How unusual.
An outsider.
Are you the one who killed Mu Dan?
Who are you?
Oh?
You bastard.
You've piqued my interest.
Hell's Paradise
Immutability and Change
Go on.
I was actually hoping to dissect you.
But I'm not in the mood to take any lives right now.
Fuchi-dono, good.
Did something happen?
It's Mei-san.
We thought it was just exhaustion, but she's not recovering.
Wasn't this girl younger before? Who is she?
She's apparently one of the Tensen.
What?
I even witnessed her using strange powers.
She's one of those monsters?
I have limited access to materials, but I'll make something for her fever.
In exchange, Mei-san...
Please tell us everything you can about yourself and the Tensen.
The death of my family member made me realize the seriousness of the situation.
Who are you, and what do you want?
Depending on your answers, I may not be able to forgive you.
U-Um...
Wait. You can't expect a proper explanation with her limited vocabulary.
True.
Phrasing!
It's all right, though. I'm used to interpreting.
Meanwhile, Sagi, could you help me prepare the medicine?
Why'd you want to meet here?
What do you want, Shortymaru?
My memories have returned, but my battle instincts are dull.
So I want you to help me limber up.
You want all of us to gang up on you?
Well, yes.
You think you can use me for practice?
You, too.
You hate me most of all, don't you?
If you want to kill me, you don't have to hold back.
Hold on. If you try to take advantage of the situation to cause mischief,
I'll cut you down.
In that case, so will I.
Hey, man-woman. You can use my sword.
I'm going to beat his ass.
The doshi and Aza Chobe.
I learned something from those two battles.
Relying too much on tao is dangerous.
But I can't beat the others, much less the Tensen, without it.
I need to figure out when and how to use it.
Oh.
Thank you for your help.
Don't underestimate me!
He's fast.
Don't use your eyes.
Feel him with your tao.
He's muscular.
Normally, I couldn't overpower him.
But...
If I aim for the weak points in his tao,
even a feeble blow can become a strong one.
Wait, Nurugai!
But this confirms it.
It's impossible to beat the Tensen at tao manipulation.
They're monsters who have trained in its use for a thousand years.
A human could never beat them.
In that case...
I'll use the tao surrounding them.
The greater the power directed at me,
the greater the reaction when I use it against them.
Using the Tensen's own tao could be an effective countermeasure.
Wow!
You could use that to kill a Tensen!
No, it's still not enough. I have a lot to work on.
He's even better than they say.
Gabimaru may be able to reach their level.
But should we be relying on a criminal?
Gabimaru, I've learned something from observing tao.
There are probably types of tao with different attributes and compatibilities.
Ow...
Types?
If we utilize those, we could kill the immortal.
What?
You wanna fight, too?
What do you think you're doing, man-woman?
I am ashamed to ask this,
but could you teach me how to fight in actual battle?
What?
Not for revenge, but so I can ensure my own survival.
You expect me to trust a bandit?
This is all I can do to demonstrate my conviction.
But I'm serious.
I don't like you, but you're stronger than me, so...
Teach me how to fight with a sword.
Suit yourself.
I was just about to swing a sword.
Bring that with you.
I'll taste mud if I have to in order to get stronger.
So I can fight on my own.
So I can fight alongside my brother as equals.
Strength is change.
I can kill these guys later.
I'm coming to save you, Brother.
He's strong.
Way stronger than the doshi.
He's one of them, huh?
I'm intrigued.
Your warped tao mixed with something upon coming to the island, didn't it?
The Waitanhua Flower turns humans into tan.
Despite that eating away at your tao, you've retained your sense of self.
That's very unusual.
This calls for further study.
At this rate, I can't win.
But there's no guarantee I'll be able to control that if I use it again.
No, wait...
I don't need guarantees.
It's kill or be killed.
It feels like roots spreading throughout my body.
Focus so it doesn't rob me of my consciousness.
His speed and power are superhuman.
I still have my sense of self.
I have to finish this quickly.
Your weak point is your navel, right?
I don't believe it.
He's not regenerating.
So they die when their navel is destroyed.
I'm at my limit, too.
I have to turn back.
I don't believe it.
You unleashed the Waitanhua Flower's tao, and yet, you're controlling it.
I've never seen anything like this.
So that was a clone?
I only meant to conduct reconnaissance, but now I wish to see it for myself.
Beautiful.
I must bring you back to the castle for research.
I'm at my limit...
Any more, and I'll lose myself...
Don't overdo it. You'll die.
You should be more careful with yourself.
Now sleep.
I know, Toma. I'm different from our dad.
I promise I'll come back.
I'm falling apart...
I'm breaking...
Where am I?
You're awake, human.
What the hell is this?
Your body is valuable.
The process of turning you into tan made your tao mix, and your human tao won.
It's a miracle.
In a thousand years, I've seen nothing like this.
You will be the final key I need for my research.
What, did you suddenly get turned on?
No. This is bochu jutsu.
I wish to gain a deeper understanding by circulating our tao.
It will also heal your weakened tao.
Circulate?
All tao has an attribute.
Wood, fire, earth, metal, and water.
These five attributes affect each other.
There is hindering, which weakens a person's tao through contact.
Then there is restoration, which strengthens their tao instead.
Whoa, are you for real?
Bochu jutsu is ineffective without harmony between both parties.
Do you have any preferences?
Any act you wish me to perform?
Yeah. I want you to do something.
Answer my questions. What is this island?
