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"Is this the mountain gate of the Musashi School?"

In just one day, Qin Fang and his group of six traveled across most of Japan, arriving at the northernmost Hokkaido.

At this moment, they stood at the edge of a dense forest. Ahead of them was a simple and ancient gate-like structure, prompting Ji Xiang to ask.

"No..."

The old man, Hattori Sanzo, shook his head in denial.

"If it's not the mountain gate, then why are we here?"

Ji Xiang looked puzzled, not quite understanding what the old man was up to.

"Preparing food..."

Hattori Sanzo replied quite seriously, as he took the lead and walked towards the gate-like structure.

"..."

Ji Xiang was speechless, "Old man, are you purposely misleading us... In such a desolate place, what kind of food could there be?"

Though he said this, he still followed Qin Fang and the others, trailing behind Hattori Sanzo as they walked into the forest.

Actually, there's a lot of such structures in Japan, commonly found in the mountains and at forest edges. They are somewhat similar to the old land temples of Dragon Country, said to be remnants of shrines, but they don't hold much meaning nowadays...

However, Hattori Sanzo once told Qin Fang and the others that in Japan, wherever these structures are found, they should be cautious. These are generally locations for branches of the Dao Shen Sect.

The Dao Shen Sect has always been quite secretive and has a long history. It supposedly existed even before the development of the major Ninja and Swordsmanship Sects. In fact, the formation of these sects is greatly connected to the Dao Shen Sect...

This is why the Dao Shen Sect has become the leader of all underground forces in Japan. During its peak, even the Emperor had to address the Great Priest of the Dao Shen Sect as a mentor...

Even now, though the power of the Japanese Emperor has been diminished countless times, the influence of the Dao Shen Sect remains largely unaffected. It can even be said that they still hold control over Japan's power, whether in the visible government or in underground forces...

Musashi is also one of the Ninja Sects, considered mid-level but still under the influence of the Dao Shen Sect. With Miyamoto Musashi's formidable strength, his status within the Dao Shen Sect wouldn't be low.

Being a Great Priest is unlikely, but a Red-robed Priest is somewhat possible; at the very least, he's above the rank of the Black-robed Priest Watanabe before...

This structure is typical of a shrine, so no wonder Ji Xiang and the others thought it might be the mountain gate of Musashi...

"The mountain gate of the Musashi School is deeper in the forest. Look at that mountain... it's over there!"

As they walked deeper into the forest, Hattori Sanzo explained the reason for his earlier statement to Qin Fang and the others.

"But before heading there, we must go somewhere to prepare some things. The Ninjutsu of the Musashi School is somewhat special. All their weapons are coated with poison, and their mountain gate is surrounded by various poisonous plants. Some parts may be toxic, or the sap might be poisonous; the emitted smell might be toxic depending on how it's distributed..."

"Of course, as long as we are careful, we usually won't fall into danger... But there's one kind of poisonous plant there that releases toxins we must guard against..."

"I happen to know there's a place in this forest that produces a plant which is the antidote to this toxin, which is why we took this route!"

This explained everything, and Qin Fang and the others felt quite fortunate; if they had rushed in, they might have suffered greatly!

"How do you know all this?"

Even though they understood the truth, Qin Fang and the others were still quite surprised. It seemed like this should be a secret of the Musashi school, yet Hattori Sanzo, an outsider, knew it so well.

"Among the Japan Wanderers you killed, one was from the Musashi School, sort of my nominal disciple..."

Hattori Sanzo looked at Qin Fang and the others with a face full of melancholy, his expression extremely unusual.

Qin Fang and the rest exchanged awkward glances, seemingly not expecting it to be this way.

However, as things have already happened, saying anything is pointless. Hattori Sanzo didn't seem to mind much; after all, it was just a nominal disciple, not comparable to his personal disciples...

"Luckily, I had that nominal disciple, or I wouldn't know these secrets of the Musashi School. We really benefited from this..."

Fortunately, Hattori Sanzo had been won over by Qin Fang. Instead of feeling upset that his disciple had been killed by them, he was somewhat relieved that his nominal disciple hadn't been taken in vain!

The group continued deeper into the forest, with Hattori Sanzo leading them based on his former nominal disciple's guidance, finding a magical plant known as Mist Grass in a relatively secluded valley.

"Is this the herb that can detoxify?"

Upon seeing this herb, Qin Fang's face was filled with doubt as he asked.

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