Who are you calling a stable boy?!

Originally, there wouldn't have been much interaction between Gyutaro and Kaigaku.

However, Muzan Kibutsuji knew that Gyutaro could accurately pinpoint Daki's location through his connection with her.

In other words, Gyutaro can find Zheng Jing's location through his sister's head.

Wouldn't this be a chance to atone for one's mistakes?

"Waaah... This is so scary... We're both Upper Moons... Let's not argue like this..."

A cry broke the silence between Kaigaku and Gyutaro, who were locked in a standoff.

It is the Upper Moon Four—no, it should now be called the Upper Moon Three, the Half-Heaven Dog.

Looking at the old ghost with a tumor on his forehead, a thin body, and seemingly no strength to even kill a chicken, Kaigaku frowned.

Although he was confident that he was no weaker than the newly ascended Upper Moon Three, he still put away his long sword out of caution.

Right now, he still needs Gyutaro to lead the way, and he couldn't possibly kill him anyway.

In Kaigaku's view, it would be a losing proposition to clash with both Upper Moons at the same time for this.

but......

"Are you sure you didn't lead us the wrong way?"

Kaigaku stared at Gyutaro with disgust.

"Why would a Pillar-level swordsman come to this godforsaken place?"

Gyutaro also wants to know the answer to this question.

All he could do was search for his sister.

"Could it be that you're working with that Optimus Prime guy from the inside, planning to set up an ambush here?"

"..."

Taro the Gyu-fu did not respond.

He stood there quietly, perhaps because he wasn't good with words, trying to figure out how to explain—

"An ambush? Just you guys?"

"--who?!"

The words that suddenly reached the ears of the three Upper Moon demons caused Hantengu and Kaigaku to move instinctively.

They looked in the direction of the sound and saw a figure slowly walking towards them from the other end of the mountain path in the forest.

With the 180-pound staff resting on his shoulder, Zheng Jing crossed his hands over and placed them on both ends of the staff, swaying as he walked into the sight of the three evil spirits.

"Sickly old man, shameless old man, oh? What's this unfamiliar face?"

His gaze shifted and he spotted Kaiyue. Zheng Jing raised an eyebrow.

"Such a low fashion value, what kind of rotten sweet potato and bird egg is this? Hey, you sickly devil, does Dog Muzan really have no ghosts left to use? You can even bring out this kind?"

Gifu Taro remained silent, staring intently at Zheng Jing.

But Kaigaku couldn't stand it.

Especially the way Zheng Jing looked at him!

Drawing his long sword from his back, Kaigaku focused his breathing and unleashed a deadly attack—

Thunder Breathing, Fourth Form, Far Thunder!

—"Clang!"

Kaigaku was stunned as he watched his blade slice through his clothes, land on his full pectoral muscles, and finally burst into sparks.

At that very moment, Zheng Jing reached out and, like a cat catching a mouse, grabbed Kuai Yue by the throat.

"Breath of Thunder, oh, it's you, kid."

With that, Zheng Jing slammed Kuai Yue to the ground, stepped on his chest, and with a flick of his other hand, lifted the stick upside down.

"Wait--"

"puff!!"

The masculine internal energy flowed smoothly down the staff, and with a single thrust, the head of this traitor from the Demon Slayer Corps was split open.

"Despicable."

Spitting at the headless corpse that was beginning to disintegrate into ashes, Zheng Jing raised his eyes and looked at the trembling Hantengu and the still silent Gyutaro.

"I'm a kind-hearted person and I can't stand seeing you guys having trouble making choices. Stop thinking about it and just go for it."

With a flick of his long staff, Zheng Jing sneered at the two ghosts.

"I'll take you down right away!"

Chapter 45: You're Next

"Eek! You, you, you are—"

Pointing at Zheng Jing, the trembling, half-hearted dog stammered and took a step back.

There is a saying that when you encounter a wild beast in the mountains with others, especially a large carnivore like a bear or tiger, you should never turn around and run away immediately.

