Wu Pifu gasped for breath, while beside him, the three Ascendant Bodies knelt on the ground, vomiting miserably. They even threw up bile, looking as if they wished they could vomit out their internal organs too.
The fish surfaced again, and this time, Wu Pifu, with his essence aflame, actually drew the Death-Seeking Blade.
This startled the fish. For a moment, it did not dare approach. In the end, it circled Wu Pifu several times, spat out a few more bubbles, then turned and sank beneath the water's surface, disappearing once more.
Those few bubbles nearly shook Wu Pifu and his Death-Seeking Blade out of existence—literally.
The feeling was difficult to describe. When the fish surfaced, the three Ascendant Bodies had neither knowledge nor awareness; even their selves ceased to exist. Wu Pifu retained his self, but he could not think or reason. That self was limited to mere "knowing."
The only reason he could draw the Zanpakutō was because he was burning his essence. Or perhaps burning was not the right description. It was more like swelling or stimulating it, like an ordinary person flexing hard to make their muscles bulge.
Wu Pifu had thought things too simply. He possessed essence that could heal without limit, so he believed he had discovered a huge loophole: he could continuously burn his essence to generate power that underwent qualitative change. It was a fine idea, but the three Ascendant Bodies told him the reality—he could not do it.
Although the soul's true spirit belonged to the essence of life, it was not something one could simply take out and use at will. It differed from the flesh, and was utterly unlike mental consciousness. How should one put it? Just looking at the Dream World's Transcendent Paths made it clear: ninety-nine percent