Chapter 691 Entering the Relic! (3k)
The sunlight gradually receded, and a gray mist and continued rain replaced the previous peaceful blue sky. The three of them rode their mounts upstream, and gradually, their vision became obscured. Volcanic ash mixed with rain, and the pungent smell almost drowned out the entire river.
“Woo woo—”
Along the way, there were more Onmyoji riding their mounts, even dolphins and seahorses, with alarm bells tied to their tails, constantly ringing and flashing, like patrol cars on the river.
Those people glanced at the “overalls” worn by Su Jiu and the other person, but didn’t say much, assuming they were also part of the patrol.
“In just half a day, what on earth happened?”
Su Jiu murmured as she looked ahead. Her teeth whale mount was incomparable to those of the Onmyoji; it charged upstream in a reckless manner, like a sharp blade cutting through the air and water.
“Sheqi is about to make a move. This volcanic ash was caused by his devious snakes. Chaos is about to begin,” came the voice of the Inari God from the gourd, sounding soft and ethereal.
“Stinking fox, everyone knows that chaos is coming, don’t act like a storyteller.”
Lin glanced at the gourd, sitting sideways, with a beginner magic crystal in her mouth, making a “crunch crunch” sound.
Since she couldn’t get anything to enhance her bloodline, she might as well eat more.
“Honestly, what is your remaining strength?”
Unlike Lin’s teasing, Su Jiu sighed softly and asked into the gourd in a low voice.
She remembered that at the beginning, this Inari God had mentioned that the small temple was related to his strength. Now, half of the small temple had been destroyed, and he had emerged with his feathers all over his body…
This was undoubtedly contradictory to his initial statement. Moreover, this Shōtoku gourd seemed to only be able to hold souls, just as it could only hold Ibaraki’s soul before, and not his physical body.
“Fox? When I unleash my power, I can reach the late stage of the mid-level War God level, probably,” the fox girl responded with a smile, sounding a bit uncertain.
Looking at the gray mist, which lacked warmth, Su Jiu said softly, “You’re a spirit, aren’t you? If you unleash your power, you won’t survive.”
The gourd was silent for a moment, then replied with a smile:
“The fox relies on the contract signed with Amaterasu, merging its soul with its tail feathers, and staying in the same place to guard for hundreds of years. It’s tiring.”
His laughter carried a sense of relief and unconstraint.
Hearing this, Su Jiu’s gaze remained fixed ahead. There were ripples in her blood-red pupils, as if she had figured something out. She continued,
“Those shrimp were deliberately spread by you in the river. Even if no one named Su Jiu took you to the relic today, someone named Zhang San or Li Si would have carried you and your feathers into the world, just as you said…”
The girl slowly lowered her head, her gaze seeming to penetrate the gourd as if to see the person’s expression inside:
“To walk the world for the gods, and do the gods’ work.”
“Heh heh, think whatever you want!”
He chuckled, and the gourd fell completely silent, seeming to acquiesce to Su Jiu’s statement.
“There are more snake demons nearby. Something must be wrong with that relic.”
Listening to the cryptic conversation between the two, Lin pouted and looked at the riverbank. She conjured two or three ice cones with her fingertips, flicked them forward, and stabbed them towards the shadows in the forest. The cold air instantly turned the raindrops into ice shards.
Immediately after, the sound of flesh being torn apart and the “crunch crunch” of ice sounded abruptly. Lin then reached towards the forest on the opposite bank and clenched her fist. Red light shot out at an extremely high speed.
They were two fire-element beginner magic crystals.
It was clear that creatures above the War General Level had become active.
Just then, Su Jiu’s phone rang urgently. She looked up—it was marked as “Mr. Lin.” She was a little surprised, then swiped to answer.
This was Lin Chujiu. Had something happened at the relic?
“Hello! Classmate Su, where are you now?!” The voice on the other end of the phone was anxious, with the sound of rain and some “static” accompanying it.
“What’s wrong? Is there a problem with the relic?” Su Jiu asked.
“The relic has been opened, but no one can enter. At this time, many people from the Yin-Yang Bureau have appeared, and it’s chaos at the relic…” The voice on the other end was intermittent, with loud noises even audible.
“If you are somewhere else, don’t go back!”
“The relic has been opened?!” Su Jiu’s face revealed unprecedented surprise. She thought “Wei” would wait for her to open the relic, but it was opened earlier than expected?
Now they had provoked people from several major families. Didn’t the Fujiwara family say they would stop them?
“That fellow named Wei wants to cause chaos. Only when there’s chaos will the remnants of their clan of ‘demons’ have a chance to gain benefits.”
She said softly, as Lin continued to slay the monsters on the path on the opposite bank, with an attitude of being accustomed to such tricks.
“The city… there are a large number of flame snakes appearing… the volcano has also begun to stir…”
The other end of the phone quickly turned to “static,” becoming almost inaudible. The sound of rain and electric current completely overwhelmed the communication.
“We’re only a few kilometers away, and there’s no time to use ‘Fusheng.’ We can only do our best to do what we should do.”
