At the summit of Mount Fujikasane. Kurozawa raised his head, his distant gaze piercing through the layers of obstructing branches and leaves towards the summit.
The summit looked bare, with not much vegetation surviving; it seemed to be mostly bedrock and rocky soil.
Digging a cave for itself on the summit, how carefree.
After just a brief glance, Kurozawa withdrew his gaze.
"Let's go, continue towards the water source."
"Huh? Senior Disciple, isn't the Demon you're looking for on the summit? Why aren't we going there?"
"It definitely won't come out during the day. I'll go look for it myself in the evening. Before that, let's look for other Demons."
Given the Hand Demon's massive size, there was no suitable shadow for it to hide in during the day, so it would certainly not leave its cave.
As for him entering the cave himself, he wouldn't do it.
Fighting on someone else's territory was still somewhat dangerous; it was better to be cautious.
Kurozawa didn't want to be the first person to end up in the Hand Demon's belly.
After taking care of the Demon hiding in the tree canopy, the large shadow formed by the dense canopy in front of them was no longer dangerous. Kurozawa led Hanada Shizuka into the shadow and then walked towards the place where there was water.
The journey this time was much smoother. In just over ten minutes, Kurozawa saw a winding stream.
The stream wasn't large, only about two meters wide, and the water flowed with a gentle sound, heading into the distance.
However, although it wasn't large, it seemed quite deep; the water surface below was quiet and profound.
Kurozawa bent down and washed his hands in the stream.
Although the bloodstains on his hands disappeared as the Demon turned to ash, the dust from the fight was still there.
Looking at the dust between his fingers, Kurozawa used the stream water to wash it clean.
Although he would still get his hands and clothes dirty when hunting Demons later, that didn't prevent him from cleaning them now.
Splash!
Cool water droplets landed on Kurozawa's face. Hanada Shizuka also squatted down and, mimicking Kurozawa, washed her hands and face. However, while washing her hands, she secretly splashed water, splashing it onto Kurozawa's face.
As soon as Kurozawa looked over, Hanada Shizuka quickly averted her head, pretending she knew nothing.
"Senior Disciple, a fish just flicked its tail."
Afraid of being discovered by Kurozawa, she explained, effectively burying her head in the sand.
She completely failed to consider that at this moment, Mount Fujikasane, besides the figures of swordsmen and Demons, had no other living creatures.
At this moment, Kurozawa stared at the stream below him and said thoughtfully, "There is indeed a big fish."
Hanada Shizuka, who had just stood up, thought Kurozawa had been fooled by her and secretly chuckled a couple of times, her eyebrows curved in a smile.
"Shizuka, stay away from the water."
"Something is coming."
A faint sense of being watched had been coming from around Kurozawa since he arrived near the water.
But Kurozawa had never been able to find the specific location of the other party. He always felt as if the gaze was blocked by something, so his visual perception couldn't pinpoint the other party's location.
Therefore, Kurozawa pretended to be completely unguarded and squatted down to wash his hands, hoping to lure the other party into making a move.
And Hanada Shizuka's words reminded him.
If there was a Demon hidden in the water, separated by the barrier of the water surface, Kurozawa indeed couldn't confirm its location.
And just as Kurozawa realized this, ripples appeared on the water surface.
"Huh?"
Although Hanada Shizuka didn't know the reason Kurozawa told her to stay away, her body had already reflexively jumped away.
At the same time, the ripples on the water surface quickly expanded, and the outline of a black shadow emerged from within.
*Whoosh!* A stone the size of a human head rushed out of the water, carrying dripping, crystal-clear water columns and a whistling gust of wind, smashing diagonally upwards towards Kurozawa's head.
Kurozawa reacted extremely quickly, spreading his large hand, his five fingers instantly gripping the stone tightly.
*Crack!* Dense cracks appeared on the stone, and Kurozawa's fingers directly pressed into it.
"Heh, quite smart."
Eat my Heavenly Sound Wave! With his fingers embedded in the stone, Kurozawa, like throwing a bowling ball, raised his right hand high and then slammed it down fiercely.
*Thud!* The stone the size of a human head fell back down at a speed faster than it came.
When the stone smashed into the water, a shower of water splashed out, shimmering with crystal-clear beauty under the sun, like countless flying diamond crystals.
*Aow!* A miserable wail faintly echoed in the sound of the water. Immediately after, a large area of red blood spread out from the water surface.
Kurozawa's extremely fast counterattack had hit this Water Demon.
Hmph.
Trying to ambush me, Kurozawa? No way! Kurozawa wanted to follow up with an Echo Strike, but considering that something unexpected might happen in the water, he gave up the idea.
The Water Demon was quite smart, hiding in the water during the day and relying on throwing stones to hunt prey.
Even some elite swordsmen, Kurozawa felt, could easily fall victim if they weren't careful during the daytime.
This guy was truly cunning.
"The distribution of Demons on Mount Fujikasane is quite dense. No wonder just surviving one day counts as passing the test."
Looking at the murky water, Kurozawa had no intention of pursuing the Water Demon and was about to call Hanada Shizuka to leave.
However, just as he turned slightly, a blood-tinged water arrow shot out from the water, then landed on Kurozawa's foot, losing momentum, and wetting his shoe.
This water arrow didn't contain much killing power. It seemed the Water Demon, seeing that Kurozawa didn't dare to enter the water, was deliberately provoking him.
His body, which had been about to leave, paused. Kurozawa looked down at his shoe, wet with blood, his expression gradually calming.
"I was going to let you go. Why did you have to provoke me?"
Pfft! Another powerless water arrow shot out, which Kurozawa easily dodged.
"Shizuka, help me watch my clothes. I'll be right back."
"If you encounter danger, shout for help."
Kurozawa took off his shirt, revealing his well-built physique.
His ape-like arms and slender waist, the stringy muscles in motion, and his well-defined abdominal muscles made it hard for Hanada Shizuka to look away.
"Okay, okay, Senior Disciple, hurry back."
No matter what, Hanada Shizuka was also a swordsman. Even if she encountered a Demon, aside from the Hand Demon, other Demons on Mount Fujikasane wouldn't be able to instantly kill her.
As for possibly getting some injuries, that was harmless.
Kurozawa wasn't constantly considering her or protecting her.
Hanada Shizuka also didn't ask Kurozawa not to leave her alone by the water. She just reached out and took Kurozawa's shirt, while at the same time staring intently at Kurozawa, wishing her eyes could stick to him.
"Little thing, there's no gate to hell, yet you insist on barging in."
Splash! Kurozawa leaped into the water.
After diving in like a fish, Kurozawa opened his eyes underwater. He felt his eyes stinging slightly from the current, but it was bearable, and he quickly adapted.
Hmm, a strong Constitution is good. The adaptability is also extremely strong.
In front of Kurozawa, a shadowy figure, entirely dark blue and black, was staring blankly at Kurozawa with its mouth open.
It seemed it hadn't expected him to actually come down.
Kurozawa looked around and saw the Water Demon's appearance clearly.
It had a humanoid body, roughly a male face, but on its neck, there were organs similar to fish gills opening and closing, clearly allowing it to breathe underwater.
Where its hands should be, there were two long, thick tentacles that looked extremely powerful. The stones earlier were thrown out of the water by it using its tentacles to grip them.
The Water Demon's right leg was still bleeding into the water. The flesh of one leg was turned outward, revealing a pale bone. It turned out Kurozawa's stone had broken one of its legs, and it hadn't recovered yet.
"Your leg is broken and hasn't recovered, yet you provoke me? Isn't this bullying an honest person!"
Kurozawa sneered, his legs swimming rapidly, instantly closing the distance.
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