Chapter 169: Not Fleeing, But Walking Toward Me

A deafening roar erupted beside them; a terrifying qi blade dozens of meters long grazed past the two, crushing the Spider Father and Spider Sister like a dump truck, then continued plowing a long furrow into the ground.

Wild winds howled, snapping trees.

Dust filled the air, crashing upon them with a rumbling roar, forcing Tanjiro and Inosuke into violent coughs.

The two hastily covered their mouths and noses with their sleeves, barely opening their eyes through the dust, gazing in dread at the devastated forest ahead.

“Did… your sword do this?”

Inosuke said, his heart pounding.

Tanjiro snapped out of his daze and met Inosuke’s gaze.

Just as he was about to speak, another thunderous boom came from deep within the mountains.

The two exchanged glances; Inosuke whispered, “He didn’t kill all the demons in the mountain, did he?”

Tanjiro stared at the horrific scene before him and nodded. “It’s possible.”

Inosuke whispered, “Then… should we still go find him?”

Earlier, Tanjiro had thought the mountain brimmed with danger; with three burdens in tow, survival was unlikely—staying near Lin Yu was safer.

But now, Lin Yu had slain every demon except Lei.

Even without Lin Yu beside them, they could still lead these three burdens out of Spider Mountain…

After brief thought, Tanjiro firmly said, “Follow him!”

Inosuke nodded, asked no questions, immediately picked up one person, turned his back to Tanjiro.

Tanjiro tied the second person onto his back, lifted the last one himself, and together they rushed toward the direction from which the qi blade had come.

…

…

The three demonic auras vanished entirely; Lin Yu lowered his altitude slightly, gazing down at the treetops.

Among the branches, a white-robed boy stood on resilient spider silk, expressionless, meeting his gaze.

Through his white bangs, Lin Yu clearly saw the two large characters “Xia Wu” carved into the boy’s left eye—Xia Chuan Wu, the Spider Demon “Lei” of the Twelve Kizuki!

“Oh ho ho~ You didn’t turn and run—you walked toward me?”

Lin Yu smiled warmly, his interest piqued. “I admire your courage. Knowing it means death, you still dare come before me…”

“Death?”

The boy remained expressionless, offering no reply.

The next instant, his fingers at his side twitched—scarlet spider silk surged from all directions, binding the hovering Lin Yu into a crimson cocoon.

“I’ve already tried!”

The boy gazed at the red cocoon, speaking calmly. “Your air current was powerful—but it has limits. It cannot cut through my blood silk—”

“Puch!”

Before he finished, brilliant swordlight erupted from within the blood cocoon.

The steel-hard crimson silk shattered instantly, revealing the figure within—unharmed.

The boy’s pupils shrank; he leapt backward, creating ten meters of distance, staring at Lin Yu in shock.

“How is this possible?!”

“What’s impossible about it?”

Lin Yu raised his Nichirin Blade, gazing at its blade. “You thought that sword qi was my ultimate technique?”

“No—it was just a basic attack.”

“It killed demons only because I infused it with traces of sunlight. In essence, your subordinates were crushed by tons of sunlight…”

Can sunlight be measured in tons?

The boy’s eyelid twitched; his face darkened further.

Lin Yu brushed his fingers along the blade’s surface, causing it to glow with a soft qi light, then raised his head to gaze at the boy. “You dared attack me after merely sensing my sword qi? Kid, you’ve got guts.”

Before he finished speaking, an overwhelming sense of danger surged out of nowhere.

The boy’s pupils contracted sharply; he flicked his five fingers and roared, “Blood Demon Art: Carved Prison!”

“Shhh—”

Instantly, countless strands of crimson spider silk surged from all directions, wrapping around Lin Yu’s arms.

Lin Yu’s body radiated golden light, forming an amber-like barrier that withstood the onslaught of crimson silk, his movements fluid as he raised his hand, pointing the Nichirin Blade toward the sky.

“I heard demons in this world fear only sunlight…”

Lin Yu held the Nichirin Blade high. “Let me ask you to verify something: Can demons in this world truly resist the heavenly thunder that subdues all evil?”

“Boom boom boom!!”

Before he finished speaking, the sky churned violently, clouds rolling.

A black curtain spread like a vortex, swallowing the last sliver of moonlight.

Amid thunderous roars, blue-white lightning surged within the clouds, like blue-white dragon serpents weaving through the vortex’s center, coalescing into a thunderstorm vortex over a hundred zhang in diameter.

Arcs of electricity leapt from Lin Yu’s Nichirin Blade, faintly linking to the branching lightning above.

