I came to the anime crossover site to farm money.

Su You murmured the name, and the classic image of "Takumi Fujiwara" and his AE86 drifting on the bend instantly appeared in her mind.

This place is also a famous "racing mecca" on another level.

I wonder if killing these ghosts with special backgrounds will yield some unexpected good stuff?

Su You pondered for a moment and found the task interesting. The risk level was not high, and the reward was decent, with 2 contribution points.

With Tamamo-no-Mae back to her Eight-Tails strength by her side, handling this E-rank mission will be virtually effortless.

Su You moved the cursor and accepted the task.

Then, he opened his personal information page. His account status was displayed on the screen:

[Permission Level: Unofficial Member (Level E)]

[Upgrade Requirements: Successfully complete at least 10 Level E or higher missions and pass the headquarters' background check.]

Su You frowned slightly at the "Identity and Background Check" option.

Although he obtained a real identity in this world thanks to the system's [identity card], he was still essentially a "transfer student".

If you want to formally join another country's incident handling agency, the review process will probably not be easy.

"Never mind, I'll stop thinking about it for now."

Su You shook her head, temporarily setting aside her doubts.

"Upgrading your privileges requires completing ten tasks. Start by doing the tasks, one step at a time. If all else fails, just go back to China. There are also agencies in China that handle unusual events."

Chapter 78 The Headless Horseman of Mount Akina (5500)

The peach wood sword I bought this morning is quite useful.

Su You opened the internal store and browsed around for a while.

A consecrated cross, glutinous rice soaked in holy water, baptized wood struck by lightning, a mithril copper coin sword...

Su You was quite amazed by what she saw.

However, due to account permission issues, he can only see the cheapest batch of goods in the internal store right now.

After reading it, Su You left the headquarters and found a quiet place outside.

Tamamo-no-Mae immediately rushed out of the contract mark, stretching out her arms in an incredibly alluring way.

Su You glanced at her, opened her inventory, and her gaze fell on the inconspicuous old glass bead she had obtained from purifying the spirit.

At this moment, this seemingly discarded glass bead is emitting a layer of white light, revealing unique item information:

The Child Thief's Marbles

[Quality: Ordinary]

Type: Amulet

[Effect: The wearer gains 1 Agility, but will be affected by the obsession within the marbles, gaining kleptomania.]

"1. Agile...but has a kleptomaniac tendency..."

Looking at the item's effect, Su You couldn't help but think of the [Prajna's Mask] that she had found in that junkyard before.

Both are quite similar, being remnants of monsters, and both provide simple and direct attribute bonuses, but both are accompanied by unpleasant mental pollution.

One can drive a person mad, the other can incite a desire to steal.

While the agility bonus is certainly good, it would be a bit of a loss for Su You to replace the amulet that increases luck for just a little bit of agility, and even have to constantly resist the urge to steal.

Let's just use it for testing.

Su You opened the [Crush Panel].

A black vortex appeared, and he threw the "Child Thief's Marble" into it.

The vortex slowly rotated, and a few seconds later, it spat out more than a dozen colorless small crystals and a ball of light emitting white light.

[The Essence of Stealing Thoughts]

Quality: Average.

[Type: Consumable.]

[Effect: This may allow for the refinement of certain equipment with good compatibility.]

"really……"

Su You thought to himself, similar to when he shattered the Prajna Mask and obtained the [Evil Essence], this time a new essence has been revealed.

Based on his previous experience, he took out the white ball of light and made it come into contact with all his other equipment, including the peach wood sword he had bought.

But the essence remained unresponsive, like a dead object.

Clearly, it doesn't "compatibly" match these equipment.

"I'll just have to keep it for now and see if I can get some equipment that I can refine with it later."

Su You regretfully prepared to put it back into her inventory.

Just then, Tamamo-no-Mae, who had been quietly watching his actions with curiosity, stared intently at the ball of essence in his hand and suddenly let out a soft, surprised exclamation: "Huh?"

Su You paused, looking at her: "What's wrong?"

Tamamo-no-Mae leaned closer, her small nose twitching slightly, as if she were sniffing its scent.

A hint of surprise flashed in her eyes: "Master, what is this...?"

Su You's heart skipped a beat, and she asked, "Do you know what this is?"

Tamamo-no-Mae nodded and said, "It has the same aura as that little tsukumogami from before, but it's also a bit different. It's purer. This seems to be the [core] of that little tsukumogami."

"nuclear?"

Su You paused, the word triggering his memories.

Miss Yasak had mentioned this thing when she was explaining knowledge about monsters to him before.

Most monsters are not created out of thin air; they often require a point of convergence, or a "core".

It is the core of the existence of yokai, capable of combining with the free-floating world origin and spiritual energy (resentment, faith, obsession, etc.) to ultimately give birth to independent yokai.

If this "essence" is truly the so-called "core"...

A bold idea instantly entered Su You's mind.

What is the one thing you have in abundance?

It is the pure, primordial energy of the world.

