Hogwarts Summoning Guide

Seimei was determined to return to Kyoto and was very worried about Fujiwara no Michinaga's situation. However, Hakurin had other ideas because he had heard a legend from Minamoto no Yorimitsu that Yorimitsu was heading northwest to a place called Kaikoto Village to rebuild the Minamoto clan.

Bai Lin flashed the map through his mind. The village of Haiqin that Genji mentioned was a port near the East Sea, which would make it easy to develop trade with countries such as the East, Silla, and Baekje. It was indeed a good place for the Genji to revive. But what interested Bai Lin even more was a comment that Usui Sadamitsu had interjected from the side.

Usui Sadamitsu said, "However, Kaiko Village was destroyed by war decades ago, and now there are rumors of sea monsters appearing. The road ahead is still fraught with danger..."

Although Minamoto no Yorimitsu didn't take the "sea monster sightings" seriously, Hakurin unexpectedly received a notification from the system:

The mission is to track the blood of the Four Saints: The monster "Umi-zatou," which appears in the northwest sea, is the only remaining Genbu bloodline in Japan.

Upon seeing this information, Bai Lin had no choice but to shamelessly follow the Minamoto clan's group. Just kidding, Minamoto no Yorimitsu's swordsmanship was extraordinary. If he were to chop off this damned Kaiza-no-Toki with one sword, wouldn't Bai Lin's mission be completely ruined?

By subduing Zhuanyu, Bai Lin obtained the nonsensical and overpowered skill "Nightmare Summoning." What would he gain from collecting all the blood of the Four Saints? Bai Lin was very much looking forward to it. He couldn't let this opportunity slip by. In fact, he felt that even if he couldn't find the source of chaos, just completing this mission would make the trip worthwhile.

Minamoto no Yorimitsu was quite enthusiastic towards Hakurin, after all, this was the most difficult period for the Minamoto clan. The officials who had once curried favor with them had long since turned their backs on them, and everyone was trying their best to sever ties with the Minamoto clan, for fear of angering the imperial family and the Fujiwara clan. Even many of Minamoto no Yorimitsu's old subordinates were like weeds on a wall, changing sides overnight and never to be seen again.

The group traveled hundreds of miles and finally arrived at the northwestern coast of Honshu, as described by Minamoto no Yorimitsu. There stood the abandoned village of Kaikonojo.

This ruined village is only a mile or two from the coastline. It is situated on slightly higher ground and is less affected by Pacific typhoons than the eastern coast of Kyushu. However, it seems that war directly destroyed the small village, leaving behind broken walls and ruins. Among the dust and debris are human bones that have been gnawed by wild animals for a long time.

Bai Lin had assumed this place was deserted, but to his surprise, someone strode out of the ruins and greeted their group. Upon closer inspection, he realized it was Minamoto no Hiromasa.

At first glance, Minamoto no Hiromasa looked quite different from before. He seemed to have grown five centimeters taller, his muscles were bulging and as solid as iron, and his eyes were extremely sharp. Clearly, his strength had increased greatly. Bai Lin guessed that this was probably closely related to the Yata no Kagami that he had stolen.

Minamoto no Hiromasa was quite surprised to see Hakurin, but Minamoto no Yorimitsu gritted his teeth and indicated that Hakurin was one of his own. Minamoto no Hiromasa nodded and led Minamoto no Yorimitsu and Hakurin and other close generals to his lodging, a fairly intact thatched hut.

The thatched hut was quite small, but the ground was clean and covered with straw mats. Minamoto no Hiromasa and Minamoto no Yorimitsu sat on the ground, while Hakurin unceremoniously sat on the other side. The other generals looked at each other, but still obediently stood to the side with their backs bent.

Minamoto no Yorimitsu didn't say much, but asked rather urgently, "What exactly happened in the inner palace?"

Minamoto no Hiromasa's expression was solemn as he silently unbuttoned his clothes. Only then did everyone see that his seemingly intact chest and abdomen were actually severely injured. Large black wounds looked as if they had been scorched by fire, with black demonic energy flowing inside, but it seemed to be suppressed by some kind of power and did not continue to worsen.

