The Supreme Soul, Starting with Death

"Heh, still alive, and quite healthy. It seems the Grim Reaper in charge of this place hasn't bothered this Hollow."

Gu Shi glanced at the black spiritual energy in the Death Girl's hand, but didn't pay much attention to it. He had seen this kind of trick in the anime before, so it wasn't surprising. However, he didn't know if it was because it overlapped with the "Heavenly Void" in the Ghost Path, or if the author simply changed the setting, but it seemed that no one had used this trick again.

More important to Gu Shi than whether the void that left behind spiritual energy was still alive was the spiritual network connected to him.

"Why is my spiritual energy network this color?"

In Gu Shi's vision, the spiritual network on his body was an incredibly striking orange-red color. When he drifted to a darker place under the shade of a tree, the surface would even show light and shadow changes like burning flames. Not only was the color unique, but its directional function was far superior to that of ordinary spiritual networks.

The Death Girl casually grabbed Gu Shi's spirit vein, rubbed it in her hand a few times, and instantly, the long ribbon turned into a strange purple again.

"Big guy, you don't like this color? Then I'll change it for you. Don't worry, with my mastery of demonic arts, modifying such a trivial technique that doesn't even qualify as magic is a piece of cake. Do you like purple? If not, I can change it to a rainbow color for you, seven colors mixed together, guaranteed to look good."

Chapter Twenty-Two: Talent

Looking at the constantly changing colors of the spiritual veins on his body, Gu Shi wasn't actually surprised. Given how much this madman valued him, it would be strange if he didn't leave some tracking methods on him. He carefully sensed the spiritual energy fluctuations emitted when the spiritual veins changed color and tried to imitate them with his own spiritual energy.

However, whether it was because Gu Shi lacked talent in controlling spiritual power, or because the spiritual power of the void was inherently violent and chaotic and difficult to control, Gu Shi failed to succeed after several attempts.

"Never mind, I still prefer white. Please change it to pure white for me."

As soon as she finished speaking, the spiritual veins on Gu Shi's body turned pure white. The Death Girl seemed quite proud of her skill, nodding in satisfaction before looking at the only black spiritual vein.

"Based on the spiritual energy we've sensed, the Void that left behind this spiritual energy is quite far from here. Should we track it down?"

“Let’s chase them. We don’t have a fixed route anyway, and according to you, there must be quite a few Hollows in this area. Maybe we’ll encounter other Hollows along the way.”

"Since you're in charge of what you eat, let's turn around and head southeast."

Having determined the direction, Gu Shi secretly increased his vigilance and moved towards the target location at a moderate pace.

Although the target is Hollow, Gu Shi has not forgotten that this is an area under the jurisdiction of another Shinigami. In other words, there is another Shinigami here. He not only has to guard against other Hollows, but also has to be careful not to be ambushed by that Shinigami.

Fortunately, the Grim Reaper in this area seemed to be a completely irresponsible ultimate slacker. Gu Shi ran cautiously all the way until he happened to encounter another Hollow, and no Grim Reaper jumped out to kill him.

"This Hollow is a bit weaker than the previous Glyptodon Hollow. It's a big guy, let's finish this quickly."

Glancing casually at the boar-shaped Hollow, the Death Girl lightly leaped to the side and grabbed Erlang, who was following Gu Shi, to prevent him from being innocently caught in the crossfire.

Gu Shi nodded cautiously. Although his opponent was weaker than his debut opponent, he still dared not be careless. He quickly lowered his body and locked his eyes on his opponent, while making full use of his sense of smell and hearing to assist his vision in capturing the opponent's movements.

During the last battle, Gu Shi had already discovered that not only did he resemble a large polar bear covered in bone armor, but his sense of smell and hearing were also no less than those of a real bear. As long as he concentrated, he could capture more information from smells and sounds than even Erlang, who was a canine, and this information could play a significant role in assisting in battle.

Just as Gu Shi had finished preparing for battle, found an angle to attack, and was about to launch a surprise attack on the opponent's flank, the wild boar Xu suddenly rolled its eyes and spoke in human language.

