Walnut used me to boost her sales performance.

After thinking about it, he still didn't say anything.

He still harbored a desire to seek revenge on the woman for his broken leg.

After all this time, he was confident that the woman was no match for him.

If the lady finds out that the skirmisher took the Heart of God, she doesn't know when she'll see him again.

Besides, under the general's absolute military might, the fools couldn't cause any trouble at all.

"We'll deal with whatever comes our way. Besides, we have General Thunder and Lightning with us." Jiang Bai shrugged, speaking with unusual ease.

“That’s true…” The group relaxed.

Before that single, thoughtless strike, all schemes and tricks are futile.

Upon arriving at Narukami Shrine at the summit, Sora and Paimon skillfully avoided the crowds of worshippers and shrine maidens, slipping away to the vicinity of the sacred cherry tree to find Yae no Miko.

Jiang Bai led Hu Tao through the main gate to visit Inazuma's most mysterious and largest shrine.

"It's truly magnificent and beautiful!"

Hu Tao clapped and praised.

This shrine is not only situated on a very high elevation, offering panoramic views of the entire Inazuma region, but it is also quite beautiful inside.

The enormous cherry blossom tree can be seen by looking up, and seems almost within reach.

Jiang Bai took Hu Tao to draw a fortune stick, and they won.

Neither good nor bad.

"I won the lottery, what a pity."

Jiang Bai felt it was a pity, but Hu Tao didn't think so.

"For ordinary people, the luckiest thing is for nothing to happen."

"As expected of the Hall Master, your cultivation level is truly high!" Jiang Bai showered him with compliments.

Hu Tao was very reserved, but the upturned corners of her mouth betrayed her.

"Let's go, let's go see that sacred cherry tree!"

Upon arriving at the cherry blossom tree behind the shrine, Jiang Bai immediately spotted Yae no Miko, along with Sora and Paimon.

"Oh, little one, you're here again." Yae no Miko's face was filled with a pleasant smile as always.

Jiang Bai waved his hand as a greeting, "Master, that is Yae no Miko, the chief priest of Narukami Shrine."

"So you are Lord Yae no Kami. My name is Kurumi. It's an honor to meet you here." Kurumi greeted him in a very familiar manner.

Yae no Miko looked at Hu Tao, then at Jiang Bai, and smiled.

"Oh my, is this the Hall Master that the little guy keeps calling me? Seeing is believing, indeed."

"Oh? Really? What did he say about me?" Hu Tao became interested.

Jiang Bai kept his eyes down, looking completely righteous, without the slightest hint of guilt.

What a joke! He hasn't said anything bad about the hall master, what's there to be afraid of?

Yae no Miko covered her mouth and chuckled, without answering the question.

"What brings you here this time?"

Jiang Bai took out the comb that Wu Baizang had given him. "I met a little fox spirit in the White Fox Wilderness, who led us to the Guardian Forest. A stone statue named Wu Baizang gave me this and asked me to give it to you so you can ask Fox Palace to go see him. He said he misses her..."

"Five hundred treasures..."

Looking at the comb, Yae no Miko's expression was complex and nostalgic.

She took the comb, stroked its teeth, and sighed wistfully.

"He cannot be seen at the Fox Abode Palace."

"Why can't we meet?" Everyone else guessed the reason, but Paimon was completely baffled.

“Because Fox Monk died five hundred years ago.” Yae no Miko looked at the Divine Cherry Tree, as if she saw the person who often stood under the tree with a pipe.

"Dead?" Paimon leaned back, instinctively covering his mouth.

"Yes, dead..."

Yae no Miko took a petal that had fallen from the sacred cherry tree, and with a touch of melancholy, began to tell this ancient story that had never been told to outsiders.

"Kusai-no-miya was the previous [Divine Child], possessing the most noble [White Star Bloodline], the High Priestess of Narukami Shrine, and also a member of the Thunder God's kin. I was once just a small, foolish creature, recklessly groping for food in the snow, hoping to win her attention..."

She did not have any noble bloodline, nor was she born with such intelligence.

The process of animals transforming into fairies takes much longer than humans imagine.

A smile appeared on her face, as if she had thought of something.

"It seems a bit ridiculous now, but it was precisely because of this clumsiness that I was fortunate enough to gain her favor. In this way, I was granted the small honor of serving her and keeping her hands and feet warm..."

"Later, as my intelligence gradually developed, I often followed her to various gatherings. At that time, monsters would gather together, and it was quite lively..."

"The good times didn't last long. Five hundred years ago, a dark calamity struck. She tricked me into accepting the duties of the High Priestess of Narukami Shrine, and fearing that Ichizo would die protecting the forest, she tricked him into hiding... Later, to protect Narukami Island, she was swallowed by the dark calamity..."

“What an amazing person…” Paimon exclaimed.

Walnut also sighed.

Five hundred years ago, a calamity swept across the entire Seven Kingdoms, and too many people died in the disaster.

There are too many people like Fox Palace who have sacrificed their lives to protect their country...

But this did not diminish her admiration for the Fox Palace Master.

