The vast plains are illuminated by the afterglow of the setting sun, like a magnificent scroll spread out.

And the Kamiya River, which was in the middle of it, did not feel relaxed and happy by the beautiful scenery in front of him.

He didn't feel right here.

Although on this plain, there is no longer a thousand stone walls towering in the sky.

But no matter what, this place is too close to the Yellow Spring, and it shouldn't be such a beautiful scene.

"Unless, that peach forest just now also has a similar teleportation function...... In the process of leaving the peach forest, without my knowledge, I was teleported to a far place. ”

After thinking about it for a while to no avail, Kamiya decided to explore the magnificent city in the distance first.

The outline of the place is not dilapidated on the outside, and you may find something inside.

The streams that flow from the peach groves converge into rivers on the plains.

Kamiyagawa took the little old man and continued to walk along the riverbank.

After traveling like this for a while, the scout made a discovery and gave an early warning, and Kamiya also stopped with a sense and condensed his pupils.

It didn't take a while.

From the bushes on the bank of the river, a figure flashed.

It looks like a slender girl, wearing a plain soft silk dress, and I don't know what era it is, but it's very simple. Moreover, there is no pattern decoration on the clothes, and it looks very elegant with the girl's posture and posture.

The girl has a beautiful face and looks no different from an ordinary person.

She held a large cluster of colorful wildflowers in her hand, and when she first emerged from the woods, she looked very interested.

But probably without the slightest defense in her heart, she was caught off guard and met two figures standing outside the forest, which really startled her.

"Wow!"

The girl exclaimed in surprise and stepped back, a few bunches of wildflowers scattered in her arms.

Then, as she patted her chest, she looked at the people outside the woods again—

A monk who was shorter than a dwarf, with a short stature, and wore a monk's robe and a black hat.

The other is a handsome young man wearing a black dress with gold stripes, black hair and black eyes, and a handsome figure.

After seeing the handsome young man's face clearly, the face of the girl with a bouquet of flowers softened a little: "I'm scared to death, why are you standing here without saying a word?" ”

"Uh, sorry."

Kamiyagawa politely compensated on the lips.

"Abaaba."

The little old man bowed to the girl in agreement.

Then Kamiyagawa opened his mouth and asked, "Excuse me, where is this?" ”

"Where is this, you ask? It's a strange question, of course this is Tsukushi Castle. The girl's gaze lingered on Kamiyagawa's face for a while longer, "Oh, you're from Hinata Castle, right?" ”

That's right.

The girl thinks that the young man in front of her is very good-looking, and if he is a resident of her own city, then she should be more or less impressed.

So, it must have come from another big city.

"Hyuga Castle?"

"Yes, another big city in the Apoqi Plain. On the far, far other side, isn't it? I haven't been to Hyuga Castle, but my father and aunt often go. The girl said this as a matter of course, leaning over to see the bouquet scattered on the ground.

Apogihara.

Kamiyagawa finally heard a key word.

He is proficient in mythological texts, and he can think of something-

According to mythology, Izanagi arrived at Apakihara after leaving Hirazaka.

In addition, the ritual of purification was carried out in the rivers of this place.

That is, taking a bath.

In the process, Izanagi's clothes and the filth that had been washed off turned into a number of gods, including the three nobles.

In other words, Apogihara is a very important mythical location.

This is the birthplace of the three noble sons and other gods.

While Kamiyagawa was pondering, the girl had already picked up the bouquet scattered on the ground and said, "Did you just come to Tsukushi City today?" Ah, it must be the same as my father and aunt, rushing back to see the celebration here. ”

"Celebration?"

Bouquet of flowers: "That's right, a celebration to commemorate Izanagi-sama's ritual of purification in Apogihara. Today is a millennium celebration. It's the most grand and grand, isn't it going to be held by your Hyuga Castle too? I've heard Daddy and Auntie say that the celebration on Hinata's side is not as lively as ours, that's why you came to Tsukushi City, right? ”

"Millennium? Are you sure? ”

"What do you say, of course sure. One thousand years ago today, Izanagi-sama performed a ritual of purification on the Apaki Plain, and the birth of the Three Noble Sons, as well as many other gods. You don't even know this, do you? ”

Kamiyagawa didn't reply right away.

