Outside the Pure Room hidden deep within the woods of the back mountain, the three people that the group of mikos had been eagerly awaiting finally arrived.
"What took you so long?" the Great Miko chided.
The flush on the faces of the mother and daughter pair, Yukikawa Shiratori and Yukikawa Yukie, had not yet faded, presenting a scene where the people were more lovely than flowers.
However, the Great Miko, anxious to know the safety of the Snow Woman clan, did not ask further. She turned and gestured for the two to return to the group immediately. "Your Highness Mo Bai, are you ready?"
"There should be no problem."
Whether it was the Imperial Shark Fin Soup or the Charcoal-Grilled Platinum King Crab, Mo Bai was already able to make them glow.
The brand-new miko vestments worn by the Yukikawa mother and daughter were proof of the dishes' potency.
"In that case, let us begin the Divine Festival immediately." The Great Miko led everyone in pushing open the doors to the Pure Room.
Similar to the washitsu where they had spoken earlier, the four walls of the Pure Room featured murals of mountains, rivers, flowers, birds, wind, and moon in warm goose-yellow tones, though these paintings were far more vivid than the former.
The spacious interior was divided into three levels. The first level held various gold vessels, candle lamps, and cushions. The second level was the cooking station. The third level, which overlooked the entire venue, was undoubtedly the tasting seat for the deity.
A pitch-black wooden table gleamed with a heavy luster under the candlelight, with faint, gold-thread-like veins visible within it.
The first level, along with nine large candle chandeliers on the ceiling, illuminated the room as brightly as day.
"How much must all these candles cost?" Mo Bai sincerely marveled at the wealth of the Yukikawa Shrine. As he stepped into the Pure Room with this thought, he immediately felt a solemn atmosphere rising from all around, instantly calming the chaotic thoughts in his mind.
"This feeling... it's just like my night shop." A look of suspicion appeared on Mo Bai's face.
"Correct. The night shop was built according to the specifications of a sacrificial altar. And this Pure Room is built atop a massive altar," Little Bai explained.
The mikos took their seats one by one, and the Great Miko began signaling Mo Bai with her eyes.
Mo Bai hurriedly ascended to the cooking station on the second level, where the thawed Supreme Walking Shark, Platinum King Crab, and a series of ingredients were already prepared.
"Should I start immediately or wait a moment?" Just as Mo Bai was about to turn back and ask the Great Miko for her opinion, he suddenly felt an inexplicable power flowing beneath the ground, surging toward the high platform on the third level, then abruptly changing direction to return beneath his feet.
"Is this the size of the underground altar?" The range of the surging power roughly covered the entire second and third levels.
"Old Bai, lower your head!" Seeing Mo Bai still in a daze, Little Bai, sensing something, immediately roared.
"Huh? Why the hell should I bow to see Shiki-san?"
In that split second, the candlelight within the Pure Room flickered in unison. A figure stood erect behind the table on the previously empty third level.
Golden eyes, brilliant as the blazing sun, collided squarely with Mo Bai's gaze.
An invisible pressure diffused instantly. The mikos on the first level, maintaining their kneeling posture, collapsed in a wave. Disregarding the pain, they dared not even lift their heads, swiftly and fearfully crawling back onto their cushions to kneel.
Cold sweat seeped from the Great Miko's forehead. This was bad. She had originally thought that whatever left the Divine Favor on the eighteen-year-old boy was merely a domineering yokai of the first class—at most, something connected to a clan leader similar to their Yukikawa Shrine's situation.
But the unrivaled pressure when that entity descended just now explained everything.
Even if the leader of the Snow Woman clan were to arrive in person, they would not possess such hellish, solemn, and domineering divine might—the difference in status was too vast!
That entity was absolutely one of the most noble, top-tier beings ruling over the Inner World.
But! But—how could this be?!
Why would a top-tier entity, the most noble in the Inner World, take an interest in an eighteen-year-old boy?
The Great Miko was baffled, feeling a stifling blockage in her chest.
She understood the terror of such an existence; "a million corpses buried in a fit of rage" was no joke.
"Why didn't I test the level of the Divine Favor on Your Highness Mo Bai?!" Cold sweat dripped from the tip of her nose as she knelt. Despair filled her heart: regardless of whether the Snow Woman clan had perished, the Yukikawa Shrine was now dangling on the edge of a cliff because of her.
Anxious but without a solution, the Great Miko could only pray silently. "Your Highness Mo Bai, it all depends on you!"
"Depend on me for what?!" If Mo Bai knew the Great Miko's thoughts, he would surely retort in anger.
Aside from seeing this First Emperor Titan once before the Gourmet Showcase—Mo Bai didn't know him at all, hey!
Standing at the cooking station staring at the Titan, Mo Bai looked completely empty-headed. Even when called back to reality by Little Bai, he remained in a trance.
"Where is my Shiki-san? Where is my beautiful Shiki-san?"
"Forget your Shiki-san!" Little Bai wished it could jump up and chop Mo Bai's knee. "If you don't handle this one today, we're both GG!"
"Handle what?! Let Yukikawa Shrine send him back!" the iron-boned Mo Bai grumbled unhappily.
"Do you think they dare?"
Mo Bai glanced sideways. Behind him, the group of mikos didn't dare lift their heads, their breathing slowed to a minimum. The Great Miko's face was covered in sweat, yet she dared not move a muscle.
They're actually more cowardly than me?!
"It's easy to invite a god, but hard to send one away. Have you heard that saying?" Little Bai felt too tired to love; being with Mo Bai was simply the most harrowing, heart-pounding time of its system life. "The Divine Festival only opens a channel for the god of the Inner World to send down a clone. Once descended, the festival is over."
"What happens next depends on the priest's methods. You can guess—how much power would a clone descending from the Inner World to the Surface World possess?"
"Enough, don't say anymore."
"If the Divine Festival were that easy, why are shrines so scarce in the Far East, which claims to have eight million gods?"
"You mean..."
"Since ancient times, there has never been a shortage of greedy people."
Mo Bai's expression shifted rapidly, and a phrase floated up in his heart: There are always unruly subjects trying to harm Our Majesty!
Right now, what Mo Bai wanted to do most was turn around and scream at the Great Miko: "You motherf*cker! Why?! Couldn't we summon someone else?"
"To come for an audience without a crown or leather shoes... you are the first We have ever seen." After evaluating Mo Bai's attire, the First Emperor surveyed the surrounding environment and spoke slowly. "Truly crude beyond description."
These few short sentences of evaluation seemed to herald a coming storm. Outside the Pure Room, the wind howled and dark clouds surged.
An icy chill spread through everyone's hearts.
In an instant, Mo Bai's little heart jumped to his throat, and the Great Miko nearly suffocated.
"—For the sake of this table having some degree of taste, priest boy, begin your cooking."
The one-hundred-eighty-degree turn made Mo Bai and the Great Miko feel the thrill of riding a roller coaster.
"As you command." The iron-boned Mo Bai clasped his fists, mimicking the style seen in TV dramas.
In terms of status and power, you're the boss.
But in terms of cooking, I'm amazing!
"I, a dignified seven-foot man, have I ever feared another?" Mo 'Iron-Boned' Bai grabbed his kitchen knife, his body transforming into a brilliant little golden man. "I'll drug you to death, you bastard!"
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