The Start of a New Partnership / Retaliation Against Okita Qianshen

Yotsuya Miko's eyes flickered slightly, but she concealed her joy at acquiring the technique without showing any emotion. Pretending to have just seen the corpses, she began to examine the bodies in front of her.

After observing for nearly ten minutes, he slowly shook his head.

"Although it was well preserved, there was no usable information; it was too late."

She said this regretfully, then paused.

"Now that I have seen the body, I will do as I promised. I will tell you about the reason for what happened on Kamikakushi Mountain."

He spoke as if he had suffered a huge loss, his tone carrying a hint of dissatisfaction.

Chapter 173 The Beginning of a New Cooperation

The deal with Divine Gate was considered closed once he had seen the corpses.

Dealing with the matter on Kamikakushi Mountain was the first negotiation between Yotsuya Miko and Divine Gate, and it was also a way to settle the score regarding the Kawamori Gate of the Underworld. Considering Yotsuya Miko's strength and contributions, she received a forged identity from Divine Gate, which could also be considered genuine, depending on her own wishes, followed by a substantial reward.

The matter concerning the corpse is a separate transaction. In exchange, Yotsuya Miko needs to reveal information about Kamikakushi Mountain, specifically the origin of that resistance to Spiritual Power.

"Spiritual energy exists on Kamikakushi Mountain, a kind of energy that surpasses Spiritual Power. That's what renders Spiritual Power ineffective. That's how those spirits can kill exorcists. Without Spiritual Power, exorcists are no different from ordinary people."

Yotsuya Miko explained everything step by step, showing no intention of playing any tricks. There was nothing to worry about; even if they were informed of the existence of spiritual energy, their current technology wouldn't allow them to utilize or even detect it. The corpses themselves were enough to prove it.

The corpses of those shepherds controlled by Blood Spiritual Qi were one thing, Tong Sheng Yuanhe, whose Blood Spiritual Qi was quite abundant, was not taken seriously. This made her realize the limitations of modern technology and deepen her understanding of the extraordinary powers of this world.

The Spiritual Power is still too weak, and the technology hasn't advanced to the point where it can deal with Ghosts. It's fortunate that the Gate of the Underworld is sealed; otherwise, if even a powerful monster were to emerge from it, this world would be half-dead.

But how could a world devoid of spiritual energy possess the cultivation techniques of the Xuanhui Realm?

Yotsuya Miko couldn't figure out such a question, nor did she intend to. With her current strength, she couldn't trace the origins of the cultivation technique. Compared to this kind of question that had no clues or direction, she was more concerned about the current attitude towards Divine Gate.

Yotsuya Miko had her own ulterior motives in telling Divine Gate about spiritual energy. She was very curious whether this country knew about the existence of spiritual energy, whether it had a technique similar to that of Tong Sheng Yuanhe, and if so, how.

If there really isn't one, that would be a very good thing.

While explaining the nature of spiritual energy, she continued to analyze the cultivation technique in her mind. With the knowledge of the Soul Nourishing Artifact Path Understanding and the Nine Nether Profound Soul Treasure Record, it was not difficult for her to make simple modifications to the technique.

Just as Okita Qishen had grasped the concept of spiritual energy and compiled it into a manuscript, Miko had already altered most of Tong Sheng Yuanhe's original cultivation method, leaving only some core elements and details to be noted.

"However, it's very difficult to cultivate spiritual energy in this world. The spiritual energy on Kamikakushi Mountain is strange, probably due to the Gate of the Underworld. I've already taken steps to deal with this spiritual energy, and I suppose there won't be any other place to cultivate it afterward. The Spiritual Power within you has considerable destructive power against spirits, comparable to spiritual energy, and it's much easier to cultivate than spiritual energy."

She didn't say such things without reason, praising Spiritual Power.

Upon hearing this explanation, Okita Qishen looked at Miko intently, paused for a moment, and then asked a question that concerned him.

"Is the power Miss Yotsuya uses spiritual energy?"

"Yes."

Yotsuya Miko calmly looked at him, answered his question with a half-smile, and wasn't surprised that he had such a question.

"I understand Okita's considerations, but spiritual energy is indeed not something that is easy to cultivate, and its application is not as comprehensive as that of Spiritual Power."

