With the time stop released, a look of astonishment appeared on Aizen's face for the first time.
The pitch-black aura of death, like the fire from an abyss, eroded Aizen's body at an exaggerated speed, creating a basin-sized hole in his chest in the blink of an eye.
But in the next second, a large amount of white liquid suddenly sprayed out from Aizen's body, wrapping around him rapidly like a Hollow's mask, extinguishing the pitch-black flames at the same time.
"Hmm?"
Fang Mo was slightly taken aback at the sight.
At this moment, Aizen's Kidō finally activated.
"Hadō #99, Five Dragon Destruction."
As Aizen spoke, the entire city seemed to tremble uneasily.
In the next second, dozens of city blocks crumbled and exploded in a roar, as a liquid-like surge of Reiatsu spewed out, condensing into five terrifyingly oppressive dragons in mid-air, attacking Fang Mo from different directions.
"No, I can use that technique too."
Seeing this, Fang Mo reacted, immediately drawing out Clausolas and plunging it into the ground.
The vast divine power of the heavens was injected deep into the earth, and now the town of Karakura truly struggled to withstand it, as more than a dozen sun-blocking tendrils of light shot up into the sky.
The dragons and tendrils entangled and collided in mid-air, followed by a flash of white light, shining as brilliantly as a nuclear flash, instantly vaporizing everything in the center of Karakura Town, followed by a huge cloud of black and gray mushroom smoke slowly rising into the air.
It must be said, the power of Hadō #99 is quite strong.
After the initial explosion, only a huge crater remained in the very center of Karakura Town.
However, Fang Mo didn't pay much attention to the surrounding environment, since Shihōin, Soi Fon, and Rokujūrobi Sajin were all awake and probably had already started to move the injured.
As for Aizen on the opposite side.
At this moment, his eyes were only on Fang Mo.
But after the severe injury just now, Aizen's appearance had completely changed.
Now, his entire body was wrapped in a white substance, making him look not so much like a person but more like a cocoon or pupa, with all his aura and spiritual pressure retracted, as if he was waiting for some kind of metamorphosis.
"I really should thank you."
Aizen suddenly spoke, "If it weren't for our battle just now, the Hōgyoku might not have acknowledged me so quickly…"
"Is that so?"
Fang Mo smiled noncommittally, "Don't worry, it will soon realize its mistake."
After finishing his words, Fang Mo once again waved his sword, Laevatein, activating the flame mode of the Arcane Ring. The Eternal Flame was infused into the blade, instantly transforming Laevatein into a white greatsword as dazzling as the sun.
"Old man Yamamoto got accidentally crippled by me, but I heard you're quite afraid of him."
Fang Mo said with a smile as he lifted the greatsword in his hand: "My sword is quite similar to Ryujin Jakka, do you want to experience Yamamoto's Bankai with your body?"
"Sunrise Blade."
Before Aizen could react, Fang Mo had already vanished from his original spot. Aizen immediately raised his sword in defense, but in the next second, his Zanpakuto was sliced open like butter.
After several breaks, Aizen's Kyoka Suigetsu was almost reduced to just a hilt.
Seeing that defense was impossible, Aizen immediately used Shunpo to retreat, but Fang Mo quickly activated a Void Instantaneous Movement to follow up, and his next strike landed right on Aizen's chest. There was no sound, the spot that was struck was erased in an instant, rendering any spiritual pressure and hardened exoskeleton utterly useless.
Even Aizen was in pain after such a strike, hastily initiating a Kido: "Hadō #90, Kurohitsugi."
A massive amount of black substance quickly appeared, trapping Fang Mo inside a huge black cube. Taking advantage of this moment, Aizen immediately covered his chest and retreated. However, at this moment, he also awakened the power of the Hogyoku, and the nearly fatal wound on his chest began to heal in the next second.
But before Aizen's wound could fully heal, the Kurohitsugi in front of him suddenly started to rapidly disintegrate.
Fang Mo, surrounded by a layer of dazzling super-high temperature plasma, walked out of the shattered Kurohitsugi holding Laevatein, like a second sun plummeting towards the earth.
Before Fang Mo could continue his attack,
Several cracks suddenly appeared on Aizen's head from a distance.
