Nine Transformations of the True Spirit.

In a certain place in the spirit world, amidst a majestic mountain range, hundreds of feet tall jade pavilions pierce the sky, scattered among the peaks like stars in the sky.

The slender buildings are engraved with intricate spiritual runes and restrictions, and the outer walls are made of rare spiritual materials that would make even low-level cultivators drool, thus constructing these breathtaking magnificent buildings.

Countless streaks of light flashed across the sky, their various colors shimmering.

One after another, cultivators flew across the sky, interspersed with magnificent flying boats and cloud carriages. Some cultivators also rode on cranes, celestial horses, golden lions, and white tigers, slowly flying by. The place was bustling with noise and excitement.

Every few floors of the pavilion, there is a terrace with open doors, allowing cultivators to come and go as they please, making it extremely convenient.

On the terrace, a huge banner, inscribed with simple prohibitions, was carried on a wooden pole, fluttering and rustling even without wind.

The banners were painted with the shop's name, which was emblazoned with dragons and phoenixes, and were clearly visible even from a thousand feet away.

On the mountain peaks between the magnificent buildings, densely packed buildings stand side by side.

The crisscrossing mountain paths and stone steps are spread among the mountains, wide and flat.

Qi Refining cultivators leaped and bounded, their heads surging like endless rivers.

The deeper one goes into the mountains, the more densely packed the magnificent buildings become, scattered among the towering peaks.

Looking up, a giant floating island hangs in the sky, only a few thousand feet above the ground, covering an area of ​​about a hundred miles, blocking out all the sunlight.

But beneath the giant island, a great sun hung in the sky, no different from the real sun, only much smaller, casting its bright sunlight and dispelling the darkness cast by the giant island.

On the floating giant island, there is no trace of a magnificent palace; instead, there are towering, precipitous peaks.

The magnificent hall is nestled among the peaks, shrouded in a hazy mist that even the bright sun cannot dispel, giving it an ethereal feel, like a fairyland.

This is not cloud or mist, but spiritual mist, which condenses and does not disperse. If a Qi Refining cultivator is in this mist, regardless of their aptitude, they can make rapid progress in their cultivation.

In the center of the giant island, a towering peak stands out from the crowd, its summit extending hundreds of feet into the fierce winds, constantly enduring their ravages.

However, the fierce winds that even high-ranking demon generals could not withstand could not damage this peak in the slightest.

The pale blue mountain rocks reflected the sunlight, gleaming with a warm luster, and were even harder than a third-grade spiritual treasure.

The summit is open and flat, with a grand hall standing majestically, shrouded in a thick array of formations. When the strong wind blows, it is like a gentle spring breeze, leaving no trace.

Suddenly, a beam of light broke through the gale and arrived at the mountaintop. After landing, a figure appeared.

This man had a refined appearance, wore a wide robe and sleeves, and looked to be about forty years old. He had three long strands of beard hanging down, and despite being in the midst of a strong wind, he remained calm and composed, unaffected in the slightest.

He seemed to have an invisible protective shield around his body; any gale that came within three feet of him would dissipate on its own, and even his clothes would not be moved.

The middle-aged scholar looked slightly solemn as he strode toward the main hall. His pace seemed slow, but in just a few breaths, he covered a distance of several dozen feet and arrived at the edge of the array.

He stopped, clasped his hands in a bow, and said in a deep voice, "This disciple has something to ask of Master."

The middle-aged scholar's voice wasn't loud, but it still carried clearly through the howling wind and into the main hall.

He waited a moment, and then a clear voice drifted from inside the hall: "Come in and speak."

As soon as he finished speaking, the array flickered slightly and slowly dissolved, revealing a gap.

The gale, like a hungry tiger pouncing on its prey, surged toward the gap, but just as it was about to pass through the gap and rush into the array, it suddenly stopped and was wiped away by an invisible hand, disappearing without a trace.

The middle-aged scholar stepped into the great formation. Behind him, the formation curtain slowly closed, blocking the fierce winds outside.

The closer he got to the main hall, the more respectful the middle-aged scholar became. He bowed slightly, his steps seemingly slow but actually hurried, as he ascended the jade steps and stepped through the hall's gate. With each step, the scenery before him changed dramatically.

It was pitch black all around, without a single ray of light, as if I were in the void.

The middle-aged scholar had nothing to stand on and was about to fall and be smashed to pieces.

But he was already used to this scene, his expression remained normal, and he slowed his pace, no longer displaying the strange phenomenon of shrinking the distance to an inch as before.

He seemed to have become an ordinary person again, bowing his head slightly, his expression solemn and filled with awe.

The middle-aged scholar couldn't tell which way to go, nor did he try to figure it out; he simply kept walking forward.

After an unknown amount of time, a glimmer of light finally appeared ahead, and the middle-aged scholar was overjoyed, quickening his pace.

Ahead, a series of dazzling stars appeared, seemingly close at hand yet also far away, their starlight twinkling and weaving together to form a galaxy.

Before the Milky Way, a figure sat cross-legged in the void, all the starlight converging on him, coating him with a silver halo.

The man, dressed in a blue robe, slowly opened his eyes, looked at the middle-aged scholar, and said calmly, "What do you want?"

The middle-aged scholar stopped in front of the man in the green robe, bowed deeply, and said respectfully, "After Master bestowed that dragon scale, I, along with Junior Brother Yuan and Junior Sister Mei, two fellow Daoists from outside the sect, joined forces to find a secret spatial realm."

"It is indeed extraordinary. It is shrouded in a protective array with profound spiritual energy, no less than a small world. It must be closely related to this true dragon."

"But the demon race has also set its sights on this secret realm. Taking advantage of their bloodline, they have already slipped the demon general into it through a flaw in the protective array."

"Even if our sect's array masters exert all their efforts, it will still take more than ten days to send a Nascent Soul cultivator into it. At that time, we may not be able to compete with the demon race."

"Therefore, this disciple earnestly requests Master to use his divine powers to break through the barrier between the realms and send in the Nascent Soul cultivator, so as to prevent the demon race from getting there first and stealing the legacy of the True Dragon."

The man in the green robe nodded slightly: "Alright."

He raised his hand, and a star in the distance suddenly lit up, shaped like a blazing sun, shining brightly and obscuring all the other stars.

The middle-aged scholar felt an unbearable stinging pain in his eyes, as if a mortal were facing the sun directly. He couldn't help but lower his head, his expression filled with even greater awe.

A beam of light shone from the distant sun, landing in the green-robed man's hand, wrapping around his finger, solidifying into a green ring.

The man in the green robe took off his ring, pushed it forward, and slowly flew towards the middle-aged cultivator.

He said calmly, "With this item, you can break through the barrier and send a Nascent Soul cultivator inside."

“But since I have taken action, you owe the sect a battle merit, which you must repay within a thousand years.”

Although the middle-aged scholar was prepared, he still gave a wry smile and respectfully replied, "This disciple obeys."

He accepted the blue ring with both hands and bowed with clasped hands.

When he straightened up, he was already back outside the palace gate. One step forward, and there was only a pitch-black palace.

The middle-aged scholar seemed to have never stepped into the hall; what he had just seen and heard was merely his illusion.

But when he opened his right hand, a cyan ring formed from starlight lay in his palm, crystal clear and dreamlike.

The middle-aged scholar glanced down at the cyan ring, a glint of light flashing in his eyes. He turned and stepped out of the array, his escape light sweeping away into the distance. (End of Chapter)