Fierce Battle

Akaza’s right arm had completely twisted and melted. That strike, Immortal Art: Rakshasa Palm, had inflicted horrifying damage on his arm.

Yet Akaza seemed utterly unable to feel pain. Under the sunlight, his back began to burn, but his eyes still radiated blazing Battle Aura.

He wanted to fight!

He wanted to fight the strong!

He wanted to battle the powerful enemy before him!

That will made Akaza completely forget his pain, his spirit surpassing its limits. He raised his left arm and, facing Bai Cangshu’s spear-like, razor-sharp palm strike, threw a punch.

Bai Cangshu was equally focused, blazing fighting spirit on his face. At that instant, Akaza drew all of Bai Cangshu’s attention, surpassing Nakime, surpassing Kokushibo, even surpassing Muzan.

Immortal Way: Demonic Spear!

Splat!

Bai Cangshu’s pupils contracted. Before Akaza could fully throw his left punch, his head exploded. Countless tentacles shattered Akaza’s upper body from behind and instantly stabbed toward Bai Cangshu.

Behind that brutal attack was Kibutsuji Muzan’s twisted face.

"Die with me!"

Having cast aside all reason and wisdom, Kibutsuji Muzan had once again become that human scum who would do anything just to survive.

The subordinate who had blocked an attack for it one moment became a shield for its own attack the next, as it tried to kill both subordinate and enemy together.

Bai Cangshu changed his stance. His left foot suddenly stepped toward the right side of his body, twisting and changing direction, while his spear-like hand, radiating ripples, swept sideways in an instant as he turned.

Splat!

Kibutsuji Muzan cried out in pain. Its tentacles, harder than swords and blades, were severed instantly beneath the other’s hand.

That was the power of sunlight. This man possessed the power of sunlight!

As Bai Cangshu twisted, sharp tentacles still grazed his cheekbone, carving a bloody wound across his face.

Ring!

At the same time, the sound of a sword rang out behind him.

Moon Breathing, Eighth Form: Moon-Dragon Ringtail!

The sword edge tore through the air, its terrible howl like the wailing of evil spirits.

Bai Cangshu bent backward as though his waist had snapped, his whole body falling back. Bracing himself with both hands against the ground, he watched the dark moon-like sword light sweep over him.

Boom!

The wooden floor was cleanly sliced apart.

Rumble!

As he suddenly dropped, Bai Cangshu instantly realized that this wooden house had a basement!

Kibutsuji Muzan had already fallen into despair, but at that moment, hope abruptly returned.

The instant Bai Cangshu landed in the basement, he pushed off with both hands and sprang upright. Black sword light had already fallen upon the spot where he had just stood.

Kokushibo was drenched in blood. His upper body had been burned beyond recognition, and of the six eyes on his face, only three remained intact.

Yet the hand of this strongest Upper Rank holding the sword did not tremble in the slightest.

He stepped forward, and his sword momentum rose again.

Moon Breathing, Third Form: Loathsome Moon, Chains!

Kokushibo twisted his body sharply, his sword momentum utterly resolute. With a single slash, enormous sword light cut forth, tearing apart the air as countless dense, crescent-like sword winds scattered through the sky.

Bai Cangshu’s body had expanded slightly. His strength, speed, and tolerance for pain had all increased drastically.

He suddenly roared and stepped forward. The instant the ground shook violently, he burst toward the side away from Kokushibo.

Splat!

The sword light sank into the ground. Kokushibo had not committed fully to the first strike; after the wide-ranging slash, his body naturally twisted, and the second slash followed instantly. This form had always been a double slash.

His three eyes watched Bai Cangshu step onto the wall ahead.

The other’s intense Battle Aura, even the movements of his muscles, were all laid bare before his eyes.

Transparent World!

A realm that Breathing Style users in this world could only master after reaching the pinnacle.

When thoroughly tempered movements and Breathing Styles became perfectly integrated, users could even sense the flow of every blood vessel in their bodies, allowing them to unleash the greatest power with the smallest possible motions.

After crossing the painful stage of being overwhelmed by the immense amount of information gained from within their own bodies, their control beyond the limit allowed Breathing Style swordsmen to discard the superfluous parts of their movements.

By controlling their own blood flow, breathing, and lungs, they redefined their movements, becoming faster, more precise, and stronger.

In the end, users would see a completely transparent world, where an enemy’s breathing, blood flow, and muscle movements could all be fully perceived.

Every movement could be seen through from the contraction of muscles and blood vessels, allowing the user to directly find the opponent’s weakness.

This was the so-called Transparent World.

Kokushibo’s body paused slightly, and he "pinched" his sword momentum in his hand for half an instant.

It was that hairbreadth of difference that caused Bai Cangshu’s wall-kicking counterattack to miss its timing, making it seem as though he had hurled himself straight at Kokushibo’s Blade.

Thump, thump, thump!

Bai Cangshu’s heartbeat suddenly accelerated.

He could truly feel the icy chill of death drawing near.

Creak.

The muscles in Bai Cangshu’s abdomen made a terrifying sound as if they were tearing apart. He abruptly flipped in midair, turning his forward charge into an overhead axe-kick.

Even Kokushibo, a swordsman who had opened the Transparent World, saw his pupils shrink sharply at that moment.

He had slashed out with his sword, yet his opponent flipped through the air and evaded an attack that should have been impossible to dodge.

Bang!

Kokushibo raised an arm and was struck by a kick carrying terrifying force.

Kokushibo instantly dropped to one knee, and the ground beneath him shattered with a boom.

Using the downward force of that kick, Bai Cangshu launched himself upward once more.

As he leaped into the air, he was exposed to sunlight again.

You killed Upper Rank Three Akaza and gained 1500 Dimensional Points.

Your share of the damage dealt to Akaza was below 50%. This kill cannot be counted as a solo kill.

Bai Cangshu froze for a moment. As his foot landed on the ground, he noticed that Akaza’s body, which had fallen into the basement, had completely burned away.

The damage he had dealt was less than half—meaning that Immortal Art: Rakshasa Palm had not been the cause of Akaza’s death.

Bai Cangshu looked into the darkness at Kibutsuji Muzan, who was slapping at his body as the flesh burned away by sunlight began regenerating once more.

Heh, so this guy killed Akaza.

Bai Cangshu frowned. He enjoyed fighting and killing, but this… this was the one feeling he disliked.

Tch, truly beyond saving.

At that moment, the remaining Upper Ranks in the underground world were all in different states.

Hantengu’s usual elderly body had been slow to react and was set ablaze by sunlight immediately. By now, it had burned to ashes.

But his true body—the tiny Cowardly Demon—was probably still hiding in the shadows. Relatively speaking, in this environment, it was indeed the Upper Rank best suited to avoiding sunlight.

However, having been scorched by the sun and unable to split into stronger clones, Hantengu posed little threat for the moment.

Kokushibo had been severely wounded by sunlight but still retained the ability to fight. Doma, Upper Rank Two, had already had the flames on his body extinguished, and due to his injuries, he had begun using his ice-poison Blood Demon Art.

Nakime’s biwa was fundamentally similar to Kokushibo’s sword—both were already part of their bodies—and it too was rapidly regenerating.

Everything was developing in the direction where, aside from Akaza’s death, all the Man-eating Demons would be able to leave unharmed.

Kibutsuji Muzan looked at Bai Cangshu, standing on the ground beneath the sunlight. The corner of his mouth curled into a cold smile.

"Being able to kill an Upper Rank, you still—"

"Shut up!"

A furious shout suddenly rang out. Bai Cangshu’s lips twisted into a terrifying grin as he pulled the pin from the High-Explosive Grenade in his hand. Taking a deep breath, he inhaled an enormous volume of air into his lungs like white mist.

As his breathing rhythm changed abnormally and the agitation within his body intensified, ripples spread out in rings.

Click.

Bai Cangshu released his hand, and the High-Explosive Grenade fell.

Boom!

The massive explosion engulfed Nakime. Through the high-temperature smoke, Bai Cangshu leaped down again.