Nine Transformations of the True Spirit.

Lizhou, Miaoling Mountains.

There are thirteen states in Jiuxianzhou. Except for the Southern State which is occupied by the demon clan, the scenery of each state is very different.

Lizhou is close to Nanzhou. It has a hot and humid climate, rolling mountains, dense jungles, miasma everywhere, and rampant wild beasts. It is known as one of the three evil states, along with Xizhou, which has endless yellow sand, and Hanzhou, which is freezing cold.

The common people in Lizhou had to build villages to protect themselves. On every flat hill, there would often be a village consisting of stilt bamboo houses.

They struggle to survive between miasma and ferocious beasts, generation after generation.

But the way of Heaven is to reduce the surplus and make up for the deficiency.

Lizhou has a harsh environment with numerous mountains, but the land veins are also strong because of this.

Instead, the spiritual energy of heaven and earth gathered together to form spiritual veins and mines, ranking among the best among all the states.

The Miaoling Mountains are hundreds of miles long, with dangerous peaks and deep valleys. Fierce poisonous miasma fills the mountains and plains. Anyone who enters them will be poisoned to death in a short time.

But in this mountain range that makes the surrounding mortals shudder and fear it like a tiger, there is a large spirit stone vein that is worthy of being ranked among the top three in Lizhou. It is also a rare and rich mine that produces a stable output of top-quality spirit stones every year.

Such a spiritual mine is enough to make any sect salivate.

However, no sect dared to get involved in the large spiritual mines in the Miaoling Mountains, and no one even dared to covet them.

The reason is simple: this spiritual mine belongs to the Jiuli Sect.

Not only that, the other two large spiritual mines in Lizhou are both under the jurisdiction of the Jiuli Sect.

In Lizhou, the Jiuli sect is the undisputed overlord, and no other sect dares to challenge it.

Even among the ten major sects, the Jiuli Sect ranks at the top, with only two or three sects such as the Xuanyin Sect, the Taiming Sect, and the Shaoxuan Sect being able to surpass it.

The Zhuyan Baigu Sect in Jiangzhou in the north and the Zhengqing Sect in Hengzhou in the northeast had both clashed with the Jiuli Sect and all were at a disadvantage and suffered considerable losses.

The demon tribe in Nanzhou has become an alternative source of spiritual materials for the Jiuli Sect. Every year, they sell a lot of demon pills and demon beast materials, which even attracts cultivators from various states to sneak into Nanzhou and hunt demon beasts.

For tens of thousands of years, the reputation of the Jiuli Sect has been deeply rooted in the Lizhou immortal cultivation world.

The spiritual mine in the Miaoling Mountains has always been safe and sound. No matter how daring the lunatic is, he would not dare to cause trouble here.

Of course, this is also closely related to the fact that there are always Nascent Soul cultivators stationed in the Miaoling Mountains.

On this day, the Jiuli sect's foundation-building cultivator flew lazily into the sky as usual, stroked the spirit beast bag at his waist, took out the poison-repelling butterfly given by the sect, and escaped from the formation that covered the spirit mine.

There is no wind in the Miaoling Mountains all year round. After thousands of years of accumulation, the miasma has risen to dozens of feet in the sky, making it extremely difficult for monks to avoid it.

The Poison-Repelling Butterfly is a low-level monster, no different from an ordinary butterfly. It is extremely weak and cannot even compete with ordinary wild beasts, but it has the ability to ward off poison.

They danced around the Jiuli sect monks, absorbing the miasma bit by bit, and quietly climbed onto their broad white membranous wings, turning a little bright red.

When the wings of the poison-repelling butterfly are completely dyed red, it needs to return to the spirit beast bag to recuperate until the miasma is expelled from the body before it can absorb the miasma again.

This often takes at least two hours, which is enough time for their owners to complete their patrol mission.

