Chapter 48: Inside the Cave

“Is this place the secret room where the sculptures are stored?”

Konan used her fire release to light the lamp hanging on the wall, and in the dim light, she looked around the cavern, which was about fifty to sixty square meters.

“I sensed it and found that this place is terrible big as hell.”

Ryo Shimazaki sat cross-legged on the floor with his eyes tightly closed, as if he was sensing something, and after a while, he stand up and say:

“It’s like a maze out there, if you just come in like a normal person you’d probably get lost in there pretty quickly.”

“Luckily my ability of Mind’s Eye can solve this problem, but if I can’t sense where the sculpture is then it’s useless.”

Konan nodded in agreement. she tried to use her Paper Ninjutsu to investigate, but she lost contact with it in a few seconds. It was exactly the same as the previous feeling when she used the paper clone to enter the cave.

(Maybe this place is also somewhere in the cave…)

And just when she was considering whether to leave, she heard Ryo Shimazaki’s voice.

“After looking around, it seems that there are still words left by that old man.”

Glancing towards him, Konan noticed a line of words carved into the innermost wall.

She walked over and carefully brushed the dust away to reveal the writing, and after gazing at it for about two seconds she said:

“It doesn’t look like the common language of the Shinobi world, I’ve never seen something like this before.”

Seemingly, this place was left behind thousands or even tens of thousands of years ago, so it was natural that the language was different from the current one.

However, contrary to Konan’s expectations, Ryo Shimazaki squinted at the words and said with an unbelievable look on his face.

“Flooding the knees of the Great Buddha, burning the cave of Lingyun……”

？？？？

Konan opened her mouth with astonishment and said:

“Literally, it means that the lake rises to flood the temple, and then the flames will scorch the Lingyun Cave? Was this place originally called the Cave of Lingyun?”

Ryo Shimazaki still kept that shocked look on his face and shook his head “Maybe it’s a name from ancient times.”

“Is this a warning left from ancient times?”

“Maybe it’s a prophecy too ……”

“Anyway, let’s check the other places first ……”

Ryo Shimazaki once again put his hand on Konan’s body and with a shake of his body, he appeared in another cave.

The interior of this cave seemed more empty compared to the previous one, and they also found a stone sculpture in the corner after lighting the light.

The obvious difference caught their attention and they both quickly made their way over to it.

The stone sculpture looked like a monk, with his hands folded as if he was chanting a sutra. The entire stone sculpture looked so lifelike that it was almost as if a real person had been turned into a stone sculpture.

“Is this …… a statue leftover from ancient times?”

“Maybe. …… I heard that in ancient times there were monks who chose to sit in evil places to suppress evil, so I guess this stone sculpture is intended to do the same.”

Ryo Shimazaki and Konan looked over the sculpture to the wall behind, and found a large concave pit, like a place to store something.

Ryo Shimazaki swallowed and said with difficulty, “Something… is missing…”

“Something…? What?”

Konan realized that Shimazaki Ryo’s identity may be more complicated than she thought, and he may even have a deep connection with this temple.

If that was the case, it would make sense that he could know ancient era writing and possess all sorts of incredible abilities.

“The sculpture of the Demon Lord …… it was supposed to be suppressed here by the monks for all eternity! How come it’s gone?!”

Konan remembered what the members of the Shichibukai had said to her earlier –

A mysterious organization attacked the members of Shichibukai who guarded the demonic energy.

The result was that the eight demonic energy had reached Hanzo, and it was most likely that there were demons among that organization.

She whispered, “Maybe it was stolen by someone!”

“Stolen…?” Ryo Shimazaki said it disapprovingly, and then decisively denied, “Impossible! This place should be guarded by The Fire Qilin who guarding the demon Lord sculpture… Wait…”

He suddenly realized something and he said:

“The Fire Qilin! I see, is the monster that attacked our village was The Fire Qilin, but why did it become like that? It’s like a demon monster!”

“Could it be affected by the power of the Demonic Energy?”

“Demonic Energy?”

Looking at Shimazaki Ryo’s puzzled look, Konan explained “It’s one of the ancient demon Lord’s powers, if you get it, you can use part of the demon Lord’s power, but you can also be influenced by the demon and become brutal.”

“Impossible, from what I understand, the Fire Qilin is a high and pure beast, it will not be easily manipulated by the demons, in fact, they let him guard the demon Lord sculpture precisely because it will not be affected by the demon.”

“And …… the Fire Qilin shouldn’t be that weak ……”

“He is a real divine beast, and he’s definitely not inferior to the tailed beast power, but that monster did not show the power that can destroy the world at all.”

“So many years have passed, and no one can tell what happened. Even the immortals will gradually grow old and lose their strength. No matter how powerful the Fire Qilin is, he is still a creature, and as long as he is still a living creature, he cannot escape the effect of time.”

“……” Ryo Shimazaki was silent, and after a while, he sigh and said, “Maybe you’re right, but ……”

“But the disappearance of the Demon Lord sculpture is definitely a matter of great importance to the Shinobi world’s survival! We must get it back as soon as possible!”

However, Konan just looked at him impassively “Maybe you’ll have to tell me who you are and your Mind’s Eye transmission ability first.”

“……………… Okay …… ” Ryo Shimazaki was just about to speak when his face suddenly changed he couldn’t even stop sweating, and without waiting for Konan to ask another question he took her hand and left the cave in one go using his teleportation ability.

Only when he was sure that the place was safe, did he let out a long breath and collapse to the ground.

And then Konan noticed that Ryo Shimazaki’s back was already wet ……

(Could it be that Fire Qilin has returned?)

Konan thought to herself

The only thing that could make Ryo Shimazaki so scared was the one who destroyed his village.

So she asked

“Is it the Fire Qilin?”

But he didn’t answer her, Ryo Shimazaki just looked as if he was nervous and said

“I never thought …… that monster actually existed ……”

“What monster?!”

Konan focused on every word he said, she was incredibly keen on every piece of information about the race of demons.

Because she knew that the demons want to rule the world, and that was without a doubt a big enemy for her and Nagato.

“The Pillar Men clan …… they are vampires who fell into a deep sleep after the Demon Lord was sealed …… I think they actually exist and are in this cave!”