Chapter 152: Collecting Famous Weapons of the World
The awakening of the Muramasa was temporarily put on hold.
Although the cracks along the dark metal did not continue to expand, that hair-thin fracture served as a constant, glaring reminder to Kobe Hikaru. He needed better materials. He needed Totosai.
The Tanuki Spirit's intelligence network had already been scattered across the land, and news was currently making its way back.
There was no rush.
He would use this quiet interim to think clearly about another pressing matter.
How to proceed on the path ahead.
This was the core question Kobe Hikaru had been turning over in his mind ever since he managed to repel the Tsuchigumo.
As established before, he had now successfully completed the Ninth Transformation.
This marked the third step of Materialization. He had already walked a long way past the original limits of the six stages of Physical Transformation, yet he remained three steps away from the absolute peak of the Twelve Transformations. That peak was Kobe Hikaru's ultimate goal for achieving perfect quality.
Tenth Transformation. Eleventh Transformation. Twelfth Transformation.
He knew the theoretical method to proceed. He knew he simply needed to continue stacking.
The transformations following Materialization were essentially operating on the exact same logic as those during Physical Transformation. It was simply a matter of stuffing new things into existing pockets.
At most, the pockets themselves were undergoing a structural change. They possessed a much larger capacity and far stronger elasticity, capable of bearing a terrifying amount of quality and quantity compared to his past limits.
The Spirit-Tracking Archer Transformation, the Thunder Muscle Transformation, and the Bone Soul Transformation. These three core foundations, which had previously been pushed to the point of overloading, had regained massive room for growth following his recent qualitative evolution.
The Venomous Flood Dragon Spear-Waist Transformation, the Sharp Eye Transformation, and the Blood Transformation were also steadily improving in the background.
Following this same logic, as long as he continued to stuff those six pockets to the brim, reaching the Tenth Transformation would not be difficult. From there, a clear path would naturally unfold for the Eleventh and Twelfth Transformations.
But knowing how to walk a path and actually having the means to walk it were two entirely different concepts.
Every single filling and enhancement of a transformation required a corresponding physical or spiritual anchor. Just like fusing bones and soul, integrating Thunder Muscle into his flesh, and perfectly merging the Spirit-Tracking properties with the Archer.
Kobe Hikaru simply could not fathom how he was supposed to reach that final step with his current resources.
He also harbored a lingering feeling that his future transformations could no longer be limited to external enhancements. He had to begin pursuing the inside.
The internal structure. His internal organs.
And even the soul itself.
Only by achieving a complete overhaul of all these transformations could he truly return from the dead, completely shedding this state of being half-dead and half-alive.
However, there was no point in rushing if the solution eluded him for now.
As long as he conquered enough high-tier objects and ensured they were complete, he would eventually find the corresponding pieces to his puzzle.
As long as he secured more items with maximum favorability, stacked more transformations, and accumulated enough quantitative changes, the qualitative leap would definitely happen.
And what that required was, naturally and without a single doubt...
'Items.'
If he could locate more artifacts with powerful, reality-bending abilities, integrate those abilities directly into his own body, and continue to accumulate power, then reaching his goal would not take long at all.
This was a path with clear footprints to follow. It was straightforward and brutally effective.
And this world was certainly not lacking in famous weapons.
After all, within Kobe Hikaru's perception, this was a massive, mixed world where legendary weapons from entirely different systems and eras were scattered across the land.
For example, the legendary relics of Toga, the greatest Daiyokai of the Western Lands in the Kansai region. He left behind three supreme demon blades symbolizing heaven, earth, and the netherworld: the Tenseiga, the Tessaiga, and the So'unga.
Or perhaps the blade currently held by the future Master of All Demons, Nurarihyon. The demon-slaying blade Nenekirimaru, forged by a peerless Onmyoji. It possessed the power to slay Hagoromo Gitsune and inflict wounds that absolutely could not be healed. In this chaotic mixed world, it was undoubtedly capable of permanently severing even abstract concepts and phenomena.
Beyond those, there were countless other demon blades, evil swords, hidden treasures, and divine artifacts waiting to be claimed.
