He knew it intellectually, but had never truly understood it psychologically—the Vatican actually didn’t reject cutting-edge science at all! As long as there was profit to be made, the Church had always been at the forefront of technological innovation!

As long as there was profit to be made!

Artificial intelligence and information technology were certainly good things! They might even become the most powerful tools the Church had possessed since the Gutenberg printing press!

Coupled with the fact that Elaine's brain was as fast as a supercomputer, just a few minutes later, she looked up, frowned, and said, "I've discovered a strange matter that might be related."

"Let's hear it?" Qi Xing asked.

"In the last five years, over 97% of the exorcism work in Aomori and several surrounding prefectures has been completed by Ms. Jingo Rin alone."

"Ever since she awakened ten years ago and gradually matured five years ago, the demons and evil practitioners in this Tohoku region of Japan… have almost been wiped out by her patrolling alone every night."

074: The Bell of the Jetavana Monastery Rings

In fact, when Qi Xing heard Old Wolf describe the appearance of the three people who attacked Jingo Rin, as well as the moves and spells they used, he had already guessed some clues.

First, that samurai girl wearing classical Japanese armor, wielding a lightning blade, unleashing gales, holding the mantra of Indra, and being called [Gion].

The term Gion has different meanings in different cultural contexts. In the context of Buddhism, it usually refers to the Jetavana Monastery where the Buddha Shakyamuni preached while he was alive.

However, in Japan, [Gion] in Kyoto is a famous entertainment district, the center of geisha culture, named after the Gion Shrine (Yasaka Shrine).

The main deity enshrined in this Gion Shrine is one of the three great deities of Japanese Shinto, the god of storms, Susanoo.

In terms of valor, he ranks in the top three in all of Japanese mythology.

Furthermore, in the syncretism of Buddhism and Japanese Shinto, his image merged with the [Gozu Tenno], a guardian deity of the Buddha's Jetavana Monastery, gaining the attributes of a Buddhist guardian deity.

Next is that white-robed, white-haired shrine maiden, wearing a luxurious, classical high-end kimono embroidered with gold thread, holding a bronze mirror in her arms. She was clearly the leader and used powerful Shinto spells. And she called herself [Ise].

What is Ise? Clearly, it is the [Ise Grand Shrine]. The head temple of Japanese Shinto, dedicated to Amaterasu, the highest-ranking deity in the Shinto system, and it also preserves the Yata Mirror, one of the Three Sacred Treasures. Finally, there is the one who didn't show up, but shot a Moonlight Arrow at Jingo Rin, knocking her down from the sky.

"Azure Dragon hides in clouds, White Tiger conceals in wind, Vermilion Bird sinks in flames, Black Tortoise lies in water. Four Symbols close their eyes, all things unseen! Obey this command immediately!" As soon as Qi Xing heard Old Wolf relay this incantation, he understood immediately that it was likely Onmyodo.

The mainstream spellcasting sects in Japan can be roughly divided into three categories.

Shinto incantations that have existed since ancient times, Onmyodo which absorbed Taoist spell theories, and Esoteric Buddhism originating from India.

Now there is a luxurious Shinto shrine maiden, a lightning-blade swordswoman of the Esoteric path, and an invisible Onmyodo Moonlight Arrow archer.

Even those who don't know much about Japanese religion should be able to see—where did these Three Noble Children of Shinto come from?

"To say they are the real deal, that is certainly impossible. High-ranking deities do not easily descend to the human world, nor would they be this weak."

In the past two years, Qi Xing had also fought with ordinary minor gods and divine beasts. They were powerful beings of the same rank as human Earth Immortals like Qi Xing, and they rarely appeared in the human world.

As for the greater gods of higher rank, even if one were to gather a thousand shrine maidens and perform a continuous, uninterrupted ritual for a hundred days, burning out their lives and souls completely—it is unlikely they could be summoned.

"These three people must have deliberately dressed up as the Three Noble Children, enhancing their own magic power through roleplay. It is not surprising."

