novelraw Chapter 278-1: Tenmei Grand Shrine, Sinister Nightmare (1)
Chapter 278-1: Tenmei Grand Shrine, Sinister Nightmare (1)
Lin Xun returned to the library, preparing to use the newly obtained Swordsmith shell to craft a legendary weapon tailored for the Greedy Wolf Star Lord.
The Dragon Sword Masamune’s effect only applied to assassin shells. In the hands of a Ninja Master, it could display its full power, but it was unsuitable for the Greedy Wolf Star Lord to wield.
He had obtained ten forging materials from the Imperial Swordsmith, which could finally be put to good use.
However, the custom blueprint he got for free from the Book of Craftsmen showed that with the current materials, the weapon’s quality could only reach Epic+.
If he wanted to elevate the weapon to legendary grade, he needed to replace several low-quality materials in the blueprint with high-quality ones.
Lin Xun checked the prices of the required materials according to the blueprint. The moment he saw them, he immediately gave up on crafting the weapon for now.
“Better wait until I earn some money from crafting commissions before making a weapon for the Greedy Wolf Star Lord…”
—
When Lin Xun entered the game again, it was already noon the next day.
Since his soul strength cap had increased to 4 points, this was the first time he’d run out of revival tokens.Mainly because he had used the Ogiwara Clan Command Banner in the Easter Egg Chapter yesterday, draining his soul strength down to just one point.
Then he summoned the Red Armor army to escort the little yokai out of the city, only to be killed twice in a row by the Great General. In no time, his soul strength was stretched thin.
After reshaping the Greedy Wolf Star Lord’s shell, his soul strength was 2 out of 4, while the shikigami Nurarihyon still hadn’t revived.
When Nurarihyon unleashed his ultimate, True Celestial Demon Form, combined with Lin Xun’s Onmyo forbidden art Filth Purification Rebirth, it was equivalent to consecutively overdrawing his vitality, increasing the revival cost from one point to two points.
It was somewhat similar to the doubled penalty when the Paladin of Discipline shell died mid-ritual. Even so, the soul strength could still be gradually refilled, and after refilling two points, the shikigami could be summoned again.
[…]
[You rise from the High Throne and walk toward the outside of the High Throne Chamber…]
[At this moment, a retainer hurriedly reports to you, claiming that a handwritten decree from the Great General has arrived from Kyoto, ordering you as clan head to dispatch a samurai army to station at Dharma-Aspect Temple and enforce a strict encirclement.]
[If anyone appears out of thin air within Dharma-Aspect Temple, you must spare no cost to capture them alive. After capture, you may sever their limbs to prevent escape and then escort them to the Kyoto Imperial Palace.]
[If successful, the Great General will reward you richly…]
[After delivering the report, the retainer leans in close and whispers that he has received word that Fukoka Castle also received the Great General’s decree, but the encirclement site was an abandoned port.]
[The retainer finishes speaking, then bows low, awaiting your orders…]
[You can faithfully carry out the Great General’s directive, or you can feign compliance by sending only a token force to station there, or you can outright refuse the order.]
[The retainer is your trusted subordinate, and all of Thousand Orchid City is under your control. You can give orders freely without worrying about betrayal or mutiny.]
[But refusing the Great General’s decree is highly likely to draw a suppression army from Kyoto. Please choose carefully!]
Lin Xun frowned slightly, then relaxed his brows.
After his two resurrections and all the repeated teleporting for his bait the dog tactic, the Great General had probably seen through the hidden truth.
Thus, he had issued an order instructing the daimyo to capture him alive and escort him to Kyoto, rather than killing him outright.
Only, the daimyo had long since been replaced by Lin Xun himself, so cheating was simply too easy.
[You issue orders to the retainer, requiring strict execution of the Great General’s decree. Dispatch elite samurai to encircle Dharma-Aspect Temple. Except for yourself, no one is permitted to enter or leave Dharma-Aspect Temple. Any violators will have their limbs severed and be escorted to Kyoto!]
[The retainer accepts the order and departs…]
“I am both the thief and the official; both player and judge… Trying to catch me won’t be so easy.”
Lin Xun controlled the Greedy Wolf Star Lord’s shell, flying by sword to Kyoto.
This time, he decided to rendezvous with the Senior Sister first.
[…]
[Tenmei Grand Shrine is the highest-ranking shrine in Sakura Falls, enshrining a statue of Ancient Heavenly Enma.]
[The shrine is not within the Kyoto city proper but stands atop a sacred mountain called Tenmei Mountain in the outskirts.]
[Even though it is in a remote place, pilgrims ascending Tenmei Mountain to worship Enma were still coming in an endless stream. Compared to the rituals you saw at No-Illusions Shrine, it was even more bustling.]
[Tenmei Mountain was towering and majestic. From the foot of the mountain, you couldn’t even see the summit, as your sight was blocked by the layers of clouds and mist halfway up.]
