Void Cultivation

Chapter 312 - 311-

Grey did not waste any time before descending once more into the pure white world to conquer stars. The moment he arrived, he picked a direction and locked onto the nearest star.

Within a short span of time, he reached it and claimed ownership of the black star, turning the massive, dark body into a radiant shade of purple and imprinting his mark upon it.

And so it continued.

Time passed in silence.

For three whole months, Grey moved through the endless expanse, conquering star after star without pause. By the end of that period, the number of stars under his control had risen from one hundred to seven hundred and ninety-four.

When the three months finally came to an end, Grey’s spirit body was completely exhausted, dispirited to the extreme, unable to continue any further. Without hesitation, he withdrew his divine sense and returned to his sea of consciousness.

The moment he returned, Grey immediately stirred the power of the seven hundred and ninety-four purple stars under his control, attempting to influence the laws of the world itself.

The instant his intent spread and the power of the stars was unleashed, the previously desolate and silent world trembled.

The change was subtle, so slight that it could easily go unnoticed. But Grey, who stood at the center of it all, felt it clearly.

Then, suddenly, his spirit energy began to vanish.

It was as if a massive black hole had appeared within his sea of consciousness, devouring his spirit energy at an alarming rate.

Grey’s body trembled.

At that very moment, a power both foreign and familiar flooded into him.

The unfamiliarity stemmed from the fact that this was not his own power, it was external. Yet, at the same time, it felt deeply familiar... because it was the power of the world itself.

More precisely... it was the true power of the world.

The small black stars Grey had conquered were merely foundational fragments, pseudo-laws that formed the structure of this realm. Though they were not the true laws themselves, they were intrinsically connected to them.

Because of this connection, the moment Grey stirred their power, he brushed against something far greater.

The instant his body trembled was the same instant the world responded.

Grey felt as though something profound had been bestowed upon him, something that would drive countless experts into madness with desire.

And yet...

Despite being granted access to it, he could not control it.

It felt as though an endless, insurmountable gap lay before him, one that could not be crossed, even if he were to conquer every single star in existence.

Then,

A gaze fell upon him.

Cold. Silent. Vast beyond comprehension.

Grey’s body stiffened slightly.

At that moment, he felt as though he were being observed by an existence capable of crushing him with a mere thought, one that could decide his life and death with a single flicker of intention.

Yet strangely... there was no killing intent.

The gaze was calm, detached, confused and slightly hesitant.

However, this feeling did not last long.

The moment Grey’s spirit energy was completely depleted, the connection was severed.

The boundless power vanished.

And the gaze similarly disappeared.

Grey slowly exhaled, releasing a breath he did not realize he had been holding.

Although everything had felt drawn out and profound, in reality, only a brief moment had passed.

The power of the world had only been stirred for about ten breaths before everything returned to silence.

Grey remained seated on the cold steps, his expression calm and unreadable.

"I can already control close to eight hundred stars. That is enough to stir the power of the world..." he muttered.

"But the problem is my spirit energy. At most, I can sustain it for only ten breaths. That is nowhere near enough to cross these steps."

His gaze dimmed slightly.

Even more troubling was the fact that, despite the overwhelming and boundless nature of the power he had accessed, his influence over it was extremely limited.

At best, he could only affect the steps beneath him.

As for the rest of the world...

It remained beyond his reach.

Grey also could not determine whether the laws he stirred would affect Violet and Roxanne, whether they too would be granted relief from the crushing pressure of the steps.

After a moment of contemplation, his expression remained unchanged.

He simply closed his eyes and began to recover his spirit energy.

Silence descended once more upon the vast, cold, desolate world.

It was as though nothing had happened.

As though the trembling of the world moments ago had been nothing more than an illusion.

Time passed.

Hours slipped by.

Only after a long while did Grey finally open his eyes again.

However, this time, he did not attempt to stir the power of the world.

Instead, he raised his hand and touched the ring on his finger... his storage ring, something he had obtained long ago.

After a brief moment of deliberation, Grey began taking items out.

One after another, they appeared beside him, forming a small pile, then they piled and formed a mound, until it resembled a miniature hill.

"These are all the items I possess that can increase my spirit energy... even if only slightly," Grey murmured.

"I’ve gathered them over a long period of time. It’s time I finally put them to use."

He picked up a bottle and examined it briefly.

Inside were several medicinal pills.

However, after a glance, he showed little interest and casually set it aside.

Reaching for another item, Grey pulled out something different.

A lotus-shaped talisman.

These talismans were capable of increasing a cultivator’s spirit energy output, often used during breakthroughs in the Qi Accumulation realm.

Grey had obtained quite a number of them in the past, from criminals he captured during his time in Sky Mist City as a member of the detective agency.

Back then, they had been of little use to him. His breakthroughs relied on the inscriptions of his magic ship, and these talismans were too low-level to provide meaningful assistance.

But now...

Things were different.

Stirring the power of the laws required an immense amount of spirit energy.

And so, these once-forgotten items that had been left to gather dust within his storage ring had finally become useful.

Of course, many of them had already degraded over time. Some had shattered, their spiritual essence long since dissipated.

Even so, after counting carefully, Grey discovered that he still had thirty-two usable Spirit Lotus Talismans remaining.