Nine Transformations of the True Spirit.

Renzhou, Chongde Mountains, Mingliu Lake.

Willow branches hang down on the island in the middle of the lake. A koi carp in the lake wags its tail. Suddenly, it rushes forward and opens its mouth to bite a struggling green worm.

The fishing rod trembled slightly. Mr. Qingliu, who was reading a book on the bluestone by the lake, smiled slightly, casually raised his left hand, and pulled the dangling fishing rod out of the water.

The koi carp escaped from the lake, with panic showing in its pair of little eyes. It shook its head and tail, and the fishing rod swayed wildly.

But the fishhook stuck in its mouth has an invisible force that prevents it from breaking free.

It was not until Mr. Qingliu swung his fishing rod that the koi fell into the lake and dived hurriedly.

Mr. Qingliu smiled, reached out his hand, caught another green worm from the grass nearby, hung it on the fishhook, and threw it back into the lake.

Suddenly, a strong wind blew, causing ripples in the lake and willow branches dancing.

Mr. Qingliu was startled and looked up. There was a faint light flickering in the sky, which lasted for a long time before disappearing.

That was the protective formation covering the Haoran Sect's mountain gate, and it was also awakened by the strong wind.

Mr. Qingliu's eyes focused. This gust of wind contained a pure spiritual energy, which was definitely not as simple as an ordinary celestial phenomenon.

He frowned slightly and fell into deep thought.

He had read about this strange trend in an ancient book, which seemed to have a great origin, but the book was vague and had no detailed records...

After a while, Mr. Qingliu still had no clue, so he shook his head and continued to study Confucian and Taoist classics.

But not long after, a beam of light flew over Mingliu Lake, a little hurriedly, and landed on the island in the middle of the lake, accompanied by an anxious voice: "Disciple greets Master!"

Qingliu Lay Buddhist frowned, looking puzzled, and raised his eyes to look: "Why are you so flustered?"

A young Confucian scholar took two steps at a time and came in front of Mr. Qingliu.

He didn't even have time to salute, he took out a bronze oil lamp, presented it with both hands, and said anxiously: "Master, please look, Senior Brother Zhang's life essence lamp is lit again!"

Mr. Qingliu opened his eyes wide, put down the book in his hand immediately, raised his hand to sweep the fishing rod in front of him aside, took the bronze lamp, spread his spiritual sense, and examined it carefully.

After a while, his eyes became brighter and he murmured, "The Qi is strong, Wushan's life is safe and he is still alive in the world!"

Suddenly, Qingliu looked up, his expression solemn, "When did the Wushan Yuandeng change like this? Tell me in detail!"

The young scholar quickly replied, "Yes, Master once instructed me to check Senior Brother Zhang's life essence lamp every seven days to see if there is any improvement."

“But Senior Brother Zhang has always taken good care of me in the past. He often teaches me the classics of the ancient sages and imparts my skills and supernatural powers on my behalf. He is like a brother and a father.”

"I am extremely worried about Senior Brother Zhang's safety, so I placed Senior Brother Zhang's life-definition lamp in the practice room and keep an eye on it at all times. If there are any changes, I can report it to Master immediately."

"Just half a quarter of an hour ago, the disciple was meditating and practicing in the cave. Suddenly, a strong wind blew by, containing pure spiritual energy. It actually penetrated the protective formation of the disciple's cave and woke the disciple from his meditation."

"Then I discovered that Senior Brother Zhang's life-definition lamp had actually lit up again. I was overjoyed and immediately brought Senior Brother Zhang's lamp to meet Master."

"My natal lamp has rekindled. Senior Brother Zhang is still alive. He must have been trapped in a dangerous place in Nanzhou and unable to escape. My natal lamp has also been affected. Please, Master, help me and save Senior Brother Zhang!"

After saying this, the young Confucian scholar bowed deeply to Mr. Qingliu, his eyes filled with tears and his expression sincere.

