Void Cultivation

Chapter 354: Chapter 353- Paranoia (2)

After a moment, she slouched deeper into her chair.

The black blood she had vomited earlier had already been cleaned away, leaving no trace behind.

Apart from her slightly pale complexion, she appeared completely normal.

Yet despite her relaxed posture, a faint shadow lingered in her eyes as she silently contemplated the future of the sect.

Grey returned to the sect shortly afterward.

As his figure emerged from the sky and crossed the boundaries of the sect, he immediately noticed something unusual.

No one stopped him.

The vast Sky Mist Array that monitored the comings and goings of disciples did not react to his presence. The countless formations hidden throughout the sect continued operating as if nothing had happened.

Likewise, none of the sect authorities attempted to question him.

No elders appeared.

No enforcement disciples arrived.

No summons were delivered.

It was as though the entire incident had never occurred.

Yet this only made Grey more cautious.

His expression remained calm as he descended toward the Detective Agency Department. However, beneath that calm exterior, his mind was working rapidly.

The middle-aged woman had been far too powerful.

The methods she displayed were beyond anything he had encountered before.

She had restrained the shadow.

She had torn apart the purple phantom.

Even the Soul Devouring Everlasting Bird had been unable to do anything in her presence.

A person of such strength could easily leave behind hidden methods that he would be incapable of detecting.

Grey refused to believe otherwise.

Soon, he arrived at his office.

The moment he stepped inside, the door slammed shut behind him.

His eyes instantly turned cold.

Without hesitation, he raised a hand.

Boom!

A powerful wave of spirit energy erupted from his body and spread throughout the room.

Layer after layer of spiritual barriers formed around him.

The walls trembled slightly as numerous isolation formations appeared.

Within moments, a spherical wall of spirit energy surrounded his entire body.

Divine senses attempting to spy on him would be blocked immediately.

Only after taking these precautions did Grey relax slightly.

Even then, he remained vigilant.

He stood silently in the center of the room for several seconds.

Then, with a wave of his hand, a purple flash appeared.

The ancient scythe emerged from his storage bag.

The moment it appeared, the sleeping spirit residing within it slowly awakened.

A pair of eyes opened along the blade.

The spirit looked toward Grey.

"What happened now?" it seemed to ask.

Grey wasted no time.

His gaze was cold and serious.

"During my encounter with that woman, did she do anything strange to me?"

The spirit remained silent.

Grey continued.

"Did she leave behind any hidden marks? Any tracking methods? Soul brands? Spiritual seals? Anything that I can’t detect?"

The scythe spirit carefully observed him.

Its gaze swept across his body several times.

After a thorough inspection, it slowly shook its head.

Grey frowned.

For the past several days, he had been communicating with the spirit more frequently.

Although the scythe remained inside his storage bag most of the time, the spirit possessed strange methods of perception.

It could observe the outside world despite being sealed away.

If anyone had tampered with Grey in an obvious manner, the spirit should have noticed.

Yet its answer was still negative.

Grey remained unconvinced.

His gaze shifted downward.

The shadow beneath his feet wriggled slightly.

Its countless eyes opened one after another.

"He too."

Grey pointed toward the shadow.

"What about him?"

The scythe spirit immediately understood.

The woman had directly touched and restrained the shadow during their confrontation.

If she had secretly done something to it, the consequences could be disastrous.

The spirit once again inspected the shadow carefully.

Moments later, it shook its head.

Nothing.

No hidden brands.

No foreign energy.

No strange abnormalities.

The shadow appeared exactly the same as before.

Grey’s expression remained grim.

He trusted neither luck nor coincidences.

If one source wasn’t enough, he would ask another.

A moment later, he reached into his storage bag again.

This time, he brought out the cloth puppet.

The puppet landed on the table before him.

Its button-like eyes stared blankly ahead.

Grey repeated the same questions.

The puppet listened quietly before beginning its own inspection.

Its gaze swept over Grey.

Then the shadow.

Then the surrounding space.

Several minutes passed.

The room became completely silent.

Finally, the puppet shook its head.

Its answer was identical to that of the scythe spirit.

Nothing.

There were no hidden seals within Grey’s body.

No foreign soul marks.

No lingering curses.

No traces of spiritual tampering.

Grey narrowed his eyes.

His suspicion did not disappear.

Instead, it deepened.

The young woman had been far too calm.

Far too mysterious.

A person capable of casually dismantling his strongest methods should not be underestimated.

The fact that neither the scythe spirit nor the puppet could find anything did not completely reassure him.

It merely meant that if something had been done, it was hidden beyond their ability to detect.

His gaze shifted inward.

He examined his sea of consciousness.

The Soul Devouring Everlasting Bird remained where it always was.

The purple phantom stood beneath the moonlit sky with its usual vacant expression.

The Mosasaur lurked beneath the waters.

Everything appeared normal.

Even after conducting several inspections, Grey failed to discover any abnormalities.

He withdrew his divine sense and slowly opened his eyes.

The room was silent.

The scythe spirit and cloth puppet continued watching him.

After several moments, Grey finally released a slow breath.

For now, there seemed to be no problems.

Neither he nor the shadow had been tampered with.

The Soul Devouring Everlasting Bird was unaffected.

The purple phantom showed no signs of corruption.

Even the strange shadow beneath his feet remained exactly the same.

Yet despite these conclusions, Grey’s vigilance did not decrease in the slightest.

Instead, he silently made a decision.

For the next few days, he would carefully monitor every change within his body.

People like that woman were far too dangerous.

And when dealing with dangerous people, paranoia was often the difference between life and death.