Chapter 21

"During group battles and when facing opponents of similar cultivation, the Nightmare Body possesses an incredible power. From this perspective, as long as this child can successfully open the Spirit Sea, even if his cultivation progresses slowly, our sect will use spiritual medicines to forcefully enhance his cultivation." The Patriarch of the Savage Ghost Sect said resolutely.

"Yes, this child is indeed extremely important to our sect's future. He might be one of the greatest supports for our sect in the competition with others. However, among the disciples of the noble families this time, apart from that boy Lei Zhen who is somewhat promising, the others are still as disappointing as before. Even if a few of them勉强 become Spirit Disciples, they are likely to be the lowest-grade Spirit Disciples with three spirit meridians, with no hope of advancing to the Spirit Master stage in their lifetime. If none of the three itinerant cultivator disciples can successfully open the Spirit Sea, and we cannot find any other satisfactory candidates among the other noble family disciples, Senior Brother Gui will likely return disappointed." Junior Sister Lin nodded first, then suddenly changed the subject.

"According to past precedents, at least one-third of the itinerant cultivator disciples have a chance to become Spirit Disciples. Junior Brother Gui should not have such bad luck. Perhaps all three of these disciples might succeed. As for your comment about the other noble family disciples being incapable, I have a slight disagreement." The Patriarch of the Savage Ghost Sect pondered for a moment, then shook his head and said.

"What, could it be that I misjudged? How could Senior Brother Gui also misjudge if I did?" Junior Sister Lin was taken aback upon hearing this.

"I don't know about others, but this boy is quite interesting." The Patriarch of the Savage Ghost Sect smiled slightly, then suddenly drew a circle in the air with his finger. A faint green light flashed, and a clear, water-like light mirror appeared, showing a young man in a brocade robe.

The young man was looking up at a group of Spirit Masters in the sky, his eyes flickering. It was none other than Liu Ming.

"This little guy? He doesn't seem to have anything special. Could he have one of those hidden spirit bodies mentioned in legends?" Junior Sister Lin looked at Liu Ming in the light mirror for a while before asking slowly.

"I don't know if he has a hidden spirit body, but this little guy's mental power is definitely much stronger than the average person's." The Patriarch of the Savage Ghost Sect said calmly.

"Oh, how did Senior Brother know that?" Junior Sister Lin naturally became curious upon hearing this.

"Very simple. When Jialan's Nightmare Body unexpectedly leaked, this little guy was the only one completely unaffected and could control himself from looking at Jialan. Tsk tsk, his self-control alone is commendable." The Patriarch of the Savage Ghost Sect smiled slightly in response.

"I see. So this little guy is indeed worth looking forward to." Junior Sister Lin was somewhat enlightened.

...

Liu Ming, of course, had no idea that he had caught the attention of two Spirit Masters due to the bewitching girl.

At the moment, he was fully focused on sensing the various anomalies in the surrounding void since the activation of the square's array.

He slightly ran the nameless technique, and the yuan force in his body began to circulate nearly half as fast as before. When he slightly raised his arm, he could clearly sense a faint but distinct resistance, though it was so weak it was almost imperceptible.

A hint of surprise flashed across Liu Ming's face, and his gaze towards the silver array took on a hint of anticipation.

He could feel such astonishing changes even outside the array. Once inside, the effects would surely be even more astonishing.

"The time has come, infuse the spirit liquid!" the Spirit Master surnamed Lei suddenly commanded.

As soon as he spoke, dozens of Spirit Disciples from the high platforms around them flew down on clouds.

These Spirit Disciples of the Savage Ghost Sect all wore uniform black robes, each holding a light green bottle. They quickly arrived at the edge of the array, opened the bottle caps, and then tapped the bottom of the bottles with a flash of spiritual light.

A loud "puff" "puff" sound echoed as streams of milky white spirit liquid spurted out of the bottle mouths, forming dozens of white lines that shot up into the sky above the array, then transformed into white misty light points that hovered in the air.

"Disciples of our sect, enter the array immediately!" the 'Junior Brother Lei' in the air shouted sternly.

Upon hearing this, the first row of Spirit Meridian Disciples of the Savage Ghost Sect immediately rushed into the array and each found a spot to sit cross-legged, maintaining a certain distance from each other.

"Enough!"

But when the number of people in the array reached a hundred, a Spirit Master in the air gave a low command and waved his sleeve downward.

The Savage Ghost Sect disciples who wanted to enter next immediately felt as if an invisible transparent wall had appeared at the edge of the array, bouncing them back.

These disciples, feeling a chill, immediately stopped and waited outside.

