Void Cultivation

Time slowly passed, and before they knew it, more than two hours had gone by.

During this period, Iria had swallowed a large number of medicinal pills to prevent the corrosive substance from infiltrating her body too deeply and causing her decay point to reach a dangerous level.

Grey, on the other hand, had no reason to fear the corrosive substance. However, if he remained completely unaffected by it while Iria was constantly consuming medicinal pills, it would inevitably arouse her suspicion.

Therefore, every so often, Grey would also take out a medicinal pill and swallow it without hesitation.

Of course, the number of pills he consumed was nowhere near the number Iria had taken.

After all, the shadow’s ability to devour the corrosive substance within his body was still a secret.

Although it wasn’t particularly rare for a cultivator’s body to remain relatively pure after entering a Corroded Zone, maintaining that purity for an extended period of time was almost impossible. The corrosive substance would eventually infiltrate their bodies once again, slowly tainting their flesh, blood, and even their spirit energy.

Grey couldn’t afford to reveal that the corrosive substance inside his body was being silently devoured by the shadow.

However, there was something else that pained him even more.

He wasn’t actually consuming medicinal pills that neutralized the corrosive substance.

He was consuming his own stock of handmade poison antidotes.

These antidotes were extremely costly to produce and had taken him quite some time to prepare. Every single one contained precious ingredients that weren’t easy to obtain, and Grey had originally prepared them for situations where he might encounter some kind of powerful poison.

Now, he was being forced to use them merely to maintain appearances.

Even though he swallowed each pill without any change in expression, Grey was extremely reluctant to waste them. Hence, he only consumed them sparingly, making sure that Iria wouldn’t notice anything unusual.

Before long, Grey and Iria came across an open patch of land.

Unlike the surrounding area, this place was completely devoid of strange trees and bizarre plants. There were no twisted roots crawling across the ground, nor were there any strange flowers growing from the black soil.

The ground itself was completely black, as though it had been scorched by an ancient fire. An eerie and oppressive feeling lingered in the surroundings, but despite that, Grey didn’t sense any immediate danger.

He quietly scanned the area with his spiritual sense.

Nothing.

The shadow also remained completely still.

It didn’t react to anything in the surroundings, which meant that, at least for the moment, this area appeared to be safe.

Grey thought for a moment before deciding that it was a suitable place to stop and rest.

More importantly, it would give Iria a chance to recover.

As a newly advanced Foundation Establishment cultivator, Iria’s stamina was nowhere close to Grey’s. She had been constantly moving through the Corroded Zone while using spirit energy to reinforce her body and resist the corrosive substance in the air.

Maintaining that state for several hours was naturally exhausting.

Grey, however, had already reached a much higher realm than her. His physical body was also far stronger, and with the shadow continuously devouring the corrosive substance inside him, his endurance was naturally on an entirely different level.

"Let’s rest here for a while."

Grey looked at Iria before speaking. Iria nodded gratefully.

She didn’t waste any time. After making sure the surroundings were safe, she sat down cross-legged on the black ground and began replenishing her depleted energy.

Grey remained standing nearby, quietly keeping watch. Every so often, Iria would bring out another medicinal pill and swallow it.

Usually, cultivating inside a Corroded Zone was extremely dangerous.

The reason was simple.

The cultivators weren’t merely surrounded by the corrosive substance while moving through the area. The moment they entered a meditative state and began circulating their spirit energy, the corrosive substance would be drawn into their bodies at an even faster rate.

In some cases, the amount that infiltrated their bodies while cultivating could be several times greater than normal.

This was why cultivators rarely dared to cultivate for extended periods inside a Corroded Zone.

If someone wasn’t careful and continued cultivating without regularly checking the decay point on their hand, they might unknowingly allow the corrosive substance to accumulate within their body until it reached a critical stage.

Once that happened, mutation or death would follow.

And once a cultivator reached that stage, there was almost no way to reverse it.

Even the most powerful medicinal pills would be useless.

Once the corrosive substance completely corrupted the body and the cultivator began transforming into one of those strange creatures that wandered through the Corroded Zone, saving them was practically impossible.

There had been countless cultivators who had entered Corroded Zones full of confidence only to disappear forever because they underestimated the danger.

Iria, however, was clearly well prepared.

Every few minutes, she would take out another medicinal pill and stuff it into her mouth.

The pills would dissolve within her body, releasing medicinal energy that rapidly suppressed the corrosive substance.

At times, Grey could see her skin gradually turning a faint greenish-black.

The color wasn’t natural.

It was caused by the anomalous substance in the air slowly infiltrating her body.

But whenever Iria swallowed another medicinal pill, the strange coloration would quickly fade, returning her skin to its normal appearance.

Grey silently observed her.

He had initially intended to keep watch until Iria had completely recovered her energy.

However, after some time had passed, something suddenly caught his attention.

A tiny blue flower was growing several meters away. Grey’s eyes narrowed.

He immediately turned his head toward it.

The flower swayed gently despite the complete absence of wind. Its appearance was eerie and strange.

