Chapter 66: Bailè Gang: When Did I Start Not Having Him?

As the battle between Bailè Gang and Ji Ba, two top-tier Menos, intensified, the two cut straight through the entire Forest of Menos; now these two beings emitting an unknown spiritual pressure have already fought their way into the interior of the Hollow realm!

In this region behind the Forest of Menos, only the inner part of the Hollow realm that the chosen Ji Li An can reach after devouring companions is a place far more dangerous and cruel than the environment where lower Menos dwell!

This is the hunting ground where intermediate Menos hunt their peers, and also their evolution paradise! To avoid regressing into lower Menos, intermediate Menos must relentlessly hunt, until the outstanding among them steps on countless companions' corpses and successfully evolves into a high Menos, at which point the conflict ceases.

In other words, at the moment the three worlds split, the rules of the Hollow realm were already set by the 'power holders'; this is a world of killers, a world where only the strong can survive!

At the same time, the place where the two are fighting is also very close to Bailè Gang's palace...

Crack! Crack! Crack~

Accompanied by billowing clouds of dust and sand, Ji Ba used his rough big hand to grab the many subordinates of Bailè Gang hiding in the desert, then shoved them all into his mouth.

Your Majesty! Bailè Gang, Your Majesty!!

Those Adjuchas-level Menos, even as they were chewed up and swallowed by Ji Ba, loudly chanted the name of their 'Hollow King', but unfortunately their Majesty 'could not even save himself' and could not rescue them……

Watch closely, Bailè Gang—this is the proper way to use your subordinates!

After devouring all of Bailè Gang's subordinates, Ji Ba bared his teeth at Bailè Gang, whose crown was askew, covered in dust and dirt, and laughed.

Obviously, the aging power within Bailè Gang's body can no longer fully defend him against Ji Ba's attacks, and his strength is continually weakening with the passage of time.

Damn it……

Bailè Gang stared at the giant beast before him, wishing he could crush it, but he lacked such strength; over the years, having found no opponents in the Hollow realm, he has grown too rusty—put another way, his condition is not much stronger than that of the weakened Ji Ba.

After eating, I'll have strength~

Ji Ba smacked his lips, savoring the flavor of Bailè Gang's subordinates; I must say, the quality of Bailè Gang's underlings is still excellent—they are all the elite among intermediate Menos, and to Ji Ba they taste superb—so Bailè Gang could be considered a gourmet selector~

Take this! Bailè Gang! Ji Ba didn't continue talking with Bailè Gang; after devouring a group of Adjuchas, his strength recovered immensely, and the scarlet, eerie Hollow Flash once again gathered toward his mouth, "Hum!!"

Damn it!

Bailè Gang cursed angrily, and could only continue to raise a shield before him.

Boom!!

Another splendid mushroom cloud rose; today's Hollow realm is abnormally 'nuclear-levelled'.

Gong Pi Luo, let's stop our fight here! Let's continue to peacefully coexist as before, using this Forest of Menos as our boundary!

When Bailè Gang's figure reappeared in the sky, his appearance was utterly shattered; there was not a trace of his former vigor left!

After Bailè Gang realized he could not defeat Ji Ba, he conceived the idea of abandoning the fight, deciding to peacefully coexist with Ji Ba as before, the two continuing as the 'dual champions' of the Hollow realm, jointly governing this damned Hollow realm.

I think you're dreaming!

Ji Ba gave a cold smile after hearing Bailè Gang's words.

Oh, how arrogant Bailè Gang was when he arrived! He declared he would scatter his ashes! Now after fighting, Bailè Gang finds he cannot overcome him, so he is willing to sit down and discuss how to jointly govern the Hollow realm.

Ridiculous! It's too late! He now refuses to jointly govern the Hollow realm with Bailè Gang.

Gong Pi Luo, don't force me!

Bailè Gang clenched his fists and issued a warning to Ji Ba.

I really do want to push you a bit today, just to see what you can do to me……

Upon hearing that, Ji Ba taunted Bailè Gang.

You……

Bailè Gang pointed at Ji Ba's nose; his exposed pale teeth were almost about to be bitten apart, but as Ji Ba said, he truly could do nothing to Ji Ba.

Fine! Then let's stand off here—no one should become the Hollow King!

