Nine Transformations of the True Spirit.

Chen Yuan nodded in agreement: "What you say is absolutely right, fellow Daoist... To be honest, there is another matter that I invited you here today."

"After Tianluo died, his demon core and mustard seed ring were taken away by you, fellow Daoist."

"Now that Fellow Daoists Chenyan and Yingbiao are both dead, and Fellow Daoist Youji has stated clearly that he will not divide the treasures in Tianluo's hands, shouldn't we divide these things equally?"

The Heavenly Hou Demon General narrowed his eyes, and the smile on his face slowly faded: "I was injured and forgot about this matter for a moment."

"However, before we killed Tianluo, you said that as long as he had the spatial spiritual materials, we would share the cultivation pills equally. Why are you saying we will share the treasures he has now?"

Chen Yuan said calmly, "Times have changed. If both Fellow Daoists Chen Yan and Ying Biao were here, I would naturally only take the agreed-upon portion."

"Now only Kun and I remain. When we were ambushing Tianluo, if I hadn't stopped him in time, he would have escaped the Thunder Prison Formation and used the Soul Insects to send a message. We would all have died at the hands of the Void Refining Puppet."

"Of course, fellow Daoist also contributed a great deal in the subsequent siege of Tianluo."

"It would be fair if we divided the treasures in Tianluo's possession equally between us. What do you think, my friend?"

The Heavenly Hou Demon General stared at Chen Yuan, his eyes flashing, and suddenly laughed: "Fellow Daoist's words are exactly what I was thinking!"

"However, Tianluo is a high-ranking demon general, only one step away from becoming a demon king, and his divine sense is far stronger than yours or mine."

"It will probably take several days to break the spiritual restriction he left in the mustard seed ring."

"My injuries have not yet healed. May I allow myself to heal and recuperate first, and then we can work together to break the barrier and divide the treasures within?"

Chen Yuan smiled and said, "There's no need for such trouble. I, Kun, happen to know a secret technique of divine sense that can break through divine sense restrictions."

"Please take out the Mustard Seed Ring, fellow Daoist, so that I, Kun, may try it out."

Tianhou Demon General frowned: "Fellow Daoist, are you confident? If we accidentally destroy the Mustard Seed Ring, our losses will be considerable."

Chen Yuan smiled and said, "Fellow Daoist, rest assured, I am 100% confident that it will not cause any damage to the mustard seed ring."

Seeing this, the Heavenly Hou Demon General had no choice but to take out a mustard seed ring from his bosom, but his movements were very slow.

Chen Yuan didn't urge him, but waited quietly with a smile on his lips.

The Heavenly Hou Demon General finally handed the Mustard Seed Ring to Chen Yuan, forcing a smile: "Then I'll have to trouble you, fellow Daoist."

Chen Yuan raised his hand to take it, his expression solemn. He raised his left hand to form a hand seal, and spiritual light flashed as he chanted incantations, seemingly performing some secret technique.

Under the watchful gaze of the Heavenly Hou Demon General, Chen Yuan's spellcasting lasted for several dozen breaths. Suddenly, he pointed his fingers at the Mustard Seed Ring and softly shouted, "Disperse!"

A beam of light landed on the mustard seed ring, and the next moment, many things appeared out of thin air on the wide stone table between the two of them, almost forming a small mountain, shining brightly and spreading out with spiritual energy.

The Heavenly Hou Demon General's eyes remained fixed on the Mustard Seed Ring in Chen Yuan's hand, without blinking.

Seeing this, Chen Yuan returned the Mustard Seed Ring to the Heavenly Hou Demon Commander and smiled, "I trouble you, fellow Daoist, to check if there are any treasures left inside."

Fellow Daoist Tianhou waved his hands repeatedly, but his eyes never wavered: "How could I not trust you, Fellow Daoist?"

Chen Yuan said solemnly, "That's not right. This concerns the treasure of the Heavenly Net Demon General. It must not be handled casually, lest it affect our friendship. Please take a look, fellow Daoist."

After saying that, he handed the Mustard Seed Ring directly to the Heavenly Hou Demon Commander.

The Heavenly Hou Demon Commander then took the Mustard Seed Ring and probed it with his divine sense, finding it indeed empty.

He put down the mustard seed ring and a smile appeared on his face: "Fellow Daoist, you have skillful methods. In just a short while, you broke the soul restriction left by the Heavenly Net Demon General."

