The heads of households and elders from the other noble families had grown accustomed to this scene. Upon hearing the elder of Long family's words, each of them waved to their disciples behind, and one by one, a single person emerged from the crowd, carrying a jade vial no larger than a palm. At the same time, the elder of Long family's body flashed with a golden glow, and with a subtle shift in posture, he stepped directly into the luminous dome enveloping the Ten-Thousand-Souls Platform. Then, at a low altitude, he raised one hand and chanted a series of gestures, projecting a beam of golden light downward. The beam vanished instantly, merging seamlessly into the jade stone floor below. Immediately thereafter, a deep resonant hum echoed across the platform, and a rustic, jade-green basin emerged near the white magical array. The basin was long and flat, measuring several zhang in length, with delicate, faintly black, enigmatic patterns engraved around its circumference—seeming remarkably ancient. At that moment, one after another, the noble-born youths stepped forward and approached the stone basin, removing the lids from their jade bottles and then tilting the bottle mouths downward so that streams of liquids of various colors flowed out—some foul-smelling, others exuding a remarkable fragrance, and others completely colorless and odorless, like clear water. Yet after only a few rotations, the light sphere suddenly burst with a deep, resonant sound, revealing within it a strange creature with eight heads. Its body was lion-bodied and dragon-headed, form hazy and indistinct, as though merely a shadow—its essence no more than a typical early Transcendent Immortal. However, as the eight heads swayed back and forth, sixteen pairs of solemn, eerie eyes swept across the ten thousand spiritual platforms in a single glance, causing every being who was gazed upon to shiver with a sudden chill, as if a wave of profound cold had swept through their bodies. Fortunately, at that very moment, the old patriarch of the Long family in the sky bowed both hands and spoke calmly, "Welcome back, Lord of the Ten Thousand Spirits! Please take your time and enjoy the true blood offerings from our fifty-one human families of true spiritual lineage." Upon hearing this, the strange creature raised one of its heads, surveyed the old patriarch, and then, without a word, moved gracefully, drifting out of the spell array and floating gently above the stone basin. The eight heads opened wide, and the liquid in the basin instantly surged upward, forming eight towering streams that plunged into the beast's mouth. In a short while, the offerings in the basin were completely drawn off by the creature. Then, a strange radiance emanated from its body, and what had previously been a blurry form suddenly became clear and tangible, as if solidified. After glancing at the assembled cultivators outside the stone platform, the eight-headed beast roared loudly, its voice resonating with a deep, thunderous rumble. A remarkable aura surged forth from its body, rising steadily from the early to the mid stage of Lingxu, then surging further to the late stage—within moments, it reached the peak of the Hétǐ late stage. Indeed, it seemed even higher than that, as though it had already taken a decisive step toward the Dàchéng stage. Han Li's previously composed expression grew momentarily still as he perceived the intense aura emanating from the Wànlíng Platform. Fortunately, this appeared to be the creature's ultimate limit; the powerful aura finally stabilized and settled into a steady state. But the very next move of these eight-headed monsters sent no fewer elite cultivators gasping in shock. Suddenly, all eight of their heads lifted simultaneously toward the sky, and as a sharp crackling sound resonated, a thick, bowl-sized surge of azure lightning erupted from each head—fleeting yet powerful—and struck the purple-golden electrical grid high above. Even cultivators at the Consolidated Stage were visibly startled. Though the Lóng family elder stood mere steps away, his facial muscles twitched slightly before he managed to maintain composure. A series of thunderous explosions! Purple and cyan electric arcs wove together in the air, forming brilliant, car-sized bursts of light that burst into splendor before fading. Yet within moments, as the light subsided, the massive purple-golden grid trembled slightly and then settled back into calm, undamaged and unscathed. The eight-headed monsters, their eyes dimming with frost, gradually closed their eight great mouths. Yet one of the jade-headed beasts twisted its neck suddenly, fixing its gaze firmly on the elder of the Long family just ahead, and emitted a voice as ancient and resonant as that of a sage: "Hmph. Your human race truly does take great care. I have arrived here countless times, and for tens of thousands of years, this Thunder-Sealing Array has never once failed. But I urge you—pray that this continues. For as soon as once you falter, and I discover even a single flaw in this seal, heh-heh…" The jade-headed creature not only spoke in human tones but ended with a deep, cold chuckle. "On this point, please rest assured, Celestial Lord. Should it ever come to the day when our true-essence families' descendants fail to even manage a single