Becoming a Devilish Cultivator's Miko

"Hey, please call Shimizu Tenpu to the office."

"Shepherd, right?"

Okita watched him silently hang up the phone, having a final conversation with the person before this "Shimizu Tenpu" arrived.

"Mr. Sakamoto before you already told me what happened with this person, and I'm very aware of it. But it's precisely because I'm aware that I've been trying hard to persuade this guy to join the Investigation Department."

"Because it's easier for the Investigation Department to search for Shepherds?"

The head of the Special Affairs Department shrugged, not intending to hand over "Shimizu Tenpu" easily.

"You know, people from the Special Affairs Department can also search--"

"The Investigation Department can conduct regional collaborative work with the coordination of local governments, including inspecting whether Divine Gates in a certain area have deteriorated, and conducting encirclement searches for regional forces. Furthermore, due to the nature of the Investigation Department, it is the core leadership of the Divine Gate, possessing special review power over the Special Affairs Department, including position changes within the Special Affairs Department, although these powers require authorization."

Okita said abruptly, looking at the head of the Special Affairs Department before him, then smiling.

"In dealing with the Shepherd matter, I have already invoked this power with those above."

"...I understand."

Looking at the young head of the Investigation Department before him, the slight disdain that had been on the Special Affairs Department head's face disappeared.

"I will return these individuals to your department, but Shimizu Tenpu will have to be persuaded by you yourself."

He watched, a smile also appearing on his face after compromising.

"However, if the Investigation Department finds nothing... I assume these people should be handed over to a more effective department to command, right Minister Okita?"

"If nothing is investigated, then you don't need to worry about it."

Okita glanced at him.

"Deputy Minister One will take over my position, but compared to a kind person like me, he's someone you probably can't afford to mess with."

Hearing this, the head of the Special Affairs Department's expression turned grim again, but his gaze towards Okita now held a degree of apprehension.

"Okita Qishen, what do you intend to do?"

"You'll find out later."

Chapter 90: Unaffiliated Exorcist

"Powerful spirits and weak spirits wander the human world. These non-human entities are divided into three classes: wolves, tigers, and dragons. But it's not just these three classes; above dragons, there are even more bizarre existences, though such beings are rarely seen anymore. In fact, a long time ago, no one would classify spirits like this. Exorcists and Onmyoji alike would simply judge the strength of a spirit based on its form and aura."

Takeda Mie said slowly, looking at Yuria before her. The latter quickly understood the meaning behind her words.

"Who made these artificial classifications of spirits?"

"It was an organization that began to display its powerful capabilities in modern times, the Divine Gate."

"Divine Gate?"

"Yes, an official organization. However, they have internal conflicts, which is why many exorcists like myself haven't joined such an organization and have chosen to remain unaffiliated. The Divine Gate is the fundamental exorcist power in this country, maintaining stability between the human world and spirits. Their people are dealing with disasters caused by spirits and guarding what are called Gates."

"Gates?"

"Yes, it's said that these Gates contain countless powerful monsters. If they were to appear in the human world, the consequences would be unimaginable. However, I've never seen a Gate so far; perhaps they are very rare."

She said with a hint of regret. Many exorcists, like Takeda Mie, who didn't have a direct lineage, relied on their masters for their understanding of "spirits" rather than a complete inheritance. Even among the excellent ones, it was difficult to have a comprehensive understanding of these "spirits" and the world they inhabited without guidance.

"But even if we did see a Gate, exorcists like us would be completely unable to handle it. Perhaps Miko could do it, but with her personality..."

Takeda Mie paused. In her last invitation, Yotsuya Miko had asked her and Rom not to reveal her existence.

"She probably won't get involved in such matters. So, Yuria, it's best you have no dealings with those people."

"Okay."

Yuria agreed. Takeda Mie was about to say something when her gaze fell upon the two people walking towards the fortune-telling shop, and her expression turned grim.

"This is really troubling my old bones," she muttered, encountering the people she least wanted to see.

"Yuria, since you've learned to use Spiritual Power today, you should head home first."

Is it because someone is coming?

Yuria realized the reason for this unusual situation and looked towards the approaching pair. She couldn't see any distinctive markings on them, so she simply followed Takeda Mie's words and quietly left the fortune-telling shop, heading home.

As she walked, she naturally connected the two individuals with the organization Takeda Mie had told her about.

The Divine Gate?

"Downtown Godmother Takeda Mie—that's correct?"

The two people looked at the information on their phones and asked the old woman before them.

"Indeed. What business do two esteemed guests from the Divine Gate have with an old woman like me?"

Without any preamble, they stated their reason for the business in a straightforward manner.

"Recently, the Shepherd forces in the Kawamori area have spread here. Those villains are highly likely to target exorcists outside the Divine Gate. We hope you will pay close attention and take good care of your disciples. These individuals have already committed multiple heinous incidents in the Kawamori area, targeting those who possess Spiritual Power."

