Death God: Starting from Refining Essence into Qi

In the alleyway of broken walls and ruins, the wind swirled dust and the stench of blood. Nigu Cai Cang carried the unconscious Shifengyuan Qianri on one shoulder and the spiritually exhausted Xuan on the other, his back hunched over.

He continued walking until the blue curtain of the Fourth Division's temporary medical array finally came into view.

Wherever Nigu Caizang passed, the members of the Fourth Division seemed to be put on pause. He slightly turned to avoid the people around him, and without stopping, walked straight into the open space surrounded by curtains.

The battlefield was covered with makeshift straw mats, on which sat or lay the wounded Death Squad members, their low groans of pain rising and falling. Medics in Death Squad uniforms moved among them, carrying bowls of medicine and bandages; each of them wore a look of exhaustion, but their movements showed no sign of slowing down.

Chigiri Shishima was healing the injured Shinigami. Sensing Saizo Goku's approaching spiritual pressure, he looked up, revealing light freckles on his cheeks and heavy dark circles under his eyes.

Shijima Chigiri saw the two people on Nikotsu Sai's shoulders clearing a space opposite Obana Danjiro and spreading out a cotton blanket.

"Ryoki, prepare to check Gen's injuries; Tenjiro, come over and be ready to stabilize their injuries at any time. Hand Obana over to the doctor at the Mao Medical Center." Shijima Chigiri turned to look at Reikotsu Saizo, who was standing in the distance, "Thank you for your help, Captain Reikotsu."

Reikotsu Saizo nodded and stepped forward. As he approached, the others, including Shijima Chigiri, gradually stopped all movement and quietly watched as the emaciated Reikotsu Saizo laid the two people on his shoulders flat on the cotton blanket, and then deactivated his power.

Dark red blood was still seeping from Qianri's chest, his orange scarf was soaked into a deep brown by the blood, his short silver hair was messily stuck to his forehead, and his breathing was barely perceptible. Xuan's left shoulder was pierced, with only a few layers of skin and flesh sticking his left arm to his shoulder, his face was ashen, and his right hand was still tightly gripping a purple Zanpakuto with cracks on its surface.

Shijima Chigiri crouched down, one hand supporting the long, transparent tube that connected Chihiro's chest and elbow, resembling a blood pump, while the other hand lifted the clothes tightly wrapped around Chihiro to examine the specific injuries.

"Another organ injury." With just one glance, Shijima Chigiri frowned deeply. "Tenjiro, come clean up the blood. Ryoki, how serious is Gen's injury?"

"It's not serious. His arm is broken and his spiritual energy is depleted. He's currently unconscious, but there's no danger to his life."

"Then you come over here too. Try to see if you can heal Captain Sifeng's injury. His heart was pierced. Although the blood that was injected into his pericardium was absorbed by this thing and reinjected into his body, he is in danger of breathing difficulties due to massive blood loss."

"Find a Shinigami with an ice-type Zanpakuto to cool him down and reduce his oxygen consumption. I'll go reattach Gen's arm first," Shijima Chigiri instructed, then looked at the hunched-over Saizo Gyoukotsu standing to the side. "If your treatment is ineffective, Captain Gyoukotsu, I'll have to trouble you to suspend Captain Shihouin's time. I believe the Shihouin family will provide a large number of treasures that extend lifespan as compensation."

Ryoki Yamada and Tenjiro Kirinji immediately sprang into action, carefully attempting to save Sennichi Shihōin.

Nikotsu Saizo, standing to the side, nodded silently, his loose, old skin twitching. His Zanpakuto could stop time, but only those whose spiritual pressure was far lower than his own or whose spiritual pressure was weak and unable to resist; otherwise, the lifespan he consumed would increase dramatically.

Just then, the spiritual pressure fluctuations on the northern battlefield became increasingly violent, with one particular spiritual pressure, mixed with the stench of blood, rising at an alarming rate.

Reikotsu Saizo turned to look north; he recognized that spiritual pressure. It was the spiritual pressure of Unohana Yachiru, the captain of the 11th Division.

-----------------

"Swastika."

Unohana Yachiru's eyes were cold and indifferent, looking at the enemy in front of her as if she were looking at trash.

She reached out her left hand and grasped the blade of the Zanpakuto, then slowly pulled it out of her hand as if drawing a sword, the blade stained with the blood from her hand.

As the entire Zanpakuto was covered in blood, thick blood continued to gush from its blade. Even after the sword was removed from her left hand, her left hand still gripped the thick blood extending from the tip of the blade, as if holding a piece of blood-red silk, or a long whip formed from congealed blood.

Unohana Yachiru held a gelatinous blood in her hands, her arms outstretched in front of her, the long whip of blood curving downwards under the influence of gravity.

