Nine Transformations of the True Spirit.

The night sky was as black as ink, with countless stars sparkling and bursting forth, like pearls and jade casually scattered by an immortal.

In a rift valley, the ground is covered with gravel and barren of vegetation.

The cold night wind howled past, pebbles rolled down, and there was not a trace of life. There were hardly any wild beasts that had not yet cultivated demonic energy.

Beneath a prominent boulder, there is a hole that is clearly man-made, with faint traces of sword and knife cuts.

The air above the cave surface distorted slightly, and an invisible barrier kept the cold wind out, as well as low-level demonic beasts that were passing by.

Suddenly, the invisible array slowly dissipated, and a figure stepped out. He was dressed in black, wearing a gold-threaded openwork mask, but it could not hide his eyes that shone like stars. His aura was deeply concealed.

He stepped out of the boulder and into the starry sky. The wind, cold enough to freeze wild beasts to death, blew against him, yet it couldn't even stir the hem of his clothes.

He raised his hand and removed his mask, revealing a handsome face with striking features, sharp eyebrows, and bright eyes—it was Chen Yuan.

He put the mask into his mustard seed ring, then took out the jade pendant, which emitted a warm, bluish light.

The countless stars, drawn together, vibrated and each emitted a thin ray of light.

They converged at one point, coalescing into a dazzling silver pillar of light that fell from an infinite height, over ten feet thick, enveloping Chen Yuan within it.

The world changed color, but apart from Chen Yuan, no one noticed, as if it were happening in another space.

The starlight, solidified as if it were solid, flowed like water, seeping into Chen Yuan's limbs and bones, tempering his physical body.

A burning sensation enveloped Chen Yuan, but he was already accustomed to the supremely yang and powerful energy of the celestial bodies. He closed his eyes slightly, enjoying the exhilarating feeling of his physical body being strengthened.

Sixty breaths later, all the power of the stars in the heavens merged into Chen Yuan's body, the silver pillar of light dimmed and disappeared, and the blue light on the jade pendant also faded away.

As the burning sensation slowly subsided, Chen Yuan reluctantly opened his eyes.

If the power of the stars in the heavens can continue to descend, his physical body will be able to break through the bottleneck in less than an hour, becoming comparable to a Void Refining Demon King.

Chen Yuan put away the jade pendant, pondered for a moment, then suddenly turned around, flicked his sleeve, and put away the array flags that had been used to set up the illusion array. With a flash of light, he soared into the air.

Under the cover of night, after discerning his direction, he flew towards the Northern Underworld Island.

Over the past two years, he has killed four mid-level demonic beasts, causing panic among the people of the Corrosion Cave. It's time for him to go back.

Chen Yuan learned from the Heavenly Hou Demon Commander that the Wood Erosion Demon King and the Thunder Mountain Demon King had a deep grudge, so he decided to secretly assassinate the Wood Erosion Cave Demon Commander and seize his demon core.

Because the Great Sages set rules strictly prohibiting indiscriminate fighting among the demon race and weakening their strength, from demon generals to demon saints, they all first issue a challenge and then face each other squarely, rarely resorting to unscrupulous means.

In this way, whether they are demon generals, demon commanders, demon kings, or demon saints, they usually neglect to guard against external enemies, and the formation only protects a few key places such as the formation, the spirit herb garden, and the treasure vault.

Chen Yuan could easily infiltrate the vicinity of a demon general's cave, wait for him to reveal a weakness, then strike decisively, kill him, and leave.

After leaving Beiming Island, he went to the vicinity of the Mad Rhinoceros Mountains and hid there.

After waiting for several months until the Mad Rhinoceros Demon General left the cave, he activated the Kui Niu's true blood, unleashed the Heavenly Thunder Technique, killed him with a single blow, took the demon core and horn, and flew away into the void.

Chen Yuan flew tens of millions of miles, avoiding the demon generals and demon commanders, and arrived outside the cave of the Blazing Tiger Demon General, which was extremely far from the Mad Rhinoceros Mountain Range.

