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Aozaki Reiji gently caressed his chest, feeling the mysterious power emanating from the blue-black Hōgyoku.
It lay there quietly.
Suddenly, Aozaki Reiji snapped back to reality, his eyes clear and lucid.
At this moment, he seemed to transcend the world, looking down upon it from a more sublime and extraordinary perspective.
Before his eyes was the magnificent spectacle of all creation, like a vibrant and colorful scroll.
And upon this vast curtain, a pair of familiar pupils slowly opened, revealing endless depth and wisdom.
A strange feeling surged within Aozaki Reiji.
He felt as if he knew the other party's true identity from his memories, but when facing the other party, all his memories became blurred and unclear.
This contradictory feeling left him deeply confused.
Just then, a melodious sound like a bell rang out: "Keep moving forward!"
Forward? Where should I go?
Aozaki Reiji couldn't help but fall into contemplation.
Deep within his heart, a strong impulse urged him to look up at the sky, gazing at the empty high heavens, as if just taking that one step would lead him to a whole new realm.
But it was too vast there, so vast it was somewhat frightening.
And in that instant, everything would undergo earth-shattering changes.
He stood there, hesitating, pondering whether to take that step.
What did that unknown realm truly mean? Was it worth pursuing without hesitation?
Questions flooded his mind, leaving him feeling even more lost.
However, that craving for the unknown was like an irresistible torrent, constantly assailing the defenses of his mind.
Aozaki Reiji took a step forward, as if he had truly ascended to the high heavens.
In a daze, the scene before him returned to reality, and he slumped blankly onto his seat.
The next second, Aozaki Reiji blinked, then sat up straight as if nothing had happened.
"My Reiatsu hasn't increased, is it because the Hōgyoku hasn't awakened yet?"
He muttered to himself, slowly lowering his head, his eyes blinking.
The Hōgyoku had perfectly fused with his body, yet it had not brought about the substantial evolution he had expected.
There wasn't even the slightest sign of Reiatsu growth.
"It hasn't raised my Reiatsu level, but I can borrow the powerful Reiatsu contained within the Hōgyoku."
"In this way, the total amount of Reiatsu I can wield has already far surpassed what it was before."
Aozaki Reiji mused to himself.
Although his Reiatsu level hadn't increased, the amount of Reiatsu he could command had grown several times over!
Aozaki Reiji nodded slightly, then closed his eyes, fully releasing his enhanced, keen spiritual perception.
His spiritual perception range expanded rapidly, until it covered an area of hundreds of spiritual miles.
This vast area was roughly equivalent to one-third of the total area of the Seireitei, and if measured by Human World standards, it was approximately equal to the entire land area of Japan.
After a brief pause, Aozaki Reiji's figure suddenly transformed into a blur, like a gentle breeze, and swiftly shot towards the distant horizon.
Sung-Sun and the other two girls had already finished their strength test and were resting.
Among the many women, only Harribel vaguely saw Aozaki Reiji's receding back.
Considering the potential dangers in Hueco Mundo, she had wanted to follow him.
But she quickly realized that Aozaki Reiji's speed was astonishing!
After chasing for a while, she found that it was beyond her reach and had no choice but to give up the idea.
"Where is Lord Reiji going? Will he encounter danger?"
A hint of worry arose in Harribel's heart, but knowing her own insufficient strength, she could only sigh inwardly.
She only hoped that she could quickly break through her bottleneck and become an Arrancar, only then would she be qualified to stand beside that powerful Lord and walk alongside him.
About half a day later, he was already quite far from the temporary base.
Before him was an endless expanse of mountain stone forest, permeated by a gray, hazy light.
Enormously giant quartz trees rose from the ground, piercing the sky, forming a spectacular forest that firmly supported the shifting sands of Hueco Mundo.
It was these towering giant trees that propped up the vast sea of sand, dividing Hueco Mundo into upper and lower layers.
The Great Hollow Forest was located in the lower layer of Hueco Mundo.
Aozaki Reiji was in the midst of the quartz forest, fighting his way forward.
"Roar, roar, roar!!!"
Behind him came roars, a group of Gillian with crimson eyes, relentlessly pursuing Aozaki Reiji.
"Hado #4: Byakurai!"
As Aozaki Reiji softly uttered the command, his right hand suddenly pointed towards the Gillian's location and lightly tapped.
Sizzle!!!
With a crisp sound, dazzling white lightning roared forth like a giant dragon, forming in the blink of an eye.
This thick white lightning, its power immense, seemed as if it would tear apart the entire space!
Facing such a terrifying attack, the three Gillian, burdened by their massive, clumsy bodies and low intelligence, were utterly unable to dodge.
They could only watch helplessly as the white lightning sped towards them, mercilessly piercing through their bodies.
They didn't even have time to let out a single wail, the three unfortunate Gillian were completely swallowed by the thick lightning.
Life quickly faded from their bodies, replaced by a suffocatingly heavy aura of death.
In an instant, their strong bodies seemed to lose support, and countless tiny spirit particles began to slowly dissipate from them.
Bang, bang, bang!!!
Three earth-shattering thuds echoed.
The behemoths crashed to the ground, no longer stirring.
Following his spiritual perception, which allowed no Reiatsu to hide, Aozaki Reiji continued forward, eventually arriving at a secluded and extremely hidden place.
Here, as far as the eye could see, was an endless, dense forest, as if it had no end.
After a difficult search, he finally discovered a patch of unique white bushes.
They had no color, no sound, no scent, as if they were nothingness, simply existing there.
These bushes were like thorns, their intricate branches tightly entwined around a giant white tree.
From a distance, it looked as if countless heavy and cruel shackles had been placed upon this giant tree, causing it endless pain and torment.
"Could it be… this is also a part of the Reio's body?"
Aozaki Reiji gazed at the bizarre bushes before him, frowning and narrowing his eyes to observe carefully.
He detected a familiar power fluctuation from the bushes, an aura similar to the Reio's fragments he had collected before!
"However, compared to those scattered Reio's fragments, such a massive scale… instead of fragments, it should be called 'Reio's flesh' more appropriately."
Aozaki Reiji thought to himself.
He took a deep breath, composed himself, and then stepped towards the core area where the Reiatsu was most concentrated.
Each step was exceptionally cautious, as he didn't know what would happen next.
Soon, Aozaki Reiji's expression changed.
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