Chapter 52: Bai Mengqi’s Journey to the Shrine

Bai Mengqi looked up at the tower where Zi Yanran lived, her brows furrowing slightly as she surveyed her surroundings.

“It seems there’s no immediate trouble, but there sure are a lot of little demons in this country,” she muttered, her sharp gaze scanning the area.

On the busy streets, almost every passerby was accompanied by something unclean.

The lowest form of these unclean entities was known as a dead soul.

A dead soul, as the name suggests, is the spirit of a deceased person.

Having only recently left their physical body, these souls are unaware of their own death and continue to act as they did in life, though their actions hold no real meaning. They vanish from the mortal world after seven days.

If they remain beyond that time, they begin to be corrupted by the negative forces of the living world, gradually transforming into malevolent spirits.

In places where yang energy is strong, dead souls are invisible, even to a cultivator like Bai Mengqi. Yet, in Japan, these dead souls roamed freely in the streets, their numbers astonishing her.

What was even more unsettling was that many of these dead souls had already been tainted by resentment, evolving into the lowest form of malevolent spirit: the vengeful ghost.

Vengeful ghosts are diverse in type and appearance. The Shadow Spirit that Bai Mengqi had crushed was a demon born from such a ghost.

“Japan feels like it’s stuck between the realms of the living and the dead. There are just too many of them! Great Immortaless, do you know what’s going on?” Bai Mengqi asked, turning to the Great Immortaless beside her.

As a being from a higher civilization, the Great Immortaless had a clear understanding of these matters.

“I noticed earlier that Japan is quite different from your Xia country. In Xia, people generally do not believe in ghosts and spirits, so their power is weak. But in Japan, the belief in ghosts is strong, and the country is shrouded in a thick veil of yin energy.

This intense yin energy creates a natural underworld, trapping these dead souls and preventing them from easily entering the afterlife. Instead, they are drawn to the negative energy of the living, attaching themselves and feeding on their resentment, growing stronger in the process.

The Great Immortaless’s words caused Bai Mengqi’s brows to furrow even more deeply. A sense of foreboding washed over her.

“So, there must be some very powerful evil spirits in Japan, right?” she asked, her voice laced with uncertainty.

The Great Immortaless seemed to sense something.

“Indeed, I felt a strong presence of resentment from a certain direction not long ago. This evil spirit is at least a B-class entity. If someone were to control it, ordinary psychics would have a hard time detecting it.

Bai Mengqi’s expression grew more serious. She, too, sensed a powerful evil force stirring in the shadows.

“It seems I need to prepare in advance.

Her gaze swept across the area before she moved with blinding speed, racing towards a specific direction in Tokyo.

Her speed was astonishing, like a streak of light cutting through the sky. In no time, she left the bustling city center and entered a small hill within the city.

There stood a bustling shrine, radiating a strong aura of divine energy.

This energy was far more potent than that of the Zixia Temple in their hometown, evoking a sense of awe.

Japan has a sect known as Shinto, similar to but distinct from Xia’s Taoism.

Shinto is a sect steeped in the colors of ghosts and spirits, revering both gods and demons.

This shrine was a place where Shinto followers sought the protection of the gods.

Bai Mengqi came here to borrow some of the gods’ power.

Though she herself feared no evil, Zi Yanran was another story.

Bai Mengqi couldn’t always be by her side to protect her, so seeking the gods’ help was her only option.

Local deities born of local faith have a stronger ability to suppress local evil.

Many ordinary people entered and exited the shrine, their pious hearts seeking the gods’ protection.

Those haunted by dead souls would find them forced to leave upon entering the shrine.

Those who left carried the aura of the gods, keeping the dead souls at bay.

Ghosts aren’t necessarily evil, but vengeful spirits and above are certainly harmful.

Gods, on the other hand, are benevolent, their power directly opposing that of evil spirits.

That’s why Bai Mengqi sought the gods’ help.

She quickly reached the heart of the shrine.

Her keen eyes immediately fell upon a woman radiating a pure white light, dressed in a Miko’s attire.

The woman had the appearance of a Japanese warrior from the Sengoku period, seemingly in her twenties, with a head of lustrous black hair and a delicate, charming face.

Bai Mengqi’s arrival caught her off guard.

The woman’s eyes widened in surprise as she took in Bai Mengqi.

“Are you a celestial being?” she asked in Japanese, her voice tinged with awe.

Though the woman spoke in Japanese, Bai Mengqi’s spiritual perception allowed her to understand the meaning.

“Something like that,” Bai Mengqi replied, nodding. “You are the guardian deity of Tokyo, aren’t you? I need your power to ward off evil.

The woman’s surprise deepened, her curiosity piqued.

“I never thought there were still living celestials! Are you from Zhongzhou?”

By Zhongzhou, she meant the present-day Xia.

Bai Mengqi nodded once more. “Indeed. Your Japanese deities are powerful, but so are your demons—quite the paradox.

The woman sighed deeply. “Aren’t you right about that! I wish I knew when this country’s beliefs started to blur the lines between gods and demons.

Bai Mengqi nodded internally, sensing the chaos and contradiction in this country’s beliefs.

Gods and demons should be distinct, yet here they are often conflated.

This might be one reason for the abundance of demons in this land.

After her sigh, the woman turned to Bai Mengqi with a question.

“But with your power, no evil would dare approach you. Is this for someone else?”

Bai Mengqi nodded. “For the safety of a friend. I can’t always be by her side, so I’m here to borrow some of your power.

The woman understood Bai Mengqi’s intent. She smiled warmly and introduced herself.

“I see. Before we proceed, let me introduce myself. I am Kamiyashiro Chikako, but you can call me Kikyo. Please, follow me.

With that, Kikyo led Bai Mengqi deeper into the shrine.

The surrounding followers watched Bai Mengqi with wonder, though they couldn’t see Kikyo.

Even the local onmyoji couldn’t directly see the gods, but they could communicate with them through other means.

Gods are beings of a higher dimension, one level above earthly beings, making them partial four-dimensional entities.

This allows them to perceive things invisible to ordinary humans and sense forces beyond human capability.