Nine Transformations of the True Spirit.

Qin Wuyai lowered his head slightly. Below him, the gray-blue sea surged and the wind howled, giving people a sense of grandeur and desolation.

He shook his head: "If Fellow Daoist Ren had left other traces, why would I be waiting here for you to arrive?"

Chen Yuan frowned: "So, Fellow Daoist Ren didn't leave any other marks?"

Qin Wuyai nodded: "That's right. I was seriously injured in the spatial passage, but fortunately I did not lose consciousness."

"After arriving in this world, I devoted myself to healing my injuries, and two years ago, I finally recovered."

"After inquiring about the whereabouts of several fellow Daoists, Qin learned that a demonic cultivator had caused a great disturbance in the Frost Bear Clan, and thus knew that it was the work of Fellow Daoist Ren."

"I, Qin, have been tracking them all the way here, but the mark is broken here. So I set up an array to hide my tracks and wait for you fellow Daoists to arrive."

Chen Yuan asked, "Fellow Daoist, have you had any contact with human cultivators in this realm?"

Qin Wuyai said, "I happened to land in the territory of the Kunyu clan. There are no human cities there. I only captured a few demon generals to gather information."

"After making some gains, I came straight to the Frostbone River. I have never seen any human cultivators from this world, only heard of them. Have you already met any human cultivators from this world?"

Chen Yuan recounted his experiences after arriving in this world, but omitted many details.

Qin Wuyai laughed and said, "Fellow Daoist, you are quite skilled. In just a few years, you have already subdued five great cultivators of the human race and even found Fellow Daoist Lu."

"I originally planned that if you fellow Daoists did not find the mark left by Fellow Daoist Ren, I would use the human cultivators of this world to find your whereabouts. Now it seems that there is no need to go through this trouble."

"However, only your Zhu Yan True Fire can erase the Blood Veil Gu planted by the demon race."

"In this way, we have gained the upper hand and can not only eliminate the spies that the demon race has planted among the human race."

"We can also do the opposite and infiltrate the demon race. Know yourself and know your enemy, and you will never be defeated."

Chen Yuan nodded slightly. If he hadn't found Qin Wuyai and the others, he wouldn't have been a match for the five demon generals on his own.

Only by using the True Fire of the Vermilion Demon to secretly instigate the defection of the Divine Cult cultivators, accumulating strength, and gradually plotting, can we launch a counterattack when the time is ripe.

Now that we've found Qin Wuyai and Lu Wangquan's whereabouts and our strength has greatly increased, we no longer need to go through such trouble.

Now that the demon race is in the open while Chen Yuan and his group are in the shadows, they can seize the opportunity to strike and defeat them one by one.

However, three Nascent Soul cultivators were still somewhat insufficient against five demon generals.

Chen Yuan was confident that with the blood of three kinds of true spirits, even a low-level demon general would be no match for him.

However, all eight demon clans have set up large formations, and many demon generals are helping them, as well as the trump cards left by their ancestors.

Even if three people ganged up on a single demon general, they would find it difficult to achieve anything in a short time.

If the battle drags on and fails to break through, it will draw the help of other demon generals, which will be even more disadvantageous for the three of them.

We still need to find the whereabouts of Old Demon Ren and Taoist Cangsong. If we gather the strength of the five of us, it will be much easier to deal with the five demon generals.

With this thought in mind, Chen Yuan said, "Fellow Daoist Ren should have already guessed that we have also come to this world, which is why we left spiritual energy marks along the way to guide us here."

"But the traces he left behind end here, which could be threefold."

"First, he encountered an accident and didn't have time to leave a mark."

Secondly, he felt there was no need to leave a mark here, as we could find his traces ourselves.

"Third, after traveling all the way here, he suddenly overturned his own idea and thought that we had not actually come to this world, so leaving a mark would be useless."

"Fellow Daoist Qin and Fellow Daoist Ren have known each other for many years, so perhaps you can guess what he's thinking?"

Qin Wuyai lowered his head and pondered for a moment before slowly saying, "Based on my understanding of Fellow Daoist Ren, he is decisive and consistent in his actions. Since he has decided to leave a mark, he will not give up halfway."

"But Qin stayed here for two years and searched the surrounding area for thousands of miles countless times, but found nothing, let alone any trace of him."

"He must have encountered an accident, leaving no trace."

"The only person who could prevent Fellow Daoist Ren from leaving a mark is the Demon General..."

He frowned and looked at Chen Yuan: "Since you have subdued the human cultivators of this realm, your information network should be extremely advanced. Has the demon race made any unusual moves recently?"

Chen Yuan's eyes narrowed: "Fellow Daoist Qin suspects that Fellow Daoist Ren was captured by a demon general and betrayed us?"