"Hey, you over there, what are you doing hanging out with Death? Did he turn you into his food supply? Want me to save you? Let's team up and kill that Death. We'll each take half his body, and you can have his head, how about that?"

Gu Shi was slightly startled. Since transmigrating, the Wild Boar Hollow was the third Hollow he had encountered, but it was the first Hollow besides himself that could think and had clear language logic.

Although he was used to most Hollows being able to think when he read manga in his previous life, and the Hollow in the early episodes that resembled an anglerfish could even use tricks and schemes to threaten Ichigo, this was the first time he had seen it in person, so Gu Shi couldn't help but feel a little surprised.

【he……】

Just as Gu Shi began to have some doubts, the voice of the Grim Reaper Girl came from the side.

"Don't get me wrong, big guy. He's not like you. You can think because you've retained your humanity and memories. He can think simply because people eat too much and develop a kind of 'empty' consciousness. If you don't believe me, you can ask him and see if he thinks he's empty or human."

After a pause, the Death Girl seemed to curl her lip in disdain and added another sentence.

"It seems this guy's talent is exceptionally poor. He ate so many people and even his mind became clear, yet his strength is still inferior to that speechless Gorgon-toothed Beast Xu from before."

【I see……】

Gu Shi suddenly realized what was happening and subconsciously looked at the Grim Reaper girl who had made the sound. Just as his gaze shifted, his sense of smell and hearing gave him a warning. Gu Shi jumped back and dodged the tusks of the wild boar that were aimed straight at his chest.

Good grief, we've really run into a cunning fox.

Staring at the wild boar Xu who had previously said he would save him but launched an attack the moment he looked away, Gu Shi took a breath with lingering fear. Not daring to be distracted in the slightest, he immediately lowered his body and charged towards his opponent.

Perhaps Gu Shi does have some talent in close combat. He was covered in injuries when he fought the Geartooth Beast Void last time, and he didn't even have the strength to eat immediately after the battle. This time, facing an opponent who was slightly weaker than the Geartooth Beast Void, he actually gained the upper hand and seized the opportunity in just a few moves, tearing the side of the Wild Boar Void.

Just as Gu Shi was concentrating on finishing off his opponent, the injured wild boar Xu suddenly exerted its strength, knocked away his claws, and turned to run wildly into the distance.

They actually ran away!?

Gu Shi was slightly surprised, but he immediately reacted and chased after him. However, just as he got close, the wild boar suddenly turned around and bit him straight in the face.

A surprise attack!?

Gu Shi instinctively dodged and prepared to counterattack, but in the instant he dodged, he suddenly noticed that the power of Wild Boar Xu's attack this time seemed to be much weaker than in the previous battles.

[Was the injury affecting your power output?]

[No, that's a feint!]

Sure enough, the next moment, the wild boar Xu turned around again while Gu Shi was dodging, intending to continue to escape. Fortunately, Gu Shi had anticipated his intentions in advance. Halfway through his dodge, he swung his right claw out heavily and slammed it hard into the wild boar Xu's left hind leg.

Suddenly, Wild Boar Xu staggered and fell to the ground, exposing his abdomen and throat. Gu Shi seized the opportunity, tearing at his opponent's abdomen with a claw, while his sharp teeth immediately arrived and bit off half of Wild Boar Xu's neck.

The Boar Hollow was just an ordinary Hollow, so it didn't have any superhuman regeneration abilities. When both of its weak points were attacked at the same time, it struggled weakly for a few moments and then fell silent.

Only then did Gu Shi realize that he had killed this opponent, who was only slightly weaker than the Glyptodont, without suffering any injury.

Am I progressing too fast?

Or were the opponents too weak?

While filled with doubt, Gu Shi did not forget the code of conduct he had set for himself. After confirming that his opponent was dead, he immediately began to eat, consuming the "flesh and blood" full of spiritual energy, striving to complete the devouring as quickly as possible.

At this moment, the Death Girl, looking slightly surprised, came to Gu Shi's side, looked him up and down for a while, and then slowly spoke.

