Nine Transformations of the True Spirit.

The Heavenly Hou Demon Commander's face was somber. After hesitating for a moment, he finally spoke: "Your Majesty, our infiltration of the Corroded Wood Cave to investigate the demon army's formation was going smoothly..."

He recounted his experiences after entering the Corroded Wood Cave in detail, without omitting anything.

When the Thunder Mountain Demon King heard that the man in black had reappeared and killed five demon generals in the Corrosion Cave, rendering the army formation that Tianhou and others had discovered useless, he couldn't help but frown.

When Tianhou Demon Commander spoke of how they, in collusion with Wuxie Demon Commander, set up an array to successfully ambush and kill Tianluo Demon Commander, Leishan Demon King revealed a hint of approval in his eyes: "Shimu Demon King is far away in his cave. The black-clad men attacked and killed five demon commanders, causing panic among the people in Shimu Cave."

"If Tianluo dies, the demon beast army will inevitably be leaderless and fall into chaos."

"Your injuries were sustained during the ambush of Tianluo?"

Xiangqing Demon General sighed: "Although Tianluo commands the army, the Soul Abandoner is actually more crucial."

"He raised soul insects, enabling the demon generals of the Corroded Wood Cave to communicate with each other across millions of miles, and to command the demon army as if it were their own arm."

"Killing him would be the real blow to the Corrosion Cave."

The Heavenly Hou Demon General's eyes revealed a hint of fear: "Although we successfully killed Tian Luo, he also broke through the Thunder Prison Formation set up by Fellow Daoist You Ji before he died, and used the Soul Insects to send out a message."

"Fellow Daoist Beiming suggests that we retreat immediately. In any case, Tianluo's foundation has already been damaged, so this battle is essentially over and it's no different from death. It's better to be cautious."

"But Wuxie spoke with absolute certainty that the Wood-Eating Demon King was not in the Dry Bone Mountain Range. At most, only Qihun led his demon generals to come to our aid, and he could not keep us here."

"Therefore, none of us heeded Fellow Daoist Beiming's advice and stayed behind until we broke through Tianluo's natal spider web, and Fellow Daoist Youji killed him with his own hands."

"We immediately retreated, but a dazzling light followed us. It had the same aura as the Wood-Eating Demon King and was at the mid-stage of the Void Refinement realm..."

A glint flashed in the eyes of the Thunder Mountain Demon King: "Mid-stage Void Refinement? Are you sure?"

Tianhou Demon General nodded: "This was said by Fellow Daoist Youji himself. He was extremely certain that the dazzling escape light did not belong to the true form of the Corrosive Wood."

"Wu Xie was terrified and fled first. Fellow Daoist You Ji also told us to split up and escape."

"I used my lightning escape technique to flee as fast as I could, but after only a thousand miles, that dazzling light caught up with me!"

The Heavenly Hou Demon General showed a hint of lingering fear on his face: "I had no other choice but to fight to the death, and I couldn't care less about the consequences."

"By swallowing the Thunder Mountain Tempering Crystal bestowed upon him by the King, and using the pure thunder power contained within it, he used the Thunder Escape Technique and actually escaped."

He let out a long sigh of relief: "I thought that dazzling escape light would go after Wuxie or Fellow Daoist Youji. Fortunately, I have mastered the Thunder Escape Technique and also have the Thunder Mountain Tempering Crystal bestowed by the Great King, otherwise I would definitely not have been able to escape this calamity."

"However, while this dazzling light is chasing after me, the other fellow Daoists should be safe. I wonder where they are now, and whether they have returned to the Xuanlin Mountain Range?"

The Demon King of Leishan frowned and shook his head slightly: "You are the first to return. They are still nowhere to be found."

The Heavenly Hou Demon General's expression changed: "How is this possible? That dazzling escape light chose me. Who else could have stopped Fellow Daoist Youji? Could it be that the Wood-Eating Demon King personally took action?"

