Curse Return: Swordsmith Start

Amidst laughter and cheerful conversation, everyone went home.

The most difficult thing has been defeated, but it's not over yet.

Defeating that guy only stopped the clock of humanity's demise, but the mess he left behind has yet to be cleaned up.

The monster created by Lu Suo was fused with a part of Tian Yuan's body as one of its materials. In other words, it was a barrier that Tian Yuan used to maintain concealment, stability, and suppress the curse.

Because of that guy's death, the barrier has now been destroyed and has lost its most basic function.

The previously suppressed curse has erupted. If left unchecked, as the curse power transforms into cursed spirits, Japan will soon enter a phase similar to the "Night Parade of One Hundred Demons" of a hundred years ago.

Previously, Lu Suo released the cursed spirit he had contracted, and part of the curse in the earth had already been released. Now that the barrier has lost its concealment effect, the remaining curse is also being slowly released.

If this part of the curse can be cleared, Japan will become like other continents, a region that doesn't produce many cursed spirits, similar to washing a contaminated sponge clean.

Of course, this is on the premise that Japanese sorcerers are able to do this, but judging from the current situation, it seems to be somewhat difficult.

Because there are simply too few sorcerers.

Higher Vocational Education

Conference room at the headquarters of the Spellcasting Committee.

The new authority played its due role at this moment, convening professionals from various industries to formulate corresponding action plans the day after the crisis ended.

"So, recreating the Great Barrier is impossible?"

"That's right. That barrier itself was already a miracle. My knowledge of barrier magic was certainly a major factor, but the right timing and location were also indispensable. Now I no longer have that foundation. This body is now just an ordinary mage."

Looking at her slender hands, Tianyuan's eyes glazed over for a moment. She had never imagined that she would one day possess such a human body.

She is no longer in the same state as her previous 'goddess'.

Before her soul was controlled by that curse, Yue Ren severed her consciousness. Now, the total amount of her soul is only a drop in the ocean compared to before. She didn't even retain the most basic spells. Now she is just an ordinary sorcerer who can only use curse power and has no spells left.

All we can do now is analyze the situation for these sorcerers from the perspective of a master of barrier magic and offer some ideas.

The others were also seeing "Lord Tianyuan" in this form for the first time, and were a little overwhelmed.

"The barrier cannot be repaired"—Upon learning this cruel truth, everyone present felt a significant drop in spirits, as it was indeed bad news.

For nearly a thousand years, the Japanese sorcery community has been using the Tengen barrier to combat and suppress curses. Now, the sudden destruction of the barrier has not only resulted in a loss of suppressive power, but also cracks in the mental fortitude of sorcerers.

It was as if something I had always believed in had suddenly shattered.

"The existence of the cursed spirits has been made public; increased casualties will cause public panic..."

"The number of sorcerers is far from enough; even asking the Pyromancer Alliance for help wouldn't be enough..."

"The mages' minds are also unsettled due to the destruction of the barrier; if this continues, they risk collapsing..."

"Most of the supervisors' barrier spells are no longer usable, and it's becoming increasingly difficult for sorcerers to exorcise cursed spirits..."

"And what about those who were dealt with by flesh sorcerers..."

"..."

Everyone chimed in with their own questions, and countless issues were laid bare, leaving the group sitting in the main seats, including Gojo Satoru, feeling utterly overwhelmed.

Let them fight, but dealing with these non-combat matters is just a nightmare.

Gojo Satoru would rather be sent out to cleanse the cursed spirits than face these problems he has no control over.

The transfer of power was too hasty. Although it can ensure the most basic operation, there are still a lot of problems. If they are not resolved as soon as possible, external conflicts will exacerbate internal divisions, and the newly formed cohesion will fall apart.

At this moment when everyone was having a headache, a certain boy spoke up.

How many of the assistant supervisors have the will to fight?

"...Many people become supervisors because they are limited by their own talents and cannot become sorcerers. If given the opportunity and the ability, they would not refuse, but..."

Nanami's explanation was interrupted.

