Void Cultivation-Chapter 223- Fatal (2)

The moment Grey added the Scattering of Herbs flower, there was no visible reaction.

The dense substance within the bronze basin continued to bubble steadily, releasing faint wisps of black vapor that curled lazily into the air before dispersing. The reaction was calm... too calm. There was no sudden surge of corrosive energy, no violent eruption, not even a fluctuation in the rhythm of the bubbling liquid.

Seeing this, Grey frowned.

This was not what he had expected.

He had already prepared himself for the worst. Long before adding the flower, he had calculated multiple possible outcomes and prepared countermeasures for each. If the poison erupted violently, he would suppress it. If the corrosive substance surged beyond control, he would neutralize it immediately. He had even accounted for the possibility of a chain reaction that might force him to abandon the refinement entirely.

Yet none of that happened.

The poison neither exploded nor caused any drastic increase in the corrosive aura filling the room. Everything appeared stable, almost peaceful.

That was precisely what unsettled him.

Despite the outward calm, Grey felt an inexplicable sense of unease gnawing at him. His instincts, honed through countless near-death experiences, were screaming that something was wrong.

Something is wrong, he thought grimly. The Scattering of Herbs flower must have strengthened one of the suppressive materials too much... pushing the balance beyond equilibrium.

That was the only explanation he could think of.

Grey narrowed his eyes and continued to monitor the bronze basin carefully, his gaze sharp and unwavering. His senses extended outward, probing the fluctuations of spirit energy within the mixture. Still, nothing abnormal surfaced. The poison continued to refine itself in silence, as though mocking his vigilance.

Just as Grey raised his hand to scratch his head, a strange sensation crept across his skin.

It was subtle at first, like a faint itch beneath the surface of his flesh.

Before he could properly register it, Grey’s expression changed drastically.

Without hesitation, he retreated at once, backing away from the room he was using to refine the poison. His movements were swift and decisive, driven purely by instinct.

Only then did he notice it.

Pieces of flesh were peeling off his body on their own.

There was no blood at first, no tearing sound, only the horrifying sight of his skin separating as if an invisible force were stripping it away layer by layer. The detached flesh did not fall to the ground. Instead, it withered midair, shrinking into dry, emaciated fragments before crumbling into fine dust.

When Grey saw this, his pupils shrank violently.

Without the slightest hesitation, he swallowed a large number of medicinal pills in rapid succession. At the same time, he urged the purple crystal embedded within him to accelerate its healing process, forcing his spirit power to circulate at full speed through his meridians.

Yet it was not enough.

His flesh continued to peel away as he retreated farther and farther from the refinement chamber. By the time he had put a significant distance between himself and the room, Grey realized a terrifying truth.

It wasn’t just his hand.

The flesh across his entire body was peeling away, slowly, relentlessly, disintegrating into dust as though his very existence were being erased piece by piece. If anyone had witnessed him at that moment, they would have seen a truly horrifying scene: Grey’s body shedding itself, layers of flesh vanishing without leaving so much as a corpse behind.

The process was slow.

And that made it far more terrifying.

What disturbed Grey the most was the absence of pain.

Instead of agony, all he felt was a persistent prickling sensation beneath his skin, accompanied by an overwhelming urge to scratch himself, as though something were crawling just beneath the surface of his flesh.

Grey clenched his teeth tightly and resisted the impulse.

He knew instinctively that the moment he scratched his body, the peeling would accelerate beyond control.

Only after retreating far enough did the changes finally begin to slow. To Grey’s immense relief, the flesh on his body gradually stopped peeling and began to regenerate.

His tightly constricted pupils slowly relaxed, though the lingering fear in his eyes did not fade so easily.

"What happened?" He wondered silently. "What kind of transformation did the poison undergo?"

Curiosity surged violently within him, but Grey forcefully suppressed it. Right now, survival mattered more than understanding. He silently observed his body as the wounds continued to heal.

The recovery did not take long.

Within three hours, Grey’s flesh had completely grown back, leaving no visible scars behind. Such regenerative ability was extremely rare, even among high-level Foundation Establishment cultivators. Yet Grey possessed the purple crystal, an existence that blatantly defied common sense.

As the regeneration completed, Grey noticed something unexpected.

Despite how terrifying the phenomenon had been, the actual damage inflicted upon his body was far less severe than he had anticipated.

"Bizarre..." Grey muttered inwardly. "Despite its appearance, this poison is still too weak for the effect that I would like." 𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

A glint of excitement flashed through his eyes as he licked his lips. However, the skin on his lips had already peeled off, so it looked like a very creepy scene.

"Perhaps the Scattering of Herbs flower can only amplify its effects to this extent."

Rather than disappointment, anticipation flooded his heart.

"This is only one poison," he reminded himself. I’ll have plenty of time to refine and improve it.

Gritting his teeth, Grey turned around and rushed back toward the room where the poison was still being refined.

Even after three hours, the substance within the bronze basin continued to bubble steadily, showing no signs of stabilizing. It was clear that the reaction could persist for an extremely long time.

Grey ignored the faint prickling sensation beneath his skin and sat down once more in front of the basin. By now, the poisonous aura had spread throughout the entire room. Almost immediately, his flesh began to peel and wither again.

This time, however, Grey did not panic.

He calmly observed the mixture. The poison had yet to fully take shape, it remained a dense black substance, its lethality still in the process of accumulation.

Realizing this, Grey retrieved several poisonous materials he had prepared in advance and poured them into the basin without hesitation.

He then took out two more leaves of the Scattering of Herbs flower and dropped them directly into the mixture.

After completing these steps, Grey closed his eyes and waited.

His body was still and his eyes were shut. Even when his skin peeled off and blood dyed his clothes red, Grey ignored all this. If someone were to see him like this, they would be quite shocked. Because they would think that he was a corpse that was undergoing decay.

The flesh on his face grew saggy and sallow. His skin turned a pale yellow as it started to peel off from his body.

This scene continued for a long time without Grey making any movements. The bronze basin in front of him bubbled and shook, yet, the content did not pour. It was also not time for Grey to mold them into the shape of a pill.

Within the sealed chamber, time passed slowly. The reaction persisted for as long as it took a candle to burn down completely, the flickering flame casting distorted shadows against the walls.

Just as Grey opened his eyes and prepared to add another ingredient, a sharp, unbearable pain exploded throughout his entire body.

In an instant, his flesh peeled away violently. Blood burst from his wounds, only to turn pitch-black the moment it left his body, splattering against the ground with a corrosive hiss.

Shock flashed across Grey’s eyes.

Without a second thought, he rushed out of the room once more. As he fled, he swallowed more medicinal pills and poured spirit power into the purple crystal shards, forcing them to accelerate his healing beyond their limits.

Yet the peeling of his skin and the corruption of his blood did not stop.

Without hesitation, Grey rapidly formed a series of hand seals before rushing out of the cave abode entirely. Upon exiting, he grabbed a massive boulder and sealed the entrance tightly, isolating the poison within.

Only then did he pause to catch his breath.

The shock in his heart far surpassed anything he had felt before. Even as the creator of the poison, Grey felt as though a slow but inevitable life-and-death crisis had nearly descended upon him.

The poison had seeped into his skin and begun making its way into his bloodstream.

Grey spat out a mouthful of thick, black blood, his expression solemn.

This was the first time his own poison had truly backfired on him.

Yet even in this state, Grey sensed something else, something hidden within the danger. A faint trace of opportunity lingered beneath the terror.

Desire quietly ignited within his heart as he stared at the tightly sealed cave abode.

However, the sharp pain coursing through his body forced him to halt.

With a deep breath, Grey suppressed his curiosity once more.