Hunting God Era

Chapter 226 Eternal Life
The Amaterasu Grand Shrine was far more magnificent than any building Li Ye had ever seen in Japan.

Neither the Shimazu family's castle tower nor the Chosokabe family's pirate-fortress-like buildings were as magnificent as this place.

It is constructed entirely of a pale golden stone imbued with spiritual charm, and seems to glow in the sunlight. The massive torii gates are layered upon each other, from the outside in, like a staircase leading to a divine kingdom.

It's a great place that perfectly embodies the characteristics of Japan.

But it is also because he fits the character that the burning heat that penetrates to the bone and makes one's soul feel restless is constantly being transmitted.

"A strange, unpleasant fragrance."

Erica sniffed the air and showed a look of disgust.

In her senses, the closer she got to the place, the stronger the fragrance became in the air.

It smells like sandalwood, but the aroma is so strong it's almost viscous, so it smells more like something being slowly roasted and burnt.

She looked up and saw that the shrine seemed to be surrounded by an invisible barrier, with countless people inside. The fragrance seemed to be collected from people and then spread out of the shrine.

"Leaves a pleasant aftertaste."

Li Ye joked, "This place is like a giant opening. After you finish eating, there will be some fragrance left, but if you eat too much, the fragrance will become too strong."

In Li Ye's view, the area shrouded in the light seemed to have a faint but pure life essence constantly being drawn away or devoured by invisible tentacles, then flowing into the depths of the radiant building, nourishing what was hidden within.

It wasn't much different from the early days of the Shimazu clan; in fact, it could be said that all the powerful clans in Japan were playing this game.

Ordinary people are used as firewood, while those with a little talent are upgraded from firewood to food, and can be eaten. Only the lucky ones can become their servants, acting as their accomplices and drinking some meat soup.

Like in the Western world, only the top of the pyramid is above ground; the rest is buried underground, shrouded in darkness.

"coming."

Erica looked up at the steps. The blacksmith, chain hammer in hand, was slowly making his way to the temple. Just as he reached the entrance to the steps, he was stopped by the priest guarding the entrance.

The two exchanged a few words, and the priest's expression changed. He tried to drive the man away, but the blacksmith was faster. With a swing of his hammer, the chains snapped and bound the priest. Then, with a single blow, he smashed the priest's forehead, and as blood gushed out, he continued upwards.

"Alright, it's already started. He can have the outside ones, and I can have the inside ones."

Li Ye smiled slightly and stopped there, heading straight into the interior of the Divine Palace. Soon, he arrived at the main hall of the Divine Palace on the steps.

Guarding the enormous palace were beings dressed in magnificent priestly robes, rank higher than the priests below them, whose faces appeared solemn and dignified against the glowing palace.

When Li Ye arrived, the priest did not reprimand him like a mortal would, but instead turned around abruptly, his eyes shooting out a blinding light.

"Blasphemer!"

Among this group, the leading priest's voice was like the clanging of metal, carrying an ethereal quality beyond human comprehension.

"Entering without permission is a crime, a desecration, and those who commit blasphemy shall be sacrificed in blood!"

As he spoke, he glared, unleashing an invisible shock that seemed intent on staring the two of them to death.

This is a third-realm cultivator. This move would be useful against ordinary people, but Erica is already at the fourth realm, so this move is of course useless.

The leading priest also noticed this and immediately began chanting incantations. The priests behind him also launched attacks at the same time, some chanting ancient incantations that transformed into invisible mental shockwaves.

Some formed hand seals, summoning enormous spears of light condensed from pure light energy.

Then there was a burly priest who took a step forward, shattering the stone slab beneath his feet. His muscles bulged, and golden patterns faintly appeared under his skin. When he threw a punch, it generated a dazzling light.

"Light"

Li Ye shook his head and smiled: "Oh, the Five Elements Method of the Primordial Era, and the power of demons. Your cultivation is quite interesting, all of you are involved with demons."

These are no longer pure martial artists. These priests appear to be human, but what they are inside is anyone's guess.

In Li Ye's view, they were no different from demons.

Faced with this seemingly powerful attack, Li Ye simply raised his right hand calmly. A fleeting gray light flashed from his fingertips, dissolving all the attacks. Those struck by the attack melted away silently, like snow meeting the blazing sun.

Soon, the area outside the shrine was completely cleared.

