The Supreme Soul, Starting with Death

In his previous life, Gu Shi often saw people joking online, "There's a kind of cold called 'Grandma thinks you're cold,' and a kind of hunger called 'Grandma thinks you're hungry.'" Although he had never truly experienced this feeling due to his special family situation, he could at least imagine the scene.

Gu Shi never imagined that the scenes he once envisioned would now be frequently playing out in such a dilapidated place as the Virtual Group.

"Jill, you're back! Are you hurt? Have you eaten? Why don't you eat some more? I'll tell you a story while you eat!"

Seeing Neutra, who had just returned from the hunt, surrounded by Nilu and scrutinized with concern, looking gloomy with a hint of wanting to explode but unable to, Gu Shi couldn't help but laugh from the bottom of his heart.

However, too much of a good thing can be bad. Although Nnoitra is currently only a minor Hollow with low strength, he is still the inherently cruel praying mantis. If Nel is allowed to continue to unleash her maternal instincts, Nnoitra might stage another "betraying my old mother" scene in the future.

"Ahem, Nilu, it's Jill's class time now. Please don't disrupt the normal class order, or I'll have to ask you to stay away."

Gu Shi interrupted Nilu before she could finish speaking with a serious expression. Nilu pouted, feeling wronged, but still obediently let the poor little mantis go.

She also felt it was necessary for Gil to learn more.

Neutra, who had been spared by Nel, quickly jogged over to Gu Shi, her eyes filled with gratitude as she looked at him.

Yes, although it was very unreasonable, under Nel's strong maternal love offensive, the one whose relationship with Neutra grew the fastest was actually Gu Shi, who came to her rescue time and time again.

How to put it? It's like a rebellious elementary school student who gets nagged by his mom every day after school, but his dad always changes the subject and saves the day, which greatly improves the father-son relationship.

The poor child didn't even consider that his nagging mother was chosen for him by his father, and Neutra seemed to have forgotten that it was Gu Shi who invited Nilu to join the team.

In short, the adorable little mantis first attended Gu Shi's moral education class, and then immediately went to learn math from Teacher Ulquiorra after class. After finishing Teacher Ulquiorra's homework, he immediately ran to learn martial arts from Teacher Erlang, without giving himself any rest time in between.

Nnoitra was already very hardworking, but now she uses classes as an important way to escape Nel's care. She is grateful for every minute she is not disturbed by Nel during class, and her learning efficiency has improved significantly.

The three teachers were happy to see this happen, so although they would attend classes to save the little mantis, none of them went to talk to Nel and tell her not to bother Nnoitra too much.

Finally, with Neutra reluctant to leave, today's class time came to an end, and it was time for everyone to listen to stories together again.

However, recently, the storyteller has not been Gu Shi, but the newly joined Nilu.

As a veteran Adjuchas, Nel has a wealth of experience. Her understanding of Hueco Mundo far surpasses that of Gu Shi and others, and she is happy to share her experiences in the daily story segments.

Yesterday, Nel told us about a very special Hollow in the east of Hueco Mundo. It is usually very small, only a little over two meters tall, and can be considered thin. But once a battle begins, its size will continue to increase as the battle goes on.

Nilu had watched the battle of that Hollow from afar last time, witnessing firsthand how that Hollow grew from two meters tall to the size of a mountain range, eventually easily crushing all the surrounding enemies to death.

"Come here, Jill, come to me. It's story time."

Hearing Nel's cheerful greeting, Nnoitra moved heavily to Nel's side. Then, the poor little mantis was like a pillow, nestled between the antelope's two front legs. The antelope even rested its chin on the mantis's head and rubbed it comfortably. This made the proud little mantis feel like it had become a pet once again, and it turned black with anger.

Nnoitra now only regrets that he wasn't hardworking enough or talented enough to evolve into a Kyrian quickly. If he were a Kyrian now, growing to thirty meters tall, this annoying predecessor certainly wouldn't be able to use him as a body pillow.

