At this moment, Shinji's expression was somewhat unfathomable.
Having realized that sending more forces to attack was just sending them to their deaths, the enemy had seemingly decided to stop wasting troops.
This put a temporary pause on his main objective: farming Curse Soul Points.
What was even more frustrating was that most of the slaughter he had just carried out yielded absolutely nothing.
Since the things he killed were artificially modified creatures and not true Cursed Spirits, there were no rewards for exorcising them.
Still, this aligned with some of the theories he had formed before coming here.
After all, even a Special Grade Cursed Spirit would struggle to gather such a massive number of low-grade spirits in a limited time and send them everywhere to cause chaos.
Now he finally understood how it was possible.
Shinji glanced back at Sasuke and Tamamo Hotaru — both completely drained of chakra and physical strength. After a moment's thought, he gave his orders.
"Tobi, take these two and leave first. On your way back, bring more light sources. The darkness here puts us at a huge disadvantage."
"Shinji-nii-san! I'm still fine! I'm not leaving!"
Before Tobi could even reply, Sasuke forced himself to stand up, his face full of stubborn determination.
But Shinji gave him absolutely no face and spoke bluntly:
"As you are now, a light breeze could knock you over. What exactly do you think you can do? Besides, you ran out of chakra long ago — you couldn't even use a single jutsu anymore. That's why you had to chase them down and stab them to death with a kunai, isn't it?"
"So tell me: without strength or chakra, what help can you offer by staying? Are you planning to be a target to draw fire?"
Sasuke's face flushed red with embarrassment and anger. He wanted to argue, but he couldn't find a single counter-argument.
The reality was, his personal belief that he was capable wasn't enough to let him stay.
Seeing that Sasuke had finally stopped making empty boasts, Shinji's tone softened slightly.
"The real enemy hasn't even shown himself yet. When he does, it will undoubtedly be a brutal battle."
"I understand. I was too impulsive just now."
Once he calmed down, Sasuke realized exactly where he had gone wrong and stopped trying to act tough.
Tamamo Hotaru certainly wasn't going to object. She honestly believed that if they went any deeper, she would most likely die here — and she wasn't joking.
But before leaving, she gritted her teeth and decided to leave Kagetsu behind.
"Kagetsu is from the Moonlight Fox clan. Normally, she absorbs moonlight to strengthen herself, but at critical moments, she can also release that moonlight to attack enemies. In the darkness further ahead, she might be able to help."
As if to prove her words, a faint glow of moonlight enveloped Kagetsu. It wasn't blindingly bright, but in this pitch-black environment, she made for a very useful, mobile light source.
Shinji nodded. "I'll protect her well."
Tamamo Hotaru hugged Kagetsu's head one last time, reluctant to part, then walked over to Sasuke.
Tobi activated Kamui and teleported away, taking Sasuke and Tamamo Hotaru with him.
"Don't leave just yet. Pick up all the fluorite crystals scattered on the ground. We'll need them soon."
Shinji glanced at the dark passage ahead and called out to Hidan.
Hidan instinctively wanted to refuse such a 'trash-collecting' chore, but Shinji shot him a sharp glare, and Hidan instantly shrank back into obedience.
No matter how wild a dog might be, under its master's deadly stare, it knew when to behave — otherwise, the next meal might very well be dog meat hotpot.
After gathering a large pile of glowing stones, the two continued forward. Even Kagetsu obediently picked one up in her mouth, leaving Hidan with nothing to complain about.
With these sources of light, the darkness ahead was finally pushed back a little.
Also, whether because they had already killed everything or because the remaining creatures were hiding, they didn't encounter any obstacles at all along the way.
Eventually, they arrived inside a massive chamber. By the green glow of the crystals, they could see that the space was divided into many smaller sections. This was where the captured humans were being held like livestock.
Each section held roughly over a hundred people. Every single face was marked with fear and anxiety.
Plus, the sudden appearance of glowing green light caused quite a panic — from a distance, it really did look exactly like ghost fire.
"Waaah… Mom, I'm scared…"
"Someone please save me! I don't want to die!"
"Ghosts… it's the gods of death coming for us… Hahaha! Let us die! We're all going to die anyway…"
...
"How about… we just sacrifice all these people to Lord Jashin? What do you think?" Hidan suggested.
Shinji stared at him, completely speechless. What is he thinking? If we really did that, we'd be erased from existence immediately.
"Let's just get them out of here first. Better safe than sorry if things change later."
Originally, Shinji had planned to kill the Special Grade Cursed Spirit ruling this place and clear out all the monsters before rescuing anyone.
But since they had found the prisoners first, and there didn't seem to be any guards around, it made more sense to get them out now.
Hidan pouted in disappointment. "Fine. Whatever. It's your call."
The two moved swiftly and efficiently. Using the light from the crystals, they unlocked and released everyone.
With Hidan glaring and looking utterly terrifying, he successfully silenced the crowd and stopped the panic.
Shinji scanned the area quickly. There were roughly over three thousand people here. Most were in terrible physical condition, and many were sick or injured.
He didn't have any perfect solutions right now, so he simply told them to help those who couldn't walk on their own.
He gave them several clear instructions and warnings.
Fortunately, everyone here knew exactly how terrifying this place was. Now that they had a chance to escape, they were willing to cooperate fully.
They listened to every word Shinji and Hidan said without question.
This actually made Shinji quite satisfied.
After all, saving people was just something he was doing along the way.
If he had encountered troublemakers or idiots who refused to listen, he might have let Hidan kill one or two as a warning — a small offering to Lord Jashin first.
"Hidan, take these people and go back the way we came. It should be safe outside by now. I'm going deeper in to clear out every monster left behind. Once you've escorted them out, come back and meet me."
"Yeah, yeah, I heard you. Got it."
Hidan led the group away, clearly unhappy. He wanted to stay behind and fight and kill, not rescue people.
But it had to be said: Shinji had trained Hidan well over this time.
From someone who just minutes ago suggested sacrificing everyone, Hidan was now obediently guiding a large group of 'potential sacrifices' out to safety.
When it really mattered, Hidan was surprisingly reliable and wouldn't let him down.
Shinji felt reassured and continued forward with Kagetsu by his side.
According to the Goat Monster, the Special Grade Cursed Spirit of Black Mountain was hiding deep within the very core of this place. If he just kept walking, he was bound to find it.
But when he finally reached the exact location described, Shinji's expression changed to one of surprise.
He didn't find any Special Grade Cursed Spirit here.
Instead, he found himself surrounded and blocked in by a horde of monsters.
____________________
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