Void Cultivation

During this period, Grey did not encounter any mutated creatures or bizarre existences. They were all seemingly frightened by the brief battle between the two superior existences and were unwilling to approach the area or reveal their presence.

For Grey, this was an unexpected opportunity.

Without having to constantly remain alert for attacks from the darkness, he was able to move much faster through the depths. The silence that surrounded him was almost unnatural, but Grey did not complain. He knew better than to take such a strange occurrence for granted.

However, as he continued running, the dull and gloomy forest gradually began to change.

The dense vegetation became slightly less oppressive, and the vague outlines of structures could be seen through the trees. At first, Grey thought they were simply large rocks or strange formations created by the vegetation, but as he approached, he soon realized what they were.

The ruins of a former city.

Several structures resembling buildings and houses appeared within his field of vision. Yet, it was difficult to imagine that this place had once been inhabited by humans.

The vegetation had completely swallowed the destroyed city.

Thick vines wrapped around the remains of buildings, while enormous roots pierced through broken walls and collapsed floors. Moss covered almost every visible surface, and weeds grew through cracks in the ancient roads. In many places, the buildings had been reduced to little more than piles of rubble beneath the countless layers of vegetation.

There was hardly any sign that a city had ever existed here.

As Grey approached the ruined city, he naturally reduced his speed.

Although he could not sense any immediate danger, vigilance and caution had long since become ingrained in him. After spending so much time in dangerous places, Grey had learned not to rely solely on his senses. Sometimes, the most dangerous things were precisely those that could not be detected.

A place could appear completely harmless while hiding something capable of killing him in an instant.

This ruined city that had been swallowed by the forest might not seem dangerous, but Grey knew that structures like these were the perfect hiding places for mutated creatures and bizarre existences.

They could lurk beneath collapsed buildings, inside underground passages, or even within the walls themselves.

Grey narrowed his eyes slightly.

When he asked Violet for the direction of the item they were searching for, her answer had been simple.

They needed to pass through this ruined city.

Grey did not trust her answer so easily. He asked the shadow the same question.

Its reply was exactly the same. If he wanted to get closer to the item, he had to pass through the ruined city. Going around it would take too much time with the possibility that he would encounter another bizarre existence outside of this area.

Seeing that there was no alternative, Grey’s eyes narrowed further as his thoughts gradually became calmer.

He did not hesitate any longer. With a slight sway of his body, he shot forward and entered the outskirts of the ruined city.

However, his speed was considerably slower than when he had first arrived in this area.

"If I run too fast for too long, I’ll naturally become tired," Grey muttered under his breath. "Although I’m stronger than normal people and can last far longer because of the purple crystal, I’ll still become fatigued eventually."

His gaze swept across the ruined streets.

"If I become fatigued, I’ll have to use spirit energy to replenish my strength. And once my spirit energy runs out, I’ll have to absorb spirit energy from the air."

Grey paused for a moment. His expression became slightly more serious.

"But in a place like this, there’s hardly any spirit energy for me to absorb. Instead, I’ll only be filling my body with corrosive substance."

A cold gleam flashed through his eyes.

"No matter how I look at it, that would be disadvantageous for me. Hence, I have to conserve as much of my strength and spirit energy as possible."

Grey had already experienced how terrifying the Corroded Zone could be.

The corrosive substance in the air was not something that could be ignored. Even someone with a powerful physique like his could not afford to continuously absorb it into his body.

Therefore, conserving his strength was not simply about avoiding exhaustion.

It was about preserving his ability to fight when he eventually encountered something truly dangerous.

Just like that, Grey ran through the jagged and unpaved streets of the ruined city.

His footsteps landed softly against the broken ground, occasionally crushing weeds and small stones beneath his feet.

With every step he took, he advanced at least three feet. This was far from Grey’s fastest running speed.

Under normal circumstances, he could move much faster. But at this moment, conserving his stamina was more important than reaching his destination a few minutes earlier.

"Unfortunately, almost all of my techniques require spirit energy," Grey said with a frown.

"If I summon the Life Demon or the Mosasaur, I’ll consume a considerable amount of spirit energy. I also need spirit energy to summon the Soul Devouring Everlasting Bird."

His expression became somewhat gloomy.

"In this situation, I can’t casually use my strongest techniques."

Grey understood that this restriction severely limited his combat power.

Normally, he could rely on the various techniques he had accumulated throughout his journey to overwhelm enemies far stronger than himself. But in the depths of the Corroded Zone, every single use of those techniques came with a price.

If he wasted too much spirit energy now, he might not have enough left when he encountered a truly powerful existence.

"For now, all I can rely on is my physical strength..."

Grey glanced at his shadow.

"...and the shadow."

Unlike his other techniques, the shadow did not require spirit energy for him to control it.