These Jiuli Sect's foundation-building monks gathered in twos and threes, and then dispersed, chatting and laughing, ignoring the miasma as if it were nothing, as if they were just sightseeing.

Being stationed in the Miaoling Mountains is a truly lucrative job. The last time someone invaded the spiritual mine was seven hundred years ago, when the Jiuli Sect went to war with the Zhuyan Baigu Sect, and the cultivators of the Zhuyan Baigu Sect launched a sneak attack.

However, they were unable to even break the formation guarding the spiritual mine, and waited for reinforcements from the Jiuli Sect, where they were defeated and suffered heavy losses.

Since then, the Miaoling Mountains have been peaceful. The monks stationed here can get an extra share of valuable spirit stones every year without having to fight with others.

Apart from the sweet and fishy smell of the miasma, which is somewhat unbearable, there are no other disadvantages.

A disciple without a solid foundation can forget about getting this job.

Two hours later, the monks of Jiuli Sect who were patrolling everywhere returned to their base one after another. The sky darkened, and a dim crescent moon quietly climbed up into the sky.

The night was getting darker and darker. Except for a few disciples on duty, everyone had returned to their caves to meditate and practice, working hard to improve their skills.

In the deep night, only the miasma was flowing slowly.

Suddenly, the formation curtain covering the spiritual mine flickered a few times at an extremely fast speed. It returned to normal in just three breaths and almost no one noticed.

The mournful sound of a night owl was heard in the dense forest, and nothing seemed to have changed.

But at the foot of the mine shrouded by the formation, in a remote mountain forest, a monk stood with his hands behind his back, slightly raised his head, looked at the towering mine, and a smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.

This man was dressed in a white shirt, had a tall figure, sharp eyebrows and bright eyes, and had a free and easy temperament. He was none other than Chen Yuan who came from Renzhou.

He held the soul-hiding bowl in his left hand, and Tian You's soul floated in the air, ten times more solid than before, almost the same as when he was alive.

Chen Yuan said calmly, "What Daoyou said is indeed true. The protective formation of the spiritual mine here will be ineffective for half a breath every month due to the replacement of spiritual stones. And there is no one on guard, which is enough time for a Nascent Soul cultivator to sneak in."

Tian You looked at the familiar mine in front of him with a complicated expression, mixed with a bit of guilt and a bit of relief.

He sighed softly: "The Miaoling Mountains have been peaceful for a long time, and there has been no foreign invasion for hundreds of years."

"The monks stationed here, from top to bottom, are all lax and lazy, and have long lost their guard."

"The weakness of the protective formation existed when Tian was stationed here, and it has not changed until now. If someone really targets it, it will immediately face a catastrophic disaster."

"However, it is fortunate that the formation has not been repaired, otherwise you would not be able to enter the spiritual mine and would think that Tian was lying to you."

Chen Yuan smiled and said, "You are worrying too much, Daoist friend. Since I entered Lizhou, everything I have seen and heard is consistent with what you said before. How could there be misunderstandings because of one or two small things?"

Tian You showed a look of gratitude, but he secretly sighed in his heart: "Daoyou is so magnanimous, it is really a blessing for Tian..."

Three months ago, he revealed everything about the secret realm of the Yuling Sect. Half a month later, Chen Yuan arrived in Lizhou.

Along the way, Tian You not only refined elixirs to nourish the soul in the Soul Storage Bowl, but also answered Chen Yuan's questions.

Chen Yuan asked about everything related to the Jiuli Sect in great detail, especially the secrets that only the Yuanying elders or even Tian You himself knew, and then verified them one by one.

Fortunately, Tian You did not hide anything from Chen Yuan, and eighty years is not enough time for a giant sect to undergo any changes.

Everything he said was verified.

Chen Yuan’s last stop was the Miaoling Mountains.

After Tian You formed his infant, he came here and stayed in charge for thirty years. He was very familiar with this large spiritual mine.

