Ise Shrine

Volume 1 Chapter 388 Ise Shrine

Japan, Ise Shrine.

Kato Tadayuki, guided by a Shinto priest inside the shrine, followed the path and slowly walked inside.

The Shrine was located in the middle of a dense forest, which covered an extremely wide area of over ten thousand acres.

As a result, the surrounding environment was secluded and beautiful, with exotic flowers and birdsong.

Ise Jingu is divided into the inner palace and the outer palace, the outer palace is open to the public, the tourists are weaving, endless, very lively.

Kato Tadayuki looked solemn, paying no attention to the bustling atmosphere around him, and walked straight inside.

Although he was the Grand Shriner of Hachiman Shrine, one of the five major shrines in Japan, when he walked on the land of Ise Jingu Shrine, he was still careful and did not dare to show any disrespect.

Because, Ise Jingu is the highest shrine in Japan, and the deity enshrined in the shrine is Amaterasu Omikami, the highest deity in Japan!

Among the countless shrines in Japan, only Ise Jingu can enshrine Amaterasu Omikami, which also means that Ise Jingu is the spiritual leader of all shrines in Japan!

Not only that, because Amaterasu Omikami is the ancestral god of the Japanese imperial family, Ise Jingu Shrine Shinto priests are all members of the imperial family enough to serve.

It can be said that this Ise Jingu, is the royal family shrine is not too much.

Along the forest path, through the outer palace, Kato Tadayuki entered the inner palace range.

All around suddenly quiet, noisy people gradually far away, compared with the outer palace of the bustle, the inner palace is a lot of quiet.

Although the outer palace can be for tourists to visit, but the inner palace, but not anyone can enter,.

Only members of the royal family were allowed to worship freely, and no one else was allowed to enter unless summoned by the Shinto priests in the shrine.

Kato Tadayuki had been summoned by the Grand Magistrate of the Ise Shrine, Ogure Tensei, and that was why he had stepped into the Shrine.

Kato Tadayuki actually did not want to come, yet he had to come.

Because the mission given to him by the Ise Shrine was botched by his men.

The three Shinto priests he sent to China to steal the tomb of the last Rongwu, more than a thousand years ago, as well as dozens of peripheral disciples, all died horribly, none of them survived!

As for the two supreme treasures in the tomb, naturally, their whereabouts were also unknown.

Kato Tadayuki was a little pained and a little disturbed.

He was saddened by the fact that he had actually lost three of the strongest Shinto priests in the Hachiman Shrine in China, and he wondered how long it would take for the Hachiman Shrine to regain its vigor.

What made him feel uneasy was that the consequences of failing this mission were very serious, and he didn't know what kind of punishment the Grand Shriner of the Shrine, would have for himself.

With such mixed feelings, Kato Tadayuki finally arrived outside the main hall of the inner palace.

The main hall is located in the center of the inner palace, is the most central part of the entire Ise Jingu, it is said that here is also enshrined in the symbol of Japan's imperial power of one of Japan's three major ancient sacred artifacts - eight feet mirror.

The main hall is a typical example of one of Japan's ancient architectural forms, "Shinmei-zukuri," with a rectangular plan, a long side entrance, dugout pillars, yamabana columns on the mountain walls, an overhanging mountain-style roof, and a rectilinear roof. It is surrounded by several fences and walls from the outside to the inside, forming layers of space. The four sides of the outer wall are equipped with bird houses.

The entire main hall is made entirely of logs and built according to ancient methods, with no hint of secularism.

Kato Tadayuki quietly waited outside the main hall, while the magus who led the way went inside to report.

After a while, the young Magus came out and signaled him to enter.

Kato Tadayuki nodded, straightened his clothes, and walked in with a solemn expression.

As soon as he stepped into the main hall, he felt as if he had entered another world, an ancient and majestic aura came at him from all directions, making him stand in awe, and all the hustle and bustle of the outside world seemed to have nothing to do with this place.

The surrounding silence is abnormal, although from time to time there is a magistrate coming and going, but can not hear half a bit of strange sound, even the tip of a needle falling to the ground, can be heard.

Kato Tadayuki came to the center of the main hall and stopped.

There was a dark room on the right side, and in the dark room there seemed to be a person sitting cross-legged, a bamboo curtain, blocking out Kato Tadayuki's gaze, making it impossible for him to see the appearance of Grand Magister Ise.

Kato Tadayuki respectfully bowed toward the figure behind the bamboo curtain, then sat down on his knees and said, "By your summons, Grand Magister Kato Tadayuki of the Hachiman Shrine has come to pay his respects."

The words landed for a long time, but there was no reaction from the figure behind the bamboo curtain.

Kato Tadayuki only felt his heart beating so hard that his breathing was slightly disorganized, and he just sat quietly on his knees with his head lowered, waiting for Grand Shrine Officer Ise to ask a question.

