Cheng Mo walked up to Kochou Shinobu and Uzui Tengen.
Without any pleasantries, he reached into his embrace (actually from the Compass Space) and pulled out a specially made transparent container.
Inside the container, a small piece of dark red, seemingly still slightly squirming flesh tissue was immersed in a light purple medicinal liquid.
It emanated a strong and evil aura, yet was extremely unstable, as if it would explode at any moment, but was forcibly restrained by some power.
That heart-pounding sense of oppression clearly and unmistakably pointed to an Upper Rank Demon!
Cheng Mo's tone was flat: "This is a sample of the attacker's main body. As expected of an Upper Rank, its vitality is very tenacious."
Relying on the "absolute stillness" characteristic of the Compass Space, he forcibly collected and preserved this part of the demon's tissue.
In a way, it was like exploiting a loophole in this world's rule of "demon bodies dissipating after death."
He just hadn't expected Hantengu's tissue to be extremely adaptable to its environment.
After leaving the Compass Space and failing to dissipate immediately, it even began to instinctively absorb the medicinal liquid in the container, which was meant to suppress it, attempting to regenerate!
But the faint, almost invisible azure electric arcs, like the most precise cage, tightly entanglement the squirming flesh.
Every attempt at regeneration was mercilessly stifled and suppressed.
Kochou Shinobu's bandaging movements completely stopped.
Her violet eyes stared intently at the flesh in the container, then she suddenly looked up at Cheng Mo.
Her usual smile vanished without a trace, replaced by immense shock.
Although she knew Cheng Mo's strength was unfathomable, to... single-handedly pursue and successfully slay an Upper Rank Demon?
And he seemed... completely unharmed?!
This was almost beyond her comprehension.
After all, not long ago, she and Uzui Tengen, working together, were completely suppressed and even injured by Zohakuten!
Uzui Tengen, even more so, suddenly stood up from the stone steps, a grimace on his face as the movement pulled at his injury.
But he completely disregarded the pain, his eyes wide open.
This usually flamboyant man's volume unconsciously dropped, filled with disbelief: "...This, this feeling... You really killed it?! Upper Moon Four... its main body?!"
He subconsciously gripped the twin swords beside him, as if the thing in the container would jump out at any moment.
The news was so shocking that he momentarily forgot to emphasize "flamboyant."
Cheng Mo did not explain much. He put away the container.
He turned and walked towards Himura Ruri, who was guarding nearby, and nodded slightly to her.
Then he squatted down and began to carefully check Himura Senichi's condition.
The faint glow of the [Eye of Truth] swept over.
The situation was not optimistic.
Forcibly using "Blood Armor Possession" to fight against an Upper Rank, although it miraculously protected Ruri and everyone, it caused a huge impact on Senichi's already fragile balance.
The demon blood's erosion had clearly deepened, and that violent, evil power had grown even stronger.
But strangely, Senichi's own soul and will also seemed to have been tempered in that extreme obsession to protect, becoming even more resilient.
Now he was in a more dangerous, but also stronger, state of balance than before, like walking a tightrope over a bottomless abyss.
Cheng Mo silently took out his instruments, extracted Senichi's latest blood sample, and carefully preserved it separately from Hantengu's sample.
He had to speed up.
He made a decision in his heart: the next step was to immediately go see Tamayo.
Combining this Upper Rank Demon's sample with Senichi's latest changes might spark new research breakthroughs.
Just then, Uzui Tengen's Kasugai Crow finally seemed to recover from its master's shock.
It suddenly shot up into the sky, in the most exaggerated and noisy way, using all its strength to fly towards the headquarters, cawing hoarsely as it flew:
"Flamboyant good news! Flamboyant good news! Upper Moon Four! Successfully subjugated!"
"Mr. Cheng Mo! Mr. Uzui! Lady Kocho! Super flamboyant! Super flamboyant! Caw—!"
Its voice pierced the clouds, echoing over the Butterfly Mansion... the Ubuyashiki Estate.