Ever since the battle with the Zhuyan White Bone Sect, the protective formation of the spiritual mine has not been improved for more than 700 years, and the formation plates and flags are outdated.

Since there are no spiritual veins in the Miaoling Mountains, the mining protection array is activated by spiritual stones. The spiritual stones in the array need to be replaced every month.

And at this moment, the mining protection formation will become ineffective for half a breath.

This matter is extremely secretive, and only the Nascent Soul cultivators stationed in the Miaoling Mountains know about it. The mining protection formation has this weakness, and the formation plate and flag should have been replaced long ago.

However, in order to break the restrictions of the Yuling Sect's secret realm, the Jiuli Sect needed to consume a large amount of spiritual materials and stones, and had no time to take care of other things.

Moreover, the Miaoling Mountains have been peaceful for hundreds of years, so the formation has not been repaired.

Only the Nascent Soul cultivator stationed here will give his successor a few words of advice when taking over, asking him to be careful and vigilant.

When Tian You was stationed here at the beginning, he had just formed his infant form and acted cautiously. He would even spread out his spiritual sense when changing the spirit stones on the array plate to be on high alert to prevent anyone from taking the opportunity to sneak into the array.

But as time went by, nothing happened, and he gradually relaxed, focusing on his practice and putting the matter behind him.

When Chen Yuan asked about the secret of the Jiuli Sect, Tian You immediately thought of this matter and told him the truth.

As he expected, the sect had not repaired the formation, and Chen Yuan successfully sneaked to the foot of the mine.

When Tian You told outsiders the secrets of his sect, he was like a bandit who had paid the pledge of surrender and could no longer turn back.

He joined the Jiuli Sect when he was young, and practiced all the way to the early Nascent Soul stage, enjoying great success.

Now only his soul is left in the world, barely surviving, and he has no choice but to betray the sect. The feeling in his heart is indescribable.

Just when Tian You was feeling mixed emotions, Chen Yuan suddenly turned around and came to the depths of the forest, sitting cross-legged under a tree.

He looked down at Tian You and said, "Please return to the Soul Storage Bowl first. I will ask you for advice after I leave this place."

Tian You was very surprised and asked in a low voice: "Fellow Daoist, you have already sneaked into the mine protection formation. The elders of our sect guarding this place are definitely not your opponents. Why don't you rob them?"

Chen Yuan said calmly: "A few top-grade spirit stones are not enough to sway me. If I take action now, I will only alert the enemy."

Tian You suddenly realized, clasped his fists and bowed, his soul flickered and fell into the soul-hiding bowl.

Chen Yuan put the soul-hiding bowl into the mustard seed ring, took a deep look at the towering mine, closed his eyes slightly, and waited for a month until it was time to replace the spirit stone in the array again.

……

Lizhou, Yunyin Mountains, Tianque Peak.

As the morning light begins to shine through, the mist rolls in, and the twisted branches of pine and cypress trees entwine and intertwine, appearing and disappearing like a dragon extending its claws.

Above the cliff, white silk hung in the air and fell into the cold pool with a sound like thunder.

The blue crane flaps its wings, the white deer walks slowly, the clever monkey climbs the tree, and the green ox lies on the stone.

In an octagonal stone pavilion on the top of the mountain, two monks were playing chess.

One of the middle-aged monks was holding a white chess piece in his hand, staring at the chessboard on the table, looking hesitant and troubled.

Opposite him, an old man sat calmly on a stone bench with a smile on his face, as if he had already won.

The old man was skinny and frail, with pale hair, wrinkled face and cloudy eyes, as if he was an old farmer who had toiled all day long and had exhausted all his energy.

After a while, the middle-aged scholar suddenly threw the flag onto the board and sighed: "Senior brother is one step ahead. I am no match for him."

"Master, thank you for letting me win. I just got the upper hand by luck."

The old man raised his sleeves and flicked them, and the black and white chess pieces on the chessboard flew up by themselves and fell into the chess pot.

