The Supreme Soul, Starting with Death

The instant the binding spell was removed, the already impatient pale liquid immediately surged up, attempting to envelop the unfortunate Grim Reaper's head, only to discover upon contact that a vacuum mask already covered his face.

The pale liquid stopped writhing, seemingly caught in some kind of confusion. After a while, it bypassed the mask and instead enveloped the back of the unlucky Grim Reaper's head, filling the gap between the mask and the unlucky Grim Reaper's face, firmly connecting the unlucky Grim Reaper and the mask together.

[Ah, the simple principle is that the special feature of the virtual mask is because the virtual lock is integrated into it.]

[Within the newly peeled mask, the knots have not yet dissipated. The ethereal instinct senses the presence of these knots within the mask and will change its action logic, no longer attempting to form a new mask, but instead stabilizing the knots within the mask that are about to dissipate.]

[In this way, the Hollowfied Shinigami can simultaneously retain its own bindings and the bindings in its mask. That bat Hollow, I don't know how it came to be, naturally possesses two bindings, perfectly matching my experimental plan.]

Unfortunately, when I caught him, he didn't show any intention of escaping using his black-clad voice, so I naturally assumed he didn't have that ability. As a result, he managed to escape with the big guy.

The more the Grim Reaper girl thought about it, the worse her mood became. She felt that the mask and the unlucky Grim Reaper had become one. Only then did she release her hand that was pressing down on the mask, frowned, and stepped aside. She casually pushed the Hollow's corpse, which had lost its mask and was beginning to dissipate, to the ground, and sat on the experimental table to examine her work.

At this moment, the unfortunate Grim Reaper had completely changed his appearance. No matter how you looked at him, he was now a true Hollow. Moreover, his severed left leg was now wriggling rapidly, trying to regenerate.

High-speed regeneration is a rare talent, even among Hollows, and even rarer among ordinary Hollows. Only a few extremely lucky individuals can awaken this talent.

At the feet of the Grim Reaper girl, Hollow, whose mask was stripped off and who died, was once such a lucky one. It was precisely because of this luck that he was chosen and became one of the experimental subjects locked in the cage.

Now, he is dead, and this good fortune has been transferred to that unlucky Grim Reaper.

After carefully observing the unfortunate Hollowfied Grim Reaper and confirming that the Hollowfication process was proceeding as smoothly as before and that it had indeed inherited the talent of the other Hollow, the Grim Reaper girl picked it up, put it back in the cage, and turned to leave the underground laboratory.

Shortly after the Grim Reaper girl left, a shadow in the corner suddenly began to move, and a Grim Reaper shrouded in black emerged from it. He looked in surprise at the Hollow whose left leg had been completely regenerated and who had fully recovered, and quietly left the underground laboratory through a secret passage on the other side.

"So, Yoruichi's purpose in doing all this was to allow the Shinigami to acquire Hollow abilities?"

After listening to the report from the Grim Reaper in black, the old patriarch still had a gentle and kind smile on his face, but the Grim Reaper, who was asked the question, instantly straightened up and lowered his head even further.

"Your subordinate dares not presume to guess Lord Yeming's intentions, but Lord Yeming is kind and innocent, so I think he would not really be plotting anything treasonous."

The old patriarch seemed quite satisfied with the black-clad Grim Reaper's answer, and nodded with a smile.

“That’s right. Your name is Chuan Chuan, right? A Zanpakuto that can blend into the shadows is indeed a master at gathering intelligence. Recruiting you back then was the right decision. Come with me to Xingjun and tell the legion commander everything you’ve seen and heard.”

After speaking, the old patriarch got up, put on his coat, and strolled slowly toward Xingjun's headquarters as if taking a walk. The black-clad Grim Reaper followed respectfully behind him, keeping his head down the whole time, not daring to overstep his bounds in the slightest.

On the rooftop behind them, the Death Girl lazily basked in the sun, a slightly mocking smile playing on her lips.

The old man was still clever, but unfortunately, he would never have imagined that there was such a thing as the talent of "retaining past memories after becoming ethereal."

[Heh, it's not his fault. Such talent is of no help to Hollows in combat. On the contrary, the conflict between his memories and cannibalistic instincts prevents him from awakening his Hollow fighting abilities, causing him to die quickly before he can grow up. Those who only focus on the dangerous power of the Great Hollows will naturally not notice those younger Hollows who die young.]

[This is my chance. I must capture that big guy. As long as I seize his talent, I can become a Hollow while retaining my memories, completely eliminating the weakness of the Shinigami's power originating from the Soul King!]

P.S.: Please add to your favorites and recommend!

Chapter 41 Ring? Tattoo?

"Ha, ha, you finally escaped! Bat, are you still alive?"

Panting heavily, Gu Shi tossed the bat he was carrying on his shoulder to the ground, finally losing his balance and lying down.

Unfortunately, lying down didn't make things much easier for him. Almost all of his ribs on the left side were broken, and the bones in his upper and lower arms on the right side were shattered. Lying down, it was incredibly painful no matter which side his weight was on.

