The Twelve Trials Starting from Zero

It is entirely purple, over ten feet tall, with two sharp horns on its head that almost touch the ceiling. It has a gaping maw full of sharp teeth and a body shape like a standing hunting dog. Its long arms can touch the ground directly, and it has scythe-like bone blades from its wrists to its elbows, giving it a sharp and dangerous look.

"Shishi Kenshin, why are you here?" Naraku stood behind it, his eyes narrowed, his gaze wary yet filled with suspicion. "I saw you at the shrine in Musashi Province just now, but now you're standing in front of me... I understand, you used a substitute and secretly investigated my location, intending to assassinate me, right? Hmph, I have to admit, you're a dangerous man, but unfortunately, you're the one who will die here."

"No, no, no, you're completely wrong." Su Qi walked into the hall with a smile on his face. "You might not believe it, but the reason I secretly came here was to collude with you and join forces with you in your evil deeds."

"He's lying, what he's really thinking is..."

With his blood-red eyes fixed on Su Qi, Wu Xin Gui was about to speak his mind when he suddenly stopped, his expression turning very strange.

Naraku turned and glanced at it, saying calmly, "What is he thinking?"

"Well, he said... you're a pathetic wretch who secretly loves Kikyo but doesn't even dare to admit it, who's only jealous of Inuyasha, attacks Inuyasha, and tries to get attention like a child by playing 'pranks' on your crush."

Suddenly, the scene fell into a deathly silence.

Chapter 84 Spiritual Pollution in the Philosophy Department

"Ridiculous!" After an eerie silence, Naraku said coldly, "Don't compare me, Naraku, to that lowly human Onigumo!"

"Really?" Su Qi smiled slightly. "If you really don't care, how about letting the Mind-Reading Ghost verify it? He can read your mind too, right?"

Naraku glanced coldly at Goshinki, "Boring. Goshinki, kill him."

A cold sweat trickled down Wuxin Gui's back. Upon hearing the command, he immediately shouted "Yes, sir!" and charged towards Su Qi. This man was too dangerous; if he continued talking, Naraku would definitely silence him. He had to kill him quickly!

Driven by an intense will to survive, Wuxin Gui attacked with all his might, instantly lunging in front of Su Qi and slashing down with the bone blade on his right arm.

So fast!

Su Qi's pupils contracted slightly. In the split second, he stepped aside, slashing with his sword as he thought to himself, "Mind-Reading Ghost, I'm very interested in your mind-reading ability. Can you tell me how you do it?"

boom! !

The ground was cleaved in two by the bone blade. Wuxin Gui raised his left arm, blocking the incoming blade at just the right moment, and said coldly, "Idiot! How could I possibly tell you?"

"Don't refuse so quickly. How about this, if you tell me the secret to mind reading, I'll help you break free from Naraku's control? As a dangerous demon who can read minds, your heart should be in Naraku's hands, just like Kagura's, right?"

"Stop lying, you despicable bastard! What you really want is to use me and then kill me. Do you think I can't read your mind?!"

The two then engaged in a fierce battle while simultaneously conversing.

Because it was a passive mind-reading ability, Wuxin Gui couldn't ignore Su Qi even if it wanted to. The latter, relying on his superb swordsmanship, lightning-fast reflexes, and witty remarks that constantly distracted his enemy, managed to fight to a standstill despite the disadvantage of having all his thoughts read.

"Alright, I apologize. How about another plan? We'll use each other before we kill Naraku, and then kill each other after we've killed Naraku. What do you think?"

"Shut up! You're so noisy! Just let me eat you!"

"That won't do. Oh my, I've suddenly noticed you're quite fit, with well-defined and smooth muscles. You might be a good candidate for philosophy... By the way, can your mind-reading ability allow you to see what other people are thinking? I have some good stuff here, want to see it?"

"..."

"Not saying anything? I think you're completely clueless. Come on, let me show you something exciting..."

The next moment, Wuxin Ghost, who was about to attack, froze. Suddenly, several inexplicable muscular men appeared in its mind, making inexplicable movements and uttering strange sounds such as "Boy♂Next♂Door," "This♂world is too chaotic," and "Pachuli♂GO." Having never seen such a scene before, it was momentarily confused.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, Su Qi finally seized the opening and slashed diagonally, cutting it in two.

"Naraku, you're next."

The hall, already ravaged and in disarray from the fighting, was in a state of chaos when he turned to look at Naraku, preparing to press his advantage and cut him down, only to discover that... Kagura and Kanna had appeared behind Naraku at some point.

"Uh, Naraku, we're already so familiar with each other, how about we make a deal? One-on-one duel?"

"What do you say?"

"I think it's okay."

“But I don’t think that will work. Kagura Kanna, kill him.”