Xiangqing, the demon general, comforted him, saying, "Fellow Daoist Tianhou, please be patient. The Great King has already dispatched demon generals back to the Thunder Mountain Range to check on the natal lamp, but it has been a short time and no news has been sent back yet."

The Heavenly Hou Demon General managed to calm down, and the Thunder Mountain Demon King asked, "Has there been any change in the dazzling escape light that was chasing you?"

After pondering for a moment, the Heavenly Hou Demon General said somewhat uncertainly, "I don't know exactly who is in that dazzling escape light, but their aura is a bit weaker than when they first appeared."

The Thunder Mountain Demon King nodded thoughtfully, about to speak, when he suddenly paused, a smile slowly appearing on his lips.

Both Xiangqing Demon General and Tianhou Demon General were somewhat confused, while Leishan Demon King remained silent and looked up at the outside of the hall.

Xiangqing, the Demon General, seemed to understand and his face lit up with joy, while Tianhou, the Demon General, looked puzzled: "Your Majesty, what is this...?"

Before he could finish speaking, footsteps sounded at the entrance of the main hall.

Tianhou Demon General turned around and saw Youji Demon General slowly walking in.

His face was deathly pale, his entire left arm had disappeared, and the flesh and bone at the wound site were stained with a dark green color, dry and lifeless, devoid of any vitality, and even slowly dissolving.

The Heavenly Hou Demon Commander had a very deep friendship with him, and upon seeing this, his expression changed drastically. He quickly stepped forward to greet him: "Fellow Daoist Youji, what happened? Why are you so seriously injured?"

The Demon General Youji looked at the Demon General Tianhou. Although he was seriously injured, his eyes were calm and vast, like the sea, and he exuded a powerful aura, which was completely different from the past.

The Demon General Youji frowned, first raising his only remaining right hand to bow to the Demon King Leishan, before asking in return, "Fellow Daoist Tianhou, who injured you?"

Tianhou Demon General shook his head: "I was not injured by others, but was chased by that dazzling escape light. At the critical moment of life and death, I swallowed the Thunder Mountain Tempering Crystal and used all my strength to use the Thunder Escape Technique to escape."

"I was unable to withstand the pure and powerful thunderous energy within, which is why I was seriously injured."

"Judging from your left arm injury, it seems you have been poisoned by the Wood-Eating Poison. Could it be that the Wood-Eating Demon King himself took action?"

The Demon General Youji said, "I was injured by the Wood Erosion Demon King's spirit wood puppet. That dazzling escape light was transformed from his spirit wood puppet. After we separated and fled, it chased after me."

"I fought a great battle with him, but was ultimately defeated. I was poisoned by the wood-corroding poison and lost my left arm before I was able to escape."

The Heavenly Hou Demon General was stunned: "If the spirit wood puppet in that dazzling escape light chased after you, then who is in that dazzling escape light chasing after me?"

The Demon General Youji frowned and said, "Shimu once said that he would make us all perish with Tianluo."

"The spirit wood puppet that chased after me had a much weaker aura than that dazzling escape light, and its cultivation level was only at the initial stage of Void Refinement."

"It seems that there was more than one spirit wood puppet in that beam of light."

Xiangqing Demon General's expression darkened: "So, fellow Daoists Beiming, Yingbiao, and Chenyan are also being hunted by spirit wood puppets? Doesn't that mean they can't escape death?"

Tianhou Demon General sighed: "That's probably the case. In terms of cultivation, I am inferior to Fellow Daoist Youji, and Wuxie has betrayed the Wood-Eating Demon King."

"If he wasn't confident that he could capture us all, the Wood-Eating Demon King wouldn't have let Fellow Daoist Youji or Wuxie go after me."

The Thunder Mountain Demon King sneered: "Shi Mu is too arrogant. Both of you possess Thunder Mountain Tempering Crystals bestowed upon you by me, and You Ji is only a hair's breadth away from being a Demon King. How can you be so easily killed?"

