Chapter 873: The final barrier, under the sacred cherry tree, 5 glances back

Gonta Village.

Under the thunder cherry tree.

"Miss Masked Priestess, we are back." Paimon entered the cave and saw the Priestess standing quietly.

Hua Sanli turned around, looked at Ying and Paimeng, and then looked into the empty space, which was where Jiang Yi was.

"You did a great job. The roots of the Thunder Sakura have been telling me about your achievements." After saying this, Hanasari bowed again and said, "I am really embarrassed. I have something I should confess to you."

This sudden scene startled Ying and Paimeng.

"What's the matter?" The two looked at Hanasari expectantly. Was she going to confess her identity?

"When you first obtained the talisman in Konda Village, I called you the 'destined one'. But at that time, I did not have complete and unreserved faith in your character and bravery," said Hanasari.

Ying thought it made sense.

"But as the 'Great Purification' progressed, you not only proved my shallowness and stupidity, but also far exceeded my expectations. To the point that..." Hanasari said with a melancholy tone.

"I can't help but feel regretful. If there had been someone like you by the side of 'Kitsai Palace', then perhaps..." She lowered her voice.

"Maybe?" Ying asked doubtfully.

Hanasari looked up, "No, it's nothing. I was talking too much."

"Isn't that person coming along?" she asked.

"You talked about Jiang Yi, he said he had something to do... let's meet up later." Ying said.

"Is that so?" Hua Sanli didn't know what she was thinking, "So his name is Jiang Yi, no! Master Jiang Yi?"

"Yes, Lord Jiang Yi, I heard your respectful words. If that guy were here, he would be secretly happy." Paimon curled his lips and said, "We are here to receive the reward."

"Could it be that things are not over yet?" Ying had a bad feeling in her heart.

"Yes! Before that, there is still one thing left to do." Hanasari said teasingly, "There is still one step in the 'God Sakura Purification'."

"How come there's more!" Paimon felt at this moment as if he had climbed five mountains and the treasure was right in front of him, but suddenly he discovered that the treasure was on the sixth mountain.

My legs started to feel numb.

We have to call Jiang Yi back.

Hanasari chuckled. "As the price of protecting the land and absorbing filth, miasma will accumulate in the roots and branches. You lifted the barrier and defeated the monster created by filth."

"Just as a society has its branches, all the Thunder Cherry trees are branches of the 'Divine Cherry' of Ying Xiang Mountain, and those five tree roots are the largest among them."

She explained: "A large part of the filth they absorbed actually spread to the sacred cherry blossoms deep in Yingxiang Mountain."

Ying recalled the contents of the book “Essentials of the Great Purification of the Divine Sakura”.

"So, the most crucial part of the 'Great Purification of the Divine Cherry' is the last step, which is to remove the barrier of the Divine Cherry and purify the miasma that has accumulated at the root of the Divine Cherry for many years." Hanasari finished.

Paimon scratched his head. "Eh! Is Kamizakura at Narukami Taisha? If we beat up monsters at Narukami Taisha, it will cause a commotion!"

Beaten, this word...Ying thought about it and felt that Paimon's description was quite vivid.

The fluorescence is a little swollen.

"Haha, you worry too much." Hanasari said, "The root of the sacred cherry blossom is located deep in the Yingxiang Mountain. It is under the seal and is quite far away from the big shrine."

"Don't worry. Please trust me. Nothing will go wrong." She held out her hand.

After hearing what Hua Sanli said, Paimon naturally decided to believe it.

"Thank you. Then let's act as soon as possible." Hua Sanli's figure disappeared immediately.

Ying and Paimon ran out of the cave, found a teleportation anchor point to teleport to the vicinity of Shenli Mansion, and ran to the foot of Yingxiang Mountain to search for their location.

Half a day later, Hanasari was spotted standing next to a torii gate and a branch of thunder cherry.

and also……

"Jiang Yi?" Paimeng rubbed his eyes.

Jiang Yi's talk of joining them was not a lie, was it? He really ran ahead of them.

Did you know it a long time ago through divination?