[All you could see was the winding stone stairway coiling around the mountain, densely lined with dark, towering torii gates, so many that you could not count them.]
[You followed the pilgrims up the steps. Each time you passed beneath a torii gate, you could feel the divine domain’s power grow stronger.]
[If you ascended to the summit and entered the shrine, the divine domain power here would be enhanced to an utterly terrifying degree. Even ordinary clergy possessed a might that mortals could only look up to.]
[You passed through the Thousand Torii Path, spending a long time before finally reaching the mountaintop…]
[Tenmei Grand Shrine was vast and solemn. Its halls were extremely simple in style; aside from the necessary lavish ornaments, even the wood used to build the halls retained its natural color.]
[Although many pilgrims were present, not a single person made noise or discussed anything, leaving behind a stifling, eerie silence.]
[Everyone kept silent, and under the attendants’ guidance, they washed their hands at the Temizuya before they could enter the shrine to offer prayers and worship, as a sign of reverence for the deity.]
[You likewise followed the crowd and completed the entire purification ritual before being allowed into the shrine.]
[You knew that the shrine maidens’ daily work, besides cleaning and wiping down the statues, was performing Kagura dances.]
[Where do you want to go?]
The hellish game popped up a great many options: Kagura Hall, Worship Hall, Offering Hall, Main Hall, and so on.
If Tsukishiro Murasakiyo had successfully joined Tenmei Grand Shrine, she would most likely be in the Kagura Hall.
Lin Xun was currently possessing the shell of the Foreign Mage. As long as he could find Senior Sister, he could advance the follow-up storyline.
[You arrive at the Kagura Hall, where numerous pilgrims are kneeling on the ground, entranced by the shrine maidens’ sacred dance.]
[However, none of the maidens performing the Kagura Dance were Tsukishiro Murasakiyo. Clearly, she was not here.]
[Where do you want to go?]
“If she isn’t in the Kagura Hall, then she must be in the Main Hall, cleaning the statues.”
Lin Xun controlled the shell to circle the entire shrine complex for a look.
Tenmei Grand Shrine, like the No-Illusions Shrine, kept the statue of Ancient Heavenly Enma in the Main Hall. Outside the Main Hall, a Mizugaki had been built, forming an even sturdier and more imposing barrier.
The Main Hall was likewise off-limits to outsiders. Only internal clergy were allowed to enter.
“Damn! Don’t tell me I’ll have to spend Spirit Essence again to break the barrier and get in?”
Last time, although spending Spirit Essence successfully broke the barrier, he was still discovered by Nurarihyon in the end, which was basically a waste of Spirit Essence.
This time, as a committed freeloader, he didn’t want to make the same mistake again… but aside from breaking the barrier, there didn’t seem to be any other way to enter the Main Hall.
Lin Xun thought it over for a while, then suddenly came to his senses.
He smacked his forehead and cursed himself for falling into the same rut without realizing it.
His goal wasn’t to enter the Main Hall, it was to find Senior Sister. A shrine maiden could not possibly live inside the Main Hall, much less sleep on the floor beside the statue. After finishing her work, she would have to return to the shrine’s lodging to rest.
All he had to do was wait outside the Main Hall for Senior Sister to finish her shift, wasn’t that enough?
With this thought, he decided to use the most primitive method, waiting for the rabbit by the tree stump!
[…]
[Standing outside the Main Hall, you idly look around.]
[In the distance, you see two halls built in a peculiar architectural style.]
[The halls within the shrine all had rooftops with straight lines and no curved gabled roofs. The front facades had four massive pillars, with the middle opened into three main entrances, forming the unique Shinmei-zukuri construction.]
[But the rooftops of these two halls, though similar to the rest, had no four massive pillars at the entrance, only a single independent opening, a typical Kiritzuma-zukuri pent-roofed hall of an ordinary shrine.]
[You feel quite puzzled and pull aside a passing attendant to inquire.]
[The attendant glances coldly at you, warning you not to cause a disturbance.]
[Perhaps annoyed that you had disrupted the shrine’s tranquility, the attendant replied in an icy tone: besides the Worship Hall, Offering Hall, and Main Hall, the shrine also contained branch shrines dedicated to other deities.]
[Those two halls with different construction were precisely branch shrines: one was the Sessha Shrine, enshrining three pillar gods subordinate to Enma; the other was the Massha Shrine, where the statues of numerous lesser deities under Enma stood…]
[After answering your question, the attendant departed without another word, remaining cold and indifferent the entire time.]
Lin Xun’s eyes lit up. Even if Tsukishiro Murasakiyo had successfully joined the shrine, as a newly arrived shrine maiden, she likely wouldn’t be assigned to clean the main deity’s statue.
She had formerly served two of the three pillar gods at the No-Illusions Shrine, so it was very likely she was now working in the Sessha Shrine.