Chapter 110: Breaking the Seal

**Ioroi.**

A yokai.

A sealed yokai.

When Yae Miko brought up this topic with Li Mo, he knew that this task was something only he could handle.

The one who sealed Ioroi was Kitsune Saiguu, one of the three great onmyoji of Mt. Yougou five hundred years ago, and the creator of the Kitsune Onmyodo.

Recently, Li Mo had been studying Kitsune Onmyodo. The seal on Ioroi was something only he could undo.

This was fate.

He didn't immediately head to Chinju Forest to break Ioroi's seal. Even after a month of diligent study, his proficiency in onmyodo was still limited. Moreover, he had only spent part of that time actually learning.

In the following months, Li Mo focused on barriers and seals. Kitsune Saiguu's manuscripts covered a wide range of topics, from basic spiritual energy cultivation to spells, shikigami, and barriers… It had to be acknowledged that this great onmyoji truly lived up to his reputation as a genius.

Another month passed.

Li Mo began to see traces of shrine maiden techniques within onmyodo. The shrine maidens of the Grand Narukami Shrine not only used tools to exorcise evil spirits but also possessed a certain level of spiritual power, which allowed them to harm impurities and set up barriers.

The task of organizing the shrine's storage room gave Li Mo access to the accumulated knowledge of the Grand Narukami Shrine over the years. These texts covered various aspects of Inazuma, giving Li Mo a comprehensive understanding.

Time flew by, and another month passed. During this period, Shimura Jiro visited the shrine with news from Shimura Ichiro. He mentioned that he planned to venture into Inazuma City and hoped Li Mo would visit Konda Village when he had the chance.

—This was a personal request from Jiro.

Li Mo agreed without hesitation.

"Lady Yae, you're here again? I've already told you, I can't break Ioroi's seal yet. Even if you push me, I still can't do it."

Li Mo was lying on a recliner in the side corridor of his room, where he could see the Sacred Sakura Tree. The visitors were completely out of sight, and occasionally, he could hear the shrine maidens promoting fortune-telling.

If it weren't for Yae Miko's occasional visits, it would have been even more enjoyable.

The busiest person in the Grand Narukami Shrine was undoubtedly the head shrine maiden. It was baffling how she still found time to personally collect manuscripts from the Yae Publishing House—it was just absurd.

She also frequently visited the Uyuu Restaurant in Inazuma City. While the other shrine maidens were diligently working, the head shrine maiden seemed to have all the time in the world.

Is being a leader really this leisurely?

"My foolish little brother, do you really dislike seeing me this much?" Yae Miko clapped her hands on Li Mo's cheeks and spoke.

"Yes, my dear Lady Yae, every time you come, it's to ask for my help. You've even dumped tasks like exorcising impurities on me."

"Aren't you a shrine official of the Grand Narukami Shrine now?"

"Hey, hey, since when did I become a shrine official? A shrine official without a salary or uniform? My appearance fee is quite high, Lady Yae. Why don't you just offer yourself as compensation?"

Li Mo complained.

After more than two months, he had become quite familiar with Yae Miko. Although he was somewhat intimidated by her seniority, he wasn't the type to be overly formal.

With someone as laid-back as Yae Miko, it was hard for him to maintain any sense of reverence.

"Anyway, you're a shrine official now. Hmm… next time you come with me to Inazuma City, we'll have a shrine official robe tailored for you at the Ogura House." Yae Miko pondered.

Li Mo stretched out his hand: "What about my salary?"

"It's all included in your meal expenses."

"A black-hearted capitalist exploiting workers! I'm going to report you, this unscrupulous head shrine maiden, to the Tenryou Commission!"

Yae Miko clapped her hands lightly: "Great! I've long wanted to quit being the head shrine maiden. Go ahead and ask the Shogun to remove me from my position."

The truth was, when someone was shameless, they were invincible.

Even more terrifying was when a beautiful woman was shameless—it was impossible to get angry at her.

Yae Miko's appearance undoubtedly fell into the category of "beautiful."

Li Mo wasn't really angry.

He shrugged and said, "Let's get to the point. Lady Yae, what do you need? If it's exorcism, my suggestion is to let me go and come back quickly."

"No, it's about Ioroi's seal weakening. I think with your current level, you can give it a try. If you can't break it, that's fine too. I still need my dear little brother's help.

Recently, that kid from the Kamisato Clan has a message for me, but he's unwilling to come himself, so he sent his subordinate. But it seems that the little messenger is sleeping in Chinju Forest. I want you to find her."

Yae Miko spoke softly, her demeanor turning into that of a quest-giving NPC.

Li Mo asked for a description of the person, planning to make it a quick trip.

Yae Miko gave a cryptic response: "A little ninja who looks like a tanuki. That should be enough."

Li Mo didn't ask further and set off for Chinju Forest. He was familiar with the path up and down the mountain, and with his speed, the round trip wouldn't take too long.

Leaving the shrine, he nodded to the gatekeeper, Inagi Hotomi, and dashed down the mountain without carrying anything. If he had a glider, he could have even leaped over the railing and flown down.

Unfortunately, he didn't have one.

He followed the path, passing by pilgrims heading up the mountain. Li Mo didn't bother with formalities, simply brushing past them like a shadow.

Chinju Forest was located at the foot of Mt. Yougou, and the Kamisato Estate was situated at the edge of this forest.

The place where Ioroi was sealed was here, and this was also the area it once guarded.

Protector of the Shrine.

This was the position Kitsune Saiguu had secured for Ioroi many years ago. Ioroi had long been part of the Raiden Shogun's system.

But it seemed Ioroi didn't care much about it.

Waving his hand, Li Mo made the tanuki clear a spot for him. Over the past two months, Li Mo had visited this place several times to inspect the seal left by Kitsune Saiguu. Even though the seal's power had weakened over time, its strength was still considerable.

It was clear that Kitsune Saiguu had put a lot of effort into sealing Ioroi back then.

"The seal has indeed weakened. This might be a good time to try breaking it."

First, Li Mo used a spell to communicate with Ioroi through the barrier. Unfortunately, there was no response. Then, after inspecting the seal, he came to this conclusion.

Li Mo began working on the seal. He had actually come across information about Ioroi's seal in the manuscripts. He had been planning to break it soon, but with the seal weakening, he decided to give it a try now.

—But how did Yae Miko know the seal had weakened? Was it her fox intuition again?

Li Mo muttered in his heart, but his attention remained focused on the task at hand.

Soon…

The seal was broken.

But Ioroi remained in its statue form.

Li Mo fell silent: "Did I mess up the seal-breaking?"