Why is my journey to the world of anime a strange tale of rules?

With a soft murmur to herself, the girl wiped the sweat from her face and then gently plucked the guitar strings again.

Goto Ichiri is not in good condition.

While exploring and investigating in two different directions, Gao Hai and Kaguya, she had to keep a close eye on Kaguya's situation and try to help protect them if they encountered danger. At the same time, she was also responsible for conducting an in-depth investigation of the mass grave space that she had only briefly investigated in the first playthrough, looking for the core obsession that might exist there. It can be said that she was completely focused and could not relax for a moment.

More than thirty clones have already died.

Even though he could summon an infinite number of clones through the power of the guitar, the excessive consumption in a short period of time still made Ichiri dizzy, and his overall condition was getting worse and worse.

"Uh...huh..."

Even though the guitar had been transformed from an object of obsession into a blessed item, greatly reducing its drain on him, Ichiri still felt like his head was being emptied after high-intensity, continuous use, and his vision was starting to black out. If it weren't for the many experiences he had had since becoming a player, coupled with the several enhancements to his willpower and body, Ichiri might have simply collapsed and died right now.

Let's hold on a little longer, try our best to hold on a little longer.

Everyone is working incredibly hard right now, and I can't be the one who holds them back.

Try to think about what to do next.

Enduring the throbbing pain and dizziness in her head, the girl manipulated the guitar to summon a new clone, while simultaneously thinking rapidly.

The direction of the mass grave can now be basically determined, and no further investigation is necessary.

Yili devoted a considerable number of clones to thoroughly investigate this place. Under the threat of the invisible death aura of unknown origin that permeated the entire space, her clones died and were constantly replaced, basically turning the entire mass grave area upside down.

If someone were to venture into that desolate space now, they would find that all the neatly buried graves in the mass grave had been dug up, and all the corpses wrapped in straw mats had been unearthed and were lying scattered about. Not to mention the soil that had been turned upside down like a plowshare. In short, thanks to Goto Ichiri's tireless efforts, this mass grave area, which was originally filled with an eerie and terrifying atmosphere, had now become Gaza II, looking like it had been saturated with bombs.

Unfortunately, despite all the hard work and investigation over the long term, we still haven't found anything. Well, maybe that's not entirely true. We compared the faces of all the identifiable corpses and forwarded them to Mr. Hai and Shinomiya via mental link. According to them, the faces of these corpses seem to match some people from Li Village, some from Zhang Village, and even a small number from Liu Village. However, the vast majority of the faces are from Zhang Village, which, in a sense, explains something.

In conclusion, it can now be confirmed that there are no more clues about the core obsession within the village and the cemetery area.

This is not good news. Takahashi has confirmed the location of the core obsession and is said to be returning soon. Kaguya, while not yet having made contact with the core obsession, has already established a direction for her investigation. Under these circumstances, Riku is under some pressure, which is why he's so eager to find clues related to the core obsession as quickly as possible. The fact that so much time has been wasted without any results is truly frustrating.

What should we do next?

It's hard to imagine what the core obsession born in this place must be like. I initially thought it would be a corpse lying in a coffin, or perhaps simply abandoned in the wilderness? No, if that were the case, it should have been discovered long ago. Besides, there are no clues in the village. Perhaps we should head towards the [Water Ghost Lake] and see if there are any clues in that lake and the fields around it.

Yili closed his eyes, trying hard to think about his next move.

Then, she heard the communication messages from Gao Hai and Zhen Fei through the mental link, learned about their speculations, and then quickly decided to shift her target to Xiao Hei Mountain.

【Ghost Cry Cave】This is the name given by the Li family to a cave somewhere above the snow line of Xiaoheishan Mountain, and it is also the next area that Yili will investigate.

Initially, it seemed that some special structure within the cave amplified and repeatedly echoed the words spoken by those inside, even replaying sounds from months or years later. Because these echoes often sounded eerie, the villagers claimed that ghosts were calling out in the cave, calling it the "Ghost Cry Cave." However, the cave didn't truly become the Ghost Cry Cave at that time, but rather afterward, when the Li family began abandoning their newborn children there, it became the true Ghost Cry Cave.

