Chapter 148 Water Lily Bodhisattva, Higan Shibame

Naruto did not rush to act, but instead observed the battle silently.

Having just arrived in the world of Demon Slayer, he wanted to understand the power of Breathing Techniques and Blood Demon Arts, nothing more.

As for the Twelve Kizuki and the Demon King, Kibutsuji Muzan, Naruto didn't care too much.

No matter how strong Kibutsuji Muzan was, he couldn't be stronger than a Kage-level ninja, at most an Elite Jonin.

"Boom, boom, boom—"

Ice lotuses and peony sword flowers collided, and countless ice shards of various sizes scattered like cannonballs, hitting everywhere. Ice dregs mixed with wood splinters and rubble poured down like a torrential rain, instantly turning the entire area into a mess.

The roof collapsed, and the two fought their way into the main hall.

"It's truly heartbreaking to ruin such a beautiful house."

Douma shook his head regretfully, but his eyes grew colder.

"However, the game should end now, beautiful lady. Blood Demon Art: Frigid White Hime!"

He suddenly crossed his twin fans in front of his chest, and with the burst of his Blood Demon Art, he once again created two giant ice lotuses.

Unlike the Lotus Leaf Ice, these ice lotuses had two lifelike young girls on them, who blew out freezing air to create a wide-range freezing mist. It surged out, rapidly spread, and instantly enveloped the entire main hall area.

"Crack, crack, crack—"

Wherever the white mist reached, the empty hall rapidly solidified into thick ice!

Kanae Kochou immediately held her breath, but the extreme cold of the ice mist still caused a stinging pain through her skin.

She felt a dizzy spell; just breathing in the first breath of ice mist, her lungs felt as if they were being pierced by ice needles.

Her vision began to blur, but her strong willpower supported her.

"I can't fall!"

Kanae Kochou cried out in her heart.

"Flower Breathing, Sixth Form: Whirling Peach!"

Kanae Kochou gritted her teeth, her body spinning rapidly in place like a top. Her nichirin blade created a powerful whirlwind made of countless tiny, petal-shaped sword slashes.

This petal whirlwind temporarily blew open a gap in the approaching freezing mist, buying her a moment to catch her breath.

The moment the ice mist was blown away, she caught sight of Douma's figure. Without hesitation, she poured all her strength into her blade, transforming into a pink stream of light, striking directly at Douma's throat!

"Clang!"

The tip of the blade seemed to hit something solid, but Douma's face still held that annoying smile.

The next moment, his body shattered like ice crystals, completely collapsing into scattered ice fragments on the ground.

It was an ice crystal clone!

"Oh, that was close, that was close."

Douma's true voice was laced with playful mockery.

"As an Upper Moon, I can't be killed so quickly by a beautiful lady. So, please enjoy the finale I've prepared for you—Blood Demon Art: Wisteria Ice - Water Lily Bodhisattva!"

The ground trembled violently, and gigantic ice crystals grew wildly like living things. A massive ice crystal Buddha statue, several stories tall, with a bizarrely "compassionate" expression, rose from the ground, breaking through the ruined roof of the main hall!

It was made of the purest ice, emitting a chill that could freeze the soul.

Giant lotus flowers also grew on the Buddha statue, and Douma knelt on one of the ice lotuses on the Buddha statue's shoulder.

The Buddha statue's massive ice arm lifted high, like a hammer of judgment, bringing with it a terrifying power that could crush everything, and smashed down fiercely towards the area where Kanae Kochou was!

"Rumble!!!"

A devastating blow descended!

With a deafening roar, the moment the ice Buddha's giant arm struck, the main hall's floor collapsed and cracked. The entire edifice seemed to be split in half.

Smoke and ice mist spread.

The most magnificent building in the entire mansion was transformed, in a matter of seconds, into a ruin of broken walls and a frozen, hellish wasteland!

Right at the center of this destructive storm, a pink light stubbornly flickered like a candle in the wind!

It was Kanae Kochou!

She narrowly avoided the most lethal attack from the ice Buddha at the last moment, but the massive shockwave and flying wood splinters and ice fragments still left her covered in wounds.

She stood on a relatively intact piece of rubble, her butterfly-wing patterned haori torn in many places. Blood stained her clothes and cheek, and her breathing was rapid and heavy, her lungs burning.

But her sword-wielding hand remained steady.

Those gentle eyes now burned with resolute flames, fixed deadly on Douma, who sat on the ice Buddha's shoulder.

"Is this... your limit?"

Douma's voice carried a hint of disappointment, yet was full of condescending arrogance.

"But it's time for it to end."

Douma raised his fan and unleashed his Blood Demon Art: Winter Ice Pillars.

Above Kanae Kochou's head, an astonishing number of ice pillars condensed, one after another.

Including the giant ice Buddha, it could also open its mouth and shoot out many ice crystals.

As a result, Kanae Kochou had absolutely nowhere to evade or hide.

Kanae Kochou did not reply. She slowly closed her eyes, took a deep breath, as if to draw all the surrounding air into her lungs.

When she opened her eyes again, the depths of her pupils seemed to have the flowers of the other shore burning!

All her spirit, all her will, her mourning for lost lives, her anger towards the demon before her, all condensed onto the blade!

She adopted an unprecedented starting stance, as if her very life was infused into it.

"Flower Breathing, Final Form—" Her voice was low and clear, yet still gentle,

2

"—Higan Shibame!"

"Swish, swish, swish, swish, swish, swish—"

Countless ice pillars fell from mid-air, and from the front, the ice Buddha spewed out a large amount of ice crystals. Such a dense attack was impossible to avoid.

However—

Kanae Kochou, having unleashed Higan Shibame, gained extraordinary dynamic vision. The user enters a bullet-time perception state, able to perceive action details within 0.1 seconds.

Kanae Kochou's pair of pink-purple beautiful eyes were instantly dyed crimson.

At this moment, the many ice crystals shooting towards her seemed like bullets slowed down many times, moving slowly through the stagnant air.

Kanae Kochou held her breath and swung her nichirin blade.

Sword light!

An indescribable sword light!

It was not one, but as if tens of thousands of Higan flowers bloomed simultaneously in that instant!

The pink sword energy was no longer gentle, but transformed into raging, blood-red flowers that burned with the essence of life!

Since the ice crystal attacks were too dense, evade if possible, and if not—just shatter them!!

"Clang, clang, clang, clang..."

Kanae Kochou's figure seemed to disappear, leaving only petals dancing in the sky. She was like a butterfly dancing in a rain of petals, destroying countless ice crystals.

Above the ruins, smoke and ice mist slowly dispersed.

Kanae Kochou's figure reappeared.

She maintained the posture of having swung her last sword, kneeling on one knee on a relatively intact piece of the ruin.

Her nichirin blade was stuck in the ground in front of her, supporting her tottering body.

The crimson glow of Higan Shibame had faded, leaving only deep exhaustion.

She coughed violently, each cough bringing up pinkish blood foam that dripped onto the cold ruins, quickly freezing.

Her lungs whistled like a broken bellows. The extreme cold of Douma's Blood Demon Art, and the immense overdraft on her body from using the Final Form, left Kanae Kochou almost unable to fight anymore.

She looked up, towards Douma's direction.

Is this... the strength of Upper Moon Two?

Terrifying!