Nine Transformations of the True Spirit.

The north wind was like a knife, tearing the leaden-gray sky apart.

A city lies silently on the frozen wasteland. Outside the walls built of gray boulders, a layer of snow-white ice reflects the faint light of the sky, pale and cold.

Under the blowing cold wind, the buildings in the city all had thick walls and flat roofs, and the narrow windows blocked the invasion of the cold air and the dim sunlight.

The pedestrians on the street were wearing thick fur coats and cotton-padded clothes, their bulky figures making them look rather clumsy, but their steps were not slow.

Many people carried the dead beasts, the blood seeping from their wounds congealing into ice beads that clung haphazardly to their fur, creating a poignant and beautiful scene.

On this snowy plain, farming is only possible during the summer months. In the other seasons, the hundreds of thousands of ordinary people in the city can only feed themselves by hunting wild animals, or even low-level demonic beasts.

This barren wasteland was originally unable to support so many people, but the frequent beast tides and the ferocious wild beasts that gathered from all directions under the influence of demonic beasts became the food that the mortals in the city depended on for survival.

In the heart of the city, there is a large courtyard that, amidst the vast snowfield, resembles a delicate and elegant waterside garden, complete with artificial hills, clear waters, pavilions, and corridors.

Inside the main hall, Chen Yuan sat upright in the main seat, his expression revealing a hint of sternness.

Opposite him stood a middle-aged cultivator dressed in brocade robes, slightly plump, with his hands clasped behind his back. His body trembled slightly, his face was pale, his expression was fearful, and he was covered in cold sweat.

Chen Yuan said calmly, "If the Frostfire Bear clan asks about the human race again, do you know how to respond?"

The portly cultivator hurriedly replied, "I will naturally only offer a perfunctory response and will absolutely not pass on any more messages..."

Chen Yuan frowned: "If you do that, wouldn't you be admitting that you've already broken free from the Blood Silk Gu's control?"

The portly cultivator was taken aback and immediately changed his words: "Please enlighten me, fellow Daoist, on how I should respond?"

Chen Yuan said calmly, "Keep everything as usual, and don't reveal any flaws."

The portly cultivator immediately agreed: "I understand, and I will absolutely not let the Frost Bear clan suspect anything."

Chen Yuan nodded slightly, then changed the subject: "Fellow Daoist, keep a close eye on the whereabouts of those four people. If you have any news, immediately activate the Fire Lotus Mark, but you must not make a big fuss and cause a city-wide uproar."

The portly cultivator said, "I will immediately instruct the reliable cultivators in the city to secretly search for the whereabouts of these four fellow cultivators and to inquire about information through the Frost Bear clan."

Chen Yuan then asked, "A few years ago, the Frost Bear clan hunted down a human cultivator. Are you aware of this?"

The portly cultivator shook his head: "I only know that the Frostfire Bear clan has suddenly become heavily guarded, but I do not know the details and dare not inquire without authorization."

Chen Yuan said, "Besides finding out where those four people are, we also need to investigate the cause of this matter, but we must not reveal any flaws."

The portly cultivator respectfully agreed. Chen Yuan's expression softened slightly. He stood up and said calmly, "Although you have gone astray, considering that you have not yet fallen into deep trouble, today's punishment is just a small one. Do not repeat this mistake in the future."

The portly cultivator's obese body trembled slightly, a hint of fear flashing in his eyes. He smiled bitterly and said, "I already know I was wrong. I was forced to have the Blood Silk Gu planted on me back then. Now that you have planted the Fire Lotus Mark on me, how could I dare to have any disloyal thoughts?"

He was the city lord of this city, with a cultivation level of mid-Nascent Soul, ranking among the top ten among humans.

Apart from the five great cultivators and three other highly skilled Nascent Soul cultivators, there were no other opponents.

The reason he built a city on this desolate snowfield with his mid-Nascent Soul cultivation was because there was a medium-sized spiritual vein and a medium-sized spirit stone mine beneath the city.

For the eight royal families, a mere medium-sized spirit stone mine is naturally nothing.

However, for human cultivators who are poor in cultivation resources, this mine is enough to attract a mid-stage Nascent Soul cultivator to establish a city here.

