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

In this vast and boundless sea, a huge ship is slowly sailing in.

The ship was twenty or thirty meters long and could hold hundreds of people and countless supplies. In fact, there were already no fewer than a hundred people standing on the decks of the ship, and the number of people hidden inside was unimaginable.

"Ugh, so boring, even more boring than when I was in Mount Oe. Haven't we arrived at Mount Suzuka yet?"

On the deck, a cute girl with short purple hair was sitting on the railing, swirling a wine cup in her hand and complaining about the time spent on the boat.

Although the scenery of the sea is indeed beautiful, no matter how beautiful it is, anyone would get tired of seeing the same scenery for more than half a month in a row. Besides, she is not a patient person to begin with, so it is already quite good that she has been able to persevere.

"It'll be here in a few days, just bear with it a little longer, Ibuki."

Beside the purple-haired girl, a black-haired girl in a blue kimono spoke with a soft laugh.

This wasn't the first time she'd heard Ibuki complain. She'd watched Ibuki go from being interested at first, to getting bored, then stirring things up, and finally complaining.

"A few more days...it feels like so long. I don't know if I can bear it any longer. Ugh, I really don't know how those guys on the high seas manage to put up with it...You must be getting tired of it too, Ah Li."

Yi Chui pouted, her little face revealing her undisguised complaint.

"I'm alright. I used to see these things every day when I was in Liren Pavilion, so I don't feel much about them."

Ali smiled and replied, then looked at the blue-haired girl on her other side and said with some admiration, "It's Qing Nufang who's really amazing. She hasn't shown any signs of getting bored even after watching for so long."

“Me?” Hearing the girl mention her, Qingnvfang, who was gazing into the distance, paused for a moment before explaining, “I used to live in the forest, where the environment is similar to this place, so I’m used to it.”

"Hey, does that mean I'm the only one on the ship who can't take it?"

The petite Ghost King let out an exaggerated "Hey!" and then showed a displeased expression.

"Hehe, it's normal to feel bored the first time you go to sea. Besides, going to sea is a boring thing, especially a long voyage like this. Few people can endure it on their first time."

Ari comforted Ibuki again.

However, Ibuki pouted and pointed to the other side of the ship's deck, saying, "Then why can you tolerate it, sir? In all these days, I haven't seen you show any impatience."

“Chaoyang is busy with work, while we are idle every day, so we can’t generalize.”

"Speaking of which, Qingnvfang, aren't you going to help Chaoyang with his work?"

Ali blinked and looked at Qingnufang with some curiosity.

As Shimizu Asahi's only shikigami and the yokai with the highest favorability at present, Aonobo has always been by his side. At least, as far as Ari and Ibuki are concerned, they rarely see the two of them not together.

To be honest, Ali envies this kind of relationship.

“I don’t know much about things at sea, and it’s better to stay alone than to get in his way by his side.”

The blue-haired girl glanced at Shimizu Asahi, who was working on the diagrams with Kamo, and replied casually.

"To be honest, that's true. I haven't spoken much with you since we set off... She's stolen all my time."

"..."

The "she" that Ibuki was referring to was understood by both Aonobo and Ari. It wasn't one of the three of them, but rather the girl they had only met before leaving port—Kamo no Shito.

Because of work, Kamo no Ito has been staying with Shimizu Asahi ever since he left the port. During the day, they each have some space, but at night, they stay together until very late before going home.

Whether it was Ali, Qingnvfang, or Yibuki, all the greetings and concerns they prepared were of no use.

If they hadn't actually been talking about work, they would have almost thought they were about to have another competitor.

"Ugh......"

Why is there such an uncertain factor when the timing for action is perfect?

Both Qing Nufang and Ali couldn't help but sigh. Although Qing Nufang didn't think too much about it, she still felt a little uncomfortable, as if... someone had taken away the person who should have belonged to her.

While the girls were sighing softly and staring at Shimizu Asahi and Kamo Ito with resentful eyes, they were still dealing with their work for the day.

In fact, the daily work of Shimizu and Chaoyang is pretty much the same. It mainly involves things like the weather, whether there will be storms, the direction of water flow, and whether there will be any impacts ahead.

The weather at sea is unpredictable; one moment the sky may be cloudless, but the next it could be overcast. As captains, they must keep track of the weather conditions to prevent unforeseen circumstances.

For example, just three days ago, Qingshui Chaoyang had just checked the weather forecast and was preparing to relax when suddenly dark clouds gathered, thunder roared, and a storm came without warning.

During that storm, the ship was hit hard. If he hadn't used a water spirit talisman to stabilize the ship, they might have gone off course and been lost at sea.

After that incident, Shimizu Asahi became more serious about his work, and he would even stay up until midnight before going to rest.

"Phew... It seems things are going well. Although we encountered a storm that day, the storm actually carried us for a while. If all goes well, we should be able to reach Suzuka Mountain within eight days."

After confirming the current situation with Kamo no Ito, Shimizu Asahi breathed a slight sigh of relief. He looked at the crew members around him, then at the girl in front of him, and said with a smile, "Thank you for your hard work during this time."

"It wasn't tiring at all. Compared to the previous voyages, this one was quite easy."

He shook his head slightly, then smiled spiritedly.

However, as if she had just remembered something, the girl took out another piece of paper and said, "By the way, sir, I have already compiled all the information you asked me to organize, but it is all about how to get into Suzuka Mountain."

How do I get into Mount Suzuka?

The boy paused for a moment, then revealed a hint of curiosity.

Mount Suzuka is just an island similar to Arakawa; you can simply dock your boat there. Do you really need a travel guide?

