118 Beyond the Seas Lies a Spirit Isle

The Ao-Andon shivered and said, "Please, my lord, show mercy! This lowly one... will never make such a foolish mistake again!"

Qin Yue said indifferently, "What do you mean by the 'Nen power' you just mentioned?"

The Ao-Andon turned toward Qin Yue. Sensing no demonic aura on him, it realized he was clearly a human, and thus felt an instinctive repulsion. "How could you, sir, not know of Nen power?"

Qin Yue replied calmly, "We have just arrived in Japan, so naturally, we do not know much. Answer honestly, and perhaps you might be spared."

The Ao-Andon lowered its "head" and remained silent for a moment before whispering, "Nen power is energy generated by the coordination of the body, speech, and consciousness. Onmyoji use it to invoke Kotodama, and we, the yokai, require it as well."

Qin Yue nodded and asked, "Does devouring human souls strengthen Nen power?"

The Ao-Andon observed Qin Yue, and seeing his expression remained quite calm, it replied cautiously, "Yes... that is the case."

Qin Yue asked, "Do ordinary people have Nen power, too?"

The Ao-Andon replied, "Yes, sir. By enticing humans to participate in the Hyakumonogatari Kaidankai, I can use the power of the Kotodama generated while humans tell ghost stories to open a gateway to the underworld and absorb more yin energy."

Luo Yu asked curiously, "Can the Kotodama power of ordinary humans open a hole on the ground that leads directly to the underworld?"

The Ao-Andon replied flatly, "No. What we can open is merely a formation that draws out the overflow of yin energy from the underworld."

The three siblings interrogated the Ao-Andon throughout the night. They only allowed it to return to sleep at dawn, placing a restriction spell on the room to prevent it from escaping—after all, they still had more questions.

After living in Iwate Prefecture for a month and meeting many small yokai, Luo Yu’s final conclusion was that Japanese spirits were very exclusionary. No matter how they displayed goodwill, the spirits always maintained a polite distance, at most deigning to visit the house for tea and conversation.

Through a month of contact with the yokai, Luo Yu learned that the mindset of Japanese yokai was vastly different from that of cultivators in their homeland—the vast majority of them did not seek immortality.

The three concluded that there were likely two reasons for this mentality: First, they were limited by the conditions and methods of cultivation. In places where the spiritual aura was chaotic, practicing large-scale cultivation was extremely difficult.

Second, because they lived among humans, they were influenced by human ideology. The Japanese revere the spirit of the cherry blossom; in other words, they value living brilliantly and dying decisively. In the past, this was even more extreme—if one felt useless or a failure, one would punish oneself through seppuku to avoid consuming the survival resources of others. Although things have improved slightly now, jumping off buildings or dying in the deep mountains remains common.

Consequently, the yokai felt that when their time came, they should accept it calmly. Under the influence of this mindset, the cultivation levels of Japanese yokai were generally not very high.

Although they did not work hard at cultivation, some yokai were significantly more powerful than the average. The common trait among these yokai was that they were famous and widely celebrated by the people.

Japan is a very superstitious country, and their reverence for spirits is no less than that of Western nations. Therefore, the "power of faith" mentioned by vampires also played a huge role in the East. The greatest beneficiaries of this were the renowned Great Yokai, the guardian spirits enshrined in various shrines, and other famous yokai. They shared the magical power brought by this "power of faith," gaining both strength and longevity. Furthermore, they were unaffected by spiritual or yin energy; even if those energies vanished, as long as enough people believed in them, they would not perish.

The concepts of "Yokai Name," "True Name," and "Shikigami" in Japan also originated from this different path of cultivation. A "Yokai Name" is equivalent to the title of a "Land Deity" conferred during the time of Gongjin Qian; as long as there is faith, the power of faith is automatically directed to that title. For example, if the power of faith is a river, it flows into the river of "Ao-Andon." Any yokai that is an Ao-Andon can potentially benefit from this flow. Each Ao-Andon is like a small stream branching off from that river; it must keep the mouth of the stream hidden, or it risks being discovered by an Onmyoji, who might block or redirect it into a stagnant pool, rendering it unable to receive the flow ever again. This hidden connection is the "True Name."

After capturing a yokai, an Onmyoji usually forces a new name upon it, turning it into a servant until the Onmyoji dies, at which point it is either released or passed down to the next generation. This method caused many ancient Great Yokai to weaken and eventually vanish. Of course, there is also the method where a yokai enters into a fair treaty with an Onmyoji, accepting the name given by the Onmyoji, and can choose whether or not to respond when summoned. This method does not fully control the yokai, but it allows the yokai to continue enjoying the benefits of the power of faith.

The "Kotodama" commonly used by Onmyoji is invoked by coordinating the magical power within the body, the incantations in the language, and the consciousness of the mind to produce Nen power.

