The Twelve Trials Starting from Zero

“Kohaku is dead, Koga is dead, and the Shikon Jewel of Inuyasha and the others is in his hands. That means that apart from the Shikon Jewel fragments I have, Naraku has almost collected the entire Shikon Jewel. So I can't give him any more time to develop stealthily; I need to kill him as soon as possible. But after this, he will definitely be more careful, and my attacks are too ineffective against him. My strength must be increased again…”

Just as she was pondering, the curtain at the door was lifted, and Kikyo, dressed in a red and white shrine maiden outfit and bathed in bright sunlight, walked in carrying a winnowing basket filled with herbs and a mortar.

"Kikyo?" Su Qi's eyes lit up, and he smiled and said, "What a touching reunion. I'm so glad you didn't leave me behind."

The platycodon did not answer, but quietly sat down beside him, took out a pestle and mortar from the winnowing basket, and began to process the herbs.

Su Qi didn't take it seriously. He straightened his expression and said earnestly, "Kikyo, tell me what happened after I fainted."

Kikyo paused, remained silent for a moment, and said in a complicated tone, "I'm sorry, I... failed to kill Naraku."

Ah, that wretched Murphy, I swear to God, I want to kick your ass to pieces with my boots...

Good things don't come true, but bad things do. Hearing that Naraku had escaped, Su Qi couldn't help but feel disappointed, resentful, and somewhat confused. He couldn't help but click his tongue inwardly. This damn unedited version! Couldn't it just let Naraku act like in the original story and be easily crushed by me again? What I want to be most is a winner in life like the protagonist of a wish-fulfillment novel!

However, after experiencing the ordeal with Soichiro, he quickly calmed down, shook his head and sighed in regret, then casually skipped over the topic and instead inquired about the details of what happened.

The details of the bellflower were naturally revealed without reservation, and she told them frankly.

Su immediately understood. No wonder Kikyo failed; it turned out that Kanna was the reason for the accident. As for Kagura's final act of help, he felt both amused and exasperated.

Big sister, you're the villain! Wouldn't it be better to be a little cruel and cold-blooded? Although I can understand that you probably want to use me to kill Naraku, but... letting me die peacefully is the best way to kill Naraku.

Despite her complaints and the fact that Kagura meant well but did something wrong, Su Qi still decided to accept her kindness and, if it wouldn't be a problem in the future, he could let her go after killing Naraku.

"Okay, I now fully understand what happened."

Finally, he looked at Kikyo and said seriously, "Kikyo, you'll still be chasing Naraku with me, right?"

“I... will accompany you until Naraku is killed.”

“Very well, but Naraku probably won’t jump out again so easily, and I feel that my abilities are still insufficient to pose much of a threat to Naraku. Do you have any suggestions?”

"You want to improve your strength?"

"Yes."

"I understand. I will think about it carefully and then give my advice."

As Kikyo spoke, she put down the pestle in her hand, looked at Su Qi calmly, and said in an equally serious tone, "But before that, I think you need to heal your injuries first. Now, take off your clothes and the strips of cloth on your body, and let me help you change your dressing."

Su Qi stiffened, looked down at the strips of cloth wrapped around his body, and said in a somewhat subtle tone, "Jiegeng, let me ask you a question. Did you help me apply the medicine to my body?"

"This is to clear the remaining toxins from your body. Is there a problem?"

"So, you not only saw my body naked, but you also touched it all over?"

Kikyo gave him a strange look. "Are you bothered by this? If so, I can apologize."

When she was changing Su Qi's dressing, she was completely focused on the perspective of a doctor and patient, without thinking about romantic feelings at all.

"No, it's nothing, it's just that it feels a little strange, well, a little strange. But I'll do the application of the medicine myself."

To avoid you guys complaining about the plot dragging on, I'll try to update three times a day until the first volume ends.

Chapter Ninety-Seven: Defeat the Shikon Jewel

In the end, Su Qi let Kikyo leave and struggled to change the dressing by himself.

"Kikyo, how long do you think it will take for me to fully recover, given the current situation?"

"Your body is very strong, and your recovery ability far exceeds that of ordinary people. You should be able to fully recover in about ten days."

Su Qi is a martial artist with spiritual power, and his physical constitution is enhanced by breathing techniques, so his recovery speed far exceeds that of ordinary people. However, even so, he still feels it is too slow.

"Too slow, wasting so much time, I wonder what Naraku will do next."

Su Qi shook his head slightly, thought for a moment, and suddenly said, "Kikyo, you're the one who helped me collect the Shikon Jewel fragments, right?"

When he woke up, he was only wearing strips of cloth and an outer garment; the small bag containing the Shikon Jewel fragments was not with him.

“Here it is…” Kikyo took out the small bag from her sleeve, but instead of handing it directly to Su Qi, she looked at him and said, “You want to use the Shikon Jewel?”

"That's right, there's no reason why Naraku can use it but I can't, right?"