The cries of those children before they died would echo continuously within the Ghost Cry Cave, reverberating again and again in the dark and narrow space.

Sometimes, when multiple sounds overlap and replay, there are situations where the desperate cries of infants can be heard from all directions, making it quite eerie in every way. Even the most twisted and cruel people of Li Family Village would retreat from the cave in such situations, even if nothing came out to attack them.

In fact, because the cave itself is located at a very high altitude, above the snow line, and there are many steep and dangerous sections along the way, usually only strong men can carry an infant all the way into the cave. So under normal circumstances, most people wouldn't want to come here; it would be a better choice to just throw the baby into a lake or forest.

However, Gao Hai quickly found the reason for this problem. It was simple: if the offerings were placed elsewhere, strange creatures would appear. The strange creatures generated from the sacrifices at [Water Ghost Lake] and [Bottomless Lake] had already caused considerable trouble for the Li family. Under these circumstances, apart from particularly crucial harvest sacrifices, no one would want to needlessly create a few more strange creatures lurking outside the village day and night, wanting to come in and kill people. Especially before the old Taoist priest arrived, and before the belief in the Black Mountain God was discovered, the villagers at that time, apart from relying on the protection of the Fox Goddess, had no power to fight back against those creatures.

Conversely, it has been confirmed that the Ghost Cry Cave is very close to the origin of the Mountain God of Little Black Mountain. This means that even if a child abandoned here dies, they will likely be suppressed by the power of the Mountain God. They will either be unable to become a monster, or even if they do, they will be suppressed and unable to attack the living. Compared to the long and arduous journey, this benefit is undoubtedly very tempting. Therefore, this cave gradually became popular with the Li family. Later, most of the Li family villagers would bring their newborn daughters here to abandon them, and a small number of sacrificial rituals were also performed here.

It was probably during this process that people began to wonder what kind of power existed within the cave that prevented those who died there from turning into monsters, and they began to try to explore it further. The black stone representing the body of the Little Black Mountain God was thus discovered by the Li family and taken out of the cave.

As for how the Li family later recognized the mountain god from the black stone and threw it into the Ghost Lake, transforming the sacrificial ritual into a truly effective harvest ceremony, and subsequently gaining the mountain god's power step by step, the specific process remains unknown. However, based on the information transmitted through the mental link between Gao Hai and Kaguya, it's possible that the mysterious Mr. Du was guiding them along the way.

To be honest, Ichiri isn't very good at analyzing and thinking about various intelligence. Even though she obtained a lot of information from Takahashi and collected data and sensed a lot through her clones, her understanding of this instance is still vague, and she still can't quite connect all the information from various aspects to try to figure anything out.

However, she felt she did have one advantage: once she decided on a research direction, she could persevere and investigate relentlessly, no matter how difficult it was. Therefore, now that she had confirmed Onikiri Cave as the main direction of her investigation, Goto Ichiri focused her will and devoted herself to it with almost complete concentration.

The 40th clone died.

The forest path leading up the mountain was filled with an endless aura of death. These invisible forces could not be detected at all, yet the slightest touch was enough to kill any clone.

The 43th clone died.

Suppressing the dizziness in her head, Ichiri summoned another clone and focused intently on continuing her ascent up the mountain. Through prolonged indirect contact with the aura of death, she had vaguely sensed something within this invisible, fantastical power. It seemed to be the result of a convergence of power akin to a "prayer," generating some kind of extraordinary power by gathering the "consensus" of a certain number of people. And if she had to describe what this prayer permeating the aura of death was, the only thing Ichiri could think of was the curse of paper dolls.

The 47th clone died.

The girl stuck out her tongue, licked the blood flowing from her nose, then let out a long breath and continued strumming her guitar to summon new clones.

I've almost gotten a feel for it.

The invisible death aura permeating the instance is deadly, but it only works when it senses a living person. Therefore, by carefully modifying and adjusting the clone repeatedly to make it look less like a living person, one can buy more time and advance a greater distance when encountering the invisible death aura.

My head feels dizzy.

There's another problem with Shinomiya-san. Some kind of abnormal change has occurred in that space, and her clones and Kaguya Chika have separated and can't be found for the time being.