"It seems you have quite a bit of talent, big guy. Your progress is much faster than I expected."

Chapter Twenty-Three: Who are you?

Being praised is always a happy thing, even if the person giving the praise is an unpleasant madman, it doesn't affect Gu Shi's good mood. While reviewing the brief battle just now, he devoured the wild boar Xu as quickly as possible.

Unlike the Glyptodon Void, which has a hard carapace, the Wild Boar Void can be gnawed apart by Gu Shi's bite force, even by the hardest bones and tusks. He finally devoured a Void completely for the first time, which slightly increased the spiritual power in his body.

Afterwards, Gu Shi, who was uninjured, did not need to rest and immediately followed the spiritual network he had previously encountered, continuing his journey toward the unseen void.

However, after running for only a few minutes, Gu Shi stopped in surprise again. Not far to his right, he saw a creature that looked like a goose.

Gu Shi carefully examined the creature that had also discovered him. This was the first time he had encountered a flying enemy, and his previous combat experience might not be applicable. He had to be more careful. However, while on guard, he still made a casual remark.

"I think this density is a bit exaggerated. With so much void, how can there be any living people around?"

The Death Girl was also somewhat puzzled. Just as Gu Shi said, no matter how irresponsible the Death Gods in this area were, resulting in a large number of Hollows, there should still be a reasonable number of them.

After all, even the Void need to eat. If the number of Void hordes becomes too large, it could easily deplete the population of the area to a point where it becomes unsustainable.

As food becomes increasingly scarce, the creatures, which do not have a gregarious nature, should naturally disperse due to hunger and head in different directions to find food.

It is precisely because of this characteristic that Hollows in the human world rarely gather in high density unless they are commanded by a superior Hollow Grand Commander. This is also the reason why Soul Society can confidently deploy a group of weak Shinigami when arranging personnel to be stationed in the human world.

However, in this area, we encountered two Hollows in just five minutes. Considering the Hollows' hunting radius, their hunting areas have seriously overlapped, and this density has even reached the minimum standard for a dense Hollow swarm.

[Could someone have deliberately scattered spiritual bait here to lure the Voidfolk together? But there's no scent of bait in the air. Strange, something seems amiss.]

With her mind on high alert, the Death Girl gently placed one hand on the Zanpakuto at her waist, and a Kido light emanated from the tip of her finger. She began to support Gu Shi and occasionally reminded him of some techniques for fighting flying enemies when he was at a disadvantage.

Fortunately, although the goose Xu could fly, it was not strong at all. Not only was its strength far inferior to Gu Shi's, but when it bit Gu Shi's buttocks and tail twice, it only left some minor wounds. Moreover, it was not as fast as Gu Shi.

Aside from being able to maneuver flexibly in the air and having a much wider range of movement than Gu Shi, Da E Xu had no other advantages. Gu Shi would soon seize the opportunity, break its neck with a slap, and send it plummeting from the sky.

After devouring the goose in a few bites, Gu Shi didn't set off immediately this time. The density of Hollows in this area was clearly problematic. It was fortunate that he encountered Hollows weaker than himself this time. If he continued to run around carelessly, he might be surrounded and attacked by multiple Hollows at once, and then it would be uncertain who would eat whom.

While it's possible to get a particularly strong Hollow to kill the Grim Reaper girl and solve this problem for oneself, there's also a significant chance of getting oneself killed, so it's better to be cautious.

The Death Girl didn't urge Gu Shi to set off. She was also thinking about this problem. If another Hollow ate Gu Shi, her plan would be completely ruined. She had to be careful.

However, while the gathering of Void swarms is a significant hidden danger, it also presents an opportunity. If Gu Shi can devour all the Void in this area, her strength will undoubtedly increase dramatically, allowing her plan to be implemented as soon as possible.

Caught between opportunity and danger, the Death Girl hesitated for a long time, unable to make a decision.

"Forget it, instead of guessing here, we should gather more information before making a judgment."

