An Invitation from Meishouin / The Inevitable Price

"Alright, hurry up and eat."

While they were talking, Hua had already shoveled down several mouthfuls of rice, eating with a satisfied expression. Yuria, standing beside him, also started eating again, savoring the delicious food.

After removing the excess salt, the natural flavors of the food were revealed. Each dish was prepared with meticulous care, perfectly matching the recipe. It was as if the prototypes of those dishes in the recipes were exactly what Yotsuya Miko was making right now. It has to be said, this is so Miko.

Only...

Yuria, while eating her food, glanced at Yotsuya Miko beside her. For some reason, she sensed that Miko seemed a little down. Was she upset because her bento box attempt failed? Perhaps. After all, it's understandable that someone as perfect as her would make a mistake and be upset, right?

"Tasty!"

Eating her delicious lunchbox, even the generous portion made for Hua, still didn't fill her up. Watching Miko leisurely eating her lunchbox beside her, she packed up her own and set her sights on Miko.

"Miko, ah--"

She called softly, closing her eyes and opening her mouth, her meaning clear: she hoped that Miko would give her a piece of the bento box in his hand.

"Um?"

Slightly raising her head, looking at Hua who was waiting to be fed, Yotsuya Miko paused for a moment with her chopsticks.

She silently cast a spell on the food before feeding it to Hua.

"I can't even get enough to eat myself, Hua."

"Mmm, I'll just have this one bite."

Hua squinted as she slowly chewed the food in her mouth. It wasn't that she was craving the bento box in Miko's hand, but rather that she was craving the food that Miko had personally fed her. This feeling was a little like that of lovers.

"By the way, Yuria, do you want to give it a try?"

"Huh? Me?"

Yuria, who was watching the scene unfold, quickly realized Hua's purpose. However, looking at her unfinished lunchbox, she felt ashamed and could only watch enviously.

Envious, her mind began to race with many fantasies. But before these fantasies could satisfy her, Hua's shout brought her back to reality, even causing her some panic at being seen through in her delusions.

"Well, let's just forget about it then?"

She has a reserved nature, an introverted personality cultivated by her upbringing. For example, confessing to Miko last time took all her courage, and she only dared to try after being encouraged by her rival.

Hua understood her thoughts back then; otherwise, given her personality, she probably wouldn't have said it by the end, which ultimately caused a lot of people to feel a pang of regret.

"Actually, you want to give it a try, right?"

Hua wasn't going to let this opportunity to tease Yuria slip by. She still harbored some resentment towards this guy who had jumped in halfway through her relationship with Miko.

"Otherwise, I might get a point, okay?"

"..."

Yuria pretended not to hear and continued eating her bento, but her eyes kept glancing at Miko beside her. She couldn't say it, but she really wanted it.

Her attitude made Hua's smile widen, so she moved even closer to Yotsuya Miko.

"Miko, I still want to..."

"... You know she's easily embarrassed, right?"

Yotsuya Miko said irritably, placing a piece of meat in front of Yuria.

"Last time Yuria spent so much time teaching you how to cook, and this is how you treat her?"

As he said this, he looked at Yuria with a completely different attitude.

"Here, eat up. But this is all I have left. I need to eat more, and I don't have time to play these games with you two."

Yuria simply gave a soft "hmm," took a bite of the food on her chopsticks, and began to eat with her head down.

Perhaps it was just psychological, but she felt that the food on the chopsticks was much more delicious than her own bento box, so much so that she didn't want to swallow it and just wanted to slowly chew and savor the deliciousness.

In this state, she completely forgot about the strange behavior of Yotsuya Miko; nothing remained in her mind.

"Hmph, you stingy person."

"Stingy? This is already more than enough for you, isn't it?"

"I don't care, I just want your share!"

"... Are you a child?"

Yotsuya Miko sighed rather helplessly, but she didn't dislike Hana's little tantrums.

Rather, it was this little temper tantrum that actually made her feel a bit better.

