Nine Transformations of the True Spirit.

Chapter 105 Parting ways
"Outer disciple?"

There was a hint of surprise in Qi Hong's eyes when he looked at Chen Yuan.

He knew in his heart that there was no need for Chen Yuan to lie to him about such a small matter and he should tell him the truth.

He originally thought that Chen Yuan was a leader among the Lingyun Sect's Qi-refining disciples, just like himself, but was not well-known. He did not expect that he was just an outer disciple.

The other disciples of the two sects were also very surprised. If what Chen Yuan said was true, he was admitted into the Lingyun Sect through the Ascension Conference. Before that, he was just a casual cultivator.

It is really unbelievable that a mere casual cultivator could have such strength.

The six disciples of Guiyuan Sect remembered Chen Yuan's name firmly in their hearts and made up their minds that after entering the inner circle, they would immediately inform their fellow disciples that they must not provoke this person.

It was also the first time that Ren You and the other two knew that Chen Yuan was only an outer disciple of the Lingyun Sect.

Ren You didn't care about it, but Yang Caijun and Mu Peng couldn't help but turn their heads to look at Chen Yuan with admiration on their faces.

It is ten or even a hundred times more difficult for him to be a casual cultivator and yet have such means than for them, the cultivators who have been trained in the sect since childhood.

Soon, the seven figures disappeared in the passage. Qi Hong was the first to take back the magic weapon, and the others followed suit.

The long-faced disciple came up to Qi Hong with a gloomy face and whispered:

“Brother Qi, let’s put these seven people in the inner circle. If Elder Xie finds out about this and blames us…”

Qi Hong shook his head and said:
"It's okay. Elder Xie just asked me to block the passage for two days so that we can enter the inner ring and search for spiritual herbs. It won't be a big deal if we let people in one day earlier."

The long-faced disciple said unwillingly:

"But it's not enough after all. Although Chen Yuan has powerful methods, his magic power is limited. If we delay it any further, we may be able to keep them."

Qi Hong sneered:
"Why would I risk my life for Qin Xuanning and Du Yu and ignore the safety of my fellow disciples? Isn't Qin Xuanning a true disciple? Chen Yuan and Ren You are very powerful and I can't handle them. He should have a way to deal with them. Otherwise, how could he be a true disciple?"

He spoke in a loud voice and all the disciples of Zi Yang Sect heard it clearly. They couldn't help but feel a favorable impression of Qi Hongda, and at the same time, they felt a little resentful towards Qin Xuanning who was searching for spiritual herbs in the inner ring.

A Ziyang Sect disciple echoed:
"Senior Brother Qi is right! We took risks to block the passage, but we didn't gain any benefits. Qin Xuanning got all the benefits. It's time for him to have a taste of Ren You's flying sword!"

Qi Hong saw the change in everyone's expression and knew that his words had worked. He was secretly happy and sighed softly, saying:
"Poor Junior Brother Wang, he had great hope of successfully building his foundation, but he died at the hands of Ren You's sword. It's all my fault that I, as your junior brother, was not strong enough to save Junior Brother Wang's life."

The long-faced disciple had been following Qi Hong for a long time and was very good at observing his words and expressions. After a little thought, he knew what he was thinking and immediately said indignantly:
“Senior Brother Qi’s talent is extraordinary. He is not inferior to Qin Xuanning, but he has not yet reached the position of a true disciple. Otherwise, if the sect had bestowed him with magical instruments and talismans, Ren You would definitely not be a match for Senior Brother Qi!”

When everyone heard this, they felt jealous and dissatisfied when they thought of the many treasures bestowed upon Qin Xuanning after he became a true disciple.

Qi Hong secretly observed everyone's expressions, a smile appeared on the corner of his mouth, and said:
"Forget it, let's not talk about this anymore. My fellow apprentices, if you can hold on for another half a day, you can enter the inner ring and search for spiritual herbs!"

……

Chen Yuan and his seven companions entered the narrow passage and after shaking off the disciples from the two sects, they put their magic weapons into their storage bags and concentrated on their journey.

The Line of Sky is about two miles long, with towering cliffs on both sides. In the middle is a narrow path that can only accommodate a few people walking side by side. It is pitch black and you can't see your fingers.

The seven people each took out night-shining pearls, fluorescent stones, lamps and other items to light the way ahead.

A quarter of an hour later, the passage gradually widened. Everyone knew that the exit was ahead, so they quickened their pace.

After a moment, a faint ray of light appeared in front of everyone.

Chen Yuan and Ren You slowed down their pace at the same time. Chen Yuan took out the Dingguang Realm and the Chixiao Sword and held them in his hands, while Ren You summoned out the flying sword, ready to go.

The other five people were startled, then secretly praised the two for their caution, and also took out their magic weapons and slowed down their pace.

Everyone slowly walked out of the narrow gap, spread out their spiritual sense, and explored the surroundings.

Chen Yuan's spiritual sense covered the largest range, and he found that there were no other cultivators within a radius of sixty feet. He felt relieved and put away the Dingguang Mirror and Chixiao Sword.

The others also discovered that there was no danger outside the passage and put away their magic weapons.

Only then did they have the mood to pay attention to the surrounding scenery. They saw a full moon in the sky, casting bright moonlight, the Milky Way hanging upside down, and thousands of stars competing for brilliance, as bright as day. Every blade of grass and every tree could be seen clearly.