Not to mention that this vein is an extremely rare rich mine, capable of producing precious top-grade spirit stones, whose value far surpasses that of ordinary medium-sized spirit stone veins.

The wealthy cultivator stumbled upon this mineral vein and immediately built a city there, devoting himself to cultivation.

But the good times didn't last long. News of the spirit stone mine spread like wildfire, attracting high-ranking demon generals from the Frostfire Bear clan.

The portly cultivator was taken aback. This snowfield was located in the northwest of the Myriad Demon Continent, at the border between the Frost Bear and Nightmare Crow clans. It was extremely desolate and had always been ignored.

Even if there is a medium-sized spiritual vein and a medium-sized rich spiritual stone mine, it is not enough to warrant the personal presence of a high-ranking demon general from the Frostfire Bear clan.

Faced with a high-ranking demon general, how could the wealthy cultivator possibly stand a chance? The city was breached by a massive beast tide, and the people inside suffered heavy casualties. He too was captured by the high-ranking demon general.

But just as the well-to-do cultivator was preparing to die, a high-ranking demon general from the Frostfire Bear clan spoke up to persuade him to surrender, and even took out a bottle of mid-Nascent Soul pills.

The hardships of hundreds of years of arduous cultivation surfaced from the bottom of his heart, along with the monotony of ten years of meditation in the cave and the thrill of a demonic beast's claws slicing across his throat...

The well-to-do cultivator had been fighting with demonic beasts for hundreds of years. He thought he had long since made up his mind to pursue the Dao and was not afraid of death. But when the time came, he still felt a trace of fear, reluctance and attachment.

He was reluctant to give up his cultivation, and even more reluctant to give up his remaining three hundred years of lifespan.

He still had a chance to break through to the Great Cultivator realm, but that bottle of mid-Nascent Soul pills made him completely abandon his persistence of the past few hundred years, join the Frost Bear clan, and be infected with the Blood Silk Gu.

He was prepared to offer up the spiritual vein and even his friends and acquaintances as a pledge of loyalty, all in exchange for more cultivation pills to improve his cultivation level.

He had no way out; his life was in the hands of the demon race, so naturally he dared not hold back in the slightest.

Surprisingly, the Frostbear clan showed no interest in the spiritual veins and spirit stone mines beneath the city.

There was no intention to deal with the human Nascent Soul cultivators; the only purpose was to ask him to provide information about the human race and the demon generals of the Nightmare Raven clan.

In nearly two hundred years, he only killed two Nascent Soul stage cultivators who had offended the Frost Bear clan.

However, the pills and treasures he obtained from the Frost Bear clan allowed his cultivation to steadily increase, bringing him infinitely close to the peak of the mid-stage Nascent Soul realm, and bringing him closer and closer to becoming a great cultivator, a dream come true.

Moreover, thanks to their allegiance to the Frostbear clan, the beast tide has weakened considerably compared to the past.

With the help of the Frostbear clan, he killed two mid-level demon generals who were affiliated with the Nightmare Raven clan, earning him even more respect from human cultivators.

Just when the wealthy cultivator thought that this life of being able to please everyone could continue indefinitely, the white-robed cultivator who called himself Xinghuo Zhenren suddenly appeared and captured him with lightning speed.

He then used a strange white spiritual fire to erase the blood-veined Gu from his body, leaving behind a fire lotus mark.

The pain of that white spiritual fire burning his soul was deeply etched in his heart, and he could never forget it.

In just ten breaths, his soul had become noticeably thinner and would need at least a few months of nurturing to recover.

The wealthy cultivator had never heard of the Blood Silk Gu being able to be erased.

The white flames that appeared out of nowhere and suddenly in his soul space terrified him, a mid-stage Nascent Soul cultivator.

Although he had never heard of Xinghuo Zhenren's name, he dared not have any disloyal thoughts, much less risk his life to test whether the Fire Lotus Mark was effective.

Even the Blood Silk Gu couldn't withstand the eerie spiritual fire, so how could he possibly contend with it?

The only thing that made him feel fortunate was that he had acted carefully enough that no one knew that he had killed the two early-stage Nascent Soul cultivators.

As long as he continues to be careful, the Frost Bear clan should not notice that the Blood Silk Gu has been erased.

