Chapter 253: How can this be fake!

Early during the training period, Li Mo had already created many shikigami and dispersed them to various locations. These shikigami were all made in one go, and the time they could be maintained was not long. They were weak, lacked durability, and had no autonomy… They had a pile of flaws. Their only advantage might be that they were easy to make and cheap.

No matter how many flaws they had, Li Mo could accept them. These shikigami were used to monitor the surroundings, equivalent to surveillance cameras.

Against magicians, these shikigami were almost useless. But in this world, they were far more useful than surveillance cameras.

The demon's whereabouts had already been discovered, and Li Mo remained calm because all the preliminary work had been done.

The Ubuyashiki estate was large, but now only Li Mo lived there.

To be precise, only his clone resided there.

Li Mo had put a lot of effort into this puppet clone. From its appearance and aura, it was indistinguishable from a human. At most, its lifespan was slightly shorter. It also lacked independent consciousness.

Thinking carefully, using a magician's methods for organ transplantation clearly had great potential. Unfortunately, magicians capable of such feats were extremely rare. As elite magicians, they were only concerned with reaching the "Root" and would never bother with such trivial gains.

Li Mo wouldn't do it either. In every world, he had never lacked money. But when one has a distant goal, they won't care about the small things beneath their feet.

"The Ubuyashiki family should have gone to a safe place by now. No one should have seen through my magic… I hope Urokodaki-sensei and Kyojuro Rengoku can protect them well."

Ubuyashiki Kagaya's departure was a covert operation, facilitated by Li Mo's magical methods. For the current Demon Slayer Corps, he was the backbone and the brain of the entire organization. After all, the next generation of the Ubuyashiki family was still too young.

Li Mo temporarily took on the role of Ubuyashiki Kagaya. The puppet clone sat on the corridor, holding a bottle of sake, covered with a thin blanket, its face unusually pale. Notably, beside it was a flowerpot filled with fresh soil, containing a wilted blue spider lily.

Drinking alone under the moonlight, with only his shadow for company.

The ancient poets truly captured something beautiful. Emotions that were once hard to understand were hidden within their verses.

Tonight was exceptionally quiet. So quiet that not even the chirping of insects could be heard. The vast Ubuyashiki estate felt like a haunted house, with only Li Mo, a living being, moving about.

"Are you here?"

Spiritual shikigami were scattered everywhere, allowing Li Mo to monitor his surroundings. Two days ago, when he discovered that demons had begun probing the area, he knew. Muzan Kibutsuji should be arriving soon.

The door creaked open. A handsome man, wearing a white tie and a black coat, stepped into the courtyard.

"Is there only you in this entire estate?"

His voice was soft, with a hint of magnetism. In a modern-day Ginza host club, this would be a killer trait.

Muzan Kibutsuji, based on appearance alone, was someone who could easily win people's favor. After all, humans are visual creatures, instinctively rating attractive people higher and less attractive people lower.

"Has the Ubuyashiki family already fled? Leaving a weakling like you here to die? Quite the noble family tradition," Muzan Kibutsuji said, his second sentence.

He walked as if he owned the place, strolling leisurely.

As the progenitor of demons, he had faced almost no resistance on his way to the heart of his enemy's power. Such an attitude was understandable.

In a thousand years, no gods or Buddhas had punished him, no divine retribution had fallen upon his head. Compared to the Ubuyashiki family, he was like the protagonist of the world.

Unrestrained.

"That face of yours… the successor of the Sun Breathing technique from three years ago? How ugly. So, three years later, you've managed to cling to life in such a pitiful state."

Muzan Kibutsuji chuckled as he spoke his third sentence.

The dying memories Akaza had sent back had informed him of this person's existence. Back then, Akaza had already pierced his stomach. Surviving by sheer luck, he had lived on as a patient.

In Muzan's perception, the man's aura was incredibly weak. He had only seen such a feeble presence in those on the brink of death.

