"I'm back."
The wolf didn't expose the prince's lie.
"Oh, you're back, Wolf," the prince said, turning. "Did you see Lord Isshin?"
"Yes."
Wolf replied, "Perhaps the Immortality Sever will be key. That's what he said."
"Immortality Sever?"
"Yes."
Wolf nodded gently. "It seems to be a blade at Senpou Temple capable of killing the immortal."
"I see," the prince nodded thoughtfully. "It's very possible it's related to severing the Dragon's Heir's immortality."
The conversation with the prince didn't last long. Two things now lay before him.
Finding the Origin of Scent.
Going to Senpou Temple to find the Immortality Sever.
The clues for the Origin of Scent were incomplete, so he could only head to Senpou Temple based on the information provided by Isshin and the prince.
"Honestly, I want to see what the Immortality Sever looks like too," Chun Hei said during a break in his journey, expressing his anticipation. "I wonder if it can combine with the Zi Ying Sword..."
"Hey, buddy!"
The dark-skinned young man beside him waved, interrupting Chun Hei. "Oh, isn't this the fellow I met before! Thanks for the help back in Ashina Castle."
"I'll be staying here for a while, as I need to organize the information I've gathered. I can sell some to you, how about it?"
"Also... the information I asked you to look into last time."
"Oh, I remember!" Chun Hei slapped his forehead. "Salt. The city needs salt the most."
After saying that, he sold all the trash from his inventory to the merchant and used all his gold to buy a paper talisman for releasing large skills and an upgraded set of shuriken. 138 Reading Network.
"I see, salt..." The dark-skinned merchant began to ponder, a rare sight. "Besides food, it's also used for purifying the dead and healing... if corpses rot on the battlefield, diseases will spread."
Both the dark-skinned merchant's words and Kuro's actions indirectly hinted at the precarious state of Ashina. Frequent conflicts were everywhere, and with Kuro being such a game-breaking troublemaker... Isshin probably had a headache just thinking about it. The small details that were so prevalent, like these, were numerous in Sekiro.
After finishing his conversation with the merchant, Chun Hei headed straight for Senpou Temple. The entrance to Senpou Temple was in an abandoned dungeon within Ashina Castle, a place where Chun Hei had lit a "ghost fire" long ago.
*Buzz—*
The air shimmered near a ghost fire in a certain part of the abandoned dungeon, and the next moment, Chun Hei appeared.
"Once upon a time, there was a Mount Kongo, on Mount Kongo stood Senpou Temple, in Senpou Temple was the Immortality Sever, to sever the Dragon's Heir with a single cut... a single cut!"
He casually made up a rhyme, and it rhymed quite well.
*Skr~skr~*
*So moist, so moist, so moist, so moist!*
*Once upon a time, there was a mountain, on the mountain was a temple, in the temple a monk was telling a story: --*
*Skr♪♬ヾ(´︶'♡)ﾉ♬♪skr*
......
The audience was very supportive, with compliments and gifts flying, making it a lively scene! As Chun Hei gradually adapted to the rhythm of the livestream, he became more and more at ease in front of the camera. He enjoyed discovering new maps and deducing new techniques for the viewers.
Chun Hei entered a cave on his left and climbed a ramp on his right, thoroughly searching and clearing out the abandoned dungeon before he left it with satisfaction. At the end of the dungeon was a mechanism elevator. Chun Hei stepped onto the elevator and activated the switch.
*Clank clank clank!!*
The elevator finally stopped in a room filled with several wine jars of varying sizes.
"Brother... Esteemed brother..."
As soon as he stepped into the room, a profound voice, as if from the heavens, echoed. Chun Hei was highly vigilant, his hand close to his sword sheath, his gaze sweeping around to find the source of the sound. Then, he was drawn by this voice to a Buddhist painting hanging on the wall.
"Did this painting make the sound?" Chun Hei was somewhat incredulous. What hidden mysteries lay here?
"This Senpou Temple has long deviated from the teachings of the Buddha. Everyone has abandoned their monastic hearts, lost in the pursuit of immortality."
"If you are caught, I don't know what fate awaits you. I advise you to turn back."
Chun Hei understood. They were advising him to turn back. Was that possible? The answer was yes. As if sensing Chun Hei's determination, the mural relented. "Even so... if you have a reason to enter Senpou Temple, then I shall not obstruct you."
"You are truly a living Bodhisattva, thank you." Chun Hei disrespectfully patted the head of the Buddha in the mural, looking nonchalant.
Turning left outside, not long after, he encountered a fat monk curled up behind several pillars, holding his head and weeping, but with a comedic expression.
"Wuwuwu... I've been left behind..."
"Where did everyone go? What should I do...?"
"My dear, why are you crying so sadly?" The fat monk's comical appearance prevented Chun Hei from feeling any hostility.
"I've been left behind by everyone," the comedic fat monk said, lifting his head slightly.
*Pfft!* Chun Hei couldn't hold back his laughter. "Who is everyone?"
"Everyone is... Huh? Who is it?" Only then did the fat monk realize that a living person had appeared before him at some point.
"Hmm... Uh... Wuwuwu..." The fat monk held his head, appearing very distressed.
"Great, you've lost your memory again, haven't you?" Chun Hei spread his hands helplessly. "Such a riddle-man."
"Red and white flowers spinning in circles... pure white ones are only one, can't find the pure white flower... Woooo... My head... hurts... I'm sorry." It was evident that the fat monk wanted to express something, but without any mystical limitations, he couldn't recall it, only repeating that he needed to find the "pure white flower."
"......"
Silence... After waiting for a long time, the two stared at each other. Finally, Chun Hei slapped his forehead. "Oh... I get it. You want me to help you find the pure white flower so you can reveal... no, recall some things, huh? Ah... you should have said so earlier." The only response he received was the fat monk's pitiful expression.
Along the way, he encountered many monks with health bars. Chun Hei didn't hesitate and attacked them directly. The more he killed, the more Chun Hei felt that the Sword Saint's evaluation of these monks was not unjustified. These monks, to put it nicely, were martial monks, but to put it bluntly, they were mercenaries for hire. Not only that, but these insane monks seemed to have conducted many horrifying experiments in secret, their ultimate goal being eternal life. As a result, when their heads were severed, a centipede about half a meter long was still writhing and baring its fangs at the neck. Seeing this for the first time, Chun Hei felt a chill down his spine, and goosebumps rose on his arms.
"Damn it!"
"These damn monks truly deserve to die!"
In addition to his anger, Chun Hei gradually realized the temptation of immortality among ordinary people. Just hearing about its effects, he could imagine the madness of those who flocked to it. It wasn't that he was speaking from a position of privilege; as a conscious player, he knew that the power of eternal life only existed in fantasy worlds and that people weren't as obsessed as the characters in those worlds. Therefore, he always stood from a divine perspective, able to truly feel the fatal attraction such an immortal divine skill would have for the masses if it truly existed in the world. At the same time, he began to understand the prince's determination to sever such divine skills. The temptation of this forbidden power, once it crossed the traditional moral boundaries, would be a great disaster for the entire world. Various evil human experiments, minds twisted in pursuit of power...
......