"I will produce a batch of special demon-slaying swords in a short time. Members who want to participate in the battle can bring the weapons. If you are with your partners, you should be able to deal with level 2 and below cursed spirits."

"Oh, oh, oh..."

"...Ah, Yue Ren, can you do it?"

Gojo Satoru couldn't help but speak up. He couldn't help it; the meaning of what he just said was just too shocking. Arming a team doesn't require just one or two weapons; it requires hundreds or even thousands.

"No problem. It's just that I no longer need to manufacture weapons of this caliber myself. I won't go into details, it's just a matter of opening up a domain."

The essence of "Wuyuan Sword Making" is to forge a world. With his current understanding of that world, he can forge thousands of weapons simultaneously within the barrier using his will. Although the quality is not high, it is enough for ordinary people to use.

Arming a group of people will allow them to conduct business in the field more frequently.

"Of course, I know this is just a temporary measure. Regarding the overflowing curse power, I am working with the special-grade sorcerer Tsukumo Yuki to deal with it. I'll give you all a deadline: one week. After one week, we should be able to resolve the issue of the overflowing curse power. At that time, the rate at which curse spirits are generated should slow down, or even be lower than when the Heavenly Origin Barrier existed. This is my promise to you all."

"So please everyone, let's work hard during this time. We'll resolve the issue within a week at most."

"Oh oh oh oh..."

"As expected of the Yue people, they always manage to do things that others cannot..."

The boy's words were like a reassuring pill to everyone present. Their thoughts were actually very simple: they didn't necessarily want to achieve any specific goal, but at least they wanted to know which way to go.

"In that case, I will, as the head of the Gojo family, summon all members to participate in this great extermination of cursed spirits."

Gojo Satoru was quite self-aware. Since Yue Ren could handle the internal affairs well, then for the time being, let her be the line of defense between humans and the curse, and let her handle most of the task of exorcising the cursed spirits.

Me too.

The head of the Zen temple family, Fushiguro Megumi, also raised his hand, indicating that it was time for his family to make a move. This was the most opportune moment.

As for the final Kamo family head, Kosuke, he did not represent the family but participated in his personal capacity, which did not concern anyone. After all, the Kamo family at present could hardly even put together a three-person team, and they really did not have much family strength.

The moth watched as everyone contributed to peace, and although it was tired, its spirits were lifted by this vibrant energy.

"Thank you everyone, so the next topic is..."

......

The meeting lasted for almost a day, and various issues were resolved in an orderly manner. The power of the sorcerer community was once again united, and the machine called the sorcerer began to operate smoothly with the help of gears that were still in the process of breaking in.

After the Yue people forged the weapon and gave it to Mingming, who was in charge of scheduling, they immediately went to the workshop of Ninety-Nine.

Upon opening the basement door, a musty smell wafted out, causing Yue Ren to frown slightly.

The lights in the room were on, and the white light was so bright that you could clearly see the cracks in the walls.

The table was piled high with blueprints, some with boundary patterns, some with densely written formulas, and some that had been crumpled into a ball and then unfolded, with white marks worn into the creases.

He wasn't surprised by the mess in front of him, because she had contributed to it as well.

Just as he said at the meeting, their plan was nearing completion. While using "Tracing the Source" to sense its intelligence, Yue Ren also brought Lu Suo's knowledge of barrier techniques.

Based on their previous research, the barrier that can adapt to any environment and touch the soul can be declared complete. Now, it is time for final adjustments.

All that's left is to conduct an on-site inspection, make some comparisons and tests, and the plan should be successful.

Their plan can perfectly solve the problems that everyone is currently facing.

Setting up a barrier to optimize the soul in the "Soul Chamber" requires a large amount of magical power to activate. Fortunately, the abundant magical power currently circulating throughout Japan is a good resource. All that's needed is to add an outer barrier to convert the magical power flowing into the "Soul Chamber" into usable energy.

"No one has ever been to that place, and nobody knows what the specifics of the place are. It's also uncertain whether the cursed power will flow there."

"That's why we need to go and take a look, isn't it? If it really doesn't work, we'll have to postpone making another barrier that can gather magical power... But that shouldn't happen. According to our previous assumptions, magical power is fluid, and its final destination should be the same as that of the soul."

