The Twelve Trials Starting from Zero

"Platycodon grandiflorus!!!!"

A dying beast's roar echoed from behind; it was Inuyasha's desperate and furious wail.

It's strange, why do I feel so happy when writing this kind of plot, and why does my typing speed increase dramatically? (Mapo face)

Chapter 80: They're just making fun of each other.

"What a pity, why is it a dead person? Even silicone would be better than clay. Otherwise, I might have gone easy on you and trained you into a firearm."

Just as Su Qi was about to sever Kikyo with a single strike, Inuyasha, who had caught up from behind, grabbed his arms and restrained his body. He had no choice but to release his grip on the sword hilt, struggling while spouting lewd remarks, but the latter's strength far surpassed his, and he was completely unable to move for the time being.

"Tsk, a miscalculation, things are not good now. I didn't expect Kikyo to actually block my attack, even if it came at the cost of her own life..."

Even after being captured, Su Qi showed no fear, only a malicious smile as he sarcastically remarked, "Fine, I admit defeat this time. So, what are you going to do with me now? I suppose you won't kill me, will you? After all, even though I've turned to the dark side, I'm still one of your comrades, and as righteous people, how could you easily abandon your comrades? So, are you going to purify me?"

"Shut up!!" Inuyasha's eyes were blood red, and another demon mark appeared on each of his cheeks. The veins on his arms bulged, and he tightened his grip on Su Qi, making him turn red in the face and unable to speak. He suppressed his anger and killing intent and said hatefully, "I'm going to beat you up when you wake up, you bastard! I'll make sure you can't get out of bed for a month!"

Then, looking at Kikyo across from him, who had been stabbed by a knife, and seeing the cracks spreading outwards from her wounds like porcelain, he asked in a trembling voice, "Kikyo, are you... alright?"

"Inuyasha, calm down, you're about to be controlled by the demon blood within you."

Kikyo remained calm, seemingly without any pain, though her voice trembled slightly. No one knew that Su Qi's blade, imbued with spiritual energy, had pierced her outer shell and directly penetrated her unprotected soul, inflicting a relentless, soul-tearing agony upon her.

Then, she looked down at her chest and saw clumps of white, dead souls slowly oozing out of the wound.

The sword cannot be drawn, otherwise the souls will quickly leak out, making it impossible to purify the Shikon Jewel. So... one can only endure it until the purification is complete...

Kikyo frowned slightly, but quickly made up her mind, slowly raised her hand, and pressed it against Su Qi's chest, where the two Shikon Jewel fragments were embedded.

"Inuyasha... don't let him move..."

"Kikyo, let Kagome do it. You need treatment now."

“Curse and purification... must be done simultaneously... she... is not yet capable of it…”

She endured the pain that reached her very soul, answering intermittently while trying to keep her will from wavering and gathering all her spiritual power into her right hand.

Inuyasha fell silent. Distracted by other things, Kikyo could no longer hide her pain, so even someone as oblivious as him could see it. He couldn't bear to add to her suffering and exhaustion, and knowing she couldn't give up on purification, he could only keep his mouth shut and gaze at her with sorrowful, melancholy eyes.

It's about to begin... I hope I can endure it until the purification is complete...

Kikyo was too preoccupied to look at anything else, so she couldn't see Inuyasha's expression. Feeling that she had reached the limit of her spiritual power, she closed her eyes and focused all her attention on the purification.

boom!!

The next moment, a massive surge of spiritual energy exploded, and a pure white, dazzling pillar of purification light rose up, enveloping the three of them.

Subsequently, the two corrupted Shikon Jewel fragments radiating black light on Su Qi's chest were purified at a visible speed, and the black light gradually faded.

Suddenly, Kikyo's body trembled, the purifying light contracted, and the black light instantly counterattacked, once again invading most of the fragment area.

"Platycodon grandiflorus!!"

Inuyasha cried out in alarm, his face filled with anxiety. Kikyo, whose wound had already spread to her neck, ignored him, steadied herself again, forcibly suppressed the pain, and poured out all her spiritual power in one breath.

boom!!

A blinding white light exploded, instantly dispelling most of the black light on the fragments, leaving only the tip.

Ugly souls, filthy curses... Leave, leave this man, return to your master's heart, he should not be such a vile being...

Kikyo mustered her remaining strength and poured her last bit of power into the shards, finally purifying the last remaining trace of black light. Then, the two Shikon Jewel shards slid from Su Qi's chest, and she finally collapsed in his arms, exhausted.

