Nine Transformations of the True Spirit.

Three months later, Chen Yuan traveled tens of millions of miles back to Beiming Island. He did not conceal his whereabouts, and Yun Jinyue and the other two immediately came to pay their respects.

The Demon Burning Realm is too vast; it takes half a year just to travel between Beiming Island and Leishan Cave.

Chen Yuan stayed in Yinchao City for another three months, and this trip actually took almost a year.

The demon race has a long lifespan and doesn't care about these few years, but Chen Yuan, who has only recently ascended, is somewhat unaccustomed to it.

Yun Jinyue bowed gracefully and said, "Three months after you left, a demon from the Iron Wing Cave came to visit, saying that the Iron Wing Demon General invited you to a banquet and left this jade slip behind."

"It contains the divine consciousness imprint of the Iron-Winged Demon General. We dare not touch it without permission. Please take a look, senior."

As she spoke, she took out a jade slip and presented it with both hands.

Chen Yuan took the jade slip into his hand, broke through the divine sense restriction, and went inside to explore. It turned out that the Iron Wing Demon General had invited him to participate in a trade fair, which was scheduled for a year later, and there were still six months to go.

It seems that Ironwing Demon General was aware of the inconvenience of traveling between the Demon General's caves, and extended the invitation a year in advance.

Excluding Chen Yuan, there were eight demon generals participating in this trade fair, all of whom were acquaintances of the Iron Wing Demon General.

Besides the Thunder Mountain Cave, there are other demon generals under the command of the demon kings, each with their own territory.

In the jade slip, the Iron-Winged Demon General explained that these demon generals usually cultivate in their caves, occasionally going out to travel or fight with other demon generals, and they all accumulate a few treasures in their possession.

However, Leishan Cave is extremely far from Silver Tide City, located on the edge of the Blood Tooth Domain.

They were either reluctant to part with the twenty top-grade spirit stones they would spend on traveling to Silver Tide City, or unwilling to sell their treasures directly to shops in Silver Tide City, and they didn't have the time to sell them on their own.

He then organized a trade fair with a demon general he knew, which was held regularly to exchange goods and services.

Such exchanges are quite common among demon generals. When Chen Yuan established his own academy, he received invitations from other demon generals, but he was too busy to attend and had to decline.

However, he has now killed four mid-level demon generals in the Corrosion Cave, completing half of his plan.

He had just bought four kinds of rare poisons from Silver Tide City and was about to make a trip to Iron Wing Cave when this jade slip arrived at just the right time.

Chen Yuan put away the jade slip, inquired about the major and minor affairs of the Beiming Cave Mansion over the past nine months, and reviewed Huan Yu's records.

The three of them discussed and decided on everything. Liu Tianhan was strong-willed, Huan Yu was cautious, and Yun Jinyue was knowledgeable and experienced.

As a compromise, almost everything was handled properly. There were occasional shortcomings, but Chen Yuan did not criticize them much, only offering a few words of advice.

They had personally experienced the great battle between Frostsword City and Mountain Moving City, and were considered to be outstanding in ability, but their levels of understanding and perspectives differed.

Their Core Formation stage cultivation sometimes made them overly cautious, which prevented them from acting freely.

The three men were completely convinced by Chen Yuan's teachings and bowed as they withdrew.

After a few days of recuperation, Chen Yuan took out the jade slip containing the "Secret Technique of Body Refining with Mixed Poisons," studied it carefully, and then understood it thoroughly.

He got up and left the meditation room, going to another spacious stone chamber with a skylight that let in sunlight.

A thick layer of soil covered the ground, and array flags were planted around the perimeter to firmly lock in the rich spiritual energy.

This is a spirit herb garden, originally created by the Demon General of the Underworld Sea to cultivate rare spirit herbs. Now, however, there are no spirit herbs left. Chen Yuan uses it specifically to draw starlight to nourish his body.