Looking around, there are undulating hills in the distance, and beautiful flowers and plants are everywhere, competing with each other in beauty. The trees are lush and verdant, and there is a sense of vitality everywhere.

As everyone was looking at the surrounding scenery, Ren You bowed to Chen Yuan and said:
"Friend Chen Dao, since we have reached the inner ring, let's break up now."

Chen Yuan responded:
"Fellow Daoist Ren, please do as you wish."

Ren You bowed to Xue Lin and others again, then left with Yang Caijun and Mu Peng.

After the three of them left, Xue Lin, Song Qingru and He Xin looked at each other, not knowing what to say for a moment.

Before charging into the formation, the seven men decided that it was better to cut off one finger than to injure ten fingers. They decided to delay the disciples of Guiyuan Sect and focus on attacking the disciples of Ziyang Sect to open a gap. However, the disciples of Ziyang Sect all had top-grade magic weapons and were quite powerful. The leader was not less powerful than Gu Zhaoshi. If they wanted to achieve quick results, they had to concentrate their strength and fight one-on-one without being distracted by other things.

This requires someone to hold back the Guiyuan Sect disciples and prevent them from lending a helping hand.

There are seventeen cultivators outside the Line of Sky. Even if Ren You takes action, he cannot guarantee that he can hold back the Guiyuan Sect disciples and one or two Ziyang Sect disciples, allowing the others to concentrate their strength to deal with the Ziyang Sect disciples.

In the end, it was Chen Yuan who volunteered to take on the task.

No one had ever seen Chen Yuan take action, so they were skeptical about this, but Ren You knew that Chen Yuan's strength was not inferior to his, so he expressed his agreement.

Afterwards, everyone sneaked to within a hundred feet of the passage. Chen Yuan and Ren You took action first, killing two Zi Yang Sect disciples. Then they attacked together, subdued the two sects' disciples, and entered the passage.

Chen Yuan controlled five magical instruments at the same time, fighting one against eight and killing one person. Xue Lin and the other two were greatly shocked. In front of Chen Yuan, they treated him like a foundation-building cultivator and did not dare to be careless at all.

Xue Lin thought about it and said;

"Chen... Senior Brother Chen, what are your plans next?"

Chen Yuan glanced at the three people and said calmly:

"Chen still needs to collect spiritual herbs, please help yourselves."

After saying this, he stepped on the ground and floated away.

Xue Lin opened his mouth and wanted to say something, but after looking at Chen Yuan's receding back, he closed his mouth again.

He originally wanted to explore the inner ring with Chen Yuan, but seeing that Chen Yuan had no intention of doing so, he had to give up. He turned to look at Song Qingru and said with a wry smile:
"Junior Sister Song, Senior Brother Chen is very powerful and looks down on us. It seems that only you and I can join forces."

Song Qingru had never thought of this before. Her beautiful eyes were clear as she said softly:

"Brother Xue, let's get going now. Ziyang Sect and Guiyuan Sect have been searching the inner ring for at least a day. I don't know how many spiritual herbs they have taken."

Xue Lin nodded and bowed to He Xin:

"Brother He, see you later."

Afterwards, he and Song Qingru chose a direction and walked away. After a moment, they disappeared into the dense forest.

He Xin saw everyone leaving, sighed, and chose a different direction from them and walked forward.

He originally wanted to collect spiritual herbs with Xue Lin and Song Qingru, but the two looked down on him as a man with a broken arm, so he didn't want to go and make trouble for himself.

……

After Chen Yuan left, he walked two miles, then stopped, found a secluded place, took out a Soul-Restoring Pill, swallowed it, and closed his eyes to meditate.

He seemed calm and composed in front of the two sects' disciples, but he was actually very nervous.

He controlled five magical instruments at the same time, and also used a top-grade magical talisman and three high-grade magical talismans, before he was able to block two rounds of attacks from eight people. His magic power was greatly consumed, and he had no strength to fight anymore.

Fortunately, after weighing the pros and cons, Qi Hong took the initiative to admit defeat, so Chen Yuan did not show his weakness.

But he still didn't dare to show the slightest sign of weakness in front of Ren You and the other six, for fear that they might have bad intentions.

Until this time, he finally had time to recover his magic power.

A quarter of an hour later, Chen Yuan opened his eyes again, and all his magic power was restored.

He stood up, shook his head slightly and sighed.

Practitioners with five spiritual roots are inherently weak. Not only is their cultivation speed slow, but their mana is also not pure enough.

Only by breaking through the foundation building process can the gap between him and those cultivators with true spiritual roots and earth spiritual roots be narrowed.

If he didn't have to enter the inner ring of the secret realm this time, he would never fight against eight people alone and put himself in danger.

Chen Yuan's thoughts were flowing, and his determination to build a foundation became even stronger.

He took out the map of the secret realm and compared it carefully with the jade slip given by Elder Xu. Then he looked up at the Big Dipper, identified the direction, and headed east.

The black spiritual herbs recorded on the secret map helped Chen Yuan pass through the Black Wood Mountain smoothly, and gave him more confidence in what was written on the map.

If the description of the inner circle on the secret map is correct, that place should not have been discovered by the disciples of various sects yet.

Only if he finds this place can he truly hope to build a foundation.

Thanks to EricWSC for the tip!
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(End of this chapter)