Death God: Starting from Refining Essence into Qi

Xuan held the Void of All Things in her hand, looking at Saito standing opposite her. There was no fear on her face, but rather anticipation, her eyes flashing with a warlike light.

Xuan took a deep breath and slowly said, "It's called 'All Things Are Illusory,' and its ability is probably to fool the senses."

Saito nodded, indicating that she understood. She gripped the hilt of the Purple Lightning sword at her waist, focusing intently on the Myriad Illusions in Xuan's hand, ready to deal with any attack.

Xuan activated the power that makes all phenomena illusory.

Without any warning, Saito felt a cool sensation in her left eye, as if an icy hand had gently hooked the strap of her blindfold, its fingertips brushing against her temple, and the strap suddenly came undone.

The slight pressure on one side disappeared instantly, and the cool air brushed against her intact left eye, making her vision even brighter.

Saito subconsciously raised his hand to touch his left eye, but his fingertips only touched smooth skin, not the feel of the eye patch.

She chuckled softly, "That's quite realistic of you."

As soon as she finished speaking, she clearly saw Xuan raise his right hand, his fingertips reaching towards the eye patch strap on her left eye.

"It's still fake." Saito didn't even blink, standing there with his arms crossed, without even making a move to dodge.

But the moment she finished speaking, that icy touch returned, as if a hand had once again removed her blindfold. This time the touch was more real; she could even feel the slight tickling as the straps brushed against her earlobe.

Saito raised her hand again to touch her left eye; her fingertips still felt smooth skin, without any foreign objects. She even blinked her left eye quickly, her vision perfectly clear, without any obstruction.

She looked at Xuan with suspicion and disbelief, her brows furrowed tightly: "This is fake too?"

Xuan gripped the icy blade, his tone calm and unwavering: "It's true."

"I don't believe it." Saito shook his head without hesitation, his eyes full of vigilance. "You said it yourself that it can fool the senses. Who knows if you've fooled me twice already? Maybe I'm still wearing the blindfold and have just been fooled."

Xuan sighed helplessly. With a thought, the blade of Wanxiang Wuxian emitted a faint white light, then returned to its ordinary shallow shape and was put back into the scabbard at his waist.

"That's enough. The Shikai has been released. It really is real." Gen flicked the blindfold in front of Saito with his fingertips. "The ability has been subdued. What you're feeling now is real."

Saito looked Gen up and down with a suspicious expression, then touched his left eye to confirm that there was no trace of an eye patch there.

She hesitated for a moment, then suddenly reached out her hand: "I don't believe you, unless I can touch your Zanpakuto."

Xuan raised an eyebrow, somewhat puzzled: "Why are you touching your Zanpakuto?"

"Make sure you've really released your Shikai," Saito said matter-of-factly. "What if you're still lying to me and making me think you've released your power? I'll only believe you when I touch it myself and confirm that it's turned back into Asauchi."

This request reminded Gen of Kyoka Suigetsu. Kyoka Suigetsu also has the ability to manipulate the five senses, and its release condition is touching Kyoka Suigetsu itself, but Kyoka Suigetsu is a Zanpakuto that appeared hundreds of years later.

Saito couldn't possibly be a time traveler too. Xuan couldn't fathom what she was thinking. Perhaps it was some irrational thing like intuition or instinct?

Since Gen had indeed deactivated his powers, it wouldn't hurt for her to touch him. So he drew his asagi from his waist, hilt facing forward, and handed it to Saito.

Saito carefully took the Zanpakuto and weighed it in her hand. She looked up at Gen and asked, "This is indeed your Zanpakuto, isn't it?"

"Of course." Xuan nodded. "Try injecting a little spiritual power into it. Usually, a Shinigami only has one Zanpakuto. Injecting spiritual power into other Zanpakuto will result in a noticeable rejection. This can't be faked."

Upon hearing this, Saito twirled the Bansho no Michi in a flourish and clicked his tongue in amazement: "There's actually such a Zanpakuto ability."

Xuan watched her play with the illusion of all things, sensing that she might envy the seemingly flashy abilities of illusion-type Zanpakuto. He carefully considered his words and said, "The abilities of a Zanpakuto are often a manifestation of the essence of a Shinigami's soul. Your Zanpakuto is pure and direct, imbued with lightning, which means that your soul is inherently pure and open, as sharp and clear as lightning."

Saito paused for a moment, then burst into laughter and slapped Gen's shoulder hard.

"Wow, Xuan, this is the first time I've known you to be able to comfort people." Her smile was bright and cheerful, like the most dazzling sunshine in autumn. "But you're right, I still prefer my Purple Lightning. I only need to focus on attacking, while the enemy has a lot more to consider."

