Meanwhile, deep within the dense forest, far from the clamor of the Butterfly Mansion.
The small, timid body of Hantengu was curled up in a hollow at the base of a giant oak tree.
He hugged his head, trembling, and whimpered incoherently.
"Horrible… too horrible… I almost died… that armor… and the Hashira…"
Shadows flickered, and Zohakuten and a somewhat disheveled Rokuro arrived one after another.
Zohakuten's brows were tightly furrowed. He looked at the useless body beneath the tree, a clear hint of disgust flashing in his eyes.
But in the end, he said nothing, merely standing in silence, radiating the lingering embers of violence and suppression.
Rokuro, however, lacked such composure. He panted, his face etched with lingering fear and anxiety.
He couldn't help but complain in a low voice, "We've completely messed up this time! We didn't capture the sample, and we exposed our intel… How are we going to explain this to Muzan-sama…?"
He wanted to say more, but under Zohakuten's cold gaze, he could only shut his mouth sullenly, rubbing his hands uneasily.
Just then—
Sizzle!
Several vines, composed entirely of highly condensed, azure lightning, burst from the ground beneath the three demons without warning!
They coiled upwards like living vipers, instantly binding Zohakuten, Rokuro, and the trembling body beneath the tree tightly!
"Ugh ah ah ah!"
Hantengu's body let out a pig-like shriek.
Zohakuten, too, was covered in crackling electricity. He roared in anger, "What is this?! Where did this attack come from?!"
"Ugh ah—!"
Rokuro also let out a cry of pain, struggling fiercely, but the lightning vines were incredibly tough; the more he struggled, the tighter they became.
The powerful voltage instantly pierced through their entire bodies, bringing intense burning pain and a strong sense of paralysis.
It made them almost unable to move, and even gathering strength became extremely difficult!
And in his intense shock, Rokuro suddenly thought of a possibility.
His face instantly turned ashen, his voice distorted by fear: "Could it… could it be that person?! How could he have found this place?!"
As if in response to his conjecture, clear and steady footsteps echoed through the dense forest.
Tap… tap… tap… Cheng Mo's figure slowly emerged from the shadows, his nichirin blade, "startled insects," already drawn from its sheath.
The pale golden blade shimmered with electric arcs under the sparse moonlight, illuminating his indifferent profile in flickering light and shadow.
And the black crow standing on his shoulder elegantly preened its feathers with its beak, its crow eyes gleaming with cold, clear light in the darkness.
Cheng Mo's gaze bypassed the tightly bound Zohakuten and Rokuro, falling instead on the small old man who was trembling the most, having received special attention from the lightning vines.
"So the body was hiding in a place like this, its aura almost perfectly blending with the environment. It did take me some effort."
Hearing his words, Rokuro shrieked in disbelief, as if struck by lightning:
"You… you were already here?! Impossible! My mental imprints are spread all around, how could I have completely failed to detect you?!"
Cheng Mo did not reply, nor did he even glance at him.
The black crow standing on his shoulder elegantly preened its feathers, its low, charming voice sounding particularly sarcastic at this moment:
"Your ability, in essence, is to tune your own spiritual energy to a specific frequency band, like a broadcast signal, implanting it into others' consciousness for sensory sharing or thought interference."
It paused, and a hint of human-like mockery seemed to flash in its crow eyes.
"And to alter and interfere with such a predetermined 'signal' is not too difficult for me."
As a familiar who had entered into an absolute contract with Cheng Mo, the black crow shared a portion of the Eye of Truth's analytical capabilities.
Combined with its own keen talent for energy fluctuations, achieving this was indeed not difficult.
Although Rokuro didn't understand terms like "broadcast signal" or "frequency tuning," he fully grasped the meaning of what the other party said.
His greatest reliance, his unfailing scouting and stealth ability, had been completely seen through and deciphered by the opponent!
A bone-chilling cold instantly enveloped him.
His heart was dead, and even the strength to struggle seemed to have been drained from him.
On the other side, however, Zohakuten displayed the ferocity of an Upper Rank Demon.
He suddenly let out a furious roar, actually forcing one arm, wrapped in electric arcs and emitting black smoke, free.
He laboriously struck a taiko drum on his back with his free hand!
Dong!
A grotesque, giant wooden dragon burst from the ground in response, charging towards Cheng Mo with destructive momentum.
The wooden dragon's gaping maw seemed intent on devouring him!
However, at the exact same moment the wooden dragon attacked—
The ground beside Cheng Mo suddenly collapsed, and a massive hand, composed entirely of earth and stone, yet also entwined with violent, azure lightning, erupted from the ground!
This giant lightning-earth hand precisely grabbed the wooden dragon by the neck, its five fingers clenching shut.
Crack!
The wooden dragon let out an incomparably mournful shriek; its massive body was firmly restrained by that absolute power and rampaging lightning, twisting madly but unable to break free even an inch!
Zohakuten and Rokuro's pupils simultaneously constricted, their faces filled with disbelief.
Demons had a certain degree of information sharing.
The intelligence regarding Cheng Mo specifically mentioned his terrifying Thunder Breathing, his bizarre speed, his incredibly defensive lightning armor, and his nichirin blade… But this ability to manipulate earth and stone and imbue them with lightning power had never appeared in any intelligence.
Rokuro suddenly looked at Zohakuten, then at the giant lightning-earth hand that was gripping the wooden dragon.
A terrifying thought surfaced in his mind, making him shriek in horror: "This… this is your Blood Demon Art! He… he can replicate—"
Before he could finish, a pale golden flash of lightning flickered past his eyes as if teleporting.
Rokuro only felt a chill at his neck; all sound and thought instantly ceased.
His head flew high, his face still frozen in extreme shock and disbelief.
Cheng Mo's figure had appeared beside him at some unknown point, "startled insects" already sheathed.
"I've grown tired of your abilities,"
he said indifferently.
He had no lingering attachment to a sample that had lost its research value.