Nine Transformations of the True Spirit.

Chen Yuan and his group of five also discovered traces of the peculiar green mantis in the memories of the elders of the two villages.

It also came to these two villages decades ago, persuading the green mantis nobles in the villages not to rely on the death energy.

The elders of the two villages, unwilling to relinquish the power derived from the deathly aura, clashed with the peculiar green mantis, but were no match for it.

The peculiar green mantis drifted away, ultimately leaving no secret techniques behind. The elders of the two villages recorded this event in their ancient texts, and to this day, it has become a legend.

The five people became even more interested in this peculiar green mantis, but its whereabouts were elusive and it had not appeared for decades.

The real priority is to find a larger settlement of the Green Mantis Clan, hunt more skeletal beasts, collect death energy, and search for treasures.

The village, which gathered tens of thousands of Green Mantis people, was only 30,000 miles away. It wasn't far for the five of them, and they arrived there quickly.

This time, they did not conceal their presence and directly unleashed their escape light to capture the village's elder.

This village was much more prosperous than the previous three villages. The farmland covered a vast area, and tens of thousands of fat deer roamed the mature fields, leisurely munching on dark blue fruits.

Thousands of lowly green mantises, wielding whips, listlessly drove the deer beasts aside.

More lower-level green beetles, carrying farm tools made of bones, were scattered throughout the still-immature fields, laboriously turning over the hard earth.

Dozens of towering trees in the village point straight to the dark sky, and hundreds of egg-shaped houses hang from the branches.

Hundreds and thousands of Green Mantis Nobles flew in the air, their slender bodies agile and powerful. The death aura surrounding them was far purer and more concentrated than that of the lower-level Green Mantises, and everything was in perfect order.

But when Chen Yuan and his group of five descended from the sky, the Green Mantis Clan was immediately thrown into chaos.

The green mantis noble's mouthparts opened and closed repeatedly, emitting a sharp sound, and it charged forward, brandishing its two sharp, blade-like arms.

The lower green mantises were bewildered and immediately went to comfort the frightened deer, which was their primary duty; if the deer were injured, they would die.

These Green Mantis nobles, whose strength was at most comparable to Foundation Establishment cultivators, were naturally no match for Chen Yuan and his group of five.

The five didn't even need to lift a finger; the pressure from the mid-level demon general terrified them, leaving them utterly helpless, as if they were carrying a mountain on their shoulders, clinging to the branches of a giant tree.

They arrived just in time; the village elders, who had not ventured into the wilderness to hunt, stormed out of the egg house in a rage.

But after feeling that incredibly powerful pressure, the elders stopped and froze in place, their two huge compound eyes staring at the five strangely shaped "beasts," their slender bodies trembling uncontrollably.

The elder also appeared soon after. Its strength was indeed much greater than that of the other Green Mantis Clan members, comparable to a Nascent Soul cultivator in the early stage. However, in front of Chen Yuan and his group of five, it was still just an ant.

The deathly aura surrounding the elder had transformed into pure black, incredibly refined.

Although the death energy contained within the black crystal was still much more mixed, it could still be absorbed by the Fiend-Slaying Blade, increasing its power slightly.

It burst forth from a colossal egg-shaped house comparable to a palace, its death energy condensing into armor that covered its two bladed arms, transforming into two enormous blades, each over ten feet long, exuding a murderous aura.

But its subsequent actions surprised everyone. Upon seeing Chen Yuan and the other four, it suddenly stopped, stared at them blankly, then dissipated its death aura, raised its two blade arms, put them together, and awkwardly clasped its three sharp fingers together in a strange bow.

The elder opened his mouth, his voice sharp, piercing, and stiff, but it wasn't the language of the Green Mantis Clan; it was a language the five could understand: "The sinful... the sinful subject Qu Wutong respectfully welcomes the Holy One's descent into the world!"

The five of them were taken aback, then descended into the light of their escape and arrived in front of the elder.

The Demon Realm is vast and boundless, teeming with demons who were once isolated from each other, and tens of thousands of languages ​​were spoken simultaneously.

However, after the invasion of the human race in the spirit realm, the Burning Demon Realm was forced to merge into one, and learned all kinds of cultivation arts from the human race, set up teleportation arrays, and traveled back and forth, and the language gradually became unified.

To this day, the language used by the demon race in the Burning Demon Realm is also the language commonly used by humans, and it is more concise and refined than the language of the demon race in the past.

And this was the language that the Green Mantis Elder used when he spoke.

Qi Yan, the demon general, sized up the trembling elder and asked, "Have you ever seen a 'Supreme Saint' like us?"

The Green Mantis Elder shook his head, maintaining his strange bowing posture.

Its voice still sounded harsh and shrill, but it was smoother than before and quite elegant: "The sinners have never seen the Supreme Saints, but they have seen records about the Supreme Saints in the books left by their ancestors, and that is how they recognized the identities of the Supreme Saints."

"I do not know what instructions Your Holy Ones have given us for coming to the sinful realm. The sinful people will do their utmost to serve Your Holy Ones."

