Chapter 159 Encounter

As the two red blades slashed out, they cut through two-thirds of the flying bone needles. Ichiro reached out and blocked the three of them. The remaining bone needles almost pierced his body, with a few piercing through his arm.

Muichiro looked at the boy who had shielded him from the harm, blood flowing from the boy's wound and staining his kimono.

He stared blankly, his gaze overlapping with that familiar figure from his memory. A black kimono tinged with pale blue, long hair cascading down her back. It was an indescribable familiarity and warmth; even though bone spurs had pierced his shoulders and ears, he seemed oblivious.

"Are you alright, Lord Yuichiro?"

Xiao Tie's voice trembled slightly as he looked intently at Ichiro, who was pierced by bone needles. His eyes were filled with worry and anxiety. Each of those white bone needles was as thick as a finger, and he couldn't imagine how much pain Ichiro must be in.

"I'm fine. You're just getting in the way. Get out of the way."

Despite the excruciating pain, Yuichiro, his brow furrowed, pulled with a sudden burst of strength, yanking the bone spur out of his palm. At that moment, blood gushed forth like a fountain, staining his hands crimson and splashing onto the surrounding ground, forming gruesome blood flowers.

The pain made Ichiro gasp, his face turning deathly pale, and beads of sweat appeared on his forehead. He gritted his teeth, gripping the hilt of his sword tightly with both hands.

"Whoosh whoosh whoosh—".

The chilling whistling sound echoed through the air once more, as the next wave of bone spikes, like a dense rain of arrows, hurtled towards them with deadly force.

In that critical moment, Muichiro reacted with lightning speed, pulling Ichiro aside and shielding him behind him. Holding his sword in one hand, he spun with the lightness of a dancer, each swing precisely deflecting the flying bone spikes. Seeing this, the two defenseless men hastily fled the scene.

"Whoosh whoosh whoosh, what should we do? The poison is starting to seep in, and our hands and feet are starting to go numb."

Your moves look really familiar... Let me think.

Yu Hu pretended to be thinking, and curled the corners of his mouth. Wu's eyes were half covered, and his hands on both sides of his body waved, causing several goldfish that had spat out sharp spines to fly back to his side.

"How ridiculous, saving a life of boredom, only to die in a boring place."

Because that's just a meaningless life that doesn't really matter whether it exists or not.

Muichiro's pupils contracted sharply as fragments flashed through his mind. His mouth opened slightly. A blurry and unsettling image flashed before his eyes—a face with only half its head visible, its mouth wide open, full of sharp teeth, looking exceptionally ferocious.

This scene flashed by in an instant, and another scene immediately appeared before his eyes.

The dilapidated house was hot and dimly lit. A person sat on a bed covered with bedding, their features obscured. They wore a black kimono with blue cloud patterns. Although Muichiro couldn't see the person's face, he could clearly sense their persistent bad mood—an indescribable emotion.

"It's so noisy, do you think you can lecture me?"

Ichiro's voice was filled with impatience and disdain. He was completely oblivious to Muichiro's dazed expression, focusing entirely on the battle before him. His brow was furrowed, and his hand gripping the sword was bleeding from the previous fight, but he seemed utterly unconcerned.

Suddenly, Ichiro leaped forward, appearing beside Gyoku-ko like an arrow released from a bow. His sword gleamed coldly as he swung it at Gyoku-ko without hesitation. However, due to the poison, his movements faltered at the crucial moment, a tiny opening that Gyoku-ko keenly seized upon.

A smug smile appeared on Yu Hu's face. He suddenly raised the jade pot in his hand, and a stream of blue water with waves gushed out from the pot, surging like a flood, instantly submerging Ichiro's entire body.

"Bang--."

With a deafening roar, the water exploded in the air, forming a massive curtain of water. When the curtain dissipated, Ichiro's figure had vanished, replaced by a water sphere tightly enveloped by blue currents. Within the water sphere, Ichiro's figure flickered in and out of sight, unable to move.

Ichiro was suddenly pushed away and fell to the ground, but he seemed to feel no pain, just staring blankly at the water sphere that enveloped him.

"Blood Demon Art: Water Prison Bowl"

Yu Hu looked at it and let out a piercing laugh.

“Very good, suffocation... the ultimate beauty. It has stopped your greatest weapon, the breath.”

The thought of you struggling in agony until death excites me immensely. *Whoosh whoosh whoosh*

No, you can't...

Yuchiro struggled to keep his numb body from completely losing consciousness. Blood seeped from his wounds, staining his clothes, but he seemed oblivious to it.

He gritted his teeth, gripped the hilt of his knife, and swung it with all his might at the blue water sphere. However, the water sphere wobbled like jelly, deflecting his attacks one by one.

"Whoosh whoosh whoosh," Yu Hu's voice was mocking, "This is not a spell that can be easily broken, especially since your movements are so stiff. You are already severely poisoned, and continuing will only lead to your death."

"Muichiro, Muichiro!!"

Ichiro swung his sword, but the blade couldn't penetrate, and each strike was deflected. He could feel his steps becoming heavy. He gripped the sword tightly, calmed his breathing, and raised his hand.

The moment the sword was swung down, a giant goldfish monster suddenly rushed out and slammed into him, sending him flying. The enormous impact caused Ichiro to tumble several times in the air before crashing heavily to the ground, spitting out a mouthful of blood.

The goldfish monster had two arms like sharp blades, each swing unleashing a dozen or so slashes that left Ichiro covered in wounds. Blood stained his clothes and the surrounding ground.

Yu Hu glared fiercely at Yu Yilang, feeling annoyed by his mistake. He could sense that the opponent's sudden aura could pierce through his water prison.

"Breathing of the Moon, Third Form, Aversion to the Moon, Erosion".

Ichiro dodged the ferocious figure of the goldfish monster, its claws outstretched, appearing even more menacing in the cold moonlight, attempting to tear apart all obstacles with brute force.

However, Ichiro was light and agile, like a leaf falling in the night wind. He nimbly sidestepped and easily avoided the attack that was enough to shatter rocks.

While dodging, he swung the Nichirin Blade he was gripping tightly, and two crescent-shaped beams of cold light pierced the night sky, carrying a murderous aura, and accurately sliced ​​the goldfish monster's massive body in two.

Ichiro didn't stop. Using his unstoppable momentum, he leaped up and headed straight for the jade pot. The jade pot, however, seemed to sense the threat of death and instantly retreated back into itself. Only the shattered fragments of the jade pot remained, scattered on the ground, shimmering with an eerie light.

"How annoying, how annoying! I remember now, this move is exactly the same as that of Upper Moon One." Gyokko's voice echoed in the void, filled with boundless rage. "Damn it, I'm going to report this to Lord Muzan. As for you brat, how dare you destroy my artwork time and time again! I will definitely kill you."

Its tone was filled with an obsession with and distortion of beauty, and in its eyes, those lives that were cruelly created were the true art.

"Hey, tentacle monster," Yuichiro gasped. He hadn't expected to get involved with Iwakatsu. No, he had to distract him. He glanced around, his gaze settling on the pile of fragments. A disdainful smile crept onto his lips. He rolled his eyes, his words dripping with sarcasm.

"This is an artwork? Your so-called color scheme is nothing but a chaotic pile-up, and the craftsmanship is crude and utterly devoid of any aesthetic appeal. Such a thing is so ugly that it makes one's eyes go black; even looking at it is a desecration of the eyes."