Nine Transformations of the True Spirit.

Under the blazing sun, with not a cloud in the sky, the azure sky was crystal clear.

Several extremely dim streaks of light flew from afar, sweeping across the sky at an incredible speed.

Five figures could be vaguely seen within the escaping light; they were Chen Yuan and his four companions who had infiltrated the Corroded Wood Cave to investigate the formation of the demon beast army.

Suddenly, the leading beam of light slowed down, and the other four beams of light also slowed down until they stopped.

The Demon General Youji glanced around, then turned to the other four and said calmly, "We have already crossed the border and traveled tens of thousands of miles into the Corroded Wood Cave. We will part ways here. We will reunite here in half a month. There must be no mistakes."

The four men clasped their hands in agreement, each chose a direction, and went their separate ways.

The Demon General Youji remained in place, standing with his hands behind his back, looking down at the earth below, motionless.

Once the figures of the other four people disappeared from his consciousness, he continued flying forward along the path they had come from, a cold glint flashing in his eyes.

……

Chen Yuan flew eastward, and as the four figures disappeared from his consciousness one after another, his escape speed suddenly increased significantly.

The five infiltrated the Corroded Wood Cave to investigate the army's formation. To save time, they naturally had to split up.

Before setting off, the approximate area each person would be responsible for had already been agreed upon.

Chen Yuan concealed his aura, and his escape light dimmed considerably. He spread his divine sense to investigate the situation within a three-thousand-mile radius, constantly on guard against any unexpected events.

Perhaps due to the imminent great battle, the once ubiquitous presence of level-one demonic beasts has almost completely vanished, likely having been gathered up by the Wood-Eroding Cave.

However, the number of monsters of level five and above has increased significantly. They roam freely in the mountains and wilderness, and when they meet, they do not fight each other, forming a tight network.

This was the most clumsy yet most effective method. The Corrosion Cave had been filled with countless eyes and ears, making it extremely difficult for the demon beast army of Thunder Mountain Cave to pass through.

However, this could not prevent the demon general from infiltrating. Chen Yuan avoided the eyes and ears of these low-level demon beasts and flew away in the clouds like a ghost.

He flew for tens of thousands of miles until a swamp appeared ahead.

This swamp is boundless, with colorful miasma filling the air, reaching a height of a thousand feet. Even the fiercest winds cannot disperse it in the slightest; it is heavy and viscous, flowing slowly like water ripples.

But even in this miasma that could easily kill even low-level demonic beasts, tiny mosquitoes the size of calves were slowly flying by.

The giant tiger mosquito, with its pair of transparent membranous wings, blurred into a fleeting shadow and emitted a buzzing sound that made people dizzy.

Its sharp, iron-gray mouthparts gleamed like slender steel needles; its six long, segmented legs were covered with densely packed barbs; and its enormous compound eyes were utterly ferocious, sending chills down one's spine.

Looking around, the poisonous swamp was teeming with these giant mosquitoes, swarming together and leisurely feeding on the colorful poisonous miasma.

The low-level monsters that used to roam the land have all disappeared from the swamp.

Chen Yuan slowed down his escape speed, turned around, and flew over the miasma towards the border between the two caves.

He flew for another ten thousand miles, and three thousand miles ahead, a mountain range appeared, stretching across the swamp and dividing it in two.

Monsters reappeared around the mountains, and their numbers far exceeded those outside the swamp. Some monsters even patrolled the air, their faces full of vigilance.

Around the mountains, there grows a strange light gray tree with exceptionally large leaves that absorb colorful miasma upon contact.

Wherever the light gray trees went, the miasma dissipated without a trace, as if an invisible barrier had been erected.

Those ferocious giant mosquitoes dared not approach this barrier; they seemed to exist only in the miasma.

Even the monsters in the mountains dare not easily step into the poisonous swamp. Occasionally, a monster that accidentally enters the miasma will quickly be poisoned and die, its body rotting and sinking into the swamp.

Even if you can temporarily resist the invasion of miasma, giant mosquitoes will swarm you, their buzzing sound like a whirlwind sweeping in.

The barbed legs pierced the monster's body, and the long mandibles plunged deep inside. In no time, they would suck all the flesh and blood from its body, leaving only a skeleton, which would slowly sink into the swamp.

Only the bird demons dared to fly over the poisonous swamp, but they always kept their distance from the colorful miasma, wandering thousands of feet above the ground.

This poisonous swamp is located at the junction of the Erosion Wood Cave and the Thunder Mountain Cave. It is one of the more famous dangerous places, spanning tens of thousands of miles. The miasma is extremely poisonous, and any monster below level three will die if it touches it.

Giant flower mosquitoes roam within. These strange beasts, which coexist with miasma, have no intelligence, but their strength is at least comparable to a level two demon beast. They are fearless, endless, and even level seven demon beasts dare not easily set foot inside.

But in the mountains within this poisonous swamp, grows the only nemesis of miasma: a light gray tree.

This mountain range is also the only place where the demon beast army can pass safely, and the Wood Erosion Cave will surely garrison the army there.

