Chapter 470 - 469-

Just as Grey gripped the Cloth Doll tightly in his hand and prepared to release the divinity contained within it, he suddenly heard the small, childish voice of the Cloth Puppet.

"What are you doing? Don’t tell me you’re about to try that thing she did to me? Especially with such inferior divinity."

As soon as Grey heard the voice, his brows rose slightly in surprise.

He had almost forgotten that the Cloth Doll was capable of speaking. More importantly, judging from its tone, it seemed to understand exactly what Grey was trying to do.

However, before Grey could respond, the Cloth Puppet continued speaking.

"You don’t need to do that with me. I’m a real divine entity, and I possess intelligence. My divine aura is far purer and denser than that rotten plant over there. At least have some respect for true authority!"

The Cloth Doll spoke proudly in its childish voice, its tone carrying an almost arrogant sense of superiority.

Grey stared at it in silence.

For a moment, he genuinely did not know what to say.

This little thing was becoming increasingly strange.

It had the appearance of a harmless cloth doll, possessed the voice of a child, and yet it casually referred to itself as a divine entity. Even more strangely, it seemed to have a deep disdain for the Heavenly Vine’s divinity.

"With my presence, you don’t have to worry too much about its divinity affecting us," the Cloth Doll said. "Rather, it will be the one that suffers if I release my divinity."

As it finished speaking, the Cloth Doll’s head suddenly turned to the side.

Its movements were stiff and unnatural, causing Grey’s eyes to narrow slightly.

He remained silent for several seconds before finally speaking.

"But won’t the divinity entering you be a meal?" Grey asked curiously. "Do you really want to ignore the delicious meal of another divine creature?"

There was a faint hint of temptation in his voice.

Obviously, Grey was trying to lure the Cloth Doll.

He didn’t actually have a complete understanding of what would happen if the Cloth Doll absorbed the Heavenly Vine’s divinity. However, the faint understanding he had gained after being infused with divinity had already given him some insight.

Divine existences seemed to possess an entirely different method of growth from ordinary living beings.

They could strengthen themselves by refining and increasing their own divinity.

But there was another method.

Devouring.

They could consume the divinity of other divine existences and use it as nourishment, transforming it into their own strength.

At least, that was the impression Grey had gotten from everything he had experienced so far.

The being from which the Cloth Doll originated had clearly been attempting to do something similar.

It was either recovering from a critical state or preparing to break through to another level. Regardless of which one it was, it needed nourishment.

And what better nourishment could there be than another divine existence?

That being had been so hungry that it wouldn’t even hesitate to devour an existence that had originated from its own body.

That alone was enough to demonstrate the coldness and cruelty of divine beings.

To them, life itself seemed to possess very little meaning.

Everything was either food or something meaningless.

There was no middle ground.

This was only a small understanding Grey had obtained after coming into contact with divinity, yet even that little knowledge frightened him considerably.

The more he understood about divinity, the more cautious he became.

From now on, he decided that he would be far more careful whenever he encountered the Cloth Doll or any other object that contained even the slightest trace of divinity.

Unfortunately, his attempt to tempt the Cloth Doll failed.

"That’s true..." the Cloth Doll muttered.

Grey’s eyes immediately lit up.

But before he could celebrate, the Cloth Doll continued.

"...but I cannot eat such an inferior existence!"

Its childish voice suddenly became stern.

"It would taste like rubbish in my mouth. Even though it is technically food, I have standards!"

Grey’s expression stiffened.

The Cloth Doll had rejected his proposal without the slightest hesitation.

Faced with such an outright rejection, Grey was left completely speechless.

He stared at the Cloth Doll in his hand.

Several seconds passed.

The Cloth Doll remained completely unresponsive.

Grey’s expression gradually became solemn.

The divinity filling his body was becoming increasingly powerful.

At first, it had merely felt like an unusual energy permeating his flesh. But now, the divine radiance was becoming increasingly dense and intense, almost as if an invisible pressure was slowly being forced into every part of his body.

It was no longer something Grey could casually ignore.

And then he heard it.

Murmurs.

Faint, indistinct mutterings echoed inside his mind.

Grey’s eyes narrowed.

He couldn’t make out the words.

They sounded as though countless voices were whispering simultaneously, their words overlapping and becoming distorted until they were reduced to meaningless ravings.

