21st Century Necromancer

Seeing that Kojo Kyoko expressed her intentions with such a stance, Chen Yu nodded with satisfaction. Although he did not trust mere verbal pledges of loyalty, for a necromancer, there were far too many methods to control a person; all he required was Kojo Kyoko's obedience.

Having dealt with Kojo Kyoko's matter, Chen Yu then adjusted his own state, ready to begin the ritual to construct the Necromantic Space.

This ritual was clearly much more formal and standardized than the one he conducted during his last promotion. The ritual paraphernalia were no substitutes lacking full measure, and the venue had been meticulously prepared, no longer just a magic circle hastily drawn in a desolate wilderness.

Although a hastily drawn magic circle could still be used, the effect would undoubtedly be inferior. Previously, he had no choice, but now that the conditions were met, there was no need to be so parsimonious.

Chen Yu prepared everything for the ritual site according to the specifications marked in the "Multiverse Universal Necromancy Spell Compendium." The magic circle's lines were all cast from silver melted with a potion solution, ensuring top-tier magical conductivity.

Chen Yu placed the Amethyst Skull and the stones Yoshiharu Tsuchimikado had previously obtained on the Obsidian Altar. He opened the "Multiverse Universal Necromancy Spell Compendium" he brought, ready to start the ritual.

Because Kyuuzai Ryousen was of a spellcasting profession, he was quite tense standing next to Chen Yu, acting as his assistant and ready to provide support.
Your next chapter is on empire

Beneath the altar, Yoshiharu Tsuchimikado and Kojo Kyoko watched anxiously. As they were from physical professions, they could only stay below to stand guard and could not be of much help.

Seeing that Chen Yu had begun preparing for the ritual, Kojo Kyoko said to Yoshiharu Tsuchimikado beside her, "Just in case, I'll go outside and take a look."

"I should be the one to go, Kojo-san. You stay here.

If someone comes, I'm still the head of the Supernaturalists Association, and with the Tsuchimikado Family identity, I can fend off quite a few people." Yoshiharu Tsuchimikado wasn't distrusting Kojo Kyoko, but as he said, if any other supernaturalist noticed the commotion here and came knocking, his identity was undoubtedly more useful than Kojo Kyoko's.

Hearing Yoshiharu Tsuchimikado say this, Kojo Kyoko did not insist further, nodding and continuing to stand guard in front of the altar, but her sword bag was already unbuckled, revealing the hilt inside.

Seeing her like this, Yoshiharu Tsuchimikado nodded in approval and turned to leave the warehouse.

As a member of the Tsuchimikado Family, although he had switched to training in the way of the Dark Warrior, it did not mean that he could no longer use the Onmyodo he had learned before. On the contrary, because the training of a Dark Warrior required Negative Energy, his original Shikigami also benefitted and became stronger.

A figure in heavy armor materialized next to Yoshiharu Tsuchimikado upon his call. This was his Shikigami, a Sword Master from the Edo Period and one of the legacies passed down through the Tsuchimikado ancestors.

For an Onmyoji, Shikigami were one of their most important sources of strength, but cultivating a powerful Shikigami was not something that could be accomplished overnight.

In ancient times, they could create Shikigami by capturing and hunting powerful Spiritual Bodies or Yokai. However, with the powerful Yokai from ancient times almost entirely captured, fewer and fewer Yokai were growing up, and naturally, it became impossible to acquire powerful Shikigami through capture.

Modern Onmyoji mostly cultivated their Shikigami by training animals and then acquiring Spiritual Bodies through special methods, followed by continuous cultivation.

This way, it was naturally difficult to obtain powerful Spiritual Bodies in a short time, so the majority of powerful Shikigami were passed down from ancient times, also comprising one of the most vital foundations of an Onmyoji lineage.

Therefore, naturally, a top-ranking family like the Tsuchimikado, which once controlled the entirety of Japan's Onmyodo, had many more and much stronger Shikigami than smaller factions. Even as a branch family member, Yoshiharu Tsuchimikado still had access to a powerful Shikigami.

"Yoshiharu, have you made up your mind to follow this Chen Yu?" Since he was once human, Yoshiharu Tsuchimikado's Shikigami was not the kind of irrational beast and could converse with him.

In fact, the knowledge and experience of such Shikigami passed down through the ages were extremely precious assets. For a minor faction, a Shikigami from the Edo Period like this could even become the most critical treasure. Only a major family like the Tsuchimikado could afford to entrust such an asset for the free use of someone from a branch family.

"Haven't we already discussed this?", Yoshiharu Tsuchimikado replied. He had two other Shikigami besides the Samurai, one was a fox and the other a dog; these were Shikigami he created himself, and even though they were strengthened, they remained moderate in strength.

While summoning his Shikigami, Yoshiharu Tsuchimikado explained to the Samurai, "How many benefits have we gained since serving Master Chen Yu, how much has my strength progressed - haven't you seen, Yasai? If it were just serving the family, how could I have gained all these?"

"So, are you planning to betray the family?" the Samurai named Yasai asked Yoshiharu Tsuchimikado. Although he posed such a question, Yasai himself seemed hesitant.

"Betray the family? Hardly. I've merely chosen Master Chen Yu first between the family and him," Yoshiharu Tsuchimikado shook his head, signaling his Zanghu and the Dog God to stay on alert before he continued speaking to Yasai, "You were a Sword Master in life, right? Joined the Tsuchimikado Family to improve your skills, didn't you?

But from the moment you became a Shikigami of the Tsuchimikado Family until now, it's been three hundred years. If it weren't for those Black Crystals I received from following Master Chen Yu, you still wouldn't be able to regain the strength you had in life, right?"

Yoshiharu Tsuchimikado's words left Yasai silent. This was the same reason Yoshiharu Tsuchimikado used to persuade him before - his passion for the way of the sword was the source of his existence, but his Samurai loyalty made him reluctant to betray the Tsuchimikado Family, and thus he fell into a conflict.

"Don't worry. Master Chen Yu won't conflict with the Tsuchimikado Family, at least not for now," Yoshiharu Tsuchimikado reassured Yasai, but turned away with his back to Yasai, there were words he did not finish, "If a conflict arises, I will choose to follow the Master, rather than the Tsuchimikado Family."

"Follow this Master?" Yasai pondered, but then sensed a tremendous surge of energy from behind. Negative Energy converged from all directions while power from the earth was also drawn - the ritual had begun.