……

Not long after, Su Qi returned to the pure white space once again.

This time, he was surrounded and attacked by Naraku, Kanna, Kagura, and the human guards in the castle. Actually, if it were just a matter of breaking through and escaping, it might not have been impossible for him with his abilities and the enhancement buff from the Shikon Jewel, but since he had a save file, there was no need for that. So he simply stayed behind to test Naraku and the others' fighting strength.

Unfortunately, due to the encirclement and attack of the crowd, he could not hold out for long. He was frozen by the mirror of the god who had no use, and then poisoned to death by Naraku's miasma. A new type of death achievement was added.

“This is troublesome…” Su Qi sighed as he lay on the floor. “Naraku’s super-fast regeneration, poisonous miasma, and physical transformation; Kagura’s Corpse Dance and wind control; Kanna’s soul absorption, parrying, and mirror clones; Goshinki’s mind reading and powerful body… Every enemy’s ability is extremely troublesome. And it’s not like in the original story where they are defeated one wave at a time, but rather they gang up on each other. There is absolutely no chance of winning if we confront them head-on.”

After thinking for a while, he finally shook his head and gave up his plan to defeat Naraku and his gang alone.

If we had to put it in perspective, as long as we use the save-saving ability to try again and again and grasp the abilities and patterns of action of everyone on Naraku's side, it would still be possible for Su Qi to turn the tables on his own; however, it would require too much effort and take too long, so the cost-effectiveness would be low and it would be completely unnecessary.

"Let's try assassination first. If that doesn't work, we can team up with others to form a group."

Once the plan was finalized, he immediately got up and chose to reload the save file again.

……

Naraku Castle dungeon, third playthrough.

This time, Su Qi did not infiltrate directly to assassinate Kikyo, but instead returned to the shrine and found Kikyo directly.

"Kikyo, have you ever heard of a yokai that can read minds?"

When he returned, Kikyo was dressed in a red and white shrine maiden outfit, quietly sweeping the approach to the shrine with a broom. She had a rare few days of free time, so she cleaned the entire shrine inside and out.

When she heard Su Qi's question, she paused slightly, tilted her head, and looked at him quietly for a moment with her clear, bright eyes before saying in a low voice, "It seems your plan failed?"

“Yes.” Su Qi sighed softly, “Naraku has gained another clone, a demon named Goshinki. It can read the thoughts of nearby creatures, so I was discovered and came back to ask if you have any ways to deal with this kind of demon.”

"A monster that can read minds?"

"Yes."

Kikyo pondered for a moment, then asked, "Have you ever heard of 'Awakening'?"

"Of course, this kind of monster is very famous and also has the ability to read minds."

"Actually, 'Awakening,' 'Enlightenment,' 'Thought,' and 'Enlightened Ghost' are all similar things. There was an Onmyoji who specifically researched targeted techniques to deal with Awakening, which were called 'Spirit-Slaying Techniques'."

"Spirit Absolute? You know this kind of magic?"

"I once practiced spiritual cultivation."

"Can I learn it?"

"The essence of spiritual power is actually just a subtle technique for using spiritual energy. It's not complicated, but its actual application is quite complex... If you want to learn, I can teach you."

A short while later, the two found a spacious and bright Japanese-style room in the shrine that faced the courtyard and began their instruction.

On the tatami floor, Kikyo sat opposite Su Qi and explained, "Actually, whether it's Jue or Wuxin Gui, the essence of these kinds of yokai's abilities is to interpret the spiritual energy that naturally dissipates from living beings, thereby understanding what others are thinking. It's a higher level of 'spirit communication' skills. To learn the counter to mind reading, 'Jue Ling,' you also need to master 'spirit communication' as a prerequisite."

"So I need to learn psychic abilities first?"

"Yes, now begin, do as I say..."

Afterwards, at Kikyo's instruction, the two shortened the distance between them, knelt down facing each other, leaned forward, touched foreheads, and leaned against each other in a slightly ambiguous posture.

Chapter 85 I, Su Qi, only want to live a peaceful life

A delicate, slightly cool touch came from his forehead, and he could faintly smell a delicate fragrance. As a shut-in who had remained chaste for over twenty years, Su Qi couldn't help but feel a little nervous. But he quickly wiped away this nervousness, instantly calmed himself, and began to follow Kikyo's instructions.

"Everyone's soul is unique, and spiritual power originates from the soul, so everyone's spiritual power is also unique and has its own characteristics, which we will temporarily call spiritual qualities. In simple terms, so-called psychic communication is the technique of changing one's own spiritual qualities, imitating the spiritual qualities of others, and harmonizing and communicating with each other to resonate with emotions."

