[You have been tainted by the ninth stack of Calamitous Fallen Karmic Fire.]

[You look at the dead chief priest Shell before you.]

[Extreme Evil Tenmei Grand Shrine Chief Priest: Because Ancient Heavenly Enma was contaminated by the evil god, its divine statue contained uncountable malice. The Grand Temple Chief Priest who worshiped the statue day and night was the first to be affected by the malice, ultimately falling into extreme evil and becoming the Great General’s capable assistant in eroding the human world. It died under the baptism of annihilating starlight. Compatibility: 117% (+55%).]

[Do you wish to possess this Shell?]

[You possess the Shell of the Extreme Evil Tenmei Grand Shrine Chief Priest.]

Lin Xun opened the panel to check the Palace Master’s stats. This Shell’s quality was similar to that of the Direct Vision President, but its skills were rather lackluster, with the highest only Epic+, far inferior to the President’s starlight ultimate skill.

[The memories within the Palace Master Shell stir faintly.]

[…]

[Only now do you understand that the true god is not Enma, but the Extreme Evil God who controls all things in the world.]

[Compared to the Extreme Evil God, whether the defeated Chaotic Origin Dragon or the victor Ancient Heavenly Enma are hardly worth mentioning. They are merely pieces on the Extreme Evil God’s board.]

[Fortunately you awakened early and became a devout believer of the Extreme Evil God. Otherwise, the ignorant you would still be kept in the dark.]

[You are not the only one with wisdom. Sakura Falls’ supreme ruler, the Great General, had long joined the evil god’s banner and become the evil god’s incarnation walking the human world.]

[The moment you awakened, you received a summons from the Great General.]

[You entered the Imperial Palace and received the first task given by the Great General.]

[It was a rod-shaped ceremonial scepter made of brocade bamboo, its top hung with splendid ornaments strung from fire-ox tails and scarlet phoenix plumes.]

[You were very familiar with this scepter. In the past, envoys sent by the Vermilion Empire always held this scepter in hand.]

[Compared to Sakura Falls, the Vermilion Empire’s faith in Ancient Heavenly Enma was more fanatical. They styled themselves the descendants of Enma and believed that all gods other than the Chaotic Origin Dragon were created by Ancient Heavenly Enma, hence they addressed the Three Pillar Gods and a host of lesser gods as the True God’s Offspring.]

[Perhaps because of the Vermilion Empire’s fervent devotion, they mastered a method to call upon the True God’s Offspring.]

[The Vermilion Ceremonial Scepter is one such ritual implement for calling the True God’s Offspring. When used by a zealot, the scepter can obtain a response from the True God’s Offspring.]

[The Great General told you that the Extreme Evil God seeks to assimilate all things in the world, and even the gods will not be spared.]

[Enma and the Dragon God are already under the evil god’s control, and only some lesser gods have scattered and fled to hide in the outer void.]

[Now it falls to you, a fanatic who has long served Enma, to use the scepter within the Main Hall of the Grand Temple to call the True God’s Offspring.]

[Your prior faith was incomparably devout, so you have a great chance of receiving a response from the True God’s Offspring.]

[With the evil god veiling your aura, they will never suspect you are already a believer in the evil god, nor will they expect that the evil god can receive a response as well.]

[Once a response is received, the evil god can lock onto their hiding place and assimilate them.]

[You were overjoyed upon hearing this. For the Extreme Evil God, you are willing to give everything. To serve the gods is the highest honor.]

[You cautiously put away the scepter, returned to the Grand Temple’s Main Hall, and according to the Great General’s words, called upon the gods under Enma’s command.]

[Your devotion received a response from the True God’s Offspring, but soon the murmurs in the dark turned into wails of agonized lament. You knew the Extreme Evil God had once again caught a hiding god.]

[The task was far from over.]

[Perhaps because the Vermilion Empire had not seen its envoys return, the frequency of dispatched envoys grew ever more frequent. Yet how could that decrepit emperor know that the enemy they were resisting had already secretly pocketed Sakura Falls.]

[With the Extreme Evil God’s mighty power upon you, how could the army accompanying the envoys be a match for the Great General.]

[The Vermilion Empire sent envoys ever more frequently, but the size of the envoy delegations grew fewer and fewer. By now the Great General no longer needed to appear in person. He could simply dispatch ninjas and thieves to annihilate the envoys and seize the Vermilion Ceremonial Scepter.]

[…]

[Fewer and fewer True God’s Offspring responded to your calls. Long calls with the scepter received no response. You knew the surviving gods were already scarce.]

[Before long, when the evil god captured all the gods under Enma’s command, that ferocious lion, the Vermilion Empire, would also sink into corruption and drown.]

[…]

[The broken memories end abruptly here.]

After reading the text, Lin Xun let out a long breath.

So the truth of this chapter was already half stated in the introduction upon first entering the chapter.

The key clue was hidden on the Vermilion Ceremonial Scepter held by the envoy.

And the item used to defeat the Great General was precisely this seemingly useless scepter.

[You go straight to the Grand Temple’s Main Hall.]

