Nine Transformations of the True Spirit.

In the bright stone hall, Chen Yuan sat on a stone chair, while the middle-aged cultivator and Zhang Yanwei stood with their hands clasped behind their backs, looking respectful.

Chen Yuan sized up the two men, his gaze finally settling on the middle-aged cultivator, and slowly said, "Within a month, I will find a place for you young friends to settle down."

"During this period, please keep them under control and do not reveal any flaws that might arouse the suspicion of the demon generals on the island."

"Although I created the Northern Underworld Cave, the demon generals in the cave are unaware of my true identity and remain loyal to the demon race."

The middle-aged cultivator's expression turned solemn: "After I return, I will have them stay in their residence and not allow them to go out even once."

Chen Yuan nodded slightly: "Young friend Guan is reliable in his actions. I am at ease entrusting this matter to you."

He led more than a hundred cultivators back to Beiming Island. Although the speed of their escape was not slowed down much by the power of the Kunpeng, the distance was too far and it still took two months.

Along the way, Chen Yuan learned about the origins of these cultivators through his conversations with Zhang Yanwei and the middle-aged cultivator.

They originally lived in a very secluded underground rift valley, where there was a tiny spiritual vein, but the spiritual energy was confined within the rift valley by the terrain and did not leak out at all.

From the outside, this underground rift valley appears desolate, but inside it is a hidden paradise.

These five hundred-plus cultivators relied on this spiritual vein to cultivate peacefully for over a thousand years.

The middle-aged cultivator was named Guan He. He was originally a cultivator from the Spirit Realm. He was summoned to join the army of Yanxing City on Tyrant Turtle Island, but was unfortunately captured by the demon race and sent to the Burning Demon Realm, where he was bought by a mid-level demon general.

But he was extremely lucky. This mid-level demon general was a wild demon who acted carelessly and did not immediately plant a soul restriction in his body.

Guan He seized an opportunity to escape and entered this human settlement. He cultivated for over a hundred years, raising his cultivation level from the early stage of Core Formation when he entered the Burning Demon Realm to the current mid-stage of Core Formation.

However, in the underground rift valley, there are very few cultivators like Guan He who have escaped from the clutches of the demon race.

Ninety percent of them are descendants of cultivators who escaped from the demon race by chance in the past.

They grew up in the Demon Realm and had never entered the Spirit Realm, but they received human inheritance and longed for the powerful Spirit Realm. They even hated the demon race more than cultivators like Guan He who came from the Spirit Realm.

Zhang Yanwei was like that; he had lived in this underground rift valley since childhood until he was captured by the demon generals under the command of the Fierce Mane Demon General.

Of the more than 500 cultivators in the underground rift valley, dozens died at the hands of the demon race, while the rest were imprisoned on Lion King Peak.

In just a few months, nearly 80% of them died, all of them eaten alive by the Fierce Mane Demon General.

Almost all the surviving cultivators were born in the Demon Burning Realm; very few came from the Spirit Realm.

Most of these spirit realm cultivators wavered and died at Chen Yuan's hands, with only Guan He surviving.

Other demon generals would never indiscriminately slaughter and kill the human cultivators they captured. Even if they didn't place a soul restriction on them, they would sell them to other demon generals as slaves in exchange for spirit stones and treasures.

However, the Fierce Mane Demon General was extremely disgusted with the human race. He didn't even have any servants around him and liked to eat human flesh raw, so naturally he wouldn't let these human cultivators go.

He didn't care about cultivation level; when the mood struck him, he would grab a few cultivators to satisfy his cravings. The more stubborn they were, the happier he became.

Zhang Yanwei repeatedly insulted the Fierce Mane Demon General, only wishing for a swift death.

But the Fierce Mane Demon General refused to eat him. Instead, he kept him alive, wanting him to watch all the other human cultivators be eaten before it was his turn.

The middle-aged cultivator and several other tenacious Core Formation cultivators were able to survive until now because of this.

On the contrary, the Fierce Mane Demon General looked down on those who were afraid of death and willing to be slaves, just to save their lives. He believed that they lacked courage and would not be treated with any special treatment.

……

Guan He accepted the order and left, turning around and walking out of the cave. Only Chen Yuan and Zhang Yanwei remained in the stone hall.

Before Chen Yuan could speak, Zhang Yanwei clasped his hands in a fist and bowed, asking, "May I ask, senior, why did you not leave the Fire Lotus mark in my body?"

Chen Yuan's eyes flashed, and he said calmly, "Young friend, you are quite composed, and you haven't mentioned this matter at all along the way."

Zhang Yanwei said, "The senior did not say it explicitly, probably because he did not want others to know."

"This junior does not know what considerations Senior may have, therefore I dare not speak of this matter in front of fellow Daoists."

Inside the Demon General Lie Zong's cave, the white spark entered his soul space and then dissipated on its own, without condensing into a fire lotus mark.

Zhang Yanwei immediately sensed something was amiss, but seeing that the marks had been implanted in the bodies of the other cultivators, while he was the only exception, he remained silent.

Chen Yuan sighed inwardly; Zhang Wushan was indeed very prudent and meticulous in his actions.

His mind raced, but his expression remained calm as he said indifferently, "Young friend, you are different from others. I have a few questions I would like to ask you to answer, and I will explain the details later."

Zhang Yanwei said solemnly, "Senior has saved my life, so please speak freely. I would never dare to hide anything from you."

Chen Yuan nodded and asked, "Young friend, are you really not related to Zhang Wushan?"

Zhang Yanwei shook his head: "This junior has never heard of such a person."

Chen Yuan frowned and asked, "Young friend, would you mind revealing your background?"

