Nine Transformations of the True Spirit.

After the white spark entered his body, Zhang Yanwei's expression changed. He paused for a moment, and a strange look flashed in his eyes as he looked at Chen Yuan.

Chen Yuan smiled and said, "My dear friends, please calm down. You are fearless in the face of danger and death, yet you still refuse to submit to the demon race."

"I, Chen, am naturally not worried that you young friends will reveal my identity."

"But the demon race is extremely vicious, and they want to exterminate us human cultivators. Even if you young friends hide in the Northern Underworld Cave, we cannot guarantee that you will be safe."

"This fire lotus mark will not harm any of you young friends, but if any of you unfortunately fall into the hands of the demon race and are subjected to the soul-searching technique, this fire lotus will first burn away your soul, sparing you the suffering of the soul search."

"And one can retain a trace of one's soul to be reborn, thus preserving a chance to attain enlightenment in the next life."

He paused here, glanced at Zhang Yanwei, and then continued.

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief. The middle-aged cultivator clasped his hands and bowed, saying, "Thank you, senior. We originally had 475 cultivators, but after we were captured, many of them died at the hands of that fierce-maned demon general. Now we only have 132 left."

"Apart from the twenty-seven cowards who were killed by the senior, the rest are all of strong character and would rather die than become slaves. They will keep their mouths shut."

Chen Yuan nodded slightly: "I naturally trust you all. It is not appropriate to stay here any longer. Let's leave now."

The middle-aged cultivator looked troubled: "Our true essence is exhausted; I'm afraid we won't be able to escape..."

Chen Yuan said, "It's alright, I have my own methods. Please follow me."

After saying that, he put the white tiger mask back on and turned to walk out the door.

All of them were cultivators, at least at the Foundation Establishment stage. Although they were extremely weak when they were freed from the black ropes, they had recovered considerably by now.

Although they cannot fight against others, they can move freely.

The middle-aged cultivator and Zhang Yanwei seemed to have high prestige among the 132 cultivators, and immediately called for everyone to follow.

They arranged for stronger cultivators to help the seriously injured into the passage in an orderly fashion.

Although Chen Yuan had left, his divine sense continued to watch over everyone.

Seeing that Zhang Yanwei's arrangements were extremely organized and that he personally helped a seriously injured Foundation Establishment cultivator without showing any disgust at the bloodstains on the man's body, he couldn't help but sigh inwardly.

The cultivators moved with light steps, and in less than a quarter of an hour, the group emerged from the cave, finally seeing the light of day again after being imprisoned for several months.

Several cultivators suddenly burst into tears, sobbing uncontrollably. The others also felt the same way, their faces filled with the relief of surviving a calamity.

Chen Yuan had everyone stand close together, then flew into the sky first, and then sent out a wisp of light to cover everyone.

A gentle spatial fluctuation emanated, and the 132 cultivators were lifted by an invisible force, slowly flying into the sky and arriving above the clouds.

Under everyone's watchful eyes, Chen Yuan took out the Guanghan Bow, drew back the bowstring, and his true essence surged out, transforming into a long arrow of spiritual light, which shot towards the huge lion statue on the mountaintop.

The power of the divine weapon was immense; with a single arrow, the imposing lion statue shattered.

The crystal-clear glacier, which had existed for countless millennia, collapsed, triggering a massive avalanche.

Chen Yuan's hands moved without stopping as he repeatedly drew back the bowstring, sending out slender, spiritually lit arrows that shot into the giant mountain. The arrows exploded with a deafening roar, causing the area above the halfway point to collapse completely, the earth to tremble, and the mountain to split open.

Countless boulders rolled down, and the abandoned palaces and pavilions, after decaying for many years, finally met their end.

A long, luminous arrow struck the cave where the Fierce Mane Demon General resided, causing it to collapse completely and burying all traces.

Everyone stared blankly at the scene that seemed like the end of the world. Chen Yuan appeared so small in front of this two-thousand-foot-tall mountain.

But he merely fired a few arrows, and utterly destroyed this colossal mountain that had stood for countless ages and witnessed countless demon generals.

Dust filled the air and spread rapidly in all directions, obscuring the sky and the sun.

Chen Yuan put away the Guanghan Bow, raised his sleeve and flicked it, a gust of wind swept up and dispersed all the surging dust.

He looked down at the grassland, where most of the low-level monsters had already scattered and fled.

However, a few demonic beasts remained at the foot of the mountain. They witnessed Chen Yuan destroying the giant mountain with the Guanghan Bow, and in a panic, they turned around and fled.

A cold glint flashed in Chen Yuan's eyes, and the Zhu Yan True Fire rose in his hand. Following that mysterious connection in the dark, it surged into the bodies of all the low-level demons within a hundred miles of the foot of the giant mountain, burning their demon souls into nothingness!
The howls of monsters echoed from beneath the giant mountain, but were drowned out by the deafening roar of the mountain collapsing.

Within moments, thousands of low-level demonic beasts that failed to escape in time perished under the Zhu Yan True Fire.

With their vision obscured by dust and their minds reeling from the collapse of the massive mountain before them, no one noticed what was happening.

However, the middle-aged cultivator and Zhang Yanwei remained extremely calm. As they spread their divine senses, they witnessed this chilling scene and felt a deep sense of dread rising from the bottom of their hearts.

These thousands of demonic beasts were in agony, as if they had suffered immense torment in an instant. They even forgot to flee for their lives and frantically pounced on the other demonic beasts around them.

