The Schemes of the Dead / Preparations

A dozen minutes later, the two were walking along the road, heading towards the old man's residence.

"You mean that shrine?... I haven't worked there in ages. That shrine was quite famous back then, but it gradually declined because of the change of route. It's really quite poignant."

The old man gestured, and many old stories about the shrine suddenly came to mind. He felt he could talk about that shrine for a whole day or night.

"When I was working there, I felt that this shrine must have divine power, a warm and comforting power. Look at me now, I'm still in good health, but my kids still don't believe it. They think I'm lying. They tell me not to believe in such things, that it's absurd. Sigh, why don't they know?"

"Gods, I feel there are truly many incredible gods in this world, aren't there? Your shrine must be one of them."

Yotsuya Miko listened to him and said this. She silently noted the strange things the old man said, preparing to check if Zhang Qiudao's knowledge contained any such records. She followed the old man's words, which made him smile.

"Right, girl, you think so too. Of course, there must be gods in this world who protect humankind. It's just a pity—"

As he said this, he suddenly lowered his brows, and the smile on his face gradually faded. (5) Nine Four > * Nine Bar

"The shrine has fallen into disrepair, and fewer and fewer people are going there. My children have no intention of inheriting the shrine and took it upon themselves to remove it from the register. This leaves me, an old man, with no choice but to retire to the countryside."

He sighed, a hint of melancholy on his face.

"I haven't been to the shrine in a long time, and it's been so long since I last visited that I don't remember much about it. Even what I told you, girl, was just my imagination. I'm so sorry, it can't be of much help with your homework."

"That's nonsense."

Yotsuya Miko shook her head; homework was just an excuse she used.

"I'm already content to have had a good chat with you. If you know anything else about the shrine, please let me know."

"I know."

The old man raised his head, narrowed his eyes, and one of the many past events that had surfaced in his mind suddenly jumped out and reminded him.

"Yes, yes, I remember now."

He clapped his hands, happy that the memory had surfaced, finally allowing him to help the girl in front of him.

"I still have a file left by the shrine at home, as well as a few old photos of inscriptions on the stones outside the shrine. I had someone look at them before, but they all shook their heads and couldn't recognize them. I figured they were probably divine writing, so I took pictures of them. The photos are very clear. It's a good thing I took them, otherwise we wouldn't be able to see them now."

"Can't see?"

"Yes, I don't know which day it was, but suddenly there was a heavy rain and a lightning strike, and the stone was gone. Thinking about it now, it's really a strange thing, and I really don't know if my actions offended the gods."

"That's wonderful! Although it's offensive, please let me see those photos!"

Yotsuya Miko put on an expression as if she had received incredible news, though she was also somewhat excited and felt fortunate about the message the old man had given her.

"Of course!"

The old man seemed to enjoy her expression, and his face lit up with a smile as he pointed to the house in front of him.

"That's my home, we've arrived."

He opened the door, took out a small box that had been gathering dust for a long time from the storage room, blew off the dust, wiped it with a slightly damp cloth, and then opened the box.

Inside was only a single file containing information about the shrine's affairs; a stack of photographs was only found on a particular page of the file.

"Here are the photos."

Yotsuya Miko took the photos and flipped through them one by one. There were indeed some characters that she couldn't understand. They were not the script of this country, nor the script of the Xuanhui Realm, but they looked very similar to the script of the Xuanhui Realm.

"From my observation..."

She read them aloud, gradually deducing their meaning using the script of the Xuanhui Realm.

"It's not my opinion, but rather my will... my will, Heaven..."

Although it was still very difficult to identify, after examining each character and repeatedly comparing it with the text of the Xuanhui Realm, she finally understood the general content.

It really was the place where the inner demons were sealed.

Miko had organized the photos, the content of which roughly meant: In a desolate era, ghosts and gods were sealed here, unable to escape due to the power of heaven and earth. Before heaven and earth existed, it had already fallen into slumber. Those who came after sacrificed themselves to create this seal.

This so-called "dead age" quickly reminded Yotsuya Miko of the dark age her mother's friend had mentioned when she was in Kawamori, an era that should have been part of the country's mythology.

It seems that perhaps we need to know more about this dark age.

Yotsuya Miko thought to herself, and handed the neatly arranged photos back to the old man.

"As expected, the characters are incomprehensible, but they really do look like a sophisticated language. No wonder you thought it was divine writing."

"Right? These photos are amazing, aren't they?"

The old man asked proudly, pleased with the girl's demeanor, and suddenly felt much younger.

However, he quickly realized that he was already an old man.

"If these photos are helpful to you, that would be great. This is all I can do, old man. Sigh, in a few years, I guess nobody will know about this shrine anymore."

He sighed deeply, holding little hope for his lifespan.

"Meeting you at a time like this is a stroke of luck for this old man. At least, someone still knows about that shrine."

