As he entered that strange state of clarity, he felt his connection to the spirit energy around him and it surged into his body from all directions. He opened his mouth and small dense mist flowed out.
The purple crystal also let out a purple light and purple lines flickered from his forehead going to all parts of his body. Soon, his entire person was covered in purple lines that let out purple light. But unfortunately, no one was here to see it.
Luo was in here office and Ange was refining Pills. The shop also seemed closed so no one could bear witness.
But the next moment later, a large influx of invisible spirit energy appeared over Grey's head. The influx of energy suddenly surged into his body and Grey trembled lightly under the pressure.
His body started to crack under the invisible pressure and body flowed out of his wounds. But the purple crystal healed him the next moment only for more cracks to appear under his skin.
Grey felt like screaming in pain but no words came out from his mouth, instead what came out was dense black liquid that flowed out from the cracks of his skin.
This black goo was very stinky and sticky. The moment Grey saw this, he took off his clothes so that it won't be spoiled by the black goo.
It was then he saw the purple lines flickering lightly. He was surprised but when another wave of pain circulated through his body, he took his attention away and focused on cultivating.
Finally, after what seemed like an eternity later. A loud bang resounded within Grey's body. Like a dam that had broken. The cracks on his skin healed one by one and very soon, there was none.
The purple lines flickering on his body also faded away the next second and Grey's cultivation session came to an end.
'The fifth level of Qi accumulation...'
As the influx of spirit energy started to dissipate, he opened his eyes and saw his goo covered skin. He then remembered something and checked his hand where he saw the purple lines appear but he didn't see them again.
'Was I seeing this?' He asked himself but felt that it was real and he hadn't imagined it. Having broken through to the fifth level of Qi accumulation, his body felt much stronger. So much stronger than he had in the fourth level of Qi accumulation.
He wanted to punch out when Luo's door suddenly opened as she looked at him covered in black goo.
"Oh, you broke through?" She said after feeling the change in his aura. She was impressed, after all he was cultivating very fast and had broken through to the fifth level of Qi accumulation which could also be said to be the middle stages of Qi accumulation.
"Yes..." Grey was unsure, but he felt that Luo's aura was much stronger than before. Like she had also had a breakthrough and benefitted from the medicinal fragrance.
But other than that, she seemed normal. So under the uncomfortable feeling, Grey carried himself and went to the bathroom to clean himself up.
It took several minutes for him to wash the pungent smell off himself. So when he came out, he was surprised when he saw Ange at the counter.
It looked like she had finished refining her Pills but Grey felt the aura around her was stronger. Her face was brighter and her eyes held a strange twinkle. A faint medicinal fragrance wafted from her as the clothes she wore seemed to accentuate her figure. Despite her young age, she could be considered very beautiful.
Her Aura was much stronger than his and he felt a little wary as he tried to peer deeper into her cultivation. She had also broken through to the next level.
Hearing the sound of the door, she turned and gave Grey a small smile. But her face held a little shock. After all, this was the first time she was seeing Grey's face without the mud.
His grey hair made him look special and peculiar and his grey eyes seemed muddled with a faint misty haze.
After breaking through and expelling the black substance from his body, his skin had naturally gotten fairer and his face more handsome.
"Good morning." She said with a curt nod and Grey nodded as well in acknowledgement.
"Oh, you broke through?" She said after a short while.
'It's just now you noticed...' Grey felt his eyebrows twitch for a few seconds, but he calmly replied.
"Yes, thanks to you. I can see that you have also broken through as well." Grey nodded as he went to sit close to her. Rather he went to sit closer to the Dao of medicine.
"Huh, how? What did I do?" Her face had a confused expression as she tilted her head. Grey felt tempted to facepalm but he didn't.
"When I came you were refining Pills, and I was very close to breaking through. The medicinal fragrance helped me break through."
Ange blushed a little as he kept talking. She didn't even know her failed medicinal refinement would help him break through.
"So how did it go?"
"Huh?"
"I mean your refinement!?" Grey said again as he placed his eyes on hers. He didn't want her to know that he was looking at her book.
"Oh yes, that. Well because of the bad quality of medicinal herbs, the refinement didn't meet ny standards as it didn't get to the level of purity I want." She shrugged when it came back to the subject about medicine.
"So it failed?"
"Well I won't exactly call it a failure. And I won't call it a success either."
"Can I see it?" Grey was very curious now. If what she called a failure had such an effect on his cultivation, then what would a successful refinement look her.
Ange passed him a small container with a single pill inside. This pill was no bigger than the rest of the other pills but this one was... different.
It had almost zero impurities within and few black and brown spots on the pill surface. There was even a faint medicinal fragrance that drifted out from the pill despite the bottle being closed tightly.
Grey felt his cultivation stir a bit as he sniffed the pill. It was almost addictive. 'Wait am I snuffing really Pills now?'
"You can have it if you want. I was just conducting an experiment and I guess it didn't reach my expectations." Ange said with a bored expression, like she had not just created a wonderful pill.
'If this is an experiment... Genius, this is a genius at work.' Grey felt his blood run cold at the sound of her words. A tinge of respect could be seen concealed within the depths of his eyes but it was there nevertheless.
***
Several hours later, Grey was sitting cross legged in his room as he cultivated. He felt the spirit energy within his body more powerful and potent than before.
But the spirit energy needed to break through to the next level was humongous. He didn't think he could break through to the sixth level anytime soon, so he tried to remember the feeling when Ange was refining.
He decided to put his focus on Medicine for now. But he also needed to learn how to control his new strength, so he told the Captain that he would be going to the corroded zone instead of Luo's shop. And he agreed, or maybe he didn't care as he just waved Grey away with his usual calm expression.
"I wonder where the Captain is going to everyday?" He muttered as he saw the Captain leave by himself, his hair tied in a small bun fluttering lightly in the wind.
Seeing the Captain's hair, Grey also remembered about his own hair which was now longer than even the Captain's own. But it was disheveled and unkempt so he looked untidy.
Promising himself to cut his hair the next time he remembered, he tied it into a small bun just like the Captain and sped off.
In little time, he was out of the scavenger camp and rushing with speed like an arrow let loose from a bowstring.
His stamina and spirit energy reserves had also increased, so he ran for much longer and more faster than he had ever before deciding to rest.
By the time it was noon, he saw the red clouds overhead and knew he had reached his destination. As he got closer, he noticed some changes.
Before he had even gotten to it's outskirts, he felt a cold breeze caress his cheek and he shivered. The corrosive substance was already permeating the area and he felt the strong gazes of several creatures lock into him the moment he got within range.
These gazes were much stronger and him and gave him a feeling of oppression. A slight pressure fell onto his shoulders but he straightened his back.
"Is this what the Captain went by the corroded zone was still in it's nascent stages... "