Passing through the narrow, quiet path lined with Wisteria Flowers, Kurozawa and Hanada Shizuka walked one after the other. After walking quickly for about twenty minutes, they saw a wall woven from Wisteria Flowers appear before them.
Pausing slightly, Kurozawa didn't overthink it and reached into the Wisteria Flower wall.
The touch of his arm told him there was nothing beyond ten centimeters or so into the wall.
"Beyond this is the interior of Mount Fujikasane."
Stepping through, his tall body pushed aside the Wisteria Flower wall, and Kurozawa's vision suddenly brightened.
Amidst rustling sounds, Hanada Shizuka's small head peeked out from the seemingly dense Wisteria Flower forest behind him.
A few breaths later, both Kurozawa and Hanada Shizuka stood within the somewhat silent Mount Fujikasane.
"Something feels off, it's so cold all over."
As soon as she entered, Hanada Shizuka shivered, her small face filled with fear.
It was clearly a mountain forest bathed in sunlight, yet it felt unnervingly dead.
Kurozawa just glanced around and understood the reason.
There were no living things here.
There were no bird or beast calls, which were common in mountain forests, and no rustling insects constantly appearing underfoot. Only silent, tall trees stood alone.
The sounds of birds and beasts they were used to hearing had abruptly disappeared here. And because of the silence of the environment, coupled with the mottled shadows of branches and leaves everywhere, even during the day, there was no warmth to be felt inside Mount Fujikasane.
Demons, when unable to feed on human flesh and blood, would choose to devour the blood of wild beasts to replenish their bodies. This was the reason for Mount Fujikasane's deathly silence; any creature that could move had been completely devoured by Demons.
"It's right that it's cold, it means there are traces of Demons active everywhere."
"Shizuka, you need to be fully focused, you could be devoured if you're not careful."
Kurozawa sternly scared Hanada Shizuka.
As expected, she turned pale, her small face white as she looked left and right, her spirit instantly becoming tense, her right hand tightly gripping the hilt of her Nichirin Blade.
Having come to Mount Fujikasane, while he would take good care of her, he certainly couldn't treat the Swordsman Trial as a game. Kurozawa believed it was necessary to make Hanada Shizuka nervous and serious.
"Fortune-Dispelling Fox Mask."
Kurozawa took off the Fortune-Dispelling Fox Mask he had been wearing on the side of his head as decoration. After carefully examining it for three or four seconds, he put it back on.
This time, he wore it as a mask on his face.
A shadow fell perfectly on the Fortune-Dispelling Fox Mask, adding a few strands of mystery to his appearance.
Beside him, Hanada Shizuka also wanted to put on her own mask in imitation, but Kurozawa stopped her with his hand.
"I want to wear it too, Senior Disciple, you look better with it on."
"Do you want to be noticed by Demons?"
"Huh? Why would wearing a mask make me noticed by Demons?"
"Too many questions! Just listen to me obediently!" Kurozawa's attitude was firm. The authority of a Senior Disciple made Hanada Shizuka yield. She obediently took off her mask and put it back on the side of her cheek.
Sakonji Urokodaki always wore Tengu Masks and other masks he crafted himself. They had similar features, and one could tell at a glance they were made by the same person.
And decades ago, Sakonji Urokodaki wore a mask while carrying out a mission to capture Demons, replenishing the source of Demons for the Mount Fujikasane prison.
The characteristics of this mask were firmly remembered by the Demons captured by Sakonji Urokodaki, ingrained in their minds for decades, filled with crazy resentment and ferocity towards the mask's owner.
Kurozawa felt that when he got a certain distance from the Hand Demon, the clothes he wore that carried Sakonji Urokodaki's scent would attract it, and this mask would confirm his identity, drawing the aggression towards him.
"Let's go, we'll look around first."
"The scenery here is still quite nice."
A gentle breeze swirled, carrying scattered purple flower petals dancing throughout the mountain, making the interior of Mount Fujikasane appear quite beautiful.
Although this purple beauty became eerie due to the lifeless atmosphere.
Aside from the only noticeable sound of wind rustling through the branches, Kurozawa also faintly heard the sound of flowing water. Plus, since he hadn't seen any signs of Demon activity nearby, Kurozawa decided to follow the water source and actively search.
Closing his eyes slightly, Kurozawa listened carefully for a while. After confirming the sound of water came from the southeast, he began to move.
If looking for wild beasts, he could search along the water source, but Kurozawa wasn't sure if he could also find Demons.
However, setting a goal for himself was better than wandering aimlessly, and he was also a bit thirsty and wanted some water.
After more than ten minutes, the sound of flowing water in Kurozawa's ears became clearer.
He believed it wouldn't take another few hundred meters to reach the river.
But at this moment, Kurozawa stopped and carefully moved his gaze, examining the environment.
The surrounding trees all looked old, most of them at least the thickness of four or five people's embrace, with dense branches and leaves casting large patches of shadow. These shadows intertwined, completely blocking out the sunlight. There were many scattered small branches on the ground, as well as uneven impact marks. Interesting, maybe Demons know people will look for water, so they set up an ambush on the path beforehand.
Yes, Demons don't need water, but the swordsmen definitely do.
Kurozawa slowly took a step back, bathing himself in the sunlight, and at the same time, he reached out and stopped Hanada Shizuka, who was looking left and right, wanting to keep going.
"Hmm?"
Hanada Shizuka raised her head and looked at Kurozawa strangely.
Kurozawa pointed to the dense shadows ahead: "You little one, you have vigilance, but... you seem a bit foolish."
Following Kurozawa's finger, Hanada Shizuka looked but was utterly confused.
"Look up," Kurozawa reminded her again.
"Oh."
Hanada Shizuka tilted her head back and looked.
An incredibly lush tree canopy filled her vision.
The canopy was thick and dense, its branches and leaves layered, blocking out anyone's gaze.
For no reason at all, as Hanada Shizuka looked at the silent canopy, a sudden fear welled up in her heart.
In an instant, her pupils contracted, and her face turned pale.
"S-Senior Disciple, it seems like something is hidden in this canopy..." Her voice was dry and trembling slightly.
A pair of sinister, crazed blood-red eyes, silently watching from within the dense leaves, flickered and disappeared just as Hanada Shizuka happened to see them.
But Hanada Shizuka didn't dare to dismiss it as her imagination; she had clearly seen a pair of blood-red eyes.
The poor junior disciple, who had never seen a Demon before, had unexpectedly looked up and seen a terrifying scene straight out of a horror movie. She would likely have nightmares tonight.
Seeing Hanada Shizuka's face turn pale with fright, Kurozawa heartlessly laughed and said, "Take out the words 'it seems like'."
"Today, Senior Disciple will show you, there's nothing to fear about Demons!"
His slightly bent legs, hidden by his clothes, were full of bulging muscles and veins.
Kurozawa leaped up.
A circle of spiderweb-like radiating cracks appeared at the center of his soles.
*Bang!* Like a cannonball shooting towards the sky, Kurozawa left the safe, sunlit area and plunged headfirst into the thick, silent canopy.
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