Japanese Onmyoji, like the cultivators in their homeland, possess spiritual roots and can absorb spiritual energy. However, their cultivation methods are somewhat backward; they do not practice foundation establishment or the like. Thus, the spiritual energy within them acts merely as a primer. The magical power they generate requires the coordination of incantations and a powerful consciousness to monitor the accuracy of those spells to produce significant attacks. They are far from achieving feats like flying, moving mountains, overturning seas, or attaining immortality. They can only supplement their own strength by constantly hunting minor monsters, using those to defeat larger ones, and then using the larger ones to defeat bosses.

In summary, this is the ultimate reason why Japan has an oversupply of spiritual energy and is rich in spiritual aura.

After repeated setbacks, Luo Yu gradually lost the motivation to "befriend Japanese yokai" and began planning for his own Nascent Soul formation.

One day, the three siblings brought out the Ao-Andon for interrogation again.

Luo Yu said, "You are very powerful among the yokai, so you should know things that minor yokai are unaware of. Confess honestly... where in Japan is the spiritual energy most abundant?"

The Ao-Andon curled its body and asked very reluctantly, "Why do you seek the place with the most abundant spiritual energy? What do you intend to do to Japan?"

Luo Li said, "Rest assured, we won't do anything to Japan. We just need some spiritual energy—anyway, spiritual energy is of no great use to you, and ordinary people don't need it either. Might as well give it to those who do!"

The Ao-Andon remained silent.

Qin Yue flicked his fingers and sneered, "I didn't expect a soul-devouring evil spirit to have such patriotism. If you don't speak, I will have no choice but to search your memory myself."

The Ao-Andon trembled, bowed its head in silence for a long time, and then suddenly said with hatred, "Legend has it that near the Ogasawara Islands in the southern seas, there is a hidden spiritual island. It is the place with the most prosperous spiritual energy in Japan, and it is free from any mixed yin energy."

Luo Yu’s eyes lit up. "What kind of yokai are there?"

The Ao-Andon prostrated itself lower. "That is where Lord Abe no Seimei sealed the demonic spirits. No one dares to live there."

Luo Li was very happy. "Great! I’m going to go and extract all those yokai souls to make soul talismans!"

Hearing this, the Ao-Andon trembled again and whispered, "I have already told you three everything. Since you are leaving, please spare me."

Luo Li said sternly, "Do you not realize the sins you have committed? You have killed so many innocent humans; you must be punished!"

The Ao-Andon felt very wronged. "Human souls are my food. Isn't 'survival of the fittest' a natural law? This logic even spread from China!"

Qin Yue said indifferently, "I don't care if you think you have a point or not. If you have deceived us, it would be hard to find you again once you are back in the sea."

The Ao-Andon said angrily, "How can you go back on your word!"

Qin Yue ignored it and said to Luo Yu and the cat, "Find a shrine and seal it away."

Luo Yu nodded. "That plan is feasible."

Thus, the Ao-Andon was tragically sentenced to life imprisonment by the three "judges," its soul sealed within a small shrine in Iwate Prefecture, becoming a land-bound spirit that could no longer harm anyone.

After the execution, the three "judges" rode the clouds and flew straight to the southern seas of Japan. Sure enough, they discovered an island hidden within a barrier in the southeast of the Ogasawara Islands.

The island was lush with greenery and had vast, dense primeval forests. In the infinitely vast blue sky and sea, humpback whales leaped and splashed freely, while white seabirds danced around them, seizing the opportunity to hunt for food in the churning spray.

The spiritual energy of the island was extremely abundant, twice or thrice as dense as that of the Japanese mainland. The three siblings were very satisfied: although it was nothing compared to their own grand array, it had the advantage of being quite large. If they set up a spirit-gathering array and waited two more days, the effect would definitely be excellent. Moreover, there was no one around on this sea, so they didn't have to worry about being discovered.

The three toured the island and discovered many traces of ancient seals, but the demonic spirits that had been sealed inside were all gone.

Luo Li was very disappointed. "They must have been taken away by those immigrant cultivators."

There were indeed no other yokai on this island. The three siblings felt relieved, setting up two spirit-gathering arrays in the north and south of the island—one for Luo Yu and one for Qin Yue. Then, they found a mountain cave, placed a teleportation array inside, set up a concealment formation, and went home to rest.

After resting at home for a week, Luo Yu estimated that enough spiritual energy had gathered. He took his sister and wife, and excitedly passed through the teleportation array, ready to form his Nascent Soul.

The three siblings checked the two arrays, finding them both secure and effective.

Luo Yu nodded with satisfaction. "Not bad, not bad. My dear, you go first."

Qin Yue touched Luo Yu’s hair. "You form yours first."

Luo Yu felt sweet inside. "What if you run out of spiritual energy?"

Qin Yue said gently, "Then we shall wait two more days." He knew that this fellow had always been reluctant, as he was ranked last in every upgrade... and he had some ulterior motives, though Qin Yue would certainly not let him succeed.

Luo Yu moved his head up, touched, and gave Qin Yue a deep, passionate kiss. "Then I’ll go first."

Qin Yue said, "Go ahead. The cat and I will protect you."