"I see. Thank you for the reminder from the Divine Gate, old woman."

"Yes. If you are interested, you can apply to join the Divine Gate, which will save you from being targeted by them."

"We will consider it carefully."

Looking at Takeda Mie, who was calm before them, they knew that no matter what they said, she wouldn't join the Divine Gate, so the two chose to take their leave.

"Well then, we shall take our leave."

"Oh, right – does the Divine Gate know anything about the matter of Kamikakushi Mountain?"

"Kamikakushi Mountain?"

The two, who were about to leave, turned back to look at Takeda Mie. After a moment's thought, they realized they hadn't been asked to keep it a secret, so they spoke casually.

"Regarding Kamikakushi Mountain, the Dragon-class Spirit there has already been eliminated. From now on, no one will be harmed on that mountain again."

From the documents given to them by their superiors, they somewhat understood why the old woman before them was asking about Kamikakushi Mountain, so they didn't find it too strange. After all, the commotion on Kamikakushi Mountain was hard for Exorcists to ignore.

"Ms. Takeda Mie, you can rest assured. Although the deceased are gone, the monster that caused this calamity has also disappeared."

"Mm, I understand. Thank you very much to everyone at the Divine Gate."

As she spoke, she bowed slightly to the two before her. Only when she noticed the awkwardness on their faces did the corners of her lips turn up slightly.

They didn't find out?

She had originally thought that the Divine Gate had sent people to inquire about her whereabouts, suspecting she had gone to eliminate that Mountain God. After all, it was Yotsuya Miko, who was with them, who had ultimately eliminated the Mountain God. If they had already investigated her, then Yotsuya Miko's exposure would only be a matter of time.

However, it seemed that was not the case at all.

"There's no need to thank us. This is part of our duty at the Divine Gate."

"Right... part of your duty."

The two of them certainly knew who had truly killed that "Dragon"-class Spirit. However, telling Takeda Mie that the "Dragon"-class Spirit had been killed was all they could say. To bring up the Silver Ball... even if this information wasn't explicitly forbidden, once their superiors found out they had revealed information about the Silver Ball to an outsider, it wouldn't end well for them.

It was like how they hadn't mentioned the "Gate" on Kamikakushi Mountain either. Within the Divine Gate, there was opposition to leaking too much information to these freelance Exorcists, as no one knew if this information might be exposed to the public. These freelance Exorcists were difficult for them to trust.

"Then, we shall take our leave."

Saying this, without waiting for Takeda Mie to say anything further, the two left without looking back.

The Downtown Godmother, who had initially worn a solemn, grateful expression, then composed her feigned expression and calmly watched the two depart. Only then did she ponder the information the Divine Gate had given her.

"Shepherd?"

Although she knew very little about this organization, it didn't stop her from seeing the Divine Gate's apprehension towards the Shepherd from their attitude in sending people to inquire about the freelance Exorcists like them.

"It seems I need to contact Miko."

Chapter 91: Spirit Jade Myriad Transformations Art

Although her training with Takeda Mie had to be cut short due to the intrusion of outsiders, Yuria felt a sense of joy, like she had found a new toy, as she sensed the Spiritual Power within her body.

After manipulating Spiritual Power for the first time, she walked along the road, repeating her previous actions, constantly familiarizing herself with the reception and emission of Spiritual Power. After dozens of attempts, she looked at her fingertips and revealed a smile akin to pulling two SSRs in the initial ten-pull of a new game.

She was one step closer to becoming a powerful Exorcist.

She thought happily to herself, her cheerful mood overflowing into a soft hum.

In her field of vision, the blurry black figures dissipated wherever she passed. This was the result of the accessory Yotsuya Miko had given her; that small accessory contained immense power.

However, looking at the Spiritual Power in her hand, Yuria knew that soon these non-human entities called "Spirits" would no longer require an accessory to deal with. Instead, she would rely on her own means as an Exorcist. She believed this with all her heart.

Gazing at the dissipating black figures, Yuria walked towards a large building. She casually took out her access card from her pocket, swiped it on the sensor at the main entrance, and calmly entered the building.

The security guards on daytime patrol happened to pass by her, chatting casually.

"Looks like we'll have to work overtime recently. I don't know why."

"Who cares? As long as there's overtime pay, right?"

"That's true."

Yuria thought, seemingly about their complaints regarding overtime, and then dismissed such trivial matters from her mind, gradually moving away from the security guards.

The two grumbling guards pushed open the door and began checking the surveillance cameras installed around the building.

"I heard from someone on the previous shift that they found a suspicious individual around here?"

One of them said, looking at the monitor, as if just remembering something.