Followed by a cracking sound, the white substance enveloping Aizen's body suddenly split open, revealing Aizen's face.
It's worth mentioning that there was a slight change in Aizen's appearance at this moment.
Firstly, the sclera of his eyes turned purple, while the iris turned white, making him look clearly non-human, rather like a monster.
Of course, another important change was that Aizen's hair had grown much longer.
As is well known in the anime world, the length of one's hair significantly affects their combat power, like Gon's transformation in Hunter x Hunter, and the Saiyans in Dragon Ball, where longer hair indicates stronger power. Of course, there are exceptions like Saitama, but that's considered a bug, so we'll leave that aside for now.
In any case, Aizen's transformation obviously raised his cool factor once again.
"Hmm, it seems the metamorphosis is almost complete."
Aizen touched his cheek and then said indifferently, "Thanks to your help, the evolution of the Hogyoku has been accelerated. Now, I am no longer a Shinigami."
"So, you've evolved from a Shinigami into a ghost?"
Fang Mo retorted, "There's an old saying on our side that goes, 'Long hair, short insight.' I think that's exactly your situation right now; your insight is too short."
"Here we are, and I'm still trying to have a conversation with you." Aizen, hearing this, also slowly raised his Zanpakutō. After its recent transformation, the blade mysteriously returned to its original state, "Thinking about it now, I was indeed too naive. Someone like you should just be disposed of conveniently."
After saying this, Aizen disappeared from the spot without any warning.
Seeing this, Fang Mo immediately swung to the left. It must be said that Aizen's strength had indeed improved a lot after evolving. Soon, their weapons collided, and a huge collision sound erupted, as if a short vacuum was created at the point of impact.
However, in the next second, Aizen's Zanpakutō wailed again.
Of course, there was no helping it. Fang Mo now carried the breath of death and had activated the eternal flame mode of Surtur, the power enveloped in his sword's edge enough to annihilate all things in the world.
Aizen was caught off guard, his body once again split in half by Laevatein, nearly being cleaved into two.
But the opponent had the Hogyoku as a trump card, and at this moment, after suffering a fatal wound, his body erupted with an even more terrifying spiritual pressure. The cocoon shells all over his body shattered, and six light wings, like those of a butterfly, sprang open from his back. Near his brow, a crack appeared, revealing something resembling an eye.
"Finally... the transformation is complete."
After evolving again, Aizen couldn't help but feel a joyous emotion, directly swinging his blade at Fang Mo.
The tip of Kyoka Suigetsu, enveloped in an absurdly powerful spiritual pressure, aided in splashing a faint mist of blood.
In Steve's vision, Fang Mo finally lost half a heart.
Of course, this half a heart almost instantly healed. If one didn't observe carefully, Fang Mo wouldn't even have noticed he was bleeding.
"You're injured."
Aizen, smiling, pointed at Fang Mo's chest, "Do you understand what this means?"
Fang Mo looked down at his chest, roughly estimating the defensive power of his new armor. It seems that without charging, the physical resistance of this material is just so-so, after all, both Uru metal and the crystal matrix are materials more compatible with magic.
"What's wrong?"
Seeing that Fang Mo made no move, Aizen confidently smiled, "After realizing the true power of the Hogyoku, have you lost the ability to speak?"
"Do you know Szayelaporro?"
Fang Mo touched his chest and then suddenly asked this question.
"Are you referring to that Arrancar under my command?" Aizen was a bit puzzled after hearing this, not understanding why Fang Mo suddenly brought this up, "What about him?"
"He, the 8th Espada, took away five of my hearts."
Fang Mo spread his hands and said, "And you, the master of the Hogyoku, who has surpassed both death and the void, are about to replace the existence of the Soul King, yet you've only managed to destroy half of my heart... which is about one-tenth of his power."
"You..."
"Weak."
Fang Mo burst into laughter: "So, how exactly did you make your wish with the Hogyoku? How did it even go wrong? You exerted so much effort only to forcibly cut off a sliver of my skin, I really don't understand what you have to be proud of."
"As an artifact that can realize people's wishes, I guess this is not the limit of the Hogyoku, but rather, your limit, Sosuke Aizen."
