A person in Japan, a sword that soars to immortality.

"Lord Taiyi, what do you mean by that? I have no other intentions."

Although Kousaburo wore an innocent expression, his heart skipped a beat and his palms began to sweat.

"Calm down." Taiyi raised his hand, patted the other person's shoulder, gave him a kind smile, and then looked at the village: "A ghost? If we really encounter one, I hope I can kill it."

"Lord Taiichi..." Kousaburo watched Taiichi's departing figure, and was about to lift his leg to chase after him, but then he stayed where he was.

Do you need help...?

Neither of us is armed; even unarmed, I will uphold the dignity of a samurai...

Since that's the case, then I'll leave it to you...

The image of Taichi helping him a few days ago flashed quickly through Kozaburo's mind.

He lowered his head, his brows furrowed, and clenched his fists tightly.

"I'm so glad that the Lord used such a method to test Lord Taiichi. It was really too risky. I can't believe I agreed to do it!"

"Although Lord Taiichi is very powerful, he doesn't know the Demon Slayer Corps' breathing techniques and doesn't understand demons. He will definitely be in danger if he encounters a demon!"

Having figured everything out, Kousaburo immediately whistled.

The sound of flapping wings rang out, and a crow flew out of the woods and landed on his shoulder.

"Report to headquarters and request the nearest Demon Slayer Corps member to come here. There are demons in Gusha Village!"

Ga~ga~

The crow nodded, then flew into the sky and disappeared.

"Hopefully I can still make it..."

night.

In an abandoned farmhouse, Taiyi was meditating alone, practicing breathing exercises.

The house was arranged by the village's "master," that is, the village chief.

However, a small incident occurred during the arrangement process.

That is, the villagers were not particularly interested in the arrival of the samurai, nor did they show the respect they had expected.

In fact, it wasn't just respect; Taiyi also saw a hint of hatred in the eyes of these emaciated villagers.

It's not hard to guess that, starting in 1834, Japan suffered from a nationwide famine due to consecutive years of poor harvests.

At this time, the eleventh shogun, Tokugawa Ienari, not only ignored the matter, but also squandered money and plundered the people.

These news were no secret, as large numbers of farmers had begun to hate the shogunate.

Taiichi himself was a samurai, and he came from Edo, so naturally he was also hated.

It wasn't until Kousaburo handed over a string of copper coins to the head of the village that the man happily arranged rooms for them.

"The common people are starving, yet the shogunate still dreams of immortality. No wonder it was eventually overthrown."

Taiyi closed his eyes to rest, complained about the shogunate's governance, and then continued to use his breathing technique to inhale and exhale spiritual energy. He also opened the system to check his stats again.

[Sword Control System]

Name: Yamada Asaemon Taichi

Age: 20

【Lifespan: 53】

[Energy: 73.5 (+)]

Qi and Blood: 14.5 (+)

[God Soul: 10.4 (+)]

[Breathing Techniques (+): Roar of the Yin Tiger (+), Chant of the Yang Dragon (+)]

[Additional effects: Rapid recovery; Possession burning;]

[Martial Arts: Test-Sword Style Secret Sword Modified (+)]

【Title: Nameless Ronin (When facing enemies, the only thing they'll notice about you is your good looks)】

[Common points: 0]

After obtaining the Yanglong's Roar Breathing Technique, his blood and qi growth rate indeed caught up as expected.

However, this method of alternating breathing techniques to refine spiritual energy was not the result Taiyi wanted.

"The general points are still not enough. It seems that we need to accumulate more knowledge and then combine the two breathing methods."

After two upgrades to the breathing technique, Taiyi has figured out how to acquire the breathing technique.

Allocating skill points is of course the most important thing, but without sufficient knowledge, simply relying on brute force to rush in will undoubtedly waste a lot of points.

This is something Taiyi doesn't want to see, because as he gets stronger, he will definitely get fewer and fewer points.

Therefore, knowledge about breathing techniques is also a resource he needs to acquire.

As for where to get this knowledge, the Demon Slayer Corps is undoubtedly the best choice.

This is why Taiichi, even knowing that Kousaburo had deliberately arranged things this way, still agreed to go to Tani-shita Village.

"If I'm not mistaken, this Kousaburo should be considered a member of the Wisteria family. They are responsible for the logistics of the Demon Slayer Corps and also have the responsibility of discovering powerful samurai."

"I was just wondering how to get in touch with the Ubuyashiki family, and here we are, fate is truly a strange thing..."

dong dong dong.

A knock on the door interrupted Taiichi's thoughts.

After saying "Please come in," four people came into view.

"Who is this...?" Taiichi asked, looking at a samurai with a chonmage hairstyle and two swords at his waist.

Taiichi had met Kousaburo, the village lord of Gushita Village, and the head of the village's security team before.

"This is the samurai Shirakawa Takebei, sent by our lord to deal with the demons."

Kozaburo introduced them politely.

"I see, I've heard so much about you."

Taiyi said with a smile.

"Have you heard of my name?"

Shirakawa Takebei looked at Taichi with a puzzled expression, while the latter gave an embarrassed look.

Damn, I just blurted it out.

Even so, this situation was no challenge for Taiichi: "Shirakawa is also a noble surname, and his ancestor was a descendant of Prince Kiyohito."

"I admire you." Shirakawa Takebei's eyes lit up, then he stepped forward and placed a brocade pouch in Taiichi's hand: "I didn't expect Lord Taiichi to be so learned, that he even has knowledge of family history. If it weren't for the timing, I would really like to have a drink with you."

"Why do you say that, Lord Takebei? What is this?" Taiichi asked, looking at the brocade pouch in his hand.

"This is a wisteria flower sachet, which can effectively prevent ghost attacks. Several people have already disappeared from this village, and I suspect it's related to ghosts."

Shirakawa Takebei said solemnly.

"If it's about dealing with ghosts, I can offer some assistance, since I've never seen anything like it before."

Taiyi stood up, leaning on his sword and smiling at the other person.

"I suggest you abandon this idea, because ghosts are real, and if you encounter one, even the most skilled warrior could be in mortal danger without professional training."

Shirakawa Takebei frowned and spoke in a very serious tone.

Seeing the other party's reaction, Taiyi didn't say anything more.

The other party's meaning is quite clear: they are telling you not to think you're so great that you can deal with ghosts.

Without the professional training of the Demon Slayer Corps, even the most skilled samurai is just an ordinary person.

How to kill demons, how to defend against Blood Demon Arts, and how to use breathing techniques—these are all closely guarded secrets of the Demon Slayer Corps, and outsiders could never possibly know them.

"Alright, I've said what I needed to say. We still need to go to the next place to distribute wisteria flower sachets, otherwise, what if it's a ghost..."

"Gah~ Gah~ A ghost has appeared! It's in the east of the village, in the east of the village!"

Just as Shirakawa Takebei was speaking, a crow suddenly flew into the room from outside the door, circling on the roof while continuously speaking in human language.

"Oh no! Hide well, and whatever you do, don't come out!"

Shirakawa Takebei's expression changed drastically. He hurriedly gave his last instructions, then drew his Nichirin Blade and rushed out the door.