Nine Transformations of the True Spirit.

After returning to his cave, Chen Yuan immediately sent out a communication talisman to summon Zhang Yanwei.

A quarter of an hour later, Zhang Yanwei strode into Chen Yuan's cave, clasped his hands in a bow, and asked, "Master, you summoned me. What are your instructions?"

Chen Yuan looked at Zhang Yanwei, a complex expression in his eyes, and slowly said, "During my trip to the Thunder Mountain Range, I learned from the Thunder Mountain Demon King about the existence of a secret spatial realm, and I have decided to enter it..."

He briefly recounted the matter of that secret spatial realm, but omitted the details of the cultivation techniques involving the descendants of true spirits. He did not conceal the fact that the secret spatial realm was suspected to be a true spirit's cave, and that human cultivators were also very likely to enter it and find a way to enter the spirit realm.

After hearing this, Zhang Yanwei was stunned for a long time, a hint of disappointment flashing in his eyes. He then bowed deeply and said, "Congratulations, Master, on finally having the opportunity to enter the Spirit Realm. You no longer need to hide your identity and can cultivate immortality openly and honestly!"

Chen Yuan stared at him and said calmly, "I originally intended to raise my cultivation to the peak of the Nascent Soul stage, and then find a way to enter the Spirit Realm, so that I could take you all away from the Burning Demon Realm."

"If we enter that secret realm this time, we will definitely not return, and it is very likely that our identity as human cultivators will be exposed."

"Not only are you unable to enter the Spirit Realm, but you can no longer stay on Beiming Island. Do you harbor any resentment towards your master?"

Zhang Yanwei remained silent for a moment, then said solemnly, "This disciple dares not deceive Master. I am indeed somewhat unwilling to accept that I can no longer receive Master's protection, and I do not know if I will be able to enter the Spirit Realm and return to the human race in the future."

"But my life was saved by my master. My master also taught me martial arts and bestowed many treasures upon me. His kindness to me is like giving me a second life."

"This disciple is not ungrateful and harbors no resentment whatsoever; I am only happy for my master."

“Master often deals with the Thunder Mountain Demon King, which is too risky. This is a good opportunity to leave the Burning Demon Realm. It’s like the sea is wide enough for fish to leap and the sky is high enough for birds to fly.”

"I beg Master not to worry about me. Before I met you, I was able to cultivate to the Core Formation stage."

"Now that Master has passed down his exquisite techniques, magical treasures and elixirs, and provides constant guidance, I have a great chance of forming my Nascent Soul."

"I have also received my master's teachings on alchemy. Over the years, I have often opened the furnace to refine pills, and my alchemy skills have improved by leaps and bounds."

"The Demon Realm is teeming with demonic beasts. This disciple can hunt them and obtain their cores to improve his cultivation. In the future, he may have a chance to break through to the Nascent Soul stage."

Chen Yuan looked at Zhang Yanwei quietly. Seeing his calm expression and firm eyes, without the slightest hesitation, he couldn't help but clap his hands and laugh: "I was right to take you as my disciple back then."

"You must remember, as heaven maintains vigor through movement, so should a gentleman constantly strive for self-improvement."

"The path of cultivation is against the will of Heaven, unpredictable, and one never knows when misfortune will strike; one can only rely on oneself."

"Even the son of a Mahayana cultivator can't expect to reach the Mahayana realm just by relying on his father's influence."

“I have encountered far more dangers than you along the way, yet I have still managed to cultivate to this level.”

"Besides having a great deal of good fortune, a steadfast and unwavering Dao heart is also essential."

"You should focus on your cultivation. Now that I have accepted you as my disciple, I will not abandon you."

"Before you enter that secret realm, I will make proper arrangements. Even if I cannot let you enter the spirit world, I will leave you a way out."

"When I have achieved mastery in my cultivation in the future, I will re-enter the Demon Burning Realm and allow you to return to my sect."

Zhang Yanwei looked worried and bowed again: "Master just said that the Thunder Mountain Demon King is looking for your whereabouts and may have secretly laid a net."

