Chapter 6: History
The Zenin, Gojo, and Kamo clans come from the three powerful vengeful spirits of Japan. Those are Sugawara no Michizane, Taira no Masakado, and Emperor Sutoku.
Sugawara no Michizane is the ancestor of the Gojo Clan. He was a brilliant scholar in the Heian Era. He was born with mutated eyes, which later became known as the Six Eyes. They helped him understand the world better than anyone else.
His Cursed Technique, Limitless, is troublesome because it grants him control over space. Making it so that no one can touch him through a concept known as infinity. He could also attract and repel anyone with deadly force. One could counter infinity by using a Domain Expansion.
Every 400 years, Sugawara's descendants have his Six Eyes and Limitless combination. They always help Tengen merge with a new vessel. This stops her from becoming more than a human.
Luckily, they accused Sugawara no Michizane of setting up a coup. They then managed to imprison him through the Cursed Technique of Monk Genshin. After 3 months, Sugawara no Michizane died of hunger. So, he became a Vengeful Spirit because his death was because of hunger. He would curse those who played a part in his downfall by making accidents happen to them.
Emperor Sutoku is the progenitor of the Kamo Clan. His Cursed Technique was Blood Manipulation. The weakness of his technique was potential blood loss and water.
He spent most of his time in Kyoto and engaged in a battle with his younger brother. This led to authorities banishing him and labelling him as a criminal. He then turned to Buddhism and hoped for rebirth.
He spent his time writing the Five Main Buddhist Texts, said to be doing so with his blood. His family denied the peace offering he tried to make. So, he used Blood Manipulation to attack them in retaliation, but he died of blood loss. He became a Vengeful Spirit to haunt the four closest allies of his brother, whom he had fallen out with. They, of course, died.
The most important Vengeful Spirit is Taira no Masakado. He is the ancestor of the strongest clan, the Zenin. He was one of eight sons, and throughout his lifetime, he conquered eight separate provinces. His Cursed Technique was Adaptation. With enough time and attacks, he could adapt to all phenomena. He could use the Sword of Exorcism to defeat any Cursed Spirit. It was also called the Eight Hands Long Swords.
Before his death, he would have had a daughter called Princess Takiyasha. She was useless because she was a woman and had no Cursed Technique. Taira no Masakado made a deal with a mysterious sorcerer. They agreed to give Masakado's daughter a Cursed Technique with a ritual.
The ritual needed Ten Sacred Treasures. Some treasures were a part of the Cursed Spirit called Nue. Nue had the body of a tiger, the wings of a bird, and the tail of a snake.
The ten sacred treasures used in the ritual were:
The Jewel of Plenty (Black Dog)
The Jewel of Turning Back on the Road (White Dog)
Mirror of the Deep (Toad)
Jewel of Life (Orochi)
Mirror of Offshore (Max Elephant)
Scarf to Ward of Various Things (Rabbit Escape)
Jewel of Resuscitation (Madoka Deer)
Cloth of the Bees (Piercing Ox)
Snake Repelling Scarf (Mourning Tiger)
Eight Hands Long Swords (Mahoraga).
They used Nue for his Sacred Treasures and also included the Cursed Spirit in the ritual, making it a Shikigami.
The ritual worked. Princess Takiyasha became the first user of the Ten Shadows Technique. She could summon two Divine Dogs and had to tame the other Shikigami.
The best way to tame the Shikigami is by starting with the Divine Dogs, then the Toad, followed by Orochi, Nue, Max Elephant, Rabbit Escape, Madoka Deer, Piercing Ox, and finally Mahoraga. Each Shikigami will show the user how to beat the next one.
Be warned that no user has ever successfully tamed the last shikigami.'
Flipping the page, the death of Taira no Masakado surprised me.
'Taira no Masakado's allies later betrayed him for unknown reasons. He got beheaded, but even after his death, his head continued to move. Many suspect that he became a Vengeful Spirit as all his former allies died.'
This is what I got from reading the entire book. Sure, I summarized it because reading the whole history and conflicts of the Three Great Clans would take too long. There was also a lot of glazing by the Zenin Clan, but I just skipped those parts.
The order in the book did point me in the right direction to tame my other shikigami. I could summon any of them, but I wasn't sure which one would be the best to summon and tame next.
Knowing that Kenjaku could possibly be the origin of my Cursed Technique is concerning, but there's nothing I can do about him now.
I left the room and put the bookshelf back where it was originally. Then I picked up all the books I had noticed earlier when cleaning.
The books on Cursed Energy applications weren't very helpful. I already knew most of the moves they listed. Domain Expansion requires knowing your Innate domain. Expanding it and applying your Cursed Technique.
The RCT book just says, "Multiply Cursed Energy to make Positive Energy. ." It also clears up a common misunderstanding: you don't need positive emotions for RCT.
The New Shadow Style manual was the best one of all of them. Ashiya Sadatsuna was smart when he made the Simple Domain. It helps weaker sorcerers defend against a domain. You can also add a binding vow for any purpose.
The sword style was nothing to scoff at, either. This would be perfect for me to shore up my weakness as a Shikigami user. The weakness is how vulnerable I am without my Shikigami.
I skimmed the instructions for creating a Simple Domain.
'First, get into the right stance. This will allow Cursed Energy to flow more easily out of the user. '
'Second, cover not only your body but the air and ground around you. This creates a natural barrier using your Cursed Energy. It stops weaker attacks and cancels out Sure Hit attacks from a Domain Expansion.
'And lastly, maintain the output of your Cursed Energy to keep the barrier stable.'
'This doesn't seem too difficult.'
I got into the stance. Then I reinforced myself and everything around me and maintained my output. And for fun, I said the magic words: "New Shadow Style: Simple Domain."
Weekly Power Status
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