Yuki Tsukumo explained, "Some people are born with noble souls. You might not understand it if I say it like that, but you have indeed encountered such a person."
"Me?" Gojo Satoru pointed to himself, bewildered. "I've encountered a noble soul? Who?"
Yuki Tsukumo spoke a name:
"—Amanai Riko."
Gojo Satoru subconsciously covered his blindfold with his hand. In that instant, his eyes throbbed with pain.
Amanai Riko... she was the Star Plasma Vessel he had protected during high school.
Tengen said slowly, "A so-called 'noble soul' is a collective term for those whose Souls have an overwhelming ability to restrain their physical bodies. A person's life is often influenced by hormones in the body, especially extreme emotions."
"But those with a 'noble soul' are naturally able to keep such emotions in check. They can more easily find what they truly want and dedicate their lives to it."
Gojo Satoru shook his head blankly. "I don't understand."
"—The Star Plasma Vessel." Yuki Tsukumo revealed this ultimate secret. "Every Star Plasma Vessel possesses a 'noble soul.' Did you never wonder why Tengen must fuse with a Star Plasma Vessel to maintain her human identity? Why exactly are Star Plasma Vessels so special?"
Yuki Tsukumo answered her own question:
"Because the Soul of a Star Plasma Vessel can naturally suppress the changes brought about by the physical body."
"This doesn't mean all Star Plasma Vessels are cold people. On the contrary, they are more likely to experience emotional shifts, but at the same time, they are more aware of what they truly want, thereby blocking out external temptations to the self."
"One could even say—they understand righteousness better."
"Tengen, who has been fusing with Star Plasma Vessels for a thousand years, now has only righteousness left in her heart. As long as that righteousness remains, she will always be calm and will never betray humanity. She becomes a true guardian deity of mankind; she becomes Tengen."
[Listen up, Lord Tengen is me! I am Lord Tengen! ]
The girl's proud words flashed through Gojo Satoru's mind.
Gojo Satoru forced the corners of his mouth up into a smile. "I didn't realize I actually had the experience of guarding a 'noble soul.' That's quite an honor."
Yuki Tsukumo gave him a deep look, seeing the scars in Gojo Satoru's heart. She considerately changed the subject. "I was once a Star Plasma Vessel too, but I rejected Tengen. In a thousand years, I'm probably the only Star Plasma Vessel who refused Fusion with Tengen."
"No, you aren't the only one," Gojo Satoru suddenly said.
Yuki Tsukumo looked at him in surprise.
"Riko... before finally stepping into the Star Corridor, chose to refuse." Gojo Satoru's voice was unusually calm. "She asked Suguru to take her away. Suguru and I had decided beforehand that if Riko didn't choose Fusion, we would take her away even if it meant becoming enemies with Tengen."
But neither he nor Geto Suguru had succeeded.
Yuki Tsukumo fell silent.
She regretted starting this topic. She hadn't expected the usually carefree Gojo Satoru to be so deeply affected by that mission. Even now, he still hadn't recovered... perhaps, he never would.
This heartache would only grow more painful; even time could not heal it.
"I will give every Star Plasma Vessel enough time to regret their decision. In the span of a millennium, only two have refused me: one was Yuki Tsukumo, and the other was Amanai Riko."
Tengen said slowly, "Yuki Tsukumo refused me with fierce resistance. Amanai Riko was at the Star Religious Group at the time. I thought I would be able to witness the first Star Plasma Vessel to come before me and refuse me in person, but unfortunately, it was ruined by the Heavenly Restriction."
Tengen sighed and said to Yuki Tsukumo, "You once said you wanted to contact other Star Plasma Vessels to resist me together. Actually, there is no need. If a Star Plasma Vessel refuses, I will never force them."
Yuki Tsukumo stroked her long hair, feeling somewhat awkward. She had indeed declared as much before, because she believed that no matter how righteous the Fusion with a Star Plasma Vessel sounded, in reality, the whole affair reeked of something sinister at its core. She simply did not trust Tengen at all.
And after she truly stepped into the Jujutsu World, she trusted it even less.
It could only be said that the terrible environment of the Jujutsu World naturally made it impossible for her to trust, and by extension, Tengen was viewed in her eyes as a heinous thousand-year-old conspirator. Only after actual contact did she realize how naive and innocent her past self-had been.
Of course, even now she hadn't actually given up. She still felt that the Tengen who fused with Star Plasma Vessels reeked of something sinister. She still harbored prejudices against Tengen, but this prejudice would not shake her will; she knew what she was doing.
Tengen brought the topic back. "If the Lord of Curses is a noble soul, then many things can be explained clearly."
"Why, despite being a Curse, is he able to overcome his innate nature through acquired education? Why, to this day, has he not actively harmed anyone? Why can he display such clear, clean, and supreme benevolence and kindness?"