However, Mr. Hai then spoke in the communication, indicating that he had almost finished on his end, and that he would be responsible for rescuing and assisting Shinomiya and Fujiwara.

Speaking of which, it was Fujiwara who convinced Mr. Kai to let them take action. That's amazing! If it were me, I definitely wouldn't be able to communicate with Mr. Kai so confidently and earnestly. If it were me... I'd probably run out of things to say after a few sentences, right? I really envy Fujiwara's cheerfulness. We look so similar, but our personalities are completely opposite. Fujiwara is like a reversed and upgraded version of me, while I'm a withdrawn and degraded version...

No, no, no, now is not the time to think about these things. I need to focus. Since Mr. Hai doesn't want me to get involved in Shinomiya's affairs, I will do my best to do what I can on my side!

Reaching out, Ichiri wiped the blood from her nose and eyes again. The massive exertion had caused spasms and ruptured capillaries in her body, resulting in continuous bleeding from her eyes and nose. If her clothes were removed, one could see bruises slowly spreading across her body—a truly horrific sight. However, the girl didn't react much to this. This level of pain was nothing to Ichiri, who had already become a Red Moon-level player. She could even proudly declare that she wouldn't utter a sound even if her leg were amputated without anesthesia.

hum-

The 60th clone finally crossed the snow line and entered the area covered in snow.

Strangely, I could sense that the source of the deathly intent was gradually approaching, but once I got here, the activity of the deathly intent actually began to decrease.

Moreover, the will to die itself became clearer, and the chaotic, twisted things that originally filled this power seemed to dissipate.

I can't quite explain what this feeling is like.

She seemed to vaguely see people bowing their heads in prayer, a closed house, the black stone of the Little Black Mountain God inside the house, the statue of the Fox Queen, and the mutilated piece of flesh on the last seat.

That place should have been completely empty.

This non-existent third god, this high platform that should have been empty, has been covered with flesh and blood.

It appeared to be very fresh flesh and blood, cut from someone's body.

A malevolent force is spreading within it.

The Zhang family's prayers, which should have had some specific purpose, instead bounced back at them. Although some members of the Li and Liu families were indeed implicated, most of them ultimately survived under the protection of the Mountain God and the Fox Goddess.

Only the Zhang family, who simultaneously worshipped multiple deities and attempted to curse and kill the other two families through this distorted "third god," could not escape unscathed. Because they were the ones who truly had a close connection with this non-existent "third god," their attacks on the Li and Liu families led the Mountain God and the Fox Goddess to deem them enemies, and because they simultaneously worshipped them, they were also deemed believers. Ultimately, under the conflict of these dual judgments, both the Mountain God and the Fox Goddess chose to remain bystanders, offering no assistance to the Zhang family in the clash of the rules' forces.

Why...why did you lie to us...?

Goto Ichiri's clone had already reached the entrance of the Onikiri Cave.

Through her perception, she could also clearly hear the murmurs of those who were unwilling to die.

The clone took a step and entered the dark cave.

I'm so wronged... I'm so angry...

No... why us...?

[Let's all die together... We'll all die together... You're the ones who deserve to die...]

Countless distorted sounds intertwined and rang out continuously, and one sealed coffin after another appeared in the girl's sight.

The further they went, the more coffins they found.

And those lingering cries trembled more and more violently with each step forward.

In the dark cave ahead, a huge, black coffin came into view, and next to it stood a paper figure dressed in white.

These paper figures, some holding paper money, some raising suona horns, and some carrying coffins, are like a procession that has paused its movements and been frozen in this dark cave.

Are these the old Taoist priest's paper figures? No, that's not right. The aura of these paper figures is extremely murky; they must have been made by the Li family themselves. Hmm… First, they used the cave to suppress the Zhang family villagers who had turned into monsters, and then after the old Taoist priest arrived, they used the power of the paper figures to control the Zhang family members who had become monsters?

Yi Li roughly figured out how the Li family recycled and utilized the Zhang family's assets.