So Qi Xing continued, "Therefore, they must also be Japanese sorcerers originally."

"Elaine, you just said that in the last five years, over 97% of the exorcism work regarding demons and evil practitioners in Japan's Tohoku region has been solved by Jingo Rin alone?"

"Then what have the original exorcist families here done in these few years?"

Qi Xing was not someone who truly didn't use his brain. Moreover, he knew a bit about the Japanese exorcism industry, so his brain started working rapidly.

"The exorcism industry in Japan is often a trade passed down through a family for hundreds of years. Now, suddenly, they have had almost no work for five whole years; this is cutting off people's livelihood and killing their parents. I wouldn't be surprised at all if they were forced to come and assassinate Jingo Rin."

So he said. It sounded quite reasonable.

Elaine, however, raised her eyebrows and reminded him, "Ms. Jingo Rin has been getting stronger every year, dominating Northern Japan for four or five years now. If it were truly local exorcist families attempting to assassinate her, why do it only now?"

"Hmm, could it be because they only just got prepared now?"

"That reason lacks persuasiveness. Moreover," Elaine looked at the local incident files again and continued, "More than two years ago, when Ms. Jingo Rin was still in junior high school, there were several exorcist families in Akita Prefecture and Iwate Prefecture. Because they had no business, they secretly changed careers to become curse practitioners. In the end, the matter was exposed, and they were wiped out by Ms. Rin."

Wow. Qi Xing really hadn't expected that the little girl Jingo Rin would have the mettle to wipe out entire families.

"How did she wipe them out? Did she really kill them all?"

"No." Elaine glanced at the file, "She just took on three at once, defeating three entire spellcasting families that had fallen into evil ways, burning all their magical artifacts and stored books, and burning the Dantian below the navel of every family member, crippling their cultivation. She has likely never killed anyone."

Hmm, I see.

"But regardless…" Having said that, Elaine couldn't help but sigh, "The local exorcist families in the Tohoku region should have already been terrified by Ms. Jingo Rin. I don't think they could assemble such an elite collaborative team to ambush her."

"Finally, that terrifying love hotel that rose from the ground earlier, I feel it doesn't look like Japanese magic at all. If it was really set up by those three to lure Ms. Jingo Rin, how exactly did they cast it?"

Elaine shook her head, "This strange technique of extracting the evil hearts of passersby, magnifying them, and possessing matter to turn them into monsters—I can't even find relevant records in the Church's archives—Qi Xing, this matter is likely not that simple."

After going in a circle, the topic returned to the monster love hotel from earlier. Qi Xing touched his chin, unable to refute it for a moment.

The matter was likely not that simple. Where exactly did those three assassins and the magic that turned into monsters appear from out of thin air?

"Wolf Lord, didn't you try to track them directly after the battle?"

"I couldn't track them." When Old Wolf said this, his expression seemed indifferent, but in fact, he was also somewhat ashamed and annoyed, "The final invisibility Onmyodo was not just visually invisible; it left no scent behind either, so I couldn't track them."

For a canine, this probably really counts as a humiliation.

"However, I vaguely heard them saying something about recovering the [Legacy of the Black God] from the shrine maiden… Girl, do you have any clues about this?"

Old Wolf asked everyone's living dictionary of mythology and religion, Ms. Elaine. Regarding such things, everyone indeed trusted her very much.

"Black God?" Elaine frowned, lost in thought, "If it's only one term, it's actually very difficult to use as a clue. Because [Black God] has many different interpretations in mythology and mythology studies…"

"For example, the Eastern Xuan Tian Shang Di is occasionally referred to as a Black God; India's Kali and Krishna are also called Black Gods because of their skin color. These are all [Black God] in terms of color or symbolic meaning. One of Shiva's incarnations, Mahakala, can also be considered a [Black God], and was also absorbed by Buddhism as one of the guardian deities."

"Japan also has a Black God. After the Japanese absorbed the Buddhist image of Mahakala, they merged it with the local Okuninushi. He is not only a Buddhist guardian deity but also the god in charge of the harvest and wealth."