Mr. Qingliu raised his hand to stroke his beard, frowned slightly, and lowered his head to think.

Suddenly, he thought of a possibility, his face changed slightly, and he said solemnly: "Master will leave for Nanzhou now to look for Wushan's traces."

"Go back and practice, and remember, don't let anyone know about this."

The young scholar was delighted: "Disciple obeys!"

He bowed and stepped back, returning to his cave. Mr. Qingliu stopped fishing and flew into the sky on his escape light.

But just as he flew out of Mingliu Lake, he saw a streak of light heading straight for the island in the middle of the lake. With an idea in his mind, he raised his hand and grabbed it, stopping it.

A sound transmission note was wrapped in the flowing light, and it broke into pieces when Master Qingliu squeezed it lightly.

Sect Leader Yue's serious voice appeared in his ears: "An ancient secret realm has appeared in the depths of Nanzhou. Junior Brother Qingliu, please come to Haoran Peak to discuss matters!"

Mr. Qingliu's eyes focused, and his escape speed suddenly increased, heading straight for Haoran Peak.

……

Ningzhou, Yanjun Mountains.

Looking down from the sky, one could hear the clanging of swords everywhere, mixed with cold shouts and shrill screams.

This is the mountain gate of Cangjian Palace, one of the ten major sects.

Looking around, there were monks everywhere controlling flying swords, fighting with each other, with sword lights flashing and sword energy radiating.

The Cangjian Palace is very different from the other nine sects. It is the only sword-cultivating sect, and 80% of its disciples are sword practitioners.

The other 20% were disciples who were proficient in alchemy, weapon refining, formation, talisman making, spirit searching and other arts and were called in as a last resort for the development of the sect.

Eighty percent of these sword-cultivating disciples have someone to support them in their practice, so they don't have to do any chores. They spend all day studying the way of the sword, or fighting and sparring, or going out for training.

Sword cultivators are no different from others; they need to temper their sword spirit and swordsmanship in the face of life and death.

Cangjian Palace encourages its disciples to compete with each other. There are constant competitions, big and small, and many people are injured. In serious cases, some may even die at the hands of their fellow disciples, and they are not allowed to seek revenge.

In a remote valley, two young monks, like other disciples of Cangjian Palace, were sparring with each other.

One of them was Chen Yuan’s disciple Li Qingshan, and opposite him was a heroic young man.

Both of them used the art of splitting light and transforming it into shadows, and hundreds of sword lights flew back and forth.

The sound of metal clashing was incessant, and the air was filled with a murderous atmosphere, as if a passionate music to break the enemy's formation was being played.

"Gather!"

Suddenly, the two of them raised their hands and made hand gestures at the same time. The sky was filled with sword lights like a river flowing into the sea, converging at two places and condensing into two ten-foot giant swords, which slashed down heavily.

clang!
The two ten-foot-long giant swords collided with a loud bang and became stuck in the air.

In the end, the giant sword in front of Li Qingshan was more powerful and cut off the giant sword wielded by the young man, breaking it into dozens of sword lights.

Li Qingshan did not pursue the victory, but pointed his finger, and the giant sword dispersed. The forty-nine sword lights that split out were like young swallows flying into the forest and returned to the main body.

He raised his hand and the flying sword flew back into his sleeve. He clasped his fists and bowed: "Brother Wang, I appreciate your giving in."

The heroic young man raised his hand to wipe away the messy sword light, put away the flying sword, and smiled bitterly: "My skills are not as good as others."

"Fortunately, there are no fellow disciples watching the fight here. Otherwise, after seeing me lose to Brother Li, they would definitely not let it go and would personally save our sect's reputation."

Li Qingshan smiled slightly: "Li was just lucky enough to win, it's nothing."

The heroic young man shook his head and said, "Brother Li, there is no need to be modest. Our sect's swordsmanship is unique in the Nine Immortal Continent. The Star Sword Scripture I practice is also one of the best in our sect's inheritance. I believe that there are few rivals among the cultivators of the same level."