He took out the five-thousand-year-old Blood Bone Flower. This spiritual flower was about a foot long, and its stems and leaves were all a deep white, resembling white bones, which made people's hair stand on end.

However, the large petals were pale red and emitted a rich, sweet fragrance.

At first, it was refreshing, but afterwards it made me nauseous, dizzy, and almost collapsed.

Chen Yuan's physical body was strong and he was not afraid of the faint poison contained in the fragrance of the flowers, but the smell was too unpleasant, so he used his true essence to condense a protective shield to cover his mouth and nose.

With a casual flick of his finger, the soil on the ground surged, and a pit half a foot deep quietly appeared.

Chen Yuan raised his hand and threw it, and the Blood Bone Lotus slowly flew into the pit. The soil on both sides returned to its original state, burying its roots.

He flipped his hand and took out an array plate, raised his hand to form a hand seal, and array flags around the spirit herb garden flashed.

Spiritual energy gathered and condensed into a thin mist, enveloping the eerie spiritual flower.

The Blood Bone Lotus absorbed the spiritual mist, swaying gently, its leaves trembling slightly, seemingly quite pleased that it had taken root in this herb garden and could continue to grow.

Even a hundred-year-old herb possesses a spirit, albeit a very weak one. However, a five-thousand-year-old herb has a much stronger spirit, though it is far less than that of a living being, it still possesses simple emotions such as joy, anger, sorrow, and happiness.

But neither cultivators nor demons showed them the slightest pity.

The path of cultivating immortality is to defy the heavens, seize all the blessings of creation, and bestow them upon oneself, thus achieving longevity and immortality.

Chen Yuan flicked his sleeve, and twelve jade bottles appeared out of thin air in front of him. He then pointed with his fingers, and one of the jade bottles slowly flew above the Blood Bone Epiphyllum petals. It tilted slightly and poured out a stream of dark red blood.

A strong demonic aura emanated from it, but it was quickly masked by pure spiritual energy.

Blood poured out of the jade bottle continuously, seemingly endlessly.

The blood of these demon generals fell into the flower's stamen and disappeared without a trace, seemingly all absorbed by the Blood Bone Lotus.

The large, pale red petals became even more alluring, while the bone-like stems and leaves grew increasingly sinister.

Chen Yuan faintly smelled the rich, sweet fragrance. He frowned, his true essence surged out, and the protective barrier became even thicker, blocking it from the outside.

A quarter of an hour later, all one hundred catties of blood fell into the stamen of the Blood Bone Epiphyllum, leaving the jade bottle empty, before Chen Yuan retrieved it.

He pointed, and a second jade bottle slowly flew out, pouring out deep yellow blood, which all fell into the flower's stamen.

Over the next two hours, twelve bottles of demon general's blood, each weighing one hundred jin (approximately 50 kg), totaling one thousand two hundred jin (approximately 600 kg), all fell into this strange and magical flower.

The petals of the Blood Bone Epiphyllum had turned completely blood red, as if fresh blood was dripping down, and the pale white stems and leaves were frighteningly white.

The rich, sweet aroma was now irresistible, and even Chen Yuan's attempt to condense a protective shield of true essence was futile, so he simply withdrew his true essence.

He sat cross-legged beside the Blood Bone Lotus, silently enduring the nauseating smell, and meditated with his eyes closed.

Three days and three nights later, a drop of blood-red nectar suddenly gushed out from the stamen of the Blood Bone Epiphyllum. The rich, sweet fragrance became more than a hundred times stronger, and the toxicity increased significantly.

Chen Yuan's physical body was comparable to that of a high-level demon general, but he still suffered minor damage after smelling this fragrance.

He suddenly opened his eyes, stood up, flipped his hand and took out a jade bottle that had once contained the blood of a demon general, and threw it above the Blood Bone Lotus.

He pointed, and a drop of nectar flew up from the Blood Bone Lotus and fell into the jade bottle.

