Unexpected Support

Rumble—!!!

The ground shook violently, and the massive ice layer surged upwards as if it were alive.

A colossal seated Bodhisattva statue, made entirely of ice, is rising from the ground with a rumble, centered on Doma!

This Ice Bodhisattva has a solemn and dignified appearance, with lowered eyebrows and eyes and hands clasped together, exuding a terrifying chill that freezes the soul and boundless pressure.

Its size almost occupied half of the peak, and its shadow completely enveloped Asuka, Giyu, and the heavily injured Shinobu Kocho.

The surface of the Bodhisattva statue is shimmering with seven-colored light, which is the manifestation of the highly concentrated demonic power of the Bodhisattva. Each ray of light contains absolute zero, enough to freeze steel!

Faced with such a colossal creation, Asuka and Giyu Tomioka appeared so insignificant.

This is Doma's strongest Blood Demon Art. It requires a huge consumption of demonic power to use, and he will not use it lightly unless he is forced into a desperate situation.

"Honestly, you're quite impressive, black-haired swordsman." Douma landed lightly on the Bodhisattva's palm, looking down at the crowd, slowly healing the tear in his neck:

"I rarely say things like this, but have you ever considered becoming a ghost?"

"...Are these your last words?" Asuka asked coldly, staring at the enormous ice crystal Bodhisattva before her.

"How utterly clueless about romance!"

The Ice Crystal Bodhisattva slowly raised her palm, her presence obscuring the sky and the moon.

"Tomioka, take Shinobu away! Quickly!"

Under this overwhelming sense of oppression, the bird could only try to survive.

An attack of this scale means that the aftershocks of every action are deadly.

Shinobu's lungs are severely damaged, and the wounds on her body are horrifying. Even just inhaling a breath of the extremely cold air emitted by the Bodhisattva could cause her to suffocate on the spot.

Giyu Tomioka gripped his Nichirin Blade tightly, a flicker of struggle crossing his cold, stern face.

As a water column, his duty is to fight the evil spirits to the last moment.

But when he saw Shinobu Kocho behind him, pale-faced and on the verge of death, he knew that Asuka's decision was correct.

"...You must not die." Giyu didn't say anything more. In a flash, he picked up Shinobu Kocho and sped away through the gap in the collapsed mountain gate.

boom--!!

He had barely left when the Bodhisattva's heavy blow came down!

Before the Buddha's palm even arrived, the air pressure alone had already caused the hard frozen ground to crack inch by inch, and the air was compressed to the extreme!

In Doma's view, this one palm strike would be enough to turn Asuka into a bloody pulp.

"Bark, bark—!!"

With teammates gone and all restraints removed, the bird has no more worries.

The blazing Nichirin Blade began to change; the patterns on it seemed to come alive, twisting and contorting in a ferocious manner, emitting a roar that sent shivers down one's spine!

The longsword transformed into a crimson streak of light under the shadow of the giant hand, flowing upwards! The flowing lava blade patterns slammed into the descending icy palm!

The long-dormant beast finally smelled the blood.

laugh--! ! !

The Buddha's palm was pierced through!

From Doma's shocked perspective, Asuka unleashed a large swath of black and red battle aura, each beam resembling a mad dog that had come to life, directly pouncing into the palm of the Ice Bodhisattva!

They have no fixed trajectory, no unified goal, they just pounce and bite wildly!

When they come together, even divine punishment descending from the heavens will be devoured alive!

"...What is this?"

Doma's seven-colored eyes narrowed slightly as something unexpected happened.

Whoosh!

The next second, the bird's figure vanished from the spot!

Clang! Snap—!

He passed through the hole in the Bodhisattva's palm like a ghost and went straight to the boy's millstone.

Doma parried almost entirely on his fighting instincts, even managing to slash the fan open!

"You're really amazing. I feel like I can't handle this all by myself."

"Come, my children, let's dance with this troublesome guest—"

He dodged the bird's slash, and the fan surface flashed with the light of Blood Demon Art.

The chill at the summit suddenly intensified, and several highly condensed ice crystal humanoids quickly rose from the ground!

Their appearance is exactly the same as Douma's, wielding a golden fan made of condensed ice crystals, and exuding a cold and powerful demonic aura.

This is Douma's Blood Demon Art: Crystal Child! Each ice figure possesses approximately half the power of Douma's original body!

