High Altitude, Low Temperature.
The air was frigid at this height.
He had never been this high in the sky before. The airflow here was completely different from the ground. If the surface was a windless zone, then up here, it was like a storm.
The harsh environment didn't affect him—the raging winds were nothing more than a problem to be solved with a simple spell. What he found truly unfamiliar was his current method of movement.
He had draped himself in a "garment."
A garment known as "Heavenly Fox."
From a distance, his true form was invisible. All that could be seen was a massive, five-tailed white fox standing on all fours in midair. This was no flesh-and-blood body, but a vessel purely condensed from energy.
From an elemental perspective, one could see that this colossal form was deeply connected to the earth. The energy of the ley lines continuously gathered into it, filtered and refined by his physical body before being channeled into the "Heavenly Fox Form."
His own body was already a world unto itself. Enveloped by the "Pseudo-Simulated Star Chart-Mystic Foundation," his existence was a convergence of laws from different realms. Once the ley line energy entered his body, its allegiance was no longer its own to decide.
The ley line energy still carried its original symbolism—that was the foundation of the ritual. But beyond that, everything else had changed. If the ley line's "corruption" had once stemmed from the Abyss, now, its "corruption" came from him.
The "Heavenly Fox Garment" was constructed from purified ley line energy.
Li Mo's current state was… strange. His original body required no conscious control—every movement was guided by the "Heavenly Fox Garment."
He stood above the heavens.
Before his arrival, the youkai had been unrestrained. They roamed the boundless sky like fireworks, displaying the last sparks of their lives.
But once Li Mo ascended, their chattering voices filled his ears like the relentless buzz of cicadas on a summer day. It was unbearably noisy. Even though he had already disciplined them once, his authority still hadn't fully taken root.
Then again, that was to be expected. To creatures who believed they were on the brink of death, most worldly matters meant nothing.
"Yurakusai."
Amid the revelry, there was an exception. The world was never without outliers—like a certain old thing called Yurakusai.
It hadn't joined the frenzy. Instead, it simply floated there, quietly observing the other youkai.
"Divine Official Li Mo, I am the oldest youkai here," Yurakusai said. "That is precisely why I suppress my instincts and refrain from joining this revelry."
Age brought responsibility. If possible, Yurakusai would have preferred not to restrain itself, to indulge in the celebration like the others. But… someone had to acknowledge this divine official.
Resurrection—such a thing had an almost negligible chance of success. And yet, this divine official was attempting it anyway.
Whether it was out of friendship with the Shogun or his own convictions, this act of kindness deserved recognition.
"Whether all of you believe in me or not is irrelevant," Li Mo replied. "Yurakusai, I do this because I choose to. Your thoughts have no bearing on my actions."
The youkai knew his intentions but doubted his ability. To reverse death—was that something he could truly accomplish?
They likely thought this way, and Li Mo could understand that. If, one day, he were to face death, and a stranger claimed they could bring him back, he probably wouldn't believe it either.
Before the "Night Parade of One Hundred Demons" began, the youkai obeyed his commands out of goodwill and respect for the Shogun's authority. But once the parade commenced, they cared only for "enjoyment."
Yet, Li Mo's stance was clear.
He would do as he pleased, regardless of the youkai.
"And if we refuse to cooperate?"
"Yurakusai, as of now, I am the 'Master of the Night Parade.'"
In Inazuma, the "Night Parade of One Hundred Demons" was the final act of a festival. By that definition, there was no such thing as a "Master of the Night Parade."
But Inazuma was not the only world with a "Night Parade." Though they shared a name, their natures differed. Yet in the realm of mysticism, shared names implied connections.
And more importantly…
From the very beginning, when he had shared his life force to sustain these creatures, he had already laid the groundwork.
Yurakusai was the first to notice the change.
This was not the youkai fading away after exhausting their last remnants of power. On the contrary, their dwindling life forces had frozen in place, ceasing to diminish any further.
Then, Yurakusai realized the world before it had shifted.
Before, it could still see the colossal white Heavenly Fox. But in an instant, the fox vanished from sight. The surroundings took on a hazy, indistinct quality, as if veiled in mist.
Yet, it could still see Li Mo—the divine official himself.
It had appeared within the body of the Heavenly Fox.
Realizing this, Yurakusai observed its surroundings again. The blurred boundaries were rapidly expanding, and it could foresee that the Heavenly Fox's form was growing larger by the moment.
"Is this your method, Divine Official?"
Li Mo stood inside the Heavenly Fox, offering no reply.
He simply watched, calm and unmoved.
...
"In another world, there exist undead creatures known as liches. Beings that forsake their mortal forms to attain eternal life. They are little more than animated skeletons."
"I have never seen such creatures, but I know they must exist. And in the worlds I have visited, such tales are not uncommon. Where there are stories, there are human beliefs—and thus, similar spells can be devised. Therefore, while fully resurrecting the youkai may be impossible, granting them a different form of existence is achievable."
"But what form should that existence take? That was my dilemma."
The Shogun stood alone in the room, recalling her earlier conversation with Li Mo. She understood the logic behind his ritual.
At the time, he had spoken casually, explaining the principles with ease. Though she did not grasp the specifics of the process, she knew he could do it.
She looked up at the sky. The figure of the Heavenly Fox grew larger and larger, swallowing the "Night Parade" whole.
That Heavenly Fox was Li Mo.
As it expanded, consuming all the youkai of the Night Parade and merging them into one, the sky was no longer blotted out by a swarm of countless demons.
Instead, there was only a single, colossal fox—one that seemed capable of swallowing stars and seizing the moon.
The full moon reappeared before the eyes of the world, and beneath it stood five towering tails, like pillars holding up the heavens.