Void Cultivation-Chapter 222- Fatal

Without pausing for even a single breath, Grey began taking out more poisonous grasses. One after another, they appeared before him, their shapes, colors, and textures vastly different, yet all carrying a faintly sinister aura. As each new stalk, leaf, or root was exposed to the open air, the corrosive substance lingering within the cave abode surged violently, spreading outward like an invisible tide.

The air trembled.

A sharp, acrid stench flooded the room, biting into the senses and clawing at the throat. Even an ordinary cultivator would have found it difficult to breathe under such conditions, let alone remain calm. Grey, however, merely narrowed his eyes slightly. With a practiced motion, he sprinkled several medicinal pills he had obtained earlier into the surrounding area. The pills dissolved almost instantly, releasing stabilizing medicinal energy that barely managed to restrain the rampant corrosion.

Throughout the entire process, Grey’s expression did not change even once.

After laying out all the poisonous herbs in an orderly manner, Grey finally withdrew his hands and shifted his focus inward. His attention turned fully toward calculating the precise ratios required for refinement. This step was the most critical phase of the entire process, and also the most time-consuming. A single miscalculation, no matter how small, could cause the carefully restrained mixture to erupt violently, destroying everything in its vicinity and potentially costing him his life.

Because of this, Grey proceeded with extreme caution.

He repeatedly reviewed his past experiences, cross-referencing them with written records and fragmented notes he had accumulated over the years. He searched through stored information related to each specific herb, recalling their origins, growth environments, and inherent traits. One by one, he analyzed their properties, compatibility, volatility, and the precise conditions under which they could coexist without triggering an uncontrollable reaction.

Temperature. Humidity. Order of introduction. Reaction delay.

Nothing was overlooked.

This phase of preparation dragged on for hours.

To an outsider, the process would have seemed unbearably long and painfully monotonous. Most cultivators would have lost patience long before reaching this stage, unwilling to devote so much time and effort to something as dull as researching plants and poisonous materials. They would have relied on instinct or rough estimates instead.

But Grey was different.

He was accustomed to boredom. More than that, he welcomed it.

To him, long hours of silent research were not a burden, but an opportunity, an opportunity to accumulate knowledge, refine his judgment, and sharpen his understanding. Each moment of stillness was another step forward along his chosen path.

"The path of poison is lonely and filled with solitude," Grey muttered softly, his voice barely audible within the cave abode.

"Cultivation is no different."

Time slipped by unnoticed.

Eventually, the sun sank below the horizon, and darkness swallowed the land outside. Not long after, the moon emerged from behind layers of heavy clouds, casting a pale and distant glow through the narrow openings of the cave. Only then did Grey finally complete his preparations.

He slowly opened his eyes.

Within them burned a strange and unsettling light.

It was not bloodlust. Nor was it madness. It was a pure, obsessive desire, to refine, to perfect, to create the strongest poison possible.

Without hesitation, Grey reached into his storage space and took out a large basin.

The basin was made of bronze, its surface dulled and scarred by the passage of time. Countless scratches and marks covered its body, each one a silent testament to repeated use. Ancient markings faintly lined its sides, their meanings long eroded by age. Despite its worn appearance, a subtle medicinal fragrance continuously wafted from it, steady and enduring.

It was obvious at a glance that this was no ordinary item.

This basin was a peculiar artifact, one that had been used for refinement countless years ago.

Grey had obtained it from the storage bag of the middle-aged Foundation Establishment cultivator who had ambushed him some time ago. That storage bag had contained many other items as well: techniques, cultivation arts, talismans, and various miscellaneous resources.

Unfortunately, most of them were of no use to him.

Grey had already decided to sell those items later, exchanging them for materials better suited to his own path.

Pushing those thoughts aside, Grey focused once more.

He carefully dropped the first batch of poisonous materials into the bronze basin. His movements were steady, deliberate, and precise. There was no hesitation in his actions. After that, he added the yellow drop of blood as well.

The instant it made contact,

A sharp, piercing sizzling sound rang out.

