Fantasy Library.

Chapter 365 "The Monkey God"

Nikko City, Tochigi Prefecture, Tokyo Metropolitan Area, Kanto Region.

This is a city where natural scenery and well-preserved historical buildings are everywhere, allowing people to clearly feel the perfect harmony between man and nature.

This area boasts numerous tourist attractions, including but not limited to Toshogu Shrine, Futarasan Shrine, Rinnoji Temple, Mt. Nikko, Mt. Nantai, Lake Chuzenji, Senjogahara, Yumoto Onsen, and Kegon Falls. Nikko National Park is located in its western mountainous region. The highest peak within the area, Mt. Okushirane, reaches an altitude of 2578 meters. Nearby are more than twenty mountains exceeding 2000 meters in altitude, many of which are bell-shaped volcanoes. The area is rich in famous tourist spots, attracting millions of tourists annually and making it a must-visit destination for many foreign travelers.

Just like now, even though it's still some time before the peak tourist season, quite a few tourists have already arrived here. They come from all age groups, including men, women, and children. Some are traveling alone, some are traveling with their families, and some are couples or groups, making it a very lively place.

At the foot of Nikko Mountain, numerous worshippers also flock to the site.

They were climbing up the main pilgrimage route at the foot of the mountain, and finally arrived at a torii gate.

If you walk through this torii gate, you will reach Toshogu Shrine. To the right is Rinnoji Temple, and to the left, deep inside, is Futarasan Shrine.

Nikko Toshogu Shrine is a mausoleum built to enshrine the deified Tokugawa Ieyasu, also known as Tosho Daigongen.

This mausoleum is a luxurious shrine built at a cost of approximately tens of billions of yen in modern terms, so it gives people a feeling of glittering gold everywhere. Not only are the buildings magnificent and luxurious, but there are also various carvings and exquisite ornaments. It is more like a palace than a mausoleum.

The Toshogu Shrine was built by Tenkai, a monk who served as Tokugawa Ieyasu's advisor. He was a highly wise monk who served the third Tokugawa Iemitsu and was a very famous and accomplished monk in the region.

However, few people know that in a corner of this magnificent palace, a shrine that is inaccessible to ordinary people has been secretly built.

This is a shrine whose appearance is completely out of place with Toshogu Shrine, appearing very simple.

It was small and old-fashioned, with no eye-catching decorations, and looked like a stable.

Many monkeys are carved on its walls and under the eaves.

There are monkeys with their eyes closed, monkeys with their mouths closed, monkeys with their ears covered, monkeys sitting, monkeys looking at the sky, monkeys lying down... a total of more than a dozen monkeys are carved on it, which makes people wonder why so many monkeys are carved here.

In front of this building covered with monkey carvings is the Western Heavenly Palace.

It is part of Nikko Toshogu Shrine, but it is different from Toshogu Shrine, which enshrines Tosho Daigongen. It is an independent sanctuary that enshrines other gods.

"Who would have thought that there are actually gods being worshipped here?"

Aize stood in front of the simple stable, looking at the woods behind it, and muttered to himself.

Upon closer inspection, Aize's attire today was also very simple, even low-key, and he was not accompanied by anyone.

He came here alone, and he did so without telling anyone else.

There's no way around it, Aize is here today to cause trouble.

“The four great families of the Japanese sorcery world—Saya-miya, Sei-shu-in, Renjo, and Kyuhōzuka—each have their own duties,” Aize continued to mutter to himself. “And Kyuhōzuka’s duty is to protect the western palace of this Nikko Tōshō-gū, right?”

In fact, Aize had already sensed the presence of an extremely powerful barrier here.

This barrier had the effect of repelling people, so much so that in the bustling Toshogu Shrine, this place was the only one that was completely deserted, except for Aize who wandered in.

"If it were before, this barrier might have been able to work on me."

But now, with Azer's resistance to cursed power far exceeding that of ordinary gods and god-killers, this barrier is as good as non-existent.

Aize then took a step and walked along the stable in front of him into the wide woods behind it.