He waited patiently for several months until the Demon General Jiuhu left his cave before suddenly making his move.

The Demon General Jiu Hu possesses a magical weapon, but its power is only similar to that of the Demon-Slaying Blade, and it is not a defensive treasure.

He could only withstand the first bolt of heavenly lightning, but he couldn't withstand the second bolt of heavenly lightning empowered by the Purple Kui Thunder Drum, and died on the spot.

Afterwards, Chen Yuan used the same method to kill two more mid-level demon generals before disappearing into the shadows and ceasing his attacks.

The Demon General has a long lifespan, and he can go into seclusion for months or even years at a time, rarely leaving his cave.

Chen Yuan also learned about the many mid-level demon generals in the Corrosion Wood Cave from the visiting demon generals, and selected a few demon generals whose cultivation had stagnated for a long time and who were not far from becoming high-level demon generals.

Such demon generals usually don't cultivate for too long, so Chen Yuan didn't have to wait for several years.

However, no mid-level demon general could withstand a single blow from Chen Yuan.

Thunderous divine powers are immense, and Chen Yuan's Heavenly Thunder Technique is even more powerful than the Kui Niu, containing a trace of thunderous laws, which no demon general of the same level could withstand.

The higher one's cultivation level, the better the effect of the Demon Essence Pill refined from their demon core.

But a demon general is a demon general after all. Even if his cultivation has stagnated, he can either use the spiritual energy of heaven and earth to nourish his physical body or hone his demonic power. Chen Yuan always has to wait at least a few months before he has a chance to make a move.

All this hard work was not in vain, as these four mid-level demon generals possessed profound cultivation and a considerable number of treasures.

In addition to the four demon cores and the demon beast materials they carried, Chen Yuan also obtained a spiritual treasure weapon, four bottles of cultivation pills, more than five hundred top-grade spirit stones, four kinds of top-grade spiritual materials, and many other treasures.

The most precious item among them is undoubtedly the magical weapon, a spiked club.

Its body is covered with crimson spikes made from a kind of flame crystal. It is extremely heavy, similar to the giant axe used by Xiong Tunhai, and requires immense strength to wield.

Chen Yuan had no shortage of magical treasures and divine weapons, and this wolf-tooth mace was the signature weapon of the Tiger Demon General, so it was quite famous.

He merely erased the divine imprint left by the Demon General Jiu Hu, without refining it, intending to sell it later to acquire other treasures.

Those four bottles of cultivation pills were made up of nine kinds of pills, of which only seven were mid-stage Nascent Soul pills, while the other thirty-three were early-stage Nascent Soul pills.

These four demon generals had stagnated in their cultivation and no longer needed cultivation pills, so they wouldn't bother to collect them. Obtaining four bottles of pills was already an unexpected surprise.

However, Chen Yuan has not refined these pills in the past two years. The Demon General has left the cave at some point, and he must keep an eye on his movements at all times, so he has no time to cultivate.

Now that four mid-level demon generals have died at his hands, the Wood-Eating Demon King must be furious and will use whatever means to find him. Therefore, he has returned to North Underworld Island to take refuge for the time being.

Chen Yuan was unaware that the Wood-Eating Demon King had dispatched three demon generals skilled in tracking to search for his whereabouts.

However, he was cautious in his actions. After each assassination of the demon general, he would immediately erase all traces and flee to a distance of millions of miles away. It took him two years to remain safe and sound.

Upon returning to Beiming Island, Chen Yuan planned to refine the demon core in his possession into pills, but he did not intend to refine it to improve his cultivation.

If his cultivation level suddenly increases too much since he has only recently established his residence, it will inevitably arouse suspicion.

When Chen Yuan fought with others, he mainly relied on his physical strength and the blood of three kinds of true spirits to improve his cultivation. However, his true essence was more refined and abundant, making him more adept at prolonged battles.

