Void Cultivation-Chapter 196- Strange Arts

As the old man saw Grey still standing where he was, alive and breathing, he could not help but let out a harsh, grating laugh filled with self-deprecation. But given his current appearance, his skeletal frame, sunken cheeks, and skin stretched tight over brittle bones, the laughter sounded less like mockery and more like something born from madness. The scene looked grotesque, bizarre, and deeply unsettling.

The laughter had not even finished echoing through the air when the old man suddenly convulsed. His body bent forward sharply, and he spat out a mouthful of blood. The blood was pitch-black, thick like sludge, and carried a nauseating stench that assaulted the senses the moment it hit the ground.

Yet the instant that foul blood left his mouth, something strange happened.

The exhaustion etched into the old man’s face vanished as if it had never existed. The deathly pallor draining his skin faded, and his emaciated flesh visibly began to recover. Muscles filled out, bones were no longer visible beneath his skin, and his body rapidly returned to a normal state.

The vitality that had been forcibly siphoned away by the dark totem surged back into him in a violent rush. Waves of life force rolled through his body, flooding every vein and bone. Even his cultivation level, which had previously fallen to a weak and pitiful state, climbed rapidly, stabilizing at its peak condition.

Grey watched all of this unfold in silence.

His expression remained calm, but his guard never lowered. Even so, he had not expected the old man to recover in such a manner. This wasn’t ordinary healing, it was abnormal, almost unnatural. If that dark totem were still intact, the old man might have been able to summon that terrifying projection once more.

Unfortunately for him, once the time frame ended and the totem found no more vitality to consume, it began to wither. Cracks spread across its surface before it crumbled into faint motes of darkness and vanished completely, leaving nothing behind.

In less than three breaths of time, the transformation was complete.

The old man stood upright, appearing no different from a healthy cultivator. In fact, dense life force radiated faintly from his body, pulsing like a second heartbeat. However, this state was clearly temporary. Once the borrowed vitality finished dispersing, he would return to his original condition.

"Hmph! I did not expect even that old man to be powerless against you," the old man said loudly, his voice carrying an unmistakable tone of pride. "Even after sucking away my vitality and life force... luckily, I always prepare a back-up plan!"

Yet as memories of what had just occurred replayed in his mind, and as he realized Grey was still standing before him, that arrogance quickly faded. Wariness crept into his eyes, replacing the earlier confidence.

The moment his words fell, the old man did not dare to linger.

Without hesitation, he turned and rushed toward the exit at full speed, his figure blurring as he fled.

A narrow glint flashed through Grey’s eyes as he watched the retreating figure. His expression darkened slightly. He could chase after him, and he very much wanted to, but the bizarre arts and techniques the old man possessed made him cautious.

If he failed to kill him swiftly, there was a real possibility that the old man would summon another terrifying existence. And if that happened, Grey knew he might truly be outmatched.

"This old man..." Grey muttered in a low voice, his killing intent simmering beneath his calm exterior. "Just where did he obtain such arts and techniques? But that only makes me want to kill him even more."

With a flick of his wrist, Grey brought out a small gourd. Inside was the Golden Syrup he had obtained from the underground caverns. After breaking through to the Foundation Establishment Realm, he discovered that it could no longer help him open additional nodes. However, it proved incredibly effective at restoring spirit energy at an astonishing speed.

Grey tilted his head back and took a gulp.

Instantly, warmth spread through his body. His eyes brightened, and the lingering exhaustion was wiped away as if it had never existed.

Roxanne stared at the gourd with a puzzled expression. Noticing her gaze, Grey gave a wry smile before tossing the gourd toward her.

When he had broken through to the Foundation Establishment Realm, he had noticed her interest in the Golden Syrup. But later, after shattering his twenty-five nodes and converting them into spirit perforations, he had completely forgotten to give it to her.

As energy surged back into his limbs, Grey’s eyes sharpened.

In the next instant, he vanished from where he stood.

A violent gust erupted outward, tearing through the air as it chased after the fleeing old man. The fierce wind roared like a raging beast, sweeping through the streets of Green City.

Behind it, Roxanne transformed into a blazing stream of flames and followed closely, her figure merging with the fiery trail. The sight alone was enough to shock anyone who witnessed it.

As the wind and flames tore through the city, countless civilians screamed and fled in terror. Doors slammed shut, stalls overturned, and panic spread like wildfire.

Cultivators felt it most acutely.

A suffocating pressure pressed down on them as the wind and flames passed by. Those with higher cultivation levels felt their pupils shrink, instinctively retreating with fear etched across their faces.

One man, however, stood his ground.

He remained in the middle of the street, watching the approaching wind and flames with an apathetic expression. His face was hidden beneath a dark cloak, torn and tattered by time. Despite this, powerful spirit energy fluctuations radiated from his body, infinitesimally close to the Foundation Establishment Realm. With just a single step, he could cross that threshold.

The man raised his palm and thrust it forward.

As the wind slammed into him, a strange burst of light erupted from his hand. The lights shimmered in multiple colors, appearing and vanishing in rapid flashes. Each carried a powerful absorption force, attempting to swallow the incoming wind.

But the clash was instantaneous.

The man was violently thrown backward, his already damaged cloak tearing even further. Blood burst from his nose and mouth as he staggered, his eyes filled with shock and disbelief.

It felt as though a force capable of uprooting mountains had crashed into him head-on.

His body simply could not withstand it.

Even the lights that had spread from his palm were forcibly dragged back into his hand, collapsing under the overwhelming pressure.

Though blood only trickled down his lips, the man knew his internal organs had been damaged. The only reason he was still alive was because the force that struck him had no intention of killing him, it had a destination.

If it had even slightly deviated from that path, Grey would not have spared a single thought before ending his life.