Onmyoji, a nobleman in Heian-kyo

Page 1454

Seizing this rare opportunity, Seimei pressed his advantage: "May I ask if Lord Ara could tell us the contents of the trial ceremony?"

Huang did not refuse and continued to explain:

"In the original trial ceremony, the sins of the God of Sin would be compared on the scales with the Yata no Kagami (Eight-Span Mirror) of Amaterasu. The rules were simple: if good deeds outweighed sins, the sins would be lighter than the Yata no Kagami, and the person being judged would be protected by Amaterasu. But if sins outweighed good deeds, the sins would be heavier than the Yata no Kagami, and the person would be executed in court!"

Kagura couldn't help but ask, "Executed in court?"

Wouldn't that mean being killed cleanly and efficiently? The reality now seems to be quite different.

Ara slowly said, "Yes. During the trial ceremony, Susanoo, one of the three noble sons, would use the divine weapon Ame no Habakiri to destroy the divine status of the sinful god on the spot in the trial court. But strangely, Orochi is still alive today, and Ame no Habakiri has indeed been activated."

Well, it's turned into a suspense drama.

Kousaka Kyosuke muttered.

Knowing that Orochi had previously replaced Susanoo's divine status and transformed into an executioner to wreak havoc, he still didn't say it outright as a guess. In any case, given Seimei's wisdom, he probably already had such a guess.

Once Susanoo reappears, everything will be predictable.

"Judge, sinner, executioner..." Kagura muttered to herself, her head bowed, as she stood next to Kyosuke Kousaka.

Kousaka Kyosuke glanced at Kagura, who was deep in thought, and sighed inwardly.

The situation was complicated, and Kagura was also thinking hard about the battle. Although he knew everything, he could not speak casually, lest it change Ara's plans. This was really frustrating.

Trying hard not to overthink things, he quickly regained his usual composure and began to speak fluently:

"The trial ceremony requires a judge to make the decision, a criminal to be judged, and a divine weapon for execution. Orochi should have all of these at the moment."

Seimei pondered, “If we are to execute the gods of Takamagahara, the best quality of the divine weapon would be similar to that of Ame no Habakiri. However, given Orochi’s personality, he would probably use Ame no Habakiri, which had once judged him, as an execution weapon again.”

Therefore, the execution weapon is the Ame no Habakiri.

The sinners being judged were roughly the gods of Takamagahara and all humankind in the world.

The judge... is it Yamata no Orochi?

Do not!

A flash of inspiration struck Seimei, and he immediately thought of a comparative object to measure the sins of the person being judged!

Since Orochi has said he wants to judge, he will inevitably take the same stance as Amaterasu many years ago!

What was Amaterasu's stance back then?

Isn't it just a basic standard for comparing the guilt of the person being judged?

Assuming that Orochi is also guilty, then we must find an existence even more guilty than him.

But will it happen?

As Seimei gazed at the giant serpent writhing in the rolling dark clouds, radiating a chilling phosphorescence, almost indistinguishable from a real object, he vaguely sensed that the serpent contained a great deal of negative energy.

Yin energy, miasma, curses, all sorts of negative energies... In short, everything that represents evil can be seen in the giant serpent.

Seimei also saw evil in it.

Where does evil come from? Perhaps it comes from humans, perhaps from demons or ghosts, or perhaps from other beings.

After all, as long as there are living beings, evil will be born.

To put it bluntly, Seimei did not believe that gods were truly free from evil, even if they came from Takamagahara.

"I'd rather take down Orochi with Ame no Habakiri," Kousaka Kyosuke interrupted, easing the slightly tense atmosphere.

Ara: "The Heavenly Feather Blade is a set of six instruments of torture forged with lightning as its hammer, the mortal world as its furnace, divine bones as its core, and divine blood as its glaze, to warn the gods and deter the demons. Its instruments are like mirrors, reflecting the same power as the one being tortured, thus gaining the power to execute. When they touch the divine essence, the two are balanced, enough to kill the sinful god. It is not so easy to possess it."

Seimei continued, "Only someone like Lord Susanoo has the ability to obtain Ame no Habakiri."

"I am not qualified to compare myself with this deity." Kousaka Kyosuke smiled.

He admired Amaterasu, Susanoo, and Ara from the bottom of his heart, believing that there was no comparison between them.

That is indeed the truth.

Come to think of it, he still doesn't have any decent weapons.

Let's not even talk about the Kusanagi Sword. It's not exactly a handy weapon. It just has a lot of divine power and is somewhat effective against the Yamata no Orochi.

To be honest, Kyosuke Kousaka prefers a faster fighting style that combines sword-wielding techniques with right-handed sword attacks.

Unfortunately, this country is clearly not suited to doing this.

In reality, due to the restrictions of the rules, even if he used it, it was weakened considerably. It would be more effective and less strenuous to just use the local artifact to hack and slash.

