The moment Ryan Ling stepped into this creepy zone, he felt an invisible pressure wash over him—no need to guess, it was coming straight from all those evil gods. The number of evil gods enshrined here was way beyond anything Ryan had imagined.
"This is the Sacrifice Hall, over there’s the Emperor’s Hall, those spots on the side are the onmyōji training caves, and below is the incense worship hall for regular mortals…" As soon as they entered Chiba Shrine, Wendy 'Wako' Chiba started introducing everything around them. From the outside, this shrine didn’t look that big, but once inside, Ryan found the place was massive—mini halls everywhere, each one enshrining an evil god, with onmyōji of all kinds weaving in and out. Just counting the onmyōji, there had to be over a thousand.
Ryan didn’t waste words—his mind was locked on finding the Primeval Heavenwood. He was sure it had to be somewhere inside Chiba Shrine, but the place was a maze, and tracking it down would take some serious effort.
"Use your own Primeval Heavenwood to sense it!" the Ghost Elder inside him quickly reminded.
"Good call!" Ryan nodded—classic case of almost screwing up from moving too fast. If Ghost Elder hadn’t chimed in, he’d have totally forgotten about that ‘secret trick.’
He immediately used the tiny Heavenwood sapling inside him to connect. Instantly, his aura flared—and he got a strong reaction from the northernmost part of Chiba Shrine.
"What’s that area up north?" Ryan’s eyes locked onto the spot—no question, that’s where the Primeval Heavenwood fragment had to be.
"That’s the shrine’s altar zone, where all the strongest Diamond High Priests are enshrined. It’s a total forbidden area—unless you’re Golden High Priest rank or above, nobody’s allowed anywhere near!" Staring at that mysterious forbidden zone, Wendy couldn’t help shivering.
"Golden High Priest rank or above?" Ryan’s brow furrowed, but then he immediately had an idea. He’d just killed Thomas Hyde, a Golden High Priest, and still had his aura on him—he could totally use that to fake Hyde’s presence and sneak in.
"Take me there right now!" Ryan clenched his jaw, making up his mind.
"Master, are you sure? That place is seriously forbidden—if we get caught, we’ll be insta-killed. The whole shrine’s forces will come crashing down on us!" Right now, Wendy 'Wako' Chiba was clearly torn.
"Don’t worry about anything else, just take me there!" Ryan shot her a fierce look—Wendy didn’t dare defy him at all and nodded, trembling.
She knew better than anyone—ever since she’d brought Ryan into Chiba Shrine, their fates were tied together. If anything happened to Ryan, there’s no way she’d escape either. All she could do now was grit her teeth and stick with him.
So Wendy led Ryan slowly toward the forbidden zone in the back.
After about four or five hundred meters, just as Wendy’s nerves were about to snap, a weird shadow suddenly flashed out and blocked their way.
"Little Aunt Chiba, what a rare sight—where are you two headed?" The guy’s voice was all mocking and twisted, his face pale as a ghost. Ryan instantly realized he wasn’t human—he was an evil god, just with a bit of human ‘scent’ mixed in to make him seem more like a person.
But this evil god called Wendy ‘little aunt,’ and Ryan instantly remembered—this was Zach Zasu, the Evil-God, the fiancé Chiharu Mitsui was supposed to marry.
Ryan had lost count of how many times he’d slept with Zach’s ‘wife’ already—if Zach ever found out, he’d probably tear Ryan to pieces!
Just as he expected, Wendy’s next words confirmed Ryan’s guess.
"Lord Zach Zasu, Evil-God, it’s been a while—we’re just wandering around!" Wendy blurted out, but her face looked super awkward.
Zach Zasu, the Evil-God, frowned and suddenly stared at Ryan: "Who’s this? Never seen him before, but he’s got a weirdly familiar scent!"
"Oh, he’s a Mitsui family newcomer—name’s Hitomi Mitsui. He’s the same generation as Chiharu Mitsui." Wendy finally got a grip on herself, then quickly turned to Ryan: "Hitomi Mitsui, aren’t you going to greet Lord Zach Zasu, Evil-God?"
