Nine Transformations of the True Spirit.

Under the blockade of the formation in the distance, the demonic energy was rolling endlessly, and the sharp screams of monsters could be heard from afar, which made people feel slightly irritated.

Under the dim sky, a blood-red light flashed by and landed on a three thousand foot high peak. It slowly descended and Liu Fan's figure appeared.

His handsome face was slightly frowned, his figure remained calm, but his expression was somewhat uncertain, and his eyes, bright as stars, showed a hint of uneasiness.

He took a deep breath and walked quickly towards a cave on the top of the mountain. His clothes fluttered in the strong wind.

This is the Blood Spirit Peak, where the master’s cave abode is located.

Unlike other elders of the Blood Spirit Sect, Yan Zhang did not set up a formation on the Blood Spirit Peak. The three thousand foot high peak was covered with thick ice and a snow-white scene. Strong and fierce winds blew endlessly from the top of the mountain.

If a Qi-refining cultivator were here, he would be frozen into an ice cube in a moment, or be cut to death by the sharp wind as sharp as a knife.

Even the foundation-building cultivators could not hold on for long.

But for Jindan cultivators, especially those in the late Jindan stage like Liu Fan, neither the strong wind nor the coldness was any hindrance, and the smooth ice like a mirror was as easy to walk on as flat ground.

But he was still a little uneasy. He didn't know why the master suddenly summoned him.

Yesterday, Liu Fan inspected the formation in accordance with the instructions of the Nascent Soul Elder who stayed behind in the sect, and just returned to the sect today.

He learned from other Jindan cultivators that the Yuanying cultivator who had entered the Demon Realm had returned to the mountain gate.

He was overjoyed and immediately went to pay a visit to his master Xiao Lingzi, but there was no one in the cave.

Liu Fan was very surprised, and went to visit the two Nascent Soul elders who were on good terms with Xiao Lingzi, but the result was the same.

Liu Fan's face immediately changed. Could it be that Master and the other two elders had all met with misfortune?
He wanted to continue to gather information, but then he received an order from the sect leader to summon him.

Liu Fan did not dare to delay and immediately rushed to Blood Spirit Peak to pay his respects to the sect master.

Outside the master's cave, there was a burly man sitting cross-legged with his eyes slightly closed and thin clothes. However, despite the cold wind, his face was still ruddy and his body did not move at all.

Liu Fan came in front of the burly man, clasped his fists and bowed, his tone very respectful: "Junior Liu Fan, I am here on the orders of the master, please let Senior Xue pass on the report."

The burly man opened his eyes slightly, and two red lights flashed in his eyes and disappeared.

He stood up from the ground and smiled kindly: "Fellow Daoist Liu, please wait a moment. I will be back soon."

The burly man had a gentle expression and a casual tone, but Liu Fan did not dare to be disrespectful and bowed again: "Thank you, Senior Xue."

The burly man turned around and raised his hand, pressing it against the stone door of the cave. The door opened, and he stepped in, gradually disappearing into the darkness.

Liu Fan then breathed a sigh of relief and stood up, with cold sweat already breaking out on his back.

The burly man looked kind, but Liu Fan knew very well that he was a god of death.

He looks like an ordinary person, but in fact he is a blood puppet who has killed countless people.

The blood puppet is made from the corpse of a Nascent Soul cultivator, and then sealed with a blood soul refined from the souls of monsters and cultivators. It is buried in an extremely cold and bloody place and cultivated for a hundred years. It has the cultivation level of an early Nascent Soul, but can rival a Nascent Soul middle stage cultivator.

It is extremely difficult to cultivate blood puppets. In the tens of thousands of years of inheritance of the Blood Spirit Sect, only three blood puppets have been cultivated. Among them, only this Nascent Soul Blood Puppet is controlled by the sect masters of all generations.

This blood puppet holds the lives of at least seven or eight Nascent Soul cultivators, including two in the middle Nascent Soul stage.

