I, the leader of the esoteric sect, am doing great things in the infinite world!

"M-My lord...why are you saying such things?" Watanabe Masaya stammered. "Is there something wrong with Lady Sango?"

Li Lin nodded matter-of-factly, then said through gritted teeth, "Don't train ornamental fish; she's just a mascot."

Completely baffled by what Li Lin was saying, Watanabe Masaya left in a daze. Since they were not far from the Coral Palace army's encampment, it was only natural for them to seek refuge on Umijima Island.

Compared to their hasty evacuation on the shogunate's ships last time, they had ample time to organize their supplies this time. After taking plenty of travel money and food, the villagers even left some for Li Lin and Wan Ye.

"Shall we go and take a look at the Shinto Center?" Kaedehara Manyo asked tentatively.

"You can have this!"

Li Lin's dead fish eyes lit up instantly, as quickly as a constipated astray encountering an enema.

It is well known that he is not good at using metaphors.

Kaedehara Manyo wished he could just draw his sword and commit suicide. How did he even start this?

The remains of the great serpent Orobas stretch across the entire island of Ba Yun. Its body was severed by a single strike from the Thunder God Wu Xiang, and the most severely damaged part was its head.

The skull of Orobas is raised high, looking as if it is about to devour something with its mouth wide open. Even standing on the edge of Bayun Island, you can see the huge skull that is like a mountain range, as well as the lightning bolts that strike the surface of the skull.

Even those with the physique of the Eye of God found it somewhat uncomfortable after entering the area of ​​worship, not to mention the continuous torrential rain and lightning strikes from the sky.

This lightning phenomenon, caused by the worship of the gods, was probably due to the fact that they hadn't encountered anyone for a long time, and it practically chased after Li Lin and Fengyuan Wanye, striking them repeatedly.

"Damn it." Li Lin, who had been struck by lightning seventeen or eighteen times in a row, said coldly.

"Calm down, calm down!" Kaede Manba quickly stopped Li Lin from blowing up the snake bone.

The Bone of Orobas

[Nature: Winter]

Perhaps this thing hasn't given up on its existence, but it is indeed just a pile of bones now.

Li Lin didn't put this piece of snake bone on his desk. Orobas had been dead for a long time, and most of his bones had lost their power. Only when they were connected together as a whole did they have the power to change the celestial phenomena and cause incredible changes.

But where would Li Lin find the time to dig up the land and bones on Bayun Island?

At this moment, a faint singing voice seemed to come from afar, like the song of a whale, or the hiss of a great snake, echoing in Li Lin and Wan Ye's ears.

Upon closer listening, it was not a meaningless shriek, but rather a song composed of a foreign language.

"Who's singing?" Kaedehara Manyo asked in surprise.

“It warmed my loneliness.” Li Lin’s expression shifted.

"...Anyway, let's go take a look first." Maple Leaf touched the small pendant Li Lin had given him on his waist and ran towards the direction from which the singing was coming.

The place from which the singing came was not far from them. After turning a corner, there was a shrine with peeling red paint and a dull vermilion color. On both sides hung shimenawa ropes that had long since faded and turned yellow. The objects enshrined in the shrine were blurry and indistinct, seemingly just a dark and eerie mass.

A large man knelt before the shrine, dressed in clothes no different from those of a samurai, and wearing a deer antler headband that he had picked up from somewhere.

The singing stopped.

The man kneeling before the statue slowly turned his head; his hair was disheveled, obscuring his features.

"You've come... My destined one... You've come."

He pointed to the faded shrine and said in a hoarse voice, "Kneel down... heed the proverbs... and you will receive a reward..."

Kaedehara Manyo felt a chill rise from his tailbone.

Just as he was about to step back, a figure brushed past him.

In the next instant, Li Lin was already standing in front of the man, his face beaming with joy as he grasped the man's hand: "The Teyvats don't lie to the Teyvats! There really will be a reward?"

The man was a little stunned, probably because he had never met such a warm and proactive person before.

"Then I want a KFC family bucket!" Li Lin said excitedly.

227 sticks and knives

"As long as... you are sincere enough... you will receive... a reward."

The man guarding the shrine had no idea what a KFC family bucket was or what Crazy Thursday was. He just wanted to lure these two ignorant fools to the shrine to perform a sacrifice.

Li Lin walked up to the shrine, and a look of joy appeared on the man's face.

"As long as he chooses to worship the shrine in front of him, he will hear the voice of the gods!" The man, whose mind was in a daze, thought to himself.

Can I make a wish?

Li Lin's voice rang out once again.

"..."

The man guarding the shrine fell silent again, his expression turning grim.

