The corrupted roots of the Sacred Sakura Tree had been fully absorbed by Hanachirusato, resolving the issues in this area. Next, it was time to head for the other contaminated root sites.
The roots of this great tree extended all throughout Narukami Island.
The primary locations were Konda Village, Araumi, Chinju Forest, and Mt. Yougou.
With Konda Village and this area cleared, the next target was the Araumi.
With both Hanachirusato and Yae Miko present, there was no need to search around. They quickly teleported to the Sacred Sakura roots beneath the Araumi.
This was also an underground space, and once again the corrupted roots were sealed within a barrier.
Nolan stepped forward to break the barrier again—and just like before, shadowy samurai figures formed from the corruption appeared. But this time, it wasn't just one—it was an entire squad!
They were all between level 70 and 80, not difficult to deal with.
> Adventure EXP +4325
> Adventure EXP +5612
> Adventure EXP +4152
As the blackened samurai were easily defeated, Nolan glanced at the character panel pop-up, noting that he'd earned over 30,000 Adventure EXP in total.
With the shadowy foes cleared, Lumine stepped forward to extract the corruption from the roots, condensing it into pure filth energy orbs for Hanachirusato to absorb.
The entire process took about twenty minutes. After Hanachirusato finished absorbing it, her level rose once again—
From level 73 to a whopping level 80!
At this point, as long as she didn't engage in combat, the corrupted energy within her would be enough to sustain her for two to three hundred years.
With the Araumi handled, their next destination was Chinju Forest.
Nolan remembered that a powerful youkai named Ioroi—a tanuki and a friend of Kitsune Saiguu—was sealed there. It was a formidable being.
But the one who had sealed Ioroi was a renowned onmyouji named Kamuna Harunosuke, powerful enough to create secret realms with talismans and craft intelligent shikigami.
He had even developed a method for elemental enchantments without relying on a Vision. Unfortunately, that technique was later misused by the wrong people.
Inazuma's Kairagi—who could unleash elemental attacks without Visions—were using that very technique, leaked from Harunosuke's research.
It must be said: anyone who could establish an entire system of Onmyoudou was nothing short of a grandmaster.
Legend had it that Harunosuke first traveled to Liyue to study adeptus arts, and after mastering them, returned to Inazuma and developed his own system.
Which meant that Onmyoudou was likely derived or evolved from adeptus arts.
As for why he did so, Nolan had a guess.
First, adeptus arts had extremely high talent requirements. Just because Harunosuke could learn them didn't mean everyone in Inazuma could.
That's why he created Onmyoudou—an extraordinary system that didn't demand insane talent. This allowed the profession of Onmyouji to flourish in Inazuma.
In any case, since Onmyoudou was based on adeptus arts, even if its power was somewhat reduced to make it more accessible—
It still had the foundation of adeptus techniques. And the one who sealed Ioroi was none other than the Onmyoudou Grandmaster Harunosuke.
With Ioroi turned to stone, Nolan had no way of breaking the seal without damaging him.
Better to wait until the corruption issue was fully resolved, then ask Hanachirusato to help release him. Since she carried Kitsune Saiguu's memories, she was practically Ioroi's old friend—it made sense to let her handle it.
Though… he wasn't sure if she had the ability to undo the seal.
Chinju Forest's Sacred Sakura roots were also located underground, and once again, Yae Miko teleported everyone there.
However, things were a bit different this time—Nolan and the group found that the area had become a Geo Slime nest, with even three large Geo Slimes present.
But they weren't particularly strong—just around level 20 on average.
Nolan looked at Paimon, who had been quietly spectating and munching on snacks, and said with a smile,
"Alright, Paimon, time to test your strength. These guys are all yours!"
"Ugh, you just want to slack off…"
Paimon grumbled but didn't refuse.
A few days ago, Nolan had helped boost her strength. She was now over level 30, at level 32.
She also wanted to test her combat prowess.
Her fighting style relied on the Gluttonous Attribute, allowing her to summon food-based projections for battle.
