Void Cultivation

"Senior... Grey?"

Her voice carried a hint of surprise as she slowly opened her eyes. Confusion and astonishment immediately appeared on her face when she realized that Grey was holding her in his arms.

"Ah... I-I..." She stuttered awkwardly before quickly pulling herself away from him.

Her face flushed a faint pink from embarrassment.

’Why was he holding me? The last thing I remember was cultivating in the room. But when I woke up, we were already outside, and I was in his arms. Wh-what happened during the night?’

The more she thought about it, the redder her face became.

Grey, however, couldn’t be bothered with whatever thoughts were currently running through her mind. His attention was mostly focused on her condition.

After carefully observing her and confirming that she was completely fine, Grey couldn’t help but heave a silent sigh of relief.

After all, this entire journey to the Corroded Zone had been carried out under the orders of her master. If anything happened to Iria or she somehow died along the way, Grey would definitely find himself in trouble.

’This journey has already been filled with enough complications. We should just get to the Corroded Zone, retrieve what we need, and return as quickly as possible.’

Grey’s eyes narrowed slightly as he looked toward the distant horizon.

From the moment they had left the sect until now, only a single day had passed.

If they had been able to use the teleportation array in the city, they would have already been much closer to the Corroded Zone. Unfortunately, because of the situation in the City, they had no choice but to travel by air.

Even with Grey’s current cultivation and the Mosasaur’s speed, reaching the Corroded Zone would still take several hours.

"Let’s go. It’s already morning. The clouds will soon cover the sky," Grey said in a low voice after hearing Iria stutter several more words.

"Uh..." Iria was just about to say something when Grey suddenly moved.

His hand grabbed her before she could react.

A flash of light passed through the air. In the blink of an eye, both of them had already risen into the sky.

Iria didn’t even have enough time to let out a cry of surprise before a powerful surge of spirit energy erupted from Grey’s body.

The next moment, the Mosasaur emerged.

Its enormous body materialized in the air before rapidly expanding until it became a gigantic creature several dozen meters in length.

"Huh?"

Iria stared at the enormous creature beneath them in astonishment.

Grey released her, and the two of them landed firmly on the Mosasaur’s head.

The Mosasaur immediately let out a deep, thunderous cry.

Its entire body was formed from pure spirit energy, causing it to appear slightly transparent beneath the morning sky. Its massive body shimmered faintly as though it were made from condensed mist.

Despite its ethereal appearance, the intelligent glint within its eyes remained unchanged.

The moment Grey gave the command, the Mosasaur moved.

Whoosh!

Its enormous body shot forward like a bolt of lightning.

The surrounding air exploded from the sheer force of its acceleration, and the Mosasaur rapidly climbed higher into the sky.

In only a short period of time, it had already risen above the clouds.

The world beneath them gradually became smaller.

Gloomy mountains, empty forests that prowed with dangerous beasts, along with scorched rivers that appeared like miniature landscapes from their current height.

After God Descended, this was what their world had transformed into. However, the inhabitants of Pangu had long grown used to it.

Grey merely glanced at the scenery before turning his attention toward the distant horizon. He had experienced flying through the sky countless times, so there was nothing particularly fascinating about it to him.

Iria, however, was different. She had never traveled at such a height and speed before.

Her eyes widened as she looked around curiously.

"It’s so high..."

She unconsciously stepped closer to the edge of the Mosasaur’s head and looked down.

The clouds below them stretched endlessly in every direction, while the sunlight illuminated their surface with a faint golden glow.

For a moment, Iria became completely absorbed in the scenery.

Grey noticed her reaction but didn’t say anything.

He simply continued standing at the front of the Mosasaur while silently calculating how much longer their journey would take.

---

Meanwhile, somewhere far away from Grey and Iria, two streaks of light were rapidly cutting through the sky.

They moved at an astonishing speed.

The surrounding clouds were torn apart as the two arcs passed through them, leaving behind long trails of turbulent air.

To an ordinary person, they would have appeared as nothing more than fleeting streaks of light.

However, if someone with sufficient cultivation looked closely, they would discover that the two arcs were actually two people.

One was a young girl with a cute smile on her face.

Beside her was an old man.

His face was covered with wrinkles, and his long lifespan had given him an aura of ancientness that was difficult to conceal.

The two were traveling in the same direction as Grey and Iria.

However, due to the enormous distance separating them, it would still take several days before their paths crossed.

"Grand Master, do you think the Sects Alliance in that sect is still there?" the young girl asked with a curious smile.

"Would they have already left?"

She tilted her head slightly as she spoke.

If not for the three small horns protruding from her head, one could easily mistake her for a cute human girl.

The old man didn’t immediately respond.

His eyes remained focused on the distant horizon as he continued flying.

"No, I don’t think so."

His voice was calm and gentle.

"The Sects Alliance wouldn’t leave so easily after traveling such a long distance and wasting so many precious resources to get here."

He paused briefly.

"They even used their magic vessels capable of teleporting across regions to reach this place. There must be an important reason for their arrival."

The old man spoke without turning to look at the girl.

Three horns could also be seen protruding from his head.

Unlike the girl’s, however, his horns were considerably longer and sharper.

Their dark surface reflected the faint sunlight, giving them a somewhat intimidating appearance.

It was obvious at a glance that the two were not human cultivators.

They belonged to one of the countless inhuman races scattered throughout the continent.

Unlike humans, many of these races didn’t establish sects.

Instead, they organized themselves into powerful factions, clans, tribes, or families.

The old man’s position within their race was also different from that of a conventional sect master.

He was addressed as Grand Master.

The title wasn’t necessarily because he was the girl’s master. Rather, it was a title bestowed upon individuals whose age, cultivation, and status had earned them great respect within their family.