The bat, which had been thrown to the ground, was in no better condition. Its most important wings had been twisted into pretzels, and a fresh, bloody hole had been ripped into its chest, which already had a hole in it. It was having difficulty even breathing and had no strength left to answer Gu Shi's question.

However difficult it may be, the fact that he could still breathe meant he wasn't dead, which put Gu Shi at ease, and he couldn't help but laugh out loud.

"Ha, haha, how should I put it, as expected of Hueco Mundo. I thought the two of us were already very strong, but on the second day, we were almost wiped out."

The loss of one rib made it difficult for Gu Shi to speak, but at this moment he had a strong sense of being "alive". He knew that keeping quiet and resting was the best choice, but he just couldn't control his mouth and wanted to laugh and talk.

Although the essence of the illusory is a dead soul, the desperate battle and the successful escape made Gu Shi feel the pulse of his own life even more clearly than when he was alive.

When Gu Shi fought the Glyptodont Void for the first time, he had a vague feeling about this. However, at that time, the Death Girl was there to support him, and if he was seriously injured, Hui Dao would help him heal. Gu Shi knew that he would never die, so the feeling was not as real or intense as it was this time.

"Haha, it's decided! Once I'm a bit stronger, I'm definitely going to find that guy and fight him again! This feeling is just amazing!"

It has to be said that Hollows have strong regenerative abilities, especially in places like Hueco Mundo where the spiritual energy concentration is extremely high.

After Gu Shi disengaged from the battle and stopped consuming spiritual energy, he only lay down for a short while, and his wounds showed signs of healing. His left rib and right arm were not as painful, and he could speak fluently again.

Meanwhile, the bat-like creature beside him recovered even faster than Gu Shi. In just a short while, the blood hole in its chest shrank several times, and even its twisted wings slowly and automatically returned to their normal shape. Once the bones and flesh inside had fully healed, it would be able to fly back into the sky.

Bat struggled to turn over, getting closer to Gu Shi, and incidentally revealing Erlang, who had been pinned beneath him.

When they were escaping, Gu Shi was responsible for carrying him while he was responsible for carrying the seriously injured and unconscious Erlang. When Gu Shi threw him down, Erlang was unlucky enough to be completely pinned down by him.

After nudging Erlang to make sure the big dog hadn't been crushed to death, Bat Xu stopped paying attention to it and turned to look at Gu Shi, who was still laughing intermittently.

"Why? That rabbit is dangerous, why fight it?"

The bat-like Void couldn't understand Gu Shi's thoughts. When he was captured by Death, Gu Shi was very proactive in planning his escape. When he was attacked by the rabbit-like Void just now, Gu Shi also ran away desperately. He should cherish his life. Why would he go back to fight such a dangerous enemy after finally escaping?

"Of course it's for revenge! How can you not fight back after being beaten up!"

Gu Shi answered without hesitation. His answer was so quick that even someone as simple-minded as Bat Xu could see through his perfunctory attitude and silently protested with his eyes.

Gu Shi chuckled a few times, then turned slightly embarrassed and scratched the wound on his buttocks, scraping out the bone fragments and sand stuck inside. Seeing that Bat Xu was still staring intently at him, he had no choice but to give an explanation with a sidelong glance.

"Ahem, I just think there's a saying that goes something like this: 'The closer you get to death, the more you feel the reality of life.' Fighting to the death against a powerful opponent gives me a sense of joy that I am truly alive."

Seeing that Bat Xu was still listening attentively and didn't laugh at him for this somewhat childish reason, Gu Shi explained again.

"You see, when I think about this kind of idea in my mind, it feels very inspiring, but when I actually describe it in words, it becomes a bit shameful and embarrassing, which is why I am unwilling to say it."

Bat Void had mostly recovered by this time. He rolled over and got up from the ground, approached Gu Shi, and looked at him intently with an unexpectedly serious expression.

"There's nothing shameful about it. You should be even happier and prouder to find something that brings you joy."

Bat Xu might have just been trying to show his seriousness through body language, but he got too close, almost face to face. Looking at the fangs he showed when he spoke, Gu Shi felt that he might suddenly bite him and devour him alive.

Resisting the urge to slap the bat away, Gu Shi quickly raised her hand and pushed him away. "Okay, okay, I know. Next time you don't need to get so close when you talk. It feels weird."

"But wasn't this the same distance when we first talked?" Bat tilted his head in confusion.

When he was first captured by Death, Gu Shi carried him around and chatted with him, the two of them were almost face to face. Why did Gu Shi feel strange this time?

Feeling a little embarrassed that his double standards had been pointed out without any mockery, Gu Shi quickly explained.

"You misunderstood. I was trying to get a quiet answer from you so I could ask if you knew how to use black humor. I got so close on purpose so that that crazy Grim Reaper wouldn't find out. That's not normal social distance. Bat, you'd better be more careful in the future."

Bat nodded blankly, accepting the explanation. Seeing that he wanted to continue discussing the previous topic, Gu Shi quickly ran to Erlang's side, grabbed a small lizard, Xu, that was licking blood from Erlang's stomach, and took the opportunity to change the subject.

"This little guy is quite greedy. With its soul strength, breathing in the spiritual particles in the air is enough for it to survive, yet it still comes here to secretly lick blood..."

