The Supreme Soul, Starting with Death

Aizen, Soul Society, the possibility of encountering a high-ranking Hollow at any time, and the Soul King possibly spying on him from the shadows—all these factors have made him accustomed to "lying low" and yearning to accumulate power, hoping that one day in the future when he has enough power, he can unleash it all at once, crush everyone who makes him feel oppressed, and then lead his friends to dash gracefully into the starry sky.

Thus, during evolution, its Adjuchas form naturally changed to match its current mental state—a mantis that can disguise itself and lie in wait for a long time, and then strike deadly at the crucial moment to complete the hunt.

As for why it's a praying mantis, and not a snake, which also primarily hunts by ambush and stealth?

Perhaps it's because, when I'm doing research, I subconsciously wish I had more hands to make it easier for me to operate, and I dislike the snake's posture of not having hands, which makes everything inconvenient.

The problem is that while mantises do have six legs, apart from their two front claws which can barely manipulate objects by "gripping," their other legs are completely incapable of grasping or other similar activities and are therefore useless.

It would be better to become a lizard; at least then you'd have claws.

Komodo dragons are supposed to be stealthy, ambush hunters, right? Why can't I evolve into a Komodo dragon?

...Tsk, the evolution of virtual beings is indeed a bottomless pit.

The evolved Gillian may have lost its self-awareness, causing the deaths of 99% of the Hollows.

After finally evolving into an Adjuchas, it now suffers from the fear of regression. If it doesn't prey on other Adjuchas for a period of time, it will regress back to a Kyrian, and it will also lose its self-awareness 100%.

That's bad enough, but the mask has become a fatal weakness. Once the mask is destroyed, the path of evolution will be immediately cut off, and there will be no chance to evolve into a Vastod.

After stretching his six legs and controlling them to make different movements, Gu Shi shook his head, raised his left forepaw, and a dark red ball of light condensed at the tip of his claw. Then, one end of the ball of light suddenly shattered, turning into a terrifying red light that shot into the distance.

Watching the red light easily pierce through all the stone pillars along the way and finally fly out of his field of vision, Gu Shi finally felt a little relieved.

Fortunately, the improvement in strength brought about by evolution is indeed real.

Even without self-awareness, a single Gillian can easily crush hundreds of Hollows. Similarly, an Adjuchas can easily overwhelm a large group of Gillians.

After all, the difference in spiritual pressure is undeniable.

Just like when Ichigo Kurosaki first entered the Seireitei, he could only leave a shallow bloodstain when he slashed Kenpachi Zaraki with all his might.

The underlying rules of the Bleach world are that simple and brutal: everything is based on spiritual pressure. As long as the spiritual pressure is strong enough, all fancy tricks are useless.

The best example is Soi Fon's Zanpakuto, Suzumebachi, which is known as a two-hit kill. It can kill an opponent instantly by stabbing the same spot twice.

The premise that Suzumebachi is so sharp is that its owner, Soi Fon, is a captain. If the person who possesses this Zanpakuto is just an ordinary seated officer, even if he uses all his strength, he will not be able to pierce the skin of a captain-level Shinigami. Wouldn't this ability be completely ineffective?

Similarly, even if a Gillian-level Hollow has many tricks up its sleeve or uses many techniques, it probably wouldn't be able to break through the spiritual pressure on Adjuchas's body, let alone injure him.

Only after becoming Arrancars can the class gap between Hollows be narrowed to some extent. If a Killian-level Arrancar accumulates enough power, it may not be without the ability to threaten an Adjuchas-level Arrancar.

Now that it has evolved into an Adjuchas, its safety is at least adequately guaranteed.

Gu Shi waved his claws, unleashing a small "blade aura" that left a bloody mark on Erlang's rump as he buried his head in his ostrich costume.

"Alright, stop pretending to be dead and come over here quickly. I'll tell you about some things you need to pay attention to at the Adjuchas level, and then we'll allocate hunting time. At this level, we can't take pills every day anymore; we have to make time to go hunting."

Chapter 177 Come Home Often?

"...In short, these are the main things to keep in mind."

After explaining the precautions to Erlang in as much detail as possible, Gu Shi clapped his hands and then looked at Tianpeng with a slightly apologetic expression.

"Tianpeng, I'll have to trouble you with things in the mortal world for a while. After Erlang and I evolved, our spiritual power increased too much, and our control also decreased significantly. I'm afraid we won't be able to control our spiritual pressure to the point where it can pass through the Black Cavity in a short time."

"No problem, leave it to me!"

Tianpeng didn't find it difficult at all. He patted his chest and readily agreed. Although it was a pity that there were no Kylians everywhere in the world and he could no longer refine pills at will, it was a good thing to be able to help Gu Shi.

Besides, if she goes to the mortal world, she can try to research alchemy using materials other than the soul, and maybe she can come up with something new.

"Um, excuse me, what should I do?"

Seeing that Gu Shi had already made arrangements and seemed ready to leave immediately, the socially awkward Arrancar, who was hiding in the stone box next to him, finally couldn't hold back any longer. He cautiously raised his hand to ask about his arrangements, and the moment everyone's eyes were on him, he immediately pulled his hand back into the box.

