Nine Transformations of the True Spirit.

Suddenly, a strong wind swept across the barren Gobi Desert, raising dust and curling dead grass into balls, rolling across the ground and scattering seeds.

A huge ship flew from the distant horizon, slowly passing through the clouds, like a giant whale swimming in the deep sea. The huge ship blocked out the sky and cast a huge shadow on the earth.

The giant boat came to the top of a barren mountain, slowly descended, and finally stopped at the wide and flat top of the mountain.

The whole barren mountain shook twice, the stones jumped up due to the shock, and the dull sound spread far away.

More than sixty monks swooped down from the giant boat. The last one was a middle-aged Confucian scholar, who descended from the sky with his sleeves fluttering. He raised his sleeves and flicked them, and the giant boat shrank rapidly and was taken into his pocket.

The middle-aged scholar walked slowly to the front of the crowd, stood with his hands behind his back, and said calmly: "You all won the sect competition to have the opportunity to enter the secret realm of Dongxu Mountain to collect spiritual herbs and exchange them for foundation-building pills first."

"This opportunity is hard-won. You must go all out and never slack off. Do you understand?"

"Disciples obey your command!" Thirty of the Qi-refining disciples responded in unison, their voices as loud as a bell.

The other thirty or so people, led by a middle-aged monk, stood aside in silence.

The middle-aged scholar nodded slightly and was about to speak again, but suddenly his eyebrows raised, and he turned his head and looked towards the horizon.

A giant sword flew from the sky at an extremely fast speed. In an instant it reached the top of the barren mountain and suddenly stopped.

On the giant sword were a dozen Qi-refining monks and a handsome Taoist priest. Their auras were restrained and it was impossible to tell the depth of their cultivation.

The handsome Taoist raised his hand and waved it, and the dozen or so Qi-refining monks immediately jumped off the giant sword. The handsome Taoist pointed again, and the giant sword slowly sank into his sleeve and disappeared.

The middle-aged scholar stepped forward, bowed, and said with a smile: "Friend Zhang, how are you?"

Taoist Yingting seemed a little surprised to see Wu Zexian. He returned the greeting and frowned slightly, "To activate the forbidden formation, we need four late Jindan cultivators. If your sect's Taoist friend Chu doesn't come, how can we activate the formation?"

His words were very impolite, but the middle-aged scholar didn't seem to care at all, and kept smiling: "I am not talented, but I have just broken through the bottleneck of the late stage. Although I am still far from being able to compare with Fellow Daoist Zhang, it should be no problem for me to activate the formation."

He is the elder of Lingyun Sect, Wu Zexian.

The handsome Taoist's pupils shrank, and he looked at Wu Zexian deeply: "It is Zhang's fault for being short-sighted. I wish you great progress in your cultivation."

After saying that, he walked aside and said no more.

The smile on Wu Zexian's face gradually faded. He stood with his hands behind his back, no longer instructing his disciples, and looked up to the horizon.

Not long after, two more giant boats arrived at the top of the barren mountain and slowly descended, each with thirty Qi-refining disciples and a Jindan cultivator flying down.

The two were very surprised to see Wu Zexian leading the team. After learning that he had broken through the bottleneck in the late stage, they congratulated him one after another with a very enthusiastic attitude.

It has been just twenty years since the destruction of Zi Yang Sect and Wan Shou Mountain. Wu Zexian is the first Jindan cultivator among the four sects to break through the bottleneck of the late stage.

Together with Jin Luoheng and Zhuge Qi, who had both successfully conceived a fetus, Lingyun Sect deserves the title of the number one sect in Qi State.

When the handsome Taoist saw that the elders from Guiyuan Sect and Mingyin Valley were so enthusiastic and even a little humble, he snorted secretly in his heart and his expression became even colder.

Over the past ten years, the relationship between the Tiangang Sword Sect and the Lingyun Sect has become increasingly strained. Although no major conflicts have broken out, various minor disputes and contradictions have continued to occur.

Since Lingyun Sect has three Nascent Soul cultivators, even though Chen Yuan has not appeared in public for a long time, he still has the upper hand.