"I only beg you holy sages not to... not to destroy Quling Village and spare the lives of the sinners in the village."

The demon general raised his hand to stroke his beard and smiled slightly: "Interesting. Since you are all criminals, what crimes have you committed?"

The Green Mantis Elder shook his head, his words becoming more fluent and less stiff than before, now revealing a hint of respect: "The sinners do not know either. The sinners only know that the entire Green Mantis clan are sinners who have committed heinous crimes."

"Fortunately, the Holy Emperor has the virtue of cherishing life and has pardoned the Green Mantis Clan from their death sentence."

"Our ancestors were deeply grateful to the Holy One and swore an oath to serve him as a slave for life, never daring to have any disloyalty."

Chen Yuan's eyes flashed, and he suddenly spoke up: "Where are those books? Let me take a look."

The Green Mantis Clan Elder said respectfully, "The records of the Supreme Saint are the greatest secret of Quling Village, and they are kept in the Elder's palace."

"Apart from the past elders of Quling Village, no one else has ever seen this before. Please follow me, Your Majesties."

Chen Yuan said calmly, "Lead the way."

The Green Mantis Elder's stiff face remained cold, but his voice was even more cautious: "Could you please forgive the people and disperse these ignorant Green Mantises first..."

Qi Yan Demon General nodded slightly. The Green Mantis Clan Elder was stunned for a moment, but then he understood what Qi Yan Demon General meant.

It then gave a strange, awkward bow, before looking down at the group of green mantis nobles who were struggling to move under the demon general's pressure. Its mandibles opened and closed, emitting a series of sharp, stern sounds that echoed throughout half the village.

Chen Yuan and his four companions now understand the language of the Green Mantis tribe. Qu Wutong instructed the Green Mantis nobles to step back and not disturb the distinguished guests, or they would be executed without mercy.

As Qu Wutong's voice faded, the green mantis noble in the air hesitated for a moment, but still raised its right arm, drew three sharp fingers across its chest, and then fell down, flying towards the farmland to soothe the panicked lower green mantises.

This represents respect and obedience among the Green Mantis Clan, indicating that Elder Qu Wutong enjoys extremely high prestige in Quling Village.

Quling Village returned to calm, and Chen Yuan and his four companions, led by Qu Wutong, entered the huge egg-shaped house where he lived.

The interior was extremely luxurious for a Green Mantis, filled with exquisite artifacts made of bones, either inlaid in the walls or suspended in the air by woven vines. The group followed Qu Wutong to a ten-tiered bookshelf made of bones, containing thousands of scrolls of animal hide books.

On the top shelf of the bookshelf sat a beautifully patterned yellow wooden box, but its surface had become dull and lifeless.

Everyone looked surprised when they saw the wooden box.

The Demon General Yanhuang clicked his tongue in amazement: "Although this object has lost all its spiritual energy, it is at least made of thousand-year-old spirit wood. Could it be that someone has already entered this fragment of the interface?"

Upon hearing this, Qu Wutong trembled slightly, but his stiff face showed no emotion. He raised his hand, took the wooden box off the shelf, gently opened it, and presented it with both hands.

"These are the classics left by our ancestors. Please, Your Majesty, take a look."

Inside the wooden box was a thick book made of animal hide. The group exchanged glances, and Qi Yan, the Demon General, looked at Chen Yuan and said with a smile, "Fellow Daoist Bei Ming, please."

The others nodded in agreement, and Chen Yuan, no longer refusing, picked up the animal skin book and began to read.

Qi Refining cultivators possess the ability to remember everything they see, and Chen Yuan's divine sense is even more formidable. In just a moment, he flipped through the animal skin book from beginning to end, revealing a thoughtful expression, and handed it to the Demon General Qi Yan beside him.

The four demon generals didn't spend too much time reading through the animal skin book in turn, and all of them fell into deep thought.

After a while, the Demon General Yanhuang looked at the animal skin book and frowned, saying, "There is a portrait of the 'Supreme Saint' in this book. Although it is somewhat blurry, it is quite similar to us."

"The language they left behind is the same as ours. Could it be that some demon general arrived here before us?"

He did not avoid Qu Wutong, the elder of Quling Village, who stood to the side with his back hunched over. Although his cold face showed no emotion, his respect was very obvious.

Iron-Winged Demon General shook his head: "According to the records in this book, those 'Supreme Saints' came to this place more than three thousand years ago."

"If a demon general had already entered this fragment of the interface, he would definitely have brought it under his control, and it would be impossible for a spatial passage to appear again, giving us another chance to enter this place."

"Moreover, this language is not unique to my Burning Demon Realm. To be honest, it was learned from the human race. Those 'Supreme Saints' may also be human."

Qi Yan, the demon general, interjected, "Although the human race is hateful, their strength is still considerable, and they have invaded many realms."

"Human languages ​​are extremely concise and widely spoken, and are not only used in the Spirit Realm and the Demon Burning Realm."

“Those ‘sages’ may not have come from the Demon Realm or the Spirit Realm, but rather from humans or demons from other realms.”