Some dishes had healing effects, some became shields, and others were used to attack.
Right now, Paimon summoned ghostly images of Three-Colored Dango, hurling them like grenades at the Geo Slimes.
Upon impact, the Dango exploded, shattering the slimes' rock armor.
Against sturdy enemies like these, it worked like Klee's alchemical bombs—efficient and explosive. The slimes' protective shells crumbled in no time!
Once stripped of their armor, the Geo Slimes panicked and bounced around trying to flee.
Paimon gave chase and swiftly defeated her weaker opponents.
With Paimon's task complete, it was Nolan's turn again—first destroying the barrier. As expected, more blackened samurai appeared, formed from the corruption.
Nolan made quick work of them, earning around 20,000 EXP. Then Lumine resumed her job, extracting and condensing the Sacred Sakura's corrupted energy.
This time the corruption seemed more concentrated. It took her 30 minutes to complete the process. After Hanachirusato absorbed it, her level jumped to level 83.
While the jump didn't seem as dramatic, that was because higher levels required significantly more energy to advance.
With Chinju Forest taken care of, it was now quite late—but there was one final site remaining:
Mt. Yougou.
Located directly beneath the Sacred Sakura, it was likely the most heavily corrupted site of all.
Yae Miko lightly clapped her hands, warping space once again. In a blink, Nolan and the others found themselves inside the mountain's core—
This was the very heart of the Sacred Sakura's root system.
Compared to the previous dark underground spaces, this place was gently illuminated by moonlight shining through a crack in the mountain.
With the help of that beam of moonlight, Nolan and the others could clearly see that the corruption tainting the Sacred Sakura roots here had grown so intense that it had formed tumor-like lumps.
"Sigh… this was quite the oversight. It's right beneath the Grand Narukami Shrine, and I didn't notice it had accumulated this much filth."
Yae Miko gently touched her pink hair with her fingertips and smiled faintly.
"This isn't your fault. When the Thunder Sakura absorbs too much filth, it does begin to wither, but it doesn't immediately show on the Sacred Sakura Tree. Not noticing it is perfectly normal.
"Besides, there's a barrier here as well. Without intentionally checking, it's difficult to detect."
Hanachirusato comforted her calmly.
"...Perhaps." Yae Miko nodded, arms folded.
"Seems like there aren't any monsters nearby. Let's break the barrier directly!"
Nolan sensed the surroundings. With no monsters detected, he controlled the Sword God of Lumine and effortlessly sliced open the barrier.
This time, the corruption's fluctuations were especially intense, and the number of blackened samurai that emerged was overwhelming—one after another, as if endless.
Nolan, however, was thrilled—endless waves of EXP!
Under his control, the Sword God unleashed golden sword slashes. Every time the blade cut through one of the black samurai, they dissolved into black mist and vanished.
At the same time, his character panel kept popping up with EXP gains:
> Adventure EXP +6532
> Adventure EXP +6124
> Adventure EXP +6387
After about two minutes, Nolan estimated he had defeated over twenty samurai, racking up over 120,000 Adventure EXP.
His total EXP now had climbed to over 2.37 million:
[Adventure EXP: 2,377,410]
Still, he was only about a fifth of the way toward ten million. Powering up would still be a long journey.
With the shadow samurai dealt with, Lumine stepped forward to begin extracting the corruption. This time, the process took over an hour.
Once the filth was finally drawn out, the roots of the Sacred Sakura seemed to glow with renewed life, becoming truly vibrant.
The burst of life also spread to the surrounding plants—flowers of all colors suddenly bloomed in abundance.
Reds, yellows, greens… the branches blossomed beautifully in the moonlight.
In the game's storyline, Hanachirusato would disappear after the final root purification. But clearly, the absorbed corrupted energy had changed that.
She was still there, standing quietly among them—unfazed by the disappearance of the root corruption.
Lumine handed the condensed corruption over to Hanachirusato. After absorbing it, her level soared again—this time to Level 87!
