Slowly, Grey felt the next spirit node tremble violently within his body. The faint vibration spread through his ridians like ripples on water, but it soon stabilized again. The power contained within the mutated sea creatures of the Qi Accumulation realm could only go so far. No matter how many he refined, their lives simply did not possess enough spirituality to force open a single spirit perforation.
Even so, Grey was not discouraged.
On the contrary, a hint of excitent stirred within him.
At the mont, he was gradually becoming accustod to controlling the phantom while hunting. Each kill, each refinent, improved his familiarity with the Life Demon art and strengthened his grasp over its manifestations.
Although the Life Demon art was primarily used to refine the life force of living creatures and transform that vitality into the energy needed to open spirit perforations, the phantom created by the art was far from a re auxiliary tool. It could directly assist Grey in battle.
As he guided it through the sea, Grey quickly realized that the phantom possessed terrifying speed.
Its movents were so fast that ordinary eyes could not follow them at all. To onlookers, it would appear as though the phantom vanished in one instant and reappeared in another, leaving behind only fleeting afterimages that rapidly dissipated.
The purple phantom was also abnormally powerful.
Its elongated arms ended in sharp, clawed hands faintly tinted with purple light. Every ti it moved, the surrounding air surged violently, producing low, thunderous booms as if space itself were being torn apart by its passage.
Grey was certain that if the phantom were to strike him directly at this mont, he would survive, but only barely. His body would be shattered, leaving him grievously injured and teetering on the brink of death.
That alone spoke volus about its strength.
Because of this, Grey had to deliberately restrain the phantom whenever he sent it out to hunt. If he was careless, it could easily kill the sea creatures outright before he had a chance to properly refine their life force.
This restriction significantly slowed his cultivation progress.
However, Grey himself was far from bored.
Instead, he treated this period as an opportunity. While hunting, he carefully studied the Life Demon art, explored its nuances, and familiarized himself with the purple phantom’s abilities and limits.
’The way the Life Demon art opens spirit perforations is completely different from the Soul Severing Dao,’ Grey thought inwardly.
’Although the Life Demon art appears violent and steeped in evil, its thod of opening spirit perforations is actually quite gentle.’
His thoughts then shifted.
’As for the Soul Severing Dao... while it seems gentle at first glance, only after truly cultivating it does one realize how ruthless it is. To sever a portion of one’s own soul and use that power to break open spirit perforations, doing so requires imnse resolve and courage.’
Grey’s gaze grew deep.
’Though their anings contradict each other, their paths seem to align in the end...’
With a loud splash, the purple phantom plunged into the sea. Monts later, it resurfaced, dragging along a massive eel several feet in length. The creature’s body radiated dense corrosive energy, distorting the seawater around it.
The phantom withdrew its hand from the gaping hole in the eel’s chest. Dark crimson blood stained its fingers as the eel convulsed violently, its body twitching in agony. It opened its mouth as if screaming, yet no sound erged.
Grey remained expressionless.
He calmly raised his hand, and purple flas blossod into existence. The flas descended upon the eel, rapidly devouring its soul and life force. In just a short mont, the once-living creature was reduced to nothing more than a brittle sack of bones.
Grey tossed the remains back into the sea.
The condition of his thirtieth spirit node remained unchanged. Still, Grey could clearly feel it, each refinent caused a subtle but undeniable increase in the power accumulating within his body.
’I’ve been refining the lives of Qi Accumulation creatures for long enough,’ Grey thought. ’It’s ti.’
A sharp glint flashed through his eyes.
’I should start hunting Foundation Establishnt realm sea creatures.’
With a single thought, the tyrannical magic ship beneath his feet shifted slightly, its massive hull turning smoothly to face a new direction. The destination was the sa area the captain had previously discussed.
The difference was Grey’s intention.
This ti, he was heading straight toward regions where mutated Foundation Establishnt sea creatures were known to appear.
