The Supreme Soul, Starting with Death

"However, since Ashido stayed in Hueco Mundo and was even protected by a Menos Grande, I had to make some changes to my attitude."

“I’ve been friends with Asido for over two hundred years. It’s not a problem for me to say that he’s family to me, even though we’re not related by blood. If you let others know about him, then Asido will be in danger.”

"Ashido also knows the nobles' secret. The nobles will definitely not let him live. They will definitely order his elimination, even if it means sacrificing a large number of Executioners and Secret Service members during the process of penetrating Hueco Mundo."

"Anyway, ordinary Grim Reapers are just tools that can be replenished at any time for nobles. In order to protect their own interests, it doesn't matter if some are damaged."

As a member of the Eleventh Division, Ibuki's strength was already higher than Yohei's, and her Shunpo skills were also significantly better. While talking, she chased after Yohei and quickly caught up with him as he was running away at full speed. She gave him an apologetic smile.

"So, I'm sorry, but I have to kill you before I return to Soul Society. I can't give you the chance to leak information to the Execution Army."

"Close your eyes, Turbid Waves."

The release command of the Zanpakuto rang out, and the sharp blade transformed into a heavy long staff, sweeping heavily toward Yohei's head. At the same time, Ibuki stretched out her other hand and unleashed a barrage of low-numbered Binding Spells to disrupt Yohei's movements.

The sun, which was about to set, moved slowly. After an unknown amount of time, it finally hid behind the mountains, and darkness enveloped the earth. Ibuki, panting heavily, slowly sat down. At his feet lay a corpse with its head smashed.

Ibuki rubbed her face vigorously, feeling somewhat exhausted, and simply leaned back and lay down on the grass. Gazing at the waning moon in the sky, the smile on her lips grew increasingly bitter.

"Ashido, this is all I can do for you. I hope you can live a good life, or at least live longer and happier than a villain like me."

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Chapter Seventy Disdain and Liking

"Tianpeng, that Grim Reaper is here again."

Erlang squatted on the ground to recover his strength, his eyes fixed on the stone pillar not far away, his tone somewhat disdainful.

Near the top of the stone pillar, there is a small, man-made hole through which you can see the Grim Reaper named Asido sitting with his eyes closed, silently absorbing the spiritual energy in the air to heal his injuries.

On Asido's right arm and chest, there are some gruesome wounds with flesh turned outwards. Even on his left cheek, there is a "scratch" that exposes the bone. It is not hard to imagine the scene where he was almost stabbed in the head by a claw, and was still scratched on the face bone in his attempt to dodge.

Asido's mastery of the healing arts was clearly lacking; he could only use the thirteenth level of the healing arts at most. Using it on himself was barely effective; he could barely stop the bleeding, let alone heal. Even sitting there motionless, the wound would still occasionally reopen and bleed fresh blood.

The blood of the Grim Reaper is different from the blood of the Hollows. The pure spiritual energy it carries has a far greater attraction for Hollows than other blood of the same kind. As Jiro smelled the aroma in the air, his stomach began to rumble involuntarily, and a hint of appetite gradually crept into his gaze as he looked at Ashido.

Jiro slapped himself hard, swaying his uncontrollable appetite, and looked at Asido with increasing displeasure.

Gu Shi said we can't eat this Grim Reaper, and Erlang will of course obey Gu Shi's orders, but isn't this Grim Reaper coming too frequently?

He came three times in five days, each time with different injuries. As soon as his injuries healed, he would go out to hunt Void Realms, and then come back with new injuries.

Every time this Grim Reaper came, Jiro felt like someone was tempting him with a feast, but he couldn't eat it. That feeling was too torturous for a Hollow with such a voracious appetite.

And this torment happened three times in five days, making it even more unbearable.

Tianpeng had just finished refining a batch of pills and was squatting down beside Erlang, reviewing the experience, when she heard Erlang's stomach growling. She laughed out loud without any regard for his feelings. Erlang was furious and punched her on the head, but instead of stopping her, he made her laugh even louder.

