What was once always out of reach, though seemingly within grasp, was now tangible. A strong obsession suddenly grew within Doma's heart; he didn't want to die just like that.
Lin Jiu hadn't received a kill notification from the Reincarnation Paradise. All the ice crystals shattered, but Doma's head and body hadn't dissipated yet. Lin Jiu picked up Doma's head to prevent him from reattaching it to his body and speeding up his recovery.
Seeing the neck of the headless body starting to wriggle, Lin Jiu decisively stabbed the Dawn into Doma's headless neck, sealing it in place like a seal.
Then, using the small blood collection knife he got from Tamayo, he skillfully drew tube after tube of blood from the body.
"Ara... If you wanted my blood, you could have just asked! Why go through all this trouble?"
Doma's head said with a smile, seeing what was happening to his body.
With a whole body, blood was not in short supply. Lin Jiu collected the tube and stored it. The body, still resisting the Dawn, eventually fell silent, having lost too much blood.
"The law of conservation of energy is eternal!"
Lin Jiu thought to himself. These demons' recovery energy came from consuming humans and drinking blood. Without consuming humans, the wounds healed quickly without much blood loss.
Now, with Doma restrained, and unable to consume humans, Lin Jiu used a special method to draw out several pounds of blood, causing the body to shrink a bit.
Doma's head was speechless. When it comes to tormenting, I might need to learn from you. I may not be human, but you are truly a demon!
"Cult leader, is there any fire here? Especially high-temperature ones."
Lin Jiu asked.
"There's a cauldron in that room."
Doma grinned, wanting to see what else Lin Jiu planned to do to his body.
Lin Jiu placed one end of an iron rod in the cauldron to heat it, glanced at the wilting body of Doma, pulled out the Dawn, and asked the head, "Why aren't you dead yet?"
"I want to see what else you'll do to my body."
Doma smiled gently.
Lin Jiu touched the red-hot iron rod to Doma's body.
Sizzle... sizzle...
The burned areas instinctively began to heal. Due to excessive blood loss, the recovery was slow, but it was happening.
"Is this not considered a Nichirin Blade?"
Lin Jiu pondered, thinking about what conditions besides high temperature were needed. He recalled the description of the demon bloodline in the detection skill.
[Those with the demon bloodline can regenerate limbs and have strong recovery abilities. Only energy attacks and weapons infused with energy can cause damage (light-based energy attacks are particularly effective).]
Lin Jiu speculated that through high temperatures, the sunlight energy contained in the Crimson Iron Sand and Scarlet Crimson Ore used to forge the Nichirin Blade was fully activated, causing significant damage to demons.
"I suddenly feel you are more suited to be a demon. Your disregard for those followers and taking action directly, shows you don't care about human lives. How about it? Want to become a demon and gain immortality?"
Doma tempted.
Lin Jiu put down Doma's head, took out some golden fried rice, and started eating. His health was below 40%, and he needed to recover to avoid any accidents.
His health recovered to only 70%. Lin Jiu's body still had frostbite from Doma, which needed to wait until the icy mist dissipated completely to heal. The ice spike that pierced through his left arm was broken, and the wound was frozen, saving Lin Jiu the trouble of stopping the bleeding. He bandaged it slightly.
The shattered kneecap also needed professional treatment; simple health recovery wasn't enough. Unless Lin Jiu used some recovery potions, which were more effective for such injuries.
"Dawn is breaking, this time you can't escape."
Lin Jiu saw a sliver of light on the horizon; the sun was rising.
"Maybe we'll meet again in hell."
Doma said, and as the sunlight bathed the earth, the Upper Moon Two, Ice Demon Doma of the Twelve Kizuki, perished.
[You have killed Upper Moon Two, Doma of the Twelve Kizuki]
[Doma was an Upper Moon Two, a plot character, obtaining 5% of the world's source, totaling 11.5% of the world's source.]
[Obtained a green treasure chest]
[Your talent, Soul Condensation, activated, permanently increasing a portion of your soul power. The current soul power has not reached the display value standard.]
[Obtained 500 Demon Slayer Corps contribution points. Current contribution points: 720.]
Lin Jiu suddenly felt a cool sensation in his mind, stronger than ever before. He sensed that his soul power absorbed in this world was nearing its peak but hadn't reached its limit.
It seemed Doma's soul had been crushed and absorbed by him, meaning Doma wouldn't even get to go to hell!