Li Ye led Erica into the temple, ignoring the luxurious decorations and mountains of offerings inside, and followed the source of the enormous, foul energy, heading straight to the deepest part of the temple.

Amaterasu Grand Shrine, Tianxue.

"Aren't there four realms?" Erica asked curiously as she looked around.

"Not all of the four realms will come out to travel. In terms of historical significance, people in this place don't need to travel to the four realms. They basically stay here to cultivate."

As Li Ye spoke, he pushed open the huge golden door engraved with the Yata no Kagami relief. In an instant, the scene before him changed; it was no longer reality, but the beginning of the primordial era.

In the early Yuan Dynasty, people didn't guard against it; it was simply enshrined behind the door.

The sight before her made Erica gasp. At that moment, she felt a sense of weightlessness and was about to fall, but Li Ye raised his hand and the wind caught her.

Behind the door was a vast, boundless, and strangely bright space, devoid of even a ground, consisting only of a massive golden platform suspended in an ocean of light.

In the center of the platform stands a strange cocoon.

It stands nearly a hundred feet tall and is entirely composed of countless twisting, writhing threads that emit a blazing white light.

These filaments, as fine as hair, are densely intertwined and woven together, forming a constantly pulsating and contracting sac of light.

Each filament of light exuded a rich aura of soul and life essence, pulsating like a living thing, spreading outwards into the surrounding space, and also emitting a familiar 'fragrance' from Erica.

"So that's how it is. No wonder they don't avoid people or take any precautions, leaving their doors wide open, all to draw upon their power."

Li Ye sneered. The surface of the cocoon was not smooth, but covered with countless painful and distorted face reliefs.

Those are the last marks of countless generations of people who have been completely drained, whose souls have been turned into nourishment. Their empty eye sockets face into their cocoons, and their mouths are opened to the maximum extent without a sound, as if they are wailing.

Inside the cocoon, the outline of an indescribable, enormous shape was faintly visible in the light.

It has no fixed form; sometimes it resembles a massive sun disc, sometimes it twists into a multi-winged giant bird of light, and sometimes it collapses into a beating heart.

Each transformation was accompanied by a violent pulsation of light throughout the space. Simply looking at the core of this cocoon of light was enough to scorch the soul of a mortal and cause the mind of a low-level martial artist to collapse.

Erica groaned, her power automatically surging to form a barrier, but under the pure heat and light, it melted away as quickly as paper, and fine burn marks even began to appear on her skin.

Entering other primordial realms from the Four Realms is inherently difficult, let alone the Pan Demon in this primordial realm, which is of a very high level.

"Go out."

Li Ye waved his hand, letting the wind carry Erica out first, then looked at the cocoon of light, "Oh, not a single one at the fourth realm, let alone the fifth realm, but your power is very high. Did everyone sacrifice themselves for you? Or are you all one?" Buzz!
The cocoon of light flashed again, and a stream of spiritual information entered Li Ye.

"Mortal, I am the incarnation of Amaterasu, the venerable Amaterasu, dedicate yourself to me, merge into one, and enjoy the prosperity of Takamagahara!"

There was no spoken message, only a purely spiritual one, just like the method Li Ye used to deal with the blacksmith.

He may not speak the language of this place, but the spiritual meaning can be understood through spiritual messages.

The same goes for this thing.

"Is all of Japan the same model? Fusion with Pan Yao, Susanoo is the same, and you are even more so. But to exaggerate a bit, all the martial artists above the fourth realm are with you."

Li Ye drew the Heaven-Slaying Sword. "Forget it, the result is the same, as long as you're not an imposter."

The sword began to glow with the light of authority.

"Build it quickly!"

The cocoon of light stirred, seemingly surprised and somewhat panicked, and transmitted its mental message.

Susanoo, also known as Takehiko-no-Mikoto.

"Nonsense! I am a dignified Chinese from the Central Plains, not some insignificant Japanese god like you. But I do have authority, so come on over!"

As Li Ye spoke, he was about to swing his sword when, at that moment, the cocoon of light seemed to sense a threat and suddenly contracted violently.

The billions of light threads wrapped around it instantly tightened and straightened, like billions of red-hot steel needles, shooting towards Li Ye from all directions at lightning speed.

Each filament of light contains a scorching heat that burns the soul, and carries a strange, venomous curse. If an ordinary person were to see these filaments of light, their consciousness would be drawn into them.

