This Japanese Monogatari Isn't Lame
Chapter 529 - 340. Hands, Feet, Waist, Eyes, Skull (4000 words)_2

Chapter 529: Chapter 340. Hands, Feet, Waist, Eyes, Skull (4000 words)_2

After speaking a few words with Shenzhu Shihui, Beichuan Si sat down on the tatami that had darkened due to the rising tide.

He planned to rest for a while.

After all, there was still the Izumi Shrine to explore tomorrow, so any chance to rest was welcome.

Just when Beichuan Si had closed his eyes for about two minutes—

He opened his eyes and looked in front of him.

Unknowingly, a little girl wearing a white miko outfit had appeared before him.

However, due to traveling all day, her white miko outfit was stained with a lot of dirt, especially around the cuffs, which were very dark.

Ihui Guangjiu.

"Please take care of tomorrow’s matters, Beichuan Master."

Ihui Guangjiu greeted Beichuan Si in her usual tone.

"I know, leave it to me."

Beichuan Si replied in his usual tone.

The two simply exchanged greetings.

There didn’t seem to be any deep communication.

...

The next day, or rather about five hours after Beichuan Si closed his eyes, Ihui Nailuo came up and woke him.

"It’s time, Beichuan Master."

"..." Beichuan Si.

He patted the dust off his backpack and stood up from the tatami without changing his expression, "Let’s set off."

They were about to head inside the Izumi Shrine.

After a little more than ten minutes of minor hiccups, they had already arrived at the gate of the Izumi Shrine.

However, it was clear that this was not the main gate of the Izumi Shrine, but something like a side entrance.

The main gates of the Izumi Shrine were tightly closed, with both doors shut, and one could also see the imprint of the "kaji" pattern on them.

However, due to being exposed to the wind and rain for so long, the marks of the "kaji" pattern were no longer clear, and one could only barely make out their rough outline.

The originally white exterior walls had turned a faint grayish-black due to the passing years, with some roof tiles even fallen on the ground, giving a sense of ruins and broken walls.

Ihui Nailuo didn’t rush to let Beichuan Si and the others enter immediately, instead, she turned to look at Ihui Guangjiu beside her.

Ihui Guangjiu quickly understood her gesture and took a small, exquisite hourglass out of her bag.

Fine sand was slowly filtering through the hourglass.

"When this hourglass has completely run out, the Gate of the Yellow Springs will be fully open. If we can’t awaken the Divine Tree and perform the ritual before then, the consequences are unimaginable," Ihui Nailuo said solemnly, holding the hourglass, "From now till nightfall, we have eight hours, and we have to pass through five locations."

Ihui Nailuo slowly stretched out five fingers, her words chillingly spoken one by one:

"The Hand Gallery."

"The Foot Corridor."

"The Waist Door."

"The Eye Chamber."

"The Skull Room."

As she uttered each term, the already oppressive atmosphere intensified, causing everyone to feel uneasy.

"Is this... a trial of the Celestials?" Beichuan Si thought for a moment before reacting.

What Ihui Nailuo mentioned were the contents of the ancient exorcism passage of the Izumi Shrine, weren’t they?

Hand, Foot, Waist, Eye, Skull...

Each item represented an ancient and cruel folk custom.

"Exactly, this is the ’Izumi Divine Sky Exorcism’," Ihui Nai Luo openly admitted.

She had already said so much, it would have been very difficult to deny it.

She continued, "As you, Beichuan Master, have seen, our current location is not the main gate of Izumi Shrine, but a side gate. To pass through this side gate and become a Celestial... to officially enter Izumi Shrine, one must endure these five trials."

"This is the Side Gate Celestial Ritual. Through the agony of splitting the waist, stealing the eyes, removing the skull, cutting the feet, severing the hands, one achieves the complete abandonment of the physical body, achieving the effect of the Spiritual Body separating from the physical body. As long as one endures these five pains, one can become a Celestial."

