Nine Transformations of the True Spirit.

As soon as Chen Yuan finished speaking, a cultivator immediately spoke up: "Demon General, after these past few months of sincere repentance, I am willing to serve you."

"I am a half-human, half-demon, and naturally possess the bloodline of the demon race. However, I was misled by human cultivators and went astray. Please, sir, see the truth!"

"My lord, if you can spare my life, I'll do anything you ask! Waaah, I really don't want to be eaten alive..."

More than twenty cultivators begged for mercy loudly, and the stone hall was filled with noise.

Zhang Yanwei flew into a rage and shouted, "Shut up! What is there to fear if we die?"

"You have also seen human slaves with soul-binding restrictions, their lives and deaths in the hands of others, their intelligence damaged, like wooden puppets, living a life worse than death."

"Are you really willing to be driven around by the demon race at will?"

A handsome young man retorted, "Zhang Yanwei, do you think you're the only one who's not afraid of death?"

"It would be one thing to die at the hands of the demon race, but to be eaten alive is a hundred times more painful than death!"

A middle-aged man scoffed, "What do you know? It's better to live a wretched life than to die a good death!"

"My lord, Zhang Yanwei is utterly pedantic and dares to disobey you. I am willing to kill him with my own hands to show my loyalty!"

He turned to look at Chen Yuan, his face full of fawning.
A beautiful young woman, looking haggard yet alluring, stared intently at Chen Yuan, her eyes filled with resentment, and murmured, "I don't want to die... My lord, I am willing to be your concubine, no, your furnace, and serve you wholeheartedly."

"I only beg you, sir, to spare my life and not to place a soul-binding restriction on me."

"I am merely a Core Formation cultivator, and I would never dare to harbor the slightest disloyalty..."

"You cowards, shut up..."

Some begged for mercy, while others cursed angrily. Still others, their hearts filled with despair, believed they were doomed to die today and remained silent. Chaos reigned in the stone hall.

Zhang Yanwei, on the contrary, fell silent and quietly watched the cultivators who had lost their courage, sneering without saying a word.

Chen Yuan's eyes flashed, and he said calmly, "You were so righteous just now, why are you silent now?"

Zhang Yanwei said coldly, "Those who walk different paths cannot make plans together. These cowards are afraid of death and would rather become slaves. Why bother trying to persuade them?"

"Stop talking and take me away."

“That old scoundrel with the fierce mane ate raw meat and blood, and ate human flesh. Before I die, I can still curse him one last time. It’s not a waste that I’ve been tied up here for several months.”

Chen Yuan nodded slightly, then looked at the cultivators who were begging for mercy and said indifferently, "Being enslaved is worse than death. It would be better to send you on your way and spare you from suffering."

After saying that, he flicked his finger, and a delicate little firebird flew out, flapping its wings slowly but at an extremely fast speed, circling the stone hall several times.

As the firebird flew over the cultivators who were begging for mercy, sparks flew from its wings.

It landed on them, turning into a raging fire that burned fiercely before being reduced to ashes and falling to the ground.

The handsome young man watched the firebird fly towards him, his face filled with terror: "No, sir, spare my life..."

The beautiful young woman smiled sadly, her fair skin engulfed by the flames, and she perished.

The bright firelight illuminated the dim stone hall, and the pungent smell of burning filled the air. All around was quiet.

The firebird gradually dissipated, leaving the surviving cultivators bewildered. Even those who had lost all hope looked up in confusion.

Zhang Yanwei was stunned for a while before he finally spoke: "What do you mean by this?"

Chen Yuan raised his hand and removed the white tiger mask, revealing his true face.

Everyone was even more surprised, never expecting that this ruthless demon general would be so handsome and possess such an extraordinary aura. If it weren't for the intense demonic aura emanating from him, they would have mistaken him for a human cultivator.

With a thought, Chen Yuan's left ring finger, hidden in his sleeve, flickered slightly, and all the demonic energy around him was transformed into spiritual energy.

Everyone's eyes widened, and Zhang Yanwei stammered in astonishment, "Your Excellency... Your Excellency..."

Chen Yuan stepped back a few steps, looked around, and bowed to everyone with clasped hands: "I am not a demon general, but a human cultivator just like you all."

"You have been imprisoned for months, struggling between life and death every day, living in fear and suffering, yet you have not changed your minds and refused to submit to the demon race. Please accept my bow."

"The Demon General with Fierce Mane has been personally killed by me. You may all leave with me."

As soon as he finished speaking, he flicked his sleeve, and a gentle breeze swept by, causing the strange black ropes binding everyone to break quietly and fall to the ground.

More than 130 cultivators survived. They were already injured and had been imprisoned for several months, unable to absorb the spiritual energy of heaven and earth to regulate their breathing and heal their wounds. Their bodies were extremely weak, and their true essence was almost depleted.

Now suddenly freed from their restraints, they all fell from the wooden frame, about to crash to the ground.

Chen Yuan flicked his sleeve, and an invisible force appeared out of thin air, supporting everyone's bodies and slowly landing.

Zhang Yanwei struggled to sit up, tidied his disheveled hair, and bowed deeply to Chen Yuan: "You are actually a senior of my human race. I was unaware of your identity and spoke rudely. I have offended you. Please forgive me."

The other cultivators also clasped their fists and bowed, saying, "Thank you for your help, senior, in saving us from this hell on earth!"

"I will never forget your great kindness, senior!"

"senior……"

Many cultivators wept with joy and collapsed to the ground. They lived in constant fear, terrified that they would be devoured by the Fierce Mane Demon General at any moment.

Chen Yuan suddenly arrived here today, and thinking it was his turn, he fell into despair.

I never expected to escape from this desperate situation and survive. My emotions were in turmoil, a mixture of sorrow and joy that I couldn't control.

The middle-aged cultivator who had first refuted Chen Yuan staggered to Chen Yuan's side and bowed deeply: "Senior has been kind to us as if we were reborn. May I ask your esteemed name?"

Chen Yuan said, "You young friends need not know my name."

"All you need to know is that my alias in the Burning Demon Realm is the Northern Underworld Demon General. I have established the Northern Underworld Cave and govern a territory spanning millions of miles."

"Now that the Demon General Lie Zong is dead, someone will soon come to investigate. I will take you all to the Northern Underworld Cave and find a secluded place to hide."

"As long as you young friends act carefully, you will not fall into the hands of the demon race again."

Everyone was overjoyed and clasped their hands in thanks. The middle-aged cultivator was very surprised: "Senior, could you be the legendary Shadow Spy cultivator?"

Chen Yuan remained noncommittal, then looked at Zhang Yanwei: "Young friend Zhang, would you be willing to accompany me to the Northern Underworld Cave?"

Zhang Yanwei was taken aback, then replied, "Of course, staying here would mean certain death. Thank you for saving my life, senior."

A hint of doubt flashed in the eyes of the middle-aged cultivator beside him. Zhang Yanwei was fearless in the face of the demon race, but he would not refuse if he could save his life. Why would this Senior Chen ask such a question?
Chen Yuan smiled slightly, raised his right hand, and a wisp of Zhu Yan True Fire rose up, turning into more than a hundred sparks that flew into everyone's bodies.

Everyone was horrified, but at this moment their true energy was exhausted and their divine sense had been sealed for a long time, making them extremely weak and powerless to resist.

He could only watch helplessly as the spark flew into his body, condensed into a fire lotus mark, merged into his soul space, flickered a few times, and disappeared.

The middle-aged cultivator's face was very grim: "What do you mean by this, senior?" (End of Chapter)