Peaceful Everyday Life / Spiritual Energy on Mount Kamikakushi

Hua covered her face with both hands, trying to cool her burning skin with the warmth of her hands, finding the thought of doing so very strange.

"There must be another reason!"

She shouted loudly with her eyes closed, but when she lowered her hands, a slight smile appeared on her face, unbeknownst to her.

My empty stomach was urging me on again.

Hua's previously depleted appetite began to return, and she suddenly felt that she could eat a lot of things.

By the way, could you please give me some recommendation votes? I still have about 30,000 to 40,000 words left, so I can ask Orange Mom for a discount to help with living expenses. I've been writing for several months, and I haven't even received the 648 yuan royalties from the third issue yet. (Tears)

Chapter 168 Harmonious Daily Life

Setting aside her still somewhat complicated emotional issues, Yotsuya Miko's return to school caused quite a stir.

Because of what happened with Hua last time, Yotsuya Miko is known to most people at Nanatsumisaki Academy High School.

Because of her outstanding performance in previous competitions, Yotsuya Miko gained attention from the domestic public as the program aired. Nanatsumisaki Academy High School even promoted Yotsuya Miko extensively, hoping to boost the school's popularity through the popularity brought by Yotsuya Miko.

That's why many students were curious when they learned that this "celebrity" had survived the Kawamori massacre and returned to school.

"Is she Yotsuya Miko?"

"Yes, yes, that fake confession from before."

"A fake confession? I don't think so..."

Such comments echoed throughout the campus, and even though Yotsuya Miko didn't want to hear them, her excellent hearing couldn't prevent her from turning a deaf ear.

Gossip and curiosity are human nature, and this is especially evident in students.

As word spread, her image quickly began to distort. Fortunately, the school wouldn't let these rumors circulate on campus, and within a few days, these busybodies would lose interest and shift the topic to something else.

Just like the government's handling of the Kawamori massacre.

It was unrealistic to suppress such things. As the Kawamori massacre unfolded, a thorough purge was carried out in the Kawamori region. Basically, all the personnel in the local government were replaced. The Kawamori Calligraphy Association was inevitably involved in disputes and was forcibly closed down by the government, which revoked its Calligraphy Association status. As for the former Calligraphy Association, Yamanaka Saigawa, according to the government, he unfortunately died in a terrorist attack.

The only family that didn't suffer too much damage was probably the Tengu Family, led by Kawamori. Under conscious guidance, the Tengu Family's status as the organizer gradually faded, with some even suggesting that the organization was merely nominal. Praise for Amamiya Shinro and Amamiya Xingqiu was also prevalent. Capitalizing on the intense attention drawn by the Kawamori tragedy, the Tengu Family actually enhanced its reputation. Many people who were previously unaware of the Tengu Family gradually recognized their status as a family of calligraphers after learning of their past glory.

Even prominent families in the calligraphy world had to follow public opinion and praise the Tengu Family highly to avoid being accused of jealousy. As a result, the Tengu Family, which had initially shown signs of decline, regained its footing in the calligraphy world and prospered again. Of course, this was also inseparable from the return of Amamiya Xingqiu and his daughter Ten'gu Sanae to the Tengu Family. Although they had neglected their craft for so many years, Amamiya Xingqiu still displayed extremely high skill in calligraphy, and coupled with his daughter's promising but still somewhat immature calligraphy, it was clear to anyone that the Tengu Family had not lost its calligraphic tradition.

Yotsuya Miko wasn't surprised by the return of the Amamiya father and daughter. After discussing the exorcist, the misunderstandings would eventually be resolved. Even if the old man Amamiya didn't intend to forgive Amamiya Xingqiu's past actions, he would still do it for the sake of the little girl. Plus... that Amamiya Shinro.

Yotsuya Miko silently stared at a certain face in the phone report. Through her own little tricks, she finally figured out who was secretly framing her. She had absolutely no need to be in the limelight, yet he had somehow managed to steal the spotlight because of her guaranteed admission to university. Even Divine Gate couldn't handle this kind of situation. After all, she had appeared on a TV show. She didn't have the power to erase the memories of a nation's citizens, so Divine Gate was even less capable of doing so.

