I was selling peach wood swords on a live stream, how did I become a Taoist ancestor?

A shrine near the sea in the land of cherry blossoms.

The night was as dark as ink, and the sea breeze, carrying a salty smell, blew across the white shimenawa ropes hanging in front of the shrine. The paper lanterns swayed gently in the wind, casting dim and shimmering shadows.

Deep within the shrine, in a secret room where outsiders are not allowed to enter.

The priest, Kenichi Matsumoto, dressed in a pristine white priest's robe and wearing a black eboshi hat, was kneeling before an ancient altar.

He is 42 years old and has served at this shrine for 20 years. He is one of the few priests in the shrine who is qualified to perform the "spirit nurturing ritual".

On the altar, there was a pottery jar as black as ink.

The surface of the pottery jar was covered with eerie runes, which seemed to writhe slightly in the candlelight like living things, emanating a nauseatingly cold aura.

The mouth of the jar was sealed with special talisman paper, but the talisman paper was already somewhat damaged, and the edges were tinged with dark red, as if it had been soaked in some kind of liquid.

Kenichi Matsumoto took a deep breath, closed his eyes, formed hand seals, and began chanting an ancient and obscure incantation.

"By Amaterasu Omikami, I now offer the breath of the living to my God..."

As he chanted, the candlelight around the altar began to flicker eerily, the flames elongating and twisting, casting shadows on the wall that resembled menacing monsters.

The temperature in the air is slowly decreasing.

The shadows in the four corners of the secret room began to squirm, as if something was about to crawl out of the darkness. Faint whispers could be heard, like countless people whispering in each other's ears, their voices filled with resentment and longing.

Kenichi Matsumoto's forehead was covered in a fine layer of cold sweat.

He had performed this ritual countless times, but each time it terrified him.

He knew what was sealed in the jar: a "demon" that had been enshrined in the shrine for a long time. In essence, it was a powerful collection of vengeful spirits that had acquired incredible power after decades of nurturing and worship by the shrine.

The shrine needs its power to maintain its status and influence.

It needs the "nourishment" provided by the shrine—the vital energy of living people—and regularly held nurturing rituals to maintain its existence.

This was supposed to be a mutually beneficial relationship.

But Kenichi Matsumoto knew that this spirit was extremely cruel and evil by nature, and that if the ritual went wrong or the "nourishment" provided was insufficient, it would turn on the worshipper.

"With my blood, I offer this to the divine might..."

Kenichi Matsumoto bit his fingertip, squeezed out blood, and dripped it onto the sealing paper of the ceramic jar.

The moment the blood seeped into the talisman, the earthenware jar shook violently!

A sharp hissing sound came from the jar, like the cries of countless babies or the roar of a wild beast.

From the torn part of the sealing talisman, wisps of black energy began to seep out, twisting and condensing in the air to form a blurry hand shape.

The hand reached out to Kenichi Matsumoto, its five fingers spread wide, greedily demanding something.

Despite his fear, Kenichi Matsumoto continued chanting the incantation, while simultaneously channeling the spiritual energy of heaven and earth into the altar.

Everything proceeded as planned.

When the incantation was two-thirds complete, the ghost in the pottery jar had already revealed half of its form.

As you can see, it is a black mist that is constantly changing shape. Countless distorted human faces can be vaguely seen in the mist, each face screaming silently, which is chilling.

Time passed, and the ceremony was about to conclude.

Kenichi Matsumoto felt somewhat relieved.

But just then...

A gentle breeze swept through the secret room without warning.

The wind was light and ordinary, like a cool breeze that slips in through the window cracks on a summer afternoon.

but……

This secret room is completely sealed!

There are no windows at all!

Kenichi Matsumoto was startled, and the chanting of the incantation paused very slightly.

It was this insignificant pause, lasting less than half a second...

hum! ! !

On the altar, the pottery jar suddenly exploded!

It wasn't a physical explosion, but rather the complete collapse of the seal!

The black mist instantly expanded tenfold, extinguishing all the candles in the secret chamber at the same time!

"No...impossible!"

Kenichi Matsumoto's face turned deathly pale. He wanted to chant the incantation again to reinforce the seal, but it was too late.

From within the black mist, countless arms reached out and grabbed him.

Those arms were ice-cold, and the moment they touched his skin, Kenichi Matsumoto felt his life force being frantically drained!

"Why... the ceremony was clearly..."

His consciousness rapidly faded.

In his final moments, Kenichi Matsumoto had only one thought in his mind:

That gust of wind...

What exactly was that gust of wind?