"... Ah, I see."

Okita Qishen before giving Yotsuya Miko an apologetic look, as if he had just remembered something.

"I must have been too busy; I almost forgot about those items. Miss Yotsuya, your things should arrive soon. Why don't you sit and wait a while?"

The negotiations have once again put us in a passive position.

Okita Qishen smiled awkwardly, realizing that he had no choice but to hand over the materials he had originally planned to delay for a few days to Yotsuya Miko.

Yotsuya Miko didn't say they couldn't teach them how to use spiritual energy; what she meant was that spiritual energy wasn't as convenient as Spiritual Power, and since Divine Gate already had Spiritual Power, he didn't need the cultivation method for spiritual energy.

That's blatant nonsense.

He wasn't unaware of the investigation into Yotsuya Miko's whereabouts. A Dragon-class spirit, several Tiger-class Spirit —just the artifacts she crafted, even a novice could unleash immense power, not to mention the terrifying monster at the Gate of the Underworld. And yet Yotsuya Miko still claims spiritual energy is inferior to Spiritual Power? He'd be truly foolish to believe that.

If there's no outward rejection of cultivating spiritual energy, then it means we're open to discussion. Even at great cost, we must reach an agreement.

After taking Yotsuya Miko to the underground conference room, Okita Qishen used an excuse to leave the conference room to deal with the materials that had been held up for a few days according to the instructions from above. It's fair to say that even if they wanted to hold up the materials, they couldn't now.

After nervously consulting with his superiors and processing the materials, Okita Qishen returned to the conference room and Yotsuya Miko in front of him.

"Sorry to keep you waiting, Miss Yotsuya, the items you requested have been delivered."

"Oh, thank you so much."

Yotsuya Miko stood up, her face beaming with joy.

Although she had sensed the existence of those materials with her Spiritual Sense earlier, she hadn't made a sound. Most of those materials were what she needed, but there were also many materials that she didn't need at all. In order to prevent Divine Gate from interpreting her abilities too much because of these materials, she chose materials that were mostly bloodless, and the fake materials were even more legitimate, such as crosses and prayer beads.

With these materials, her strength could steadily increase for a long time, and she could make up for her previous weaknesses by practicing techniques with these materials. It was because of organizations like the Divine Gate that she was able to rethink several new techniques, no longer facing the embarrassing situation of having no materials when choosing techniques.

After all, cultivators are still needed, and with the existence of the Divine Gate, her efficiency in acquiring them is far greater than if she were alone.

Yotsuya Miko outwardly appeared pleased, and her revisions to Tong Sheng Yuanhe and the crude cultivation manual were gradually being completed.

Soon, this revised cultivation technique will become her new bargaining chip in her deal with the Divine Gate, and a chip that is advantageous to her in every way.

Those who are completely unfamiliar with spiritual energy will find it difficult to grasp the details of the cultivation technique.

PS1: As we all know, there are quite a few Demonic Path cultivation techniques that are deceptive. On the surface, they are supposed to strengthen oneself, but in reality, they often turn oneself into a material. Not to mention the things like leaving a backdoor.

PS2: Last night I suddenly checked out some fanfiction about Hedgehog Cat's "Miko," and it cracked me up. Other Miko from the same period have stopped updating. Those that were doing well stopped, while mine, which is doing poorly, is still going strong. I guess I'll just have to make do. I've decided to set myself a small goal: to outlast all of Hedgehog Cat's "Miko" fanfiction. Although the author hasn't finished the outline for this volume, there's still room for writing. From the current Spiritual Sense Manipulation (Foundation Building) to the final Divine Self-Attainment (Enlightenment Realm), there are five more realms to explore, so there's still plenty to write about.

Chapter 174 Revenge on Okita Qishen

After Yotsuya Miko off, Okita Qishen rubbed his head, feeling a troublesome feeling.

Yotsuya Miko had no intention of getting into a fight with him or the Divine Gate behind him, not even the slightest bit.

This troublesome woman simply offered Divine Gate an irresistible benefit, freeing her from Divine Gate's control.

