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

Shimizu Asahi and Aonobo had encountered yokai with Buddhist powers before. Two or three years ago, when Shimizu Asahi was entrusted by Kamo no Tadayuki to go to Izumo Province to resolve the Snake Mound incident, he encountered such a yokai there.

Although this monster had become a demon, it was full of Buddhist teachings. Its dazzling golden light and its actions and will to pray for and help the people in the world were so great that even Shimizu Asahi had to call it a master.

Shimizu Asahi greatly admired such a master. But as for Yunwaijing... no matter what, he just couldn't bring himself to like him.

Before learning about this matter, he would have shown respect and reverence to Yunwaijing. However, after learning about it, a barrier formed between him and Yunwaijing.

It's not about right or wrong, but about personal will.

The Mirror of Clouds is a hermit, watching the clouds drift and gather in the sky, while the Clear Water and Morning Sun enter the world... At least, while one still exists in this world, one should do one's best to fulfill one's responsibilities.

This is the fundamental difference between the two.

To be honest, Shimizu Asahi can't say that Yunwaijing's approach is wrong... There aren't that many right and wrong things in this world.

Even if one is as pure as water and as bright as the sun, one cannot claim that one's actions are necessarily correct.

All he could say was that he was trying his best to do what he thought he should do and what he felt he should do.

The same applies to the outer cloud mirror.

He went into seclusion here and stopped using his power. This was his decision, and one that he believed was the right one.

In fact, he carried out his will and indeed ensured that he did not engage with the world afterward.

At least during the destruction of the Sun Wheel City, Yunwaijing did not use his own power, and the spatial barrier that imprisoned the Sun Wheel City was activated by Himiko.

Therefore, the Cloud Mirror made its decision.

But so what? I just don't like it...

The two men have completely different philosophies, views, and attitudes.

"Forget it, I don't need to care too much about this kind of thing. Just keep a certain distance."

With a gentle exhale, Qing Shui Chao Yang buried his emotions deep within his heart.

He doesn't like Yunwaijing, so he should just keep his distance from Yunwaijing. And Yunwaijing's reclusive mentality probably stems from the same mentality.

I maintain a distance from everyone I interact with.

Neither close nor distant.

Perhaps the Mirror of Clouds will stop him before he goes in and tell him the whole story, just to tell him this?

After calming down a bit, Shimizu Asahi shook his head, clearing his mind of unnecessary thoughts, and then took a step forward.

This world is an extremely dark world. Clear water and rising sun cannot be seen very far, and it is not very clear how to act.

If the vengeful spirits here want to leave and wreak havoc on the world, then he should exterminate them all... As for a single vengeful spirit, he shouldn't have a problem, but the vengeful spirits of the Demon Realm...

To be honest, Shimizu Asahi never quite understood how a city with a much larger scale than Heian-kyo could have emerged in an era with a relatively small population thousands of years ago.

Or is this city actually a country?

Whether it's a single city or an entire country, it all indicates the number of enemies he will face.

Judging from the scale and number of people, there are at least tens of thousands of vengeful spirits here. Add to that the resentment and anger they felt when they died, and their strength would definitely be extremely powerful. Even if they couldn't compare to a single priestess, their combined power would definitely surpass the fake giant serpent created by that evil god.

"Killing them one by one should be the easiest option, but... we've been here for quite a while now, how come we haven't encountered a single vengeful spirit?"

This is what makes Shimizu Asahi's situation rather difficult. The atmosphere around him is very eerie, yet not a single vengeful spirit has appeared, which is clearly strange.

'Are you hiding?'

"That's possible. The vengeful spirits here aren't stupid..."

Normally, vengeful spirits are a group of ghost-like monsters that have lost their minds and are left only with anger and resentment. These kinds of monsters want to rush at people when they see them, and hide when they encounter someone they can't beat.

Their intuition is extremely sharp, and their perception of souls is even more terrifying. Those they cannot defeat will usually sense it early on and leave.

But right now... Shimizu Asahi has not yet merged with the shrine maidens within him, and the shrine maidens are very aware of this and are carefully hiding. The power he has revealed is not enough to make the vengeful spirits hide.

"...Let's go take a look ahead."

As Shimizu Asahi walked, he pondered the situation, and soon he decided on his next course of action.

This place was probably created by the Cloud Mirror based on the city outside. That means there should be an altar here too. Once we get to the altar, we should be able to gather more information.

I should have asked Yunwaijing about the situation here before I came in.

After thinking it over silently, Qing Shui Chaoyang quickly headed towards the center of the city.

He didn't know if his room was the right one, but at least he was heading in one direction. Once he reached the end, he would be able to determine the exact location.

Historically, cities have always been square-shaped, and once you reach the city wall, you can use it to find your way around.

It's clunky, but it works really well.