What are you guys doing on the island?
According to her, both the Tensen and this island were made by a single human.
A human?
A renowned hermit from the mainland.
He was researching immortality based on Shinsen thought.
In Taoism, all things are said to be made from tao.
On this island, he discovered a way to directly manipulate it.
By repeatedly blending and joining the tao of living creatures,
he sought immortality through trial and error.
That was how the Tensen were born.
As a fusion of human and plant tao, they are both female and male.
They can use both forces to augment their own tao.
They've continuously tempered their tao for a thousand years,
while most creatures lose theirs through activity or over time.
No human stands a chance against them.
Except by using one method.
You mean tao.
So, why do those superhumans stay cooped up on this island?
In Taoism, the practice of achieving immortality
through breathing techniques and meditation is called naitanho.
Meanwhile, methods that grant anyone immortality
regardless of their physical traits or training—
for example, creating such a concoction—is called gaitanho.
That is what the Tensen are creating.
What?
You mean...
That's the Elixir of Immortality.
So it does exist?
It's currently under development.
What they call tan is a prototype developed through research.
They gather human lives like nectar and efficiently ingest their tao—
in other words, their life force.
It's like adding the years you take from someone's lifespan to your own.
The Tensen extend their lifespans using tan.
Their tao must not be perfectly self-sustaining.
That's why losing large amounts over a short period kills them.
But don't the Tensen have plenty of tan already?
What are they going to do once they perfect
their method of granting anyone immortality?
Don't know.
Probably Grandmaster Shufu's will.
Shu...?
Who?
The hermit who made the Tensen and this island, Shufu.
In other words, Jofuku.
During the Qin Dynasty, he served the first emperor.
In pursuit of immortality, he took 3,000 children from good families
and 100 craftsmen across the eastern sea and went missing.
He lived over a thousand years ago.
Perhaps he's still conducting his research somewhere on the island.
We conduct research and perform experiments here.
It is a garden for producing and observing immortal beings.
So all those monsters are living beings created by people?
Yes. Each one was created for a purpose.
The Hoko were created to observe how the immortal live.
The Soshin teach Taoism to the Hoko,
who have little concept of death, and maintain order.
We are merely creations as well.
A combination of the grandmaster's tao and flower tao.
We are both a single and separate entities.
Both family and myself.
It's that easy?
It's not easy. Tao is the source of life.
No, the source of everything.
Like dust, it can be found everywhere, giving all things their shape.
That incense and the air are forms of tao.
Therefore, to manipulate tao
is to manipulate the natural laws of the world.
But unlike inanimate objects, manipulating life is difficult.
That is why your tao is valuable.
I wish to study it.
So you'll use me to conduct your research
and turn everyone on the island into Elixirs of Immortality?
No.
Everyone on the mainland.
What?
We have prepared for that.
All we need now is the perfect tan.
If you'll help us, we'll allow you to join us.
Instead of turning you into tan, you can join us on the path to perfection.
What's the smartest choice here?
In my current state, I can't kill her.
It'd be tough to run, too.
What should I prioritize?
I'll perform bochu jutsu with you,
if that'll help me master the use of tao.
But I don't like being on the bottom.
Don't worry. I'll be gentle.
Don't fight the situation. Adapt.
I'll adapt and consume.
Wait for me, Toma.
As I thought, your tao is marvelous.
In other words, that Jofuku guy is the origin of all of this.
What is this?
What is the meaning of this?
My body imperfect.
When I use tao, turn into tree.
Can't heal myself.
Then if you heal your tao the way Gabimaru did...
Can't.
Too little. Not enough to circulate.
Rien destroyed my tanden. My ovule.
Rien?
Rien and me. First students made by Grandmaster Shufu.
But Rien changed.
Killed many for gaitanho.
Couldn't stop her.
I ran away from Horai.
So that's what happened.
At this rate, Mei-san will...
Use my tao.
What?
The Tensen have total control over tao.
They should be able to extract another creature's tao and make it their own.
They can do that?
But then you...
It's fine.
Mei, I will turn into a tree soon.
And this is my atonement.
Atonement?
I met her several centuries ago.
I had a wife and daughter.
They both turned into trees before me.
The other villagers transformed one by one until I was alone.
Then that moment arrived.
They were merely the same age.
That was all, but I saw my daughter in her.
My young daughter...
I actually knew there was something different about her.
That she wanted to leave the island.
But I ignored all of that so we could pretend to be a family.
Forgive me.
I wasn't seeing you, but my daughter.
For centuries, I made you play along with my lies and lingering attachments.
This is my only chance to make up for it.
Please use my life.
It wasn't a lie.
We were like a real family.
Like a real father and daughter.
Goodbye, Father.
Biele, fuqin.
Miss, you shrank again!
I mean, I understand the circumstances!
But if I'm being honest, I wish you'd ridden on my shoulders looking like that!
Shut up. It's nothing to cry about.
You'll understand once you're grown up, kid.
You're going to learn to fight from him?
Your wound has healed over.
It may leave a scar, though.
Thank—
No need to thank me. I still don't trust you.
Everyone.
You can listen while you work.
Sensei.
Gabimaru and I discussed our plans for the future.
Hey, Catmaru. Who put you in charge?
Better me than you.
What? Don't get ahead of yourself!
Honestly, we've no sense of unity.
What's up?
Someone here.
From the ocean. Very big.
Many tao.
As in lots of people?
Not sure, but...
Very strong.