Nine Transformations of the True Spirit.

Chapter 504 Xuan Yuan
Xuan Yuanzi sat cross-legged with his eyes slightly closed, practicing his skills, trying his best to absorb the thin spiritual energy of heaven and earth to replenish his true energy that was almost exhausted.

He sat in a cave. On the rough walls were embedded several fist-sized luminous pearls. In the mortal world, these were rare treasures that would drive an emperor crazy.

But under the bright light of the night pearl, the cave still seemed extremely dark.

A faint gray-black mist lingered around Xuan Yuanzi and the four Nascent Soul cultivators beside him, exuding a lingering eerie aura.

Even with a large formation protecting it, it still cannot stop the evil energy from seeping in.

This is the deepest part of the demonic realm. The pure demonic energy is pervasive and is always trying to penetrate into Xuan Yuanzi's body.

They were a siege army, wearing heavy armor, holding sharp blades in their hands, with ferocious faces, sticking out scarlet tongues, licking their lips, savoring the wonderful taste of flesh and blood, and climbing up the ladders to the top of the city.

There was also a large army on the city wall, but they were already exhausted and were providing support everywhere to maintain the shaky defense line.

Xuan Yuanzi circulated his true energy all the time to resist the erosion of demonic energy. He did not dare to relax at all, otherwise he would become a monster whose life would be worse than death.

Three hours later, Xuan Yuanzi finally opened his eyes, glanced at the several cultivators who were still meditating with their eyes closed, then stood up and walked out of the cave.

These people are all cultivators in the early Nascent Soul stage, with lower cultivation bases. They are resisting the erosion of demonic energy while recovering their true essence. The spiritual energy of heaven and earth is extremely thin, so their speed is several times slower than in the outside world.

Walking out of the cave, it became even darker all around, and it seemed as if the sky was hanging on the top of the mountain and could fall down at any time.

A faint green curtain enveloped the mountain.

Outside the formation, there were endless monsters, roaring and rushing towards them.

There were more than a dozen figures hanging in the sky, displaying magical powers and controlling magic weapons and rare objects, forming an indestructible line of defense and keeping the monsters out of the formation.

Xuan Yuanzi sighed lightly, and with a flash of his body, he flew into the sky and came to the side of a Nascent Soul cultivator.

He took out a whisk and waved it lightly. Thousands of white silk threads flew out and wrapped around the necks of a group of low-level monsters. They spun around like a sharp blade, cutting off the heads of the monsters.

Then he pointed his finger and the silk thread of the whisk flew towards another group of low-level monsters, killing them all before they were about to hit the formation.

Xuan Yuanzi turned to the Nascent Soul cultivator beside him and said, "Daoyou Duqing, go and get some rest. I will take care of this."

Standing next to him was an old Taoist, who was the leader of Zi Yang Sect, Taoist Du Qing.

His face was full of fatigue, and he clasped his fists and bowed: "Thank you for your help, Daoist Fellow Xuanyuan. I will come back to replace Daoist Fellow in eight hours."

After saying this, he did not hesitate at all. He put away his magic weapon, lowered his escape light, and walked into the cave.

Xuan Yuanzi turned his head, cheered himself up, and concentrated on killing the monster.

Thirteen days have passed since they were surrounded by monsters and forced to set up a large formation to protect themselves.

During these thirteen days, they were trapped on this mountain, relying on the formation set up by Elder Zhou to block wave after wave of monsters' attacks.

Thirteen days ago, when the formation was just set up, there were twenty-eight Nascent Soul cultivators. Now there are only twenty-five left, and three have died.

The spiritual energy of heaven and earth here is extremely thin, and killing monsters consumes a lot of true energy, making it extremely difficult to replenish.

The top-grade spirit stones in Xuan Yuanzi's hands had been used up. He could only meditate and practice every few hours to barely recover some of his true energy, and then he would continue fighting the monsters without stopping.