It was just an ordinary breeze, so why did the spiritual energy he summoned through his incantation exhibit such strange fluctuations the moment it blew by?

Then, darkness engulfed everything.

……

Outside the secret chamber, the two novice priests on guard heard strange noises coming from inside.

They exchanged a glance, then cautiously stepped forward and opened the door to the secret room.

The next second, the two of them let out a piercing scream at the same time!

In the secret chamber, Kenichi Matsumoto collapsed in front of the altar, now a dried-up corpse, his skin clinging to his bones, his eyes wide open, filled with fear and bewilderment.

The pottery jar on the altar was broken, with black fragments scattered all over the ground.

Meanwhile, a cloud of black mist was frantically surging through the secret chamber, trying to break through the barrier set up by the shrine and escape!

"Quickly! Notify the High Priest!"

"The seal is broken! Lord Matsumoto... Lord Matsumoto is dead!"

Inside the shrine, chaos reigned.

Ten minutes later, several senior priests arrived and joined forces to use divine magic to barely suppress the rampaging demon and imprison it in a new container.

But Kenichi Matsumoto's death was irreversible.

"What exactly is going on?"

The shrine's high priest, an elderly man in his seventies with gray hair, stared at Matsumoto Kenichi's corpse with a livid face.

"I know Matsumoto's abilities very well. He has been performing nurturing rituals for twenty years without ever making a mistake!"

A middle-aged priest cautiously asked, "My lord, could it be... that Matsumoto-kun hasn't been feeling well lately?"

"Impossible!" the high priest declared firmly. "I examined his body yesterday; he's extremely strong!"

He crouched down and carefully examined Matsumoto Kenichi's body, then looked at the traces on the altar.

The more he looked, the more his brows furrowed.

"The ceremony went smoothly until it suddenly collapsed at the last moment..."

"This doesn't seem to be a backlash caused by operational error."

"It seems... that some external force interfered with the ritual."

The other priests looked at each other in bewilderment.

external force?

This secret room is protected by the shrine's most powerful barrier. What external force could infiltrate it silently?

Just then, a young priest rushed in, his face pale.

"M-Sir! Something's happened!"

"What is it now?" the high priest asked irritably.

"We just received news... at least seventeen shrines across the country have experienced similar incidents tonight!"

"More than fifty priests have been confirmed dead, and two others are critically injured and on the verge of death, currently undergoing emergency treatment!"

"The worst affected was Yukimi Shrine in Hokkaido. The entire shrine was slaughtered by rampaging demons; more than thirty priests and shrine maidens perished!"

In an instant, the secret room fell into a deathly silence.

Everyone stared wide-eyed in disbelief.

Seventeen shrines simultaneously struck?

How is this possible?!

The high priest staggered back a step and steadied himself by holding onto the altar.

He recalled another incident not long ago—the ancestral tablets of gods enshrined in major shrines across the country shattered without warning!

At the time, several top high priests were performing a joint ritual. The moment the memorial tablet shattered, they were immediately struck by a backlash and all suffered serious injuries. They are still in the ICU and have not yet come out!

Now, the nurturing rituals are all going wrong again...

"The world has changed... the world has changed..."

The high priest muttered to himself, his voice filled with fear.

But deep down, he had a vague feeling that something was wrong.

If it was truly caused by natural changes in the heavens and earth, why today of all days? Why at the most crucial moment of the ceremony?

This is too much of a coincidence.

It was such a coincidence... it was as if something was deliberately targeting them.

"Pass down the order: the shrine is to be placed on high alert. Also, report tonight's events in detail to the Shinto Headquarters and the Onmyōryō."

"yes!"

……

At the same time.

Seimei Shrine, Kyoto, the land of cherry blossoms.

This place is dedicated to the legendary Onmyoji Abe no Seimei and is now an important base for the Onmyoryo (Yin-Yang Bureau) in Japan.

In a quiet room filled with antique charm, the air is filled with the gentle smoke of cigarettes.

The contemporary great Onmyoji, Abe no Masakichi, is dressed in a deep purple Onmyoji robe and kneels on a futon.

He looked to be in his fifties, with a gaunt face and deep-set eyes, and was currently resting with his eyes closed.

Suddenly, the door to the quiet room was gently pulled open.

A ninja dressed in black, wearing a mask that revealed only his sharp eyes, silently slid into the room and knelt on one knee.

"Lord Changji."

Abe Shōkichi slowly opened his eyes, a glint of light flashing in them.

"explain."

