Soon, only a pile of rotten flesh remained in the laboratory.
Aozaki Reiji's figure flickered, turning into an afterimage and disappearing from his original spot.
Before Pernida's body could recover, he appeared first in the center of the pile of rotten flesh.
The shattered giant pupil suddenly contracted.
What an opportunity!
A large number of red lines surged from the ground.
They intertwined, forming a crimson tide.
These lines constantly wriggled, as if alive.
More nerves emerged from the broken chunks of flesh, spreading towards Aozaki Reiji's position.
The crimson tide was dozens of meters high, like a surging wave, carrying endless malice and murderous intent.
"Come on, come on, that's it, don't you dare retreat!"
A hint of surprise flickered in Aozaki Reiji's eyes; he seemed eager to welcome this grand baptism.
Without a countermeasure, he certainly wouldn't risk devouring the Soul King's Left Arm.
Pernida's ability was indeed very tricky!
But there was a way to counter it in this world!
Thinking of this, Aozaki Reiji spread his hands.
He allowed himself to sink into the red tide.
The crimson tide immediately swallowed him.
Dense red nerves wove together, rapidly coiling around Aozaki Reiji's body.
However, the moment those red nerves touched Aozaki Reiji's body, they suddenly stopped moving as if blocked by something.
It was as if time had frozen at that moment, and all the nerves fell into a strange state of stagnation.
Pernida attempted to use the red nerves for forced execution and contact evolution.
But this action was also forcibly terminated.
That was… the power of stillness!
"Why are you willing to continue being a slave to that thing?!"
Pernida's eyes, which had barely managed to re-coalesce, began to tremble violently, his voice filled with confusion and incomprehension.
It recognized that familiar power!
It was an existence both similar to and opposite of itself!
Pernida seemed a bit angry, a trace of annoyance in its tone:
"Not resisting, only thinking of staying in the past, truly foolish to the extreme!"
"Come on, your evolution has reached its end, while my path forward has just begun."
Accompanied by Aozaki Reiji's soft murmur.
The next moment.
Dense, liquid-like white Reiatsu rapidly spread from within Aozaki Reiji's body.
The Reiatsu was covered with dense black rings, with only a small white dot exposed in the center of each ring.
These patterns, resembling countless eyes, were staring intently at Pernida.
The devouring officially began.
The powerful impact from the immense Reiatsu instantly caused the surrounding Kido barrier to flicker.
If someone were standing outside looking in, they would be astonished to find that the entire massive laboratory had turned into a vast expanse of white.
It was as if enveloped by a thick layer of mist.
However, upon closer inspection, one would realize that this white expanse was not ordinary mist.
Instead, it was a peculiar phenomenon caused by immense Reiatsu continuously distorting space.
In this eerie environment, black and white pupils clung to Pernida's body.
Like a swarm of hungry spiders, they greedily spread towards every piece of shattered flesh.
They rapidly expanded, intertwining like a spiderweb, covering the entire laboratory.
This scene was truly terrifying; if someone with trypophobia were present, they would likely faint on the spot.
Immediately after, an angry roar resounded:
"Humble mortal, how dare you defile a god? You deserve ten thousand deaths!"
With this roar, every piece of Pernida's shattered flesh began to tremble violently, as if enduring unbearable pain.
At the same time, a powerful force surged from the deepest part of Aozaki Reiji's body, continuously releasing astonishing Reiatsu.
Pernida's Spirit Body underwent a massive transformation in an extremely short time.
Its originally meticulous control over spiritual particles completely collapsed and became uncontrollable at this moment.
Its body gradually disintegrated, turning into countless tiny fragments scattered in the air, then slowly gathering towards Aozaki Reiji.
Meanwhile, Aozaki Reiji seemed to have broken through some kind of limitation.
His bottleneck was completely shattered!
Aozaki Reiji's eyes shimmered with mysterious black light, and another pupil appeared.
A chillingly cold aura emanated from those eerie double pupils.
Aozaki Reiji could clearly feel that his slowly increasing Reiatsu, like a lit rocket, began to explosively surge at an astonishing speed.
This power was like a torrent, impacting every cell of his body.
The increase in Reiatsu was almost immeasurable!
As black and white Reiatsu patterns spread across his entire body, Aozaki Reiji's fusion with the Hōgyoku reached an extremely profound level.
He felt the surging power within him, looked at the disappearing Zanpakuto in his hand, and couldn't help but frown.
The weapon that had once accompanied him in battle now turned into nothingness in his hand.
Was it time to let go?
He couldn't help but feel a pang of loss, but then he sighed softly, opened his palm, and let the spiritual particles dissipate.
An unimaginable transformation was now completely accomplished!
Boom!
A black and white pillar of Reiatsu shot up from Aozaki Reiji's body.
The translucent Kido barrier in the void could not withstand the impact of this power, and it became covered with dense cracks.
But very quickly, brand new six-sided transparent walls rapidly rose, tightly enveloping the laboratory, forming a solid barrier.
The entire laboratory became exceptionally chaotic at this moment, filled with violent energy fluctuations.
The surrounding space warped and deformed, as if it could collapse at any moment.
And in this chaos, Aozaki Reiji opened his eyes.
In the world transformed by the Reiatsu, his long hair moved without wind, fluttering behind him, like a god descended to the world.
He descended as lightly as a feather, his movements gentle, as if afraid that his unintentional actions would harm this fragile world.
As he landed, the powerful and terrifying Reiatsu began to recede.
The black and white Reiatsu quickly receded until it completely disappeared.
Aozaki Reiji's eyes returned to their original appearance.
But the Hōgyoku in his chest emitted black and white light.
This was the only thing that showed he was different from before.
"As expected of the Left Arm, which represents 'progress'; the Reiatsu's intensity has clearly increased by more than one level. What stage am I in now?"
Aozaki Reiji gazed at his empty palm.
He lightly wiggled his fingers, immediately triggering a violent air explosion and shockwave.
A powerful gust of air shot from his fingertips, forming a terrifying air cannon that instantly wreaked havoc on the already ravaged laboratory again.
This air cannon raged all the way, finally crashing into the incredibly sturdy Super Pressure Barrier before finally stopping.
Just flicking a finger could cause such astonishing destructive power; it could only be described as terrifying!
"Let's try other abilities now."
Aozaki Reiji murmured.
A dark void suddenly opened in the space before him.
His body seemed to shatter, turning into countless shimmering particles, silently disappearing into the air.
Aozaki Reiji turned into light!
Not long after, in another world far from Soul Society, the photons reassembled in a desolate desert, restoring Aozaki Reiji's form.