"Muzan Kibutsuji? Why did you abandon the Ubuyashiki name?"

Muzan Kibutsuji was one of the ancestors of the Ubuyashiki family. However, according to the Ubuyashiki family tree, the Ubuyashiki lineage was not directly descended from Muzan Kibutsuji. Still, over the long years, the blood connection between the current Ubuyashiki family and Muzan Kibutsuji had grown quite close.

"Do I even need to answer that? I've evolved from a human into a demon. Why would I keep a name from my human days?" Muzan Kibutsuji replied matter-of-factly.

In his mind, he truly believed that demons were a higher form of life than humans.

Li Mo didn't need to think hard to understand Muzan's twisted logic.

"Even the most beautiful face cannot mask the stench of a filthy soul."

Disgust, utter disgust. Despite Muzan Kibutsuji's handsome appearance and perfectly proportioned body, Li Mo felt a deep, visceral revulsion. The being known as Muzan Kibutsuji was like a stain, its very presence nauseating.

Any being that considered itself human would feel uncomfortable upon seeing Muzan Kibutsuji's arrogant gaze, his eyes that regarded humans as inferior creatures.

"The cries of a dying man? How boring. I thought I'd meet the leader who has hindered my plans for a thousand years. Instead, it's just a small fry? No matter, as long as the blue spider lily is here, that's enough."

The moment he entered the courtyard, Muzan Kibutsuji had noticed the flowerpot beside Li Mo. The blue spider lily was right there.

Upon seeing the object of his dreams, he found that he wasn't as excited as he had imagined. Instead, he could control his emotions, calmly engaging in conversation.

But… this was all a ruse.

---

"The blue spider lily, I've finally obtained it!"

Muzan Kibutsuji's voice came from a second direction. He had split off an avatar that had burrowed underground to reach the man's side. Successfully, he had taken the blue spider lily.

Was it too easy…?

The atmosphere felt a bit off…

Muzan Kibutsuji noticed that the man's expression hadn't changed.

The surroundings were too quiet, with not even the sound of insects.

In the next moment, as the avatar's hand grasped the blue spider lily, the man's lips moved.

Instantly, the silence was shattered.

**Boom——————!!!**

An explosion erupted!

Muzan Kibutsuji's terrifying dynamic vision allowed him to see the explosion's flames first engulfing the Ubuyashiki estate, consuming the frail patient. Then, it consumed him.

The explosion's force destroyed his body, his flesh evaporating in the intense heat.

But the explosion was only momentary. Mere explosives couldn't kill a monster with multiple brains and seven hearts. No amount of explosives would suffice. A demon of his level could survive as long as a single piece of flesh remained.

"Ah, I see. I see!"

The man had never intended to survive.

After all, he was already on the verge of death.

Although he had anticipated some small move during this operation, he hadn't expected such a grand display. How many kilograms of explosives had been used?

To increase the explosion's lethality, the explosives had been mixed with small cross-shaped nails to slow down my regeneration? And what were those talismans that flashed by? Were they meant to invoke divine power?

Ridiculous.

But this probably wasn't the end. Several powerful auras were already approaching.

But it didn't matter anymore.

"Ah, the blue spider lily, I've finally found you."

It didn't matter.

As long as the blue spider lily was in his hands, nothing else mattered.

Even if his regeneration was slowed, as long as he had time, he could recover.

But the blue spider lily—the thing he had sought for a thousand years—was finally his.

His flesh was already regenerating.

That handsome face reappeared.

In his hand, he still held the blue spider lily. Even if it looked like it was on its last legs, it didn't matter. As long as it was the blue spider lily.

During the explosion, to protect the blue spider lily, he had paid a greater price, enduring more damage.

But it didn't matter.

The corners of his mouth had already begun to curl upward.

But—

In the next moment.

Muzan Kibutsuji watched as the blue spider lily in his hand disintegrated into fragments.

It was fake?

It was fake!

"How can this be fake!!!"

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"