He is in the middle stage of the Nascent Soul, and his true essence is still quite strong. The conditions of those cultivators in the early stage of the Nascent Soul will only be worse than his.

Only three great monks still have top-grade spirit stones in their hands, and they rarely fight with monsters.

They are the stabilizing force for the trapped monks and will not take action easily unless it is absolutely necessary.

Moreover, the White Crane Sect's Sect Master Wei was seriously injured when he set up the formation and has not appeared since then.

Thinking of this, Xuan Yuanzi sighed inwardly, and looking at the monsters coming like a tide, he couldn't help feeling a little tired.

The monsters seemed endless, and the fight with them seemed to have no end.

The only hope is that Gu Zu, who broke out, and the four Nascent Soul cultivators can bring back reinforcements.

But no one knows whether they escaped from the demonic realm or died at the hands of the monsters.

Will the monks outside the Demon Realm lend a helping hand, or will they be stopped by the monsters?
I don't know what the Lingyun Sect is like now. With the care of Master He, it is not in danger of destruction.

But if he died in the Demon Realm, without a Nascent Soul cultivator in charge, how long could Master He take care of him, and how long could the Lingyun Sect last?
Even though Xuan Yuanzi had lived for more than eight hundred years and experienced many ups and downs, when faced with life and death, many distracting thoughts arose in his heart.

Compared with death, he was more worried about the inheritance of Lingyun Sect.

Since when did I start to have so many ties?
When he was still a Qi-refining cultivator, he only wanted to build his foundation.

After building the foundation, the only thing on my mind was forming the elixir.

After much difficulty in forming the golden elixir, one can do anything to form a baby.

He survived a near-death tribulation and took over as the leader of the Lingyun Sect, enjoying great glory. However, his desire to improve his cultivation gradually faded.

He is the leader of a sect, responsible for the rise and fall and survival of the Lingyun Sect. He can no longer focus on improving his own cultivation.

He didn't dare to use all the elixirs and spirit stones for his own cultivation, as that would definitely cause criticism from the elders in the sect.

Although the elders in the sect did not dare to disobey his orders, as a respected leader, he still had to consider his reputation.

He also had to consider future generations. Not only could he not use the treasures in the sect's treasury frequently, he also had to increase the sect's foundation.

This was especially true after they were defeated by the Demon Sect and forced to move away from Qi.

He didn't even dare to improve his own cultivation anymore. He put all the top-grade spirit stones and thousand-year-old spirit herbs into the sect's treasury, leaving them to his most promising disciple Zhuge Qi, in preparation for his infant formation.

Fortunately, he was lucky and had a chance to break through the bottleneck in the middle stage, otherwise he would still be lingering in the early stage of Nascent Soul.

The Lingyun Sect was also unable to overpower the Mingyin Valley, Wanshou Mountain, and Guiyuan Sect to become the top three sects in Qi State.

But he knew very well that he would never be able to break through the bottleneck of the late stage, let alone reach the stage of spiritual transformation.

His journey has ended here.

He accepted his fate.

All he wanted now was to return to the Lingyun Mountains, to return to the cave on Baiyun Peak, to look at the Lingyun Sect's mountain gate, and to watch the Lingyun Sect's disciples flying in the sky and running in the mountains.

His heart of Taoism was already covered with a layer of dust.

……

The fight with monsters is very boring. When the formation was just set up, there were still Nascent Soul monsters attacking the formation. Now only low-level monsters are left. As long as we are prepared and kill them in time, they will not pose a threat to the formation.

No one knew where those Nascent Soul monsters had gone, but this gave everyone a chance to catch their breath.

Otherwise, while resisting the erosion of demonic energy, they also had to deal with the Nascent Soul monster. Even with the help of three great monks, the formation would have collapsed long ago.

Eight hours later, Taoist Du Qing returned to Xuan Yuanzi and replaced him.

Due to the fight between Lingyun Sect and Ziyang Sect, the two originally had a bad relationship.

