From here to the road leading to the shrine, there were no demon ghosts blocking the way.

Perhaps the demon ghosts capable of restraining themselves, possessing a bit of wisdom, would never come near here. Could it be that the Rattling Head above, part of the Lord of Constant Darkness, wouldn't find its way into the mountain? Of course not, it just restrained its instincts.

Knowing how fierce the struggle at the center is, it chose to linger on the periphery, absorbing the emanating essence power instead of greedily joining the battlefield.

Though it was still pitifully hunted down.

So,——

The demon ghosts approaching the core source here must be of the type that cannot restrain their instincts and greed, as there's a massive essence nearby. How could they resist the greed and evil thoughts in their hearts? Just as people can hardly resist the various desires arising from their hearts.

One should know that many demon ghosts were once human, only due to their fall and corruption, were they completely overwhelmed by the Wild Soul side, taking on the form of demons as their souls fell from the human world to Naraku's World.

Therefore... there's essentially no difference. They are no purer or uglier than humans, as they are embodiments of a part of human nature.

The black-haired girl also mustered her utmost spirit, and the enormous and mixed demon qi signified a considerable number of demon ghosts gathered here. Even if they were all fighting irrationally for the power of the spirit stone, significantly reducing the pressure she was facing, it still required cautious handling.

"Mm, I think this bridge should be repaired once a year..."

Covering his nose with his sleeve, following the girl, Gu Mo crossed the last plank bridge, approaching the shrine ahead. Looking at the boiling green poisonous water bubbling under the bridge, he subconsciously quickened his pace.

He had no doubt that if he fell in, not even his bones would remain, corroded clean in an instant, leaving nothing behind.

Gu Mo was well aware that he was nothing like in a game, where one could wade through, with just a few symbolic red damage numbers appearing above, and nothing would happen, at most a dose of antidote powder would solve the issue...

Compared to strong sulfuric acid, it was hard to say which was better or worse, but there was no need for comparison since the end result would be the same...

——This is venom from the Night Blade God.

The Night Blade God is a horned serpent in Japanese legend, which can be considered either a demon or an indigenous deity, mentioned in the Chronicles of the Province of Hitachi. Some think seeing this serpent brings disasters of family ruin and doom, but others believe it's an indigenous deity guarding the people living in valleys and wetlands.

Clearly, Saito Dosan believed in the latter, and the shrine here was built to enshrine the Night Blade God.

However, the former rumor isn't baseless; there might be a reason behind the saying. In the original fate, because Saito Yoshitaka was possessed by Layman Guoxin, he suddenly launched a rebellion against Saito Dosan, ultimately leading to a familial tragedy between father and son (or daughter)...

Considering that Nongji, later married off to Owari, also died together with Oda Nobunaga at Honnoji Temple, both daughter and son-in-law perished, leaving only Ah Xiu as the sole survivor... one may speculate that the old man did indeed suffer the disaster of ruin and doom.

Musing over such thoughts, Gu Mo found the girl in front had stopped.

At the end, the shrine gate stood open, and although the inside was the usual shrine scene, it was in shambles. Besides, the wall at the farthest inside resembled the secret door from the mansion above, both forcibly broken open by some violence, exposing a similarly long and narrow passageway...

The passageway stretched straight for a dozen yards, then opened up at the end, seemingly into a huge natural cave-like space...

The shrine's existence not only served to enshrine the Night Blade God but also served as a guise like the mansion above, existing to conceal the entrance to the real secret place!

——Of course, now these designs are all meaningless.

In the space at the end, though it was a bit far for Gu Mo to see clearly, he could hear the fierce roars, thunderous growls... various scarlet, eerie blood hues, and dazzling golden essence glows intertwined, the colors vivid and a little glaring.

A frenzied and terrifying desire struggle was going on there, already reaching a heated phase.

Standing still here, Hidechika looked back at him.

"Don't worry, I know... I won't hold you back."

Gu Mo snapped back to reality, blinked, then gave her a thumbs up, displaying a bright smile as always, with eight teeth perfectly showing a sunny and white display.

The girl gazed at him for a few seconds before withdrawing her gaze, turning her head away.

Maybe, though she still didn't understand why this person insisted on acting with her, he indeed hadn't held her back much, at least not causing situations where he fell into danger he couldn't handle, then awaited her rescue in an exasperating manner. Moreover, since leaving Thirteen Sakura Village, his growth was pretty fast.

Having learned some swordsmanship, a few Yin Yang Daoist techniques, and under the protection of a guardian spirit, also being prudent enough not to step into the most dangerous battlefield, but only skirting the edges to pick off stragglers, he was generally capable of self-preservation.

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