Gu Mo nodded slightly, gazing at the item in his hand and said, "I know this."

The Soul Core Box was a treasure from Minamoto no Yoshiie during his lifetime, able to utilize the soul cores of slain Demon Ghosts in a different manner, making those enemies who died by her hand serve her in another form, exerting remaining energy... Killed by the enemy, and still working for them after death, even capitalists would shed a tear over this.

However, in his hand, the annotations indicate that this item indeed does not possess its original quality.

......

"Soul Core Box (Damaged)."

"Origin: Under a Sakura Spirit Wood over a millennium old in Danbo Dajishan."

"Quality: Rare."

"Effect 1: Place the Demon Ghost's soul core inside, converting its Wild Soul into Harmony Soul, which can be summoned again at an appropriate time. The summoned item's level is determined by both the soul core's owner's former level and the summoner's level (Current number of soul cores placed: 0/2)."

"Effect 2: Use the essence contained within the Demon Ghost's soul core to replenish the user's Energy Value. After using a soul core once, it requires a cooldown period before this effect can be used again, and during this time summoning cannot take place."

"Additional Effect: Consume a certain amount of Energy Value to directly capture and seal a target that meets the conditions. During this effect's duration, other effects of this equipment cannot be used."

"Note: The Soul Core Box was painstakingly crafted by Abe no Seimei with the essence of Yin Yang Technique, a treasure given to Minamoto no Yoshiie. Raiko would collect soul cores into this box for purification and summon the Harmony Soul Demons stored within during demon-slaying to enhance his side's combat strength."

......

A very good summoning-type tool, though, unfortunately, it is indeed seriously damaged...

Gu Mo looked at the text displayed in the quality section, thinking with regret. The silver color was already very dim, leaving only a faint trace of silver; perhaps in a few more years, even this last bit of silver would be gone.

This is based on observations... Generally speaking, from Gu Mo's experiences, it can be seen that system categorizes item quality into four categories.

The most common are those seen everywhere, ubiquitous items, because they do not have any special attributes or effects; these are attribute-less items, marked only with a name, will not trigger identification, and will not have extra attribute page descriptions.

The next are items genuinely identified by the system as "ordinary" quality, definitely not like the above... In the system's stringent standards, ordinary items should have attributes and special effects that defy common sense, with the quality related display color being the texture and hue of bronze.

Above those, there are "rare" and "unique" quality items, corresponding to the tiers represented by Silver Key and Gold Key lottery pools.

As for whether there are even higher level equipment items beyond this, Gu Mo cannot confirm for now, only speculating that they should exist, because the B-level comprehensive assessment already rewards with Gold Key; commonly speaking, logically above this level, there should still be an A-level assessment, right?

Yet even among equipment items of the same quality, there seems to exist certain disparities, though there is no explanation for this, but one can compare through the related color intensity displayed by the quality. While Gu Mo's foundation is not considered profound, there are plenty of common items dropped, so he could discover this pattern.

Moreover, the Skill Badge he previously acquired is also a Silver Level reward, but within the bright, impurity-free silver radiance, it even faintly carried a hint of gold... compared to the dim silver of his current Soul Core Box, it seems like silver oxidizes to black, forming a stark contrast in quality display from splendid and shining.

Without lingering further in the dojo, notifying Abe no Seimei briefly, Gu Mo quickly left.

Returning to his room, he opened the Soul Core Box for a more thorough examination, feeling a bit anxious, filled with anticipation and unease. He knew that this might be the key to resolving his dissatisfaction, yet also worried it might not be, continuing to feel disturbed.

The Soul Core Box indeed resembled a jewelry box, its interior empty, also engraved with a Kikyo Seal-like Pentagram Array, symbolizing the purity against demons, clean of impurities, with the five points corresponding to embedding slots, seemingly designed for setting gemstones or similar items...

Gu Mo knew this must be where the soul cores were meant to be placed, but in saying so, under normal circumstances, it could accommodate five Harmony Soul Demons simultaneously; now though, only two slots were functional due to damage severity, rendering the others temporarily ineffective.

Aside from this, the empty box housed just a paper crane.

Gu Mo raised his brow slightly; in the original fate trajectory, it seemed this box contained a paper crane as well, although it was the token between Minamoto no Yoshiie and Abe no Seimei... However, at present, though similarly being a paper crane, it was now something he left for himself.

He cautiously removed the paper crane, detecting a faint fragrance, his eyes reflecting the corresponding annotation name—"Paper Crane."

There was no detailed identification page, thus it was not a usable item, nor did it have any special attributes, which made him sigh softly, yet probably due to not expecting much initially, the disappointment wasn't particularly heavy.

Honestly speaking, even if this inheritance mechanism gave him a super equipment or skill in advance, he couldn't truly utilize them as intended yet.

Like the Guardian Spirit Nine-tailed, an exceptionally strong force, he could only wield a fraction of its power... indicating that though he possessed such potent strength already, unable to employ it equates to having none, still requiring step-by-step upgrades, gradually unlocking portions.

Holding the paper crane, he studied it closely before hesitantly unfolding it.

Then, in that instant, a cool voice lightly resonated through the air.

"...Don't worry, just follow your thoughts."

"..."

"..."

Perhaps it was a form of message transmission, which Gu Mo already considered, yet still somewhat startled, for that wasn't his voice, but rather a woman's voice, though melodious, also crisp like a pristine mountain spring, or a brisk March breeze.

Wait a moment, maybe it's the voice of Ah Xiu?

Thinking of this paper crane, propagated from the Heian Era to the present, it belonged to the past for figures like Abe no Seimei, yet for himself and Ah Xiu, it conveyed future communication, suddenly leading him to connect the dots.

This should be the explanation; furthermore, no alternative explanations exist...

He secretly clenched his fist, feeling an immense weight lifted from his heart, his anxiety and indecision fading because he couldn't manage to balance matters or simply walk away... Now however, while specifics remain unknown, this future communication at least ensured he needn't worry anymore.

Sighing deeply, he sat upon his tatami mat, staring at the enormous white viper coiling around him.

Truly exhilarating, lessons must be learned subsequently...

Fortunately, everything seemed fine thus far, truly gratifying.

......

In the following days.

Saito Dosan publicly announced matters regarding Ah Xiu, adding another princess to Mino Country; however, that's all for now, as the decision regarding the "state handover" showed no signs... not due to him suddenly reneging, but because such a significant matter required careful strategy.

Suddenly throwing such a deepwater bomb served no benefit, only causing Mino Country to teeter.

Hence he hoped Gu Mo could gain some experience first, gradually rising in fame, waiting until most people have heard of him before fluidly implementing his plans... He's very pleased, as the latter expressed great understanding, showing no opposition, enthusiastically supporting the notion.

A person of profound knowledge, aware of the importance, a promising talent.

During this time, Hidechika seemed to be hiding somewhat, often sidestepping encounters, Gu Mo seldom saw her. He didn't ponder much, only thinking that given Ah Xiu's nature, suddenly becoming Princess Mino, surely she found various aspects unfamiliar and unsuitable, thus behaving so was understood.

Besides, this just provided an opportunity for him to act—

Using an excuse, he prepared this day to set out back to the past location of that Thirteen Sakura Village...

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