But after arriving in the Demon Realm, the several Nascent Soul cultivators from Qi State's immortal cultivation world could only huddle together for warmth and take care of each other.

Xuan Yuanzi returned to the cave to meditate, and the Nascent Soul cultivator beside him had been replaced by a new one.

He saw Bai Yanji, the head of Guiyuan Sect. As a master of formations, he did not need to fight monsters, but only needed to preside over the formations. His true energy consumption was much less than that of others. He only needed to meditate and practice every two or three days to restore his true energy.

Bai Yanji's attainments in formation are far behind those of the two formation masters.

But he was the only formation master among the Nascent Soul cultivators. He could help the two of them preside over the formation and receive their guidance. He benefited greatly from it, which could be considered a blessing in disguise.

Bai Yanji seemed to notice Xuan Yuanzi's gaze, opened his eyes, smiled and nodded.

In addition, there are three Nascent Soul cultivators, two of whom are just ordinary Nascent Soul middle-stage cultivators.

But the last person asked Xuan Yuanzi to take the initiative to salute and asked, "Fellow Daoist Mu, is there any movement from the source of the demonic energy?"

When the other two heard this, they stopped meditating and looked at the last person.

The man was dressed in a blue shirt, looked to be around forty years old, had an elegant appearance, and slowly opened his eyes.

He is Mu Ming, the other formation master who entered the Demon Realm with everyone besides Elder Zhou.

He sighed softly, "I and Elder Zhou calculated today that the source of demonic energy is growing faster and faster. If we don't wipe it out in time, the demonic realm will continue to expand, and the two ancient formations will not be able to withstand it."

When everyone heard this, their faces turned grim and the atmosphere became heavy for a moment.

Mu Zhaoming is not just a grandmaster of formations, he is also an elder of the Demon Yuan Palace. It was he who first discovered the signs of the expansion of the Demon Realm, which led to the five major demon sects being prepared and curbing the spread of the Demon Realm.

He had a deep understanding of the Demon Realm, and when Elder Zhou of the Tianxuan Sect set up two ancient formations, he had relied on its power a lot.

This time the nine major sects went deep into the Demon Realm to wipe out the source of the demonic energy, and he also went along to set up a large formation.

Everyone came all the way here, and were only a hundred miles away from the source of the evil spirit when they were trapped by monsters and could not move forward.

Although it is beyond the reach of the naked eye and cannot be detected with spiritual sense, Elder Zhou is a genius and has set up a formation that can detect the source of the evil energy.

At noon every day, the pure and spiritual energy between heaven and earth is at its strongest, the turbid and dark energy is at its weakest, and the demonic energy will also weaken slightly. We will use formations to detect changes in the source of the demonic energy.

His best assistant is Mu Zhaoming. Bai Yanji's attainments in the art of formation are not enough, and he only has three breaths to investigate. He cannot adapt to the changes in the spirit of heaven and earth and operate the formation in time.

After hearing this answer from Mu Zhaoming, several Nascent Soul cultivators couldn't help but feel a little discouraged.

The more powerful the demonic energy is, the stronger the monsters will be. How can they escape?

Moreover, they not only have to consider their own safety, but also the sect behind them. If the Demon Realm continues to expand, it will sooner or later break through the two ancient formations and bring disaster to Donghua. How should the younger disciples deal with it?

Xuan Yuanzi was even more worried. If it weren't for the Lingyun Sect, he, a cultivator in the middle stage of the Nascent Soul, would not have to come to the Demon Realm to fight with monsters.

But he entered the Lingyun Sect at the age of twelve. Nearly nine hundred years have passed, and he has been refining Qi, building a foundation, forming Dan, and Nascent Soul. His cultivation has improved step by step. From an inconspicuous outer disciple, he became the head of the Lingyun Sect. He has protected the sect for hundreds of years and is respected by the disciples.

He has not much time left to live, and what he cares about most is the inheritance of Lingyun Sect.