Perhaps due to a bit of good luck, Shimizu Asahi made his way to the center of the city, right in the middle of the imperial palace, outside the altar in the most conspicuous place.

"Looks like I'm still pretty lucky."

He chuckled and murmured something to himself, then subconsciously looked around as if trying to find something. However, all he could hear was the sound of the wind; there wasn't a single other sound.

It was as if he was the only person left in the entire world.

It seems that we can't see through what's here just by looking.

He paused for a moment, then headed toward the altar.

The ten-meter distance passed in the blink of an eye, and when he stopped, he had already arrived at the altar.

"here......"

He was about to look around, trying to find something, when suddenly a voice came.

"Hahahaha—!!!"

Loud laughter came from all directions, instantly echoing throughout the sky. Before Shimizu Asahi could understand what was happening, endless black energy emanated from the altar beneath his feet.

In the blink of an eye, his body was engulfed by the black aura... Chapter 868, Section 866: Shameful, you should leave the group.

The black aura surged in like a tidal wave, and Qing Shui Chaoyang subconsciously mobilized his spiritual and demonic power to perfectly protect himself, while instinctively wanting to escape from here.

But I can't move...

He, who should have been able to move freely, was now unable to move at all.

It was as if his body no longer belonged to him.

The strength of my limbs... I can't use it, what's wrong?

"This is... a formation?"

His eyes instinctively looked down. Although the black mist obscured everything, he could still sense it.

Beneath his feet, on the surface of the altar, a formation appeared. A formation powerful enough to suppress him, rendering him unable to move!

"Hehehe... Someone's coming, someone's coming!"

The sounds came from all directions. Just as Qing Shui Chaoyang was surprised that there was a formation here, he subconsciously raised his eyes and looked around.

A figure appeared within the black mist.

Despite lacking a physical body, their jet-black eyes and ferocious, human-like heads still allowed Shimizu Asahi to spot them.

"I'm so hungry, I want to eat you..."

"I'll eat you! I'll eat you!!!"

The menacing roar spread with the howling wind; its chilling and insane sound was enough to paralyze anyone in its path.

Even the bravest person would be powerless to resist in such a situation.

However, Qing Shui Chaoyang, who had faced many storms before, was not too nervous.

These threats are probably just child's play to him.

Even after briefly glancing at the vengeful spirits that appeared around him, he still had the energy to think about other things.

“I see... They detected me the moment I entered... It seems the Cloud Mirror's formation couldn't imprison their senses.”

"However... in this situation, isn't it a bit too cautious to try to trap me with a scheme?"

Although these guys haven't unleashed their full power yet, judging from their combined aura, they've already reached the level of a Ghost King. If they were to unleash their full power, they might even surpass the Ghost King and reach a level that transcends the limits of both humans and demons.

In terms of sheer power, this guy is definitely the strongest monster under normal circumstances.

But with such absolute strength, they still like to play these kinds of tricks.

This is the first time I've ever seen clear water and rising sun.

"Chaoyang, can you do it?"

Aonobu's voice carried a hint of worry. Although this enemy was nothing compared to those she had encountered before, this was the first time Shimizu Asahi had faced such a being alone with her own strength...

No matter what, it's impossible not to worry.

"Hmm...that makes sense. A guy who surpasses the Demon King has been here for a thousand years, so his strength should indeed be that high." Shimizu Asahi didn't seem to care much. He chuckled softly and said, "Don't worry, I'm not the kind of person who lacks confidence...If I don't even have the confidence to win, how can I win?"

The black-haired boy smiled quietly. Even though he was now imprisoned by the formation and unable to move, his confidence had not diminished in the slightest.

It wasn't that Shimizu Asahi thought they were weak and therefore underestimated them; rather, they were far inferior to beings like Ye Huanghun. No matter how strong he thought these vengeful spirits were, they couldn't possibly give him the feeling of dying here.

Moreover, Shimizu Chaoyang didn't just arrive here unprepared.

He had made preparations well in advance...

"Now that we've arrived, let's begin..."

Qingshui Chaoyang took a deep breath, and a faint spiritual and demonic power began to emanate from him... Suddenly, a blue light appeared beneath his feet?

The black array, which should have exuded a terrifying aura, was slowly covered by the blue array, and then shattered in an instant!

—Shimizu Asahi...broke the formation with a formation!?

"When I came here, I suspected there might be danger, so I set up a formation early on, just in case."

"It's great that these vengeful spirits don't know how to set up formations without using their hands."

Without using his hands, he could manipulate spiritual power solely through his mind and use this power to perform Yin-Yang techniques and formations. This was something Shimizu Asahi learned from Fujiwara Morimichi, and this skill greatly helped him after he learned it.

However, this was the first time he had used this technique to outline a formation.

He thought he would fail, but he succeeded unexpectedly. What he didn't expect was that after succeeding, he would run into the opponent's formation.