At this moment, Jiang Yi was looking at the abyss-like shadow at the bottom of the mountain, where the roots of the divine cherry blossoms penetrated.

The huge cliff and cave that looked like a "well" were covered by a purple barrier.

The mysterious and hazy purple light makes the sky here seem different from the outside world.

"Everyone is here." Hanasari seemed to be in a daze, but now she came back to her senses and said, "This is the final barrier of the 'God Sakura Purification'. If you two are ready..."

She said to Ying and Paimon.

"Wait! Before that, I still have some questions." Paimon couldn't stand it anymore. "The masked witch said before that when the time is right, she will tell you everything."

Hanasari nodded, "That's true. But if possible, can we wait until the 'God Sakura Purification' is completed?"

"Sakura has been talking about her pain..." She apologized, "Although it is really quite rude to say this... After all, the two of you have already given so much."

"I'm really sorry, please forgive me..." Hanasari bowed to Paimon and Ying.

Ying shook her head at Paimeng and stopped pressing him.

"Okay. I believe you." Ying nodded.

"I must keep my promise...!" Paimon crossed his arms.

"Of course. Thank you for your consideration." Hua Sanli said to the two of them, and finally looked at Jiang Yi and said to the three people, "Then, I will remove the barrier..."

Power rises along with the spirit of words.

Hanasari practices ancient magic.

"…East to Whale Abyss, west to Ash Sea. South to Flame Light, north to Weak Water…"

Jiang Yi looked at the shaking divine cherry.

"...Thousands of branches and veins, please eliminate the disaster."

There was power falling from the Divine Sakura, and the purple barrier dissipated.

There were deep and huge cracks in the "wellhead", and pieces of gravel and huge rocks floated up under the mysterious force. In the hazy purple fog, thousands of tiny purple lights flowed and disappeared.

The plants and flowers around, which were glowing due to the influence of the earth's energy, seemed to be much brighter.

A terrifying and oppressive aura emanated from the crack that was exposed after the barrier disappeared.

"The seal has been lifted." Hua Sanli stretched out her hand.

Ying and Paimon came to the edge of the cliff and looked down. They got goose bumps. It was not only because the crack was very deep, which brought them a feeling of fear of heights and claustrophobia, but also because of the breath below.

It felt like after going down, it was no longer them who were beating up the monsters, but the monsters that were beating up them.

"Haha!" Paimon flew backwards, away from the gap.

"Next, please allow me to be so bold..." Hanasari said to Ying in a serious tone, "Please jump in."

"..." Ying, "Why don't you go find Master Jiang Yi!"

"Yes, yes! We have news for you. This guy can fight with gods. Even though he seemed idle just now, when he gets serious, he can capture any filth, no matter how strong it is, and kill it with one move." Paimeng praised Jiang Yi vigorously.

The atmosphere down there is so terrifying, it's 100% certain that something bad will happen if you jump in.

"Hmm?" Hanasari looked at the destined person who pretended to be weak in surprise, "Actually, you don't have to worry. Although the roots of the sacred cherry blossoms are full of filth, they can recognize the breath of people who have performed the 'great purification'. She will bless you to land safely and remove the last miasma."

"I promise!"

Paimeng felt that the guarantee was unreliable: "Jiang Yi can also do it."

"How about you go down and explore the way first?" Ying held up her chin, an inspiration suddenly occurred to her, and she said to Jiang Yi tentatively.

"When you sold me out, you two worked together." Jiang Yi looked at Ying and Paimeng speechlessly, "Forget it, it doesn't matter if I go explore the way."

"I'll treat you to a meal!" Ying said, extending her hand.

"Yes! I'll treat you to a meal!" Paimon responded.

"No, no, no! Ying, we have to limit it. It can only be one table." Paimeng quickly remembered Jiang Yi's big appetite and said to Ying secretly.

Hua Sanli felt that things were not going right. I was the destined person with noble character and extraordinary bravery.

Why are you shirking responsibility at the last minute?

"Okay!" Hua Sanli was helpless, "Anyone can do it!"

