How did I, an Onmyoji, become the Lord of Yokai?

"Wait, junior brother, don't you know that there are some areas of Izumo Taisha where ordinary people are prohibited from entering?"

"To tour the entire Izumo Taisha Shrine, one must be accompanied by a member of the Imperial Family."

Kyogoku Munemitsu reminded him.

"Eh, Izumo Taisha has such a rule?"

Upon hearing this, Shimizu Asahi blinked and tilted his head in confusion.

"Hehe, actually it's not just Izumo Taisha, other famous shrines also have this rule. Just like Ise Grand Shrine, which enshrines Amaterasu Omikami, and Inari Taisha, which worships Inari the fox god."

"Now that you mention it, it does seem to make sense... But why is there such a rule?"

Recalling the "No Entry for Ordinary People" sign he saw when he visited Inari Shrine a few years ago, the black-haired boy couldn't help but become curious.

"Well, there are two main reasons."

"On the one hand, it is because the gods do not want it. You can think of the shrines that enshrine the gods as the homes where the gods reside when they descend. Because the gods are high above, they do not want the people to set foot in their homes too much."

"On the other hand, it's because most shrines hide a very important secret deep within them."

"A very important...secret...I see, this is the first time I've heard of such things."

The young man showed a hint of understanding, then he stopped the conversation and said, "Since there are important secrets in the shrine, then junior brother should not trouble senior brother. Qingnvfang and I will just visit the main hall and side halls of the shrine."

"Junior brother, don't you care about the shrine's secrets?"

Kyogoku Munemitsu was somewhat surprised; he was already prepared to answer what secret Shimizu Asahi was hiding.

"I do care, but since you said it's a secret, wouldn't it be a bit much for me to ask again?"

Asahi Shimizu asked in a very reasonable way.

"Haha, junior brother, since I asked someone to take you there, it means I don't intend to hide it from you. Besides, since you brought this up, I also have something I'd like to ask you."

The middle-aged man burst into laughter. He patted Chaoyang on the shoulder and said, "Junior brother, you must have heard that there are divine artifacts kept in the Ise Grand Shrine, right?"

"Yes, I have heard about that. I remember it was said that the Yata no Kagami, one of the three sacred treasures, is kept in the Ise Grand Shrine."

Although she didn't know why her senior brother brought up Ise Grand Shrine, Shimizu Asahi answered the question honestly.

However, as soon as he finished speaking, he sensed something was wrong.

"Wait, wait a minute, senior brother, could it be...!?"

His dark eyes widened involuntarily, and Qing Shui Chaoyang revealed a deep shock.

"Yes, it's the one you're thinking of, the one that's difficult."

"The Yata no Kagami, one of the Three Sacred Treasures, is located in the Ise Grand Shrine."

Kyogoku Munemitsu's smile gradually became unfathomable.

"As Izumo Taisha is the sister shrine of Ise Grand Shrine, junior brother should have guessed the secret hidden by Izumo Taisha."

"...The Kusanagi Sword."

The Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi is a divine sword that Susanoo-no-Mikoto found inside the body of the Yamata no Orochi after killing it. This sword inherited the powerful strength of the serpent god and is incredibly powerful. Even the Totsuka-no-Tsurugi, the sword of the gods, cannot compare to it. Therefore, people regard this sword as one of the Three Sacred Treasures of Yamato.

And naturally, this sword became the personal sword of Susanoo-no-Mikoto, and was kept close to his body.

I never expected that the great god would place this sword at Izumo Shrine.

This is the most powerful of the three divine artifacts.

The young students were deeply surprised.

"That's right, the Kusanagi Sword is kept inside Izumo Taisha. However, this is not the biggest secret of Izumo Shrine."

"That's not enough?"

Suppressing her surprise slightly, Shimizu Asahi looked at Kyogoku Munemitsu with some disbelief.

Is there a more important secret than the placement of the Three Sacred Treasures at Izumo Taisha?

"nature."

Sitting up straight, Kyogoku Munemitsu's face was filled with deep pride.

"After slaying the Yamata no Orochi, Susanoo suddenly decided to go into seclusion and withdraw from worldly affairs. Although it is unclear why the deity made this decision, no one in Izumo objected. We held a ceremony to send off the deity. The deity was worried that Izumo would gradually decline after he went into seclusion, so he placed the divine sword at the shrine to protect Izumo."

“But as you know, junior brother, although the Kusanagi Sword is one of the Three Sacred Treasures, it was obtained from the body of an evil god and is tainted with the evil god’s aura. Therefore, apart from Susanoo-no-Mikoto, no one else can wield this divine weapon.”

"And in order to dispel its evil influence, the Great God borrowed the Yasakani no Magatama from Amaterasu Ōmikami..."

"this....."

Shimizu Asahi was at a loss for words. No wonder there was no news of the Yasakani no Magatama, one of the Three Sacred Treasures, from the Ise Grand Shrine. It turned out that it had been borrowed by Susanoo-no-Mikoto and taken to Izumo Province.

Taking a deep breath, the boy's surprise exploded all at once. The secrets hidden by Izumo Taisha were truly immense.

However, after a while of surprise, Shimizu Asahi suppressed it.

