Nine Transformations of the True Spirit.

Upon hearing Chen Yuan's words, Shen Jibai looked ashamed and lowered his head, seemingly extremely embarrassed by his past actions.

"This junior is unworthy of being addressed as a senior fellow Daoist..."

The other three also became serious, subconsciously recalling other Nascent Soul cultivators they had met, wondering if there was anything suspicious about them.

Zhang Xuancang said in a deep voice, "The demon race can enslave even great cultivators, let alone early and mid-stage Nascent Soul cultivators. We must be on guard."

"Fellow Daoist Zuiyun has spent a long time with Senior Chen, so there's definitely no problem."

"But we don't know about the other fellow cultivators. Would we have to trouble you to check them one by one, senior?"

Chen Yuan nodded slightly: "That's exactly what I was thinking. The existence of these four fellow Daoists must not be known to the demon race, so that they may be on guard."

"However, our human city is facing the threat of a beast tide, and Nascent Soul cultivators must guard it at all times and must not leave the city without permission."

"Moreover, the gathering of human Nascent Soul cultivators in Xingzhu City is too commotion and will surely arouse suspicion from the demon race."

“You three young friends should know where the cities built by our human Nascent Soul cultivators are located. Please hand over the map, and I will investigate them one by one.”

He was cautious by nature. With the Blood Silk Gu planted in Shen Jibai's body, how could he not be wary of other human cultivators?

Even if Zhang Xuancang didn't mention it, he would secretly go to other cities to check whether human Nascent Soul cultivators had been infected with Blood Silk Gu by the demon race.

For other cultivators, the Blood Silk Gu attaches itself to their soul, almost becoming one with them, making it extremely difficult to distinguish.

However, no matter how deeply the Blood Silk Gu is hidden, it is still a kind of demonic beast, and it has not been completely integrated with the cultivator's soul, so a faint demonic aura is emanating from it.

Chen Yuan controls the Zhu Yan True Fire, which is specifically designed to counter spirits, ghosts, and other spiritual entities, including the half-illusory, half-real Blood Silk Gu.

He had personally removed the blood-veined Gu from Dugu Sha's body and was extremely familiar with its aura.

Once within a hundred feet, secretly activating the Vermilion Flame will make the Blood Silk Gu's aura as obvious as a lamp in the dark, easily detectable.

The Blood Silk Gu in Shen Jibai's body was discovered by Chen Yuan using this method.

However, before that, when he entered within two thousand miles of Falling Star Peak, Chen Yuan overheard the three discussing how to activate the formation to trap him through his powerful divine sense, and knew that the three had ulterior motives.

Chen Yuan pretended not to know, wanting to take this opportunity to see the character of Master Yuan Ting and Master Jiu Yuan, as well as whether Zhang Xuancang was involved.

Moreover, by getting the three to take the initiative in this way, he could then reveal his cultivation level and use both kindness and force to completely subdue them.

……

Chen Yuan gave the order, and the four of them naturally obeyed, immediately taking out a map showing the distribution of human cities and presenting it with both hands.

This is hardly a secret. Every human city is home to at least tens of thousands of mortals, and there are also numerous mortal villages scattered around. The demon race can easily find out about these places.

This is why almost every human city has to endure the invasion of beast tides, and very few can stand for more than a thousand years.

Chen Yuan put the four jade slips into his mustard seed ring. The Nine Yuan Master clasped his hands in a bow and said goodbye: "This junior will go to find Fairy Zhu and invite her to Xingzhu City for a chat."

Seeing this, Master Yuan Ting also said, "I only joined forces with Fellow Daoist Cui five years ago to explore the Qingxu Mountain Range. I will invite him here to pay his respects to you, senior."

Chen Yuan nodded: "Thank you for your help, young friends. But before that, I have a question I don't understand."

He looked at Shen Jibai and asked, "Since the Howling Moon Silver Wolf clan has no interest in great cultivators of our human race, why did you, young friend Shen, still persuade the two of you to set up an array here to ambush and kill me?"

Shen Jibai's expression stiffened, but he then gave a bitter smile, showing little fear.

If Chen Yuan wanted to kill him, he would have done so already; why would he need to plant the Fire Lotus Mark in his body?

Shen Jibai said awkwardly, "After receiving the message from Fellow Daoist Zuiyun, I was very surprised to learn that another great cultivator had appeared in our human race, and that he was a body cultivator who had disappeared for a long time."