"Because he is not affected by the distortion of Curses from birth."
"The ability to interfere with the Soul, and his Reverse Cursed Technique being the ability to create Souls—just hearing about it makes one realize how terrifying this ability is. Combined with his status as a Cursed Spirit, it immediately exudes an inescapable sense of sinisterness."
"He has indeed set about creating Intelligent Cursed Spirits other than himself."
"Generally speaking, someone possessing such an ability would surely actively create monsters. I can imagine these monsters would possess different abilities, and as the creator, he would certainly be able to control these monsters, just like Suguru Geto's Cursed Spirit Manipulation."
Hmm, the thousand-year-old Jujutsu Sorcerer had guessed incorrectly. Whether it was the original Mahito or the current Mahito, they indeed possessed this ability. However, the original Mahito had a screw loose and went straight up against Itadori Yuji; he never dug deep into this point. His most successful creation was still the dim-witted Locust Cursed Spirit, while the current Mahito chose to directly copy techniques and play with the Limitless Cursed Technique instead.
Creating monsters? Not familiar with that.
Tengen continued to analyze:
"Like Suguru Geto's Cursed Spirit Manipulation or Yuta Okkotsu's Copy Technique, these types of Cursed Techniques share a characteristic: they can grow infinitely stronger with no limits."
"This also gives the user path dependency. After all, it is just too convenient; as long as one is well-prepared, they can adapt to any situation, break through any desperate plight, and will never fall into an unsalvageable situation. This is why any Jujutsu Sorcerer appearing with a similar Cursed Technique is quickly rated as Special Grade."
"Because it is just too versatile, and its potential is too terrifying."
"Usually, once someone with this type of Cursed Technique masters Domain Expansion, it will be something similar, capable of using multiple different abilities or achieving similar results. This amplifies their abilities, allowing them to deal more calmly with potential Domain battles."
Gojo Satoru thought of his disciple Yuta Okkotsu, who was a Special Grade Sorcerer possessing the Copy Technique. His Domain Expansion was exactly as Tengen described—capable of using multiple abilities, allowing him to more calmly use different abilities in combination during combat.
As expected of a thousand-year-old Jujutsu Sorcerer; the insight and experience were unquestionable.
"The Lord of Curses also has this potential, and he can indeed do this. However, his Domain Expansion is not about being able to more calmly use multiple abilities, but rather about dealing with the future where he might die, striving for a 'resurrection' that ensures he will never fall into a desperate situation. Why is this?"
Tengen asked, and then she answered herself:
"Because he knows clearly what he truly needs."
"He easily suppressed the temptation of being able to more calmly use multiple abilities."
"Although this kind of Domain Expansion is very strong, it is useless against Gojo Satoru. Gojo Satoru's combination of Six Eyes and Limitless does not fear any multiple abilities; no matter what those abilities are, they are useless."
"Gojo Satoru himself is also a genius rarely seen in a millennium. He is not just powerful in ability; his own foundation is also very solid. When multiple abilities are ineffective, Gojo Satoru can kill the Lord of Curses relying solely on his solid foundational abilities."
"Therefore, based on the current comparison between enemy and ally, he chose the ability he truly needed—resurrection."
Tengen looked around at Yuki Tsukumo and Gojo Satoru, and said in a deep voice, "He did the right thing. For example, right now, we have no way to deal with this. Even knowing the Lord of Curses' ability only adds pressure to us."
"We cannot even make this news public, because that would trigger widespread panic and... greed."
"The ones who need to control information now are not the Lord of Curses' side, but our side. We have become passive."
Gojo Satoru understood Tengen's meaning and also understood why Yuki Tsukumo had changed so much.
A monarch who will never have his mind twisted by Curses and is of supreme benevolence and kindness indeed has sufficient reason to be trusted.
Supreme benevolence and kindness in the Jujutsu World are different from those in the ordinary world. Because for a Sorcerer, hatred can truly grant power!
Jujutsu Sorcerers are beings that extract negative emotions from within and convert them into real, tangible power. Hatred is precisely the most direct and extreme negative emotion. Even an ordinary Jujutsu Sorcerer, driven by hatred, can very easily reach their limit, or even surpass it.
A Jujutsu Sorcerer who has surpassed their limits looking at you with malice—isn't that terrifying? Yet, Mahito spared the old and weak members of the Zenin Family...
Just this point alone was enough to make all Jujutsu Sorcerers in the Jujutsu World marvel at the Lord of Curses' supreme benevolence and kindness.
Furthermore, Yuki Tsukumo was different from Kinji Hakari. Kinji Hakari was completely captivated by the Lord of Curses through personal charisma, but Yuki Tsukumo's considerations were extremely rational. She judged from a scholar's perspective that the Lord of Curses was indeed very suitable to rule the world.
