Shota is surrounded by monsters!

A powerful suction force pulled all the ghosts that were attacking Shota into his mouth!

"Comfortable."

In less than half a minute, all the ghosts had been swallowed by Shota. He muttered something unsatisfyingly, saying that although the quality was low, the quantity was still quite considerable.

The scene was cleared up easily, without even needing to manifest the true form of the Taotie, which is actually a very good thing.

"Next..."

Just as he turned to leave, the eerie, demonic aura still emanating from the cemetery made Shota stop in his tracks.

—Come here… I’m here…

It was as if something was calling to him. No, it was calling to the desires within his heart.

—Come here… I can grant your wish…

Like the devil's temptation, soft whispers kept echoing in Shota's ears.

—Come to me, you don't need to put shackles on yourself... You just need to... do whatever you want...

Shota's hidden demonic aura was gradually drawn out, and then...

All whispers vanished in an instant.

"Who?"

Shota asked in a low voice, then slowly turned around and looked with an unusually serious gaze at a tombstone in the cemetery that was inlaid with a red gem-like substance.

This pure evil was something Shota had never felt since birth. Even his gluttonous father had acquired a touch of intelligence from his long experience in human society.

In that brief moment, Shota almost lost control of his body and reverted to his true form as the Gluttonous Beast. If it weren't for the Gluttonous Beast spirit hidden within his bloodline devouring the wisp of demonic energy that had invaded his body…

Shota strode towards the red gem.

In his vision, countless demonic tentacles extended from the red gem. A small portion of them pulled out harmless spirits that were playing in the graveyard and turned them into evil spirits, while most of the tentacles were pulling at Shota's body, trying to drag him in front of him.

For the first time since arriving in Japan, Shota unleashed his demonic aura without restraint.

A black aura swirled around Shota, vaguely forming a phantom image of a gluttonous beast, its enormous mouth greedily biting at the demonic energy emanating from the red stone.

Highly nourishing...

For this reason, Shota did not choose to turn around and leave. The aroma emanating from the stone had completely aroused Shota's greedy appetite.

How do you influence the mind of a Taotie?

You must be kidding. A glutton will only ever obey its own appetite; everything else...

Just eat it!

Whether it's demons and monsters, or anything else...

Just eat it!

"Ah!"

Shota smashed the tombstone with a punch, clutched the red gem in his hand, examined the stone that had completely captured his attention, and then unhesitatingly threw it into his mouth...

A butterfly radiating light?

As he tossed the stone into the air, a butterfly of exquisite beauty and elegance flew past Shota's eyes.

Then, countless butterflies swarmed over!

Shota instinctively covered his head, and as the butterflies brushed past him, his clothes suddenly turned into strips of cloth. The demonic energy emanating from him entangled several fluorescent butterflies that emitted an eerie aura.

The red stone has disappeared.

Shota held the butterfly, which was entangled with his own demonic aura, in his hand, put it in his mouth and chewed it a couple of times, then turned to look at the person who had suddenly appeared—or perhaps a demon.

"I never expected to lure out a monster. I originally just wanted to find someone to do an experiment on."

The white-haired boy tossed the stone he had just snatched from Shota's mouth, glanced at Shota with only one eye showing, and said, "I never expected that a yokai could resist the temptation of the Killing Stone."

"Killing Stone..."

Upon hearing this address, Shota paused for a moment, but he quickly understood.

Such pure and evil demonic power could only belong to the sealed nine-tailed fox.

The Killing Stone is the crystal that seals the soul of the Nine-Tailed Fox. However, the Killing Stone is not a single piece; it has been fragmented and scattered throughout Japan. The Nine-Tailed Fox… is a being even more powerful than the Supreme Commander of the Demons.

Even the Gluttonous Old Man wouldn't dare to guarantee that he could "swallow YOU in one gulp".

However, what Shota was more concerned about was not the killing stone that the boy was throwing in his hand, but the boy's left eye that was covered by his bangs.

There...it seems there's a Killing Stone there too.

In other words... the boy in front of me has already merged with the demonic power of the nine-tailed fox, becoming a species that is neither human nor demon.

For Shota... it's something he can eat!

"What a keen sense of smell!"

The mysterious white-haired boy noticed Shota's gaze, smiled, and then said coldly, "However, it would be better to kill you first."

The moment the mysterious white-haired boy uttered those words, Shota transformed into his Taotie form without hesitation and pounced on him.

"Ow!"

It swung its claws and swept across.

