Nine Transformations of the True Spirit.

Han Xuan picked up his teacup, took a sip, and a hint of reminiscence appeared in his eyes. He slowly said, "After my junior brother was burned to ashes by the Crimson Heaven True Fire, that fiery gate began to close, and we hurriedly retreated."

"Everyone else thought that my junior brother was dead, but I noticed that Wu Xuan was still safe and sound. The restriction that my junior brother left in his body did not activate. I insist that my junior brother is still alive, but has fallen into a dangerous place, and that the Crimson Sky True Fire is just an illusion."

"At this time, the gate of flames has been closed. In order to rescue our junior brother, we have no choice but to destroy the Dragon Breath Platform in the Xuanli Realm, break the protective array, and summon our master, Elder Yuan, Elder Mei, and the three seniors who have reached the Integration Realm."

"Chu Weicai and Zhou Muyun are righteous and Zhou Lang and Zhuang Buhui dare not disobey. In just three months, seventy percent of the Dragon Breath Platform in Xuanli Realm was destroyed, and Master and several elders and seniors successfully descended."

“I have been worried about my junior brother’s safety and have been keeping a close eye on Wu Xuan. Seeing that he was still safe, I reported to Master that my junior brother was trapped in the True Dragon Cave Formation. I asked Master and all the seniors to open the Flame Gate as soon as possible and rescue my junior brother.”

"I am ashamed to say that Elder Su pressed me for details, so I had to tell him the truth about my junior brother's background, including the various mysterious supernatural powers he used and the divine weapons and treasures he possessed. Please forgive me, junior brother."

At this point, Han Xuan looked apologetic, put down his teacup, and clasped his hands in apology to Chen Yuan.

Chen Yuan didn't take it to heart and laughed, "Senior brother, you're too kind. Even if you didn't say it, the disciples of Lanyue Peak and Yujian Peak, as well as the cultivators of the Wei family and Chonghua Sect, would tell you everything."

"Now that I have revealed my supernatural powers and treasures to the world, I have no worries about them becoming known."

He also wanted to hide his talents, but as the saying goes, "the tip of an awl will show itself when it is placed in a bag."

The Nine Revolutions of True Spirit is the foundation of his cultivation, and the power of True Spirit is the most powerful divine ability in his hands. The Azure Sea Halberd and the Profound Yin Armor make him even more formidable, and it is impossible for him to deliberately abandon them when facing powerful enemies.

This exposed their true colors, which was unavoidable.

After all, the stronger you are, the more attention you will attract.

Moreover, hiding one's strength is not necessarily a good thing. In the cultivation world, strength is paramount. Showing off one's formidable strength can save one a lot of trouble. While attracting covetousness, it can also bring in help.

If he hadn't slain two demon saints' fragmented souls during the great battle against the demon race, demonstrating extraordinary strength and potential, Elder Yuan wouldn't have risked offending Elder Su and Elder Mei to protect him so fiercely.

Therefore, when facing five Nascent Soul cultivators today, Chen Yuan did not back down. He also revealed the fourth type of Azure Dragon True Blood he had refined, condensed four True Spirit Dharma Images, and confronted Elder Su head-on. As a result, he was able to retreat unscathed.

He likely possesses a true dragon's relic, and even has the technique and supernatural power to refine the blood of true spirits. With his Void Refinement cultivation, he can condense four Dharma Images, each a treasure that even Nascent Soul cultivators would covet.

However, when Chen Yuan displayed strength comparable to a Nascent Soul cultivator, and even had some strength left to spare, the five Nascent Soul experts unanimously chose to back down.

A common man is innocent, but possessing a treasure is a crime. However, when the owner of this treasure becomes a general who commands thousands of troops, no one dares to covet it.

Han Xuan said, "Junior Brother is right. Elder Su and Elder Mei only investigated after hearing reports from the disciples of Lanyue Peak and Yujian Peak. I dare not lie to them."