This area is a relatively inconspicuous place, located between Futarasan Shrine and Toshogu Shrine.

Aize walked through the woods for more than ten minutes before finally arriving at an ancient shrine.

Like the stables in front, the ancestral hall was neither very large nor very ornate. It was the kind of simple and unadorned ancestral hall that you often see by the roadside in the countryside, with only the low peach trees growing around it being particularly eye-catching.

Upon arriving at the front of this shrine, Aize immediately noticed the shimenawa (sacred rope) among the peach wood surrounding the shrine.

It was a straw rope woven from straw, with white "Z"-shaped imperial coins hanging on it, swaying in the wind like wind chimes.

Shimenawa is a rope that marks the boundary of sacred objects and may appear on torii gates, near sacred trees and stones. In ceremonial rituals, the highest-ranking sumo wrestlers also wear ropes similar to shimenawa.

Aize sensed a very strong magical power on it, indicating that a powerful barrier was set up around the pilgrimage rope.

Is it in here?

Aize gazed into the shrine behind the shimenawa rope, but could see nothing but a dilapidated lattice door blocking the view, the interior completely dark.

"It should be right here."

Just as Aize was about to go in, a large group of people suddenly appeared around him.

"who are you?!"

A young man dressed in a suit, looking quite well-groomed, led the group and blocked Aize's path, questioning him.

"A member of the Nine Laws House family?"

Aize was not surprised by the appearance of these people.

However, since he had come alone and quietly, he did not intend to reveal his identity or engage in pretense with these people.

then……

"Shatter..."

A Zanpakuto with a bright blade appeared in Aize's hand and was held upside down.

"Through the Looking Glass."

Suddenly, the entire world, centered on the reflection of a flower in a mirror and the moon in the water, shattered as if it had become a world within a mirror.

The members of the Nine Laws Tomb family were initially alarmed, but then they were stunned.

Where did the person go?

"Gone?"

"Where did it go!?"

"Go find it quickly!"

At the loud command of the leading youth, the people who had been blocking the ancestral hall began to disperse and search the surrounding area.

However, Aize, their target, had already sheathed his sword and passed through the shimenawa.

The barrier surrounding the shimenawa was completely ineffective against him, and he easily broke through it.

The members of the Nine Laws Tomb Clan were clearly nearby, yet they all ignored Aize as if they couldn't see his presence, allowing him to pass by as if no one else was there.

Soon, Aize opened the lattice door of the shrine, stepped into the dark interior, and slowly walked towards the deepest part of the darkness.

"You really can't see any at all."

Aize found it rather strange.

It should be noted that Godslayers gain night vision after reincarnation. In theory, darkness alone cannot take away their vision; only darkness created by power can affect Godslayers.

Aize can't see anything now, proving that this darkness is not just a simple lack of light, but involves a mysterious realm.

Walking through this place, you can't see in any direction, only monotonous darkness. In such a place, you might even lose your sense of time, unable to tell how long you've been walking.

However, as he walked, Aize noticed something unusual.

He discovered that he seemed to be no longer in his original world, but had instead arrived in another dimension.

Because this is a world where the spirit is more important than the body, Aize could clearly feel that his spirit was gradually becoming more active, while his physical senses were becoming dull.

"Sure enough, the path in the Western Heaven Palace shrine is the corridor between the mortal world and the underworld."

The Netherworld, a realm between life and immortality, a void between the human world and the divine realm, is where Aize came to be.

“This place must have been isolated from the rest of the world, becoming a cage used to imprison the gods inside.”

Aize walked for a long time in the dark corridor, until much later, when he finally saw a four-cornered hole.

Light shone out from there, and in the deepest part there was a dilapidated little house.

The cabin was uninhabited and resembled a stable. Unlike the darkness just moments before, the surroundings were filled with sunshine, a refreshing blue sky, and a... monkey.

Yes, monkeys.

It wasn't a sculpture like the ones outside, but a living monkey.

He lay in the corner of the stable, on a pile of hay. His appearance clearly indicated that he was not a Japanese monkey. His face was not red, but his fur was very shiny. His fur was an orange-gold color, and he looked majestic.