The Kawamori massacre continues to unfold, but the focus has shifted entirely from the terrorist attack itself to the inaction of the Kawamori government, the harm caused by the Kawamori Calligraphy Association, and the affairs of the Tengu Family. After the matter of the Gate of the Underworld is further resolved, this incident will gradually lose its influence, at most becoming a major event in history.

"Welcome back, Yotsuya-kun."

The first class back at school was a Japanese literature class taught by a red-haired man. This teacher, Tono Zen, who hadn't appeared for a long time, nodded slightly to Yotsuya Miko and continued his lesson, seemingly completely unconcerned about Yotsuya Miko's situation. He probably had never seen the television program and was unaware of the Kawamori tragedy.

His gaze was calm, and his expression remained as rigid as ever. First, he took attendance, and then the class proceeded as normal.

Only after the professor's Japanese literature class ended did he leisurely walk towards Yotsuya Miko's direction.

"I left your homework in the office while you were away. Come with me to get it."

"Okay, I understand."

Yotsuya Miko stood up and followed him out of the classroom.

"I'm so glad you're alright."

After leaving the classroom, Tono Zen gave her a slight smile before leading the way.

He is indeed a very good teacher.

Yotsuya Miko realized that he should teach normally during class, and only show his concern for her after class when he was out of the students' sight. This action would take her feelings into consideration without disrupting the normal order of the class.

"Although you've fallen behind in your studies, I've spoken with your subject teachers about it, and your homework has been reduced significantly. If you have any questions, come to our office after class to ask us. As for your classmates, I've already spoken to them, so don't worry about them. Please focus on your studies at school."

As he spoke, Tono Zen led her into the office and handed her a stack of assignments and handouts from the table.

"Since you are my student, I also have an obligation to impart knowledge to you, so please don't complain that these assignments cannot be exempted from your studies."

"Yes, I know. Thank you very much, Tono-sensei."

Yotsuya Miko agreed with this statement, looked at Tono Zen in front of her, and changed the subject.

"By the way, how's Mocha?"

Mocha is the name of that kitten, the kitten adopted by Tono Zen. That happened a long time ago, when Tono Zen didn't yet show the vibrant energy he has now.

"Mocha, please wait a moment."

As he spoke, Tono Zen took out his phone and opened the photos inside.

"Although taking care of him was a bit of a headache at first, I'm very grateful for Cong's help; otherwise, I wouldn't have been able to manage on my own. Now, the little guy is very healthy."

The photo shows two childhood friends who are still inseparable: Satoshi, a veterinarian, and Tono Zen, a teacher. Tono Zen is smiling as he cradles a sleeping kitten in his arms, and next to him is Satoshi, who is holding his friend tightly while taking the photo with his other hand.

"Oh, that's wonderful!"

Yotsuya Miko smiled, seemingly pleased to see the healthy little one.

She walked out of the office carrying her homework and handouts, and bumped into a Golden Twin-Tailed Girl at the corner.

"Uh... Miko?"

Yuria struggled to hold her homework, which was much thicker than Yotsuya Miko's; the homework almost completely covered her face.

"Hmm, is this your homework?"

The two tacitly avoided mentioning what had happened before, just as Yotsuya Miko and Tono Zen talked about the kitten Mocha while ignoring the Kawamori tragedy.

Yes, but why is yours so little?

Looking at the homework in Miko's hands, and then at her own, Yuria showed a frustrated expression.

"We were clearly doing that kind of thing!"

"That kind of thing?"

While the two were talking, the orange-haired girl also walked over and naturally noticed the unequal amount of homework they were holding.

"That one?"

Yurikawa Hana asked, but didn't need an answer from either of them. She took some homework from Yuria's hands and did so on her own.

Do you need help?

"... want."

On the surface, the three of them seem to have a normal friendship, right?

Chapter 169 The Spiritual Energy on Kamikakushi Mountain

For now, let's call it Kamikakushi Mountain.

