Nine Transformations of the True Spirit.

Ye Wendi nodded slightly: "Most likely, since it is called 'Trial Ground', it must be set up for the Yuling Sect monks who enter the secret realm."

"Our sect has set up a sword pavilion for low-level disciples to practice swordsmanship."

"Ye and Fellow Daoist Zhang were caught in the turbulence of space and entered the secret realm by mistake. Naturally, they would not enter this place."

"However, Fellow Daoist Chen was actively taken in by the white light. He must have triggered the restriction and entered the 'trial ground'."

Zhang Wushan raised his eyes and looked at the huge bronze tower: "Fellow Daoist Ye's words make sense. According to what Brother Chen said, the last floor of 'the trial ground' is shaped like a spire, so it should be in this huge bronze tower."

"I've seen the ruins here. They've been abandoned for a long time and no one is guarding them. It's very likely that the ban has been activated on its own."

Chen Yuan turned his head and looked at the huge bronze tower, and asked, "Except for the Golden Wind Jade Dew Pill, I have never heard of the other treasures listed on the stone tablet of the 'Trial Ground'."

"You two Daoists come from the ten great sects and are well-informed. I wonder if you have any understanding of this?"

Zhang Wushan thought for a moment and looked embarrassed: "I have never heard of Qiongyuan Dan or Minglong Saliva. As for the earth-level spirit beasts and heaven-level spirit beasts, I have never heard of them. This should be the classification of spirit beasts within the Yuling Sect."

Chen Yuan looked at Ye Wendi again, and the latter also shook his head.

Chen Yuan said, "Do the two Taoist friends know that in addition to helping people survive the Yin Fire Tribulation, the Golden Wind Jade Dew Pill had other miraculous effects in ancient times?"

Both of them shook their heads. Zhang Wushan frowned and said, "Brother Chen, what you mean is that the rewards in the Trial Ground are for Jindan cultivators. There shouldn't be level 8 or level 9 beasts?"

Chen Yuan said seriously, "Yes, a person who can kill level 8 and level 9 beasts would not care about the Golden Wind Jade Dew Pill. In my opinion, there must be something fishy about this 'trial ground'."

Upon hearing this, both of them frowned and their expressions became serious.

After a long while, Zhang Wushan finally spoke: "Brother Chen said before that the Yuling Sect's secret realm has been closed for tens of thousands of years. There may have been ferocious beasts below level eight in the trial ground for Jindan cultivators to conduct trials."

"But after tens of thousands of years, these beasts will definitely not survive."

"When the secret realm was opened, it triggered the restrictions of the trial ground, which is why the nearby ferocious beasts were taken in."

"And these beasts are no longer what they used to be. Their strength has greatly increased. They just happened to encounter Brother Chen, who is even stronger, so none of them escaped."

Upon hearing this, Ye Wendi shook his head and said, "If the trial ground really only takes in nearby beasts, why are the closer Earthly Evil Rock Turtle and Star Pattern Deer left outside?"

"And the Black Anaconda and the Hundred-Eyed Giant Toad, which were farther away, entered this huge bronze tower?"

Zhang Wushan stroked his beard and murmured, "Fellow Daoist Ye is right. If we had gone straight, we wouldn't have encountered any ferocious beasts and would have had no problems."

"As long as we change direction, we will encounter ferocious beasts blocking our way within a thousand miles."

"It seems that an invisible giant hand has taken away all the ferocious beasts on the road from your cave to this huge bronze tower..."

Chen Yuan's eyes narrowed. "If what Brother Zhang said is true, it's too much of a coincidence. There must be something strange about this trial site."

Ye Wendi stared at the huge bronze tower in the distance and said coldly, "It seems that we should enter the trial site and find out the whole story."

Chen Yuan looked down at the stone platform under his feet: "Each floor of the bronze tower is connected by a teleportation array. I also left through the teleportation array, but there is no teleportation array leading to the tower here..."

Zhang Wushan said: "There may be an entrance around the giant tower, let's check it out first."

Chen Yuan and Ye Wendi nodded in agreement, and the three of them dispersed and carefully inspected the area around the giant bronze tower and the ruins several times, but found nothing.

There were no corpses in the ruins, nor were there any jade slips or scrolls left behind. There were only some remaining furnishings in the palaces and pavilions, which revealed a somewhat ancient and crude feeling.

Ye Wendi and Zhang Wushan used their magic flying swords and secret techniques, but they could not destroy it at all.

The three of them reunited in front of the stone platform. Zhang Wushan looked up at the huge bronze tower with a frown on his face. "This trial site has no entrance and is extremely solid. I'm afraid it will be difficult to enter."

The three of them fell silent. After a while, Chen Yuan turned his head and looked into the distance, saying, "Since we can't return to the trial site, we can only go deeper."

"All the ferocious beasts between the caves of the two Taoist friends and the huge bronze tower have disappeared. There must be something fishy going on."

