Chapter 23

"Go, go, go..."

Several riders galloped madly, stirring up countless dust on the official road. The swirling dust spread across the road, and before the riders lay a vast field. The seedlings were lush and green, growing densely and cutely, like a green carpet laid out in patches on the seedbeds. Under the brilliant sunlight, they sparkled like gems.

The people working in the fields lifted their heads, looking at the riders galloping like lightning with awe.

Finally, the riders reined in their horses and stopped in front of the manor. A few servants, trembling with fear, hid to one side, suddenly recognizing two familiar faces among the riders.

Thus, all the anxiety and unease vanished in an instant, and the entire manor was filled with laughter and joy.

Rong Yiyang and his son had gone to the main family for several days and had finally returned safely. Moreover, this time, their return was with great pomp, far surpassing their previous visits.

As night fell, Rong Yiyang settled the accompanying knights. These knights, led by Rong Yihé, were all carefully selected by Rong Jielin. They had come ostensibly to protect their safety, but in reality, it was a way to announce to all the Rong family members that Rong Yiyang and his son were outstanding descendants of their lineage.

If anyone wanted to harm them, they should consider the consequences.

Rong Kaiyan quietly lay in bed, listening intently until the entire manor was completely quiet. Then, he slowly got up and stealthily left the manor, heading towards the deep mountains.

He was born and raised here, so he was extremely familiar with the environment. Therefore, no one in the manor noticed his disappearance.

Of course, his courage was also much greater than before.

Because he had the Spirit Gathering Technique, the darkness and fear of the back mountain were no longer as terrifying to him as before.

After walking on the mountain path for half an hour, he stopped.

He was very familiar with this place because it was here that his first spirit body was destroyed by a fierce tiger.

His eyes scanned the area, searching for a while under the cover of night, and a strange feeling arose in his heart.

Although this was his first time here, he did not feel the slightest bit of unfamiliarity.

He took a deep breath, slowly extended his hand, and a large amount of mysterious power began to rotate and surge from his dantian.

This time, Rong Kaiyan released the power in the sphere without reservation.

Of course, while releasing it, he silently used the secret technique of the Spirit Gathering Technique, rather than directly forcing the energy out of his dantian as he did the first time.

After a moment, a bright light shone before him, and a human-shaped spirit body slowly formed.

The process of forming this human-shaped spirit body was vastly different from that of a regular spirit body.

A regular spirit body forms very quickly, and once a vortex of spiritual energy forms around it, it can instantly absorb a massive amount of spiritual energy and successfully form a body.

However, this spirit body was different. During its formation, it did not absorb any external spiritual energy. It was as if the spirit body itself was a completely closed world, and no external force could penetrate it. Moreover, the formation of the spirit body was extremely slow, taking a full quarter of an hour to finally form.

This speed was absolutely glacial. If this happened during a battle, the spirit gatherer would have been cut into pieces by the enemy before the spirit body could form.

Finally, Rong Kaiyan exhaled deeply, looked up at the spirit body before him, and a hint of surprise flashed in his eyes.

He vaguely felt that this spirit body was vastly different from the first one he had summoned.

Perhaps it was because the mysterious power in his dantian had undergone a mutation, changing from a mist to a solid sphere, or perhaps it was because he had learned the secret technique of the Spirit Gathering Technique, which fundamentally changed the spirit body.

In any case, this spirit body was vastly different from the ones he had summoned before.

The features of the spirit body were still blurry, but there was a hint of unusual vitality in its eyes.

Rong Kaiyan stared at it for a while, and a thread of divine consciousness was transmitted to it.

This thread of divine consciousness easily took control of the spirit body. Rong Kaiyan silently examined it and, after a while, was surprised to find that this spirit body not only possessed true qi but also had more true qi than he did.

Suddenly, a sense of impending danger arose in his heart.

Rong Kaiyan's mind flickered, and his consciousness immediately returned to his body.

He opened his eyes and cautiously searched the surroundings.

Although his senses were very sharp, he was not a hunter, and it was difficult to immediately locate the source of the danger in the deep mountains.

