Chapter 601: Fujihara Miko: Hiyori, Still Saying It

"The Young Lady is right!" Sōsaka Ai nodded. "Then, Young Lady, please begin your cultivation first."

Saying this, she stepped out of the room.

Sigong Hiyori steadied her nerves, opened the Shangcheng, reviewed the descriptions of the cultivation techniques available, selected the Yin-Yang Creation Scripture, purchased several elixirs, and then began her cultivation.

True qi gathered, and her physical body grew stronger along with it.

Her spiritual power also converged at her third eye; as she cultivated, she curiously used her spiritual power to observe the Sigong estate.

Under the sunlight, the Sigong estate shimmered brilliantly—that was the reflection of the sun's rays.

Yet amid the light, a black current was being dispersed by the radiance, slowly fading away.

"Is that yin energy?" Sigong Hiyori speculated inwardly. "It must be what Fujihara left behind in the air when she came over. So much yin energy—this ghost must be powerful!"

Thinking this, she instinctively sensed the true qi in her dantian.

There, the true qi swirled, now condensed into liquid, radiating a vast divine aura; she relaxed at once.

"I've reached the True Qi Realm. Ordinary ghosts are no threat at all. Besides, even if I couldn't defeat it, I could call for help from the group."

Sigong Hiyori's lips curled slightly; her mood lifted.

This feeling of having support was simply wonderful.

After finishing her cultivation, she called Sōsaka Ai inside.

"Ai, you should begin cultivating too."

Sigong Hiyori handed her a porcelain bottle and pressed one finger to Sōsaka Ai's third eye, transmitting the cultivation technique.

"Yes, Young Lady," Sōsaka Ai nodded, preparing to return to her own room to cultivate.

Sigong Hiyori spoke up: "Stay here. I'll be refining my cave realm at the same time and guard you."

"Mm," Sōsaka Ai nodded, warmth spreading in her heart, and began her cultivation.

Sigong Hiyori retrieved her cave realm, channeled her true qi, and began refining it.

In moments, her spirit sensed a vast cave realm world.

Within the cave realm, projections of external sunlight bathed the entire space in brightness.

On the ground, rivers crisscrossed, mountains and gorges rose.

Aside from the absence of flowers, trees, and plants, it was clearly a living world.

"We'll manage it together later," Sigong Hiyori's heart leaped. "Building my own cave realm—this is such an accomplishment."

Living in the Sigong household, though clothed and fed in luxury, was like being a golden cage bird—without freedom.

The cave realm, however, granted her a space of complete liberty.

"Huh? Wait. Now that I have power, I fear no one—why should I still be bound by the Sigong household?" Sigong Hiyori suddenly realized.

Just as she thought this, she felt a gaze upon her.

"Ai, have you finished cultivating?" Sigong Hiyori asked with concern. "How do you feel?"

Sōsaka Ai's voice was soft, yet her tone was fiercely enthusiastic: "Excellent, Young Lady. Now, even if you asked me to destroy the Eagle Nation's fleet, I'm confident I won't lose."

Sigong Hiyori was speechless.

She hadn't expected her personal attendant to be so violent.

As soon as she gained power, she wanted to obliterate the Eagle Nation's fleet.

"Let's set aside the fleet for now. It's getting dark—do you feel anything?" Sigong Hiyori asked.

Sōsaka Ai nodded: "I didn't expect the yin energy to intensify so much once night fell. As a normal person, I felt nothing at all. Is this the world's true nature?"

Sigong Hiyori sighed: "Perhaps. Before, my father hired yin-yang masters and monks to perform rituals at home—I thought he'd just become rich and developed superstitious habits. But now—I realize such beings truly exist."

Suddenly, Sōsaka Ai's expression changed.

"Young Lady, a powerful ghost is approaching!"

"I sensed it too—it must be the spirit seeking Fujihara Miko's spirit pen," Sigong Hiyori's eyes sharpened.

"Wah!"

At that moment, a scream rang out as Fujihara Miko sat bolt upright on her bed, her face terrified. "Hiyori, I felt an icy cold presence—is a ghost here?"

Saying this, she trembled violently, as if plunged into an ice cellar.

Sigong Hiyori frowned and stepped forward.

Fujihara Miko's eyes welled with tears. "Hiyori, I'm sorry—I shouldn't have come to you today. Waaah, now that the ghost has come, I've doomed you!"

"But I didn't know who else to turn to!"

Sōsaka Ai snorted: "Didn't you ask your family?"

Sōsaka Ai didn't believe for a second that a politician's household lacked the means to find powerful specialists.

Fujihara Miko's teeth chattered: "I did! My family said the Fujihara clan could never have a ghost!"

Sigong Hiyori looked at Sōsaka Ai and immediately understood.

"The Fujihara household must have installed some kind of talisman or artifact—hence why the clan head refuses to believe Fujihara Miko. But they didn't realize the ghost she's attracted now is no ordinary spirit—it can't be suppressed by ordinary artifacts."

Thinking of this, Sigong Hiyori felt a pang of unease.

In such a situation, Fujihara Miko was utterly alone—and the first person she thought of was me. Isn't that a kind of trust?

Though this trust is dangerously fatal.

Still, Fujihara Miko constantly caused trouble—she'd long been mentally prepared for it.

She extended her palm and gently pressed it against Fujihara Miko's arm.

The next instant, Fujihara Miko felt a warm force surge through her; the cold within her body vanished rapidly, as if basking in sunlight, becoming profoundly comfortable.

........ 0

"This… this can't be a hallucination anymore, right?" Fujihara Miko was stunned. "Hiyori, is the Sigong family really a yin-yang master clan?"

Sōsaka Ai internally groaned in exhaustion.

Sigong Kaguya softly denied it: "Of course it can't be a family of onmyoji. Also, don't speak of this matter to anyone—I don't want to deal with trouble from all walks of society."

"Wow, so Kaguya, you really do have supernatural powers?" The chill vanished, and Fujiwara Chika's curiosity was hooked once more. Her eyes shining, she looked over and said, "Earlier you even tricked me into thinking it was a hallucination; I was starting to wonder if I was losing my mind."

Hayasaka Ai chuckled: "Chika-senpai, who knows, maybe right now is a hallucination too?"

"Ah…" The moment Fujiwara Chika heard that, she was instantly startled and her eyes welled up with tears again.

Sigong Kaguya found it amusing inside, but didn't laugh out loud. She comforted her: "Hayasaka's teasing you—it's definitely not a hallucination right now!"

Just as she spoke, the room suddenly grew gloomy and cold, as if it had instantly shifted from Tokyo to the polar regions.

White frost began to form on the floor and the table.

Almost at the same moment, a faint blue figure appeared in the room.

It was a tall, slender woman, her long hair hanging loose, covering most of her face.

The cheeks and wrists left exposed showed an icy blue hue, as if she had stepped out of a freezer, giving off an eerie, terrifying impression.