Chapter 536 - 344: Targeted, Part 2

Chapter 536: Chapter 344: Targeted, Part 2

As a fellow Starlight Attribute being, Yin Yi was the most sensitive to the burgeoning Power of Stars erupting from him. It felt like a nascent Star Core—dangerous, yet bursting with life.

At that moment, Han Ning waved his hand again.

Egg Pancake understood instantly. It turned its head and—WHOOSH—unleashed a great sheet of crimson flame that enveloped its master.

’HISS... Even my Spiritual Body feels an unbearable heat. Good thing I shielded my perception of it.’

Engulfed in flames, Han Ning felt a warmth spread through his body, as if he had entered a cozy nest.

Under the unimaginably high temperature, his entire Spiritual Body, save for his head, melted and merged with the crimson flames, its form becoming indistinct.

The flames slowly spread, seeping in until they finally devoured his head as well.

Amidst the crimson-white blaze, Han Ning vaguely sensed a silvery-white, Moon Disc-shaped Energy Body floating within the glow of the flames, unaffected by their heat.

"Ling~" "Jiji~" "Gumi?" "Yiyi..."

The little creatures stared blankly, their mouths slightly agape.

They had never before witnessed such a miraculous sight—someone setting themself on fire.

Through their Spiritual Link, they could feel that their master was conscious, but his life-force fluctuations were erratic, spiking and dipping in a bizarre fashion.

Now that his entire body had turned into flame, Han Ning didn’t even bother considering the question of pain.

’How can there be pain when I don’t even have a body anymore...?’

"Egg Pancake, don’t stop! Increase the flame output! Don’t hold back, I’m tougher than you think!"

While Egg Pancake was spraying flames, Han Ning wasn’t idle either.

He formed hand seals. With each seal, his boiling, chaotic body solidified a little more.

First, a mass of flames enveloped his brain, constructing a cranium woven purely from Starlight and Flame.

Then came his eyes, neck, torso, and limbs...

He was reconstructed bit by bit from the intense crimson glow of the flames.

At this very moment, he opened his status panel to observe the changing data.

’My Spiritual Power is still slowly rising!’

Han Ning took a shallow breath, his consciousness exceptionally clear.

Current Spiritual Level: Tier Five (0.4% → 0.45% → 0.47%...)

Gradually, even Yin Yi, who was floating nearby and watching, suddenly erupted with a WHOOSH of brilliant Starlight.

Spurred on by its master, its Spiritual Power actually began to rise slowly as well.

"Ling~"

Acting on instinct, Yin Yi immediately underwent Elementalization, transforming into a sea of brilliant, silvery-white Starlight. Like a ribbon, it clung tightly to its master, wrapping around him to form a glittering galaxy around the central Star Core.

The surrounding air trembled slightly.

On the surface of the pulsating crimson flame, a layer of fine, silvery-white specks of light appeared, followed by dark red ones.

Han Ning knew these specks of light represented Starlight of different Attributes.

Starlight had Attributes, too.

The Starlight emitted by a newborn star carried a vigorous, youthful energy that could be used to repair Spiritual Power and restore vitality.

One on the verge of collapse, on the other hand, was called a Dead Star. It contained a decaying aura of death and had the property of corrupting a Spiritual Body.

As the silvery-white and dark red specks of light seeped into Han Ning’s Starlight body...

The crimson firelight surrounding his body gradually dimmed.

"Jiji?"

Egg Pancake was confused. It was clearly trying its best to spray fire, so why were the flames getting smaller?

It was just about to ramp up its efforts.

"Alright, you can stop."

But its master stopped it with a wave of his hand.

Freed from the burning flames, Han Ning had now completely transformed into a Spiritual Body made of pure Starlight.

’Next...’

Han Ning reached out, summoning the large wooden barrel from the floor. From a mountain-like pile of treasures, he picked up a small, jade-green vial carved with intricate floral patterns. He uncorked it and poured the liquid inside into the barrel.

SPLASH~

The jade-colored liquid instantly filled the barrel.

WHOOSH!

Trailing a cloud of starfire, he flew into the liquid.

It was like the quenching step in smithing, when red-hot steel is plunged into a special solution.

SZZZ...

A great cloud of ethereal white steam rose.

At the same time, Han Ning could sense his own Spiritual Power continuing to strengthen.

