Nine Transformations of the True Spirit.

Ghost Demon General's eyes narrowed, his hand stroking his beard paused, and he slowly said, "It seems that this group of green mantises and that green mantis king are now locked in a life-or-death struggle, and are even willing to perish together with him."

Qi Yan Demon General nodded and said, "The Green Mantis King went so far as to use the Black Crystal and send out a special envoy to search for the traces of this group of Green Mantises, which clearly shows that he hates them very much."

"It would not be surprising if they wanted to overthrow the Green Mantis King and take his place."

Iron Wing Demon General shook his head slightly: "Perhaps it is not so. Qu Wutong's strength is low. He only has a slightly purer death energy in his body, which causes him great trouble. He has to go deep into the wilderness to hunt ferocious beasts."

"The Green Mantis King is far stronger than him, and the death energy in its body is more refined. It must also be deeply troubled by it, forced to fight against the alien beasts, and even have to hunt down the more ferocious white bone alien beasts."

"He might just want the secret method to protect the green mantises from the corruption of death energy, which is why he is so persistent in searching for their whereabouts."

The demon general said, "No matter what, we must find the Green Mantis King and that group of Green Mantises to find out the origins of those 'Supreme Saints' from back then."

"If this fragment of the interface has indeed been discovered by someone else, who they are, whether they will return, and what they left behind are all of great importance to us."

Yanhuang Demon General laughed heartily: "This matter is simple. We only need to find the Green Mantis King and ask him to find out the whole story."

"But before that, let's kill that giant skeletal bear first to help Fellow Daoist Beiming gather death energy, and then we can talk about other things."

Everyone nodded in agreement. Iron-Winged Demon General looked at Qu Wutong and asked, "What should we do with this green mantis?"

Knowing that his life or death was in the hands of the five men, Qu Wutong immediately clasped his hands and bowed, saying, "This sinful man is willing to lead the way for you holy beings to hunt down that giant white bone bear."

"And together with the Supreme Saint, they went to the royal city, falsely claiming that they had found the trail of the green mantis and that they would surely be able to meet the Green Mantis King."

"Let several high-ranking soldiers capture the Green Mantis King without bloodshed, saving us a lot of trouble."

The group exchanged glances and secretly communicated. The Ghost Demon Commander spoke calmly, "Very well, considering your sincere willingness to serve, I will spare your life for now."

"Let me be frank: we have absolutely no connection with those 'sages' of that time."

"This fragment of the interface is filled with death energy, and it is nothing short of hell for you Green Mantises."

"As long as you remain loyal and do your best in everything, you will help us take control of this fragment of the interface."

"Once we find that group of green mantises and obtain the secret technique to be immune to the erosion of death energy, I can teach it to you, allowing you to escape this fragment of the interface and never have to worry about the suffering caused by the erosion of death energy again."

Qu Wutong immediately bowed deeply, his tall body bending low, his sharp, harsh voice revealing a hint of joy: "Your Majesty is so magnanimous, how dare this sinner not do his utmost!"

The demon general said calmly, "You are to restrain and appease the green mantises in the village, and then lead us to that solitary peak."

"If that giant skeletal bear is indeed thirteen thousand miles southeast of Quling Village, then what you said earlier has some credibility; otherwise..."

Qu Wutong quickly said, "How dare I, a sinner, deceive the holy ones? There is no need to appease the green mantises in the village. Since I became the Grand Elder, my prestige in Quling Village has been unmatched."

“If you forbid them from leaving their dwelling, they will never dare to disobey.”

“Please come with me, Your Excellencies, let’s go hunt down that giant white bone bear.”

The five followed behind Qu Wutong, flew out of the egg house, and with a flash of light, flew southeast.

However, Qu Wutong could only escape by flying with his two pairs of membranous wings, which was extremely slow and not even as fast as a Core Formation cultivator.

Yanhuang Demon General grew impatient and immediately separated a wisp of light to envelop Qu Wutong, instantly increasing his escape speed significantly.

Thirteen thousand miles is considered a long journey by the Green Mantis Clan, but for the demon generals, it is a journey that can be completed in an instant.

In less than an hour, the five of them arrived at the solitary peak that Qu Wutong had mentioned, and sure enough, they saw a giant white-boned bear perched on the summit.

The only slight pity is that this giant skeletal bear is much weaker than that skeletal dragon, only comparable to a mid-level demon general.

Qu Wutong was unaware of their strength and was extremely nervous.

However, with the combined efforts of the five, they killed it in no time and found a piece of black crystal, which was much smaller than the black crystal inside the bone dragon's body, but the death energy was extremely pure.

Qu Wutong witnessed firsthand how the giant white bone bear, which he considered invincible and was called a "divine beast" by the royal envoy, was casually killed by five supreme saints. Its compound eyes blinked incessantly, and its whole body trembled.

Although its face remained cold and stiff, revealing no emotion, anyone could see the shock and fear in its heart.

Chen Yuan put away the black crystal, while the other four demon generals found two extremely hard white bones. Ghost Demon General and Iron Wing Demon General each took one.

