Tokyo Knights: The Odd Jobs X Files

Those evil spirits and shikigami are minor tricks for top-tier sorcerers, but for Isayama Yomi and Oniju Arashi, they have already exhausted them. And the other side has plenty of such minor tricks to spare.

"Let's go back first."

Ghost Curse Storm faced the Yellow Springs Road of Jianshan.

The main hall of the shrine has a certain exorcising power and can weaken the opponent's power. Previously, they wanted to resolve the battle outside the main hall because they were afraid that the fight would disturb the old shrine maiden and affect the succession ceremony. But now it seems that it is not possible, as they do not have the ability.

Izayama Yomi nodded, and the two quickly retreated to the main hall, only to find it filled with severed limbs and remains, looking like the scene of a murder... no, a grotesque dismemberment case.

Isayama Yomi and Oniju Arashi: "..."

Seeing the two staring at him in disbelief, Li Xin threw away the samurai sword that had broken in two and explained, "There was nothing I could do. The other guy was a bit tough, so I was a little rough with him."

You call this just a bit rough?

Isayama Yomi and Kijuu Arashi silently complained to themselves.

Fortunately, the two noticed that although the hall was filled with blood, the aura of the inheritance ceremony was completely uncontaminated, which prevented them from suspecting that Li Xin was a spy sent by the other side.

After tossing the severed limbs and remains out of the hall, Li Xin sat down cross-legged and began to silently circulate his internal energy to regulate his breathing.

After dealing with so many zombies, Li Xin's not-so-deep internal energy had been almost completely depleted, and he needed to recuperate for a while to recover.

I don’t know if it’s fate or not, but the attacks on the interior of this palace, apart from the black snake that could turn invisible at the beginning, were all carried out by walking corpses, evil spirits, and shikigami—these are all evil things. It’s a pity that Li Xin no longer has the “Wedding Dress Divine Skill” and doesn’t have the most yang internal energy in his body. Otherwise, Li Xin wouldn’t have to go through so much trouble; he could just drink more water.

After resting for a while, Li Xin used "Mingyu True Qi" to look at the old witch. He felt that although the old witch's powerful spiritual energy was slightly weaker, it was still as dazzling as the sun. He felt that if the transmission continued like this, it would probably not be completed in one night.

But could they withstand an attack like that one for another night? No, let alone one night. Could they hold out for two or three more? In fact, if the enemy intensifies the attack even slightly, they might all be wiped out.

Li Xin sighed. That fox spirit's money was indeed hard to earn. This one night was more tiring than several days of work he had done for Lai Sheng Lei.

During the rest, Li Xin asked Jian Shan Huang Quan and Gui Zhou Lan, "Isn't this old witch highly respected? Why does she have so many enemies, yet only your two families are willing to help her?"

Li Xin originally thought it would be an easy job, but now it seems that if there are a few more attacks like this, he might as well run away. It's not that he doesn't want to protect the old and young shrine maidens, nor that he doesn't want to earn Nogami Saeko's money, it's just that this matter is difficult to handle and this money is not easy to get!

Izayama Yomi didn't speak, not because she didn't want to, but because she didn't know anything about the old shrine maiden. She was here entirely on the orders of the head of the Tsuchimiya family.

Gui Zhoulan opened his mouth but didn't speak. Then he sighed and said, "This is because everyone doesn't want to offend Meiji Shrine."

As a shrine maiden of Ise Grand Shrine, she knew the whole story.

"Does that old shrine maiden have a grudge against Meiji Shrine?"

Li Xin asked.

Like Ise Grand Shrine, Meiji Shrine is one of the most important shrines in Japan, and its status is even higher than that of Ise Grand Shrine. This is because Meiji Shrine enshrines Emperor Meiji and has a royal background. If the old shrine maiden had a grudge against Meiji Shrine, then naturally not many people in Japan would be willing to risk offending Meiji Shrine to protect the old shrine maiden.

"It's not exactly a feud."

Gui Zhoulan said, "Not only do we not have any enmity, but the high priestess once trained at Meiji Shrine for a period of time in her early years, so we should have a connection through incense offerings."

"Then why..."

Gui Zhoulan sighed and said, "When the High Priestess said that she didn't have much time left and wanted to pass on her spiritual power to someone else, Meiji Shrine proposed that its own priestess inherit the High Priestess's spiritual power. However, the High Priestess ultimately decided to pass on her spiritual power to her granddaughter, which Meiji Shrine rebuked as disregarding the overall situation."

"..."

Li Xin was stunned. No way, choosing to let his own family inherit the estate? That's considered disregarding the bigger picture? What kind of bigger picture is that? The bigger picture of robbery?

Isayama Yomi was also hearing about this for the first time, and she couldn't believe it: "Isn't Meiji Shrine the largest shrine in Japan, and has always been the most active force against sorcerers? How could they...?"

