The Supreme Soul, Starting with Death

Gu Shi gave him a strange look, but didn't say anything. He just carefully operated the small bottle and quickly extracted his own wisp of spiritual power from it.

The device is so easy to use that it's practically foolproof. You just need to put the target's spiritual power into it and then inject your own spiritual power into the device to activate it.

The device will automatically track the whereabouts of the owner of the internal spiritual energy and alert them with flashing lights. If it contains multiple types of spiritual energy, you can also use your own spiritual energy to select one to track. Its main feature is its ease of use.

Considering that Death is almost always a muscle-headed being, preferring to speak with muscles rather than brains, it's not surprising that such an operating system would appear.

Perhaps when the earliest tracking devices were created, the systems were designed to be very complex, in order to avoid being captured by the enemy and given to them. But the developers were beaten up by muscle-bound brains who couldn't understand complex systems, so they had no choice but to develop a simplified operating system.

After withdrawing his spiritual power, Gu Shi smiled again and looked at the four Grim Reapers in front of him.

"Alright, please each of you spare a bit of spiritual energy for me."

Ibuki and Asido's expressions tightened, while the other two Grim Reapers immediately breathed a sigh of relief. Without Gu Shi urging them a second time, they quickly distributed their spiritual power and sent it into the tracking device without Gu Shi having to do it himself.

Since Gu Shi wanted them to leave their spiritual power behind, it meant he didn't intend to kill them. This was the best news for the two Death Gods who only wanted to save their lives.

After sending out their spiritual power, the two Shinigami, without Gu Shi's permission, dared not make a loud noise, but they urged Ibuki and Asito with their eyes to quickly send out their respective spiritual power and not do anything foolish that would implicate them.

Ibuki sighed inwardly, then without further hesitation, extracted a wisp of her own spiritual power and another wisp of spiritual power from Asido, sending them both into the tracking device.

Ibuki knew her old friend's personality; if she wanted him to willingly hand over his spiritual power to the Hollows, he would probably rather fight those Hollows to the death. So, Ibuki took action and took Ashido's spiritual power.

Asido hesitated for a moment, then, seeing the pleading in the eyes of the other two Death Gods, he sighed deeply and ultimately chose not to resist.

After putting away the small bottle containing four streams of spiritual energy, Gu Shi nodded in satisfaction.

"I have received your symbols of friendship. Now, please keep my two friends' affairs a secret once you return to Soul Society."

"Hueco Mundo is so big that as long as I frequently change my location, even if the Shinigami chasing us have tracking devices, they probably won't be able to find me easily."

"Moreover, the Great Hollow Forest is ultimately our Hollows' home ground. Besides the Kyrians, there are also a large number of Adjuchas here, and even Vastodes in the depths. I am more familiar with the terrain than you are. If I want to escape, as long as those captains don't personally pursue me, I should have no problem keeping my life."

"So, everyone, remember to keep my friend's secret, okay? You don't want to have a touching reunion with me when you go on a mission in the future, do you?"

As he spoke, Gu Shi shook the tracking device in his hand, his smile bright and cheerful.

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Chapter Sixty-Eight: Staying or Leaving

With things having progressed to this point, even though Gu Shi's threatening intentions were blatantly obvious, the Grim Reapers had no energy left to feel dissatisfied. Ibuki maintained her smile and once again bid farewell to Gu Shi.

This time, Gu Shi did not stop them.

"Well then, take care, everyone. Please remember our friendship and our promise."

Gu Shi, who had never told his "friends" his name from beginning to end, waved goodbye to them. Just as the Grim Reapers were easing their tension, he asked a question as if it were an unintentional remark.

"By the way, how do you plan to get back? Will you use a portal to another dimension?"

“You overestimate the technology of Soul Society. The Transcendental Gate can only be used to communicate between the Human World and Soul Society. We plan to capture Hollows who can only speak in the Black Hole and have them help us open a passage back to the Human World. Once we arrive in the Human World, we can use the Transcendental Gate to return to Soul Society.”