Previously, when dealing with the Bone Dragon, Ghost Demon General gained nothing, and Iron Wing Demon General's contribution was less than that of Saki Rock Demon General and Flame Emperor Demon General, so he received the smallest amount of white bones.

This giant skeletal bear was not very strong, so the Demon Generals Qiyan and Yanhuang only stood by and watched, giving the Demon Generals Guixiao and Tieyi a chance to obtain treasures as well.

After the death of the giant white-boned bear, the five did not go directly to the Green Mantis Royal City, but returned to Songliang Village where Zhijinfeng was located to check the words left by the peculiar green mantis.

Qu Wutong became even more respectful to the five people, and cautiously inquired about the nature of interface fragments along the way.

Because it would have a significant use later, the Demon General Gui Xiao changed his previous cold demeanor and patiently explained it to him.

When Qu Wutong learned that the interface he was in had already shattered, leaving only a fragment that could last for at most another thousand years before completely collapsing and killing all the Green Mantises, he fell completely silent.

Its two huge compound eyes stopped blinking frequently, and it looked dazed, letting the Yanhuang Demon General's escape light envelop it as it flew forward.

The group quickly returned to Songliang Village and saw the abandoned stone house with their own eyes.

Just as Qu Wutong had said, the residual aura in the stone house, though faint, was quite conspicuous, completely out of place with the deathly aura that filled the fragments of the interface.

The inscription on the wall reads, "When will this day end? I will perish with you." However, it is somewhat stiff and rigid, and the green mantis seemed to have struggled quite a bit when it carved those words.

With no further doubts, the five once again took flight in their escape light, carrying Qu Wutong towards the Green Mantis Royal City.

For the ordinary Green Mantis Clan, who rely on the flesh and blood of strange beasts, a distance of 300,000 li is an insurmountable distance.

The royal envoy who arrived at Quling Village back then also relied on the death energy within the black crystal to travel a long distance.

Qu Wutong only knew the general location of the royal city, but had never been there.

According to the royal envoy, the royal city was incredibly prosperous, and the Green Mantis King was invincible.

However, Chen Yuan and the other four unanimously believed that this fragment of the interface was only a million miles in size, which was already the limit for accommodating a creature with the strength of a bone dragon, and it was impossible for a green mantis of the level of a demon king to exist there.

Moreover, the lifespan of the Green Mantis clan is extremely short; ordinary Green Mantises can only live for about eighty years before dying of old age.

In the past, Quling Village also had a Green Mantis with the same strength as Qu Wutong, comparable to a low-level demon general, but he only lived to be 150 years old.

Even if the Green Mantis King's strength is comparable to that of a Demon General, it only has a lifespan of a few hundred years at most, making it extremely difficult for it to break through the Demon King bottleneck.

On their way to the royal city, the group encountered several Green Mantis villages, but the largest was only similar in size to Quling Village; most were small villages with only a few thousand Green Mantises. They did not stop, and after several days and traversing over 300,000 li, they finally arrived at the Green Mantis Royal City.

As they got closer to the Green Mantis Royal City, the deathly aura in the air gradually thickened, and the strange beasts in the wilderness became increasingly ferocious.

The blood-red sun on the horizon grew ever larger. When the group arrived outside the Green Mantis City, the blood-red sun seemed to hang tens of thousands of feet above their heads, indifferently looking down upon the earth.

The death energy became extremely pure, and the land was covered with undulating mountains and dense forests.

Every plant was shrouded in deathly aura, and strange beasts roamed through the jungle, almost merging with the deathly aura that permeated the heavens and earth.

The consciousness of the group continued to be compressed, reduced to only one-third of its original size.

Chen Yuan's divine sense could only extend a thousand miles, and his eyesight could only reach a hundred feet.

However, the Green Mantis also possesses pure death energy, which allows them to see further within the death energy.

A green mantis of Qu Wutong's strength can see a thousand feet away, but since it lacks divine sense, it is still far inferior to a low-level demon general or nascent soul cultivator of the same level.

The royal envoy was right; the Green Mantis Royal City was far more prosperous than Quling Village.

This royal city is located on the edge of a majestic mountain range, in the middle of a dense jungle. The most striking feature is the giant tree that the Green Mantis tribe lives in, which is dozens of feet tall.

Hundreds of giant trees gathered together, hanging with a dense array of egg houses. Green mantis nobles with membranous wings flew back and forth, their slender bodies moving lightly and freely through the jungle.

The giant trees in the very center are exceptionally tall, and the egg houses near the top of the trees are as large as palaces. Dozens of green mantises roam and fly around, while the other green mantises dare not approach even a step closer.

Beyond these giant trees lay the dwellings of the lower green beetles, but not the simple, dilapidated huts found in other green beetle villages; instead, they built treehouses in the trees.

Although the Green Mantis can only devour flesh and blood, they are naturally close to plants, and the giant trees that can grow egg houses are their natural habitat.