At the very least, you cannot turn and run away before your companions.

Because that would likely make predators see you as a weaker, easier predator, causing them to bypass your companions and attack you first.

Whether this statement is right or wrong is another matter...

At least at this moment, Bantengu's retreat has indeed drawn Zheng Jing's strong attack!

Zheng Jing then slapped the end of the staff with his back hand, and a solid iron staff shot out from between Zheng Jing's palms like an arrow, leaving Bantiangou, who had only taken half a step back, unable to dodge in time.

With a crisp crack, the hideous head covered in tumors exploded!

What a brilliant move! The staff shattered skulls, its remaining force still powerful, smashing several tall pine trees before crashing into the mountainside, leaving only half of the staff sticking out, swaying slightly.

Zheng Jing didn't use his full strength in this move; he aimed for just the right moment before pressing his attack again.

Moreover, given that Hantengu was promoted by Muzan and has now risen to the rank of Upper Moon Three, he shouldn't have been so easily defeated.

—It is 【overly heavy crushing】.

Realizing that it was the long staff's special properties that were at play, Zheng Jing didn't stop moving. As if ignoring the Gyuu Taro beside him, he went straight for the headless mutilated body of Hantengu with his bare hands.

Zheng Jing had a good impression of the Upper Moon Six Demons. Although the Half-Tengu in front of him was not as strong as the top three Upper Moons, its mechanism was indeed excellent.

To put it bluntly, it's almost an upgraded version of Gyutaro and Daki.

Sure enough, just as Zheng Jing was about three steps away from the mutilated body of the half-heavenly dog, the headless body suddenly shattered, and chunks of flesh expanded in mid-air, instantly splitting into four, from a headless body into four evil ghosts with different appearances!

Accumulated anger, cola, empty joy, and utter despair.

This is the Blood Demon Art of Half-Tengu. Whenever he feels he is driven to a dead end, he can unleash a powerful force, transforming from a seemingly weak and emaciated old ghost into a young and strong being with a full range of emotions.

Since he acquired all four bodies, for a century, even when facing the Pillar-level swordsmen of the Demon Slayer Corps, Hantengu had never used them all.

With just one strike, Zheng Jing forced all four of them out at once!

Seeing Zheng Jing approaching, he remained silent, his expression a mixture of joy, anger, sorrow, and pleasure, and immediately began to act.

Although these four individuals each have their own thoughts, they always work in perfect harmony when fighting external enemies, and their actions require no further explanation.

Ai Jue, the best in physical combat among the four, wielded a green-edged cross-shaped spear. After revealing himself, he took the lead without any fancy moves, straightening his waist and extending his arms to strike Zheng Jing's throat with a single spear thrust.

At the same time, Kongxi, who had wings, had already circled behind Zheng Jing, puffed out his belly and raised his head, about to unleash a powerful sonic wave at Zheng Jing.

Cola, holding a round fan, stood in front of Ji Nu, in case Zheng Jing launched a sudden attack.

As the leader of the four bodies, Ji Nu held a staff in his hand. Seeing the spear fall from Ai Jue's hand on the ground and the voice of Kong Xi in the sky, he did not hesitate and slammed the staff into the ground.

As the copper rings at the top of the tin staffs collided, a bolt of lightning shot out from the staffs and instantly struck Zheng Jingtian's head!

"Long——"

This was the killer move that Si Shen had prepared for Zheng Jing.

They knew that Zheng Jing's body seemed impervious to blades and spears. Whether it was the previous encounter with Gyutaro or the death of Kaigaku that had just happened in front of Hantengu, it proved that Zheng Jing's flesh and blood body was as if it were cast from steel.

Although it is unknown how Zheng Jing did it, in this case, the one most likely to take Zheng Jing's life with a single blow among the four is the newly strengthened Thunderclap of Enraged.

