Chapter 251: Surprise in the Treasure Room
The Onmyoji, dressed in black hunting garb, stood like a high wall of darkness; Kayako surrounded them, their bodies deathly pale.
Black and white were starkly delineated.
The Kayako could not harm the Onmyoji, for the Yasakani no Magatama was protecting them, but the Onmyoji's complexions were gradually turning pale.
Even the Great Onmyoji at the center of the array could not possibly activate the Yasakani no Magatama to such a terrifying extent, almost enveloping the whole of Tokyo.
The Yasakani no Magatama was also drawing on the strength of the surrounding Onmyoji, even their lifespans.
As the stalemate stretched on, Xu Yi saw no immediate outcome and quietly turned to head deeper into the Meiji Shrine.
"I hope the location hasn't changed!"
He had not known where the "treasure" of Meiji Shrine was hidden before, but after assimilating the memory fragments of Ando Mei, he was clear.
As a once brilliant Forging Master, Ando Mei had been fortunate enough to enter the "Treasure Room" of Meiji Shrine.
This was precisely why Xu Yi had made a special trip to Meiji Shrine.
Following the route in his memory, Xu Yi went deeper.
In the past, there would have been sentinels every few steps, the defenses incredibly tight, but now everyone had been pulled out, and Xu Yi's entry was as easy as walking into his own backyard.
With Japan suffering such a severe calamity, the guards were either forewarned and had left Japan, or had been redeployed elsewhere.
Nor would they have imagined that at such a time, someone would actually want to enter the "Treasure Room."
In fact, there were not entirely without "guards," as ghastly white figures flashed into existence now and again; the divided spirits of Kayako were all converging on Meiji Shrine.
Within this city, except for Xu Yi, there were probably few who dared to appear so brazenly before Kayako.
To some extent, the ability "Blood as Sacred" was a counter to Kayako.
A heavy metal door appeared ahead, but it couldn't stop Xu Yi, who broke through the door with force, his fist wrapped in Holy Flame, pulling no punches.
The sturdy metal doors, along with the powerful protective Arrays, shattered at once, leaving a gaping hole ahead.
Such commotion would, under normal circumstances, have attracted swarms of guards, but now, no one paid any attention.
Or even if someone did notice, they were too preoccupied to care.
As the door to the treasury burst open, disappointment was written all over Xu Yi's face.
The shelves in the Treasure Room were empty, with only scattered remnants.
He had anticipated this before coming, as Japan faced a calamity that could have "annihilated" the nation. At such a time, it would have been senseless not to make use of the Exorcism Artifacts if they were still hidden away.
Despite understanding this, he was still somewhat disappointed.
Xu Yi wandered around the treasury, the remaining "trash" not worthy of his attention, and he didn't even entertain the thought of picking it up.
He was about to leave when his gaze swept across the wall at the far end.
In Ando Mei's memory, there was a time he was selecting materials to forge a weapon for a Great Onmyoji, and while engrossed in his selection, someone suddenly appeared behind him, giving him a start.
Ando Mei had once suspected there was some sort of secret door in this wall.
Xu Yi didn't need confirmation of the rumor, the suspicion alone was enough; there was no harm in trying to see if it was true or not.
Looking for minute clues and pondering carefully was out of the question. Xu Yi ignited his blood, and his fist, cloaked in Holy Flame, once again fell, blasting a large hole through the solid metal wall.
As the dust began to settle, Xu Yi looked at the hole, his eyes growing brighter by the second. Behind it, there was indeed a hidden room.
"What a delightful surprise behind the gloom!"
He caught a glimpse of the contents in the room, and his lips curved involuntarily into a smile.
Even a large number of Exorcism Artifacts would not have pleased him so, for at his level, Common Exorcism Artifacts were of little help to him.
To the side of the "Treasure Room" was actually a library!
Without a doubt, anything preserved here would be various texts on Mysticism.
Having encountered the Doomsday Blade and personally created the God-melting Blood, he was acutely aware of the value of mystic knowledge, holding the potential to create endless possibilities.