seal array with any lapse in precision—then their very vital blood will be drawn and consumed by Your Grace, and they shall have sealed their own fate." Nevertheless, according to the agreement between our ancestral families and the esteemed master established that day, now that the tribute has been presented, it is the master’s turn to cast the spells and create the Potent Spirit Mandates for the younger members of our families." The elder of the Long family bowed slightly, speaking with composure and dignity, showing no great apprehension. It was no wonder, for though the creature’s true form was a true spirit entity from another realm, the one who had crossed over was merely a manifested fragment of consciousness. Furthermore, the ancestral families had carefully established a sealing array that restrained the creature’s powers. Even if the manifested form absorbed the sacrificial offerings and significantly enhanced its cultivation, its actual capabilities were still substantially limited. As a cultivator at the late Consolidation stage, he naturally need not be overly afraid. "Hmph. Since we’ve already gained your benefits, I’ll certainly take care of this minor matter for you." The creature snorted, and as its eight heads moved, they all began chanting simultaneously. As the chants resonated, symbols of eight different colors emerged from each of the heads and mouths, weaving together in the air below. Soon, the various colored runes became densely packed, nearly covering the entire expanse of the Wàn Líng Platform, creating an astonishing display. Though enveloped by these runes, the old master of the Long family remained remarkably composed, with a golden glow radiating around his body, preventing the runes from approaching within mere feet. The immense array shimmered and flashed, and a surge of luminous light burst forth, instantly engulfing the giant creature. A second hum resonated, and as the array spun smoothly, the eight-headed monster shattered with a deep, resonant crack, its body fragmenting into scattered runes. At that moment, the array itself dimmed and vanished completely from the Wàn Líng Platform, as though it had never existed. "Attend," the elder of the Long family said, his eyes narrowed on the now silent stone ground, "collect all the Qian Ling Orders. After the families have re-ranked momentarily, we shall decide their final assignments." Upon hearing this, several armored guards in golden armor immediately stepped forward from somewhere unseen. Each of them held a silver tray in hand. As they reached out, empty-handed, in succession toward the ground, they gathered all the tokens and placed them neatly upon the trays. Then, they carried the trays to a table beneath the stone platform and placed them there with due respect. "Master Wàn Líng has already departed. Now, let us begin the rituals to honor our respective ancestral true spirits," said the elder of the Long family, his gaze sweeping over the gathered guests and his voice firm. Upon hearing this, the members from the various noble families immediately stirred and began to move. Some carried various ritual artifacts and incense offerings, setting them up on the platform. Then, under the guidance of family heads and elders, the young members of each true spirit family took turns ascending the Wàn Líng Platform, kneeling before the ancestral spirits they had dedicated to, each offering a unique prayer. Even some of the more ancient true spirit families, preserving rituals that had long since been lost to the outside world, proved particularly captivating to Han Li below, who watched with growing interest. But after these elaborate rituals, which took up half a day, the true centerpiece of the Great Divine Spirit Ceremony unfolded—the final determination of rankings among the True Spirit Houses and the realignment of their resources and interests. When the Elder of the Long Family landed once more on the stone platform, he simply drew his hands from his sleeves and said calmly, "According to ancient tradition, during the ceremony, each household is granted one opportunity to challenge any of the upper-tier families, and one opportunity to receive a challenge from a lower-tier family. However, a challenger may not target any family with more than five members in their household. If multiple families jointly challenge the same one, the one with the higher rank among them gains the right to challenge. Of course, by custom, the rankings among our five major families are rendered invalid at this point and must undergo a round-robin re-ranking before any other families can begin their challenges. Lin Miss, Lin Brother, please come up and draw lots to determine your first-round opponents." "Heh, what's so special about drawing lots this time?" Regardless of the Llong family, Lin is certain he would fall short and thus would surely step aside. However, I've recently cultivated a few minor techniques of my own—should I meet Lady Ye, I may very well seek the opportunity to exchange insights with her." From the last of the Five True Spirit clans, the only one entirely composed of male cultivators, came a lazy, relaxed voice. The speaker was a man dressed in a deep green robe, with wild hair tied by an unusual silver ring, whose appearance was surprisingly delicate and feminine.