“You seem like a really honest person. How about this, you and Tianpeng go together…”

“No, wait a minute. Aren’t you afraid of socializing? Why don’t you just stay here in the Black Chamber? Your job is to guard it. If any strangers or phantoms try to enter, just kill them. Tianpeng, bring Bai and Axiduo over here later, and let…”

At this point, Gu Shi realized that although the autistic broken man had introduced himself before, he had forgotten the other person's name, which made him slightly embarrassed.

It's not entirely his fault. The Arrancars he created in the previous five years were all masters of courting death. They would all die soon enough. Those who could survive even a day were considered honest. As a result, they got used to not remembering the names of the new Arrancars. After all, their shelf life was less than a day, so there was no need to remember them.

"Ahem, speaking of which, what's your name again?"

“Wiedel Alger, just call me Wiedel.”

Fortunately, the autistic broken face didn't seem to think it was impolite of Gu Shi to forget his name, and when asked, he honestly reintroduced himself.

Gu Shi nodded, repeated the name in his mind twice to make an impression, and then continued speaking as if nothing had happened.

"Wydel, make a good note of the people Tianpeng brings later. From now on, besides the few of us, just kill everyone who gets close to the Black Cavity. If you can't beat them, just run into the Black Cavity and destroy it there."

Wydle had no objection to the security job. He nodded repeatedly while huddled in his box. He couldn't be more satisfied with the arrangement that allowed him to avoid running around and talking to strangers.

"By the way, Tianpeng, please help appease Bai. If that girl insists on coming to Hueco Mundo to find me, tell her to wait for me here in the Black Hole. I will come back to the Black Hole every now and then."

After going over it in his mind again, considering whether there was anything he hadn't arranged properly, Gu Shi glanced at the bone cocoon at his feet and sighed regretfully. The Arrancar that had fused with his blood hadn't even had a chance to be born before it was crushed to death by the rampaging spiritual pressure during Jiro's evolution, in its most vulnerable stage of melting into liquid.

It's a pity. I'll try again after I've adapted to the new posture and can control my spiritual pressure.

Shaking his head, Gu Shi called out to Erlang, and the two of them, while adapting to their changed bodies, rushed into the depths of Hueco Mundo.

When Tianpeng returned to the mortal world, he told everyone that Gu Shi was unable to return to the mortal world through the Black Cavity for a period of time due to his evolution. Leaving aside how Bai insisted on going to find Gu Shi, Gu Shi and Erlang wandered aimlessly in the pale desert for a while. Erlang blinked and finally couldn't help but ask a question in confusion.

"Gu Shi, is something on your mind? You've been so distracted the whole way here."

Gu Shi had nothing to hide from Erlang and gave a frank explanation.

"I was just thinking, now that we've evolved, shouldn't we go back and check on that bat guy?"

If we really want to get to the bottom of it, it's hard to say whether Gu Shi's first friend in this world was Erlang or the bat. It's true that Gu Shi knew Erlang earlier, but when Gu Shi first started traveling with the bat, Erlang hadn't yet become ethereal. He was just an ordinary canine soul without much intelligence, so it's hard to say whether he should be considered a friend or a pet.

Previously, due to a problem with the evolution of the bat, its spiritual pressure had increased to a level that even the Killian could not withstand in just a few days. Gu Shi had no choice but to abandon his original friend. Now that it has evolved into Adjuchas, its own strength has greatly improved, and the spiritual pressure that was originally unbearable is no longer a problem. Gu Shi has begun to miss his "old friend" and want to go back to see him.

Of course, if the bats were still absorbing Killian and their spiritual pressure was still increasing at the same rate, they would probably be even more terrifying by now, and it might still be impossible to get close. But in any case, Gu Shi still wanted to go and see.

While wanting to visit the bats, Gu Shi also had concerns, worried that the bats might have silently lost their lives due to evolutionary errors without his knowledge.

If he doesn't verify it, at least the bat is still alive in his mind. Perhaps, waiting for the bat to evolve and come to him on its own is the right choice?

Gu Shi was conflicted, but Erlang didn't have as many concerns. Hearing Gu Shi say this, he also remembered his companion who had fallen into the Great Void Forest with him, and immediately became excited.

"That's right! We've become stronger, we can go visit the bats! So what are we waiting for, let's set out on our journey!"

As he spoke, Jiro lowered his head to gather his energy for a Hollow Flash, intending to blast a path directly to the Great Hollow Forest. Gu Shi hesitated for a moment but did not stop him. He silently watched as Jiro blasted the white sand beneath his feet, and the two of them fell together into the huge hole below.

Falling from a great height was hardly a problem for Adjuchas. After landing, Gu Shi crawled out of the crater he had created and found that he didn't even feel any numbness in his legs.

"Over here! Gu Shi, I remember the bat was left in this direction!"

Gu Shi was still experiencing the effects of his new body when Erlang couldn't wait to shout.