At that moment, the distorted light and shadow at the core of the cocoon suddenly expanded, transforming into a miniature sun so dazzling that it was impossible to look directly at it.

A massive beam of light, over ten zhang in diameter and composed entirely of destructive flames, ignored spatial distance and followed closely behind the rain of light needles, crashing down on Li Ye.

Wherever the beam of light passed, even space itself distorted into a molten, glass-like form, emanating a terrifying aura that seemed capable of incinerating everything.

The two attacks, one a dense, piercing annihilation of billions, the other a grand, world-burning judgment, worked together seamlessly, sealing off all avenues for evasion.

"I'm not flashing."

Li Ye chuckled lightly and slashed straight down with his sword.

The Wild Judgment possesses the power to sever the essence of things, but sometimes severing the essence is not enough, so it also requires the 'Gan Qi', which can ignore any defensive obstacles. Combining the two can instantly cut off all the attributes contained in these attacks.

The light threads turned into rain, sliding down and dissipating into this seemingly boundless space.

The beam of light emitted a sharp, tearing sound that pierced the eardrums, like a waterfall being cleaved in two. The immense energy of the light and flame was forcibly torn in two, and it too turned into rain and fell.

However, Li Ye's offensive did not stop. In the instant he tore apart the pillar of light, he moved like lightning and closed in on the cocoon of light.

The sword thrust straight at the core of the pulsating cocoon of light.

The radiance emanating from the blade carried authority, precisely penetrating the ever-changing, distorted light and shadow at the core through the method of life and death.

No matter how powerful it is, it is still a demon in the end. Its essence has been severed, its defenses have been ignored, and it is also subject to the restraint of Ruyi.
One sword is enough!
hum! !

The entire space of light trembled violently, and the cocoon of light emitted an unprecedented spiritual roar, a mixture of pain and extreme rage, as if billions of souls were wailing at the same time.

The once stable, pulsating surface of the light cocoon twisted and collapsed, with countless light filaments frantically trying to shrink inward and repair themselves, but the gray light at the core was spreading rapidly, as if it had been decomposed.

Bang! !

A muffled, deafening roar, like the explosion of stars, resounded.

At the core of the cocoon of light, the enormous, distorted light and shadow were completely dissolved, replaced by a violently contracting energy core that released light and heat.

The entire cocoon of light began to collapse, and billions of light threads withered and turned to ashes, like lifeless tentacles.

The face relief on the cocoon's exterior also shattered in the collapse, turning into specks of light dust. The entire space of light trembled violently, the light became flickering and uncertain, and finally dimmed, becoming an empty shell.

Li Ye was also stunned for a moment as a message entered his body, ignoring all obstacles.

He closed his eyes slightly, sensing the message being conveyed.

Essentially, this really is the Law of Light.

Regardless of where people are from, the sun they see is actually the same, but the gods associated with it differ according to different legends.

The power that Li Ye held was the essence of the legends from various places, not its true nature.

This is indeed Amaterasu Omikami, one of the Three Noble Children, representing the power of the sun.

Li Ye also obtained Amaterasu's authority.

But it's different; it's not what he expected—to directly take the sun.

[The night is locked, a thousand eyes are hidden; the sun falls, stars sink, all sounds are silenced; the Eight-Span Mirror steals divine music and dance; the eternal night shines forever.]

[Authority—eternal life! 】

It's not the power of the sun, it's the power of the blockade.

According to the legend of Amaterasu hiding in the Amaterasu Cave, Li Ye obtained its sealing power and the ability to monitor all living beings. As long as a place is sealed off, no movement can escape his eyes.

This isn't the sun; it's just blocking out the light.
Similar to the power of a domain, as long as the authority is exercised, the sky will be completely darkened and plunged into eternal night.

Just like the legends of Japan itself, it symbolizes the eternal world of the eternal kingdom.

The power that Amaterasu Omikami gave him was this: complete darkness and eternal night.

“Good stuff, and I don’t think you can be the sun.”

Li Ye smiled slightly, feeling quite satisfied.

How could Amaterasu of Japan be the sun? This power is just right. He can simply block it, and then the subsequent matters won't be so troublesome.

Even small-scale lockdowns can trigger larger unrest.

Since it's all the power of the Japanese gods themselves, even if they wanted to find it, no one would think about the mainland; they would only be thinking about what might have happened to Amaterasu Grand Shrine.

"Just one more, right? San Guizi, there's one more."

(End of this chapter)