Chapter 133: Area Settlement, Six Picks Three Rewards
It was still a Snow Woman.
Instead of fleeing in a panic, she deliberately positioned herself at the center of what seemed to be an immense, accumulated grudge, opening her arms and pouring out her spiritual power.
Shangshan Che thought with great confusion:
What is the Snow Woman doing… using all her might to devour these grudges that would drive most demons mad?
But why?
Even if we attribute it to the Snow Woman’s kindness, it doesn’t make sense—this is the Eternal World Land, vast and overrun with demons, not the densely populated Mortal Realm.
So what if these grudges dissipate?
—The Snow Woman provided the answer with reality.
Under Shangshan Che’s silent gaze, the vast number of grudges were gradually enveloped by a sudden blizzard, diminished, devoured, and finally disappeared.
The wails and suffering that pierced the sky all vanished, replaced by a hint of bewilderment, a sliver of hope, and a touch of gratitude.
Those weak but countless grudges, after expressing their thanks, dissipated.
All the souls that couldn’t find release, on the verge of becoming mindless, unknowing *chi* forever wandering the Eternal World Land, were thus guided to Buddhahood and vanished with contentment.
Because of the Snow Woman alone.
Because she made a promise to each wandering soul to fulfill their obsessions.
—Even though the Snow Woman knew that she could never fulfill these obsessions and wishes in this lifetime, and would be tormented by these vast obsessions forever, she still did it.
Her crimson pupils narrowed slightly, and Shangshan Che could see the Snow Woman standing in mid-air, her expression still as cold as ice.
It was as if what she had just done was a trivial matter, as if these obsessions that would endlessly linger in thoughts and minds didn’t exist.
In the silence, their eyes, one ice-blue and the other crimson, met for a moment before quickly parting.
Thus, Shangshan Che understood.
He understood why the Snow Woman had been brewing Soul Broth filled with grudges in the basement of the mountain inn and drinking it herself.
—In fact, it was exactly the same as what she was doing now.
—Finding those broken souls, bearing their life’s obsessions, and thus ensuring that those people wouldn’t turn into *chi*, but could instead achieve Buddhahood and dissipate.
As for why the Snow Woman would do this?
Who knows, perhaps she simply didn’t want to see such a thing happen before her eyes.
The moment these thoughts flashed through Shangshan Che’s mind, several prompts suddenly appeared before him.
【Investigate the Snow Woman’s true purpose, current progress: 100%.】
【Side Quest Two: Mountain Inn, completed!】
【You have now completed all quests, do you wish to settle the rewards?】
So the Snow Woman really just brewed Soul Broth to absorb grudges and bear obsessions…
Shangshan Che couldn’t help but recall that face, which was expressionless most of the time, as cold as eternal ice.
Beneath that indifferent facade towards everyone, what kind of soul was hidden?
The thought of taking the Snow Woman as a Shikigami grew stronger in Shangshan Che’s mind—having a kind-hearted Shikigami was definitely better than the opposite.
Not to mention that the Snow Woman was also powerful, and she understood the sense of proportion in her actions and words better than he did.
Using her to restrain the constantly troublesome Two-Foot Adult was simply the perfect choice.
However, there was probably no chance anymore.
Shangshan Che gazed into the distance at the spiritual power tides and spatial rifts constantly appearing after the collapse of Kisaragi Station and the shattering of another world, watching as the Snow Woman, who had nearly exhausted her spiritual power, was sucked into a pure black rift with a “swish.”
This way, the Snow Woman would likely escape the Eternal World and enter the boundless “deep sea” between the Mortal Realm and the Eternal World.
Where she would appear in the vast Eternal World next was unpredictable.
As for appearing in the Mortal Realm?
Don’t be ridiculous, it wasn’t the time when the First Wave was approaching.
The Eternal World was unfathomably larger than the Mortal Realm, and the distance between them was immeasurable. The probability of falling from the Eternal World and descending into the Mortal Realm due to “ocean currents” was practically negligible.