Shaking her head, the Death Girl took out a gorgeous little box from her bosom. After opening it, a butterfly, entirely black with wings shimmering with a faint blue spiritual energy, slowly flew out.

Gu Shi recognized it at a glance. It was the "Hell Butterfly" that had appeared many times in the anime and manga. It could help Shinigami quickly transmit messages and guide Shinigami to travel safely between the Soul Society and the human world. It was one of the important tools of Shinigami.

Is she trying to contact someone to help her? Someone from her family?

As Gu Shizheng was thinking this, he suddenly widened his eyes involuntarily. Right in front of him, the crazy, morbid, and abnormal death girl had suddenly undergone a dramatic change.

Her face was still the same, but her temperament had changed completely. The dangerous unease in her eyes had disappeared, replaced by a gentle and flowing tenderness.

Her face was still sickly pale, but the faint smile at the corner of her mouth eliminated the horrifying feeling of a corpse rising up. Instead, it gave her a delicate and frail beauty that made people feel sorry for her.

Watching this change unfold before his eyes, Gu Shi even had the illusion that "the evil spirit residing in this body has fallen into a deep sleep, and the consciousness of the body's owner has been reawakened."

Gu Shi shook his head vigorously, then secretly bit his paw before finally shaking off the strange illusion and turning his head away from the disorienting scene.

Then, Gu Shi heard a soft, cotton candy-like voice suddenly sound behind him.

"Senior Oniki, how are you? I haven't been in touch with you for a while, and I was thinking of coming to visit you, but when I arrived in your territory, I found that there are so many Hollows here! Are you safe now? If you encounter any trouble, please don't hesitate to tell me, and I will do my best to help you!"

The change in her voice was even greater than her demeanor, making Gu Shi turn his head involuntarily. He saw that the Death Girl, who had finished recording, had released the Hell Butterfly in her hand and returned to the familiar form he knew.

Seeing Gu Shi's strange look, the Death Girl didn't feel embarrassed at all. She jumped onto his shoulder with practiced ease and explained with a smile.

"Making full use of one's physical features to create a good public image is an essential course for aristocratic heirs, so there's no need to be surprised."

"By the way, given that bearded man's personality, once he receives my message, to show his seniority, as long as he's not dead or seriously injured, he'll definitely come to pick me up. Big guy, you hide for a bit while I get some information from him. Once I figure out what's going on here, we'll decide on a course of action."

Chapter Twenty-Four: Super Genius

It would be best if he could avoid meeting the other Grim Reapers. Gu Shi had no objection to the Grim Reaper girl's arrangement and hid on a distant treetop, using the dense foliage to conceal himself.

[What a pity. After so many days, I've managed to create this much distance between us. If I didn't have spiritual energy, I could have taken this opportunity to run away.]

[By the way, how exactly do you open the Dark Soul? In the later stages of the manga, almost every Arrancar can open their Dark Soul, and even in the early stages, some Hollows who didn't seem very strong could open their Dark Souls. Why can't I open mine?]

[If I could use my inner voice, I could just run straight to Hueco Mundo. I don't believe that madwoman would actually dare to chase me all the way to Hueco Mundo. She's not even a vice-captain; if she went to Hueco Mundo, she'd just be easy prey.]

These past few days, Gu Shi had actually been secretly studying his own body, trying to develop the ability to open the Black Hole to escape, but he had failed every time. This made him wonder if opening the Black Hole was a unique talent that only some Void beings could awaken.

After all, when that goose escaped before, it was just running away and didn't seem to have any intention of using the Black Hole to escape back to Hueco Mundo, nor did it seem to have mastered the ability to use the Black Hole.

[The only hope is that some of the Hollows we encounter in the future will be able to activate their Black Hole, and then we can escape into Hueco Mundo while they're using it?]

Gu Shi pondered to himself, casually rubbing Erlang's head beside him. Actually, he fed Erlang a Hollow mask to help the big black dog become Hollow, hoping that Erlang would awaken his talent for opening the Black Hollow after becoming a Hollow, thus helping him enter Hueco Mundo.