Death God: Starting from Refining Essence into Qi

Seireitei, the Demon Path Clan.

Green tiles and white walls are nestled among a grove of maple trees. When the wind blows, red leaves flutter down and fall into the courtyard paved with bluestone. Fine moss grows in the cracks of the stone steps, spreading along the pillars to the carved window frames, and a faint herbal scent floats in the air.

It has been a long time since the Kidoshu and the Gotei 13 became official organizations, and the Kidoshu's system has long been on the right track.

The teaching of low-level ghost paths is the responsibility of mid-level ghost path practitioners, the advanced courses of mid-level ghost paths are managed by high-level ghost path practitioners, and the study of high-level ghost paths is personally taught by Xuan.

Most of the daily affairs of the Seireitei are coordinated by the Gotei 13, and matters related to the Kido have also formed a fixed procedure, so Gen doesn't need to do everything himself.

As the first Great Demon Master, Gen's life was far more leisurely than that of the captains of the Gotei 13.

His spiritual power remained at the peak of the fourth rank, still quite a distance from the third rank, which was equivalent to the captain level, and insufficient to support his research on the Kido of number ninety and beyond. During this time, Xuan shifted all the energy he had originally devoted to Kido research to mastering and developing his two Zanpakuto.

With a slight thought, Xuan's consciousness sank into the spiritual world.

The half belonging to Zhenyuan remains unchanged, with green mountains, Taoist temples, and in the middle, the sword spirit Zhenyuan, shaped like a golden elixir.

Xuan continued to descend, passing through the thick earth, and arrived at the half of the space where all things were illusory.

This place, which was originally like an abyss filled with mirrors and crystals, has now completely changed its appearance—a Taoist temple with green tiles and white walls has appeared, and in the distance there is a calm lake. In the stone pavilion by the bridge, a pot of hot tea is being brewed, and steam rises in wisps.

These scenes are all constructed by the power of the illusory phenomena themselves.

Wanxiang Jiexu sat on a stone bench in the pavilion, dressed in white, his long hair loosely tied behind his head. He raised his hand to pour Xuan a cup of hot tea, the cup landing on the stone table with a crisp, light sound.

Xuan didn't drink it, because he knew the tea was fake. But he remained seated on the stone bench, admiring the illusory lake view.

"You've arrived." Wanxiang Jiexu's voice was calm and gentle, with the unique clarity of a sword spirit. "Just now I considered the three possible forms of Zhenyuan Bankai. The one that best fits our cultivation system is still the Nascent Soul."

Looking at the Taoist temple reflected on the lake, Xuan slowly spoke: "I've been thinking about this too. Foundation Establishment allows one to mobilize spiritual power, Qi Refining ensures no leakage of spiritual power, Concentration of the Spirit can nurture a sword spirit, and Core Formation corresponds to the Shikai of the Zanpakuto. So, Shattering the Core to form the Nascent Soul, and Transforming into a Spirit to be born, should logically be Bankai."

"That's right." Wanxiang Jiexu Jianxuan didn't drink the tea, but instead amplified the aroma, filling the air around them. "After a Shinigami learns Bankai, they can unleash Shikai without chanting the release incantation. This is because their Nascent Soul has already taken shape, and the shattered Golden Core has merged with their spirit and soul. From then on, Shikai becomes instinctive. Even if someone else takes over their Bankai, the power of Shikai will not disappear, because it has become a part of them."

Xuan lowered his gaze, watching the tea leaves rise and fall in his cup, his thoughts gradually becoming clearer. After obtaining the Hogyoku, Aizen Sousuke evolved towards a higher form, ultimately fusing completely with his Zanpakuto, Kyoka Suigetsu, achieving oneness with the sword. He followed the path of first fusing with Shikai, then with Bankai, a path that coincided with the Daoist philosophy of achieving fusion with the Dao.

The logical loop has been formed, and the conjecture is valid.

However, problems arose. Xuan Neng clearly felt that his concentration time and quality had long exceeded the standards recorded in the Daoist scriptures, yet he was still unable to take the step of breaking the core and forming the nascent soul, and was unable to master the Bankai of any Zanpakuto.

"I can materialize and appear in the outside world for a short time under your guidance, but I can sense that you haven't mastered Bankai yet. The problem lies in two places." Wanxiang Jiexu's gaze fell on the scabbard at Xuan's waist. "First, the Shikai development of both Zanpakuto is not thorough enough, and the foundation is not accumulated enough; second, the spiritual power has not yet broken through to the third level."

Xuan nodded slightly. The third rank of spiritual power is an invisible threshold in this world. Only when the God of Death reaches the third rank of spiritual power will his spirit not dissipate into spiritual particles after death, but will instead fall into a place called Hell to continue to exist.

Similarly, Xuan had never heard of a Shinigami mastering Bankai before reaching the third level of spiritual power. This threshold might be a limitation of the world's rules themselves; only by breaking through it could one reach the realm of Bankai.

