Void Cultivation-Chapter 190- The Foundation Establishment Realm (18)
As the power of his Special Brilliance form coursed through Grey’s veins, he felt... different. It wasn’t a dramatic change, he still felt like himself, but this time, he knew the limits of his power. His Special Brilliance form consumed an immense amount of spirit power, and he could only sustain it for six hours before his reserves would be completely depleted. Any longer, and he would be left completely vulnerable.
When he finally manifested his Special Brilliance form, the young woman’s face instantly drained of color. Fear overtook her, her eyes widening as if she had seen a ghost.
"You... you have obtained your first Spirit Fire! Why haven’t you used it until now?" she shrieked, her voice trembling with raw terror. Her words faltered as panic gripped her, and the fear etched into her expression was impossible to hide.
Grey’s expression remained the epitome of calm. To him, her movements seemed painfully slow, almost as if she were wading through water. Every stutter in her speech, every flicker of terror in her eyes, registered with crystal clarity. As his Spirit Fire manifested, spinning around his body like a miniature sun, he felt a profound awakening deep within his soul.
It was as if a higher power, hidden within him all this time, had finally stirred. That power was embodied in the single Spirit Fire now circling him. He could sense the difference immediately: though the woman had two Spirit Fire spheres, they could not match the strength of Grey’s solitary flame.
He understood the implications. If he wanted, he could end her life in an instant. The raw, undeniable power surging through him confirmed what he had suspected. ’This... this must be the result of obtaining the hidden Eleventh level before my transcendence’. He said inwardly.
Grey could feel he had even more power to unleash, but the thought of draining his spirit reserves restrained him. Instead, he took a single measured step forward. Though barely moving, to the woman it was as if he had vanished from the world entirely. In the blink of an eye, he reappeared mere feet from her, and the effect on her was immediate.
Her expression twisted with horror. She bit her lip and spat out a mouthful of blood, which transformed into a swirling crimson vortex that expanded rapidly, consuming everything in its vicinity. She rushed toward the vortex, panic overriding all else. The thought of fighting Grey had completely vanished from her mind. To her, Grey’s presence was almost nonexistent. Even her divine sense, which could normally pierce through any illusion or barrier, seemed unable to detect him fully.
The fear coursing through her was suffocating. Gradually, a single terrifying thought took root. ’He must be an old expert hiding his true cultivation level. Yes! That’s it, he must be hiding his true power.’ Her legs trembled as her urge to flee intensified.
Grey observed her every reaction with unflinching calm. He had already been shocked by the extent of his own power, but after expending some against the shadow earlier, he remained centered. When he saw her spit blood that transformed into a crimson vortex, he immediately recognized her intention to flee.
With a second step, his body seemed to vanish and reappear several feet closer to her in an instant. Though it appeared as if he had warped through space, it was only the result of his incredible speed. When he reappeared, he extended his fingers in a gentle, almost casual stab toward her.
The motion looked harmless, so delicate it seemed to carry no force at all, but the effect it brought to the woman was instantaneous. The woman felt like her life hung by a thread, as if even the faintest touch from Grey would snuff her existence out.
Without a second thought, she performed a swift hand seal and tapped her leg twice. Her leg, once encased in solid blue ice, shattered into a fine mist of blood. In that moment, her speed increased dramatically, and she shot toward the crimson vortex, her mind consumed by sheer panic.
Grey’s eyes narrowed at her maneuver, but his resolve remained unshaken. He stepped once more, and this step became the third step he had taken since he unleashed his Special Brilliance form. And instantly appeared unnervingly close to the fleeing woman. He didn’t hesitate. With one precise, controlled motion, he stabbed his hand forward.
The moment the tip of his finger grazed her, she was sucked into the crimson vortex. Instantly, the swirling blood transformed into a black void before dissipating entirely into nothingness.
Though the sequence of events had seemed to stretch on for minutes to an onlooker, in reality only a few dozen breaths had passed since Grey had unleashed his Special Brilliance form and shattered the woman’s composure entirely.
Grey looked at the spot where the vortex had disappeared with a meaningful look in his eyes, but he had no intention of chasing her. He came here to kill the old man and not to find more trouble. Immediately after that, he would leave the Whistling fields and return to Sky Mist City.
***
A very far distance away, a spinning crimson vortex suddenly appeared in the air. That vortex was not very big, but it gave off the feeling that it could absorb anything in the world. Soon after the vortex appeared, a blue statue that had only one leg came out from the spinning red vortex.
That blue statue was obviously the young woman that fought against Grey. Her expression was pale and filled with fear. The moment she came out from the spinning crimson vortex, her expression turned even more pale and she spat out a mouthful of blood.
Immediately after, her abdomen was cut open by a gust of wind that passed her side. The moment her stomach was cut, the young woman coughed out a mouthful of blood again before she pointed before her and did a swift hand seal. The spinning crimson vortex suddenly turned black before disappearing like it had never existed.
The moment the vortex disappeared, the young woman heaved a sigh of relief. But the fear of Grey was still evident in her eyes. She brought out several bottles of medicine and put them in her mouth. She also brought out a bottle of transparent liquid which she took one drop of.
Once that drop touched her tongue, it instantly dissolved and the woman began to heal at an incredible pace. She began to retain her usual flushed color.
"That person... must be an old expert who hid his level of cultivation. Or maybe his level of cultivation fell. But... I cannot forgive him for what he did. When I go back to my sect, my elder will have a way to track him and then he will be dead." A cold glint flashed past the woman’s eyes. Although her face was wonderful to behold, her heart was very messed up and ghastly. It even matched her facial features right now.
After the woman regained her color, a dark glint appeared in her eyes before she flew to the ground. The ground opened up as if it was influenced by a strange force. The woman sank into the ground and her aura was immediately hidden from the world. It was obvious that she had gone into hiding to heal from her wounds.