"These two things are not contradictory."

Gui Zhoulan said calmly.

Isayama Yomi was taken aback for a moment, then quickly realized that they were not contradictory; in fact, they were related.

Meiji Shrine is one of the most active forces in the fight against sorcerers, which is why they are so determined to obtain the power of the old shrine maiden that terrifies countless sorcerers. According to their logic, this is the only way to better combat sorcerers.

Upon hearing this, Isayama Yomi understood. In short, it was because the old priestess had a conflict with Meiji Shrine, and others who had received favors from the old priestess dared not offend Meiji Shrine, so they could only watch as the old priestess was threatened by those sorcerers.

"Ugh, what a filthy world..."

Isayama Huangquan sighed.

"There's no time for your sentimental lamentations, the next wave of attacks is already here."

Li Xin suddenly interrupted Isayama Yomi and Gui Zhoulan's conversation. At the same time, he stood up and punched empty air. A dark figure fell out from where Li Xin had just punched. After falling to the ground, it tried to get up, but Li Xin stomped on it and crushed it, turning it into a puddle of black water that seeped into the floor.

Both Isayama Yomi and Kijuu Arashi had their eyebrows trembling. Was this the same person who had just fought in this very hall?

Just as Li Xin had trampled a dark shadowy creature to death, countless tentacles, as if avenging the shadowy creature, stretched in from outside the hall and entangled Li Xin, the only one of the three guardians who was capable of moving.

Li Xin moved nimbly, constantly dodging the dense tentacles. However, there were too many tentacles, and no matter how skillful Li Xin was, the space for dodging within the hall was limited. In addition, he also had to protect the old and young witches within the magic array. Sooner or later, Li Xin would still be entangled by those tentacles.

So, Li Xin only needed a breath to think before he jumped to Isayama Yomi's side, snatched the "Lion King" from his hand, and with a few slashes, severed all the tentacles, leaving not a single one.

After severing the tentacles, Li Xin felt the Lion King's blade cutting through iron like mud and exclaimed, "What a fine blade!"

When Li Xin snatched the sword, Izayama Yomi didn't have time to react before the "Lion King" sword was taken away by Li Xin. After she realized what had happened, she immediately said, "Give me back the sword! This is no ordinary sword!"

This "Lion King" is the heirloom sword of the Isayama family, sealed with the spirit beast "Nue," which is the giant monster Ranguren that she previously controlled. The sword has a spirit, and if anyone who does not have Ranguren's approval uses "Lion King," Ranguren will tear the user to pieces. This is no joke!

"Roar!"

But it was too late. After a loud roar, the crimson lotus that had just returned to the sword emerged once more. But this time, it didn't come out after being summoned by Izayama Yomi; it came out on its own.

A colossal crimson lotus stood before Li Xin. Li Xin lacked the ability of spiritual vision, and could not see the crimson lotus without focusing his energy on his eyes. However, he still felt that something in front of him seemed to be exerting immense pressure on him.

Just as Li Xin was trying to focus his energy into his eyes to see what it was, the usually irritable Luan Honglian suddenly yawned like a kitten, stuck out her tongue, and returned to the "Lion King" on her own. Li Xin focused his energy into his eyes and looked ahead, only to find nothing but emptiness. He wondered if he was just too nervous and was hallucinating.

What did you just say?

Li Xin asked about the Yellow Springs Road to Jianshan.

Isayama Yomi: "..."

Chapter Seventy-Eight: Common Sense?

Seeing that Isayama Yomi remained silent, Li Xin did not press the matter further, as he did not have the time. Shortly after severing the tentacles, a large number of evil spirits rushed into the main hall of the shrine.

At this moment, Li Xin was maintaining his focus on his goal, which allowed him to see these evil spirits. He didn't know that these evil spirits had no physical form and were unaffected by ordinary attacks. As usual, he swung his sword at them and easily chopped them into pieces.

Well, although evil spirits without physical form cannot be harmed by physical damage, the problem is that the "Lion King" in Li Xin's hand is a spirit sword that can cause substantial damage to evil spirits. So, with just one slash, Li Xin killed those evil spirits without breaking a sweat.

Izayama Yomi was too lazy to care why "Lion King" didn't reject Li Xin's use, and why Ran Honglian was so docile towards Li Xin. She just wanted to hurry up and recover her spiritual power so that she would have the strength to continue fighting. Hmm, to retrieve "Lion King" and fight again.

After the undead came the shikigami, and then the walking corpses. These three types of monsters took turns fighting, and Li Xin fought tirelessly all by himself.

