Chapter 15: Awakening (Part One)

Translator: GGP

“The Nightmare Body possesses unimaginable might in group battles and when facing opponents of similar cultivation. From this point of view, as long as this child can successfully awaken his Spirit Sea, even if his cultivation is slow, our sect will spare no effort or spirit medicines to forcibly elevate his cultivation,” the Sect Leader of the Barbarian Ghost Sect resolutely said.

“Indeed, this child is extremely important for the future of our sect. He might well become one of our main advantages in competing with the other clans. However, among the clan disciples this time, apart from that boy named Lei Zhen who seems promising, the others are as lackluster as ever. Even if a few manage to barely become Spirit Acolytes, most likely all of them possess the lowest aptitude, the Three Spiritual Pulse, and have no hope of advancing to become Spirit Masters in their lifetime. If those three rogue disciples can’t successfully attempt the Spirit Sea, and we can’t find any other satisfactory seedlings among the other clan disciples, I’m afraid Senior Brother Gui might return disappointed again,” Junior Sister Lin said, nodding her head first but then suddenly changing the subject.

“From past precedents, rogue disciples have at least a one-third chance of becoming Spirit Acolytes. Junior Brother Kui should not be so unlucky, and it is possible that all three of these disciples could be successful. As for your claim about the other clan disciples being unworthy, I have to disagree,” the Sect Leader of the Barbarian Ghost Sect pondered for a moment before shaking his head.

“What? Could it be that I’ve made a mistake, and among those clan disciples, there are other outstanding ones? No, even if I failed to perceive it, how could Senior Brother Gui have also made an oversight?” Junior Sister Lin was taken aback upon hearing this.

“I don’t know about the others, but this boy should be quite interesting,” the Sect Leader of the Barbarian Ghost Sect said with a faint smile. Suddenly, with a single finger, he drew a circle in the air in front of him. A faint aqua light flashed within the circle, and it transformed into a clear, water-like mirror. The image of a young boy dressed in brocade robes appeared,

The boy was looking up at a group of Spirit Masters in the sky, his eyes slightly flickering, and it was none other than Liu Ming.

“This little fellow? He doesn’t appear to have anything special. Does he possess one of those rumored Hidden Spirit Bodies?” Junior Sister Lin watched Liu Ming in the mirror for a long while before slowly asking.

“I don’t know if he has a Hidden Spirit Body, but this little guy’s mental strength should be much stronger than the average person,” the Sect Leader of the Barbarian Ghost Sect calmly said.

“Oh, how did Senior Brother Leader come to know this?” Junior Sister Lin asked curiously.

“It’s quite simple. Just now, when Jialan inadvertently released the Nightmare Body’s energy, only this boy remained completely unaffected, and he even managed to control himself from looking at Jialan again. Tsk tsk, just for this self-control alone, he deserves praise,” the Sect Leader of the Barbarian Ghost Sect replied with a slight smile.

“I see. With that said, this little guy really is worth looking forward to,” Junior Sister Lin realized.

…

Liu Ming, naturally unaware that because of that enchanting girl, he had unwittingly caught the attention of two Spirit Masters.

At this moment, he was intently sensing the various anomalies around him in the void since the square’s formation was stimulated.

As he ran the nameless cultivation method, the Yuan Energy within his body was stimulated to circulate nearly half again as fast as before, and with a slight movement of his lower arms, he could distinctly sense an almost indiscernible stagnation, faint to the point of nearly vanishing, but definitely real.

A trace of surprise flashed across Liu Ming’s face, and his eyes filled with expectation as he looked toward the silver formation.

Being able to feel such astonishing changes outside the formation, the effects once inside it would undoubtedly be even more remarkable.

“The appointed time has arrived. Begin the infusion of the spirit liquid!” the Spirit Master with the surname Lei suddenly commanded.

As soon as these words were spoken, dozens of Spirit Acolytes flew out from the platforms on clouds.

The Spirit Acolytes of the Barbarian Ghost Sect, all dressed in uniform black robes, each held a light green bottle in their hands, and in an instant, they reached the edge of the formation. They opened the bottles, flashed their hands over the bottoms of the bottles, and slapped them with a burst of spiritual light.

“Puff” “Puff” sounds rang out!

Milky white spirit liquid sprayed out from the bottles, shooting up in dozens of streams towards the space right above the formation, then turned into misty white dots that floated in the air without falling.

“Disciples of our sect, enter the formation immediately!” ‘Junior Brother Lei’ in the air commanded with another stern shout.

Upon this command, the Spirit Pulse disciples of the Barbarian Ghost Sect at the very front immediately ran into the formation like mad, and after finding their spots spaced a certain distance apart, they sat down cross-legged.

“That’s enough,”

But when the number inside the formation reached a hundred, a Spirit Master in the air shouted in a low voice, and flung his sleeve downward.

The Barbarian Ghost Sect disciples who were still attempting to enter felt an invisible wall of air suddenly appear at the edge of the formation, and they were all bounced back.

After feeling a chill in their hearts, they immediately stopped and waited outside.

Since there were no orders given, Liu Ming and the other clan disciples could only stand in their place with wide eyes, not daring to move.