"It seems there are a few people who frequently appear in this area, and they were detected by the surveillance cameras. The frequency of their appearances caught the attention of the security department."

"Not from around here?"

"Who knows? They're probably not residents of this building."

"Why so cautious?"

"...If the boss hears you say that, you'll probably have to work overtime for several months straight."

"Well, I'm just saying. I get it, I get it. Rich people value their lives... but their children have it really tough."

He said, with a hint of implication.

"That child... it seems they always go out alone, right?"

"Who knows?"

After a casual chat, they finished checking all the surveillance cameras around the building, ensuring each one was functional, before re-entering the building. Finally, they couldn't help but sigh, remarking how good it must be to be rich.

"I'd have to work for hundreds of years to afford a house like that."

"Mmhmm."

"Can't afford it."

Yotsuya Miko put down her phone and flopped onto the bed, feeling drained.

On the phone screen, which hadn't yet turned off, were listings for jade sales. Staring at the countless zeros, she was reminded once again how expensive cultivating immortality was.

The reason she needed jade was because one of her techniques, the Spirit Jade Myriad Transformations Art, required it as a material. The other techniques, those involving Devils or souls, were manageable; their required materials could be exempted using the penetrating characteristic of Profound Nether Qi. The remaining few were trickier. Some needed jade, others needed the corpses of raptors, and still others required the blood of a hundred beasts, along with items carrying their essence.

Yotsuya Miko had initially thought jade would be the easiest material to acquire. However, after glancing at the prices for high-grade jade, her head started to spin. It was completely beyond her means. As for why she didn't just buy low-grade jade? Because the effectiveness of the technique was also related to the quality of the jade. Cultivators in the Xuanhui Realm who used the Spirit Jade Myriad Transformations Art used precious jades as materials, allowing the technique to incorporate the jade's inherent characteristics. She couldn't find precious jade, so using low-grade jade as a substitute would likely result in poor effects.

Still, it wasn't a huge problem.

Yotsuya Miko glanced at her phone again, then ordered a piece of ordinary, very cheap jade. After that, she got up from the bed.

"Fortunately, the materials for the Spirit Jade Myriad Transformations Art don't require specific types of jade. According to Master Zhang Qiudao's understanding, any piece of jade can be used as a material by simply infusing it with Spiritual Qi. However, doing so would somewhat waste the Spirit Jade Myriad Transformations Art's advantage of being able to accommodate various characteristics."

If other techniques were a combination of fixed characteristics plus Spiritual Qi characteristics, then the Spirit Jade Myriad Transformations Art was the jade's own characteristics plus Spiritual Qi characteristics. If the jade used was of extremely high quality, possessing double or triple characteristics, the resulting combination would be quite wondrous, which was the origin of its name. Due to this characteristic, cultivators in the Xuanhui Realm could choose the jade's characteristics to match their own Spiritual Qi when using the Spirit Jade Myriad Transformations Art. If the jade had no inherent characteristics... it could still be used by simply infusing one's own Spiritual Qi into the jade to imbue it with one's Spiritual Qi characteristics, and then the Spirit Jade Myriad Transformations Art could be cultivated as usual.

Given these features, although the Spirit Jade Myriad Transformations Art was a technique that required materials, the demand for those materials depended entirely on the individual's needs. Furthermore, its effects were better than those of material-less techniques, making it one of the most ideal choices for many cultivators. If it were only like this, this technique would have long been considered top-tier in the Xuanhui Realm. But the reality was... this technique possessed no offensive capabilities whatsoever. To accommodate all sorts of characteristic combinations, its destructive power had been completely abandoned. In other aspects, such as healing, it was inferior to techniques specialized for healing, making it quite mediocre. It had maxed out its adaptability, while its other abilities were practically zero.

Zhang Qiudao originally treated the Spirit Jade Myriad Transformations Art as a peculiar technique created by a predecessor. After all, it was rare to see a technique that had gone so off-course in order to solve the problem of material requirements. The righteous path usually tried to reduce the amount of materials needed, while Devilish Cultivators generally tried to make materials as common as possible, easily obtainable. It wasn't until he, for reasons unknown, practiced this technique using his Profound Nether Qi without any added characteristics that he dared not treat this technique lightly anymore.

As Miko wondered if low-grade jade would affect the use of the Spirit Jade Myriad Transformations Art, she suddenly glanced at her phone. It was a communication.

"Granny Saegusa? This is rather unexpected."

Looking at the name displayed on her phone screen – "Yueyi" – she paused before answering the call.

"Hello? Granny Saegusa, what can I do for you?"

Chapter 92: The New Transfer Student

Another ordinary school day. Yuria, having learned the techniques for using Spiritual Power and begun learning doll-making from Takeda Mie, routinely ignored the deliberate or unintentional ostracization and teasing from her classmates.