Grey quickly realized what the black masses beneath the sea were. Very soon, the purple phantom tugged at its hand, and with that single motion, all the creatures beneath the sea churned violently before surging upward.

Within a few moments, countless sea creatures of varying shapes and sizes rose from the waters. Some possessed enormous bodies covered in dark scales, while others had twisted limbs and grotesque forms that seemed completely unnatural. Although they differed greatly in appearance, they all shared two things in common.

First, every single one of them had been captured alive by the Life Demon.

Second, all of them were at least in the Initial Stages of the Foundation Establishment Realm.

Seeing the Life Demon’s bountiful harvest, Grey could not help but nod inwardly in acknowledgment. With his body currently undergoing mutation, what he needed most was an immense amount of life force to stabilize himself and continue recovering.

With a casual wave of his hand, all the sea creatures spun through the air and floated above Grey’s magic ship. Their eyes were blank and lifeless, as though their consciousness had already been erased. One after another, they drifted toward Grey, who sat coldly upon the deck of the ship.

Under normal circumstances, each of these sea creatures was ferocious enough to terrify ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivators.

In fact, their mere existence caused many cultivators within the same realm to feel oppressed whenever they ventured onto the Dead Sea.

After all, this was the forbidden sea where God’s blinding radiance had distorted the forms of every living thing. The deeper one went into the sea, the more horrifying and dangerous the creatures became.

Because of this, hunting sea creatures on the Dead Sea was an extremely dangerous gamble that often cost cultivators their lives.

To move somewhat safely through the known regions of the Dead Sea, one needed at least three balls of Spirit Fire, along with numerous magical artifacts and treasures for protection.

And even then, that only applied to the explored regions of the sea.

The unknown territories remained completely uncharted. Countless terrifying creatures lurked within those depths, making them forbidden zones that very few cultivators dared to approach.

"A few months ago, I came to the Dead Sea hoping to increase my cultivation and become stronger," Grey said softly, a faint smile appearing on his face.

"At that time, all I wished for was to improve as quickly as possible and display my strength upon the Dead Sea."

His smile slowly turned wry as he continued speaking.

"Who would have thought that only a few months later, I would possess the battle prowess of someone with four balls of Spirit Fire despite only unlocking two?"

There was both disbelief and ridicule in his voice.

His journey had advanced far too quickly.

After the Life Demon returned to his body, Grey immediately began refining the captured sea creatures and using them as nourishment to unlock his spirit perforations.

Very soon, fiendish purple flames erupted around his body and covered him completely. His eyes gradually turned cold, while a terrifying bloodthirsty aura spread from his figure.

The surrounding air seemed to distort under the pressure of the flames.

Then, the purple flames surrounding his body suddenly leapt outward and shot toward one of the sea creatures floating in the sky.

The moment the flames landed upon it, the creature shuddered violently and began convulsing in agony.

The purple flames flickered wildly as they devoured its life force with terrifying speed.

Within only a few breaths, the enormous sea creature was reduced to nothing more than dried skin and brittle bones.

The purple flames then returned to Grey’s body.

As they fused back into him, muffled cracking sounds echoed from within his body.

Inside himself, Grey could clearly sense the life force he had just devoured surging toward his nearby spirit perforations. The immense energy began violently assaulting them, attempting to shatter them apart.

Unfortunately, the amount of life force was still insufficient.

The quantity required for Grey to break through the next set of perforations was simply far too monstrous.

"As expected, the quality of life force improves every time I use the Soul Severing Dao alongside it," Grey muttered softly.

However, instead of stopping, he calmly sent the purple flames toward another sea creature.

Then another.

And another.

One after another, the creatures were devoured as their life force was refined into nourishment for Grey’s body.

Meanwhile, the aura surrounding him continued to grow increasingly sinister and terrifying.

Just like that, time slowly passed by.

By the time the shadow returned, Grey had absorbed the Life force from all the sea creatures that the Life Demon had captured. With their life force, he managed to break open seven more spirit perforations.

Increasing the total number of Spirit Perforations within his body and inching ever closer to the manifestation of his Third Spirit Fire.

It took Grey quite some time to fully adjust to the changes occurring within his body. The transformation was far from ordinary, especially after he had nearly mutated under the terrifying corrosion caused by the fragment of cloth that contained a trace of divinity.

Even now, recalling that experience sent a slight chill through his heart.

After some consideration, Grey decided that calling it "the piece of cloth containing divinity" was far too cumbersome. Instead, he simply named it the Cloth Puppet.

The name was simple, easy to remember, and strangely fitting.

When the shadow eventually returned, Grey immediately noticed several differences.

Its body had become noticeably darker than before, almost as if it had been dyed with pure darkness itself. The blackness was so deep that it seemed capable of swallowing light. At the same time, a faint but unmistakable stench of corrosion lingered around it.

The smell was nauseating.

Anyone standing nearby would likely feel their stomach churn after inhaling it for more than a few moments.

However, unlike its usual self, the shadow did not attempt to communicate with Grey or engage in any meaningless chatter. The moment it appeared, it swiftly sank into the darkness beneath his feet.

The shadows gathered together and condensed into a small pool of darkness.

Its form twisted and distorted continuously.

One moment it resembled a mass of black liquid. The next, it appeared like a collection of writhing tendrils. The shape never remained stable for more than a second before changing once again.

It was as though an invisible transformation was taking place within the shadow itself.

Grey observed the phenomenon silently for a while.

Although he was uncertain whether the shadow was undergoing some sort of evolution or merely digesting the power it had recently obtained, he ultimately decided not to interfere.

Certain changes required time.

Interfering recklessly might do more harm than good.

After confirming that nothing appeared abnormal, Grey withdrew his gaze and shifted his attention inward.

A faint gleam flashed through his eyes.

"Now that I’ve settled most of the issues within my body," Grey muttered softly, "it’s time to activate the ancient technique I comprehended."

As his words fell, his expression gradually turned solemn.

This ancient technique had been engraved into his mind during his breakthrough. Unlike ordinary cultivation methods, it seemed to originate from a source far older and far more mysterious.

Grey slowly closed his eyes.

The spiritual energy within his body began to circulate.

The newly formed Spirit Perforations resonated one after another, producing a faint humming sound that echoed throughout his flesh, blood, and bones.

An invisible pressure gradually spread outward.

The moment had finally arrived.

It was time to see whether the ancient technique would become his greatest opportunity... or his greatest risk.