Saito tossed the "All Things Are Illusory" ability at Gen: "Your Zanpakuto ability is an illusion, and it's even called 'All Things Are Illusory,' yet you yourself are a complete blockhead, never telling a lie. So, you can't possibly think the whole world is an illusion, can you?"

Gen took the Zanpakuto, his fingertips brushing against its cold blade. The blade retained the warmth of Saito's fingertips, creating a subtle contrast with the icy texture of the Void Realm itself.

"Who knows?" he said softly. "Anyway, the feelings are real."

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Before Saito left, Gen returned the eye patch to her.

Not long after Xuan stepped out of the underground training ground, a member of the Li Ting team appeared before him: "Great Ghost Daoist, your application to visit the Great Spirit Book Corridor to review the records has not been approved by the Golden Seal Society and the Central Forty-Sixth Chamber."

The Great Spirit Book Corridor is the core archive, located in the underground council chamber of Central Room 46, and is controlled by the Tsunayo family. This place records all the history, secrets, and major events of Soul Society from ancient times to the present, and forcibly collects and records all matters and information of Soul Society regardless of the will of the Shinigami themselves.

To enter the Great Spiritual Book Corridor, one must apply to the Tsunayo family through the Golden Seal Society and obtain a permit from the Central 46th Chamber.

Whenever he arrives in a new environment, the first thing he does is always go to places like libraries; this is Xuan's habit of quickly absorbing knowledge.

Over the past few years, Xuan had a general understanding of the efficiency of the Central 46th Bureau, so it was not surprising that he had only received a reply now.

To Xuan's surprise, no explanation or reason was given after the application was rejected, which is inconsistent with the consistent performance of the Central 46th Bureau in recent years.

Xuan recalled what the members of the Liting team had said and realized something was wrong. Because the Liting team was a covert mobile fifth squad that specialized in conveying top-level orders or orders from the Central 46th Bureau, Xuan subconsciously overlooked the Golden Seal Society.

The Golden Seal Council is short for the Golden Seal Noble Council. It is the highest body in the Soul Society that handles matters concerning the nobility (such as inheritance and disputes), and its authority surpasses that of the Gotei 13 and the Central 46 Chambers.

All marriages involving the five noble families must be submitted in writing to the Council of the Golden Seals, and it is stipulated that the head of the family must submit the documents in person.

Perhaps because the relevant procedures were extremely complicated and involved negotiations and bargaining among various nobles, Gen and Saito suddenly ran away, making the Golden Seal Society work for nothing for a long time. That's why the Golden Seal Society did not approve Gen's reasonable application.

This reason sounds far-fetched and absurd, but Xuan really had no other clues.

It seemed like he had been pondering for a long time, but in reality, it was only a matter of a flash. Xuan waved his hand, signaling the members of the Inner Court team to step back. In any case, he couldn't possibly question a messenger from the Covert Forces.

However, the members of the court did not leave, but continued to speak: "The Central 46 Chambers requests that all the ghost arts developed by the Ghost Path Sect be included in the official canon. Your Excellency, Grand Ghost Path Master, please go to the Great Spirit Book Corridor and record in detail the incantation, release method and power effect of each ghost art, as a standard model for future Grim Reapers to learn from."

"I see," Xuan thought to himself.

The Kido-shu's growth far exceeded everyone's expectations. Many wandering spirits chose to become Shinigami (death gods), because in their eyes, Shinigami represented status; however, many nobles chose to join the Kido-shu.

Because the Kido sect is relatively easy to manage and has few affairs, and does not need to engage in close combat, the Kido sect looks gorgeous and flashy. Moreover, many nobles have death gods who serve them. Death gods are not noble enough for them, but the Kido sect can have power while looking more elegant.

Over time, it was discovered that the Central Forty-Six Chambers, mostly composed of nobles, were more inclined to join the Kido-shu than the Gotei 13.

They've now rejected Xuan's request to access the Great Spirit Book Corridor to look up information, yet they're asking him to go there to input information about the Ghost Path. It seems like a decision made by the left and right brain in conflict, but it's not.

The Central 46th Chamber essentially agreed to let Xuan access the materials, but he needed to be monitored and couldn't look at anything too outrageous. The person monitoring Xuan while he was recording the ghostly information could turn a blind eye, allowing him to find the information he wanted; if they later turned against him, the 46th Chamber could use this as leverage to control him, or even fabricate charges to imprison him.

At the same time, this is also a form of warning—I can either prevent you from entering the Great Book Gallery, or I can agree, provided you obey.

However, Xuan didn't care about this. As long as he had the opportunity to go to the Great Spirit Book Corridor, he could use the illusion of all phenomena to make the people monitoring him see illusions. Even if he wanted to consult the guide to making the King Key leading to the Spirit King's Palace, no one would stop him, although Xuan didn't need to.

