Chapter 1383
Boom!
The Three Essence Devouring Nether Formation roared, its Spiritual Runes shining brightest, transforming into a pillar of light as thick as a palace pillar, which heavily struck a Heavenly River Spirit.
The Heavenly River Spirit was immediately struck as if by a heavy blow, and the light on its surface dimmed rapidly, like an oil lamp whose wick had been turned down.
It trembled violently within the formation for several breaths before finally ceasing its struggle in reluctance, transforming into a dazzling crystal that slowly fell to the ground.
Zi Yan stretched out her palm and caught the Heavenly River Spirit directly.
The moment the Crystal Stone fell into her palm, she could feel the immense Spiritual Energy contained within it pulsating slightly in her hand, like a vibrant heart gently beating.
Then a smile appeared on her face, spreading from the corners of her lips to the corners of her eyes, making her look even brighter.
After a full day of waiting patiently, she now possesses a staggering sixty-nine Heavenly River Spirit.
At this moment, Zi Yan looked at Lin Ming, her purple-gold eyes filled with a mixture of satisfaction and inquiry. "With these sixty-nine Heavenly River Spirit, it's enough for me to undergo High-Tier Baptism."
Zi Yan's voice carried a hint of cheerfulness, clearly indicating that she was quite satisfied with this achievement.
High-Tier Baptism requires sixty Heavenly River Spirit, and sixty-nine already exceeds the requirement. Although it cannot compare to the perfect level of one hundred, it can still be considered a top-tier harvest within the entire Heavenly River.
She wasn't the kind of person who was never satisfied; receiving High-Tier Baptism had already exceeded her initial expectations.
Lin Ming pondered. He sat cross-legged on the Golden Dragon Skiff, his hands resting on his knees, his fingers unconsciously tapping lightly on the edge of the boat.
His gaze fell on the pile of Crystal Stone in Zi Yan's sleeve, and a faint light slowly flowed in the depths of his pupils.
He then licked his lips, a few thoughts racing through his mind.
While receiving High-Tier Baptism is already quite an achievement, everyone in this world wants the best. Especially for one's loved one, it's natural to want the very best for them.
Zi Yan followed him from the Dou Qi Continent all the way to this Great Thousand World. Now, a transformative opportunity lies before her. How could he let her settle for second best?
With the help of the Spirit Formation trap, he could try at this speed to see if he could obtain one hundred Heavenly River Spirit so that Zi Yan could receive Perfect-Grade Heavenly River Baptism.
Fifteen pills per hour, seventy or eighty pills per day. If another Spirit Gathering Formation is set up and operates simultaneously, it is not impossible to gather one hundred pills in two days.
"Let's give it a try." Lin Ming waved his sleeve, activating the multiple Spirit Formation once more.
His voice carried a confident composure, his dark, unfathomable eyes reflected the light emanating from the Spirit Formation, and a gentle smile played on his lips.
Upon hearing this, Zi Yan was slightly taken aback, and then a glint of light flashed in her purple-gold eyes.
She opened her mouth as if to say something, but seeing Lin Ming's determined look, she swallowed the words back, only letting out a soft hum and turning her head away, but she couldn't suppress the smile on her lips.
And so another day passed.
On this day, Lin Ming expanded the scale of the Spirit Gathering Formation Array. The Heavenly River Spirit were attracted by the Spiritual Energy bait and Deadly Land into the net like moths to a flame.
Zi Yan stood guard outside the formation to collect the Crystal Stone, while Lin Ming sat cross-legged in the boat controlling the formation. The two worked together seamlessly.
The Heavenly River Spirit that were attracted started as a few scattered ones, but later they surged in groups of three or five at the same time, like a fish spawning, making Zi Yan's hands weak from collecting so Crystal Stone.
Boom!
Within the Spirit Formation, vast Spiritual Energy surged.
Wave after wave of attacks surged relentlessly towards the trapped Heavenly River Spirit, each wave causing the brilliant light surrounding the Heavenly River Spirit to dim slightly.
Lin Ming stood outside the Spirit Formation, gazing at the rapidly dimming Heavenly River Spirit. Even with his composure, he couldn't hide the joy on his face.
Because Zi Yan already had ninety-nine Heavenly River Crystal in her hands, the one trapped in the Spirit Formation in front of her was the hundredth one.
It is said that one hundred Heavenly River Crystal are needed to trigger a perfect Heavenly River Baptism. I already have ninety-nine, and I only need this last one.
He manipulated the formation to unleash his full power, and beams of light rained down on the ball of light.
"This perfect-level Heavenly River Baptism doesn't seem too difficult to obtain," Lin Ming said with a slight smile.
Zi Yan also smiled at this moment.
She crouched at the bow of the boat, her hands supporting her chin, staring intently at the ball of light in the center of the formation that was about to collapse. Her purplish-gold eyes sparkled like those of a child waiting to unwrap a present.
However, after a moment, Lin Ming frowned slightly, vaguely sensing that something was wrong.
He felt that this perfect-level Heavenly River Baptism wasn't as difficult as he had imagined. Although they were able to achieve this by using a Spirit Formation trap, Lin Ming didn't believe that among the countless talented disciples of the Ancient Heavenly Palace in those ancient times, there wouldn't have been a similar method.
The Ancient Heavenly Palace has been passed down for countless millennia, producing countless geniuses and millions of intelligent individuals. If he could think of using Spirit Formation to catch fish, surely those ancient geniuses could have thought of it too?