Many unusual things have happened on this mountain, first a mysterious earthquake, then deaths, it just wouldn't stop.

Yotsuya Miko gazed at the Kamikakushi Mountain before her, and indeed sensed spiritual energy within her Spiritual Sense —a very thin spiritual energy.

She had only experienced this sensation in the second time she dreamed of Zhang Qiudao, but the spiritual energy in that dream was far superior to that of Kamikakushi Mountain.

The last time I entered this mountain was during the time of the Mountain God.

That battle, to be honest, was far from satisfactory.

Because things were so chaotic, they ended up going all the way and using the Nightmare Refining Art, creating a powerful creation. And that creation...

Yotsuya Miko silently walked up the mountain, recalling Zhang Qiudao's explanation of this technique.

This is a very strange technique.

What's strange about it is the potential it displays compared to the energy it consumes.

The Nightmare Refining Art does not borrow the power of the Heavenly Demon, but originates from its own power. Even in the Xuanhui Realm, it adheres to the principle of equivalent exchange and does not violate the law of conservation of energy; at most, the difference lies in the efficiency of energy use.

Zhang Qiudao did not calculate the full potential of spiritual energy during his lifetime. Even though he had reached the pinnacle of spiritual energy manipulation, surpassing all living beings in the world, his efficiency in using spiritual energy had not yet reached its limit. Furthermore, he could not calculate the power of spiritual energy by relying on external forces.

However, after comparing the extraterrestrial demons, Zhang Qiudao discovered an alternative way of using spiritual energy from their unique characteristics. The Refining Nightmare Refining Art was a product of this method, and he achieved nothing else besides it.

The Nine Nether Profound Soul Treasure Record contains four unique techniques: the Soul Collision Art, the Nightmare Refining Art, and two other techniques that she cannot currently use.

She hadn't used the Soul Collision Art for a long time. This technique only required a small amount of spiritual energy as a guide, using Spiritual Sense as the primary energy source. Although it could still be used now, the consumption of Spiritual Sense still made it a very early-stage technique. Zhang Qiudao intended it to help newly initiated disciples provide them with destructive power; its ability to be used with just a small amount of spiritual energy was enough to significantly improve the survival rate of low-level Demonic Path cultivators.

As for the righteous cultivators? At this time, they were still cultivating in their sects, and would only leave the mountains after several years of cultivation.

The second technique, the Nightmare Refining Art, was used when dealing with the Mountain God.

Even though Zhang Qiudao didn't say much, Yotsuya Miko now understood its terrifying nature. At the beginning, that creation of the Nightmare Refining Art was able to defeat the Mountain God and enter the world within the gate, and it's still alive and well without having cultivated the Nine Nether Profound Soul Treasure Record. Within the gate's world, there must be many beings like the Xuanming Python, and without the suppression of the Gate of the Underworld, its situation is hundreds of times more difficult than hers.

How did she survive?

Yotsuya Miko had no idea what level "she" had reached. Since "she" entered the Gate of the Underworld, there was only a faint connection left.

Originally, I planned to spend some time consolidating my cultivation and skills after the River Guardian before paying attention to the Gate of the Underworld, but at this time, spiritual energy appeared in the Kamikakushi Mountain.

Did she do it?

Yotsuya Miko couldn't help but think this way, but what benefit would it bring to "her" if she did it?

Zhang Qiudao didn't provide much description of the creation of the Nightmare Refining Art. When he created Nightmare Refining Art, he had already reached the Enlightenment Realm stage. According to him, he wasn't sure what the power of the Nightmare Refining Art he was currently using was. He only simulated it in his mind and deduced the consequences of the Nightmare Refining Art by relying on the Heaven Imprisoning Desire Calculation Scripture.

In other words, this is a technique that has not yet been specifically verified in experiments.

If Zhang Qiudao is correct, then Yotsuya Miko was the first cultivator to use the Nightmare Refining Art.

Having personally performed this technique, she gained insights that Zhang Qiudao had not recorded: the creation of this Nightmare Refining Art was like a second body of hers, with its thoughts and memories modeled after its original owner, only perhaps differing greatly in personality.

It is not a clone, nor is it superior to the main body; rather, it is another self on equal footing. This is why the creations of the Nightmare Refining Art do not harm the caster, but they do not obey the caster's commands. In their eyes, everyone is the same.

In essence, creations are derivatives of the caster's True Spirit. Zhang Qiudao's research on True Spirit is based on the premise that True Spirit cannot be split. However, the connection and derivation of True Spirit do not contradict the principle of splitting, since the True Spirit remains intact with the caster, and creations are merely an extension of the caster. Because of the maintenance of the True Spirit, creations cannot harm or kill the caster, as doing so would be tantamount to destroying their own existence.

Perhaps because he was a demonic cultivator, Zhang Qiudao held a cautious and hostile attitude towards powerful beings that he could not control. Therefore, he was also cautious and wary of the Nightmare Refining Art. He believed that this technique was dangerous, and he only included it in the Nine Nether Profound Soul Treasure Record because it was indeed powerful and peculiar.

Unable to understand what "she" was planning to do, Yotsuya Miko stopped thinking about it. She wasn't as familiar with the Refining Nightmare Refining Art as Zhang Qiudao, an old monster who had lived for two thousand years, and only used it out of necessity.

She gazed at the Ghosts that had gathered again in the mountains before her, using her Spiritual Sense to search for the source of the spiritual energy, but found nothing.

It seems that this spiritual energy appeared out of thin air, without any specific source.

"Eccentric."

That's all Yotsuya Miko can say; she can't find a reliable conclusion.

She planned to go back and study Zhang Qiudao's knowledge again to see if there were any cases related to this phenomenon.

But now...

He made several hand seals, and hundreds or thousands of white lights shot towards the Ghosts covering the mountain, invisible to ordinary people.

Under the vision provided by Spiritual Sense, these white lights struck the Ghosts without exception, annihilating them one by one.

These weak Ghosts don't require much effort; a simple, unrefined spell is enough to completely annihilate them.

"These weak Ghosts are so much better; there's no need to use spells with such severe side effects."

With these thoughts in mind, he cast several more spells, manipulating spiritual energy to gather back the Soul Body that had fallen on the mountain, using them to nourish the Prison Spirit Remnant Soul Clothes and the Heavenly Devil False Body True Understanding.

Although she now has a way to deal with the Soul Devouring Sensation caused by these low-quality Soul Extract, the quality of that kind of Profound Nether Qi is still too low, and using it would be a losing proposition.

After dealing with the Ghosts, he started to feel a headache coming on when he looked at the thin spiritual energy on Kamikakushi Mountain.

Chapter 170 Egoists

If she has the Ten Thousand Thoughts Transforming Demon Array Understanding, or if she doesn't have the ability to set up an array, then it's fine.

"Even the thinnest spiritual energy is poison to modern exorcists, as this high-level energy has an extremely strong assimilative effect."

Logically, higher-level energy should be downgraded in this world. But the problem is that spiritual energy is the lowest form of energy in the Xuanhui Realm, and it can't be downgraded any further.

Not only can it not be degraded, but it also exhibits a strong assimilation ability as the amount of spiritual energy increases. This assimilation involves converting other forms of energy into spiritual energy, and the efficiency of this conversion is directly related to the amount of spiritual energy.

Due to the inherent limitations of the Xuanhui Realm, this was perfectly normal in the eyes of Zhang Qiudao and the others, because the Xuanhui Realm did not have any energy of a lower level than spiritual energy.

But in this world, it seems a bit strange.

Yotsuya Miko frowned, sensing something eerie about this phenomenon. During her earlier battle with the Xuanming Python, her eyes had revealed a strange light, making her realize that the smallest unit of spiritual energy was a point, a tiny particle. She naturally applied the laws of this world to spiritual energy, only now realizing that something was amiss.

"Forget it, I've never been good at physics or cultivation anyway."