"The Howling Moon Silver Wolf clan instructed me to keep an eye on the movements of the human race, especially matters involving great cultivators. I intend to secretly inform Yinlu of this matter."

"But then I thought about it again. Our human race has always been weak. If there really is a great cultivator, especially a body cultivator who consumes a lot of cultivation resources, how could he be unknown? This matter seems a bit strange."

"After much deliberation, I have decided to put this matter aside for the time being and go to the ruins of Ping Le City to investigate. I will also try to find out the reactions of the Flood Dragon and Blood-Eyed Spirit Serpent clans through the Howling Moon Silver Wolf clan."

"Later, I learned that after the deaths of She Mo and Ao Lin, both clans dispatched demon generals to Ping Le City to investigate the matter."

"But Fellow Daoist Zhang has already led the people of Ping Le City to relocate elsewhere, returning empty-handed, having only destroyed Ping Le City and its spiritual veins..."

He paused for a moment, then glanced cautiously at Chen Yuan: "Senior's whereabouts are so elusive, appearing out of nowhere and then suddenly disappearing. Are you a body cultivator who has long since vanished from the human race?"

"This junior dares to guess that, like me, you secretly joined the demon race, or even that you were a great cultivator secretly cultivated by the demon race."

"They only recently appeared, approaching us great human cultivators to inquire about matters within the human race."

"Although I was forced to have the Blood Silk Gu implanted, I still care about the human race. I was worried that you might harm our great human cultivators, so I told Yin Lu about it and asked him to send demon generals to surround and kill you..."

At this point, Master Yuanting suddenly let out a soft snort, his face full of mockery. Master Jiuyuan and Zhang Xuancang also showed a hint of disdain in their eyes.

But Shen Jibai ignored it and continued to explain, "Yinlu also agrees with my guess, but he does not intend to send any demon generals. He just wants me to handle it myself."

“This junior is greatly puzzled. Although the strength of the Howling Moon Silver Wolf Clan is not as great as that of the Flood Dragon and Kun Fish Clans, it is still one of the best among the eight royal clans. It has always been ambitious and never gives up the opportunity to strike at other royal clans.”

"Even the Shahu clan, which was on good terms with him, was secretly suppressed by him."

"That high-ranking demon general of the Fiend Tiger Clan, Hu Wushe, was secretly wounded by Yin Lu, who then had the junior kill him. How could he let go of this opportunity to strike at other royal families?"

"It should be known that the human race is inherently weak in terms of physical strength. The treasures consumed by a late-stage Nascent Soul cultivator are far more than those consumed by a high-ranking royal demon general with a strong bloodline."

"If we could get the senior... cough cough, it would definitely make the royal family behind the senior feel extremely pained."

"Later, through some subtle questioning, I learned that the Howling Moon Silver Wolf clan seems to be preparing for something big."

“The high-ranking demon generals in the clan have been in seclusion for a long time and are too busy to attend to this matter.”

"However, Yinlu did not want to miss this opportunity to suppress other royal families, so he let the junior handle it himself."

"If he truly gains something, he will naturally offer up elixirs and treasures as a reward. This is also the usual practice I've followed when slaying other royal demon generals..."

Shen Jibai's face showed regret: "Then I told Fellow Daoists Yuan Ting and Jiu Yuan about my guesses."

"They didn't believe it at first, but little did we know that the senior had actually crossed over from the human realm and was a Nascent Soul cultivator."

"In our eyes, the senior's identity as a late-stage Nascent Soul cultivator is too suspicious."

“Human cultivators have always lacked cultivation resources, and only one in ten thousand people embark on the path of body refinement, let alone achieve such success.”

"Moreover, the senior was not well-known in the past, but suddenly appeared a few years ago and wanted to pay respects to us great cultivators. These two points are really hard to explain."

"After much persuasion from this junior, the two fellow Daoists finally agreed with this junior's guess and decided to set up an array on Falling Star Peak."

"Once everything is ready, I will send a message to invite you to the appointment..."

At this moment, both Master Jiuyuan and Master Yuanting showed expressions of remorse, bowing to Chen Yuan again to apologize, their expressions extremely sincere.

Chen Yuan naturally wouldn't hold it against them, simply waving his hand and still looking at Shen Jibai: "So, young friend Shen, you still need to report this matter to Yin Lu?"