Liu Fan once heard Xiao Lingzi say that all the previous sect leaders kept the blood puppet in a corpse refining bag, but the sect leader let it guard the cave, which made all the cultivators who came and went terrified.

This time, when cultivators from various sects entered the Demon Realm, the sect leader also left the Blood Puppet behind to guard the sect's treasure house. Anyone who approached would be killed without mercy, even the elders of the Blood Spirit Sect were no exception.

The leader returned to the sect, and the blood puppet returned to the Blood Spirit Peak.

Liu Fan waited for a while, and the blood puppet walked out of the cave, sat cross-legged again, and let Liu Fan in.

Liu Fan didn't care that the blood puppet had closed its eyes. He clasped his fists, bowed, and walked into the cave.

Passing through a slightly dim passage, Liu Fan came to a stone hall. Feeling the increasingly rich spiritual energy of heaven and earth around him, he had an urge to meditate and practice.

This is the cave residence of the Sect Leader, the place where the spiritual energy of the Blood Spirit Sect is the most abundant.

Liu Fan had a hunch that if he could practice here, the speed of refining his true essence would be at least twice as fast, and in less than a year, he would be able to practice to the False Infant realm.

But he could only think about it. Looking at the Sect Master sitting in the main seat, Liu Fan quickly gathered his thoughts and bowed deeply: "Disciple Liu Fan, I pay my respects to the Sect Master."

Yan Zhang looked at Liu Fan in front of him, a trace of regret flashed in his eyes, and he said lightly: "Nephew Liu, there is no need to be so polite."

Liu Fan then stood up and asked carefully, "The master summoned me, is it related to Master?"

Yan Zhang sighed softly: "Yes, it seems that you have already guessed it. Junior Brother Xiao Lingzi unfortunately died in the Demon Realm. Even his body could not be preserved and was eaten clean by the monsters."

Liu Fan was stunned. Although he had expected this, when he heard the news, he still felt a mixture of joy and sorrow.

Having lost the care of his middle-Nascent Soul master, he should feel sad.

But Xiao Lingzi was not sincere to him, and he felt a little secretly happy in his heart. From then on, the sea was wide enough for fish to leap and the sky was high enough for birds to fly.

Yan Zhang looked at Liu Fan's complicated expression and his voice turned cold: "This matter is related to Chen Yuan. Junior Brother Xiao Lingzi was killed by him."

Liu Fan's expression changed, and without considering anything else, he said in astonishment: "He is just an early Nascent Soul cultivator, how can he attack Master?"

Yan Zhang briefly recounted the story of how Chen Yuan deliberately rescued Xiao Lingzi, lured the Demon Lord, and devoured Xiao Lingzi's Nascent Soul. He also did not hide the fighting between the Nascent Soul cultivators and the Demon Lord's monsters.

The more Liu Fan listened, the more frightened he became. He, like everyone else, thought that with seven great cultivators entering the Demon Realm together and dozens of Nascent Soul cultivators accompanying them, this trip to the Demon Realm would definitely be foolproof. He did not expect such a change to occur.

He had met Mu Zhaoming, the formation grandmaster of the Demon Yuan Palace, and Gu Zu, the great cultivator of the Tianxuan Sect.

When the two of them came to visit Xiao Lingzi, he even accompanied them and received some words of encouragement from Senior Mu.

However, Senior Gu was a serious and stern man with great cultivation. Even Xiao Lingzi did not dare to neglect him, and Liu Fan was even more respectful to him.

But such a highly respected great cultivator actually defected to the Demon Lord and launched a surprise attack on the head of the Tianxuan Sect, Daoxuan, and almost caused the death of six great cultivators and dozens of Nascent Soul cultivators in the depths of the Demon Realm.

And the one who turned the tide and saved everything was actually the foundation-building monk who had been hunted by him to a desperate situation, exhausted all his energy and blood, and only escaped by relying on the ancient teleportation array!

