The surface of the crystal was smooth as jade, yet inside, it housed countless thread-like conduits, densely packed, resembling innumerable spiderwebs converging within that palm-sized space.

Within the fine, small conduits, wisps of dark crimson essence snaked and writhed ceaselessly.

Just as Nie Kong had sensed when first encountering the "Spirit Soul Illusory Crystal," a living spiritual entity was concealed within this crystal body.

The dark crimson essence contained an incredibly rich vitality.

This essence was what the people of the Illusory Spirit Continent and the Divine Void Realm called "Spirit Soul."

According to Nie Kong's understanding, the "Spirit Soul" was akin to a fetus; by absorbing Spirit Soul essence for refinement, this fetus could nurture a Manifestation.

Manifestations were myriad; weapon-types were the most common, followed by animal and plant forms, which bore some resemblance to the Heart Forms cultivated by the Spirit Race and the Yin Ruins. However, the Heart Forms of the Spirit Race and Yin Ruins derived from bloodline, whereas the Manifestations of Illusionary Spirit Masters originated from the "Spirit Soul Illusory Crystal."

Furthermore, the cultivation pathways for Heart Forms and Manifestations differed; though similar in appearance, their essences were distinct.

The form the Spirit Soul would ultimately gestate into was inextricably linked to the environment in which it existed.

If a "Spirit Soul Illusory Crystal" had been buried near an axe for hundreds of years, influenced by the will of that weapon, the Manifestation it condensed would have a ninety-something percent chance of also being an axe.

In the current Divine Void Realm, it was rumored that they had long been able to cultivate "Spirit Soul Illusory Crystals" artificially, even fabricating humanoid Manifestations and refining them into Avatars. However, these could never compare to naturally formed Illusory Crystals; the absolute finest crystals could never be cultivated artificially.

Nie Kong had obtained a supreme-grade crystal shortly after arriving here; his luck was truly exceptional.

His spiritual sense and origin power navigated cautiously within the crystal for a long time. Suddenly, Nie Kong had an idea: the area where this crystal was unearthed only hosted a few dark crimson plants, and its color had already been affected. Perhaps the Manifestation it condensed would also be that type of tree.

For a moment, Nie Kong was greatly moved.

Though he could not name the tree, the fact that it could thrive in such harsh conditions meant its vitality must be extraordinarily tenacious. Most importantly, it had remained utterly unharmed within the close-range conflict zone of several Ninth-Rank Illusionary Spirit Masters, a testament to its hardness.

A Manifestation refined from such a source would surely be formidable.

A faint smile touched Nie Kong's lips. He hesitated no longer. With a thought, his Spirit God Aperture vibrated violently, and two potent suction forces erupted from his palms.

The dark crimson essence scattered like startled rabbits, swiftly contracting toward the crystal's center.

Alas, though they possessed sufficient sentience, the power they held was too weak. After less than two seconds of resistance, they were sucked into Nie Kong's palms, spilling out entirely, then rapidly ascending along his arms, instantly drawn to the Tanzhong Acupoint on his chest.

Xiangxiang, curled up into a tight ball, was sound asleep at the bottom of the Spirit God Aperture. Upon sensing something, she murmured drowsily, stretching her body as if just awakening from a deep dream.

After a short while, a thread of greenness slowly arrived at Nie Kong's Tanzhong Acupoint, plunging into the amassed collection of Spirit Soul essence.

"Ah ya ya?"

The little creature mumbled, shaking the flower bud atop its head in confusion. Another thread of greenness flowed over, weaving in and out of the Spirit Soul, stimulating them to dart about in panic, seemingly trying to evade the harassment of the creature's innate medicinal power. This roused the little creature instantly, causing it to drill with greater fervor.

Nie Kong found it both vexing and amusing. "Xiangxiang, they aren't your toys, hurry back."

"Ah ya ya..."

The little one replied sullenly, and the two threads of greenness retreated from the Tanzhong Acupoint. However, as one thread of innate medicinal power departed, it inadvertently swept away a minute trace of the dark crimson essence.

Nie Kong paid it no mind, sinking his consciousness completely into the Tanzhong Acupoint.

Generally, before condensing a Manifestation, an Illusionary Spirit Master would first cultivate some foundational spirit art, gathering a large volume of spiritual energy elements within a specific point in the body, and then introduce the Spirit Soul there. Subsequently, the Spirit Soul would automatically absorb the spiritual energy elements, nurturing the corresponding Manifestation within one or two months.

Of course, there were methods utilizing external force. Using another person's spiritual power to assist could drastically shorten the time required for condensation.

These were the two entry paths for Illusionary Spirit Masters, each with its own merits and demerits. Nie Kong himself was a High-Grade Heavenly Spirit Master, possessing immense origin power within his body, thus requiring no external aid.

With a mere thought, a torrent of origin power surged into the Tanzhong Acupoint, forcefully injecting into the Spirit Soul.

The dark crimson essence swelled at a rate visible to the naked eye, only to abruptly contract back to its original state the next moment, then swell again...

Thump! Thump! Thump...

As origin power was continuously injected, the Spirit Soul pulsed like a violently beating heart, a deep, heavy sound emanating from within the dark crimson essence.

Within the Spirit God Aperture, that tiny speck of Spirit Soul seemed affected, even trembling slightly in response.

This peculiar change piqued the little creature's interest immensely, like a child with a beautiful new toy. More than a dozen roots jabbed out, excitedly tossing the speck of Spirit Soul back and forth.

Nie Kong remained intensely focused and did not notice the little creature's antics.

Thump! Thump...

The Spirit Soul’s beating grew more frantic, yet the absorption of origin power showed no sign of slowing. Nie Kong was equally unrestrained; according to the Divine Void Realm's understanding, the more power the Spirit Soul absorbed during this process, the stronger the resulting Manifestation would be, and the higher its potential.

In the span of a breath, more than ten minutes passed.

Nearly seventy percent of the origin power within Nie Kong’s body had been consumed frantically, and at this point, the speed at which the Spirit Soul absorbed power began to slow.

"It seems the Spirit Soul has reached its limit!"

Observing the Spirit Soul still expanding and contracting rapidly, Nie Kong seized the instant it swelled again and abruptly cut off the supply of origin power.

That mass of dark crimson essence instantly stilled; time seemed to freeze, and the booming sounds abruptly ceased.

"Hoo!"

In that instant, the small portion of Spirit Soul that Xiangxiang had casually pilfered seemed to receive an intense summons. It suddenly rushed out of the Spirit God Aperture, racing along the meridians toward the Tanzhong Acupoint.

"Ah ya ya!"

The little creature shrieked in alarm, and dozens of green threads followed after it.

In a flash of lightning, that tiny fragment of Spirit Soul merged into the dark crimson mass. The little creature, desperate to pull it back, sent its entire innate medicinal power plunging in after it.

"Xiangxiang!"

Nie Kong was startled. This turn of events was too sudden and swift for him to stop.

By the time he reacted, the little creature's dozens of strands of innate medicinal power had already entered. This was the critical moment just before the Manifestation was about to gestate; Xiangxiang's interference could very well result in complete failure.

"Boom!"

Indeed, almost the instant the innate medicinal power pierced in, a tremendous detonation echoed within Nie Kong's Tanzhong Acupoint.