It was no wonder that Yuki Tsukumo, who held an attitude of eradication toward Cursed Spirits, would be shaken.
Gojo Satoru thought for a moment and asked, "How about sealing him?"
"At this stage, a Seal is merely a simple Seal," Tengen said proactively. "Inside the Seal, the target being sealed is actually conscious. If there is consciousness, they can commit suicide, and the Lord of Curses can resurrect in any corner of the world."
After all, Mahito's Domain Expansion opens directly at the place where the Soul resides, commonly known as the revolving lantern space. No Seal can reach that place, just as Yuki Tsukumo once shouted at Mahito in disbelief:
[This is the final resting place of all Souls, the ultimate inviolable sanctity!]
Yuki Tsukumo said, "It's too late to create a sealing object that can even seal consciousness now... I can guarantee that Mahito won't give us that time. He might even hope we try to make such a cursed object so he can improve himself more leisurely. Time is not on our side."
Gojo Satoru let out a breath, no longer counting on the Seal.
In the original work, Gojo Satoru could accelerate the flow of time for his own physical body in hopes of escaping sealing properties. Since he can accelerate his own physical time, suicide is naturally possible. Of course, Seals were originally meant to deal with enemies who couldn't be killed or were very hard to kill; if you've already committed suicide, whether there's a Seal or not doesn't matter anymore.
"However, I cannot analyze exactly how he uses Domain Expansion to touch 'death'," Tengen mused with arms crossed. "Domain Expansion is a barrier of imagination. In other words, to touch death, the Lord of Curses must be very familiar with the 'revolving lantern' space and have personally experienced it multiple times."
"At the same time, even without using Domain Expansion, he can do something similar to resurrection and believes in it implicitly. Finally, he has personally experienced death."
The conditions are so harsh that even Tengen, with a thousand years of experience, doesn't believe anyone in this world could do it. She herself is the closest person to these harsh conditions, yet she still hasn't truly touched death.
If even she can't imagine it, it's even more impossible for others. The Lord of Curses has broken common logic. Why?
Unable to figure it out, Yuki Tsukumo temporarily shifted the topic:
"He possesses the ability to interfere with the Soul. This should be the ability of his Cursed Technique Lapse. He has been able to freely interfere with Souls since his birth as a Cursed Spirit. As long as he wants, he can maintain a noble soul unchanged. This might be why he can remain so clear-headed."
Tengen hesitated but then rejected the idea. "This should be innate, but theoretically impossible. No matter how special the Lord of Curses is, he is also a Cursed Spirit, and Cursed Spirits are the manifestation of Curses. He should be more evil than any Curse. His ability to interfere with Souls should also make his evil nature unchangeable and eternally persistent."
This was common logic.
Tengen hit the mark; the Mahito in the original work was indeed like that.
Hanami naturally rejected cursing others. She once said she didn't kill people to harm them, but for the future of the Earth. That was a grand cause.
But the Mahito in the original work once tried to persuade Hanami during a casual chat [in the capacity of a Curse]. He wanted to erase Hanami's grand cause and have her harm people as a pure Curse.
The Soul interference ability has been active since Mahito's birth. This is true for both the original Mahito and the current one, taking effect in a way that even its owner cannot perceive.
Its external manifestation is maintaining the existing personality eternally unchanged and the mental state immortal.
Yuki Tsukumo and Tengen glanced at each other and said in unison, "Unless... he wasn't a Cursed Spirit to begin with!"
Gojo Satoru immediately realized: "He's a reincarnator? He was a human before, and a Star Plasma Vessel with a noble soul!?"
Gojo Satoru naturally switched "it" to "he" and pondered:
"He reincarnated as a Cursed Spirit, and this Cursed Spirit just happened to have the ability to interfere with Souls. He has used the Soul interference ability since birth to keep his own Soul unchanged, which allowed his noble soul to stabilize."
At this point, Gojo Satoru looked at Yuki Tsukumo. "Aren't you a noble soul now? All Star Plasma Vessels have noble souls, and Yuki Tsukumo was once a Star Plasma Vessel too."
Yuki Tsukumo nodded slowly. "Power can taint the Soul. Just as a vessel for a cursed object for a long time might be able to use the object's abilities even after it's gone, there are countless such examples. Even if I had a noble soul before, I don't have one anymore."
She looked at Gojo Satoru and emphasized, "That's why I said Mahito is a unique case in the Jujutsu World. Besides him, even if a Star Plasma Vessel uses Cursed Energy, they will inevitably lose their noble soul."
This is also why Tengen must fuse with a Star Plasma Vessel every so often. Otherwise, with Tengen's understanding of jujutsu, a single Fusion would be enough to uncover all the secrets of the Star Plasma Vessel, and she wouldn't need a second one.
But even Tengen cannot stabilize a noble soul; she also has to use power.