"That Fire Realm Formation has been worn down over the long years. We Nascent Soul cultivators can break it by joining forces. It is no problem for six Integration Realm cultivators to take action."

"In just a few hours, they reopened the fiery gate and led us back into this blessed land."

"At that time, the dragon energy and spiritual energy were intertwined here, but there were no living beings. We searched everywhere and only found a few spiritual herb gardens and treasures stored in a few palaces, but we did not find any trace of our junior brother."

"I was still not satisfied, so together with Junior Brother Yuan, I asked Master to issue an order, commanding the disciples of Huayu Peak to search every inch of the blessed land, but we still found nothing."

"Left with no other choice, we had to give up. We never expected that our junior brother would be captured by this main peak."

"After that, Master and the others joined forces to break the fire array. The cultivators of our sect used the pure spiritual energy that had been accumulated here for nearly a million years to cultivate in seclusion, improve their cultivation, and break through the bottleneck."

"Chu Weicai, Zhou Muyun, Zhou Lang, and Zhuang Buhui have accumulated profound knowledge and solid foundations. Within a few years, they broke through the bottleneck and advanced to the mid-stage of the Dragon Transformation Realm, extending their lifespan by several thousand years."

"I have been in seclusion for over two hundred years and only emerged a few years ago. I was fortunate enough to advance to the Refinement of Void realm, and my progress is decent, but compared to my junior brother, I can only feel ashamed of myself."

Chen Yuan shook his head: "Senior brother, why belittle yourself? My cultivation method is just a bit special. By chance, I absorbed some dragon essence left behind by a true dragon, which is why I have my current cultivation level. I really took a shortcut."

"My senior brother has been in seclusion and cultivating diligently, and his foundation is solid. He is a role model for us all."

Han Xuan smiled, picked up his teacup, and took a sip. He did not argue with Chen Yuan, but sighed inwardly.

Cultivators are fast at every step, and Chen Yuan has already far surpassed him.

After he emerged from seclusion, he did not show any arrogance in front of Yuan Shuheng and his two junior brothers, but deep down he was still quite proud of himself for advancing from the late stage of the Nascent Soul realm to the Void Refinement realm in just two hundred years.

Such rapid progress is unprecedented not only in the Tai Xuan Sect, but also among the most outstanding ancient Mahayana sects that have been established for hundreds of thousands or even millions of years.

But when he saw Chen Yuan exuding the aura of a perfected Void Refinement cultivator, mixed with an extremely powerful demon saint blood aura, and condensing four true spirit avatars to fight against Elder Su, the pride hidden in his heart vanished.

Compared to Chen Yuan, he was completely inferior in terms of cultivation level, strength, and even his most prized technique.

Chen Yuan's cultivation advanced by leaps and bounds because he absorbed the dragon essence left behind by a true dragon, but not everyone can refine dragon essence, let alone the dragon essence left behind by a true dragon.

For low-level cultivators, even if a magic pill were placed in front of them, swallowing it would only result in their bodies exploding and dying, no different from a deadly poison.

Chen Yuan's cultivation technique is even more domineering, capable of refining even the blood of true spirits, which is also his reliance for absorbing dragon essence.

However, to successfully cultivate such a mysterious technique, one must overcome countless difficulties and obstacles, and even the threshold is extremely high. Even if it were made public, there would probably be very few who could master it.

Han Xuan's own cultivation technique, the "Green Bamboo Sword Scripture," is a top-tier cultivation method that has fallen into the lower realms and is aimed at the late stage of the Integration Realm.

However, the Green Bamboo Sword Manual is quite different from ordinary sword techniques, and it is extremely difficult to cultivate.

Just the natal flying sword alone requires the forging of thirty-six swords, a challenge that can stump 99% of cultivators.

Unfortunately, Han Xuan's talent was mediocre, but his comprehension was quite good. With a tenacious Dao heart and a few strokes of luck, he put in ten or a hundred times the effort, experienced countless life-and-death situations, and repeatedly turned danger into safety. He overcame all obstacles and killed countless enemies before ascending to the Spirit Realm and successfully advancing to the Refining Void stage.

