Fusion

Boom!

Just as Lin Ming was pondering and his expression was changing, suddenly, the Heavenly River seemed to tremble.

The tremor came extremely suddenly, like a heart that had been dormant for thousands of years suddenly beating, causing ripples to spread across the entire surface of the Heavenly River.

A peculiar fluctuation was faintly appearing above the Heavenly River. The fluctuation came from afar, carrying an extremely ancient rhythm, like an ancient melody being played.

Upon noticing the fluctuation, Lin Ming's eyes narrowed instantly.

Because that was the fluctuation of the Heavenly River Baptism!

The two of them looked up into the distance and saw a region on the other side of the Heavenly River shining with a dazzling light. The light contained an extremely pure Purified power, like a furnace melting away all the impurities within it.

It seems someone has already started to trigger Heavenly River Baptism.

Boom!

As the first Heavenly River Baptism was triggered, strange fluctuations began to emerge continuously outside the Heavenly River.

The fluctuations came from all directions, some strong, some weak, some rapid, some gentle, like a grand symphony playing between heaven and earth.

Clearly, more and more people are triggering the Heavenly River Baptism.

The ripples intertwined, stirring the entire Heavenly River into turmoil, and the milky white mist on the surface of the river was shaken and spread in all directions, like a Sea of Clouds blown away by the wind.

As the Heavenly River Baptism, Lin Ming felt the river water in the Heavenly River begin to emit a kind of buoyancy.

The buoyancy rises from the riverbed, like an invisible hand lifting everything in the river upwards.

The Golden Dragon Skiff beneath his feet floated slightly upwards due to the buoyancy, its hull gently rocking as if trying to gradually push everyone inside out.

Lin Ming suddenly realized that the time for the Heavenly River to open was approaching.

The Heavenly River Baptism was like a signal, telling everyone in the river that time was running out.

Once the seal closes again, everyone still in the river will be pushed out of the Heavenly River by the buoyancy, and it will be impossible for them to come back in.

"Time is almost up," Lin Ming said in a low voice.

His voice carried a hint of urgency, and his dark, abyss-like eyes narrowed slightly as he stared intently at the ninety-nine Heavenly River Crystal within the ball of light in front of him.

But Zi Yan hasn't obtained the hundredth Heavenly River Spirit yet! Is it enough to just receive a High-Tier Baptism?

He was unwilling to accept it.

Zi Yan had followed him all this way, and now she was just one last step away from achieving the Perfect Baptism. How could he let her fail at the last hurdle?

Lin Ming pursed his lips tightly, his teeth clenched slightly, his eyes filled with resentment.

The next instant, his pupils suddenly contracted slightly.

"This is..."

Lin Ming frowned. When he had been staring at the Crystal Stone, he noticed that when the Heavenly River Crystal, some of them seemed to brighten slightly, while others dimmed slightly.

The change was extremely subtle, as if one of the Heavenly River Crystal had absorbed the energy from another.

However, these changes were so subtle that only under the pressure of time did he finally notice all the previously overlooked details.

Lin Ming's eyes flickered, and after a long while, he murmured, "Could it be... Devouring?"

There was a hint of uncertainty in his voice, but the light in his eyes grew brighter and brighter, like an oil lamp whose wick had been adjusted.

Could it be that the hundredth Heavenly River Crystal did not appear from the outside, but rather from among the ninety-nine Heavenly River Crystal?

Lin Ming rapidly deduced this possibility in his mind. Since those Crystal Stones could devour each other's energy, it meant that there was some kind of devouring and fusion mechanism between them.

It's like putting a bunch of worms in the same jar; they will devour each other, and the one that survives will be the strongest.

If there is a capacity of one hundred among these ninety-nine Heavenly River Crystal, then after repeated mutual devouring, the one that ultimately wins may be "fed" to the level of the one hundredth crystal, like Hundred Rivers Return to Sea, gathering the power of the ninety-nine into one.

But what if this guess is wrong? What if those Crystal Stones, in the end, simply cancel each other out and perish together?

That would be equivalent to destroying all ninety-nine Crystal Stone, and even the High-Tier Baptism would be lost.

"Want to take a gamble?" Lin Ming's expression was uncertain.

If she makes a wrong guess at this point, all of Zi Yan's previous efforts will be in vain.

After all, he no longer had time to collect Crystal Stone. The time in the Heavenly River was almost up, and the buoyancy was getting stronger and stronger. If it dragged on any longer, he himself might be pushed out of the Heavenly River.

Even Lin Ming hesitated for a moment at this choice. He was always decisive and ruthless, but now he was faced with Zi Yan's opportunity, and he dared not gamble easily.

So at this moment, he left this decision to Zi Yan. After all, he himself did not need to be baptized.

Because he has already reached the peak of the Supreme Realm, Four Elements Origin Power within his body has accumulated to the extreme, if he were to undergo another baptism, the vast power of the Heavenly River would pour into his body, and he would probably truly step into the Earth Sovereign.

