Watatsumi Island, Sangonomiya.
With Li Qiuzhi there, they naturally had no need to take a carriage or anything of the sort for a slow journey back from Inazuma City. He unfolded his Imaginary World and brought Kokomi and the shrine maidens back in no time.
"It's still early. Let's not delay-we should go take a look at Enkanomiya now."
Li Qiuzhi spoke to Sangonomiya Kokomi.
According to Kokomi, Watatsumi Island's "holy soilification" happened because the "spirit" within the island's ley lines flowed down into Enkanomiya.
If left alone, Watatsumi Island's land would become a lifeless white desert in just a few hundred years.
That was why, every few centuries, they needed to enter Enkanomiya and retrieve a Coral Branch left by Watatsumi Omikami to suppress the "Vishap Herd" there.
Then, by holding the Watatsumi Goryou Ritual with the Coral Branch, they could return the "spirit" that had sunk into Enkanomiya.
The objective was simple: all they really needed to do was retrieve a Coral Branch from Enkanomiya.
But there were a few things they had to watch out for.
First, entering Enkanomiya required undoing the barrier that severed its connection to the surface, and there were quite a few monsters inside.
If large numbers of monsters escaped into Sangonomiya once the barrier was lifted, it would be a considerable disaster for all of Watatsumi Island.
Then there were the Coral Branches used for the Goryou Ritual, which suppressed the "Vishap Herd." Although there had been plenty of them, one had been taken every few centuries for thousands of years, so quite a few had already been removed.
That meant the power suppressing the "Vishap Herd" weakened a little every few centuries.
No one could guarantee that removing a Coral Branch this time would not weaken that power to the point