However, in other Green Mantis villages, the life force is thin, and there are very few giant trees that can grow egg houses, which can only be inhabited by Green Mantis nobles.

Even ordinary trees are extremely rare, and the lowly green beetles can only live in simple huts built of bones, barely surviving.

But within the royal city, the aura of death was so thick, and the surrounding area was a dense jungle, where even the lowest green mantises could live in the trees.

Although it is far inferior to the Egg House, it is hundreds of times stronger than the low-level green beetles in the Green Beetle Village.

On the outermost edge of the royal city lies a large flat area, which stands out conspicuously in the vast forest and is clearly man-made.

The flat land was divided into plots of farmland, and beyond the fences, those deep blue fruits were planted.

Extremely fat deer roamed through the fields, leisurely munching on fruit; they were much larger than the deer in Green Mantis Village.

The lower-level green mantises around them held long whips, their mouthparts opening and closing constantly, emitting sharp sounds, driving away the deer beasts.

They were much stronger than the lower-ranking green beetles in other villages. Some green beetles walked on the ground, while others flapped their wings and flew in the air. The deathly aura surrounding them was no less powerful than that of some of the weaker green beetle nobles in the villages.

Every now and then, green mantises would fly out from the giant trees and enter the mountains in swarms, exuding a murderous aura.

Some green mantises flew out of the mountains, but most of them were injured, carrying huge beasts on their backs. Their slender bodies contained enormous power.

Chen Yuan and his four companions, along with Qu Wutong, hovered high in the sky, quietly observing this thriving scene.

Qu Wutong blinked his compound eyes incessantly, seemingly quite excited, while Chen Yuan and the other four remained calm, showing no regard for the prosperity of the Green Mantis Royal City.

The four demon generals had each established their own cave dwellings and had visited Silver Tide City more than once. In their eyes, this Green Mantis Royal City was nothing more than a slightly larger Green Mantis Village.

Chen Yuan was very knowledgeable, and only the hundreds of giant trees with egg-shaped houses hanging from them were somewhat novel to him.

Qu Wutong raised his two sword-wielding arms, clasped his hands in a fist salute to the five men, and said, "This sinner will now go to see the Green Mantis King..."

Yanhuang Demon General interrupted, "Why go through all this trouble? We already know where the Green Mantis King is."

Qu Wutong was greatly surprised: "The sages have just arrived in the royal city, and they already know where the Green Mantis King is?"

Yanhuang Demon General smiled contemptuously: "You Green Mantis Clan are ignorant of the mysteries of divine sense, and your use of death energy is extremely rudimentary. You do not know how to restrain your aura."

"This royal city is now clearly visible to us. The royal envoy said that the Green Mantis King had the power to destroy the world, but now it seems that he is nothing special."

Qi Yan, the Demon General, said calmly, "There's no time to lose, let's capture this Green Mantis King now."

Everyone nodded in agreement. Chen Yuan turned to Qu Wutong and said, "You will come with us. If the Green Mantis King is not wise, we will need you to take control of this royal city."

Qu Wutong was stunned: "A sinner... What virtue or ability does a sinner have to deserve this..."

The demon general stroked his beard and smiled: "With the support of 'Supreme Saints' like us, what difficulty would there be in controlling this royal city, let alone the entire Green Mantis Clan?"

“If we didn’t still need the Green Mantis Clan’s services and it weren’t for the fact that we shouldn’t force them to submit, and if you weren’t so sensible, then you wouldn’t be the Green Mantis King.”

In Quling Village, the villagers secretly discussed and decided on this matter.

Qu Wutong blinked, his body hunched over, and he clasped his hands in a bow: "This sinful subject obeys!"

The group exchanged glances, nodded, and simultaneously used teleportation to disappear from their original positions.

Chen Yuan flicked his sleeve, and a wisp of spatial power enveloped Qu Wutong, causing the two figures to disappear together.

The next moment, they appeared on the giant tree in the center of the royal city, in the largest egg-shaped house.

A green mantis, about ten feet tall, was curled up in a cocoon-like vine net. Its two compound eyes were closed, and deathly aura slowly rose and fell around it. The powerful pressure it exuded filled the entire egg house, comparable to that of a mid-level demon general.

After everyone appeared, it seemed to sense something, suddenly opened its eyes, shuddered, and immediately flew out of the cocoon.

With a flick of his sleeve, the Demon General Qiyan sent out several array flags that landed on the walls around the egg house. He then took out an array plate and pointed at it.

The array flags flashed with spiritual light, and several beams of light shot out, intertwining to form an array that surrounded the entire egg house.

An array was instantly set up, completely isolating the egg house from the outside world.

Qi Yan, the Demon General, held an array plate in his hand. In addition to his formidable strength, he was also an array master.

Green Mantis's gaze swept over the five people, finally landing on Qu Wutong. His breath came out in rapid, ferocious sounds.

Qi Yan, the Demon General, coldly said, "So you're the Green Mantis King? Surrender and we might spare your life; otherwise, don't blame us for being ruthless!" (End of Chapter)