By now, Li Xin's internal energy was completely depleted. However, in the process of enduring the pain of mastering the "Wedding Dress Divine Skill," the skill not only brought him endless suffering but also forged his body into steel and made him incredibly strong. Although the lack of internal energy had reduced Li Xin's strength and speed, he could still unleash formidable combat power when combined with the "Lion King," a weapon that could cut through iron like mud and deal real damage to monsters with spiritual energy.

After Li Xin dealt with an unknown number of waves of monsters, Izayama Yomi finally recovered the spiritual power she had consumed in unsealing the Chaotic Crimson Lotus. She stood up, rushed to Li Xin, snatched the "Lion King" sword from his hand, and shouted, "Go and rest, give me back the sword!"

This shout seemed to declare that he was the true master of the "Lion King," and then he charged towards the relentless army of evil spirits.

At the same time, Gui Zhoulan also recovered his spiritual power, and the magical knife emerged from his palm and was held in his hand. Li Xin subconsciously looked at the knife in Gui Zhoulan's hand.

The blade was clear and bright, like a pool of autumn water. At the same time, the blade seemed to carry a cold and aloof temperament, which was very similar to its owner. What concerned Li Xin even more was that the blade seemed to contain an extremely large amount of spiritual power, which was not much weaker than that of the old witch.

It's a good knife...

Li Xin commented as follows.

"What are you looking at!"

Gui Zhoulan gripped the knife in her hand tightly, filled with vigilance towards Li Xin.

This man will snatch someone else's knife at the slightest disagreement; we must be wary of him.

"nothing."

Li Xin withdrew his gaze. He had originally wanted to borrow Gui Zhoulan's sword, which seemed to be stronger than the "Lion King" from Izayama Yomi. If he could use this sword, his combat power might be enhanced. However, seeing that Gui Zhoulan's sword was connected to her hand and seemed impossible to remove, he had no choice but to give up.

"Get some rest and recover!"

After uttering these words to Li Xin, Gui Zhoulan charged towards the monsters.

Li Xin didn't feel embarrassed about letting the two girls fight in front while he recovered in the back. After all, he had bought a lot of rest time for Isayama Huangquan and Gui Zhoulan. If he insisted on rushing up to fight alongside them for the sake of so-called male pride, what would happen if all three of them collapsed from exhaustion and there was no one to take turns?

Sitting cross-legged, Li Xin closed his eyes and calmed his mind, beginning to fully circulate the "Mingyu Gong" (a martial arts technique). A faint jade-like light slowly rose from his body.

The old witch quietly opened her eyes while Li Xin was channeling his energy, then quickly closed them again to continue the ritual.

Hmm, judging by the time, it should be about right.

Outside the shrine, three figures gathered together. One of them said, "Demon, aren't you good at controlling puppets? Why do you always send out walking corpses? If you were using your puppets, those three juniors would have been wiped out long ago!"

"My puppet was just borrowed and isn't with me, so I had to send out a zombie. Is that alright?"

The person who was called "evil spirit" replied.

It would be strange if there wasn't a problem!

The person who asked the question knew very well that the evil spirit would never lend out a puppet; it was only afraid of exposing its own identity that it dared not send out a puppet.

The best outcome of disrupting the ritual would be for the old shrine maiden to lose all her spiritual power and die. However, it is more likely that the old woman would lose some of her spiritual power and then drag her dying body to settle scores with the evil sorcerers who disrupted the ritual. Therefore, these three figures not only hid far away from the shrine, but also dared not use their best skills. Instead, they used methods they were not good at to harass the shrine.

Disrupting the ritual is indeed important, but what's even more important is not putting oneself in danger and becoming a target. These sorcerers have a very clear mind.

"Are we just going to watch that old woman transfer all her spiritual power to her granddaughter, and then suppress us for fifty years or even longer after her granddaughter has fully mastered that power? Bone Demon, your master was killed by that old witch. Don't you want to avenge your master? Evil Ghost, you too, the core of the puppet you spent twenty years cultivating was destroyed by that old woman. Don't you want to eat her flesh and drink her blood?"

The first person to speak spoke with a voice that was extremely seductive.

Unfortunately, he was facing powerful villains who had dominated the evil path for many years. After years of wandering the world, he survived by relying on one word: cowardice!

"Heh, how could a mere grudge of killing my master be worth risking my life for? You go if you want, or the evil spirits go, I'm not going."

The figure who hadn't spoken until now chuckled.

The relationships between sorcerers have always been cold, even between masters and disciples. While it is true that Bone Demon's master was killed by the old witch, it is absolutely impossible for Bone Demon to risk his life against the old witch in order to avenge her.

The evil spirit also said, "You old pervert, you were disfigured after your advances to that old woman failed. Among us, you have the greatest grudge against that old woman. Why don't you go? If you take action, those three juniors will surely perish. When that old woman sees the juniors in danger, she will definitely stop the ceremony. At that time, she will be severely weakened. If the three of us join forces, we may have a chance to kill her."