Xuan Yuanzi slowly closed his eyes, practiced his skills, and absorbed the spiritual energy of heaven and earth.

Suddenly, a loud shout came from outside the cave: "Fellow Daoists, act quickly, defeat the monsters, and reunite with fellow Daoist Yuansheng!"

Xuan Yuanzi suddenly opened his eyes, and so did Mu Zhaoming, Bai Yanji and the other two Nascent Soul cultivators.

Several people stood up and walked out of the cave quickly, looking up.

I saw dozens of rays of light coming from afar, like a flying sword piercing into a rotten wood, rushing into the overwhelming monsters, and heading straight for the mountain!

The person leading the group was Gu Zu, who had broken out earlier.

There were three cultivators beside him, all of whom Xuan Yuanzi had seen before. They were Daoxuan, the head of Tianxuan Sect, Yan Zhang, the head of Xueling Sect, and Chu Xiao, the head of Jiangxian Mountain. Four great cultivators gathered together.

Behind the four people, there were more than ten Nascent Soul cultivators following closely.

Xuan Yuanzi took a quick look and saw Sect Leader Shen who had broken out with Gu Zu, as well as many familiar people.

And behind the crowd, there were more than a dozen beams of light, fighting endlessly with monsters.

Xuan Yuanzi was overjoyed and didn't care that there was little true energy left in his body. He immediately rode on the light and flew into the sky.

Mu Zhaoming laughed loudly and went forward, followed closely by Bai Yanji and the two Nascent Soul cultivators.

Many Nascent Soul cultivators who were originally fighting with monsters have already broken out of the formation.

These Nascent Soul cultivators had never experienced such humiliation before. After being trapped for more than ten days, they finally received reinforcements, which was a perfect opportunity for them to vent their anger.

Even the Demon Yuan Palace Master Long Pokong and the Yin Hai Sect's Sect Master Hong Chen, who had been sitting on the top of the mountain and had not taken any action, also took to the air at this moment, and displayed their exquisite magic skills, and with one strike, they wiped out most of the low-level monsters outside the formation.

Xuan Yuanzi took out his whisk, but did not rush forward. Instead, he and Bai Yanji found Taoist Du Qing and Ling Mo, the leader of Wanshou Mountain, and helped each other.

No matter how many grudges they had in the past, they were all cultivators from Qi State after all. They joined forces to fight against the Demon Sect, and now that they have come to the Demon Realm, they are taking care of each other.

Under the pincer attack from more than fifty Nascent Soul cultivators, the army of low-level monsters was simply unable to resist and was quickly defeated and scattered.

Xuan Yuanzi was very surprised. It was the first time he saw these fearless monsters retreat.

And those Nascent Soul monsters that had not appeared since everyone set up the formation had not appeared yet.

The Yuanying cultivators finally gathered together. Long Pokong clasped his fists and bowed, laughing and saying, "Thank you all for your help. I owe you a favor!"

The Demon Yuan Palace is the largest sect in the demon world, and the Palace Master of the Demon Yuan Palace is also extremely famous.

He was of burly build, with a leopard head and round eyes, like a general in a mortal dynasty commanding thousands of troops. He was very majestic and his words were extremely heroic.

Daoxuan bowed his head and smiled, "The trouble in the Demon Realm involves the entire Donghua Continent, and I have no choice but to take responsibility."

Several great monks greeted each other one by one, and other Nascent Soul monks also looked for people they knew.

Xuan Yuanzi went straight to Sect Master Shen, while Taoist Du Qing spotted Taoist Du Kun in the crowd and immediately came forward. Bai Yanji followed closely behind him. Ling Mo hesitated for a moment, glanced at Sect Master Shen, and followed.

Xuan Yuanzi came to the front of Sect Leader Shen, bowed slightly, and asked impatiently: "Fellow Daoist Shen successfully escaped from danger. I am very relieved. Do you know how our sect is doing now?"