She ate the food from her own bento box, which was different from what Yuria and Hua had received.

She didn't use any magic to remove the excess salt from this batch.

Chapter 271 The Invitation from Meishouin

A few days later, Yotsuya Miko visited Okita Qishen again. During this time, her understanding of the dark era deepened considerably, but much of the information was fragmented and incomplete, requiring considerable effort to supplement and refine.

She didn't urgently seek information about the Dark Ages from Okita Qishen because she had something to deal with during this period.

Alienation.

Her sense of taste had become disordered—no, it should be said that it had undergone a transformation. This transformation had occurred quietly, manifesting itself in her without her even noticing; she wouldn't have realized it if it weren't for making bento boxes.

Her perception of taste shifted in an instant without her knowledge, just like her previous neglect of the shrine; it was clearly the power of the Heavenly Demon at work.

So she spent these days sorting out the changes in her body, including her already altered heart, limbs, and newly discovered tongue, as well as her liver and hair.

Such alienation seems to arise without reason, randomly, and without any discernible pattern. But there is no doubt that it will ultimately lead to complete alienation, and the current alienation is only superficial.

The looming crisis of alienation is stimulating Yotsuya Miko's nerves, making her realize once again that she doesn't have enough time.

However, at least before she is completely transformed, she still has many things to accomplish.

Stepping into the Divine Gate branch once again, looking at Okita Qishen before her, Miko directly and decisively stated her demands.

"Commander-in-Chief Okita, I need detailed information about the dark ages."

"... Data from the dark ages?"

Upon hearing this request, Okita Qishen fell silent for a moment.

"The materials from the Dark Ages, within the Divine Gate, only contain information about Divine Gate itself, specifically about its origins and the Gate of the Underworld Divine Gate. This information is unlikely to meet Lord Yotsuya's requirements."

As he said this, he realized that now was a good time.

"However, there might be a family that can meet Your Excellency's requirements. As far as I know, that family has existed for a thousand years and their preservation of ancient books is probably very thorough. Moreover, they are also willing to communicate with Your Excellency."

"A family with a thousand-year history?"

Upon hearing these words, Yotsuya Miko was slightly taken aback. She quickly realized what these words meant: that family had come from the dark ages to the modern era.

"Could you help me contact someone from this family? And what is their family name?"

"Meishouin,"

Okita Qishen spoke,

"The truly extraordinary families in this country are forces independent of the government. They are among the founders of Divine Gate, but they rarely interfere in Divine Gate's affairs and are not concerned with what happens in the political arena."

"That's quite a peculiar family."

Yotsuya Miko remained noncommittal, simply picking up her teacup in silence.

"If they don't mind, I'm ready to go to the location of the Meishouin at any time. Today, I'd like to ask Chief Commander Okita to explain things clearly to the Meishouin family. All I need is information about the Dark Ages, nothing more."

Her concern for the Dark Ages was key to understanding the connection between this world and the Xuanhui Realm, and also an important clue to figuring out the true nature of the Gate of the Underworld. Therefore, it was best to resolve this issue as soon as possible.

After drinking the tea, only a faint taste remained on the tip of the tongue, removing most of the bitterness.

"Then, see you later."

After putting down her teacup, which was now empty except for tea leaves, Yotsuya Miko stood up and prepared to leave.

After the last incident, her attitude towards Divine Gate changed. The cooperation that was supposed to be reached fell apart. If this was the case with the Wagen Family, then what about Divine Gate? She also realized that she didn't need to put on a good attitude to use these organizations. In the face of strength, many things could be resolved.

"Please take care."

Okita Qishen to see him off, then immediately made a phone call to begin contacting the Meishouin.

After stopping overthinking, his life became easier. He felt content with talking to Yotsuya Miko right now.

After informing Meishouin's situation with Yotsuya Miko, this god-like figure would probably never appear in his sight again. After all, Meishouin's strength and status were far superior to his own as a mere chief. What Yotsuya could do, Meishouin could do as well, and what Yotsuya couldn't do, Meishouin could do as well.

