Ise Ryuichi's mind went blank at his sister's words.
"He is watching us."
What kind of feeling was that?
It was like Sun Wukong suddenly realizing that he had been in the palm of a hand all along.
All his schemes were just a farce under the eyes of the Buddha.
Just then, a man's voice, carrying a hint of laziness and a touch of playfulness, drifted in from outside the courtyard without warning.
The voice wasn't loud, yet it penetrated the Ise Grand Shrine's barrier, pierced through the eternal tranquility of the place, and accurately reached everyone's ears.
"Since you know a guest has arrived, aren't you going to invite me in for a cup of tea?"
"Is it the Ise Grand Shrine's way of hospitality to make guests stand outside the door?"
Before he finished speaking,
a figure, strolling leisurely, had already passed through the barrier that enveloped the entire courtyard.
The barrier's aura didn't even ripple in front of him; it seemed to open a path for him obediently, as if welcoming its master home.
The person who arrived was Lu Cheng.
He was alone, with a gentle smile on his face, his demeanor not like a madman breaking into a forbidden area, but rather like an esteemed guest visiting an old friend.
"You—!"
Ise Ryuichi's pupils instantly turned fiery gold, consumed by raging fury!
Humiliation!
This was even more blatant, more brazen humiliation than in the cave!
He actually came directly to their doorstep!
"Boom!"
The golden Amaterasu divine light could no longer be suppressed, erupting from his body!
He wanted to purify this man who dared to desecrate the Ise Grand Shrine, right here and now!
However, just as he was about to act, a fair, slender hand gently pressed onto his shoulder.
It was Ise Hinata.
She didn't even look at her younger brother, but simply gazed at Lu Cheng with eyes that seemed to reflect moonlight.
A single glance completely froze Ise Ryuichi's rage, which was powerful enough to burn mountains and boil oceans.
"Ryuichi, step down."
Ise Hinata's voice remained ethereal, yet carried an undeniable authority.
She slowly stood up and bowed slightly to Lu Cheng.
"Sir, you have traveled far as our guest; Hinata has been impolite."
"Please, have a seat."
An extremely bizarre "tea party" quietly began in this most sacred forbidden land of the East.
In the corridor, four people sat facing each other.
Lu Cheng and Ise Hinata sat opposite each other across an ancient wooden table.
Ise Ryuichi and Kamiya Makoto, however, could only kneel submissively at the side and back, like two insignificant attendants.
Ise Ryuichi's fists clenched in his sleeves, knuckles cracking, his fingernails already piercing his palms, but he dared not make the slightest move.
Kamiya Makoto had completely turned into a soulless puppet; he kept his head down, not even daring to look at Lu Cheng's face—that face was the source of all his nightmares, and merely sensing his presence was enough to make him feel cold all over and his soul tremble.
Ise Hinata personally poured a cup of clear tea for Lu Cheng; the tea's aroma wafted, carrying the unique sacred aura of this place.
Lu Cheng picked up the teacup but did not drink, merely gently swirling the emerald-green tea within.
He didn't glance at Ise Ryuichi or Kamiya Makoto the entire time, as if they were just two bothersome stones.
His gaze, full of interest, surveyed the courtyard, then looked up at the sky enveloped by the barrier.
"The tea is good tea."
He finally spoke, breaking the suffocating silence.
"The foundation of this place's National Luck is also quite solid."
Hearing this, a trace of innate arrogance flashed across Ise Ryuichi's face.
The Ise Grand Shrine, bearing the National Luck of the East, naturally was… However, Lu Cheng's next words were like an invisible heavy hammer, shattering all his pride.
"It's just a pity…"
Lu Cheng put down his teacup with a soft clink, a faint sneer playing on his lips.
"The scope is too small."
"It's like a birdcage built with gold and jewels; although beautiful and exquisite, it is ultimately just a cage."
"The birds kept inside, no matter how full their wings, will never learn how to truly contend with the wind and waves, and will never see how vast the world outside the cage truly is."
Ise Ryuichi's body stiffened abruptly!
A birdcage?
He actually compared the Ise Grand Shrine, which protected the entire East, to a birdcage?
"What do you know?!"
He finally couldn't help but let out a low growl.
Lu Cheng, however, didn't even bother to spare him a glance, merely smiling and looking at Ise Hinata opposite him.
"What do you think?"
Ise Hinata was silent for a moment; for the first time, genuine ripples appeared in her calm, ancient well-like eyes.
She did not answer Lu Cheng's question, but instead asked back,
"What is your world like, sir?"
