Chapter 262

Seeing the curious looks on everyone's faces, Wang Xun couldn't help but chuckle. He reached out and tested the water temperature; it was just right.

"Alright, you're all injured. Wash yourselves off and let's talk in the pool."

At this moment, Kisuke Urahara took out a curtain from the side and set it up in the middle of the pool to separate the men and women.

"Please, everyone."

The group rinsed themselves with clean water on both sides before entering the pool.

Hiyori dragged Mashiro Kuna and Lisa Yadōmaru to the other side of the curtain, then turned back and shouted at this side of the curtain.

"No peeking, do you hear me?!"

"Who cares about you? Besides, what's so interesting about you? You're just deluding yourself."

Hearing Hirako's smug voice, Hiyori blushed.

"Baldy!"

"Dwarf!"

"Ha?!"

Another verbal battle ensued.

Ignoring the commotion, Lisa Yadōmaru dipped her feet into the warm water and then slowly immersed her entire body in.

She could feel the power of the Kaidō within it, which was slowly healing her body.

This tingling, numb sensation is indeed exceptionally comfortable, especially after working up a good sweat.

Hiyori finally got tired of yelling and prepared to go into the hot spring.

She was a little afraid of getting burned, so she slowly sat down inside, only her head sticking out because she was short.

Mashiro Kuna stripped off all her clothes, somersaulted in, and splashed water all over Hiyori's face as she landed.

"You're crazy, aren't you?!"

Hiyori wiped his face and roared.

Mashiro Kuna was already diving into the pool, his buttocks bobbing twice above the water's surface.

Hiyori, veins bulging on her forehead, charged forward and wrestled with Mashiro Kuna in the hot spring.

The two playfully splashed water everywhere.

Lisa Yadōmaru adjusted her glasses, which were wet from the splashing water, and quietly moved to the side.

On the other side of the curtain, Kensei, wearing a loincloth, sank into the water.

The water temperature was indeed high. After Wang Xun's modifications, the pool was significantly warmer than before, steaming hot.

Kensei held on for two breaths before slowly getting used to it.

Hirako leaned against the pool wall opposite him, his head resting on a rock, his eyes closed.

Rōjūrō Ōtoribashi and Love Aikawa also sat down, Hachigen Ushōda was the last to go into the water.

Ushōda is quite large, and his stomach is also quite heavy. When he was submerged in the pool, the water level in the entire pool rose quite a bit.

Hot steam rises from the water's surface and seeps into the pores.

Everyone could feel their wounds healing and the soreness in their muscles gradually subsiding.

Wang Xun also sat in the pool, relaxing his body.

At this moment, Hirako brought up the topic again.

"Wang Xun, what did you just say the Zero Division came down here for?"

"Aizen, and Yhwach."

"Senjumaru Shutara locates Yhwach, Kirio Hikifune investigates Aizen's movements in Hueco Mundo."

"They stayed in Seireitei for a few days, set up a monitoring network, and assigned follow-up tasks to the Second Division and Twelfth Division."

Upon hearing Aizen's name, Hirako opened his eyes and looked over.

He perked up as soon as he heard the Aizen.

"Aizen... what did he do now?"

Everyone's attention was drawn back to this.

"There was a strange fellow in the Quincy camp named Pernida, who was the Soul King's left hand. In the chaos of battle, he was absorbed by Aizen using the Hōgyoku."

"After the Hōgyoku absorbed Pernida, it began to evolve. The monk from the Zero Division said that the Hōgyoku's current potential is unpredictable, therefore Aizen is extremely dangerous."

Urahara, who was secretly collecting pool water in test tubes in the distance, stopped what he was doing when he heard this.

The Hōgyoku, the Soul King's left hand...

"The Soul King's left hand was fused into the Hōgyoku by Aizen?"

"Good."

The group fell silent for a moment, then exchanged furrowed brows and glanced at each other.

The Soul King... This is an unheard-of secret!

"How did the Soul King's left hand end up in the hands of the Quincy?"

From the other side of the curtain, Hiyori's voice came through.

"It was done by Ichibē Hyōsube a thousand years ago. He used the Soul King's left hand to seal Yhwach's the Almighty. Therefore, it remained inside Yhwach's body, and later, somehow, it became Quincy."

"Wait a minute," Kensei sat up straight in the water, his expression serious, "What exactly is the Almighty and omnipotence?"

"I'm not entirely sure about the specific abilities, but as the name suggests, it's an extremely troublesome ability."

"A thousand years ago, the monk believed that if it wasn't sealed away, Soul Society might not be able to withstand Yhwach's power."

"And now?"

Wang Xun sighed.