He will still be able to navigate social situations smoothly, and may even be able to reach the late Nascent Soul stage sooner.

……

After quietly leaving the desolate snowfield city, Chen Yuan determined his direction, and with a flash of light, flew eastward.

Since parting ways with Master Jiuyuan, he had been following the clues and spent half a year traveling to almost every city in the human race, secretly investigating whether those Nascent Soul cultivators had been infected with the Blood Silk Gu.

What comforted him was that most of the Nascent Soul cultivators who were able to persevere in the human race's resistance against the demon race for tens of thousands of years were people with strong willpower.

People like Shen Jibai, who are afraid of death, are only a minority.

Including the wealthy cultivator, only three people had the Blood Silk Gu implanted in their bodies, and they secretly pledged allegiance to the three royal families: Frost Bear, Blood-Eyed Serpent, and Kunpeng.

However, all three of them were at the mid-stage of the Nascent Soul realm, indicating that early-stage Nascent Soul cultivators were not yet considered a threat by the demon race.

Chen Yuan erased all the blood-veined Gu from the three people's bodies, planted the Fire Lotus Mark on them, and ordered them to continue to feign compliance with the demon race and find an opportunity to investigate the whereabouts of Qin Wuyai and the other three.

Those who had sided with the Blood-Eyed Serpent Clan were also ordered to search for Chen Yuan's whereabouts, but they found nothing.

In Ping Le City, apart from Zhang Xuancang, the white-haired old man, and Elder Shi, Chen Yuan did not interact with any other cultivators. He then quietly went to Dragon God City, his whereabouts remaining elusive and difficult to trace.

After arriving in Xingzhu City, he did not make a big fuss, and the Blood-Eyed Serpent Clan did not know his whereabouts.

Moreover, She Mo, whom he killed, was ultimately just a low-level demon general.

Several years have passed, and the matter has gradually faded from public attention, no longer being taken seriously by the Blood-Eyed Serpent Clan.

The other Nascent Soul cultivators had not been infected with the Blood Silk Gu, but Chen Yuan did not reveal his identity to them, nor did he even show his face.

The deeper he concealed himself, the more unexpected his attacks on the demon general became. But among these city lords, there was one who was extremely special: Ao Feng, the city lord of Golden Scale City, who possessed the bloodline of a dragon and was a mid-stage Nascent Soul cultivator.

He is the son of a demon general, possessing extremely pure Golden Dragon bloodline. He cultivates both physical and magical abilities, making his physical body incredibly powerful, and his Golden Element supernatural powers are also formidable. He is quite famous among the eight major demon clans.

However, after advancing to the mid-level demon general rank, Ao Feng suddenly betrayed the dragon clan and went to the far west of the Myriad Demon Continent, where he established Golden Scale City in the desert, gathered the human race, and shocked the Myriad Demon Continent.

The Jiaolong clan also sent demon generals to pursue him, but Ao Feng, relying on his own strength, repelled the Jiaolong clan several times and killed two mid-level demon generals, making his reputation spread far and wide.

The human cultivators, who had initially been skeptical, now believed that he had truly betrayed the dragon clan.

With five powerful cultivators attacking together, and other members of the royal family interfering, the dragon clan had no choice but to back down.

From then on, Ao Feng's name resounded throughout the entire Wan Yao Continent.

But the dragon clan would not give up easily. Although they did not take action themselves, the tiger clan, which was closest to Golden Scale City, kept sending beast tides and demon generals to attack Golden Scale City.

Chen Yuan had seen records about Ao Feng in ancient books, and heard more detailed introductions from Zhang Xuancang, Zuiyun Zhenren, and Jiuyuan Shangren, so he had no doubts about it.

After all, no matter how powerful the Flood Dragon Clan is, they would never sacrifice the lives of two mid-level demon generals just to gain the trust of human cultivators for Ao Feng.

Chen Yuan was quite curious as to why a dragon demon general with pure blood would so brazenly betray the powerful dragon clan and join the precarious human race.

According to Master Jiuyuan, Ao Feng's birth mother was a female cultivator from the human race.

Influenced by his mother, he considered himself a human cultivator, which is why he betrayed the dragon clan.

