Chapter 692: Why is the color different? (3k)
“Hold onto me tight, or I won’t care if you get lost.”
“Hmph, I’m just a child, you know.”
Arriving beside the blue energy shield, Su Jiu instructed Lin, then glanced at the fragmented characters carved into the stone wall. With that, she raised her hand and pressed it against the blue energy shield, causing ripples to spread outwards.
As her fingertips touched the blue energy shield, Su Jiu felt a sense of being scrutinized. After pausing for a few seconds on the gourd, the energy shield seemed like cotton candy, engulfing her entire fingertip.
Without further hesitation, Su Jiu grabbed Lin’s wrist and stepped into it, her figure soon disappearing.
“Boom!”
Just as Wei was about to step in, flames erupted around the blue energy shield. As they burned, the blue energy shield rapidly transformed into a fiery red, seeming to surge towards him, as if wanting to burn him.
“As expected, there are Amaterasu’s hidden measures here too.”
His expression unchanged, Wei sliced open his palm, then crossed through the scorching flames, pressing the wound on his palm against the energy shield and stating faintly, “Open!”
“Chii!”
At this moment, the red color slowly receded. Following Wei’s entry, the last circle of energy ripples spread out, and the blue energy shield returned to its tranquil state…
At this moment, not many people noticed that three figures had already entered the ruins.
Stepping through the blue ripples, Su Jiu felt a momentary disorientation before her feet landed on solid ground. She glanced forward.
To her astonishment, the scene before her resembled an ancient battlefield: a dark sky, a red ground, and the scattered remains of monster beasts everywhere. The only light source was a distant blue pillar of light shooting up into the sky.
“Did you see it? The armor is placed where the light beam is. As long as you put the feather into it, the armor can be completely destroyed.”
As she surveyed the surroundings, Wei’s voice came from behind her. Wearing wooden clogs, he leaned closer with a smile, his words sounding like an NPC guiding a brave warrior in a game.
Glinting at him, Su Jiu asked softly, “Wei, shouldn’t you be repairing the ruins? Didn’t we agree that you’d be responsible for repairing the ruins, and we’d destroy the armor?”
Upon hearing this, Wei shook his head. While walking towards the light pillar, he said earnestly, “Repairing the ruins isn’t urgent. No one can enter from the outside right now, so we’ll have plenty of time to repair it. But destroying the armor is pressing…”
“I see, so now that no one is here, we can just place the feather inside?”
Su Jiu nodded as if she understood, then followed Wei with her hands behind her back, appearing like an innocent maiden, which almost made Lin want to complain.
This cunning fox was feigning ignorance and even acting cute, she was so infuriating!
Along the way, they saw various kinds of bones, both human and monster beast. Some alchemical items even lay on the ground, bringing a hint of joy to Little Foolbird’s face. She glanced at Su Jiu, then deliberately slowed down to secretly pick one up.
No choice, life is hard, the little bird is collecting recyclables.
But as her small hand touched the alchemical item, a “poof!” sound was heard, and the alchemical item instantly turned into a handful of yellow soil, flowing away through her small fingers.
“Ah?”
Lin froze for half a second, her usually serene face flushed and pale. She quickly glanced in Su Jiu’s direction, only to meet a face holding back a smile. Immediately, she hurriedly got up as if nothing had happened.
This is not fair, bros!
Why is it so difficult to even earn a little money?
After a soft “chuckle,” Su Jiu curiously asked Wei, “Is this place the ancient battlefield where the battle took place?”
“Yes and no.”
Wei took out his Butterfly Fan and lightly fanned himself, acting like a storyteller. “This place was moved here and opened up by Izanami using rules. After the great deity was defeated, the place where the battle occurred was filled with immense resentment and malevolent energy. If not properly managed, new ghosts might even emerge…”
“Great deity?” Su Jiu tilted her head and looked at him.
His pupils constricting, Wei realized he had misspoke. It wasn’t time to turn hostile yet, so he quickly explained, “That’s just another name for Yamata no Orochi.”
The light beam wasn’t too far away, and the three of them soon arrived at their destination and stopped. It was then that Su Jiu noticed an armor embedded within the pillar of light and murmured,
“Is this the armor made from Yamata no Orochi’s spine?”
The armor was grayish-white, with spikes protruding from the shoulder guards. A massive spotted python head was on the chest, with intricate inscriptions carved onto it, giving it an eerie feel.
Less than a meter above the armor, a pair of blue scales, resembling those of a Western dragon or a mermaid, were affixed to the pillar of light, appearing mysterious and profound.
Clearly, these were the scales of Izanami mentioned by Inari God.
“We need to remove the scales above first before we can destroy the armor…” Wei’s voice rang out behind her again. Like a village chief NPC, he was always punctual in suggesting the next step.
Su Jiu’s lips twitched, but she didn’t object. Looking up, her eyes narrowed, and she instantly flashed to the front of the light beam, using the Loquat Branch to flick at the scales.
With almost no effort, the scales were pried off with a “snap,” feeling like a cheap hook in a bathroom.