However, when his gaze inadvertently swept over the spirit body beside him, he was taken aback.

At some point, the spirit body had turned around, facing a direction with its fists clenched, ready for defense.

A look of surprise flashed across Rong Kaiyan's face. Could this guy's spiritual senses be even stronger than his?

Just as he was wondering, a light sound came from the direction the spirit body was facing.

Rong Kaiyan's mouth twitched, and he immediately abandoned the foolish idea of comparing his senses with the spirit body.

After all, the spirit body was formed from spiritual energy and naturally had a much better sense of the world than he did, a mere mortal.

Comparing himself to it would be like asking for trouble.

The branches and grass parted, and a huge tiger's head appeared.

Rong Kaiyan's eyes narrowed. He never thought he would encounter a second mountain king tiger here.

However, unlike the last time, he felt no tension this time. Perhaps it was because his strength had improved, but the tiger no longer seemed as terrifying to him.

"Roar..."

The tiger growled lowly, as if threatening them.

Its instincts told it that these two small beings were very dangerous, and if possible, it did not want to engage in a life-or-death battle with these intruders in its territory.

Rong Kaiyan chuckled, a faint killing intent rising in his heart.

However, before he could act, a flash of light caught his eye.

The spirit body, sensing his killing intent, immediately took action.

In a single leap, the spirit body closed the distance between them. It raised its fist but did not strike directly. Instead, it crouched down, curling its body into a ball and rolling under the tiger at an incredibly strange angle.

"Bang..."

A loud noise followed, and the tiger's body flew high into the air.

Accompanied by a mournful roar, the tiger's body exploded in mid-air.

Blood and flesh rained down from the sky, covering the ground.

Rong Kaiyan's eyes widened, and he stared in shock at the scene.

He clearly saw the spirit body roll under the tiger and punch its belly. The powerful punch not only sent the tiger flying but also shattered its abdomen.

One punch, just one punch, had easily killed the mountain king tiger.

Although Rong Kaiyan was confident he could kill the tiger with the incantation, he could never have done it so cleanly and brutally.

Looking at the expressionless, almost featureless spirit body, Rong Kaiyan suddenly felt a chill.

He realized that this spirit body possessed a terrifying combat instinct.

It was said that martial artists who cultivated true qi, having experienced many life-and-death situations, had a combat instinct that allowed them to instantly identify an enemy's strengths and weaknesses and strike with lethal precision, showing no mercy.

Such martial artists were the most fearsome, virtually invincible at their level.

However, it seemed that this spirit body possessed the same qualities.

Rong Kaiyan's mind raced, and he sent a thread of consciousness to the spirit body.

He instructed the spirit body to live and fight in the forest. Of course, it should act within its limits and not challenge opponents far stronger than itself.

The spirit body's eyes swept over Rong Kaiyan, and it nodded, turned, and leaped into the depths of the forest, disappearing in an instant.

Rong Kaiyan blinked, feeling a sense of shame.

After being scanned by the spirit body, he felt a chill.

Perhaps it was because the spirit body was so special, possessing such an exaggerated combat instinct, that it made him feel a bit of fear.

Shaking his head, Rong Kaiyan calmed his mind and quietly returned to his room.

However, he was too excited to sleep, so he closed his eyes and quietly sensed.

Due to the distance, he could only sense the general direction of the spirit body. However, he was certain that if he wanted to replace it, he could transfer his consciousness to it with a single thought.

Of course, if it was not necessary, he would not interfere with the spirit body's actions.

After a long time, he suddenly heard a rooster crowing.

A faint light appeared in the dim sky.

The night had passed, and dawn had arrived.

Rong Kaiyan opened his eyes. Although he had not slept all night, his face and eyes were filled with joy.

At this moment, he was certain of one thing.

If he released all the exotic energy in the sphere at once using the secret technique of the Spirit Gathering Technique, the spirit body formed would no longer be a disposable cannon fodder in battle but a special spirit body.

A spirit body that, as long as it was not destroyed, could exist forever in the world and advance through cultivation...