“What a shame…”
Shangshan Che sighed softly and turned to have Nanjo Emi find someone to scout for his second Shikigami.
However, suitable Shikigami weren’t easy to find, not to mention that Shangshan Che’s standards were quite high.
While he said he would start scouting, there was no telling when he would find a suitable candidate.
But he had to deal with the upcoming third map, which would undoubtedly be more difficult to handle, and the increasingly unpredictable Mortal Realm, so he couldn’t afford to delay cultivating a second source of assistance.
Therefore, the plan to acquire the second Shikigami needed to be put on the agenda.
“Adult Che, what’s a shame?”
The Two-Foot Adult in his arms cast a concerned and curious glance.
Shangshan Che looked down, first at the remaining time for the “Wrath” effect, deciding to hold the Two-Foot Adult for now to speed up her recovery.
Then he patted the Two-Foot Adult’s soft and elastic thigh, rolled his eyes, and said,
“It’s a shame you’re not smaller… Adult Two-Foot, can you return to your Two-Foot state? Holding you like this is very tiring.”
Huh? Not small enough?
Does Adult Che prefer smaller ones?
Due to Shangshan Che’s casual joke, the Two-Foot Adult’s thoughts became chaotic.
In an instant, she felt a great crisis approaching!
—If Adult Che liked smaller ones, then that flat-chested person with no difference between her front and back would have a huge advantage!
—Not to mention that Adult Che trained with her every day, and if that person secretly got handsy, she wouldn’t even have the right to know!
According to the news she’d seen on her mobile phone and the internet in the past few days, wouldn’t she become the “aggrieved party”?
If it really came to that, wouldn’t she just have to secretly… *sob sob sob*, Two-Foot doesn’t want things to turn out this way.
What to do, what to do, what to do, what to do!
Despite the glorious achievement of “being kissed on the forehead by Adult Che,” the Two-Foot Adult still wanted to take a step further, so she could run to that flat-chested person and mock her.
Actually.
Shangshan Che simply felt that it was difficult to exert force when holding the Two-Foot Adult in her Hachishaku form.
Moreover, the latter had been subtly wriggling in his arms in one direction, and she naively thought he hadn’t noticed.
If this continued, his hand would involuntarily end up in strange places.
However, given the Two-Foot Adult’s selfless performance today, Shangshan Che didn’t directly criticize or educate her, but instead used this indirect method to remind her.
Looking at the “super large vehicle” in his arms that suddenly transformed into a little girl that could be lifted with one hand, Shangshan Che stretched his shoulders, changed his posture, and felt much more relaxed for a moment.
“Adult Two-Foot is much more obedient now… if she continues to be well-behaved, it wouldn’t be unreasonable to reward her on another occasion.”
Shangshan Che sat there holding the Two-Foot Adult until the “Wrath” effect ended.
……
In the villa in Arakawa Ward.
The tired and weak Shangshan Che slowly opened his eyes on the large bed in the room.
He turned his head with some difficulty, allowing the first ray of sunlight peeking from below the horizon to fall on his face.
A warm, cool sensation immediately appeared on his skin.
It was neither as cold as spring and winter sunlight, nor as blazing and scorching as midsummer sunlight.
The approaching summer, that’s what this weather was like.
After the upgrade, the side effects of “Wrath” were much less severe. At least Shangshan Che, with all his attributes maintained at “5,” could still function like a sub-healthy normal person.
It was just that the triple weakness of his body, internal qi, and spiritual power made him extremely unaccustomed to it.
Shangshan Che used his hands to support himself and slowly sat up, looking at the gradually rising sun, and smiled at someone,
“This can be considered salvation.”
Everything that needed to be done was done, and the emotions were over.
Now, it was time to finally take stock of the gains from clearing Kisaragi Station.
Shangshan Che yawned comfortably and pulled the fluffy quilt up to his neck, leaving only his head exposed.
He first looked at the loot dropped after slaying Kisaragi Station, which he hadn’t had time to examine yet.