From now on I will guard you here! If any creature dares to approach you—be it a Hollow, a Soul Reaper, or even those arrow-slinging Quincies—I will get there first and turn that damned creature into white sand through decay!

I want to see what you can still devour while I'm here! Gong Pi Luo, you'd better go eat dirt, old man!!

Bailè Gang truly flew into a rage, pointing at Ji Ba's nose and roaring angrily.

You're playing like this, huh? You can't handle it? Fine! I'll go to your palace right now and eat all your subordinates who are loyal to you! If you've got the guts, you go ahead and kill your own underlings before I do!

Ji Ba isn't afraid of Bailè Gang either! After Bailè Gang spoke, he also formed a plan. Bailè Gang isn't unable to play; he just likes to flip the table? Fine, then let's all flip the table! Let's stop playing!

You dare!

Bailè Gang spoke as endless black flames surged from within him.

Just watch whether I dare or not!

Ji Ba wasn't frightened either, and immediately responded angrily to Bailè Gang.

For a moment, the black and white two Menos faced off like this, utterly oblivious to anything else.

Yo, you two are still jabbering?

However, at that moment, a somewhat teasing voice slowly echoed around the two Menos, completely shattering the tranquility.

Who are you?!

Bailè Gang looked up at the sound and saw a handsome youth in a white outer robe, who had somehow appeared in the sky above, gazing at Bailè Gang and Ji Ba with a spectator's expression.

A Soul Reaper?!

The moment Bailè Gang saw the youth, his exposed white brow twitched.

This Soul Reaper can actually approach me and that 'beast' soundlessly, without being affected by our spiritual pressure at all? If he hadn't spoken, I wouldn't have noticed his presence! This Soul Reaper is certainly no ordinary foe, and with that beast eyeing me from below, it would be unwise for me to face him alone……

Bailè Gang dare not be careless; a Soul Reaper who can silently pass through the Forest of Menos and appear before him is certainly no ordinary soldier!

Especially now, his stamina is nearly exhausted, while Ji Ba watches hungrily from the side; in this situation, rashly clashing with a powerful Soul Reaper would clearly be unwise……

We must call that fool down below to join me against the enemy!

Therefore, Bailè Gang decided to win over his opponent Ji Ba to jointly deal with this suddenly appearing mysterious Soul Reaper; after they annihilate this Soul Reaper, he will then compete with Ji Ba over the Hollow realm's interests and supremacy.

Gong Pi Luo, let's pause our fight for now! Don't let that damned Soul Reaper laugh at us!

One could see Bailè Gang setting aside his former arrogance, doing his best to appear approachable as he spoke to Ji Ba below, clearly intending to ally with Ji Ba against the mysterious Soul Reaper youth.

Unfortunately, Bailè Gang's ideals are lofty, but reality is painfully thin……

The very next second after Bailè Gang finished winning over Ji Ba, the white giant beast suddenly dropped to one knee and respectfully addressed the mysterious Soul Reaper: 'Holy King, you have arrived!'

"Huh?!" Upon hearing Bailergang call the white death god "Ji Ba," he couldn't help but feel a pang of panic, and thought to himself: "We're done for; they actually know each other!"

"The situation is very bad; this newly arrived death god is clearly allied with Gong Pi Luo! Moreover, judging by his posture, this death god seems to be Gong Pi Luo's master! Anyone who can make this 'beast' willingly submit from the heart is definitely not someone to be trifled with."

But thinking about it, it makes sense—if no one had helped Ji Ba, with Ji Ba's beast-like intelligence, it would have been impossible for him to escape alone from the death god's headquarters, the Soul Spirit World, and return.

"Gong Pi Luo, you actually allied yourself with a death god! I'm ashamed for you!"

In Bailergang's dark eye sockets lay the cunning accumulated over thousands of years; he tried to provoke Ji Ba, hoping to make Ji Ba break free from this death god's control.

"You don't understand Ji Ba at all!"

Ji Ba knelt on one knee on the ground, too lazy to even pay attention to Bailergang in the sky.

"Let's join forces, Gong Pi Luo and I! As long as we cooperate, we'll be invincible! Let's bury this death god together and then rule the Hollow Realm!"

Seeing that Ji Ba wasn't buying his act, Bailergang immediately switched tactics, first flattering Ji Ba, then painting a big pie for him.

