Sora and Nelliel left the Silent Dunes and continued to search for suitable opponents for Nelliel's training.
"Professor, where are we going next?" Nelliel had just had a small taste of battle and had already noticed some changes in herself. She was looking forward to the next fight.
Before meeting the Professor, her strength had not been much different from that panther's. Both were Adjuchas-class Menos, and there was no insurmountable gap between them.
But now, they were worlds apart.
"Let me look at the map. We'll start with the closest one."
Sora took out a map of Hueco Mundo, on which the territories of some powerful Menos were marked.
They weren't searching aimlessly.
In the past year or two, the Onmitsukidō had surveyed the areas outside of Las Noches's domain.
This map was the result of their exploration.
The desert of Hueco Mundo was boundless, and the area ruled by Las Noches was quite limited.
However, Las Noches was situated in the region with the highest concentration of spiritual particles. The further one went, the more low-reishi areas like the Silent Dunes appeared.
This map radiated outwards from Las Noches as its center.
The Onmitsukidō had charted the territories of some powerful Menos outside of Las Noches's influence.
When Baraggan still ruled, these Menos had not submitted to him.
However, they only operated in small areas and did not come into conflict with Las Noches. Plus, their territories were far away, so Baraggan had left them alone.
"There's a Menos territory here, not far from the Silent Dunes. Let's go there first."
A distinctive low-reishi land like the Silent Dunes was marked on the map, and Sora used it to get his bearings.
"Another Adjuchas. This time, I'll definitely control my spiritual pressure!" Nelliel looked at the mark on the map and then asked, "Why do these Menos stay in such barren places? If we go further out, the spiritual particle concentration will be much lower, right?"
"Although Hollows can become stronger by devouring their own kind and souls with spiritual potential, there is a limit."
Sora said slowly:
"Many of the Menos marked on this map have one thing in common—
Their path of evolution has come to an end."
"A Hollow's evolutionary limit varies. Some can only reach the Gillian stage and can't evolve further. Some Hollows with damaged masks have also lost the possibility of evolution," Nelliel was still confused. "But most of the Menos marked on this map are at the Adjuchas level. They're not weak in Hueco Mundo, so why stay in such a barren place?"
"I think... it's probably because they want to stay away from conflict," Sora said after a moment of thought. "Las Noches occupies the area with the highest spiritual particle concentration in the desert, and the Forest of Menos is also a high-concentration area. Staying in these places inevitably leads to conflict."
Some Menos, unable to break through their bottlenecks and seeing no hope for further evolution, left the Forest of Menos and the core regions of the desert, distancing themselves from the strife.
"These Menos, who have reached the end of their evolutionary path, leave the conflict and come to low-reishi lands to live out the rest of their lives. After they die, they will turn into spiritual particles and become part of this sand," Sora grabbed a handful of sand, letting it slip through his fingers. "Perhaps this is a kind of spiritual particle cycle within Hueco Mundo. These particles enrich the land, and eventually, these low-reishi lands will become high-reishi lands."
These Hollows were transporters of spiritual particles. The reishi from the Forest of Menos was expanding into the desert of Hueco Mundo.
According to the Shinigami's investigations, the range of high-reishi land in the desert was gradually expanding.
The top-tier power of the Shinigami was much stronger than that of Hueco Mundo.
But at the lieutenant, Gillian, and Adjuchas levels, Hueco Mundo had an absolute advantage in numbers.
The number of Menos in the Forest of Menos was impossible to count.
The amount of reishi required to support the evolution of these Menos was immeasurable.
Sora felt there might be some secret within the Forest of Menos.
"Does the Soul King maintain the balance of souls in the three realms for the purpose of circulating spiritual particles? Perhaps the Forest of Menos is the place in the three realms closest to the primordial world..." Sora wondered.
Sora and Nelliel moved quickly. A short while later, they reached their target area.
"I'll sense the Menos's location."
Nelliel volunteered, using her spiritual sense to search.
However, she did not sense any Menos in the area.
"Huh?" Nelliel looked puzzled. "Why are there no Menos? Are they not home?"
"There are some Hollows up ahead. Let's ask them if they know where the Menos went."
Sora sensed a place ahead where Hollows were gathered. They were likely the native inhabitants of this area.
The two continued forward and arrived in a desert with a gobi-like landscape.
The spiritual pressures Sora sensed belonged to a group of fish-like Hollows.
These were all ordinary Hollows with damaged masks who had lost their chance to even evolve into Gillians.
"I'll go ask them!"
Nelliel vanished from the spot.
"Where is your leader?"
The fish Hollows were startled by Nelliel's sudden appearance.
"An... an Arrancar Vasto Lorde?!"
Seeing the mask on Nelliel's head, the fish Hollows immediately prostrated themselves on the ground, trembling.
The Onmitsukidō Shinigami currently in Hueco Mundo were mainly concentrated near Las Noches, monitoring its movements to prevent any Menos from going to the human world.
This place was far from Las Noches, with no Shinigami watching. Thus, Nelliel was not wearing her cloak.
The fish Hollows knew at a glance that she was a being they could not afford to provoke.
"Where is your leader?" Nelliel frowned and asked again.
"Lord Black Shark went to the Shark Queen's territory..."
A smarter-looking fish Hollow quickly explained.
"Black Shark is your leader, right? Who is the Shark Queen?"
Nelliel looked confused.
"Lord Black Shark is our leader. The Shark Queen is the leader of a new group of Menos. Lord Black Shark wants to subdue her."
The fish Hollow continued to explain.
"It seems that even if these Menos choose to stay away from the core areas, they can't avoid conflict."
Nelliel sighed.
She had thought this place, far from Las Noches, would be more peaceful, with less fighting.
However, many Menos left Las Noches precisely so they could rule over weaker areas.
"Do you know where the Shark Queen is?" Nelliel asked.
"Go that way. At the end of the gobi desert, there is a stone forest. The Shark Queen's group is there."
The fish Hollow pointed in the two o'clock direction.
"Thank you."
Nelliel's figure vanished in an instant.
"We... we survived..."
The smart fish Hollow collapsed to the ground, as if completely exhausted.
The psychological pressure from the Arrancar was too great. He had wandered Hueco Mundo for many years, and this was the first time he had ever seen one.
"Such a polite Vasto Lorde. It would be great if we could follow such a powerful being."
Another fish Hollow looked on with longing.
"Heh, if Lord Black Shark heard you say that, you'd be finished."
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