【You obtained, Train’s Round-Trip Ticket （Special Item）!】
“A ticket?”
Shangshan Che looked at the ticket in his storage bag, which looked no different from an ordinary Shinkansen ticket, and examined its panel with some confusion.
【Train’s Round-Trip Ticket（Special Item）】
【Effect: Tear off the anti-counterfeit mark on the far right of the ticket, chant the destination three times in your mouth, and the train to the Eternal World will take you to your destination. It can be used a second time within one month of tearing off the anti-counterfeit mark.】
【—With a ticket, you are a civilized passenger and not a fare-dodger! The train is an absolutely safe place for you.】
A train to the Eternal World.
Shangshan Che’s heart tightened as he recalled information related to it.
When he was doing the area unlock quests, he had boarded this strange train that traveled back and forth between the Eternal World and the Mortal Realm, passing through many terrifying stations.
Battlefields, Heian-kyo, haunted schools…
Moreover, although this train only considered demons and supernatural phenomena as passengers, it seemed to accept humans without refusal.
But now it said that they, these “passengers,” had not bought tickets?
That’s why Kujo Tsubaki said the train would frequently undergo strange changes—so this was the train’s method of clearing out fare-dodging passengers.
However, now that he had this ticket, the danger of riding the train was greatly reduced.
And the ticket didn’t specify whether it had to be used in the Eternal World or the Mortal Realm.
In this way, Shangshan Che could first enter the Eternal World and then use this train to air-drop into places that would be absolutely unreachable by ordinary means.
In short, although he couldn’t use it immediately, it was definitely a very useful item in the foreseeable future.
“But for the hidden boss of one map to only drop this much, it’s too stingy.”
Shangshan Che complained in his heart, recalling the three-star “Grudge Aggregate” he had encountered before exiting the tunnel.
It’s possible that, by normal standards, that guy was the final boss of Kisaragi Station.
But he had the Yellow Turban Sumo Wrestler tie it down, and the Yellow Turban Sumo Wrestler dissipated when its time was up before he could kill the Grudge Aggregate of the same rank.
As a result, he never saw a kill prompt.
Shangshan Che muttered: “It’s quite possible…”
Because, according to normal logic, he should have released Ye Chun with a single blow after exiting the tunnel, and in that case, Kisaragi Station itself would have been pleased and wouldn’t have become an enemy.
Shangshan Che pouted, shifting his gaze from the ticket to the main event of the Kisaragi Station instance’s end settlement.
【Detecting that you have now completed all quests for Area: Kisaragi Station, do you wish to settle rewards?】
His previous hesitation vanished, and Shangshan Che nodded.
“Settle.”
【Settling…】
【Main Quest One: Explore Kisaragi Station by at least 80%, completed!】
【Main Quest Two: Rescue Ye Chun, over-fulfilled!!】
【Main Quest Three: Exorcise the Supernatural Phenomena Horse-Brained Music, Taiko Bell, High-Speed Grandpa, completed!】
【Side Quest One: The Tunnel to the Eternal World, over-fulfilled!!】
【Side Quest Two: Mountain Inn, completed!】
【Now filtering rewards for you…】
【Filtering complete!】
【You may choose three out of the following six rewards.】
Shangshan Che took a deep breath, clearing his thoughts.
Six rewards… one more than last time.
He had to choose carefully.
After closing his eyes for a long time and confirming he had discarded extraneous thoughts, Shangshan Che looked at the rows upon rows of rewards before him.
【1. Soul Ash 2000 points.】
Soul Ash reward?
No need to even look, directly exclude.
If there was another “0” added at the end, Shangshan Che might consider it.
But two thousand points of Soul Ash?
Come on, that’s only enough for thirteen card draws. He could get that much Soul Ash by grinding for two or three weeks at most.
【2. Select one Demon Incarnation and grant it two random talents.】
“It’s one more random talent than last time,” Shangshan Che nodded in acknowledgment first, then shook his head. “But it’s a shame, the word ‘random’ is still too unstable.”