Lu Cheng smiled at her words.
He slowly stood up, walked to the veranda, stood with his hands behind his back, and looked up at the small sky divided by the "birdcage."
His voice became distant, vast, as if no longer speaking only to Ise Hinata, but to this world, to this so-called National Luck.
"My world?"
"My world has no boundaries."
"The sun, moon, and stars are but adornments in my garden."
"Mountains and rivers will change course at my will."
"So-called laws, so-called destiny, so-called… gods."
He slowly turned around, his deep eyes, at this moment, seemed to transform into two boundless star-filled skies, looking down at the three tiny people before him.
"All are determined by my single word."
Determined by his single word?
These four words echoed loudly in the Ise Grand Shrine.
Lu Cheng's words had transcended the realm of arrogance; they were a complete subversion of the world's established rules!
Ise Ryuichi's body trembled slightly and uncontrollably due to extreme anger.
And Ise Hinata, the Amaterasu Shrine Maiden who bore the National Luck of the East and whose heart was like a bright moon, her body, at this moment, also stiffened for an instant.
Those eyes reflecting moonlight, for the first time, lost their focus.
Lu Cheng's gaze retracted from the small sky, finally landing on Ise Hinata.
The starry sky in his eyes receded, returning to his usual cynical expression, his tone carrying a faint, almost imperceptible sigh.
"You could have been a phoenix soaring through the nine heavens, contending with the sun and moon above the sea of clouds."
His voice was as light as a breeze, yet it precisely blew into Ise Hinata's heart.
"Yet you willingly remain trapped in this small pond, a canary worshipped and admired."
"What a pity, what a lament."
These words, falling into Ise Ryuichi's ears, were no less than the most malicious incitement!
What did he mean, a canary?
His sister was the Amaterasu Shrine Maiden, the most noble existence in the East!
This was an honor!
It was a sacred mission!
However, the same words, falling into Ise Hinata's ears, were like a thunderclap that tore through an eternal night, striking hard at her heart!
Phoenix?
Canary?
How many years had she been bound by "National Luck"?
She could no longer remember.
From the moment she was chosen as the Amaterasu Shrine Maiden, her life no longer belonged to her.
Her every move represented the Ise Grand Shrine's prestige.
Her every breath was connected to the fate of this land.
She thought this was honor, was destiny.
But until today, until this man described her world with "birdcage" and "canary."
Her heart, which had long merged with divinity and was as calm as an ancient well, for the first time, rippled with something called "longing."
How vast was the world outside…?
It was a world where even the sun, moon, and stars could be casually adorned… Ise Ryuichi keenly caught the fleeting flicker of hesitation on his sister's face!
His heart sank abruptly, and an unprecedented panic instantly overwhelmed his towering rage!
This man, he not only wanted to humiliate them with force, but he also wanted to use words to bewitch and defile his most sacred sister!
"Enough!"
Ise Ryuichi finally could not bear it any longer and stood up abruptly from the ground.
He glared fixedly at Lu Cheng, hissing through gritted teeth.
"What exactly do you want to do?!"
Facing his questioning, Lu Cheng didn't even turn his head, merely shifting his gaze from Ise Hinata, as if somewhat disinclined.
"Don't rush."
He chuckled softly, picked up the cup of tea that had long gone cold, and gently swirled it.
"It's our first meeting; I should bring a gift."
A gift?
Ise Ryuichi and Kamiya Makoto were both stunned simultaneously.
The next second.
Lu Cheng extended his right hand, fingers splayed, palm facing upwards.
Strands of energy, as dark as ink yet exquisitely pure, began to gather in his palm.
That aura was extremely yin, extremely evil, as if it were the energy from the deepest parts of Yomotsu Hirasaka, the condensation of all negative emotions in the world!
Just sensing that aura, Kamiya Makoto's already numb soul began to tremble uncontrollably!
Ise Ryuichi's pupils, moreover, suddenly contracted to the size of pinpricks!
This aura… it was the aura of Yomotsu Hirasaka!
It was the source of the power they had desperately fought to obtain!
Under their horrified gaze, the dark energy continuously compressed and refined in Lu Cheng's palm.
Finally, it transformed into a black crystal, only the size of a thumb, yet seemingly capable of devouring all light.
Lu Cheng flicked his finger.
The black crystal then traced a graceful arc across the wooden table, silently sliding to Ise Ryuichi's front.
"I heard you needed this?"
Lu Cheng finally raised his eyes, looking at the utterly shocked Ise Ryuichi with a condescending gaze.
"It's a gift for you."