After a while like this, an old voice drifted out leisurely from behind the bamboo curtain.

"Kato Tadayuki, you have come. Have you completed the task I gave you?"

"I'm sorry, Great Divine Officer, I failed." Kato Tadayuki hastily thanked him, "Three of our Hachiman Shrine Shriners and dozens of disciples all died mysteriously in China overnight, and we still don't know the reason why."

"What about the two treasures of the Last Rong Witch?"

Kato Tadayuki replied, "The whereabouts are unknown."

The Grand Magistrate of the Shrine fell silent, no longer uttering a word, and a silence once again fell over the surroundings.

Kato Tadayuki's nerves were as taut as a tightened bowstring, not even daring to take a breath, and his undershirt was constantly sweating coldly, soaking his clothes through.

He knew that his fate would be decided in a very short period of time, even though he was also a Shinto priest revered by the world.

However, his position in the Shinto religion, as well as his influence, was incomparable to that of the Grand Shriner of Ise.

After another long time like this, Grand Magister Ise's voice, which was so calm that it did not carry any human feelings, once again floated out from behind the bamboo curtain.

"The two treasures left behind by the Last Rong Witch are both rare treasures, and are so important to our Ise Shrine, and even to the entire Shinto religion, that no matter how much it costs, they must be found again.

However, Kato, you have done your best. I reckon that the Shinto priests under your command have probably encountered Chinese cultivators. The Chinese Cultivation world is like a dragon's lair, it is extremely dangerous, if you are not careful, it is the end of your body and soul, they can only be considered unlucky.

This matter is my carelessness, I did not expect to be detected by the Chinese cultivators. Never mind, this matter will be handled by our Ise Shrine."

Kato Tadayuki couldn't help but quietly breathe a sigh of relief when he heard that the Ise Grand Shrine, would not pursue his responsibility.

However, when he heard that the Ise Divine Palace was going to step in, he was taken aback again.

The Shinto priests in the Ise Shrine, all of whom came from the royal family, were the descendants of Amaterasu Omikami according to the ancient legends, and had a special status in the Shinto religion.

Currently, with the exception of the Shinto religion's number one powerhouse, Izumo Taisha's Elmwood Masayoshi, all of the other shrines' Shinto priests were far inferior to Ise Shrine in terms of their status in the Shinto religion.

Because of this, although the Ise Shrine had many powerful Shinto priests, it generally did not personally send people out on missions, but rather assigned other shrines to accomplish them.

Now, the Ise Grand Magistrate actually broke the tradition and personally dispatched a strong person from the Shrine to go out, which was enough to show that the Shrine attached importance to this matter!

Kato Tadayuki was somewhat grateful in his heart for Grand Shriner Ise's tolerance towards himself, and he felt that since his own subordinates had failed to complete the task assigned by the Shrine, he should do his part to help the Shrine, to recapture those two treasures.

"Your Excellency, Grand Divine Magistrate, for the sake of the strength of the Shinto religion, if there is any need, I am willing to do my little bit, even if I have to go through fire, I will not hesitate to do so."

Grand Magister Ise, nodded slightly behind the bamboo curtain and said, "If there is a need, I will send someone to you."

"Then I will retire first."

Kato Tadayuki bowed and saluted to the figure behind the bamboo curtain, then stood up and slowly retreated.

Shortly after Kato Tadayuki had just withdrawn, Grand Magister Ise picked up a copper bell and gently shook it.

The crisp ringing of the bell was like ripples that traveled far and wide, appearing particularly loud in the silent main hall.

Before the bell fell, a cloud of white smoke rose steeply from the ground, and when the smoke cleared, a man wearing a white high hat and a wide white robe, an expressionless youth whose face looked like he was wearing a mask, appeared outside the bamboo curtain.

"Your Excellency the Grand Divine Magistrate, you are looking for me." The man's appearance was young and handsome, but the voice he emitted, however, was quite old, almost as if he were a hundred-year-old man.

"Seigen Naruhira." The figure behind the bamboo curtain faintly called out the man's name, "I have a task that I need you to accomplish."

"As you command." Seigen Naruhei folded his hands in his wide sleeve robes and owed a slight bow.

"I want you to immediately travel to Binyang, China, to recapture the two treasures left behind by the Last Rong Witch. As for the specific details, you can ask Kato Tadayuki of the Hachiman Shrine, he should know better. Also you should remember to be careful of the Chinese cultivators, the Hachiman Shrine has already lost several Shinto priests there! Even though you are one of the top ten powerhouses in the Shinto religion, you still can't be careless! I hope that you won't let me down!"

"Yes, I will do my best, Your Excellency, the Grand Shrine." Seigen Heisei bowed to the silhouette, and an intimidating essence flashed in his eyes.