Before Ibuki could figure out a proper answer, one of the Shinigami, who was desperate to live, immediately and enthusiastically answered Gu Shi's question. Another Shinigami, who also didn't want to die, felt that his companion had said something wrong and quickly added a sentence.

"We're just asking those phantoms for help; we definitely won't kill them!"

The other Shinigami then realized that he had been openly discussing capturing Hollows in front of a Hollow. He turned pale with fright and immediately nodded repeatedly to show that this was exactly what he meant and that he had absolutely no intention of harming any other Hollows.

[So the portal can't be opened in Hueco Mundo after all? That's actually good news.]

Gu Shi muttered to himself and waved his hand dismissively.

"Those Hollows with cannibalistic minds, why not kill them and keep them alive for future offspring? Alright, stop searching around. If you wander aimlessly in the Hollow Forest and run into Adjuchas, you might not even realize what's happening before your heads are bitten off. Tianpeng, use your black voice to send them off."

Neither Gu Shi nor Erlang could speak in riddles, but Tianpeng had the ability; she had already awakened the talent for speaking in riddles before evolving into a Killian.

When she first awakened this talent, she tried to open a black channel for the first time, but the channel she opened was too small and the duration was too short to use. She simply forgot about the ability. It wasn't until recently, when Gu Shi mentioned the black channel during a chat after dinner, that she remembered she had this ability.

Tianpeng nodded without saying a word, and with a wave of his claws in front of the Grim Reapers, a sound like tearing cloth rang out, and a crack five or six meters long and more than three meters high appeared out of thin air.

The two Shinigami, eager to return to Soul Society, quickly bowed to Tianpeng in gratitude before stepping into the Black Chamber. Ibuki also politely bid farewell to Gu Shi and walked towards the Black Chamber.

"I'm not going back."

Just as the three were about to step into the dark chamber, a deep voice sounded behind them. They turned around in surprise and saw that Asido was still standing in the same place, showing no intention of following them.

"Asido, what do you mean by this?"

Ibuki unconsciously frowned, and the other two Shinigami also showed anxious expressions, hurriedly looking at Gu Shi and the other Hollows' reactions, fearing that this sudden accident would make Gu Shi change his mind and leave them here forever.

Asido stared blankly at Ibuki, completely unconcerned about the anxious or resentful reactions of his colleagues and friends, and calmly spoke.

“If I return to Soul Society, an ordinary seated officer like me will still be a tool in the hands of nobles, unable to truly contribute to protecting people. In that case, rather than going back to be a dog, I might as well stay here and kill as many Hollows as possible. At least every Hollow I kill here means one less Hollow might enter the human world to eat people.”

Asido spoke calmly, as if he were just stating a matter of course, but the other Grim Reapers were nearly driven to a mental breakdown.

We were finally on the verge of escaping, but you told us in front of the Hollows that we should kill as many Hollows as possible. Are you out of your mind, or are you trying to deliberately provoke the Hollows and drag us down with you?

Ibuki unconsciously gripped her Zanpakuto, glancing warily at Gu Shi and the others, and quietly shifted her feet slightly towards her friends.

【Ashido? That name…】

Gu Shi looked at the cold-faced Shinigami with some surprise. He never expected that the second "acquaintance" he would encounter after Aizen after transmigrating to the Shinigami world would be this extra who had helped Kuchiki Rukia during the Hueco Mundo War.

In the story, Ashido did indeed live in the Forest of Hollows for several hundred years, constantly hunting Hollows. By the time Rukia Kuchiki met him, he had grown to the point where he could kill Adjuchas without releasing his Zanpakuto.

Wow, this guy's got guts.

With a calm and unmoved sigh, Gu Shi glanced at the tense Grim Reapers and rolled his eyes indifferently.

