Void Cultivation-Chapter 158- Deathly Apparition
In a narrow, forgotten alley buried deep within the quieter quarters of Green City, the air rippled unnaturally. A faint hum echoed for a heartbeat, then... flash! A blinding light tore through the stillness.
From within the radiance, an old man stumbled into existence. Ash-like motes scattered from his body, drifting down like gray snow. His figure wavered, half-transparent, half-real, like an apparition caught between worlds. His sunken face, pale as bone and frozen with terror, only deepened that ghostly image.
For several moments, his body flickered between illusion and substance until, with a faint crackle, reality reclaimed him. The glow vanished, and he collapsed to one knee, gasping for breath. His trembling hand reached out into the empty air before him, and with that motion, faint inscriptions shimmered into view, a delicate rune, thin as spider silk.
Without hesitation, the old man clenched his fist. The inscription shattered instantly, dissolving into a stream of fading motes. Pain flashed across his face, and blood spilled from his lips in a dark arc. Yet, he neither wiped it away nor winced. He simply exhaled shakily, his shoulders slumping in relief.
The small-scale teleportation inscription, his most precious life-saving trump card, was gone, reduced to nothing. But so too was the deadly force that had been pursuing him.
Wiping the fresh blood from the corner of his mouth, the old man quickly surveyed his surroundings. The alley was empty, silent except for the faint hum of distant street noise. Satisfied, he straightened himself and hurried out, suppressing his aura as he moved. Within seconds, his presence diminished, first from the level of a formidable cultivator to that of an ordinary fifth-level Qi Accumulation expert.
As his spiritual signature faded, he merged seamlessly into the bustling evening crowd of Green City. Only the wary glint in his eyes betrayed his unease.
Back in the underground tunnels, when the old man saw how Grey easily killed the young man without any effort, he instantly knew that he was a powerhouse. That was why he did not hesitate to activate his small scale teleportation inscription before Grey turned his sights to him.
The moment Grey killed the young man, the old man had already activated the inscription he had prepared in case things went wrong. By the time Grey’s fist reached him, the old man’s body had dissipated into ash that was blown away by the force of Grey’s punch.
He appeared in the desolate and abandoned alley several moments later.
’Who the hell was that person. I know all the cultivators in this city with high levels of cultivation, and yet I failed to recognize him. How did he manage to find the underground tunnels in the first place. And the particular tunnel he was coming out from lead directly to the underground caverns. How the hell is that guy!’ The old man said inwardly. But still, he did not stop moving. He planned on leaving Green City in case that cultivator suddenly came back.
The Ninth level of Qi Accumulation was a level that he could not match up to. Although he had several techniques and bizarre arts, they could not help much in direct combat. He was still a regular seventh level cultivator after all.
However, although he was very wary of Grey, he did not leave the city immediately. He decided to wait for some time before he left. So he went and rented a room in an inn and sat down cross-legged to heal his internal injuries.
"Dammit! Even though he did not directly punch me, just the sheer force was enough to rupture my internal organs. If I had tanked one of those punches, would I still have my organs?" The old man gritted his teeth in silence as he cultivated. Blood would occasionally spill from his lips but he would endure the pain coming from deep within and continue to cultivate.
Because Grey’s strength was incredibly high, he could kill a sixth level cultivator with ease. And if he used his ’Air Cannon’ technique, even those of higher levels had to fear him. Although Grey avoided using his ’Air Cannons’ because they were underground, he condensed the power until it would only burst forth when his fist landed on his opponent’s body. Their flesh would rip apart and their bones would be broken. Their internal organs would also be ruptured and grinded to mush in no time. They would have little to no chances of survival.
*Cough*
The old man coughed out another mouthful of blood again. "The heck, although I’ve not fought any cultivator higher than the eight level, I still know that his punch should not do so much damage! Why the fuck does it still hurt. How did that young man survive as his punching pag?" The old man said. 𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚
Although Grey did not know it, he was rapidly getting stronger than his peers. Although his cultivation level was far behind, his strength was almost at the Foundation Establishment level, which was quite a shocking thing because that was supposed to be impossible.
The gap between Qi Accumulation and Foundation Establishment was unbridgeable. Yet, Grey’s might was slowly getting there.
The old man looked out the window at the departing sun and couldn’t help but let out a sigh of relief. "Let the night come, I’ll take my leave out of Green City. I mustn’t let that foreign cultivator find me!" Right as the old man said those words, the misty mountain tops that stood like fingers behind Green City let out a low hum.
The earth trembled like it was moving the sky darkened as if a disaster was coming. The old man let revealed a shocked expression.
"What could be happening in the misty mountains?" The old man mumbled as he was filled with shock and fear. Then suddenly, a pillar of white lightning fell from the sky a large distance away. But no one could see or know which direction or distance it came from.
It was if their senses were being confused. As the lightning appeared, everyone also felt a strange trepidation in their hearts. But the pillar of lightning only fell for one moment before it disappeared, which was quite strange and mysterious.
Then silence.
The lightning vanished as abruptly as it appeared, leaving behind only the trembling earth and a lingering sense of dread that clawed at every soul in the city.
However, this happened at the same time that Grey became the scion of the Wind Monarch.
**☺️😉**
