weakened to a certain extent.

Furthermore, some of the settings, when applied to reality, present certain contradictions and conflicts.

However, if we place these beings in the real world before us, their true strength becomes difficult to estimate.

"The Sakura Dragon came from the west of the cherry blossoms, and actually came from Baekje in Goryeo."

"Judging from its appearance, it should be the dragon clan from my hometown."

"Furthermore, according to the backstory, after the Sakura Dragon arrived here, it ate or drove away the local indigenous gods. Even the giant white serpent could only cower in the valley."

"Moreover, there's a theory that when the Sakura Dragon arrived here, it wasn't actually a physical body, but rather... its primordial spirit!"

Taiyi frowned as he thought of this, and his expression became somewhat serious.

From mortal to ascension, Taiyi, following the cultivation path of Taoist internal alchemy, roughly divides the cultivation system into the following stages.

The Qi Refining Realm involves cultivating the Qi of the Dragon and Tiger, ultimately forming an orange inner core.

Then comes the Golden Essence Realm, where golden essence is generated, transforming the inner elixir into a golden core.

Next comes the Body Refinement Realm, which forges the strongest physical body and serves as the cauldron for nurturing the Yang God.

Next comes the Spirit Nourishing Realm, where, within the crafted body, a golden core generates alchemical fire, which refines the soul, ultimately transforming it into a primordial spirit.

The next step is to reach the Qian realm, where the five elements unite and return to the innate Qian Yang Qi, nourishing the primordial spirit until it transforms into the Yang spirit.

With the Yang Spirit, one can enter the next stage, the Yin-Yang Realm, which is to refine the Yin Ghosts and external demons, obtain the Kun Yin Qi, and then unite Yin and Yang to return to the innate Dao.

Taiyi hasn't figured out the path ahead yet, but judging from the current realms, he has only just reached the Golden Essence Realm.

On the other hand, if the Cherry Dragon is in its primordial spirit state and has attained enlightenment using the Yin energy of Kun, then it means that it has reached the Spirit Nourishing Realm, or even the Supreme Qian Realm, or for the Cherry Dragon, the Great Completion of the Yin Spirit.

This person is three realms higher than me!

If one reaches the second stage of perfection, then even without relying on attribute transformation, Taiichi can be comparable to an Upper Moon demon.

If we go up three realms, how exaggerated would our combat power be?

"Fortunately, although Sakura Dragon has a very high cultivation level, he was seriously injured. He may have even lost his physical body, otherwise he wouldn't have merged with the cherry blossom tree."

"Furthermore, the Immortal Realm is sealed by the Heavenly Rock Cave, so it's impossible for it to come out anytime soon."

"So what I have to face right now is Muzan... and the Celestial."

Thinking of this, Taiyi's gaze became fiery again.

No matter what, I must go to the island to obtain the knowledge about Qi cultivation accumulated by the Celestial Immortals over the past thousand years, as well as the massive amount of "essence" they have extracted from living beings.

"If I could refine all the Dao accumulated by the Celestial Immortals into external cores, my various attributes would definitely exceed ten thousand, or even fifty thousand, ten thousand..."

"Hey!"

Taiyi was clenching his fists, holding them to his chest with a ferocious expression to encourage himself, when suddenly a figure rushed past from the side and bumped into him.

Ok?

Seeing the shrine maiden sitting on the ground, clutching her head, with a tearful expression on her face, dressed in red and white, Taiichi couldn't help but raise an eyebrow, feeling something was off.

"Hey, samurai, you bumped into me, aren't you going to help me up?"

The priestess sat on the ground and waited for a while. She then noticed that Taiichi was standing with his arms crossed in front of his chest, coldly looking at her. Her expression immediately changed, and she said indignantly.

Upon hearing the commotion behind them, Sōki and Kō immediately went to the shrine maiden's side to help her up, while also giving Taiichi a disapproving look.

Hehe, help?

I wouldn't dare to help!

Although he did not unleash his divine sense, with his current strength, almost no one could approach him without him noticing.

So this seemingly weak shrine maiden is definitely suspicious!