Another sleepless night, though he didn't need sleep.
The subsequent conquering of Demon Artifacts was undoubtedly going to be much more complex than Kanbe Hikaru had imagined.
Thunder Horn, Reverse Scale, and Nekomata Claws—although these three items were all of Demon Artifact quality, just like Yura of the Hair's comb, their natures were completely different.
Yura of the Hair was not only a Demon Artifact but also a demon; she was a Tsukumogami with self-awareness, and even without the system, Kanbe Hikaru could communicate with her.
But these others were not.
First was the Thunder Horn.
The Thunder Beast was a Materialization-level demon that had mastered Thunder Transformation during its lifetime, and this horn was the essence of all its thunderous power.
After slaying the Thunder Beast, Kanbe Hikaru had already been able to initially mobilize the power within it, summoning thunder to strike Gakimaru, and then striking Venomous Flood Dragon and the Nekomata.
But that was only using, not possessing, and certainly not 'integrating'.
Just like how a person being able to wield a sword doesn't mean the sword belongs to them, nor does it mean they can make the sword a part of their own body.
The power within the Thunder Horn was violent, primitive, and wild.
It did not reject Kanbe Hikaru—after all, its master was dead, and it had no reason to reject a new user.
But it did not accommodate him either.
That power of thunder was like an untamed wild horse; one could ride it, one could make it run, but it could throw its new rider off at any moment.
Kanbe Hikaru had tried directly channeling his demonic power into it to achieve fusion.
The result was—a backlash of electric arcs that left his arm numb for the better part of the day.
This was not the Thunder Horn resisting; it was simply the nature of that power itself.
Thunder is never gentle, just as fire is never cold.
This is its essence.
[horn of the thunder beast: favorability 4]
Four points of favorability; it was still a long way from the thirty points needed to unlock the first talent.
Kanbe Hikaru had no choice but to take it slow.
Every day, he would set aside time to slowly permeate the Thunder Horn with his demonic power, 'breaking it in' with that violent power of thunder.
This was not just about taming; it was about adaptation.
Letting the thunder adapt to his demonic power, and letting his demonic power adapt to the thunder.
Then, he would chat and talk to it.
Making this short-tempered thing take on his own shape, unable to leave him.
When dealing with hot-headed brothers, persistent pestering is always effective.
This process was slow and tedious, but it was the only way.
Next was the poison jiao scale.
This thing was actually harder to deal with than the Thunder Horn.
Because the power of the Venomous Flood Dragon was inherently penetrative.
That toxic energy was not as violently explosive as thunder; instead, it was insidious, introverted, and pervasive.
Kanbe Hikaru had discovered this problem the first time he tried to channel his demonic power into it.
The Reverse Scale had no reaction whatsoever.
It docilely accepted his demonic power, docilely allowing that toxic energy to flow into his arm.
It looked like it was cooperating very well.
But Kanbe Hikaru quickly sensed that something was wrong.
That toxicity was not just flowing into his arm; it was quietly infiltrating deeper—into his meridians, blood, and demonic power core.
It was not being absorbed by him; instead, it was trying to assimilate him.
This is the essence of poison. Infiltration, erosion, assimilation.
It required no consciousness to control.
Even though Kanbe Hikaru was essentially still a corpse with a bit of vitality, he had to use [Blood Transformation] to forcibly expel that toxicity from his body; otherwise, he wouldn't be able to continue holding Kikyo while'sleeping' at night.
Then he changed his approach—not letting the poison adapt to him, but using his own demonic power to envelop, decompose, and absorb that toxicity.
This was even more troublesome than dealing with the Thunder Horn.
Thunder was at least openly violent. Toxicity, however, was insidiously cunning infiltration. A single slip-up, and he would face backlash.
[poison jiao scale: favorability 2]
The favorability was rising even slower than the Thunder Horn's. Because every fusion had to be done with extreme caution to prevent the toxicity from taking control. Kanbe Hikaru could only be more patient.
Finally, there was the Nekomata Claws, which was the strangest of the three. The Thunder Horn was violent, the Reverse Scale was cunning. What about the Nekomata Claws? Nothing. No resistance, no cooperation, no reaction whatsoever.
Kanbe Hikaru channeled his demonic power into it, and the power to control the dead would indeed flow out, but it flowed very passively—like turning on a faucet; water would flow out, but not because the faucet wanted the water to flow, but because you turned it on.