Kaedehara Manyo had quietly retreated to the side, his hand subtly resting on the large saddlebag at his waist, Isshin Kagemitsu.

Anyone with a normal mind could see that Li Lin had absolutely no sincerity, but the man guarding the shrine didn't care about that at all and only wanted Li Lin to worship the shrine as soon as possible.

"Of course...you can. As long as you can hear...the words of the gods..."

After struggling to reorganize his language system, the man tried again to seduce Master Li.

Li Lin was conflicted because he wanted many things, such as having the Elder grow a large hook, having Talulah grow a large hook, and having the Kingslayer grow a large hook.

"Up, down, down, left, right, left, right, right, baba." Li Lin clasped his hands together and silently recited the mantra. After waiting for more than ten seconds, nothing unusual happened.

Do I really have to close my eyes?

Li Lin closed his eyes, and after a moment the sounds of wind and rain gradually faded away, merging into a voice whose gender was indistinguishable: "Be... careful."

The Remnants of Orobars

[Nature: Winter]

[Sexual Appearance: Remains]

The great serpent named Oropas once possessed four colors, but now all of these colors have been lost. However, one color still shines—sealed within a fragment along with a secret unknown to anyone.

"I want to make a wish!" Li Lin, driven by self-interest, grabbed a shard of Orobas and shouted, "I want to make a wish!"

"What...wish do you have...?"

The fragments of Orobas lacked sufficient capacity for thought; they could only offer guidance to those who had been lured in, relying solely on their instincts.

You have three... chances...

“Great!” Li Lin said excitedly, “My next wish is to do the opposite.”

"...?"

Before the fragments of Orobas could react, Li Lin excitedly added, "Don't grant my third wish."

"Then, ignore my first wish."

As soon as Li Lin finished speaking, the long-silent vermilion shrine suddenly exploded, and a pure white scale flew out as if it had been flung out by a fart, landing in Li Lin's hand.

The souls that once resided there have departed, and one day, the colors that remained will fade. But before that, there is still ample time to process them.

[After a certain period of time, the remnants of Orobas will lose their effect.]

Li Lin turned around and gave the shrine guardian, who had crashed again, a wicked smile: "Young man, your ancestor who died many years ago seems to be in poor health. Is it because you don't burn paper money for him often enough?"

"It was you...it was you who killed the gods—"

The man guarding the shrine finally realized what had just happened, his body trembling as he pointed at Li Lin.

"Hey, how can you talk about your ancestors like that? You have no respect for elders," Li Lin scolded with displeasure. "But even tigers don't eat their cubs. If you kneel down and acknowledge my ancestors now, I might teach you a lesson in speaking properly."

Kaedehara Manyo couldn't help but smile, and he laughed out loud in a very impolite way.

Well, when you're teammates with Li Lin, you always feel a strange sense of security. Although you might sometimes be driven to the brink of suffocation by Li Lin's occasional erratic behavior, it's always the other side who feels suffocated more often.

When he saw the other side being driven to the brink of collapse by Li Lin, Kaede Manba felt immense pleasure.

"You...I...!"

The shrine keeper's fragile nerves finally broke down completely. He roared and drew his long sword from his waist, slashing at Li Lin. The blade then grazed Li Lin's forehead, sending sparks flying.

This thing, which can hardly be called a famous sword, had its blade chipped in an instant.

Perhaps his mind had been corrupted by deity worship to the point that he was left with only the instinctive role of a shrine guardian. He didn't know what to do about the dull blade and stood there lost in thought once again.

Unfortunately, all his consciousness had been erased in the outburst of devotion, and his brain, along with his mind, had turned into a pool of pink liquid amidst various hysterias and severe delirium.

In other words, this man, who was once the beloved village chief of Hiki Village and is now the guardian who tricks travelers into sacrificing to the giant serpent, is now nothing more than a living corpse.

Li Lin suddenly sighed, somewhat dejectedly, and placed his hand on his head: "Soul leaving the body."

His personality has long since disintegrated, and even if it were pieced together now, it wouldn't be the same person he once was.

This is just a virtual machine in name only. Even if it is based on past knowledge, it is just a "program" that Li Lin forcibly simulated with external force. At best, it is just a change from one kind of zombie to another.

The only difference between them is that the former does not consider himself a human being, and does not even have a complete understanding of himself; while the latter considers himself a human being and looks like one.

When Washizu, the village chief of Hiki Village, regained his clarity, two lines of painful tears streamed down the old man's face.

"Oh my God, what have I done—what have I done!"

He crouched on the ground, clutching his head, and wailed in despair.

As cognition is restored, those fragmented memories of the past emerge like a mirror.