Everyone said that Han Xuan was a prodigy, but only Han Xuan himself knew that he was never a prodigy cultivator. He was just more determined in his Dao heart, luckier than others, and put in more effort than others.

But he has remained steadfast for thousands of years, never slacking off for a single day, which is why he has achieved his current level of cultivation.

Chen Yuan's cultivation technique was far more difficult than his, and he endured far more hardships. He must have put in countless efforts and had incredible fortuitous encounters to possess such astonishing strength today.

The reason he was captured here is certainly not so simple, nor is it as if he were completely unaware as he appeared. This peak may very well have more than just this one Dragon Transformation Pool.

However, Han Xuan would not covet, nor dare to covet, Chen Yuan's secrets, especially since Chen Yuan had once saved his life, and the two were true sworn brothers. Han Xuan put down his teacup and said, "Junior Brother Yuan recently arrived in the Xuanli Realm, using the spiritual energy storm from breaking the great formation to hone his true essence in preparation for breaking through to the Void Refinement Realm."

"It's a pity that my junior brother will be returning to the Spirit Realm in three days, and his seclusion will last at least a year."

"We can only wait until he comes out of seclusion before returning to Tongtian Island to meet with our junior brother."

Upon hearing the familiar name "Tongtian Island," Chen Yuan couldn't help but think of the mysterious and unpredictable green-robed array spirit.

Looking back now, the green-robed array spirit should have had the cultivation of the early stage of the Nascent Soul realm, and because it was an array spirit, it was greatly restricted. Chen Yuan's current strength far surpassed it.

He suppressed his inner turmoil and asked, "Junior Brother Yuan hasn't broken through the bottleneck yet? What about Senior Brother Jiang?"

Han Xuan said, "Junior Brother Yuan's foundation is still a bit shallow, while Senior Brother Jiang has accumulated a deep foundation. He was only a step away from the Void Refinement Realm. He successfully broke through the realm eighty years ago and returned to the Spirit Realm."

Chen Yuan said, "I wonder how the Dragon People tribe in the Xuanli Realm is doing now. I promised Chu Weicai that I would treat the Dragon People well, but I have been trapped here for more than two hundred years and cannot keep my promise."

Han Xuan smiled and said, "Junior brother, please rest assured. I made this promise when we joined forces with the Yingqian and Yingshan tribes. How could I possibly disregard it?"

"Our Spirit Realm human race has always been inclusive, and our sect has had three alien races submit to us, let alone the dragon people who share the same origin as humans."

"Now all the dragon tribes in the Xuanli Realm are subordinate to our sect. Two-thirds of the dragons above the Manifestation Realm have entered the Spirit Realm to serve our sect. We have also carefully selected a hundred exceptionally talented young dragons to join our sect."

"Chu Weicai, Zhou Muyun, Zhou Lang, and Zhuang Buhui are all guest guardians of this sect, enjoying the same treatment as Void Refinement Guardians."

"I will wait until a hundred years from now to lead my clansmen into the Turtle Island with the main army of our sect's cultivators."

Chen Yuan was relieved. According to Ao Huan, the dragon people were untrustworthy and treacherous, but that was the dragon people from hundreds of thousands of years ago, and had little to do with the dragon people of today.

Of course, Ao Huan's statement is only one side of the story and cannot be completely trusted.

However, Chen Yuan was even less convinced that a dozen cultivators at the Heavenly Realm would cooperate on equal terms with a Fusion Demon Saint. The ancient texts passed down by the Dragon People Tribe were even less credible than the story told by Ao Huan.

But hundreds of thousands of years have passed, and these old stories have long been buried in the past. Chen Yuan has no interest in exonerating Ao Huan, a demon saint.

The two talked for several more hours. Back when the disciples of Tai Xuan Sect entered Xuan Li Realm, Chen Yuan had inquired about Tai Xuan Sect from Han Xuan and Yuan Shuheng.

