Chapter 1473 - 1435: Sakura Tree

Lann originally wanted to find an opportunity to first solve the problem that Stuart had discussed with him.

That is, to find an invincible edge for the current Embers Knight Order, so that they can maximize their combat efficiency.

But ideas are one thing, reality is another.

Lann possessed an Elf Beacon capable of recording world coordinates, but this beacon could only be used before the Chaos Magic Tide surged towards the Celestial Convergence Fissure.

Once the unstoppable Chaos Magic Tide arrives, the tremendous power would make even the world itself drift and its coordinates lose order.

Lann could only first, according to the agreement with the Lady of the Lake, fulfill his duties as a Gatekeeper and head to the unknown Otherworld. He couldn’t use the Elf Beacon to go to worlds he was already familiar with.

And after Lann held his head and stood firm with the equally dizzy Rongbu Ball and Qilin, the first thing he saw was a giant, brilliantly blooming cherry blossom tree.

"Japan?"

The overall style of the scene made Lann, who had once studied and fought in Iwami, immediately react.

The Demon Hunter murmured softly, a little uncertainly.

It was a very large cherry blossom tree, probably requiring five or six normal people hand in hand to encircle it.

The height must have been four or five stories tall.

The giant cherry blossom tree was lush, with pink petals falling silently and serenely like beautiful snowflakes, accumulating under the tree.

This unusually giant and lush cherry blossom tree seemed to be regarded as a certain divine symbol.

A carefully woven thick hemp rope was tied around the trunk, and many white, lightning-shaped paper strips were hung on the hemp rope.

In Shintoism, this thick hemp rope is called a ’Shimenawa.’

It is a symbol in Shintoism that signifies the boundary between the sacred and the secular.

And as Lann’s gaze moved from the lush and eye-catching cherry blossom tree crown downward, he saw this Shimenawa, and he was completely sure of where he was.

"Hmm... not too sure?"

Lann murmured, scratching his chin.

Although Shintoism is a native religion of Japan, Lann had also been to Iwami.

The place was said to be at the end of the Sengoku Period in Japan, but with a bunch of things this history enthusiast had never heard of. It could basically be considered a parallel world with very high similarity.

Maybe it’s the same case here.

"Boss, I’m all right meow!"

Rongbu Ball’s little paws clutched at the rune cloth hanging from the Qilin, first lowering its head to make a retching sound, then immediately erecting a thumb to stubbornly indicate to Lann that he was perfectly fine.

"Alright, alright."

Lann casually praised Rongbu Ball.

Then he blasted a few [Alder’s Runes] around with reduced power.

Suddenly, the cherry blossom petals that had been falling and accumulating on the ground flew wildly, appearing completely disordered.

When they had just emerged from the Celestial Sphere Convergence Rift, the change in air pressure had caused some petals to show a clear and regular airflow direction.

He was cleaning up the traces of the Celestial Sphere Convergence Rift.

In mid-air, the strange scene as if glass had shattered had disappeared, and Lann also made the petal traces on the ground chaotic again.

"Boss, do you know this place? Feels kind of familiar, meow!"

Rongbu Ball ran on the ground among the petals, scattering the traces. The Qilin flapped the hanging rune cloth slightly, fanning up a large area of petals.

"Not familiar... sort of familiar?"

Lann responded a little hesitantly to the small cat.

A fallen cherry blossom petal now lay in his palm.

It was daytime, but it still felt cold.

This temperature should be in January or February; a normal cherry blossom tree would never be in bloom.

And under Lann’s observation, these petals even in daylight showed a weak self-luminescence at the edges.

Surely at night, the spectacle of petals dancing in the moonlight would be even more mesmerically beautiful.

But this also meant... these petals were indeed not ordinary.

Who has cherry blossom petals that glow?!

"Hmm, no more traces, let’s leave first."

Lann nimbly mounted the Qilin, turned to the side, and Rongbu Ball, in perfect syncopation, leaped from the ground to sit on the Qilin’s back along Lann’s arm.

At this moment, the Roaring Bear Head Pendant on the Demon Hunter’s neck had stopped pulsating since it couldn’t sense Chaos Magic Power, and under the heavy scent of flowers, even the smell was obscured.

The footprints were also blown clean by [Alder’s Rune].

The cherry blossom tree with the Shimenawa around it certainly looked like a place of worship.