At this moment, the cracks had covered all of Kikyo's body except for her head, and clumps of dead souls were emerging from them, floating into the sky like white balloons.

"Kikyo! How are you!?"

Inuyasha pushed Su Qi away and carefully pulled Kikyo into his arms.

Su Qi also woke up at this moment, feeling his head heavy and dull, as if filled with lead and mercury. He shook his head, trying his best to clear his mind. Gradually, the memories from before surfaced in his mind, and his face instantly turned ugly.

What the hell?! I've been corrupted by the dark side?! And even after being corrupted, I'm so silly, brainless, and obnoxious, I want to punch myself for being so shameless. In the end, Kikyo had to save the day...

Thinking of this, he quickly got up and walked to Inuyasha. Looking at Kikyo in his arms, who was covered in cracks like a broken porcelain vase and seemed like she might break at any moment, he knew he could reload his save and start over, but he still couldn't help feeling depressed.

“Kikyo…” Su Qi paused, then said in a complicated tone, “Thank you for saving me.”

Kikyo, dressed in a red and white shrine maiden's outfit, lowered her eyes and gaze. Knowing that her death was imminent, her expression remained as calm as ever. She said indifferently, "Haven't you saved me several times already? Why should I thank you?"

"If I had fired the antidote arrow when I charged at you, you might have survived."

“This is the best choice.” She slowly closed her eyes and whispered, “I am a dead man, and I am the one who should die the most. Besides, if it weren’t for me, you wouldn’t have willingly stepped into Naraku’s trap, so I should take responsibility, that’s all.”

After saying that, a faint white light emanated from the crack and gradually covered the entire body.

It wasn't spiritual power, but her very soul that was beginning to dissipate and leak away... Kikyo was about to die, beyond saving...

Seeing this scene and anticipating the outcome, Su Qi did not want to witness Kikyo's end, so he decisively turned around, activated "Instant Death," and his consciousness collapsed, returning to the pure white space.

……

After getting up from the floor for what felt like the umpteenth time, Su Qi's face instantly turned cold, and he muttered to himself, "Naraku, I have to admit, you did a really good job this time."

As he spoke, for the first time, he felt a strong killing intent towards Naraku beyond his initial goal of clearing the dungeon. After all, he had almost failed this time. If Kikyo hadn't purified him, who knows how things would have turned out.

Chapter 81 It's time to put on a real show of infiltration and assassination.

Since there were no cultivation-related issues to resolve this time, Su Qi pondered for a moment how to deal with Naraku, and then simply chose to reload his save file.

The time was noon on the day the mountain spirit was exorcised, and the location was a temporary camp on the riverbank.

After reloading his save file, Su Qi suddenly came to his senses and found himself sitting under a large tree, enjoying the shade. Looking around, the sun was shining brightly, the water was flowing gently, and the campfire that had just been extinguished was still emitting wisps of smoke. Kikyo, dressed in a red and white shrine maiden outfit, sat as always on a large rock by the river not far away, quietly basking in the sunlight.

During their time together, he noticed that Kikyo loved basking in the sun, probably trying to warm her cold body made of grave soil. But was it effective? He didn't know, because he never asked.

Can your body feel the warmth of the sun?

This time, however, Su Qi took the initiative to step forward and ask the question.

Kikyo glanced back at him, her slender neck gleaming like a piece of white jade in the sunlight, and shook her head.

"If that's the case, why bother coming out to sunbathe?"

She paused for a moment, looked up at the huge fireball in the sky that radiated endless light and heat, and said softly, "Perhaps, being able to recall the sunlight in my memory allows my soul to feel a little warmth."

Su Qi remained silent for a moment, simply watching the river wash over the bluestone, and joined in the sun. Surprisingly, the sunlight seemed warmer and more comfortable than usual today; perhaps it was just a matter of comparison.

After a long pause, he said, "Kikyo, if I use too many Shikon Jewel shards and become corrupted by the malice within the jewel, what do you think I will become?"

"The Shikon Jewel will amplify the dark side that is already in your heart, so you should know this better than I do."

Does it amplify the dark side inherent in my heart? Does it mean my true nature is that goofy and silly persona? No, no, no, it only amplifies the dark side, it doesn't represent me. Therefore, the darkness within me is…

Recalling his words and actions in his dark state, Su Qi examined himself, and a word subconsciously surfaced in his mind—player.