However, with a formidable enemy at hand and dealing with the demon race being the top priority, he did not take the time to investigate further.

Three days later, Chen Yuan will be entering the Spirit Realm, so naturally he needs to investigate further.

Han Xuan shared the entire situation of the Tai Xuan Sect without reservation.

"Our sect has not been established for long, only a little over 13,000 years. It is the Mahayana sect with the shallowest foundation in the spirit world."

"But in terms of strength, our sect is firmly in the middle ranks, surpassing many Mahayana sects that have been established for more than 100,000 years."

"This is all thanks to the sect leader's magnanimity, who accepted many rogue cultivators into the sect."

“My master was once a rogue cultivator who was noticed by the sect leader and taken in.”

"Of the eleven elders in our sect, only Elder Ling Jiuque of Yanheng Peak and Elder Bai Zangzhou of Luosong Peak are direct disciples of the sect leader and only advanced to the Integration stage after the establishment of our sect. The other elders are all like that."

"Most of these elders are like our master, serving only as elders, but Elder Su, Elder Hu, and Elder Mei have been accepted as disciples by the sect leader."

"Although Junior Brother has offended Elder Su severely today, there is no need to worry too much."

"With my junior brother's current cultivation level, advancing to the Integration stage is not difficult, and he also has a deep connection with the sect leader. There is no need to fear him as a nominal disciple."

"In fact, since most of our elders are from independent cultivation backgrounds, there are many disputes between the peaks. It is only because of the great prestige of our sect leader that no major trouble has occurred."

"At first, I wanted to ask my master to take my junior brother into my Huayu Peak and make him a true disciple. That way, we could compete for a place as a Dao Seed disciple and, with the support of the sect, break through to the Refinement Void Realm."

"The reason why I was able to advance my cultivation level by one small realm and break through the bottleneck of the Void Refinement stage in just two hundred years is that..."

"Besides taking advantage of the pure spiritual energy here, it's also because after seizing the Xuanli Realm, I obtained a position as a Dao Seed disciple, and the sect bestowed upon me a large number of pills and spiritual items, which made my cultivation so smooth."

"Without the strong support of the sect, it would take me at least three or four hundred years before I would be confident in breaking through to the Void Refinement stage."

"Junior Brother has now reached the peak of the Void Refinement stage. After joining the sect, you can choose any peak to become a protector. I wonder if Junior Brother has any thoughts on this?"

Han Xuan looked at Chen Yuan, a hint of anticipation in his eyes.

Elder Yuan didn't say anything before leaving, but he knew his master's thoughts; he definitely wanted Chen Yuan to join Huayu Peak.

Chen Yuan said, "Why do you ask when you already know the answer? Back then, I was grateful that you didn't abandon me and allowed me to join Huayu Peak. You even risked violating the sect rules to conceal my identity."

"If I can become a disciple of the sect, I will naturally join Huayu Peak as a protector. I hope my senior brother will take good care of me."

The two exchanged a smile, picked up their teacups, and drank the tea in one gulp instead of wine.

Chen Yuan was initially a little uneasy, but after hearing Han Xuan's words, he was completely relieved.

After establishing the Tai Xuan Sect in the Spirit Realm, Master Fu embraced diversity and even recruited rogue cultivators into the sect, let alone him, a half-successor of the Tai Xuan Sect who came from the Human Realm and had some connection with the Green Robe Array Spirit.

The only thing I'm somewhat worried about is that Master Fu might covet the "Nine Revolutions of True Spirit" cultivation technique that I practice.

Those who cultivate below the Mahayana level have limited lifespans and cannot change their main cultivation method.

However, Mahayana cultivators often have a cultivation period of millions of years, so it doesn't seem like a difficult task for them to cultivate another technique.

But that was before entering the True Dragon Cave. After mastering almost all of Xuanli Great Sage's memories, Chen Yuan had a thorough understanding of Mahayana cultivators and no longer had such worries. (End of Chapter)