Void Cultivation-Chapter 221- Resolve

The moment Grey heard those words, his expression changed instantly.

It was as if a deafening explosion had gone off inside his head.

As the words sank in, a torrent of memories surged forth uncontrollably. One scene after another replayed themselves in his mind, vivid and painfully clear.

He saw Caster standing atop a solitary block of ice, hands clasped behind his back, overlooking the entirety of the scavenger camp as if it were his personal domain. His posture had been relaxed, yet there was an undeniable air of authority about him.

Another memory surfaced.

Caster casually reminding him to heat his food before eating.

Cold food isn’t good for your body, he had said, his tone indifferent, yet oddly sincere.

At the time, Grey hadn’t thought much of it. Now, the memory struck him like a knife to the chest.

Then came the image of Caster looking at him with a rare, gentle expression—one devoid of mockery or arrogance—as he explained things that he normally would have kept to himself. Things he had no obligation to share.

One scene bled into another, each memory heavier than the last.

All of them crashed into Grey’s mind at once, and he couldn’t stop the ache that welled up in his chest.

Caster... and his group... were the very first people he had encountered after arriving in this world.

Before them, Grey had been completely alone—wandering through the corroded zone, struggling every day just to stay alive. No guidance. No protection. No warmth.

And now...

Now he was being told that Caster was missing.

Grey’s eyes instantly turned bloodshot.

To him, Caster wasn’t just a captain or a senior cultivator.

He was an older brother.

"How—!"

Grey’s voice came out cold and hoarse as he spoke, cutting through the air sharply. His face paled, and his expression shifted rapidly, struggling to contain the storm brewing beneath the surface.

Ange’s words died in her throat.

She knew better than anyone how close the two of them were—perhaps even closer than actual blood relatives. That was precisely why she had hesitated earlier, giving Grey time to mentally prepare himself before revealing the news.

Several long seconds passed.

Grey slowly steadied his breathing. He closed his eyes, forcing the turbulence in his heart to settle. When he opened them again, his gaze was clear. The bloodshot red had faded, replaced by a chilling calm.

"What happened?" Grey asked quietly. "How did he go missing?"

Though his voice was controlled, the faint trace of anxiety beneath it was impossible to hide.

Ange sighed inwardly before speaking.

"Grey... they said he went to the Dead Sea several months ago. He would occasionally return with monsters he killed along the way. This wasn’t a one-time thing—he had been doing this repeatedly."

She paused briefly, then continued.

"A few weeks ago, he broke through to the Spirit Core Formation realm."

Grey’s heart trembled slightly at the news, but Ange wasn’t finished.

"However, a few days after that... they discovered his magic ship. It had been completely torn apart and was sinking to the bottom of the sea. Many of his personal belongings were found nearby, and there were clear traces of an intense battle."

Her tone grew heavier.

"This happened along the coastal archipelago near Summoned Moon Island."

Grey clenched his fists.

"Still..." Ange hesitated before continuing, "even though his ship was destroyed, they were able to confirm that he is still alive."

Grey’s brows furrowed.

"You might not know this," Ange said slowly, "but Caster had a master—"

At those words, Grey’s thoughts immediately drifted back several months, to when they had first arrived at Sky Mist City for the examination.

Back then, Tyler had once mentioned that Caster had a master.

A master he had offended in an unforgivable way.

After being disowned, he had been banished from the sect and explicitly forbidden from ever returning.

From that point on, Caster had stopped cultivating altogether.

Although he often appeared calm and carefree, there had always been a lingering gloom behind his eyes—a deep-seated dejection that never truly faded.

It wasn’t until several months later, when Grey entered the scavenger camp, that Caster finally found the motivation to cultivate again.

And that was because Grey reminded him of himself.

They both practiced the Sky Mist Art.

That shared path had created an unspoken sense of kinship between them.

At the time, Caster had only been at the eighth level of the Qi Accumulation realm.

Yet once he resumed cultivation, he broke through the ninth and tenth levels in an astonishingly short amount of time.