Semi-congealed, viscous, gelatinous blood gushed out continuously, the amount of bleeding astonishing. The blood slid down the blade and onto the ground, gradually spreading out and forming an ever-expanding pool of blood centered on Unohana Yachiru.

"All gone."

As soon as she finished speaking, the spiritual pressure surrounding Unohana Yachiru seemed to transform into blood rain, pouring down from the sky to the ground, leaving only blood in the world.

The blood that dripped onto the ground kept splashing up, and in just an instant the ground was completely covered in blood. Unohana Yachiru stood there, but it felt as if she were in a pool of blood.

Finally, the blood rain stopped, and Unohana Yachiru raised her blood-stained sword, the blood on the blade continuously sliding down to the ground.

Unohana Yachiru has mastered eight thousand different sword-fighting styles, including some rather unique styles such as soft swords, which are limited by the weapon they are equipped with.

However, the blood after Bankai is fully unleashed is highly malleable, allowing for the perfect execution of every sword style learned by Unohana Yachiru, truly enabling her to switch freely between each style, making her unpredictable and difficult to defend against.

With each swing of her sword, the blood in the pool on the ground seemed to extend from her blade, transforming into waves of blood that swept forward.

As the blades clashed, blood splattered, and it seemed as if a fine rain of blood was falling from the sky once again.

John Saidlitz, sitting opposite him, knelt on one knee, his left hand pressed tightly against the wound on his right arm. Dark red blood gushed from the deep, bone-revealing wound, his blood-stained silver-gray hair plastered to his forehead.

Dozens of deep and shallow cuts ran down his white military uniform, the fabric soaked in blood and clinging to his body. His chest heaved violently, and with each breath, fine bloody foam spilled from the corner of his mouth.

After exchanging only a few dozen blows with Unohana Yachiru in her Bankai form, John Saidritz was pushed to his limit.

As the deputy commander of Yhwach's personal guard, who had fought alongside him for a century, John Saidlitz had seen countless powerful figures and experienced dozens of life-or-death battles. The opponent's attacks were cunning and ruthless; bullets aimed at Unohana Yachiru were deflected by her swift sword strikes, which created a blood curtain around her body.

With a slight flick of her wrist, Unohana Yachiru's blood whip tightened abruptly, and droplets of blood splattered from its tip, transforming into several tiny blood needles that shot towards John Saidliz's face.

After Unohana Yachiru achieves Bankai, she can unleash a long-range Blood Blade Wave with a single swing of her sword, which is why the two always engage in combat from a distance.

However, Unohana Yachiru's ranged attacks require her to skim over the ground, resulting in a period of flight time, which John Saidlitz can easily dodge.

Unwilling to delay any longer, Unohana Yachiru attempted to close the distance and flew towards John Saidlitz, continuously unleashing blood waves to suppress him with ranged attacks and prevent his escape, rapidly closing the gap between the two.

She approached John Saidlitz, raised her hand, and the blood-red blade slashed diagonally upwards, whistling through the air, aiming for John Saidlitz's neck.

The attack was incredibly fast; John Saidlitz had no time to dodge and could only close his eyes.

The expected excruciating pain did not come.

A crisp clanging sound rang out in front of me.

John Saidlitz opened his eyes and saw a cross-shaped knife blocking his way, deflecting the incoming bloody blade.

This cross-shaped knife has a wide and thick blade, and its entire body is dark without any metallic luster. The guard is shaped like an eagle wing cross.

John Saidlitz was familiar with the knife because it was His Majesty Yhwach's personal sword.

A figure draped in a black cloak slowly walked out from in front of him, surrounded by a blue aura of spiritual energy. With each step, the blood on the ground seemed to be pushed aside by an invisible force, revealing clean stone slabs.

Yhwach stood in front of Johann Saidlitz, his gaze calmly fixed on Unohana Yachiru across from him, his deep eyes revealing no emotion.

"Your Majesty, I have failed in my duty," John Saidlitz said, kneeling on one knee and bowing his head.

Yhwach's gaze remained fixed on Unohana Yachiru, and he remained silent.

Unohana Yachiru immediately shook her sword, using the recoil to create some distance between the two swords, and then used this distance to unleash a burst of power, suddenly swinging her sword down towards Yhwach's face.

Just as the Blood Blade was less than a foot away from Yhwach, Unohana Yachiru suddenly twisted her wrist.

The blood-red blade, which had been pointing straight ahead, suddenly veered off course, sweeping towards the void diagonally above with a sharp whistling sound.

"bite--"

A crisp metallic clang rang out as two silver-blue spirit bullets were deflected by the Blood Blade and crashed into the stone wall behind them, cracking the wall with several fine lines.

Unohana Yachiru looked up and gazed in the direction from which the bullet had come.

Nikita Deslock stood on the edge of the platform, her fingertip still on the trigger, the bullet that had just hit Unohana Yachiru in the head had come from her hand.

