Void Cultivation-Chapter 234- Fishing for Foundation Establishment (8)
While Grey was lost in thought, the Mosasaur roared once more within his body and surged toward the next spiritual node. Its massive, illusory form slammed forward relentlessly, carrying with it the remnants of its accumulated power.
After several failed attempts, each impact weaker than the last, the spiritual node finally shattered like fragile glass. A sharp crack echoed through Grey’s meridians as a new perforation was forcibly opened.
However, after opening two more perforations in quick succession, Grey quickly discovered that the accumulated energy within the Mosasaur was nearly exhausted. At this moment, the Mosasaur emitted only extremely weak energy fluctuations, so faint that it seemed as though it could collapse and vanish at any second.
Meanwhile, Grey’s aura at the Foundation Establishment realm continued to rise, slowly, yet steadily. After opening more than thirty spirit perforations, his body began to roar like a raging furnace, waves of scorching heat surging violently through his meridians.
That familiar sensation returned.
It was as if a colossal stove capable of burning all things had ignited within his body. Almost instinctively, Grey activated his Special Brilliance form once more.
In an instant, a ground-shaking and terrifying aura erupted from him. The surge was overwhelming. The heat radiating from his body became so fierce that his clothes actually began to smolder before igniting outright.
Flames licked across the fabric as Grey’s hair fluttered wildly behind him, dancing violently in the scorching air currents. His face remained cold and indifferent, yet under the roaring flames and surging aura, it carried an almost mesmerizing, oppressive charm.
The moment Grey realized what was happening, he hurriedly canceled his Special Brilliance form. Even so, the lingering remnant aura caused his breathing to grow heavier, his chest rising and falling more rapidly than before.
At the same time, he clearly sensed that the duration he could maintain the Special Brilliance form had increased, if only by a small margin.
Although the fight was unexpected and dangerous, the gains are still worth it, Grey thought, forcefully suppressing the fluctuations in his heart as he turned his attention back to the Mosasaur.
What truly surprised him was that the Mosasaur still had not disappeared.
Even the terrifying heat and flames generated by his thirty-plus spirit perforations had failed to affect it in the slightest. It was as though the Mosasaur had become an inseparable part of his body, lingering quietly within him without resistance.
This caused Grey to pause for several seconds as he carefully analyzed the situation.
After thinking it through, he urged the Mosasaur to charge toward the next spiritual node once more. With a weak yet resolute cry, the Mosasaur crashed into it. The process was slow and arduous. It took many repeated attempts, each one weaker than the last, before the node finally cracked and broke open.
By the time it did, nearly all of the Mosasaur’s accumulated energy had been depleted. And yet, even in this state, it still did not dissipate.
This fact deeply puzzled Grey.
He continued to experiment, repeatedly directing the Mosasaur to open additional perforations. Eventually, the Mosasaur’s energy was completely exhausted. Its aura became extremely faint, barely perceptible, as if it were teetering on the very edge of annihilation.
And yet... it still remained.
When the process finally ended, the total number of spirit perforations Grey had opened reached thirty-six. Although the number itself did not seem particularly large at first glance, in reality, it was nothing short of shocking.
Even Qi Accumulation–level beasts had failed to help him open a single perforation. Yet the energy of a single Foundation Establishment creature had allowed him to open seven in one go.
Even accounting for how rare and extraordinary this Mosasaur was, the result was still astonishing.
Although the Mosasaur’s energy is completely depleted, why hasn’t it disappeared? Grey murmured inwardly. Could this be related to the Life Demon Art?
The entire process of opening his spirit perforations had not taken much time. In total, only a few minutes had passed.
At this moment, the Mosasaur lingered within one of his spirit perforations, releasing faint and unstable fluctuations. Grey hesitated briefly. In the end, however, he made a decisive choice and guided it into his sea of consciousness.
He did this because he could clearly sense that the Mosasaur would be able to slowly recover its spirituality within that space. As for the risk of it attacking him, Grey was not overly concerned. He still possessed the purple crystal. Even though it had shattered into countless fragments, it had yet to lose its profound and mysterious power.