The man called "old pervert" twitched his face, touched his face which looked like it had been burned, and felt extremely angry.

This was caused by a beautiful old witch burning him with her spirit fire more than forty years ago. Over the years, he has tried every method but has failed to restore his handsome face to its original state. He can only use magic to disguise it, and his hatred for the old witch is naturally the deepest.

However, he also dared not appear in front of that old woman.

If they are giants in the world of Japanese sorcery, then the old shrine maiden at her peak was the pillar of the Japanese sorcery world. Their strength was on a completely different level from that of the old shrine maiden.

Not to mention them, in terms of spiritual power cultivation, there are very few people in the entire world of Japanese sorcery who can rival the old shrine maiden. It's just that the shrine she originally came from wasn't a big shrine, and she herself didn't like empty fame. Otherwise, with her strength, she could have enjoyed the national offerings of Japan.

It was precisely because the old shrine maiden was so powerful that Meiji Shrine was so shameless as to pressure them into passing on her immense spiritual power to their shrine maiden, threatening them with the greater good. Of course, the old shrine maiden didn't care about any "greater good" at all; she could pass on her spiritual power to whomever she wanted, and she didn't care about Meiji Shrine. This caused Meiji Shrine to lose face and gain nothing, and in their anger and embarrassment, they secretly issued a ban on the old shrine maiden.

On one side was an old shrine maiden on her deathbed, and on the other was the Meiji Shrine at its zenith. Anyone would know which side to choose. To be honest, the fact that two people stepped forward to protect the old shrine maiden was beyond the calculations of those three sorcerers, which is why they seemed so passive.

If they retreated, their hatred for the old witch made it impossible for them to simply watch her easily complete the inheritance ritual; if they didn't retreat, it seemed pointless except for wasting time, and they would likely suffer indignities.

"Oh, I've finally found you."

A thin old man suddenly appeared in front of the three of them and said with a smile.

The three were startled by the sudden appearance of the old man. Before they could react, they felt the surrounding space freeze, and a huge barrier had spread around them, trapping them inside.

This barrier is extremely powerful, but if the three of them work together, they can still break through it easily...

Before they could make a move, the barrier tore open, and the old witch, who was supposed to be performing the inheritance ceremony, slowly walked in. Looking at the three sorcerers, she sighed and said, "So only you two came? It's truly a pity that I had to use you as my final battle."

After the old witch entered the barrier, the skinny old man hopped over to her side and said, "Sister, how was it? Did I do a great job?"

The old witch glared at the skinny old man with annoyance: "You spent so much time and almost exhausted those three children, and you still have the nerve to ask me for credit?"

The skinny old man scratched his head: "Sister, you know how cautious those three old ghosts are. It was already difficult enough for me to find them, let alone set up a barrier to trap them. It's already amazing that you were able to finish this so quickly!"

"Stop talking nonsense and go back to see your granddaughter. She absorbed too much of my spiritual power and is now very weak. As her grandfather, why don't you go and see her!"

The old witch shooed the thin old man away.

"I understand, sister!"

The skinny old man immediately left the barrier. The three sorcerers wanted to break through while the barrier was open, but they found that the barrier became even stronger after it was opened for a moment. This was because the control of the barrier had changed hands. Now it was controlled by the most powerful priestess in Japan in the last hundred years!

The three sorcerers, shocked and enraged by their failed escape attempt, pointed at the old witch and cried out, "You old hag, you tricked us!"

"The so-called inheritance ceremony is a complete fake; it's a trap you set!"

"You were just deceiving us by falling out with Meiji Shrine. You've really played a very long game!"

The voices were so hysterical, filled with madness, yet they revealed their boundless fear.

The old shrine maiden maintained her kind and benevolent demeanor, smiling as she said, "The inheritance ceremony is real. Didn't you see that my spiritual power has decreased by 50%? As for the falling out with Meiji Shrine, that's also real. You all know what kind of shameless old folks they are, right? Of course, it's also true that I tricked you, but who told you cowards to be so spineless? Even when I was about to die, I didn't dare to step forward. I could only lure you out like this."

These three sorcerers did not feel that they had a chance to defeat the old witch or escape just because she said she had lost 50% of her spiritual power. For a sorcerer of the old witch's level, strong spiritual power could only be an added bonus. What was truly terrifying was her understanding of sorcery and power. In other words, losing 50% of her spiritual power would only weaken the old witch's ability to fight continuously, but would not affect her overall strength.

Could these three sorcerers hold out until the old witch's spiritual energy is depleted? Don't be ridiculous. If they had that kind of power, would they have needed to act like cowards all these years? Acting like cowards was out of necessity, not a hobby!