And his cultivation was more than enough to justify such a title.

He had already reached the Perfected Level of Spirit Core Formation.

Only a small step separated him from the next realm.

With such cultivation, he could be considered one of the strongest experts within their current region.

Hearing his answer, the young girl couldn’t help but purse her lips in irritation.

"I don’t understand why the Sects Alliance would visit a sect like Sky Mist City!"

Her expression became increasingly dissatisfied.

"They don’t even have Grand Masters like you. They’re just a bunch of weaklings who call themselves humans. What makes them better than us from the Horned Tyrant Sect?"

She snorted.

"Any one of us could completely wipe out their Sky Mist Sect!"

The girl’s tone was filled with arrogance. She had only broken through to the Foundation Establishment Realm a few weeks ago and was still becoming accustomed to the power of her new realm.

But ever since her breakthrough, she had developed an increasingly confident view of her own strength.

She felt that anyone at the same cultivation realm as her was no longer worthy of being her opponent.

In her race, she could be considered a genuine prodigy.

She had cultivated from the Qi Accumulation Realm all the way to the Foundation Establishment Realm in only four years.

Such speed was already astonishing.

But what made her even more exceptional was what had happened after her breakthrough.

The moment she entered the Foundation Establishment Realm, she had managed to break open twenty spirit perforations in succession.

That alone was an astonishing achievement.

When she opened five more spirit perforations, she would be able to manifest her first Ball of Spirit Fire.

In fact, she had already managed to use the Special Brilliance Form.

Although she had yet to form a true Ball of Spirit Fire, she had created what could be called a pseudo Ball of Spirit Fire.

Its power naturally couldn’t compare to the real thing.

However, it was still more than enough for her to suppress or even kill cultivators beneath her realm.

With such rapid progress, it was only natural that the young girl had become somewhat proud.

Perhaps even arrogant.

The old man glanced at her from the corner of his eyes. There was no anger in his expression.

Instead, there was a faint trace of helplessness and affection.

"My dear, everything isn’t about strength."

He shook his head.

"The Sects Alliance came to Sky Mist City for a reason. We are also heading toward their sect for a reason."

His voice remained calm.

"Don’t forget that many of the sects within the alliance are composed of humans, but that doesn’t mean they’re all weak. There are countless human prodigies across the continent. You can’t become careless simply because you have made some progress in your cultivation."

The young girl puffed out her cheeks while the old man chuckled softly.

"Moreover, if you’re truly as strong as you claim, why can’t you fly this fast by yourself?"

He finally turned his head toward her.

"Why do you need both a flight talisman and my assistance?"

A teasing smile appeared on his wrinkled face. The girl’s expression instantly became stiff.

"..."

She looked away.

"Hmph."

She clearly didn’t want to answer. Seeing her reaction, the old man couldn’t help but smile.

"Grand Master, we’re only going there to see what the race that shares the same characteristics as us looks like."

The girl’s eyes lit up with curiosity.

"I don’t care about those stinky humans. They think they’re better than the inhumans."

She snorted.

"They’re wrong!"

Her voice became louder toward the end. Before the old man could respond, the girl suddenly accelerated.

The flight talisman attached to her leg suddenly emitted a bright glow.

The inscriptions carved across its surface lit up one after another, releasing even more power.

Whoosh!

Her speed increased dramatically. In an instant, she surpassed the old man and took the lead. The old man merely shook his head with a small smile.

"Still as impatient as ever."

He didn’t seem worried about her sudden acceleration. Instead, he calmly increased his own speed.

However, before he did so, his eyes briefly shifted backward. There, another streak of light was approaching at a much slower pace.

The streak gradually became clearer. It revealed a young man who appeared to be around the same age as the girl.

Unlike the two people in front, however, the young man wasn’t using a flight talisman.

Sweat covered his forehead, and his breathing was slightly hurried. His face was filled with exhaustion. It was obvious that he was struggling to keep up with the other two.

The old man’s eyes narrowed slightly. Then a smile appeared on his face.

"Toji’s speed is slowly increasing."

He nodded in satisfaction.

"Not bad."

The young man continued flying through the sky, gritting his teeth as he forced himself to maintain his speed.

"This little flight exercise will teach him how to better control his spirit energy."

The old man’s eyes contained a trace of approval.

"More importantly, it will teach him how to erupt with his full strength while maintaining control over his body. If he can master that, it will be extremely beneficial to his future cultivation."

His gaze remained fixed on the young man.

"In turn, this will allow his cultivation to progress even faster."

The old man paused for a moment before sighing softly.

"This is good."

His expression became slightly more thoughtful.

"His sister is naturally more talented than him and will undoubtedly cultivate faster. Her cultivation speed is already far beyond his."

He glanced toward the young girl who was currently flying ahead.

"But if Toji wants to catch up to her, he’ll have to find his own path."

The old man’s gaze returned to the exhausted young man.

"He’ll need to refine his body even further and make use of his physical strength to compensate for the gap in their natural talent."

A faint smile appeared on his face.

"If he can reach the same level as his sister physically, perhaps he won’t fall too far behind her."

After saying this, the old man finally turned his attention back toward the young girl. His body suddenly trembled.

Boom!

A powerful surge of spirit energy erupted from him.

His speed instantly increased.

The space around his body seemed to distort as he transformed into a blurred afterimage.

In the next instant, he had already crossed an enormous distance through the sky.

The young girl’s figure gradually became closer.

Neither of them noticed the distant figures traveling in their direction.

And neither Grey nor Iria knew that another group of cultivators was slowly approaching the same destination.

Their paths were still separated by an enormous distance.

But as fate would have it, it was only a matter of time before these seemingly unrelated journeys finally intersected.