Ghost Demon General raised his hand to stroke his beard and slowly said, "Let's not even talk about the legendary 'Supreme Saint'. This book is vague and doesn't specify what crime the Green Mantis Clan committed to become criminals."

"It is said that those 'Supreme Saints' are magnanimous and merciful, pardoning the Green Mantis Clan's sins and setting down a test. If they can pass it, they can ascend to the Heavenly Realm and become one of the 'Supreme Saints'."

"When I saw this place just now, I thought of the deathly aura that permeated this world. Could this be the test of those 'Supreme Saints'?"

Yanhuang Demon General nodded in agreement: "Fellow Daoist Guixiao is right. In my opinion, these Green Mantis Clan members may not be native to this world."

"Otherwise, they wouldn't be unable to directly absorb the death energy, and might even be eroded and killed by it."

"They were likely exiled to this realm for committing sins. Only by resisting the erosion of death energy can they return to their original realm and become one of those 'supreme saints'."

Iron-Winged Demon General said, "That's right. That peculiar green mantis was not afraid of the death aura's erosion, so it must have passed the test of the death aura."

"But for some reason, this interface broke apart, and it was unable to return to its original interface and become a member of the 'Supreme Saints,' so it remained there."

The demon generals nodded in agreement, while Chen Yuan remained silent, seemingly lost in thought.

Ghost Demon General's eyes flashed, and he asked, "I wonder what insightful opinion Fellow Daoist Beiming has?"

The other three demon generals all turned to look at him. Chen Yuan pondered for a moment and said, "What you fellow Daoists have said makes a lot of sense, but I have one question."

"The 'Supreme Saint' in this book has a human form, which is very similar to our appearance after we undergo tribulation and take human form, but is quite different from the Green Mantis Clan."

"The language of those 'Sages' is also completely different from that of the Green Mantis Clan. However, the book says that as long as the Green Mantis Clan passes the test, they can become one of the 'Sages,' which is somewhat contradictory. There may be some hidden reason behind this."

Ghost Demon General nodded: "Fellow Daoist Beiming is absolutely right. If what this book says is true, the Green Mantis Clan is very different from those 'Supreme Saints'. How can they become one of the 'Supreme Saints'?"

"However, this is a classic text left by the Green Mantis Clan, and it must contain many embellishments about the Green Mantis Clan."

"As for passing the test, returning to the original interface, and being ranked alongside the 'Supreme Saint,' it is very likely that this is not the case, but merely wishful thinking on the part of the Green Mantis Clan's ancestors."

Qi Yan, the Demon General, looked at Qu Wutong beside him and said indifferently, "Why should we speculate here? The Green Mantis Clan has survived in this fragment of the interface for at least a thousand years, and their understanding of those 'Supreme Saints' is definitely deeper than ours."

"Elder Qu, besides this book, are there any other records about the 'Supreme Sage'? What is your opinion on the legendary 'Supreme Sage'?"

Everyone looked at the Green Mantis Elder standing to the side. Their words were full of contempt for the Green Mantis Clan, and they did not hide their identities, not the 'Supreme Saint' that Qu Wutong had mentioned.

But it remained silent and motionless, like a stone sculpture.

Faced with the question from the Demon General Qiyan, Qu Wutong finally spoke, his sharp voice revealing respect: "The records of the 'Supreme Saint' are all in this book, and the sinner knows nothing about it."

The demon general said calmly, "We are not the 'supreme saints' you speak of. Before us, the Green Mantis Clan are not criminals."

Qu Wutong bent down: "The Supreme Saint may not have come from the same place as the Supreme Saint of that time, but his appearance is so similar and he speaks the same language. In the eyes of the sinners, he is the Supreme Saint."

The demon general's eyes revealed a hint of admiration: "You are quite clever, but I am still a little uneasy. Only after searching your soul can I believe your words."

Qu Wutong trembled and respectfully asked, "May I ask Your Majesty, what is the meaning of this... soul search? Is it perhaps related to the souls of sinners?"

In the animal skin book, besides recording the affairs of the "Sage", the language of the "Sage" was also left behind, which is compared with the language of the Green Mantis Clan, like a dictionary. Only Qu Wutong could speak the language of the human race.

This was to prevent the Green Mantis Clan from being unable to communicate with the future 'Supreme Saint', but the technique of soul searching was not recorded in it.

The demon general said, "That's right. I will take out your soul and examine your memories. I will not take your life, but after the soul search is over, you will lose your mind and become a cripple."

Qu Wutong's body became even more hunched, and his voice even more respectful: "This sinner just overheard the conversation between you holy beings, and it seems that you have not been in the Green Mantis Realm for long."

"The sinners are but ants before you holy beings, but the sinners know the Green Mantis Realm well and are willing to serve you holy beings."

"The entire Quling Village will be under the command of you esteemed saints. We, the sinners, will even help you conquer the Green Mantis Royal City. We only beg you, esteemed saints, to spare our lives!" (End of Chapter)