"What merit or ability do I possess to cause my master to risk his life for me? I beg my master not to put myself in danger for my sake. If I reveal any flaws, I will die a thousand deaths to atone for it!"

Chen Yuan smiled slightly: "I know how to act, so you don't need to worry."

Zhang Yanwei's eyes still held a look of worry, but he dared not offer any more advice.

Chen Yuan added, "When I attacked and killed the demon generals of the two caves, I used the power of Fellow Daoist Cangsong. The Demon King of Leishan may be secretly searching for traces of human cultivators."

"Guan He and the others are hiding not far from Beiming Island. Go and remind them to be careful."

"It's best not to hunt any more monsters recently, lest we give ourselves away and be discovered by the Thunder Mountain Demon King."

Zhang Yanwei immediately agreed, bowed, and left the cave.

Chen Yuan pondered silently for a moment, then got up and walked into the cultivation room that had been converted from the herb garden.

He flicked his sleeve, and the strange boulder appeared out of thin air on the ground, where he sat cross-legged.

He then took out a jade bottle, tilted it slightly, poured out a pill, and swallowed it.

The pill entered the throat and transformed into a pure and vast stream of spiritual energy, flowing into the meridians like a cascading river.

Chen Yuan closed his eyes slightly, focused his mind and calmed his spirit, circulating his cultivation technique and silently refining the spiritual energy.

Bathed in sunlight, the giant rock shimmered with golden light, slowly absorbing the essence of the sun and moon, tempering Chen Yuan's physical body.

True fire is forged in the cave, and several autumns have passed in the mountains.

In the blink of an eye, thirty years have passed.

On this day, Chen Yuan slowly opened his eyes, a glint of light flashing in them, illuminating the dimly lit herb garden.

It was midnight, and starlight and moonlight streamed down from the dome, draping over Chen Yuan and weaving him into a gauze robe.

He got up and stepped off the boulder, took out the jade pendant, and it suddenly emitted a warm, bluish light.

The stars in the sky twinkled together, and countless rays of starlight converged into a beam, falling down and piercing through heaven and earth, enveloping Chen Yuan within it.

The fine, viscous starlight flowed slowly like mercury, seeping into Chen Yuan's body.

He felt as if he were in an alchemical furnace, or as if he were penetrating deep into an underground fire vein, the intense heat enveloping his entire body.

The supremely yang and powerful energy of the stars in the heavens, like a raging fire, forged his body, erasing away impurities that were barely perceptible.

Chen Yuan's physical body slowly strengthened, becoming increasingly solid and resilient, faintly radiating a wondrous glow.

The silver beam of light slowly dimmed, and after sixty breaths, it finally disappeared.

The blue light on the jade pendant gradually faded. Chen Yuan looked down and gently stroked it with his fingers; it was still as delicate as ever.

He spread his divine sense and probed into the jade pendant. It was nothing special, just an ordinary piece of jade that could be found anywhere, not even a spiritual jade, and there was nothing unusual about it.

Chen Yuan smiled helplessly and put the jade pendant back into his internal space.

Since obtaining the jade pendant, he has investigated it countless times, but apart from the "Nine Revolutions of True Spirit" cultivation technique and that mysterious golden jade disc, he has found nothing else.

Perhaps the jade pendant contains only this immortal cultivation technique and the golden jade disc, with no other secrets.

But Chen Yuan didn't believe that the mysterious treasure that allowed his soul to travel through time and caused the stars in the sky to shine only contained a cultivation technique.

However, despite trying every means, he was unable to uncover the secrets hidden within the jade pendant, so he had no choice but to give up.

Perhaps only after he advances to the Integration stage, or cultivates to the Great Ascension stage, or even ascends to the Immortal Realm, will he be able to truly refine the Jade Pendant and discover the full potential of this mysterious treasure.

Chen Yuan stored the boulder into his internal space. The contents of this object were unknown and extremely mysterious.

Chen Yuan tried various methods, but only the power of spatial destruction left a shallow crack on the surface of the boulder, which even the Heavenly Thunder Technique could not damage.