"Youji, describe the characteristics of that spirit wood puppet in detail."

The Demon General Youji replied, "Yes, that spirit wood puppet was made using the mechanical arts of the human race in the spirit realm. Its body is extremely hard and its strength is immense, no different from that of a demon king in the early stage of the Void Refinement Realm."

"It can spew out a black short blade from its mouth, which is exceptionally sharp and infected with wood-corroding poison. It is comparable to a second-grade spiritual treasure weapon and can also use wood-based divine abilities, making it extremely difficult to deal with."

"However, the biggest weakness of the spirit wood puppet is that it must be controlled by a split mind."

"The Netherworld Thunder is most effective against the soul. I fought it for almost half an hour before I was finally defeated and had to flee."

"If I hadn't been constantly using the Netherworld Thunder and controlling the Thunder Prison Array while besieging Tianluo, which consumed too much of my demonic power, I could have lasted much longer."

Thunder Mountain Demon King frowned and said, "If the Wood-Eating Demon King is truly confident in leaving behind six demon generals, then there are at least six spirit wood puppets. If they can all unleash the power of a demon king, they will be quite troublesome."

Xiangqing, the demon general, said with a solemn expression, "Although this spirit wood puppet is not highly skilled, it is far from being a match for Your Majesty."

"But as long as these six spirit wood puppets exist, my Thunder Mountain Cave Demon Commander will no longer dare to sneak into the Corrosion Wood Cave at will, otherwise if he is killed by them, there will be no way to prove it."

"Now that Wuxie's identity has been exposed, he has most likely died at the hands of that spirit wood puppet."

"From now on, I'm afraid we'll only be able to rely on those demon generals and spies to gather information."

The Heavenly Hou Demon General sighed, "The man in black has reappeared and killed five demon generals, making the Corrosion Wood Cave extremely tense and heavily guarded."

"The information we obtained using the Thousand-Eyed Pearl is probably useless now."

"This battle is unlikely to be a quick one; we must proceed cautiously and confront them head-on."

"The Wood-Eating Demon King wouldn't dare use a spirit wood puppet against the demon general of my Thunder Mountain Cave in full view of everyone."

The Thunder Mountain Demon King frowned and said, "It's that man in black again... I thought that this man in black was under the command of the Erosion Wood. His attack on the Demon General of the Erosion Wood Cave was just to find a reason to start a war with my Thunder Mountain Cave."

"With a major battle imminent, Shi Mu has no reason to let his demon generals die in vain."

"But the man in black made another move, so there must be something else going on."

"Xiangqing, order your men to keep an eye out for the man in black and find out his identity."

Xiangqing, the Demon General, sighed inwardly and replied, "Yes."

He and the Heavenly Hou Demon General exchanged a glance, both of their eyes flashing with a hint of helplessness.

They had always believed that the man in black was highly suspicious, and even closely related to the person who used the corrosive poison to attack and kill the demon general of Leishan Cave.

However, the Thunder Mountain Demon King was furious at the time, and his past grudge against the Wood Erosion Demon King was too deep. He was determined to start a war with the Wood Erosion Cave. They dared not persuade him anymore and could only obey his orders.

Now the Demon King of Leishan suspects that the man in black has ulterior motives, but the great battle has already begun, and it is too late.

However, even if the man in black truly harbored ill intentions, he ultimately killed nine demon generals of the Erosion Wood Cave, weakening the cave's strength and thus benefiting the Thunder Mountain Cave.

Thunder Mountain Demon King looked at Demon General Youji: "Your injuries are quite serious. Go down and heal your wounds first. We still need your help in this battle."

The Demon General Youji bowed with one hand and said calmly, "Your Majesty, rest assured. Although I was seriously injured in my battle with that spirit wood puppet, I also personally experienced the power of the Demon King, which greatly helped me break through the bottleneck and increased my chances of success."

"After this battle, I will go into seclusion to try and become a Demon King. If I fail, I will not leave!"

