Chapter 23

Liu Ming walked to a corner of the formation on his own, sat down cross-legged with a calm expression.

He had already noticed that after the previous few spirit-opening ceremonies, the spirit masters, including the one surnamed Lei, showed a hint of fatigue in their demeanor.

The large crystals installed in the entire spirit-gathering formation were also not as dazzling as they were at the beginning.

Although he did not know how many times a spirit master could assist with true words under normal circumstances, nor what effect the depletion of energy in those crystals would have on the disciples in the formation, he certainly did not want to be among the last group to experience it.

Moreover, after observing the previous rounds, he had seen everything he needed to see. Staying longer would not bring any additional benefits, so it was better to join the first few batches and advance to the Spirit Sea realm first.

Many other disciples from noble families must have understood this point, but after witnessing the extremely high mortality rate earlier, they subconsciously became somewhat hesitant.

However, it did not take long to gather over a hundred people.

To Liu Ming's surprise, Gao Chong and Mu Mingzhu were among them, and he couldn't help but glance at them.

Mu Mingzhu's face was not good, her beautiful eyes carrying a hint of fear, clearly indicating that the previous scene had greatly affected her.

On the other hand, the tall youth beside her, although his face was somewhat pale, was clearly much calmer than the girl beside him.

"Begin."

As soon as the large man surnamed Lei saw that the number of people was sufficient, he immediately gave the order. The entire formation was immediately activated with a buzzing sound, and dozens of streams of spirit liquid were sprayed into the formation, causing a misty spirit rain to rise again.

With a "boom," a huge light sphere descended from the sky and landed steadily on Liu Ming.

Liu Ming immediately felt his shoulders weighed down as if by a thousand pounds, his chest burning, and his body unable to support the pressure, forcing him to the ground.

At this moment, the young man paid no attention to the others, only seeing himself enveloped in white light. A moment later, a cool sensation spread from his back, as if something was seeping into his body and rapidly rolling toward his dantian.

Having observed the spirit-opening process of others, Liu Ming was not panicked. He knew that this was the spirit masters' true essence entering his body. He immediately supported himself on the ground with both hands, trying to lift his body.

However, no matter how hard he tried, his body remained pinned to the ground, unable to rise.

Liu Ming was somewhat startled.

Although he had seen others struggle to get up, he had not expected it to be so difficult.

He was not someone born with extraordinary strength, nor had he trained much in this area. If this were the case, it would be difficult to get up with ordinary means.

Thinking this, Liu Ming's breathing became somewhat rapid. After taking several deep breaths, his arms suddenly thickened by more than a circle with a low shout, and he pressed down on the ground again, his body finally rising slowly.

He had instantly used a physical enhancement technique to temporarily increase the strength of his arms several times over, gradually straightening his body.

During this process, the young man could even hear the crisp sounds of his bones and feel his skin turn slightly red under the pressure.

After a short while, Liu Ming finally sat up properly and had a chance to look around at the others, only to feel a bitter smile.

He was certainly not the first to get up. Many other disciples from noble families had already sat up, including the delicate girl Mu Mingzhu.

The other disciples from noble families were clearly well-trained in this area or had mastered similar physical enhancement techniques.

However, when he glanced at Lei Zhen, his gaze paused.

Seeing Lei Zhen's calm demeanor in the white light, with no wrinkles on his clothes, it seemed that the gravity of the light sphere had not affected him at all.

As Liu Ming was pondering, a mysterious incantation echoed above the formation. At first, it seemed to come from a great distance, but in an instant, it thundered in his ears.

In that moment, he felt his body boil, and the previously dormant essence energy in his body began to surge wildly through his meridians, faster and faster, more and more violently.

Although he had expected this, Liu Ming still felt his body become scorching hot. The meridians in his body, under the relentless impact of the essence energy, began to tear and cause intense pain, as if countless sharp knives were cutting him, each time more violently and more fiercely.

Liu Ming's eyes shone, but his face did not show much pain.

On the island, he had endured countless tortures to learn those obscure secret techniques, and the aftereffects of these techniques themselves were extremely painful.

The thousands of times he had practiced these secret techniques on the island had made his body's tolerance for pain far beyond that of ordinary people, to the point of almost being numb.

