Long Haochen's Mount Partner (II)

Very quickly, Ye Hua discovered that it was not only the old man's hand that had transformed into a Radiant Body. Even the few sparse white hairs on his head had all turned gold. Immediately afterward, his head became translucent, and a vast, ocean-like Holy Aura erupted forth in explosive bloom, forcing Ye Hua to retreat rapidly until he was pressed against the outermost stone wall before he managed to steady himself.

"A complete Radiant Body?" Ye Hua nearly cried out in shock.

Any seventh-tier Holy Temple Knight could use the Radiant Body, but the higher one's Cultivation Level, the greater the area it covered. Only when the entire body transformed into something like a crystal of light could it be called a complete Radiant Body. That was the symbol of a ninth-tier Holy Temple Knight! In other words, this one-eyed old man before them was either an even more powerful eighth-tier Holy Knight, or at the very least a peak ninth-tier Holy Temple Knight. If such an existence were outside, he could at least become the master of a branch hall of the Knight Temple.

The extent of the Radiant Body's coverage did not affect its effect; at most, it could only double one's attack power. However, the higher one's Cultivation Level, the longer the Radiant Body could be maintained.

The old man gave a low shout. The immense spiritual energy of light, enhanced by the Radiant Body, suddenly poured into the golden token. At once, a thick ring of golden radiance spread outward.

Wherever the golden light passed, the Ancient Elven Script within each trapezoidal grid on the ground lit up as though ignited. Powerful and strange magical fluctuations immediately began to arise throughout the cavern.

Leaning against the wall, Ye Hua stared without blinking at the magnificent sight before him. That strange sensation seemed to let him touch the gateway to breaking through three thousand spiritual energy.

Bzzzz—

The instant every Ancient Elven Script symbol was ignited, tens of thousands of light patterns rippled out from them. The intense golden radiance made the entire cavern incomparably bright.

Long Haochen only felt his body shudder, as though countless immense energies of light had pierced through him. At the same time, the Holy Guiding Spirit Furnace in his chest began to fluctuate violently. Drawn by the Holy Guiding Spirit Furnace, a portion of the dense external Light Element was silently retained as it passed through Long Haochen's body, feeding the rotation of his funnel-shaped vortex.

As the tens of thousands of golden light patterns soared upward, they began to spiral toward a single direction. They looked like an enormous golden tornado, yet there was not the slightest movement of air here—only Light Element so immense that it filled one with terror.

Bzzzz—

Another violent hum rang out. The light patterns gathered at the apex of the cavern, forming a huge circular golden vortex. At the same time, a beam of golden light descended from that vortex, enveloping Long Haochen, who sat upright at the center of the teleportation array.

The one-eyed old man's voice sounded in Long Haochen's ears. "The selection has begun. Countless magic beast auras will appear within your senses. Among them, find one that feels close to you, and use the Equal Contract. Remember, you must seek out the aura closest to you. Otherwise, the contract cannot succeed, and naturally, you will not be able to bring it into our world."

Long Haochen could clearly hear everything the one-eyed old man said, but he did not answer, because he had already sunk into a strange sensation.

The instant that pillar of golden light descended, Long Haochen felt as though his soul had left his body and entered a strange world.

This was a world of hundreds of millions of light specks. Those specks gathered into clouds of light that drifted around him. At this moment, he seemed to be the center of this world. Wherever his gaze fell, countless light specks would emerge from that cloud of light, releasing their auras for his inspection.

But there were simply too many light specks, a dazzling riot of colors, and every single one carried a different aura. A quarter of an hour—he remembered clearly that he had only a quarter of an hour. And he had only this one chance to choose.

Daring neither to think too much nor waste a single moment, Long Haochen randomly selected a cloud of light and swiftly filtered through the auras sent by those light specks.

He did not know that every cloud of light was a parallel space, while those light specks were the auras emitted by the magic beasts within those parallel spaces. This ancient grand array in which he stood was a powerful existence capable of communicating with parallel spaces. It was also the core of every teleportation array in the Knight Holy Mountain.

Coldness, fear, rejection, fury... He felt all manner of emotions reaching him. Each emotion seemed to strike his spiritual power to some degree, though the impacts were not especially strong. Relying on his powerful spiritual power, he sensed them with extreme speed. Almost every instant, he filtered out the auras transmitted by dozens of light specks.

The benefits of his abnormal innate spiritual power showed themselves fully at this moment. If it were anyone else, they likely would not even be able to examine one-tenth as many as he did.

Second by second, time passed, and Long Haochen grew increasingly anxious. There were far too few auras that made him feel warmth; the overwhelming majority of light specks conveyed only fear to him. It was as though they were afraid of him.

The quarter of an hour was nearly up. Long Haochen could distinctly feel everything before him gradually becoming illusory.

No, no, I must find my partner. Long Haochen roared unwillingly in his heart. His senses immediately became a little clearer.

Inside the cavern, the old man had been observing Long Haochen all along. The reason the selection time was limited to a quarter of an hour was because that was the limit of what Long Haochen's own spiritual energy could endure. The reason only Great Knights could come here and withstand the array's power was because only spiritual energy at that level could bear the consumption. Moreover, they had to be young people under twenty. Once they exceeded that age, the array would instantly backlash against them.

At this moment, the quarter of an hour had already passed, yet the golden light radiating from Long Haochen's body had not completely faded. His face was somewhat pale, but he was still gritting his teeth and holding on.

What formidable willpower. The old man secretly marveled. He knew very well that although those within the array could not feel their own spiritual energy being consumed, once their bodies could no longer endure it, they would naturally be ejected from the teleportation array. Only powerful willpower, spurring forth one's own potential, could allow someone to remain a little longer.

"Found it." Just as Long Haochen's vision became illusory and his will began to blur, he unconsciously shifted his gaze, letting it fall upon another cloud of light. An intense sense of closeness and joy instantly entered the depths of his soul.

Without the slightest hesitation, Long Haochen instantly activated the mark of the Equal Contract. Ye Hua had taught him this mark long ago. It was entirely formed through communication and imprinting with spiritual power. As long as the other party agreed, it could succeed; if the other party refused, there would be no backlash. It was the most peaceful kind of magical contract. Time was pressing—he did not even have time to feel excited.

Light flashed, and the connection was completed in an instant. That aura filled with closeness and joy seemed even more anxious than he was. Their contract was formed in the very next moment.

The light specks gradually vanished, and the vast clouds of light faded along with them. Everything returned to gold. Within the blazing golden radiance, Long Haochen felt that something had appeared before him. And this new presence was filled with closeness toward him.