Moreover, the number of disciples in the Lingyun Sect was already extremely large. After absorbing thousands of Ziyang Sect cultivators, the sect far exceeded the Tiangang Sword Sect and suppressed it firmly.

The Tiangang Sword Sect can only rely on Sect Leader Shen, who is in the middle stage of the Nascent Soul stage, to maintain a certain degree of dignity.

But as the inside story of the Demon Realm War spread, Chen Yuan became famous in Donghua and firmly established himself as the number one cultivator in Qi.

The title of Master Shen is gradually becoming less useful.

There were three immortal cultivation families that were originally affiliated with the Tiangang Sword Sect and switched to the Lingyun Sect.

The Lingyun Sect lowered the threshold for the Ascension Conference and its lenient attitude towards independent cultivators led a large number of independent cultivators to settle in Lingyun Market and Ziyang Market, hoping that they could pass the Ascension Conference, join the Lingyun Sect, and change their fate.

Not only that, Guiyuan Sect and Mingyin Valley also began to recruit more independent cultivators and relaxed restrictions on participating in the Ascension Conference.

The best among the independent cultivators are just slightly inferior in talent, but after going through hardships, their faith in Taoism has become stronger, and they may be able to go further on the path of cultivating immortals.

In the past, Qi State’s sects rarely recruited independent cultivators because of a lack of resources for cultivation, not because they were unaware of the importance of character to cultivators.

However, the sudden collapse of Zi Yang Sect and Wanshou Mountain made the Qi State's originally crowded immortal cultivation world suddenly become much more relaxed. The shortage of cultivation resources was alleviated, and independent cultivators finally began to gain favor.

The Tiangang Sword Sect understood this principle, but the requirements for sword cultivation were extremely high, and one needed to have a sword heart, so they were unable to expand the size of the sect. In this competition to recruit independent cultivators, they inevitably fell into a disadvantage, and their sphere of influence was shrinking, and was gradually encroached upon by the three major sects headed by the Lingyun Sect.

Mingyin Valley was better. Six years ago, Master Wan's soul failed in his attempt to reach the Nascent Soul stage. Although he managed to save his life, the origin of his spiritual vein was damaged. He was unable to reach the Nascent Soul stage again for the next twenty years.

The monks in the Mingyin Valley were therefore cautious and did not dare to provoke the Tiangang Sword Sect too much. They just followed the Lingyun Sect, waving their flags and shouting slogans, and paying tributes every year.

However, the Guiyuan Sect became the Lingyun Sect's vanguard, constantly provoking conflicts with the Tiangang Sword Sect, and was even more aggressive than when it had joined the Ziyang Sect in the past.

Most of the members of Tiangang Sword Sect are sword cultivators, who are naturally tough in nature and naturally will not swallow their anger, so conflicts between the two sides are constant.

In terms of sect strength, the Tiangang Sword Sect is far superior to the Guiyuan Sect. However, the Guiyuan Sect has the support of the Lingyun Sect, so it is not at a disadvantage and even often has the advantage.

The disciples of Tiangang Sword Sect were filled with righteous indignation and even wanted to start a war with Guiyuan Sect, but they were sternly stopped by the elders and had to give up in disappointment.

Many disciples who had suffered losses came to the Taoist Master Ying Ting, and some of them shed tears. Every time he heard this, he became furious, but he could only persuade them against their will not to act rashly.

Taoist Yingting was certainly aware of the dissatisfaction of the monks in the sect, but he also knew that this was a tactic of the Lingyun Sect to deliberately provoke a fight.

If it were the former Zi Yang Sect, the Tian Gang Sword Sect would never retreat even a single step. It would be nothing more than a battle. Although the number of sword cultivators is small, their strength is still above that of cultivators of the same level. It is still unknown who will win or lose.

At that time, Lingyun Sect would not stand idly by. If Tiangang Sword Sect falls, Ziyang Sect will take action against Lingyun Sect.

