The leaders and elders from other families were already accustomed to this scene. Upon hearing the words of the Long Family Patriarch, they each waved a hand toward their disciples behind them. One person from each family stepped forward, holding a palm-sized jade bottle, and swiftly made their way to the Ten Thousand Spirits Platform.
At the same time, a golden light flashed over the Long Family Patriarch’s body. With a single sway, he directly entered the light barrier enveloping the Ten Thousand Spirits Platform. Then, hovering in mid-air, he formed a hand seal with one hand and sent a streak of golden light downward.
The golden light vanished in a flash, sinking into the bluestone ground below and disappearing without a trace.
In the next moment, a low rumble echoed from the Ten Thousand Spirits Platform, and an ancient-looking green stone basin emerged near the white formation.
The basin was long and flat, about ten feet in length, with faint black patterns inscribed along its surface, suggesting it was of an extremely ancient origin.
The disciples from the various families stepped forward one by one, removing the lids of their jade bottles and pouring out streams of differently colored liquids—some foul-smelling, some fragrant, and others as clear and odorless as water.
Dozens of different liquids poured into the basin, yet each remained distinct, showing no sign of blending.
The Long Family Patriarch paid no attention to this. Instead, he glanced at the increasingly blinding radiance from the formation before raising his head to observe the awe-inspiring purple-gold net high in the sky. His expression remained indifferent as he hovered motionlessly.
Outside the Ten Thousand Spirits Platform, all the Body Integration cultivators stood up, their expressions turning grave as they watched the formation.
A thunderous boom erupted!
The multicolored runes surging from the massive formation suddenly condensed into a colossal orb of light, several feet in diameter, slowly rotating above the formation.
After just a few rotations, the orb burst apart with a muffled explosion, revealing an eight-headed beast within.
With the body of a lion and the heads of flood dragons, its form was indistinct, as if merely a phantom, and its aura was only at the early-stage of the Void Refinement realm. Yet as its eight heads swayed, sixteen sinister gazes swept across the crowd below the platform, sending a chill down the spines of all who met its eyes, as if an icy wind had passed through them.
Fortunately, the Long Family Patriarch in the air cupped his hands and spoke slowly, “We welcome the return of the Ten Thousand Spirits Lord. Please enjoy the offerings of true blood from the fifty-one true spirit families of our human race.”
The beast, called Ten Thousand Spirits, raised one of its heads to glance at the Long Family Patriarch before silently floating out of the formation and hovering above the stone basin.
Its eight mouths opened wide, and the liquids in the basin transformed into eight streams, soaring into the air and vanishing into its maws.
In moments, the offerings were completely consumed. A strange glow then enveloped the beast’s body, and its once-hazy form solidified as if made of flesh and blood.
The beast then cast another glance at the cultivators outside the platform before all eight heads roared in unison, unleashing an earth-shaking bellow.
A terrifying aura erupted from its body, surging from early-stage Void Refinement to mid-stage, then late-stage…
In an instant, its aura reached the peak of late-stage Body Integration—no, it seemed even slightly beyond, as if half a step into the Mahayana realm.
Han Li, who had remained expressionless until now, couldn’t help but narrow his eyes at the overwhelming aura emanating from the Ten Thousand Spirits Platform.
Fortunately, this seemed to be the beast’s limit. Its immense aura finally stabilized.
Yet its next move startled many of the family cultivators, nearly causing them to cry out.
All eight heads suddenly tilted upward, and with a piercing screech, each spat out a bolt of green lightning as thick as a bowl. The bolts vanished in a flash, striking the purple-gold net high above.
Even some of the Body Integration cultivators couldn’t help but change expressions at this sight.
The Long Family Patriarch, however, remained composed despite standing mere feet away from the beast, though a slight twitch crossed his face.
Several deafening explosions resounded!
Purple and green arcs of lightning intertwined in the air, forming wheel-sized bursts of electricity that exploded one after another.
Yet moments later, the light faded, and the purple-gold net merely trembled slightly before settling back into place, completely unharmed.
Seeing this, the eight-headed beast’s cold gaze dimmed, and its mouths slowly closed.