The bronze basin shook violently, trembling as if it were alive. The ancient markings along its surface flickered faintly, responding to the sudden surge of energy within.

Yet Grey did not stop.

He continued adding materials one after another, strictly following the sequence he had calculated earlier. His face remained calm throughout, and his actions were smooth and practiced, like someone who had repeated this exact process countless times before.

Very soon, a corrosive substance began to emanate from the bronze basin that Grey was using as a refining cauldron. Wisps of distorted air rose upward, carrying an invisible but terrifying lethality. However, Grey’s gaze remained calm, as if he had long anticipated this development. 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝑚

His shadow stirred.

It greedily absorbed a portion of the corrosive substance that attempted to invade his body, swallowing it whole without resistance. Meanwhile, the remaining traces were neutralized by the purple crystal shards embedded deep within him. Under the combined effects of these two forces, Grey’s body remained pure and untouched, even as the air around him grew increasingly toxic.

At this moment, if someone were standing outside his cave abode on the circular platform and looked toward its entrance, they would discover streams of corrosive substance slowly seeping out through the cracks and ventilation holes carved into the stone walls.

The sight would have been alarming.

The concentration of the corrosive substance was terrifyingly dense. It spread outward, warping the atmosphere and causing the surroundings to undergo a drastic transformation. The air grew gloomy, heavy, and oppressive, filled with a suffocating pressure that gnawed at the senses.

This oppressive environment was already beginning to resemble that of a Corroded Zone.

However, it had yet to truly reach that level.

Grey calmly activated the various arrays and runes he had prepared in advance. Faint lights flickered across the cave walls as the formations came to life, weaving together into a stabilizing network. The escaping corrosive substance was forcibly suppressed and gradually neutralized.

Only after confirming that the situation was fully under control did Grey continue refining the poison.

Several more hours passed.

Grey never left his cave abode during that time. However, the calm expression he had worn earlier had completely vanished. In its place was a look of deep solemnity and intense concentration.

Beads of sweat rolled down the sides of his face, dripping onto the stone floor below. His grey hair clung tightly to his head, soaked through by perspiration. His clothes were drenched, sticking closely to his refined and toned body as waves of heat and poisonous energy surged relentlessly from the bronze basin.

This was the most crucial stage of the entire refining process.

This was the moment he would add the catalyst.

Up to this point, Grey had only been introducing poisonous herbs. By meticulously controlling the ratios and timing of each addition, he had been determining what type of catalyst would be required to force the mixture to fully awaken.

Yet that was not all.

This catalyst would be the deciding factor, the thin line separating failure from success. It would transform the unstable concoction from a dangerous mixture into a truly lethal poison.

If the balance he had established earlier was even slightly off, the poison’s power would erupt prematurely. The refinement would fail, valuable resources would be lost, and death would no longer be a distant possibility.

At this critical moment, Grey raised his hand.

Slowly, carefully, he dropped two tiny leaves into the bronze basin.

The leaves were extremely small, resembling seeds hidden deep within flower petals. Their colors were an eerie blend of green and black, constantly shifting under the light. Strangely, they emitted no identifiable poisonous fluctuations, making them almost impossible to detect through conventional means.

These leaves belonged to the Scattering of Herbs Flower.

This plant was not used for refining poison or crafting medicinal pills in the traditional sense. Instead, it served a single purpose, to act as a catalyst.

When used in medicinal refinement, it could mildly enhance the overall effects of a pill. However, when used in poison concoction, its effects became far more terrifying. It caused the potency of the poison to skyrocket while forcibly merging all the ingredients within the mixture.

In medicine, its value was mediocre at best.

But poison was a completely different matter.

The Scattering of Herbs Flower could amplify lethality beyond expectations, or it could cause one ingredient to dominate all others, imprinting the poison with a distinct and unpredictable characteristic.

Which ingredient would be enhanced was entirely random.

That was precisely why it bore the name Scattering of Herbs Flower.

Because it scattered balance itself.

And the very moment Grey added it...

That scattering began.