"The small decay point in my hand is not that big. I still have a lot of time before the decay point is activated," Grey said. "Before that, I have to focus on leaving this corroded zone."
Although it sounded simple, leaving the corroded zone was anything but. The location where he was right now lay only at the periphery of the corroded zone. If he ventured any deeper, the corrosive substance alone would be enough to kill him.
And the corroded zone did not contain only corrosive substances. Strange abominations, creatures warped and twisted when God's blinding radiance descended, roamed freely across the land. Compared to the rest of the zone, the place Grey was staying could be considered relatively safe.
Grey lifted his gaze toward the red sky visible through the shattered roof and let out a long, weary sigh. He was no longer as shocked as before, but that did not mean the sense of disbelief had vanished. He had simply learned to suppress it.
After cultivating, Grey noticed that many of his injuries had healed. Only the deepest and most grievous wounds remained—especially the large gash across his chest, from which blood continued to seep.
Although the purple crystal had healed him, that wound had been carved too deeply. It would take time before it closed completely.
"Judging from its strangeness… this purple crystal must be a treasure," Grey muttered. "If others discovered I possessed something like this, I might die just for having it. The best choice would be to throw it away, or—"
His voice cut off. Grey lowered his head and stared at the gaping wound in his chest. The pain had dulled, but he could feel the flesh trembling faintly, as though it might tear open again at the slightest movement.
Before he could think any further, Grey grabbed the purple crystal and slammed it into the wound.
His body jerked violently. His back arched as a hoarse gasp tore from his throat, his vision exploding into white sparks. His fingers spasmed, nearly dropping the crystal, while his jaw clenched so hard his teeth ground together.
A sharp copper taste filled his mouth as he bit down on his tongue, forcing the scream back down his throat.
Hands slick with blood, Grey pushed the crystal deeper.
His breathing turned ragged. Veins bulged along his neck, and cold sweat poured from his skin, soaking his clothes. His arm shook uncontrollably, but he did not stop, inch by inch forcing the fist-sized crystal into his chest as his body trembled beneath him.
Finally, the last edge of the crystal disappeared.
Grey's strength vanished all at once. He collapsed heavily onto the floor, his chest heaving. Blood streamed freely from the wound, and a thin trail leaked from the corner of his mouth.
"I'm… tired…"
The words barely escaped him before darkness swallowed his vision.
---
The purple crystal embedded within Grey's chest suddenly released a piercing, brilliant purple light. If Grey had been awake, he would have seen countless thin, glowing lines spreading across his body like a living network.
The light radiated most intensely from the right side of his chest, but it gradually dimmed.
Rather than fading, it was more accurate to say that the wound on his chest was slowly closing, sealing the light within his body.
Even so, the purple lines remained. They pulsed faintly beneath his skin, flickering in an eerie rhythm.
If Grey had been conscious, he would have noticed vast amounts of spirit energy rushing into his body through every pore. The flow was violent and unnatural, so intense that his skin visibly swelled, stretching tight as energy flooded his flesh.
His Second Level of Qi Accumulation surged rapidly, climbing higher and higher until it reached the limit before the Third Level.
Just as it was about to break through—
The purple lines flickered once, then vanished.
The surge halted abruptly.
By then, Grey's injuries had fully healed. The bloating of his skin gradually subsided, returning to normal as the excess energy settled.
Grey remained motionless, lost in a deep, silent sleep.
When he woke up, the red sky was dark and the entire forest grew silent. In surprise, Grey looked at the space in his chest and saw that the wound there had already healed. He could not see the purple crystal, or even a slight edge. His body looked perfectly normal, like a fist sized crystal had not been shoved into his chest.
"The purple crystal is inside me now, but I don't feel anything strange at all. In fact, I feel like my level of cultivation has increased instead." Grey said with a murmur.
He quickly circulated his cultivation base and saw that his realm in the Second Level of the Qi Accumulation realm had increased. Although the increase was not too dramatic, it had caused him to be shocked.
"I knew it! The purple crystal is a treasure. But since it could help my level of cultivation to increase, it must also mean... that it has some negative effects as well." Grey continued to circulate his spirit energy and found out that it flowed with twice the speed. He also noticed that the spirit energy that was absorbed by his body was a lot denser than when he previously absorbed it by himself.
Grey was very shocked and filled with disbelief. But he did not stop circulating the spirit energy, even for one moment. Thisi continued until Grey entered into a meditative state. His mind grew calm and he managed to calm the fluctuations in his heart.
In this state, Grey gradually grew calm and cool. In the meditative state, Grey's mind drifted between consciousness and unconsciousness. A semi-conscious state. In this state, Grey could sense the perculiarity of both spirit energy and the Corrosive substance.
**☺️😉**