Nine Transformations of the True Spirit.

Jianling Mountain, Lingjian Peak, inside a large hall.

"The Lingyun faction has taken action against the Mingyin Valley?"

Master Shen looked at Qin Gang in front of him, with a hint of surprise in his eyes.

Qin Gang stood up and bowed with his fists clasped. His voice was a little hurried: "Five foundation-building disciples from Mingyin Valley have come to our sect to ask for help. They said that Lingyun Sect has come out in full force to surround the gate of Mingyin Valley. Jin Luoheng and Zhuge Qi have attacked together. Mingyin Valley is in danger."

"This is the letter that Master Wan Hun asked the disciples of Mingyin Valley to bring. It contains the seal of the leader of Mingyin Valley. Please have a look at it."

Sect Master Shen took the jade slip presented by Qin Gang with both hands, probed inside with his spiritual sense, and frowned: "Mingyin Valley has always followed the lead of Lingyun Sect. It's just that in the secret realm of Dongxu Mountain, there was a suspected attack on Lingyun Sect's Qi-refining disciples, and Lingyun Sect brazenly took action and launched a war to destroy the sect. It's a bit absurd."

A white-haired old man standing next to Qin Gang said, “Master, in my opinion, twenty years ago, the Demon Realm had just been wiped out, and Chen Yuan dared to attack the Ziyang Sect.”

"Now that Lingyun Sect has three Nascent Soul cultivators, they are becoming more and more reckless and more overbearing than Ziyang Sect back then. They may be capable of doing something like this."

He is Lin Yuzhe, the direct disciple of Sect Master Shen and one of the three elders in the late Jindan stage of Tiangang Sword Sect.

Qin Gang was filled with righteous indignation: "Junior Brother Lin is absolutely right. The Lingyun Sect is overbearing and has repeatedly suppressed our sect and exploited the Mingyin and Guiyuan Sects. It is unacceptable to the Qi Kingdom's immortal cultivation world. Now they are directly taking action and launching a war to destroy the sect. Our sect cannot stand idly by!"

He has a strong temper and has always advocated a strong counterattack, but he was denied permission by Sect Leader Shen, which made him very aggrieved. Now that he has finally got the chance, he naturally expresses his opinions directly.

Sect Leader Shen, however, remained unmoved and looked hesitant.

Qin Gang had never seen Chen Yuan in action, but Sect Leader Shen would never forget the scene of Chen Yuan and the Demon Lord confronting each other and slaughtering monsters.

If it were only Jin Luoheng and Zhuge Qi, he would have rushed up to Lingyun Mountains with sword in hand. But the thought of confronting Chen Yuan made him, as tough as he was, he couldn't help but feel hesitant.

He was silent for a while, and finally spoke: "Send these disciples of Mingyin Valley out of the mountain gate."

Qin Gang was shocked: "Master..."

Sect Master Shen said calmly: "There is no Nascent Soul cultivator in Mingyin Valley. It is just a useless thing. It is willing to be a vassal of Lingyun Sect. It is useless to save it."

"Just ignore it and let Bai Yanji see what will happen if he serves Lingyun Sect as a dog."

Qin Gang wanted to say more, but Sect Leader Shen turned to look at Lin Yuzhe and said, "Tomorrow you will take the letter from your master to Guiyuan Sect and visit Bai Yanji. You must do it in a big way."

"Disciple obeys your command." Lin Yuzhe bowed in response.

Seeing that Sect Leader Shen had made up his mind, Qin Gang sighed and dared not say anything more.

Sect Master Shen was still a little worried, and warned: "Brother Qin, you must not provoke the Lingyun Sect monks and give them an excuse to start a war."

"Fellow Daoist Zhao from Jiangxian Mountain has promised that in thirty years at most, when the Four Great Xuan Sects recover from the calamity of the Demon Realm, they will never sit idly by and watch the Lingyun Sect grow stronger."

"The Blood Spirit Sect has a deep grudge against the Lingyun Sect, and they will lend a hand when the time comes."

"Yes." Qin Gang was somewhat disheartened. He clasped his fists and bowed. Together with Lin Yuzhe, he turned around and walked out of the hall, riding on a beam of light and flying into the sky.

Lin Yuzhe chased after him and whispered, "Master has made the decision, we just need to obey."

"Lingyun Sect has become a thorn in the eyes of the four great Xuan Sects. Even if it can be arrogant for a while, it will soon decline. Why is Senior Brother so depressed?"

Qin Gang said angrily: "We sword cultivators prefer to take the straight path rather than the crooked one. We can use the sword in our hands to eliminate all injustices. Why should we rely on others for support?"

"Chen Yuan is so young, but his strength is amazing. His name is known all over Donghua. Who knows how much his cultivation will improve in another thirty years!"