This spectacle resembled the legendary Thunder God descending, a celestial deity arriving—drawing the gaze of all in the mountains, who stared in stunned awe at the figure encircled by lightning.

“…What is that?!”

Water Pillar Mukurogami, arriving to rescue, stared at the sky and forced out these words, barely containing his shock.

Insect Pillar Kotohime and the other Demon Slayers were the same—faces filled with astonishment as they gazed upward.

“Boom!”

The next instant, brilliant, blinding blue-white lightning crashed down, striking the terrified fleeing figure directly ahead of Lin Yu.

“Aaaah!!”

The fleeing boy screamed in agony; his demon body shattered inch by inch under the lightning’s assault, only to be constantly repaired by his immense regenerative ability.

Cycle after cycle, the two forces clashed.

In the end, the lightning prevailed. Within seconds, his regeneration could not keep pace with the destruction—his flesh and blood disintegrated under blue-white arcs, vanishing utterly…

But it wasn’t over. The furious lightning continued spreading, obliterating the forest within a hundred-meter radius, finally halting just before Tanjiro and Inosuke.

The two halted instantly, staring in shock at the blackened crater over a hundred meters wide ahead.

Within the crater, trees, soil, and rock had all been shattered and melted, now fused to the walls as cooled crystalline deposits.

Beneath the stormy, lightning-lit clouds, Lin Yu lowered his Nichirin Blade, gazing at the charred remains at the crater’s center. “Proof confirmed: Demons of Demon Slayer cannot withstand heavenly thunder…”

After speaking, he glanced at Tanjiro and Inosuke at the edge of the crater, then descended before them, annoyed. "Why haven't the two of you left yet?"

“Why haven’t you two left yet?”

Tanjiro and Inosuke exchanged glances.

The former chuckled awkwardly, speaking carefully. “Uh… my sword…”

Lin Yu’s lips twitched, about to reply—when suddenly his brow furrowed, as if sensing something, turning toward the crater’s center.

To the naked eye, the crater was empty.

But in Lin Yu’s vision, a translucent, frail figure now floated there—his gentle features unmistakably those of Lei in human form.

Or more precisely—Lei’s human soul!

Yet what Lin Yu saw wasn’t only that soul.

Before him, a door invisible to mortals had opened—behind it were two souls resembling him, and a sea of raging fire.

Before him, a door invisible to ordinary eyes had suddenly opened, revealing two souls with faces resembling his own, and a sea of raging fire beyond.

Lin Yu raised an eyebrow, gazing thoughtfully at the three.

In the world of Demon Slayer, such a Hell truly existed—those who committed evil in life were condemned to it, tormented by karmic flames after death.

This scene directly tied to Lei’s backstory.

As a human, he was born frail, barely able to walk; Muzan, feigning sympathy, gave him his blood, turning him into a demon.

Thus, Lei gained a strong body—but began living by consuming humans.

His parents felt immense guilt, believing they couldn’t let their son continue harming innocents; resolved to descend into Hell together, they intended to kill their son first, then die to atone.

Lei sensed their murderous intent, consumed by rage, convinced their bond was false, and slaughtered them in fury.

Afterwards, he realized his mistake—but was ultimately deceived by Muzan, lost himself, and began capturing weak demons, playing a decades-long game of pretend to find “true bonds.”

Until now, struck down by heavenly thunder, stripped of his demon body, he regained his human reason.

Gazing at his parents, smiling and welcoming at Hell’s gate, Lei wept.

He thought he’d never again be able to beg their forgiveness—yet their souls had lingered at Hell’s edge, ready to descend with him to atone.

Watching the family embrace at Hell’s threshold, Lin Yu sighed, moved by Muzan’s countless evils.

Souls and Hell—Tanjiro and Inosuke, as ordinary mortals, could not see any of this.

They only saw Lin Yu staring fixedly at the crater’s bottom, sighing, murmuring, as if he’d lost his mind.

The two exchanged glances; Tanjiro carefully chose his words. “Master Sword, I…”

Before he finished, Lin Yu’s expression changed again.

And unlike before, this change was negative.

Instantly, an indescribable pressure spread, making Tanjiro and Inosuke gasp for breath, their fear mounting as they stared at Lin Yu.

Lin Yu’s face darkened; his black eyes gazed upward, as if piercing the void to see beyond the world.

In truth, he had just sensed the movement of that mysterious force.

After circling the silver orb once, the mysterious force from the chat group suddenly reversed direction, flickered several times, and vanished into the dark, silent void…

After circling the silver orb, the mysterious force from the chat group suddenly reversed direction, flickered a few times, and vanished into the dark and lifeless void...

What does this mean?

Could it be that there are no qualified members in this world?

(End of chapter)