But now, the Tiangang Sword Sect has no helpers, and the strength of the Lingyun Sect is far superior to that of the Ziyang Sect.

There has never been a sect in Qi State that has three Nascent Soul cultivators. Chen Yuan is comparable to a great cultivator and has mastered the art of teleportation. It is said that the Zixu Sword has also fallen into his hands, making him even more powerful.

After the fall of Zi Yang Sect, the inside story gradually leaked out. Sect Leader Shen personally rushed to Jiangxian Mountain and paid a huge price in exchange for a forbidden air formation to guard against teleportation.

Although Guiyuan Sect is a vassal of Lingyun Sect, Bai Yanji also quietly went to Tianxuan Sect and bought a formation plate and flag of the forbidden sky formation from Elder Zhou, the first formation master of Donghua Continent.

Only the Mingyin Valley was too weak, and setting up a forbidden air formation was useless, so they simply saved the treasures and spirit stones as offerings to the Lingyun Sect.

Taoist Ying Ting knew what Master Shen was worried about. If they fought with Lingyun Sect, Tiangang Sword Sect would be in danger of destruction. Instead, they should swallow their anger and prevent Lingyun Sect from having an excuse to start a war, so that they could preserve the sect.

Twenty years ago, taking advantage of the heavy losses suffered by the four major Xuan sects and their lack of time to take care of other things, the Lingyun Sect, the Tiangang Sword Sect, and the Guiyuan Sect took action and destroyed the Ziyang Sect and the Wanshou Mountain one after another with lightning speed.

Now that the Four Great Xuan Sects have recovered, it will not be so easy for the Lingyun Sect to provoke a war to destroy the sect again.

In recent years, several Jindan elders of the Tiangang Sword Sect have privately complained that they should not have taken action against Wanshou Mountain, but should have united with various sects to fight against the Lingyun Sect.

But Taoist Ying Ting knew clearly that if the Tiangang Sword Sect did not take action, the Lingyun Sect would not let go of Wanshou Mountain. Guiyuan Sect and Mingyin Valley would not dare to go against the Lingyun Sect. The only best option was to get involved.

In the final analysis, Chen Yuan is too powerful and has a long life. As long as he exists, Lingyun Sect will be the undisputed overlord of Qi State's immortal cultivation world.

The handsome Taoist could only suppress his anger and at most give Wu Zexian a cold face.

He also felt a little nostalgic for the days when he and the monks of Lingyun Sect fought side by side against the Ziyang Sect.

However, the balance among the six sects of Qi State has been broken. Lingyun Sect has become the second Ziyang Sect, and its ambition to unify the immortal cultivation world of Qi State is obvious.

The Tiangang Sword Sect was not strong enough and could only endure silently, waiting for a turning point.

In the past, when the Zi Yang Sect was at its peak, the Tian Gang Sword Sect had encountered a greater crisis than it is now, but they still managed to survive it.

Although the Lingyun Sect now has the upper hand, it may not necessarily have the last laugh.

The only good news is that Chen Yuan has not shown up for ten years. During these ten years, the oppression from the Lingyun Sect has also been alleviated a bit compared to before.

……

All the disciples from the four sects were present, and the formation master of the Lingyun faction began to set up the formation under the command of Elder Yang.

This time, Taoist Ying Ting looked at the many changes to the forbidden-breaking formation and did not question it.

Ten years ago, a strange phenomenon occurred in the secret realm of Dongxu Mountain. A colorful column of light shot up into the sky, but the reason was unknown.

It was not until the disciples of the four sects left the secret realm that they learned through some inquiries that an abnormality had also occurred in the secret realm at that time, with colorful spiritual light filling the sky, but it quickly disappeared.

If you can't find out the reason, you can only put it aside.

The origin of the secret realm of Dongxu Mountain is mysterious, and the Qi State sect still does not know its details. They only know that it is related to the ancient Taixuan Sect. The Four Great Xuan Sects seem to know a thing or two, but they are all very secretive and never reveal a single detail.

Six hours later, the formation was set up. Elder Yang took out four formation plates and handed them to four late Jindan cultivators.