"If Lingyun Sect destroys Mingyin Valley today, it will be able to destroy Guiyuan Sect one day and become increasingly powerful. Meanwhile, our sect is being suppressed by Lingyun Sect and is declining day by day."

“Why not fight back now while we still have the strength? Even if we lose, we can prepare in advance and preserve the sect’s inheritance. If we wait any longer, we will only bring about our own destruction!”

Lin Yuzhe said solemnly: "Brother, don't worry. When I come back from Guiyuan Sect, I will suggest to Master that the elite disciples of the sect secretly leave Qi State to preserve the fire for the sect."

"Don't hold any grudges in your heart. Master is responsible for the rise and fall of our sect, so he has to act with caution."

"You also know that Sect Leader Chu of Jiangxian Mountain gave Master a few elixirs. Maybe he can use them to break through the bottleneck and become a great cultivator. Then he won't have to be afraid of Lingyun Sect anymore."

Qin Gang sighed: "I know the difficulties of the master, but if you lose your indomitable sword heart, can you still be a sword cultivator?"

"The headmaster has been stuck at the bottleneck of the late Nascent Soul stage for hundreds of years and has been unable to break through. What use are a few elixirs?"

He shook his head and flew away on his own.

Lin Yuzhe fell silent, his expression changing, until Qin Gang's figure disappeared, then he turned around and flew towards the cave.

……

Until the Lingyun Sect broke through the protective formation, Wan Shihun still hadn't received any reinforcements from the Tiangang Sword Sect.

In addition to sending his disciples to ask for help from Sect Master Shen, he also wrote a letter and sent it to Guiyuan Sect, explaining the pros and cons in earnest words, asking Bai Yanji to mediate.

But there was no news from Bai Yanji, and the Lingyun faction's offensive became more and more fierce day by day.

In less than seven days, the few top-grade spirit stones in Mingyin Valley were completely consumed, and only a few high-grade spirit stones were left.

On the ninth day, the sect protection formation was finally broken, and what followed was a one-sided massacre.

Wan Shihun wanted to lead his people to surrender, but Jin Luoheng refused.

Only the Qi Refining disciples and the Foundation Establishment disciples were able to save their lives, and none of the fourteen Jindan elders were spared.

Jin Luoheng did not take action personally. Wan Shihun and two other elders in the late Jindan stage fought desperately but were easily killed by Zhuge Qi.

After the war subsided, Wu Zexian left the Yinlong Mountains and came to a mountain three hundred miles away from Jianling Mountain.

The scenery here is beautiful. There is a Taoist temple built on the mountain. It is very popular and attracts many tourists, all of whom are wealthy local people who come here to seek advice from the immortals and pray for blessings and peace.

Wu Zexian fell into a flash of light and escaped, but the tourists and Taoists in the Taoist temple all ignored him.

He came to the cliff behind the Taoist temple. Chen Yuan was sitting cross-legged on a blue stone shaped like a lying cow, his eyes slightly closed, meditating and regulating his breathing.

Wu Zexian slowed down his pace, came to Chen Yuan, clasped his fists and bowed, and said respectfully: "Reporting to the Supreme Elder, the Dark Valley has been breached, and Master Wanhun and the other fourteen Jindan elders are all dead."

"Almost all the Foundation Establishment disciples and Qi Refining disciples surrendered, and the losses in the sect were minimal."

"Only thirty-seven foundation-building disciples were unfortunately killed. Most of them were trying to stop the Mingyin Valley monks from escaping outside the Yinlong Mountains and were defeated."

Chen Yuan opened his eyes and looked into the distance at the horizon, which was the direction of the Tiangang Sword Sect's mountain gate and Jianling Mountain.

"For nine days, there has been no movement from the Tiangang Sword Sect. It seems that Shen Ji will not take action this time. Is there any movement from the Guiyuan Sect?" He stood up with a hint of disappointment on his face.

Wu Zexian replied: "There has been no unusual movement in Guiyuan Sect, but five days ago, Lin Yuzhe, a disciple of Shen Ji, went to Guiyuan Sect to visit Bai Yanji and handed him a letter, but the content of the letter is unknown."

"Lin Yuzhe stayed in Guiyuan Sect for three days and just left two days ago."

Chen Yuan smiled slightly: "Shen Ji has lost his edge and dares not to be an enemy of our sect, but Guiyuan Sect is quite sensible. Otherwise, swallowing two sects at the same time will inevitably cause turmoil..."

As he spoke, he flew up into the sky in a flash, and Wu Zexian hurriedly followed.

The two of them came all the way to the Yinlong Mountains and met Jin Luoheng and Zhuge Qi on the main peak of the Mingyin Valley gate.