As for him? He might as well continue living his own life; after all, being a chief of staff isn't a bad life.

"It would be better to say this way."

He muttered to himself, his serious expression from when he was in front of Yotsuya Miko completely gone.

When I walked out of the conference room and sat down in my office, I was completely paralyzed.

"I wonder how Oune Tatsu is doing now? After pushing this important figure to the bigwigs at Meishouin, things are finally at peace on my end, and the tasks ahead are much simpler. Although the reforms are still progressing with difficulty, we can already see a way out."

He took a sip of the coffee on the table and picked up a document to look at.

The documents on these pages still couldn't be finished being reviewed, but Okita Qishen no longer cared; after all, it wouldn't matter if the reviews were delayed a little.

He has finally emerged from immense pressure and realized that he is indeed a nobody, which has brought him a greater sense of balance. At least he has fewer problems and less trouble.

"Perhaps the difficulties faced by such important figures are beyond my imagination."

Contact with the Meishouin family went smoothly. After making a phone call, the itinerary was finalized, with the head of the Meishouin family personally going to greet Yotsuya Miko.

To be precise, we are waiting for Yotsuya Miko's arrival.

Compared to One Iu, this family head possessed far greater courage; at least he wasn't intimidated by Yotsuya Miko's strength to the point of doing anything foolish. Of course, before that heavy rain, very few people actually thought One Iu's actions were foolish.

After all, the assassination attempt against Yotsuya Miko was taken very seriously. The subsequent investigation revealed that, in order to completely kill Yotsuya Miko and her family and friends, One Iu contacted numerous forces to launch a massive assassination attempt that is extremely rare even now. The number of assassins targeting Yotsuya Miko and her son, Yurikawa Hana, and Futamido Yuria exceeded one hundred. As for Yotsuya Miko, several thousand troops and heavy weapons were dispatched, and a considerable amount of high explosives were even planted under the villa where Yotsuya Miko was received.

Although, it ultimately failed.

Chapter 272 The Price of Fate

"The Meishouin family?"

Back home, Yotsuya Miko found it strange that Okita Qishen had mentioned her family, and she quickly realized what was so strange about it.

The surname Meishouin is quite peculiar.

Surnames in this country are mainly divided into two types: those that have existed since ancient times and those that were created by later laws. The latter, known as the "Miao Zi Bi Cheng Ling" (a legal code requiring specific surnames), has led to a wide variety of unusual surnames. As for the former, these surnames all carry some mythological elements.

Meishouin is the former, and it is a surname bestowed upon her by the most famous chief god of the Dark Ages Huiming Qiyue. After the Dark Ages, gods and demons went into seclusion, and the human race flourished. Although the gods were no longer there, many people walked the world as their agents, and these people were given surnames by the gods. Among them, Huori Jue gave Gen Yoshi, while Huiming Qiyue gave her Meishouin, or according to some accounts, Sesshōin.

The name Sesshōin is more commonly used than Meishouin, probably because the surname Meishouin is rather strange.

"So, the Meishouin family has a deep connection with the legendary god Huiming Qiyue?"

Yotsuya Miko narrowed her eyes, showing great interest in the Meishouin family.

She assumed that these two main gods of the Dark Ages were powerful cultivators, just as she could now cause nationwide torrential rain. It wouldn't be difficult for a Golden Core cultivator to do the same thing as a god.

The Xuanhui Realm had no concept of gods. Even Zhang Qiudao's "immortality of gods" in the Nine Nether Profound Soul Treasure Record was merely "a clear and bright soul that is immortal," where "god" was used separately. They had no impression of the divine path, only a simple concept of heaven and earth, with heaven being the greatest.

