Nine Transformations of the True Spirit.

In the dimly lit training room, several luminous pearls were embedded in the ceiling and walls, emitting a soft glow.

On the rosewood table sat a brass incense burner, with a thin stick of incense burning, filling the room with a calming fragrance.

The ground was engraved with a spirit-gathering array, and the intricate spirit patterns flickered slowly like breathing.

Zhang Yanwei sat cross-legged in the center of the Spirit Gathering Array, his palms facing the sky, his eyes slightly closed. A faint, veil-like spiritual energy flowed from the array and seeped into Zhang Yanwei's body.

He held a crimson fire-elemental top-grade spirit stone in each hand, slowly absorbing the spiritual energy within them. His aura rose and fell like the tides, gradually solidifying.

Suddenly, a distant bell rang into the cultivation room, gentle yet resolute, penetrating deep into Zhang Yanwei's soul and waking him from his cultivation.

Zhang Yanwei slowly opened his eyes, his gaze sharp and full of energy. He put away the two top-grade spirit stones that had already consumed half of their spiritual energy and stood up.

He flicked his finger, and the incense sticks in the bronze incense burner on the table quietly went out.

This was a calming incense given to him by an elder of the Miaohe Sect when he and Yun Jinyue became Daoist partners.

The Tranquilizing Incense is made primarily from a five-thousand-year-old spiritual herb called the Tranquilizing Flower, and then mixed with the essence blood of six demon generals with extraordinary bloodlines and naturally powerful souls. It is extremely precious.

When cultivating, one only needs to light a calming incense stick to avoid going astray and even have the effect of nourishing the soul. Over the years, one's soul will become stronger than that of other cultivators of the same level.

One stick of calming incense can burn for ten years. The elder of Miaohe Sect only gave out thirty sticks in total. Zhang Yanwei and Yun Jinyue each took half. Every stick used is one less, so they must be used sparingly.

The bell tolled without ceasing, one toll after another, nine tolls in a row. Even a Nascent Soul elder in seclusion should have been awakened from his cultivation.

Zhang Yanwei's expression was slightly solemn. He stood up, raised his hand to push open the stone door, and walked out of the cultivation room. Just then, the stone door opposite him was also pushed open, and Yun Jinyue also came out.

He and Yun Jinyue lived in the same cave, but they could not cultivate in the same cultivation room.

A smile appeared on Zhang Yanwei's face, but he quickly suppressed it, reached out and grabbed Yun Jinyue's hand, pulling her into his arms.

"My lady, the Divine Bell has tolled nine times, summoning all disciples of the sect. We should set off now."

Yun Jinyue leaned into his arms and gently rested her head on his shoulder, whispering, "This day has finally come. The sect started preparing three years ago. The cultivators who were stationed in various realms have all returned to the mountain gate, and Tongtian Island has become much more lively. Only the area around Lingyun Peak is still relatively quiet. If we delay any longer, the disciples in the sect will probably start complaining."

Zhang Yanwei put one arm around Yun Jinyue's waist and gently stroked her black hair with the other: "Yes, three years is a long time... My wife, I'm sorry, please don't blame me."

Yun Jinyue was startled and looked up, just in time to meet Zhang Yanwei's apologetic gaze.

"What do you mean by that, my husband?" She blinked, her delicate brows furrowed, and her long eyelashes fluttered like bird wings.

Zhang Yanwei said in a low voice, "I shouldn't have asked my master to propose marriage to Miaohe Sect for my own selfish reasons, and become Daoist partners with my wife."

“I should have asked Master earlier. If I had known that the sect would launch a major offensive against Turtle Island, I should have waited until this great battle was over before coming to find you, instead of letting you come with me on this adventure.”

Yun Jinyue looked into Zhang Yanwei's eyes and said softly, "Have you ever thought about what I would do if you died on Turtle Island?"

Zhang Yanwei hesitated for a moment, then said, "Then my wife should pretend that we never met."

Yun Jinyue suddenly laughed: "Then wouldn't I have been locked up on Jianyue Peak by my father for eighty years for nothing?"

Zhang Yanwei was stunned. Yun Jinyue suddenly reached out and hit him hard on the chest: "My husband is a cultivator. Even if we only became Daoist partners after this great battle, does that mean we won't conquer other realms anymore?"

"Master is such a legendary figure. He is destined to advance to the Integration stage, and may even reach the Mahayana stage, becoming the second Sect Leader."

"My husband also knows Master's personality. He values ​​Dao Heart the most, and even when selecting lower-level disciples, he only tests their Dao Heart."

"Master won't let us reap the rewards without sowing. There will definitely be battles and fights. What does it matter if it's sooner or later?"