He planned to refine them, one by one, and see whether their lives would finally be enough to affect his spirit perforations.
As the magic ship accelerated and rode the surging seas, Grey stood at the bow, gazing into the endless pitch black sea ahead. His expression was calm and composed, betraying none of his thoughts as the sea wind howled past him and lifted his grey hair, causing it to flutter wildly behind him.
"The first location I’ll head to is only a few hours away," Grey said calmly. "There have been many sightings of Foundation Establishnt realm creatures in that area."
After speaking, his thoughts drifted back to the ship’s captain.
She was also aboard the magic ship, though she only appeared from her cabin occasionally, usually when she felt like hunting sea creatures. Every ti she erged, her face would be flushed and slightly pale, as if she had just endured sothing intense. Yet despite that, her eyes shone with uncontrollable excitent, like a madwoman who had just found a new toy.
Grey had no idea what she was doing inside her cabin, nor did he have any interest in finding out. So things were better left unknown.
As the magic ship slowly altered its course, the captain suddenly appeared on deck. Her brows lifted slightly, and a trace of curiosity flickered across her face.
"Huh? Little Grey," she said lazily. "Where are we going?"
Grey didn’t turn around as he answered. "I’m heading to a place where Foundation Establishnt realm sea creatures have been sighted."
"Foundation Establishnt?" Her eyes lit up instantly. "Why didn’t you say so earlier?" She grinned. "I happen to have sothing with that those creatures would definitely be interested in. Trust , once they sll it, they’ll co crawling over."
She paused, clearly dissatisfied with her own smugness. With a huff, she pulled out an apple, took an exaggerated bite, and chewed loudly. Only then did her smile widen, filled with shaless pride.
Grey ignored her entirely.
If the captain truly attracted Foundation Establishnt realm sea creatures, the number would be terrifying. Worse still, so of them might possess battle prowess far beyond his expectations. Given her unpredictable nature, it wouldn’t even be impossible for her to draw out Spirit Core Formation sea beasts.
That would be courting death.
When the captain saw that Grey didn’t respond, she clicked her tongue in annoyance and muttered a few indiscernible words while chewing on the apple. After finishing it, she dusted her hands and returned to her cabin, still grumbling to herself.
Several hours later, the magic ship arrived at the area where Foundation Establishnt sea creatures were known to appear.
At first glance, the place looked no different from the surrounding sea. It resembled a small, unremarkable bay. The water here was strangely calm, barely rippling, unlike the violent surges elsewhere. There were no reefs, no strange formations, and no visible signs that marked it as special.
Yet it was precisely this unnatural calmness that made it appealing.
Many sea creatures used this area as a resting place, drawn by the still waters and faint spiritual currents lingering beneath the surface.
Above them, dark and gloomy clouds gathered, hanging low in the sky as if a calamity were about to descend. The atmosphere was heavy and oppressive, causing even the air to feel stagnant.
The magic ship slowed before finally coming to a stop.
Grey sat down cross-legged on the deck and released his divine sense, carefully fusing it into the seawater below. He did not spread it too far, only enough to monitor the imdiate surroundings.
He had already discussed this brief stop with the captain, and it would not affect their overall journey.
When Grey had asked her earlier what the big thing they were about to do here was, she had only grinned mysteriously while biting into an apple.
"Don’t worry, Little Grey," she had said. "It’s definitely worth your ti. If it weren’t too big, and too troubleso to explain, I would’ve told you already. Just wait. You’ll soon see how amazing I am."
Grey hadn’t responded back then, only giving a slight nod.
Now, as he sat silently on the deck with his divine sense rged into the nearby seawater, he closed his eyes and waited patiently.
He didn’t have to wait long.
Before the ti it took for a single candle to burn out, the calm surface of the sea suddenly surged violently. Waves rolled outward as an enormous presence approached from the depths, causing the surrounding water to tremble as if sothing colossal was rising from below.
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