Whether it's handling the affairs of Kamikakushi Mountain, the unique power of Kamikakushi Mountain to resist Spiritual Power, or the use of spiritual energy, these are all conditions that Divine Gate cannot refuse. Faced with these conditions, they cannot consider them too much, lest they miss out on these benefits.

And so, Divine Gate had no choice but to comply with Miko's wishes and offer her his convenience without causing her any trouble.

The identity she needed, the corpses of the shepherds and others she needed, the strange materials she needed— Okita Qishen could only satisfy them one by one, leaving no room for negotiation.

In this situation, Divine Gate couldn't renege on his promise, nor could he test Yotsuya Miko in his own way. Because these transactions were not yet completed, he couldn't afford to lose these benefits by testing her.

"She's pushing me too hard..."

Okita Qishen was troubled by this.

As a member of Divine Gate, he knew very well that the current peaceful state of the deal was only because the benefits offered by Yotsuya Miko were too tempting, and Miko also had the strength to back it up. Once Divine Gate completed the transfer of these benefits, they would quickly go from indulgence to probing, and then to threats, testing Yotsuya Miko's true strength.

Moreover, these guys easily overlook the intimidating presence that Yotsuya Miko exudes, assuming they can control this "human god."

Now that Yotsuya Miko is putting so much pressure on him, once the transfer of benefits is complete, it will soon backfire.

He wasn't worried about Yotsuya Miko suffering a backlash, but rather that Divine Gate had been lured into a trap, giving Divine Gate Yotsuya Miko a pretext to take action against him. From these cooperative gestures, he realized that Yotsuya Miko probably really intended to do just that, and judging from the power Yotsuya Miko had shown so far, it wouldn't be difficult for her to accomplish such a thing.

"At the very least, conventional troops pose no threat to her."

After the riot at Kawamori's Second Gate, Okita Qishen also investigated Yotsuya Miko's battle scene and gained a clear understanding of her physical strength. Unlike exorcists who rely on Spiritual Power, this person can truly be considered a god. Her body can support her high-speed walking, and in terms of physical resistance, they also assessed the formidable strength of that invisible monster from the cracks and fragments on the ground. Despite being struck by such a powerful monster and directly knocked into the ground, Yotsuya Miko only appeared to have suffered minor injuries, which is enough to show how outrageous her physical abilities are.

To deal with such an enemy, Okita Qishen didn't think the country had much of a chance. After all, this wasn't some monster, but a rational person, an educated human who knew how to completely destroy the operating system of an organization or even a country. She didn't need to kill many people; just the most crucial few would be enough to bring the country to its knees.

However...

Okita Qishen exhaled, revealing a bitter smile.

"Do they really believe things won't escalate to the most dangerous point?"

Many extreme situations are assumed to be impossible. People tend to approach things with the most optimistic mindset, even if it's a relatively bad scenario, as if that's the "most extreme" situation.

Okita Qishen didn't think so; he keenly sensed a dangerous aura. The Yotsuya Miko, had never killed anyone, not even when they encountered the cat abuse—which they had investigated—they hadn't killed the man, but instead sought help from the police. But this didn't mean Yotsuya Miko would never kill, nor did it mean Yotsuya Miko trusted the government.

On the contrary, this only proves that Yotsuya Miko is far more cautious in handling matters than ordinary people. And cautious... why would such a cautious person suddenly change her style, gradually pressuring Divine Gate, trying to arouse the pride of those in power?

For those individuals, not choosing to submit was a severe blow to their self-esteem, and coercion was even more infuriating. Their anger wouldn't subside with reason; if one could overcome the prestige and power that came with their position, they wouldn't have climbed to such a level. Only desire fueled their ascent. These people possessed a control urge and a strong sense of self-respect several times greater than ordinary people. Because of this, reason couldn't completely suppress them. Even the slightest probing or threat, if used by Yotsuya Miko as an excuse to escalate the conflict, would have unimaginable consequences.

Horrible...

Only one word could come to mind when Okita Qishen realized the immense pressure he faced due to his current position. Having been the first to contact Yotsuya Miko, he would be playing the role of a mediator for a long time to come. Because of this, both the tasks assigned to him and the threats from Yotsuya Miko would come at him, forcing him to find the best way to avoid conflict. And it would be strange if such a solution could be easily devised.