Just like a river, a fish in the river may not know where the river is flowing, humans cannot know the 'direction' of the curse power. However, according to their calculations, if it were a 'stagnant pool,' then the world should not be the way it is now. The curse power will eventually have a place where it is 'replaced and renewed'.

They estimate that the place is the same location as where souls are reborn.

"That's true. So now... you should have figured out how to get in, right?"

Yuki sat at the table, holding a pencil in his hand, the tip resting on the drawing, but he didn't move.

Her hair was casually tied back, with stray strands falling on the sides of her face. Her beige hair was dull and lifeless from long hours of work, and the dark circles under her eyes were ridiculously deep, giving her a sickly beauty that suggested she was about to die from overwork.

The Yue man frowned slightly.

This woman is going a little too far.

"certainly!"

He had said before the battle that he would find a way in this battle, the final battle, watching Gojo Satoru and Sukuna fight, and personally dealing with that guy. He finally took that final step.

He not only constructed his own "domain expansion," but also developed a power similar to Gojo Sōkyū's, which temporarily constructs fictional concepts.

With this power, he can now undoubtedly open the 'door' leading to the narrow passage of the soul.

Unlike others who achieve breakthroughs temporarily, Yue Ren is someone who has accumulated experience and then unleashed it. He had already completed all the prerequisites beforehand, and all he needed was an opportunity, which is why it seemed so simple.

It's not about being simple; it's about condensing your efforts into daily training and honing your skills before battle.

"Shall we get ready now?"

"Yes, the sooner the better. The others are waiting. The sooner we finish, the sooner peace and tranquility will come. It's been so long since I've had a good night's sleep."

"Hmm... Let's go!"

She stood up, stretched, took a coat from the clothes rack in the corner and draped it over her shoulders, then rolled up the blueprints on the table and stuffed them into her backpack.

"...It's not that urgent. Are you sure you don't want to rest for a bit?"

Yue Ren hesitated for a moment. After all, given the woman's current state, he felt that he wouldn't be surprised if she suddenly died at any moment.

Yuki Tsukumo smiled slightly upon hearing about this relationship.

"The reason I'm like this is because a problem is weighing on my mind. Now that the solution is right in front of me, do you think I can sleep peacefully if I don't understand it clearly?"

"Let's go, a change of scenery should make me feel better. Right now, I can't sleep."

"......All right."

What could the Yue people say after that? They could only set off and follow.

Leaving the college, they boarded a train to go to a special place.

Huangquan Hirazaka.

In Japanese mythology, it is the boundary between the living world and the underworld.

Myths often have origins in the supernatural world. Yue and Ren didn't know if this would make things simpler, but as the only conceivable condition, it had to be comprehensive, right?

Yomi Hirasaka is the name of a myth, but in modern times, the place has another name: Ifuyasaka in Matsue City, Shimane Prefecture, where a stone monument is erected with the inscription "The Land of the Miracle Yomi Hirasaka Ifuya Legend".

Fortunately, Japan is "small enough" that the two of them arrived in about an hour by train.

Meanwhile, the woman next to me unknowingly fell asleep, even though she said she couldn't sleep...

Fortunately, the destination was the final station, and the train did not start immediately, so Yue Ren watched her and let her rest for a while longer.

On the one hand, I felt guilty; on the other hand, I knew I couldn't afford to be careless about what was to come, and I needed to be fully focused.

Another half hour passed, and Jiu Jiu woke up in the sunlight streaming through the train window.

The blurry image gradually became clear, revealing the leisurely figure of the boy opposite, looking down at his documents.

The quiet environment, the gentle sound of pages turning, and the warm sunlight shining on her made Jiu Jiu suddenly feel that this moment was incredibly beautiful.

She wanted it to continue... but as her mind gradually cleared, she immediately realized what had happened.

Her cheeks flushed slightly with shyness.

"Hahaha... I'm so sorry, I accidentally fell asleep."

As she spoke, she playfully stuck out her tongue, trying to fool everyone.