Infinite Chimera Creation

Whether it was because Stark threw sand in his face or because he realized that Stark wasn't hostile, Yuan Yuan's expression turned somewhat unpleasant.

Harribel, watching from a distance, nearly popped her eyes out. Having personally experienced Yuan Yuan's terrifying power, she knew all too well the immense force behind his seemingly casual punch. To put it bluntly, any Hollow who had just reached the Adjuchas level would be certain death from that punch, unless they possessed exceptional talent.

[Because of the extremely large amount of spiritual power, even without deliberately strengthening the physical body, is it possible to achieve this level of defense simply by relying on the body's instinctive application of spiritual power?]

This is truly...intriguing. What kind of soul structure allows an ordinary soul to bear such immense spiritual power without collapsing?

During his first physical contact with Stark, when he delivered his first punch, Yuan Yuan had already concluded that this Hollow was formed from the soul of an ordinary human.

While the Hollowfication of humans possesses the soul trait of being "brutal and cruel like a beast," it is merely a resemblance. There is a fundamental difference in temperament between it and the Hollowfication of true beasts. Stark's aura, however, indicates that in his previous life, he was undoubtedly a genuine human being.

If Stark were Hollowfied from some animal with special bloodline, Yuan Yuan could understand it. After all, any one of those legendary animals could easily overwhelm all Vasto Lordes in Hueco Mundo.

Just like Yuan Yuan himself, his soul has been transforming into the Mortal Serpent. Now, only his eyes have the initial characteristics of the Mortal Serpent, but his spiritual power level has already surpassed most regular captains and Vastodes.

However, Stark was just an ordinary human who had been transformed into a Hollow.

If we can find a way to contain more spiritual energy within the same soul, perhaps a plan that is expected to take three thousand years to implement can begin in a hundred years at most.

Raising an eyebrow, Yuan Yuan suppressed the urge to dissect this wondrous Hollow on the spot. His gaze remained unchanged, still icy, and a cold smile curled at the corner of his lips.

So, you feel lonely because you're all alone?

Stark was taken aback, then nodded vigorously, his expression becoming excited.

"Yes, I am truly lonely. For over a hundred years, over a hundred years, I have not seen a single living thing. Not one."

A hundred years?

His eyes narrowed slightly, concealing the interest in them, and Yuan Yuan's smile widened.

"You mean you've been lonely for a hundred years? Then, what happened a hundred years ago that made you become the way you are now, so lonely?"

A look of confusion crossed Stark's face. He shook his head and let out a mournful cry.

"I don't know. I only remember that I seemed to... die. Then, I came back to life and appeared in this place. And then, loneliness began."

In other words, did it directly acquire its current spiritual power after becoming ethereal? While the possibility of external factors still cannot be ruled out, it seems more likely that the unique structure of its soul is the cause.

Thinking to himself, Yuan Yuan patted Stark on the shoulder and spoke softly.

"Although I really want you to stay by my side and no longer suffer that damned loneliness, you must understand that in your current state, even if you come with me, it will only increase the number of people suffering loneliness from one to two. My children, subordinates, servants, slaves, and toys will undoubtedly die when you get close. Because even I have limited spiritual power, and I cannot protect them from your spiritual power indefinitely."

In an instant, the sadness of the loneliness that would continue filled Stark's heart, and the intense grief of losing what he had gained made him fail to notice the oddity in Yuan Yuan's words.

"but,"

Yuan Yuan's icy voice rang out again.

“If you don’t mind a change of scenery, I can let you follow behind me.”

Unaware that "beside" had become "behind," Stark excitedly looked up at Yuan Yuan, who was holding a small white bead in his hand, and spoke without hesitation.

"I don't mind!! I don't mind at all!!"

With a smirk, Yuan Yuan spoke.

"Welcome to our ranks, Stark."

Welcome to be one of my subordinates, servants, slaves, and toys, Stark.

P.S., I saw some idiot commenting that we're going to start a harem, so I want to reiterate: this book will only have one female lead. This is a fundamental principle, and it won't and cannot be changed.

Chapter Seventy-One Giant Beetle

"Good heavens, the Vastods in western Hueco Mundo have mysteriously disappeared. The remaining Adjuchas are no match for Barragan, the Hollow King, let alone Barragan. They can't even defeat Barragan's four subordinates."

The giant wolf-like Adjuchas, clad in blue fur and wearing a golden mask, knelt respectfully on the ground, gazing up at the five-headed humanoid Adjuchas seated atop a white bone lotus, his eyes filled with fanaticism.

Even as he recounted the power of Barragan, the King of Hueco Mundo, there was no fear of that powerful figure in his eyes. In his eyes, the Buddha was everything. No one else, whether powerful, beautiful, wise, or gentle, was of any concern. If the Buddha hadn't instructed him to keep an eye on Barragan, he would have preferred to keep only the Buddha in his sights.

