"The Nightmare Body possesses incredible power when engaging in group battles or facing opponents with similar levels, and because of this, as long as this child successfully initiates their Spirit Sea, even if their cultivation progresses slowly, our sect would spare no expense in resources to elevate their cultivation," the Sect Master of the Barbarian Ghost Sect resolutely stated.
"Indeed, this child is exceedingly vital to the future of our sect, potentially one of our greatest assets in rivalry with other sects. However, among this batch of disciples from noble families, only that young man named Lei Zhen shows promise. The others, as usual, are disappointing. Even if a few manage to become Spirit Apprentices, most are likely to be of the lowest three Spirit Veins, with no hope of advancing to Spirit Master in their lifetime. If the three loose cultivator disciples fail to initiate the Spirit Sea successfully, and we don't find other promising candidates among the noble family disciples, Senior Brother Gui would return disappointed," Junior Sister Lin agreed, then abruptly changed the topic.
"Based on past experiences, loose cultivator disciples have at least a one-third chance of becoming Spirit Apprentices; Junior Brother Kui should not be so unlucky. Perhaps all three of those disciples could succeed. As for your comment on the inadequacy of the noble family disciples, I have a slightly different opinion," the Sect Master of the Barbarian Ghost Sect pondered briefly before shaking his head and responding.
"What, did I misjudge the noble family disciples? Perhaps among them are other talents of excellent quality! No, even if I failed to notice, how could Senior Brother Gui make such an error?" Junior Sister Lin was momentarily stunned upon hearing this.
"I don't know about the others, but this young man seems to hold some interest," the Barbarian Ghost Sect Master smiled lightly and suddenly traced a circle in the air with his finger. Immediately, a faint green light flashed within the circle, transforming into a clear, water-like mirror. Within the mirror appeared a young man dressed in splendid robes.
The young man was looking up at the Spirit Masters in the sky, his eyes glinting slightly—it was Liu Ming.
"This little fellow? He looks quite ordinary; could he possess the rumored hidden spirit physique?" Junior Sister Lin watched Liu Ming in the mirror for a moment before slowly asking.
"Whether he is the hidden spirit physique, I do not know, but this young man's mental power should be far stronger than that of a regular person," the Barbarian Ghost Sect Master calmly replied.
"Oh, how do you know that, Senior Brother Sect Master?" Junior Sister Lin asked, her curiosity piqued.
"It's very simple; when Jialan's Nightmare Body accidentally discharged, only this young fellow remained unaffected and was able to control himself from staring at Jialan. Such self-control is commendable," the Barbarian Ghost Sect Master replied with a slight smile.
"I see. It seems this young man is indeed worth anticipating," Junior Sister Lin was somewhat enlightened.
...
Liu Ming, naturally, was unaware that he had inadvertently caught the attention of two Spirit Masters due to the events involving the enchanting girl.
At that moment, he was focused intently on perceiving various anomalies in the void around him since the formation on the plaza was activated.
He slightly operated an unnamed technique, and his internal Yuan Energy seemed stimulated, functioning almost half as fast as before. When he lightly raised his arm, he could distinctly sense a faint obstruction, although it was so weak that it was almost imperceptible, it was undeniably present.
A trace of surprise flashed across Liu Ming's face, and he looked toward the silver formation with a hint of anticipation in his eyes.
Experiencing such a remarkable change from outside the formation suggested that entering inside would undoubtedly yield even more astonishing results.
"The hour has arrived, infuse the spirit liquid," instructed the Spirit Master with the surname Lei abruptly.
As soon as his voice fell, dozens of Spirit Apprentices immediately flew from the high platforms around.
These Spirit Apprentices of the Barbarian Ghost Sect were all dressed in uniform black robes, each holding a light green bottle. In an instant, they arrived at the edge of the formation, simultaneously opening the bottle caps and using a hand flickering with spirit light to tap the bottle's base.
"Puff, puff," sounded loudly!
Jets of milky white spirit liquid sprayed from the bottle mouths, transforming into dozens of white threads that shot into the air above the formation, then hovered in the sky as misty white light spots.
"Disciples of our sect, enter the formation immediately!" Junior Brother Lei shouted authoritatively from above.
The Barbarian Ghost Sect's Spirit Vein disciples promptly ran toward the formation and, maintaining a certain distance from each other, chose a position within to sit cross-legged.
"Enough."
Once the number within the formation reached a hundred, a Spirit Master in the sky shouted softly, flicking his sleeves downward.
Those disciples of the Barbarian Ghost Sect, still trying to enter, immediately felt an invisible wall blocking their path at the edge of the formation, bouncing them back.
These disciples waited outside, suddenly alert.
Meanwhile, Liu Ming and the noble family disciples without instructions could only stand in place, wide-eyed and not daring to move.
