<h4>Book 6: Chapter 23: Effect of the Goddess Statue</h4>


    Minamoto no Kenki pulled out the damaged map and looked at it, “Miss Uesugi, the closest mark on this map should be this Oyashirazu, from the marks on the map, it seems this ce was targeted for food. I think this is one of Tanba’s remaining human viges.”


    “Brother Kenki, how far away and how long will it take us to get to this Oyashirazu?” Uesugi Rei dug out the monster’s spirit jade. Though her cursed de’s ability had been sealed, a spirit jade could still allow her to recover some energy. Though killing monsters for their spirit jade was a method, it had significant difficulties.


    However, even though Uesugi Rei was out of breath, she still threw the spirit jade over to Toyama.


    Toyama caught it with one hand, “Miss Uesugi…”


    “It’s a pity crushing the spirit jade will destroy most of the spirit energy. Take this, you’re almostpletely out of spirit energy. If you recover some energy, your wounds should heal faster right? Though your arm can’t regenerate…”


    Toyama gripped the spirit jade, his eyes hesitant, they had all depended upon Uesugi Rei to survive until now, but he had stillined, “Miss uesugi…but are your spirit reserves not in a dangerous state?”


    “I feel I can fight more freely and uninhibitedly with low spirit energy, even my swordsmanship feels much sharper than usual. Is this not a joyful method of practice, ehehe.” A drop of sweat dropped down from her hair, her eyes still somewhat frenzied.


    “Miss Uesugi…” Seeing Rei with her silver hair dangling down, Toyama didn’t know what to say.


    ……


    ……


    Twelve days had passed in a blink and Lily felt the desire for moreprehension time.


    For the past twelve days, Lily had been exploring the origins of spirit energy. She estimated that her techniques would only consume half of the original spirit energy and when defending against an equal leveled attack, her defense would only consume seventy percent of the original energy.


    Though there was no change in strength, hersting power was greatly increased. This was very important to a female samurai like Lily who went on long-distance adventures alone.


    When it was time, the priest and miko approached.


    “Miss Kagami, your allotted time forprehension has ended.” the priest reported.


    “There are two paths down the mountain, one is the road you came on, and the other is towards the inner regions of Izumo Mountain, which path will you take?” the miko asked.


    “Please take me to the road leading to the inner regions of Izumo Mountain.” Lily felt that since she had arrived, she naturally had to try climbing the main peak.


    “Because you have used up your allotted time, we will retain the token.” The miko led Lily around the giant goddess statue, to a narrow, steep, bush covered path. “This is the path down the mountain, please do not worry, there will be no suppression for those descending.”


    Lily saluted, “Thank you for the care.”


    “Think nothing of it, I am only the odd-job miko assigned here. There is no need to be so polite.” This miko rarely got to meet such a tall beautiful maiden like Lily and felt embarrassed.


    “Nn?”


    As she was about to leave, she felt the goddess statue release several unusual fluctuations, as if it was calling her. The rear of the statue had almost no adepts, so there was no interference allowing her to detect this calling.


    Lily lifted her head, looking at that tall goddess statue.


    “Miss, yourprehension time is over, please leave.”


    “Miss?” The miko urged.


    “Ah?” Lily startled, “Ah, sorry…I was somehow distracted.”


    Taking steps immediately, she walked down the steep narrow path towards the inner regions of Izumo Mountain.


    Lily didn’t encounter another person on this path, it seemed that most people climbed the mountain forprehension and enlightenment, but rare was the person who continued into the inner regions of Izumo Mountain.


    Lily continuously thought about what had just happened. It was already miraculous that the goddess statue emitted the origin of spirit energy, yet it could still call her when she was about to leave?


    Before she knew it, the mountain top had already disappeared from sight. The further down she went, the thicker the mist and fog. The shrubs beneath the towering trees seemed to have overgrown and overwhelmed the narrow dpidated path. The surroundings became more and more bleak.


    Eldritch energy began to emerge. Had monsters emerged in this mountainous territory?


    But Lily did not fear monsters, and she was currentlycking animas at that.


    Comparing the distance she had walked to the distance she had walked up, she estimated that she was already ? of the way down the mountain. It was damp and gloomy, the huge trees were covered in moss and vines, the fog, leaves and shrubs covered the road, making it tough to see.