And then there were weapons that appeared ordinary on the surface, yet possessed incredibly specific and lethal properties.
Like the Nichirin Sword.
The moment that name crossed his mind, Kobe Hikaru's train of thought shifted gears.
He recalled the parting words the Tsuchigumo had spoken before leaving.
That specific guy he mentioned.
Kibutsuji Muzan.
The Progenitor of Demons.
An existence so stubbornly resilient that he could still come back even after being violently slapped to death seventeen times in a row by the Tsuchigumo.
In the original lore of the Demon Slayer Corps, the only two things in existence that could permanently kill the demons created by Muzan were pure sunlight and the Nichirin Sword.
But fundamentally, those two things were the exact same weapon.
The Nichirin Sword was forged from scarlet iron sand and scarlet ore, materials mined from high mountains that were bathed in sunlight all year round, absorbing a massive amount of solar energy into the very stone.
Swords crafted from these specific materials could attach the lethal, burning properties of sunlight directly to the blade's edge, effortlessly severing the supposed immortality of those demons.
If he were to cross paths with Muzan in the future...
The Nichirin Sword, or at the very least the raw materials required to forge one, were items he absolutely had to obtain.
Although Kaede Village had been exceptionally peaceful recently, with no wandering demons or evil spirits daring to attack, Kobe Hikaru had a cold, sinking feeling that they would inevitably face Muzan again.
After all, based on the current situation, although that Progenitor of Demons was not overwhelmingly strong and could never compare to a true Daiyokai in a direct clash, he was exceptionally skilled at lying low. He was currently lurking deep within the chaotic ranks of the hundred demons in Kyoto, and it was highly likely that his greedy eyes were already fixed on the Shikon Jewel.
And if Kobe Hikaru could integrate the ability of the Nichirin Sword into his own body... perhaps he could also master a transformation related to the sun.
He could use this precise method to gain one more powerful transformation for himself.
Operating on this exact line of thought, Kobe Hikaru immediately issued new, strict instructions to his Twenty-Three Demons.
He demanded a thorough investigation into various legendary items, as well as any movements regarding demons and the Demon Slayer Corps.
As an ancient organization that had spent centuries chasing Kibutsuji Muzan with the sole purpose of eliminating him, the raw materials for the Nichirin Sword were securely in the hands of the Demon Slayer Corps.
And the intelligence report that followed shortly after surprised even Kobe Hikaru.
The Demon Slayer Corps of this specific era, or rather, the mysterious existence responsible for forging the Nichirin Swords for their elite members, was highly likely to be directly related to Totosai.
Even that highly coveted scarlet iron sand and scarlet ore might very well have originated from Totosai's own forge.
"Totosai again."
Kobe Hikaru suddenly felt that while the world was vast and boundless, in some strange, interconnected ways, it was also incredibly small.
Every single clue he chased pointed toward the exact same direction.
Find Totosai, and he could perfectly reforge the Muramasa.
Find Totosai, and he could establish a connection to the Tessaiga.
Find Totosai, and he could follow the trail straight to the Nichirin Sword.
The only remaining problem was actually locating the eccentric old blacksmith.
However, looking at it from another angle, he only needed to complete this single, crucial step to kill three birds with one stone.
Thus, the days passed.
It was another quiet nightfall.
Kobe Hikaru carefully put away the cracked Muramasa and took the opportunity to complete his daily routine, grinding the conquest of Yura of the Hair and the Poison Jiao Scale.
[Yura of the Hair: Favorability 56]
[Poison Jiao Scale: Favorability 54]
Without the intimidating presence and direct assistance of the Muramasa, his progress had slowed down to a crawl once again.
Fortunately, the numbers were still rising, however slowly.
Besides these two, there were his other ongoing projects.
[Well: Favorability 100 (Mergeable Ability — Saliva Surge)]
[Rock: Favorability 100 (Mergeable Ability — Immovable, can always remain motionless, like a stone)]
[Pine Tree: Favorability 100 (Mergeable Ability — Rooting: allows you to root your legs into the ground, and then that's it)]
[Shikon Jewel: Favorability 84]
[Sacred Tree: Favorability 7]
[Kanto Region: Favorability 2]
Just as he had expected from the very beginning, even if one successfully conquered completely ordinary objects, the talents they provided upon merging were basically useless garbage. Kobe Hikaru would certainly never choose to fuse his body with them.
