Why Am I a Priestess When I Reach the Maximum Level? - [Vol. 6] Chapter 27

[Vol. 6] Chapter 27: The Lurking Deceiver

Time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, Violet and her two companions had been staying in Yangyuan City for nearly ten days.

The news of the Holy Beast Qilin spread rapidly across Yangyuan County and its surrounding areas, drawing people from all over the Western Origin Spirit Kingdom. The number of those arriving to inquire about the matter or enlist showed no signs of slowing. Instead, it grew more fervent, turning the recruitment site into a bustling hub.

The recruitment lasted for over seven days. When the quota was finally filled, and the process concluded, many martial artists who had traveled great distances only to miss the opportunity expressed dissatisfaction. Yet, constrained by the overwhelming authority of the officials, they had no choice but to leave begrudgingly.

According to Prefect Wen Fu, the [Spirit Guards] and the main forces of the Patrol Corps, led by the Western Origin Spirit Maiden, were still some distance away from Yangyuan City due to their slow progress. It would likely take several more days for them to arrive. However, the [Tidal Deep Valley], the perilous center of the event, seemed eager to invite its guests.

“The tide has already started receding? So soon?”

In the stone pavilion of the secluded courtyard, bathed in bright sunlight, the black-haired girl, seated across from Ling Feng and chatting idly over tea, turned her head toward Bai’er, who had just delivered the latest news. Her voice carried a hint of surprise.

It had only been roughly half a month since Murong Yun had last ventured into the [Tidal Deep Valley] and witnessed the Qilin. Although he mentioned that the tide cycles did not strictly adhere to a one-month interval, this still seemed unusually early.

Exchanging a glance with Ling Feng across the table, Violet noted the thoughtful nod of her companion.

“Unusual occurrences often signal trouble. It seems the situation is far from optimistic…”

Bai’er stepped closer and bowed slightly.

“My lady, what should we do next?”

“Naturally, we must go and investigate. Regardless of what anomaly has caused the change within the [Tidal Deep Valley], given the scope of this operation, it’s impossible to halt the exploration at this stage. At the very least, we need to be present to act if something goes wrong.”

Smiling at Ling Feng, who looked visibly concerned, Violet herself seemed unfazed.

“You seem worried. Is it because of what happened a few days ago?”

The incident from their first night in the city, involving the sneaky little Mole Spirit caught by the priestess and Bai’er, wasn’t as dire as it initially appeared. The creature wasn’t some malevolent or savage [Yokai].

As the little Yokai had pleaded for mercy, her cultivation was only around one or two hundred years old, and she had only just begun to take on a shape, still far from perfected. By Yokai standards, she was just a beginner, a newbie fresh out of the gate.

The real issue arose when she accidentally dug the wrong tunnel and ended up in this courtyard in Yangyuan City. There, underground, she discovered a piece of “flesh.”

It was “spiritual flesh.”

Simply put, spiritual flesh is meat imbued with spiritual energy. While it might sound simple, such flesh is extraordinarily rare and cannot be produced by ordinary humans or beasts. It can only be obtained from those who have reached the [Seeker of Immortality] level, or from high-rank Yokai that have evolved beyond the ordinary [Yokai] and are naturally accompanied by auspicious signs.

For instance, the Qilin they were planning to seek. Its flesh is spiritual flesh.

Spiritual flesh, nourished by spiritual energy, doesn’t rot or decay. It’s essentially equivalent to an elixir or medicinal treasure. It’s not as tempting for humans, but for Yokai, it possesses an almost irresistible allure due to its powerful attraction.

So when the little Mole Spirit, who had no name, so Violet decided to call her Little Mole, discovered the spiritual flesh buried underground a few days ago, she was both surprised and delighted.

As a Yokai, her instinct was to devour the spiritual flesh immediately. However, since Little Mole’s cultivation was still very shallow, the old saying “too much is as bad as too little” applied here. If she were to consume all of that spiritual flesh at once, her inner core would be overwhelmed and likely explode from the surge of spiritual energy.

In desperation, Little Mole could only resist the urge to devour it all at once, eating only a small portion of the spiritual flesh and then carefully wrapping up the rest to hide it. She intended to digest the portion she’d eaten and return to finish the rest after a few days. Unfortunately, she was caught by the two women who had smelled the blood and discovered her.

As for why Little Mole didn’t simply take the spiritual flesh with her instead of eating it and burying it there, the reason was simple.

Spiritual flesh is a treasure to Yokai, akin to a rare natural resource. The Mole Spirits in Yangyuan County weren’t limited to just Little Mole, and if she took the flesh away and buried it elsewhere, there was a very high chance that other Yokai would find and steal it.

As for carrying it with her, that was even more dangerous. For a tiny Yokai like Little Mole, that would practically be a death sentence.

After thinking it over, the little Mole Spirit realized that the best place to hide the spiritual flesh was in this highly guarded area, where powerful experts stood, and where ordinary Yokai wouldn’t dare to act recklessly. The fact that the meat had remained undiscovered for so long likely meant it had been intentionally buried here.

Of course, to prevent the previous person who buried the flesh from coming back to retrieve it, or to catch her stealing the meat, Little Mole had also used her not-so-clever little brain to move the hiding spot to another location.

That was the situation. After confirming the details, Ling Feng honored her promise and released the obedient little Mole Spirit.

However, the spiritual flesh was not returned to the little Mole Spirit.

It wasn’t because they wanted to keep the treasure for themselves, but because… there was something wrong with the flesh itself.

Yes, it was indeed spiritual flesh, but this piece of meat had been tampered with.

The [Ancient Spirit Realm] was home to many sects, a place where all sorts of strange people and powerful techniques existed. Some sects were righteous and focused on upholding the correct path, while others, like the evil sects, were driven by profit, with no regard for reputation, and would use any means necessary to achieve their goals.

Among them was a large sect known as the [Yokai Controlling Sect].

As the name suggested, the [Yokai Controlling Sect] specialized in manipulating and controlling Yokai and various beasts as their servants to fight on their behalf.

But the reputation of the [Yokai Controlling Sect] was far from good. In fact, it was terrible.

The way they controlled Yokai wasn’t like the relationship between players and pets as the priestess would understand, but was much more forceful and brutal.

They would coerce Yokai, even turning them into puppets through forced rituals, and they would even steal the spirit pets and companions of other practitioners, no ethical line was too far for them.

They were loathed not only in the Yokai world but also by most practitioners in the human world.

And that piece of meat… was actually a high-grade consumable used by the [Yokai Controlling Sect] to capture Yokai, essentially serving as a bait. Not only did it amplify the allure of its spiritual energy to Yokai, but it also had some special “ingredients” added to it.

Of course, it wasn’t intended to lure a low-level Yokai like Little Mole. The preparation of the spiritual flesh was incomplete, like an ingredient halfway through being made into something else, which is why Little Mole didn’t experience any adverse effects after consuming it.

Although Little Mole’s incident was an accident, the presence of such a thing in a government-provided guest house in Yangyuan City was already a clear signal.

A powerful figure from the [Yokai Controlling Sect] had infiltrated the exploration team and was waiting for the right moment to act. And as for the goal of this sect, it could only be one thing:

The Holy Beast, the [Qilin], hidden within the [Tidal Deep Valley].