    There was a noise in front of her.


    A three meter tall, six-seven meter long wild boar walked out, blocking the path.


    Although she had seen plenty of monsters, she had never seen such a giant wild boar before. This Izumo mountain had a very weird environment.


    This wild boar had the aura of a mid-level permanence realm.


    “What!?” Lily was startled, even a wild boar was at the permanence level?


    The wild boar turned its giant head revealing tattered fur, rotted bloody muscles, bones and a pair of rotting eyes. Those rotting eyes glowed with a chilling light as they locked onto Lily.


    This boar seemed to be much more ferocious than regr monsters.


    Normal or demonized wild boars were not carnivores, but their actions werepletely unpredictable.


    Eyeing Lily, it pawed the ground, and suddenly charged.


    The wild boar let out a chilling strange howl, it was like a moving hill, smashing apart trees and rocks with a pair ofrge gleaming tusks.


    Lily neither hid nor ran, she faced the boar with Yasutsuna in hand, covered in crimson resentment.


    Lily stood in a middle-level posture, her de tip slowly sinking. In response, the wild boar lowered its head and led with its tusks.


    “Crash——!!!”


    Lily’s de was beyond heavy, a crimson de light struck the wild boar’s head diagonally sending it skidding sideways like a speeding carriage with a ruined wheel.


    “Crash——!” It crashed into the forest trees before rolling a hundred meters away, twitching helplessly on the ground before dying.


    Lily collected the spirit jade and anima and discovered that anima now recovered twice as much spirit energy than before.


    She had really benefited from deepening her understanding of spirit energy.


    The closer she got to the bottom of the mountain, the stronger the eldritch energy was. She had also been attacked several times by monsters, but most of them were not demons or ghosts, but demonized animals, for example, that wild boar, she felt it had to be several hundred years old.


    The spirit energy density of the inner regions of Izumo could not bepared to the outside world, it was at least a dozen times denser. It was no wonder that the animals could grow and demonize so big and strong.


    Finally reaching the foot of the mountain, she saw an ancient peculiarly shaped tree covering the skies, and the fog in the area was filled with endless life force, yet it had the faint feeling of rot.


    Walking forward, she discovered a huge demon monk sitting in front of the tree.


    This demon monk was very muscr andpletely blue, even sitting, he was around three meters tall. He had a pair of small golden eyes on his ugly face and two fangs sticking out of his big mouth. He sat cross legged on the side of the road with a string of big buddhist prayer beads around his neck, a machete hanging on his waist and a huge heavy staff beside him.


    This demonic monk emanated the might of a middlete stage throned sovereign.


    Lily felt that this unknown demonic monk was no weaker than Yaiba. Such a demon was dressed as a mountain ascetic hermit and for some reason, sitting beside the road. It felt as if he had been sitting for a while.


    Within this Izumo Mountain, spiritual energy was dense and rich. Her spiritual probe could only reach a distance of a few kilometers, but given that all sorts of mysterious and powerful monsters resided within the mountains, she dared not recklessly use spirit probe much. As long as she suppressed her presence, others would not be able to detect her easily.


    But the disadvantage was, if you met your opponent on a narrow road, it was difficult to avoid.


    Only, such a powerful demonic monk appeared here with an unknown motive, he might not be her enemy but she had deliberately appeared on Izumo mountain to attract the Fujiwara’s attention. It was impossible to send people up the mountain, but sending ambushers at the base of the mountain was still possible.


    But if this was one of the Fujiwara’s plots, could they really dispatch such a powerful demon?


    And he sat openly beside the road? Perhaps this was just a chance encounter?


    At this time, Lily had only recovered a third of her violet lunar energy and didn’t want to fight such a powerful enemy.


    Maintaining a high degree of wariness, she acted as if nothing had happened and walked past thinking, “I was still careless, I should have been using the Sakura Parasol. At this distance, he should’ve already discovered me. If he doesn’t act, I won’t attack.”


    Just like that, she slowly walked this not long but not short hundred meters. It was quite unusual for a little miss to walk past a muscr terrifying demonic monk unaffected.


    When she walked within a few meters of the huge demonic monk, he spoke up, “Are you Kagami Lily?”


    Stopping her steps, her heart sighed in understanding, it seemed she had been hoping for a stroke of luck, but what was toe, hade.