"This technique of splitting light into shadows and the technique of the giant sword can best reflect the foundation of the sword. Brother Li still has the upper hand. I am convinced of my defeat."

Li Qingshan smiled and said, "Li has no other strengths, so I can only be more diligent in my cultivation and carefully polish my true essence foundation."

"If we all show our abilities and hold nothing back, Brother Wang's 'Meteoric Sword Technique' is extremely powerful, and I, Li, will not be his opponent." The heroic young man shook his head: "Brother Li and I are just sparring with each other, how can we fight to the death like those lunatics..."

Before he could finish his words, a gust of wind suddenly blew over, covering up the words of the heroic young man.

The two men's clothes rustled, their faces changed, and they turned to look to the south.

The strong wind stopped after a while, and the heroic young man exclaimed in surprise: "Brother Li, did you feel that the strong wind just now seemed to contain a pure spiritual energy, which increased my cultivation by one point."

Li Qingshan looked solemn and nodded: "Li's cultivation has also improved. I don't know where this gust of wind came from. It is enough to compensate for a month of hard training..."

There was surprise in the eyes of both of them, and they suddenly raised their heads and looked upwards.

I saw a dazzling light flying across the sky, heading straight for the Tianjian Peak that reached into the clouds in the distance.

The two of them flew out of the valley at the same time.

Disciples flew up everywhere and looked at Tianjian Peak from afar.

This extremely steep 3,000-foot-high peak, shaped like a sword pointing to the sky, is the main peak of the Cangjian Palace.

From the foot of the mountain all the way to the middle of the mountain shrouded in clouds and mist, there were countless half-rotten flying swords densely packed there.

That was the last trace left in the world by every Cangjian Palace monk who passed away at the end of his life.

After tens of thousands of years of accumulation, it has covered most of the Tianjian Peak.

But there were more monks from the Cangjian Palace who died in the fight. Their flying swords followed their masters, otherwise there would have been no vacant space on the Tianjian Peak.

At this moment, several beams of light were flying towards Tianjian Peak, as dazzling as the one just now.

The heroic young man murmured, "The elders of the sect have gathered at Tianjian Peak. Something big must have happened in the sect..."

Li Qingshan frowned and said, "Could it be related to the strange gust of wind just now?"

The heroic young man nodded: "It's probably as Brother Li expected."

Li Qingshan pondered for a moment, then suddenly clasped his fists and bowed to the heroic young man: "I have been bothering you for the past few years, and I am grateful to you for asking Senior Fan for your guidance in cultivation. I will take my leave now."

The heroic young man was stunned for a moment, but did not try to persuade him to stay. He bowed and returned the greeting: "Brother Li, you are too polite. You have come from afar to visit Master Ye, but Master Ye is out traveling and has not returned yet."

"Of course I have to do my best to be a good host, to repay Brother Li for saving me when we were exploring the Xizhou Sect together."

Li Qingshan shook his head: "The restriction is already in tatters. Even if I don't take action, Brother Wang will be able to escape."

The heroic young man said solemnly: "I accidentally touched the restriction and got trapped in the formation. Brother Li did not take advantage of the situation, which is more than a life-saving grace."

"Brother Li, if you have time in the future, just come to Ningzhou as a guest. I will make a bed for you."

"If Master Ye hasn't returned to the mountain gate by then, I will ask Master for permission to teach Brother Li a few things, so that Brother Li can practice more easily in the future..."

The two men said goodbye reluctantly, and the heroic young man sent Li Qingshan out of the Yanjun Mountains before returning.

After the strange and violent wind incident, Li Qingshan did not dare to relax. He slowed down his speed, spread his spiritual sense, and flew towards Renzhou.

He had just left the Yanjun Mountains for only a few hundred miles when his expression suddenly changed drastically. He quickly lowered his escape light and looked up at the sky.

