Chapter 98 The Jade Pot
Aoki, like a giant bat, swiftly streaked across the night sky.
Suddenly, he stopped and looked down.
Beside the sea, nestled a quiet and peaceful village. Lights shone at the dock, where a young couple busied themselves.
Though their life was impoverished, it held a certain happiness.
Aoki's gaze swept quickly across the entire village.
"It seems the Jade Pot isn't here either!"
This was good news, but there was also a downside.
According to his guess, this was the outermost village within the search area.
But he hadn't found any trace of the Jade Pot.
"I wonder if I guessed wrong? Or is the Jade Pot in the direction of Shinobu Kochō's search?"
Aoki pondered, changed direction, and his figure quickly disappeared into the night sky.
...
In the pitch-black jungle, a pot appeared out of thin air.
Glug.
Black liquid gushed out, transforming into a twisted monster.
It stared at the village ahead, its body swaying: "This is it! I hope the defector will appreciate the art I left behind! Whoosh!"
All the arms on its head stretched out, as if to embrace the village.
Just then, its expression froze, and it looked outside.
"Huh? Someone's coming? Another demon slayer, seems stronger than the last one. Looks like I can't start making art right away."
A cruel smile appeared on its mouth near its eyes: "But, this isn't bad either."
...
Shinobu Kochō ran quickly.
Although she was far away, the hellish scene on the village streets and the mangled body of the teammate whose name she didn't know kept flashing in her mind.
Intense anger almost burned through her chest.
The stronger the demon, the more destructive it was.
Newly born demons could easily kill humans, a strong demon could easily kill an entire family, and at the Upper Moon level, they could slaughter a village without breaking a sweat.
At this moment, Shinobu Kochō felt an unprecedented sense of gratitude for Aomura Kazuhiko's existence.
For over a century, they had failed to kill a single Upper Moon demon, while countless Pillars had perished at their hands.
The Demon Slayer Corps had tried their best, but the reality was cruel; the Upper Moon demons continued to commit their sins with impunity.
And now, in less than a year, four Upper Moon demons had died at Aomura Kazuhiko's hands.
How many had been spared? How many had avoided the tragedy that befell that village today?
"We must find Gyokko!"
Shinobu Kochō looked up.
Ahead, a village came into view.
This was one of the suspicious targets Aomura Kazuhiko had chosen.
What reassured her somewhat was that the village was dark, with only faint lights visible and the occasional barking of dogs and crowing of roosters.
There was no smell of blood.
This meant that at least Gyokko hadn't yet taken their toll.
Suddenly, Shinobu Kochō's expression changed, her steps shifted, and she changed direction, her long sword flashing from its sheath.
Thud!
A bizarre, four-limbed fish was nailed to a tree, its mouth filled with serrated teeth, and a blue pot embedded in its back.
Shinobu's eyes flashed with intense killing intent: "It's Gyokko! Is it nearby?"
She had already obtained detailed information about the various Upper Moon demons from Mr. Aomura Kazuhiko.
Although it was her first time seeing such a monster, its distinctive style made her instantly recognize the mastermind.
Shinobu sheathed her long sword, flicked it lightly, and blood dripped down, leaving the blade clean.
The spot where the fish had been stabbed turned purple, and the purple color spread rapidly outwards. Its body began to rot, turning into a pool of black water in just a few seconds.
She couldn't decapitate it; this was her weakness. She could only kill demons with poison, but sometimes it had its advantages.
Like now, even without hitting a vital point, she could still kill the enemy.
But she didn't let her guard down.
Splash! A glob of water suddenly flew out from the side.
Shinobu Kochō's expression sharpened; she didn't let her guard down and quickly jumped away.
The water landed on the ground, making a sizzling sound.
"The Blood Prison Bowl?"
Shinobu Kochō turned her head, and an exquisitely crafted bowl came into her view.
"Upper Moon Five, Gyokko?"
Glug.
Black water gushed from the bowl's spout, and a twisted monster emerged from it.
It was entirely white, with yellow eyes, green lips, and purple fins on its head. It only had an upper body, which was extremely muscular. It had no arms, but several small arms grew from its head.
The space between its eyes had turned into two mouths, with one eye inside and one on its forehead, each engraved with the characters "Upper Moon" and "Fifth."
It looked twisted, eerie, and disgusting.
"You actually dodged it. Your strength is indeed stronger than the previous demon slayer, but it's only by a limited margin!"
The two mouths in Gyokko's eyes opened and closed, and the surrounding arms waved, its voice full of sarcasm.
"Found you!"
Shinobu Kochō's eyes burned with killing intent.
Gyokko turned his head, his strong body sprouting three thick arms: "You came with the defectors, didn't you? Let's turn you into an art piece too and give you to the defectors!"
Shinobu Kochō didn't waste any words, suddenly drawing her sword: "Dance of the Bee Fangs, Shin-chan!"
Thud!
The tip of the sword pierced through the eye on Gyokko's forehead, purple venom rapidly spreading, and the surrounding flesh began to rot.
The smile on Gyokko's face froze, and the next moment his figure disappeared, reappearing more than ten meters away.
"It's an ability similar to Mr. Aomura Kazuhiko's!" Shinobu Kochō frowned.
"So it's poison, what an unartistic way to attack! But, this is not bad!"
Gyokko's eyes were cruel and filled with anger, the rotting of the flesh on his forehead slowed down, and soon stopped completely, then quickly returned to normal.
"It decomposed so quickly, just as Mr. Aomura Kazuhiko and my sister said, with my current poison, it's impossible to kill an Upper Moon!"
Shinobu Kochō gripped the hilt of her sword tightly.
"Actually, I can use poison too!"
One of Gyokko's hands melted, turning into a pot with seaweed patterns on its surface.
Two goldfish emerged from within, their mouths agape.
Pfft pfft pfft!
Sharp needles shot out, enveloping Shinobu Kochō.
Blood Demon Art, Thousand Needles, Fish Killer.
The needles were coated with a nerve-numbing toxin.
"Centipede Dance, Centipede Belly!" Shinobu Kochō's eyes narrowed, the sand beneath her feet suddenly exploding as she shot forward, causing all the needles to miss.
Thump thump thump! * Sand shattered repeatedly.
Shinobu Kochō's figure flashed back and forth, rapidly approaching Gyokko.
"Blood Demon Art, Octopus Pot Hell!"
Gyokko, somewhat annoyed, stretched out his hand, and another pot with octopus-like markings appeared.
With a whoosh, enormous purple octopus tentacles emerged from the pot.
Bang!
Shinobu Kochō was struck by one of the tentacles, sent flying, crashing heavily to the ground, a trickle of blood escaping from the corner of her mouth.
Gyokko glared cruelly at Shinobu Kochō: "Let me think, what kind of artwork should I make you into? How about cutting off your limbs, skewering them with knives, and then sticking them on your head?"
Shinobu grabbed something and hurled it at Gyokko.
A high-pressure jet of water shot out from the pot, shattering the wooden planks instantly. Gyokko scoffed, "Such a weak counterattack! You're not even as good as that demon slayer from before! His struggles and screams before death inspired me to create that magnificent work. You saw it, didn't you? Wasn't it stunning?"
He suddenly stopped, turning to look to the side.
A figure with black hair and golden eyes appeared in the air.
The next moment,
Gyokko was sent flying, his upper body exploding into a cloud of blood mist.
*_*
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(End of Chapter)