Gu Shi stopped halfway through his sentence.

Small lizards are as ubiquitous in Hueco Mundo as ants are in the real world. You can find several just by digging up a patch of sand. Since arriving in Hueco Mundo, Gu Shi has seen many of them and no longer finds them novel.

He grabbed the little lizard Hollow only to use it as an excuse to distract the bat Hollow. Jiro's wounds had already healed, and the little lizard could only lick the blood left on Jiro's body, which would not have any effect on Jiro at all.

But after catching it, Gu Shi realized that this little lizard was shrewd and seemed quite different from its kind.

The other small lizards are incomplete because their souls are not whole; they have no spirituality whatsoever. Like ordinary lizards, they can only struggle haphazardly after being caught.

But this little lizard that had licked Erlang's blood turned around and coiled itself into a circle after being caught, like a ring, and slipped onto one of Gu Shi's fingernails.

After it was set up, the little guy adjusted its posture, tilting its head so that one of its eyes was looking upwards. Its blood-red eyes looked like a ruby ​​was set in a ring.

Such an excellent maneuver made Gu Shi forget what he was about to say for a moment.

After a moment's thought, Gu Shi temporarily abandoned his plan to crush the little creature. He took some of his still-dry blood and smeared it on the little lizard's mouth.

"Come on, let's try changing it into a different shape."

The first time, the little lizard didn't seem to understand Gu Shi's meaning and was only focused on licking the blood off its mouth. After it finished licking, Gu Shi repeated it again.

This time, the little thing paused for a moment, then followed Gu Shi's arm and crawled all the way to the middle of his upper arm. Its four little paws firmly grasped the edges of Gu Shi's arm bone armor, and it pressed its slender body into an S-shape against it.

Once the pose was set up, the little lizard's thin spiritual energy flowed around its body, and soon its originally pure white body turned black. From a distance, it looked like Gu Shi had a simple black tattoo on his arm.

[...Could this little guy have been a chameleon in his previous life? After becoming a Hollow, color-changing became a talent, allowing him to decide which color to turn into?]

Gu Shi dipped some more blood in his hands and fed it to the little guy. He patiently waited for it to finish licking it before adding, "Come on, let's turn red, like the color of blood."

The little lizard clearly didn't understand what "red" meant, and it turned green, blue, and yellow in succession before finally turning red, giving Gu Shi a blood-red snake-shaped "tattoo".

"Interesting, very interesting! This little guy is even smarter than Erlang. I've decided, from today onwards, it will be my decorative pet!"

After Gu Shi finished speaking excitedly, he looked down and saw that Erlang had woken up at some point and was staring at him with wide eyes in disbelief.

Chapter Forty-Two: Technique? Vertical!

"Ahem, Erlang, you're awake."

After coughing a few times, a little embarrassed, Gu Shi suddenly straightened his face and glared sternly at the aggrieved dog.

"Erlang! Have you reflected on your actions?! You were knocked unconscious the moment you encountered the enemy. If it weren't for me and Bat risking our lives to save you, you would already be part of that old rabbit! Aren't you ashamed of being so weak?!"

The sudden, harsh criticism made Erlang instinctively shrink into a small ball, his ears drooping down, looking guilty and pitiful, completely forgetting the fact that this person had previously slandered him.

Having successfully diverted Erlang's attention and eliminated his embarrassment, Gu Shi breathed a sigh of relief, but his face remained serious and earnest as he continued speaking in a slightly softer tone.

"I know you haven't been in the intangible realm for long, and it's understandable that you're weak. But I can understand you. Our enemies, who want to devour us, won't."

"Once your injuries are fully healed, Erlang, you should stop running around. Be a good boy and follow me to learn combat techniques. The methods you used to use for hunting are no longer applicable in battles between Hollows."

Erlang nodded pitifully, looking down at the ground guiltily, not daring to meet Gu Shi's gaze. He could only squeeze out a guilty sound from his throat.

"Pile, yes, not neat, sorry."

???

!!!

"Erlang, you can talk now! You've only been in the Hollowfication state for a day and you've already learned to talk!?"

Gu Shi's eyes widened, and a surge of inexplicable joy welled up inside him. He didn't know how happy ordinary parents were to see their child speak for the first time, but the sudden joy that welled up in his heart was incredibly strong and he couldn't suppress it at all.

With a single swipe of its paw, Gu Shi scooped Erlang up, held him in the air, and brought him close to its face. Gu Shi was so excited that his breathing became heavy.

"Say a few more words, Erlang, anything you'd like to say?"

Gu Shi's drastic change in attitude caused Erlang's already dim-witted brain to short-circuit. He habitually started wagging his tail, and only after wagging it a few times did he realize what was happening and clumsily opened his mouth again.

"Say it, woof, what? I'm sorry?"

"No need to say sorry anymore. Say something else. Oh, right, call me by my name. My name is Gu Shi. Repeat after me, Gu~ Shi~"

"Gu...Shi? Gu Shi, Gu Shi!"

"Yes, yes, yes, it's Gu Shi. Oh, and your name too, Erlang, Er~ Lang~"