Zhang Yanwei sighed: "But this time is different. The sect leader has mobilized the entire sect to enter Tyrant Turtle Island. The demon race cannot sit idly by and watch our sect build a city. This great battle might even involve the Great Sage."

"No, in order to deal with the sect leader, the Great Sage of the Burning Demon Realm will definitely have to take action, and the risk is too great."

“I was captured by that fierce-maned demon general and my life was in danger, but my master saved me. He even took me as his disciple, treating me like a second life. Of course, I will follow my master until death. But my wife is different…”

“How am I different?” Yun Jinyue interrupted him. “My husband was saved by my master, and so was I.”

"If I hadn't met my master, I would have long since become some demon general's slave, a living hell."

"My husband and I have both died once. Now that we have formed our nascent souls, returned to the spirit world, and become Daoist partners, it is all thanks to my master's protection. I am already completely satisfied."

"Although this battle is dangerous, we have life-saving items bestowed upon us by our master and father. Even if we encounter a Nascent Soul cultivator, we will have a chance to escape alive."

"Other Nascent Soul cultivators don't have such opportunities, and their lives are far more dangerous than ours. What more could we ask for?"

"My lord, you must not let me distract you from your path."

Zhang Yanwei fell silent. He knew perfectly well that Yun Jinyue was right, but he just didn't want to see Yun Jinyue get involved in this great battle.

He and Yun Jinyue had frequent interactions in the Beiming Cave. He was his master's personal disciple, while Yun Jinyue had secretly taken control of the Beiming Cave before his arrival.

Under their master's instructions, the two discussed how to handle various miscellaneous tasks, and their conversations gradually increased.

On the island of Beiming, surrounded by demon generals, they carefully disguised themselves as human slaves. Although they had their master's protection, these demon generals obeyed the demon commander of Beiming, not the human cultivator Chen Yuan.

If they accidentally expose their true identities, it will immediately lead to a bloodbath. It would be one thing if they died, but it would be a grave sin to implicate their master.

It was in this perilous environment that Zhang Yanwei and Yun Jinyue, sharing similar plights, gradually began to discuss cultivation experiences and share their own stories.

Yun Jinyue has a father who is a cultivator at the Void Refinement level. He is knowledgeable and has described the myriad landscapes of the Spirit Realm in detail, which makes Zhang Yanwei yearn for it.

Zhang Yanwei grew up in the Demon Burning Realm and began fighting demons as a teenager. His experiences, which he described casually, were thrilling to Yun Jinyue.

The two had already developed feelings for each other on Beiming Island. Later, their master entered the Xuanli Realm and was gone for more than two hundred years.

The two followed Daoist Cangsong into hiding, sharing hardships and life and death. Two hundred years is a long time for Core Formation cultivators, and their affection for each other has become as firm as gold and stone.

Zhang Yanwei didn't want Yun Jinyue to encounter any danger, but he also knew that this was just wishful thinking on his part.

Yun Jinyue is also a cultivator, and cultivators are meant to defy the heavens and constantly pursue higher realms, inevitably facing perilous situations. Zhang Yanwei gently stroked Yun Jinyue's hair and whispered, "My wife is right. My mind is a bit chaotic. Since I've embarked on the path of cultivation, I shouldn't think about so many things."

"No matter what the future holds, the past eighteen years of being inseparable have been enough..."

Yun Jinyue raised her hand to cover his mouth and said reproachfully, "Husband, what you said is so strange, as if we are destined never to come back."

Zhang Yanwei smiled, grabbed Yun Jinyue's hand, and walked out of the cave: "Let's go, let's go pay our respects to our master."

He still couldn't let go of the habit he had developed in his youth. Human cultivators in the Demon Realm lived in constant fear, and perhaps they wouldn't be able to return after the next hunt for demonic beasts.

The habitat is fine today, but perhaps tomorrow the demons will discover its whereabouts and capture everyone to be enslaved and eaten.

For them, every time they went out to hunt demons, they were walking on the edge of life and death. There was only a narrow path under their feet, with bottomless abysses on both sides, and they could fall in at any time. Therefore, they would leave their last words before hunting demons.

Zhang Yanwei's parents were like this, as were the other cultivators he knew. By the time he reached the Core Formation stage, there were very few familiar faces left. He himself was captured by the Fierce Mane Demon General, and there was no need for him to leave a last message.

This trip to Tyrant Turtle Island felt like another massive monster hunt, and Zhang Yanwei didn't know if he would come back alive.

He could only say what he wanted to say in advance to avoid leaving any regrets.

……

Zhang Yanwei and Yun Jinyue flew out of the cave hand in hand, the sky filled with streaks of light, and the Jingshen Bell awakened everyone on Tongtian Island.