Previously, in order to avoid Yan Yuanjinle's attack, she had been waiting for an opportunity to strike a fatal blow, and she did not make a move against Genwa Saito, who was highly tense when breaking through.

She waited until Xuan broke through the encirclement and Qianri came forward to greet her. In the instant when both of them were relaxed and their bodies overlapped, she pulled the trigger. The moment the bullet left the barrel, she immediately retreated along the pre-planned route, without even looking back at the result, just to avoid encountering Yan Yuanjinle again.

She hurried along, passing through several alleyways, and had just retreated to the high platform of the Quincy's main camp when she looked up and saw a blood-red figure in the center of the battlefield attacking His Majesty. Without the slightest hesitation, she immediately summoned her most familiar rifle and pulled the trigger.

She was very confident in her shooting skills and believed that she could never hurt His Majesty Yhwach.

Instead of launching another attack on Yhwach, Unohana Yachiru turned her attention to Nikita Deslock, who had intervened and interrupted her attack.

With a flick of her wrist, Unohana Yachiru sent her blade slicing across the pool of blood, unleashing a crimson wave of energy that hurtled toward Nikita Deslock.

Nikita Deslock remained unfazed. The gun in her hand had transformed into a submachine gun, and the spiritual particles in the surrounding air rapidly condensed into bullets within the weapon. She then fired at full speed at the incoming wave of blades below.

The blade wave was dispersed, revealing the figure of Unohana Yachiru behind it.

She charged toward Nikita Deslock's location, simultaneously wielding her longsword at high speed, creating a blood-red curtain of blades in the air. A cacophony of clanging sounds filled the air, sparks and crimson light mingling as she deflected all the bullets, not a single one harming her.

Another wave of blades, carrying a foul stench, hurtled towards the platform. Nikita Deslock, however, did not retreat an inch. Spiritual energy flowed between her fingertips, and the submachine gun in her hand instantly disintegrated and reformed, its barrel suddenly lengthening and thickening, transforming into a large-caliber sniper rifle. She rested one knee on a stone block at the edge of the platform, her shoulder bracing against the buttstock, the muzzle already compressed with spiritual energy.

"boom--"

Like the dull roar of a cannonball being fired, a fist-sized high-density spiritual particle bullet spun out of the barrel and collided head-on with the incoming wave of crimson blades.

The blade wave exploded into a cloud of blood mist, with tiny droplets of blood splattering onto the ground.

Nikita Deslock, unsure of the strange blood's effects, opted to dodge with a flying kick. She lightly touched the ground with her toes, her body soaring backward several feet like a kite, landing steadily atop another, even taller clock tower.

Without pausing, Nikita Deslock switched back to her rifle, firing repeatedly at the rapidly approaching crimson figure below. Each bullet precisely predicted Unohana Yachiru's landing point, blocking all her upward advance paths.

Unohana Yachiru treads on the surging waves of blood in the blood pool, her figure weaving through the hail of bullets. She simply swings her long sword, and streams of blood churn in the pool, creating a series of crisp clanging sounds as she deflects all the incoming spirit bullets, closing the distance between them.

After blocking a wave of bullets, Unohana Yachiru suddenly plunged the tip of her knife into the ground, then flicked it forward, sending countless flying blood droplets like needles towards Nikita Deslock.

The blood curtain formed by the blood needles was too large, and the two were already close to each other. Nikita Deslock knew she couldn't dodge in time, so she instantly activated her Bloodlust Gear and spat out dense tongues of fire from her gun. The bullets collided with the blood needles in the air, exploding into fine blood mist.

However, there were simply too many blood needles, and a few still managed to penetrate the barrage, grazing her cheeks and shoulders, tearing through her uniform fabric, and leaving shallow bloodstains on her skin.

Nikita Deslock felt a chill run down her spine—the ability to pierce through the defenses of the Bloodstained Armor was astonishing. But she didn't retract her weapon; the muzzle remained firmly locked on the rapidly ascending crimson figure below, and she continued to pull the trigger with undiminished frequency.

Unohana Yachiru swung her sword at the high wall, splattering blood onto the surface. Waves of crimson sword energy swept towards Nikita Deslock from all directions, as if enemies were attacking her from every inch of the area.

Nikita Deslock leaped backward, dodging the attack. Adjusting her posture in mid-air, she fired repeatedly at Unohana Yachiru with a look of gazing back at the moon.

Unohana Yachiru's figure flickered and suddenly disappeared from Nikita Deslock's sight.

Nikita Deslock was startled and used her Flying Kick in mid-air to change her landing point, dodging the incoming bloody light.

A bloodstain appeared on Nikita Deslock's cheek, but she ignored it, her gaze fixed on Unohana Yachiru in the distance.

After a brief exchange, both sides suddenly fell silent, searching for each other's weaknesses.