Wanxiang Jiexu said, "As long as Zhenyuan completes his Bankai, I can teach you mine at any time to prevent the balance of the two parts of your soul from being disrupted for a long time. Therefore, you must first develop the Shikai of both Zanpakuto to their fullest potential, and then advance your spiritual power to level three."

A Zanpakuto will not harm its wielder. The spirit of the sword is bound to the Shinigami (death god), and when the Shinigami falls, the spirit of the sword also dissipates, leaving only an unclaimed Asauchi.

Genji knew that the judgment that all phenomena are illusory was correct, because this was also what he was thinking: after mastering the Bankai of one Zanpakuto, he must master the Bankai of the other as quickly as possible, and he must not allow the two parts of power to have a huge gap.

This dedicated refinement took nine years.

The year 1000 AD.

Gen stood atop the highest point of the Kido Clan's encampment, overlooking the Seireitei below. Autumn sunlight streamed onto the rows of buildings, and the faint sounds of the Gotei 13's drills drifted in, carrying a chilling atmosphere. He raised his hand to catch a falling red leaf, his fingertips applying slight pressure, and the leaf dissipated into tiny spiritual particles in the wind.

The day when Yhwach leads the Quincy army to attack Soul Society is drawing ever closer.

Gen didn't know the exact date, only that this catastrophe sweeping through the Soul Society could erupt at any moment. Nine years of painstaking practice had allowed him to reach a level of mastery over the Shikai of his two Zanpakuto, and he had also developed many abilities he had never imagined before.

The first place he explored in depth was Zhenyuan.

Zhenyuan's essence is the Golden Core, the nexus between his own spiritual power and the spiritual particles of heaven and earth. Xuan discovered that through Zhenyuan, he could freely control the spiritual particles within a certain range around him, with a much stronger control than before, far exceeding the level before he released Zhenyuan.

Xuan walked to the center of the courtyard. With a thought, pure spiritual energy gathered from beneath his feet, forming a spiritual energy platform that fit snugly against the soles of his shoes.

He lightly touched the ground, his spiritual power propelling his body forward, and his entire body slowly rose into the air, ascending directly above the Ghost Path Sect.

Even a regular Shinigami with practice can construct a spiritual platform in the air to land, but they cannot move themselves by controlling the spiritual platform.

Unlike the Instant Step, this method of movement does not require the body to unleash spiritual power. It only requires adjusting the density and direction of the spiritual particles underfoot to achieve high-speed movement over long distances.

After landing, Xuan raised his hand and gently guided it towards a stone not far away. The density of spiritual particles around the stone bench suddenly increased dramatically, and an invisible pressure descended, causing the heavy stone bench to sink slightly by half an inch, and fine cracks appeared on the bluestone floor.

In battle, if the enemy attempts to compress a spiritual particle platform in the air to gain leverage, Xuan can completely change the density of some spiritual particles, hindering the formation of a foothold in the air and causing the enemy to fall directly from the sky.

Xuan released his Shikai, and Zhenyuan returned to his sword form and sheathed. Thanks to Xuan's excellent control over spiritual particles, the surge in spiritual pressure after his Shikai did not spread far, and no one in the Kido Clan knew about it.

Compared to Zhenyuan's supportive abilities, Wanxiang Jiexu's ability is both bizarre and deadly. Xuan named it "Cause and Effect Reversal".

The core of causal inversion is to create a false causal sequence, reversing the order of cause and effect.

Normal logic dictates that cause precedes effect—Xuan drawing his sword is the cause, and the enemy being wounded by the sword is the effect. However, under the influence of reversed cause and effect, a false result will occur first.

Xuan had someone buy a sheep and deliver it to the Ghost Path Sect. Then, in front of the sheep, he unleashed the power of "All Things Are Illusory," and the icy blade gleamed with a cold luster under the light.

All illusion-type Zanpakuto require trigger conditions: Gōfuku requires smelling a scent, Kyoka Suigetsu requires seeing the release ceremony, and Kinsara requires hearing a sound, etc.

The concept of "all phenomena are illusory" is no exception. Its prerequisite is that the target must personally witness the illusion of "all phenomena are illusory." The corresponding conditions for its resolution are either that the mystery actively resolves it or that the target resolves it after recognizing the anomaly, until the next time the target sees "all phenomena are illusory."

Xuan stood three zhang away from the sheep and used the reversal of cause and effect.

The next second, the previously restless sheep suddenly froze. Its eyes widened, its limbs convulsed violently, a thin line of blood slowly appeared on its neck, and its head rolled to the ground with a thud.

Throughout the entire process, Xuan never drew his sword.

He merely fooled the sheep's senses, making it perceive the result of "beheading"—the excruciating pain without warning, the rapid loss of life force, and the tactile sensation of the head separating from the body.

In the instant the sheep, trusting its senses, was gripped by shock and fear, Xuan used his ability to manipulate the senses to create a fabricated scene of himself wielding his sword and cutting down the sheep.