As the scales fell, the pillar of light disappeared from the ancient battlefield with a “zi” sound, and a crimson aura began to emanate from the armor…
Almost simultaneously, Su Jiu and Wei both reached for the scales, but Su Jiu was closer and directly grabbed the scales into her hand. She tilted her head again, looking confused and asked,
“Miss Wei, what are you doing? This is mine…”
Looking at the scales in Su Jiu’s hand, a hint of desire flickered in Wei’s eyes, but it was quickly hidden by a smile. She chuckled, “These scales are actually useless to humans; they only help those of us who are monsters. Miss Su, you see…”
“This is mine,” Su Jiu said seriously, looking at her. This was an important item for Little Foolbird to recover her strength, and this person was trying to trick her.
“Alright, I was just kidding. Consider this part of your reward…”
Seeing the seriousness on Su Jiu’s face, Wei’s lips twitched, and she reluctantly nodded, pointing at the armor and saying, “Miss Su, you can now press the feather onto the armor.”
With that, a smile reappeared on Wei’s face.
Once the feather was completely close to the armor, wouldn’t it be hers then?
Hearing this, Su Jiu turned around and quietly handed the scales to Little Foolbird. As their fingers touched, faint white light circles appeared, and she whispered a telepathic message,
“Little Lin, take it and absorb it directly. Wash away the seals in your body. When we go out later, we’ll have to face many War Gods…”
“Don’t worry, even if you happen to go sideways, I’ll still bring your body out.”
Taking the scales, a flicker of excitement appeared in Lin’s eyes, but she didn’t show it due to Wei’s presence behind them. She calmly replied.
“Heh heh, don’t worry, I’ll definitely live to collect the interest from Little Lin that day…”
Receiving Lin’s assurance, Su Jiu almost stumbled to the ground. She only wanted to grab Lin and give her a good scolding.
Did you hear what she said?
What did she mean by “go sideways,” she’d bring her body out?
“I’ll strangle you, you con artist! You’re going to charge me interest for helping me collect my body…”
Hearing “interest,” Lin glared at Su Jiu, pinched her palm hard, and then went behind to begin using the scales to break the seal.
“Hurry up, before the special gases above completely dissipate.”
Wei, unaware of the private interaction between Su Jiu and Lin, frowned as she watched the smoke rising from the armor and urged them on.
Su Jiu wasted no more time. Enveloping herself in an external qi shield, she walked towards the armor. One step, two steps…
Looking at the mist before her, a solemn expression appeared in her eyes, and she slowly reached out.
The moment her hand touched the mist, the energy shield trembled. Then, as if supramolecular, the mist bypassed the energy shield and moved towards Su Jiu’s hand. She was shocked, “What’s going on?”
Wei watched from behind, her gaze fixed on the gourd at Su Jiu’s waist, and also became tense. She didn’t know if the gourd would save her.
She could only pray, pray that her guess was correct.
Just then, the cherry blossom emblem on Su Jiu’s gourd flickered slightly. An invisible aura surged out, forming a thin layer of pink color outside her Crow Feather Attire, completely blocking the invasion of the mist.
Seeing this, Wei also showed a relieved smile. Her guess was indeed correct. As the daughter of the Great Serpent, Shōtoku’s personal belongings could resist divine sense invasion.
Now, Miss Su, please complete your final task.
Thinking this, a playful expression returned to her eyes, and a cold curve appeared at the corner of her mouth.
“The gourd can resist this mist; perhaps that’s why she was looking for me?”
Seeing that the mist wouldn’t erode her, Su Jiu glanced at Wei behind her, then took out Amaterasu’s tail feather from her pocket and slowly raised her hand, pressing it towards the snake head of the armor.
The moment the red feather touched the snake head, a “crack!” sound suddenly echoed. A highly oppressive air current squeezed outwards from the point of contact, layer upon layer, blowing up the sand all around.
And the strange mist also dissipated completely.
“Heh heh! The Great Deity will be resurrected, so you can be its vessel.”
Before Su Jiu could react, a manic laugh rang out. Wei suddenly flashed beside her, her hand enveloped in external qi, and punched towards her chest.
Having been on guard all along, Su Jiu’s eyes narrowed, and she instantly drew the Loquat Branch from her waist, forcefully blocking the attack. “BAM!” Her hair scattered completely!
The difference in their strength was too great. Su Jiu’s body was sent flying dozens of meters away by the huge force, leaving furrows on the ground like a cart had passed by.
“Top-tier intermediate War God…”
After stabilizing herself, Su Jiu coughed twice and quickly switched to her True Dragon Avatar, then activated the second level of Elegy, but this required time…
With a flicker of thought, she feigned anger and said,
“Miss Wei, what do you mean by this?!”
“What do I mean? Did you think you were a hero?”
Wei responded mockingly, looking at the armor with a touch of madness. She raised both her hands and grabbed at the armor, her gaze scanning it from top to bottom with admiration, her tone particularly smug.
“Let me tell you the truth, I am the [Ghost]. Everything I’ve done is to resurrect the Great Deity…”
Her words stopped abruptly when she saw the snake head. Her eyes went blank as she stared at the red feather, her face even showing a hint of confusion:
“Wait, this… the feather’s color is wrong?”
Why did this aura feel so similar to…
Amaterasu’s?
Looking back at Su Jiu, she saw the maiden with deer antlers and a human body, holding a three-foot green sword, floating gracefully with a slight smile on her face.