The two were listening to the report from several Lingyun Sect elders. When they saw Chen Yuan coming, Jin Luoheng waved his hand and asked them to stop. He looked at Chen Yuan with a slightly serious expression: "Have you ever fought with Shen Ji?"

Chen Yuan clasped his fists and bowed: "Thank you for your concern, Master. There has been no movement from the Tiangang Sword Sect, and Shen Ji has not left the sect even a step."

Jin Luoheng's expression relaxed, although he already knew that Chen Yuan had broken through the mid-term bottleneck and Sect Leader Shen was probably no match for him.

But after he formed his infant form, he had never fought with a Nascent Soul cultivator, and Sect Leader Shen was a well-known sword cultivator, so it was inevitable that he was a little worried.

Zhuge Qi said: "Our sect deliberately sent disciples from Mingyin Valley to ask for help from Tiangang Sword Sect, but Shen Ji was unmoved. It is obvious that he is afraid and has lost all his fighting spirit. Tiangang Sword Sect is no longer a concern."

Chen Yuan nodded: "Next, we can temporarily suspend the suppression of the Tiangang Sword Sect, so as not to force it too much and make it fight like a trapped beast."

"We can deal with Guiyuan Sect first, and then take action against Tiangang Sword Sect, and there will be no hidden dangers."

Jin Luoheng frowned slightly: "You told me that Bai Yanji saved the life of Tianxuan Sect's Elder Zhou. Elder Zhou is the number one formation master in Donghuazhou and has a very high status in the sect. If he attacks Guiyuan Sect, will it attract Tianxuan Sect's intervention?"

Chen Yuan said: "This is a different time. If we attack Guiyuan Sect before the destruction of Mingyin Valley, we will most likely face fierce resistance."

"But during this battle, Shen Ji did not move his troops. Bai Yanji should have seen the weakness of the Tiangang Sword Sect and would definitely not dare to turn against our sect easily."

"We can pretend to start a war while forcing Guiyuan Sect to merge with our sect. Bai Yanji will most likely agree, and Tianxuan Sect will have no excuse to intervene."

Zhuge Qi showed a surprised look on his face: "Let Guiyuan Sect be incorporated into our sect?"

Chen Yuan explained: "Guiyuan Sect was founded with the support of Ziyang Sect. Over the years, it has been a vassal of Ziyang Sect. Now it has joined our sect. The cultivators in the sect have long been accustomed to relying on the strong."

"We can win over the Jindan elders and foundation-building disciples in Guiyuan Sect, promise them spirit stones and elixirs, and create momentum. With internal and external difficulties, Bai Yanji will definitely not be able to resist."

Jin Luoheng nodded in approval: "This is a brilliant plan. As long as we can annex the Guiyuan Sect, not only will our sect's strength increase greatly, but our foundation in formation will also become even deeper."

"The cultivation resources promised to Guiyuan Sect can also be taken out from its treasure house, and our sect will not suffer any losses."

"But the four great Xuan Sects have never been reasonable. If they insist on intervening, how should we deal with them?"

Chen Yuan smiled slightly: "Master, go ahead and do it. I will make sure that the four great Xuan Sects will not dare to act rashly."

Jin Luoheng nodded and said, "Since you are confident, I will attack Guiyuan Sect after digesting the gains from this battle."

Seeing that the two had decided on such a major matter in just a few words, Zhuge Qi frowned and said, "This is a serious matter, so it's better to take a long-term view..."

He didn't know yet that Chen Yuan had made a breakthrough in his cultivation, so he couldn't help but feel worried about facing the four great Xuan Sects.

Jin Luoheng moved his lips slightly and whispered a few words to Zhuge Qi. He was stunned for a moment, then turned to look at Chen Yuan with an incredible look on his face, but he no longer had any intention of objecting.

Chen Yuan had extraordinary spiritual awareness, so he naturally knew what Jin Luoheng meant.

He smiled slightly, clasped his fists and bowed to Zhuge Qi, and then bowed to Jin Luoheng: "The Dark Yin Valley has been destroyed, and I have to go out and travel, so I won't stay in the sect for long."

After saying that, he stood up and was about to leave, but Jin Luoheng stopped him and said, "Wait a minute, your master has found many treasures from the treasure house of Mingyin Valley and from the bodies of Jindan cultivators. Take a look and see if there is anything that can be used."

He raised his sleeves and flicked them, and many things appeared out of thin air in front of him, hanging in the air, shining with colorful light.

Chen Yuan looked down and saw fifteen top-grade spiritual materials, one best-grade spiritual material, two thousand-year-old spiritual herbs, two high-level magic weapons, four mid-level magic weapons, and some treasures suitable for Jindan cultivators, but not a single top-grade spiritual stone.