Su Jiu lowered her head and glanced at the electronic navigation on her phone, replying softly. As she spoke, she changed into the Crow Feather Attire, which could resist most attacks.
The girl wore a black dress and long coat, with a black feather cape fluttering, exuding a solemn aura.
And her belt was completely filled with “Dream Flower” pros, six in total.
This would be her final guarantee after exhausting her strength.
“Take these bombs and the remaining defensive alchemical accessories. They are for your protection.”
After preparing, Su Jiu gave the other four “Dream Flower” pros from her person to Lin, as well as an alchemical hairpin she was wearing, and handed them over.
“I didn’t expect you to have some conscience.”
Lin didn’t stand on ceremony. After taking the items, she attached the bombs to the black leather belt at her waist, and used the hairpin to lift her long hair on the right side, tying the rest of her hair up in a bun.
Her attire was similar to when she had attacked the border town of Bear of the Snow.
She was going to get serious.
Looking at the approaching peaks ahead, Su Jiu took a deep breath. The enemies she would face might be in two categories – the Kamishiro Family and Wei’s clan of “demons.”
But fortunately, she was in the shadows.
…
Above the relic, figures from two forces confronted each other in the air. The dispersed auras almost condensed the raindrops. Among them, Su Jiu was most familiar with Gen Takumi, and Kamishiro Yuichi, who stood in opposition.
Kamishiro Yuichi waved his purple-red, gold-trimmed sleeves and said with a smile, bowing and cupping his hands, “Lord Takumi, this relic is quite dangerous. Why not let the Yin-Yang Bureau handle it?”
“Heh heh…”
He chuckled twice and looked at the other person directly: “You know very well what that item inside is. If it falls into the wrong hands, it will inevitably cause great chaos.”
He then pointed to the gap below and said faintly, “There are markers at the entrance of the relic. The ancient prohibitions require the bloodline of an ancient Onmyoji or the identity of a ‘Dragon’ to enter. Your Kamishiro Family does not have the bloodline of an ancient Onmyoji, so you have no right to enter.”
“Ancient Onmyoji…”
Kamishiro Yuichi looked down at the partially opened relic below. At the opening of the relic, there was a light blue energy shield formation. His eyes were somewhat somber.
It wasn’t that he couldn’t enter. The “Divine Blood Potion” did contain the bloodline of a “Dragon” descendant, but the side effects were considerable.
He then looked at “Gen Jixiang” on the ground and found her waiting for someone at the entrance. He said with a deep voice, “Are you guys from the Fujiwara family trying to monopolize the relic? I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
“It’s not about monopolizing, but the things inside this relic are very dangerous. It would be best to destroy them if possible.”
Gen Takumi shook his head, remembering the instructions from Wei and his family patriarch.
“Then I hope you will stand with me and wait for government personnel to come and handle it. As for Miss Jixiang, she can explore if she wishes.”
Looking at the other person, Kamishiro Yuichi knew he could only wait for orders from the elder patriarch above…
And the elder patriarch had been waiting all along, waiting for someone to retrieve the artifact that could change the bloodline armor from inside.
The two sides became deadlocked again. The faint external qi emanating from them squeezed the surrounding space, and their momentum in mid-air formed a stalemate.
Most of the students below had already retreated, leaving only some Onmyoji guarding the cordon. After all, the surface of the relic had been thoroughly explored, and they couldn’t go any deeper. Rather than being cannon fodder here, it was better to leave early.
“Where did that Dragon Country woman go?”
Meanwhile, “Gen Jixiang” below also showed signs of impatience. Without the protection of the gourd, she didn’t dare to enter the relic first, so she could only wait foolishly.
Wei intended to use the chaos to enter the relic, not to meekly follow behind after these major powers had woken up…
The former’s action was smart, while the latter’s action was a stroke of genius!
A few more minutes passed. Wei felt that she could only pray in her heart that “Sheqi” could influence human society a bit more.
“We can start now.”
Just as she was worried that Su Jiu would see through the plan, the girl’s clear and cold voice suddenly sounded from behind her, as if carrying a faint smile.
“Su… Jiu?”
Wei turned her head and saw the girl in Crow Feather Attire walking towards her with a gentle smile.
Her gaze lingered on the Crow Feather Attire for a moment, and an uncomfortable feeling welled up in her heart, as if she had encountered something she disliked.
Had she seen this dress somewhere before?
“Of course, it’s me. Can we go in now?” Su Jiu blinked and turned her head towards the blue energy shield, asking with a light smile.
Wei scanned Su Jiu and the other person with her spiritual power again and confirmed that the strongest, Lin, was only at the Demigod Level. Only then did she dispel her doubts. The butterfly fan in her hand appeared, and she covered her mouth, laughing,
“Of course, there’s no problem. With the token, you don’t need the bloodline to enter. Now, only the two of us will be inside…”
She scared herself.
As long as they got inside, how would she handle them? It would be easy!
She nodded lightly, and Su Jiu held Lin’s wrist as they slowly walked towards the gap in the light blue energy shield.
As Su Jiu and Wei brushed past each other, they both revealed a smile. Things were developing in the best direction for each of them.