The Thunder Mountain Demon King frowned, then relaxed: "I grant you permission to cultivate in seclusion at Thunder Mountain, using the power of thunder to break through to the Demon King realm. This will be twice as effective with half the effort."

"As long as you can break through the bottleneck, I will do my utmost to help you open the Demon King's Cave."

The Demon General Youji solemnly said, "Your Majesty's kindness to me is as heavy as a mountain. With the war between the two realms imminent, how can I abandon Your Majesty at this critical juncture?" "Even if I were to advance to the Demon King realm, I would stay in the Thunder Mountain Cave to help Your Majesty establish merits on the Turtle Island, obtain the Cheng Ying Flower, and break through to the Demon Saint realm."

"Once Your Majesty breaks through the bottleneck, advances to the level of Demon Saint, and rules over a region, it will not be too late for me to open the Demon King's Cave."

The Thunder Mountain Demon King was taken aback, then burst into laughter: "Good! You are loyal to me, so I will not mistreat you."

"Even if I had not advanced to the level of Demon Saint, I would still have become sworn brothers with you and jointly managed the Thunder Mountain Cave!"

The Demon General Youji bowed with one hand: "Thank you for your kindness, Your Majesty."

The Heavenly Hou Demon General watched with envy, but he was only a mid-level Demon General, and he wasn't even sure if he could advance to a high-level Demon General, let alone challenge the Demon King. He could only secretly admire him.

Xiang Qing celebrated the approaching end of the Demon General's lifespan, his ambitions long since vanished, and he remained calm, simply watching quietly from the sidelines.

Thunder Mountain Demon King suddenly sighed: "It's a pity that Bei Ming died at the hands of the Wood-Eating Spirit Wood Puppet. His Kun fish bloodline was extremely pure, and he would have been of great use on Tyrant Turtle Island. What a pity, what a pity..."

A hint of doubt flashed in Xiangqing Demon General's eyes as he asked, "Your Majesty, the most important thing to achieve merit on Tyrant Turtle Island is to strike hard against the cultivators of Frost Sword City."

“Fellow Daoist Beiming’s spatial abilities are not indispensable. Having them is better, but not having them simply means less convenience. Why does Your Majesty value them so much?”

A shadow crossed the eyes of the Thunder Mountain Demon King, who said indifferently, "In the past, I would not have valued a mere Kun fish demon general so highly, but this war between the two realms is no ordinary event. You will understand in the future."

Xiangqing Demon General was slightly taken aback. Just as he was about to ask another question, a demon general strode into the hall and bowed deeply to Xiangqing Demon General: "Reporting to the General, the Northern Underworld Demon General requests an audience!"

……

Chen Yuan stood outside the hall, looking at the weakened Tianhou demon general who had come out to greet him personally. His face lit up with joy, and he quickly stepped forward.

He clasped his hands in a bow and said with emotion, "I never thought I would see Fellow Daoist Tianhou again. It feels like a lifetime has passed since we last met."

The Heavenly Hou Demon General returned the greeting with clasped hands, carefully examining Chen Yuan. Seeing that he was in good spirits and had no injuries, a look of shock flashed in his eyes: "Fellow Daoist Beiming encountered that spirit wood puppet, yet you are completely unharmed?"

Chen Yuan was taken aback: "A spirit wood puppet? What is that?"

Tianhou Demon General was also taken aback: "Fellow Daoist Beiming didn't encounter the spirit wood puppet?"

Chen Yuan looked puzzled: "After I parted ways with my fellow Daoists, that dazzling light caught up with me."

"Kun used a life-saving technique to escape by chance and had never seen any spirit wood puppet."

"Fellow Daoist seems to be seriously injured. That dazzling escape light chased after me. Could it be that Fellow Daoist was stopped by the demon generals led by Qi Hun?"

Tianhou Demon General sighed: "It seems that Fellow Daoist Beiming is unaware of the details of that dazzling escape light. The Great King is in the palace. Please follow me."