If the enemy, after seeing the fabricated cause, truly believes the fabricated result, regardless of whether he blocks or dodges, his spirit will take the fabricated cause as real, and his spirit will also take the fabricated result as real, thus being injured.

Clearly, the sheep cannot see through the fabricated cause and effect. The sheep's spirit is completely deceived by the fabricated cause and effect and dies from the fabricated result.

If the enemy is intelligent and does not believe the cause and effect fabricated by Xuan using his ability to fool the senses, nor does he block or dodge the fabricated cause—Xuan's forward slash—then he will not suffer any harm.

However, Xuan could also actually swing his sword forward while fabricating the cause of the sword strike.

If the enemy sees the fabricated cause and actually believes that the fabricated result will happen, and tries to block or dodge, although they will not be hit by Xuan Yidao, they will be hit by the fabricated result.

If the enemy sees the fabricated cause and does not believe that the fabricated result will happen, and does not block or dodge, although they will not be hit by the fabricated result, they will be hit by the real Xuan's sword.

Only when the enemy sees the fabricated cause, neither believes that the fabricated result will occur, nor can they see through the ability of all illusions, and at the same time sees that the real Xuan Zheng swings his sword forward in the same way as the fabricated cause, and believes that the Xuan Zheng swinging his sword at this moment is real, can they block or dodge and avoid being hit.

Gen needs to test whether things will go as expected if his secret is exposed, so he needs someone he can absolutely trust who can keep secret that Gen possesses a second Zanpakuto and its abilities.

The first thing that came to Xuan's mind was Saito's immortality.

As early as the day Gen was injured by Unohana, Saito discovered that he had an extra Zanpakuto at his waist.

Having been friends for decades, the two fought side by side in Rukongai, established the Kidoshu together, and witnessed the founding of the Gotei 13.

Saito was arrogant and flamboyant, yet Gen never doubted her character. Moreover, she always disliked formalities and had no interest in other people's secrets; over the years, she had never asked Gen any questions about the second Zanpakuto.

Furthermore, decades have passed since they first met, and Gen and Saito have a very good friendship. Gen felt that he didn't need to hide the power of his second Zanpakuto from her. Although the two had been engaged, it wasn't like Gen would have to give Saito a Zanpakuto just because the engagement was broken off.

Just then, a slight noise came from outside the courtyard wall. A figure scaled the wall and entered, the movements swift and decisive, landing without making a sound. The newcomer wore the captain's haori of the Sixth Division, and his purple twin ponytails were slightly disheveled.

It was Saito who was immortal.

She dusted off her hands and complained, "That deputy captain is a complete lunatic. He piled all the documents I'd accumulated over half a month onto me, saying they all required the captain's stamp. Ha, this little wench is trying to mess with me. Anyway, once I run away, she'll have to deal with them herself."

Xuan watched as she walked confidently down the corridor, picked up the teapot on the stone table, poured herself a cup of tea, and drank it down in one gulp, completely ignoring the sheep carcass and the stench of blood beside her.

Saito has remained the same all these years. She hates tedious paperwork, especially since the Sixth Division is responsible for all matters related to the nobility, which means that almost all the affairs of the Sixth Division, big and small, are handled by the vice-captain and the seat officer.

Xuan watched her finish her tea before slowly saying, "I happen to have something to discuss with you, and I need your cooperation."

"Oh?" Saito raised an eyebrow, looking at Gen with interest. "What is it? Let's get this straight, everything else is fine, but helping you review documents is out of the question."

"Let's talk in the underground training ground; there's no one else there." Gen had someone carry the sheep to the Kido Clan's canteen cook, then led Saito to the underground training ground and closed the main gate. "Now it's just the two of us; no one else can see us here."

Saito examined the lights that served as the light source in the underground training ground. Inside were [Hado No. 11: Lightning Bolt] maintained by a high concentration of spiritual particles. Because mass production was not possible for the time being, it was only used by the Kido sect.

Saito asked with interest, "Oh? You need to come to such a private space? You don't want others to see you?"

Xuan drew the Void of All Things from his waist. The icy blade gleamed with a cold light. "This is my second Zanpakuto. I need your help with the testing."

Saito's eyes lit up instantly. She had long been curious about Gen's second Zanpakuto, but had never asked.

She smiled slyly and said, "Of course, but I have one condition: all the debts I owe you before will be wiped clean."

"Okay." Xuan nodded in agreement. "Let's call it even."

Although Saito received a salary after becoming the captain of the Sixth Division, Gen never asked for it. After all, it had been a long time, and there were no detailed records kept at the time, but who knew that Saito would hold a grudge against him for so long.

"It's a deal." Saito smiled, his eyes crinkling, and stopped three zhang away from Gen. He flexed his wrists. "Come on, let me see what kind of ability your Zanpakuto has. I've been curious about it for a long time."