The white-haired boy transformed into butterflies once more and scattered, floating in mid-air. Shota glared at him with his enormous pupils, then suddenly opened his mouth wide.

I'll devour you in one gulp!

It was as if there was a black hole inside the Taotie's body, frantically pulling everything in front of him into his mouth!

A sudden gust of wind arose!

The wind, comparable to a super typhoon, instantly devastated the cemetery. The fluorescent butterflies, facing its power, could not escape even a step no matter how hard they flapped their wings; instead, they seemed to be pulled towards it.

"whispering sound."

The boy, who had recreated the butterfly form, stood in mid-air, calmly waved his hand, and then threw several needles toward Shota's mouth!

"Crack—"

Items imbued with spiritual power, or rather, demonic power, are not so easy to digest. Shota took a bite and crushed the thousand needles that were trying to attack his body.

"With methods like this..."

Before Shota could finish speaking, several more black, gigantic-mouthed worms shot out from the other person's sleeve and attacked him directly! Shota, however, neither dodged nor parried, and opened his mouth to swallow the worms whole!

"puff."

The juice burst open.

"How does the giant venomous corpse worm taste?"

The white-haired boy looked mockingly at the Taotie, whose body was still somewhat unsteady after biting off the insect. With a flick of his wrist, another weapon resembling a vajra appeared in his palm, which he then prepared to throw at Shota.

Shota, seemingly sensing something, started running away without saying a word.

"Spirit Eater Liberation".

"Ow!!"

A giant white dog head suddenly lunged at the boy who was floating in mid-air!

"The Tsuchimiya family... Byakuei."

The white-haired youth, who had transformed into a butterfly to dodge the attack, looked at the man not far away who was bound by chains and connected to the so-called strongest spirit beast, Bai Rui, and chose to flee without hesitation.

"Two Rank A monsters... one of them even possesses the Killing Stone..."

After seeing the other party escape, the middle-aged man who had intruded looked towards where Shota had originally been, only to find that it had also vanished. After retrieving the spirit beast Bai Rui back into his body, he looked towards a corner on the other side.

"Since you're here, show yourself, Lord of Yokai... Nurarihyon no Sumeru."

"Wow, the current head of the Tsuchimiya family is quite powerful. He saw through my location so quickly."

A thin, old man with a protruding back of his head emerged from his hiding place and looked at the stern-faced exorcist dressed in a kimono, saying, "What? Want to test your skills against this old man?"

"We don't have that plan for now... I just have one question. Will you demons get involved in the Killing Stone matter?"

"The Killing Stone? Ah, you mean the Nine-Tails. Although I don't know the Nine-Tails, a demon who wants to become the Nine-Tails has a rather deep 'connection' with my family."

The Nurarihyon Chieftain turned his back and left, saying, "You humans have no right to interfere in the affairs between youkai. If you don't want to die too soon, don't get too involved with the Sesshoseki... Ah, people get forgetful when they get old. Your Tsuchimiya clan has long had an unbreakable connection with that Nine-Tails."

With that, he transformed into a wisp of wind and disappeared from the sight of the current Tsuchimiya family.

"Pah, pah, pah."

On the other side, Shota, who had transformed into a miniature Taotie, was spitting as he ran quickly.

Oh, what a blunder! I never imagined the food would be poisonous... It might not have poisoned the Taotie, but the smell was absolutely awful. And it's still lingering in Shota's mouth.

It's best not to eat random things in the future.

Although he could swallow it whole, even its breath, with his powerful stomach, the thought of having to swallow that thing sent a chill down Shota's spine.

You should rinse your mouth with some water.

Shota ran to an abandoned building, found a well, and jumped in without saying a word.

Glug glug glug—

vomit--

"Ah, that feels so much better."

Although it was an abandoned well, there was still a little water left inside. After rinsing his mouth, Shota finally felt calm again. However, he began to think about the boy he had just met.

The Killing Stone... but those thousand needles and the Vajra Pestle seem more like the techniques of an exorcist. Their strength is probably around A-level; they couldn't possibly be that much stronger than me.

However, my combat experience is far too limited. I probably still lack the strength to emulate my father's ability to overpower and devour others in one gulp.

Shota touched his head with his little paws. Two little chubby bumps had protruded slightly, but it would probably take a long time before they grew into horns.

The growth of a Taotie is purely related to its appetite; as long as it doesn't die from overeating, it will grow faster and faster.

Shota flicked his tail and climbed up the vertical well wall, step by step.

That's enough for tonight. Time to go home and sleep. Maybe we'll go out and find something to eat another time...

Ok?