Void Cultivation

When Grey had first activated the Soul Devouring Everlasting Bird, he had needed to consume a massive amount of souls and life energy before the technique could be activated. Yet even then, the Soul Devouring Everlasting Bird had still been incomplete, with only a portion of its essence residing within Grey.

This Ancient Technique was similar in that regard. However, the nourishment it required was entirely different.

Bizarre existences.

Moreover, it could not just be any ordinary bizarre existence.

Over the past few months, Grey had encountered several bizarre existences that would normally remain hidden from the perception of ordinary cultivators. Some of them were so well concealed that even his powerful divine sense had difficulty detecting them.

Even Zayne, who was currently being possessed by a Bizarre existence, had failed to stir the rusty nail within Grey’s soul. Despite the presence of that Bizarre existence inside Zayne, the rusty nail had remained completely silent, hidden and concealed within the depths of Grey’s body.

This led Grey to believe that the nourishment required by the rusty nail was not an ordinary Bizarre existence.

There had to be something special about the one it had devoured.

"What made Kaien’s Bizarre existence so special that it stirred the rusty nail into devouring it?"

Grey pondered deeply, his brows slightly furrowed.

Unfortunately, no matter how much he thought about it, he could not come up with a clear answer.

There were simply too many possibilities.

Perhaps the Bizarre existence itself was unique. Perhaps it possessed a special origin that ordinary Bizarre existences did not have. Or perhaps there was something about the way it had been nurtured that made it especially suitable for the rusty nail.

Grey’s expression gradually became solemn.

It was only then that he remembered the jade slip Zayne had given him.

The jade slip contained detailed information about the Heavens Chosen, including their names, identities, and the sects they belonged to.

Grey immediately took it out.

His divine sense entered the jade slip, and countless pieces of information instantly flooded his mind. He rapidly scanned through the records, searching for a particular name.

Kaien.

When he finally reached the information regarding Kaien and the Bizarre Broken Sect, Grey stopped.

His expression became serious as he began reading the information carefully.

Zayne had not merely recorded the name of the sect. He had also included a brief description of its history, its cultivation methods, and the peculiar characteristics of its members.

Grey read through the information comprehensively, unwilling to overlook even the smallest detail.

"Among the Seventeen Sects, the Bizarre Broken Sect is considered the most bizarre."

Grey’s eyes narrowed slightly.

"The sect is primarily composed of human cultivators, and there are almost no non-humans among its members. However, their method of cultivation is extremely strange."

Unlike the other sects, the Bizarre Broken Sect did not rely solely on conventional cultivation methods.

They still broke through cultivation levels and realms, just like other cultivators. However, their method of achieving those breakthroughs was fundamentally different.

Normal cultivators cultivated spirit energy and continuously refined it, filtering out the corrosive substance contained within it.

The cultivators of the Bizarre Broken Sect, however, did something completely different.

They used Bizarre existences to accomplish the same thing.

Grey’s expression changed slightly as he continued reading.

The further one ventured into the Central Quadrant, the more corrosive zones there were.

However, the corrosive zones found in the deeper regions were far more dangerous than the ones Grey had encountered before. Not only was the corrosive substance within them much more concentrated, but the strange and incomprehensible phenomena that occurred there were also far more terrifying.

These places were known as Corroded Regions.

Grey had heard of Corroded Regions before.

They were among the most dangerous areas within the Central Quadrant, and their existence was closely connected to God’s Blinding Radiance.

According to what Grey knew, God’s Blinding Radiance was capable of transforming the very nature of an area.

Whenever the blinding radiance descended upon a region, it would leave behind a terrifying corrosive influence that could gradually alter everything within its reach.

However, there was a significant difference between being struck directly and being affected by the radiance indirectly.

If God’s Blinding Radiance struck the exact same location twice, the result would be immediate.

The area would be directly transformed into a Corroded Region.

The destructive influence left behind by the two strikes would overlap, causing the surrounding space and laws to undergo a drastic transformation. The corrosive substance would become far denser, while the strange phenomena born from the radiance would also become increasingly terrifying.

However, if the second strike did not land on the exact same location but instead struck somewhere nearby, the process would be much slower.

The corrosive influence would gradually spread from the point of impact.

Over time, the affected zone would slowly change.