As Fang Mo spoke, he summoned back the Sword of Light, Clausolas: "However, as it's customary to return favors, since you have already shown me your power, it's now my turn... Let you witness with your own eyes, Aizen, what it means to be a true deity."
With that said,
Fang Mo directly activated the beacon and the power of the heavens.
With a bang, a hint of white light flickered in the depths of Fang Mo's eyes, followed by an indescribable, vast aura bursting forth from him, sending Aizen flying away in an instant.
It was merely the aura, yet the thick clouds above Fang Mo's head were already pierced through, sunlight shone down on him, making him appear like a deity.
"So, this is your trump card, the sword?"
Seeing this scene, Aizen quickly recovered and rushed forward with a flash step, drawing his sword to slash at Fang Mo's left arm, probably intending to cut off the arm wielding the sword.
However, with a ting sound,
His blade halted just a few centimeters away from Fang Mo's arm.
Aizen pressed down incredulously, but the blade emitted a sound of being under too much strain, unable to break through this invisible barrier no matter how hard he tried.
"This is..."
Seeing this, Aizen finally changed his expression.
"Your only mistake was making an enemy of me," Fang Mo said, and then kicked out towards him. A white gust of wind exploded in mid-air, and Aizen, uncontrollably, was smashed into the ground, creating a deep crater on impact.
And with Aizen being smashed into the ground, the entire land surged like ocean waves, the ground layers rolling and breaking apart. The whole of Karakura Town seemed to experience an earthquake of magnitude ten or higher, with all buildings collapsing at the same time.
However, in the next second, the ground suddenly turned red and softened.
A soaring spiritual pressure burst out from beneath the ground, and Aizen emerged somewhat disheveled from it.
"So, being beaten like a dog is what you wished for?" Fang Mo said mockingly upon seeing Aizen's current state: "Did the Hōgyoku fulfill this wish of yours? Are you a masochist on the inside? Oh... right, no wonder you were actually happy being bound in the underground great prison for tens of thousands of years."
"This is impossible!"
After being struck one after another, even the composed Aizen was visibly shaken at this moment, with a trace of blood hanging from the corner of his mouth: "You have only temporarily surpassed me, this is but a fleeting miracle, soon you will experience a new despair!"
Saying this, Aizen once again raised his hand towards Fang Mo, seemingly ready to unleash another technique.
However, Fang Mo was no longer interested in playing along, clearly seeing Aizen as no match for himself, so he directly teleported over and stabbed Aizen in the stomach.
"What..."
Aizen truly didn't see it coming and was completely dumbfounded.
"Do you understand now?" Fang Mo said indifferently: "This is the true... power of a god."
"I don't accept this!"
Unable to hold back, Aizen shouted out loud, then suddenly pushed himself back forcefully, pulling himself off the sword of light, as blood spurted out. Then, he immediately activated a light transformation and retreated to the top of a nearby ruin.
At this moment.
Aizen's spiritual pressure began to climb once again.
With a bang, a bead, possibly the Hōgyoku or something else, suddenly appeared from a crack in his forehead, followed by a trickle of blood.
Aizen seemed to lose focus for a moment.
But in the next second, a burst of blood mist exploded from his body, and his face was forcibly torn apart from the middle, revealing a purely black monstrous visage.
This being was more akin to a Hollow than a human.
At the same time, the butterfly-like wings on his back also transformed, with each wing sprouting something resembling a skull head, and even his right hand merged with his Zanpakuto, Kyōka Suigetsu.
At this point, Aizen had completed his final evolution, which is the last stage in the original story.
Of course, after evolving, Aizen's spiritual pressure became even more terrifying, with the highly condensed spirit particles even starting to distort the surrounding light. However, because his face had turned into that of a monster, Fang Mo could not discern any expression changes.
"Hmm... you've become uglier."
After briefly observing Aizen's current state, Fang Mo directly commented: "In a world where style and aura determine everything, you've suddenly turned into such a noble being, identified as... a parasite."
Having said the last word, Fang Mo already rushed to Aizen's front and struck down: "Heaven and Earth, turn to ash."
An endless surge of light and heat rose to the sky, and Aizen's upper body instantly turned to dust, with the lower half falling to the ground with a thud, only the Hōgyoku still quietly floating there.
~~~
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