"Urgent news has just arrived from various places." The ninja spoke quickly but clearly and steadily, "Tonight, more than seventeen shrines have experienced incidents of priests being attacked by contracted demons, resulting in the deaths of more than fifty people, and seven demons of C rank or higher have escaped out of control."

"The worst affected was Yukimi Shrine in Hokkaido, where more than thirty priests and shrine maidens perished!"

A slight ripple finally appeared on Abe Shōkichi's previously calm face.

He sat up straight.

"reason?"

"Unknown." The ninja bowed his head. "The on-site investigation found no trace of external interference or attack. All indications suggest that the priest himself made a mistake during the ritual, causing the contract to fluctuate, which was then seized upon by the demons and gods to retaliate."

"A mistake by themselves?" Abe Shōkichi frowned. "One or two mistakes might be understandable, but a dozen at once? And by experienced senior priests?"

He tapped his knees lightly with his fingers, lost in thought.

Not long ago, the shrine plaques at shrines across the country shattered simultaneously, and several high priests were seriously injured.

Now, there is another case of priests collectively suffering backlash.

Is there a connection between these two?

"Lord Changji," the ninja hesitated for a moment before speaking, "I suspect... it might be... something from the Great Xia?"

"Great Xia?" Abe Shōkichi's gaze sharpened.

"Yes." The ninja nodded. "On the day of the second wave of spiritual energy not long ago, rare and unusual events occurred all over the world."

"But only the Great Xia remained completely silent."

After listening, Abe Shōkichi narrowed his eyes.

That's certainly possible.

With its large population and long history, the Great Xia Dynasty should have been able to avoid abnormalities during such a global upheaval, and its situation should have been the most serious!

But the reality is quite the opposite.

Your guess is very likely.

Abe Shokichi stood up, walked to the window, and looked west.

That's the direction of Daxia.

"The foundation of the Great Xia Dynasty is too profound."

"They are good at hiding their true abilities. On the surface, they don't show off, but in secret, they have a lot of tricks up their sleeves."

"Now that spiritual energy has been revived, who knows what they'll do?"

As he spoke, he turned around and looked at the ninja.

"It seems that the top-secret plan from back then needs to be restarted as soon as possible."

The ninja's body stiffened: "Sir, you mean... the 'Kunlun Plan'?"

"Indeed." Abe Shōkichi's eyes were sharp. "Eighty years ago, our predecessors went on an expedition to Kunlun, but failed and even left the Kusanagi Sword there."

The Kusanagi Sword!

One of the three sacred treasures of the Sakura Kingdom, the legendary sword that Susanoo took from the tail of the Yamata no Orochi when he slew it!

Eighty years ago, the Shinto sect mobilized its entire force to Kunlun in an attempt to sever the dragon vein of the Great Xia Dynasty. They carried the Kusanagi Sword with them, hoping to achieve their goal with the help of the divine artifact.

As a result, they suffered a crushing defeat in the first war.

The Shintoist elite were all wiped out, and the Ame-no-Murakumo sword was also lost.

This is the greatest shame and regret in the extraordinary world of the Cherry Blossom Kingdom.

"But sir," the ninja hesitated, "Kunlun is the sacred land of Great Xia. Now that its spiritual energy has recovered, it must be even more dangerous there. Moreover, Great Xia is no longer what it used to be. We..."

"There's no need for a large-scale incursion," Abe Shōkichi interrupted him. "Just send an elite squad to infiltrate and find the artifacts left behind from back then."

"Even if we can't achieve the mission objective, we must at least retrieve the Kusanagi Sword."

Abe Shōkichi paused, then added, "I suspect that the recent anomalies are very likely related to the Great Xia Kunlun!"

"Something must have changed there that we don't know about."

The ninja nodded emphatically: "Understood! This matter will be put on the agenda as soon as possible!"

"Remember," Abe Shōkichi said in a deep voice, "select the most elite personnel, skilled in stealth and concealment, and avoid direct confrontation with the extraordinary individuals of Great Xia."

"yes!"

The ninja bowed and retreated silently.

In the quiet room, only Abe Shokichi remained.

He looked out the window at the dark night sky, his eyes filled with complex emotions.

"Great Xia..."

The battle eighty years ago broke the backbone of Shintoism, which has not yet recovered its vitality.

Now, however, it seems that new changes have occurred in the Great Xia Dynasty.

"These are turbulent times..."

Abe Shōkichi let out a long sigh.

He had a premonition.

The world is about to undergo a dramatic change.

Whether Japan can seize the opportunity amidst this upheaval and rise again...

Perhaps we'll have to wait and see what happens during our trip to Kunlun.

……

The next morning.

Daxia, South City Night Watchmen Branch.