……

Three hours later, Chen Yuan saw the satisfied Heavenly Hou Demon General out of the cave, activated the formation, and returned to his cultivation room.

When they were dividing up the treasures in Tianluo Demon General's hands, the two were unwilling to give an inch and even confronted each other, making the scene quite tense.

The two were not particularly close, and Tianluo Demon Commander was the number one demon commander of the Corrosion Cave, not only formidable in strength but also holding an extremely high position.

He enjoys the deep trust of the Wood-Eroding Demon King and wields great power. The treasures in his possession are all of great benefit to mid-level demon generals.

Within the Heavenly Demon General's Mustard Seed Ring, there are over a thousand top-grade spirit stones alone, far exceeding the number of ordinary high-ranking demon generals.

There weren't many cultivation pills, only one bottle, but it was a late-stage Nascent Soul pill.

However, the spiritual energy contained within is too pure and vast, and a mid-level demon general would waste a lot of it when refining it.

There are seven rare and precious spiritual herbs, all of which are the main ingredients for refining pills for the late stage of the Nascent Soul realm.

There are as many as nine top-grade spiritual materials, three of which can serve as the foundation for third-grade spiritual treasures and divine weapons.

There are also three demon cores, one of which belongs to a high-level demon general, and two of which belong to a mid-level demon general.

The wooden box containing the demon cores of two mid-level demon generals had a somewhat faded sealing talisman that had been affixed for many years, and the restrictions within were beginning to break.

No magical artifact can withstand the erosion of time. Time within the Mustard Seed Ring is almost frozen, but it still flows slowly, only much slower than outside.

However, the most valuable items were the six five-thousand-year-old body-tempering spiritual herbs and a bottle of five-thousand-year-old body-tempering spiritual pills, which instantly made the Heavenly Hou Demon General's eyes burn with fervor.

As for other various pills, herbs, magical treasures, and spiritual materials, they were countless and enough to support a demon general's cave, but for the two of them, they were somewhat of a waste.

The only regrettable thing is that Tianluo Demon General's snow-white longsword and two spider silk shields were destroyed. These were treasures comparable to third-grade spiritual treasures and divine weapons, and even surpassed them.

The two split the top-grade spirit stones, cultivation pills, five-thousand-year-old spirit herbs, and the demon general's demon core equally, but when it came to the body-tempering spirit herbs and pills, the Heavenly Hou Demon General refused to share them equally.

The demon race places the greatest emphasis on physical cultivation. The physical body of the Heavenly Hou Demon General is still some distance from that of a high-level demon general. Chen Yuan's physical strength is much stronger, but he is still a step away from being a high-level demon general.

Pills refined from five-thousand-year-old body-tempering spiritual herbs can enhance the physical bodies of high-level demon generals, and for mid-level demon generals, they are a treasure for breaking through the physical body bottleneck.

Only a powerful high-ranking demon general like Tianluo Demon General could produce six five-thousand-year-old spiritual herbs at once.

Each additional plant one receives allows for the refinement of more Body Tempering Pills, enhancing physical strength and increasing the chances of reaching the Demon King realm in the future.

Since it concerned their future, the two naturally argued fiercely, neither giving an inch, and remained deadlocked for quite some time.

In the end, it was Tianhou Demon Commander who brought up Leishan Demon King, whose words carried a hint of threat. Chen Yuan had no choice but to back down and give up the bottle of Body Tempering Pill. He could also take only two Body Tempering Herbs, but on the condition that he take all the demon cores.

The Heavenly Hou Demon General was overjoyed and immediately agreed.

Demon cores are extremely precious, and in Silver Tide City they are priceless and unavailable, but selling them is not easy.

For human cultivators, demon cores are as precious as spiritual herbs, capable of enhancing their cultivation, for which they are willing to forgo other treasures.

However, for the demon race, demon cores are merely a kind of spiritual material for refining weapons. Even if a divine weapon is refined, it still needs thousands or tens of thousands of years to nurture it and give birth to a weapon spirit, transforming it into a spiritual treasure divine weapon.

The Heavenly Hou Demon General wouldn't miss the chance to exchange a demon core for a body-tempering herb, even if it was from a high-ranking demon general.

As for whether Chen Yuan wanted to forge a divine weapon himself or exchange it for other treasures in Silver Tide City, the Heavenly Hou Demon General had no time to care.