So, in a peaceful and cheerful atmosphere, Nilu cleared her throat and prepared to begin her speech.

"Everyone, by now you've all seen a lot of creatures, haven't you? Flying in the sky, running on the ground, swimming in the soil—these are all commonplace. But have you ever seen anything that grows in the soil? I saw one about a few years ago."

After telling the story a few times, Nilu had gained some experience. She started by creating suspense to pique everyone's curiosity and keep them more focused on her story. She had become quite adept at this tactic.

Nilu's strategy was quite effective. Upon hearing her opening, Gu Shi, who had been lazily lying to the side, just short of having some cola and potato chips, slowly sat up straight. Erlang, who had been pretending to sleep with his eyes closed, immediately widened his eyes. Even Ulquiorra, who was preparing tomorrow's homework for Nnoitra while listening to the story, stopped what he was doing.

Encouraged by such a good result for the first time, Nilu continued with even more enthusiasm.

"That's right! You guessed it! It was a plant-shaped Hollow. Something went wrong when it evolved into a Killian. It took root on the spot during the evolution and lost its ability to move. It was almost eaten by other Killian. I happened to be nearby at the time and saved it. I also protected it for a while at its request!"

"Let me tell you, the plant-shaped Hollows are really interesting, he..."

"Wait a minute, Nel, I want to check first, is that plant-shaped Hollow still alive?"

Nilu, who was interrupted by Gu Shi, was not angry and nodded gently.

"He should still be alive. When we parted, I helped him transplant, moving his roots and the soil around him to a secluded place. Unless he's really unlucky, he shouldn't be discovered by the other Hollows."

Upon hearing this, Gu Shi, Erlang, and Ulquiorra all stood up.

"Then, Nel, could you please show us the way and take us to see that Hollow Grande?"

Seeing the three people's reactions, Nilu belatedly realized that something was wrong and nervously shrank her neck.

"Is he important?"

"Yes, it's very important."

Chapter 197 Important Meaning

The existence of plant-shaped Hollows in Hueco Mundo was a fact that Gu Shi had long ago established. In the Bleach storyline, Aizen's Hueco Mundo system not only had the Espada, who were comparable to the captains of the Gotei 13, but also the Funeral Extermination Corps, which was comparable to the Execution Army, and was responsible for internally eliminating and reclaiming those unstable and unnecessary Arrancar.

Gu Shi couldn't remember the name of the leader of the Burial Squad, but he remembered his Resurrección ability very clearly. This Arrancar with a skull and bull's head mask could transform himself into a giant withered tree after Resurrección, and produce skull fruits on his branches. Once these fruits fell to the ground, they would turn into lowly Arrancar wearing skull masks.

Interestingly, these minor Arrancar look exactly like the grunts of the Burial Slaughter Squad under this Arrancar. Considering that Aizen always prefers to go for the high-quality and is too lazy to create minor enemies, and also looks down on the banding of the weak, he is too lazy to create more weak subordinates for the Espada, except for equipping them with a few subordinate officers.

Therefore, this so-called funeral rites team may have consisted of only one person from beginning to end, and all the so-called team members were actually transformed from the Devil Fruit of the Arrancar.

Having memorized the plot, Gu Shi "foresaw" the possibility of the existence of plant-type Hollows. Furthermore, his long-time companions, such as Erlang and Tianpeng, had already been reminded by him that if they encountered a plant-type Hollow, they should protect it and bring it back.

If it weren't for the fact that Nel had only been in the team for a short time and it wasn't appropriate to assign her a task right away, Gu Shi would definitely have reminded her about this issue several times. He wouldn't have waited until she mentioned it in her story before telling her about his need for the Plant Great Hollow.

"Oh, I see. I know. I knew it. Gu Shi, someone as good as you would never deliberately exclude me. I was really sad to see how well you two worked together while I was the only one who didn't know anything."