His height is about 80 centimeters, which is not very large.

However, the moment Aize saw Him, his heart began to race, his blood began to boil uncontrollably, his adrenaline was automatically activated, and his body instantly entered a battle stance.

This is a natural reaction when encountering an enemy.

This is the best proof that you encountered a deity.

"Oh?"

The monkey god, who had been lying on the hay, seemed to sense something and immediately got up, turning his eyes toward Azer.

Those eyes were very bright, as if fire was burning within them, and their entire body was golden, exuding an imposing aura without anger.

"This is truly a rare guest."

The monkey god spoke human language, and his voice, like his eyes, was exceptionally bright.

"I never expected that a god-slayer would come to my palace. I thought it was a witch who hadn't visited me for a hundred years coming to play again."

The monkey god's attitude was neither friendly nor hostile; it was not at all like encountering a god-slaying enemy. He was cheerful and lively.

Looking at the somewhat peculiar monkey god before him, whose appearance was not much different from that of an ordinary monkey, Aize smiled.

The smile wasn't very emotional.

"It seems you're enjoying being imprisoned, Great Sage."

Aize's attitude was neither friendly nor hostile.

Because the monkey god before him is not yet qualified to be his enemy.

"Great Sage? Are you calling me?" The Monkey God sat on the haystack, tilting his head and looking puzzled. "Is this my name? Or my title?"

"Hmm...it feels familiar, is it calling me?"

"It's a pity that I'm now sealed away. My former name and title have all been completely forgotten."

"Those guys who locked me up here call me Monkey God. I guess that's all I can be called now?"

Monkey God truly couldn't remember his past name and title.

He was a disobedient god who appeared on earth, a rebellious steel, a hero from the East.

However, many, many years ago, He was sealed away by a great spell devised by the ancient sages of this country, which took them their entire lives to create, and He was transformed from a rebellious steel into a sword that protects the nation.

The magical power gathered from the sanctuaries across Japan was transformed into the divine power of the Great Sage Emanation through that great incantation. This power bound the monkey god, causing him to lose his ferocity, wildness, divinity, and even his natural instincts, turning him into a harmless monkey who was kept here.

Only when dragons and serpents appear on the ground will His seal be broken, and He will regain the ferocity, wildness, and divinity that He has lost, and follow His instincts as a hero of steel to destroy them.

However, once the dragon and snake on the ground are destroyed, it will be affected by the great curse and obediently return here to continue to be sealed.

Now, He has not left this place for a hundred years, staying here and wasting his time.

Therefore, the monkey god knew very well...

"Right now, I'm definitely not some Great Sage, but rather the Keeper of the Heavenly Horses, okay?"

The great spell that imprisoned Him was named Bi Ma Wen.

In the past, He also held this position in the Heavenly Court, specifically responsible for tending the horses for the gods of the Heavenly Court.

but……

"How dare you now call yourself a stable boy with such high-sounding authority?"

Aize said calmly.

"When you felt humiliated because of this position in the past, you did not hesitate to make a scene in the Heavenly Palace to prove that you were not just a stable boy, but a great sage who was equal to the heavens."

Upon hearing this, the Monkey God scratched his face.

Even if you say that, I still don't know what I was like before.

He was grinning and laughing without a care in the world.

Seeing Him like this, Aize finally understood Luo Hao's feelings.

The famous Monkey King is being kept here without any wildness or awareness, and he doesn't even seem ashamed of it, but rather optimistic. This is certainly unsettling for many people who grew up listening to his stories.

The same applies to Azer.

"No wonder Sister Cuilian has been thinking about this for a whole hundred years."

Aize ignored the monkey god before him, as if he had nothing to say to Him in the present moment, and talked to himself.

"Hmm? What do you want to do?"

Perhaps sensing something, the monkey god made a surprised sound.

“It’s nothing,” Aize glanced at Him and said, “I just wanted to wake you up.”

"Awaken that peerless hero."

"The Great Sage Equaling Heaven, Sun Wukong."

(End of this chapter)