Nine Transformations of the True Spirit.

"Still no trace of the man in black?"

Inside a grand hall, the white-haired Heavenly Demon General stood before the illusion array, his brows furrowed as he gazed at the mountains and wastelands conjured on the array plate.

The demon race could not possibly create such an exquisite formation; it was learned from the human race in the spirit realm. It provides a clear view of the battle situation and is extremely convenient.

However, this kind of illusion array is too intricate and difficult to refine, consuming a great deal of spiritual materials, which even ordinary demon kings cannot afford.

Such an exquisite illusion array can only be seen in a great battle between two late-stage Void Refinement Demon Kings.

The array plate not only shows the troop deployment of the Corroded Wood Cave, but also the strategic locations on the other side of the border, with array flags bearing the names of demon generals, displaying the military formation of the Thunder Mountain Cave.

However, on many of the banners, the character "doubt" was drawn with demonic power, which was also the place where the Heavenly Net Demon General's eyes most often lingered.

The abandoned soul demon general, dressed in a yellow robe, stood aside, looking at the formation on the illusion array, and shook his head slightly: "The thunder magic that this person uses is too powerful. He can kill the demon general in a moment. Moreover, he never lingers in battle and comes and goes like the wind. There is really no way to deal with him."

A shadow crossed Tianluo Demon General's eyes as he coldly said, "This person has attacked and killed nearly ten of my Shimu Cave Generals. His audacity has greatly damaged the reputation of my Shimu Cave. He must not be allowed to live."

"Once this battle is over, I will definitely persuade the King to ask the Bloodtooth Demon Saint to use the Heavenly Evolution Technique to deduce this person's whereabouts, tear him to pieces, and extract his soul!"

The Abandoned Soul Demon General hesitated and said, "I have also heard of the Heavenly Evolution Technique. Only a Demon Saint can use this technique, and the price seems to be quite high. Would the Bloodtooth Demon Saint use this technique for a mid-level Demon General?"

Tianluo Demon General said, "This man in black is elusive. Besides this, what other way is there to find his whereabouts?"

"If he kills a few more of the demon generals of my Wood-Eroding Cave, we will lose this battle without even having to lift a finger."

"In any case, I will speak to the King. As for whether it will succeed... the King is so furious, he will at least give it a try."

The Abandoned Soul Demon General sighed, "There's no other way."

The Heavenly Demon General flicked his sleeves, raised his head, and changed the subject: "How is the reconnaissance of the army's formation in Thunder Mountain Cave going? With so many doubts, it's impossible to find any flaws. What's the use?"

The Abandoned Soul Demon General looked troubled: "You know that my Wood Erosion Cave and Thunder Mountain Cave have fought many times and are very familiar with each other."

"The demon general of Leishan Cave is hidden in the army and never shows his face. Although we can roughly judge the demon general behind him based on the types of demon beasts and demon generals we patrol."

"But we cannot rule out the possibility that Xiang Qing deliberately separated the demon general from his demon beasts, using feints and real attacks to lure us into an attack."

"And infiltrating the demon beast army to investigate is extremely difficult."

"It's only been less than a month, and we've been able to uncover these arrangements thanks to the information provided by our informants. Otherwise, we would have gained even less."

Tianluo Demon General shook his head slightly: "Forget it, we are also on high alert. Leishan Cave will not be able to find out our formation. It seems that we must proceed cautiously in this battle. There is no chance of a quick victory."

The Abandoned Soul Demon General laughed, "My Wood-Eroding Cave has more demon generals than Thunder Mountain Cave, and also more low-level demon beasts."

"By relying on the strategic terrain and proceeding step by step, we will eventually gain the upper hand."

Tianluo Demon General lowered his head again, looking at the dense array of flags on this side of the border, his expression slightly gloomy: "If it weren't for the attack by that man in black, my Erosion Wood Cave would have had an even greater advantage. Could this person really be under the command of Thunder Mountain Demon King?"