"Why are you looking at me like that? Do you want me to help persuade him? What does it matter to me whether you want to leave or stay?"

Gu Shi didn't really care. Before he transmigrated, he had a lot of affection for many characters in Bleach, but even if he really met Soi Fon, who was his favorite, he was confident that he wouldn't have any inappropriate reactions.

After all, the characters portrayed in stories who highlight their strengths are vastly different from real people who may have various flaws and bad habits. Who knows if the perfect goddess on screen actually has sweaty feet and bad breath in real life? It's better to leave the beautiful memories of the past in the past.

Gu Shi had this attitude towards the main characters he liked, let alone minor characters like Ashido who only appeared briefly. Even if Ashido was persuaded by his friends to leave, his fate changed, and he didn't plan to stay in the Great Void Forest, Gu Shi didn't care.

Seeing that Gu Shi didn't intend to turn against him, Ibuki breathed a sigh of relief and quickly moved closer to Ashido to whisper to his stubborn friend. However, no matter what he said, Ashido remained expressionless and showed no intention of changing his mind.

After a moment, Ibuki reluctantly gave up trying to persuade him. He could only give Asi a few more words of advice, telling him not to stubbornly charge into battle against enemies he knew he couldn't defeat. Then, with a worried expression, he politely bid farewell to Gu Shi again and stepped into the Black Chamber.

The other two Shinigami, who had been eagerly waiting, dared not abandon Ibuki and leave on their own. When they saw Ibuki coming over, they quickly entered the grove as well.

Asito stood still, watching his colleagues and friends leave. His resolute gaze finally showed a slight wavering as pain, sadness, and reluctance welled up in his eyes.

Gu Shi glanced at the Grim Reaper who remained in the Great Void Forest, thought about his goal of making more friends, hesitated for a moment, but put aside his concern about possibly being rejected, and spoke in a deep voice.

"Your name is Asido, right? Since you've decided to stay in Hueco Mundo, we can be considered neighbors, though. If you encounter any problems you can't solve, you can come to us for help."

As a Grim Reaper, Ashido can only encounter a limited number of troubles in the Great Forest of the Dead.

If he were to encounter Adjuchas or even a higher-ranking Hollow, Ashido would be killed on the spot with his current strength, without any chance to ask for help. He doesn't need to worry about bringing trouble upon himself.

If it's a problem at the level of a Killian, given that most Hollows prefer to work alone, Gu Shi, Erlang Tianpeng, and the other two Hollows can usually handle a Killian alone, even if the opponent has self-awareness.

Therefore, Gu Shi didn't mind casually spreading a little kindness, thinking that he might gain a friend from the Grim Reaper in the future.

Asido glanced at Gu Shi in surprise. He hadn't intended to accept the Hollow's kindness, but recalling Gu Shi's lament that "Death Gods don't care about the life and death of ordinary people" and his hostility towards those cannibalistic Hollows, he hesitated for a moment and then nodded slightly.

"Well then, thank you in advance."

Inside the dark tunnel, Ibuki listened to the conversation behind her, subconsciously narrowing her eyes as her gaze slowly swept over her two colleagues running happily ahead, a slight smile playing on her lips.

Chapter Sixty-Nine: May You Be Happy

The dark cavity was silent, except for the unsettling echoes of three people's footsteps. Two Grim Reapers were running frantically ahead as if their lives depended on it, while Ibuki walked slowly and steadily behind them.

However, Ibuki's Shunpo was clearly better than the other two's. Although he seemed to be walking at a moderate pace, his speed was not much slower than theirs.

Finally, after a short run, the three of them broke out of the dark cavity. Looking up, they saw that the dome above them was no longer pitch black, but a slightly dim sky under the twilight.

At this point, the two Grim Reapers finally revealed excited smiles, as if they had escaped death.

Survived!

They really survived!

The two of them breathed in the air, which was different from Hueco Mundo, and felt that life was so wonderful.

"His mouth suddenly flashed three times."