However, the power of the stars drawn by this stone is far inferior to that of the jade pendant, and the mysteries hidden within it are probably also inferior. With future advancements in cultivation, one will be able to explore its secrets.

Chen Yuan slowly walked out of the herb garden. The stone hall was silent, having been untouched for a long time, but thanks to the array, it remained pristine and spotless. For the past twenty years, Chen Yuan had been in seclusion in the herb garden, either meditating and cultivating or refining pills, hardly ever leaving his post.

On the few occasions he left the pass, it was always when the Demon King of Leishan sent his demon generals to deliver pills, which Zhang Yanwei personally delivered to the cave and presented to Chen Yuan.

The Bloodtooth Demon Saint clearly attached great importance to that secret realm that resembled a True Spirit Cave. Chen Yuan alone was bestowed with six bottles of late-stage Nascent Soul pills.

However, refining pills takes time, and there are twenty-eight demon king caves in the Bloodtooth Domain. There are many demon generals who need to be given pills. These six bottles of pills were given in three batches over ten years.

In addition, there were Body Tempering Elixirs, which were five different kinds of pills, bestowed in four batches over fifteen years, just enough to make up fifteen pills.

This shows that the body-tempering elixir is far more precious than cultivation pills.

In addition to the three bottles of cultivation pills and one bottle of body-tempering pills bestowed by the Thunder Mountain Demon King, Chen Yuan also refined one or two more bottles of pills on his own, taking a full fifteen years to refine them all.

Thanks to his Kunpeng bloodline, Chen Yuan's speed in refining pills was much faster than that of other cultivators of the same level, but it still took him a month.

The Body Tempering Elixir is even more potent, requiring two months to refine just one pill.

Fifteen years passed quietly in meditation.

Only when he draws starlight into his body will Chen Yuan stop for a few days to recover his true essence.

For other late-stage Nascent Soul cultivators or high-ranking demon generals, ten bottles of cultivation pills would be enough to raise their cultivation to the perfect realm.

Chen Yuan was to collect these pills himself, but even if he kept hunting down high-level demon generals, it would still take at least several decades.

If Bloodtooth Demon Saint and Thunder Mountain Demon King hadn't both placed great importance on that secret spatial realm, they would never have been able to produce so many late-stage Nascent Soul pills.

However, when applied to Chen Yuan, it only made his cultivation level much higher.

He needs at least a few more bottles of late-stage Nascent Soul pills before he can cultivate to the peak of Nascent Soul.

The pure and abundant true essence made Chen Yuan's foundation extremely solid, and the power of his divine abilities was greatly increased, far surpassing that of other cultivators of the same level and demon generals.

However, this also greatly increased the difficulty of his cultivation, far surpassing that of other cultivators.

For the next fifteen years, Chen Yuan silently absorbed spiritual energy in his cave to improve his cultivation.

He needs to refine nine bottles of cultivation pills and a body-tempering elixir, which requires a considerable amount of time. If he leaves seclusion prematurely, it will surely arouse the suspicion of the Thunder Mountain Demon King.

Moreover, his cultivation level has not yet reached the peak of the Nascent Soul stage, which is inconsistent with the pills he has refined. It would be good if he could improve it a few more times.

Fortunately, Chen Yuan's physical body was already quite strong, and he was considered quite remarkable among high-ranking demon generals.

Over the past thirty years, he has refined twenty-five Body Tempering Pills, repeatedly endured the infusion of starlight into his body, and ground the Gangfeng Stone into powder, which also had some body tempering effect.

After this Starlight Jar experience, Chen Yuan's physical body is still some distance from becoming a Void Refining Demon King, but he is not far off.

If one can simultaneously activate the blood of three true spirits and condense a true spirit dharma form, one can even be comparable to a Void Refining Demon King.

However, this would also greatly increase the consumption of true essence, making it impossible to maintain for long.

If Chen Yuan were to use all his supernatural powers and wield magical treasures such as the Cangming Halberd and the Xuanyin Armor, he could only hold out for a quarter of an hour at most.

However, within this brief quarter of an hour, Chen Yuan could unleash the strength of a cultivator in the early stage of the Void Refinement realm, enough to crush all demon generals or Nascent Soul cultivators.