The Abandoned Soul Demon General frowned and said, "In the Corrosion Wood Cave, there is only one mid-level demon general with the bloodline of thunder, Tianhou. He has no power like that."

"And when that man in black unleashed his thunderous divine power, his demonic aura soared to the heavens, creating a tremendous spectacle; he certainly wasn't concealing his cultivation..."

After pondering for a long time, Tianluo Demon General said coldly, "No matter who this person is, such a ruthless and insane person only has one way out: death."

"The Leishan Cave attempted to take advantage of the chaos, but little did they know that Your Majesty possessed extraordinary abilities, and they could only suffer the consequences."

“This border line has remained unchanged for a long time, and it’s time to make some changes. However, after the land is redrawn, the terrain will need to be remodeled, which will take a lot of work.”

The Abandoned Soul Demon General dismissed it, saying, "It's just a matter of having the demon generals put in more effort. Each demon general can send out twenty or thirty demon generals, and it will take several decades to complete."

Tianluo Demon General nodded, his gaze shifting to the side of Thunder Mountain Cave: "In that case, we still need to consider where to draw the new border line. It can't be too wide, otherwise it will take too long..."

Before he finished speaking, a series of heavy footsteps echoed from the palace gate, like a rapid drumbeat, reverberating throughout the hall.

Tianluo Demon General raised his head and saw a burly man stride into the hall, looking slightly anxious, and stop in front of the two of them.

A hint of disgust flashed in Tianluo Demon General's eyes as he said indifferently, "Fellow Daoist Wuxie, what is the matter that you are in such a hurry?"

Like the other two, this Wuxie Demon Commander was a trusted demon commander of the Wood-Eroding Demon King, but his cultivation was a notch below, and he was only a mid-level demon commander.

However, he served the Wood-Eating Demon King the longest, even longer than the Heavenly Net Demon General and the Abandoned Soul Demon General, and was highly trusted by the Wood-Eating Demon King, responsible for guarding the Spirit Herb Garden.

The Demon General Wuxie was inherently greedy and stingy, and relying on the trust of the Wood-Eating Demon King, he acted recklessly, even daring to withhold the demon generals' spiritual herbs, thus offending many demon generals.

But more than eighty years ago, when the Demon General Wuxie was tending to the spiritual herbs in the Spirit Herb Garden, he accidentally destroyed an eight-thousand-year-old spiritual herb. This enraged the Wood-Eating Demon King, who forbade him from guarding the Spirit Herb Garden and subsequently became much colder towards him.

Wu Xie, the Demon Commander, was already a step below in cultivation, not as good as Tian Luo, Qi Hun, and other high-level Demon Commanders. He had also offended many Demon Commanders and made many enemies.

After losing the trust of the Wood-Eating Demon King, he was immediately targeted for revenge by other demon generals, who also took advantage of his misfortune. His situation became increasingly difficult, and he no longer dared to act recklessly, becoming much more restrained.

However, he had followed the Wood-Eating Demon King for a long time, and there seemed to be a special connection between them.

Therefore, not long after, the Wood-Eating Demon King learned that the Demon General Wuxie had changed, so he ordered the other demon generals not to make things difficult for him anymore.

After this incident, the Wood-Eating Demon King no longer trusted him as much as before, and the Demon General Wuxie no longer dared to act recklessly and became much more cautious in his actions.

When Tianluo Demon General ascended from the lower realm and joined the ranks of the Wood-Eating Demon King, he was only a low-ranking demon general. When he received spiritual herbs from the Spirit Herb Garden, he was also harassed by Wuxie Demon General.

Although the two did not have a deep grudge, and given Tianluo Demon Commander's current cultivation level and status, he would no longer care about such trivial matters, his dislike for Wuxie Demon Commander never disappeared.

Wuxie Demon General glanced at Qihun Demon General, a hint of hesitation flashing in his eyes, but he quickly concealed it.