The quality of that top-grade spiritual material was average, so Chen Yuan just glanced at it and passed it over.

However, among the fifteen top-grade spiritual materials, two contained the power of space, which was quite rare and was collected by Chen Yuan.

The two high-level magic weapons are far inferior to the Chongxuan Peak, not to mention the Dunkong Robe. Moreover, one is suitable for fire cultivators and the other is suitable for water cultivators, so they are not in Chen Yuan's eyes.

But there was a mid-level magic weapon that interested Chen Yuan quite a bit.

This is a black bowl, named "Soul-Hiding Bowl". It has a sinister aura and has the effect of gathering and warming the soul.

The soul can gradually recover in the soul-hiding bowl, but it will also be bound, and even a great monk cannot escape.

Chen Yuan immediately thought of the dying Tian You. He was still in the jade bottle. Every once in a while, he had to absorb a hundred-year-old spiritual herb to nourish his soul, which was very troublesome.

He raised his hand and took the Soul-Hiding Bowl into his hand, smiling and saying, "Thank you, Master, for the gift of this treasure."

Jin Luoheng shook his head and laughed: "Master, I forgot that you are wealthy, so naturally you don't care about these things..."

As he spoke, he raised his sleeves and thirteen top-grade spirit stones appeared out of thin air in front of him: "These are the top-grade spirit stones produced by the Yuyang Mountain mine in the past ten years. Please accept them."

Chen Yuan was startled, then shook his head and said, "Master and Junior Brother Zhuge also need to practice, so I cannot accept these spirit stones."

Jin Luoheng smiled and said, "It's a waste to use the best spirit stones for cultivation. I have already given half of the elixir you gave me to Senior Brother Zhuge. It's enough for cultivation. You don't have to refuse it."

Zhuge Qi nodded, and Chen Yuan accepted the top-grade spirit stone: "Then I will be very honored to refuse it."

He turned and left the hall, and flew away into the distance in a flash of light.

After leaving the Yinlong Mountains, Chen Yuan, as usual, first took a look at the ancient teleportation array. Seeing nothing unusual, he felt relieved and flew south.

Along the way, he refined the Soul-Hiding Bowl, put Tian You's soul in it, then took out the jade slip given to him by Young Master Tang Jiu and read it carefully.

The jade slip records the cave of the transformed Demon King of the Southern Wilderness. Chen Yuan's purpose of this trip is to hunt down the ninth-level Demon King, obtain the demon pill, and at the same time look for the descendants of the true spirit.

The Southern Wilds are filled with poisonous miasma and are not suitable for mortals to live in. It is the world of monsters and beasts. It has some similarities with the Southern Province of the Nine Immortal Continent, but the area is much smaller and the monsters are much weaker.

There are no demon cultivators who have reached the level of divine transformation in the Southern Wilderness, but there are tenth-level demon kings. Otherwise, they would have been destroyed by the four great mysterious sects long ago.

In the jade slip of Young Master Tang Jiu, there is a record of the cave of a level ten demon king, as well as two level nine demon kings and nine level eight demon kings.

The level ten demon king has a long lifespan and has lived for more than 7,000 years, which is longer than the inheritance time of Lingyun Sect. He is very powerful and Chen Yuan has no intention of provoking him.

He kept the news about the ninth-level demon king and the eighth-level demon king in mind, and silently owed Young Master Tang Jiu a favor.

The information about the transformed demon king's cave is very precious. It was painstakingly collected by Young Master Tang Jiu. It is especially important to Chen Yuan, who has mastered the recipe of the Demon Yuan Pill.

Chen Yuan put away the jade slip and sped up his escape. Half a month later, he arrived at the border of Cai State, by the Half Moon Lake.

Young Master Tang Jiu's cave was on a scenic low hill by the lake and was shrouded in a magic formation. Chen Yuan called out a few times, but no one answered.

He meditated at the foot of a low hill, waiting patiently.

A month later, a beam of light flew in from the sky.

Chen Yuan opened his eyes, stood up, and a smile appeared on his lips.

The light of escape fell, revealing the figure of Young Master Tang Jiu.

Holding a folding fan, he quickly came to Chen Yuan, clasped his fists and bowed, his movements were very chic, and his face was full of surprise: "Brother Chen, how come you have time to come to Cai State?"

Chen Yuan returned the greeting and said with a smile, "I'm going to ask Brother Tang for a glass of spiritual wine."

Young Master Tang Jiu laughed heartily and waved his folding fan gently: "Then Brother Chen, you have come to the right place. I just got a pot of the best green bamboo honey. It would be a pleasure for you and me to drink to our heart's content, sing songs, and discuss the mysteries of the Tao. Brother Chen, please!" (End of this chapter)