Nilu nodded happily, her running steps becoming even lighter, and she even hummed a few of the little tunes she had just learned. Only then did she belatedly realize the question she should have asked in the first place.

"By the way, Gu Shi, is there something important that you need to see the plant-shaped Hollow?"

Gu Shi paused for a moment, then gently shook his head.

"It's too early to say. We need to go and see how much that Hollow really resembles a plant."

How much does it resemble a plant?

A small question mark seemed to appear above Nilu's head; she couldn't quite understand the meaning of those words.

As for Erlang, although he was obsessed with martial arts stories and not very interested in other things, he had overheard snippets of Gu Shi and Urahara Kisuke's discussions on various issues and could roughly understand what Gu Shi meant, so he took the initiative to help explain.

"Gu Shi's point is to see if that plant-type Hollow is like a normal Hollow, needing to consume souls to sustain life, or if it is like a plant, able to survive simply by relying on the earth's nourishment."

Seeing that Nel still didn't quite understand, Jiro patiently continued to explain.

"If he is more like a plant and does not need to devour souls, then as long as Gu Shi can analyze his life characteristics and find a way to create more plant Hollows and plant them all over Hueco Mundo, perhaps the Hollows will not have to fight each other for food. They can just eat the fruits and branches of these plants to satisfy their spiritual energy needs."

Upon hearing this, Nilu finally understood why Gu Shi valued the Plant Void so much. She became excited, her eyes brightening as she turned to look at Gu Shi with disbelief and anticipation.

A Hueco Mundo where people no longer fight each other? A more peaceful and secure Hueco Mundo? Is such a future truly possible?

Under Nilu's gaze, which held a hint of fervor, Gu Shi nodded slightly, affirming Erlang's explanation.

"If he's plant-like enough, then it's possible."

Jiro's explanation is not comprehensive enough. If they really created plants that can produce fruits containing spiritual energy by analyzing plant-type Hollows, then these plants could not only be planted in Hueco Mundo, but more importantly, they could be planted in the human world.

The reason why souls attack humans after they become ethereal is not only because of the cannibalistic instincts inherent in ethereal beings, but also because newly ethereal souls urgently need to replenish their spiritual power to stabilize their physical form, and the soul is the only source of spiritual power.

However, if the world were filled with fruits containing spiritual energy, and newly born Hollows could replenish their much-needed spiritual energy without having to chase and hunt mortals, then the number of newly born Hollows attacking people would likely drop precipitously.

For Gu Shi himself, the cultivation of spiritual plants has another significance, namely, logistical reserves. After all, even the Great Hollows and the Grim Reapers need to eat.

Whether there is enough spiritual energy in space to feed everyone is still unknown. If we rashly take a group of people to space without preparing enough food, they might have to return home starving in just a few days.

In this situation, a plant that can transform matter (objects) into spiritual energy (spiritual particles) would be quite important to Gu Shi. As long as he could create such a plant and carry enough seeds, Gu Shi would not have to worry about not having food to eat in space.

Besides spiritual crops, the device that Kisuke Urahara used to send Ichigo Kurosaki and the others into Soul Society for the first time in the Bleach storyline, which can turn flesh into spirit, is also one of the alternative options for Gu Shi.

However, that thing makes quite a racket when it starts up, and it looks like it needs to consume a lot of energy. It is very likely that the spiritual energy consumed when it is working is several times or even dozens of times more than the spiritual energy it generates. If it is to be used to convert matter into food, it still needs further improvement to reduce energy consumption.

In short, Gu Shi had actually prepared several similar alternatives in his mind, but spiritual energy crops were undoubtedly one of the best options. That's why he was so excited when Nilu talked about the plant-based Great Void.

However, even if all the alternatives fail, it doesn't matter. In Gu Shi's heart, there has always been a crazy idea that he has never told anyone:

"If there is really no other way, we should try to organize a grand alchemy ceremony before we set off, using the entire underground space where the Great Void Forest is located as an alchemy furnace, and refine all the Kylian into pills in one go to serve as food reserves for the journey."