But why are there so few disciples who ultimately receive the Perfect-Grade Heavenly River Baptism? According to ancient records, most Heavenly Palace disciples would only receive High-Tier Baptism in their entire lives, which was already an incredible stroke of luck. The Perfect Baptism was a privilege reserved for the very core of the core, and extremely rare.
The reasons behind this are probably not that simple.
Lin Ming frowned, completely baffled. He stared at the ball of light in the formation that was about to be subdued, pondering the question repeatedly in his mind.
But there was no time to think about it now; the priority was to get the hundredth Heavenly River Crystal first.
So he focused his mind and activated the Spirit Formation to bombard the area continuously.
A moment later, the Heavenly River Spirit dimmed, eventually transforming into a Heavenly River Crystal that slowly fell to the ground, where Zi Yan caught it.
Having obtained the hundredth Heavenly River Crystal, Zi Yan held the Crystal Stone in her palm, its light casting a warm glow on her face.
She took a deep breath, her eyes filled with a mixture of solemnity and anticipation, and slapped the Crystal Stone directly at the Golden Dragon Token at her feet.
This Heavenly River Crystal is incredibly wondrous; it can only be stored using the Golden Dragon Token, and it is also essential for triggering the Heavenly River Baptism.
Once the hundredth Heavenly River Crystal is implanted, it should be able to truly trigger the Heavenly River Baptism.
The Golden Dragon Token was now floating quietly beneath her feet, Golden Dragon Phantom on the surface of the light shield slowly swam around, like a Flood Dragon waiting to be fed.
Bang!
The Heavenly River Crystal shot towards the Golden Dragon Token. However, at the very moment of impact, something unexpected happened.
The Heavenly River Crystal did not enter the Golden Dragon Token; instead, it bounced back into Zi Yan's hand as if it had been rejected.
The Crystal Stone struck the token's protective shield, creating a golden ripple. Then, like a bounced marble, it flew back. Zi Yan instinctively reached out and caught it, holding it back in her palm.
"This?"
This scene left the two of them stunned. They stared in astonishment at the Golden Dragon Token at their feet, clearly not Bai Wei it would repel the hundredth Heavenly River Crystal.
The Golden Dragon Phantom on the token's surface continued to slowly roam, and the light shield remained as stable as ever, as if nothing had happened. Yet, the blast just now was clearly not faked.
Zi Yan tried again, slapping the Crystal Stone against the token once more, but the token's protective shield was as slippery as if coated with oil, and the Crystal Stone bounced away as soon as it touched it, unable to penetrate at all.
"There was definitely a problem." Lin Ming quickly came to his senses, his brows furrowing.
His gaze swept back and forth between the Crystal Stone in Zi Yan's palm and the token at her feet, his mind racing as he deduced the situation.
If the hundredth Heavenly River Crystal cannot be placed into the Golden Dragon Token, then at most a High-Tier Baptism can only be triggered.
Normally, the Golden Dragon Token shouldn't produce this kind of repulsion. Could it be that this isn't the true hundredth Heavenly River Crystal?
But if this wasn't it, then where did the hundredth Heavenly River Crystal come from? The vague unease in his heart was magnified at this moment.
Lin Ming looked thoughtful. But just then, Zi Yan suddenly stomped her foot in annoyance.
She stomped with a third of her strength, and the Golden Dragon Token beneath her feet suddenly trembled. The grooves on the inner wall of the token's light shield lit up simultaneously, and then dozens of light orbs flew out of the token and floated in front of her.
Those were none other than the ninety-nine Heavenly River Crystal that had been captured earlier.
Zi Yan looked at the ninety-nine Crystal Stone in front of her, and then at the hundredth rejected Crystal Stone in her palm. Her eyebrows furrowed, and her cheeks puffed out slightly. She looked like a cat that had been teased, angry and annoyed but with nowhere to vent her anger.
"Is this token playing a trick on us?" she said irritably, reaching into the pile of Crystal Stone and poking around as if trying to find out why it couldn't be put in.
At this moment, Lin Ming stretched out his palm, Spiritual Energy formed a ball of light, completely enveloping the ninety-nine Heavenly River Crystal.
The Crystal Stone floated within the cluster of light, their rays intertwining. Lin Ming stared intently at these Heavenly River Crystal, his eyes slightly narrowed, a faint light slowly flowing deep within his pupils as he observed the most subtle changes among them.
He believed there must be a way to obtain the hundredth Heavenly River Spirit, but he hadn't found it yet.
Although the Spiritual Energy contained in those Crystal Stone is independent, since they all come from the same source, they cannot be completely unconnected.
Like drops of water in a river, they may seem independent, but upon closer inspection, one can discover a subtle resonance and harmony between them.
Under Lin Ming's gaze, the ninety-nine Heavenly River Crystal floated slowly, like ninety-nine stars shrunk countless times in the ball of light.
They simply floated quietly, occasionally bumping into each other before bouncing apart, without making any other unusual noises.
Lin Ming carefully sensed the Spiritual Runes on the surface of each Crystal Stone, the flow of Spiritual Energy inside, and the faint connections between them.
But those connections were too weak and too scattered, like a tangled mess of spider silk, with no discernible pattern.
His expression also turned somewhat unpleasant.
Does that so-called perfect baptism not exist at all? Or is it because the Ancient Heavenly Palace no longer exists, thus the Heavenly River Baptism is flawed?
The Dragon Ascension Gate was damaged because its spiritual intelligence was destroyed, leaving its rules incomplete. Could this Heavenly River be in the same situation?
The more he thought about it, the more likely it seemed, and his heart sank.