Yotsuya Miko didn't say much, she just listened silently.

Then, they went back the way they came.

Chapter 263 The Dead's Scheme

Life originates from death. Gods were born from the first extinction, and the gods gave life to humans, enabling them to survive on the earth.

These deities have different names and possess different powers.

Among these deities are benevolent deities, those who are kind to humans, and evil deities.

Beyond the gods, powerful demons emerge from the cracks of the world, treating humanity even more cruelly than evil gods. Even the gods have no choice but to temporarily retreat and wait in silence.

This is how the Dark Ages came about, when demons became powerful and the gods retreated into seclusion.

In the final days of the Dark Ages, humanity's living environment deteriorated, and more and more gods finally realized that they could no longer allow demons to wreak havoc on the world. Thus, the powerful chief god, Huori Jue, forged a Divine Sword with his own blood and entrusted it to the Human King who was about to be born in this era. The other gods also bestowed many blessings upon this Human King ever more powerful.

But this was not enough to defeat the demons. Those powerful demons each ruled their own kingdoms, raising humans as food and livestock.

Then another powerful god, Huiming Qiyue, bestowed upon the Divine Sword the power to seize living souls.

The divine Divine Sword, imbued with countless resentments, finally defeated the most powerful demon of the era, and the age of humanity was ushered in.

After the Dark Ages, gods and demons vanished, never to roam the earth again. Humanity returned to normal historical development, leading to modern society.

Yotsuya Miko browsed through the library's books, putting this thick study of mythological history back on the shelf, gaining some understanding of the events of that dark era.

"The Huori Jue, Huiming Qiyue."

She murmured the names of two gods. In the dark ages, two powerful chief gods appeared, each representing heaven and earth. These two were also the most famous gods in the country. In other accounts, it was the union of these two gods that gave birth to demons. Others say that the Huiming Qiyue unleashed the calamity of demons because of the sins of mankind. After that, it was the persuasion of the Huori Jue and the righteousness of the Human King that moved this god, and thus the calamity of demons never returned.

Various interpretations exist, but these interpretations, when compared, still reflect the functions of the two deities: life and death.

The powerful monsters that appear in the Gate of the Underworld scattered throughout the world are probably the prototypes of demons. After Core Formation and Golden Core realms, these monsters have matured in their consciousness and are no different from humans. As for communication and domestication, it is not impossible.

However... the environment of this world is indeed unsuitable for cultivators and demonic beasts. I wonder if the prototypes of the gods in mythology were cultivators.

She already had some guesses about the world Gate of the Underworld. If nothing unexpected happened, then the world Gate of the Underworld should undoubtedly be the Xuanhui Realm.

Whether it's demonic beasts, cultivation techniques, or even that inner demon, they all entered this world through the Gate of the Underworld, influencing the operation of this world.

More evidence is needed.

I reopened another book on mythology and continued flipping through the myths and legends described within.

If she went directly to Okita Qishen, she could learn more about the dark ages in mythology. However, since she had already been there once, Miko decided to go again some time later. She also had other things to do recently, namely, to refine Magic Treasure for which she had already prepared all the necessary materials.

Xuanming Soul Robe and Xuan Ming Hellfire Banner.

The appearance of the inner demon once again proved that the Prison Spirit Remnant Soul Clothes was no longer sufficient for her current defensive needs and required a thorough upgrade. It was also time to forge a usable Magic Treasure, since her cultivation level would soon begin to advance towards the Golden Core realm.

According to the Nine Nether Profound Soul Treasure Record, the Golden Core realm is the state where the Nascent Soul Stage and the soul peers into the heavens and earth.

The Nine Nether Profound Soul Treasure Record's method of refining the spirit ultimately leads to "divine enlightenment," thus, upon reaching the Golden Core realm, one should detach from the mortal body and transform the soul into a spirit.

Zhang Qiudao had great ambitions in creating this cultivation method. In his vision, entering the realm of "divine enlightenment" was no different from that of Enlightenment Cultivator, and one's lifespan was infinite. As for the next realm, it was to replace the Heavenly Dao with oneself and become Heaven and Earth, immortal and indestructible, existing forever without being subject to reincarnation.

Unfortunately, even after reaching the realm of "divine enlightenment," he did not possess an infinite lifespan; he merely had a lifespan a thousand years longer than that of ordinary Enlightenment Cultivator.

Logically, after devouring the Xuanming Python's Soul Extract and using it to reach the "Divine Influence" stage, which is equivalent to the Core Formation realm, the resources of this world should not be sufficient for her to advance further. However, the reality is quite the opposite.

A strange energy was refining her Profound Nether Qi, and her Spiritual Sense was also benefiting from it, gradually climbing to a higher realm.

The source of this strange energy is the distortion of the Heavenly Devil False Body True Understanding.

