219: Why are you ignoring us?

As the figure of "Lin Luo" vanished behind the barrier gate, before anyone could react, Kochou Kanae followed suit without hesitation, moving like a fluttering butterfly shadow.

"Sister!"

Shinobu cried out in alarm and, with almost no hesitation, rushed through the gate after her.

The silent Tomioka Giyu's actions were always faster than his words; in that same instant, his figure plunged into the purple light. Immediately after, the Hashira-level swordsmen of the Demon Slayer Corps, including Shinazugawa Sanemi and Himejima Gyomei, also rushed in one after another before the gate could close.

Leader fell silent for a moment, but it was too late to stop them. Besides, they had originally intended to send people in to investigate.

"Team one stays to guard the entrance; all other personnel, enter!" he ordered decisively. Then, his gaze turned toward the weakened Muzan, his tone brook no argument, "Muzan, take your people inside."

Muzan's expression darkened slightly. "Instructor Luo, we have suffered too much depletion..."

Leader raised a hand to interrupt, his voice cold. "In a moment of crisis, as long as you aren't dead, get in there."

"Leader!" A sharp glint flashed in Muzan's eyes. Kokushibo's hand tightened on his hilt—Kyogai emitted a faint hum, its blade eerily extending and branching. The situation inside the barrier was unknown, and that person was deep within; entering now was no different from seeking death.

"Want to drop the act now?" Leader narrowed his eyes, his tone dangerous.

Man-eating demons who wouldn't serve as cannon fodder—was he supposed to use his colleagues from the Special Affairs Department to fill the gap instead? In Leader's view, this was the true value of incorporating these vile demons.

Muzan's scarlet pupils contracted, and a chill spread around him, but he eventually raised his hand slowly.

"Go in."

He didn't want to turn hostile at this moment. Although Leader was injured, the Auras of the several people beside him were unfathomable. He knew in his heart that even if his side fought with everything they had, the chances of winning were slim.

Kokushibo, Akaza, and the other demons remained silent as they stepped one by one into the purple light gate that was slowly closing.

"Senpai, wait for me, I'm going in with you." Seeing Kasumigaoka Utaha following the main group inside, Aki Tomoya hurriedly followed.

Kasumigaoka Utaha originally wanted him to stay in the relatively safe outside, but seeing the familiar hesitation and dependence in the boy's eyes, she gave a silent, soft sigh. "...Then stay close to me and be careful."

"Senpai, wait for me, I'm going in with you." Seeing Kasumigaoka Utaha following the main group inside, Aki Tomoya followed in a panic.

Kasumigaoka Utaha originally wanted him to stay in the relatively safe outside, but seeing the hesitation and dependence in the boy's eyes, she gave a silent, soft sigh. "...Then stay close to me and be careful."

Inside the barrier, there was a deathly silence.

A grey mist, diffusing from an unknown source, flowed slowly like a living thing. It not only blocked vision but also completely cut off all Divine Sense perceptions. Here, only the naked eye could barely catch sight of things within a few steps; any further was just a grey haze of Chaos.

Boom— Boom—

Dull vibrations occasionally came from deep within, one after another, as if giant beasts were wrestling underground. The tremors spread along the ground and through the air, indicating that a battle was occurring in the central area of this abandoned academy, and it was exceptionally fierce.

Leader's brow furrowed. An environment where perception was completely shielded meant that danger could be right in front of them without being predictable, which would greatly diminish the team's reaction capabilities.

"Everyone close in toward the center, maintain a tight Formation, and do not act alone!" he ordered in a low, decisive voice.

His gaze swept the surroundings. Aside from the few Special Affairs Department elites following closely beside him, the Butterfly Sisters, the Hashira, and "Lin Luo" who had entered first were already nowhere to be seen, as if they had been completely swallowed by this grey mist.

Akaza looked warily at the thick fog where one could hardly see their own hand, and asked in a low voice, "Lord Muzan, what should we do now?"

Muzan's scarlet eyes flickered slightly in the mist, his voice cold: "Follow them closely."

He was referring to Leader's group.