The reason for this is that there has never been an immortal being in the Xuanhui Realm, nor has there ever been anyone who possessed the power of heaven and earth. Even someone as knowledgeable as Zhang Qiudao only understood the concept of gods from the memories of the Heavenly Demons, and regarded the so-called "gods" as insects that stole the power of heaven and earth, since the power of heaven and earth in the Xuanhui Realm was entirely in the hands of the Heavenly Dao.

The concept of insects and creatures is considered an external force in relation to the power of heaven and earth. In Zhang Qiudao's view, the power of heaven and earth and Magic Treasure are no different from external forces. Although they have various benefits, they can be taken away and intercepted, and ultimately they are not a great power that belongs to oneself.

What is oneself? Zhang Qiudao's understanding is that it is power that belongs entirely to oneself, like the authority of heaven and earth. If someone could forcibly seize this authority from the world, it could be considered one's own great power. But this is obviously impossible. Just as the wind, rain, thunder, and lightning of heaven and earth are effective only within the world, once they are separated from the world that holds the authority, this authority becomes completely ineffective.

Therefore, in Zhang Qiudao's view, the cultivation techniques practiced by cultivators in the Xuanhui Realm were also external forces, relying entirely on the spiritual energy of the Xuanhui Realm to be effective. Once the spiritual energy was lost, they became completely useless. However, this was still better than the authority over the world, since spiritual energy was merely a higher form of energy. If one learned the ability to convert energy, it could still be used in other worlds. Just like the Life Spiritual Qi Extraction Method compiled by Yotsuya Miko, and its original form, which could be used by borrowing Life Energy.

Thus, he created the Three Techniques Nine Nether Profound Soul Treasure Record, the White Bone Spirit Transformation True Method, and the Crimson Marrow Sea Absorption Heart Method. These three techniques correspond to the three categories of soul, bone, and blood, seeking energy from these three substances. He believed that these three categories were the essence of humanity, and therefore could be used universally across all realms, making them his own great power. Among these three techniques, the Nine Nether Profound Soul Treasure Record was the foremost, because the soul directly points to the True Spirit, since a world inevitably gives birth to the True Spirit of its inhabitants.

It's just that Zhang Qiudao didn't have much knowledge of mechanical things, otherwise he wouldn't have been so fixated on these three cultivation techniques, thinking that all living beings in the myriad worlds were nothing but flesh and blood, and even those without flesh and blood had True Spirit.

If he had ever encountered a demon who had witnessed mechanical intelligence, his cultivation techniques might not be limited to just these three. No... it's more accurate to say that whether highly conscious mechanical intelligence truly possesses True Spirit is another matter entirely.

Despite his deep contempt for the gods, Zhang Qiudao's actions were ironic. He created the Nine Nether Profound Soul Treasure Record, his ultimate goal being to use it to steal the power of heaven and earth, and ultimately replace the Heavenly Dao. He believed that after the Enlightenment Realm, one should replace the Dao and become the Dao itself, that is, "Merge with the Dao." However, since the Heavenly Dao was already formed, it was impossible to merge with it. Therefore, he resorted to the next best thing: first, he wanted to achieve immortality to steal the power of heaven and earth, and then gradually devour the Heavenly Dao.

However, he ultimately succumbed to death and failed to achieve his goal.

"But even a centipede, though dead, does not fall down; its tricks are endless."

Shaking his head, Yotsuya Miko felt only regret over Zhang Qiudao's death, regretting that the Heavenly Dao of the Xuanhui Realm had not completely eradicated him.

She is no longer a newcomer to the cultivation world, and her understanding of demonic cultivators has deepened considerably. She knows that Zhang Qiudao must have done something to her to bring about this result.

The Nine Nether Profound Soul Treasure Record is fine, and the Heavenly Devil False Body True Understanding is also fine, but the combination of the two is problematic. However, her knowledge all comes from Zhang Qiudao, and she has no idea what this Myriad Transformation Devil Venerable has actually done.

The only thing she can confirm now is that she has caught the attention of a powerful demon, and the mutation on her body is the work of this demon.