Meanwhile, more nectar flowed continuously from the flower's pistil, as if the Blood Bone Lotus had taken three days to digest the 1,200 jin of demon general's blood before spitting out this nectar. Chen Yuan patiently collected the nectar until the jade bottle was full, weighing about 100 jin, before no more nectar flew out.

The Blood Bone Lotus calmed down again, its petals returned to a pale red, and its stems and leaves were no longer so pale, but the spiritual energy it contained was even more abundant, and its age had increased by about a hundred years.

Chen Yuan raised his hand and took the heavy jade bottle into his hand. He smiled slightly, turned around and walked out of the spirit herb garden, returning to his cultivation room.

He sat cross-legged, closed his eyes, and regulated his breathing to recover from the minor injuries he had sustained under that rich fragrance.

Several hours later, Chen Yuan opened his eyes, raised his sleeve and flicked it, and a light gray stone bowl appeared out of thin air in front of him.

He then took out the jade bottle containing the honey of the Blood Bone Epiphyllum, the spider silk of the Ghost-Faced Spider Demon King, and a heavy, dark blue stone box.

Upon opening the stone box, one finds a pool of vibrant orange powder, which has lightly stained the bottom and sides of the box with orange hues.

Chen Yuan looked at the three strange poisons, took a deep breath, and his true essence surged out, forming a thick protective shield around his body. Then he pointed at the jade bottle.

The jade bottle slowly ascended above the stone bowl, pouring the Blood Bone Epiphyllum Honey into it, filling the cultivation room with its rich and sweet aroma.

Even after all the nectar had been poured out, the stone bowl was only half full.

Chen Yuan endured the cloying fragrance, raised his sleeve and flicked it, sending the spider silk the size of a human head and the stone box flying into the air above the stone bowl.

He flicked his finger, and a golden short blade shot out, tearing a crack in the spider silk, from which black venom spilled out.

At the same time, the dark blue stone box tilted, and the orange three-tailed red crystal scorpion tail needle bone powder fell into the stone bowl.

The three kinds of strange poisons mixed together, and a blood-red mist rose up and slowly spread.

Chen Yuan's expression turned solemn, and his true essence surged forth, transforming into a solid protective shield that enveloped the stone bowl, trapping the blood-red mist within.

The crimson mist hissed as it touched the true essence shield.

Chen Yuan felt his true essence being constantly corroded, and the protective shield was rapidly becoming thinner. He had no choice but to continue circulating his true essence to replenish the shield.

Meanwhile, the crimson mist was being consumed continuously, with a constant hissing sound.

This situation continued for three hours. Finally, the venom of the Ghost-Faced Spider Demon King and the bone powder from the Three-Tailed Crimson Crystal Scorpion's tail needle merged with the Blood Bone Epiphyllum Honey, turning into a small half-full of dark gray spiritual liquid in the stone bowl. It emitted a pungent odor, and the blood-colored mist dissipated completely.

Chen Yuan secretly breathed a sigh of relief and dispelled his true essence shield.

After being continuously corroded by the blood-red mist, only a small portion of his true essence remained, and he could no longer sustain himself for much longer.

This blood-red mist is extremely toxic. It's only because his true essence is pure and abundant that he could produce it. If it were an ordinary cultivator, their true essence would have been exhausted long ago, and they would have had to prepare spiritual liquid in batches.

He stretched out his right hand, and the stone bowl slowly flew over and landed in his palm.

Looking at the small bowl of dark gray venom, Chen Yuan smiled.

The three kinds of rare poisons were mixed to create dozens of kilograms of spiritual liquid, which was used to perform the "Mixed Poison Body Refining Secret Technique," with effects comparable to taking a bottle of body tempering elixir.

This secret technique requires three kinds of rare poisons at the level of demon kings, yet it only has this effect, which seems to be a waste of spirit stones.

However, there were too many demon generals in the Demon Burning Realm, making the five-thousand-year-old body-tempering spiritual herbs extremely rare and expensive. Chen Yuan offered a third-grade spiritual treasure weapon, but only managed to exchange it for two herbs.