Some of the demonic beasts even bit at the boulders flying from the sky, as if they had all lost their minds and become puppets who only knew how to kill, even worse than wild beasts. Not long after these demonic beasts died, the collapsing rocks and mud, along with broken logs, swept in and buried their corpses.

Chen Yuan lowered his right hand, turned around, raised his hand to form a hand seal, and a gentle spatial fluctuation spread out. Then, with a burst of light, he carried everyone away into the distance.

Chen Yuan moved with incredible speed. A gust of wind rushed towards him, but it was blocked by an invisible shield. However, the sound of the wind whistling through the air still reached everyone's ears.

They finally recovered from the shock of the earthquake. Some of the more knowledgeable cultivators were greatly astonished to see the dust and grasslands rushing past them.

High-level cultivators can carry low-level cultivators away, but their cultivation level is at least at the Foundation Establishment stage, and most of them are Core Formation cultivators, numbering in the hundreds.

Even a late-stage Nascent Soul cultivator could not escape with so many people so easily, and their escape speed could not be so fast.

The middle-aged cultivator was amazed. This Senior Chen was indeed a legendary shadow spy cultivator. He had such supernatural powers. He could wield a longbow to smash mountains and slay demons, and then lead his people to escape thousands of miles away. He was truly dashing and admirable.

……

At the foot of Leishan Mountain, in the main hall, the Leishan Demon King sat high in the main seat, his expression slightly gloomy.

The Heavenly Hou Demon General stood below the steps, with several demon generals behind him, bowing respectfully with a hint of fear in their expressions.

Beside the group were two enormous skeletons, each several tens of feet in size, occupying nearly half the space of the hall.

The skeleton was broken and tattered, with a layer of green staining the white broken bones, making it look sinister and eerie.

The Thunder Mountain Demon King examined the two skeletons and said indifferently, "Did any of you see who killed Lie Zong?"

A demon general hurriedly replied, "Your Majesty, we were in our cave when we suddenly heard a lion's roar coming from afar. Our souls trembled, and we knew that the commander was using his supernatural powers. We dared not delay and rushed over immediately."

"But when we arrived at the place where the lion's roar came from, we only saw two deep pits on the ground, each a hundred feet deep, and found only these two skeletons. There was nothing else."

The Thunder Mountain Demon King frowned, his voice turning colder: "Lion King Peak collapsed, and none of you know who was responsible?"

Several demon generals trembled, and another demon general said in fear and trepidation, "Your Majesty, please forgive us. When Lion King Peak collapsed, we were examining the remains of our commander. We saw Lion King Peak collapse from afar and immediately rushed back."

"It's just that our cultivation level is low, so even if we try our best to fly, we won't be able to get very fast."

"By the time we returned to the foot of Lion King Peak, the man who destroyed the mountain had already fled far away."

"All the demon generals who stayed behind died, and several thousand low-level demon beasts also died, buried under the rocks and soil."

Thunder Mountain Demon King looked at Heavenly Hou Demon Commander, clasped his hands and bowed: "Your Majesty, I personally went to the Fierce Mane Cave to investigate, and it is indeed as they said, Lion King Peak has been almost completely destroyed."

"The corpses of the low-level demon beasts are difficult to identify, but the corpses of the dozen or so demon generals are relatively intact, indicating that they died from arrows."

"As for Lie Zong's remains... only these two broken skeletons were found, not a trace of flesh or blood was left."

"I don't know if he died from some kind of supernatural power or magical treasure, or from being poisoned by this corrosive poison."

The Demon King of Leishan frowned, glanced at the demon generals, and waved his hand: "You may all step back for now and await further instructions."

The demon generals, feeling as if they had been granted a pardon, bowed deeply with their burly bodies and quickly walked out of the main hall, fearing that the Thunder Mountain Demon King might change his mind.

Only the Heavenly Hou Demon General and two broken skeletons remained in the main hall, and all was silent.

The Thunder Mountain Demon King stared at the skeleton and suddenly asked, "Tianhou, what is your opinion on this matter?"

After considering for a moment, Tianhou Demon General said, "Your Majesty, the corpse of Lie Zong is so badly corroded that it is impossible to tell what he went through before he died."

"However, this corrosive poison is so potent that it must be the poison of the Demon King."

"According to these demon generals, they rushed over after hearing the lion's roar."

"The place where the lion's roar came from was less than three thousand miles away from Lion King Peak. They arrived in two quarters of an hour, and all that remained of Lie Zong was his skeleton."

"It is clear that the person who made the move must be far stronger than Lie Zong to be able to kill a mid-level demon general in such a short time."

"After killing Lie Zong, he did not leave immediately. He destroyed Lion King Peak and killed more than a dozen demon generals and thousands of low-level demon beasts. He must have had a deep grudge against Lie Zong to take such a revenge action."

The Thunder Mountain Demon King frowned slightly: "When did Lie Zong provoke such a powerful enemy?"

After pondering for a moment, Tianhou Demon General shook his head: "Lie Zong is rough and has made many enemies, but his cultivation is about the same as his. It is impossible for him to defeat Lie Zong in two quarters of an hour, let alone take his life."

"However, these are all Lie Zong's open enemies. It is not impossible that he might have offended some demon general in private and come to seek revenge."

Lei Shan's eyes flashed with a cold light as he said coldly, "Even if Lie Zong has offended some powerful enemy, he is still a mid-level demon general. Who would use the poison of a demon king against him, especially such a rare corrosive poison? Perhaps it is aimed at me."

The Heavenly Hou Demon General's pupils contracted: "Your Majesty means... the Wood-Eating Demon King?" (End of Chapter)