"But doing so will make you more susceptible to contamination by the Shikon Jewel shards."

"Contaminated...?"

Su Qi stared thoughtfully at the bag containing the Shikon Jewel. After a moment, he suddenly looked up and asked, "Kikyo, do you think it's possible for a human to defeat the Shikon Jewel?"

"You mean... defeating the Shikon Jewel?"

"Yes, the Shikon Jewel is essentially a collection of the souls of the shrine maiden Midori from hundreds of years ago and a large number of yokai. Midori represents good, and the yokai represent evil. As long as one's will is strong enough to overcome the evil yokai souls, wouldn't one be able to overcome the corruption of the Shikon Jewel?"

He said this because he was inspired by the later plot of the original work.

In the final chapter of *Inuyasha*, Kagome and Inuyasha entered the Shikon Jewel and witnessed the endless battle between the souls of Midori and demons. If Midori gained the upper hand, the Shikon Jewel manifested as good; if the demons prevailed, it manifested as evil.

However, because there is only one Suiko and a large number of demons, and because the evil souls of the greedy beings who have used the Shikon Jewel throughout the ages are all pulled into the Shikon Jewel after they die, the Shikon Jewel is mostly manifested in evil form, unless someone like Kikyo purifies it.

As long as the Shikon Jewel does not disappear, the souls within it will be imprisoned within, never to die. Only the will of good and evil wills will constantly clash and perish. Therefore, even if Su Qi's soul enters the Shikon Jewel and kills all the demon souls, he cannot destroy the Shikon Jewel. However... as long as he overcomes those demons in terms of will, it means that the evil side of the Shikon Jewel can no longer distort his will, and naturally, he will no longer be corrupted.

However, that wasn't his primary goal. What he truly desired was the battle itself against those evil demonic souls. For his Immovable Contemplation technique to improve rapidly, the most crucial element was undergoing rigorous training, and what training could be more suitable for him now than confronting the corruption of the Shikon Jewel and battling the countless evil souls within it?

“Impossible.” Kikyo shook her head in denial. “While what you said is indeed reasonable, you alone cannot possibly fight against thousands upon thousands of demons with your spiritual power and willpower.”

As a former priestess who purified the Shikon Jewel, she knew best how troublesome the filth within it could be. Even with her unique purifying spiritual power, she was completely unable to eradicate it.

"I will grow stronger! As long as they can't kill me, they will become my whetstone, making me even more powerful!"

Su Qi's eyes shone brightly, and his expression and tone were unwavering.

He'd had enough! Why was it that despite all the scheming and plotting he'd put in over the past few weeks, and all the effort and energy he'd poured into it, Naraku still managed to escape in the end? There are many reasons, but the most important one is simply that he wasn't strong enough!

Why were there so many unexpected events? Why were there so many setbacks? Why did Inuyasha and his friends mess up? Why did Kikyo miss her last arrow? It was all because he wasn't strong enough!

If he were strong enough, he wouldn't need to seek outside help, and naturally, there wouldn't be any unstable factors like Inuyasha and his group, nor would he have to exhaust himself dealing with a mere Naraku. Even if he couldn't completely overwhelm the entire enemy force, as long as he possessed the same destructive power as Kikyo, Naraku would never have had a chance to escape the castle.

If you lack strength, you must compensate with intellect and physical prowess. In the previous battle, he once again fell behind Souichirou, deeply feeling his own limits. However, Su Qi had a dream: to become the Sword God of Shili Slope! Now that he had discovered the possibility of significantly enhancing his strength, how could he possibly let it go?

“But you won’t last long before you get contaminated,” Kikyo calmly pointed out the problem.

“Don’t worry…” Su Qi stood firm. “I’m more resilient than you think.”

Kikyo frowned slightly, scrutinized Su Qi carefully, and asked suspiciously, "What are you thinking? Knowing that it's a dead end, why did you still try it?"

Because I'm using cheat codes, I'm absolutely invincible!

Su Qi couldn't answer like that, so he widened his eyes, put on a sincere and earnest look, and looked into his companion's eyes, saying, "Kikyo, I need to become stronger, and this is the best and fastest way. Do you believe me?"

"..."

"So far, as a companion, have I failed in any way?"

"..."

"So far, do I look like the kind of fool who rushes headlong into a dead end without any planning?"

"..."

"Have I looked like someone with suicidal tendencies so far?"

“Alright…” Kikyo was finally persuaded and handed the bag containing the Shikon Jewel to Su Qi. “You don’t seem like a reckless person, and you’ve always been trustworthy as a companion in the pursuit of Naraku. So… if you’re really sure you want to do this, I will support you.”

“Very good. It’s incredibly lucky to have a reasonable and reliable companion.” Su Qi took the bag, then frowned. “However, although I have a plan, I don’t know how to enter the Shikon Jewel and fight the souls of those youkai. And if I just use the Shikon Jewel and get corrupted… that probably won’t work, right?”