[…]

[Before the Main Hall, within the invisible and colorless barrier, a woman in white robes and scarlet hakama stood with tear-streaked face, dazed in place.]

[Suddenly seeing you appear before her alive after death, her eyes widened for a moment and she was too shocked to speak.]

[You used the Mizugaki Barrier Token to wave away the barrier and told her there was no need to make a fuss. As the offspring of the old gods and the Proxy of a new god, feigning death to escape was merely one of your methods.]

[Tsukishiro Murasakiyo nodded in half understanding.]

Lin Xun opened the Inventory, clicked on the Fruit of Evil, then picked up the special equipment, the Vermilion Ceremonial Scepter.

According to the Chief Priest’s memories, as long as he used the scepter in the Main Hall he could call the True God’s Offspring and find help to defeat the Great General together.

[You hold a pitch-black, tiny fruit in one hand and the scepter hung with fiery red ornaments in the other.]

Seeing the text showing a pitch-black fruit, Lin Xun’s heart suddenly lurched and he immediately halted his action.

A terrifying thought surfaced in his mind. If he summoned the True God’s Offspring while holding the Fruit of Evil, would it also be noticed by the evil god.

Moreover, the divine statue in the Main Hall was shrouded in malice, black aura coiling. Using the scepter here would be no different from walking into a trap.

This was basically shouting to the Extreme Delusion Fruit that dinner was served.

Lin Xun took senior sister to the branch shrine within the Grand Temple, where statues of the Three Pillar Gods and numerous lesser gods stood.

Using the Vermilion Ceremonial Scepter here might elicit a response from a god.

[…]

[A neat row of divine statues stood before you, their painted colors bright and vivid as if alive, seemingly untouched by the taint of malice.]

[You held the Vermilion Ceremonial Scepter and offered prayers to the statues, yet received no response at all.]

[You changed to another statue and prayed, yet still no anomaly appeared.]

[You changed to yet another statue and prayed.]

[…]

[Tsukishiro Murasakiyo looked at you in puzzlement and asked your reason.]

[You told her the effect of the Vermilion Ceremonial Scepter and explained that it was used to call the surviving gods. With the help of a god, you would defeat the evil god’s incarnation, the Great General.]

[Unexpectedly, Tsukishiro Murasakiyo stopped your continued prayers. She told you that the statues in the branch shrine had no sentience and were useless false statues. No amount of worship would draw the attention of the gods.]

[As for the true divine statues, they would likely be like Enma’s, shrouded in black aura and bound in malice.]

[Hearing Tsukishiro Murasakiyo’s words, you fell into a long silence.]

“…What should I do then.”

Lin Xun recalled the true visage of Amateru Sakiina’s statue and the appearance of the two Pillar God statues in the mountain belly of the No-Illusions Shrine. They were indeed exactly as senior sister said.

[Tsukishiro Murasakiyo also fell into deep thought, but she quickly thought of something and hurriedly told you.]

[Before the Great General ruled Sakura Falls, the various daimyos across the land warred for hegemony. Though they too worshiped Enma, the only orthodox attendant of Enma was the royal house of Sakura Falls.]

[If there is anyone in the world who can draw the attention of the gods without relying on a statue, it would be the seven-year-old little emperor within the Imperial Palace.]

[However, the Imperial Palace is guarded by the Great General. Attempting to infiltrate the palace would not escape the Great General’s discerning eye even with her teacher, the Ninja Master’s art of escape.]

[Moreover, her teacher suffers from old ailments and has no strength to come forth again after the incident at the No-Illusions Shrine.]

“I see. As long as we can find the little emperor.”

“Damn. Infiltrating the palace to find the little emperor. How is that any different from facing the Great General head on.”

Lin Xun’s mouth twitched. He felt as if he had run into a dead end.

He racked his brains for a long time and still found no clue.

Suddenly a light went on in his mind. He thought of a very reliable method.

The palace was guarded by the Great General, but if he could lure the Great General out, would he not be able to slip in smoothly.

There was still the Imperial Swordsmith Shell in the Shell Slots, a perfect decoy.

Lin Xun pondered carefully over the feasibility of this plan and simulated how to lure the snake from its hole.

Yet no matter how he considered it, the plan seemed impossible.

Luring the Great General away had to be as far as possible. The farthest point was the Fukoka Castle port, where there was a Resting Page.

After luring the Great General there, he could use the Resting Page to instantly teleport to Thousand Orchid City.

Then use the Greedy Wolf Star Lord’s sword flight to rush to the palace at full speed.

But the flaw in the plan was time.

From prior kite-chasing, it was known that the Great General needed less than half an hour to dash from the palace to Fukoka Castle.

Midway through the Great General’s travel, if Lin Xun switched to another Shell, the Great General would lose the target and return to the palace.

So he would have to see the Great General’s figure at the port before teleporting to the palace. Yet the Greedy Wolf Star Lord’s sword flight from Thousand Orchid City to Kyoto needed most of an hour.

By the time he reached Kyoto, the Great General would already have returned to the palace.

“…This is simply unsolvable.”