The laws governing the region would become distorted, the environment would become increasingly hostile, and the corrosive substance would continue to accumulate.

Eventually, after a sufficiently long period of time, the entire zone would undergo a complete transformation.

It would become a Corroded Region.

Grey’s eyes flickered as he read the information.

The Bizarre Broken Sect cultivated in such dangerous environments.

Rather than filtering out the corrosive substance through the conventional method of refining spirit energy, they relied on Bizarre existences to accomplish the same purpose.

This was an extremely peculiar cultivation path.

Bizarre existences were naturally strange and difficult to understand. Their very existence seemed to violate the conventional laws of the world. Yet, according to the records, the cultivators of the Bizarre Broken Sect had somehow discovered a method to utilize them.

They would allow Bizarre existences to enter their bodies and use their unique properties to filter and suppress the corrosive substance.

Of course, this process was extremely dangerous.

After all, Bizarre existences were not ordinary creatures.

Even the slightest mistake could result in the cultivator being corrupted, possessed, or completely losing control of their own body.

Yet the Bizarre Broken Sect had somehow managed to turn this dangerous process into a cultivation method.

Grey’s expression became increasingly thoughtful.

Could this be the reason?

Could the Bizarre existence within Kaien have been different because it originated from the cultivation method of the Bizarre Broken Sect?

Or was there something else?

Something even deeper?

Grey’s gaze became cold and contemplative.

The rusty nail had remained completely unmoved by every Bizarre existence he had encountered before.

Yet when it encountered the Bizarre existence inside Kaien, it had immediately reacted.

Not only had it reacted, but it had actively devoured it.

That was definitely not a coincidence.

There was a connection between them.

The only problem was that Grey still did not know what that connection was.

He continued staring at the information contained within the jade slip, his thoughts becoming increasingly complicated.

The Bizarre Broken Sect.

Bizarre existences.

The rusty nail.

And the Ancient Technique that required Bizarre existences as nourishment.

All of these things seemed to be connected by an invisible thread.

Grey just had to find it.

The end result of the transformation was the same, but the process was completely different.

Grey had heard of examples like this before, and he couldn’t help but recall a particular Corrosive Zone that had gradually transformed into a Corroded Region.

Suppose God’s Blinding Radiance had struck a certain area a hundred years ago.

The moment the radiance descended, the land would begin to accumulate a terrifying amount of corrosive substance. The environment would rapidly become distorted, and bizarre existences and strange creatures would begin to appear out of nowhere.

The laws of the world in that region would also gradually become unstable.

Plants would wither.

Animals would mutate.

Even ordinary humans and cultivators would begin to experience strange changes within their bodies.

In the end, almost all lifeforms in the area would either mutate, die, or transform into terrifying abominations.

That was the beginning of a Corrosive Zone.

However, the transformation would not stop there.

A hundred years later, God’s Blinding Radiance might strike an area close to the original Corrosive Zone, creating another Corrosive Zone.

If the distance between the two zones was not too great, the corrosive influence of the newly formed zone would gradually interact with the original one.

At that point, one of two things would happen.

The newly formed Corrosive Zone would gradually dissipate, while the older Corrosive Zone would absorb the surrounding corrosive influence and continue to evolve.

Eventually, it would undergo a complete transformation and become a Corroded Region.

This was the eventual process through which a Corrosive Zone could transform into a Corroded Region.

However, the process was extremely slow.

It could take decades.

It could take centuries.

And in some cases, it could take even longer.

The deeper one ventured into the Central Quadrant, the more terrifying the Corroded Regions became. Some of them had existed for countless years, having experienced the descent of God’s Blinding Radiance multiple times.

Those places were no longer simply regions filled with corrosive substance.

They were completely different worlds.

The Bizarre Broken Sect was an extremely strange sect for precisely this reason.

They had actually established their sect close to what had once been a Corrosive Zone but had eventually transformed into a full-fledged Corroded Region.

It was a place that ordinary cultivators would avoid at all costs.

Yet the Bizarre Broken Sect had chosen to build their home there.

Grey’s eyes narrowed slightly as he continued reading.

If someone wanted to become a disciple of the Bizarre Broken Sect, they would first have to undergo an initiation ritual.

The process was simple.

Simple, but terrifying.