Yet despite being unable to understand them, Grey could somehow feel the meaning behind them.

A faint headache suddenly struck him.

He frowned and instinctively raised a hand to his head.

The pain wasn’t severe at first.

But then it intensified.

At the same time, an indescribable sensation suddenly spread throughout his body.

He felt as though something was watching him.

Not Violet.

Not the Cloth Doll.

Something else.

Something that he couldn’t see.

Grey’s entire body instantly became cold.

"This is not good..." Grey muttered inwardly, his expression turning grim.

The divinity had already begun exceeding what his body could comfortably withstand.

The pressure wasn’t merely physical anymore.

It was beginning to interfere with his mind.

The voices continued.

The indistinct ravings became louder, crawling through his consciousness like countless insects whispering directly into his ears.

Grey gritted his teeth.

He could feel his thoughts becoming slightly sluggish.

If this continued, he had a feeling the voices would eventually affect his mind.

And once that happened, he had no idea what would occur.

Violet noticed his abnormal state almost immediately.

She looked at Grey with genuine concern, her eyes fixed on his increasingly pale expression.

"Grey..."

Just as Grey was about to ask the Cloth Doll for another solution, an idea suddenly flashed through his mind.

The shadow!

Grey’s eyes widened slightly.

"Yes!"

He suddenly remembered something he had nearly overlooked.

The shadow had been created after a portion of his soul shattered and merged with the divine flames that had been sealed within his sea of consciousness by the Purple Crystal.

The divine flames had originally been incredibly dangerous.

Yet after the shadow became sentient, it had completely devoured them.

It had swallowed the divine flames as though they were nothing more than ordinary nourishment.

And although the shadow appeared ordinary on the surface and possessed many characteristics similar to those bizarre existences, there was one important difference.

The shadow contained a trace of divinity.

Perhaps...

Perhaps it could absorb the divinity currently flooding his body!

The thought appeared in Grey’s mind, and he immediately acted.

He directed his consciousness toward the shadow.

"Shadow."

The shadow, which had been silently lurking within him, immediately sensed Grey’s thoughts.

"Start absorbing the divinity radiating from my body."

Grey’s mental voice was clear and firm.

"When I tell you to stop, you stop immediately."

The shadow froze.

Its confusion was transmitted directly into Grey’s mind.

It clearly didn’t understand why Grey suddenly wanted it to absorb the terrifying energy that was currently making even Grey uncomfortable.

However, Grey paid no attention to its confusion.

He didn’t have the luxury of explaining.

The dull ache in his head had already intensified into genuine pain.

The countless mutterings and ravings were becoming louder.

They were no longer faint whispers.

They were beginning to sound as though countless beings were speaking directly beside his ears.

Grey’s breathing became heavier.

He had to resolve this quickly.

"How do I suppress divinity...?"

Grey’s thoughts raced.

He had no proper method of controlling or suppressing divinity.

The captain had somehow managed to suppress the divinity within her body, but Grey had never asked her how she accomplished it.

Everyone had their own secrets.

Just like him.

And right now, the only thing Grey knew that possessed the ability to suppress even divinity was the Purple Crystal.

He immediately began circulating his spirit energy.

The spirit energy surged through his body before converging toward the Purple Crystal within his sea of consciousness.

The moment his spirit energy entered the vicinity of the Purple Crystal, the crystal began to tremble faintly.

A strange purple radiance slowly spread outward.

Grey’s expression became cold.

He had no idea whether this would work.

He didn’t know if the Purple Crystal could suppress the amount of divinity currently flooding his body.

But he had no other choice.

The voices in his mind grew louder.

The strange sensation of being watched became increasingly intense.

Grey clenched his teeth.

Then, without hesitation, he gave the command.

"Now."

The instant those words left his mind, the shadow moved.

At the same time, Grey’s eyes suddenly turned cold.

A brilliant purple radiance erupted from within his body and rapidly spread throughout every corner of his flesh.

The Purple Crystal’s power surged through his meridians, suppressing the violent divinity that was attempting to overwhelm him.

For a brief moment, the crimson and purple energies violently clashed within Grey’s body.

Grey’s expression changed slightly.

Then he felt it.

The pressure began to lessen.

The shadow had finally begun absorbing the divinity.