After laughing enough while enduring Erlang's punches, Tianpeng wiped away the tears of laughter from the corners of his eyes and waved his hand with a slight smile.

"Erlang, if you're looking for approval or comfort from me, you've come to the wrong person. I quite like Asido."

As he spoke, Tianpeng's gaze passed over the stone pillar where Asido was recuperating and looked further into the distance. He could see several brainless Killian creatures, lured by the scent of death's blood, staggering towards them.

To avoid being targeted by the Grim Reapers sent by the Saito family, they abandoned their original position five days ago. Tianpeng's completely crystallized earthen pit alchemy furnace was naturally completely filled back during the relocation to avoid leaving any clues for the Grim Reapers.

Although Tianpeng dug a new pit to make a pill furnace as soon as the transfer was completed, it must be said that the newly dug pit was far inferior to the pill furnace that had been tempered by spiritual flames under high pressure hundreds of times, with its inner walls completely crystallized and almost no spiritual energy leakage during pill refining.

These past few days, Tianpeng has been refining pills almost non-stop, hoping to complete the crystallization process in the new pill furnace as soon as possible. This requires consuming a large amount of pill refining materials, namely Kylian.

Coincidentally, every time Asido came here to recuperate, the smell of blood on her would attract several Killian. Tianpeng no longer needed to go out to collect materials; she only needed to wait by the alchemy furnace, and Killian would follow Asido's scent and come over to her.

The alchemy environment was so convenient, even more so than the original camp. Tianpeng found it hard to feel any ill will towards Asido, the material provider. After a few days, Tianpeng not only wanted to eat Asido, but he also wanted to send him food as a reward. In the end, he gave up because the Grim Reaper could not eat the flesh of the Hollow.

However, just because it's convenient, can the Hollows be immune to the temptation of Shinigami blood and not develop an appetite for them?

Gu Shi slowly opened his eyes, a hint of doubt in his eyes.

Like Jiro, Gu Shi, as a pure Hollow, would instinctively feel a strong urge to eat whenever he smelled Ashido's blood. However, he adhered to the principle of never eating people and regarded this temptation as a way to train his mind, hoping to make his will strong enough to be completely immune to the Hollow instinct.

After all, he was a man who aspired to make many friends, including both Shinigami and Hollows. If he couldn't completely control his appetite for Shinigami, how could any Shinigami be willing to be friends with someone who wanted to eat him?

However, the instincts of the Great Hollow are not so easy to eliminate. The training over the past few days has yielded little result. Although Gu Shi can restrain his cannibalistic instincts and not harm Ashido, as long as he can still smell Ashido's blood, the thought of eating Ashido will constantly assault his consciousness.

Gu Shi was quite confident in his willpower. After all, when he had just become ethereal and his body desperately needed spiritual energy to replenish itself, and his cannibalistic desires were at their peak, he was able to fully restrain his instincts.

It should be noted that even Erlang, who is not human and is less affected by the instincts of the ethereal beings, briefly lost his rationality when he first completed his ethereal transformation. He had to eat a lot of ethereal flesh and replenish a large amount of spiritual power to stabilize his state before he could recognize Gu Shi as his companion again.

It is clear that Gu Shi is quite good at controlling his instincts.

But Tianpeng seemed to do it even better than Gu Shi, showing absolutely no appetite for Axido.

"Speaking of which, Tianpeng, you haven't been eating normally for a long time, have you?"

After a moment's thought, Gu Shi ignored Erlang's mournful gaze and looked at the few "Tianpeng Pills" that Tianpeng had recently refined.

Those "Tianpeng Pills" still looked like charcoal, not at all like something edible. In fact, due to the relocation of the alchemy furnace and the decline in its quality, their appearance was much worse than before.

Tianpeng didn't think there was anything wrong with Gu Shi's question and nodded as if it were perfectly normal.

"After all, you have to try the pills yourself to understand the hidden changes they contain. I've been eating pills until I'm full lately, so I really don't have much of an appetite for regular meals."

