"Hoo… hoo…" He managed to catch his breath; now was not the time to rest.
Kitahara forced himself to stay alert and began to sense his current physical condition.
After using the Yujin Chi no tori, Kitahara realized that given his physical condition, he could at most use the Yujin Chi no tori one more time; if he were to use it again after that…
He would definitely be swallowed by the unimaginably terrifying grievance of the female head, transforming into something else.
Kitahara released his hands from his eyes and turned around; blood seemed to blur his vision, but he could still see clearly.
The flesh that had emerged from the back of his hand was now enveloping a humanoid object. The humanoid object was struggling continuously, emitting screams like a monkey, but wrapped in the flesh, amidst a chewing sound, its form gradually shrunk and finally disappeared, after which the flesh re-entered the back of Kitahara's hand.
Kitahara took a deep breath, his gaze once again falling upon the torii pattern on the back of his hand. He saw that a red area on the torii had completely turned black… It felt as if part of the lacquer on its surface had peeled off.
Will the thing inside come out once the surface blood completely peels off…
Kitahara mused internally.
The existence imprisoned within the torii, she was definitely a monster created by certain people…
Its purpose…
Kitahara looked at the spot where the humanoid creature had been devoured earlier.
What were those things?
Humans? Monkeys?
Or… corpses?
The purpose of the torii might be to seal this mountain, to prevent those things from escaping…
And…
Kitahara subconsciously looked in the direction of going up the mountain…
This was only the foot of the mountain…
Based on the number of tasks, there must be other things at the mountainside and the summit…
Kitahara frowned slightly…
What kind of place is this mountain…
Why are there such strange and bizarre things here…
Kitahara looked at the back of his hand…
Do these things exist in reality as well?
Or rather, is he currently in what is essentially reality, but just another kind of "reality"?
Kamikakushi…
Simply put, he might currently be in the hidden world…
…
The hidden world is a place unknown to people, a place that everyone actively forgets.
In the hidden world, mysterious and terrifying things exist, and it is not something strange…
"Ding! Mission complete. Reward: Spiritual Energy Breathing Method, and a special breathing meridian opened in your body."
Accompanied by a crisp hum in his mind, Kitahara felt his body loosen, and then something hot surged from a certain part of his brain, then began to circulate throughout his body.
Burning hot, like magma, Kitahara felt as if his body had been ignited…
Intense pain came from all over his body, making his breathing rapid.
His skin began to turn red and heated up at a visible rate…
Whoosh!
Kitahara's pajamas suddenly spontaneously combusted without wind…
His pupils constricted; enduring the pain, Kitahara barely managed to take off a jacket before his clothes completely burned and extinguished the flames on it.
After all, he didn't want to be naked here.
Tap, tap, tap…
However, perhaps the commotion here had once again attracted those strange things.
A series of footsteps once again came from not far away, approaching at an extremely fast pace.
In Kitahara's slightly constricted pupils, the thing quickly appeared before him.
Under the moonlight, the mountain forest was not entirely dark; the pale moonlight could illuminate certain areas… like white patches embedded in the forest…
Then, Kitahara saw…
A white, twisted… humanoid creature…
It ran towards Beiyuan at an extremely fast speed, the pale moonlight shining on its pale body… like a white hairless creature…
But Beiyuan could clearly see that it was human…
Because on its head, which was almost just skin, there were five holes of different sizes…
Those were its facial features…
The creature also had ears, but they looked as if they had rotted away, with a large piece missing…
It was wearing clothes from an unknown period, but from its attire, it seemed to be female… and appeared to be a female of no low status…
When it saw Beiyuan, it was as if it had seen something…
Black liquid flowed from its mouth, emitting a foul stench.
At this moment, Beiyuan was in no hurry to exit the scene, because…
A strange memory suddenly appeared in his mind, as if it had always been his…
He subconsciously began to breathe according to the strange breathing technique in that memory…
Then…
Thump!
In his vision, the monster's rapidly approaching body instantly slowed down countless times…
At the same time, Beiyuan felt as if something was gushing out from within his body.
His right hand subconsciously tensed…
He threw a punch…
Although he felt the speed was not fast, his fist directly hit the monster's head in the next second.
Bang!
Like a rotten watermelon exploding, spewing out countless juices…
Thud…
The headless corpse fell to the ground.
Whoosh!
White mist exhaled from Beiyuan's mouth.
He glanced at his right hand, which was covered in foul-smelling liquid, and then at the fallen corpse.
Did he do this?
Clatter…
At this moment, something seemed to fall out of the kimono the monster was wearing, attracting Beiyuan's attention.
He looked, and it seemed to be a small omamori.
The omamori was exquisitely crafted, clearly not something an ordinary person could possess.
Beiyuan bent down to pick it up, and with a gentle squeeze, he felt as if something was inside.
He easily opened the omamori, and then Beiyuan saw that inside the omamori, there was actually a small white paper photograph.
He took the photo out of the omamori, and by the moonlight, he was stunned for a moment.
On the photograph was a beautiful and extraordinary miko, exuding a sacred aura…
She was wearing a pure white kimono, like a wedding dress…
Her beautiful face was slightly lowered, as if she was shy, her willow-like eyebrows curved, gentle as water, her blood-red eyes looked at the ground somewhat unaccustomed, as if it was her first time being photographed… her Sakura lips were slightly pursed, making one feel an uncontrollable sense of pity and affection.
And what was most surprising was her pale long hair, as pure as white snow, without any Noise.
This was a beautiful girl Beiyuan had never seen before; her beauty amazed even Beiyuan, who was accustomed to seeing beauties.
It was a beauty that seemed not to belong to the mortal world, a beauty that would be envied by the heavens.
A very beautiful girl…
But it had nothing to do with him.
Although he marveled at the girl's beauty, Beiyuan did not lose his composure because of it; no, it would be better to say that he had now undergone an evolution from the inside out…
That special breathing method had enhanced all aspects of his body.
If he were still the ordinary person he was before, would he not have fallen in love at first sight with the person in the photo the moment he saw it?
After all, that kind of beauty could almost become an ability.
An ability called… Charm.