After the fire from the explosion dissipated, the layer of black shadow covering Sora slowly transformed back into a haori cloak.
The explosion just now hadn't harmed him in the slightest.
"Professor clearly didn't suppress his ability, yet his Spiritual Pressure fluctuation has disappeared..." Nelliel looked completely bewildered.
On the other side, Sora was also analyzing the changes within his body.
As the progress of the 'Path of Transcendence' mission increased, the Quincy power in his body, which was originally relatively independent, could now fuse with his Shinigami and Hollow powers.
Hollowfication was the manifestation of the fusion of Shinigami and Hollow powers.
Now, he could fuse multiple powers within his body together.
The benefits of the 'Path of Transcendence' were even higher than Sora had anticipated.
Originally, he thought he would have to complete the 'Path of Transcendence' to achieve the fusion of multiple powers. As it turned out, training two disciples to the limit was enough to achieve this goal.
"My current strength shouldn't be inferior to Ichigo Kurosaki during the final battle, or perhaps even stronger... The power level might be similar, but my mastery of techniques far exceeds his."
Sora speculated that Ichigo Kurosaki's final form should be a state where the multiple powers in his body were fused.
His current state was the same.
The shadow clothing on his body was actually not just the power of his Zanpakutō, but also contained the powers of Hollow and Quincy.
To break through the defense of this shadow clothing, one would need power of at least the same tier.
Thump—
Nelliel used Sonído to appear next to him and asked the question on her mind: "Professor, why can't I sense your Spiritual Pressure anymore?"
Professor's current appearance didn't look like he was restraining his power at all, yet she couldn't perceive his Spiritual Pressure.
Sora explained: "My current state has already surpassed the limits of Shinigami and Hollow. This level has crossed into another dimension. Therefore, since you are still within the realm of the Hollow limit, you cannot perceive my Spiritual Pressure."
Nelliel looked confused and asked, "Is that so? Anyway, it just means Professor is much stronger than me, right?"
"It's not wrong to understand it that way..." Sora dispersed the shadows on his body. "I've already gauged your strength. Come with me to a place."
Nelliel transformed back into her human form and asked, "What are we going to do?"
Sora said, "To deal with the Zanpakutō of the Lord of Hell."
He had once found a Hell passage in Hueco Mundo, where the materialized Zanpakutō of the Lord of Hell was sealed.
However, due to insufficient strength at the time, he couldn't deal with it.
The Lord of Hell was a powerhouse at the Transcendent level, and his materialized Zanpakutō was definitely not weak. Sora didn't want to rashly undo the seal until he was confident.
Now that Sora had reached the Transcendent level, he could proceed with this matter.
He had previously confirmed intelligence from the Royal Palace that Yhwach had fused with the power of the Lord of Hell. Therefore, Sora felt that if Yhwach could master the power of the Lord of Hell, his next step would very likely be targeting the Lord of Hell's sealed Zanpakutō.
The Lord of Hell's Zanpakutō originated from the Shinigami power within the Soul King and could be seen as a fusion of Shinigami power and Hell power.
Thus, Yhwach would very likely try to seize that Zanpakutō.
Sora wanted to deal with this problem before Yhwach could make a move.
The Lord of Hell's Zanpakutō needed to be treated with caution. Thinking that the ability of Kyōka Suigetsu might be useful, Sora took out his Denreishinki to contact Aizen.
A moment later, Sōsuke Aizen also arrived in Hueco Mundo.
"Sōsuke, you decided to fuse with the Hōgyoku?" Sora noticed the change in Sōsuke Aizen immediately.
[Sōsuke Aizen]
[Talent: SSS]
[Spiritual Pressure: lv100+]
[Status: Hōgyoku Fusion]
Sōsuke Aizen had fused with the Hōgyoku and was advancing towards the path of a Transcendent!
"Professor sees everything clearly; you noticed it at a glance." Sōsuke Aizen couldn't help but sigh. He felt that none of his changes could be hidden from Professor.
"I am not as naturally gifted as Professor to strengthen the Hollow power within me on my own." Sōsuke Aizen looked helpless. He had tried many methods during this period, but all had failed.
In the end, he chose to fuse with the Hōgyoku to strengthen the Hollow power in his body.
"Although different paths lead to the same destination, and using the Hōgyoku can also cross the Shinigami limit, you must always be vigilant and not be influenced by the Hōgyoku's will," Sora warned.
Perhaps because he had seen Sora's path in advance, Sōsuke Aizen had a clearer idea of the road ahead. After fusing with the Hōgyoku, he didn't evolve into a monstrous Hollow form, so he maintained his refined appearance.
In the world of Bleach, losing one's sense of style could be fatal!
"I understand." Sōsuke Aizen felt he could control the Hōgyoku's power. "Although my connection with it is deeper after fusion, and I can understand its thoughts better, it cannot influence me yet."
A moment later, the three of them arrived in front of a barren mountain.
"Is this the Hell passage Professor mentioned?" Sōsuke Aizen looked at the mountain peak emitting faint white smoke. "The Reishi concentration is higher than in other places."
The top of the barren mountain was emitting faint white smoke, looking like an active volcano.
However, there were no volcanoes in Hueco Mundo. The white smoke rising from the crater was water vapor emitted by the lake inside the mountain.
"The passage is at the bottom of the lake inside the mountain. There is a guardian guarding the passage at the lake bottom," Sora explained.
The three crossed the mountain peak and entered the interior of the mountain.
It was the same as when Sora came last time; many small animal Hollows still lived here.
There were two Menos Grande by the lake. They were startled by the sudden appearance of the three people.
Nelliel and Harribel had lived here for a while. After they settled in Las Noches, they sent two Arrancars to guard this place to prevent the Hell passage guardian in the lake from being disturbed by outside Menos Grande.
"Big Sis and Lord Katori have come!"
The two Menos Grande guarding here were none other than Pesche and Dondochakka.
"Long time no see, Pesche, Dondochakka," Sora said gently.
"Lord Katori still remembers us!"
Pesche and Dondochakka clapped each other's hands, appearing very happy.
"Of course I remember you. You are rare Menos Grande with abundant emotions," Sora said.
Even Hollows transformed from human souls were mostly controlled by extreme emotions. After evolving into Menos Grande, this situation would be alleviated, but only a few Menos Grande had personalities completely unaffected.
"We are special!"
Pesche and Dondochakka laughed loudly.
"We are going down to handle some business. You two guard here."
"Yes, sir!"
Pesche and Dondochakka stood at attention and saluted, though paired with their strange appearances, they looked somewhat comical.
The three arrived at the bottom of the lake. Sora condensed a ball of pure Reishi, waved his hand, and the Reishi ball sank into the lava at the bottom of the lake.
The guardian at the lake bottom reacted quickly.
The flow direction of the lava magma at the bottom changed, flowing towards both sides.
Immediately after, the lava magma cracked open, and a deep trench appeared in the middle. The lava did not flow into the trench but instead flowed away to the sides.
Subsequently, the width of the trench expanded rapidly.
It was as if an earthquake had occurred at the bottom of the lake. The creatures in the lake were frightened and swam upwards one after another.
Soon, an eye was revealed within the cracked trench at the bottom of the lake.
The lava magma on both sides did not flow into the eye; that magma seemed to be a layer of skin wrapping around the eye.