"Don't underestimate yourself." Ara looked at Kousaka Kyosuke, his gaze calm.

Kousaka Kyosuke felt there was something wrong with that look in his eyes. He didn't feel a chill down his spine, but something just felt off... Uh, was it really necessary to talk to him like that?

"I'm a little flattered, haha."

Seimei laughed too: "After this mission is completed, Kyosuke, you will be even more popular than before."

Kyosuke Kosaka: "Is that a compliment? Well, thank you for your kind words."

"Someone."

Kagura suddenly said.

Seimei was surprised that he hadn't noticed it immediately. He secretly affirmed Kagura's perception ability and then began to perceive his surroundings more cautiously.

"...Indra?"

"it's me."

A handsome young man, whose appearance was no less than that of Seimei, appeared before the crowd.

The visitor is Indra, the ruler of all celestial beings in the heavenly realm.

Seimei: "Strictly speaking, this matter has nothing to do with the Heavenly Realm. Indra, you only need to help break the array eye, but you sent a large army to break the array eye and came here yourself... Do you want to help us? You truly deserve to be called a benevolent king."

Indra: "Hehe, I am not some benevolent king. I just think that the task of breaking the array's core is not enough to repay the debt of gratitude I owed you. Since you helped me when the Heavenly Domain was in crisis, I will naturally repay you with even greater respect."

Seimei: "When the dust settles, please come to my courtyard. This time, not as me, but as my guest."

Indra: "Your guest? That sounds quite nice. I went for a walk in Kyoto yesterday and saw many exquisite sweets and handicrafts. Their beauty amazed me. If they could appear in the capital of the Celestial Realm, I imagine there would be less conflict among the Celestials. Seimei, based on your understanding of the human royal family, would you encounter difficulties if a foreign race wanted to trade with them?"

Seimei: "...I'm afraid I won't agree easily."

As he spoke, Seimei couldn't help but glance at Kousaka Kyosuke.

Seeing this, Kyosuke Kosaka had no choice but to say helplessly, "It's still possible. As long as there are minerals like gold, copper, and iron, then someone will naturally facilitate trade."

Human royal family?

You mean those people in the royal family?

Frankly speaking, Emperor Ichijo and the members of the imperial family who were secretly suppressed by the Fujiwara clan from time to time were simply incapable of managing affairs. As for the Minamoto clan, which represented military power and was led by Minamoto no Yorimitsu, they might not have a good impression of the Amanto race, but they could still conduct friendly trade without any major problems.

Although Minamoto no Yorimitsu was known for his martial spirit, human supremacy, and hostility towards races other than humans, it didn't mean he actually wanted to fight. The reason he killed Shuten-dōji was because he thought Shuten-dōji might lead all the demons to attack Kyoto.

And Indra?

Minamoto no Yorimitsu must have also been hostile towards him.

However, if Indra clearly explains the purpose of his business, Minamoto no Yorimitsu might not refuse.

However, the probability of them not agreeing is also quite high.

root cause?

Knowing the plot, Kyosuke Kousaka was well aware that the Heavenly Realm was located in a deeper area within the Demon Realm.

Looking back at history, it was a region that the Celestials seized from the Oni race.

Such aggressive behavior was enough to make Minamoto no Yorimitsu, who was overly sensitive to races other than humans, wary. If it weren't for the current situation with Yamata no Orochi, he would probably already be thinking about how to defend against the Amanto.

It's obviously not a good time to refuse, so it would be better to say something more tactful.

Moreover, Kyosuke Kosaka believed that the chances of the Celestials trading with humans were not low, as long as there were resources.

“I do indeed have several copper and iron mines under my control. It seems there’s no need to force things to happen.” Di Shitian gave Kosaka Kyosuke a friendly smile.

No, it's more like "nuclear benevolence".

"And so, Kyosuke, you stopped this new crisis," Kagura said.

Kyosuke Kousaka stared at Kagura speechlessly. Was she praising him or criticizing him?

Kagura tilted her head, looking puzzled and adorable.

No complaining allowed.

Kousaka Kyosuke saw that Seimei was already laughing, but he didn't know what was so funny.

Seeing that Huang remained silent and calm, he felt a little comforted.

Soon after, Indra bid farewell to his entourage.

Before parting, he used his mind-reading ability to contact the group, enabling them to continue their journey smoothly.

After all, the celestial horses of the heavenly realm circle around everywhere in the sky, making it easy to observe all kinds of movements. In addition, with Indra's unique mind-reading "network", they are practically humanoid giant surveillance cameras!

Black Night Mountain.

Just as Kousaka Kyosuke, Kagura, Seimei, and Ara continued to move and lie in wait, a huge blank mirror, seemingly small but occupying a significant portion of the sky, appeared in the gloomy sky.

For some reason, Kyosuke Kosaka thought of virtual reality technology and the like.