The thick fog was like a sea, yet amidst the surging grey haze, the figure of "Lin Luo" was exceptionally clear. That dharma robe, flowing with a faint golden light, seemed to carry its own radiance, piercing through layers of mist and becoming the only coordinate in this Chaos.

The mist was not an inanimate object. It flowed and gathered silently, actually condensing into a blurred longsword of mist behind "Lin Luo." Without a sound, it slashed down toward the back of his neck!

Sizzle—

Before the blade could touch him, it was quietly dissolved by an invisible force an inch from his body, dispersing back into the drifting grey mist.

This mist could not only shield perception but also harbored hidden killing intent.

To "Lin Luo," this was like a gentle breeze against his face, but for the others who had broken in, it was an eerie threat that was difficult to handle.

Not far away, another clump of mist suddenly solidified, turning into an even sharper longsword that slashed down toward the head of the warily advancing Kochou Kanae!

The blade cut through the air, still silent.

Although Kanae hadn't noticed the change in the mist itself, her long-honed battle instincts made her turn suddenly at the last moment, raising her nichirin blade to block!

Clang—!

The crisp sound of metal clashing was exceptionally piercing in the dead silence. The power from the mist blade was as heavy as a mountain; she let out a muffled groan and was sent flying backward by the shock.

A second later, a gentle force caught her back out of thin air, absorbing the impact and setting her steadily back on the ground.

"Luo-kun!"

Kanae looked up and met those calm, rippleless golden eyes, a surge of excitement and warmth rising in her heart.

She instinctively wanted to move closer, her feet shifting slightly—

But "Lin Luo" moved half a step to the side without a trace.

That half-step was extremely subtle, yet it was like an invisible chasm that instantly separated them.

Kanae's heart trembled slightly. The call that hadn't left her throat and all her surging emotions seemed to be gently pressed back into place by this half-step.

Before she could sort out her thoughts, he spoke: "Follow me."

His voice was still flat, devoid of any emotion. His gaze didn't even linger on her as it turned toward the other side of the mist.

Right there, a clump of thick fog had just condensed into a humanoid outline holding a sword. The blade was pointed at the back of the completely unaware Shinobu, poised to strike.

"Lin Luo" just gave a casual glance.

Before the mist shadow could even drop its blade, it was like a sand painting blown away by the wind, silently collapsing and thinning out, completely merging back into the surrounding grey haze as if it had never existed.

"Shinobu!" Kanae realized only then and called out urgently.

Shinobu quickly turned and drew closer upon hearing the voice. She glanced at her sister, then at the golden figure standing quietly ahead. In the depths of her eyes, an extremely complex light flashed.

She reached out her hand, but as her fingertips were about to touch the sleeve flowing with a faint golden glow, she was gently stopped by an invisible and soft resistance, unable to advance even a fraction further.

She looked up and met a pair of calm, rippleless golden eyes.

There was no deliberate condescension in that gaze, but there was also none of the warmth from the past—only a deep-sea-like indifference and detachment.

"Lin Luo..." Shinobu's voice was slightly strained. Her hand hung in mid-air, her fingertips almost feeling the invisible barrier at the edge of that golden glow. "What happened to you? Why are you ignoring us?"

Kanae stood beside her sister, also looking at him. Her gentle features were also clouded with a lingering worry and confusion. Two faces carrying similar concerns—even a hint of grievance—yet they failed to cause even the slightest ripple in those golden eyes.

"Lin Luo" just looked at them quietly. After a moment, his gaze moved away, turning back toward the depths of the mist—

A duller, more oppressive vibration came faintly, accompanied by some vague yet heart-palpitating roar that pierced through the layers of mist. The ground beneath their feet gave an extremely subtle yet unignorable tremor.

In the central area.

Light and shadow were tearing at each other frantically.

A sharp sword light slashed down from high above—it was Ye Nianyao's sword. It instantly pierced through dozens of stiffly moving pitch-black Puppets. Everywhere the sword light passed, the ground turned to scorched earth and the Puppets dissolved. But in the next moment, a crack opened in space, and a liquid as thick as ink poured down, twisting and squirming as it hit the ground to reform into a new Puppet army.