He clasped his hands in a fist and bowed to the two men, saying, "My demon general has reported that traces of the man in black have been discovered in the Biluo Mountains. I request that you send a demon general to investigate immediately!"

The Heavenly Net Demon General's eyes flashed with a sharp light: "Where is that demon general?"

"It's right outside the hall."

"Let him in immediately!"

The burly man immediately turned and walked out of the hall, but came back in a moment later, followed by a gaunt demon general.

His face was deathly pale, his vital energy was weak, and he seemed to be seriously injured. His expression was timid, revealing a hint of fear. Tianluo Demon General did not take it seriously. The demon generals of the Corroded Wood Cave all looked at him with awe, which he was already used to.

He asked impatiently, "How did you discover the man in black's whereabouts?"

The gaunt demon general lowered his head slightly, not daring to look at the Heavenly Net Demon Commander, and said in a weak voice, "Reporting to my lord, I was ordered by the commander to search for the traces of the man in black. In the Biluo Mountains, I discovered a newly opened cave dwelling, which is also protected by an extremely hidden formation."

"I tried to break the formation, and a thunderous force burst out from it, almost killing me."

"I dared not linger, and immediately fled back to report to the commander..."

Tianluo Demon General frowned: "Just a cave dwelling?"

Wu Xie, the Demon General, looked apologetic: "I made a slip of the tongue. Please forgive me, Fellow Daoist Tian Luo."

"But who else but that man in black could set up such a thunderous array to protect the cave?"

Tianluo Demon General then looked at the demon general: "Where in the Biluo Mountains is this cave located? And how did you discover it?"

The gaunt demon lowered his head even further: "My true form is a mountain-penetrating armadillo, and I am especially skilled in earth-遁 (earth-遁 is a type of magic that allows one to escape from the ground)."

"That cave dwelling is located a hundred feet underground in the Biluo Mountains, connected to the outside by only one extremely hidden passage, but I recognized at a glance that it was man-made..."

After a moment of contemplation, Tianluo Demon General looked at Qihun Demon General beside him and asked, "What do you think, Fellow Daoist Qihun?"

The Abandoned Soul Demon General said, "Based solely on a thunder array, it is not enough to determine whether this cave was created by the man in black."

"However, the Biluo Mountains are only 20,000 miles away. This cave is so well hidden that even if it is not the man in black behind it, it is very likely that it is the demon general of the Leishan Cave. We must investigate carefully."

Tianluo Demon General nodded: "What you say is absolutely right, Fellow Daoist. Fellow Daoist Wuxie, please go and find out who opened this cave without alerting them."

The Demon General Wuxie looked troubled: "My cultivation is low. If the man in black is indeed behind this cave, I'm afraid I won't be able to deal with him. Could you please ask Fellow Daoist Tianluo to come with me to investigate?"

Tianluo Demon General narrowed his eyes slightly and said calmly, "Fellow Daoist Wuxie is joking. I am trusted by the King to command the army. How could I abandon my post for the sake of a cave of unknown origin?"

After struggling for a moment, Wu Xie, the Demon General, suddenly gritted his teeth and took out an item: "This is what he found outside that cave. Please take a look, fellow Daoists."

The Heavenly Net Demon General and the Abandoned Soul Demon General stared intently at the stone, which was a pale silver stone, about the size of a human head, with wisps of silver lightning crackling around it.

Demon Commander Tianluo looked surprised: "Thunder Shadow Stone?

The Abandoned Soul Demon General was also quite surprised: "This is a top-grade spiritual material of the lightning attribute, enough to forge a third-grade spiritual treasure or divine weapon. Why would it appear outside a cave?"

Tianluo Demon General stared at the gaunt demon general and said coldly, "Tell me the truth!"

The gaunt demon general shrank back, his voice trembling: "Please forgive me, my lords, I... I was ordered by the commander-in-chief not to speak plainly!"

