CHAPTER 230: SPIRIT OFFICER INVOCATION COMMAND

Nantian Wan'er looked down at Red Fox cradled in her arms, and asked softly, "Lady Red Fox, what are you thinking about?"

Red Fox replied with a trace of melancholy, "Nothing. You all go ahead and watch. I just want to rest for a while."

Adjusting herself into a more comfortable position, she slowly drifted into sleep.

Wind Dragon sensed the heaviness in Red Fox's mood. He glanced over but saw nothing unusual, then turned his attention back to Nantian Yijian inside the barrier. Taking a deep breath, he exhaled a stream of spirit qi, intensifying the storm of wind blades within the barrier.

Inside, Nantian Yijian maintained the Spirit Officer Seal, moving through the whirlwind of blades with eerie precision. When he finally halted, a golden formation had appeared beneath his feet, gleaming faintly across the barrier floor. A cold sneer curved his lips as he stepped toward the center, the golden lines beneath him solidifying into a brilliant glow. "Watch closely. This is the Spirit Officer Invocation Command."

As golden light flared between his hands, his tone softened. "This is the foundational hand seal for those who cultivate Wish Power. To harness it, we first form this seal, then recite the corresponding incantation. The spell's power will then multiply many times over."

Bathed in golden radiance, Nantian Yijian lifted his hands and formed the Spirit Officer Seal above his head. The colossal sword formed by countless flying swords returned to his palm. With one hand sealing and the other gripping the blade, he shouted, "Invoke! May the Elder bestow his blessing!"

Light from the formation surged upward. Moments later, a golden giant materialized behind him, standing tall like a guardian. The giant held the hand seal in one hand and a golden steel whip in the other.

"Invoke, Empowerment of Myriad Arts!"

Pressing the seal against his brow, Nantian Yijian glanced at the giant behind him and roared, "Break!"

With both hands gripping the massive sword, he stepped forward, cleaving through the storm of wind blades toward the formation's core.

The golden giant bellowed in unison, "I am Spirit Officer Wang!"

Wielding its steel whip, it shattered the wind blades as it advanced.

Watching the display, Wind Dragon lowered his head, a hint of defeat in his eyes. "I've lost... Wish Power truly lives up to its name as the strongest cultivation method of the Primordial Era. I'm still far from being a match."

Hearing Wind Dragon's dispirited tone, Lu Chen immediately looked toward the barrier's center. Nantian Yijian's eyes remained closed as he drove the giant sword into the glowing formation. Waves of golden Wish Power rippled outward, spreading cracks across the barrier like spiderwebs.

"Invoke, Empowerment of Myriad Arts!!"

He raised his hands from his brow, leaping onto the giant sword as he shouted toward the golden light linking heaven and earth, "Invoke, Golden Eye of Insight! Invoke, Myriad Arts Inspection!"

The golden giant opened its eyes with a thunderous roar, echoing his call. "Golden Eye of Insight! Myriad Arts Inspection!"

"Hm? That's strange... why haven't you unlocked your Divine Eye?" the entity controlling Nantian Yijian's body muttered in confusion. "The spell is complete, and the Wish Power giant has already opened its Divine Eye. Why hasn't your body responded?"

"I don't know. I've never had such powers before," Nantian Yijian replied.

Before Nantian Yijian could finish, a sharp crack rang out across the barrier. Azure spiderweb-like fissures spread rapidly across its surface.

As the golden giant stirred, the cracks widened, releasing a series of crisp, echoing snaps. Waves of Wish Power seeped through the fractures, spilling outside the barrier.

Bang!

The fifty-zhang barrier shattered midair. Its fragments dissolved into spirit qi, scattering across heaven and earth.

"So powerful... this giant might even surpass the Ancestor's!" Jun Laoye sighed in awe. "What a pity this isn't Little Jian's own spell. It'd be perfect if he could wield this power himself."

At the center, Nantian Yijian waved his hand, and the golden giant faded away. The radiance enveloping him dimmed until it vanished completely. Gliding through the air, he guided the flying swords back into the guqin case and chuckled softly. "Heh, getting out here once is such a thrill."

With the swords secured, all traces of golden light disappeared. Staring toward the southwest, Nantian Yijian's expression turned solemn. "This world has changed... It feels so foreign now. There's no more Wish Power, no more giants. I wonder... The great calamity that once threatened to end everything... were they truly able to stop it?"