Boom! Eerie blue flames shot into the sky, turning into a circling fire dragon—Chen Yu's flames forced the encroaching grey mist back. The strange lifeforms hidden in the mist let out silent shrieks as they turned to ash. The ground shook as coarse stone pillars burst forth—Peng Geng's earth power precisely blocked lethal sneak attacks from the shadows for his companions.

In the sky, a Western dragon spread its wings. Scorching dragon breath and golden lightning poured down in a weave, turning the constantly emerging strange enemies below into charcoal—it was Tohru, who had restored her true form.

On her broad dragon back, Yukino Mifuyu stood as still as a statue, surrounded by visible frost Qi. Her long hair and robes fluttered in the gale; wherever her gaze fell, the air froze and ice crystals spread, turning a corner of the battlefield into a quiet yet deadly winter realm.

And this was merely one corner of the grand battlefield.

In the very center of the battlefield, a massive Formation pattern that covered most of the area slowly emerged. The Formation was composed of intersecting dark red and deep purple lines of light, pulsing like blood vessels. Within it, countless blurred and ignorant Soul shadows floated up and down; they struggled to break free from the Formation's shackles but were firmly confined by an invisible barrier, only able to let out silent wails.

"Destroy the Formation! We must not let this Formation fully recover!" A vigorous yet loud shout drowned out the booming.

A spirited, white-haired old man holding a massive Decapitation Great Sword was engaged in a fierce struggle with a figure shrouded in a wide black robe.

The blade clashed with shadow tentacles reaching out from under the black robe, erupting with the sound of clashing metal. Although the old man seemed slightly strained, his eyes were as sharp as an hawk's. He clearly felt that every pulse of the Formation beneath his feet was accumulating some heart-palpitating, dangerous power sufficient to overturn everything.

"Sister Nianyao!"

An anxious cry pierced the din of the battlefield. A cold figure wrapped in sharp blue light rose from the ground like a reverse shooting star, heading straight for the pulsing massive Formation high in the sky!

Where the sword pointed, the Puppets and twisted energy trying to intercept her along the way were swept aside by her irresistible Aura. She transformed herself into a sword, resolutely crashing toward the core area of the Formation.

"Too late."

At the core of the Formation, another black-robed person spoke grimly, his voice as dry as rubbing gravel. In his hand, he held the cicada song collection that had just turned into a stream of light and flown into the barrier on its own.

Although he didn't understand why this book had suddenly returned, his heart was at ease—it was settled.

The most important thing about this poetry collection was not its text, but the special power used for "resonance" that had been secretly merged deep into its pages years ago.

He had once disguised this book as an ordinary poetry collection and sent it to the library. His original intention was to use it to establish a connection with the mysterious existence sleeping here and proceed slowly.

Unexpectedly, the book later went missing and fell into the hands of the Special Affairs Department.

The plan was forced to interrupt, and he had to find another way, setting up this ancient malevolent Formation to counter the underground Restriction and forcibly awaken that existence.

Now that the cicada song collection was recovered, it was simply heaven-sent!

The black-robed person clenched his fingers, and the ancient poetry collection instantly turned to dust. Only a wisp of dark purple divine light, condensed to the extreme and seemingly eternal, was stripped from it. As if possessed of life, it unhesitatingly dove deep into the ground beneath his feet.

Buzz—

The entire Formation emitted a deafening resonance, and its light flared brilliantly!

Almost simultaneously, the blue light that Ye Nianyao had transformed into also crashed into the space above the Formation, violently intertwining and colliding with the suddenly erupting purple light!

"Hmph."

The black-robed person, having completed the most critical step, snorted coldly. Facing the direction where the blue light was falling, he casually opened his palm and pressed down.

A giant hand that covered the sky, composed of pure shadow and violent energy, appeared out of thin air. It covered a small half of the battlefield's sky, carrying an irresistible and terrifying pressure. Like swatting a fly, it pressed down hard toward that blue figure whose light had slightly dimmed!