Huh?"
On the way up the mountain, a curly-haired man in a suit, with a charmingly evil smirk on his lips and a handsome, somewhat effeminate face, suddenly stopped. A look of surprise appeared in his crimson eyes.
Looking towards the end of the mountain path, a figure slowly emerged.
The figure, clad in a fiery red haori, vaguely gave him a sense of déjà vu.
In a daze, Muzan seemed to see that terrifying guy revived, standing before him once more.
"What's so fun? What's so interesting? What do you take human lives for? Why do you forget?"
The voice that had always haunted Muzan like a nightmare once again lingered in his ears.
Looking at the handsome man on the mountain path, Luo Men, through the Transparent World, could clearly see the dense muscle mass of the opponent, as well as the incredibly bizarre internal organ structure of five brains and seven hearts.
Luo Men didn't know how strong a will to live it must have been for Muzan to construct such a structure, only to ensure his body had no weaknesses.
Not only that, but he also had the means to split into more than 1,800 pieces of his body to escape.
"That look! That look that sees through everything!"
Muzan looked at Luo Men's eyes, and the fear etched into his cells surged into his heart once more.
[Mark · Activate!]
Luo Men instantly activated the Mark, which he had long been able to attempt to open.
Fiery red flame Marks emerged from his left forehead, and golden lightning patterns extended from the right side of his neck down to his right jaw.
The familiar position, the familiar flame Mark, the familiar indifferent gaze, and the action of raising the blade—everything echoed a past time, and that god-like man gradually overlapped with the figure before him.
His body trembled, and the fear deeply imprinted in his cells, like a shadow following him, like maggots on bone, tightly, tightly, tightly entangled Muzan's mind.
As Luo Men took on the stance of Sun Breathing, just about to start fighting, the space before him seemed to momentarily waver.
The surroundings were a pure white space, and at the center of the entire world, there was only a man with his back to him, wearing a red haori.
Luo Men was well aware that this world had souls and even reincarnation.
And sometimes, the souls of those who had died would linger in the human world for various reasons, whether for their loved ones or due to certain regrets.
Yoriichi Tsugikuni, this man who acted as a divine agent in the human world, had lingered and wandered in the human world because he failed to slay Muzan and end the demons.
However, before Luo Men could let his thoughts wander, Yoriichi Tsugikuni did not speak to Luo Men. Luo Men's vision instantly changed, and he found that he could no longer control his own body.
"Yoriichi Tsugikuni?"
Feeling the incredibly powerful body, Luo Men instantly realized that this was not his own body, but Yoriichi Tsugikuni's body. Or rather, Yoriichi Tsugikuni had used some method to allow him to enter his perspective.
"So, this is a transmission?"
No one answered, but he felt the body move. This was practicing Sun Breathing.
He put aside distracting thoughts and focused intently on observing Yoriichi Tsugikuni's movements, breathing rhythm, and that ineffable comprehension that could only be understood through experience.
[Sun Breathing · First Form: Dance]
[Sun Breathing · Second Form: Blue Heaven]
[Sun Breathing · Third Form: Blazing Crimson Mirror]
[Sun Breathing · Fourth Form: Fake Rainbow]
[Sun Breathing · Fifth Form: Fire Wheel]
[Sun Breathing · Sixth Form: Burning Bones, Summer Sun]
[Sun Breathing · Seventh Form: Solar Heat Haze]
[Sun Breathing · Eighth Form: Solar Halberd]
[Sun Breathing · Ninth Form: Setting Sun Transformation]
[Sun Breathing · Tenth Form: Beneficent Radiance]
[Sun Breathing · Eleventh Form: Sun Halo Dragon Dance]
[Sun Breathing · Twelfth Form: Flame Dance]
From the first form to the twelfth form, Yoriichi Tsugikuni demonstrated them completely before Luo Men, providing an almost perfect demonstration, from the outward form to the inner meaning, everything was perfectly displayed.
After demonstrating the twelve forms, the scene before him changed again.
Two people appeared before him: a smiling, effeminate man, who was Muzan, and a woman with an expressionless face. Although Luo Men had never seen her, he could guess that this should be Tamayo.
And this scene, needless to say, was the first and also the last time Yoriichi Tsugikuni met Muzan.
At this time, Muzan was very brave, believing Yoriichi Tsugikuni was weak, fearless, and threw a punch at him without hesitation.
And Yoriichi Tsugikuni believed Muzan was strong, so he went all out. In just an instant, the twelve sword forms of Sun Breathing were completed, splitting Muzan into several pieces.
"Do you take life as life?"
Saying this, from Yoriichi Tsugikuni's perspective, as he prepared to eliminate Muzan, he saw Muzan's body suddenly explode, turning into a sky full of flesh pieces before him.
In just an instant, Yoriichi Tsugikuni reacted, swiftly swinging his blade to connect the first to the twelfth forms of Sun Breathing, continuously looping their execution from beginning to end. In just a moment, he had already swung 1,500 times. However, Muzan's exploding flesh pieces numbered over 1,800, so after cutting down 1,500 pieces, there were still over 300 pieces of flesh that escaped.
"I always wanted… to find someone to confide in…"
"Those who pursue the ultimate path, their destination is the same."
"I couldn't protect anything important. In my life, I didn't accomplish a single thing I should have. I am a worthless man."
"However, strong junior swordsman, take my share and slay Muzan."
Watching Muzan escape, the world before him darkened again. It was still Yoriichi Tsugikuni, but this time it was his full face, looking at him seriously and speaking.
Before Luo Men could reply, the scene before him returned to Muzan's presence. If not for the complete retention of his understanding of the Breathing Technique, the previous scene would truly have been just a phantom dream.
A reddish-gold color spread from the blade near the tsuba all the way to the tip, activating the Crimson Blade.
"Yoriichi Tsugikuni!"
Watching the black blade in Luo Men's hand turn reddish-gold, the memories of death violently assaulted Muzan's mind.
Without preparation, the emotion of fear had completely occupied Muzan's mind. At this moment, Muzan, looking at this man with a Mark, an activated Crimson Blade, and those eyes that seemed to see through everything, plus the familiar yet terrifying Breathing Technique, he only wanted to escape.
However, all of Muzan's movements were completely visible to Luo Men through his observation via the Transparent World.