Hearing Erlang's loud and boisterous shouts, Gu Shi's spirits gradually rose. He put his bad thoughts aside, checked the direction, and after confirming that Erlang hadn't gone the wrong way, he rushed out with a smile.

"Let's go, let's go! This is a perfect opportunity for us to have a race and see if four legs or six legs are faster!"

"Gu Shi, you're clearly running on all fours too!"

Gu Shiyi's excitement made Erlang even more excited, and he shouted a complaint before chasing after him.

"Don't worry about how many legs I use to run, just tell me if I have six legs or not!"

Gu Shi, who was being ridiculed, waved his two large "scythes" around, his four legs moving rapidly, and he laughed heartily.

Chapter 178 The Mathematical Evil God

"Holy crap, what the hell is this thing?"

Gu Shi instinctively swore and slammed on the brakes, stopping abruptly. Erlang, who was slightly behind him, also looked dumbfounded.

The two were very familiar with this "place" before them; it was the place where they had said goodbye to the bats. Back then, it was just an ordinary desert, with nothing special about it except for the relatively large Kylian colony.

But now?

Looking at what was in front of him, Gu Shi even wondered for a moment if he had transmigrated a second time, and had unfortunately transmigrated to the territory of the Zerg, or the stronghold of some evil god.

At first glance, even the iconic pale white sand and gravel ground of Hueco Mundo was nowhere to be seen. What covered the land for tens of kilometers in front of them was a thick layer of constantly writhing, pitch-black flesh and blood. On this unsettling carpet of flesh and blood, there were countless small mountains, each tens of meters high, formed by numerous smaller Hollows biting and piling up on each other.

The entire land seemed to have transformed into an enormous, twisted life form.

If that were all, it wouldn't be so bad. What made Gu Shi unsure how to react was that the stacked little phantoms, while gnawing at each other, would mutter some strange words under their breath.

The ethereal, hollow voice was so faint that one had to listen carefully to make out what it was saying.

For decimal addition and subtraction problems, align the dots carefully.

"The perimeter of the rectangle is calculated by multiplying its length and width by two."

The area of ​​a triangle is calculated by multiplying its base by its height and then dividing by two.

……

To be honest, in this scene before me, if those hollow voices were chanting something like "The Medicine King's compassion is boundless, the Jianmu tree flourishes. Those who cultivate with one heart, ascend to the Pure Land together," "The past is you, the present is you, and the future is also you," or "I'a I'a.Cthulhu Fhatgn!Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn," I would find it relatively acceptable.

After all, in stories that lean more towards the Khwarazmian tradition, such descriptions of "great harmony of life" are not uncommon. It's not incomprehensible that believers would pray to their leader while sharing bliss, and at worst, they could just run away.

But... such a scene that would be considered terrifying by ordinary people, and you guys are reciting elementary school math formulas and mnemonics, isn't the style a bit too unserious?

Yes, although the scene before him would be terrifying to most people, Gu Shi was not particularly scared; he was more speechless than afraid.

Because the spiritual pressure of this "massive life form" is only at the level of Adjuchas. Although it is stronger than Gu Shi and Jiro, it is at most at the level of Nel back then. If a conflict really breaks out, Gu Shi is confident that he can at least escape, let alone overturn the other side.

Gu Shi had a bellyful of complaints he didn't know how to express, but Erlang immediately became happy after hearing what the little ghosts were chanting.

"It's something bats like to mutter! The bat is still alive!"

Yes, yes, I know the bats are still alive, and most likely they've become a source of pollution. I rolled my eyes inwardly, then took a few steps forward, gathering some spiritual energy on my scythe before gently swinging it.

Instantly, a solid spiritual energy, similar in nature to a Cero but shaped like a blade, flew out from the scythe, smoothly slicing through several "small mountains" before slowly dissipating.

The severed mountain of flesh and blood neither roared nor wailed; it slid calmly onto the carpet of flesh and blood below, then silently merged into it, becoming part of that massive mass of flesh and blood once more.

This "massive life form" did not react at all, continuing to wriggle aimlessly in place, muttering mathematical formulas, as if its life had no other meaning besides living itself and its obsession with mathematics.

Gu Shi frowned and thought for a moment, then raised his front paw and shot a phantom flash at the top of the flesh carpet. Instantly, the crimson light tore through the sky and easily pierced the upper dome. Large amounts of white sand fell like rain, along with a large number of small phantoms that made a living in the surface desert.

The little Voids screamed as they fell into the carpet of flesh and blood, struggling to get up and escape this terrifying place. However, most of them barely struggled before their eyes became empty under the influence of some strong will. They staggered toward each other, silently gnawing at each other's flesh and blood. Only a very few managed to run a few steps before being enveloped and swallowed by the carpet of flesh and blood beneath their feet, disappearing without a trace.

Finally, when all the fallen phantoms were linked together through "feeding" to form a new mountain of flesh and blood, they joined the chorus of their surrounding "companions" and began to quietly recite the multiplication tables.

Tsk tsk, has the bat turned into a mathematical evil god?