One second... two seconds... three seconds...

The thick liquid formed a small whirlpool, converging on his Spiritual Body.

After a full thirty seconds...

The white steam vanished.

Bubbles broke on the surface of the green liquid.

Immediately after, the sound of something swimming came from within the barrel.

The next moment, a silver-and-white figure leaped from the liquid, arms outstretched, and hovered above it.

The Soul Beasts looked up.

Han Ning’s Spiritual Body had changed slightly in appearance.

The Spiritual Body, which had been an almost perfect one-to-one replica of his physical form, had grown somewhat larger. On the surface of its pale, yellowish human-like skin, silvery-white, vein-like patterns had appeared, resembling the veins on a leaf.

Not only that, but every few centimeters, a silvery-white halo resembling a Moon Disc would circle around him.

The intertwining silver and white gave him a mysterious and noble air.

The most eye-catching feature was what was behind Han Ning’s Spiritual Body.

A hazy, indistinct human figure, two to three times larger than his Spiritual Body and looking as if it might vanish at any moment, hovered behind him, flickering in and out of sight.

This figure had a fair face and a long beard. It wore Golden Armor and a Red Robe, its expression was serene, and it held a White Jade Ruyi in its left hand while forming a seal with its right.

Flanking the figure were eight spherical Energy Bodies resembling companion stars: silvery-white, light cyan, crimson, dark purple, brownish-tan, deep blue, blood-red, and brilliant gold.

These eight Energy Bodies were captured by an unseen force, orbiting and rotating around Han Ning and the figure behind him at all times.

’The phantom of the Gouchen Divine Spirit has appeared... The first tempering should be considered a success.’

Han Ning felt better than ever before. Raising the head of his Spiritual Body, he could see the intricate Spiritual Energy Circuits on the dome of the Sea God Palace with perfect clarity, no special equipment needed.

Suddenly, he sensed a faint, almost imperceptible gaze from the void, watching him.

He frowned subconsciously and looked in the direction of the gaze.

His gaze fell upon a particularly complex section of Spiritual Energy Circuits. Countless threads of Spiritual Energy crisscrossed, resembling a circuit board—a marvel of human technology—and possessing a strange kind of beauty.

The Gouchen phantom behind him automatically formed a hand seal.

A finger glowing with silvery-white light tapped lightly in the void.

A faint radiance traced a profound trajectory. With a lotus-like head, a complex core, and a tail, an intricate and mysterious silver talisman was rapidly drawn in mid-air before being hurled in the direction of the spying gaze.

The silver talisman quickly vanished into the void, not directly attacking the complex Spiritual Energy Circuits.

「Meanwhile.」

In the territory of the Blood Shark Family, within the Celestial Sea.

Shark Lian, who was observing Han Ning’s activities, suddenly saw his Spiritual Body look up strangely on the monitoring screen. It was as if he had discovered her observation, his gaze meeting hers across the unseen void.

"What is this?!"

Astonishment filled Shark Lian’s face. She never would have imagined that a mere Tier Five Beast Master could actually feel her gaze.

They were in two different spaces, separated by an unknowable distance!

A flash of silver light passed.

Immediately after, the surface of the Soul Artifact used to control the Secret Realm erupted with brilliant silver light.

A phantom figure with a fair face and long beard, clad in Golden Armor and a Red Robe, abruptly materialized.

Its face was blurry and its features indistinct. The moment it appeared, it violently exploded, and the fine silver light transformed into a rapidly spinning galactic vortex that engulfed Shark Lian.

"Profound Moon Level Spiritual Power? So what? It’s not like I’m not Profound Moon Level myself."

Shark Lian snorted coldly as a monstrous bloody light ignited in her eyes.

A Sea-covering Giant Shark flew out from above her head. Like a Demon King of Chaos, it shredded the surrounding galactic vortex to pieces.

She had easily annihilated the galaxy, but Shark Lian’s expression was anything but relaxed.

She stared grimly at Han Ning’s image within the Soul Artifact, only to find that he was now shrouded in a blur of Starlight, his form and actions completely obscured.

’Lord Xuanhai was right... His Spiritual Power is stronger than Bobo Man’s—not just by a little, but by a landslide. It has the quality of Tier Six. If the clan’s Trialists were to really encounter him...’ As she thought, a vicious, murderous glint flashed in Shark Lian’s eyes.