As the clone she was controlling moved forward step by step, she could also sense that the clone had been locked onto by something inside the dark coffin, and that the other party was eager to reveal itself.

squeak-

Accompanied by the ear-piercing sound of the wooden planks moving, the next moment, through the clone's vision, Yili saw the slowly opening coffin lid and fingers with sharp, black nails gripping the side of the coffin lid.

Chapter 133: The Reappearance of the Enemy and the Person Who Couldn't Be Bothered with Words

That aura was undoubtedly the aura of a core obsession.

The intense hatred and pain that filled his senses remained vivid even through the presence of a clone. It was so vivid that Goto Ichiri immediately realized that the clone he had sent out would be killed instantly, with absolutely no chance of surviving even a single round against the enemy.

You have to remember what the other person looks like so that Mr. Hai can use the blood pen to draw the other person's appearance more comprehensively and thus determine the location of the core obsession!

In that instant, Ichiri's mind reached its most focused state, and she almost instantly memorized the strange creature—its body completely bluish-purple and stiff, dressed in old, yellowish clothes. Then, while transmitting what she saw to Takahashi through the mental link, Ichiri also prepared herself for this clone to be destroyed.

But this did not happen.

"what?"

Despite the girl's puzzled expression, the fact was that the clone was still standing perfectly fine in the cave, unaffected by any attack.

The thing that crawled out of the coffin was clearly shrouded in an incredibly venomous and twisted aura. It was clear that its power had completely taken over the entire cave, connecting with the corpses in the surrounding coffins to create a deathly domain that kept everyone at bay. Yet, this clone, now within that domain, remained completely unharmed, utterly unnoticed by the thing.

How is this going?

Having already prepared for the loss of this clone, Ichiri tilted his head in confusion.

It was quite strange that despite feeling an incredibly intense, terrifying pressure that felt like it would tear him apart at any moment, the other party did absolutely nothing.

Could it be that because the clone's adjustment range is too large, the opponent can no longer treat the clone as a living person and lock onto it for attack?

No, even though I'm only indirectly controlling the clone through the power of the guitar, this shared sense is enough to explain things. That thing has undoubtedly locked onto the clone, and according to the rules, it shouldn't let it go under any circumstances; it should launch an attack immediately.

That being said, there's absolutely no intention to sell this thing.

Goto Ichiri was very confused. She felt that her common sense about ghosts was being challenged. The thing in front of her, which looked like a thousand-year-old zombie, completely violated her experience with ghosts and was no longer what a normal ghost should look like.

What should we do now?

As she pondered, Ichiri manipulated her clone to observe her surroundings. She noticed that several coffins around her showed signs of opening, and emerging from them were stiff, bluish-purple corpses. These things stood silently in the dark cave, giving Ichiri the inexplicable feeling that she was inspecting an army. She even imagined that in the next second, these creatures would march out of the cave to the accompaniment of rousing music, charging towards the village below under command.

Of course, these delusional images did not affect Yili's careful process of identifying the faces of the corpses and confirming their identities. Unsurprisingly, the faces of all the recognizable corpses matched those of the phantom-like Zhangjia Village villagers from before. These strange creatures, filled with twisted resentment, were transformed from the vanished people of Zhangjia Village. The invisible deathly aura that had previously permeated this mass grave space was the twisted deathly aura that existed on these corpses, gathered and released through some unknown ritual.

It is unknown who placed these corpses in this cave and gathered their power, so that even Red Moon level players could not resist the invisible death aura. Even Gao Hai, whose strength has greatly increased, found it difficult to resist that thing for a long time. As a result, he could only force his way into the [Ghost Cry Cave] and into the ritual array by repeatedly casting clones.

Well... at least one thing is certain: the creator of this ritual array must have been a living person.

The argument for this conclusion is quite simple. Even if you don't understand the array, it doesn't matter; the fact that this clone is still alive and well is enough to prove the point. An invisible curse array capable of indiscriminately annihilating anyone who enters it shows no signs of death within its interior. The corpses of those strange creatures don't attack, and there's no strong mental pollution spreading within the area. This proves that the creator of this array was definitely a living person. After all, only a living person would need to set up a safe zone and would have the necessity to leave a way out for such an array.

However, I still don't quite understand it. Mystical rituals are just too complicated, and I can't comprehend how the other person does them.