Nine Transformations of the True Spirit.

The Thunder Mountain Demon King nodded slightly: "Corrosive poison is extremely rare, and its toxicity is so astonishing. Besides corrosive wood, who else could produce it?"

"He was originally a strange tree that had taken human form. His innate supernatural power was the poison that corroded wood, and he even used it as a name to open up a cave."

"Just take out a few drops and hand them to your demon general, and killing Lie Zong will be a piece of cake."

"Only by dealing with me would he be willing to use the wood-corroding poison to destroy Lion King Peak, also as a way to show off to me."

Tianhou Demon General frowned and said, "That makes sense. But everyone knows that the Wood-Eating Demon King is skilled in using poison magic. If he really wanted to attack the Great King, why would he leave such obvious traces?"

The Thunder Mountain Demon King sneered, "He just wants me to know that Lie Zong was killed by one of his demon generals."

"The man in black used his Thunder Dao Divine Power to attack and kill four mid-level demon generals in the Erosion Wood Cave, which enraged the Erosion Wood."

"He sent demon generals to question me, and now he has even asked several friendly demon kings for help, gathering dozens of high-ranking demon generals to lay a net, but so far we have not found any trace of him."

"That man in black had killed four mid-level demon generals in just two years, acting with complete impunity."

"How could it be such a coincidence that it disappeared right when the wood was being ravaged?"

"This is clearly a trap deliberately set by Shi Mu to target my demon general!"

Tianhou Demon Commander's eyes narrowed: "Does Your Majesty mean that the man in black is related to the Wood-Eating Demon King? Then why would he attack one of his own demon commanders?"

Thunder Mountain Demon King nodded: "That's right. It's even possible that the person who attacked and killed Fierce Mane was this person, but he used corrosive poison to destroy the evidence."

Tianhou Demon General frowned: "First, that man in black used his thunderous divine power to attack and kill four mid-level demon generals in the Corroded Wood Cave."

"It's quite a coincidence that Lie Zong died from the corrosive poison not long after."

"But the Wood-Eating Demon King has no reason to kill his subordinate demon generals. Perhaps someone is hiding in the shadows and trying to assassinate the King and the Wood-Eating Demon King's subordinate demon generals, attempting to provoke a fight between the King and the Wood-Eating Demon King."

The Thunder Mountain Demon King asked, "In your opinion, what is the scheme of this person hiding in the shadows?"

After pondering for a long time, Tianhou Demon General slowly said, "This person keeps attacking demon generals, probably to weaken the strength of the Great King and the Wood-Eating Demon King, and then cause a fight between the two sides, which will result in more demon generals being killed or injured."

"With the great war between the two realms imminent, the king's forces have been weakened, reducing his chances of making contributions and lowering his confidence in obtaining the Cheng Ying Flower, thus hindering his breakthrough to the Demon Saint realm..."

He was suddenly stunned. The Thunder Mountain Demon King said, "You are right. It is not difficult to deduce this reasoning from the previous incident where the Wood-Eating Demon sent the Abandoned Soul here."

"But if I cannot obtain the Chengying Flower, who will benefit the most?"

Tianhou Demon General's pupils shrank: "The Wood-Eating Demon King! He has the deepest grudge against the Great King. If the Great King becomes a Demon Saint, he will never let him go."

The Thunder Mountain Demon King's eyes flashed with a cold light: "That's right, it's Corrosion Wood! Besides him, who else would go to such lengths to use the Demon King's Poison against me?"

"What does losing a few demon generals mean to me? It's just a matter of personally going into battle a few more times on Turtle Island and taking some risks."

"I didn't want to go to war with the Wood Erosion King before, but I wanted to be more cautious, so I held back. Otherwise, how could I have allowed that abandoned soul to act so presumptuously in front of me?"

"I never expected that the Wood-Eating Beast would go even further, poisoning the Fierce Mane and destroying its cave. This is an open provocation against me, and this matter must not be left unresolved!"

Tianhou Demon General clasped his hands and bowed: "Your Majesty, please calm down. This matter has not yet been settled. Although the Corrosive Poison is rare, it is not unique to the Wood-Eating Demon King."

"Perhaps it was Lie Zong's enemy who came seeking revenge, and they just happened to use the corrosive poison."

"Furthermore, if the Wood-Eating Demon King wanted to weaken the Great King's strength, why would he go to the trouble of having that man in black assassinate four of his demon generals?"