After the mountain of treasures on the stone table disappeared, the two resumed their lively conversation, as if the tense scene from moments before had never occurred. The Heavenly Hou Demon Commander, wounded and having acquired numerous precious treasures, was eager to return to his cave and quickly rose to take his leave.

After Chen Yuan's attempts to persuade him to stay failed, he saw him off.

He returned to his meditation room, sat cross-legged, and his gloomy expression slowly faded, revealing a cold smile on his lips.

He flipped his hand and took out three items: a huge bull horn about ten feet long, a wooden box with a spirit-sealing talisman on it, and a jade bottle with a spirit-sealing talisman on it.

With such strength, Tianluo Demon General was able to withstand the siege of six demon generals, including Youji Demon General, who was almost invincible among his peers, for more than half an hour. His methods were all-powerful and unparalleled. How could the Mustard Seed Ring only contain those treasures?

Those spiritual herbs, demon cores, and medicinal pills are rare treasures to a demon general, but they are nothing to a powerful figure like Tianluo Demon General who is determined to become a demon king.

Chen Yuan's display of a secret technique to break the Mustard Seed Ring's divine sense restriction in front of the Heavenly Hou Demon Commander was merely a pretense.

He secretly infused a wisp of Zhu Yan True Fire, erasing the restriction on his soul.

In the blink of an eye, he used his divine sense to quickly examine the treasures in the mustard seed ring and transferred the three most valuable items to his inner space.

The Heavenly Hou Demon General stared intently at the Mustard Seed Ring, his divine sense constantly focused on it.

However, Chen Yuan transferred these three treasures into his inner space, and the spatial fluctuations they emitted were extremely subtle. These fluctuations were concealed by the dissipation of the soul restriction, enough to deceive everyone.

However, he only had a brief moment of respite when the divine soul restriction was removed. Once the divine sense and aura of the Heavenly Demon General disappeared, any attempt to secretly transfer the treasure would be futile and would not escape the Heavenly Demon General's divine sense.

The body-tempering herbs and pills that the Heavenly Hou Demon General cherished as his life were not so effective for Chen Yuan, whose physical body was already comparable to that of a high-ranking demon general and who possessed the Jade Pendant.

After feigning a stalemate, he made an excuse to back down, obtaining four demon cores in return, including two from high-ranking demon generals, enough to refine at least two bottles of pills.

As thoughts raced through Chen Yuan's mind, he reached out and grabbed the long bull horn. Its deep yellow exterior was rough and weathered, exuding a powerful demonic aura. Although it was just a broken horn, it gave him the illusion of facing a towering mountain.

This is a bull's horn left behind by the Demon King!

Chen Yuan probed into it with his divine sense, but was enveloped by a thick layer of earth-attribute demonic energy, and could only penetrate one foot before being unable to advance any further.

The owner of this bull horn is at least a demon king at the mid-stage of the Void Refinement realm. Using this bull horn as the main material, he could forge at least one third-grade spiritual treasure weapon.

If several rare and top-grade spiritual materials are added, there is even a chance to refine a second-grade spiritual treasure weapon, which is one of the most precious treasures in the Heavenly Net Demon General's Mustard Seed Ring.

This single horn of the Demon King is worth more than all the treasures taken by the Heavenly Hou Demon General.

Chen Yuan smiled with satisfaction, put down the ox horn, and picked up the jade bottle with the spirit-sealing talisman attached.

This jade bottle was made from ten-thousand-year-old spiritual jade, which could isolate the demon general's divine sense. After the spirit-sealing talisman was affixed, even the demon king would probably not be able to easily detect it. Chen Yuan also did not know what kind of pills were stored inside.

However, among the many jade bottles in the mustard seed ring, only this bottle has a sealing talisman affixed to it, and it is extremely complex, far exceeding ordinary sealing talismans.

The wooden box was similarly covered with incredibly complex sealing talismans, far surpassing other wooden boxes used to store spiritual materials and demon cores. Chen Yuan spotted it at a glance and quietly took it away along with the jade bottle.

He removed the sealing talisman, opened the jade bottle, and a wisp of extremely pure spiritual energy drifted out and flowed into Chen Yuan's body.

The calm and still sea of ​​true essence in Chen Yuan's dantian suddenly rippled, and Chen Yuan's cultivation level increased slightly.

Chen Yuan's eyes widened. Although he was only in the mid-stage of the Nascent Soul realm, the purity and richness of his true essence surpassed that of many late-stage Nascent Soul cultivators.