If the [core] is the seed, the primordial power is the soil and nutrients, and the spiritual power is the sunlight, then does that mean... he can use this to cultivate a completely new monster that belongs entirely to him?

"Little Jade," Su You pondered for a moment, then looked at the great demon Tamamo-no-Mae and asked, "Do you know how to extract or obtain spiritual energy?"

Tamamo-no-Mae pondered for a moment before answering, "Spiritual energy... the most common kinds are strong obsessions, resentment, and the power of faith of living beings, or... certain specific emotional energies also count. They need to be collected using certain tools or spells, like that porcelain bowl from this morning. Master, why are you asking about this?"

Su You looked at her and said softly, "You should have already guessed what that thing I gave you to eat was..."

Tamamo-no-Mae subconsciously licked her lips, then whispered, "The power of origin?"

Because the source power she absorbed during her previous cultivation was very chaotic and mixed with various impurities, she had never tasted such pure and concentrated source power before, so she did not react at first.

It wasn't until later that she realized what was going on, but since Su You didn't say it explicitly, she pretended not to know.

“Yes.” Su You looked at the essence in his hand. “Look, I have the [Core], I have the [Origin], and with the addition of spiritual energy, do you think I can create a new monster with this?”

"This……"

Tamamonomae fell into deep thought.

In theory, the core, origin, and spirit are indeed the three essential elements for the birth of a monster, but how precious and difficult to find is the power of origin?

Who would be so extravagant as to use a large amount of pure essence to nurture a weak and vulnerable monster larva in its initial form?

The input and output are completely disproportionate.

But Su You could easily produce a large amount of [Original Aura].

What seems impossible to others is merely something he does on a whim when he's taken a liking to his new master.

Tamamo-no-Mae raised her head and said seriously, "If you really want to try, Master, I think you might try to slowly nurture it with your own spiritual power instead of collecting the chaotic spiritual energy from the outside world."

Su You pondered, "Use my mental power?"

“Yes!” Tamamo-no-Mae nodded. “Mental energy is not just negative emotions. Your will and your thoughts are themselves a kind of mental power.”

"If you directly use your spiritual power to nourish the [core], the monster born from it will inevitably bear your mark in its essence. Theoretically... it should naturally have a great affinity and goodwill towards you, and may even be absolutely loyal."

"However, your current total spiritual power is not enough, so it will take a relatively long time to complete this incubation process. In addition, this [core] is just left behind by a small tsukumogami. Even if you manage to hatch it, it probably won't be a powerful monster..."

Su You looked at her and asked, "Didn't Miss Ba Chi say before that the Origin is an important resource that can repair your foundation and even promote your evolution?"

"What she said is true, but it requires a lot of resources, and the weaker the monster, the more difficult it is to evolve and the more resources it needs."

"That's alright then. Problems that can be solved with money aren't really problems."

As Su You spoke, she took out a colorful aura ring and brought it close to the white light.

The origin transformed into colorful specks, which quickly merged into the ball of light.

"..."

Looking at the white ball of light in Su You's hand, which seemed to have grown a little larger, Tamamo-no-Mae suddenly felt a pang of sadness.

We're all monsters, so why are you already standing on the finish line that other monsters can only dream of before you've even been born?

Su You then tried to channel her spiritual energy into the white light.

This is a small ability that he automatically acquired when he learned [Foxfire].

Because controlling the foxfire in one's hands requires the use of mental energy.

Su You felt as if something within the ball of light was biting his extended spiritual power.

Then, that bit of spiritual energy was consumed.

At the same time, Su You felt a faint connection between herself and the ball of light.

Hmm... Tamamo-no-Mae's method does seem feasible.

Su You fed it some more, and then felt herself starting to feel tired.

It's a bit like the feeling of overexertion from scavenging.

He stopped, put the ball of light into his inventory, and noticed that its item description had changed again.

[The Essence of Stealing Thoughts]

Quality: Average.

[Type: Consumable.]

[Effect: It may be able to refine certain equipment with good compatibility. (It is undergoing some strange change.)]

Su You closed her inventory, rubbed her forehead, and felt a deep sense of fatigue.

The feeling of having one's mental energy consumed is not quite the same as having it depleted.

Looks like I won't be able to go pick up trash today.

Let's go back and rest.

"By the way, Xiaoyu, how long does it take for that porcelain bowl in Mrs. Taniguchi's house to absorb all the negative energy?"

"It will take at least six months."

"No rush. Let's leave it at Mrs. Taniguchi's house for now, so she can purify the faint demonic aura left by that tsukumogami."

Su You returned to the apartment building and saw Miss Xiaobaihe on the first floor.

She was sitting on a chair by the door playing on her phone when she saw Su You and greeted him.

"Su Jun, you're back."

"Hmm, Miss Sayuri, good afternoon."

Su You replied to her, but didn't chat much. He was too tired and wanted to go back to sleep and rest.

Sayuri watched his retreating figure, her gaze falling on the sword pouch he wore at his waist, a hint of surprise flashing in her eyes.

That sword... doesn't it look like the peach wood sword made by that otaku shrine maiden at the Beechwood Shrine?