The dark crimson aura scattered wildly. The little fellow instantly realized it had caused trouble, letting out a nervous chirp before curling back into a ball. The dozens of green tendrils darted rapidly amidst the fragmented spirit soul, desperately trying to gather the separated dark crimson energy back together.

Nie Kong could only offer a wry smile at the sight.

The little fellow was trying to undo its mistake, but what was done was done. No matter how much it fussed, it would be in vain; this "Spiritual Soul Illusion Crystal" was completely ruined.

Ever since arriving on the Celestial Spirit Continent, the little fellow had been by his side, and Nie Kong couldn't bring himself to blame it for the unintentional blunder.

Fortunately, the Divine Void Realm had plenty of artificially cultivated Illusion Crystals for sale. He would just find another one after they left the fragment zone; an ordinary Illusion Crystal would suffice, as it was only meant to mask his identity anyway.

"Ayaya."

Suddenly, the little fellow cried out in surprise.

Nie Kong was slightly puzzled, but upon observing the Tanzhong acupoint again, he couldn't help but freeze. As the little fellow continuously unleashed its innate medicinal power, those scattered dark crimson auras actually showed signs of gathering.

"It can still be saved?"

Nie Kong was quite surprised. He submerged his consciousness back into the process and finally realized that the spirit soul hadn't completely dispersed. Floating in the center of that blood-red aura was a small, round object—the core of the spirit soul, still threaded with a wisp of the little fellow's innate medicinal power.

"Perhaps there’s still hope…" Nie Kong closely monitored the activity within the Tanzhong acupoint.

"Ayaya!"

The little fellow grew even more animated, unfurling its stems and roots, sending hundreds more green tendrils surging forward. For a time, the small Tanzhong acupoint was filled with wildly dancing innate medicinal power.

The dark crimson aura began to condense little by little…

After about two or three hours, all the spirit soul energy had cohered, and a smooth, small red orb was clearly presented. Nie Kong finally breathed a huge sigh of relief.

"Xiang Xiang, you've worked hard. Take your medicinal power back."

Seeing the little fellow bending its stalk, appearing exhausted, Nie Kong quickly sent a mental command.

The little fellow obediently agreed and tried to retract the final strand of medicinal power connected to the spirit soul. However, when the little fellow tugged its roots twice, the medicinal power remained utterly motionless. The little fellow paused, then pulled hard several more times, but the innate medicinal power showed no reaction whatsoever.

"Hmm?"

Nie Kong also noticed this, feeling a touch of suspicion in his heart.

The little fellow grew extremely anxious, letting out a continuous stream of cries. Its body flipped and twisted fiercely within the Spirit Acupoint, but to no effect. That thread of innate medicinal power acted like a tether, firmly binding the spirit soul and the little fellow, preventing either from advancing or retreating—it was truly bizarre.

Receiving Xiang Xiang’s mental communication, Nie Kong probed the spirit soul and felt utterly baffled. This was the first time he had encountered such a situation; there was no description of it in the Divine Void Annals of Oddities. The little fellow shook its small flower bud in confusion, completely unable to grasp the reason.

What on earth was happening?

Nie Kong pondered for a long time, jolted awake by a kacha sound, like an eggshell cracking. A narrow, elongated fissure had appeared on the surface of the spirit soul.

Through the gap, thin branches and leaves could be vaguely seen, revealing a dark crimson luster.

"This is the Dharmic Manifestation!"

Nie Kong swiftly calmed his mind and observed quietly. The frequency of the kacha sounds grew faster and faster. After two or three minutes, the spirit soul's surface was covered in dense cracks—bang!

A few minutes later, the spirit soul suddenly shattered. The myriad tiny fragments had just dispersed when they transformed into specks of dark crimson, radiant light, rapidly dissolving.

In an instant, a small dark crimson tree appeared in Nie Kong's Tanzhong acupoint.

