Void Cultivation-Chapter 194- Hatred

But the power of the projection was overwhelming—far beyond what Grey had anticipated. The moment that finger moved toward him, Grey let out a low, feral roar, and in response, his Special Brilliance form erupted into existence. A brilliant ball of fire ignited around him, spinning and circling with a rhythm that mirrored the way the moon orbits the earth. Every rotation sent shimmering sparks scattering in all directions, casting ghostly shadows on the surroundings.

As Grey’s aura surged, so too did the defensive strength of his battle armor. It seemed to pulse and thrum in resonance with his spirit power, expanding and hardening like molten steel taking shape in mid-air. But even with this sudden amplification, the finger continued its relentless advance. In the span of a single blink, it closed the distance, moving as if reality itself bent to its will.

Desperately, Grey stretched out his palm to intercept it, hoping to stop the finger from reaching his forehead. But the moment contact was made—or even approached—a deafening, booming force exploded inside his mind. It was as if a mountain, hurtling at impossible speed, had slammed into him. Grey staggered backward, his knees nearly giving way, his face paling as blood trickled from the corner of his lips. Pain radiated through every nerve, every muscle, leaving him reeling as though his entire being had been shaken to its core.

Yet the finger did not falter. It continued its inexorable path, bypassing one defensive layer after another. The countless treasures Grey had painstakingly set up to protect himself shattered like glass under the weight of the strike. Even the shadow he had summoned to act as a shield could not withstand it. The finger pierced through, eliciting a pained, almost inhuman growl from the shadow as it was flung backward, battered and broken.

The divine flames that had once enveloped the shadow began to flicker and dissipate, the brilliance dimming with a haunting slowness. Though the finger had paused for just a fraction of a second, it was enough to send a shiver through Grey. When it finally descended to pierce through his armor, Grey’s eyes burned red with determination. Every ounce of his energy was funneled into sustaining his battle armor. Spirit power from all twenty-five of his spirit perforations surged forth like a tidal wave, flowing into the armor and imbuing it with a desperate life force. It shook under the strain, glowing with the raw intensity of his spirit, but even then, the sheer might of the finger pressed down with a weight that seemed impossible to resist.

It was as though nothing Grey did could halt the inevitable. The finger was coming, and the moment it touched his forehead, his death would be certain. Grey gritted his teeth, his mind racing for any possible escape, any shred of maneuvering space. And then—a sudden flash of crimson streaked past him, slicing through the chaos with blinding speed. 𝐟𝐫𝕖𝗲𝘄𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝕧𝐞𝚕.𝕔𝕠𝐦

Roxanne appeared, materializing before Grey with a stern, unwavering expression. Her presence was like a sudden, calm force that cut through the storm of his peril. The middle-aged man’s face, which had held only cold calculation moments before, began to shift with unmistakable surprise. He could sense the power emanating from Roxanne, the unmistakable aura of someone who had reached the Late Stages of the Foundation Establishment Realm. Yet, strangely, the intensity of her presence did not carry the lethal, oppressive weight he had come to associate with other cultivators at this level who wielded four balls of Spirit Fire.

In fact, Roxanne seemed almost... ordinary. No trace of Spirit energy radiated from her body. The balls of Spirit Fire that should have fueled her, that should have burned brightly within her core, were completely absent. To any normal observer, she appeared not as a cultivator in the Late Stages of the Foundation Establishment Realm, but as someone entirely unremarkable.

"You... Who are you!?" The middle-aged man’s voice cracked, tinged with a rare uncertainty. For the first time, his expression wavered, the confidence that had carried him thus far faltering even for a fraction of a second. That pause was all Roxanne needed. She positioned herself directly in front of Grey, her stance firm, her entire being radiating an unspoken resolve: she would protect him, no matter the cost.

The middle-aged man hesitated, letting out a harrumph of frustration, but he pressed on, though a subtle wariness had crept into both his tone and his heart. "Even if you have power at the Late Stages of the Foundation Establishment Realm, you cannot stop me from killing him!"

Roxanne did not say anything. Instead, she raised her hand and delivered a palm strike.