At this moment, he easily blocked out the interference of the pain, focusing his mind on using the essence control technique to guide the wild essence energy in his body, forcing it to converge toward his dantian.

The other disciples from noble families could not endure the pain like Han Li. Even a dozen or so with weak wills lost their mental control under the intense pain, and their essence energy surged uncontrollably toward their heads.

After a few small cycles, their heads exploded, and as time passed, more and more disciples from noble families joined the ranks of the dead.

In a short while, only a small number of people in the formation could still sit steadily on the ground.

At this moment, Lei Zhen suddenly raised his head and let out a long howl. Crystal light bands appeared on his body, a total of nine, each with faint electric sparks.

He had successfully opened his Spirit Sea and revealed nine spirit meridians.

"Indeed, it is the lightning spirit meridian, and even nine spirit meridians." The leader of the Savage Ghost Sect on the platform saw the unique phenomenon on Lei Zhen's body and was pleasantly surprised.

"This time, our sect has found a treasure. Individually, a lightning spirit meridian or nine spirit meridians are not too rare, but when combined, their value to our sect is probably not much less than Jialan's Nightmare Body. I see why the Lei family was so proactive in this competition. They had already set their sights on their own nephew. With this child, they surpass other disciples by a thousand times." Lin Shimei said, her gaze on Lei Zhen becoming somewhat heated.

"Lei Zhen himself is a lightning spirit meridian. It is very suitable for him to teach this child." The leader of the Savage Ghost Sect smiled in response.

Lin Shimei sighed, knowing that with the blood relationship, no other branch could possibly snatch Lei Zhen away.

"Fortunately, the Lei family has Lei Zhen in our sect. Otherwise, this child might not have been sent to our sect. With this child's talent, if he appeared in other sects, he would also be highly valued." Lin Shimei seemed to have come to terms with it and smiled again.

"Indeed, especially the Wind and Fire Sect, which is famous for its lightning techniques. If they could get this child, they would treasure him like a precious gem." The leader of the Savage Ghost Sect chuckled.

"However, with this child successfully opening his Spirit Sea, the only one left worth looking forward to is the cultivator named Gao Chong. By the way, the young man with strong mental power that the sect leader mentioned is also in this batch. I wonder if he can successfully open his Spirit Sea." Lei Zhen had already sat down again, and Lin Shimei scanned the others in the formation and said slowly.

"Whether he succeeds or not will be clear in half an hour. We will know the result then." The leader of the Savage Ghost Sect's tone returned to calm.

But just as he finished speaking, a loud rumble suddenly came from the formation, followed by an unusual wave that made the entire square tremble.

"What's happening? What's going on?" Lin Shimei was startled.

The leader of the Savage Ghost Sect, seeing this, was stunned for a moment, then stared blankly at the formation, speechless.

At this moment, one of the disciples sitting in the formation suddenly trembled, slowly rising from the ground. A white light circled around him, forming a white halo.

"This is... Could it really be that thing appearing..." The leader of the Savage Ghost Sect could no longer remain calm, his figure moving as he shot toward the formation without hesitation.

At this moment, the white light around the disciple condensed again, forming a second halo.

"Earth spirit root, this is the celestial phenomenon of the earth spirit root appearing. This is impossible..." Lin Shimei's body trembled, and she finally realized what was happening, exclaiming in shock. Her body was immediately enveloped in a rosy light as she hurriedly flew off the platform.

Above the formation, the large man surnamed Lei, Chu Shidi, and several other spirit masters, seeing this, naturally understood what was happening. They were all extremely excited and flew to the disciple, watching the halos form one after another on his body, silently counting the number.

At this moment, the Confucian scholar surnamed Gui, who was reciting the true words in the air, was shocked beyond measure. Unfortunately, he had not finished reciting the true words and could not move, but his gaze was also fixed on the young disciple forming the halos in the air.

This disciple was tall and had a simple face, none other than the cultivator Gao Chong.

At the same time, Liu Ming, sitting in a corner of the formation, unnoticed by anyone, had several silver-white light threads in his dantian, controlled by a powerful mental force, intertwining and fusing at an incredible frequency, gradually forming a silver-white sphere.