Zhang Yanwei said, "My father, Zhang Deling, like me, grew up in the Burning Demon Realm from a young age." "My ancestor was named Zhang Kunzai, a cultivator of the Water Immortal Sect in the Spirit Realm. He was captured by the demon race and brought into the Burning Demon Realm."

"Like Guan Daoyou, he was lucky enough to escape and settled down in the rift valley, where he later married and had children."

"I am the only son in three generations, with no brothers or sisters. My parents have also passed away, dying in the mouths of monsters."

"Many people know about my experiences, so you can find out with just a question."

Chen Yuan frowned even more. Zhang Yanwei's background was clear, and he had no connection with Zhang Wushan.

Moreover, Zhang Wushan died right in front of him, so it was impossible for him to come back to life, come to the Demon Burning Realm, and have a son.

But his appearance is almost identical to Zhang Wushan's, and even their personalities are extremely similar. They are upright, resolute and unyielding. Could this really be just a coincidence?
Chen Yuan fell into deep thought, and Zhang Yanwei was also puzzled, his mind wandering.

He was very curious about the identity of this "Zhang Wushan". Senior Chen looked at him differently because of this person, and did not even leave the Fire Lotus Mark.

But he had never heard of this name before, nor had he ever left the underground rift. Why was Senior Chen so certain that he had a connection with this "Zhang Wushan"?

Senior Chen, in that stone hall, didn't even know his own identity before asking this person, and now he's asking about his own background...

Zhang Yanwei suddenly remembered that this senior Chen had once shaved off his beard, tidied his messy hair, and revealed his face.

Could it be that I resemble Zhang Wushan in appearance?

Seeing that Chen Yuan was deep in thought, he couldn't help but ask, "May I ask, senior, do I bear any resemblance to this 'Zhang Wushan'?"

"That's why the senior thinks that the junior has a relationship with him?"

Chen Yuan snapped out of his reverie, looked at Zhang Yanwei's eyes filled with curiosity and doubt, and sighed softly: "To be honest, young friend, this Zhang Wushan was a good friend of mine, who has passed away."

"And my friend and he are not only similar in appearance, but exactly the same, and even their temperaments are extremely similar."

Zhang Yanwei's eyes widened: "Is that so? This junior looks exactly like that Senior Zhang...?"

Chen Yuan nodded slightly: "Indeed, but my friend looks middle-aged, while you look much younger. I wonder how many years you have cultivated since then?"

Zhang Yanwei said, "I turned 141 four months ago."

Chen Yuan nodded: "Young friend, you are still young, yet you have such cultivation, and your true essence is also violent and fiery. It seems that you either have a special physique or another opportunity."

He had used his divine sense to investigate Zhang Yanwei's background. He possessed true spiritual roots of fire, wood, and earth, but his aptitude was mediocre and unremarkable.

However, he only took a little over a hundred years to cultivate to the mid-stage of Core Formation, which is comparable to even a cultivator with a Heavenly Spiritual Root.

Zhang Yanwei said, "Senior has insightful eyes. I originally cultivated the Earth Element Technique. When I was young, I went out to hunt demonic beasts and found demon core materials. I once mistakenly ate a crimson spiritual fruit."

"Overnight, my cultivation level rose from the early stage of Foundation Establishment to the middle stage of Foundation Establishment, and my true essence became extremely violent and hot, and my body transformed into a molten body."

“Since then, I have switched to cultivating the fire element technique, and my cultivation speed has increased significantly, almost comparable to that of a cultivator with an earth elemental root. My bottleneck is also much weaker than that of other cultivators.”

"Especially when refining demon essence pills made from fire-attribute demon cores, or absorbing the spiritual energy from fire-attribute spirit stones, the cultivation speed can even be accelerated by a few points."

"That's how he was able to raise his cultivation to the mid-stage of Core Formation in just over a hundred years."

Chen Yuan said thoughtfully, "The crimson spiritual fruit... should be the Molten Gold Flowing Fire Fruit."

"This spiritual fruit contains fire-attribute spiritual energy, which is gentle and pure. Foundation Establishment cultivators who consume it can greatly improve their cultivation and have the opportunity to obtain the Molten Body."

"However, this Molten Gold Flowing Fire Fruit is extremely rare. Young friend, you are really lucky."

A hint of lingering fear flashed in Zhang Yanwei's eyes: "This junior had no choice. After picking that crimson spiritual fruit, I originally only wanted to take it back to the underground rift valley and ask an alchemist to refine it into a pill."

"But on the way back, I encountered a level three Soul-Devouring Bird. I was no match for it and was about to exhaust my true essence and die under its claws."

"I had just risked my life to eat this crimson spiritual fruit to replenish my true essence, but unexpectedly it unleashed a burst of fire-elemental spiritual energy, burning the Soul-Devouring Bird to ashes."

"Then I felt as if I were engulfed in flames, struggling to hold on. Luckily, I managed to absorb all the massive fire elemental energy from the spiritual fruit."

"However, my mother once said that when I was born, there was a strange phenomenon. A black flower bloomed on my head and disappeared after three breaths. She believed that I was born with good fortune."

"I initially scoffed at this, but after consuming the Molten Gold Flowing Fire Fruit, my aptitude improved, and I encountered you, senior, in a desperate situation, which saved my life. Perhaps it is truly as my mother said, that I was protected by luck..."

Chen Yuan suddenly interrupted, "Was there an unusual phenomenon at the time of your birth, young friend?"

Zhang Yanwei was taken aback, then replied, "This is what my mother said, so it should be true."

Chen Yuan said in a low voice, "Young friend, you are 141 years old this year... You were born exactly one year after the passing of my good friend."

Zhang Yanwei asked, puzzled, "What do you mean by that, senior?"

Chen Yuan stared at Zhang Yanwei, his gaze complex, and slowly said, "If I'm not mistaken, young friend, you might be the reincarnation of one of my friends." (End of Chapter)