The middle-aged cultivator laughed at himself and said, "Brother, there is no need to comfort me. Your attainments in the art of formations are second to none in the Nine Immortal Continent. You have already shown mercy, otherwise I would definitely not have made it through the middle game."

The old man smiled slightly and did not argue: "Master, do you want to play a few more games?"

The middle-aged monk shook his head: "Why should I continue to humiliate myself? Let's stop here today..."

He changed the subject and said, "Brother, you have worked hard to guard Xuanwu Lake for thirty years. How is the ban on the Yuling Sect secret realm being cracked now?"

When the old man heard him talking about this, he replied sternly, "The progress of breaking the ban is quite smooth. Although there are occasional setbacks, it is not a big deal."

“Although the restrictions in the Yuling Sect’s secret realm are strict and complex, there is no one in charge of the formation.”

"Our sect's method of breaking the ban, which is based on the five tokens of the Yuling Sect elders, is a little slow, but it will not leave any hidden dangers. In another ten or twenty years, it will be enough to completely break it."

The middle-aged cultivator looked apologetic and said, "The Yuling Sect's secret realm is the top priority of our sect. Junior Brother Xun's attainments in formations are still a little shallow, and he is far inferior to Senior Brother."

"Brother, you can only rest for three to five years when you return to the sect this time. You will have to go to Xuanwu Lake again to take charge of the overall situation. Please forgive me."

The old man said calmly: "Since I entered the Dao, I have been following my master, learning the art of formation while breaking the restrictions of the Yuling Sect's secret realm."

"It has been more than 800 years, and I have never slacked off for a single day. In fact, I have spent more than 700 years by the Xuanwu Lake."

"Breaking the restrictions of the Yuling Sect's secret realm is my master's last wish, and it is also my lifelong wish."

"After nine years of building a mountain, there is only one step left. Three to five years is too long. In a year, I will go to Xuanwu Lake again to break the restrictions and lay the foundation for our sect's great cause!"

The middle-aged cultivator looked solemn and bowed with his fists clasped together: "Coming to Japan to dominate the Nine Immortal Continent, if we talk about the merits, Senior Brother should be the first."

"I will order Qingyu to go to the spiritual medicine garden and fetch a ginseng to refine it into a pill to nourish the soul of Senior Brother."

The old man smiled and waved his hand: "I have spent too much effort to break the restriction. I am no different from the dry bones in the tomb. Once the restriction is broken, I will be able to sit and die."

"The Rejuvenating Ginseng is too precious. There is no need to waste it on me."

The middle-aged monk frowned: "Brother, why do you say that..."

The old man interrupted and said, "Master, I appreciate your kindness."

"I have no other request. As long as I can enter the secret realm of Yuling Sect and burn a stick of incense for my master, I will have no regrets in my life."

The middle-aged cultivator said solemnly: "Brother, don't worry. On the day when the restriction is broken, you will be the first person to step into the secret realm of Yuling Sect."

The old man smiled slightly and then disappeared: "It's a pity that a token of the Yuling Sect elder was lost, otherwise the speed of breaking the ban would be accelerated several times..."

"I would also like to remind the head master that the Yuling Sect is an ancient sect with a profound foundation that far surpasses the ten major sects today. The secret realm it left behind must have a backup plan."

"But our sect's method of breaking the ban is not the right way after all. The closer we are to breaking the ban, the more likely something will happen. We must be on guard."

The middle-aged cultivator looked solemn, and after a moment's silence, he slowly said, "Tomorrow I will ask Junior Brother Yuwen to come out of the mountain and personally go to Xuanwu Lake to take charge."

"One year later, I will go deep into Nanzhou with my senior brother."

"The Yuling Sect has been destroyed for tens of thousands of years. Our sect has inherited their tradition and should inherit this secret realm."

"No matter what methods the Yuling Sect has left behind, they cannot stop our sect's great cause!" (End of this chapter)