"Senior brother really trusts me, he's willing to tell me such important news. However, senior brother just said that he wants to ask me for help with something, I wonder what it is."

"Actually, the Yasakani no Magatama, which is kept in the Izumo Grand Shrine, has gone missing. I'd like to ask for your help in finding it." (Chapter 168, The Huge Man Accused)

"..."

"..."

"Eh!???"

As Kyogoku Munemitsu finished speaking, the quiet room fell silent.

Whether it was Qingshui Chaoyang or Qingnvfang, they stared blankly at each other, their faces filled with disbelief.

Finally, it was Shimizu Asahi's exclamation that broke the silence.

"The Eight-Span Curved Jewel is gone!???"

His body leaned forward uncontrollably, and for the first time, he showed a look of great surprise, a stark contrast to his usual calm demeanor.

"Junior brother, keep your voice down, this is a big secret."

Seeing Shimizu Asahi's astonished and stunned expression, Kyogoku Munemitsu was startled. He immediately gestured for the other person to be quiet.

This is...

The boy instinctively opened his mouth to reply, but as soon as he spoke, he realized what he was doing and stopped himself in time.

Taking a deep breath, Shimizu Asahi suppressed his astonishment and lowered his voice, saying, "Senior brother, I think this is the biggest secret of Izumo Taisha, isn't it?"

"If word gets out that Izumo has lost one of the Three Sacred Treasures of Yamato, it will be a huge problem for Izumo."

"So, isn't this why we've blocked the news and are asking for your help?" The ruler of Izumo chuckled awkwardly, then said in a pleading tone, "Junior brother, you'll help your senior brother, won't you?"

"...How could I not help with something like this?"

Rubbing his brow, Qing Shui Chao Yang responded with a hint of helplessness.

The Three Sacred Treasures are the most precious treasures of the Yamato Kingdom. Amaterasu Omikami once said that as long as the Three Sacred Treasures exist, the Yamato Kingdom will not perish. Therefore, even if there is infighting within the royal family or a change of rulers, the Three Sacred Treasures must not be lost in any way.

This is the foundation of the nation.

However, Kyogoku Munemitsu now claims that the Yasakani no Magatama has disappeared, which is sure to excite Shimizu Asahi.

"But senior brother, tell me first, how did the Yasakani no Magatama disappear?"

"Ah, I don't know much about this either. After all, the Yasakani no Magatama disappeared three hundred years ago, and at that time, Izumo Province was still ruled by the Sasaki clan. I only heard that the sacred treasure was stolen."

Kyogoku Munemitsu shook his head, looking somewhat helpless.

"Three hundred years ago? This..."

Shimizu Asahi instinctively wanted to express her astonishment, but swallowed the words that were on the tip of her tongue.

Today, he was shocked by too many things. The disappearance of the two sacred treasures of Izumo Taisha and the Yasakani no Magatama had already satisfied him. The long time that had passed could no longer surprise him.

only......

"Senior brother, isn't three hundred years enough to retrieve the Eight-Foot Jade?"

He was puzzled. As a sacred artifact, the Yasakani no Magatama must be connected to the shrine or other sacred artifacts. Even if it was stolen by someone else, they should have countless ways to retrieve it. So why?

“Junior brother, our ancestors tried your idea before, but no matter how much they activated the Kusanagi Sword, they could never find the whereabouts of the Yasakani no Magatama. It was as if it had evaporated.”

"Although there is another way to notify the royal family to request the other divine artifact, the Yata no Kagami, you also know that if the royal family finds out about this, then the future of Izumo will be difficult."

"Even if we recover the divine artifact, my Izumo Kingdom will still be tainted with an indelible stain."

"I see... But senior brother, the expression that I haven't been able to find in Izumo for three hundred years, do you think I can find it?"

Nodding thoughtfully, Shimizu Asahi understood the thoughts of the former royal family of Izumo.

Even after understanding the reason, he was still somewhat puzzled.

Asking him to find the lost artifact is giving him too much credit.

"It's not that we necessarily want you to find it, but the more people there are, the more hope there is. Even if it's a slim chance, it's still hope, right?"

"A human wave tactic? That's certainly a good decision... But that also means that besides the Izumo royal family and me, there are other people who know about this?"

"Yes, sir, you know that too. And over the years, most of our information about the Yasakani no Magatama has come from you."

Kyogoku Munemitsu smiled, and then said gratefully, "Sir, you have really helped me a lot."

At this point, he suddenly paused, as if recalling something, and said, "Oh right, I remember that you wrote to me not long ago, saying that the Yasakani no Magatama might have ended up at sea."

"Junior brother, if you have the opportunity to go to the sea in the future, please pay more attention to news about divine artifacts."

"The sea... I understand, senior brother. If I have time, I will definitely go to the sea."

Shimizu Asahi nodded deeply, indicating that he accepted the request.

"That's good. Alright, I won't say anything more. I'll go find someone to take you to the Izumo Grand Shrine."

"Well... then I'll have to trouble you, senior brother."

This time, Shimizu Asahi did not refuse.

After all, he already knew all the secrets of Izumo Taisha, so if he refused now, it would just be pretentious.

......

Meanwhile, on the other side, in the middle of a majestic shrine west of Shenmen County, a burly man knelt with a sorrowful expression.