Shangshan Che would only seriously consider it when “random” was replaced with a more specific phrase like “obtain talents of XX category.”
【3. Immediately learn “Basic Plain Spear Style·Mastery Level,” and gain its attribute bonuses normally.】
Huh? A new reward he hadn’t seen before?
Shangshan Che’s gaze sharpened, and he focused his thoughts on “Basic Plain Spear Style·Mastery Level,” quickly understanding its meaning.
The so-called “Plain Spear Style” refers to using the Cold Weapon “Plain Spear”—a spear that only has a spearhead attached to the shaft, without any additional functional components.
In contrast, there are weapons like the *pianlianqiang*, *shiziqiang*, and *ji* which have different spearheads and are responsible for long-range combat.
The word “Basic” indicates that this technique does not contain any Secret Techniques, special moves, or unique techniques from various styles.
It simply grants the selector the concept of “how to use a spear,” along with some general stances and spear techniques.
Shangshan Che’s eyes lit up: “In other words, there will be no difficulty in learning any spear technique style in the future. They will all have the bonus of this Mastery Level Basic Plain Spear Style.”
Although the highest level of the Basic Plain Spear Style is “Mastery,” and it cannot be leveled up to Expert Level to truly enter the realm of Supernatural Technique.
But learning it at its highest level is already great!
Designating Reward Three as a mandatory option, Shangshan Che continued to look down.
【4. Immediately learn “Heretical Paths·Child-Snatching Box,” and gain its attribute bonuses normally.】
“Heretical Paths…”
The last time he heard these four words was when he was discussing the classification of Onmyōdō with Lili Zi and Sister Mafuyu outside the school dojo.
At that time, Sister Mafuyu had seriously advised him not to practice Heretical Paths.
He silently looked at the seven words emitting an ominous black glow.
Immediately after, Shangshan Che understood the practice and usage of this heretical path.
Simply put, this was a curse whose power could be increased almost infinitely.
—The so-called ‘child-grabbing box’ refers to a box made of square wooden pieces about 20 centimeters in size, which cannot be opened without following specific steps.
The caster must place parts of the sacrificed victim inside, including but not limited to an infant’s umbilical cord, the first joint of a seven-year-old child’s index finger…
Of course, the so-called sacrificed victim naturally needs to be alive, requiring the caster to kill them personally.
After completing the child-grabbing box, place it in the home of the person you wish to curse or underground, and their family will gradually die for inexplicable reasons.
The more people are sacrificed, the stronger the curse of the child-grabbing box will become, its scope will expand, its duration will lengthen, and it may even affect the caster themselves.
“Heretical paths? This should be called demonic paths.”
Shangshan Che narrowed his eyes, memorizing all the details related to the child-grabbing box clearly, so that he could react immediately if he encountered this Onmyōdō in the future.
Then, he unhesitatingly ruled it out of the options.
Shangshan Che was far from being so deranged as to need to practice such evil arts to increase his strength.
The options below this became normal again.
【5. Skill Adaptation: Select a skill to modify, reducing the proficiency required for it to level up.】
With skills requiring so much proficiency, Skill Adaptation is definitely the one to choose.
The key question is, which skill should he apply the effects of Skill Adaptation to?
Shangshan Che scanned the major skills he currently possessed—
Natural Reason School, Corona Breathing Technique, Spirit Control Technique, and Five Thunder Technique · Qi.
Among these, the proficiency levels of the first three had already reached Proficient or Mastery, while only the latter was still at a pitiful “Beginner.”
Shangshan Che fell into deep thought.
Spirit Control Technique is definitely out; even Mastery Level Spirit Control Technique only requires 1000 proficiency points to promote, and the reward is too small compared to the other three.
So, among the remaining three…
Shangshan Che’s thoughts raced, and he quickly made a decision.
—Five Thunder Technique · Qi.
Indeed, it wasn’t the breathing technique or sword technique that had been with him for a long time, but the Five Thunder Technique · Qi he had learned from a netizen not long ago.