Chen Yuan asked in surprise, "The King is here too?"

He immediately followed Tianhou Demon Commander into the hall and saw Youji Demon Commander with his left arm severed. He looked surprised, but then forcibly suppressed it and came to Leishan Demon King.

Chen Yuan clasped his hands in a bow and said, "Bei Ming greets Your Majesty!"

The Thunder Mountain Demon King remained calm, but a hint of scrutiny flickered in his eyes as he asked indifferently, "How did you manage to survive that dazzling escape light?"

When the demon general announced the news, he was so engrossed in his work that he did not notice the commotion outside the palace.

But he had heard Chen Yuan's conversation with the Heavenly Hou Demon General very clearly.

The Demon Generals Youji and Xiangqing also looked over. Both of them were quite calm at the moment, but when the demon generals entered the hall to report earlier, they were even more surprised than the Demon General Tianhou.

The Heavenly Hou Demon General was able to barely escape only because he had mastered the Thunder Escape Technique and possessed the treasure Thunder Mountain Tempering Crystal.

The Demon General Youji was incredibly powerful, virtually invincible below the Demon King level, but he still lost an arm to save his life from the Spirit Wood Puppet.

How did Chen Yuan, who was only a mid-level demon general, manage to escape the pursuit of the spirit wood puppet?

Upon hearing this, Chen Yuan said with lingering fear, "Your Majesty, after I separated from my fellow Daoists, I tried my best to escape, but I did not expect that the dazzling escape light would actually chase after me."

"Although my speed is no less than that of the pursuer, my demonic power is insufficient, and I cannot outlast him. Sooner or later, he will catch up with me."

"Fortunately, one of my ancestors was a demon king who left behind a life feather, which sealed a teleportation ability within it."

"After I activated it, I fled tens of thousands of miles away and finally escaped the pursuit of that dazzling light, but I do not know who is in that light."

"Just now, Fellow Daoist Tianhou mentioned the spirit wood puppet. Could it be that the thing inside that escape light was actually just a puppet?"

"Since this puppet has chased after me, who injured Youji and Tianhou?"

The Thunder Mountain Demon King's eyes flashed, and he said calmly, "That's right, within that beam of light is a spirit wood puppet, comparable to the Demon King's Void Refining Puppet."

"And Shi Mu has more than one Void Refining Puppet, at least six."

"The six of you fled separately, and each of you was pursued by a Void Refining Puppet. Youji and Tianhou were both injured by that puppet."

Chen Yuan was shocked: "Such advanced puppetry exists in the world?"

The Demon King of Thunder Mountain shook his head slightly: "My demon race naturally cannot create such powerful puppets, but the human race of the Spirit Realm is proficient in mechanical arts, and it is not difficult for them to create puppets comparable to those of Void Refinement cultivators."

"However, such puppets are rare treasures even in the spirit world. I don't know what methods Shi Mu used, but he managed to obtain six of them in one go."

Chen Yuan's face showed worry: "The Wood-Eating Demon King now possesses six puppets comparable to the Demon King himself. This battle..."

The Thunder Mountain Demon King smiled slightly: "These mere six puppets are nothing but inanimate objects, and they only possess the strength of the early stage of the Void Refinement Realm. With a little effort, I can easily deal with them."

"This time you went deep into the Corroded Wood Cave, but due to the interference of the man in black, you were unable to ascertain the army's formation."

"But you killed Tianluo and exposed the six spirit wood puppets in Shimu's hands, which is also a great achievement."

"It's a pity that Yingbiao, Chenyan, and Wuxie must have died at the hands of the puppets. Youji and Tianhou are seriously injured, so let's go back and heal them first."

"Xiangqing, since you were the commander-in-chief in this battle, you are in charge of assessing and rewarding your merits. Please submit the report, and I will bestow upon you treasures."

After leaving Xiangqing Demon General behind, Chen Yuan and the other two left the main hall, while Youji Demon General returned to his cave to heal his wounds.