"Previously, when I performed rituals to ward off evil spirits, it was based on psychic abilities, using my own emotions to influence the emotions of others, allowing them to pass away peacefully—a technique. To learn psychic abilities, one must first learn how to perceive and imitate the spiritual essence of others, and then learn how to communicate and harmonize each other's spiritual power… This feeling can only be understood intuitively, and is difficult to explain in words. Next, pay attention to the subtle changes in my spiritual power, and then I will show you how to imitate them…"

With Kikyo's explanation, the two began their training.

The first step, in Su Qi's understanding, is to observe the spiritual energy fluctuation frequency (spiritual quality) of others, and then adjust one's own spiritual energy fluctuation frequency so that the frequencies of the two are within the same frequency band, allowing them to coexist and interact, thus establishing the premise for communication and harmony.

Perhaps Su Qi's understanding was correct, and coupled with his natural talent for controlling spiritual power due to his practice of not observing movement, he completed the first step of his cultivation in less than an hour after Kikyo taught him the techniques for identifying and perceiving the frequency (spiritual quality) of spiritual power fluctuations. The rest was just a matter of time.

However, he got stuck on the second step of channeling and reconciliation.

Let's leave it at that for now.

After the third attempt failed, Kikyo paused her teaching, straightened up, and sat down opposite Su Qi again.

"Where is the problem?" The latter frowned slightly, seemingly puzzled.

Kikyo glanced at him. "You should understand."

"I should understand?" Su Qi pondered for a moment, but still couldn't grasp the point, so he could only say, "I'm sorry, I still don't understand. Please enlighten me."

Kikyo shook her head slightly. "I think you do understand, but you subconsciously overlooked that one point. Simply put, it's that... you've closed your heart."

Su Qi was slightly taken aback. "I... closed my heart?"

"Communication is reciprocal. If you haven't even opened your own heart, how can you go out and touch other people's hearts? And the heart and the spirit are two sides of the same coin. If the heart is closed, the spiritual power is also closed, so naturally it cannot harmonize with the spiritual power of others."

He fell silent, examined his conscience, and discovered... that Kikyo was absolutely right.

Su Qi, male, Han ethnicity, 24 years old. Except for the ignorant period he spent in the orphanage as a child, he has never wholeheartedly trusted anyone. He has always been quick-witted since childhood, and the more he sees and knows as he grows up, the stronger this trait becomes, rather than weakening.

He had also pondered why his personality had become this way, and the answer was that, apart from environmental factors, he... didn't want to get hurt.

Without expectations, there will be no disappointment; reducing investment reduces losses. The world and others change too quickly; the only thing he can control is himself. Therefore, in life, he is used to placing himself in the position of an observer, listening and watching more, and speaking less. He can only communicate freely with silly netizens with whom he has no conflict of interest and whose identities he does not know.

He also dislikes excessive social interaction, not because he's bad at it, but because he doesn't want to be good at it. With his abilities, if he really made up his mind to do it, he could definitely become a successful socialite, but there's no need, and he doesn't want to compromise himself too much.

Life is only sixty years long, why let your heart be enslaved by physical desires and waste precious time?

So even though he excelled academically, he ultimately chose to become a writer, a profession that only required him to interact with his own soul and the quirky netizens. From then on, he wrote every day, occasionally taking a break, but most of his time was entirely his own—relaxed and enjoyable, so why not?

Of course, the more you give, the more you receive. While his way of life is easy and carefree, it inevitably comes at the cost of losing something. However, compared to struggling in society and chasing fame and fortune, Su Qi longs for a peaceful life without great joy or sorrow.

Unfortunately, the sudden time travel disrupted his life plans, and now he faces a problem... he can't open his heart.

“I understand what you mean.” Su Qi took a deep breath, closed his eyes and meditated for a while, then opened his eyes again and said, “Let’s try again, this time it should work.”

However, it didn't work. Even after several more attempts, the problem persisted.

As the saying goes, it's easy to deceive heaven and earth but hard to deceive oneself. One's mental state over the past twenty years cannot be easily changed in a moment. He cannot deceive his own heart, so he simply cannot let go, and his spiritual practice is temporarily stalled.

……

At night, Su Qi sat alone on the steps in front of the shrine, gazing up at the starry sky.

Tonight is a full moon, and the mirror-like white moon appears exceptionally clear and enormous, as if one could see the mountain patterns on its surface. Surrounded by a dazzling galaxy, the starry sky seems even closer, a scene of breathtaking beauty.

However, although he appeared to be gazing at the stars and admiring the moon, his eyes were actually unfocused, and he was deep in thought, trying to figure out how to convince himself.

Just then, a dog-eared loli carrying a large fish and humming a cheerful tune skipped past. After a few steps, she suddenly stopped, her big eyes darting around, and a mischievous grin appeared on her cute face.