As for the noble family disciples like Liu Ming, they could only stand there, staring at each other, not daring to move without further instructions.

They did not harbor any resentment. The Spirit Opening Ceremony was primarily for the Savage Ghost Sect's own disciples, and being placed at the back was nothing to complain about.

Some even hoped to use this opportunity to observe how the Savage Ghost Sect disciples would attempt to open their Spirit Seas.

Although they had heard the process described countless times by their elders, witnessing it firsthand was a different matter. They might gain some insights that would help them when it was their turn to open their spirits.

Liu Ming, in particular, would not miss this rare chance to understand the Spirit Opening Ceremony in advance. He fixed his gaze on a few specific targets in the center of the array, not blinking.

At this moment, several Spirit Masters in the air, seeing that the disciples in the array were all seated, began to move, each standing at a specific position above the array and chanting incantations while emitting a terrifying spiritual pressure.

The disciples outside the array, upon feeling this pressure, all retreated in shock. A few weak-willed noble family disciples even turned pale and collapsed to the ground.

However, the disciples inside the array, who were seated on the ground, seemed to be protected from the terrifying pressure, showing no signs of being affected. Some even curiously observed the actions of the Spirit Masters in the air.

The Spirit Master surnamed Lei, under the influence of the incantation, emitted an increasingly powerful aura and raised one arm, slowly extending a finger.

With a muffled grunt, a drop of silver liquid shot out from his fingertip and flew directly into the white light points formed by the spirit liquid.

In the next moment, an astonishing scene unfolded.

The dense white light points, trembling, suddenly shot towards the silver liquid and quickly merged with it.

In an instant, a massive, milky white light sphere, about the size of a person, formed silently in the sky.

"Go!"

The Spirit Master surnamed Lei pointed at the white light sphere from a distance.

The massive light sphere, controlled remotely, fell like a meteor and, with a muffled thud, struck a seated Savage Ghost Sect disciple with perfect accuracy.

This Spirit Meridian Disciple was a boy around thirteen or fourteen years old, with a rather handsome face. The moment the white light sphere touched him, he was pressed to the ground in a 'big' character shape with a "thud."

It seemed as if the white light sphere possessed an incredibly heavy force.

More bizarrely, after pressing the boy to the ground, the white light sphere did not immediately disappear. Instead, under the control of the Spirit Master surnamed Lei, it flickered and slowly enveloped the boy.

The central drop of silver spirit liquid, after a flash, mysteriously disappeared into the boy's body.

The boy took a deep breath, then suddenly let out a low roar and slowly got up from the ground, his expression fierce as he slowly resumed his cross-legged position and closed his eyes to meditate.

The same scene was playing out elsewhere.

Other Spirit Masters also squeezed out drops of silver liquid from their bodies, which then transformed into massive light spheres that fell from the sky, enveloping the Spirit Meridian Disciples below.

Most of the Spirit Meridian Disciples were pressed to the ground, unable to move, just like the first boy. Only a few particularly robust boys could sit steadily and endure the immense pressure, watching as the light spheres slowly enveloped them.

Seeing these few, the Spirit Masters nodded in approval and noted their positions and appearances for some reason.

The Spirit Masters' casting of spells was extremely fast. After about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, they had condensed over a hundred drops of silver liquid, and every disciple in the array was enveloped in a light sphere.

At this moment, the Spirit Master surnamed Lei reached into his sleeve, pulled out a green, glowing token, and without a word, waved it at the light array below.

A muffled thud!

A thumb-thick green light beam shot down from the token and disappeared into a crystal at the center of the array.

With a "boom"!

The crystal flashed, and white light shot up from various parts of the array.

The remaining white light points in the air blurred and transformed into a misty spiritual rain that drifted down.

Even outside the array, Liu Ming could sense the changes in the surrounding void, causing his eyes to narrow slightly.

At this moment, the Spirit Master surnamed Lei spoke solemnly from above the array:

"We have used the power of the Spirit Gathering Array to adjust the density of the elemental energy in the array to its maximum. We have also used a drop of liquefied true essence from our bodies to enhance your chances of opening the Spirit Sea. Now, what you need to do is to use this external assistance to stimulate the yuan force in your body and form your own Spirit Sea in your dantian. The process will be extremely painful, as if you are being cut into a thousand pieces. However, whether you live or die, whether you become a transcendent or a mortal, depends entirely on you. I will guide you through the entire Spirit Opening process with the power of true speech!"

After saying this, the Spirit Master surnamed Lei nodded solemnly to the other Spirit Masters and took out a golden book from his sleeve, throwing it in front of him.