I saw four long rainbows passing across the sky above the sky and flying straight to the south. They were so fast that they all disappeared after a moment.

Li Qingshan waited for a while before flying back into the sky. He looked into the distance and was secretly shocked.

He lived in the Yanjun Mountains for several years, sparring with the heroic young man, listening to the teachings and instructions of the heroic young man's master, and gained a lot of knowledge.

These long rainbows were clearly the escape lights of the Yuanying elders of Cangjian Palace. Li Qingshan was fortunate enough to see them several times.

But never before had so many elders of the Multi-Infant Sect been seen gathered together twice in one day.

Sword cultivators are extremely rare, and there are only ten Nascent Soul elders in the Cangjian Palace. This makes it slightly inferior to the Zhuyan Baigu Sect, which is at the bottom of the ten major sects.

But every elder of Cangjian Palace is as powerful as two Nascent Soul cultivators from the other ten major sects.

Ten Nascent Soul elders are enough to make Cangjian Palace stand out from the crowd.

Four elders came out at the same time, which represented almost half of the Nascent Soul cultivators in Cangjian Palace. Something extraordinary must have happened.

Li Qingshan looked extremely solemn, his escape speed increased a bit, and he became more alert.

But he only flew a few thousand miles before he had to change his route several times.

The Yanjun Mountains are located in the west of Ningzhou. If Li Qingshan wants to return to Renzhou, which is located on the east side of Ningzhou, he has to fly eastward.

But along the way, he encountered Jindan cultivators flying south several times and had to avoid them in advance to avoid misunderstandings.

After avoiding the fifth early Jindan cultivator who was flying to the south, Li Qingshan's speed slowed down a lot. He turned his head thoughtfully and looked to the south.

That strange gust of wind containing pure spiritual energy was blowing from the south.

Li Qingshan turned his body and flew hundreds of miles to the south, then suddenly fell into the distance.

A Qi-refining monk was performing the art of lightening his body and running through the mountains and forests.

Li Qingshan fell from the sky and landed in front of this man.

He quickly stopped and saluted: "Junior greets senior!"

A cultivator who can fly has at least reached the foundation-building stage, and must not be offended.

Li Qingshan looked at the young Qi-refining cultivator with a nervous expression and fear in his eyes, and inexplicably recalled the feeling of helplessness he had felt when he was a hunter and was forced by the Lu family.

He said gently, "Don't panic, I just have something to ask you."

As he spoke, he took out two medium-grade spirit stones, raised his hand and waved them, and they flew towards the Qi Refining cultivator.

The Qi Refining cultivator showed a delighted expression, took the Spirit Stone with both hands, and said respectfully: "Please speak, Senior. I will tell you everything I know!"

Li Qingshan said: "At this time yesterday, did you see a gust of wind blowing, which contained a pure spiritual energy and increased your cultivation a lot?"

The Qi-refining cultivator was stunned: "Senior, have you seen this gust of wind? When I was practicing yesterday, there was indeed a gust of wind blowing, and my cultivation level increased a lot. I thought it was an opportunity sent from heaven..."

Li Qingshan's eyes fixed, and before he could finish speaking, he flew up into the sky and headed south.

The strong wind had an impact area so far away that most of the cultivators in Ningzhou must have felt it. Those Jindan cultivators should have gone to investigate the matter.

The four Nascent Soul elders of Cangjian Palace probably left the mountain gate for this reason.

When strange phenomena appear in the sky, something big is bound to happen in the world of immortal cultivation.

Li Qingshan's cultivation was low, and he did not dare to get involved in the fight between Nascent Soul cultivators.

But when many Jindan cultivators gather together, there is a mixed crowd, and there must be some evil cultivators and vicious criminals among them.

It is just right to temper the sword heart and sword courage, and to sharpen the flying sword with the bloody energy! (End of this chapter)