"Has Wu Baizang been waiting all this time?" Jiang Bai's voice was muffled, sounding rather uncomfortable.

He had guessed before that it might take hundreds of years, but he never expected that the wait would be as long as five hundred years.

"Yes..." "I couldn't bear to see him; I didn't want to shatter his hopes..."

Having hope is better than enduring such prolonged loneliness like she did.

"But it's not good to let him stay like this forever..." Jiang Bai felt a little reluctant.

Yae no Miko's gaze fell on Jiang Bai. "Then why don't you go see him on my behalf and tell him this cruel truth for me?"

"That's all we can do," Jiang Bai said helplessly.

Yae no Miko didn't know how to face his old friends from the Fox Palace, and only he, an outsider, could face Goyakuzo's grief.

"I also have a request, and I don't know if you'd like to accept it." Yae no Miko looked at the group.

"A commission?" The adventurer's DNA stirred.

Jiang Bai was also somewhat interested.

"This comb is one of the protective artifacts guarding the barrier of Narukami Island. Please return it to me and check the other protective artifacts while you're at it."

Where are all these talismans located?

"Most of them are in the Forest of Guardians and the White Fox Field, but there is one in Konta Village."

Kong looked at Jiang Bai.

He couldn't go to Konta Village, so he had to trouble Jiang Bai.

“Alright, the hall master and I will go find Wu Baizang, and while we’re at it, we’ll also check out the town's treasures in Konta Village. You guys go check out the other town's treasures.”

They were going to Inazuma Castle, and although going to Konta Village would be a detour, it was still on their way.

Yae no Miko touched the two of them between the eyebrows, "Alright, I have told you the location of the talisman."

She smiled gently, "Then, if there are any follow-up matters, I'll leave them to you."

Looking at her smile, Jiang Bai had a feeling that things might not be so simple.

Chapter 511 No wonder they wanted me to come

It was the second day when we returned to the statue of the Five Hundred Treasures.

As he approached, Jiang Bai suddenly hesitated.

How was he going to tell Gobaizang that the stinky fox he was waiting for was already dead?

He spoke easily in front of Yae no Miko, but when he was about to face Goyakuzo, he couldn't say anything.

"Um... Master, how about we go to Konta Village first, and come back here after we've inspected the town's artifacts there?"

"What's wrong, can't you speak up?"

Hu Tao has a lot more experience with this kind of thing.

After all, the ancestral hall is the place closest to death, and since the "returning to one's roots" service was introduced, the family has to be informed of the death and be given their belongings from time to time. The grief of the family is no less than that of the deceased.

Jiang Bai sighed, "Yes..."

This is somewhat different from informing a client's family of their death.

The five hundred monks are still waiting inside the stone statue, clinging to a single hope.

Now, it's really hard to bring myself to shatter that hope...

His shoulders slumped, and he looked dejected. "Let's go to Konta Village first, let me catch my breath..."

Hu Tao tiptoed and patted his head. "Then let's go to Konta Village."

Konta Village is peaceful and serene.

Houses of all sizes are scattered along both sides of the road, and vegetable gardens can be seen every now and then enclosed near the houses.

Further away, there are vast fields of land, not yet ready for harvest, the wheat ears still green.

"It should be here."

Jiang Bai arrived at the location given to him by the Eightfold Divine Child, and stood before a stone statue by a field.

This is a huge stone fox statue. The large fox sits on a high platform, with several round little foxes beside it.

"Hey, there's someone over there. Judging from her attire, she looks a bit like a shrine maiden from Narukami Shrine."

Jiang Bai felt something was off.

Why do we need them to come and inspect the talisman when there's already a shrine maiden here?

"Miss Shrine Maiden," Jiang Bai called softly as he walked over.

The shrine maiden turned her head, but what she saw was not a human face, but a fox mask.

"Hmm? Are you a shrine maiden?"

The shrine maiden nodded softly. "Yes. Is there something you need?"

"Yae no Miko asked me to come and check the talisman."

Upon hearing the name Yae no Miko, the masked priestess's expression shifted slightly, and she stepped aside.

"This is a statue of a celestial fox. There is indeed a talisman inside, but only those who are appreciated by [Thunder] and possess courage and cherish friendship can retrieve it."

"So complicated..." Jiang Bai walked up to the statue and shamelessly boasted, "No wonder they chose me; this is practically a description of me..."

Hu Tao stood to one side, lost in thought.

Does being struck by Thor count as receiving the "thunder's" favor?

Jiang Bai wrapped his arm in lightning element, reached directly into the statue, and took out the talisman.

Jiang Bai picked up the item and examined it. "It looks intact, so it shouldn't be damaged, right? Should I put it back to complete the inspection?"

Jiang Bai looked at the shrine maiden with a questioning gaze.

"Not only that, there are a few other things I need your help with."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Bai's lips twitched.

"I knew what Yae no Miko asked me to do wouldn't be that simple..."

The shrine maiden smiled. "Let me introduce myself. My name is Hana-sanri."

"Within this village of Konta, there exists a barrier. This barrier has existed for a long time, and we need to enter it to investigate..."

What else could Jiang Bai say? He just kept going.