A hint of worry flashed in Shen Jibai's eyes: "Indeed, the Blood Silk Gu in my body has been removed by you, senior. I don't know if Yin Lu will notice..." Chen Yuan said gently: "Don't worry, young friend Shen. The Blood Silk Gu is called a Gu worm, but it is actually a kind of demon beast. Once planted, it is almost integrated with the soul."

"If one does not open one's mind and examine carefully, others will not be able to tell whether one is alive or dead."

Shen Jibai breathed a sigh of relief: "Thank you for your explanation, senior. No one has ever been able to remove the Blood Veil Gu before, so Yin Lu certainly wouldn't have bothered to check it."

His heart sank. The Blood Silk Gu was so difficult to detect, yet this Senior Chen saw through his secrets at a glance and easily wiped away the Blood Silk Gu.

It seems that this Fire Lotus Mark is definitely not to be underestimated. We must be even more careful than when we planted the Blood Silk Gu before, and we cannot afford to take any chances.

Unaware of Shen Jibai's thoughts, Chen Yuan added, "If Yinlu asks about me, as long as you don't reveal my identity, young friend Shen can make up whatever he wants. Just make sure he stops paying attention to this matter."

Shen Jibai immediately agreed: "This junior understands and will never let Yin Lu have any suspicions."

Chen Yuan nodded slightly, then turned to look at Venerable Jiuyuan and True Man Yuanting: "I wonder how long it will take you two young friends to invite Young Friend Cui and Fairy Zhu here?"

After pondering for a moment, Master Yuan Ting said, "This junior knows the location of Fellow Daoist Cui's cave, but his whereabouts are unpredictable, and he often travels outside."

"I am confident that I can invite him to Xingzhu City within three years."

Master Jiuyuan said, "I have a very close personal relationship with Fairy Zhu. Within two months, I will be able to invite her to Xingzhu City to pay her a visit."

Chen Yuan said, "In that case, I will accompany you, young friend Jiu Yuan, to see young friend Zhu."

Master Jiuyuan was taken aback, then respectfully agreed, a hint of joy flashing in his eyes.

Both Yuan Ting Zhenren and Shen Jibai showed envy on their faces. For Jiu Yuan Shangren to travel with a Nascent Soul cultivator and receive a few words of guidance would be a great opportunity.

The group then parted ways. Zhang Xuancang returned to Xingzhu City on his own, Shen Jibai secretly visited Yin Lu, and Yuan Ting Shangren went to search for the cultivator surnamed Cui.

Chen Yuan, on the other hand, went with Master Jiuyuan to see the Fairy Zhu.

……

Fairy Zhu's cave is extremely far from here, located in a remote mountain range in the southern part of the Myriad Demon Continent, adjacent to the South China Sea.

Falling Star Peak is located in the northeast of Ten Thousand Demon Continent, more than 800,000 miles away from the other place.

Chen Yuan and Master Jiuyuan flew up to a height of ten thousand feet, but after only a quarter of an hour, Chen Yuan frowned and sent out a beam of light to envelop Master Jiuyuan.

Master Jiuyuan was startled, but then he realized that his escape speed had increased by more than two times, and immediately clasped his hands in thanks.

Chen Yuan spread his divine sense, covering an area of ​​two thousand miles around him. Only Ao Cang, a mid-stage demon general, could rival him in this realm.

The two did not encounter a single demon general along the way, having avoided them all in advance.

The fierce winds high in the sky were like a gentle spring breeze, posing no obstacle whatsoever.

Master Jiuyuan even discovered several kinds of high-grade spiritual materials that were extremely hard after being tempered by the gale. He was overjoyed and did not hesitate to ask Chen Yuan to slow down his escape speed so that he could collect them all.

Chen Yuan obtained dozens of rare spiritual materials from the Yu Ling Sect's secret realm. Even though he used up a lot of them in the human realm and gave two top-grade wood-attribute spiritual materials to Ao Ye, he still had twenty-two top-grade spiritual materials left.

There are also forty-six kinds of top-grade spiritual materials, so naturally they wouldn't take these ordinary top-grade spiritual materials seriously.

But seeing a great cultivator so delighted by several high-grade spiritual materials, he sighed inwardly, slowed his escape speed, and let the Nine Yuan Master put them away.

Master Jiuyuan expressed his gratitude repeatedly along the way. When the two arrived at Fairy Zhu's cave, he had obtained a total of six kinds of high-grade spiritual materials.