Since the entry for "Pale Gold" blood had appeared, he had an epiphany that relying solely on consuming entries would likely not yield entries of a higher tier than gold.
That was a power from another stratum.
"Scientific Research" had provided him with another path to ascend to the greatest heights.
In such a critical moment, it was obviously impossible for Xu Yi to "copy" books into the Palace of Memory one by one, he didn't have the time, nor did he need to bother.
He directly moved them into Annabelle's Treasure Box.
Looking at the mysticism books packed tightly in the Treasure Box, Xu Yi smiled gleefully.
This trip to Tokyo City, even if he hadn't captured the Sin Remains, with these books, he could leave contentedly.
......
Xu Yi had just left the Treasure Room when his body involuntarily shivered.
With the strength of a Body of Demigod, even if he soaked in ice water during the dead of winter, he would not have this reaction; it wasn't a physical coldness but rather one that stemmed from the psychological.
The lightning that tore through the blood-red clouds was gone, the Yasakani no Magatama had vanished, the Onmyoji's corpses were scattered around the Array, and one after another, Kayako spawn were climbing out from the corpses.
The dense crowd of Kayako wandered within the Meiji Shrine.
Xu Yi looked out, not only in the Meiji Shrine but also in the streets and alleys of Tokyo, there were figures of Kayako.
The running crowds had disappeared, even those oddly shaped ghouls were nowhere to be seen.
The city was unnervingly quiet, Xu Yi felt an overwhelming sense of solitude as if in this vast city, only he and the wandering Kayako were left.
Your next chapter is on My Virtual Library Empire
The immense sense of solitude brought about a suffocating fear; had Xu Yi not had strong psychological fortitude, he might have turned and fled at this moment.
Steady! Steady!
Xu Yi took deep breaths repeatedly, forcing himself to stay calm, but when he walked, he quickened his steps subconsciously.
By the arch of the Torii, Xu Yi saw a familiar silhouette. It was the Great Onmyoji who had activated the Yasakani no Magatama before.
The other party was clearly already dead, leaning against the red arch, devoid of any signs of life.
He had ultimately been defeated; they had underestimated the curse. Xu Yi himself, let alone the Japanese Onmyoji, felt his skin crawl.
He had entered the Treasury, and the books were moved out in just over half an hour.
In just over half an hour, Tokyo had become a city of death, the terror of the curse far surpassed Xu Yi's imagination.
If it weren't for his fixation on the Sin Remains, he would have left long ago.
Xu Yi hurried towards the corpse as if the Yasakani no Magatama was already within his reach.
Although he had no regard for the upper echelons of Japan, he wasn't about to sabotage their self-rescue plans; if the other party were still alive, even severely injured, he would not have taken action.
But if the other party was dead, that was a different story.
Who picked it up didn't matter; moreover, he didn't believe that anyone would dare to pick up items under the watchful eyes of the dense Kayako.
Xu Yi approached the back of the red pillar by the arch and, upon seeing the Great Onmyoji's dead body, was slightly taken aback.
Not because the other party's death was too tragic—this city had too many corpses with terrifying states of death—but rather because the Great Onmyoji's heart was pierced by a long sword.
The other wasn't killed by Kayako but by one of his own!
This was easy to deduce; the long sword was thrust into the heart from behind, and the dead Great Onmyoji's face was full of disbelief.
One could imagine the scene at the time; although the Great Onmyoji was severely wounded by Kayako, he hadn't died but managed to escape with the help of the Yasakani no Magatama.
The Great Onmyoji fled ahead, his disciple following closely behind.
Taking advantage of the Great Onmyoji's momentary observation of the surroundings, the disciple boldly made his move, the long sword piercing through the Great Onmyoji's heart, and snatched away the Yasakani no Magatama.
Subsequent events confirmed his guess; Xu Yi didn't find the Yasakani no Magatama on him.
He sighed and quickly adjusted his mood, ready to head to Mount Fuji.
That was where the Sin Remains gathered, and also where the organization was executing its final plan.
But as he was about to leave the Meiji Shrine, something unbelievable appeared in his field of vision; it was the corpse of an Onmyoji, wearing a black hunter attire.