If necessary, I can always seal it with the purple crystal, Grey thought calmly.
His expression remained indifferent, but his will was firm and unwavering.
The moment the Mosasaur entered his sea of consciousness, it let out a faint cry of joy and began to swim through the vast expanse of Grey’s spiritual-energy sea. The space was wide and tranquil, filled with dense spiritual energy that gently nourished its weakened form.
Its previously dim and lifeless eyes slowly regained a trace of spirituality. Although this spark was extremely faint, it was undeniably real.
However, Grey did not sense the ferocity or madness that had once defined this terrifying creature.
Instead, the Mosasaur appeared listless and slightly confused, as though it did not understand where it was, or what had happened to it.
Grey chose not to interfere for the time being and refocused his attention on cultivation. Nevertheless, he left behind a strand of his divine sense within his sea of consciousness, quietly monitoring the Mosasaur’s condition.
Only after making these preparations did Grey withdraw his consciousness completely and return to the outside world.
When Grey opened his eyes, he muttered a few words under his breath before immersing himself once more in cultivation. He could feel the power of his thirty-six spirit perforations rumbling violently within him, like restrained thunder.
His strength had increased significantly, and he wanted to fully explore and stabilize this newfound power. Time quietly flowed past. Several hours passed in silence.
The spirit stones he had placed on the arrays had long since lost their spirituality and crumbled into dull fragments. Without a power source, the natural arrays within the cabin gradually lost their effect and shut down.
Grey did not mind.
Inside his body, intense power continued to churn, circulating endlessly through his thirty-six spirit perforations.
Two hours later, a resounding boom erupted from within him.
His thirty-seventh spiritual node burst open.
Spirit energy gushed in like a flood, filling the node to the brim before it stabilized. The node rapidly transformed, becoming his thirty-seventh spirit perforation.
Grey slowly opened his eyes. Fatigue was clearly visible within them. By now, most of his internal injuries had healed, with only a few stubborn remnants remaining. Even so, his strength had increased by a considerable margin.
"Thirty-seven spirit perforations..." Grey muttered.
As soon as the words left his mouth, loud rumbling sounds erupted from his body. All thirty-seven spirit perforations resonated together, unleashing a powerful surge of dense spirit power that circulated violently through his entire body.
A few moments later, Grey suppressed the fluctuations, returning everything to calm.
"I could sense that the Mosasaur still had some remnant power left," Grey said in a low voice. "If I hadn’t taken the time to stimulate my spirit perforations and let their power erupt naturally, the thirty-seventh perforation wouldn’t have opened."
He glanced around the cabin and found everything to be in order. However, he did not replenish the spirit stones in the arrays. After breaking open some spirit perforations, he felt they would no longer be of much use. So he let their spirituality to completely dissipate
"Still... I can use this time to restore my body to its peak state."
Slowly, night fell.
The surface of the Dead Sea darkened as the sky grew increasingly dim. With the sea itself pitch black and the heavens gradually losing their light, the entire world seemed to sink into a deep, oppressive gloom. 𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺
The only illumination came from the faint moon, its pale light spilling weakly across the surface of the sea.
From time to time, low and distant roars reverberated from the depths below, as though some monstrous existences were slowly awakening from their slumber.
Contrary to its name, the Dead Sea became far more active at night.
Sea creatures that could not be seen during the day now emerged in great numbers, roaming the waters freely. It was as if they had all awakened from a long sleep, driven by hunger, and revealed intense hostility toward any living thing they encountered.
Suddenly, a barrier appeared around Grey’s magic ship.
The barrier shimmered faintly, formed from condensed spirit energy mixed with a corrosive substance. However, the corrosive element dominated its structure, exuding an ominous and dangerous aura.
This was a special feature Bao had personally added to reduce the dangers the ship would face at night.
Grey and the Captain were heading toward a region where extremely dangerous creatures were known to roam freely. That meant encounters with terrifying beings would become increasingly frequent.
To prepare for that inevitability, Bao had employed this defensive method long in advance.
