Chapter 958: Palm Fire
After the Ise battle ended, Suzuka Gozen returned to Mount Suzuka. Her circumstances were rather special. Without sufficient divine power, she could not freely leave the mountain.
On the other hand, Tamamo-no-Mae enjoyed far more freedom. Her range of activity spanned a radius of 500 kilometers from her true body. That was roughly equivalent to the size of Liangzhou, where Cuowenbu was located, which covered nearly all of Fenglin. Thus, Tamamo-no-Mae could move freely throughout Fenglin, though she could not leave it.
Legend says that Tamamo-no-Mae’s true body had turned into the Killing Stone upon her death. Her soul should have been extinguished, leaving only that dead object behind. However, due to the divine mysteries of Yomi-no-Kuni, her soul was revived and had merged with the Killing Stone. In essence, Tamamo-no-Mae could no longer be considered a fox demon but rather akin to a spirit born of an immortal object. Only, this spirit was unusually powerful, still retaining the rank of an Immortal.
Thus, the Killing Stone was Tamamo-no-Mae’s true body. Wherever the stone was, she would be able to roam a radius of 500 kilometers from it. Should the Daoist Order one day decide to move the Killing Stone to Jade Capital, then Tamamo-no-Mae would be able to roam to another land.
Today, Tamamo-no-Mae came to visit Mount Suzuka.
In truth, Tamamo-no-Mae and Suzuka Gozen had long known each other. Fenglin was only so large, and both had lived for so long without enmity between them. In the past, their ties had been ordinary, but now, they were somewhat like colleagues, so it was necessary to build a closer relationship. After all, Sage Qingwei and the Daoist army would not remain in Fenglin forever and would eventually return to Jade Capital. In the future, the Fenglin Daoist Mansion would be in charge, and these two women would most likely fall under its jurisdiction.
At this moment, Tamamo-no-Mae and Suzuka Gozen stood atop Mount Suzuka’s highest peak, gazing toward the direction of Iino District.
A strange phenomenon had appeared. Fiery clouds filled the sky, as though a rain of flames was about to descend.
Suzuka Gozen was shocked. “Has someone opened Izanagi’s seal? Was it the Daoist Order?”
Tamamo-no-Mae raised her folding fan to cover the lower half of her face. “Sage Qingwei had such an idea, but it’s not yet the time, not until the final negotiations are concluded.”
Sage Qingwei had no intention of exterminating the Fenglin royal family completely. He feared the Toyotomi clan would grow too dominant. So the art of imperial rule was to have a way to maintain balance by keeping two factions fighting, each needing the emperor. That way, the emperor could remain aloof and arbitrate right from wrong. If one faction grew too strong, or if the two joined forces, the emperor could easily be reduced to a powerless puppet. Some emperors of exceptional skill even went further, creating a tripartite balance instead of just two.
In short, it was the bare minimum to keep at least two factions in any nation.