A thousand years ago.

Izanagi broke with Izanami, and the three noble sons were born on the Apakihara area.

It's not the right time to think about it.

Unless there is a time passage law here in Apoqihara, such as "one day here and one year in other places".

Looking at the caring and ignorant eyes of the girl in front of him, Kamiyagawa did not continue to ask questions on this issue. He calmly glanced at the outline of Tsukushi Castle in the distance, and then stared at it, his pupils becoming darker and deeper, and looked at the girl in front of him.

The lively girl, who originally talked a lot, was a little embarrassed by this sudden, blazing gaze. While avoiding eye contact, he unconsciously raised his hand to play with his sideburns.

Then, she heard the young man on the other side speak again: "Although it is a little presumptuous, but may I ask, what are you?" ”

"What?" The girl was a little puzzled, but after hesitating for two or three seconds, she still replied according to her own understanding, "That, my name is Sakura." ”

"Sorry, that's not what I meant. I want to ask you what you belong to, the aura on your body, not like a human, not like a god, not like a monster. ”

Kamiyagawa felt that the girl who called herself "Sakura" had a peculiar aura on her body.

If I have to say it, it seems to be a little similar to the aura on the two of them when I first met Isohime and Crab Hime, but it is much weaker than the two princesses of the Sea Country, and they don't have the power of the ocean.

And in the face of such a strange question, Sakura was visibly disappointed and ashamed.

What a presumptuous guy this guy is!

"I don't understand what you're saying, of course I'm a human grass! Aren't everyone in Tsukushi City all human grass? And Hyuga Castle too. Except for the Great Immortal Peach God, he is the god. ”

Sakura felt that although the young man in front of her was good-looking, he didn't seem to have a good brain.

The questions asked were bizarre.

The atmosphere of a romantic encounter by the river is now gone.

She didn't want to continue pestering here, so she said, "It's time for me to go home and prepare for the celebration, and Daddy and Auntie should also be home." ”

As she spoke, the girl turned and walked briskly away along the riverbank.

Kamiya didn't stop the other party again, but just stood there thoughtfully.

"Human grass."

If it's "human grass", that's right.

The concept of human grass first appeared in ancient mythology.

It is the vow that Izanagi and Izanami made when they broke up with the couple across the thousand stones, "A thousand people will die every day, and 1,500 people will be born every day."

According to the original words in the "Ancient Chronicles"——

[Izanami's proclamation, for this reason, the people of your country are grass, and they will strangle a thousand heads in one day.] ]

In other words, in the oath made by Izanagi and Izanami, it was not the real human beings who died and died every day, but "human grass".

The so-called human grass belongs to the descendants of the gods, but in essence, it is a non-god, non-human and non-demon existence.

Strictly speaking, it should belong to the transitional race between "gods" and "humans and demons".

Anyway, the gods of Japan have a variety of ways to give birth to offspring.

Not only physical fertility, but bathing, bleeding, and spitting can give birth to a whole host of new gods.

These new gods will also be concocted in the same way to give birth to the next generation.

In this way, I don't know how many rounds of fast and convenient iteration, and the gods of the second generation have become "human grass".

There are many such beings, and they may carry a certain degree of divinity, but their basic abilities have withered, and they can no longer be called gods.

The later Guojin gods were probably formed from the last gods with low status, or simply some strong people.

"Let's go, little old man, let's go to Tsukushi City to have a look. The people there should be able to give us more information. ”

Through the conversation with Sakura, Kamiyagawa has obtained a lot of useful information-

First of all, this is Apo Gihara, where the three noble sons were born, and there are two large castles that are full of people and grass. Humans and grasses may not be much stronger than humans, at least just looking at Sakura.

Secondly, tonight's Tsukushi Castle will hold a festival to commemorate Izanagi.

Last but not least, there is a high probability that the Great Immortal Peach God is in Apoqihara.

"Now it seems that the Daisen Peach God should have seen Izanagi. In Him, there may be the human Lord material we need, and we have to find this god. ”

"Aba!"

