Void Cultivation-Chapter 208-

When the teleportation finally came to an end, Grey’s figure slowly and forcefully reassembled in the void.

For a brief moment, he felt as though his entire existence had been torn apart and stretched across space itself, his flesh, bones, and soul pulled thin like fragile threads. The sensation was profoundly uncomfortable, almost nauseating.

Yet, with his current physique and cultivation, it did not cross the threshold into pain.

He merely frowned.

By the time the spatial turbulence completely settled, Grey’s body had already materialized within another city. The teleportation formation beneath his feet dimmed, its runes losing their glow as the process concluded.

Without lingering even for a breath, Grey stepped off the formation and exited the teleportation station at once, moving with calm urgency.

His aura was tightly suppressed, sealed deep within his body like a dormant beast. It did not leak even a trace. Unless someone of exceptionally high cultivation deliberately pried into him, no one would be able to sense anything unusual.

To everyone else, he looked like nothing more than an ordinary traveler.

As soon as Grey left the city unnoticed, he rose into the skies.

The moment his feet left the ground, his figure blurred. His speed surged explosively, and in the blink of an eye, he vanished beyond the horizon, leaving behind nothing but faint ripples in the air.

Roxanne had long since transformed back into her phoenix form. She remained quietly hidden within Grey’s storage ring, her aura perfectly concealed.

Grey had once considered registering her alongside him within the Sky Mist Sect.

But after careful thought, he discarded the idea entirely.

The sect’s methods were strange... unnervingly so. Grey doubted they lacked techniques capable of uncovering hidden truths. If they discovered that Roxanne was a divine creature...

He did not want to imagine what would follow.

That alone was reason enough.

Grey continued teleporting from city to city, his movements precise and efficient. One teleportation after another followed in quick succession.

By the fourth jump, the familiar outline of Sky Mist City finally appeared before him.

Grey slowed slightly.

His gaze turned distant, his expression calm and detached. Yet buried beneath that composed exterior was a complex, indescribable emotion.

Sky Mist City was a place he had once trusted, if only partially.

Although cultivators here were cautious of one another, their thoughts often revolving around schemes, survival, and how to kill their next enemy, this city was where Grey had truly begun to mature.

It was here that he had joined his first Secret Order raid with the Detective Agency Department.

Here that he had embarked on the perilous journey across the Dead Sea.

Those experiences had carved deep marks into him, lessons paid for in blood, danger, and narrow escapes. They were not memories he could simply discard.

That was why, upon returning, Grey subconsciously let out a quiet sigh.

The instant he stepped out of the teleportation station, Sky Mist City’s grand array reacted.

Invisible light flickered through the air, unseen by ordinary eyes. The formation activated in response to his unfamiliar presence, locking onto him like a vast, silent gaze.

Grey did not panic.

He had expected this.

Reaching into his storage ring, he retrieved a small jade slip and raised it high toward the sky.

Almost immediately, the suppressive force that had begun condensing around him halted. The pressure froze for a brief moment before retreating entirely, as if acknowledging his authority.

Grey lowered his hand.

Then...

A voice echoed directly within his mind.

It was domineering, ancient, and carried a weight that felt as though it had endured countless ages. Its tone was neutral, neither fast nor slow, and its gender could not be discerned.

"Grey Reynolds of the Third Sequence."

"Return to the Third Sequence and re-register as a Foundation Establishment disciple."

Grey’s heart shook violently.

His thoughts blanked.

The voice did not emit hostility. It carried no spiritual fluctuations. Yet Grey instinctively understood, if this existence wished it, he would not survive even a heartbeat.

That realization alone brought forth a suffocating pressure.

It felt as though his entire being, body, soul, and secrets, had been laid bare beneath an unfathomable gaze.

In that moment of shock, Grey unconsciously released a sliver of his Foundation Establishment aura.

The reaction was immediate.

Cultivators gathered around the teleportation station froze in horror before hurriedly retreating. Faces turned pale as fear overtook them.

Even a trace of aura from a Foundation Establishment expert was enough to terrify Qi Accumulation cultivators beyond reason.

Mortals fared no better. Many felt their legs weaken as an instinctive dread seized their hearts.

Realizing his mistake, Grey swiftly suppressed his aura once more and left the teleportation station without delay.

His destination was clear.

The Third Sequence.

"It’s been several months..." Grey muttered softly as he moved. "I wonder how she’s doing."

A figure with auburn hair and bright, lively eyes surfaced in his mind. Even the faint memory of her presence carried a fragrance rivaling that of precious medicinal pills.

Grey shook his head.

He did not indulge those thoughts.

Messages flooded into his jade slip one after another, but he ignored them all and headed straight toward the only mountain within Sky Mist City.

The mountain towered impossibly high, stretching hundreds of thousands of meters into the sky. Its summit pierced the clouds, hidden beneath endless layers of mist.

No ordinary gaze could see what lay at the top.

When Grey attempted to probe upward with his divine sense and Dragon Eyes, a sharp, piercing pain stabbed into his head. His face instantly paled.

A vast, unseen force blocked him completely.

It was not attacking.

Yet the backlash felt as though his divine sense had been hurled headlong into an immovable wall of stone.

"The Sky Mist Mountain..." Grey murmured.

"All Sequence Lords and the sect ancestor reside there."

"There are nine layers to the mountain, each ruled by a Sequence Lord."

"The mountain’s base is reserved for guests. Hidden cave abodes are carved into its depths, where certain Foundation Establishment cultivators reside, those granted permission, or those who have opened at least twenty-five perforations and formed their Spirit Fire."

"The middle layers house the elders of the sect and Spirit Core Formation experts. Even some Nascent Soul cultivators reside there, their status comparable to elders."

"As for the summit..."

Grey’s eyes sharpened slightly.

"Only the Sequence Lords and the Sky Mist ancestor may tread there. Any trespasser will be erased instantly by the array."

The mountain was incomparably vast.

Its sheer size rivaled that of the entire Sky Mist City.

Grey continued forward.

When he reached the base of the mountain, he paused beneath the crushing pressure before taking a step. 𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

That step appeared ordinary to anyone watching from afar.

Yet Grey felt as though an entire world pressed down upon him. Even lifting his leg required tremendous effort.

When his foot finally touched the mountain, the pressure intensified violently.

Cracking sounds rang from within his body. His eyes turned bloodshot as he endured the weight.

Raising his jade slip, Grey spoke in a low, strained growl.

"It is I-disciple Grey Reynolds of the Third Sequence!"

"I have come to register as a Foundation Establishment cultivator!"

A probing sense swept over him and his jade slip, examining every detail.

One breath later, the pressure vanished.

A sharp whistle echoed from the direction of the Third Sequence.

Grey let out a long breath, wiping the sweat from his face, before taking his second step onto the mountain.

Moments later, another sharp whistle pierced the air.

A yellow arc tore through the skies at terrifying speed, arriving before him in an instant.

Only then did Grey clearly see who had come.