Chapter 847: The Miko
Under the cover of night, Ise Province resembled a procession of 100 ghosts in full swing.
With no moonlight, the darkness was oppressive. Nothing could be seen beyond a few meters. The void felt thick, like a heavy curtain that light could not penetrate. As the night wind swept across the open plains, it howled like ghostly laughter.
Looking closely, one could see numerous figures moving through the dark—some quickly, some slowly. There were faint, indistinct murmurs, or perhaps low chuckles that were unclear.
During the day, sunlight suppressed these ghostly entities, forcing them into hiding. But at night, with yin energy flourishing, they surged forth like startled insects after the first thunder of spring.
There were two types of spirits. One was the bodiless ghost, also called a yin soul, which feared blood qi and yang energy. As long as a person had strong blood qi and vitality, these spirits could not get close. Such yin souls used illusions to wear down the mind and erode courage. Once the heart faltered, the body’s yang energy would weaken, allowing possession. Their methods were much like a Diviner’s.
The other type of spirits were corporeal creatures like zombies, who not only had no fear of one’s yang energy but even craved blood and flesh. Their methods were simple and brutal, much like Martial Arts Practitioners.
Normally, these two types of spirits would not appear together. But Ise Province was far from normal. Yin souls and zombies roamed side by side, yin energy and resentment merged into one.
Ordinary people dared not step outside at night. Every household kept its doors tightly shut. Outside of a few major towns, smaller villages were already nearly deserted.
Walking across the open plain, Qi Xuansu’s intense blood qi was like a bright lamp in the dark, visible from afar and inevitably attracting numerous malicious spirits.
But both yin souls and zombies had their own frustrations. The yin souls were fast and elusive, but Qi Xuansu’s body was that of a Heavenly-Being Martial Arts Practitioner. Even while purposefully suppressing his blood qi, it was so intense that they dared not approach. Zombies, on the other hand, were not afraid. But they moved slowly, like the elderly on the verge of collapse, so Qi Xuansu easily outpaced them. Before long, they were left bewildered, unsure of what they were chasing.
Qi Xuansu had come to Ise Province in the guise of an Onmyoji, but he was not here to exorcise spirits. So his approach to these spirits was simple—avoid them whenever possible, and if unavoidable, dispatch them quickly with no fuss.
Of course, the many ghosts and spirits of Ise Province had to be dealt with, but this was not Qi Xuansu’s duty alone. Once the Daoist troops arrived, all demons and ghouls would be wiped out.