Even if Zheng Jingzhen, the pillar of heaven, were a giant Buddha cast in gold and iron, this thunderbolt could shatter him to pieces—

"Uh?!"

Seeing Zheng Jing, amidst the lightning, suddenly grab his face with a claw, Ai Jue's face, which always wore a look of bitterness, couldn't help but show a striking look of terror.

However, before he could use his gun-wielding skills again, the thunderous roar of pent-up anger had already followed Zheng Jing's large hand and plunged into his body!

Zheng Jing snatched Ai Jue's cross-shaped spear, then stepped forward and twisted his waist, hurling the immobilized Ai Jue like a javelin towards Kong Xi in the sky.

With Zheng Jing's current strength, this was no javelin; it was more like a high-flying individual rocket. Completely unprepared for Zheng Jing's counterattack, Kong Xi didn't even have time to unleash his prized speed before being struck squarely by Ai Jue!

Immediately afterward, Ai Jue's cross-shaped spear came after them, piercing the two brothers together in mid-air.

"Oh!"

Zheng Jing leaped up and, despite being behind, caught the cross-shaped spear shaft mid-air, which was still rising with the force of his throw.

With his arms outstretched like a fully drawn bow, Zheng Jing stretched out his muscles and muscles with unrestrained power!

"fool--"

The cross-shaped gun, pierced by two ghostly figures, changed direction and fell from top to bottom towards the accumulated anger and cola on the ground.

"what!"

In a panic, Cola waved his fan, creating a strong wind powerful enough to instantly topple most houses in the era, intending to shove the oncoming flesh-and-blood hammer aside.

However, this was a powerful and well-executed shot by Zheng Jing!

The strong wind collided with the flesh-and-blood hammer, and the stalemate lasted only a moment—

"Bang!!"

With a loud bang, Zheng Jing landed on the ground.

He strode into the depths of the smoke and dust kicked up by the heavy blow.

"What? You're only thinking about starting the second stage now? Don't you know you only have one life?"

Seeing the four bodies strung together, their bodies pounded by the yang internal force, unable to move for a moment due to the severity of their injuries and the inability to regenerate, Zheng Jing first strode past them, went a short distance away, and casually pulled his long staff out of the mountain wall.

"That's right, you lowlifes are used to bullying the weak, you wouldn't know anything about this."

He swaggered back carrying the stick, stood sideways next to the four ghosts, gripped one end of the stick with both hands, and gestured at the ghosts' heads like he was playing golf.

"But it's okay, it's not a big deal, right?"

Meeting the gazes of the four ghosts, Zheng Jing grinned.

"When I can be reincarnated as a human, I'll be more careful then."

"—Smack!"

Four sharp, cracking sounds, like hitting a watermelon, were followed by the death of four headless, motionless ghostly bodies.

Zheng Jing didn't look at the four mutilated bodies that hadn't immediately turned to ash. He simply weighed the long stick in his hand, suddenly tossed it into the air, took a step forward, and then kicked it backward without looking back.

The end of the stick was kicked, and the long stick shot out once again, rushing into the shadows of the forest, smashing the palm-sized half-heavenly dog ​​hiding under the grass into scattered ashes.

"Alright, you sickly brat."

Standing beside the mangled remains that were rapidly turning to ashes, Zheng Jing turned around, raised his hand, and pointed at Gyutaro, who hadn't moved an inch even after the dog was completely dead.

"Next, it's you."

Chapter 46: Zheng Jing is a master of manipulation!

"...Where is my sister?"

"Ok?"

Walking into the woods and retrieving his stick, Zheng Jing wondered if he should put a chain on it or learn some kind of object manipulation technique, otherwise he'd have to pick it up every time he used this release technique...

It looks cool to kill an opponent with a stick, but the way you look for the stick afterward is really pathetic.

"Your sister."

Having retrieved the stick and slung it over his shoulder, Zheng Jing walked back from the woods, reaching behind his waist for a hand gesture.