Yes, splitting the waist, stealing the eyes, cutting the feet, severing the hands... these were merely ways for the Yihui Island residents to completely abandon their bodies and transform into Spiritual Bodies.

In fact, enduring just two rounds... namely severing the hands and cutting the feet was already a remarkable feat.

In ancient times, Yihui Island did not have a highly developed medical level; severing one’s arms and legs, death from blood loss, was almost inevitable.

Beichuan Si retorted, "Why don’t we enter through the main gate?"

Ihui Nai Luo shook her head, "The reason Izumi Shrine has long been free of malevolent spirits is because there is a ’Human Pillar Earth Spirit’ within the shrine. Those people voluntarily became the ’pillar’ to guard the shrine upon their death... if we entered through the main gate, those long uncontrolled Human Pillar Earth Spirits would certainly attack us."

She appeared somewhat self-mocking, "The Earth Spirits, meant to defend the shrine, would actually attack us... that is really..."

Ihui Nai Luo changed the topic:

"Anyway, each of these Earth Spirits is incredibly powerful, almost each possessing strength equal to mine. Forcing our way through the main gate would just wastefully deplete our energy, and a single mistake might result in our death here."

This was why Ihui Nai Luo had forsaken the main gate.

Beichuan Si could also sense a hint of helplessness in her tone.

Indeed, if one could easily get through, who would choose to go through the side gate?

Such things as splitting the waist, stealing the eyes, cutting the feet, severing the hands sounded extremely terrifying, but what other choice was there?

Having spoken to this point, Ihui Nai Luo saw no need to continue concealing the truth.

She looked at Beichuan Si, and said slowly, "Beichuan Master, you’ve always been curious why I brought two shrine maidens, right? Although having shrine maidens as backups is an option, the most important reason is..."

Ihui Nai Luo turned to look at Ihui Guangjiu and Ihui Ju Xu.

At her beckoning, the Ihui sisters heavily approached her side.

Ihui Nai Luo extended her palm, gently caressing the Ihui sisters’ cheeks, a flicker of pity in her eyes.

Yet, she hardened her heart and her tone suddenly dropped several degrees, "This is the main reason."

"Because the passages of the hand, the corridor of the feet, the gate of the waist, the room of the eye, and the chamber of the skull require a living sacrifice. If there is no living sacrifice, we would still be attacked by the Earth Spirits... but if someone is willing to sacrifice themselves... the Earth Spirits would acknowledge us as those who have passed the trials, and would not attack us."

Hearing this, Beichuan Si’s expression remained unchanged as he bluntly said, "If one directly severed their arms and legs, the massive blood loss would quickly lead to death by shock. Are you sure either of them could withstand such a brutal ritual?"

It’s true, as mentioned before, humans are very fragile.

There is no one in the world missing arms or legs who can still bounce around lively.

Generally, if someone’s arm is cut off at the root without immediate medical measures, losing the ability to act is the least of their worries, and symptoms like shock and convulsions would rapidly drain the victim’s life force.

In movies or novels, people missing a leg yet still able to jump around, people with an arm cut seeming as if nothing happened with a simple wrap and being hailed as heroes... they simply do not exist.

Thus, Beichuan Si believed it was impossible for anyone to complete this exaggeratedly excessive trial.

At most, they would reach the corridor of the feet, and that person would likely die from blood loss right there.

Before Beichuan Si’s argument, Ihui Nai Luo’s expression didn’t change a bit.

She had been planning this for twenty years, and no one could convince her otherwise at this stage.

"In fact, the person offered as a living sacrifice doesn’t need to complete all five trials."

The fervor in Ihui Nai Luo’s eyes could no longer be hidden.

Under Beichuan Si’s gaze, she slowly said, "As a former shrine maiden of Izumi Shrine, I know that just passing the initial hand corridor and the feet corridor is enough, then the Earth Spirits will no longer attack us."

She turned her head, her gaze upon the Ihui sisters—

Her eyes were cold and grim.