Gyokko was already dead, and Muzan, who was hiding in the Infinity Castle, received the news and the images of his dying moments.
A chilling coldness emanated from his feet, spreading throughout his body, and he began to tremble uncontrollably again.
Originally, he thought Chiba Yo merely resembled Yoriichi, and that his Upper Ranks would definitely be able to kill him, but the images transmitted by Gyokko before his death showed that this was not the case at all.
Although it was a sword technique he had never seen, the scorching sensation that assailed him was still vivid in his memory; he was certain it was the Breathing Technique Yoriichi had used, Sun Breathing.
The last time Chiba Yo encountered Muzan, he was somewhat bewildered by Muzan's tactic of splitting himself and fleeing directly, so he didn't have time to display his sword techniques, only simply slashing with his Crimson Blade, thus Muzan's sensation wasn't too intense.
However, from the images transmitted by Gyokko, Muzan clearly felt the same sensation he had experienced when facing Yoriichi back then.
When he didn't act, he was like an ordinary person, but once he struck, it was like a thunderbolt, giving the enemy no time to react; even if one's body was already aware, it couldn't respond.
I can't just stay like this. The demons outside will eventually be completely annihilated, and then the entire Demon Slayer Corps might discover my whereabouts...
Muzan covered his face with one hand, his eyeballs constantly trembling; now he was treating Chiba Yo as Yoriichi.
He, who originally didn't care much about the Demon Slayer Corps, was now beginning to fear, because in his memory, when he encountered Chiba Yo, he was wearing the Demon Slayer Corps uniform underneath.
He was not afraid of the other members of the Demon Slayer Corps; he was mainly afraid of them finding his hiding place and then Chiba Yo learning of it.
Soon, he came up with a countermeasure and summoned the top three Upper Ranks. These three Upper Ranks, besides being the three most powerful demons beneath him, also frequently recruited employees for demons, and they contained the most of Muzan's blood within them.
"Muzan-sama."
Kokushibou, Douma, and Akaza quickly arrived in the Infinity Castle and knelt before Muzan.
"I will bestow upon you more of my blood. Afterwards, the few of you will go outside and create more demons for me. You don't need to focus on strength, but the quantity must be large, and their locations must be dispersed, not just in one place. Do you understand?"
Muzan spoke directly and to the point to the three Upper Ranks.
His idea was to create more demons for the Demon Slayer Corps members and Chiba Yo to deal with, thus leaving them no time to pay attention to him.
Although Upper Ranks could also create demons, it required his blood; essentially, only he could truly create demons.
"If you don't have enough blood, you can ask me for it at any time."
Muzan added.
This time, he didn't hold any criticism meetings to scold all three of them; his tone was much calmer than in the past. Now was when he needed these three Upper Ranks, and Muzan didn't want them to suddenly make any mistakes.
He didn't call the other two remaining Upper Ranks because they lacked strength and also had problematic personalities, making them unsuitable for this kind of work.
The three Upper Ranks were somewhat surprised by Muzan's change. Douma, seeing Muzan in such a good mood today, thought he was also in a very good mood, and immediately reverted to his previous playful demeanor, smiling mischievously at Muzan and saying, "I understand, Muzan-sama, I will do this task well."
Then, he put on a puzzled expression and asked, "What if I encounter that young man you mentioned last time? Should I kill him, or turn him into a demon?"
Listening to Douma's flippant words, Muzan was utterly enraged and immediately wanted to pluck off his head.
You speak so lightly of killing the person I fear immensely, and you even want to turn him into a demon? If you can truly do that, I'll let you sit on my Demon King's throne!
A barbed flesh whip grew from Muzan's back, and the sharp tip instantly pierced Douma's forehead.
While distributing his blood to Douma, Muzan said to the three Upper Ranks, "Gyokko is dead, killed by that young man I told you about last time. The battle ended in an instant; that guy couldn't even last two moves."
Hearing Muzan's words, Akaza and Kokushibou were startled.
Although Gyokko's strength was far inferior to theirs, the ability to instantly kill Gyokko might already surpass them.
"Tha...thank you for the gift, Muzan-sama..."
Douma's brain was pierced by Muzan's barbed flesh whip, and a large amount of blood surged into his body from the tip of the barb, causing his thoughts to be somewhat unclear and his speech not very articulate.
Akaza glanced at Douma next to him, feeling great dissatisfaction that it wasn't him who died among the Upper Ranks.
"When you act, be smarter. Don't die like Gyokko, having accomplished nothing, understand?" Muzan withdrew the barb from Douma's forehead and spoke to the remaining two Upper Ranks.
His meaning was to run away quickly if they encountered Chiba Yo, and to prioritize the tasks he had assigned them now.
"Understood, sir."
Kokushibou and Akaza responded.
After giving some of his blood to Kokushibou and Akaza as well, Muzan had Nakime teleport him back to the depths of the Infinity Castle, leaving only Kokushibou, Douma, and Akaza behind.
Having received a portion of Muzan's blood again, their strength had also been enhanced to a certain extent.
"Akaza-kakka, I'm truly delighted to see you again so soon." After Muzan left, Douma threw an arm around Akaza's shoulder, smiling enthusiastically as he said to him.
Then, his rainbow-colored eyes looked at Akaza's face, and as their faces were almost touching, Douma spoke to Akaza:
"I heard that not long ago, you were forced to flee in disarray by a Hashira and were severely scolded by Muzan-sama. Has Akaza-kakka's strength regressed to such an extent? This is all because you don't eat humans properly. If this continues, won't you be the next Upper Rank to die? I'm truly worried about you.
Although I'm a picky eater and only eat girls, I do eat humans properly, and my appetite is quite large, unlike Akaza-kakka who hardly eats humans at all. I think..."
Before Douma could finish speaking, a fist enlarged before his eyes, and then made intimate contact with his face, causing the upper half of his head to directly disappear, with blood and flesh splattering.
For Akaza, Douma's recent behavior was a dual torment, both physical and mental. This time, he acted without warning.
In an instant, the upper half of Douma's head regenerated. Not only was he not angry, but he smiled happily and said to Akaza, "What a powerful punch! It seems Muzan-sama's blood has made you stronger, Akaza-kakka. This way, I can also feel a little more at ease about you."