In the end, the frustrated demon failed to escape before sunrise.
The moment the sunlight hit him, his entire body turned to ashes and vanished completely.
It's because Ji Hao was simply using meditation instead of sleeping.
If the evil spirit makes even the slightest move, Ji Hao naturally wouldn't mind adding a few more nails to its body.
Of course, the demise of the evil spirit did not interrupt Ji Hao's cultivation chain.
At this moment, bathed in the first rays of morning sunlight, he appeared radiant.
If anyone were around and witnessed the entire process of him repairing the chain, they would find that his whole body was enveloped in an aura as warm as the sun.
Even more so, a faint purple aura swirled around him, adding to his mysterious aura.
"Hoo... this power..."
Half an hour later, Ji Hao slowly exhaled a breath of stale air, and as he slightly opened his eyes, a glint of shrewdness flashed in them.
Last night, while meditating, he had already begun to consider how he would deal with the numerous evil spirits led by Kibuki Muzan.
Unfortunately, the second talent, the ability to travel between worlds, has a cooldown period; to be more precise, it seems to require charging.
Essentially, the longer Ji Hao stays in a world, the more energy his second talent can absorb.
Once he has absorbed enough energy, he will have the resources to undertake another journey.
Since they are destined to remain in this world, it is inevitable that they will encounter evil spirits such as Kibuki Muzan.
What's more, he just dealt with a demon!
Of course, it would be fine if he found a safe place to hide.
But that would be too boring.
He can't just hide away in a corner every time he arrives in a new world.
Doing that wouldn't benefit his cultivation of the Dao heart.
In order to deal with the evil spirits in this world, Ji Hao naturally thought of starting with the sun.
So, just now, taking advantage of the rising sun, he tried to absorb the sun's utmost yang energy so that he could use it for himself.
And surprisingly, he actually succeeded in recruiting him!
Ji Hao slightly raised his hand, and as he began to mobilize the energy within his body, soon, streaks of scorching Yang Flame began to climb onto his palm.
With a casual wave of his hand, he flung out a fiery palm print, which slammed hard into the tree trunk beside him!
With a deafening roar, the blazing palm print burned a deep, seven-to-eight-centimeter-deep black palm print into the tree trunk.
For a casual strike, this was already quite satisfactory to Ji Hao.
After that, he tried to attach the power of Yangyan to objects such as ground nails.
Unfortunately, the success rate is somewhat low.
Four ground stakes were tested, three of which burned out, and only one attempt was successful.
Moreover, the moves consume a lot of energy, although for Ji Hao, who is constantly absorbing the energy of heaven and earth, it doesn't make much difference.
"I really want to try it out on a ghost, but before that, I need to improve my control over the Yang Flame. Otherwise, I'm afraid I'll only be able to fight ghosts with my bare fists."
Having gained new power, Ji Hao couldn't help but feel eager to try it out.
But after looking at the three melted ground spikes, Ji Hao decided to hone his skills properly first.
"Sigh, living alone in the wilderness, if you die, no one will collect your body, how pitiful."
At this moment, Ji Hao, who was preparing to leave, also arrived at the door of the wooden house.
He glanced at the scene of blood splattered everywhere and the unrecognizable corpses in the room, and sighed.
"Respect for the deceased is paramount, so I'll give you a dignified send-off."
As the power of Yangyan surged, under Ji Hao's control, the scorching Yangyan burned the corpses of the dead, turning them into wisps of green smoke that drifted between heaven and earth.
Ji Hao has taken other people's lives before, but that doesn't mean he doesn't respect life.
Perhaps it is precisely because he has taken other people's lives that he cherishes the meaning of life even more.
The fire devoured all traces of evil, and amidst the wisps of smoke, Ji Hao turned and left, continuing his journey to find his home.
Soon, around noon, Ji Hao finally emerged from the dense forest.
Not far from him, a small town that looked rather lively stood there.
Clearly, Ji Hao no longer has to live that awful savage life!
But as soon as he entered the bustling town, Ji Hao sensed that something was wrong.
It wasn't that he smelled the stench of evil spirits again.
Instead, he noticed that the townspeople, dressed in kimonos, were looking at him with strange eyes.
He raised an eyebrow and lowered his head slightly, understanding dawning on him.
He was wandering around the street in a modern-style camouflage outfit, which was basically a misfit.
Of course, Japan in this world is currently in the Taisho era, and wearing Western-style clothing has already become popular.
However, Ji Hao's camouflage outfit looked completely out of place, even among Western-style clothing.
It would be an injustice if he weren't being watched!
However, Ji Hao didn't care at all.
He walked straight up and stopped a middle-aged man in a kimono with a smile.
Amidst the other person's surprised yet somewhat wary gaze, she began asking him in fluent, authentic Kyoto Japanese how to get to the nearest pawnshop.
After receiving hesitant directions from the middle-aged man, Ji Hao politely thanked him and then swaggered towards the so-called pawnshop.
Since it's attracting attention, why not exchange it for some money and buy some clothes that are suitable for this place?
Anyway, before he came, he had collected a lot of loose gold and other things, pawned a few of them, and then he naturally had the money.
After a long argument with the pawnshop owner, Ji Hao, who had received a considerable amount of cash, walked out of the pawnshop with a smile.
So he went straight to a place that sold Western-style clothing, pushed open the door and went inside.
Soon, Ji Hao, having shed his camouflage uniform, appeared on the town's streets dressed in an elegant black suit, wearing a small black top hat, and carrying a walking stick, as if he had become a completely different person.
If Ji Hao, who was previously dressed in camouflage, was the image of a hunter roaming the wilderness with a touch of wildness, then...
Now, Ji Hao is completely the image of an elegant British gentleman.
As for why he didn't change into a kimono, it was simply because he wasn't used to wearing one.
Anyway, Western-style clothing doesn't seem out of place in this era, so it's fine.
However, even though he changed his clothes, Ji Hao still attracted a lot of attention when he walked down the street.
"Hmm, that figure..."
At that moment, Ji Hao, who was strolling on the street, also noticed a figure wearing a butterfly-patterned haori.
Because there are differences between reality and the two-dimensional world, Ji Hao couldn't recognize who that fleeting figure belonged to.
After all, Shinobu Kocho, like her sister, likes to wear haori with butterfly wing patterns.
Well, if we can determine who this person is, Ji Hao might be able to determine whether the story of this world takes place before or after Kanae Butterfly's death.
However, he didn't chase after her directly. After all, once he saw that figure, Ji Hao had already locked onto her aura.
He could sense the figure's presence as long as he didn't leave the area of about three blocks.
If they're from the Demon Slayer Corps, they'll definitely act at night, so let's just wait for night to fall.