Or is it that getting close to Mount Suzuka requires passing some kind of test?

With this curiosity, Shimizu Asahi took the paper and began to read it carefully.

But the next second, his eyes widened involuntarily.

"This is..." Chapter 219, Section 222: Scorpion... Is it a siren?

"...Does getting to Suzuka Mountain really require overcoming so many challenges?"

Looking at the information on the paper in his hand, Shimizu Asahi couldn't help but show a hint of surprise.

The information compiled by He Mao's lineage chart was actually not much; strictly speaking, it could only be counted as three points. However, these three points alone were enough to astonish him.

Entering Mount Suzuka requires passing three trials: a storm, a whirlpool, and a siren.

Only by traversing storms, leaping over whirlpools, and avoiding sea monsters can they truly reach the legendary sea kingdom.

If Shimizu Asahi were facing these challenges alone, he might not care too much. But the difficulty lies in the fact that these challenges are connected.

In other words, the storm is the whirlpool, and after the whirlpool comes the siren. If they cannot pass the test in one go, they will sink into the sea forever!

"I didn't expect that reaching Suzuka Mountain would require overcoming so many trials... Why didn't Lord Arakawa warn me beforehand?"

The boy gasped slightly; facing so many challenges at once was a huge burden for him.

At this moment, Kamo no Ito suddenly frowned and said uncertainly, "Sir, this information is not very accurate. At least, I'm not sure if the last level is like this."

"Uncertain? Why?"

"Because the people of Arakawa seem to have different opinions about what is guarded at the last pass. Some say it is a huge whale, some say it is a giant crab, and some say it is a very large scorpion... I can't tell what it is exactly."

"By the way, sir, I remember a small group of people said that there are six kinds of sirens in total. However, in addition to the three sirens I mentioned earlier, there are three other sirens."

"However, I think that possibility is not high. If six powerful sea monsters are guarding the last pass, then only a powerful being like the Demon King can force his way through."

"That being said, but among the three sirens, how do we determine which one will be the final enemy...? Sir, shouldn't we prepare for all possibilities?"

Kamo looked slightly troubled, as if he was pondering the connections and trying to find the most likely siren.

Upon hearing this, Shimizu Asahi rubbed his head and said somewhat helplessly, "Let's prepare to deal with the six types of sea monsters. I'll have to trouble you a lot these next few days."

"Six types? Sir, aren't we going a bit too far? Besides, we've only received information about three..."

The black-haired girl was slightly surprised, and there was a hint of confusion in her black eyes.

"The Lord of Arakawa told me that something might have happened in the Sea Kingdom, so we must be prepared."

"The Lord of Arakawa's reminder... I understand, sir. I will prepare as soon as possible."

The girl immediately realized what was going on. Then, she hurriedly said goodbye to Shimizu Asahi and returned to the cabin to continue working.

Watching her hurried figure disappear into the distance, Shimizu Asahi couldn't help but chuckle, but soon a hint of seriousness flashed in his eyes.

Triple trials, six sea monsters—if such a trial had existed at Suzuka Mountain a hundred years ago, the Lord of Arakawa would have cautiously warned him, since it was simply not a challenge that a great demon-level Onmyoji could overcome.

Since the Lord of Arakawa didn't mention it, it means that Suzuka Mountain a hundred years ago probably didn't have these trials... or rather, back then there were only the relatively simple trials of storms and whirlpools.

That is why the people of Arakawa unanimously affirmed the first two of the three trials.

"This trip to the maritime kingdom might not be too easy..."

"Even though I was mentally prepared, it's still stressful to start like this... But speaking of which, are scorpions... a type of siren?"

Shaking his head slightly, the boy smiled and banished the thought from his mind. No matter what kind of sea monster appeared during the trial, he had to get past it.

It would be better to catch a scorpion in the ocean, since scorpions are afraid of water, which would be extremely advantageous for them.

Afterwards, Shimizu Asahi told the story to the three girls who were standing nearby with resentful looks.

Upon hearing the news, they all showed expressions that were either interested or serious.

"Six sirens... that is indeed a very troublesome test."

"We only have four people on our side, while they have six, so there's already a difference in numbers. Plus, we also have to protect the ship... This is a bit tricky."

"Hehehe, we're not entirely without advantages. We can't be without confidence from the start."

The three girls discussed the upcoming battle, but in the end, as Ibuki said, even if the opponent was a siren, they were not entirely without advantages. Moreover, thinking about what to do now would only add to their troubles. It would be better to prepare well and ensure that they were always in top condition.

For the next period of time, Shimizu Asahi no longer handled the work on the ship. Except for certain necessary decisions, he handed over all other work to Kamo Ito, while he stayed in the cabin to adjust his state.

It must be said that Kamo no Tadashi's arrangement of the Kamo lineage was excellent. Apart from not being able to become an Onmyoji, she was almost a perfect person. Shimizu Asahi felt very reassured entrusting the ship to her.

In this peaceful waiting, time passed little by little, and seven days flew by. On the eighth day, Qingshui Chaoyang arrived on the deck early.

"Sir, we have arrived at the sea area near Mount Suzuka."

Kamo no Ito reported on the current progress of the journey.

"I know... I've already seen it."

The boy squinted as he gazed into the distance, where a thick, indescribable cloud stretched out before him.

The morning sun was shining down relentlessly, but he felt no warmth whatsoever—a terrifying sea breeze swept in from the front, scattering everything around him.

Before they even got close to the storm, they found themselves in its domain.

He thought the only thing worth his attention was the fierce and mysterious siren, but he didn't expect that the first two levels were not easy either.

"Is everything ready?"