Qin Wuyai nodded: "That's right. Fellow Daoist Ren is a cold-hearted and ruthless person who will do anything. He is a murderer who seeks nothing but ascension to the Spirit Realm."

"For this reason, he even went so far as to violate the last teachings of the founder of the Xuan Yin Sect and take possession of the Xuan Yin Armor. This can be described as betraying his master and abandoning his ancestors, which is extremely unethical."

"Since he was being chased by a demon general from the Frostbear clan, he must still be recovering from his injuries."

"If he was killed by the Demon General, then there's no need to say more."

"But if we are captured by the Demon Commander, in order to save our lives, or even to gain the opportunity to ascend to the upper realm, we may very well cooperate with him and reveal all our secrets."

"In this way, we can hardly say that we have infiltrated the demon race; we have probably already moved from the shadows to the light."

"The Demon Commander may already be plotting something and could attack us at any moment..."

His expression grew increasingly solemn. Chen Yuan pondered for a moment, then shook his head: "Fellow Daoist Qin is overthinking it. The demon race probably doesn't know yet that a Nascent Soul cultivator has crossed over to this realm."

Qin Wuyai frowned: "Why are you so certain, fellow Daoist?"

Chen Yuan said, "If the demon race already knows of our existence, they will definitely wipe out the human cultivators in this realm to prevent them from being used by us."

"But in the past few years, the demon race has not deliberately suppressed human cultivators, and has continued to turn a blind eye as before."

A hint of doubt flashed in Qin Wuyai's eyes: "Could it be that Old Demon Ren did not submit to the demon race? Or does he mistakenly believe that he is the only one stranded in this world?"

"But he left marks along the way, clearly believing that we had also come to this world..."

Chen Yuan said, "Fellow Daoist, do not worry. Even if Fellow Daoist Ren truly surrenders to the demon race, he will never know that I, Chen, can use the Vermilion Flame to erase the Blood Silk Gu." "As long as the demon race makes any move, we will know immediately and will still be able to seize the initiative."

"Moreover, the demon race and our human race are sworn enemies, and they are especially wary of Nascent Soul cultivators."

"No matter how unscrupulous Fellow Daoist Ren is, it is unlikely that he would willingly become a slave or servant."

Qin Wuyai let out a soft breath: "Fellow Daoist is absolutely right. Regardless of whether Old Demon Ren has sided with the demon race or not, we can no longer return to the human realm. The arrow is on the bowstring and must be released. There is no point in thinking about it too much."

"His traces suddenly disappeared, and he is hard to find. There is no need to waste time here. I will go with you, fellow Daoist."

Chen Yuan smiled slightly: "That's very good. The human cultivators in this world have been oppressed by the demon race for tens of thousands of years, living in constant fear and in dire straits. They need us to boost their morale."

Without wasting any more time, the two immediately took flight and headed south.

If you encounter demon generals or cultivators of the Divine Cult along the way, avoid them in advance.

Both of them were Nascent Soul cultivators, and their escape speed was extremely fast, but compared with Chen Yuan, who had refined the Kunpeng's true blood, Qin Wuyai was still a bit slower.

When they returned to Xingzhu City, it took them two days longer than when Chen Yuan had come. They happened to encounter a low-level demon general leading a large-scale beast tide attack.

However, with two Nascent Soul cultivators, Zhang Xuancang and Zuiyun Zhenren, in the city, and more than three thousand cultivators from Pingle City assisting, Xingzhu City is now as solid as a rock after the great formation is activated.

Chen Yuan and Qin Wuyai did not reveal their identities and quietly entered the city.

Cui Yuheng was also in Xingzhu City, but he did not take action. Instead, he stood on the top of a mountain peak, quietly watching the human cultivators resist the beast tide.

He could easily kill that demon general, but if news of his appearance in Xingzhu City spreads, it will immediately attract high-level demon generals to attack him, which will instead bring disaster to the cultivators in the city.

The sudden appearance of Chen Yuan and Qin Wuyai surprised Cui Yuheng.

However, after looking at the jade slip that Chen Yuan had taken out, he recognized Qin Wuyai at a glance. His eyes revealed a hint of excitement, and he immediately clasped his hands in a respectful salute to the two Nascent Soul cultivators.

Qin Wuyai had already learned the names of the five great cultivators of the human race from the captured demon general.

On the way here, he inquired about the appearances and personalities of the others from Chen Yuan, and learned that Cui Yuheng was the most powerful and renowned among the five great cultivators.

Moreover, Chen Yuan did not tell Qin Wuyai that he had not planted the Fire Lotus Mark in Cui Yuheng's body.

Qin Wuyai mistakenly believed that Cui Yuheng had also been subdued by Chen Yuan, so he was very gentle and even offered some words of encouragement, praising Cui Yuheng's integrity in leading the human race to resist the demon race, which made him feel quite flattered.

