Stepping on the Demoness to become the strongest

Central region of Chongying, Niigata Prefecture, Yuki City.

Accompanied by Ichiro Koremune and several Onmyoji, Liu Longtao ventured into the depths of the cave and discovered that the path ahead was submerged in water.

Inside the cave chamber by the shore, there was a man-made large pit.

The pit was filled with a strong scent of blood, as if a near mass of bones had been piled up there. On the ground was an array drawn with secret symbols, the central part of which had been brutally destroyed, as if it had been harshly plowed.

Liu Longtao retrieved his phone and took photos of the site from different angles, intending to send them to Old Yan for a look.

"We have already sent the complete array images and detailed content to the Lu Country." Ichiro Koremune reminded him when he saw Liu taking photos, "This is the ritual site where Shinyori Simie summoned the Orochi."

"Such a vast ritual site, just him alone?" Liu Longtao asked skeptically.

"Just him alone." Ichiro Koremune affirmed, "We confirmed after repeated investigations that at the time, the Prime Minister, the Cabinet, and most of the Congress members were all replaced by his papermen."

"The entire upper echelon replaced by a single Onmyoji, such a claim is too far-fetched." Liu Longtao squinted and said, "It's hard to believe this isn't a scapegoat you devised to evade responsibility."

"We have no reason to lie, sir," Ichiro Koremune said in a deep voice, "We underestimated Shinyori Simie's ambition and madness, as well as the capabilities of an Onmyoji after advancement, but this was not an error due to oversight."

"The first to cross the tribulation and form a core in Lu Country was the Divine General Yan Yu. If he decided to rebel after forming his core, forgive me for saying... Lu Country had no one who could stop his insurrection. We were just unfortunate not to have a patriot like Yan Yu."

Liu Longtao sneered.

The power gap between a Golden Core True Man and a Foundation Establishment cultivator is like a chasm. Thus, when the first Golden Core realm Transcendent appeared, there was no balancing force within the country to oppose it, making it naturally very dangerous, hence...

"Hence, choosing Shinyori Simie as the first to cross the tribulation was an extremely foolish strategic error." Lord Master sharply commented.

Ichiro Koremune had no words to defend.

Choosing Shinyori Simie as the first tribulator was actually due to a lack of options. At the time, Ichiro Koremune was too old, and his talent ranked last among the candidates; Shuzaki Daigo was too closely aligned with the local Yin Yang Bureau factions, thus not favored by the bigwigs of the headquarters.

Although Shinyori Simie was reckless and unrestrained, he was at least from the Shinyori Clan, a person with a noble lineage, and his family backed him, which is why he became the first tribulator heavily supported by the Yin Yang Bureau headquarters.

Looking back now, he had most likely replaced his father with a paperman at that time, which is why the Shinyori family went all out to pave the way for him... This speculation is unprovable now, so it can't be explained to the people of Lu Country.

Liu Longtao looked at the place, thinking there might not be much left to investigate here.

All documentary materials were destroyed by Shinyori Simie, and even the center of the array was destroyed, preventing you from seeing the complete ritual site, thus it's difficult to find any more useful clues.

Hmm?

He suddenly noticed that the Spiritual Energy Concentration around the site was extraordinarily rich, far exceeding the current environment's Spiritual Energy upper limit.

"Is there a Mysterious Realm around here?"

"Yes, it's just below the pond ahead." Ichiro Koremune answered, "It is said that the Heavenly Cloud Sword is hidden within the Mysterious Realm, but the difficulty of capturing it is extremely high, so we all temporarily stay at the entrance of the Mysterious Realm, using its high Spiritual Energy concentration for cultivation."

Just like the Mysterious Realm of Wudang Mountain.

"Take me in for a look." Liu Longtao instructed.

The group waded into the pond and submerged underwater. Lord Master used Divine Sense to scan the surroundings and found that the cave walls were incredibly smooth and rounded, not looking naturally formed, but more like they were penetrated by some gigantic object.

Could it be related to the giant serpent Orochi?

No, the location of a Mysterious Realm's appearance isn't influenced by humans. The greater likelihood is that Shinyori Simie saw the excess spiritual energy from the Mysterious Realm and chose the entrance of this Mysterious Realm as Orochi's initial ritual site.

The group continued diving deeper. The lower they went, the more they could feel a vaguely increasing pressure. It wasn't from water pressure from all sides, but from something sharper and indescribable.

To draw an analogy, it's like having the tip of a blade pressed against your throat, and even if the blade doesn't cut the skin, the psychological impact gives a strong sense of impending doom, as if the throat could be severed at any moment.

No wonder these Onmyoji believe that the Heavenly Cloud Sword is hidden deep within this Mysterious Realm.

Such sharp and terrifying pressure surely isn't something any ordinary Spirit Sword could manifest.

Ichiro Koremune suddenly stopped diving and took out a waterproof writing board, starting to write on it:

Stop here, cannot go further down.

Liu Longtao grabbed the waterproof pen and wrote:

"What if we go further down?"

Ichiro Koremune pondered for a moment, then took out another waterproof pen and wrote two kanji characters in a neat manner:

Divine Concealment.

Liu Longtao hesitated a bit.

In the past, he wouldn't care about such concerns. Young master, I'm the top in the world, even if Yan Yu came, we would be on par. What traps others in the Mysterious Realm, may not trap me.

Unfortunately, during the prior investigation of Chongying, he was inadvertently swallowed by a flesh and blood giant serpent into the Barrier World, unable to free himself and lost contact for a long time, forcing Lu Country to send Yan Yu for rescue.