"Hmph~"

Ji Ba didn't even bother to lift his head; if he lifted his head to glance at Bailergang, that would count as him losing.

"Damn..."

Watching Ji Ba's indifference, Bailergang felt a slight panic in his heart; evidently, this death god's control over Ji Ba far exceeded his imagination.

"Interesting~"

The death god appearing above Bailergang's head was naturally Huangmu; at this moment, Huangmu paid no attention to Ji Ba, but rather curiously examined the 'Vasto Lorde'-class great hollow before him...

Huangmu didn't even need to ask the other's name; just by looking at the appearance he knew this 'Vasto Lorde' was Bailergang, after all, the image of this 'Bone King' was simply too classic! Well, even more classic than the Bone King himself, after all, he's a senior...

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

Huangmu looked at Bailergang and asked knowingly.

"Death god, are you here to persuade me to surrender?"

"Are you planning to make me kneel on one knee before you like that beast?!"

Bailergang gazed at Huangmu with a calm expression, doing his best to maintain the dignity of a king; as for how panicked he truly felt deep down, only he himself knew.

"Just as you said! I am the King of the Hollow Realm, Bailergang·Liusenbang! As the king of great hollows, I will absolutely not submit to a mere death god like you! So if you've come to persuade me to surrender, you'd better give up that idea now."

Bailergang's attitude was extremely firm; he would rather die than submit to or swear allegiance to a petty death god.

"Swear allegiance to me? Of course not..."

"Relax, don't hold too much hostility toward me; actually, I'm here to help you~"

Huangmu looked at Bailergang and spoke with a cheerful smile—how could such a kind person harm anyone?!

"What do you mean by that?! Death god, I advise you not to play any tricks!"

"No matter what you do, it's pointless! We great hollows will never follow a death god."

Bailergang coldly said to Huangmu.

"Hehe..." Huangmu merely gave a disdainful chuckle. If future Aizen heard Bailergang's words, he would surely nod and smile: "Exactly! Bailergang, you're absolutely right! Those great hollows truly won't obey me; they merely regard the greater me as their god to worship! That's all..."

"I'm here to persuade you to take refuge~"

At this moment, Huangmu slowly extended his hand in front of Bailergang.

"Death god! What are you trying to do?"

Bailergang's pupils twitched as he watched Huangmu's hand reaching out; for some reason, a sudden panic welled up in his heart.

Yet he dared not strike Huangmu, for he knew that if he attacked Huangmu, the foolish beast below would surely assault him, leaving him to fight on two fronts and suffer the loss.

"Shh~ Listen carefully! Do you hear the sound of the bell ringing?!" Huangmu's hand drew nearer to Bailergang, and his voice was unusually magnetic; that sound inexplicably relaxed Bailergang, until finally Huangmu's presence almost vanished, turning into a series of bell tones, "Dong! Dong! Dong..."

"Huh?!"

When Bailergang finally noticed, everything before him had already changed.

What was once a sky of white sand had, at some point, turned into a 'glazed pure land'!

One after another, 'temples' and 'bell towers' rose from the ground...

And that bell sound naturally came from the 'old' and 'simple' bell tower.

"What's going on?!"

Bailergang stared blankly; he remembered that just a second ago he was still in the Hollow Realm facing off against that 'beast' and that mysterious death god, and the next second he had been transported from the Hollow Realm to this strange world.

"Is this the release of the death god's Zanpakutō?!"

Bailergang, no stranger to surviving from ancient times as a great hollow, quickly steadied his mind and speculated about what had happened around him.

"When exactly did that death god release his Zanpakutō?!"

"No! Wrong! When did I start thinking that death god hadn't released his Zanpakutō?!"

As Bailergang thought this, a sudden chill ran through his heart; it seemed that from the moment his battle with Ji Ba began to wind down, he had ceased to be himself...

If it were his former self, upon seeing a death god appear, he wouldn't have cared about Ji Ba's threat below; he would have rushed forward and crushed the opponent. Yet he chose to join forces with Ji Ba, which clearly doesn't match his nature.

"Have I been under that death god's influence since the very beginning?"

Bailergang thus made this inference in his heart.

"This is utterly humiliating!"

Bailergang thought this as he clenched the fist hidden inside his black robe; the pallid skeleton rubbed against his anger, producing a series of 'squeak' sounds.

Four-thousand-word grand chapter!

(End of chapter)