The reason for making this choice was simple.
What Shangshan Che needed now was to maximize the utilization of his own resources—and the spiritual arts attribute was wasted the most in every combat.
After consuming most of his spiritual power to unleash a terrifying Heavenly Thunder at the beginning of combat, the spiritual arts attribute would lose its effect, at most allowing him to unleash another one after the cooldown was complete.
As for Soul Seals, they were rarely used in combat, so let’s not even mention them.
Therefore, Shangshan Che wanted to quickly increase the proficiency level of Five Thunder Technique · Qi, so that the spiritual arts attribute could also enhance his close combat strength, achieving a result of 1+1 > 2.
After making his decision, Shangshan Che looked at the last reward.
【6. Obtain a mission item related to the Walker of the Eternal World identity. After completing the mission, the rarity of the “Walker of the Eternal World” identity may be increased.】
Alright, no need to think further, it’s this one.
After witnessing the vast background of the Walker identity, even ignoring its effect of “increasing the probability of triggering special events,” Shangshan Che believed it was completely worthwhile to find ways to increase the rarity of his identity.
Just having Magatsu-kami within the Walking Assembly was already worth the price of admission.
Because who knows, after the rarity of his identity increased to a certain level, he might be able to summon Magatsu-kami for help, or even directly contract her as a Shikigami…
Although the latter is 99% a fantasy, the former or obtaining a Blessing from Magatsu-kami is quite possible.
Shangshan Che was about to choose the three rewards when he found his room door suddenly pushed open.
Lili Zi, with a slightly worried expression, quickly walked in from the door, observed him for a moment, confirmed the extremely weak aura emanating from him, and asked seriously,
“Shangshan Jun, what happened?”
“I noticed your aura suddenly weaken from the living room…”
Shangshan Che was stunned for a moment and casually put the reward panel aside.
He pinched his chin with his fingers, thought seriously for a while, and smiled at Lili Zi, “Perhaps I did something good after a long time, bringing a perfect conclusion to the story.”
“Story?”
In the silence, Lili Zi stared at him intently.
Her sharp little canine teeth slightly bit into her lips, wanting to pierce through this lie that even a three-year-old child wouldn’t believe.
But she still didn’t.
Lili Zi pursed her lips helplessly and asked, “Do you want to eat breakfast?”
Shangshan Che clasped his hands together, covering his rumbling stomach, and said, “Then I’ll be counting on you, Master Lili Zi.”
In less than five minutes, Lili Zi brought over a tray containing two fried eggs, toasted bacon bread, and milk at the perfect temperature.
The girl, wearing an apron, used her toes to hook the bed table and precisely placed it in front of Shangshan Che, then gently put the white tray on it.
Then, she took out a knife and fork from her apron pocket and placed them on the tray.
She tilted her chin and said faintly, “I figured you must be very hungry, so I made a simple meal that could be served quickly.”
Shangshan Che immediately raised his knife and fork emotionally, “Lili Zi, you’re simply a superhuman!”
Sitting by the bed, Lili Zi glanced from the corner of her eye at the boy whose entire Spirit, Energy, and Vitality exuded weakness but who was wolfing down his food like nothing was wrong.
She turned her gaze back and stared at the sun for a long time, making her vision go black, trying to fool herself with this.
Unfortunately, Lili Zi was ultimately defeated by her curiosity.
She couldn’t help but pick a cleverly placed spot and ask, “As for the story, is it true or false?”
Putting the last bite of the meticulously prepared fried egg, which carried the essence of diligent practice day and night, into his mouth, Shangshan Che licked the breadcrumbs off his fork.
He looked at Lili Zi and replied somewhat uncertainly,
“Since I said it was a story, it should be false.”
Probably.
The conclusion is tomorrow, so not much is updated. Please forgive me, meow!
Asking for monthly votes at the end of the month!
Finally, the new volume startup will continue to have explosive updates!
—
Recommending my friend Lao Ren’s book.
