章 13: Spirit Convergence Stage
Liu Ming, who was sitting cross-legged in the stone house, suddenly heard the voice of the man in the black robe:
"Everyone come out, the Opening Spirit Ceremony will be held today. I will take you to the Spirit Platform where the ceremony will be conducted."
His voice wasn't loud, yet it echoed in the stone house unremittingly, allowing Liu Ming to hear it clearly.
Liu Ming took a deep breath and immediately got off the stone bed, pushed open the door, and walked out.
He saw crowds of young men and women bustling towards the same narrow path they had come by, and through the gaps between the trees, one could faintly make out two grey-white platforms quietly lying on the grass.
The man in the black robe 'Senior Brother Zhang' and a woman draped in a white cloak 'Senior Sister Xun' were each standing on a cloud of grey, floating above the two platforms.
Fang Xiong and a dozen or so outer disciples stood respectfully nearby, their hands neatly clasped in front of them, a stark contrast to the ferocity they had shown in front of Liu Ming and the others earlier.
Seeing this, the groups of young men and women couldn't help but become more solemn, slowing their pace and orderly entering the platform in the midst.
When the last person also entered, the man in the black robe glanced at the crowd below, and seeing that no one was missing, nodded and with a flip of his hand, produced a disc. He chanted an incantation, and as he manipulated the disc with one hand, he murmured a spell.
The disc instantly emitted a faint spiritual light!
The next moment, with a "puff" sound, the densely packed spiritual runes on the surface of the platform lit up, and simultaneously a layer of white light barrier emerged, enveloping the entire platform beneath it.
The ghastly statues surrounding the platform trembled as they opened their mouths to spew out thick black smoke.
This black smoke churned and rolled, swiftly transforming into black clouds that enveloped both the platform and the light barrier within.
With a "humming" sound, the two platforms slowly lifted into the air and flew towards a massive peak not far away.
Liu Ming stood near a statue, watching with a detached gaze as faint spiritual light flickered on its surface, as if pondering something.
Not far from him, unmistakably, were Mu Mingzhu and Gao Chong quietly conversing.
In just over ten days of not seeing each other, this pair of young man and woman had become even more intimate and natural with one another.
In the center of the platform, Lei Zhen stood proudly with about thirty odd disciples from various families clustering around him, seemingly by intention.
In other areas, groups of seven or eight, or perhaps ten or more gathered around a central figure.
Over these days, these young men and women had indeed formed quite a few small groups spontaneously.
It seemed many of them, doubting their chances of success in the Opening Spirit Ceremony, had pinned their hopes on others who were more likely to become Spirit Apprentices. In this way, if they became outer disciples of the Barbarian Ghost Sect, they would also have a backing in the future.
Such a practice by the disciples from prestigious families was probably orchestrated by their elders before coming here, and they might even have several targets pre-selected for allegiances.
Otherwise, they would not have formed such groups so quickly.
Around Gao Chong and Mu Mingzhu, there were also five or six other young men and women; compared to just over ten days ago, the tall youth's face now bore an additional hint of confidence.
Of course, many people were optimistic about the future of this loose cultivator.
However, after stepping onto the platform, Mu Mingzhu and Gao Chong did not show any inclination to greet Liu Ming, their 'companion' from their initial transport location.
Liu Ming was even less inclined to initiate conversation and simply observed everything coldly from aside.
As the platform was enveloped in black clouds, Liu Ming and the others naturally couldn't see anything outside; but after merely the time it takes to eat a meal, the ground trembled slightly, and the voice of the man in the black robe rose again within the light barrier:
"The Spirit Platform has arrived, you all may head down now."
As soon as his voice fell, the outside black clouds dispersed and rolled away, and the light barrier flashed and disappeared at the same time.
Liu Ming looked up and scanned the area outside the platform, involuntarily taking in a sharp breath.
He saw that they were amidst a vast circular plaza, but at the edge of the plaza was a series of concentric terraces packed with a dense crowd of people, totaling four to five thousand in number, and quiet hustle and bustle could be faintly heard coming from them.
Amongst these people, only a small portion were true Spirit Apprentices, the rest were outer disciples of the Barbarian Ghost Sect, seemingly accompanying the Spirit Apprentices.
One section of the circular terraces was noticeably higher than the others, with seven or eight figures enveloped in various colored halos standing shoulder to shoulder on it, talking to each other in low voices.
In the center of the square, there were over a hundred disciples of the Barbarian Ghost Sect clad in green robes, each holding a bowl in one hand and a brush in the other, tracing thick, winding silver lines on the ground.
Above them, seven or eight disciples riding clouds flew back and forth, each correcting and inspecting something.
These inscriptions interwoven with each other, forming a colossal silver pattern when viewed from above.
Within this pattern, numerous thick lines crossed and overlapped, vaguely forming many strange silver characters that could make one dizzy and disoriented after staring at them for a while.
