Void Cultivation

Chapter 376: Chapter 375- Poison

Grey and Violet returned to the Detective Agency less than twenty minutes later. As soon as they arrived, Grey headed straight for his office without wasting another second. Closing the door behind him, he immediately laid out the medicinal herbs and poisonous ingredients he had purchased before beginning to concoct poison.

After realizing that the Heaven’s Chosen with extraordinary potential also possessed an Emperor Level cultivation art, Grey had been unable to calm himself.

The moment he sensed the familiar aura, his stomach instinctively rumbled with hunger, as though the cultivation art hidden within his body had discovered the perfect prey. An overwhelming urge to devour the other party surged through him, so intense that it took him several long seconds to suppress the feeling and regain control over his emotions.

He also felt that if he devoured the other party’s cultivation art, the Soul Devouring Everlasting Bird would become complete. Of course, it was only a feeling.

However, the temptation was only one part of the problem.

Grey also realized that he himself had been placed in an extremely dangerous situation.

If he had been capable of sensing that the other party possessed an Emperor Level cultivation art, then it was only logical that the reverse was also true.

After all, Grey had been the one who took the initiative to peer into the other party’s existence. If his own cultivation art could detect another Emperor Level cultivation art, there was every possibility that the other party’s cultivation art had already locked onto him as well.

Without any concrete evidence, Grey immediately assumed the worst.

His location had most likely already been exposed.

The mysterious Heaven’s Chosen was probably aware of his existence just as clearly as Grey was aware of his.

Although Grey desired to devour the other party’s Emperor Level cultivation art, he knew such thoughts had to remain nothing more than thoughts for the time being.

The risks were simply too great.

First of all, Grey was almost certain that the other party had already condensed four balls of Spirit Fire, just like the other Heaven’s Chosen of the Sect Alliance.

Secondly, he had absolutely no intention of underestimating someone who carried the title of the Sect Alliance’s Heaven’s Chosen.

That title alone was enough to prove that the other party stood at the absolute peak among countless geniuses.

If an Emperor Level cultivation art had been his only advantage, then someone stronger would have long since killed him and seized it for themselves.

The cultivation world had never been a place where possessing a treasure alone guaranteed survival.

Therefore, Grey forced himself to believe the complete opposite.

Not only should the other party be stronger than every other Heaven’s Chosen he had encountered so far, but there was also a high possibility that he already possessed strength comparable to a Spirit Core Formation expert.

Perhaps...

He had already stepped into that realm.

Furthermore, Grey refused to deceive himself into believing that his own advantages were unique.

If he possessed hidden trump cards, then his opponent most likely possessed several of his own.

Powerful cultivation techniques...

Rare treasures...

Secret arts...

Ancient inheritances...

None of these possibilities could be ignored.

Everything had to be taken into consideration before the day they inevitably crossed paths.

Only by preparing for the absolute worst could he maximize his chances of surviving.

"However... my cultivation can’t improve any faster than it already is," Grey murmured quietly.

"And trying to force another breakthrough would only damage my own foundation."

After carefully weighing every possibility, Grey decided against recklessly pursuing a higher cultivation realm.

Instead, he would strengthen everything else within his body and allow those abilities to catch up with his current cultivation.

Although he had only condensed two balls of Spirit Fire, the existence of the Cold Yin Core secretly allowed him to wield power equivalent to a third.

If he included the Soul Devouring Everlasting Bird, the mysterious purple phantom, and even the Mosasaur that now obeyed his commands, then his overall combat strength would already rival someone who possessed four balls of Spirit Fire.

And if his shadow entered the battle as well...

His true battle prowess would comfortably surpass the level of an ordinary cultivator with four balls of Spirit Fire.

Even so, Grey quickly shook his head.

There was no reason to believe that only he possessed such advantages.

If he could hide powerful trump cards, then the other Heaven’s Chosen could undoubtedly do the same.

He had to assume that every advantage he possessed would have an equal counterpart on the other side.

Only then would he never lower his guard.

’There’s no shortcut...’