[Tsukishiro Murasakiyo at your side suddenly spoke. ‘Lord Proxy, if you can lure the Great General away and escape using your feigned death method, why not let this one infiltrate the Imperial Palace alone to find the little emperor for you.’]

[Do not forget, she is not only a shrine miko but also a ninja.]

[Do you wish to agree to Tsukishiro Murasakiyo’s plan.]

Lin Xun’s mouth twitched.

Senior sister, it is not that I look down on you. Although your ninjutsu is quite outstanding compared to your healing, the palace is full of experts. A single oshin hatamoto would be enough to flatten you.

If you were discovered during the infiltration, I would be burning paper for you on this day next year.

[You decisively rejected Tsukishiro Murasakiyo’s proposal.]

[Seeing the dismissive look in your eyes, she understood at once. Tsukishiro Murasakiyo turned lightly. The figure in white robes and scarlet hakama vanished without a trace.]

[A flash of blade light suddenly swept toward you. You raised your sword to block, about to neutralize the woman’s strike. When blade met sword, there was not the slightest force in your hands.]

[Startled in your heart, you pinched a sword seal. The Dragon Sword Masamune flew behind you and blocked the blade light coming from your back.]

[Unexpectedly, the blade light behind you was also a feint. A brilliant arc of blade light blossomed before your eyes.]

[When the blade light faded, the Tachi – Uzuki-Kir lay between you and Tsukishiro Murasakiyo.]

[Her strike having failed, her figure appeared at once.]

[She looked at the Dragon Sword Masamune that had fallen to the ground, then at the Uzuki-Kir floating in the air, then at you, and finally let the great naginata in her hands droop in dejection.]

[You easily resolved Tsukishiro Murasakiyo’s sneak attack and estimated in your heart that her strength was already half that of the Ninja Master, perhaps even higher.]

[Looking at Tsukishiro Murasakiyo, who wished to prove her strength but had her confidence shaken by you, do you wish to agree to her plan.]

“Hellish game, you think I would fall for that.”

Letting senior sister infiltrate the palace alone would most likely invite a scripted death from the hellish game. In the end, the little emperor would remain unfound and a key story figure would be lost.

[Seeing this, you shifted the subject and told Tsukishiro Murasakiyo that the evil god’s believers in the Tenmei Grand Shrine had all been put to the sword, but this place had intricate ties to the Great General and should not be lingered in for long.]

[With that said, you hurried down the mountain with Tsukishiro Murasakiyo.]

As Lin Xun pondered countermeasures, he opened his items to check the spoils from defeating the Chief Priest.

Defeating the Chief Priest yielded an Epic+ weapon named Purifying Evil and Averting Calamity Halo, which could greatly increase the output of damage-type divine arts.

However, Lin Xun did not plan to use the Chief Priest Shell as a main Shell. He could go back to the Library later to sell this equipment and exchange it for Spirit Essence to refill.

[Great General’s Omamori (Item): A talisman pouch in the shape of a brocade satchel. Inside is a thumb-sized pitch-black seed suffused with very dense malice. This omamori was the Great General’s reward to the Chief Priest.]

[Using this item, you will have a very high chance of drawing the Extreme Delusion Fruit’s gaze.]

“…What kind of suicide artifact is this.”

Lin Xun curled his lip, beyond ridicule.

[…]

[Under the night, a vast city loomed in the distance. You and Tsukishiro Murasakiyo were about to reach Kyoto.]

[Tsukishiro Murasakiyo suddenly halted and solemnly told you.]

[Lord Proxy, this one knows well that my strength is weak and I cannot aid you in the great work of saving the common folk. After much thought, there is only one method by which I can help you.]

[It is widely rumored that the Vermilion Empire is aflame with war and too busy to attend to Sakura Falls. The Great General thus did not pay tribute nor offer worship and even attacked the Vermilion envoys in secret. People mostly think the Vermilion Empire is at war with another nation.]

[Now, this one knows the Vermilion Empire is contending against the evil god. This one is willing to go alone to the Vermilion Empire to request the aid of the legendary Vermilion immortals to help you slay the evil god’s incarnation, the Great General.]

[Resolve shone in the woman’s eyes before you, like a moth throwing itself into a flame.]

[Do you wish to accompany Tsukishiro Murasakiyo.]

[You cannot go to the Vermilion Empire. That region belongs to an eighth-difficulty chapter.]

[You knew Tsukishiro Murasakiyo’s intention was set. To keep her was worse than to send her off. With a long sigh, you bade her a solemn farewell.]

[…]

[Tsukishiro Murasakiyo turned to leave, yet after only a few steps she suddenly ran back and hugged you tightly.]

[The steadfast words of the woman sounded by your ear.]

[My lord, you must wait for me.]

[The figure in white robes and scarlet hakama turned lightly and vanished, leaving only a faint lingering fragrance in your arms.]

Lin Xun was dumbfounded.

He had not told Tsukishiro Murasakiyo to leave. The entire sequence had been fully automated by the hellish game, like watching a cutscene.

“Why did the senior sister just decide to leave. At least have a meal together first.”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep