Chapter 69: The Hidden Reincarnator, Vincent

Kibutsuji Muzan appeared within the pit, his gaze gloomy; his body had by now transformed into the form of a young boy, and the tentacle-like appendages behind him still remained within that narrow "rat hole."

Muzan had indeed not left Kyoto; it was not that he was unable to leave. In fact, Hantengu had only had a clone destroyed, and the main body, the Qie no Oni, had not suffered any damage, remaining an Upper Rank Moon that preserved the majority of its combat strength.

If he wanted to leave and Hantengu were to lash out, ordinary humans or even the Pillar-level swordsmen of the Demon Slayer Corps would be unable to stop him, except for...

Muzan raised his head, his scarlet eyes beneath the silver moon staring at the man beside the pit; there was hatred and disgust in his gaze, but at the same time, there was also an unresolvable fear.

Although Kibutsuji Muzan did indeed recall the roar of Kokushibo before his death afterward, that sound was cast aside by him after only a moment.

To have an existence possessing a nearly endless lifespan fight to the death with a worm that had a lifespan of a mere few decades—how foolish, Kibutsuji Muzan thought to himself.

But in the end, Muzan still let Hantengu and himself remain in Kyoto.

The reason was that he remembered, at the final moment of that battle, this human before him who could wield the power of 【Sunlight】 did not choose to grab his head, but instead severed the body of Nakime.

He realized that the other party did not truly want to kill him that much.

Or perhaps, the transaction the other party seemed to be proposing at the time was serious? Just thinking of this possibility made Kibutsuji Muzan unwilling to leave ever again.

He hid here and there, eventually returning underground, and once again snuck back to this place; sure enough, here, he once again sensed the scent of the person who had brought him the shadow of death.

After hesitating for many days, Muzan finally appeared tonight.

"What kind of Blood Demon Art one can awaken is something no one can control."

Muzan's gaze was hateful, but his tone was not sharp; on the contrary, it contained a cowardice he himself had not even noticed.

"Nakime is dead, her Blood Demon Art has vanished; even if I were to create thousands more ghosts, I could not guarantee that a Blood Demon Art like that one would appear."

Bai Cangshu was actually well aware of this point as well.

Unlike many others, Bai Cangshu looked down upon the Bloodline of man-eating ghosts, but he held their Blood Demon Arts in high regard.

Among the many man-eating ghosts, Bai Cangshu did not believe that abilities such as Akaza's self-strengthening 【Compass Needle】 or Doma's ability to control blood and ice possessed any real potential.

The strength of an ability and the strength of the user are not equivalent.

But conversely, Nakime (controlling the Infinite Castle, teleporting anyone within her perception to other places at will), Kyogai (changing the spatial structure within a house at will), and Yahaba (controlling the movement and direction of objects with invisible vectors)—Bai Cangshu perceived the potential of Blood Demon Arts through these three ghosts.

In a sense, these abilities all possessed "high-level" Tese that Kibutsuji Muzan himself did not possess.

Although the absolute power level was insufficient, in terms of potential, they were far stronger than Kibutsuji Muzan and the rest of the Upper Ranks.

This kind of ability was perhaps the greatest treasure of this world.

The corners of Bai Cangshu's mouth curled up; what was so good about becoming a man-eating ghost, anyway? It just added numerous weaknesses to oneself for no reason.

"Tsk, you really are useless, Muzan."

Bai Cangshu stood up, came to the side of the pit, and squatted down, looking down at Muzan.

Kibutsuji Muzan's pupils constricted, and he subconsciously wanted to run, but soon, he noticed that this human had thick bandages wrapped around both his hands, especially the right hand, where the shape of the palm was almost no longer visible.

Bai Cangshu noticed Kibutsuji Muzan's gaze; he spread his arms, assuming a posture of being completely undefended.

"What, want to have another go with me?"

His tone was mocking, but Kibutsuji Muzan was not provoked and merely looked away.

"Hmph, I am just telling you that Nakime's ability cannot exist again."

Bai Cangshu gave a mocking laugh; his goal was, of course, not really to have Muzan recreate a Nakime—Nakime's Drop Card was already in his Backpack, and if he had enough Luck, or spent a high enough price in the space, perhaps that ability was not impossible to obtain.

"Since you cannot do it, then hand over the root of your Bloodline, the prescription that the doctor gave you back then, to me."

"I can naturally find someone to concoct it slowly." Kibutsuji Muzan's several hearts sank simultaneously; he felt that this human had finally "revealed his true intentions."

The other party actually wanted that thing?! His expression immediately turned gloomy.

"How could I possibly still remember that kind of thing!"

Bai Cangshu looked at the Cursed Seal on the back of his left hand by the moonlight; his previous actions were not a "stratagem of the empty city"—Bai Cangshu would never place his own life on the cowardice of the other party.

Just like in the previous battle, even with his hands shattered and unable to use 【Ripple Qigong】, he had the confidence that if Kibutsuji Muzan turned back to fight him to the death, he could immediately escape the basement and return to the sunlight.

At this very moment, with this Cursed Seal, he was even more confident that he could suppress Kibutsuji Muzan's resistance at any time.

It was just that this 【Human Scum】 was indeed a bit too hard to kill.

Especially given the situation where the other party had inexplicably "gained wisdom" in this world.

As a Kibutsuji Muzan who could split himself into hundreds or even thousands of pieces of flesh and survive as long as one piece escaped, he could, in a sense, be considered a beggar-version of 【Majin Buu】.

"Muzan, insert your fingers into your brain and stir them a few times; I believe you can remember it."

Muzan looked at the other party's eyes, and after a long while, said:

"I can give you a portion of Source Blood; after I obtain the 【Blue Spider Lily】, I will naturally leave this place. Hmph, I will not do anything unpleasant to those friends of yours."

Kibutsuji Muzan was half-conceding and half-threatening.

But the mocking smile on Bai Cangshu's face grew thicker.

"What you do to those people is your freedom; of course, if I want to slaughter you, that is also my freedom."

"Now, give me a portion of your so-called 【Source Blood】, plus that prescription, and I will naturally give you the 【Blue Spider Lily】."

Bai Cangshu not only refused to accept Kibutsuji Muzan's conditions but instead escalated them.

Muzan's lips and teeth trembled; if he could, he would want to tear the other party apart right now.

But...

Because Muzan possessed 7 hearts, his heartbeat was exceptionally intense at this moment, so loud that Bai Cangshu could hear it clearly.

This Ghost King was likely struggling immensely.

Precisely because what he held in his hands was his own life, he had to act cautiously and could not abandon it.

Step.

Bai Cangshu's pupils constricted; a figure suddenly walked out from the mansion on the other side. He turned his head and saw that the person was wearing a kimono with exquisite makeup, looking like a geisha from some house, only the person's Footwork... was exceptionally heavy.

Step, step, step! After a few steps, the slender geisha's figure expanded, and with a squelch, the beautiful skin shattered, revealing that muscular man with golden hair.

"Lord Muzan, perhaps you do not need to trade with him."

"The 【Blue Spider Lily】 is not something that only 'Tao Baibai' left behind a single stalk of."

Vincent's face, which had originally looked honest and simple, became vivid with expression at this moment; a flash of light appeared in his hand, and a 【Blue Spider Lily】 appeared as well.

Seeing this scene, Kibutsuji Muzan's face revealed a look of wild joy, and he instantly turned into an afterimage, pouncing toward Vincent.

Bai Cangshu lowered his eyelids, lifted his left hand gently, and the next moment, he spoke, "Boom."

The moment after Bai Cangshu spoke, a giant fox nearly a hundred meters tall suddenly appeared out of thin air and, with a roar, swallowed Vincent and the city block he was in whole.

【Secret Rite: Strike of the Inari God】.

(End of this chapter)