Chen Yuan stopped the Heavenly Hou Demon Commander and invited him to his cave, saying he had something to ask him.

Although the Heavenly Hou Demon General was seriously injured, it was because he could not withstand the pure thunder power in the Thunder Mountain Tempering Crystal. He could recover completely after some recuperation, which was far less urgent than that of the Netherworld Demon General.

The two arrived at Chen Yuan's cave dwelling and took their seats as host and guest, respectively.

Tianhou Demon General laughed and said, "Fellow Daoist Beiming, what is the matter that you are in such a hurry, forbidding me from returning to my residence to heal my injuries?"

Chen Yuan looked apologetic: "I had no intention of delaying your healing, fellow Daoist. I was just lucky to survive from that puppet, but I didn't even get to see its face."

"I'm worried that if we encounter that puppet again in the future, we won't be able to deal with it."

"Therefore, I invited you here, fellow Daoist. May I ask what the characteristics of this puppet are, and if there is any way to deal with it?"

Tianhou Demon General shook his head and chuckled: "Fellow Daoist Beiming is joking. This Void Refining Puppet is far stronger than us. It was made by the human race of the Spirit Realm using mechanical arts. We are no match for it. How can we deal with it?"

“Even Fellow Daoist Youji lost an arm to barely save his life.”

"We both survived by sheer luck thanks to life-saving measures. Without such measures, we would have had to leave it to fate."

"However, fellow Daoist need not worry. Now that we know that the Wood-Eating Demon King has a Void Refining Puppet, the Great King will not send a demon general to infiltrate the Wood-Eating Cave."

"And because of the man in black's interference, all the information we had gathered was rendered useless."

"This battle can no longer be resolved quickly; we have no choice but to confront each other head-on and test our strength."

"In front of tens of thousands of demon beasts, Shi Mu Jue dared not use the Void Refining Puppet to bully the weak, otherwise he would definitely be severely punished by the Blood Tooth Demon Saint."

Chen Yuan's eyes flashed, and he laughed, "In that case, we don't need to face that Void Refining Puppet anymore."

"It's a pity that we can't defeat the Corroded Wood Cave quickly, which will delay our preparations for the Great War between the Two Realms."

"However, now that Tianluo has been defeated and that man in black has killed many demon generals, with the balance of power shifting, my Leishan Cave will surely prevail. It doesn't matter if it takes a little longer."

Tianhou Demon General sighed softly: "What Fellow Daoist Beiming said is very true. It's just a pity that Fellow Daoists Yingbiao and Chenyan died at the hands of that puppet. Otherwise, my Thunder Mountain Cave would have had an even greater advantage."

"When we were ambushing Tianluo, you suggested that we retreat first. I regret that I did not listen to you."

"Otherwise, Ying Biao and Fellow Daoist Chen Yan wouldn't have lost their lives, and we wouldn't have needed to use our life-saving methods..."

Chen Yuan smiled nonchalantly: "There are gains and losses. If Fellow Daoist Youji hadn't insisted on killing Tianluo, we wouldn't have been able to discover that the Corroded Wood had refined six Void Refining Puppets, and we might have suffered a great loss in the future."

Tianhou Demon General laughed heartily: "Indeed, Fellow Daoist Youji gained some insights from his battle with that Void Refining Puppet. After this battle, he will go into seclusion to break through to the Demon King realm."

"If he succeeds, my Thunder Mountain Cave will have another demon king. Looking across the Blood Tooth Domain, there are few demon king caves that can compare!"

Chen Yuan's eyes flashed, and he smiled, "Is that so? Once Fellow Daoist Youji recovers from his injuries, I, Kun, will definitely pay a visit to congratulate him."

Tianhou Demon General waved his hand: "Advancing to the level of Demon King is extremely difficult. Even with Fellow Daoist Youji's strength, I dare not say that you can definitely succeed."

"It's not too late to congratulate him after he succeeds." (End of Chapter)