They felt no resentment in their hearts, as the Spirit Awakening Ceremony was primarily designed for the Barbarian Ghost Sect’s own disciples, and it made sense for them to be placed at the very end.

Some were even keen to take this opportunity to see how the disciples of the Barbarian Ghost Sect attempted to awaken the Spirit Sea.

Although they had been told countless times by their elders, seeing the whole process with their own eyes was something different altogether. Perhaps by observing, they could gain insight that would give them a better chance when it was their turn to awaken their spirits.

Liu Ming certainly couldn’t miss this only chance to learn about the Spirit Awakening Ceremony in advance. He fixed his gaze on a few specific targets at the center of the Array Formation without blinking.

At this point, several Spirit Masters in the air, seeing that all the disciples in the formation were seated with their legs crossed, immediately flickered their figures and took up specific positions above the Array Formation. They each began to chant something into the air while making hand gestures and their bodies all erupted with an aura of Lingering Pressure that was terrifying to the extreme.

Disciples outside the Array Formation, upon coming into contact with this aura, all retreated in shock. A few disciples from noble families, unable to withstand the intensity, even turned pale and collapsed on the ground.

However, the disciples seated within the Array Formation seemed to be under some sort of protection; they were completely unaffected by the terrifying pressure and acted as if they couldn’t see it at all. Some disciples were even sneakily observing the movements of the Spirit Masters in the air with curiosity.

Under the activation of the hand seals, Spirit Master Lei Zhen’s aura grew increasingly strong, and he lifted an arm slowly, extending a single finger.

After a muffled grunt, a droplet of silvery-white liquid shot out from his fingertip and directly entered into the white specks formed by the Spiritual Liquid in front of him.

The next moment, an astonishing scene unfolded.

The dense cluster of white specks trembled and then shot towards the silver liquid as if they were sentient, rapidly merging into one.

In the blink of an eye, a man-sized giant milky-white orb of light noiselessly formed in the high sky.

“Go,”

Spirit Master Lei Zhen pointed from afar towards the white orb.

Immediately, the giant orb, as if controlled from afar, plummeted downwards like a falling star. With a dull thud, it precisely struck a seated disciple from the Barbarian Ghost Sect below.

This Spirit Vein disciple was a teenager, about thirteen or fourteen years old, with rather handsome features. However, the instant the white orb touched him, he “thumped” down to the ground into a ‘big’ shape, as if pressed down by it.

It was as if the white orb possessed an unimaginably heavy force.

Even more eerie, after pressing down on the teenager, the white orb didn’t disappear immediately. Instead, under Spirit Master Lei Zhen’s manipulation, it flickered slightly and began to slowly envelop the youngster.

The drop of silver Spiritual Liquid at the core vanished into the body of the teenager in a flash, leaving no trace.

Only after the boy on the ground took a deep breath did he suddenly let out a low roar. He then forcibly climbed up from the ground and, with a ferocious expression, settled back into a cross-legged position bit by bit. Then, closing his eyes, he silently began to cultivate.

The same scene was playing out elsewhere as well.

The other Spirit Masters also squeezed out droplets of silvery liquid from their bodies, which then transformed into large orbs of light that fell from the sky, enveloping each Spirit Vein disciple below.

Most of these disciples were like the first one, directly pressed to the ground, unable to move. Only a few with particularly robust bodies were able to sit steadily and endure the immense pressure, watching as the orbs of light were gradually absorbed into their bodies.

The Spirit Masters, seeing the condition of these few, all nodded secretly, memorizing the appearance and position of these disciples for some reason.

These Spirit Masters were swift in their casting. Within the time it took to make a cup of tea, they had gathered over a hundred drops of silvery-white liquid, and every disciple within the Array Formation was now enveloped in a light orb.

At this moment, Spirit Master Lei Zhen reached into his sleeve, took out a command token engulfed in azure light, and, without another word, flicked it towards the light formation below.

With a muffled sound,

An azure light beam, thick as a thumb, shot out from the front side of the token, vanishing instantly upon striking a crystal at the very center of the Array Formation.

With a “boom,”

The crystal flashed and the Array Formation burst into light, shooting up several milky-white beams into the sky.

The remaining white specks in the air, after a brief blur, transformed into a misty rain of Spiritual Energy and began to drift down.

Even from outside the Array Formation, Liu Ming could feel the sudden shift in the surrounding space and involuntarily narrowed his eyes a bit.

At this time, Spirit Master Lei Zhen spoke in a deep voice above the Array Formation,

“We have used the power of the Gathering Spirit Great Array to tune the Heaven and Earth Yuan Energy in the formation to its densest state. We have also expended a drop of our own liquified Yuan Energy on each of you, giving you the greatest reliance for breaking through to the Spirit Sea. Now, what you must do is use this external force as an aid to stimulate the Yuan Energy within your bodies and form your own Spirit Sea in one breath at your Dantian. The process will naturally be extremely painful, like being cut by a thousand knives. But from this point on, whether you live or die, become a mortal or an immortal, will depend entirely on yourselves. Meanwhile, I will use the power of True Words to guide you through the entire process of Spirit Awakening!”

After Spirit Master Lei Zhen finished speaking, he solemnly signaled to the other Spirit Masters and then took out a radiant golden scroll from his sleeve and tossed it in front of him.