That made it especially valuable in this place.

Grey was still thinking about this when he passed through an area where the structures around him were somewhat more complete.

Although the buildings were almost entirely covered by creeping weeds and plants, their outlines could still be seen through the gaps in the vegetation.

Grey slowed down slightly.

From their shapes and sizes, he could tell that these were not residential buildings. They appeared to have once been commercial or public structures.

Some of them must have been quite tall when the city was still intact. Even after nearly a century of decay and destruction, several remained more than three meters high.

Grey’s eyes swept over them casually. Then he stopped.

His gaze landed on the tallest incomplete building in the area.

Something was hanging from it. It was a straw doll.

The doll had been hung high on the side of the ruined building, its body suspended in a rather wretched and unnatural position.

Grey’s brows furrowed. He stared at it silently. Ever since this place had become a Corroded Zone, the buildings and objects within it should have gradually decayed under the influence of the corrosive substance.

After nearly a hundred years, even sturdy structures had been reduced to ruins.

Yet this seemingly ordinary straw doll had somehow survived. It was still intact.

At least, relatively speaking.

The straw doll looked as though it could completely fall apart at any moment. The golden-yellow color of the straw from which it had been made had long since faded. The material had withered and darkened, becoming a disturbing greyish-brown color.

Its body was thin and frail, and several strands of straw protruded from different parts of it.

In the past, this doll must have looked cute.

Perhaps it had once belonged to a child. Perhaps that child had hugged it while sleeping, carried it around the city, or played with it during the final peaceful years before everything changed.

But after nearly a century of deterioration, whatever innocence the doll had once possessed was completely gone.

Now, it looked sinister. Its two eyes were made from small buttons. And those button eyes were reflecting a strange glint.

Grey’s figure was clearly reflected within them.

For a moment, Grey felt as though the doll was looking directly at him.

From his position and the angle at which the doll’s head hung, it almost appeared as though it was smiling.

A sinister smile.

The feeling became even stranger when a cold wind suddenly swept through the ruined city.

Whoosh!

The straw doll’s body swayed gently. Its head shifted to the side.

Then its button eyes seemed to focus directly on Grey.

The atmosphere instantly became oppressive.

Anyone witnessing such a sight in the middle of a ruined city within the depths of a Corroded Zone would likely feel their scalp go numb.

Grey, however, merely came to a stop. A small frown appeared on his face.

He stared at the straw doll for several seconds without saying anything.

There was something wrong with it.

He could not immediately determine what it was, but his instincts were warning him not to approach carelessly.

This Corroded Zone had existed for almost a hundred years.

During that period, the peripheral had completely changed. The deeper regions had transformed into territories inhabited by countless mutated creatures and bizarre existences.

The former city had suffered the same fate.

Its buildings had been destroyed, its streets had been swallowed by vegetation, and most of the objects left behind by the humans who once lived here had long since disappeared beneath the relentless corrosion.

Yet this simple straw doll had survived all these years.

Grey did not believe that it was ordinary.

"There are only a few possibilities..." Grey muttered.

His gaze remained fixed on the doll.

"The first is that it was made from a special material."

Perhaps the straw had been processed through some extraordinary method, giving it the ability to resist corrosion.

If that were the case, its survival could be explained.

However, Grey quickly dismissed the possibility. It was simply too unlikely.

A normal city inhabited by ordinary humans would not possess a seemingly mundane straw doll made from such an extraordinary material.

"Then there’s the second possibility."

Grey’s eyes narrowed.

"Someone entered this city several years ago and hung it there."

This explanation sounded much more reasonable. Perhaps someone had entered the ruined city after the Corroded Zone was formed and deliberately placed the doll on the building.

But that immediately raised another question.

Why?

What reason would someone have to hang a straw doll on a ruined building in the depths of a Corroded Zone?

Grey’s expression became increasingly solemn. There was also another possibility.

"The doll itself isn’t ordinary."

Grey’s voice became lower. Perhaps the straw doll had not been placed there by anyone. Maybe it had moved there by itself.

This possibility was not as absurd as it would have been in the outside world.

In a place like the Corroded Zones, especially within the depths, unknown existences could possess almost anything.

A broken doll... A corpse.

A tree.

A weapon!

Even a seemingly lifeless object could become a vessel for something terrifying.

An unknown existence might have possessed the straw doll, turning the harmless-looking toy into a body that it could wear or control.

Grey stared at the doll for a long time.

The wind blew again. The straw doll swayed gently above him.

Its button eyes continued to reflect his figure.

Grey’s expression remained calm, but the shadow beneath his feet slowly began to move. He had no intention of approaching the doll.

Not yet.

In a place like this, curiosity could easily become a death sentence. And Grey had no intention of becoming the next corpse buried beneath this ruined city.

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