Void Cultivation

The chubby cultivator shrunk in fear when he saw Grey look at him without a change in expression. His voice exuded coldness and a strange calmness that made the chubby cultivator feel safe and insecure.

'No! That's not right!' He said internally when he heard what he said. Becoming even more terrified, he tried to move backwards, but that only resulted in more pain.

"What other magic treasures do you have in your possession?" Grey asked after some contemplation. He remembered that Soul smiths were very rare and their services very expensive, but they were also walking treasure hives.

"A lot! I have a lot... I mean, I have some other magic treasures in my storage bag." The chubby cultivator quieted down after seeing Grey's cold stare.

"Bring them out... Slowly." Grey said in a low voice, but his tone sounded domineering to the ears of the chubby cultivator.

"Yes!" The chubby cultivator said, but then suddenly vomited a mouthful of blood. But he didn't dare to dally any further.

Slowly, several soul weapons appeared from his bag, one by one until they stopped altogether. The soul weapons all had a slightly sinister intent, but what made Grey recognize them as Soul weapons was their existence of Soul Aura.

Because the weapons were forged in alignment with the Soulsmiths soul, they carried a hint of the chubby cultivator's soul aura, which Grey could acutely sense because of the purple crystal.

The Soul weapons ranged from Whips, Staffs, Swords, and many more than Grey could count. It was obvious that this chubby cultivator was a very good Soulsmith who had crafted a lot of Soul weapons.

And although all the Soul weapons Grey saw being summoned out were powerful, Grey still felt a Soul aura coming from the storage bag even when the chubby cultivator had stopped bringing more out.

"Bring out the last one." Grey said quietly, but to the chubby cultivator, it was like lightning had resounded right into his ears.

"I-i can't!" The chubby cultivator stammered while sweating profusely. It was unknown whether it was because of the pain he was in, or for another reason.

"Oh, why can't you?" Grey asked with a bit of surprise in his voice.

The chubby cultivator did not speak a single word for several seconds, but he finally gave way to Grey's stern stare. "That last soul weapon is a Rogue soul! It means that the Soul Weapon has its own soul and has developed it's own consciousness. If you bring it out, it will surely attack you and kill me!" The chubby cultivator paused, but did not finish speaking.

"A few months ago, I did something that was considered a taboo to Soulsmiths." The chubby cultivator huffed in between breaths.

"What did you do?" Grey asked as if less concerned, but in reality he was very wary. He had learnt not too long ago that some taboos were frowned upon by God and would be punished severely.

If this taboo the chubby cultivator committed was enough to garner the attention of the unholy existence, he did not even want to hear it, talk less of being involved.

The chubby cultivator did not seem to notice Grey's change in attention and spoke nevertheless. "I refined the Soul of a living creature Into a very rare ore that is said to possess a hint of Life..."

'That's not too bad actua...' But Grey was stopped right in his thoughts.

"... But the Soul I refined was from a Divine Existence, and the ore I said to possess a hint of life gave the Soul weapon life! Now it's like a living creature! It gained sentience a few weeks ago! I suspect in another year or so, it will form an artfifact spirit and be able to regrow another body!" As soon as Grey heard those words, his expression changed.

Now he was the one looking at the chubby cultivator in terror. And for good reasons at that! Number one; a divine creature in and of itself was something that could not be described by logic. A divine creature can very well become a deity or a god in the future! And to make matters worse, each divine creature was special and unique in their own way. Which makes predicting their actions impossible.

Number two; a Divine creature can never truly die. Take for example the Phoenix. It has lived several lives for several years and always reincarnates after it's death. A soul of any living creature was a very delicate. Refining Souls is a very cruel method of cultivating today, but refining a Divine soul...

Grey didn't know whether this chubby cultivator was foolish, courageous, or both. But in the end, Grey had to ask the question.

"What sort of weapons is it?"

"A scythe! It's a scythe! I originally crafted the weapon to be a sword, but somehow in the creation process it became a scythe." As soon as Grey heard that, his pupils dilated.

"Am no longer interested!" Grey was about to leave when the chubby cultivator hurriedly shouted.

"Wait! I beg of you. I'll let you have all my Soul Weapons and wealth if you'll take that Soul weapon out of my hands!" The chubby cultivator shouted to Grey who had already begun walking away.

The chubby cultivator ended up coughing out a mouthful of blood in his bid to shout. But Grey pretended like he did not hear him and instead continued to walk away.

After nearly dying just from the casual glance of a divine creature, Grey had developed some sort of respect and fear towards Divine beings, much to the fact that he wouldn't even get anywhere close.

No matter how much the chubby cultivator promised him, he wouldn't risk his life just for money. He recalled his two deaths and didn't want to test if he would reincarnate again.

After all, it's just money. Money couldn't buy his life! Money couldn't buy him safety! Money couldn't buy him happiness! Money couldn't even grant him a chance at survival! The only thing that could give him all that was strength!

The chubby cultivator gritted his teeth as more blood spilled out from the side of his lips. In the end, his eyes turned bloodshot as he shouted.

"Screw it! If I'm going to die, I'm taking you bastard with me!" The chubby cultivator shouted before bringing out the Sentient Soul weapon from his storage bag.

Grey's eyes which was unseen to the chubby cultivator, suddenly turned cold when he felt the slight hint of divinity. His pupils dilated as he had already turned around and raised up his hand. A faint purple glow surrounded his hand with the sharpness of a sword.

Without reluctance, Grey brought his hand down decisively. The purple illusionary sword that had appeared over his head was also coming down right as soon as a eerie purple light appeared...