Each pill refined using the Great Void as a material is brimming with spiritual power. The spiritual power in one pill is basically equivalent to more than half a Killian. Tianpeng personally tests the pills after each refinement, and it is indeed difficult for him to have a normal appetite to eat the flesh of those Killians.

Gu Shi nodded thoughtfully and then extended his claws without any hesitation.

"I don't want to eat today. Tianpeng, could you give me a few of your pills?"

Tianpeng was overjoyed upon hearing this. Recently, alchemy materials had been delivered to her door, greatly improving her alchemy efficiency. She was so full every day that she couldn't finish all the pills. She had already stockpiled several new pills, and new alchemy materials were still being delivered to her door. Seeing that the stockpiled pills were sure to increase, she was worried about what to do with them.

Upon hearing Zhenjun say that he wanted to take his pills, Tianpeng was overjoyed. A sense of recognition welled up within him, and he quickly grabbed all the pills and stuffed them into Gu Shi's hand. He stared expectantly at Gu Shi's mouth, wanting to witness Zhenjun taking the "Tianpeng Pill" with his own eyes.

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Chapter Seventy-One: Pre-made Dishes?

Without delay, Gu Shi picked up a Tianpeng Pill, popped it into his mouth, and crushed it. Instantly, a surge of spiritual energy was released in his mouth. The violent impact was as if a Cero had been detonated in his mouth. Gu Shi even tasted the flavor of his own blood.

Hmm, it's kind of like a supercharged version of popping candy.

Gu Shi had just mentally commented on the taste when this violent feeling, which far surpassed that of the Great Void and was also far purer than the Great Void's spiritual power, was quickly absorbed by Gu Shi's body and transformed into a part of his own foundation.

Gu Shi closed his eyes and carefully sensed it, discovering that when his body absorbed the spiritual energy from the Tianpeng Pill, the speed was far greater than when he directly devoured the flesh and blood of the Great Void. He even felt a faint sense of... impatience welling up from the depths of his body.

This feeling of urgency was very familiar, very similar to the appetite for death that Gu Shi had been suppressing for some time, only much weaker.

[...Is it because under high pressure, some impurities in the spiritual energy of the Hollow (raw material) were removed, making it more like the pure spiritual energy of a Shinigami?]

[Tianpeng doesn't feel a strong appetite for the Grim Reaper, partly because she's been consuming too many pills and has been in a state of fullness for a long time, so her appetite isn't strong to begin with. Another reason might be that the spiritual energy she's been consuming lately has been very pure, almost like... a Grim Reaper on the verge of etherealization?]

So, for Tianpeng's body, although the Grim Reaper's spiritual power was slightly better than what he usually ate, it wasn't anything particularly rare, and he was too lazy to produce any drastic reaction?

[If we were to use fruit as an analogy, the Grim Reaper's spiritual power would be like a fresh banana. Neither Jiro nor I have ever eaten a banana before, so naturally we'd be very hungry for one.]

[As for Tianpeng's body, although he had never eaten fresh bananas, he ate bananas that had been left out for a while, with black spots on the peel and slightly softened, every day. So even if he saw fresh bananas, he wouldn't be that excited?]

While sensing his body's reactions, Gu Shi quickly thought things through. After a moment, he opened his eyes, nodded to Tianpeng who was full of anticipation, and gave him a thumbs up.

"Excellent, indeed a good product!"

As he spoke, Gu Shi picked up a Tianpeng Pill and handed it to Erlang.

"Erlang, you should try some too. One piece is enough to make you half full. It can effectively reduce the time for eating and digestion, giving you more time to study your martial arts."

Erlang was not interested in pills at first. After all, he was a Void now. Before he became a Void, he was a dog. No matter what stage he was in, tearing the body of his prey apart with his sharp teeth and eating fresh flesh was a great pleasure for him. Therefore, even though he knew that Tianpeng's pills could be used to fill his stomach, he never thought of using pills to replace hunting.

But upon hearing that he could have more time to study martial arts, Erlang instantly perked up, immediately setting aside his hunting passion and eagerly taking the Tianpeng Pill and stuffing it into his mouth.