The instant her palm shot forward, blazing flames erupted from her hand, surging outward before rapidly condensing into a massive spirit made entirely of fire. The moment the fiery spirit fully formed, it released a deep, beast-like growl that shook the air around it before charging straight toward the approaching finger without the slightest hesitation.

But even then, Roxanne did not stop.

Almost immediately after the fire spirit rushed out, she stomped her foot heavily against the ground. A sharp boom echoed as cracks spread beneath her feet, and waves of scorching heat rippled outward. From those waves, eight illusionary dragons formed, each one forged from roaring flames.

Individually, none of the dragons were particularly large, nor did they possess overwhelming might on their own. However, when the eight of them appeared together, their combined pressure surged violently, their auras intertwining and reinforcing one another. The oppressive presence they released was enough to rival that of a Late Stage Foundation Establishment expert.

By the time the eighth dragon fully manifested, the fire spirit had already collided with the incoming finger.

Bang!

A deafening explosion rang out as the spirit was torn apart in a burst of blazing fragments. It was completely destroyed, only managing to halt the incoming finger for a brief moment. Yet that fleeting pause, no more than a heartbeat was more than enough.

With thunderous roars that shook the surroundings, the eight fire dragons surged forward at once, their massive bodies twisting through the air as they charged toward the finger from multiple angles.

At the same time, three breaths of time quietly slipped by.

Below them, the old man visibly withered. His skin shrank tightly against his bones, his posture slumping as if all strength had been drained from him. He looked weak, frail, and on the verge of collapse.

When the projection noticed this, a sharp glint flashed through its eyes.

"Just because I am not using my full power," the projection said coldly, its voice booming with authority, "doesn’t mean you can stand up to me!"

With a furious roar, cracking sounds echoed throughout the air as the projection opened its mouth. A blinding yellow light rapidly gathered within before being violently spat out, streaking through the air toward Roxanne like a beam of destruction.

While all of this was happening, Grey had finally withstood the violent explosion caused by the brightly burning wood.

His condition was far from good.

Blood seeped from areas where his armor had been damaged, especially where the protection had been thinner. The wounded flesh emitted faint sizzling sounds as residual heat continued to burn into him. Grey’s face had turned deathly pale, his breathing slightly unsteady as blood trickled down the side of his lips.

A second later, his battle armor could no longer maintain its form.

It dissolved into countless purple sparks that scattered into the air before being absorbed back into his body.

Grey immediately spat out a mouthful of blood.

Although his face remained pale, the killing intent in his eyes did not diminish in the slightest. On the contrary, it surged even higher, rising toward an overwhelming peak that made the surrounding air feel heavy and suffocating.

As the projection struggled against the remaining fire dragons and Roxanne’s relentless follow-up attacks, its form began to blur and waver. The once solid figure grew increasingly indistinct, as though it could vanish at any moment.

By now, the old man was completely drained. He looked like nothing more than a dried corpse, all vitality gone. And even if he somehow possessed more energy, the projection could no longer draw upon it.

The dark totem engraved on the old man’s hand had begun to burn.

A strange, bizarre light engulfed it as the totem slowly disintegrated, its dark aura being erased bit by bit.

When the projection saw this, a dark and furious expression appeared on its face.

The yellow light it had unleashed shattered under the combined assault of the eight fire dragons, but the dragons themselves paid a heavy price. Four of them were destroyed outright, while the remaining four grew increasingly faint, their forms flickering as their energy rapidly dissipated.

"If you kill him," the projection said coldly, staring straight at Grey, "I will find you, and I will make sure you die a painful death."

After all, it was only a projection. Its true body could not arrive in time. In just the span of a single breath, the power sustaining it would completely vanish, and it would disappear along with it.

Grey behaved as though he hadn’t heard a single word.

Without hesitation, he threw a punch toward the projection.

A fist-shaped air cannon burst forth, tearing through the air with explosive force. However, by the time it reached its target, the projection of the middle-aged man was already rapidly fading. The attack passed straight through it and instead slammed directly into the old man below.

The old man, already shriveled into little more than a bag of bones, was struck head-on.

The dark light in the projection’s eyes flared violently, shining brighter than ever. Yet there was nothing it could do anymore.

A moment later, the projection completely vanished.

Still, before disappearing, it made sure to burn Grey’s image deeply into its mind.