In this light, the cost of the "Mixed Poison Body Refining Secret Technique" is not so significant.

Chen Yuan flicked his sleeve, and a huge wooden barrel appeared out of thin air in front of him.

He purchased this from Silver Tide City; it is made of thousand-year-old spirit wood and can withstand the corrosive effects of the poison in the bowl.

Chen Yuan then took out a bowl of spiritual spring water, which he had purchased from a shop in Silver Tide City while waiting for the two kinds of strange poisons. It contained pure spiritual energy and he poured it into the wooden bucket.

Then he tilted the stone bowl and poured in several kilograms of dark gray venom, which mixed with the spiritual spring water and was diluted to a light gray color, becoming turbid.

Chen Yuan put the stone bowl into his mustard seed ring, took off his escape robe, and entered the wooden tub naked, where he sat down cross-legged.

The light gray venom reached above the neck, level with the chin, casting a gray tinge on the fair skin.

Chen Yuan concentrated his mind and breath, and used the method recorded in the "Secret Technique of Body Refining with Mixed Poison" to inhale the dark gray venom into his body. A series of needle-like sensations came over him, corroding his limbs and bones.

However, when these three extremely poisonous substances are mixed, in addition to becoming even more toxic, they also contain a rich vitality.

As the venom corroded Chen Yuan's body, this life force immediately repaired his injuries.

Chen Yuan's physical body was gradually strengthened in this cycle of destruction and repair.

The venom in the barrel gradually faded in color, and finally became colorless and odorless after a day.

Chen Yuan opened his eyes, slowly got up, gently clenched his fists, felt his strength increase, nodded in satisfaction, and stepped out of the wooden tub.

The dampness evaporated naturally, and he put on his escape robe, put away the wooden bucket, took out the alchemy furnace and demon core herbs, and began to refine the demon essence pill.

The "Secret Technique of Body Refinement with Mixed Poisons" cannot be mastered overnight. This dark gray venom is too potent and must be applied gradually, in several stages, to temper the body with the venom in order to avoid leaving any lasting harm.

For the next six months, Chen Yuan used dark gray venom to temper his physical body every month.

The poison in the stone bowl was completely consumed, and Chen Yuan's physical body was also strengthened considerably, even better than the effect of refining a bottle of Body Tempering Pill.

Those hundred drops of Ghost-Faced Spider Demon King venom were left behind by a mid-stage Void Refinement Demon King. The venom he concocted was much more potent and had a better body-tempering effect.

While tempering his body with the "Secret Technique of Body Refining with Mixed Poisons," Chen Yuan devoted all his time to refining elixirs.

He used up the remaining mid-level demon general's core, as well as three five-thousand-year-old spirit herbs, and also consumed a five-thousand-year-old spirit herb he brought from the lower realm, obtaining a total of twenty-five mid-stage Nascent Soul pills.

Including the fifteen pills refined in Silver Tide City, he now has four bottles of mid-stage Nascent Soul pills.

After refining all of them, one's cultivation level will be significantly enhanced, bringing one one step closer to the late stage of the Nascent Soul realm.

After these two alchemy sessions, he still had five five-thousand-year-old spiritual herbs left from the lower realm, and all the three-thousand-year-old spiritual herbs he bought from Silver Tide City were used up.

More than twenty of the thousand-year-old spiritual herbs were used as auxiliary medicines, leaving more than one hundred and seventy plants.

As his cultivation level improved, the effects of thousand-year-old spiritual herbs on Chen Yuan became negligible. Only a few extremely precious spiritual herbs could be used as auxiliary ingredients in alchemy.

As the last batch of pills was completed, Chen Yuan vaguely felt that his alchemy skills had improved, but he was still quite far from the next level.

He put away the alchemy furnace and the five pills brimming with spiritual energy, got up and left the cultivation room. He summoned Yun Jinyue and the other two, gave them some instructions, and then left Beiming Island for the Iron Wing Cave. (End of Chapter)