Almost the instant they took shape, the five ice puppets launched an attack from different angles!

Their movements were swift as lightning, and their teamwork was seamless.

"Go to hell... go to hell..."

The five ice puppets spoke at the same time, their voices overlapping and echoing through the shrine, sounding eerie and hollow.

Vast expanses of frost erupted from all directions, attempting to freeze the birds' movements.

Dense ice crystal lotus leaves spun and cut, icy frozen clouds obscured vision and hindered breathing, thorny giant ice vines coiled like giant pythons, sharp ice pillars burst from the ground and air at the same time, and fierce frost slashes crossed into a net!

This is an absolute killing move, a deathly icy prison.

With this move combined with the Water Lily Bodhisattva, Doma was even confident that he could annihilate all nine gathered pillars!

Boom! !

The scorching heat instantly pierced through the chest of an ice man, frantically devouring his core demonic power, causing him to collapse instantly!

With a backhand slash, the blade sliced ​​another ice man who was trying to sneak up on him in half and swallowed him whole.

But every time Asuka shatters an ice golem, a new ice golem will form, and the Crystal Princess's attacks never stop.

He had to constantly dodge the attacks of the Blood Demon Art and the Water Lily Bodhisattva, searching for an opportunity to strike on the edge of life and death.

Asuka could only stick close to Doma, trying to make up for her disadvantage in ranged attacks by engaging in close combat.

laugh--!!

"You're so clingy, are you trying to dance with me?" Doma complained, his ribs showing no signs of healing after being cut open by Asuka's blade.

In his calculations, the swordsman in front of him should have been unable to hold on by now, so why was he still breathing?

Doma, of course, was unaware that the demonic power he had seized was flowing through the raccoon's blade, supplying Asuka with the energy that had been damaged by inhaling the icy mist, and enabling him to continue fighting.

Moreover, birds have a strange sense of perception.

Deep within his soul, some shackles were breaking, and he couldn't quite describe the feeling.

He felt that with each life-or-death battle and each new power he seized from his opponent, the sense of liberation would grow stronger, and his strength would increase.

When facing the Lower Moon Demon Moon, the howling of the raccoon could only defeat the shadows and injure the Lower Moon.

Having gone through bloody battles with Akaza and Doma, the power of the monstrous beast grew stronger and more profound.

After absorbing stronger demon blood, Hato also grew stronger.

If he were to encounter that Lower Moon demon again, just one of its spiritual pressure hounds could devour it whole!

"Alright, I take back what I said. Please don't turn into a demon." Douma's expression had turned serious. This time, his words weren't joking; they came from the bottom of his heart—he didn't want to see Asuka again.

"If you became an Upper Moon demon and challenged me to a bloody battle or something, I'd be scared."

"That's enough, you lying devil." Asuka slashed open Doma's golden fan, wisps of white breath escaping from her mouth and nose with her words: "You have absolutely no emotions."

"Huh?"

"Your heart is completely empty; your emotional pressure is like that of a dead thing."

The bird dodged the incoming icicle and let out a cold laugh from the bottom of its heart:

"They can't feel joy, anger, sorrow, or happiness themselves, yet they clumsily imitate others."

"I don't understand who you're putting on this act for? What are you even doing in this world?"

"..." Doma's cheek was grazed by Asuka's sword wind, and blood gushed out immediately, but he did not show any pain.

He stared coldly at the bird, his tone equally icy: "You really are a malicious person. Why are you saying such hurtful things?"

As he spoke, he threw away his broken weapon, then took out two golden fans and unfolded them simultaneously with even greater force.

Was he truly enraged? Perhaps only he himself knows.

boom--! ! !

Just as their battle reached its climax, with both of them covered in wounds.

A figure, brimming with a violent aura, soared into the sky! With a single kick, it shattered the giant palm of the Water Lily Bodhisattva that was about to strike the back of the flying bird!

Both of them looked over in surprise.

The visitor was shirtless, a truly peculiar sight atop the snow-covered Miaogao Mountain.

Wearing a boar's head mask, he unleashed a few punches that destroyed all the ranged ice men, radiating an extremely terrifying aura.

Inosuke? Asuka was taken aback, but quickly realized something was wrong.

Why does he have such a strong ghostly aura?