Liu Fan felt a little dizzy. What Yan Zhang said was so unbelievable, but he dared not disbelieve it.

The Demon Lord who kills Nascent Soul cultivators like killing chickens and swallows Nascent Souls alive like taking elixirs, how could Chen Yuan be able to compete with him?
Xiao Lingzi died because of Chen Yuan, but what about myself who once chased Chen Yuan?
After Yan Zhang finished speaking, Liu Fan remained silent for a long time. He looked dazed and his eyes were blurred. He even forgot that he was in the master's cave.

Yan Zhang also knew that it was difficult for him to accept it for the time being, so he fell silent and just looked at Liu Fan silently. After a long time, Liu Fan suddenly woke up and bowed deeply: "My disciple is unbecoming, please punish me, Master..."

Yan Zhang shook his head slightly: "It is only natural for you to feel sad about the death of Junior Brother Xiao Lingzi."

"That Chen Yuan plotted to murder Junior Brother Xiao Lingzi, this revenge must be avenged, but he is very powerful, so we cannot act rashly."

"You are the only cultivator of our sect who has fought with this man. Please tell me in detail what happened between you and him."

"Yes!" Liu Fan breathed a sigh of relief and quickly replied, "I followed my master's orders and sneaked into the State of Qi..."

He recounted in detail how he sneaked into Qi State, how he discovered the secret of the Yu family, how he hunted down Yu Qing, how he fell into Chen Yuan's trap, how he entered the Wentian Secret Realm, and then met Chen Yuan again in the Demon-Slaying Desert, how he chased Chen Yuan in the Huanyue Mountains and forced Chen Yuan into a desperate situation, and how Chen Yuan escaped through the ancient teleportation array.

Yan Zhang frowned: "There is actually an ancient teleportation array within the territory of Qi?"

Liu Fan answered carefully: "My disciple failed to kill Chen Yuan, so I reported this to Master..."

Yan Zhang nodded slightly, and his brows slowly relaxed.

He knew in his heart that it was because Xiao Lingzi was greedy and wanted to monopolize this ancient teleportation array that he did not report it to the sect.

But Xiao Lingzi had obviously miscalculated. Over the past one hundred years, Chen Yuan had never used the teleportation array again, and finally had to destroy it.

Yan Zhang said thoughtfully: "I wonder where this ancient teleportation array leads to..."

Liu Fan said cautiously, "I think he must have entered a certain ancient secret realm through this ancient teleportation array, and obtained a large amount of cultivation resources, and even a lot of rare treasures, so that he could form a Nascent Soul in such a short time."

Yan Zhang shook his head slightly: "It is also possible that he was teleported to another continent and encountered something else."

Liu Fan was shocked: "Are there really other continents in this world?"

Yan Zhang looked over, and Liu Fan lowered his head quickly: "My disciple is talking nonsense..."

Yan Zhang said calmly: "In ancient times, this world had three continents. In addition to Donghuazhou, there were Jiuxianzhou and Huangliangzhou. The cultivators opened up space channels and set up teleportation arrays, and the exchanges were frequent."

"But something unexpected happened later. The spiritual energy of heaven and earth became increasingly thin. The space channels opened up by the cultivators from the three continents collapsed one after another. The spiritual energy on the boundless sea was cut off, and it was extremely dangerous. The cultivators from the three continents also stopped communicating with each other."

"But there are so many teleportation arrays set up by ancient monks. No one knows whether there are any ancient teleportation arrays left. Maybe this ancient teleportation array in Qi State leads to Jiuxianzhou and Huangliangzhou."

Liu Fan was secretly shocked. This was the first time he heard of such an ancient secret. There really were other continents.

He quickly said: "If this teleportation array really leads to other continents, it is of great value and must be controlled by our sect!"

Yan Zhang frowned: "This teleportation array has been destroyed. Unless it can be repaired, it will be worthless."

"And Chen Yuan returned to Donghua Continent without going through this teleportation array. If this array really leads to other continents, how did he get back?"