Ah? How perfect is the Buddha's posture! His majestic and robust body can punish any heretic who disrespects the Buddha; his head, facing the five directions, can gaze upon all believers, taking in all our suffering; his solemn golden mask can intimidate any mortal who does not pay homage to the Buddha; his pale white lotus bone can…

The giant wolf, who was reporting information about the Void King, unconsciously began to study the Buddha's perfection in his mind, becoming completely absorbed in the process. It wasn't until Ikkyu coughed lightly that the giant wolf snapped out of it. He hurriedly lowered his head, not daring to look at the Buddha's face, and spoke urgently...

"I was so engrossed in the perfection of Buddha that I delayed my report. I beg Buddha's forgiveness."

Seeing the fanaticism in the giant wolf's eyes, Ikkyu knew what he had been thinking. He nodded nonchalantly, already used to such behavior. His five thick mouths opened simultaneously, uttering the same words, creating a massive, echoing sound.

"I don't mind. Alright, now continue with what you should be doing."

After expressing his gratitude solemnly, the giant wolf raised his head and continued his unfinished report.

"The newly formed Vasto Lordes, who were entrenched in the southern Hueco Mundo, had already left before the arrival of the Barragan army. It is currently speculated that they may be hiding in the Great Hollow Forest. Without the Vasto Lordes' support, the southern Hollows performed even worse than the western ones. After the deaths of six Adjuchas, they all surrendered, and the south has now become Barragan's territory."

Adding to Barragan's original stronghold, Las Noches in eastern Hueco Mundo, the east, west, and south of Hueco Mundo are now all under Barragan's control. Three hours ago, Barragan's army set off again, and judging from the direction, their target is precisely us, who have occupied northern Hueco Mundo.

Despite hearing bad news, Ikkyu didn't show any panic. He nodded to the person directly in front of him and spoke again.

"I understand. You may leave, Sirius."

The giant wolf slowly retreated back into the ranks of the [believers] below, its head held high.

Staring at the eagle-shaped Hollow perched on his shoulder, Ikkyu pondered for a moment, then slowly spoke, turning to the head on his left.

"Jin Peng, tell me about the intelligence from your area."

Wearing the same gleaming gold mask, the Hawk-type Hollow, who had been modified by Yuan Yuan and acted as a messenger between the laboratory and Ikkyu, spoke without the slightest hesitation.

"According to my investigation, both the First Special Research Institute and the Third Special Research Institute have been completely destroyed."

He sighed inwardly, feeling a surge of resentment. That day in Hell, Yuan Yuan had let him go without any resistance. This made him believe that Yuan Yuan had given up on binding him with the Chains of Resentment.

However, only three days after his return, Barragan, the king of Hueco Mundo, announced his intention to unify Hueco Mundo in order to rival Soul Society.

Such a coincidence was so bizarre that Ikkyu couldn't possibly believe it was just a coincidence. On one hand, he sent Sirius to monitor King Bailergang, and on the other hand, he sent Golden Eagle to investigate Yuan Yuan's laboratory.

The results of Golden Eagle's investigation clearly showed that Barragan's sudden desire to conquer Hueco Mundo was caused by Yuan Yuan.

【Benefactor Yuan Yuan, you are indeed as powerful as ever.】

With a sigh of helplessness, Ikkyu was about to assign tasks to his subordinates to deal with the attack from Barragán when he was interrupted by a huge explosion.

Along with the explosion, there was also a rough, thunderous sound.

"Hey you, Ikkyu, get out here right now! Pay your respects to the King of Hueco Mundo, Lord Barragan Ruizenbond!"

"Hey you, Ikkyu, get out here right now!! Pay your respects to the King of Hueco Mundo, Lord Barragan Ruizenbond!!"

"That guy named Ikkyu, get out here right now!!! Pay homage to the King of Hueco Mundo, His Highness Barragan Ruizenbon!!!"

The three roars grew louder with each one, eventually causing the white sand beneath their feet to tremble.

Immediately, the Buddhist Kingdom built on the cliff became restless, and all the believers showed an offensive posture. If Ikkyu had not yet given the order to attack, they probably would have already disregarded the difference in strength and rushed down the cliff to fight the villain who insulted the Buddha.

With a slight frown, Ikkyu took a step forward, appearing in mid-air and walking towards the direction from which the sound came. Behind him, hundreds of Hollows with golden masks followed closely.

Ignoring the person who was clearly the one shouting, Ikkyu gazed at the black-robed skeleton sitting leisurely on the stone chair carried by four Adjuchas, and spoke slowly.

“Benefactor Bailegang, you should know that even the compassionate Buddha has moments when boundless anger flares up. If you leave now, I can pretend nothing happened. Otherwise, don’t blame me for unleashing a massacre.”

Despite threatening to kill, Ikkyu's attitude remained gentle, like a kind old man telling a story to a child.