Chen Yuan had some doubts about this. Ao Feng's Golden Dragon bloodline was extremely pure. Could a demon general's concubine really have the opportunity to instill such ideas in him?

However, he did not go to Jinlin City to see Ao Feng. The sudden appearance of a powerful cultivator would only arouse Ao Feng's vigilance.

It would be more appropriate to go with other great cultivators in the future.

Chen Yuan flew eastward, passing through parts of the territories of the Howling Moon Silver Wolf and Blood-Eyed Spirit Serpent clans.

He casually killed three low-level demon generals he encountered along the way, and obtained several kinds of demon beast materials, as well as three level-eight demon cores.

Unfortunately, there were no royal demon generals among them.

Three days later, he traveled more than 400,000 miles back to the Iron Mist Mountains.

He secretly investigated the Nascent Soul cultivators in several nearby cities, but found nothing, before returning to Xingzhu City.

Master Zuiyun and Zhang Xuancang were cultivating in the city when they saw Chen Yuan return and immediately came to pay their respects.

Zhang Xuancang was extremely respectful, while Master Zuiyun, unaware of Chen Yuan's true identity, was quite surprised by the sight.

Zhang Xuancang did not explain, and Chen Yuan did not reveal his identity. They simply exchanged cultivation insights with the two of them as usual.

After the two took their leave, Chen Yuan went to the cultivation room, refined the three level-eight demon cores into pills, and gave each of them a bottle.

Both of them were overjoyed. Zhang Xuancang already knew that Chen Yuan was a Nascent Soul cultivator, so a bottle of early-stage Nascent Soul pills was nothing to him, but he still thanked him profusely.

Ten days after Chen Yuan sent out the pills, exactly one year had passed since the last time he received the Starlight Infusion.

In the dead of night, he took out the jade pendant and drew upon the power of the stars to temper his physical body. Afterward, he returned to his cave to meditate and cultivate, restoring his true essence.

But the next morning, Master Yuan Ting suddenly came to visit, accompanied by a middle-aged cultivator.

This man possessed a refined and scholarly demeanor, quite similar to Zhang Xuancang. He was none other than Cui Yuheng, the most accomplished cultivator among the human race.

His aura was well-concealed, but it could not escape Chen Yuan's divine sense. His cultivation level at the peak of the late Nascent Soul stage was clearly visible, and he was only one step away from the Divine Transformation stage.

Moreover, this person's aura is pure and refined, indicating that his true essence is pure and profound, and his foundation must be extremely solid.

With the help of a large spiritual vein and the secret method to break through to the Nascent Soul stage, there is still hope of successfully achieving Nascent Soul status.

After Yuan Ting Zhenren was marked with the Fire Lotus, he dared not reveal Chen Yuan's identity.

Therefore, when Cui Yuheng saw Chen Yuan, his eyes revealed a scrutinizing look, clearly still harboring some doubts about this suddenly appearing great cultivator.

However, Chen Yuan secretly activated the Zhu Yan True Fire and found no trace of the Blood Silk Gu in his body.

Of the five great cultivators of the human race, only Shen Jibai was cowardly and secretly defected to the Howling Moon Silver Wolf clan, which surprised Chen Yuan.

Two great cultivators arrived in Xingzhu City, with Master Zuiyun naturally accompanying them. Zhang Xuancang also came to Chen Yuan's cave.

After exchanging pleasantries, Zhang Xuancang excused himself and left. Master Zuiyun understood and got up to leave as well.

Only Chen Yuan, Yuan Ting Zhenren, and Cui Yuheng remained in the cave. Yuan Ting Zhenren said to Chen Yuan, "Later... I was quite lucky. I only waited for half a year before meeting Fellow Daoist Cui. I specially invited him to Xingzhu City to meet Fellow Daoist Xinghuo."

Before Chen Yuan could answer, Cui Yuheng cut to the chase: "May I ask where Fellow Daoist Xinghuo used to cultivate in seclusion?"

Chen Yuan smiled and said, "I cannot reveal my background at this time. Please forgive me, Fellow Daoist Cui."

Cui Yuheng narrowed his eyes, a hint of coldness flashing across them: "Out of respect for Fellow Daoist Yuan Ting, I have traveled thousands of miles to Xingzhu City, yet you are unwilling to even reveal your background. This is hardly the way to treat a guest."