The four of them raised their hands and made hand gestures, injecting their true energy into the formation. Four colorful light pillars shot up into the sky, and the gate of spiritual light slowly emerged, with spiritual light talismans flying out.

The disciples of each sect took over the talismans and entered the secret realm one after another, starting with the Lingyun Sect.

As the figure of the last Qi Refining disciple disappeared, the gate of spiritual light slowly closed. The four cultivators in the late Jindan stage put away the formation plates, stepped aside, sat cross-legged, and recovered their true energy.

Seven days later, the four of them activated the formation on time, the gate of spiritual light reappeared, and disciples from various sects flew out one after another.

Compared with the last time the secret realm was opened, the conflict between Lingyun Sect and Tiangang Sword Sect became more intense, and the casualties increased a lot.

When the Lingguang Gate was closed, only seven disciples of the Tiangang Sword Sect and seventeen of the Lingyun Sect survived. Nearly half of the Qi Refining disciples remained in the secret realm forever.

Wu Zexian's expression was very gloomy. His eyes swept across the faces of the elders of Mingyin Valley and Guiyuan Sect, and a cold light flashed in his eyes.

The two of them lowered their heads slightly, avoiding Wu Zexian's gaze, and their expressions were slightly unnatural.

Those thirteen dead Qi-refining disciples definitely did not all die at the hands of the Tiangang Sword Sect disciples.

The elders of Guiyuan Sect and Mingyin Valley probably wouldn't dare to let their disciples attack the disciples of Lingyun Sect, but they probably gave some hints.

After all, everyone knows that as long as the Tiangang Sword Sect falls, the Lingyun Sect will take action against the Mingyin Valley and Guiyuan Sect.

But in the secret realm, regardless of laws, life and death are determined by fate and cannot be fully explored.

Wu Zexian could only remember this secretly, retract his gaze, return to normal expression, bowed and said goodbye, took out the giant boat, and flew up.

After the seventeen Qi-refining disciples and more than thirty formation masters boarded the giant boat, Wu Zexian raised his sleeve and the giant boat slowly rose and flew towards Lingyun Sect.

After getting away from Dongting Mountain, Wu Zexian ordered everyone to take out the spiritual herbs and used a wisp of Yi wood essence to make sure that no one had hidden them.

He looked at the somewhat sparse pile of spiritual herbs in front of him with a frown on his face. A formation master was writing down what everyone had gained.

This time, the Qi-refining disciples of the Lingyun Sect suffered heavy losses, and the amount of spiritual herbs they picked was even less than last time.

He still couldn't understand why the sect leader suddenly issued an order to limit the number of disciples from each sect entering the secret realm of Dongxu Mountain, and also said that one should not exhaust all the resources.

The Lingyun Sect dominates the Qi State's immortal cultivation world. It should take the opportunity to increase its numbers and suppress other sects.

The amount of spiritual herbs obtained last time was much less than before, and the foundation-building pills refined could not meet the needs of the disciples in the sect.

There are even fewer spiritual herbs this time, but the number of Qi Refining disciples who need Foundation Establishment Pills has doubled compared to ten years ago. How should they be distributed?

Wu Zexian was very puzzled, but since this was the order from the master, he had no choice but to obey, and no one dared to express dissatisfaction.

He sighed inwardly, put away all the spiritual herbs, turned around and walked into the tower, meditating silently.

A few hours later, the giant boat returned to Lingyun Sect and landed on the White Jade Square at the top of Lingyun Peak.

The Qi-refining disciples and formation masters dispersed. Wu Zexian put away the giant boat and walked into the Lingyun Hall with Elder Yang.

He looked solemn, and kept thinking in his mind how to explain the decrease in spiritual herbs.

Suddenly, Wu Zexian was stunned.

In the empty hall, the master sat in the main seat.

Next to him was Chen Yuan, who had not been seen for ten years, looking at him with a smile.

Wu Zexian was overjoyed, and quickly stepped forward, bowing deeply: "Greetings to the Master, the Supreme Elder!" (End of this chapter)