The Nekomata Claws didn't even have instincts. Not from the beginning to the end.
Nekomata, as a type of yokai, is an existence that controls corpses; its very existence is the manipulation of the undead, like a puppet. Puppets do not need instincts. Therefore, the Nekomata Claws did not need instincts either. It was just a tool. A pure, instinctless tool.
[Nekomata Claws: favorability 1]
The favorability was only one point, but this point was not because it rejected Kanbe Hikaru. It was because it didn't even know what favorability was.
The way to develop this thing was completely different from the first two. It wasn't about taming, nor was it about breaking in. It was—infusion.
Kanbe Hikaru needed to continuously channel his demonic power into it, letting that withered claw gradually recognize his existence. He didn't need it to like him, he just needed it to get used to him. This process was equally slow, but at least there was no risk of backlash.
Finally, Kanbe Hikaru made a plan for himself. Every morning, spend one hour developing the Thunder Horn, feeling the rhythm of the thunder power, and letting his demonic power intersect with it. Then spend half an hour developing the Reverse Scale, using blood mist to envelop the toxicity, decomposing and absorbing it little by little, never being greedy or rash. In the afternoon, spend half an hour developing the Nekomata Claws, channeling demonic power into it, and letting that dead object gradually be branded with his aura.
What is a "master of time management," or "juggling three boats"? Kanbe Hikaru felt he was one.
But even so, at this rate, the Thunder Horn would still need at least a month to max out its favorability. The Reverse Scale would need two months. The Nekomata Claws would need nearly three months. Of course, this was just a theoretical estimate. The actual situation might be faster, or slower. There's no rushing it. Kanbe Hikaru told himself.
Having transmigrated to this world for just over half a year, he had already grown from an Oni Samurai who had just died once to the perfection of Six Transformations. This speed was already fast enough. For a normal yokai to reach this level, it would take at least decades or even centuries. What he needed to do next was just to proceed steadily and solidly. To lay a firm foundation.
But Yura of the Hair had her own opinions about all of this.
"You fellow... you really are greedy." The skull on the red comb turned in Kanbe Hikaru's arms, its tone disdainful.
"Thunder beast, Venomous Flood Dragon, nekomata... what's the point of fiddling with these things all day long?"
"Is it not allowed?"
"Of course it's not!" Yura of the Hair's voice revealed full-blown annoyance: "Have you ever thought about my feelings?"
"What feelings of yours?"
"This young lady has helped you so much!" The skull was indignant: "And now you spend all day holding those new flames, leaving me aside!"
Kanbe Hikaru was silent for a moment. He really wanted to say that her favorability was actually rising too. But after thinking about it, he decided not to say it, to prevent the favorability from dropping—though that was unlikely.
"Then what do you want?"
"I want to come out!" Yura of the Hair was indignant: "How long have I been locked in here by you? I want to sunbathe! I want to comb my hair! I want to—"
"Enough." Kanbe Hikaru interrupted her: "When the time is right, I will let you out to move around."
"Really?"
"Really."
"Hmph... actually, I'm not that looking forward to it..." The skull turned, and stopped speaking. But its slight posture clearly showed excitement and anticipation.
[Yura of the Hair: favorability + 1]
[Current favorability: 4]
Kanbe Hikaru looked at this notification and shook his head helplessly. This gal really is a tsundere.
During the day, he developed the cursed weapons, and at night, he accompanied Kikyo to patrol the Barrier and do various things. These were also very rare, leisurely days.
Occasionally, villagers would bring food, carrying looks of gratitude and awe. Occasionally, Kaede would run over to ask all sorts of questions, only to be dismissed by a single sentence from Kikyo. Peaceful and comfortable.
After repelling Kidomaru, although demons still attacked, most were not after the Shikon Jewel. Even those that were, were only low-level, muddled little demons.
High-level demons, or those with some intelligence, seemed to realize that they were not to be trifled with.
If they wanted the Shikon Jewel, they had to be able to pay the price.
But Kanbe Hikaru always understood that this tranquility would not last long.
Kidomaru had only retreated temporarily.
The threat from Kyoto still existed.
And he—
was still not strong enough.
"Continue."
He gripped the Thunder Horn in his hand.
Purple electric arcs danced between his fingers.
'Cultivation', continue.
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