Qi Xing also knew these things and nodded to show he understood.

Elaine continued, stating them one by one quite straightforwardly, "If we set aside color and symbolic meaning and consider it from the perspective of mythological correspondence, the [Black God] in the sense of the dualistic opposition between black and white, good and evil, might refer to Ahriman from Persian mythology, Chernobog from Slavic mythology, and Apep (Apophis) from Egypt…"

Wait.

Speaking of which, Elaine suddenly paused, stunned by her own realization.

"Binary opposition?"

"So that's it."

The [Legacy of the Black God] that the assassin spoke of must be that special flame on that shrine maiden.

If this 'Black God' isn't just a metaphor from mythology or folklore, but something meant literally… then they must believe that the angelic power within Jingo Rin is a gift from the [Black God].

"Vishap."

A word suddenly popped out of Elaine's mouth, out of nowhere.

"?" Qi Xing and Wolf Lord were both confused upon hearing this word.

It was one thing for Qi Xing, who was notoriously uneducated in such matters, but even Old Wolf had no idea what Elaine was talking about.

Elaine also found it difficult to explain, because… because understanding the nature of gods and religion is much like studying history; simply stating facts about a certain era in a certain country doesn't explain the whole picture.

Without learning the history leading up to that era and accumulating that knowledge, one cannot achieve a profound understanding.

Otherwise, what would be the point of people spending years earning degrees in the humanities?

So she could only summarize the conclusion: "…Simply put, there was once a group of Nazis in Armenia who subscribed to Pan-Aryanism, believing that Armenia was the final paradise for the Aryan people."

"Huh?"

"In the last century, they launched a pagan revival movement, reconstructing local mythology from the pre-Christianity era, believing that the god Ara was the source of all things in the world. His power in the material world was divided into light and dark; the god of the light side was called Artavazd, while the god of the dark side was called Vishap… In their mythological theory, this Vishap is the [God] of the Abrahamic religions."

"In their view, the God of Christianity is a dark god representing destruction, chaos, and punishment."

"Hmm."

Upon hearing this, Qi Xing finally couldn't help but look at Old Wolf beside him: "Wolf Lord, aren't you very good at killing Nazis? How come you don't know this?"

"I was killing Nazis in Northern Europe last time; how would I know about Nazis in Western Asia?" Even Old Wolf was speechless. "Damn it, for every artist who falls, thousands more rise up. From north to south, east to west, there are endless Nazis to kill all over the world."

Indeed. Over the past decade, Qi Xing had traveled all over the world and killed many bizarre Nazi cultist mages, making it feel as though there were an endless supply of Nazis across the globe.

He had once heard the ravings of people in a mental asylum. Yet, compared to what those Nazi cults claimed they were going to do, those ravings actually sounded more reasonable.

About five years ago, before he met Elaine, Qi Xing had killed a cultist mage. The guy actually claimed he was following the Great Führer's last wish to summon the [Messiah of the Germanic People (Heliand)]. Even after smashing his head in, Qi Xing still didn't understand what the hell that was about.

"But these things from Western Asia, these Nazi neo-pagan things, are too far removed; they couldn't possibly be related to what's happening in modern-day Northeast Japan…"

As he spoke, Qi Xing trailed off and closed his mouth—how could he be sure? If Aomori Prefecture could have a Tomb of Christ, then Nazi elements appearing in modern Japan didn't seem entirely unimaginable.

"Although Pan-Aryanism is a new concept, the fusion of Christian faith with primitive religions began at least as early as the 5th century. People in the Caucasus region have viewed God as the [Black God] for at least 1,400 years."

Elaine wore an uneasy expression. "I find it hard to imagine Japan having an indigenous organization that views God as the [Black God]… It's more likely the result of a post-war foreign religion taking root and mutating here."

Post-war, Nazis, foreign esoteric religions taking root… Why did this feel like it was becoming a bigger and bigger case?

Qi Xing thought for a moment and came up with a plan.