Appearing suddenly next to a shrine or altar, it’s surely not a friendly gesture.

The Qilin snorted out a breath, and the robust body of the New Continent Ancient Dragon exhaled two wisps of white mist in the chilly air.

Then, light flickered beneath the rune cloth, as the Qilin charged straight up towards the rocky cliff behind the cherry blossom tree!

Only a few petals were caught by the wind, floating back down with serene stillness.

And just after Lann and the others left, there was the sound of a key turning the lock of a large wooden door in the direction of the giant cherry blossom tree.

An old man wearing a small black hat styled like a Shinto priest walked in.

He looked at the still silent, endlessly falling petals of the eternal cherry blossom tree with confusion, seeing only the mess of petals piled up on the ground, without discovering anything else.

He just assumed that after kneeling for a long time in the shrine outside, standing up suddenly made him dizzy and he only imagined hearing the wind.

And on the mountain wall behind the eternal cherry blossom tree, Lann sat quietly on the back of a Qilin, watching the scene below.

The fluffy ball lay on the Qilin’s head.

But as he watched the old man, likely a Shinto priest, turn and leave, Lann’s brow remained furrowed.

The expression was not one of distress or discomfort, but of confusion.

"Scratch~"

Smaug’s hand armor, the leather section of the fingertips, lightly rubbed against the chest plate’s protrusions, emitting a low, soothing sound.

Lann looked down thoughtfully at his chest.

"Fluffy Ball, Qilin, do either of you... feel anything special?"

"Meow?"

"Snort?"

The Qilin turned its neck to look back behind, while Fluffy Ball turned its head confusedly.

Just by looking at them, Lann knew they felt nothing.

But as for the Demon Hunter himself, he distinctly felt... like something had attached itself to him.

An indescribable feeling, maybe this is what it’s like to be targeted by a specter?

—A shapeless, intangible presence was watching, observing you.

But surprisingly, instead of being terrifying or enraging as it should be, Lann instinctively felt... not bad. Not dangerous.

Lann’s eyes became profound.

He used Spiritual Vision to observe himself.

He saw an invisible power winding around his Body Light, covering him warmly and completely, as if sketching patterns.

The Body Light did not react to it at all.

Unlike previously when it would automatically suppress Yanyan Ancient God’s power or isolate the Di Jing Wishing Technique.

Under Lann’s Spiritual Vision, he saw that this invisible power seemed to be gathering around Fluffy Ball and the Qilin too.

But because they lacked the Body Light, the power directly wrapped into their inner selves.

The power clustered slowly on Fluffy Ball and Qilin, and they were not as sensitive as Lann.

Thus, it was reasonable for them not to sense any abnormalities within themselves.

"What’s happening, meow?"

Fluffy Ball looked at Lann, standing up on the Qilin’s head, puzzledly pawing its fluffy body up and down, rubbing its belly and scratching its ears.

But still, there was no sensation at all.

"Once we arrived, it seems like we were entangled by some mysterious presence."

Lann’s forefinger and thumb made a pinching motion in front of the kitten’s eyes.

Fluffy Ball widened its wet eyes to look closely, but it still could see nothing.

"Oh meow... it’s not working."

But in Lann’s view, he forcibly pinched and broke a thread of the invisible power with his fingers’ Body Light.

But it was of no use, as the thread snapped under the Body Light, yet reconnected the moment Lann ceased interfering, like nothing ever happened.

"Whinny?"

’Is it a bad thing?’

The Qilin asked while suspiciously lowering its head to inspect surroundings, sniffing itself thoroughly.

"Doesn’t seem like it, but best to be cautious."

Lann patted the Qilin’s neck.

"Keep your health vigorous and robust. Generally, demon spirits and wraiths only take advantage when people are frightened and exhausted."

Similar to those zombie and ghost films from his homeworld, although not a Mao Mountain Daoist, the Demon Hunter summarized a similar standard.

A healthy body and unwavering spirit greatly reduce the dangers of spirits and monsters, even for ordinary people.

Not being scared into a dazed state is a prerequisite.

Thus, many Demon Hunters can be seen casually trusting their backs to the darkness within tombs.

Meanwhile, they eat and drink as they please within the tomb, even take time to read the documents left by the tomb’s owner, to better understand their tasks.