Precisely because the time to maintain a Star Plasma Vessel is limited, she must fuse again before the noble soul of the Star Plasma Vessel disappears. This is the real reason why she must fuse with a Star Plasma Vessel periodically.
Without the Star Plasma Vessel's will to check and balance the body, even Tengen cannot stop her body from drifting toward "godhood." The result is that even if she doesn't want to, her body continuously advances toward a higher life form.
"Are there male Star Plasma Vessels?" Gojo Satoru asked curiously.
"I am female, so even for Fusion, the Star Plasma Vessel must also be a human female," Tengen said. "Additionally, before I became Tengen..."
"...I was also a Star Plasma Vessel. The Star Plasma Vessels I can resonate with and find must also be female, so I'm not sure if there are males. I wouldn't be surprised if there were."
Gojo Satoru understood. In other words, if there was a male Star Plasma Vessel that Tengen hadn't discovered who reincarnated as a Cursed Spirit, and that Cursed Spirit happened to have Soul interference abilities, he could indeed become the current Mahito.
But he frowned again. "But his current behavior doesn't look like a reincarnator at all. On the contrary, his growth is traceable and clearly displayed before us. His values are also those of ancient times; otherwise, you wouldn't be so sure his teacher was Ashiya Magon."
A true reincarnator should have a mature system of cultivation; otherwise, even the act of reincarnation itself would be impossible. And values represent the reincarnator's personality, which cannot be discarded.
Every time Mahito has improved since his appearance, there have been traces. This means he doesn't have his own cultivation system at all; he has been cultivating step by step after his reincarnation. This directly excludes the possibility of him being a reincarnator. Not to mention his values are like those of an ancient person, which a modern person simply couldn't teach.
Well, the possibility of a layman transmigrating directly into Mahito's body like in a novel never crossed the minds of anyone present. What a joke! How could a layman occupy the body of a spirit? Stop kidding, okay?
Uh, they hadn't been baptized by Chinese web novels, so that possibility simply didn't exist in their heads.
In fact, being able to deduce this much through pure reasoning already showed that these three were indeed among the top few people in this world. What they lacked wasn't theoretical knowledge, but rather a psychopathic level of imagination.
Yuki Tsukumo said tentatively, "Maybe he lost all his memories?"
"He has the ability to interfere with Souls; it's impossible for him to lose his memories," Tengen denied after some hesitation.
Gojo Satoru finally couldn't stand the academic atmosphere and shouted loudly, "We aren't doing academic research right now! Analyze the Lord of Curses' abilities for me! Don't give me this! I don't understand!"
Yuki Tsukumo exhaled. "Fine. Regardless of whether he's a reincarnator, it doesn't affect our strategy toward him. We can just be sure that his Soul is indeed clean and pure, and he's a trustworthy person. Unfortunately, this trustworthy person has already set his mind on reforming the entire Jujutsu World and is undoubtedly our enemy."
Gojo Satoru said with a smile, "He's preparing for a final battle with me. Now that he holds the trump card of infinite resurrection, he can be said to have fully matured. He could come to test me at any time."
Tengen suddenly said, "Gojo Satoru, your disciple is looking for you."
Gojo Satoru was stunned. "Huh? Who?"
"Yuta Okkotsu."
"Him?" Gojo Satoru furrowed his brows. "I remember he was asked to protect those old geezers... Did something happen on the old men's side?"
Tengen fell silent for a moment; she was inquiring remotely.
After a while, Tengen said strangely, "He says your future wife has been kidnapped."
Gojo Satoru touched his blindfold and said blankly, "Me? I have a fiancée? How come I didn't know? Who is it?"
"Utahime Iori," Tengen said.
Gojo Satoru froze, then screamed loudly, "Who? That ghost miko? My future wife? Even if I die and jump down from your Hollow Wicker Basket Barrier, it's impossible for me to marry that woman! Did Yuta's head get smashed with an ashtray by those old men?!"
"It was the Lord of Curses who kidnapped her," Tengen spat out the last sentence. "He was also the one who revealed that Utahime Iori would be your future wife."
Gojo Satoru was dumbfounded.
"Ah?"
He scratched his hair and sarcastically shouted at Yuki Tsukumo, "Is this the person you said was trustworthy? He even resorted to kidnapping and slandered me!"
Yuki Tsukumo burst out laughing. "Isn't this quite interesting?"
"It's not interesting at all!" Gojo Satoru complained loudly.
Such an open and blatant kidnapping, on the contrary, revealed that Utahime Iori would definitely be fine, so no one was worried about her safety. Moreover, the previous discussion had already confirmed that Mahito would not casually kill people, which allowed them to leisurely complain.
This was just an excuse; everyone knew it. Tengen said in a deep voice, "You must be careful, Gojo Satoru—the Lord of Curses is coming for you."
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