Wu Xie, the Demon General, clasped his hands in a bow and said with a smile, "I'm sorry to have made you two laugh. I was greedy and wanted to keep this Thunder Shadow Stone, which is why I didn't let him tell me."

"However, everything he said just now was true. The cave was indeed shrouded in a lightning array, and this Thunder Shadow Stone was one of the array's key points."

"He was seriously injured while trying to steal this Thunder Shadow Stone."

“Even the formation protecting the cave uses top-grade spiritual materials of the lightning attribute as its core, so the person who opened the cave must be that man in black!”

The Heavenly Net Demon General stared at the gaunt demon general: "Is this true?"

The gaunt demon general nodded repeatedly, his expression filled with fear: "That cave is located underground. I was also bewitched and wanted to use the earth-遁 (earth-遁 is a technique used in Chinese fantasy novels) to steal this Thunder Shadow Stone."

"Fortunately, that great formation was unguarded, otherwise I would certainly not have escaped death."

Tianluo Demon General frowned: "Why would a mere cave dwelling need a grand array for protection, and why would it require top-grade lightning-attribute spiritual materials for the array?"

He looked at the Abandoned Soul Demon General: "What advice do you have for me, Fellow Daoist Abandoned Soul?"

After pondering for a long time, the Abandoned Soul Demon General slowly said, "This matter is too strange. I don't know what the person who opened the cave intends to do."

Wuxie Demon General urged, "Why do you two fellow Daoists need to make wild guesses? The cave is located in the Biluo Mountains, not far from here. We can find out by exploring it."

"If this Thunder Shadow Stone is taken away, the master of that cave will become alert when he returns and flee far away. By then, it will be too late."

Tianluo Demon General was somewhat hesitant, but Qihun Demon General said, "How about I go with Fellow Daoist Wuxie?"

Tianluo Demon General shook his head: "Fellow Daoist must stay in the Dry Bone Mountain Range, relying on the power of the formation to control the Soul Insects and transmit messages. Do not move rashly."

The true form of the Abandoned Soul Demon General is a Soul-Guiding Butterfly. Its innate supernatural power is extremely unique, specializing in attacking people's souls, and it is somewhat similar to the Netherworld Demon General.

He also kept a strange insect called the Soul Insect, which could connect people's minds and spirits, allowing them to communicate even when separated by millions of miles, a truly mysterious phenomenon.

However, the soul worms are extremely fragile and need to be fed with the divine soul power of the Abandoned Soul Demon General, otherwise they will die.

Normally, the Soul Insects stay by the side of the Abandoned Soul Demon General, so there's no need to worry.

But with the great battle imminent, the Soul-Abandoning Demon General handed over the Soul Insect to the Demon General of the Corrosion Wood Cave to exchange information. They could only rely on the mysterious connection with the Soul Insect to remotely transfer divine soul power every day.

The greater the distance, the greater the loss of the power of the soul. He could only barely sustain it by using the formation specially set up in the Dry Bone Mountain Range.

The Abandoned Soul Demon General frowned and said, "There are not many high-level demon generals left in the Dry Bone Mountain Range. Almost all of them have been sent to various strategic locations by you, fellow Daoist."

"The few high-ranking demon generals who remained, apart from you and me, are only of average strength. If they were to encounter that man in black, they would probably be no match for him..."

Tianluo Demon General frowned. Although the man in black was only a mid-level demon general, killing a mid-level demon general was as easy as taking something out of a bag. His strength was far beyond that of an ordinary high-level demon general.

Given the peculiarity of this cave dwelling, and the high likelihood that it was created by the man in black, it is impossible to let it go.

After hesitating for a long time, he finally said, "I'll go myself. The Biluo Mountains are only 20,000 miles from here. I'll take a soul worm with me."

"If anything serious happens, please inform me in time, Fellow Daoist Abandoned Soul, and I will break open that cave and return immediately."

"Ordinary matters shall be decided by Fellow Daoist Abandoned Soul himself." (End of Chapter)