Liu Ming only glanced at some of the odd characters in the pattern a few times before he hurriedly averted his gaze, not daring to look any longer.
The group of young men and women, urged on, stepped down from the platform and stood somewhat at a loss on the edge of the silver pattern.
Just then, a rumbling sound came from the sky, and a third black cloud descended from above.
When the black cloud dispersed, another group of young men and women dressed in outer disciple robes neatly walked off the third platform.
These young men and women, unlike disciples such as Liu Ming from the great clans, were calm in demeanor and bore an indescribable chill, forming silent lines as soon as they stepped off the platform.
The cluster of young disciples from the great clans immediately stirred at their arrival.
It was clear to everyone that this batch of newcomers was, without doubt, the spiritual pulse disciples personally cultivated by the Barbarian Ghost Sect.
If only one in a hundred disciples from the great clans might become spirit initiates, then nearly one in ten of these carefully nurtured spiritual pulse disciples would successfully open their Spirit Seas.
Their success rate was almost ten times greater than that of the great clan disciples.
No wonder the Sect saw these ritual ceremonies as nothing more than a chance to fleece the Qi Refining families while not taking their recommended disciples too seriously.
Liu Ming observed the young men and women opposite him, his pupils involuntarily contracting.
Just the calmness of these Barbarian Ghost Sect spirit pulse disciples was not something the average great clan disciple could match. The familiar aura exuding from them suggested that they had all undergone special training and witnessed many bloody scenes.
By then, the silver pattern at the center of the square was finally complete, and the outer disciples quickly left the area on their own.
However, several Barbarian Ghost Sect disciples remained, taking out fist-sized clear crystals and inserting them into prepared slots in various critical parts of the pattern, nearly a hundred pieces in total.
After installing the crystals, they remained aloft and began checking each one again.
At the highest part of the platform, a figure enveloped in a pale red glow suddenly chuckled and spoke,
"My junior brothers and sisters, I've heard that this batch of spiritual pulse disciples has been well cultivated, with several exceptional talents emerging. It seems Junior Brother Chu and Junior Sister Lin have been arguing over one of them for quite some time. Is that true?"
"Sect Leader Senior Brother, you must stand up for me! I discovered that disciple first, and Senior Brother Chu has been so unreasonable, forcefully encroaching at the last minute and trying to coerce them to join his faction," a slender silhouette within a white glow hastily replied with a touch of annoyance.
The figure in the red glow, who had spoken first, was none other than the current leader of the Barbarian Ghost Sect.
"Junior Sister Lin, that's not quite right. There are so few talented disciples in this batch, it wouldn't be enough even if each faction got one. Since your Ghost Dance faction has already pinpointed such a disciple, why don't you let us Yinsha branch have Jialan," a tall figure shrouded in a greenish haze interjected with a chuckle, appearing completely unoffended.
"Hmph, of the eight factions within our Barbarian Ghost Sect, only ours has the most suitable techniques for female cultivation. To take Jialan away would be to waste fine talent and beauty, hindering the prosperity of our Sect," Junior Sister Lin retorted without politeness, swiftly slapping a label on her opponent.
"That's not for Junior Sister Lin to worry about. I will have Senior Sister Bing personally take her under her wing for guidance. Hehe, the techniques cultivated by Senior Sister Bing are also well-suited for women, so there's no worry of delaying the child's path," Junior Brother Chu responded with a smirk.
"You..."
"Enough, let's not argue anymore. This matter should wait until the disciple has truly opened their Spirit Sea. After all, no matter how astonishing their spiritual body may be, if the Spirit Sea isn't opened, it's ultimately useless," the Sect Leader of the Barbarian Ghost Sect interjected with a wave of his hand.
Upon hearing 'Sect Leader Senior Brother' say this, Junior Brother Chu and Junior Sister Lin had no choice but to stop their dispute and acknowledge with a single word, saying no more.
"By the way, Junior Brother Gui, has your Jiuying faction chosen any disciples yet? If you're too late, you might leave empty-handed once again," the Sect Leader turned to ask a figure enveloped in grey light at the edge of the high platform.
"Thank you for the reminder, Sect Leader. Our Jiuying faction simply can't compete for the few disciples with spiritual bodies this time. We'll just pick a few among the great clan disciples at random," the grey figure replied, bowing slightly.
By the sound of it, it was the scholarly figure who had once appeared in the bamboo forest of Cui Ping Slopes.
"Great clan disciples? Has some talent emerged amongst them this time as well? I wonder which ones Junior Brother Gui has taken an interest in. Let us also have a look," Junior Brother Chu expressed with a light note of interest upon hearing this.
"I really had no choice but to select from among the great clan disciples, which hardly contain truly good seedlings," Junior Brother Gui replied indifferently.
"Hehe, Junior Brother Gui has always had the reputation of 'Ghost Tactician.' We're not inclined to believe that. Who did you really set your sights on? Do you fear we'll really compete for them if you tell us?" Junior Brother Lin asked with a light laugh.
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