Sect Leader Shen returned the greeting and said with a smile, "It is not convenient for me to answer this question. Fellow Daoist Xuanyuan should ask Fellow Daoist Chen."

"Fellow Daoist Chen?" Xuan Yuanzi was stunned.

At this time, a young monk came forward, clasped his fists and bowed to Xuan Yuanzi, and said with a smile: "Chen Yuan greets the master."

Xuan Yuanzi looked at this young cultivator who was dressed in white, had a handsome appearance, and had an extraordinary temperament, and he became even more confused.

But in front of the Nascent Soul cultivator, he did not lose his manners and clasped his fists and said, "This fellow Taoist is..."

Sect Master Shen introduced: "Fellow Daoist Xuanyuan, this fellow Daoist Chen Yuan is a rising star of your sect, a disciple of Elder Jin, and the supreme elder of Lingyun Sect."

Xuan Yuanzi widened his eyes and looked at Chen Yuan in a slightly rude manner: "Daoyou, are you the Grand Elder of our sect?"

Chen Yuan looked at the familiar yet unfamiliar headmaster in front of him and nodded slightly: "That's right."

"Chen Yuan..." Xuan Yuanzi whispered to himself, his eyes suddenly widened with disbelief, "Are you the physical cultivator who was hunted down by Qi Yuanshan of Ziyang Sect and Jindan cultivator of Xueling Sect during the decisive battle between the six sects and the Demon Sect?"

Chen Yuan was somewhat surprised: "Master Master actually also knows about this old story?"

"I was thousands of feet high in the sky back then, watching that great battle..."

Xuan Yuanzi looked at Chen Yuan, his face slowly merged with that of the young cultivator who had fled in a panic that year.

At this moment, Master He flew over from the side: "Fellow Daoist Xuanyuan!"

Xuan Yuanzi turned around and said with a smile, "Fellow Daoist He, how are you?"

Fellow Daoist He paused and smiled with relief: "I learned that you have fallen into the Demon Realm. I was so anxious that I didn't even know whether you were safe or not..."

At this point, he glanced at Chen Yuan inconspicuously, and then said: "I'm glad that you are okay, Daoist friend. Where is the master of our sect?"

Xuan Yuanzi said: "Daoyou Wei is seriously injured and is recuperating in the mountains."

Master He breathed a sigh of relief, and without even bothering to reminisce about the past with Xuan Yuanzi, he said a few more words and then hurriedly descended to look for the sect leader.

Xuan Yuanzi finally had time to ask, "When Elder Chen... Elder Chen left the Demon-Slaying Desert, he disappeared. I once asked Luo Heng and sent people to look for you."

"When did you return to Lingyun Sect, and how did you become the sect's Grand Elder?"

Chen Yuan then briefly recounted the story of how he participated in the Six Sects Alliance, seized the Yuyang Mountain mine, and then came to the Demon Realm to rescue Xuan Yuanzi. He did not hide the fact that Lu Hong and Master He asked him to help, but he refused.

As for the time he spent away from the sect, he just mentioned it briefly, saying that he had gained an opportunity.
Finally, he looked apologetic and said, "It's not that I don't want to help the Sect Master, but the Ziyang Sect has repeatedly bullied our sect. Due to the situation, the sect cannot be without a Nascent Soul cultivator."

"I took this measure for the sake of the sect's inheritance."

“But later I learned that Du Kun was also going to enter the Demon Realm, so I felt relieved and accepted the invitation from Tianxuan Sect. I also ask the Sect Master to forgive me.”

Xuan Yuanzi said solemnly: "Elder Chen is considering the overall interests of the sect, what's wrong with that?"

"I don't have much time left. Even if I escape this time, I only have a few decades to live. I'm worried that there will be no one to take over my life."

"Elder Chen has formed his Nascent Soul and overpowered Du Kun, which has greatly enhanced the prestige of our sect. I have no regrets even if I die."

Chen Yuan was stunned for a moment, then smiled and said, "Thank you, Master, for your understanding..."