Chen Yuan's physical body is comparable to that of a high-level demon general, and his true essence is extremely pure and abundant, far surpassing that of other cultivators of the same level.

Once he awakens a true spiritual bloodline, he will be invincible among those of the same level. It is not a big problem for his cultivation to be temporarily slowed down.

Moreover, four mid-level demon general cores were far from enough for him to advance to the late stage of the Nascent Soul realm. He ignored the weaker demon king caves around him and instead attacked the demon generals under the late-stage Void Refinement Demon King, not just for a mere four demon cores.

He wanted to seize this golden opportunity to integrate into the Demon Realm and raise his cultivation to the late stage of the Nascent Soul realm, or even to the peak of the Nascent Soul realm, before the Thunder Mountain Demon King entered Tyrant Turtle Island.

……

Somewhere in the celestial realm, above the heavens, lies a floating continent.

Inside the purple hall, a misty fog shrouded a Taiji Yin-Yang Pool.

At the yin-yang fish eyes in the pond, there is a nine-petaled golden lotus on each side. The primordial energy exhaled from the lotus heart transforms into the illusory images of wind, rain, thunder, lightning, sun, moon, stars, mountains, rivers, and lakes, which are ever-changing.

Before the Taiji Yin-Yang Pool, a man in purple sat cross-legged, his face shrouded in a hazy glow, his features indistinct, as if he were meditating and cultivating.

Suddenly, the eighty-one wind and thunder bells hanging from the eaves of the main hall trembled in unison, their clear chimes echoing into the hall. The swirling purple aura vibrated incessantly, disrupting the celestial mist within.

A ripple spread across the Taiji Yin-Yang Pool, the eyes of the Yin-Yang fish slightly distorted, and the nine-petaled golden lotus swayed uncertainly.

The myriad natural phenomena formed by the primordial energy dissipated and converged in the center, condensing into a blue jade pendant.

The man in purple opened his eyes; his left eye revealed the evolution of celestial phenomena, while his right eye witnessed the nascent chaos, containing boundless mysteries.

He raised his hand and formed a hand seal, and an indescribable spiritual light shot out from his right eye, which he then plunged into the Tai Chi Yin Yang Pool. The black and white surface of the pool spun faster and faster.

The two nine-petaled golden lotuses spewed out endless primordial energy, which flowed into the cyan jade pendant.

Sixty breaths later, the cyan jade pendant trembled slightly and disintegrated, but the process was extremely slow.

The purple-robed man changed his hand seals, and a dazzling starlight shot out from his left eye, which was thrown into the Taiji Yin-Yang Pool. It exploded with a bang, turning into thousands of stars and condensing into a star map.

The scattered spiritual light that emerged from the disintegration of the azure jade pendant fell into this star map, causing countless stars to rotate.

Until the blue jade pendant completely dissipated, the star map was set, flickering and intricate.

The man in purple gazed at the star map, blinked, and the strange phenomena in his eyes vanished, replaced by ordinary black eyes. He whispered, "Finally caught you..."

He raised his right hand, and a wisp of primordial energy flew out from the Taiji Yin-Yang Pool, transforming into a jade chime.

The man in purple flicked his finger, and a clear, melodious sound rang out from the purple hall.

He lowered his right hand and quietly looked at the star map. The jade chime transformed back into chaotic primordial energy and was thrown into the pool.

After an unknown amount of time, a person entered the main hall silently. He came up behind the man in purple, bowed deeply, and said respectfully, "Master summoned your disciple here. What are your instructions?"

This person was dressed in a white robe embroidered with all things in nature: the sun and moon revolving, rivers surging, grass and trees turning green and yellow, constantly changing, with endless Taoist charm.

His appearance was extremely peculiar; at first glance, he appeared to be a dignified middle-aged man.

The next moment, he transformed into an old man with white hair and beard.

Suddenly, he transformed into a handsome young man with rosy lips and white teeth, the three forms merging into one, indistinguishable from one another.