Its petals were a deep blue color, almost resembling a clear night sky. They possessed a faint luster that made them stand out against the black soil.

But that wasn’t what made Grey wary.

He hadn’t seen the flower when they first arrived.

His divine sense had swept across this entire area before they stopped, and there had been nothing there.

Yet now, a blue flower had appeared.

Grey’s instincts immediately screamed danger.

His muscles tensed, and his hand instinctively moved toward his weapon.

His first thought was to leave this place immediately.

But before he could make a move, a familiar voice suddenly echoed inside his head.

"Aha! So this is where you are, Little Grey."

The moment he heard that voice, Grey’s movements froze.

"It took me quite a while to find you! And that worm I placed on you unfortunately fell asleep when you left Sky Mist City. I had to use other means to dissolve the worm and create another lifeform."

Violet’s voice echoed inside Grey’s mind.

For a split second, apprehension filled Grey’s heart. His gaze immediately landed on the blue flower.

He was just about to attack when Violet’s voice suddenly became hurried.

"Wait! Wait! It’s really me! I’m not some bizarre existence from the depths!"

Her voice sounded almost anxious.

"I already know what you’re thinking. If you think I’m lying, should I tell you where you went several months ago? That secret place beneath the sea where we nearly died several times..."

"Yes, yes. I know it’s you."

Grey interrupted her before she could continue.

There was no one else who knew about that place. That information could practically be considered a secret phrase between them.

Moreover, there was only one person who constantly called him Little Grey every chance she got.

The Captain.

Grey had already become accustomed to the ridiculous nickname.

"Hmph! Is that how you treat your senior sister?"

Violet’s voice immediately became playful again.

"I should report you to Master. Once she hears about how disrespectful you’ve been toward your senior sister, you’ll definitely be punished."

As she spoke, the blue flower suddenly bent slightly.

Its petals curved toward its stem, while the flower bud leaned in Grey’s direction.

It was as if the tiny blue flower had leaned forward specifically to scold him.

The sight was both beautiful and incredibly strange. Grey couldn’t help but want to roll his eyes.

He could clearly hear the teasing hidden within Violet’s voice.

If she were standing in front of him right now, Grey was almost certain that she would have already brought out an apple and taken a bite from it while casually lecturing him.

Unfortunately, the blue flower had neither hands nor a mouth.

It couldn’t pick up an apple and it couldn’t take a bite.

And it certainly couldn’t reproduce the Captain’s usual natural behavior.

As a result, its attempt at scolding him looked much more awkward than it should have.

Grey remained silent while the blue flower swayed slightly.

A moment later, Violet’s voice rang out again.

This time, however, there was obvious excitement in her tone.

"Little Grey, aren’t you amazed by your senior sister?"

She sounded incredibly pleased with herself.

"There’s so much I’ve done for you that you still don’t know about. Just wait until you return to the Sect. You’ll thank me a lot!"

Grey’s eyebrows twitched.

"There are so many things that I’ve prepared for you!"

The moment he heard that, Grey couldn’t help but feel a strange sense of dread crawling up his back.

Whenever Violet spoke like that, something was usually wrong.

More often than not, she had already done something troublesome and was now trying to present it as a pleasant surprise.

Grey had barely been away from the Sect for a single day, yet the Captain had already managed to plant a problem in his head.

He didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

"Why are you still silent, Little Grey?"

Violet’s voice echoed again.

"Are you worried that little girl will hear us?"

Grey glanced at Iria.

She was still sitting cross-legged with her eyes closed, quietly cultivating.

Violet continued before he could respond.

"Well, you shouldn’t be. Our connection is only between the two of us. Even if you speak aloud, she won’t be able to hear a thing!"

The blue flower swayed gently.

"I’ve already blocked the outside world from hearing our conversation."

Grey remained silent for several seconds.

His eyes narrowed slightly as he looked at the blue flower.

He wasn’t particularly concerned about whether Iria could hear their conversation.

Instead, there was something else that bothered him.

Why had Violet chosen to reveal herself now?

She had been following him secretly for some time, yet she had deliberately remained hidden.

And now, of all places, she had chosen to appear in the middle of the Corroded Zone.

Grey stared at the strange blue flower for several breaths before finally speaking.

"Why did you make your appearance known now?"

His voice was calm. There was no anger or surprise in it.

Just caution. The flower suddenly stopped swaying.

Violet was clearly stunned by the question. She hadn’t expected Grey to figure it out so quickly.

After everything she had said, after providing him with information that proved her identity, Grey hadn’t been distracted by any of it.

Instead, he had immediately noticed the most important question.

Why now?

For several seconds, Violet didn’t say anything. Then the blue flower gently swayed again.

And when her voice finally echoed inside Grey’s mind, there was a hint of helplessness in it.

"You’re still as troublesome as ever, Little Grey..."

Grey’s eyes narrowed further.

He didn’t respond to her words. He simply waited.

Because he knew Violet well enough to understand one thing.

If she had suddenly gone out of her way to reveal herself, then there was definitely a reason.

And judging from the way she had appeared... That reason was unlikely to be something simple.

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