Nine branches were uniformly distributed along the straight, round main trunk. The branches and the leaves upon them grew straight upward, resembling sharp, unsheathed swords. Even the leaves were sword-shaped. The entire tree looked like a drawn treasure sword.

The tree's form was exactly consistent with what Nie Kong had seen on the continental fragment, yet it was more lively and seemed to possess a blood-and-flesh connection with Nie Kong.

"Ayaya?"

The little fellow tugged at the innate medicinal power again. Nie Kong felt that the Dharmic Manifestation did not resist or obstruct it.

The Manifestation, previously unmovable, was now instantly pulled out of the Tanzhong acupoint. The little fellow was greatly intrigued and, without stopping, slowly guided the Manifestation into the Spirit Acupoint.

As the green tendrils retracted, the little fellow and the Dharmic Manifestation grew closer and closer. When they were nearly touching, Xiang Xiang couldn't resist its curiosity and gently touched the small tree with its leaf.

In a flash, a bizarre scene unfolded: with just that light touch, the dark crimson little tree began to rapidly merge with the Amethyst Illusionary Fragrance.

The little fellow was startled and quickly chirped, backing away, but the Dharmic Manifestation followed like a shadow. Not only did they fail to separate, but the little fellow's body gradually began to show a dark crimson hue.

As the fusion intensified, the red glow on the little fellow’s surface grew brighter and brighter.

During this process, Nie Kong could clearly sense that the innate medicinal power contained within the little fellow was undergoing a frantic surge in enhancement. Several dozen seconds later, the Dharmic Manifestation completely vanished, and the medicinal power within the little fellow had reached the absolute limit of the Ninth Tier peak, seeming only a half-step away from the Tenth Tier.

Nie Kong was both delighted and astonished. He never expected the little fellow could absorb the Dharmic Manifestation; achieving this level of enhancement made the Manifestation’s disappearance worthwhile.

"Eh?"

Just for an instant, a trace of doubt arose in Nie Kong’s mind. The connection between himself and the Dharmic Manifestation still existed; it hadn't actually vanished.

At this moment, the red glow on the little fellow's body was gradually dimming, and it soon returned to its original color.

Tilting its small flower bud in thought for a while, the little fellow seemed to understand something. It suddenly chirped tentatively, and a shade of dark crimson tree-shadow instantly separated from the Amethyst Illusionary Fragrance—it was the Dharmic Manifestation that had just disappeared.

"Ayaya!"

The little fellow chirped again, and the Dharmic Manifestation rapidly fused with the Amethyst Illusionary Fragrance. The strange phenomenon of its body being stained red did not reappear this time.

"Ayaya, aya-ho..."

Seeing this, the little fellow became quite excited and tried the process over and over again.

Watching the Dharmic Manifestation fuse and separate from the little fellow repeatedly, Nie Kong gradually grasped the truth: the massive amount of innate medicinal power integrated into Xiang Xiang within the previous "Spirit Soul" had condensed into a Dharmic Manifestation that forged a wondrous connection with Xiang Xiang, making them virtually one entity.

That dark crimson little tree was now both his Dharmic Manifestation and, equally, an incarnation of the little fellow.

Both Nie Kong’s Heart-Form and the Dharmic Manifestation were effectively incarnations for the little fellow, yet there was a fundamental difference between them. The Heart-Form had fused with Nie Kong’s bloodline and was entirely controlled by him. The Dharmic Manifestation, however, had simultaneously merged Nie Kong’s spirit, source power, and the little fellow’s innate medicinal power, making it controllable by both.

This meant that even without Nie Kong, the little fellow could control the Dharmic Manifestation to fight.

Thinking of this, Nie Kong couldn't help but chuckle. Before today, although the little fellow had grasped various combat and support skills, it possessed virtually no combat power itself. But from now on, the little fellow, fused with the Dharmic Manifestation, would be like a peculiar weapon with self-awareness.

It could slay enemies even without a master!