He had never expected that Xuan Yuanzi would react like this.

He originally just wanted to perfunctorily deal with it, and as for Xuan Yuanzi's return to the sect in the future, he did not have much intention of fighting for power.

The Lingyun Sect does not have a deep foundation and does not have many treasures. The most valuable thing is the top-grade spirit stone obtained from the Yuyang Mountain mine, but the output is also limited.

As long as he gets the Nine-Bend Yellow Sand and repairs the ancient teleportation array, he will return to Jiuxianzhou. The Sea of ​​​​Ten Thousand Monsters is full of monsters, so there is naturally no shortage of resources for cultivation.

In addition, the Southern Wilderness of Donghua Continent is also a world of monsters and beasts. He has already obtained the locations of many caves of eighth-level monster kings from Young Master Tang Jiu. Once the matter in the Demon Realm is settled, he will go hunting monsters and taking their elixirs.

But Xuan Yuanzi's words did not seem false, but made Chen Yuan feel a little guilty.

Come to think of it, if Xuan Yuanzi only cared about his own life and cultivation, he would not have come to the Demon Realm to fight monsters for the Lingyun Sect.

There wouldn't have been so many top-grade spirit stones and thousand-year-old spirit herbs left in the sect's treasury.

Although most cultivators are selfish, these Nascent Soul cultivators who have no hope of further advancement in their cultivation are more like mortals and value the sect's inheritance more.

Xuan Yuanzi reminded him again: "This time, the seven great cultivators gathered together, gathering more than fifty Nascent Soul cultivators, it must not be just to rescue the trapped cultivators like us and wipe out the source of the demonic energy, but only at this time."

"Elder Chen, remember, you must protect yourself first. I will be there to protect you. The success or failure of the sect depends on you, Elder Chen. You must not be careless."

"Master, rest assured, I can save it." Chen Yuan agreed solemnly.

Xuan Yuanzi smiled with relief and was about to speak when Bai Yanji flew over from the side with an unpleasant look on his face: "Fellow Daoist Xuan Yuan, how did your sect take away our sect's share of the Yuyang Mountain mine?"

Taoist Du Qing, Taoist Du Kun, and Ling Mo also flew over. Except for Taoist Du Kun who had a sneer on his face, the other two were staring at Chen Yuan with gloomy expressions.

Before Xuan Yuanzi could speak, Sect Master Shen sneered, "What a joke! The Ziyang Sect is allowed to take our share of the mineral vein, but Fellow Daoist Chen is not allowed to fight back?"

"This is what the six sects agreed upon at the meeting. The seals of the leaders of each sect were left behind. Do you still want to go back on your word, Brother Bai?"

He had a hot temper, and after learning from Chen Yuan that the Zi Yang Sect was bullying the three sects, he wanted to cause trouble for Taoist Du Kun.

It was only after Chen Yuan tried to persuade them that the Tiangang Sword Sect had not suffered any losses but had instead gained an advantage that they suppressed their control.

Now that Bai Yanji dared to take the initiative to attack, he naturally would not continue to endure it.

Bai Yanji was speechless. Guiyuan Sect had always followed Ziyang Sect and had always taken advantage of it. Now, he found it hard to accept that he suddenly suffered a loss, but he forgot that he was not in the right in the first place.

Taoist Du Qing said calmly: "With the absence of the Yuanying masters of each sect, the Six Sects Alliance is not legitimate. In my opinion, it is better to wait until we return to Qi State and discuss it again. That is the right way."

It would have been fine if he hadn't spoken, but after he finished speaking, Sect Leader Shen became even more furious: "Daoyou Duqing, you said it so lightly, but you want to erase the agreement signed by the Six Sects Alliance with just one sentence?"

"Daoyou Dukun of your sect bullied the weak and injured our elder Lin. After leaving the Demon Realm, I will go to the Ziyang Mountains in person to fight with Daoyou Dukun and seek justice for Elder Lin!"

(End of this chapter)