Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

The crimson ritual matrix on the floor grew bright. The matrix was like a giant ring with three triangles in the middle of it.

 At each tip of the triangles were rings of different sizes, and within the rings were different soul runes that glowed.

 In the very heart of the ritual, a needle was slowly spinning, like a clock recording time.

 Lin Sheng stood before the ritual matrix in the bas.e.m.e.nt's summoning chamber as he placed the materials one by one onto the ritual.

 The improved ritual was now without any useless excess steps. Many parts of the ritual were much clearer and more concise, and they could be updated with the times.

 Like the boiling water and tallow candle of the initial ritual had been replaced with duck's blood instead.

 Lin Sheng carefully placed the boiling duck's blood into the middle of the matrix.

 He then picked up a fragrant soap, and this was a material meant to simplify the activation chant, and provide further stabilization to the ritual process and tossed it into the center of the matrix.

 The square soap block disappeared into the center of the matrix as if it fell into a body of water.

 Lin Sheng immediately bowed down and started slowly reciting the activation chant.

 Amidst the humming chant, a translucent barrier slowly appeared around the ritual matrix. This was an isolation barrier designed by Lin Sheng to prevent the ritual from being interrupted. It also had noise isolation and certain defensive capabilities.

 Following the chanting, the needle in the center of the ritual started spinning faster and faster.

 Very soon, three bright lights spat out from the ritual array, and into Lin Sheng's eyes.

 His eyes instantly turned blood red, his vision dimmed as he entered the spirit summoning dimension.

 Inside the dark dimension, countless light orbs of different colors slowly appeared before him. There were too many of them, with all sorts of colors and sizes, just like the stars in the night sky.

 Lin Sheng then started to recall the image of the red-haired swordswoman. And very quickly, the other light orbs faded away, leaving behind only a single dark blue light orb that slowly floated toward him.

 The light orb was not big, about the size of a fist, yet within it was a swarm of black bugs that were trying to break free from the light orb's control.

 The closer the light orb got to Lin Sheng, the bugs inside it struggled even more violently as if they had smelt blood and were trying to charge at Lin Sheng in a frenzy.

 “Just as I thought, it's tainted…” Lin Sheng immediately understood. He had expected this situation all along. But if one could be tainted, then it could be cleansed as well.

 “But using my power alone, it might be very taxing for me, but I don't have to bear the burden alone…”

 Lin Sheng took a deep breath as his consciousness made contact with the Thunderbeast split-body back in Xylond.

 To be fair, it was not a split-body, the Thunderbeast there is him, and his consciousness and soul can travel between the two at any time. Like two game screens on a single monitor.

 He had always been controlling both sides, only that the Thunderbeast was manning the Holy Sanctum complex, controlling the Holy Power Font in the sanctum.

 That font was Lin Sheng's main crutch. There was another additional function of the improved ritual matrix, and that was it could a.s.sist him with long-range manipulation of holy powers to purify the summoned beings.

 It was on this basis that he dared to summon a Palatinate-level being like the red-haired swordswoman.

 “Then… let's get it started.” Lin Sheng stared at the dark blue light orb as the holy power within his body made contact with the Thunderbeast back in Xylond.

 Using the soul matrix's connection to transfer holy power will inevitably result in some loss, but for the Holy Power Font br.i.m.m.i.n.g with holy power, that minor loss was nothing.

 That was, however, the first time Lin Sheng drew upon the power of the Holy Sanctum from afar.

 In the original world of Blackfeather City, the Holy Sanctum could make contact with the power of all branches within an instant, and this was one of the terrifying trump cards that allowed the Holy Sanctum to flourish.

 After all, many places had difficult terrain and living conditions without many living persons, and if a Holy Sanctum was to be established, it would require a ma.s.sive amount of holy power; and without a way to support it from afar, the Holy Sanctum would have not been able to control and influence so many places.

 “Soul link established.

 “Soul corridor opened.

 “Holy power channeling, commencing.

 “Location confirmed. Transfer commencing.”

 As section after section of the matrix cleared, Lin Sheng's body started radiating pure white light spots as they left his body like fireflies.

 The light spots were ever increasing and becoming more and more compact. Less than ten seconds later, they had engulfed the entire summoning chamber and turn it into a sea of pure white.

 The highly-condensed holy power resonated with the Sacred Ground beneath Lin Sheng as a powerful, all-consuming purifying power started to seek out and destroy any other powers.

 With a constant stream of holy power, Lin Sheng started to manipulate it and suppressed all of his dark powers as much as possible, to prevent them from being purified whole by the holy power.

 The potency of the holy power within the room had reached an unprecedented level as the torrent of holy power started to push back and eliminate every other form of power in the room.

 The soul orb of the red-haired swordswoman too started to be affected. The air surrounding the dark blue soul orb started to light up with patches of light spots.

 With the pa.s.sage of time, the number increased more and more.

 The improved summoning ritual no longer had a time limit for choosing the summoned being, and Lin Sheng only needed to expand a little energy to maintain this stage.

 However, the control was about to rapidly slip out of his hand.

 The exponential amount of holy power had evoked its most primordial nature, and they started to envelop the surface of the dark blue orb in flames.

 Lin Sheng could even hear an audible crackling while the orb burned.

 The black insects inside the orb too started to get agitated. Seemingly meeting their nemesis, they started to screech in a frenzy and creating a sound wave that drove one's mind to the brink.

 Slowly, the holy power seeped into the light orb and started to make direct contact with the black insects.

 Lin Sheng did not manage to see what had happened. He could only see that each and every one of the insects was being engulfed by a wave of holy power, and their frenzied struggle soon came to a stop.

 About ten minutes later, the orb had been fully purified.

 The black insects within the orb were totally engulfed by the holy power before disintegrating inside it.

 Lin Sheng dared not be hasty and waited for a while longer until there were no more changes inside the orb. Only then did he controlled his psyche and approached the orb.

 The moment he touched it, a chilling mist blasted at his face.

 Lin Sheng's vision blurred as he suddenly appeared in a vast, desolate ice field. The ice field looked like it was without end, as a sea of white entered his sight.

 Countless giant black birds circled in the sky, all of them had razor-sharp beaks and talons. Their wings were not made out of feathers, but rather, bronze-colored metal feathers.

 The giants were spinning around in the air, forming a giant black twister. At the eye of the storm, stood the red-haired swordswoman.

 Her face was calm, both her eyes gleamed in resplendent crimson, and in her hand was the giant silver greatsword as a cold aura blasted out in a frenzy in all direction from where she stood.