’I can only continue improving myself, one step at a time.’

With that thought, Grey slowly exhaled, pushed every distracting thought to the back of his mind, and focused entirely on the poisonous ingredients spread across the table before him.

One by one, he began refining them into poison.

Grey had already decided to refine his strongest and most lethal poison before the middle-aged man chased him across the dead sea.

Now that he had witnessed another Heaven’s Chosen who possessed an Emperor Level cultivation art, his determination had only grown stronger.

If he could not increase his cultivation anytime soon, then he would have to compensate by making his poison even deadlier.

Because of this, every single step had to be executed with absolute precision.

One mistake...

One incorrect proportion...

One unstable reaction...

Any of them could result in complete failure or even cost him his life.

’Two Python Seed Eggs...’

’A tablespoon of Sunflower Dread...’

’A pinch of Black Withering Dust...’

Grey silently recited the names and measurements of every poisonous ingredient inside his mind while slowly mixing them together.

His movements were neither fast nor slow.

Each action was steady and deliberate, displaying the patience of someone who had refined poison countless times before.

Whenever a reaction became too violent, he immediately adjusted the temperature of the flame beneath the cauldron.

Whenever two poisonous substances began rejecting each other, he patiently waited for them to stabilize before introducing the next ingredient.

Every decision required complete concentration.

Before Grey even realized how much time had passed, the daylight gradually faded away.

The sun, which had remained half-hidden behind drifting clouds for most of the afternoon, finally disappeared beneath the horizon.

Darkness slowly descended over Sky Mist City.

One after another, the street lamps lining the roads burst into life, bathing the streets in a warm golden glow that pushed back the darkness.

The bustling noises outside also changed.

The merchants who had shouted throughout the day gradually packed away their stalls.

The footsteps of pedestrians became fewer.

The city itself seemed to settle into a quieter rhythm.

Yet none of it disturbed Grey.

His entire focus remained on the poisonous liquid swirling inside the refining vessel before him.

Only when the final poisonous mist was sealed inside a transparent bottle did Grey finally release a long breath.

By then, night had fully arrived.

Sweat completely covered Grey’s forehead.

His hair clung to the sides of his face, while his clothes had long since become soaked with perspiration.

Even so, the light within his eyes had never dimmed.

Instead, they shone even brighter than before.

"I’ve attempted to refine twenty-nine different types of poison..."

Grey muttered softly as his gaze landed on the five transparent bottles resting neatly on the table.

"Out of those twenty-nine attempts... only five were successful."

Although his voice remained calm, he knew exactly how fortunate he had been.

The remaining twenty-four poisons had all ended in failure.

Some had become dangerously unstable.

Others had exploded into poisonous gas the moment they were exposed to the air.

Several were so corrosive that even the refining vessel had begun melting before Grey forcefully neutralized them.

One of the failed concoctions had nearly poisoned him beyond his own ability to suppress.

Fortunately, before the poison could spread throughout his meridians and internal organs, the shadow beneath his feet had swiftly devoured the foreign toxin from within his body.

Without its help, Grey would have been forced to spend several days recovering from the backlash.

Because of this, the shadow had remained by his side throughout the entire refining process.

Instead of wandering elsewhere as it usually did, it silently swayed beneath Grey’s feet like an ordinary shadow.

Its blank gaze remained fixed ahead, making it impossible to tell what thoughts, if any, passed through its mind.

However, after swallowing so many strange and unpleasant poisons from Grey’s body, it appeared unusually satisfied.

Its entire existence gave off a faint feeling of contentment, almost as though it had just enjoyed an excellent meal.

"I’ve already used nearly half of the materials I bought."

Grey carefully stored the five transparent bottles inside his storage bag before glancing at the remaining ingredients scattered across the table.

"These five poisons should be enough for now."

His face was filled with exhaustion after hours of uninterrupted concentration.

Yet despite the fatigue weighing on his body, his eyes remained as sharp and clear as ever.

The more dangerous the enemies waiting ahead became...

The more prepared he intended to be.