Just a wisp of spiritual energy increased his cultivation by one point. What kind of elixir was stored in the bottle?

He tilted the jade bottle slightly and poured out a pill, his movements extremely gentle.

There was only one pill in the jade bottle. It was dark blue, perfectly round, and only the size of a longan. However, the spiritual energy contained within it was as vast as the ocean and as turbulent as a giant wave.

Chen Yuan had never seen this kind of pill before, but his rich experience allowed him to recognize it at a glance as a Body Tempering Pill, a Body Tempering Pill for the early stage of Void Refinement!
Chen Yuan's smile deepened, but he only glanced at it before putting the pill back into the jade bottle and sealing it with a spirit-sealing talisman to prevent the spiritual energy from dissipating.

Such a treasure cannot be wasted, not even a trace of its demonic power.

Chen Yuan picked up the last wooden box, a hint of anticipation flashing in his eyes. He removed the sealing talisman and slowly opened the lid.

Thick spiritual mist spread out, filling the spacious cultivation room.

In the blink of an eye, Chen Yuan felt pure spiritual energy surge into his body, and his cultivation level increased by one point within those few breaths.

He looked closely and saw a ball of snow-white spider silk in the box, inside which was wrapped a fist-sized milky-white crystal.

It is filled with a misty spiritual energy, pure and vast. Upon closer inspection, it seems to contain a miniature spiritual vein!
Chen Yuan was startled. Miniature spiritual veins were common in the Burning Demon Realm and were the foundation for demon generals to open their caves, but they were nothing to the demon commander.

However, miniature spiritual veins are naturally formed, following the great laws of heaven and earth. They emit only one percent of the spiritual energy, which is gentle and long-lasting, and they are constantly absorbing the spiritual energy of heaven and earth to replenish themselves. If carefully nurtured, they can exist for hundreds of thousands of years.

However, the spiritual energy within this milky-white crystal can be released in a very short time.

The spiritual energy surge from a tiny spiritual vein would be difficult even for a high-ranking demon general to withstand.

Compared to this crystal, top-grade spirit stones are like the light of fireflies. The spiritual energy that Chen Yuan once considered extremely pure now appears much more impure.

Chen Yuan took a deep breath, immediately closed the wooden box, and reattached the spirit-sealing talisman.

In just a few breaths, the spiritual energy emanating from the milky-white crystal increased his cultivation level slightly, enough to be equivalent to several days of arduous training.

If he could fully absorb the spiritual energy contained within, he was confident that he could raise his cultivation level to the late stage of the Nascent Soul realm.

However, it would be a waste to use such pure and abundant spiritual energy solely to improve one's cultivation level.

The best use for this milky white crystal is to break through the bottleneck of the Void Refinement stage.

Whether it's a Nascent Soul cultivator or a demon general, breaking through to the Void Refinement realm requires a large amount of spiritual energy, and at least a medium-sized spiritual vein is needed to support it.

The medium-sized spiritual vein in the Burning Demon Realm is comparable to the giant spiritual veins in the Human Realm and the Myriad Demon Continent. It is the foundation upon which the Demon King established his cave.

Although the spiritual energy contained in a medium-sized spiritual vein is abundant, only a small amount dissipates. For an ordinary high-level demon general, it might be enough to challenge the demon king.

However, for those high-ranking demon generals with solid foundations and abundant demonic power, the spiritual energy emanating from medium-sized spiritual veins is insufficient, and they must replenish their spiritual energy; otherwise, they will inevitably fail to break through the barrier.

This is the great principle of heaven and earth, the balance of yin and yang. The more profound the demonic power, the stronger the strength, and the more difficult it is to advance in one's realm.

This milky-white crystal was clearly collected by Tianluo Demon General specifically to use in his attempt to challenge the Demon King.

The spiritual energy from a miniature spiritual vein erupted instantly, and combined with the spiritual energy from a medium-sized spiritual vein, it should be enough for him to advance to the Demon King level.

However, before that, Tianluo Demon General's physical body must first break through the bottleneck, which is probably why he has not yet reached the Demon King realm.

For a high-level demon general, breaking through the bottleneck of physical body is far more difficult than improving cultivation level.

Very few demon generals have broken through the bottleneck in their physical body, but their cultivation level remains at the demon general level.

Human cultivators do not need to temper their physical bodies, but to break through to the Void Refinement realm, they need to comprehend a trace of the power of laws, which is extremely difficult, in no way inferior to that of the demon race. (End of Chapter)