However, one of its green heads suddenly twisted to stare directly at the Long Family Patriarch and spoke in an ancient, gravelly voice, “Hmph, you humans are truly cautious. I’ve descended here countless times, yet this ‘Ten Thousand Seals Lightning Array’ has never once failed in all these millennia. But pray that it remains so—for if even once you slip up and I find a flaw in this seal… heh.” The beast’s voice trailed off into a sinister chuckle.
“Rest assured, Ten Thousand Spirits Lord. If the day ever comes when the descendants of our true spirit families neglect even a single sealing formation, then they deserve to have their true blood drained by you. However, as per the covenant between our ancestors and you, now that the offerings have been made, it is time for you to craft the ‘Hidden Spirit Tokens’ for us.” The Long Family Patriarch bowed slightly, his tone neither submissive nor arrogant.
This was hardly surprising. Though the beast’s true form was a true spirit from another realm, what had descended was merely an avatar. Moreover, the sealing array meticulously crafted by the ancestors of the true spirit families suppressed most of its power. As a late-stage Body Integration cultivator, the Long Family Patriarch had little reason to fear.
“…Hmph. Since I’ve taken your offerings, I’ll naturally fulfill this trivial task.” The beast snorted, then all eight heads began chanting in unison.
As the incantations echoed, runes of eight different colors spewed from its mouths, intertwining in the air.
Within moments, the sky above the Ten Thousand Spirits Platform was densely packed with multicolored runes, creating a breathtaking spectacle.
Though surrounded by the runes, the Long Family Patriarch remained calm. A golden glow enveloped his body, preventing the runes from approaching within a few feet of him.
Suddenly, the beast roared again!
The space above twisted violently, and the countless runes condensed into overlapping shadows before transforming into countless five-colored tokens that rained down onto the platform.
“Done. Nine hundred and ninety-nine Hidden Spirit Tokens have been crafted. The next time you summon me must be three thousand years from now.” The eight-headed beast snorted, sounding slightly weary.
With a flick of its tails, it plunged back into the formation.
The massive formation shimmered as radiant light surged forth, engulfing the beast’s form.
With another resonant hum, the formation spun rapidly, and the eight-headed beast shattered into countless runes, dispersing just as it had appeared.
In the next moment, the formation itself dimmed and vanished from the Ten Thousand Spirits Platform as if it had never existed.
“Collect all the Hidden Spirit Tokens. Once the rankings are redetermined, we shall distribute them accordingly!” The Long Family Patriarch narrowed his eyes, staring at the now-empty bluestone ground for a long moment before issuing a cold command.
At his words, several golden-armored guards emerged from nowhere, each holding a silver tray. With sweeping gestures, they gathered all the tokens and placed them neatly on the trays before carrying them to an altar below the platform.
“With the Ten Thousand Spirits Lord departed, we shall now commence the worship of our true spirit ancestors,” the Long Family Patriarch declared, sweeping his gaze over the crowd.
A stir ran through the gathered families as they began arranging various ceremonial artifacts, spirit fruits, and incense on the platform.
Under the guidance of their leaders and elders, the disciples of each true spirit family took turns ascending the platform, kneeling before the effigies of their ancestors, and reciting prayers unique to their lineage.
Some of the more ancient families even performed long-lost rituals, which Han Li observed with keen interest.
After nearly half a day of ceremonies, the true highlight of the True Spirit Grand Ceremony arrived—the re-ranking of the true spirit families and the redistribution of resources.
As the Long Family Patriarch returned to the platform, he tucked his hands into his sleeves and spoke coolly, “According to tradition, each family may challenge a higher-ranked family once and must accept a challenge from a lower-ranked family once. However, no family may challenge one more than five ranks above them. If multiple families challenge the same target, the higher-ranked challenger takes precedence. Of course, as per custom, the rankings of our five great families are now void. We must first determine our new order through a round-robin before other families may issue their challenges. Fairy Ye, Fellow Daoist Lin, please step forward. We shall draw lots to decide the first round’s matchups.”
“Heh, what’s the point of drawing lots? If I face the Long Family, I’ll concede outright. But if I meet Fairy Ye, I might just test a couple of new techniques I’ve been working on.” A lazy male voice rang out from the last of the five great true spirit families, composed entirely of male cultivators.
The speaker was a man in dark green robes, his hair tied loosely with a peculiar silver ring. His delicate features were almost feminine in their beauty.
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