However, Kobe Hikaru had still carefully grinded through all of them, regardless of whether they were useful or not.
After all, even a rock or a tree could usually provide some minor, situational assistance to him in a pinch.
It was right at this exact moment.
In the absolute dead of night.
The entire world suddenly trembled for a single, fleeting instant.
It was not a violent shaking like an earthquake, because this specific tremor... came descending from the sky and then sank heavily into the ground.
It was Yoki.
Kobe Hikaru suddenly raised his eyes, his senses flaring to life.
A vast, unfathomably immense Yoki was pressing in from the dark distance far outside the village borders.
His Blood Mist Perception captured the terrifying anomaly at the very first millisecond.
Kobe Hikaru's body reacted far faster than his conscious thought. He sprang up from beneath the ancient pine tree, the bone-white ghost mask instantly coalescing in his hand, and his Crimson Demon Eyes suddenly contracted into sharp slits.
Coming again?
Another Daiyokai?
Another... Tsuchigumo?
But in the very next second, his mind completely denied his initial, instinctual reaction.
This Yoki was fundamentally, entirely different from the Tsuchigumo's.
When the Tsuchigumo had descended from the sky, its Yoki was like a catastrophic landslide or a raging tsunami. It was savage, violent, and completely unhinged, disrupting even the heavens themselves and causing the turbid clouds within a hundred miles to churn in absolute agony.
But the Yoki currently pressing down on the village was incredibly quiet.
A deep quietness that was pure to the extreme.
There was no suffocating oppression, no mindless brutality, not even the slightest hint of killing intent or hostility spreading through the air.
It was simply existing.
It felt exactly like a massive mountain standing silently in the distance. Unmoving and unshaken, yet you inherently know it is taller than you, heavier than you, and a hundred times older than you.
The air for several miles around did not become thick or heavy, nor did the night sky change its color.
It was just that every single insect in the grass had completely stopped chirping.
The nocturnal birds were no longer calling out from the branches.
Even the faint spiritual light humming at the very edge of Kikyo's protective barrier produced subtle, visible fluctuations... gentle ripples caused solely by the sheer, overwhelming 'quality' of that Yoki.
This was something entirely innate.
It was by no means a crude condensation of Turbid Qi accumulated through centuries of slaughter, but rather a majestic power carried by the bloodline itself, deeply engraved into the very bones from the exact moment of birth.
It was what the world called... a natural-born Daiyokai.
A supreme existence derived from a truly noble bloodline.
Kobe Hikaru's hand slowly, deliberately pressed onto the hilt of his Muramasa.
He 'recognized' this specific feeling.
Among all the vast amounts of information he knew before transmigrating into this body, in this specific world and this specific era, the Daiyokais that could make him feel this deep realization of innate nobility were incredibly few and far between.
And among that tiny handful, the one that perfectly matched the characteristics of the aura currently standing before him...
"Sesshomaru."
The name squeezed out of his throat, carrying an irrepressible, heavy gravity.
Hailing from the Western Lands dog demon clan, the proud eldest son of Toga.
A flawless, natural-born Daiyokai.
Just at this exact moment, the sliding paper door of the main hall was pushed open with a sharp clack.
Kikyo walked out into the cool night air.
Wearing her pristine white robes and bright red hakama, her long wooden bow was already firmly grasped in her hand.
Her long, jet-black hair was completely unbound, draping elegantly behind her slender shoulders. She calmly tucked a stray strand of hair from her forehead behind her ear with her pale fingers, revealing that cold, exquisitely beautiful face.
Her pitch-black eyes looked straight out past the village borders, piercing through the darkness.
She had also sensed it.
"Daiyokai."
Kikyo spoke these three syllables.
Her voice was perfectly calm, betraying no fear, but the slender fingers gripping the wood of her bow tightened just a fraction.
Their gazes met silently in mid-air.
Coming again.
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