The journey of over 800,000 li was completed in less than ten days, leaving Master Jiuyuan in awe.

This was only because Chen Yuan separated his escape light to protect Jiu Yuan Shangren; otherwise, the escape speed would have been even faster.

The fairy was in the cave. She looked to be only seventeen or eighteen years old. She had a pretty face and, while not stunningly beautiful, she had a delicate and charming air about her. She wore no makeup, spoke softly, and had gentle eyes, making her very likable.

When a strange cultivator suddenly arrived, Fairy Zhu was quite wary, but after being introduced by Venerable Jiuyuan, she lowered her guard.

Chen Yuan did not reveal his Nascent Soul cultivation level, only saying that he was a great cultivator who had secluded himself from the world and had only recently entered the mortal realm.

Upon hearing this, Fairy Zhu's eyes flashed with displeasure, but since Venerable Jiuyuan was present, she did not show it.

Chen Yuan didn't take it seriously. He secretly activated the Zhu Yan True Fire and found no trace of the Blood Silk Gu in Fairy Zhu's body.

He wasn't worried, as Fairy Zhu had secretly allied herself with the demon race, but hadn't yet planted the Blood Silk Gu.

The demon race is extremely wary of human cultivators. Without exception, any Nascent Soul cultivator who is loyal to the demon race will have a Blood Vein Gu planted in their body.

If it weren't for the difficulty in cultivating the Blood Silk Gu, the demon race would have planted this Gu in the bodies of every human cultivator.

Moreover, the Blood Silk Gu is almost integrated with the soul, so as long as one does not open one's mind, it cannot be detected, and there is no need to worry about being discovered by human cultivators.

However, the demon race did not expect that a cultivator would refine the true blood of the Zhu Yan and master the power of the true spirit.

Before the True Fire of the Vermilion Flame, even the most secretive Blood Silk Gu cannot hide.

Chen Yuan was certain that Fairy Zhu had not been enslaved by the demon race, but out of caution, he did not reveal his identity.

The affairs of the human realm are too complex to be leaked. Otherwise, if the demon race becomes prepared, Chen Yuan will lose the initiative, and it will be much more difficult for him to obtain the ascension passage.

Moreover, planting the Fire Lotus Mark in another person's body is not as easy as Chen Yuan made it out to be; it will put a considerable burden on their divine sense.

The early stage of Nascent Soul is nothing special, but a great cultivator is only one step away from becoming a Deity.

Chen Yuan had already placed a considerable burden on himself by planting divine consciousness in the bodies of Shen Jibai, Yuan Ting Zhenren, and Jiu Yuan Shangren.

Although it was far from the limit he could bear, Chen Yuan was unwilling to enslave others at will, so he planted the Fire Lotus Mark in the bodies of all the great human cultivators.

After exchanging pleasantries, Master Jiuyuan spoke up, taking out portraits of Qin Wuyai and the other three, and asking Fairy Zhu to keep an eye out for them, but he did not reveal their identities or names.

Fairy Zhu pressed for details about the origins of the four people, but since the Fire Lotus Mark had been planted in the body of the Nine Yuan Elder, she dared not say anything and could only keep her mouth shut.

Seeing his evasive answers, Fairy Zhu seemed somewhat angry, and her expression turned cold, making Master Jiuyuan quite embarrassed, and even somewhat subservient.

Chen Yuan sensed the subtle relationship between the two, smiled without saying a word, and then got up to take his leave.

Fairy Zhu did not try to keep her, nor did she even get up to see her off.

As the two left Fairy Zhu's cave, Master Jiuyuan was about to speak when Chen Yuan stopped him: "Young friend, you may go ahead. I still need to go to various human cities to check if any Nascent Soul cultivators have had Blood Silk Gu implanted in their bodies. Farewell."

Having said that, without waiting for Master Jiuyuan to explain, Chen Yuan vanished into thin air, disappearing into the darkness.

Master Jiuyuan looked helpless, but his weathered eyes revealed a hint of anxiety and uncertainty, his expression shifting constantly.

Suddenly, he gritted his teeth, turned around, and flew back to Fairy Zhu's cave.

Three days later, Fairy Zhu saw Master Jiuyuan out of the cave.

The two parted reluctantly, each going their own way to find a human Nascent Soul cultivator and fulfill Chen Yuan's request. (End of Chapter)