The shop owner hesitated for a moment but still handed it over, his eyes fixed on Cheng Mo's movements.
As soon as the blade was in his hand, Cheng Mo felt a significant weight, far exceeding that of an ordinary craft item.
The sense of power and physical coordination brought by his Myriad Realms Physique allowed him to instinctively adjust his grip.
He subtly rotated his wrist, his arm driving his waist, and smoothly executed an extremely swift, short chopping motion forward.
Whoosh—!
The blade cut through the air, emitting an extremely faint yet sharp hiss. The movement was clean and precise, without the slightest hesitation, and the force was applied so smoothly it was as if he had practiced it thousands of times.
The shop owner's pupils slightly contracted, his casual demeanor vanished, and his gaze towards Cheng Mo became filled with surprise and scrutiny.
"Hoh!" His tone changed, carrying a hint of probing.
"Little brother, you've got the right stuff! Which school are you from? It's rare to see people practicing traditional weaponry these days."
Cheng Mo stopped his momentum, his fingers lightly tracing the cold edge, feeling its intimidating sharpness.
He was extremely satisfied with the blade, but his face remained expressionless. He simply replied, "My elders at home are fond of it, so I dabbled in it a bit; it's nothing that can be called a school."
The shop owner clearly didn't believe him but didn't press further.
In this line of work, asking too many questions brings no good.
He chuckled, "Alright then, this blade would just gather dust with me. You indeed seem like its rightful owner, someone who will not dishonor it."
"One price, twelve thousand. I'll throw in a blade bag and a lifetime of sharpening."
Cheng Mo quickly calculated in his mind and didn't hesitate: "Ten thousand, cash up front, I'll take it now."
The shop owner smacked his lips, looked into Cheng Mo's indifferent eyes, and finally waved his hand, "Fine, seeing your straightforwardness, let's be friends."
The shop owner carefully packed the Tang Hengdao into a thick canvas blade bag and handed it to Cheng Mo.
Cheng Mo, carrying the heavy blade bag, walked out of "Gushan Creations" and turned into a dark, deserted corner.
After scanning left and right to confirm no one was around, he focused his mind, and the long blade in his hand instantly vanished, entering the absolutely safe 1 cubic meter of the compass space.
He didn't linger, got on his electric scooter, twisted the throttle, and headed towards the next transaction location—a second-hand instrument warehouse where he had arranged to trade for high-power portable ultraviolet light tubes.
After also placing the heavy, portable lamp that could emit deadly ultraviolet light into the compass space, Cheng Mo returned to his small rented room.
It was late at night, but he had no intention of sleeping; the surging power within him and the urgent countdown dispelled all fatigue.
He didn't immediately start packing his luggage but instead sat down in front of his computer again.
The cold light of the screen reflected on his expressionless face; only the rapidly scrolling data streams in his eyes showed that his brain was operating at full speed.
Trading for supplies was only the most basic need. To survive in that dangerous world and maximize his benefits, he needed information, maps, and guides.
His fingers rapidly tapped on the keyboard, and browser windows opened and closed one after another. He was no longer limited to information from the demon slayer anime but delved deep into real historical data.
"[Taisho 5 (1916) Kanto Region, Japan Detailed Topographical Map]"
"[Taisho Period Monetary System (Yen/Sen/Rin) and Price References (Rice Price, Rent, Fares)]"
"[Taisho Household Registration System and Identity Verification Loopholes]"
"[Wisteria Japan Distribution Historical Records Kanto Region Inference]" — Combining anime settings and real plant distribution maps, he roughly circled several areas where large quantities of wisteria might be found, and thus potentially be near a Fuji House or Demon Slayer Corps activity areas.
He even dug out a blurry photocopy of the "Line Timetable (Kanto Edition)" published by the Japanese Railway Ministry from a very obscure academic database.
A lot of time had passed, and many lines might have changed, but the main routes and major station locations still held extremely high reference value.
On the laptop screen, dense layers of documents, images, and data table windows almost filled the entire display.
To his eyes, this dry information was more valuable than any gold or jewels.
"Fuji House," "Butterfly Mansion," "Yoshiwara," "Senso-ji Temple"... these names, originally from the two-dimensional world, were highlighted in yellow, corresponding one by one to real map coordinates, transportation methods, and even possible patrol routes.
Time was pressing; he couldn't afford to waste it getting lost. Every movement had to have a clear purpose and efficiency.
Plans, like precise gears, rapidly meshed, operated, and optimized in his brain, which had been enhanced by the Myriad Realms Physique.
The primary goal was survival and establishing a foothold.
Language proficiency ensured barrier-free communication, which was his biggest advantage.
Using the modern medicines and medical data he brought as a stepping stone to gain initial trust, local currency—especially hard currency like gold—and safety intelligence.
The pricing strategy had to be cautious, reflecting value without being so astonishing as to attract unwanted attention.
The ultraviolet lamp and Tangdao were his last resorts for survival, not to be revealed lightly unless in a life-or-death situation.
Find the Fuji House.
This was the most likely civilian channel to contact the Demon Slayer Corps. Offer medicines or financial aid in exchange for temporary refuge and information.
As for contacting the Demon Slayer Corps and learning Breathing Techniques... this was core to fundamentally enhancing his survival ability and future value.
What to trade? Modern medical knowledge to improve the survival rate of the wounded?
Highly effective antibiotics? Or... could he provide more special supplies from "overseas" in the future?
He needed to assess their needs and what they could offer in return.
He also needed to modify the Tangdao into a nichirin blade, a weapon that could truly inflict fatal damage on demons.
"Scarlet Crimson Iron Sand" and "Scarlet Crimson Ore"... Thinking of this, Cheng Mo paused.
Regarding these two core materials, the anime mentioned they were rare, and they couldn't possibly exist in the real world.
This might be a challenge.
He would swap the "scarcities" of the two worlds, continuously building a snowball.
What did the main world need?
Unique medicinal herbs from the Demon Slayer World?
The basic principles of Breathing Techniques?
Or even... demon blood samples?
This thought made his eyes narrow slightly.
The risk was extremely high, but the reward could also be beyond imagination.
All plans were constantly simulated in his mind, envisioning various possible emergencies and corresponding solutions.
He calmly calculated the gains, losses, and risks of each step.
It wasn't until the sky outside the window began to lighten slightly that he printed out all the filtered key information—simplified maps, currency conversion tables, coordinates of core locations, and reference prices for supplies—made them into waterproof memo slips, and also stored them in the compass space.
After completing all this, he did one last check of the supplies within the space: the Tang Hengdao, the ultraviolet lamp, medicines, medical data, modern craft jewels, high-energy compressed food, purified water... He put his bank card and a paper with the password written on it into the bedside table.
He also drafted a concise suicide note and set it to send three days later.
If something happened to him in the Demon Slayer World, this note would at least provide some explanation.
Then he called his parents, telling them a friend had introduced him to a good part-time job, and he would be gone for about three days.
His parents didn't think much of it, only reminding him to be careful.
The countdown in the depths of his consciousness was almost at zero.
[00:02:47...]
[00:02:46...]
Cheng Mo took a deep breath, took one last look at the cramped yet familiar room, his eyes devoid of nostalgia, only a cold determination and anticipation.
He closed his eyes, his entire consciousness sinking into his mind, touching the phantom compass that seemed to have existed since ancient times.
[Initiating shuttle, target world: coordinates locked.]