Liu Zhenguo was already waiting in the office.

Several documents were spread out in front of him, but his mind was not on them at all. He kept looking up at the door, looking somewhat restless.

Jin Hao said he would return from Luxian County this morning to report on important matters.

And it's related to Master Li.

This made Liu Zhenguo both expectant and nervous.

"Why aren't they here yet...?"

Liu Zhenguo glanced at his watch; it was already 8:20.

As he was thinking, the conference room door was pushed open.

Jin Hao rushed in, followed by Chen Jianguo and Wang Hu.

"Uncle Liu! I'm back!"

Jin Hao's face was filled with excitement.

"Please sit down," Liu Zhenguo quickly invited. "Has Master Li given any instructions?"

Jin Hao sat down opposite him, cleared his throat, and his expression became serious.

"The Taoist priest did give me some pointers on some cultivation issues."

"I wrote down everything he said."

Liu Zhenguo's eyes lit up, and he immediately picked up a pen: "Tell me, I'll write it down."

Chen Jianguo and Wang Hu also came over, pricking up their ears.

Jin Hao began to repeat what Li Jun had said yesterday.

"The path of cultivation is like climbing a mountain."

"From afar, it appears majestic and unified, but up close, it is a series of steps, each with its own unique view."

Some people rush headlong into the mountain, only to be out of breath and exhausted before they reach the halfway point. Others proceed cautiously, seemingly slowly, but ultimately manage to enjoy the panoramic views from the summit.

Liu Zhenguo wrote down everything quickly, not missing a single word.

Hearing this, he couldn't help but nod.

"Brilliant!"

"Master Li is admonishing us that cultivation cannot be rushed and must be done in a down-to-earth manner."

Jin Hao continued:

"The Taoist priest also said that a tall building rises from the ground, but if the foundation is not solid, the earth will shake and the mountains will tremble."

"When the mind is calm, the breath flows smoothly; when the breath flows smoothly, success is achieved."

"Let things take their natural course; things will fall into place when they come to fruition. This is the right way."

Liu Zhenguo paused, then took a deep breath.

"If the foundation is not solid, the ground will shake..."

"That's so well said!"

He looked at Chen Jianguo and Wang Hu.

"Listen to this, Master Li is trying to enlighten us!"

"In the future, when the 'Basic Qi Cultivation Technique' is promoted nationwide, many people will inevitably rush ahead in pursuit of progress, neglecting the foundation."

"If this continues, a major problem will inevitably arise sooner or later!"

Chen Jianguo wholeheartedly agreed: "The eldest is right. Master Li's words should be printed at the beginning of the textbook so that everyone can see them!"

Wang Hu nodded in agreement: "And the saying 'Cultivation is like climbing a mountain, each step a new heaven' also makes a lot of sense."

Liu Zhenguo nodded emphatically.

He looked at Jin Hao: "What else did Master Li say?"

Jin Hao thought for a moment and said, "The Taoist priest also taught me some swordsmanship, saying that if I encounter any problems in my magical cultivation in the future, I can ask him for advice."

Upon hearing this, Liu Zhenguo was overjoyed!

Jin Hao thought for a moment and said, "The Taoist priest also taught me some swordsmanship, saying that if I encounter any problems in my magical cultivation in the future, I can ask him for advice."

Upon hearing this, Liu Zhenguo was overjoyed!

"Really? Master Li is willing to teach you magic techniques?"

"This is fantastic news!"

He stood up excitedly and paced around the conference room.

"Jin Hao, Jin Hao, recruiting you into the Night's Watch was truly the wisest decision I, Liu Zhenguo, have ever made in my life!"

"You're a lucky star for us Night's Watchmen!"

Jin Hao was a little embarrassed by the praise and scratched his head.

"Uncle Liu, please don't say that. I'm just passing on a message."

"That's different." Liu Zhenguo waved his hand. "Being able to speak with Master Li is an incredible skill!"

He sat back in his chair, looked at Jin Hao with eager eyes.

"Jin Hao, you've done a great job this time."

"I will report what Master Li said to headquarters."

"I have a feeling this will have a profound impact on the future of cultivation for all!"

Jin Hao nodded, then seemed to remember something.

"By the way, Uncle Liu, the Taoist's swordsmanship is really amazing."

"Yesterday, when he was teaching me swordsmanship, he casually swung his sword and almost split a mountain in two!"

Jin Hao's original intention was to exaggerate and highlight the Taoist's power.

Unexpectedly, Liu Zhenguo and Chen Jianguo believed it immediately after hearing it.

……

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