"After Pernida, that is, the Soul King's Left Hand, was absorbed by the Hōgyoku, the monk said that Yhwach's seal was no longer in its complete state."

Their assessment was that Yhwach was highly likely to regain his the Almighty powers.

"Aizen found information about the creation of the King's Key in the Great Spirit Book Gallery, and he is very likely to investigate the emergence of Jūreichi in the World of the Living."

hand."

At this moment, everyone in the pool fell silent.

Although no one has ever witnessed that ability, everyone can sense its difficulty and terror from the descriptions.

Only Mashiro Kuna was wandering around behind the curtain, humming an off-key song, completely oblivious to the situation.

That makes sense.

Kisuke Urahara spoke.

"The Zero Division was deployed because the threat had become so great that they had to treat it with caution."

"Yhwach's seal has loosened; they need to check on Yhwach's condition. They also need to know the current progress of Aizen 'Aizen Hōgyoku evolution."

"And these two share the same goal: the Soul King Palace."

"It's hard to say whether these two might join forces to attack the Soul King Palace..."

Wang Xun nodded. The already precarious Soul Society was now in even worse shape.

"Aizen has already put us in such a mess, and now Yhwach has appeared. He's a formidable character who went toe-to-toe with Captain-Commander Yamamoto a thousand years ago."

"This time, they're actually going to take on two at once?"

Rōjūrō Ōtoribashi's voice drifted over from the side.

"I... I suddenly don't want to go back to Soul Society either..."

Having been captain for less than two years, he felt as if the sky had fallen when faced with this situation.

Love Aikawa patted him on the shoulder, signaling him to cheer up.

"Both sides are gathering strength. Yhwach needs to restore his soul, Aizen needs to integrate the Hōgyoku, Soul Society is doing the same. There are many things to face."

Hirako lifted the back of his head off the rock and let out a breath.

"So, we need to hurry back."

"That's right," Kensei stretched his shoulders, stirring the water with a splash, "The Soul Society needs our strength."

From behind the curtain, Hiyori let out a snort.

"You can go your own way, I'll stay in this World of the Living."

"However... I'll come if you need help."

Mashiro Kuna poked half his head out from under the curtain, his wet hair plastered to his face.

That's right~

"Hey, Bai! Don't go through the curtain!"

Seeing Kensei rushed forward and pressed a palm down on Mashiro Kuna head, forcing her back down.

It's obvious without even thinking that this girl is absolutely naked.

"Ugh~ Kensei is the real culprit."

Hearing Mashiro Kuna muttering behind the curtain, Kensei was speechless.

He was at his wits' end with a vice-captain like this.

After a long time, everyone had recovered enough to resume training.

After several rounds, the group gradually found a way to control the Hollowfication.

From this point on, Wang Xun was no longer needed to spar with him.

When Wang Xun left and returned to the mansion on the ground, only Yoruichi Shihōin in her black cat form was lying there; Soi Fon was nowhere to be seen.

After all, several days had passed since he left, and Soi Fon had already gone to carry out the missions he had assigned in the World of the Living.

When Tessai Tsukabishi saw Wang Xun coming up, he started preparing some food for him.

After eating and drinking his fill, Wang Xun sat down for a short rest, holding a teacup. At that moment, a faint tremor ran through the depths of his soul.

It turned out to be the illusory clone that he had pretended to be captured by Aizen a long time ago.

After being sealed in the vessel, Wang Xun stopped paying attention to that clone for a long time.

Unexpectedly, this time there was feedback.

It seems that Aizen took a lot of research materials with him when he left Soul Society, including this.

This is an unexpected bonus; it's a good opportunity to check on Aizen's situation.

Wang Xun put down his teacup.

He closed his eyes slightly, and his consciousness sank.

Hueco Mundo.

Las Noches.

The outline of the white palace was faintly visible in the gloom.

On the high platform, Sōsuke Aizen stood with his hands behind his back, looking down at the palace under construction below.

Having been in Hueco Mundo for some time now, Aizen, after taking control of the so-called King of Hueco Mundo Baraggan, and bringing him under his command, began to construct a real palace.

Looking at the Hueco Mundo land construction in Hueco Mundo, Aizen nodded in satisfaction.

At that moment, Kaname Tōsen appeared behind him.

"Lord Aizen, all the laboratory samples have been moved to Storage Area Three, and the Adjuchas materials brought from Soul Society have also been sorted out. What are your plans for Lord Aizen?"

"Let's add them all to the next batch of Arrancar experiments."

"The upper limit of Arrancarization depends on the Hollow's base. Adjuchas has a much higher success rate than Gillian. I almost forgot about these materials."

At that moment, a thought flashed through Aizen's mind, and he remembered that there was one rather special individual among them.

