Void Cultivation

Chapter 351: Chapter 350- Is this still the Spirit Core Formation realm?

Grey’s plan was simple.

If the attacker was truly the middle-aged man, he would unleash everything at once and either kill him outright or inflict severe injuries before the sect authorities could intervene.

However, just as Grey prepared to strike, the spinning world around him abruptly stabilized.

When his vision cleared, he did not see the furious and resentful face of the middle-aged man.

Instead, standing before him was a cold and expressionless middle-aged woman.

Her gaze was indifferent, yet it carried an overwhelming pressure that far exceeded anything Grey had previously encountered.

In her hand, a single coin slowly rotated in the air.

Counter-clockwise.

Seeing the middle-aged woman, Grey thought that perhaps his enemy had changed appearance in order to deceive him and make him let his guard down. However, Grey had already made up his mind. He would cut down anything that stood in his way.

Without hesitation, Grey tightened his grip on the transparent purple sword in his hand and swung down in a single, swift motion.

The movement was smooth, clean, and almost effortless, as though the strike had been refined countless times before. The middle-aged woman, who had abducted Grey and dragged him high into the sky, did not expect him to attack so brazenly.

Her surprise was clearly visible the moment the coin she had been manipulating stopped rotating mid-air. A flicker of shock flashed across her eyes as she seemed to recognize the sword art Grey was using.

"Ancient Sword Slash! But he’s only in the Foundation Establishment realm..." Her cold expression cracked slightly as she saw the sharp purple light of the slash tear through the sky toward her.

An intense suppressive intent filled the heavens, pressing down on her as though the world itself was trying to force her to kneel. It aimed to suppress the middle-aged woman and halt her resistance entirely.

For the first time, genuine shock appeared on her face. "What kind of aura is his sword slash emitting? Why do I feel like... I should be bowing down?" she muttered, her voice slightly dazed, as she momentarily failed to react to Grey’s attack.

Bang!

A thunderous explosion echoed through the sky. Yet Grey did not even wait for the dust and smoke to settle. Immediately, he followed up his attack by summoning the Life Demon Phantom and the Soul Devouring Everlasting Bird.

Since the opponent had already witnessed these abilities, there was no longer any need to conceal them.

At the same time, Grey issued a silent command to his shadow to join the battle.

In an instant, Grey’s shadow beneath him twisted and writhed before detaching completely from his feet, as though it were a living entity breaking free of its constraints.

A moment later, a bizarre black tree formed in the sky entirely from condensed shadow energy. It stood unnaturally still, as though rooted in invisible soil suspended in mid-air.

Its branches stretched outward in all directions, spreading like a corrupted canopy that swallowed light. Its roots, equally massive, hung downward and branched out mid-air as if the concept of gravity did not apply to it.

At the center of the tree was a single crimson eye, filled with pure malice and intelligence. The shadow tree released a silent, oppressive presence before lunging forward toward the middle-aged woman.

On its branches were countless smaller shadow leaves. However, as the branches moved, each leaf slowly opened like an eyelid—revealing tiny eyes hidden within them.

All of them turned and gazed at the middle-aged woman with unified, sinister intent.

At the same time, the Life Demon Phantom surged forward toward the point where Grey’s sword had struck. The Soul Devouring Everlasting Bird circled once in the air before wrapping itself around Grey’s body, transforming into a flowing imperial robe of deep purple light.

His eyes were sharp and cold in that moment. He looked less like a mortal cultivator and more like the heir of an ancient emperor who had stepped out of legend.

However, instead of hearing the expected sound of flesh being torn apart or the pained cries of the middle-aged woman, Grey suddenly heard a muffled groan echo within his mind.

Grey and his shadow were linked through something deeper than normal spiritual connection. The shadow was tied directly to Grey’s soul, because a fragment of his shattered soul had once fallen into it, giving rise to its current will and personality.

However, beyond a faint awareness of its emotions and fragmented thoughts, Grey had never felt any strong or direct feedback from it. He did not even feel the pain of his soul fragment being separated.

But this time was different.

This was the first time Grey clearly heard his shadow cry out in distress.

And in that instant, his heart shook violently.

It felt as though a part of his own body had been violently ripped away and torn into pieces. The sensation was not overwhelming, but it was unmistakably real.

Suddenly, a sharp sound of air being torn apart echoed through the battlefield. From within the thick smoke left behind by Grey’s previous strike, a purple streak was violently sent flying backward.

A second later, the smoke dispersed.

And Grey saw something shocking.

The middle-aged woman stood calmly, holding the countless shadow branches that had tried to pierce her with a single hand. Her grip was effortless, as though she were stopping ordinary vines rather than a terrifying shadow entity.

In her other hand, she had also caught the fist of the Life Demon Phantom. The purple streak Grey had seen earlier was one of its arms being forcibly knocked away.

"Interesting..." she said coldly, her expression unreadable. "An ancient sword art, a bizarre shadow entity, an evolved Life Demon of the soul, and a strange technique... very interesting indeed."

Not even her robes had been damaged by Grey’s attacks. Her dark blue garments fluttered gently in the high-altitude wind, and a few strands of her hair drifted across her expressionless face.

Despite Grey having unleashed nearly everything he had in an attempt to end the battle in one decisive move, the middle-aged woman remained completely unscathed.

Even more alarming, instead of a battered elder, Grey now clearly saw a young woman with an ice-cold expression standing before him.

Her cultivation aura surged outward with overwhelming pressure, so dense that Grey could no longer confidently judge whether she was merely in the Spirit Core Formation realm or something far beyond it.