The bell tolls nine times in succession, summoning all disciples of the sect. A great battle is about to take place, and there is no time to lose.

The next ten sounds indicate that the sect has reached a critical juncture of life and death.

The two's cave dwelling was not far from Lingyun Peak. They soon arrived at the vicinity of Lingyun Peak and quietly let go of each other's hands.

The master was easygoing and didn't care about formalities, but they couldn't afford to be even slightly impolite.

There were also streaks of light heading towards Lingyun Peak, but they were much thinner than the streaks of light in the distance, and their speed was far slower than that of Zhang Yanwei and Yun Jinyue.

The two arrived at the summit. The master stood outside the cave, hands behind his back, gazing into the distance. His eyes shone like bright stars, and his snow-white robes fluttered in the mountain wind. The clouds swirled around him, making him look like a celestial being. Behind him stood the kind-faced old pine tree.

The two descended behind their master in a flash of light and bowed respectfully: "Disciple Zhang Yanwei (Yun Jinyue) greets Master!"

The master slowly turned around and smiled, "No need for formalities."

Zhang Yanwei met his master's gaze, lowered his head slightly, and sighed inwardly.

His master's gaze was always so gentle, as if he were looking not at a personal disciple, but at a... long-lost friend.

His master had said that he was the reincarnation of Zhang Wushan from the human realm. He believed that his master would not lie to him for no reason, and that he was not worthy of his master fabricating such a reincarnation story.

Sometimes he felt anxious, worried that his master had mistaken him for someone else, that he just looked like Zhang Wushan, and that once his master found out, he would be expelled from the sect.

Sometimes he would feel confused, wondering if his master was right, and if he was the reincarnation of Zhang Wushan.

He has the appearance of his past life, but only the memories of this life. Is he Zhang Wushan, Zhang Yanwei, or a combination of the two?

Zhang Yanwei had never shown such confusion in front of his master. Becoming his master's disciple was the greatest opportunity of his life, and he was deeply grateful for his master's kindness. He wanted to fulfill his duties as a disciple and show filial piety in front of his master.

But when meditating in the quiet cultivation room, as if isolated from the world and unaware of the passage of time, these questions would always quietly creep into his mind, questioning his Dao heart.

Later he finally understood that he wasn't asking who he really was, but was worried that his master would abandon him.

Before meeting his master, he was just a Core Formation cultivator struggling in the Burning Demon Realm, almost becoming food for the Fierce Mane Demon General, with no hope of survival.

His master was the light that tore through the darkness, giving him everything and the opportunity to truly pursue immortality.

But the reason his master accepted him as a disciple was because he was the reincarnation of Zhang Wushan.

He was afraid that one day his master would discover that he was just Zhang Yanwei and abandon him.

This fear was deeply ingrained in Zhang Yanwei's heart and could never be erased.

But as time went by, Zhang Yanwei discovered that his master never mentioned Zhang Wushan again, as if he had forgotten about it, and continued to show him great care.

Zhang Yanwei felt a little relieved, but his master left the Demon Burning Realm not long after, and his heart started racing again.

More than two hundred years have passed since his master left. Zhang Yanwei went from initial anticipation to despair, worrying that his master had abandoned him and that something bad had happened to him.

It was only because Senior Cangsong firmly stated that his master was definitely still alive that he retained his last glimmer of hope.

When he saw the shadow spy monks sent by his master, he was overjoyed beyond words.

But he didn't know why his master only remembered him after more than two hundred years. He was grateful, but he also became more careful in his actions.

After entering the Spirit Realm, he learned that his master had left Tongtian Island. He didn't even dare to go to the Frost Spirit Domain to find Yun Jinyue, fearing that his master would be angry because he would think that he had disobeyed his master's orders and acted on his own.

But after his master returned, he personally went to Miaohe Sect to propose marriage to Yun Xubai.

At that grand dual cultivation ceremony, he bowed to his master and, seeing his master's gratified smile, he completely lost his last trace of worry.

His master bestowed upon him cultivation techniques and elixirs, led him into the spirit world, and sent him to join a Mahayana sect, and even arranged a Daoist partner for him—it was not merely because he was the reincarnation of Zhang Wushan.

Master knew all along that he was Zhang Yanwei, and all he did was because he was Master's disciple.

Seeing his master's gaze again, he was no longer afraid or confused, but rather felt a mix of emotions.

Master knew that Zhang Wushan was dead, but in his gaze towards him, he still unconsciously revealed a hint of joy and regret, as if he were seeing a long-time friend.

Although he could never become Zhang Wushan, the fact that his master had entrusted his longing for his friend to him, his disciple, was the greatest repayment he, a weak Nascent Soul cultivator, could offer his master at this moment. (End of Chapter)