Minamoto no Hiromasa frowned, pondered for a moment, and said, "The Kusanagi Sword and the Yasakani no Magatama have both been stolen. But I stole this..." As he spoke, he magically produced a round bronze mirror the size of a plate from his robes. The mirror had an ancient design and was exquisitely carved with many cloud patterns on the back.

"The Yata Mirror?" Minamoto no Yorimitsu exclaimed in surprise. "What use do you have for this?"

Minamoto no Hiromasa put the Yata no Kagami back into his pocket and said, "Although I participated in many rituals when I was young, I didn't know how to use the divine artifacts. Until the night before last, after leaving the palace, I originally wanted to flee as soon as possible, but I was really worried about my uncle's safety, so I went back to the palace... and then I met someone..."

Bai Lin rolled his eyes inwardly. Damn it, I followed you for most of the night, and you ended up going back in the same direction...

"Who?" Minamoto no Yorimitsu's curiosity was also piqued.

"Fujiwara no Ieko... the current Empress... the daughter of Regent Fujiwara no Michinaga..." Minamoto no Yorimitsu glanced at Bai Lin and explained very thoughtfully, "But she is no longer herself..."

Under Minamoto no Yorimitsu's astonished gaze, he said, "Most of the palace guards have disappeared, which is why I was able to steal the sacred artifact so easily... All of this is because Fujiwara no Ieko built a high platform in the inner palace, which looked extremely eerie. I accidentally shone a light on her from afar with the Yata no Kagami and discovered that she was actually the nine-tailed fox demon Tamamo-no-Mae!"

Minamoto no Hiromasa paused for a moment and said, "This may be the power of the Yata no Kagami, to pierce through illusions... But it also alarmed her. She almost crippled me with just a flick of her finger from afar... Fortunately, Tsukuyomi saved me." The Yata no Kagami is a divine artifact passed down by Tsukuyomi, and it perfectly matches Minamoto no Hiromasa's divine power. It must have been at that time that Minamoto no Hiromasa regained his power and greatly increased his strength; otherwise, we probably wouldn't see him alive today.

"Tamamo-no-Mae?" Bai Lin was taken aback, then suddenly realized that there was a legend that Tamamo-no-Mae was the reincarnation of the celestial star "Heart Moon Fox". In fact, her previous incarnations were "Su Daji" and "Yang Yuhuan", both of whom were major troublemakers who disrupted the court.

Some unofficial histories say that during the An Lushan Rebellion, when Yang Guifei was trapped at Mawei Slope, Emperor Xuanzong of Tang did not kill her. Instead, he allowed her to escape with the Japanese envoys to Tang China. She then traveled by boat to Japan and transformed into the famous yokai "Tamamo-no-Mae" of the Heian period.

Thinking of the legend of Su Daji, it's no wonder that Bai Lin felt so familiar with the image of Fujiwara no Takeko. In the Investiture of the Gods, it is described that the nine-tailed fox demon possessed Su Daji, the daughter of Marquis Su Hu of Jizhou, and then married her into the palace as empress, thereby seizing control of the court. This Fujiwara no Takeko is simply a copy of that story.

Minamoto no Hiromasa continued, "These past few days, while evading Tamamo-no-Mae's pursuit, I've been investigating everywhere, and I've discovered that the Fallen Moon Land has been tampered with using secret techniques... and finally, I discovered that the next Fallen Moon Land will be located within the Imperial Palace!"

Bai Lin couldn't help but interject, revealing that the Demon Blade Princess was collecting the bloodlines of the Twenty-Eight Gods. Minamoto no Hiromasa and Minamoto no Yorimitsu exchanged bewildered glances. After a long pause, Minamoto no Hiromasa stammered, "She doesn't want to open the Gates of the Underworld to resurrect the Heavenly Master... she wants to release Izanami!!"

Author Bai Linshuo is waiting for you with "Hogwarts Summoning Illustrated Guide".