"This is like cutting off one's own arm; it's really hard to explain."

The Thunder Mountain Demon King coldly said, "How could I know that the Corroded Wood is a strange wood that has taken human form and behaves very differently from ordinary demons? This is just a self-inflicted injury ruse he used."

"The four demon generals killed by the man in black were almost all of mediocre bloodline and had exhausted their potential."

"Only one demon general possesses a spiritual treasure and divine weapon. Among the many demon generals under Shi Mu's command, he can only be considered mediocre. It's not impossible that he's being used as a pawn." "In any case, no one would be secretly stirring things up."

"Otherwise, why would he go to such lengths, even using the Demon King's poison, just to kill a few demon generals? Could it be that he only wanted the demon cores on their bodies?"

The Heavenly Hou Demon General sighed: "What Your Majesty says is absolutely right. Although demon cores are precious, they are just a kind of refining material for us demons. Only human cultivators would be so eager for demon cores."

“But a spirit realm spy would never expose their identity for a few demon cores.”

"It was my oversight. Although this matter is suspicious in many ways, it may be the work of the Wood-Eating Demon King, who did it on purpose to make Your Majesty have reservations."

"They even went so far as to sacrifice four mid-level demon generals. Their ruthlessness is truly alarming."

He still believed that even if the Wood-Eating Demon King was ruthless, he would not sacrifice four mid-level demon generals under his command.

He wanted to find a better way to deal with the Thunder Mountain Demon King.

But there is no better explanation than this.

Most importantly, the Great King and the Wood-Eating Demon King have a deep-seated grudge.

The fact that the Great King's strength has been weakened is most advantageous to the Wood-Eating Demon King.

Perhaps it is true, as the King said, that the Wood-Eating Demon King, because of the transformation of a strange tree, behaves very differently from ordinary demons...

Tianhou Demon General sighed inwardly, but dared not offer any further advice.

A flash of azure lightning crossed the eyes of the Thunder Mountain Demon King, who coldly said, "The Corrosion Wood dares to obstruct my path? What a fool's dream."

"Keep a close eye on the Yuandeng Hall. If another demon general dies without cause, go and investigate immediately."

"Only one Fierce Mane died, so there is still some room for maneuver, but if another demon general dies from the corrosive poison, it must be the work of Corrosion Wood."

"Even if I lose a few demon generals and take more risks on Turtle Island, I will never let this go."

The Heavenly Hou Demon General's expression turned solemn, and he clasped his hands in a fist salute, replying, "Yes!"

Just as he was about to leave, the Thunder Mountain Demon King called him back: "Go and summon Xiang Qing and You Ji. I have something to tell you."

The Heavenly Hou Demon General agreed, walked out of the main hall, and flew away into the distance in a flash of light.

The hall fell silent. The Thunder Mountain Demon King glanced at the two broken skeletons, leaned back slightly in his chair.

A flicker of hesitation crossed his blue-tinged eyes, but it quickly hardened again. He murmured, "So what if it's a battle of the Mahayana stages? Frostsword City is so remote; it shouldn't be affected. As long as we're careful, we should be fine..."

……

In the dead of night, all was quiet on Beiming Island. Although there were demon generals on duty, they remained on the rocks by the shore, meditating and cultivating, leaving only a trace of their divine sense to keep an eye on the surroundings.

Only the low-level demonic beasts that have not yet taken human form diligently patrolled the water and land, not daring to be negligent in the slightest.

Avoiding the detection of demon generals and low-level demon beasts, Chen Yuan led a hundred cultivators to Shengyang Peak, where the slaves lived on the island, and summoned Yun Jinyue and two others.

The three were extremely surprised to see that Chen Yuan had brought back so many human cultivators, but they knew that this was not the time to ask questions. They immediately accepted the order and left to settle the hundred cultivators.

There are many courtyards on Shengyang Peak, which were once the residences of human slaves under the command of the Demon General of the Underworld Sea. Now they are the residences of human cultivators such as Yun Jinyue.

This peak is not far from Chen Yuan's cave. It is protected by a formation, and the mountain is full of Chen Yuan's slaves. The demon generals on the island dare not approach it, so it is very safe.

After two months of traveling with Chen Yuan, the group finally settled down and were overjoyed. They immediately sat down to meditate and regulate their breathing to recover their vital energy and injuries.

Only Zhang Yanwei and the middle-aged cultivator followed Chen Yuan into his cave. (End of Chapter)