Before Chen Yuan and his group of five departed, this mountain range was marked on the jade slip given to them by Xiang Qing, the Demon General. It was one of the key locations that they had to explore, and it happened to be within the area that Chen Yuan was responsible for.

He withdrew his divine sense and landed in the miasma. His escape light was obscured by the colorful miasma, making it even harder to detect, and he continued to fly towards the mountain range.

This miasma is easily resisted even by demon generals, let alone Chen Yuan, whose physical body is comparable to that of a high-ranking demon general.

He caused no disturbance and did not attract the attention of the giant mosquitoes. He continued until he was hundreds of miles away from the mountains before stopping.

Chen Yuan didn't know if there were any high-ranking demon generals guarding this mountain range, so he dared not spread his divine sense casually, lest he be detected.

He flipped his hand and took out the Thousand-Eyed Pearl, infusing it with his true essence.

Its eyes slowly opened, changing from a dark yellow to a snow-white, and its jet-black pupils blinked gently, staring intently at the distant mountains, looking extremely eerie.

Chen Yuan closed his eyes slightly and probed the Thousand-Eyed Pearl with his divine sense. Suddenly, everything in front of him turned gray and the buzzing of the giant flower mosquitoes flapping their transparent membrane wings disappeared. The whole world became dead silent.

Only streams of demonic energy emerged from the distant mountains, their number seemingly endless, with a few particularly robust streams soaring straight into the sky.

Chen Yuan focused his mind and carefully sensed the surroundings, his expression quite solemn.

There are at least five demon generals guarding this mountain range, including two high-level demon generals and three mid-level demon generals, as well as more than five hundred demon generals and hundreds of thousands of demon beasts, all of which are at least level five demon beasts.

Faced with such a massive force, even if Chen Yuan held nothing back and activated the bloodlines of his three True Spirits, he could only flee in disarray.

With those five demon generals joining forces, Chen Yuan would not be easy to defeat.

A demon general can crush a demon general, but even a demon general must be careful to resist the combined power of a hundred demon generals, let alone more than five hundred demon generals.

In addition, there were nearly 100,000 low-level demonic beasts, who rushed forward one after another, fearless of death, enough to be equivalent to several high-level demonic generals.

A large formation was also set up deep within the mountains, enough to withstand the attacks of several high-level demon generals.

Without at least ten high-ranking demon generals leading a demon army several times larger than this, there's no way to break through this mountain range.

Chen Yuan took out a blank jade slip and carefully recorded the distribution of the demonic beast army in this mountain range. Then he continued to travel through the miasma, bypassing the mountain range before flying out of the miasma and moving forward. After he flew out of the swamp, the terrain suddenly became much steeper.

The earth is crisscrossed with ravines, and the canyons are as if they were carved by a knife and axe, hundreds of feet deep and tens of feet wide, stretching out without end.

This is an insurmountable barrier for mortals, and even low-level demonic beasts cannot easily cross it.

Within the rift valley, many level-five or higher demonic beasts roam freely. If a large army of demonic beasts were to pass through, they would surely have nowhere to hide.

This place is only a few thousand miles away from the border between the two caves. Such a peculiar terrain is naturally not formed, but rather deliberately created by the Erosion Wood Cave.

The purpose is to one day, when a war breaks out with Leishan Cave, be able to stop the advance of the Leishan Cave's demon beast army.

The demon general has the power to move mountains, while the demon officer cannot move mountains, but can still change the terrain of a region.

Given the deep-seated grudge between the Thunder Mountain Demon King and the Wood Erosion Demon King, how could they not be wary of each other?

He had already ordered his demon generals to create countless strategic locations along this million-mile border to block the enemy's demon army's attack.

Many of these areas are dangerous places, such as poisonous swamps, which also serve as natural barriers.

Only such a treacherous terrain could withstand an army of low-level demonic beasts.

The physical bodies of demonic beasts are far stronger than those of humans and ordinary wild animals. Naturally formed towering mountains and steep ridges are simply no match for them.

However, in these treacherous terrains, both demon kings would leave several passages without prior arrangement.

The two cave dwellings are of similar strength, each with its own advantages and disadvantages, and neither the Thunder Mountain Demon King nor the Wood Erosion Demon King will only think about defense.

The purpose of altering the terrain was simply to prevent the enemy's demonic beast army from advancing freely and being difficult to defend against, but it was also not to hinder the advance of one's own army.

Both sides would station large armies in these strategic locations, defending while constantly looking for opportunities to counterattack.

Chen Yuan continued flying forward, and the low-level demonic beasts roaming in the rift valley could not detect his figure.

He flew for tens of thousands of miles and finally saw a flat plain, several tens of miles in size, where a large army of demonic beasts was stationed, but no large formations were set up around it.

Chen Yuan's heart stirred. He withdrew his divine sense, took out the Thousand-Eyed Pearl to investigate, and found that there was only one mid-level demon general and one low-level demon general in this wilderness.

The army of hundreds of thousands of demonic beasts were mostly low-level demonic beasts below level five. Although they appeared imposing, they were actually far inferior to the mountain range in the poisonous swamp.