The impression Su Qi, now corrupted, left on him was that of a game player who treated the world as a game, acting recklessly, doing whatever he pleased, and indulging all his desires.

So, it's true, I haven't fully integrated into this world yet, but that's perfectly normal. With my abilities, if I were the protagonist of a silicon-dominated world, I might have already gone wild with it, but I've already been quite restrained…

After thinking for a moment and confirming that his mind was not in any problem and was still within a reasonable range, Su Qi put the matter aside for the time being and said instead, "Kikyo, let's stay at the Dokkura and Shishi Shrine for a while."

Kikyo gave him a strange look. "Aren't you going to collect the Shikon Jewel anymore?"

"That's enough for now."

Su Qi turned his head and glanced in a certain direction. He could sense that the most ferocious beast was lurking there, but this time he did not kill it. He simply said, "If we continue to collect, it might provoke Naraku and make him unable to resist attacking us."

"Fear?"

"Of course not. It's just that we have too many obvious weaknesses. If we really have to fight, I hope that we can decide the time and the battlefield."

Kikyo didn't say anything more. She simply picked up the good bow and arrow, stood up, and showed her agreement through her actions.

Having already developed some tacit understanding, Su Qi didn't say anything more. He went straight back to the tree, packed his belongings, and set off on his journey with his companions once again.

Then, several of the fiercest birds flew out from the nearby forest and hovered behind the two of them at a distance.

……

About a day later, Su Qi and Kikyo, under Naraku's watchful eye, returned to the Komainu siblings' shrine.

This time, they did not see any more demons heading towards Granny Feng's village, so it seems that Naraku did not make a move.

"Would you like to stay at the shrine for a while? Of course, no problem. Rather, please stay as long as possible so we can serve you both well as a token of our gratitude."

"Yes, you can stay as long as you want."

Upon hearing the purpose of their visit, the Komainu siblings warmly welcomed the two in front of the shrine's torii gate.

After chatting for a few more minutes, just as they were about to go inside, Su Qi suddenly remembered something, looked up at the shrine name on the torii gate that was already blurred, and asked curiously, "By the way, what's the name of your shrine?"

"Well... we're not really sure either, because the shrine was already in ruins when we became conscious. It seems that the local land god was enshrined there before. And after that monster's rampage, even the sacred object that was originally kept in the shrine is gone."

"How about I suggest a name?"

"Huh? Well, it seems that it also depends on the deity being worshipped..."

Shishimaru hesitated for a moment, but Dokuro patted him on the shoulder and said casually, "Of course, no problem! Since there isn't even a god, a name doesn't seem to be an important thing. I'll leave it to you."

So, Su Qi renamed the Komainu siblings' shrine to Hakurei Shrine, and even the deity enshrined was changed to Hakurei Okami, whose divine office was to make connections, a name he made up without knowing where it came from.

That night, the shrine's worship hall, which had been occupied by the mirror demon, was illuminated by a few oil lamps.

How about this?

Kikyo looked at the two Su Qi standing in front of her and asked softly.

“It’s good, even better than I expected.” One of the Su Qi looked at the other Su Qi, touching him as he said, “Originally, it was just a matter of not being noticeable from a distance, but I didn’t expect it could even imitate the feel. So, next, I’ll trouble you to maintain the existence of this ‘Su Qi’ and prevent Naraku’s spies from discovering it.”

Su Qi certainly wouldn't have two, much less the ability to create shadow clones. One of them was a "shadow clone" made by Kikyo using his hair and paper dolls. It looked exactly like him and could even speak, but it required a constant drain on spiritual energy to maintain.

Fortunately, Kikyo's spiritual power is strong, and Kagashiro doesn't need to show himself all the time. The shrine is also secluded and peaceful, with few people coming here. They won't reveal any flaws in a short period of time, so it shouldn't be a problem to deceive Saige, who is monitoring them.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, the real Su Qi was able to slip away and steal from Naraku's house, which was his true purpose for staying there.

……

Because of his keen senses, Su Qi had no problem getting rid of the most powerful surveillance on his own. In addition, he had already obtained Naraku's location from Kagura in the previous playthrough, so the plan was progressing very smoothly.

So he traveled day and night at full speed, and on the second night, he left Musashi Province and arrived outside the castle of the Hitomi family.

"Hmph, perfect timing. Now, it's time to put on a real show of infiltration and assassination."

Looking at the small city, which was pitch black under the night sky with only a few lights lit in the central inner city, Su Qi smiled coldly and crept over in the dark.