Chen Yuan said, "It's not that I'm unwilling to explain, but my background involves many people, and the fewer people who know about it, the better."

Master Yuan Ting smoothed things over, saying, "If Fellow Daoist Cui doesn't trust Fellow Daoist Xing Huo, does he not trust me as well?"

"You have read the letters from Fellow Daoist Jiuyuan and Fellow Daoist Shen. The three of us are willing to vouch for Fellow Daoist Xinghuo. He is definitely not a spy of the demon race. What else do you have to worry about, Fellow Daoist Cui?"

Cui Yuheng's eyes still held some doubt, so Chen Yuan said again, "I could have fabricated my origins, but I did not wish to deceive you, fellow Daoist, which shows my sincerity. I hope you will not worry."

Cui Yuheng glanced at Yuan Ting Zhenren, then at Chen Yuan, and softened his tone: "I naturally trust the words of the three fellow Daoists."

"I wonder what important matter Fellow Daoist Xinghuo has that led Fellow Daoist Yuanting to invite me to Xingzhu City?"

Chen Yuan said, "I wish to use Fellow Daoist Cui's prestige to find the whereabouts of the four fellow Daoists."

After saying that, he took out a jade slip and handed it over.

"Four fellow Daoists?" Cui Yuheng looked surprised, took the jade slip, and used his divine sense to examine it.

A moment later, he withdrew his divine sense, a strange light flashing in his eyes, and looked up at Chen Yuan: "Why are these four people only depicted in portraits, but without their cultivation levels or names?"

Chen Yuan said, "These four are all Nascent Soul cultivators, and I have some connection with them, but their whereabouts are unknown."

"Fellow Daoist Cui possesses profound cultivation and is a pillar of our human race, highly respected."

"Could you please persuade my human race's Nascent Soul cultivators to find the whereabouts of these four people?"

Among the five great cultivators of the human race, Yuan Ting Zhenren, Jiu Yuan Shangren, Shen Jibai, and Zhu Xianzi all have considerable prestige and can persuade seven or eight out of ten Nascent Soul cultivators of the human race to search for the whereabouts of Qin Wuyai and the other three.

However, the person with the highest prestige was none other than Cui Yuheng, and only he could persuade the remaining 20%.

Cui Yuheng frowned deeply: "There are very few Nascent Soul cultivators among the human race whom I do not know. When did four more of them suddenly appear?"

He turned to look at Master Yuan Ting: "Fellow Daoist Yuan Ting, have you ever seen these four fellow Daoists?"

Master Yuan Ting was speechless for a moment. He couldn't tell the truth, but he didn't want to deceive his friend of many years. He was caught in a dilemma.

Seeing this, Cui Yuheng returned the jade slip to Chen Yuan and said coldly, "Fellow Daoist asked me to find someone, but you are unwilling to tell the truth. Please forgive me for being powerless to help."

Master Yuan Ting's heart sank, worried that Cui Yuheng had offended this Nascent Soul senior, and he quickly spoke up to persuade him, "Fellow Daoist Cui..."

“Fellow Daoist, there’s no need for further discussion,” Cui Yuheng said decisively. “This matter is too strange. This Fellow Daoist Xinghuo was previously unknown, but considering that he killed three demon generals and one demon sect elder, I, Cui, will refrain from asking any further questions.”

"But I have never heard of these four people before. Even among those who live in seclusion and cultivate in asceticism, I have never heard of these four fellow Daoists. It is as if they have descended from the sky."

"When did it become so easy for human cultivators to reach the Nascent Soul stage?"

"Even with the guarantees of three fellow Daoists, I still need an explanation, otherwise I cannot comply!"

Master Yuan Ting looked troubled. He didn't want to see Cui Yuheng offend Chen Yuan, but he knew that his friend, though seemingly refined, was actually strong-willed and unyielding.

He would never accept having the fiery lotus mark implanted in his body, and having his life and death controlled by others.

Master Yuan Ting gritted his teeth, turned to Chen Yuan, and bowed deeply: "Senior, Fellow Daoist Cui is a pillar of our human race and would never have any connection with the demon race. I humbly request that you speak plainly!" (End of this chapter)