Chapter 277: The Jade Of Four Souls

Kimura Kazuki entered the passage first with a cautious look on his face.

Even though he was quite confident that his own strength had reached the peak of perfection in Japan, Unto Shrine had a history of more than 1,000 years after all, and so did the suppressed Majin.

The Majin was still able to break the seal even though it had been sealed for over 1,000 years. Even though the seal might have loosened on its own, after all these years of suppression, the Majin still had the ability to break the seal. Obviously the strength of the Majin was not to be underestimated, just that they had no idea which level was the Majin's strength at.

After Kimura Kazuki entered the channel, he looked around before taking a step forward. Dust rose and engulfed the air, cobwebs were everywhere in the passageway. It was apparent that no one had entered this place for ages.

A light shone from behind him as he started walking. He turned to find Asuka holding a piece of Enchanted Talisman.

Asuka beamed at him. "This is an Illuminating Talisman, one piece of this can shine for an hour." He passed the Enchanted Talisman to Kimura Kazuki.

After Kimura Kazuki received the Enchanted Talisman, he sped up his footsteps. He was not concerned about any traps as this place was meant to serve the purpose of suppressing the Majin. For generations, only the people from Unto Shrine would enter this place, so it made sense that the people of Unto Shrine would not set traps in such a place. Moreover, the traps would be useless anyway if the seal was broken. Nonetheless, he still scanned the walls on both sides just to be safe, though he noticed nothing was amiss.

Pretty soon, the group had descended the stone stairs. The distance from the surface to the bottom of the passageway was around 70 to 80 meters.

When they reached the bottom, there were lights so the Lighting Talisman was no longer needed.

Kimura Kazuki examined his surroundings and noticed the lamps on the stone wall. He wondered about the material of the lampwick within given that up till now, the light did not go out.

"The lampwick is made of firefly grass and ignited by spiritual power, it can burn for two years if left undisturbed," Sei Shigeru said with a chuckle as he sensed Kimura Kazuki's confusion.

So it was firefly grass. Kimura Kazuki nodded lightly when he heard the name. There were plenty of firefly grass during the reiki recuperation era and they were also used for lighting purposes.

Very soon, they reached the end of the path as they followed the lamps. The passageway was not big, in fact, it was crude. There were only lamps and rocks that scattered the ground, with not a single living thing in sight.

As Kimura Kazuki noticed the pool at the end of the passageway, that sense of familiarity resurfaced abruptly and something came to his mind instantly. His expression changed slightly as he recalled. Was it not this scene the one he saw from the information fragments of the batlike Tsukumogami which he had previously slain?

Back then, he had simply assumed that the batlike Tsukumogami was used as a suppressing seal for something. Who would have guessed that it was actually true?

However, from what he saw from the information fragments, the batlike Tsukumogami had probably ran away due to its fear of what was in the pool.

The pool in front of them was a shade of emerald. The Shimenawa which used to circle along the edge of the pool was now floating on the water surface. Kimura Kazuki did not feel any threats. The sealed Majin seemed to have long escaped.

Kimura Kazuki was quite disappointed when he thought about it. While he stared at the deep pool, a sudden urge in his heart transformed his Sun and Moon Sword into a blue ray of light. It then zipped into the depths of the pool, leaving behind a water splash.

Sei Shigeru, who was standing behind, had a slight change of expression when he saw it. "The Art of Sword Summoning?"

This was the first time Sei Shigeru saw Kimura Kazuki making a move. Even though they had met a few times before, he simply had the impression that Kimura Kazuki was quite strong.

Before this, he was never interested in the Jade Dragon Flag Competition, but since Kimura Kazuki took part in it this year, he decided to spectate the competition a little. From there, he confirmed that Kimura Kazuki was using the Yagyu Flying Sword Style. The Shigeru family had records of the Yagyu Flying Sword Style, they even knew the names to all of its moves.

That was why Sei Shigeru knew that Kimura Kazuki was indeed a descendant of the Yagyu Flying Sword Style. However, until his death, Yagyu Isshin could never reach the sixth stage of sword power. Therefore, even if Kimura Kazuki had inherited the Yagyu Flying Sword Style, there was no way for him to possess that much power at such a young age.

Yet, now that Kimura Kazuki was using the Art of Sword Summoning, Sei Shigeru was flabbergasted.

Japan and Huaxia had always been closely connected by waters, which was why Sei Shigeru knew about The Art of Sword Summoning. He never thought that Kimura Kazuki could command the Art of Sword Summoning. Could it be that Kimura Kazuki was actually not the descendant of Yagyu Flying Sword Style, rather he had received the inheritance of Huaxia?

As Sei Shigeru contemplated, the Sun and Moon Sword had circled the bottom of the pool. After that, it zipped upwards and back to Kimura Kazuki's side. The Sun and Moon Sword had carried an object to the surface with it. The object was suspended in the air for a moment before it dropped into Kimura Kazuki's palm.

Kimura Kazuki could feel a round and smooth object before he looked at it. Upon closer inspection, it was a bead covered with cracks.

The bead was translucent while purple Ki circling around within it.

"The Jade of Four Souls!" As he walked up to Kimura Kazuki's side, Sei Shigeru, who was usually calm and collected, exclaimed in excitement once he saw the bead.

Asuka and Mei gathered over when they heard the name. Looking at the bead in Kimura Kazuki's hand, they too exclaimed with bewilderment, "It's really the Jade of Four Souls!"

Harunaka looked on curiously, though she remained silent. After all, she knew nothing and could only gain knowledge as she followed her seniors around. There was nothing much that she could help with.

"What is the Jade of Four Souls?" Harunaka asked as she wondered.

Other than Harunaka, Kimura Kazuki was also curious as he was drawn in by the look of astonishment on Sei Shigeru's face.

Judging from the reaction of Sei Shigeru, who was normally a calm person, the Jade of Four Souls was clearly something of value.

"Oh dear, what a pity!" Sei Shigeru exclaimed in a regretful tone as he looked at the bead that was full of cracks. "The Jade of Four Souls is extremely powerful. If I'm not mistaken, this object was used to suppress Majin. Now that the seal is broken and the Jade of Four Souls is damaged, the Majin has probably escaped." Sei Shigeru's face darkened when he finished his sentence. They had no idea what the Majin was, whether it was an evil spirit, wraith, or Tsukumogami. Only the people from Unto Shrine would know about it, but now that the Omnyojis and shrine maidens from Unto Shrine had been wiped out, it would be chaos if the Majin rises in revolt.

Just as Sei Shigeru sighed, he noticed that Kimura Kazuki and Harunaka were still wondering with curiosity. So he started explaining in an unhurried way, "The Jade of Four Souls was formed from the soul of a powerful shrine maiden named Midoriko after her death during ancient times."

"A Sarira relic?" Kimura Kazuki's face stiffened with a serious look.

Sei Shigeru was stunned by Kimura Kazuki's words. Then, he shook his head and continued saying, "The Jade of Four Souls is not the same as a Sarira relic, its existence is unique. During ancient times, Midoriko had spent her entire life as a shrine maiden, taking on uncountable evil spirits, wraiths, and monsters while suppressing them. Midoriko had always wanted to turn them away from evil and follow a path of virtue. Unfortunately, she would not be able manage it after her death. Hence, before she died, she fused her soul together with the souls of those evil spirits and wraiths and destroyed them. The Jade of Four Souls, a soul crystal, was formed as a result of the soul fusion."