In such a situation, even if he manages to maintain a balance, he will be anxious and uneasy due to the serious consequences caused by the conflict between the two, and it is hard to say that this was not intentionally done by Yotsuya Miko.

He grinned, remembering Yuria he had sent out earlier.

He had initially wondered why his anger on the train hadn't surfaced because he had used Yuria. Now he realized that it wasn't that it hadn't surfaced, but rather that he had already planned how to retaliate the moment they met.

Yuria was a key pawn he had arranged to deal with Kawamori's affairs. After discovering Yotsuya Miko's existence, he arrogantly began his probing.

He understood Yuria's importance to Yotsuya Miko, which was why he chose to make Yuria a key factor in Yotsuya Miko's intervention in the Kawamori Shepherd issue. He used Yuria as a mediator between the two sides, connecting Yotsuya Miko and Divine Gate and maintaining their information sharing.

He didn't make a mistake in this move. With the information from Yotsuya Miko, Divine Gate and other agencies quickly mobilized to mitigate the impact of the Kawamori Nijimon riot. But in the end, he still used Yuria Yotsuya Miko's concern for Yuria.

His revenge has already begun.

Chapter 175 Cultivation Resources

Having revealed her intention to cultivate spiritual energy, Yotsuya Miko was not particularly surprised by Divine Gate's actions.

Both sides are currently exercising restraint; at least Yotsuya Miko feels she is being quite restrained.

She continued organizing the cultivation technique in her mind, proceeding with its next steps. She planned to hand it over to the Divine Gate so they could cultivate spiritual energy from it.

The modification was not difficult. Yotsuya Miko simply added a function to the original technique: to refine the Life Energy within one's own body into spiritual energy. This function itself changed the subject from plundering the essence of others to plundering oneself, thus greatly reducing the intensity of the plundering.

From Tong Sheng Yuanhe's act of killing exorcists, Yotsuya Miko realized that perhaps the people of this world did not possess innate spiritual energy, but rather other substitutes, such as Spiritual Power or Life Energy. Spiritual Power is a supernatural power that the humans of this world can wield, extracted from Life Energy. Those with spirituality can perceive Spiritual Power from Life Energy. The humans of this world are indeed very different from the humans of the Xuanhui Realm, who do not possess a form of Life Energy.

Although she didn't know exactly why Spiritual Power, spiritual energy, and Life Energy could be transformed, Yotsuya Miko only knew that Life Energy could be transformed into spiritual energy.

"Blood Spiritual Qi..."

She pondered for a moment, realizing that this was spiritual energy cultivated from the original technique, and then decided on a new name for it.

"Since it's about transforming Life Energy, why not call it Life Spiritual Qi?"

The cultivation methods in the Xuanhui Realm are no different. Life Spiritual Qi is still a high-level spiritual energy, used as a container for storing spiritual energy. The storage efficiency is not high, and the efficiency of refining Life Spiritual Qi is also very low. Life Energy is limited, and everyone's Life Energy is different. Only beings with extremely abundant Life Energy, like Yurikawa Hana, can quickly refine Life Spiritual Qi.

As for the others, it's hard to say whether they'll even reach the mid-to-late stages of Qi Refining in their lifetime. But considering the strength of the Ghosts in this world, Qi Refining is already sufficient. The use of Spiritual Power in this world is relatively mature. Because there are no changes in realms, they are better at using it than in the Xuanhui Realm. After all, the Xuanhui Realm has a division of realms from Qi Refining to the Enlightenment Realm. Compared to considering the use of spiritual energy at lower realms, improving one's realm is a more efficient and effective way to increase strength.

Therefore, those who cultivate spiritual energy techniques will experience a significant improvement compared to those who cultivate Spiritual Power, although such an improvement is negligible for Yotsuya Miko.

He renamed the cultivation technique, giving it a plain and unremarkable name: the Life Spiritual Qi Extraction Method. After that, Miko focused his attention on other matters.

Due to the original technique's crudeness, this modified technique can only be cultivated to the late Qi Refining stage. Coupled with the already incredibly slow spiritual energy extraction speed compared to the Xuanhui Realm, this technique would be rated gray, F-level, or perhaps N-level in the game. Adding the backdoors and hidden tricks I've planted within it, it's essentially half-ruined. Even if the Divine Gate wanted to gain anything from this technique, it's highly unlikely.

However, there were other things, such as those materials, that interested Miko more.

With the help of the Divine Gate, she collected materials that she couldn't obtain on her own before. These materials could help her cultivate techniques that she couldn't cultivate before, which greatly helped improve her strength.

However, this world is different from the Xuanhui Realm; basically, most materials are unusable. The jade collected by the Divine Gate, whether expensive high-grade or cheap low-grade, offers no benefit to the Spirit Jade Myriad Transformations Art. The Concealing Breath Technique and the Falcon Spirit Wind Control Incantation are fine, except their effectiveness isn't great. However, the original materials can be replaced to improve their efficiency.

Besides the two originally planned techniques, the remaining resources, combined with the materials she obtained from the Xuanming Python, were used to refine a new technique.

The Xuanming Tribulation Fire.

She could use the flames of the Xuanming Python, drawing upon materials from its body. Following the Soul Splitting Flesh Crushing Nail, this was a powerful new killing technique added by Yotsuya Miko. Moreover, compared to the ominous Soul Splitting Flesh Crushing Nail, the Xuanming Tribulation Fire had no side effects, except for a higher consumption of spiritual energy. Compared to the Soul Splitting Flesh Crushing Nail, this thing was far more pleasant to the eye. While the Xuanming Python possessed a deep blue flame, due to the mysterious and penetrating nature of Profound Nether Qi, it transformed into a purple flame in Yotsuya Miko's hands, causing even deeper damage to the soul Spiritual Sense.

Thus, most of the materials brought by the Divine Gate were used up, even though much of them were useless.

From this perspective Miko couldn't help but feel grateful that he had collected materials from the Xuanming Python. These materials were real and truly useful.

She used the heart of the Xuanming Python to forge the Xuanming Tribulation Fire, and the remaining materials could be used for creation. With the Xuanming Python's reverse scale and eyes, she could upgrade her Prison Spirit Remnant Soul Clothes, transforming it into a true magic robe— the Xuanming Soul Robe, and also forge a well-known Demonic Path Magic Tool —the Banner.

However, now is not the time.

Previously, Yotsuya Miko used inferior materials, requiring little skill. But now, with high-grade materials like the Xuanming Python, she had to proceed with caution to avoid wasting their quality. Refining these items without a high-quality furnace was best achieved by harnessing the power of nature, such as volcanoes and lightning. And this required a specific opportunity.

Taking stock of her gains from this trip to Divine Gate, she could only say that she had gained something, mainly in dealing with her relationship with Divine Gate to avoid involving her family and friends in the future. Of course, if such a thought were to arise, Yotsuya Miko was already prepared.

She patted her shoulder bag and walked briskly towards home, feeling excited about the cultivation technique she was about to practice—she wouldn't cultivate under the watchful eyes of the Divine Gate. She had packed all the materials into her shoulder bag and was processing them with her spiritual energy.

Although Yotsuya Miko didn't have a high-end item like a storage ring, nor did she have the materials to create one, it didn't stop her from using some spells to temporarily change the space inside her shoulder bag.

Such techniques are not difficult to use in the Xuanhui Realm; otherwise, storage rings wouldn't be so common. Of course, Demonic Path cultivators might not have them.

PS1: Added a new patch: Regarding the issue of storing items. To be honest, I suddenly realized that many areas do need patches. I should have set everything up completely in the first place, but that would have been too troublesome.

PS2: The original work has been updated to chapter 41. Although I can't read Japanese, I can roughly understand what happened. The new transfer student is named something like Ichijo, a seemingly normal but actually crazy woman. She has her eye on Miko and has even managed to sneak into Miko's house. If it were a doujinshi, you could fast-forward to the Miko becomes the bottom (laughs).

PS3: Regarding Miko's father and pet, the answer is Demon Slaying Sha God Control, so I can only say that Miko has absolutely no need to worry about her base being raided.

Chapter 176 It's best to win without bloodshed

"Sister, can you watch Creepy with me tonight?"

Yotsuya Miko looked at Kyosuke in front of her, hesitated for a moment, and then slowly nodded.