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The underground council chamber of Central Room 46, at the entrance to the Great Spiritual Book corridor.

"I am Tsunehiro Tsuneyo, the gatekeeper of the Great Spirit Book Corridor." The man bowed slightly, his tone as rigid as a machine. "I need you to release a little spiritual power to prove your identity."

Each person's spiritual energy has a unique fluctuation, like a fingerprint, which is the most common method of identity verification in Seireitei.

Xuan Yiyan released a wisp of spiritual power from her fingertips.

Tsunemitsu Tetsuhiro closed his eyes carefully to sense and verify the mysterious spiritual power.

"Identity verified." Tsuneya Tetsuhiro nodded and continued, "The use of any spiritual power, the destruction of any scriptures, and the reading of unauthorized materials are prohibited within the Great Spirit Book Corridor. Furthermore, please hand over your Zanpakuto for temporary safekeeping."

Tsuneya Tetsuhiro added, "Please release your Zanpakuto in its Shikai form so we can verify whether this Zanpakuto is indeed your Shikai, 'Chingen'."

Gen was not surprised to hear that Tsunayoshi Tetsuhiro knew that Shikai's name was Chingen.

Gen had used Shikai a few times when he was at Genji Academy, so the others had naturally heard of Chin Gen's release phrase. As one of the five great noble families, the Tsunayo family was responsible for recording information and history of the Soul Society, and the person in front of them was also the gatekeeper of the Great Spirit Book Corridor, so it was normal for them to know these things.

"Thank you for your cooperation. Please come in." Tsunemitsu Tetsuhiro held Zhenyuan's scabbard and closed the protective barrier made of killing energy stones that isolated spiritual power again after Xuan entered the Great Spirit Book corridor.

Tsunayoshi Tetsuhiro ignored the other Zanpakuto at Gen's waist, though in reality he couldn't see it at that moment.

Because the sword Gen initially wore at his waist was not the Asagi, but the Void of All Things. Tsunayoshi Tetsuhiro's spiritual power was not strong, and after seeing the hilt of the Void of All Things, he was easily manipulated by Gengu.

Gen followed Tsunayo Tetsuhiro inside, glancing around as he went.

Xuan raised his head, his gaze following the reflection on the ground upwards.

Before me stretched an endless row of black stone bookshelves, each shelf densely packed with scrolls, the scroll ends gleaming in varying shades of light in the dim light.

Further in, the bookshelves piled up one upon another, like endless black mountains, stretching infinitely in all directions before disappearing into the thick darkness. There was no end, no boundary, as if the entire underground world was filled with these bookshelves.

Xuan looked down.

The bookshelf extends downwards, eventually disappearing into the boundless darkness, as if leading to the underground.

Gen followed Tsunayo Tetsuhiro to the central platform of the Great Spiritual Book Gallery, where dozens of stacks of scrolls, each as tall as a person, were piled up. Tsunayo Tetsuhiro explained that this was the catalog of the Great Spiritual Book Gallery, recording the location of various materials.

"Great Demonic Master," Tsunayoshi Tetsuhiro took out one of the catalogs, turned to the last page, and handed it to Gen. "You can first plan out the types and number of demonic arts you need to record, and write them down here. After I confirm, I will take you to the official recording area."

Xuan didn't rush to write. Instead, he used the illusion of all phenomena to create the image of himself flipping through a catalog. His fingertips seemed to be casually tracing the words on the scroll, but in reality, he had already immersed his mind in perception, paying attention to Tsunayoshi Tetsuhiro's every move.

Tsunemitsu Tetsuhiro leaned against a nearby stone pillar, his eyes closed, seemingly resting, clearly not intending to keep an eye on him all the time.

Xuan understood.

Just as he had guessed.

The Central 46th Division and the Tsunayo family didn't care whether he secretly looked at some "irrelevant" information.

As long as Xuan doesn't touch on secrets involving the Spirit King, royal agents, or the core secrets of the five noble families, the Tsunayo family will turn a blind eye.

Even so, Xuan still maintained that all phenomena were illusory.

Xuan's fingertips continued to trace across the table of contents, his gaze quickly sweeping over the rows of densely packed book titles.

"Basic Theory of Spiritual Particle Structure", "The Relationship Between Zanpakuto's Development and the Soul", "Spiritual Energy Circulation and Meridian Diagrams"... These are all basic theories he had seen in the Shihōin Library and the Genji Academy, and they don't have any special value.

Xuan continued flipping through the table of contents, searching for content that interested him.

Just as he opened a new catalog, Xuan's pupils suddenly contracted, and a line of black text clearly caught his eye:

"Detection and Separation of Extraterrestrial Soul Fragments in the Spirit Body".