However, he is currently lacking the element of metal in his Five Elements, which prevents him from reaching the Earth Sovereign. If the Five Elements Imbalance, the consequences will be unimaginable.

Therefore, only Zi Yan can bear this ordeal, and only she can make this decision.

At this moment, Zi Yan frowned slightly. After listening to Lin Ming's quickly given deduction, a thoughtful look flashed across her purple-gold eyes.

She had witnessed the phenomenon of those Crystal Stone devouring each other before, but she hadn't given it much thought. Now that Lin Ming had broken through that barrier, a chord in her heart had been struck.

She stared at the Crystal Stone within the ball of light, her gaze sweeping back and forth between them. After a moment, a resolute glint flashed in her eyes.

Like Lin Ming, she was not an indecisive person, and she quickly made a decision.

After all, High-Tier Baptism and Perfect Baptism are not even in the same league. Although High-Tier Baptism can also transform a cultivator, its effect is like comparing a small stream to a vast ocean compared to Perfect Baptism; they are completely incomparable.

If she could acquire the latter, it would be a huge boost to her career.

If her Dragon-Phoenix Bloodline can advance further during the Perfect Baptism, her chances of breaking through to the Earth Sovereign level will increase significantly.

Since that's the case, let's take a gamble!

"Try." Zi Yan said only one word, her voice crisp and clear, without the slightest hesitation.

Those purplish-gold eyes reflected the Crystal Stone, and deep within their pupils, golden-red flames flickered slowly.

Seeing that Zi Yan had made up her mind, Lin Ming immediately nodded and said, "Alright, let's have a high-stakes gamble!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Lin Ming waved his hand, and Spiritual Energy surged into the Spirit Formation beneath his feet like a tide.

The Three Essence Devouring Nether Formation suddenly trembled, its Spiritual Runes shining brightest, the light intertwining to form an impenetrable light curtain, completely sealing off the entire area.

At the same time, he pointed his finger again, and a dark flame shot out from his fingertip, like a black meteor streaking through the light barrier and landing precisely in the formation.

The Black Flame was as dark as ink, with no heat leaking from its surface, yet it scorched even the space itself with a thin scorch mark wherever it passed.

Since it's about devouring, let's make it thorough!

While Lin Ming was moving, Zi Yan was not idle either. Her hands moved rapidly, forming hand seals, her ten fingers flying like an indistinct ball of light and shadow. One after another, purple-gold Spirit Seal shot out from her fingertips and accurately entered the interior of the ninety-nine Heavenly River Crystal.

Each Spirit Seal left an extremely fine mark at the core of the Crystal Stone.

A moment later, she waved her sleeve, and the ninety-nine Heavenly River Crystal flew out from the ball of light, surging towards the Three Essence Devouring Nether Formation.

When those Crystal Stone came into contact with the waters of the Heavenly River, they immediately absorbed the immense Spiritual Energy as if swallowed by a whale.

The Spiritual Energy contained in the river flowed towards the Crystal Stone from all directions, like countless streams flowing into the sea, and each Crystal Stone was expanding at a speed visible to the naked eye.

In just a few breaths, a dazzling light erupted. The originally warm glow on the surface of those Crystal Stone suddenly became blinding, like Miniature Sun that had been ignited and exploded in the array.

The ninety-nine Heavenly River Crystal transformed once more into enormous Heavenly River Spirit, each one expanding and appearing within the Three Essence Devouring Nether Formation like a star.

As soon as they transformed back into their light-ball form, they instinctively rushed in all directions, trying to escape the sealed-off area. However, the three-colored light curtain of the Three Essence Devouring Nether Formation blocked them all back like Copper Wall and Iron Bastion.

The orbs of light darted left and right within the formation, like ninety-nine worms trapped in the same jar, getting closer and closer to each other.

In a short while, in addition to an extremely astonishing surge of Spiritual Energy, black flames also blazed fiercely within the formation.

The Black Flame transformed into a dark fireball within the formation, resembling a giant, gaping maw that drove the orbs of light toward its center.

When the first cluster of light touches another cluster, the devouring effect becomes uncontrollable, like a lit fuse.

The moment those orbs of light made contact with each other, the Spiritual Runes on their surfaces suddenly lit up, struggling violently like a wild beast that had been bitten.

But the Black Flame fanned the flames from the side, and the scorching heat waves pushed the orbs of light together, leaving them nowhere to escape.

The orbs of light devoured, merged, and consumed each other. As one orb dimmed, another would brighten, like two oil lamps borrowing each other's light.

At first, this absorption was extremely slow, but as the number of light clusters decreased, the remaining light clusters became brighter and larger.

The light within the formation grew increasingly dazzling. As the orbs of light devoured each other, they gradually merged into a massive sphere of light, its entire body shimmering with various colors of light, like a star taking shape.

The sphere of light slowly rotated within the array, its surface intertwined with and flowing with various colors of light, like a colorful planet compressed to its extreme.

With each rotation, it brightens and grows larger, emitting increasingly powerful and pure Spiritual Energy.

Seeing this, both of them couldn't help but feel hopeful.