"It was already a stroke of luck that he was able to find an ancient teleportation array. If he could find a second one, his luck would be too good..."

He pondered for a moment and shook his head slightly: "That ancient teleportation array should only lead to that secret space. Now it has been destroyed, so there is no need to pay attention to it anymore."

Liu Fan was a little disappointed. He was worried that Chen Yuan would seek revenge on him in the future. He hoped that Yan Zhang would cause trouble for Chen Yuan because of the teleportation array.

But Yan Zhang had made up his mind. He dared not persuade him any further. He just lowered his head slightly and stood by with his hands hanging down.

Yan Zhang said: "Our sect suffered heavy losses in the Demon Realm. A total of six Nascent Soul elders died. We are in urgent need of recuperation."

"As a true disciple, you need to practice diligently, polish your true essence, and cultivate to the false infant realm as soon as possible. When that time comes, the sect will grant you a spiritual object to help you form an infant."

Liu Fan was overjoyed and bowed deeply: "Disciple obeys your command!"

Yan Zhang added: "Before you form your baby, you must not leave the mountain gate even a step."

"Yes." Liu Fan responded respectfully.

Even if Yan Zhang didn't say it, he didn't dare to leave the sect.

Since Chen Yuan dared to plot against Xiao Lingzi in front of Yan Zhang, it would not be difficult for him to attack him secretly.

Yan Zhang encouraged Liu Fan a few more words before letting Liu Fan leave.

After Liu Fan left, Yan Zhang sat in the main seat, his eyes slightly narrowed, with a hint of coldness flashing in them.

……

Qi State, Lingyun Mountains.

At the gate of Lingyun Sect, a thousand-foot-high wall of clouds connected the sky and the ground, with mist flowing slowly. On the mountain road, Qi-refining disciples were running back and forth. Rays of light flashed by in the sky, and they walked together, chatting and laughing, creating a peaceful atmosphere.

But in a place that the low-level disciples could not see, more than a dozen Jindan cultivators were suspended in the air thousands of feet high, with solemn expressions, glancing around, with aura surging from their bodies, like a long-gathering volcano that could erupt at any time.

In the Lingyun Hall, four Jindan cultivators gathered together. In addition to Jin Luoheng and Zhuge Qi, there were Wu Zexian and a white-haired old man, all of whom were in the middle stage of Jindan.

The four of them all had solemn expressions, and there was a hint of sadness in Zhuge Qi's eyes.

Between the four people, there were two natal lamps, one of which had been extinguished, while the other was still burning.

Zhuge Qi stared at the extinguished oil lamp and spoke slowly, his voice full of deep sorrow: "The news of Master's passing must not be spread."

This is Xuan Yuanzi's natal lamp. Ever since Xuan Yuanzi left the sect, Zhuge Qi has checked it every morning. In the past 28 years, he has never missed a single day.

But when he checked again today, he found that his natal lamp was off.

Zhuge Qi was shocked and immediately found Jin Luoheng to tell him about it.

After the two men discussed it, they did not publicize the matter, but instead asked the elders in the sect to be on alert immediately, to be relaxed on the outside but tight on the inside to prevent any accidents.

Xuan Yuanzi is highly respected in Lingyun Sect. If the news of his death were to spread, the disciples in the sect would surely become uneasy.

Only Zhuge Qi, Jin Luoheng and two cultivators in the middle stage of the Jindan stage knew about this.

Jin Luoheng sighed and looked at the other natal lamp: "Fortunately, Chen Yuan is fine. For now, we can only be careful and alert. Only when he returns to the sect can we know the whole story."

Wu Zexian and the white-haired old man also looked at this natal lamp, with a hint of worry in their eyes.

Xuan Yuanzi was a cultivator in the middle stage of the Nascent Soul, but he died suddenly. Chen Yuan's cultivation was even lower, could he really be safe and sound? (End of this chapter)