The little old man responded.

In the process of Kamiyagawa's thinking just now, the scout was also thinking.

While integrating the information he had obtained in his head, the little old man also thought of something else.

It is......

The master deserves to be the master.

The owner has such a face and such a temperament, and it is indeed easy to get the favor and preferential treatment of the opposite sex.

Wherever you go, it's easy to mingle with the local girls.

The person named "Sakura" casually told the owner so much useful information during the conversation.

The master didn't even use [a thousand silver needles]!

This way of gathering intelligence...... You can't learn, you can't learn.

It can only be said that Miss Shikanoya privately evaluated the owner as a "Takamagahara-succubus", which really makes sense.

……

Chikushi Castle.

Kamiyagawa entered the big city with the outer body of the little old man, and was not hindered in any way.

This large city is huge and magnificent, and the style of architecture is older than that of Oeyama Castle in the Takamagahara-hara domain.

Red and white paper lanterns and colorful silks hang high on the streets, swaying in the night breeze, and are full of festive atmosphere.

The city is crowded with people, and a large number of people are active.

These people have different appearances, and some of them are like Sakura, which is not much different from humans.

There are also humanoid forms, either with horns on the head, or with a tail behind them, or human grass with feathers and scales on the body.

What's more, he doesn't look like a human and is more freewheeling.

However, all the people have a similar scent.

It's rare to see so many living "ancient mythological biological samples", Kamiyagawa, who is a folklorist and calmly rubs shoulders with various people and grasses, while analyzing in his heart-

The human grass is a secondary generation, and the descendants of the gods whose divine power has withered can probably still reproduce naturally.

Over time, the offspring of the human grass may also diverge.

The human grass that has no ability may be the ancestor of human beings, and there are some special abilities, maybe it is the ancestor of some demons, perhaps a relatively pure human and demon were born in this way.

Kamiyagawa had guessed a long time ago that gods and demons were of the same origin.

Therefore, demons will have a relatively smooth path to godhood.

At present, it is known that some yokai can reproduce naturally, while some yokai, such as many strange ones, are born in a variety of ways and are strange.

And the way in which the gods conceived their offspring was strange at the earliest.

That's right.

According to the human grass backwards, the current human race is probably also one of the descendants of the gods in a broad sense. However, human traits are more stable, and they can only rely on natural reproduction, and individuals basically cannot carry some extraordinary powers from birth like demons and ghosts.

Therefore, human beings can also become gods through the ritual of "flesh and bones", but it is more difficult than that of monsters.

In any case, the relationship between gods, ghosts, and humans is complicated, but according to folklorist Kamiyagawa, the evolution process is roughly like this.

It's not bad, they belonged to the same family thousands of years ago.

It's just that after a long period of change, it can no longer be regarded as the same "species".

On the other hand, looking at the situation on the Haiguo side, the warrior crab and mermaid clans are actually basically pure monsters. However, the two crab and isohime, because they are sect statues, can probably barely be classified into the special ability of "human grass" classification.

And the two of them are placed in human grass, so they should also belong to the best.

"Crab Ji and Isohime are both descendants of the three goddesses of the sea, and it is barely reasonable to count them as human grass. But on the Apoqi Plain, why are there still so many people and grass now? ”

Kamiyagawa's question cannot be answered for the time being.

After strolling around the bustling streets of Tsukushi Castle for a while, Kamiya politely stopped a human grass girl with animal ears on her head.

"Excuse me. Excuse me, where can I find the Great Peach Immortal? ”

The man and the beast eared lady were a little confused, so she looked at Kamiya twice, and just replied, "Isn't it usually possible to see it in the palace?" Oh, are you from Hyuga Castle? Tonight is a celebration, and when Momosen is not in the palace, he will go to the edge of the river to put river lanterns with everyone. If you're looking for it, go over there. ”

"Thank you."

Kamiyagawa glanced towards the center of Chikushi Castle.

There are indeed tall palace buildings standing over there.

It's just that in that direction, Kamiya didn't perceive any of the aura of the gods.

Even in the entire vicinity of Tsukushi Castle, he felt no trace of the god's existence.