Ryan gave a small smile and bowed: "Lord Zach Zasu, Evil-God, I just joined the shrine—please look after me going forward!"
"No problem, no problem!" Zach Zasu gave a cold, amused smile.
"If there’s nothing else, we’ll be on our way!" Clearly, Wendy wanted nothing to do with Zach Zasu.
"Go ahead!" Zach Zasu nodded and slowly turned away.
Wendy finally breathed a sigh of relief and grabbed Ryan’s hand, ready to bolt.
"Hold up!" But just then, Zach Zasu whipped around and blasted a wave of icy, evil qi straight at Ryan.
Ryan clenched his fist—he knew this was a test from Zach Zasu, and a pretty nasty one. If he fought back, he’d risk blowing his cover; if he didn’t, he’d get hurt for sure.
"Lord Zach Zasu, Evil-God, what exactly are you trying to pull?" Wendy didn’t hesitate—she jumped right in front of Ryan, instantly throwing up a wood-element defense to block Zach’s attack.
But Zach Zasu wasn’t done—his first attack failed, so he instantly launched a second, lunging at them again. He was clearly the type who never gives up, and this time Wendy blocked him from the other side. Zach’s hand got so close it nearly brushed Wendy’s chest!
"Lord Zach Zasu, Evil-God, isn’t taking my niece enough? Now you’re coming for her little aunt too?" Wendy snapped, thrusting out her chest and glaring.
"No, no, I wouldn’t dare. I just wanted to see what this Mitsui family rookie can do—the Mitsui clan doesn’t raise weaklings!" Zach Zasu smiled, finally backing off.
"Hitomi Mitsui’s just a junior—of course he’s not on your level, Lord Zasu. And it’s his first day at Chiba Shrine, so don’t scare him off! Otherwise, my niece won’t be happy." Wendy’s tone was already sour, and her wood-leaf aura started to surge.
"Alright, alright, it was all just a joke. You two enjoy yourselves—I’ll be on my way!" Zach Zasu knew when to quit; seeing this, he just laughed and stepped back.
Once Zach Zasu finally left, Wendy breathed a huge sigh of relief, but her face looked absolutely awful.
"Thank you!" Ryan said, sincerely grateful for Wendy’s help. He’d come to Chiba Shrine for one reason only—to steal the Primeval Heavenwood. If he’d actually fought Zach Zasu just now, it would’ve blown his cover and ruined everything.
"Serving Master is my honor—let’s hurry! Zach Zasu is extra sneaky, and who knows if he’ll come back. If he brings more evil gods, we’re toast!" Wendy knew this was no time to chit-chat, so she led Ryan away as fast as she could.
The rest of the way, they kept a low profile and didn’t run into any more trouble.
"Up ahead is the shrine’s forbidden zone!" They’d finally reached the very back of Chiba Shrine, and Wendy’s heart was pounding like crazy.
"Don’t panic—watch me!" Ryan didn’t hesitate and instantly unleashed Thomas Hyde’s Golden High Priest aura.
There weren’t any guards at the edge of the forbidden zone, and entering was just a matter of showing the right aura. In this way, Thomas Hyde had actually helped Ryan out a ton.
The moment that Golden High Priest aura was released, a valve at the edge of the forbidden zone opened up, and the huge, blood-red maw of a gate slowly pulled open.
Ryan didn’t hesitate for a second—no fear at all. He charged straight inside.
"Master..." Wendy shivered, but she had no choice—she rushed in with Ryan.
"The Primeval Heavenwood must be in the main hall!" At that moment, the Ghost Elder sensed it too and shouted in excitement.
"Exactly! The aura’s insane—at least ten thousand times stronger than the one in me. If I grab it, everything’s solved!" Ryan took a deep breath. After all these days of hard work, he was finally about to claim victory. Heart pounding, he shoved open the main hall’s doors...