They did not bear any complaints in their hearts. The Spirit Sea initiation ceremony was meant primarily for the disciples of the Barbarian Ghost Sect. Being placed last was not something to gripe about.
Some, rather, wished to take this opportunity to observe the Barbarian Ghost Sect disciples as they attempted Spirit Sea initiation.
Even though they had heard countless times from their elders, witnessing the entire process firsthand was a different matter. Perhaps by watching, they could gain insights, giving them greater assurance during their initiation.
Liu Ming was even less likely to give up this sole chance to understand the spiritual awakening ceremony in advance. He stared at several specific targets at the center of the magic formation, not blinking an eye.
At this moment, when the spiritual masters in the air saw that all the disciples within the formation had settled into a seated position, their figures blurred, and they each stood at certain specific positions over the formation. They began chanting mantras with various hand gestures, and a terrifying spiritual pressure emanated from each of them.
The disciples outside the formation took one touch of this aura and retreated in shock. A few disciples from less resilient families even turned pale and collapsed directly to the ground.
However, the disciples seated within the formation seemed to be under some kind of protection. They appeared oblivious to the terrifying pressure, not affected in the slightest. Some disciples even curiously glanced at the spiritual masters in the air.
The spiritual master surnamed Lei, under the activation of a spell, grew increasingly powerful and raised one arm slowly, extending a finger.
With a soft snort, a droplet of silvery white liquid shot from his fingertip, directly merged into the white light points formed by the spiritual liquid ahead.
The next moment, an astonishing scene unfolded.
The densely packed white light points nearby trembled and suddenly shot towards the silver liquid as if drawn, quickly merging into one.
In the blink of an eye, a giant milky white light orb, as tall as a person, silently formed in the high sky.
"Go,"
The spiritual master surnamed Lei pointed toward the white light orb from afar.
Immediately, the gigantic light orb fell meteor-like downward under remote control, and with a muffled sound, landed precisely on a seated Barbarian Ghost Sect disciple below.
This spiritual disciple was a boy of about thirteen or fourteen, with quite handsome features. But at the moment the white light orb touched him, he collapsed "plunk," pressed to the ground in a spread-eagle position.
It was as if this white light orb possessed a weight beyond imagination.
Even more bizarre, after pressing the boy down, the white light orb didn't disappear immediately. Instead, under the control of the spiritual master surnamed Lei, it slightly flickered and then slowly enveloped the boy.
The drop of silver spiritual liquid at the very center flashed, then eerily seeped into the boy's body, vanishing without a trace.
The boy on the ground took a deep breath, suddenly let out a low roar, then painfully pushed himself from the ground. With a fierce expression, he painstakingly resumed a cross-legged position, closing his eyes tightly to silently practice his cultivation.
The same scenario played out elsewhere.
Other spiritual masters similarly squeezed out drops of silver liquid from their bodies, transforming into giant light orbs that fell from the sky, enveloping each spiritual disciple below one by one.
Most spiritual disciples, like the initial boy, were directly pressed to the ground, unable to move. Only a few who were particularly robust could hold their position against this immense pressure, watching as their bodies were gradually engulfed by the light orb.
Several spiritual masters, observing these few individuals in this manner, subtly nodded, seemingly memorizing their appearances and positions for unknown reasons.
The spiritual masters' actions were exceptionally swift; the time it took to drink a cup of tea had yielded over a hundred drops of the silvery white liquid, ensuring every disciple within the formation was enveloped in a light orb.
At this point, the spiritual master surnamed Lei reached into his sleeve and pulled out a green-glowing talisman, giving the light formation below a flick.
A muffled bang!
A thumb-thick green beam of light shot down from the talisman's face, piercing the very center crystal of the formation and disappearing in a flash.
"Boom!"
After a flicker, beams of milky white light shot skyward from all corners of the formation.
The remaining white light points in the air blurred and descended as a mystical spiritual rain.
Even from outside the formation, Liu Ming could sense the sudden shift in the surrounding void, causing him to squint slightly.
At this time, the spiritual master surnamed Lei, in the air over the formation, spoke in a deep voice:
"We have harnessed the power of the gathering spirit array to adjust the worldly energy within the formation to its highest concentration. We have also sacrificed a drop of our liquefied true Yuan to aid you in your endeavor to impact your spiritual seas. Now, what you must do is take advantage of this external aid, activate your Yuan Energy, and attempt to converge your own spiritual sea in your dantian in one breath. This process is naturally excruciating, akin to being cut by a thousand knives. Whether you ascend to immortality or remain mortal depends entirely on you. Below, I will use the power of true speech to guide you through the entire spiritual awakening process!"
After the spiritual master surnamed Lei finished speaking, he solemnly greeted the other spiritual masters. He then reached into his sleeve, drew out a golden, shining scroll, and tossed it into the air in front of him.