"After you go down, you can see... the accumulated evil has condensed into a huge 'tumor' in the deepest part of Yingxiang Mountain. It is now tightly wrapped and suppressed by the roots of the sacred cherry blossoms. It is a tubercle of filth accumulated over the years. Just find a way to destroy it."

"Don't be so relaxed!" Paimon stamped his feet, "I have a feeling that the thing down there is not easy to deal with."

Hua Sanli said innocently: "I believe in the Lord Jiang Yi whom you admire."

"That's right!" Paimon stopped stomping his feet.

"The process is this." Hanasari said based on previous experience, "Seize the opportunity and attack the miasma tumor."

"But when it is attacked, it will definitely struggle hard, and even monsters will breed to hinder your actions. During this period, you will also need to operate the surrounding mechanisms just like you did when you removed the previous five seals, so as to consolidate the suppression of the root of the divine cherry blossom."

Paimeng nodded: "It's a good opportunity to divide the work and cooperate. Jiang Yi will start, and Ying will pray."

"..." Hanasari held her breath and uttered the unfinished words, "In this way, Shenying will cooperate with your actions and create opportunities for you to attack."

"I understand!" Ying nodded.

"But I want to ask... You said that 'tumor' is a collection of filth accumulated in the land. So what are these filth?" Ying asked curiously.

Jiang Yi took back the step he had taken.

Hanasari looked up and sighed, "Filth... No matter what, there will always be injuries, pain, and evil thoughts in this land. Although it is hard to imagine, war may one day..."

She paused.

"If war breaks out, it will bring more injuries, pain, and evil thoughts. The filth brought by these things will accumulate, causing damage to the earth, and everything will deteriorate."

Hanasari said in a very serious tone.

"If we allow filth to accumulate... pestilence will spread, evil generals will run rampant, and hundreds of demons will jump out of control... Because it is too terrible, please allow me to ignore it."

"As for how to remove these filth, I've heard before that different places have different methods. For example, in Liyue, there are immortals and alchemists."

"Lord Jiang Yi and I were just talking about how Liyue handles filth."

She didn't say anything, but Jiang Yi also asked her whether she wanted to stay in the world.

"For this purpose, the root system of Thunder Sakura exerts the power of 'leaving filth' to absorb filth. Some of the filth will pass through the root system and gather at the bottom of Shadow."

"Over the years, it will form a 'tumor' like that. And removing this tumor is the goal of 'God's Sakura Purification'."

"Okay, my three lords, there should be no more doubts. Can we go down now?"

Hanasari invited.

"This last sentence feels so weird!" Paimon frowned and thought.

"I'm sorry!" Hanasari said, "I'll change it. My three lords, how are your preparations going? This is the very last. Please step forward and complete the final step of 'God's Sakura Purification'!"

"Can't you go with me?" Ying asked tentatively.

Hanasari shook her head: "After the battle, I will meet up with you guys downstairs to complete the final work of the 'Great Purification'."

"I'm really sorry. As I said before, with my... physical condition, I can't accomplish such a thing. I hope you will forgive me..."

Ying and Paimeng were helpless.

"Huh? Where's Jiang Yi?" Paimeng turned around and found that the place where Jiang Yi was standing was empty.

"Lord Jiang Yi has already gone down. He is indeed very brave." Hua Sanli looked at Ying and Paimeng who had not yet taken action, "Do you need me to encourage you two again? Let me think..."

"Damn!" Paimon screamed.

Falling rapidly with Ying.

"We can obviously fly!" She looked at Ying who was pulling her down.

"I just want to give it a try. The masked priestess said that the sacred cherry tree will save us and let us land safely!" Ying pondered.

The two of them instantly disappeared into a deep crack filled with mist and purple light.

"'If Feiying understood the pain of separation, she would stay forever.'" Hua Sanli thought of what Jiang Yi said to her, "'I like this poem more!'"

"We are just strangers!" she replied.

"It's enough to just meet by chance." Jiang Yi said with a smile, "There is a legend in a foreign country that it takes five hundred glances to get a chance to pass by each other in this life!"

"All my mortal knots and wishes will be resolved when I become a god."

He cannot save everyone in the world, but he wants to save as many regrets as possible from the five hundred times he looked back in his "previous life".