“Spiritual summoning,” Kikyo explained. “If you can learn spiritual summoning, and I assist you with a ritual, you might be able to infuse your spirit into the Shikon Jewel.”

Because she reloaded her save file after learning psychic abilities and spirit control last time, she doesn't remember teaching Su Qi psychic abilities in this playthrough.

"That's great." Su Qi laughed. "It's quite a coincidence that I've studied psychic abilities. Let's see if this idea can be realized."

……

The Shikon Jewel was indeed very good and powerful. With its help, Su Qi recovered to the point where he could run, jump, and travel in about half a day. Even the hole in his left shoulder was rapidly healing and growing flesh.

Considering that the outside was not suitable for quiet practice, the two of them returned to the Hakurei Shrine the next day.

That evening, inside the main hall of the shrine, the Komainu siblings stood guard outside while Kikyo used the shrine's existing items to set up the ritual site. Because it was just a simple auxiliary spirit communication ritual, the setup was not complicated. It consisted of an altar with a mirror, incense burner, water, white paper, a Kagura bell, and a magic circle made up of lamps, shimenawa (sacred rope), Kikyo's seal, and other Onmyōdō symbols.

Su Qi stood aside, watching Kikyo's unhurried arrangements, and suddenly said, "Kikyo, if I fail and am corrupted, remember to kill me immediately."

Chapter Ninety-Eight: A Mighty Man Sheds Tears

Kikyo, who was setting up the magic array, paused slightly, then turned around, stared at Su Qi, and said expressionlessly, "Didn't you say you were confident?"

"But sometimes accidents happen, so if I get contaminated and don't have time to commit suicide, or if I don't react for too long, as your companion, I hope you can stab me in the back in time."

She didn't answer, she just looked at him and remained silent.

"Why aren't you saying anything? Is it because our bond is too deep and you can't bring yourself to do it? Oh dear, what a touching display of camaraderie. But please allow me to decline this offer. I am a champion of justice. Rather than be corrupted and live as a demon, I, Kenshin Shishio, would rather maintain my noble character and die as a human."

Seeing Su Qi still rambling on with a grin in the face of death, Kikyo's eyes flickered slightly, and she nodded gently. "I understand. Next, I will add a seal to the magic circle. If you fail, I will personally make you die as a human."

Thank you.

Su Qi felt he was growing increasingly fond of Kikyo, of course, as a companion. He liked her decisive and efficient style once she made up her mind.

Shortly afterward, with everything prepared, Kikyo closed the door and had Su Qi sit cross-legged in the center of the magic circle. She then placed the Shikon Jewel shards on a white porcelain altar and placed it in front of him. Next, she pointed the round mirror on the altar at Su Qi, lit incense, sprinkled holy water, picked up the Kagura bell, and while rhythmically stepping around the circle within the magic circle, she gently shook the Kagura bell and chanted indistinct and difficult-to-understand scriptures.

As the bell rang, the chanting echoed throughout the small wooden temple. Su Qi, who was sitting cross-legged in the center of the magic circle, felt his mind clear up, as if his spirit had just been washed by water, and every thought was clear and distinct.

This companion is truly multi-talented. Perhaps he should just reload the save a few times and learn skills like controlling shikigami and setting up barriers. While it might not significantly boost combat power, you never know when it might come in handy…

After thinking it over, he stopped being distracted and, following Kikyo's instructions, gently placed his palm on the Shikon Jewel. Then he closed his eyes, manipulated his spiritual power, and began to summon the Shikon Jewel fragments.

Under Kikyo's ritual blessing, Su Qi felt his spiritual power become exceptionally sharp and lively. He easily captured the spiritual power fluctuations emanating from the Shikon Jewel shards. Then, he imitated, communicated, and harmonized them. Soon, his spiritual communication was a great success.

There were no difficulties as he had imagined; in fact, it was surprisingly easy and smooth, as if... the Shikon Jewel was actively pulling him in.

……

It was pitch black all around, and he couldn't see anything. There was nothing under his feet, and he was just floating in the air... When Su Qi came to his senses, he found himself in such a strange place.

This place is the same as the interior of the Shikon Jewel described in the original work. Logically speaking, he only entered this place with his soul and consciousness, but his body felt no different from that of a physical being. He could even open his mind's eye to observe his surroundings, but all he felt was emptiness.

"That's so stupid."

Suddenly, a voice overlapped, as if hundreds of people were speaking at the same time, and the male and female voices rang out in the darkness.

Then, a group of monsters with entirely white bodies and a faint white glow swam out from the depths of darkness. Their appearances were bizarre and varied, mostly the shapes of various snakes, insects, and wild beasts, with numerous eyeballs, shells, fleshy whiskers, tentacles, scales, sharp teeth, demon heads, and arthropods pieced together into monsters.

Judging from their appearance alone, they are far less terrifying than the indescribable creatures of the Cthulhu mythos, but their exaggerated size, their exaggerated numbers, and the surrounding dark environment are enough to evoke the most primal fears in the human heart.