With a cold snort, Barragan had no desire to reprimand Ikkyu, who had only appeared a hundred years ago and whom he considered a mere youth. Maintaining his kingly majesty, he lightly waved his pale skeletal claws, then propped his chin on his hand, preparing to watch this rare humanoid Hollow be tortured to death by his subordinate.

The officers who had followed Barragan for who knows how long naturally understood him. After exchanging glances, one of the officers, who resembled an upright beetle, sneered and strode out.

"Get out of my way!! You scum!!"

With a low growl and a casual wave of its hand, the giant beetle sent the Adjuchas that had been shouting the message flying to the side before striding up to Ikkyu.

Barragan seemed oblivious to the giant beetle's brutal actions, not even glancing at the clearly severely injured Adjuchas. The other Hollows appeared unfazed, none attempting to seek justice for the Hollow who had been blasted away. Even Adjuchas himself remained silent, wiping the blood from his mouth before staggering back to the ranks.

Six blood-red, armored eyes gleamed with cruel light as they stared at Ikkyu. The giant beetle let out a few maniacal laughs and uttered cruel words.

"Scum! How do you want to die? Have your head ripped off? Be torn to pieces? Be eaten by me? Make a choice, I'm merciful, I'll allow you to choose your method of death!!"

Chapter Seventy-Two: Barragán

Although Ikkyu was an old monk who had cultivated his mind for a hundred years, he had been reborn as a Hollow whose instincts were filled with violence and destructive desires.

Secondly, he had just been thoroughly outmaneuvered by Yuan Yuan, and precisely because of Yuan Yuan's strength, even though he knew he had been tricked, he had no way to retaliate against Yuan Yuan.

The savagery lurking within him, coupled with the frustration of being outmaneuvered and unable to retaliate, had actually pushed Ikkyu, who had always appeared calm, to the brink of exploding.

And today, the spark that was responsible for igniting the explosive barrel called "Ikkyu" appeared.

As one of the four subordinates of the King of Hueco Mundo, the Giant Beetle's strength is undoubtedly among the top tier of the Adjuchas. During the conquest of western Hueco Mundo, it was he and the Eight-Eyed Serpent who suppressed all the Adjuchas in the west. While some Adjuchas may have been reluctant to offend Barragan, this still demonstrates that the Giant Beetle's strength ranks among the best of the Adjuchas in Hueco Mundo.

With such power that it could disregard most people below Vastod, it's no wonder the giant beetle is so arrogant.

However, even with such power, the giant beetle was no match for Ikkyu, because compared to the void's spiritual power, Ikkyu's "firm belief" was a qualitative change.

Yuan Yuan dared to scheme against me without even bothering to conceal it because he was powerful enough to crush me at will. He didn't take me seriously, so I have nothing to say.

"But you're just a slightly stronger Adjuchas, yet you dare to look down on me."

【die!!!】

With this in mind, Ikkyu didn't even bother to speak to the giant insect in front of him. He raised his right hand and pointed lightly at the giant beetle, which was still laughing wildly, unaware of the impending disaster.

Brilliant golden spiritual energy condensed at his fingertips, forming a small golden ball of spiritual energy in the blink of an eye.

"Hahahaha, are you trying to make me laugh to death? Trash, you think you can hurt me with such a weak spiritual energy Cero? Haven't you woken up from your dream yet?"

"Amitabha."

Ignoring the noisy shouts around him, Ikkyu closed his eyes slightly, uttered a Buddhist chant, and released the spiritual power gathered at his fingertips.

In an instant, a golden flash streaked across the sky, easily piercing the giant beetle's most prized part—its chest. Although the flash was incredibly small, only a finger's thickness, it severed the giant beetle's massive body in two.

A deathly silence descended upon the Buddhist kingdom. Barragan and his men were all stunned by this unbelievable scene. They were well aware of the giant beetle's strength, but how could such a powerful beetle be instantly killed in a single blow?

Suddenly rising to his feet, Barragan's skull eyes flashed with furious flames as he used his Whirlwind Slash to charge directly at Ikkyu. He knew that since the giant beetle had been so easily defeated, sending the other three subordinates into battle would only make them a laughingstock and boost Ikkyu's morale.

Although he had never studied military strategy, his centuries of combat experience taught him that in this situation, the best course of action was to crush this self-proclaimed Buddha, Adjuchas, into utter obliteration with the most ferocious force.

Although Ikkyu defeated the giant beetle with overwhelming force, killing it instantly with a single blow.

However, killing the giant beetle is something every Vasto Lorde can do, and even the newly minted Vasto Lorde, Ulquiorra, can do it a hundred times easier than him.

There's no need for Vasto to use Cero, which is a deadly move for Hollows, like Ikkyu did. Vasto can kill the giant beetle of a top-tier Adjuchas simply by swinging his arm.

Therefore, Ikkyu, who had seemed incredibly powerful just moments before, immediately found himself in danger after Barragan made his move. In just a few exchanges, Ikkyu had his right arm torn off.