Void Cultivation-Chapter 189- The Foundation Establishment Realm (17)

When that faint look of understanding appeared, Grey suddenly stopped moving. The realization hit him so sharply that even the blue ice rapidly crawling across his skin became nothing more than background noise. Frost cracked over his arms, spreading like living veins of winter, but Grey didn’t spare it a single glance.

The young woman noticed the shift immediately. Her cold smile widened, the corners of her lips lifting with a chilling confidence. Without hesitation, she tapped the center of her forehead, and a breath of pale, frigid mist spilled out of her mouth. The mist was so faint it looked like a ghost, something that could be scattered by the slightest breeze, something harmless... yet deadly.

But despite its delicacy, the mist flashed forward with terrifying speed, reaching Grey in the blink of an eye.

Just as the killing mist reached his chest, Grey’s eyes flickered, no, ignited, with a faint purple hue. His entire body began to blur, his outline rippling like a reflection disturbed by water. In the next heartbeat, the mist passed directly through him as if he were made of nothing but illusion.

When his form stabilized again, Grey was no longer standing in the same place. He had reappeared several meters away, calm, steady, and strangely ethereal.

The young woman turned, and when she caught sight of those faint purple eyes, her entire world lurched.

It felt like thunder exploded inside her skull, several bolts, all at once, as if her brain were being violently shaken around. Her sea of consciousness trembled, rippling out of control, and a brutal wave of dizziness hit her. Her stomach twisted sharply, and she gagged as blood leaked from the corner of her lips.

Her legs instinctively staggered backward. A raw, instinctual fear, clawed up her spine, but even as she retreated, the afterimage of those purple eyes refused to fade. It felt carved into her mind, burned into her soul.

"I see..." Grey murmured, his voice soft yet oddly resonant. "So if I use Dragon Eyes while spreading my divine sense... the overall effect is even stronger."

His figure blurred again, not from phasing, but from sheer speed. Power erupted beneath his feet, and Grey shot forward like a streak of lightning. The ice had already crawled up to his shoulders, thin layers forming along his jaw and cheek, yet he looked utterly unaffected. If anything, it made him look even more cold, more ruthless, more untouchable.

In an instant, he appeared before the retreating woman.

His fist drew back, and air compressed wildly around it. When he punched out, the force exploded forward as a fist-shaped Air Cannon, rippling with destructive intent.

The woman reacted just in time. A gentle, multicolored screen of light blossomed before her, fragile and beautiful, like a shimmering soap bubble. But despite its softness, it carried a defensive power unique to her Special Brilliance form.

The Air Cannon smashed into it ...and bounced back as if the screen were made of cotton and water, dispersing harmlessly into the air.

When the woman saw this, she secretly heaved a sigh of relief, even though the fear in her eyes remained. Grey’s overall attack capabilities left her completely in awe.

While she had been forced to use her Special Brilliance form early on in the fight, Grey had managed to keep her on her toes and make her wary of his every move.

If the woman actually found out that Grey had just broken through to the Foundation Establishment Realm a few days ago, she would absolutely not believe it.

After all, Grey’s fighting abilities and the way he displayed his surplus speed were just too terrifying. The only weakness he had at this moment was his lack of divine abilities.

And if she found out that Grey could unleash his Special Brilliance form right now, she would definitely not want to continue this battle any longer. Although her elder told her to watch over this territory until the Nine Colored Sect came over to build a branch here, she would definitely not die just to keep that responsibility.

When his first punch was deflected, Grey hesitated a bit. Confusion appeared in his eyes. So far, his battle with this young woman had been extremely tough but also very meaningless.

However, Grey would not hesitate whenever he wanted to do something. But that didn’t mean he would act stupid every time. Instead, he would focus on one thing and ignore the rest.

Although their battle had taken place in the sky, the fluctuations and clashes would definitely be felt by those below. And that was exactly the kind of situation he wanted to avoid.

Grey had personally witnessed the old man use a substitution art and leave the underground tunnels. In fact, if he hadn’t placed his perception on him before he left, he doubted he would ever be able to track him down, especially with the old man’s vile schemes and trickish methods.

’It’s about time I end this...’

As this thought grew clearer in his mind, Grey knew he could not keep wasting any more time. So he retreated several feet while closing his eyes. Although the young woman was safe within the screen of light that protected her and could attack Grey while he was withdrawing, this short battle had made her extremely wary of him. When Grey sensed that she didn’t make any move to attack, a wry smile appeared on his lips.

For a brief moment, there was an eerie silence. Even the wind seemed to avoid the space around Grey, as if sensing something far more dangerous was about to awaken.

Immediately after, he opened his eyes, and a bright glow could be seen in them. A heartbeat later, a burst of energy suddenly erupted from within him. The moment that energy burst out, Grey felt his Foundation Establishment power rise by several folds.

The world seemed to become much clearer and brighter in his eyes. Movements around him slowed down even more, in fact, he could see in perfect detail the shock spreading across the young woman’s face.

As that surge of power erupted from him, a bright ball of fire appeared before him. That ball of fire signified that Grey had opened his twenty-fifth node, and had turned it into his Twenty-fifth Spirit Perforation. It also meant that Grey had unleashed his Special Brilliance form.