After that came the raid on the Shadow Sect.

Grey vividly remembered that battle.

Caster had revealed his battle armor and domain, stunning everyone present. Against all odds, they had wiped out an entire sect—and even slain the sect’s ancestor, a cultivator who had already stepped into the Foundation Establishment realm.

Something that should have been impossible... had become reality.

And all because of the Second Continent’s number one genius.

Even if the enemy had been weakened and practiced inferior techniques, a Foundation Establishment cultivator was still a Foundation Establishment cultivator.

The fact that they had succeeded was nothing short of surreal.

Ange’s voice continued through the jade slip, pulling Grey back to the present.

"...Caster’s master possessed a strange art that she imparted to him before he was banished. Through this art, she would be instantly alerted if Caster ever approached the sect."

"However," Ange said softly, "it was also because of this art that we were able to confirm that Caster is still alive."

"If he had died, the art would have vanished from her mind entirely. She would no longer be able to sense his presence."

Grey fell silent.

Outwardly, he appeared calm—but inside, a blazing determination ignited.

"What do I do?" he finally asked.

"I don’t think there’s much you can do right now," Ange replied honestly. "But based on the wreckage of his ship, they’ve already found a lead."

She paused briefly.

"It was Miss Tyler who told me to inform you."

After the voice transmission ended, Grey remained still for a long time.

Then, a sharp glint flashed through his eyes.

"My conversation with Ange has revealed quite a few things about the Sky Mist Sect," Grey muttered quietly.

"First—Sky Mist conducting an investigation for what should be an ordinary disciple means they value Caster greatly. So greatly that they’re willing to suppress the matter and handle it discreetly."

He licked his lips.

"Second—his master still placed a tracking marker on him under the excuse of preventing him from secretly returning to the sect. That alone proves that although he was banished, they never truly took their eyes off him."

"They were watching him the entire time."

Grey’s gaze grew colder.

"And lastly... this proves that Sky Mist still values the number one genius of this continent."

"That means his location will eventually be discovered."

"And when that happens... he will be rescued."

Grey exhaled slowly.

"This means I don’t need to panic. I can continue cultivating without distraction."

A dangerous smile crept onto his face.

"However..."

"This also means I need to double my efforts."

"I need to reach the Dead Sea as fast as possible."

"And before I do..."

"I’ll open as many Spirit Perforations as I can." A burning desire could be seen in Grey’s eyes. What he desired was strength. Absolute strength that he would be able to fulfill his missions and do the things that he always wanted to do.

That was why Grey did not waste any more time and began to concoct poison. After gathering many materials, Grey could now start. Over the past months, Grey realized that his attainments in poison seemed to have grown.

Although he had not tried to concoct any, he felt that when he did, it would be very deadly.

As Grey slowly brought out the materials, his expression turned solemn. Ever since Grey began to concoct poison and walk the path of poison, he knew that concocting couldn’t be done rashly.

You first had to calm down your mind, and suppress the fluctuations in your heart. If not, the results would be disastrous.

To most, poison was a very detestable and despicable act. But to the selected few who practiced it, it was a means to survive.

In this cruel and chaotic world, despicable means did not matter. What mattered was that you are alive even after a fierce battle.

Grey brought out a small medicinal bottle. Inside it was a drop of yellow blood. The moment this drop of blood appeared, dense corrosive substance rapidly spread out and filled the cave.

However, Grey’s shadow quickly absorbed the ones that accumulated in his body.

After bringing out the yellow blood, Grey also brought out many poisonous grassses and herbs that were enough to cause trouble if they were carelessly opened.

"The shape-shifting grass weed is extremely aggressive and once added with other poisonous, it causes their might to explode. If used wantonly, a person can die without knowing how from it’s poisonous."

"Yet, despite it’s rather aggressive nature, when used sensibly with poison, it causes the effects to increase greatly, and the poison... becomes harder to dissipate." Grey said this with a calm and aloof expression.