Shortly after he finished, an immense pulling force surged from the southwest. A golden projection was yanked from Nantian Yijian's body, dragged violently as if it was being summoned away.

"So, you've finally noticed I slipped out," the golden figure muttered coldly. "I wonder when I'll have another chance to emerge again."

With a faint snort, the projection forced itself back into Nantian Yijian's body. Before disappearing, it cast one last glance toward the southwest and sighed.

"Kid, my time's almost up. I'll leave this body, and these spell incantations, to you. This is all I can do for now. I hope you can one day restore the brilliance of Wish Power."

The golden light's pull grew stronger, dragging more and more of the projection out of Nantian Yijian's body. Soon, only the golden figure's legs remained attached to him. "If possible... come find me underground someday. I might be able to teach you even more."

With that, Nantian Yijian slowly closed his eyes. When he opened them again, the golden radiance surrounding him had completely faded.

He dropped to his knees with a heavy thud, gasping for air as he looked toward the southwest. "Hah... It's finally gone. I thought it was going to forcibly take over my body."

Lu Chen rushed over with Nantian Wan'er and helped him up, then looked toward the southwest. "If I'm not mistaken, that's where the pit is. That person must've come from underground."

"That golden projection... It looked just like the spirit body we saw before," Jun Laoye said, pointing toward the southwest in disbelief. "Little Lu, did you see that? It's the same golden spirit from a few days ago."

"I saw it. Was that a Spirit Body of Heaven and Earth?"

Lu Chen nudged Wind Dragon and continued, "But didn't it say this was its first time coming out? I thought all Spirit Bodies of Heaven and Earth formed naturally. I didn't expect one could actually be nurtured by a cultivator."

"What we saw last time was probably just a projection," Wind Dragon said, watching the golden light being pulled southwest. "The Nantian brat might've drawn out a fragment of the spirit when he activated his Wish Power during the mountain gate trial."

"Still... It's my first time seeing one in person. Judging by its form, there's no doubt it was a true Spirit Body of Heaven and Earth."

Just then, Daoist Tian Ji's voice thundered from the eastern cliff. Moments later, hundreds of cultivators appeared in the sky, channeling their spirit qi as they rushed toward the golden projection.

They fixed their gazes on the golden projection, waiting for the right moment to strike. But before they could act, the golden figure turned, flashing them a strange and unsettling smile.

The cultivators froze mid-air, stunned by that eerie expression. Seizing the moment, the golden projection glanced one last time at Nantian Yijian before plunging straight into the central pit.

Seeing it vanish, Daoist Tian Ji roared furiously and unleashed a barrage of spirit qi attacks into the pit before storming back toward the Scripture Hall in anger.

The force of his outburst tore through the cliffs, toppling several peaks and gouging deep trenches across the ground.

Cries of rage erupted from the cultivators near the pit. Lu Chen activated his Divine Eye and peered southwest, spotting black mist spreading where Daoist Tian Ji's attacks had struck.

Descending from the sky, Wind Dragon said grimly, "The Blood Soul Beasts there... have been awakened."

Hearing the continuous explosions from the north, he added, "We should move quickly. Daoist Tian Ji's attacks were too loud. It's bound to awaken more beasts down below."

Before long, the cultivators in the air vanished, replaced by the echoing screams of practitioners and the feral roars of monsters.

Jun Laoye gazed southwest, muttering bitterly, "This means our trial just got harder. Now we'll have to deal with both cultivators and Blood Soul Beasts. Daoist Tian Ji really is a piece of work."

"The trial was meant to be unpredictable. We will deal with whatever comes," Lu Chen said, retracting his gaze with a sigh before turning north. "Since the challenge has intensified, we need to locate the stone tablet quickly and carve a path through these cultivators and beasts.

"As for whether that golden projection was really a Spirit Body of Heaven and Earth, we'll find out when we descend in two days."

With that, Lu Chen cast a spell, sending his three avatars to erase all traces of the battle, while he focused on the vine in his hand to pinpoint the stone tablet's location.

"Boss... we should head down soon," Nantian Yijian said, forming hand seals with a strange expression. "That golden projection left me several seals related to manipulating Wish Power. I tried them just now, and my combat strength instantly multiplied several times. I can even link my mind with the disciples of Serene Void Academy at will."

As the vine in Lu Chen's hand glowed again, Nantian Yijian completed his first hand seal. "Invoke, Link of All Sages."

Lu Chen and the others turned to look at him. Pale yellow light flickered around Nantian Yijian, rising and falling like dancing flames.