Kagaya Ubuyashiki was resting in bed, violent coughing making his pale face flush abnormally.
Amane Ubuyashiki was carefully tending to him nearby.
Suddenly, the Kasugai Crow's distinctive victory cry came from far to near, clearly audible inside the room.
Kagaya Ubuyashiki suddenly sat up, not even minding his body's weakness and pain.
He listened intently, every word like a thunderclap in his ears.
"Upper Moon Four... subjugated... successfully?"
He murmured, repeating the words, an incredibly excited flush instantly rising to his pale face, his breathing becoming rapid.
He suddenly reached out and tightly grasped Amane Ubuyashiki's hand.
Kagaya Ubuyashiki's body trembled slightly from extreme excitement.
"This is wonderful... this is wonderful, Amane, did you hear? Upper Moon Four... a hundred years! An Upper Rank Demon has never been defeated, the wheel of destiny, finally... finally begins to turn towards us!"
His voice was filled with unbelievable ecstasy and choked emotion.
Amane Ubuyashiki clasped his hand back, her eyes also filled with tears of relief and excitement.
She nodded vigorously: "Yes, Mr. Kagaya, I heard it, this is the dawn of hope!"
The news spread like wildfire, quickly reaching the Demon Slayer Corps headquarters and its associated outposts.
Wind Pillar Sanemi Shinazugawa had just returned to his outpost after a fierce battle. When he heard the news, he froze in place.
His usual fierce and irritable expression solidified, replaced by immense shock.
After a few seconds of silence, he suddenly slammed his fist hard against the nearby wall, making a dull "thud" and instantly cracking the wall with spiderweb-like fissures.
Complex emotions churned in his eyes: unwillingness, an indescribable admiration, and finally, a surge of exhilaration that made his whole body's blood burn!
Water Pillar Giyu Tomioka was practicing swordsmanship in the courtyard. Hearing the Kasugai Crow's announcement, his sword-swinging motion paused.
After a brief silence, he merely whispered to himself: "...So strong."
Then, he continued to swing his sword.
However, the force of each of his slashes unconsciously increased by a few points, and the sound of the blade cutting through the air became even more shrill.
Love Pillar Kanroji Mitsuri was eating. Hearing the news, she gasped and covered her mouth in surprise, then happily jumped up.
"Ah ah ah, this is wonderful! Mr. Cheng Mo is amazing! So strong!"
Her cheeks flushed, and her heart raced.
Serpent Pillar Obanai Iguro was curled up in the shadows, his Kaburamaru writhing restlessly in his arms.
When he heard the news, his pupils suddenly contracted. After the shock, there was an even greater wariness of Cheng Mo's unknown power.
But beneath that wariness, a very faint glimmer of hope for the future also quietly emerged.
Mist Pillar Muichiro Tokito was staring blankly at the sky.
Hearing the discussions of others, he tilted his head slightly, repeating with empty eyes: "...An Upper Rank, died too?"
He seemed to still be processing the meaning of this news.
Stone Pillar Gyomei Himejima was chanting sutras in the Buddhist hall.
Upon hearing the news, he stopped tapping the wooden fish drum, his massive body trembled slightly, and two lines of hot tears streamed from his blind eyes.
He clasped his hands together, his voice heavy yet full of hope: "Namu Amida Butsu... Heaven bless the Demon Slayer Corps... This is the sign of dawn... May the departed rest in peace, and the living move forward..."
Flame Pillar Kyojuro Rengoku, who had just returned to his outpost and was dealing with accumulated work, abruptly stood up when he received the news.
He didn't even notice that he had knocked over the items on his desk.
He was first shocked that such a fierce attack had occurred so soon after he left the Butterfly Mansion, and then came a renewed, heartfelt admiration for Cheng Mo's strength.
"Mmm! As expected of Mr. Cheng Mo, to have slain Upper Moon Four, that's truly incredible!"
His booming voice made the room hum, and a scorching flame burned in his golden-red eyes.
"Next time we meet, I must formally invite him again to take on the position of Sound Pillar!"