The idea was so crazy that Gu Shi was startled when he first thought of it and dared not think about it any further.

In conclusion, cultivating true spiritual crops that can transform matter into spiritual energy through the cultivation of plants is undoubtedly of extraordinary significance, and this is certainly worthy of recognition.

Even though Gu Shi didn't explain the significance of spiritual plants to the present world and to herself, Nel was already completely excited. Just imagining a Hueco Mundo where there was no more fighting everywhere, imagining a future where everyone could live in peace, made her feel so happy that she wanted to shout, sing, and jump high.

"Gu Shi, you really are a super nice person! Here, just walk a little further in this direction and you'll see that Plant Void!"

Chapter 198 Ukitake Jushiro's Worries

"Shisi Lang, the weather's so nice, shall we find a scenic spot to have a drink together?"

A flippant voice came from outside the window. Ukitake Jushiro, who was reviewing documents, rubbed his temples in annoyance and looked up.

Sure enough, his friend, classmate, and colleague of hundreds of years, the captain of the entire Seireitei who was best at slacking off—Kyoraku Shunsui—had somehow gotten up and was sitting on the windowsill of his office, shaking a small sake bottle and smiling at him.

"Shunsui, when Vice Captain Yayuumaru comes to arrest you this time, I won't cover for you anymore."

Lisa Yagami is Shunsui's vice-captain. She is a very serious and earnest girl and is the only person in the entire Seireitei who can suppress Shunsui. Apart from her, even if their teacher, Captain-Commander Yamamoto, were to reprimand Shunsui, Shunsui would not take it to heart at all.

Jushiro Ukitake hoped to use the name of Vice Captain Yashimaru to intimidate his old friend, who had been dragged out for drinks three times in five days and was now overwhelmed with official documents for his team.

"Hehe, Shisi Lang, I didn't come alone today. Look who this is."

Kyoraku Shunsui smiled smugly, gestured behind him with the sake bottle in his hand, and a young woman with long black braids and a seemingly aloof expression stepped out from behind him and bowed to Ukitake Jushiro.

"Good morning, Captain Ukitake. I apologize for the trouble you caused yesterday, Captain Kyoraku."

Ukitake Jushiro stared in astonishment at the black-haired girl, a wave of despair washing over him. Oh no, the only person in Seireitei who could stop Shunsui from slacking off had also been assimilated by Shunsui.

No, no, no! It's too early to give up now!

Jushiro Ukitake covered his mouth and coughed lightly a few times, forcing out a friendly smile with a hint of wishful thinking.

"Vice-Captain Yayuumaru, there's no need to be so polite. What brings you here today?"

“I believe that in the past five days, my workload and intensity have far exceeded what I should be doing. So yesterday, after the team leader came back drunk, I took it upon myself to have the team leader sign my leave application. Today is my whole day off.”

Lisa Yagami, the last hope of Seireitei, remained serious and composed as always, offering what seemed like an inappropriate explanation that successfully shattered Jushiro Ukitake's last glimmer of hope.

Seeing his old friend's troubled expression, Kyoraku Shunsui smirked with a hint of schadenfreude, jumped into the house, and patted Ukitake Jushiro on the shoulder.

“I told you long ago, Lisa and I are the same kind of people, but you still didn’t believe me, Shisi Lang.”

"Captain, please don't slander the character of your team members. It undermines your authority as captain."

Outside the window, the serious and earnest vice-captain appeared to be very respectful in protesting to his captain, before bowing respectfully to Ukitake Jushiro once again.

"Well then, I'll leave it to you, Captain of the Kyoto Band. Have a good time on this weekday morning. I'm going to enjoy my vacation now."

After saying that, the serious and earnest vice-captain turned and walked away. After taking a step, she seemed to remember something and turned back to add a sentence.

"Please don't worry about the Eighth Division's affairs. I've already taken care of all the documents and assigned all the tasks in advance for today's day off. So, farewell."