That was the pure white Hollow that Wang Xun encountered in Hueco Mundo.

Perhaps there will be some pleasant surprises after the Arrancarization.

Kaname Tōsen, but stopped as he was about to turn around.

"Lord Aizen, there's one more thing."

"Szayelaporro has been frequently visiting Storage Area Three lately; he seems to be secretly trying to gather information about those materials."

"Furthermore, he has shown an unusual interest in the existence of the Hōgyoku. Should we deal with him?"

Aizen into a slight smile.

"Szayelaporro can't cause any trouble, let him be. As long as he doesn't ruin my plans."

"By the way, among those materials, there's a special Hollow. Don't let Szayelaporro take it away."

"Yes."

Kaname Tōsen said nothing more and turned to leave.

Storage Area No. 3.

Dozens of sealed containers were arranged against the wall, covered with black cloth.

At that moment, the black cloth covering the innermost container was peeled off.

The container had been violently broken open from the outside, and the anesthetic gas inside had completely evaporated.

The chains binding the white body also came loose and broke into pieces on the ground.

Wang Xun slowly opened his eyes. His body was still somewhat numb and weak.

He moved his fingers; his joints were stiff from being sealed for so long, and his Reiatsu was also sluggish.

After adjusting himself for a moment, he rolled out of the container and noticed the figure standing in front of him.

"Woke up?"

Wang Xun didn't speak, but raised his eyes to look him over.

Pink hair, white, bony glasses—he recognized this person.

Szayelaporro walked up to Wang Xun's clone, tilted his head at an angle of more than ten degrees, and looked him up and down twice.

A pure interest shone in the pupils behind the bone-framed glasses.

"It's quite rare that such an individual was hidden among Aizen's experimental subjects."

He went around behind Wang Xun, then went back.

His nose was almost touching Wang Xun's face, inhaling Wang Xun's scent.

"The taste of the soul is strange, like... some kind of accessory..."

He took two steps back and tapped his chin.

"You know, I've been working on a research project recently, about whether the soul can be completely replicated."

"The goal is to explore the feasibility of restoring a separated soul. This idea came to me after meeting that guy Starrk..."

"However, the risks involved in creating a new individual by splitting the soul are unknown, especially the impact on the caster. But judging from that guy's example, it should be quite feasible."

"Although I really want to dissect him and his subordinates, unfortunately, I'm not entirely confident I can take him down."

"And you... are a pleasant surprise to me."

Szayelaporro adjusted his glasses.

My name is Szayelaporro Granz.

He bowed slightly, making an exaggerated gesture.

"Among the Espada who are not yet fully formed, he is numbered No. 0, works under Aizen, and is currently the head of research at Las Noches."

Szayelaporro straightened up and looked at Wang Xun.

"What's your name?"

Wang Xun looked at him, never expecting to run into such a troublesome fellow.

Before his soul was separated and he underwent self-castration, Szayelaporro was also a Vasto Lorde- level Menos Grande.

The fact that he was designated Espada No. 0 is enough to show Aizen's recognition of his strength.

Wang Xun's current clone only possesses the strength of Adjuchas, and has absolutely no chance of winning against a Arrancar, Vasto Lorde.

Szayelaporro's words just now made Wang Xun even more wary.

He was actually able to see through the identity of his clone.

I just don't know what this guy is trying to do...

Szayelaporro looked at the silent Wang Xun and blinked.

"What, you don't want to tell me? Or has your brain become dulled from being sealed for too long?"

Szayelaporro stared at Wang Xun for two seconds, then grinned.

"Perfect timing. I'm planning to disassemble you into parts to study the structure of the soul. Your name is indeed dispensable."

"Dissecting you will allow me to advance my soul separation experiments by a significant margin..."

Wang Xun clicked his tongue as he watched Szayelaporro about to make his move.

This clone, which was just beginning to prove its worth, is it really going to perish like this...?

Wang Xun decided to give it a shot.

"I remember that the person who arrested me was Aizen. You said you were a subordinate of Aizen, and you attacked me. Aren't you afraid that Aizen will hold you accountable afterward?"

Szayelaporro chuckled softly upon hearing this.

"It's just a piece of material, at most a slightly valuable one. I don't think Aizen will pursue this against me excessively..."

"Unfortunately, Lord Aizen just ordered that you are forbidden from touching any of the materials here."

Upon hearing that familiar voice, Wang Xun turned his head.

Kaname Tōsen stood at the doorway, his hand resting on his Zanpakuto, staring coldly at Szayelaporro.

"What, do you intend to disobey Lord Aizen's orders, Szayelaporro..."

Looking at the dark-faced man in the distance, Wang Xun felt reassured.

Here comes our savior.