This unparalleled strength was his greatest asset in daring to enter that secret spatial realm.

Unless the methods left behind by that true spirit are too brutal, even a cultivator in the early stage of Void Refinement cannot withstand them, Chen Yuan is confident that he will survive.

Since the demon saints have sent their demon generals into the formation, they shouldn't let them die in vain; there's still a chance to break the formation.

If even the Demon General could handle the dangers in the secret realm, Chen Yuan would be no match for him.

To mitigate the risks of excessive consumption of his true essence, he refined all the dozens of spiritual herbs he had bought from Silver Tide City into pills to restore his true essence, obtaining a total of three bottles.

Two of the bottles of Qingqu Pills had a mild medicinal effect, which could fully restore Chen Yuan's true essence within an hour.

The last bottle of Instant Essence Pill was extremely potent; within ten breaths, it could restore fifty percent of one's true essence.

It should be noted that Chen Yuan's true essence is so pure and abundant that it far surpasses that of other cultivators of the same level, so the medicinal power of this medicine is already quite remarkable.

However, while the Instant Essence Pill possesses such astonishing potency, it also carries significant hidden dangers.

Because the true energy that bursts forth is too immense, the meridians will be subjected to tremendous pressure, and may even tear open.

Even a high-ranking demon general with a strong physique can only take two Instant Essence Pills at most before his meridians are severely torn, requiring several years of recuperation to fully recover.

Fortunately, after Chen Yuan activated the three types of True Spirit Blood, his physical body was able to break through that bottleneck, and the damage to his meridians from the Instant Essence Pill was also greatly reduced.

According to his calculations, if two or three Instant Essence Pills were taken at the same time, the meridians would only be slightly torn, but any more would still result in extremely serious injuries.

However, within the secret realm, there should be no opponent who could repeatedly deplete his true essence in a very short time, requiring him to continuously consume Instant Essence Pills.

After refining the elixir, Chen Yuan continued his secluded cultivation, but a month ago, he received an order from the Thunder Mountain Demon King.

Since it concerned the Demon King, Zhang Yanwei dared not hide it. Even though he did not want to disturb Chen Yuan's seclusion, he still sent a communication talisman to tell him about it.

In this decree, the Thunder Mountain Demon King clearly stated that there were only three years left before the opening of the spatial secret realm and the entry of the Demon General, and that Chen Yuan should be prepared and not miss the deadline.

With only a month left before the starlight infusion, Chen Yuan simply continued his meditation and cultivation until today, when he finally emerged from seclusion.

He entered the stone hall and sent out a communication talisman.

A quarter of an hour later, Zhang Yanwei strode in, clasped his hands in a fist and bowed, saying, "Disciple respectfully welcomes Master out of seclusion!"

He never leaves Beiming Island. Whenever Chen Yuan summons him, he will come immediately. Even when he is in seclusion for cultivation, he never neglects his duty.

Chen Yuan said, "No need for formalities. During the years I've been in seclusion, has there been any activity in the Beiming Cave?"

The last time he emerged from seclusion was eight years ago, and he has not left his cave since.

The message talisman that Zhang Yanwei sent a month ago contained only the edict of the Thunder Mountain Demon King and did not mention anything else.

He shook his head: "The Northern Underworld Cave is peaceful. Only a few demon generals are fighting for territory and cultivation resources. Nothing else has happened."

"I have recorded all the events, big and small, that have occurred over the past eight years. Please review them, Master."

He flipped his hand and took out a jade slip, presenting it with both hands.

Chen Yuan took the jade slip into his hand, scanned it with his divine sense, glanced at it briefly, and then returned it to Zhang Yanwei.

He smiled slightly: "You are calm and composed, and with the help of Yun Jinyue, Liu Tianhan, and Huan Yu, there will certainly be no mishaps."

"Go and summon the three of them. In three years, I will be entering that secret realm, and it will be time to tell them about it."

Zhang Yanwei accepted the jade slip with both hands, his expression solemn: "Disciple obeys." (End of Chapter)