After the two exchanged greetings, Chen Yuan finally spoke: "Where is Fellow Daoist Lu now?"

Cui Yuheng said, "After the senior left, Fellow Daoist Yuan Ting took the initiative to give up his cave for Senior Lu to recuperate and heal. It is located in the misty forest in the southwest of the Ten Thousand Demon Continent."

"The area is shrouded in mist and fog year-round, with frequent rain and thunderstorms, and is rarely visited by people."

"Fellow Daoist Yuan Ting once discovered a medium-sized spiritual vein in the misty forest by chance in his early years, and secretly opened up a cave dwelling there without being noticed by anyone."

Chen Yuan nodded and then asked, "Have you found any trace of Fellow Daoist Cangsong?"

Cui Yuheng was taken aback. He was perceptive and noticed that Chen Yuan only asked about Cangsong Daoren and not about that Senior Ren, so he knew that something was amiss.

He didn't ask any further questions, but respectfully replied, "Before I arrived at Xingzhu City, I went to several human cities. I asked you fellow Daoists to keep an eye out for Senior Cangsong and Senior Ren, but it's been too short and there's been no news yet."

Chen Yuan praised, "Well done, but I will have to trouble you, young friend Cui, to make a trip so that our human cultivators no longer need to keep an eye on Fellow Daoist Ren's whereabouts and can just search for Fellow Daoist Cangsong."

Whether Ren Laomo was killed by the Demon General or captured by him, his appearance was already known to the demon race.

If human Nascent Soul cultivators were to search for his whereabouts again, it would be tantamount to stirring up trouble.

Cui Yuheng felt a chill run down his spine. If Senior Ren had been found by Senior Chen, he should have returned to Xingzhu City with the two seniors.

He has not shown up yet, and Senior Chen has instructed that there is no need to search for his whereabouts. Could it be that he has encountered some accident?
Cui Yuheng felt a growing unease. The safety of these Nascent Soul cultivators was crucial to the rise and fall of the human race in this realm. Finally, he couldn't help but ask, "That Senior Ren..."

Chen Yuan said calmly, "Young friend Cui, there's no need for further explanation. Just do as instructed."

Cui Yuheng's expression froze, and he reluctantly replied, "This junior obeys."

After saying this, he clasped his hands in farewell to the two men, turned around and flew into the sky. He glanced at the beast tide that was besieging Xingzhu City and quietly flew out of the city.

At this moment, the beast tide also ended its offensive and receded like the tide.

Chen Yuan secretly transmitted his voice to Zhang Xuancang, the Drunken Cloud Master, and the two rushed over immediately. Upon seeing Qin Wuyai, they were overjoyed.

Master Zuiyun immediately arranged a cave dwelling for Qin Wuyai, and when Qin Wuyai learned that Chen Yuan's cave dwelling had no spiritual energy supply, he also took the initiative to shut down the spirit-gathering formation.

The total spiritual energy in Xingzhu City is only equivalent to the concentration of a medium-sized spiritual vein, far less than that of Suyue Lake, and Qin Wuyai doesn't even notice it.

After returning to his cave, Chen Yuan took out the dark blue demon core that Qin Wuyai had given him. After examining it carefully, he finally confirmed the formula and then started refining the pill.

A month later, Chen Yuan successfully refined five Demon Essence Pills, with a success rate 10% higher than when he was in the human realm.

The spiritual herbs and demon cores used to refine pills for the Nascent Soul stage contain an immense amount of spiritual energy and demonic power, greatly increasing the difficulty.

Although Chen Yuan only refined a few batches of Nascent Soul stage pills, the experience he accumulated surpassed that of refining dozens of batches of Infant stage pills, and his alchemy skills reached a new level.

However, refining pills for the Nascent Soul stage also consumes more spiritual energy, especially since there is no fire vein in Xingzhu City, so Chen Yuan must constantly consume spiritual energy to condense true fire.

He expended nearly ten percent of his true essence to refine this batch of Demon Essence Pills.

Chen Yuan put away the alchemy furnace, meditated and regulated his breathing. Half a month later, his true essence was fully restored. He immediately swallowed the pill and went into seclusion to cultivate.

However, he was awakened from his meditation after refining only three demon essence pills.

Cui Yuheng left Xingzhu City three months ago, but now he hastily returned, accompanied by Master Jiuyuan.

After entering the city, the two men, disregarding that Chen Yuan was cultivating, immediately came to request an audience.

Master Jiuyuan solemnly replied, "Seven days ago, Fairy Zhu sent a message to this junior, saying that she had discovered Senior Cangsong's whereabouts in the South China Sea." (End of Chapter)