Having personally experienced the wonderful feeling of feeling half full in just a few seconds after taking a bite, without having to wait for digestion, Erlang happily squinted his eyes and looked at Tianpeng with a somewhat ingratiating rubbing of his paws.

"Ahem, Tianpeng, could you please refine one pill for me every day? I won't let you work for free. Just tell me what you need me to do, and I promise I'll do it!"

Tianpeng was very happy that his work was recognized and loved by his peers, and he nodded vigorously without hesitation.

“No problem, but if the two of us are eating together, the materials that Asido brought are not enough. You’ll have to help me prepare the missing materials, Jiro.”

"No problem, no problem, leave it to me. If you need any materials in the future, just call me and I'll get them for you right away!"

Jiro patted his chest and readily agreed. Anyway, in order to determine whether the techniques he had developed were effective, he would have to go and test them on the Killian every day, and kill a few Killian along the way, so it was not a difficult task at all.

At this moment, Gu Shi also chimed in with a smile.

"Tianpeng, prepare a dose of pills for me every day as well. I can take care of the ingredients."

The fact that Zhenjun would take his own pills every day made Tianpeng even happier. His smile became incredibly bright. He kept saying thank you and that there was no need for Zhenjun to prepare the materials, as he and Erlang could prepare them themselves. His enthusiastic attitude made Gu Shi both amused and exasperated.

"Stop! Alright, alright, Tianpeng, calm down. I asked you to help me refine pills, what kind of logic is it for you to thank me in return? Anyway, it's settled then, for the time being, we'll give up eating meat directly and switch to pills!"

Gu Shi made the decision immediately, setting the meals for the three of them for the foreseeable future.

Let me see if Tianpeng's elixir can truly weaken the Great Hollow's appetite for the Grim Reaper, just as I suspect.

[If possible, this elixir would have extraordinary significance for us and for all those in the void.]

【but……】

Gu Shi frowned unconsciously. The Saito family was ultimately a problem. As a high-ranking noble family, the power they had accumulated over the past thousand years was definitely not weak. Among the forces they sent to Hueco Mundo to hunt him down, even if it was unlikely that there would be captain-level combatants, it was still very possible that there would be vice-captain-level combatants.

The Shinigami are a group with a huge gap in strength between the upper and lower ranks. The fifth seat is basically a watershed. The three Killian on our side can easily crush any Shinigami below the fifth seat, and can even fight three or five at the same time. However, in front of Shinigami above the fifth seat, especially those at the vice-captain level, they will most likely only be crushed.

Therefore, for safety's sake, it is still necessary to change locations every now and then before one of the three evolves into Adjuchas.

However, Tianpeng's alchemy furnaces are all large earthen pits, about ten meters long and wide, and about fifteen meters deep. Even if the furnace walls have been completely crystallized after multiple alchemy processes and can be dug out and taken away, such a large thing is really difficult to carry. It is inevitable that they will be backfilled on the spot when they are moved.

This means that every time Tianpeng moves his base, he has to dig a new alchemy furnace. The quality of the pills produced will inevitably decrease temporarily due to the decline in the quality of the furnace. It will become very challenging to stably provide enough pills for the daily consumption of the three Great Void beings.

Is there any way to solve this problem?

Gu Shi frowned and pondered for a moment, then quickly thought of the "pre-made dishes" that had been widely criticized, and then derived the idea of ​​"secondary refining".

The reason why Tianpeng's alchemy furnace was so large was because the Gillian materials he used for alchemy were all over thirty meters tall. If the furnace wasn't large enough, the materials simply wouldn't fit inside.

If you prepare a small alchemy furnace that you don't need to fit an entire Killian inside, but only a few pills, wouldn't it be something you can carry around with you?

Then, after each relocation, if the quality of the pills produced by the new alchemy furnace is substandard and decreases, the inferior pills can be put into this small alchemy furnace for a second refining. Wouldn't that maintain the stability of the pill quality?

After thinking for a moment, Gu Shi explained his thoughts and asked Tian Peng, a professional, for his opinion.

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Chapter 72 Please Don't Eat Me~