The morning sunlight was gentle. Lin Jiu, supported by the Dawn, prepared to leave. A few scattered people appeared around. As Lin Jiu was about to draw his sword, those people suddenly knelt before him.
Soon, a dozen more people knelt, chanting, "The old god is gone, long live the new god!"
At this moment, Lin Jiu looked extremely haggard, not at all like a divine messenger. But in the eyes of these people, he had defeated Doma, the envoy of the old god, and the fierce battle just now seemed like divine intervention to these ordinary people.
The two gods fought using their bodies, and in the end, the new god won. Injured and battered in the divine battle!!
Those who arrived earlier even saw Lin Jiu holding Doma's head, which was still speaking. Their kneeling became even more devout!
Seeing these people blocking his way while kneeling, Lin Jiu decided there was no need to take action. Pointing to the man kneeling most fervently at the front, he said, "You are the new leader! Name the church yourself; I need to leave this place."
Murai Yoshito couldn't believe it and pointed at himself. Just like that, he became the leader! But wait, the key point was that the new god was about to leave, and he immediately cried out, "God! We need you..."
"The god will watch over you!"
Lin Jiu said as he stepped over the crowd.
Murai Yoshito looked at Lin Jiu's departing figure and asked, "Messenger of the god, what are our teachings?"
"Anti-imperialism and anti-feudalism! Find some literate individuals and study Marxism!!"
...
Lin Jiu found a place to change into his hunter's leather armor and followed Tamayo's trail. Tamayo and Yushiro had relocated but had not gone too far from Tokyo Prefecture, staying in a nearby small town. It seemed they knew that the most dangerous place was also the safest.
Tokyo Prefecture was now temporarily Muzan Kibutsuji's activity area, so naturally, no other demons would be present.
The blood extracted from Doma's body was considered a white material.
[Demon Blood (70%)]
Origin: Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba
Quality: White
Type: Material
Rating: 10 (Note: White items are rated from 1 to 10, with higher ratings indicating more precious items.)
Description: Blood from the progenitor of demons, Muzan Kibutsuji. Can be consumed. (After ingestion, there is a 40% chance of becoming a demon, a 50% chance of death, and a 10% chance of unknown mutation. Results may vary based on individual constitution!)
Note: Unnotarized item
The concentration of Doma's demon blood reached seventy percent, the extreme of white materials. Higher concentrations, like that of Upper Moon One, Kokushibo, would yield green-quality materials, and Muzan Kibutsuji's blood would likely be top-tier green, possibly even blue.
Why isn't the blood that grants Muzan Kibutsuji immortality and immense power certainly blue quality? It's due to its significant flaws. The complete bloodline with the Blue Spider Lily could be purple-quality.
...
"You're really in a sorry state... but you did manage to find us, so you weren't exaggerating."
Yushiro observed Lin Jiu, who had changed clothes but whose injuries were still obvious, and said coldly, not noticing Tamayo's grim expression behind him.
"Yushiro!!"
Tamayo snapped coldly.
Yushiro instantly reacted like a small animal encountering a natural enemy.
"Mr. Red, follow me."
Tamayo led Lin Jiu into a medical room. She had him lie down and began checking his injuries.
"The small bone fragments in your shattered kneecap have been dealt with. Given your constitution, you'll recover quickly. The injury on your arm will take a bit longer to fully heal. The internal frostbite is particularly troublesome; pairing it with medication will speed up the recovery." Tamayo said after examining and treating Lin Jiu.
"Understood."
Lin Jiu nodded, taking out a vial of Doma's blood and handing it to Tamayo.
Tamayo took the blood, sniffed it lightly, and exclaimed, "Such rich demon blood, almost close to Muzan Kibutsuji's blood! This is Upper Moon blood!"
"Is there a way to extract its power, remove the demonic part, and make it into a potion to enhance the human body?"
Lin Jiu asked. If anyone in this world could make such a potion, it would be Tamayo.
Tamayo's centuries of medical research had all been based on turning demons back into humans. In this area, she far surpassed the Demon Slayer Corps!
"How could there be such a good thing."
Yushiro said coldly from the side.
"It is possible..."
Tamayo's words gave Lin Jiu a pleasant surprise.
Tamayo continued, "However, the power in this amount of blood is insufficient for extraction. Moreover, even if the demonic bloodline is removed, the enhanced power would be far less than demonization."