Chen Yuan recorded the situation of this wilderness in a jade slip, then bypassed it and headed to the next strategic location.

He moved with incredible speed, and in just seven days, he used the Thousand-Eyed Pearl to survey all the nearly ten strategic locations under his jurisdiction, recording in detail the number of demon generals, demon commanders, and low-level demon beasts stationed there.

Along the million-mile-long border, there are dozens of such strategic locations that are easy to defend and difficult to attack.

Limited by the terrain and the sheer number of monster armies on both sides, they were unable to gather together and launch a coordinated attack on a single point.

Neither side would gather all their demon beasts to attack one place. Otherwise, if they were caught in the crossfire and besieged, the demon general might be able to escape, but the lower-level demon beasts would certainly die.

Therefore, the Thunder Mountain Demon King spared no expense to buy five Thousand-Eyed Pearls, allowing Chen Yuan and his group to discover how many demon generals and low-level demon beasts were stationed in the key locations of the Corrosion Wood Cave, so that they could target their weak points.

Once the perilous terrain created by the Corroded Wood Cave is breached, the land will be flat and open, allowing the demonic beast army to come and go as swiftly as the wind and seize the initiative.

It's likely that the Wood-Eating Demon King is considering the same thing, and there should be demon generals from the Wood-Eating Cave currently probing the formation of the demon army in the Thunder Mountain Cave.

Whether they possess such a rare treasure as the Thousand-Eyed Pearl remains unknown.

After completing his mission, Chen Yuan did not immediately return to the rendezvous point. Instead, he put on a gold-threaded openwork mask, restored his body to normal size, and returned to the wilderness surrounded by ravines and valleys.

There were no protective formations on this plain. After Chen Yuan appeared, he activated the true blood of the Kui Niu and summoned the Purple Kui Thunder Drum.

His silver eyes were cold and ruthless, as if they contained the power of a heavenly tribulation. Holding a drumstick, he struck the Purple Kui Thunder Drum, the sound like thunder, gathering thunderclouds for hundreds of miles and sending down bolts of heavenly lightning.

The two demon generals tried their best to resist, but how could they withstand the power of the Kui Niu? They were both struck dead by heavenly lightning.

Tens of thousands of the demon beast army also died, and dozens of demon generals perished under heavenly lightning, scattering like birds and beasts.

After Chen Yuan reached the Divine Realm, he was able to destroy the Zhenhai Sect and the Blood Spirit Sect on his own.

Now that his cultivation has greatly increased and his physical body is far superior to what it was before, he can unleash even greater power from the true spirit blood, and destroying an army of demonic beasts is as easy as turning his hand.

After taking the demon core materials and mustard seed rings from the two demon generals, Chen Yuan activated the Kunpeng True Blood, greatly increasing his escape speed. In just three days, he flew 200,000 miles, far away from the area he was responsible for.

Along the way, Chen Yuan encountered more than a dozen strategic locations where large armies of demonic beasts were stationed, but as long as there were formations covering them, he would just pass by without stopping.

The demon race is not the human race. They can only learn the various arts of cultivation after transforming into human form, and their souls are naturally inferior to those of humans.

Even including hybrids of humans and demons and human cultivators controlled in various ways, the number of array masters is still far less than that of the human race in the spirit realm.

The battle between the two cave dwellings was very hasty, and the preparations of the Corrosion Wood Cave were not sufficient. Not all key locations were protected by formations, and about 30% of them were not protected by formations.

After three days, Chen Yuan finally found a strategic location that was not under the protection of any formations and was guarded only by a mid-level demon general and two low-level demon generals.

He followed the same method, expending fifty percent of his true essence to unleash a hundred bolts of heavenly lightning, which blasted away tens of thousands of demonic beasts. All three demon generals perished under the heavenly lightning, creating a massive spectacle that shook the heavens and the earth.

The surviving monsters were all terrified and scattered in all directions.

Chen Yuan strode away, activating the Kunpeng True Blood. In just two days, he traversed tens of thousands of miles and returned to the rendezvous point before the half-month deadline.

He wasn't the first to return; Demon General Chenyan and Demon General Yingbiao were already waiting there, while Demon General Youji and Demon General Tianhou were still nowhere to be seen.

The three waited another day before the Demon General Youji appeared, his expression indifferent, revealing nothing about him.

Three more days passed, the deadline had passed, but the Heavenly Hou Demon Commander still hadn't returned.

Both Demon General Chenyan and Demon General Yingbiao showed expressions of worry, but Demon General Youji remained unmoved.

On the fourth day, the Heavenly Hou Demon General finally appeared, but his expression was extremely ugly.

Chen Yuan and the other two breathed a sigh of relief, but Youji Demon General remained calm and said indifferently, "You're back too late."

The Heavenly Hou Demon General said, word by word, "I learned from my sources that the man in black has reappeared and used his Thunder Dao Divine Power to kill five demon generals from the Corroded Wood Cave, as well as tens of thousands of low-level demon beasts."

"This matter has already alerted the Wood-Eating Demon King, and the army's formation that we just scouted is probably useless now." (End of Chapter)