A calm voice sounded behind the two, and three huge, tooth-shaped golden light cones suddenly shot out, piercing through the arms and abdomen of one of the Grim Reapers, firmly sealing him to the ground.

At the same time, Ibuki's Zanpakuto silently stabbed into the back of another Shinigami.

A piercing metallic clang rang out. The Shinigami, seemingly prepared, immediately pressed down hard on the Zanpakuto at his waist. The scabbard popped up, precisely blocking the blade tip aimed at his heart, and he used the momentum to quickly retreat.

"As expected, if the Great Hollow is willing to let us go, then you, Ibuki, won't either. How could someone like you, who serves the Stealth Force, possibly let us Shinigami, who know the secrets of the nobility, live?"

The Shinigami, who had blocked the fatal blow, broke out in a cold sweat. He immediately released his Zanpakuto and slowly retreated while keeping a wary eye on Ibuki.

"Ibuki, let me go! I swear I will never return to Soul Society in my life, never contact any other Shinigami, I will find a place in the human world to live in seclusion, and I will never tell anyone what I heard today!"

The Shinigami pleaded with Ibuki to spare him, his eyes quickly scanning the surroundings for a way to escape. Another Shinigami, bound by the Binding Spell, also realized what was happening and struggled desperately while pleading loudly with Ibuki.

With a calm smile on his face, Ibuki's Zanpakuto remained locked in his hand, seemingly undeterred by any unwavering killing intent, showing no intention of unleashing his full power. He slowly approached the Shinigami pinned to the ground, his hand, free of the sword, reaching out as if to release the bindings on the Shinigami, and spoke softly at the same time.

"Yangping, you're quite clever. That's right, nobles care a lot about their reputation. After hearing so many secrets about nobles, neither the Hidden Forces nor Xingjun have any reason to let you return to Soul Society."

“If I make my move now, you will only have to face me alone. But once we return to Soul Society, you will be facing at least three squads of Executioners. At that point, you will have absolutely no chance of escaping.”

"If I really wanted to kill you, the best option would be to wait until we returned to Soul Society and then call on the Execution Army to surround and attack you. Don't you think that makes sense?"

What Ibuki said was true. As the top ten seat officers of their respective squads, although they were quite strong, they were not strong enough to ignore the difference in numbers. Being surrounded by ten times the number of Executioners, they had absolutely no chance of escape.

Thinking about it this way, it seems that Ibuki's solo action before returning to Soul Society really wasn't malicious? Was it a warning to them through action? Or was it some kind of test?

Moreover, for Shinigami, whether or not they unleash their Zanpakuto is a universal standard for judging whether they are prepared to fight seriously. The fact that Ibuki's Zanpakuto was not unleashed was actually a more powerful comfort to the two of them than words.

Moreover, when Ibuki launched her sneak attack just now, she used the Binding Spell "Mouth Thrust Triple Flash," not the more powerful Hado.

These factors combined caused both Shinigami to relax a bit. At this moment, the "Mouth Thrust Triple Flash," which had lost power due to abandoning the incantation, also loosened. The Shinigami, who was pinned to the ground, quickly continued to struggle while nodding in agreement with Ibuki's words.

"That's right, that's right, Ibuki, you're right, we're colleagues, please let me go..."

"Red Fire Cannon".

Before the Grim Reaper could finish speaking, a fireball, unleashed without any chanting, suddenly flew from Ibuki's hand and struck his open mouth squarely, exploding from the inside and turning his head into a raging fireball.

“Yes, our comrades. We not only have no hatred for each other, but we also have the camaraderie of fighting side by side. I should let you go unless the superiors give an order to kill. If Asido comes back with us, I will definitely let you go and let you and Asido live in seclusion in the present world and take care of each other.”

Ibuki maintained her calm smile as she stepped over the burning corpses, using her Instant Step to chase after Yohei, who had turned to flee, while calmly stating her thoughts.