The man in purple raised his hand and pointed to the star map, saying calmly, "A supreme treasure of the Great Luo realm has fallen into the mortal world. It should be within these realms. Send a True Immortal down to the mortal world to retrieve it."

The man in white robes paused, glancing at the star map: "May I ask, Master, which Great Luo Treasure is it?"

The man in purple said calmly, "It was once the possession of the Immortal Venerable of Ten Thousand Spirits, the Jade Pendant of True Spirit Creation."

Having said that, he raised his sleeve and flicked it, and a wisp of chaotic primordial energy flew out from the pool, condensing into the shape of a blue jade pendant.

The white-robed man's pupils contracted as he looked at the blue jade pendant, a deep fear flashing in his eyes. He clasped his hands in a bow and said, "Disciple understands."

……

In another part of the immortal realm, a mountain range stretches for thousands of miles, with towering peaks thousands of feet high standing like a forest. Countless palaces and pavilions are nestled among the mountains, and cultivators move about like ants among them.

In the center of the mountain range, a majestic mountain soars straight into the sky, its height unknown, like a pillar supporting the heavens, disappearing into the clouds.

Thousands of colorful rays shimmered, like rainbow chains coiling and wrapping around this towering mountain.

At the summit of the giant mountain, deep within the sea of ​​clouds, sat a golden-armored giant, his body towering over a thousand feet tall. His eyes were slightly closed, and two hundred-foot-long cloud dragons flickered in and out of his nostrils.

Suddenly, the giant stopped breathing, and the two cloud dragons at the tip of his nose dissipated.

He suddenly opened his eyes, revealing a pair of dragon eyes. He raised his right hand, and a purple jade pendant appeared out of thin air, trembling slightly and chiming softly.

The golden-armored giant stared intently at the purple jade pendant, as if silently sensing something.

Sixty breaths later, the purple jade pendant stopped trembling.

The golden-armored giant burst into laughter, and countless phantom spirits manifested around him, roaring and howling, their voices echoing for millions of miles.

Countless cultivators who had been flying through the mountains hurriedly descended their escape lights, knelt down, and gazed at the towering mountain that had disappeared into the clouds in the distance, their faces filled with reverence.

The golden-armored giant suddenly stopped, pondered for a moment, and then roared like thunder: "Ao Lin, come to see me immediately!"

A quarter of an hour later, a burly man appeared out of thin air in front of the golden-armored giant, clasped his hands in a bow, and asked, "What are your orders, Immortal Venerable?"

This person, like the golden-armored giant, was also dressed in golden armor, with two dragon horns on his forehead and a pair of golden dragon eyes that revealed a sense of composure.

The golden-armored giant said, "My master's supreme treasure, the True Spirit Creation Jade Pendant, has appeared in the Xuanxiao Jade Capital Realm. I already know its approximate location."

"Send one of your clansmen down to the mortal realm to retrieve him without fail."

The burly man's body stiffened, and he said in a deep voice, "My ninth son is quite capable and can take on this task."

Two beams of golden light shot from the golden-armored giant's eyes, intertwining to form a small, five-clawed golden dragon. It contained a trace of majestic power, exactly the same as the aura emanating from the golden-armored giant, only much weaker.

Endless immortal energy surged from the surroundings, condensing into a bead the size of a fist. The five-clawed golden dragon roared and plunged into it.

The bead slowly flew toward the burly giant, who said, "The Xuanxiao Jade Capital Realm is under the jurisdiction of the Zilu Immortal Palace. Now that Master's treasure has appeared in the world, it is likely that it has already been discovered by the Zilu Immortal Venerable."

"Give this to him. If anything goes wrong, he can take it out and it will resolve the issue."

"The exact location of Master's most precious treasure is also included."

The burly man accepted the bead with both hands, his expression solemn. "Rest assured, Immortal Venerable, my ninth son will never allow the True Spirit Creation Jade Pendant to fall into the hands of the Purple Luo Immortal Palace!" (End of Chapter)