Regardless, since the case was growing in scope, he certainly couldn't just stand there hesitating and dazed.

So he slapped his thigh and made a direct decision: "Elaine, help me compile a list of all the local exorcist families who have suffered at the hands of Jingo Rin, and then create a separate list of those whose financial situations have suddenly improved recently."

Elaine had it ready in a few seconds, but she was still puzzled. "And then?"

"Then, use the name of Master Leipu and the President of the International Exorcism Association to write letters to the local exorcist families that used to be the biggest, but are now poor and haven't seen their financial situation improve."

Qi Xing smiled slightly. "Tell them the [Association] is here to recruit talent and is offering high prices for capable people. Schedule a time, and we will visit them in person."

Elaine understood immediately; she completely got it.

Sigh, being rich and powerful, using the Vatican's coffers and brand to stir up trouble, was actually quite satisfying.

——

Since the Nara period (8th century), the work of exorcising demons in Japan has basically been left to local exorcist families, temples, and the like, making it highly fragmented.

Many different exorcist families, passing down their unique supernatural arts from generation to generation, were responsible for subduing and eliminating demons in their respective territories across Japan; they were, in essence, the supernatural version of feudal lords.

After all, this world was written by Sasa; spiritual power and supernatural abilities are naturally hereditary, and they also mix, combine, and mutate through bloodlines. Therefore, exorcists naturally intermarried within their own circles. Occasionally, people with spiritual power and supernatural abilities would appear among the commoners, only to be absorbed into a family or simply alienated… This is the main reason why exorcist families basically monopolize the demon-exorcism market in Japan.

After the Meiji era, the centralization of power in Japan became the trend, and the government's power increased significantly. National supernatural agencies like the Ministry of Divinities and the Onmyoryo began to emerge. However, the local power brokers remained deeply entrenched. The central government's ability to manage local areas remained limited.

The Kito Family, a clan of exorcists, had been a prestigious family dominating Mutsu for eight hundred years. With nearly a hundred relatives in the clan, they were not only skilled at exterminating monsters but also managed local shrines and festivals, making them major landlords with vast tracts of land!

However, recently, their former glory had vanished.

"Why would anyone go out of their way to build such an absurdly large house deep in the mountains?"

At noon today, when Qi Xing and his group arrived, he complained the moment he saw the front gate of the Kito Family.

This was a mansion built deep in the mountains; the old Japanese-style residence exuded an aura of history, and behind the majestic gate lay a continuous expanse of black roof tiles.

But upon closer inspection, one could see that the stone lanterns in front of the gate were covered in dust. The garden, which must have once been neatly trimmed, was now overgrown with weeds, no longer as tidy as it used to be. The wooden corridors were mottled from years of neglect, looking exceptionally desolate.

With even the facade looking like this, anyone could tell that they must be very short on money.

"I don't really understand the affairs of wealthy, prestigious families." Qi Xing scratched his head. "Can five years without income from exorcism work cause it to become like this? To the point where they can't even maintain their own facade?"

"You can imagine it as a local company," Elaine replied, her tone as steady as ever. "For example, a long-established business suddenly loses its market, orders dry up, and savings are gradually exhausted. At first, it can barely maintain operations, but as funds dry up and maintenance costs become unsustainable, even the appearance begins to fall into disrepair…"

The Kito Family was currently in such a state. Their gate was indeed desolate, with few visitors.

The heavy wooden door opened slowly with a dull creak. An elderly servant stood bent behind the door, wearing a kimono with slightly worn cuffs that were nonetheless very neat, his hands respectfully folded in front of his abdomen, his head slightly bowed.

"Members of the [International Exorcism Association], the Kito Family has been expecting you."

Although the old servant's voice was steady and his attitude meticulous, Qi Xing still keenly noticed the undisguisable fatigue at the corners of his eyes. Behind this respectful facade, the family's predicament could no longer be hidden.

"Please come in, the head of the family is waiting in the hall."

As he spoke, he stepped slightly to the side, clearing a path leading into the residence.