The thought that a Special Grade Cursed Spirit might be hiding inside this abandoned mine shaft couldn't help but stir waves of excitement in Chinatsu's heart.
For her now, battling a Grade 1 Cursed Spirit barely counted as training anymore; after all, she could eliminate them instantly just by raising her hand and firing a few "Blue" attacks.
However, a Special Grade Cursed Spirit was different. Even the strongest Grade 1 Cursed Spirit would be utterly crushed by a low-ranking Special Grade Cursed Spirit.
Grade 1: Cannot be dealt with even by tanks.
Special Grade: Even carpet bombing with cluster missiles is useless.
Standing outside the abandoned mine shaft, Chinatsu let out a breath, a faint light flickering in her pale blue eyes.
"It absolutely must be a Special Grade..."
Chinatsu muttered to herself. While other Jujutsu Sorcerers prayed not to encounter Cursed Spirits that were too powerful, Chinatsu was uniquely unconventional.
Just like that, Chinatsu stepped into the mine shaft.
Inside the mine shaft, visibility was poor and the terrain was extremely narrow. If not for the Rikugan / Six Eyes enhancing Chinatsu's perception, this terrain alone would be enough to reduce a regular Jujutsu Sorcerer's strength by a notch.
Chinatsu's footsteps echoed continuously throughout the abandoned mine shaft. Because the residual Cursed Energy was distributed very evenly inside, Chinatsu couldn't immediately pinpoint the Cursed Spirit's exact location.
However, it was precisely this uniform residual Cursed Energy that made Chinatsu even more expectant about the grade of the Cursed Spirit hiding within.
At the very least, it's a top-tier Grade 1 Cursed Spirit!
Chinatsu forcibly suppressed the excitement in her heart and continued deeper into the abandoned mine shaft. As one ventures further into the unknown, a normal person's mind would gradually be dominated by fear of the unknown, losing their composure.
But Chinatsu was completely unaffected. Her demeanor didn't look like someone venturing into a dangerous, dark, and narrow cavern at all; it was more like someone suddenly returning home after a long absence, smiling while looking around, glancing everywhere.
This greatly frustrated the Cursed Spirit secretly observing Chinatsu from the shadows, making its body increasingly restless until it finally burst out.
Cursed Spirit: This is my home! Not yours!!!
Instantly, the rock wall above and behind Chinatsu was shattered. A non-humanoid Cursed Spirit, somewhat resembling a four-legged beast, leaped down from above, aiming directly for Chinatsu's back.
However, beneath the invisible barrier formed by Chinatsu's "Limitless Defense," the beast-form Cursed Spirit's claw attack missed.
The Cursed Spirit's eyes trembled slightly upon sensing this invisible barrier. In the split second before it could be confined by Chinatsu's Limitless Power, it performed a Thomas Flair in mid-air, and upon landing, swiftly leaped backward, putting distance between itself and Chinatsu.
The Cursed Spirit stared intently at Chinatsu, and corrosive saliva dripped from its large, fanged mouth, dissolving the ground.
"That Cursed Energy level... that reaction speed... It truly is a Special Grade Cursed Spirit!"
Looking at the ferocious beast-form Cursed Spirit before her, Chinatsu could no longer suppress the smile on her face, revealing a manic grin.
Chinatsu yearned for a breakthrough, and a sufficiently fierce battle was the best fuel for surpassing her limits.
Chinatsu raised her hand, shaping it like a pistol, grinned, and shouted, "Cursed Technique Lapse: Blue!"
Instantly, blue light burst forth from her fingertip. The special energy substance, like light and flame, rapidly expanded, turning into a pale blue miniature black hole that shot toward the Special Grade Cursed Spirit.
Due to the powerful gravitational pull attached to it, although the Special Grade Cursed Spirit tried to dodge, it was forcefully dragged back, and a large hole was blasted through its body.
Although this appeared to inflict heavy damage, in just a few seconds, the hole in the Special Grade Cursed Spirit's body regenerated and healed at a visible speed.
Unlike human Jujutsu Sorcerers, physical regeneration and recovery are not difficult for Cursed Spirits, and the healing speed of a Special Grade Cursed Spirit is even more astonishing.
Of course, if a human Jujutsu Sorcerer learns "Reverse Cursed Technique," they can achieve the same—regenerating severed limbs or even coming back from the dead... As the Special Grade Cursed Spirit's body fully recovered, it decisively opened its gaping maw, and a pure Cursed Energy projectile rapidly condensed.
In just a few short seconds, this Cursed Energy projectile fiercely shot out within the narrow cavern.
Bang!!!
A deafening roar echoed from inside the abandoned cavern, and thick plumes of smoke drifted out of the entrance, rising toward the sky.
The Special Grade Cursed Spirit's hideous face revealed a savage smile, but before it could even laugh properly, several "Blue" attacks suddenly flew out from the dense smoke, blasting several more large holes into the body of the savagely laughing Cursed Spirit.
At the same time, Chinatsu slowly emerged from the thick smoke, raising her hand to fan the air around her.
"To release such a massive output of Cursed Energy in such a confined space—truly worthy of a Cursed Spirit, having absolutely no regard for its surroundings," Chinatsu said calmly.
Although her "Limitless Defense" ensured that the Cursed Energy cannon couldn't harm her in the slightest, the abandoned mine shaft couldn't withstand such an impact.
When faced with the Cursed Spirit's Cursed Energy cannon just now, Chinatsu instantly analyzed that even the residual shockwaves posed a risk of collapse for the abandoned mine shaft.
Therefore, Chinatsu expanded her "Limitless Defense" to counteract as much of the Cursed Energy cannon's output as possible. If the abandoned mine shaft collapsed, even if the Cursed Spirit was ultimately exorcised, it would still count as a defeat for Chinatsu.
However... Chinatsu's eyes fixed on the Special Grade Cursed Spirit before her. Over the years, she had trained "Blue" to the point where she could activate it instantly or even fire it in quick succession, which she had just done.
Yet, the Special Grade Cursed Spirit had already started its self-recovery for the second time; overall, the effect was minimal.
This was Chinatsu's current weakness.
Her defense was top-tier, but her offensive output against Cursed Spirits was not considered high-level.
Chinatsu had been well aware of her current shortcomings before, but after directly confronting the Special Grade Cursed Spirit's self-recovery ability, this flaw became even more apparent in her eyes.
But more than that, as Chinatsu stared at the Special Grade Cursed Spirit, a new question suddenly arose in her mind.
The Cursed Energy emanating from this Cursed Spirit felt strange; faintly, a secondary Cursed Energy that didn't originally belong to it was seeping out from within its body.
Wait, this ominous Cursed Energy is... In a brief flash, Chinatsu suddenly realized what the anomaly hidden within the Special Grade Cursed Spirit before her was.
"A Special Grade Cursed Object, Sukuna's fingers!"
...
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