The source is not this world, nor is it the energy created out of thin air by the Heavenly Devil False Body True Understanding, but rather—

Yotsuya Miko silently gazed at the sky outside the library window, looking through the firmament at the unchanging universe.

Beyond the illusion of this world lies another world. And beyond that world lies a void of chaos.

Many worlds were conceived in this chaos, from which many wonders were born.

Xuanhui Realm is just one of these worlds. The power of the cultivators has put a strain on the world, thus imposing a lifespan shackle on these powerful cultivators.

Within this chaos, a vast race was born from the chaos itself. They had many names, but to the cultivators of the Xuanhui Realm, they could be called "Extraterrestrial Demons" or "Heavenly Demons."

These celestial demons rely on chaos and can utilize all kinds of energy in heaven and earth, because the source of these energies is nothing more than chaos. The celestial demons are born from chaos and are its children. The world is to them like a fruit tree in their home, from which they can harvest the fruit, which is the [origin] of this world.

Among these celestial demons, those who have seized enough of the source have reached an immeasurable level of power. Even walking in the chaos, they possess the might to destroy a world. However, due to such immense power, they are also unable to move and often fall into a deep slumber.

Zhang Qiudao's Soul Splitting Flesh Crushing Nail are one such technique. Drawing upon the power of these dormant, powerful Heavenly Demons, their power varies depending on the user's cultivation level. The higher the cultivation level, the greater the power the user can unleash, as powerful users are more likely to attract the attention of the Heavenly Demons and acquire their power. For someone at Zhang Qiudao's level, using the Soul Splitting Flesh Crushing Nail to kill Enlightenment Cultivator of the same level is effortless; this is why he has only used it a few times during his Enlightenment Realm Enlightened stage.

Because at his level, he is difficult to ignore. That is why he spread this technique; he hopes that by having others use it, he can reduce his own attention from that celestial demon.

And this transformation, coupled with the gradual improvement in their cultivation level...

"Zhang Qiudao,"

The language of the Xuanhui Realm flowed from her mouth, carrying a sense of bewilderment and confusion.

"What you up to?"

Chapter 264 Things Before Preparation

The school's cultural festival preparations are still in full swing, especially for Yuria's class.

These students were very busy receiving various training sessions on coffee shop service after school. After Yuria's status as a second-generation official was confirmed, regardless of her previous attitude or how unbelievable she seemed, she had become an undeniable figure in the class.

As a result, the group that was originally hostile to her had no choice but to fawn over her, joining the training of service staff and baristas as if they were suffering, for fear that they would suffer the same treatment as those who had bullied Kaishoku Shugaku if they refused to train.

With things having progressed this far, Yuria had nothing more to say. Even if she wanted to refute the rumors, she truly had no way to do so.

Leveraging the authority that came with her position, she gradually changed the students' perception of her by offering them some benefits. Now, she has become the undisputed leader of the class.

This combination of carrot and stick tactics fully demonstrated the political acumen of someone who had served as the deputy head of the Special Affairs Department, deeply impressing Yotsuya Miko.

"As expected of you, you're really amazing."

Eating the bento box in her hand, Yotsuya Miko smiled and looked at Yuria beside her.

"And about the bento boxes, although the taste is still not great, they've reached a level that's perfectly edible."

Over the weekend, Hua kept messaging her, complaining about how difficult it was to cook, along with dozens of photos of all sorts of bizarre foods, which terrified her, making her think that the girl was making poison.

Compared to these bizarre foods, the food in front of them, though not exactly appealing, had lost its eerie quality, which was enough to show how much time Yuria had spent correcting Hua's strange talent for cooking.

"Of course, Hua worked very hard too."

"I would have been pleased if you hadn't said that before praising Yuria."

Hua, standing to the side, opened her extra-large lunchbox and said with a hint of jealousy.

At first, she didn't have high expectations for the food competition, but with Yuria's encouragement, she gradually regained her confidence in cooking, hoping that the food she made would satisfy Yotsuya Miko and taste delicious.

In the end, it still wasn't very good. Although she had tried her best, the bento she made still had many shortcomings.

"Well... I guess it's my fault."

Her expression was relaxed, without the somberness she usually displayed over the weekend; she didn't intend to show this side of herself to the two of them.

"Then, how about I make you a bento box next time?"

She made the suggestion while she was eating.

"Although I haven't really learned how to cook, it's never too late to learn now. Are you looking forward to the lunchbox I'm making?"

He raised his index finger in mid-air, attracting the attention of the other two people eating. They exchanged a glance and readily accepted the decision.

"Then it's settled, Miko, you'll make bento boxes for both of us. Also, remember to make a lot for me, too little won't do."

"Okay, I understand."

Miko nodded, he continued eating this rare lunch.

As rumors about Yuria's identity spread, she and Hua were somewhat affected, though not significantly. As Yuria befriended the students, the two of them gradually became less noticeable, partly due to the magic she possessed.