She now ranked among Teyvat's truly powerful individuals—but Hanachirusato wasn't one for battle.
Engaging in combat would consume far more corrupted energy than her usual peaceful state—and for her, corrupted energy was basically equivalent to lifespan.
Fighting was simply inefficient.
Thinking about this, Nolan had an idea. Hanachirusato's indifference to her own disappearance likely came from a lack of purpose—after purifying the corruption and fulfilling Kitsune Saiguu's will, she had no goal left.
Perhaps… he could give her one.
After organizing his thoughts, he spoke:
"With the amount of corrupted energy inside you now, you should be able to maintain your existence for several hundred—maybe even a thousand—years. Since you've inherited Kitsune Saiguu's memories and wish to carry on her will…
"Why not stay at the Grand Narukami Shrine as its caretaker? Specifically, as the shrine maiden responsible for monitoring the Sacred Sakura's root system.
"Right now, the roots have been purified, yes—but as they continue to cleanse the ley lines, more filth will eventually accumulate.
"If you're stationed there, you can detect it early and alert everyone. The corruption can be passed to you for absorption.
"That way, not only will the filth be purified, but it'll also be put to use. Isn't that the best solution?"
Hearing his suggestion, Yae Miko's eyes lit up. She added:
"Come to think of it, I never assigned shrine maidens to inspect the Sakura roots regularly because most of them are ordinary people. This place is far too dangerous for them.
"If Miss Hanachirusato is willing to join the Grand Narukami Shrine and take on this role, it would be ideal."
Hearing the two of them, Hanachirusato slightly lowered her head in thought.
It was true—the Thunder Sakura would continue to accumulate filth. If she vanished after fulfilling her duty, she'd be unable to help in the future.
But thanks to everyone's support, she could now maintain her existence. And from now on, all she really needed to do… was watch over the tree.
Thinking this through, she quietly nodded.
"No problem."
Seeing Hanachirusato take on a lasting role made Nolan quite happy. Lumine, Paimon, and Yoimiya—who understood the situation—were equally glad.
"Well, since everything's done, let's head back. I'll need to explain things to Nahida…"
Paimon's pale little face showed a trace of helplessness.
They had assumed this wouldn't take long—but several hours had passed.
Now, she and Lumine would have to continue their project with Nahida tomorrow.
"Mm, thanks for all your hard work, Paimon and Lumine. Everything went so smoothly thanks to you both!"
Yoimiya praised with a bright smile.
"Hehe, Paimon is not a kid anymore. Even if you say that, Yoimiya, Paimon won't get all happy and giddy—!"
Paimon spun a loop in midair, clearly delighted.
Lumine placed a hand to her forehead, silently watching Paimon's antics. Then she said goodbye to Miko, Yoimiya, and Hanachirusato, and teleported away with Paimon.
"…Speaking of which, it's really late now. We should head back too."
Nolan looked at Yoimiya, then turned to Yae Miko.
"Can you send us back to the fireworks shop?"
"Sigh… guess I'm your personal teleporter today."
Yae Miko sighed, but she wasn't really complaining. After all, she had finally figured out the identity of the mysterious shrine maiden from Konda Village and recruited a powerful new ally for the Grand Narukami Shrine. A pretty solid reward, she thought.
"Mm."
Nolan still wanted to ask Hanachirusato if Kitsune Saiguu had left behind anything containing remnants of her consciousness. But considering the hour, he figured it was better to come back and ask tomorrow.
He also planned to ask Hanachirusato to sort through Kitsune Saiguu's memories and compile her knowledge into books—as part of the agreed reward. She had no objections to that.
He could store those books in the Wonderland Space. Not only would that enrich the space itself, but it would also give the library valuable content.
Perhaps Mona, Lisa, and the other scholars could even draw inspiration from them. And the legacy of Kitsune Saiguu would certainly benefit Yae Miko as well.
(End of Chapter)
Author's Note:
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