"But our top priority is to find a way to escape, so as not to be blocked in the secret realm by the Jiuli sect monks."

"The Jiuli Sect has long regarded the Yuling Sect's secret realm as something in their pocket, and has also reached an agreement with the demon cultivator who has reached the state of transformation into a god to form an alliance. Now that they have no worries, they will definitely not let us go."

The two of them changed their expressions slightly. Zhang Wushan said, "The secret realm is about to be opened. That incarnation demon cultivator no longer needs the help of Jiuli Sect to break the restriction. Will he turn against us first?"

Chen Yuan shook his head: "Most of the elders of the Jiuli Sect have gathered at Xuanwu Lake, and Nanzhou is dominated by the demon clan. No matter who wins or loses, we are no match. No matter how strange the trial ground is, we can't care about that."

Ye Wendi and Zhang Wushan felt that this made sense and did not dare to delay any longer. They flew into the sky with a flash of light and went deep into the secret realm.

Before leaving, Chen Yuan turned around, took a deep look at the huge bronze tower, suppressed his doubts, followed the two men, and soon disappeared into the horizon.

……

Outside the secret realm.

It was already midnight, but above Xuanwu Lake, the gate of spiritual light was shining brightly, like a scorching sun, illuminating an area of ​​thousands of miles as if it were daytime.

Senior Sun, dressed in black armor, stood with his hands behind his back, staring at the gate of spiritual light in front of him, motionless, like a stone sculpture.

There was a layer of haze in the eyes hidden under the black iron double-horned helmet, and a strong murderous aura emanated from his whole body.

Several miles away, Ye Guihong, Junior Brother Yuwen, and Qi Hanzhou were standing side by side on a small island, looking at the Lingguang Gate and Senior Sun with fearful expressions.

Behind the three of them were the other elders of the Jiuli Sect, looking up at the Lingguang Gate with a hint of anxiety in their eyes.

They toiled on the Black Turtle Island for decades, consuming their true energy every day and breaking the restrictions, all for the ancient spiritual beasts in the secret realm of the Yuling Sect.

Seeing that the secret realm is about to open, and finally getting what I wished for, I naturally can't wait.

But beneath his eagerness, there was also a hint of worry.

There were two monks sitting cross-legged with their eyes slightly closed and solemn expressions, as if they were waiting for something.

Suddenly, one of them opened his eyes, stood up, walked quickly to Ye Guihong's side, clasped his fists and bowed: "Brother Ye, the spirit beast I left in Nanmang Mountain discovered five beams of light coming from the north, which are suspected to be Nascent Soul cultivators!"

Ye Guihong's expression changed slightly, and he said in a deep voice: "Thank you, Junior Brother Zhu. Please continue to keep an eye on the north. If any cultivators come, please inform Junior Brother Yuwen immediately."

After saying that, he rode on the light and flew towards the Lingguang Gate.

In just a moment, Ye Guihong crossed several miles and came to Senior Sun's side and stopped. Senior Sun stared at the Lingguang Gate intently: "What's the matter, little friend Ye?"

Ye Guihong clasped his fists and bowed: "Senior, the elders of our sect just noticed that five Nascent Soul cultivators are coming from the north and are about to enter Xuanwu Lake."

Senior Sun said calmly, "But are they from the ten great sects?"

Ye Guihong nodded: "It's almost certain. It's only been one day since the spiritual energy storm broke out."

"Sending five Nascent Soul cultivators right now, deep into the South Province for tens of thousands of miles, only Shaoxuan Sect, Zhengqing Sect, and Zhuyan Baigu Sect can do this. May I ask, senior, how should we respond?"

Senior Sun said: "The secret realm has not yet been opened, and no one can enter. Just let them wait together."

Ye Guihong frowned slightly: "Such a huge ancient secret realm, the ten major sects will not miss it, these five people are just the beginning."

"Why don't you summon the Demon King of Nanzhou to block the cultivators of various sects from entering Nanzhou? At the very least, it will make them feel fearful and they won't dare to act so recklessly."

Senior Sun said calmly: "After all, this world belongs to the human race. Since the secret realm cannot be concealed, why should I waste my energy?"

Ye Guihong frowned: "But according to the agreement, Yuanying cultivators from various sects are not allowed to enter the territory of Nanzhou casually..."

Senior Sun interrupted him and said, "If the agreement is really useful, I won't have to ignore the cultivators from your sect who entered Nanzhou to hunt monsters."

Ye Guihong's expression froze, and Senior Sun said calmly: "Young friend Ye, just wait patiently. Your sect has already agreed to join forces with me, so you will not suffer any loss."

Ye Guihong didn't dare to say much, so he could only agree: "Then I'll rely on you, senior."

He fell silent. Not long after, five beams of light appeared from the northern sky and headed straight for the Lingguang Gate.

Upon seeing this, the Jiuli sect monks all rose into the air and went to meet them.

But the five beams of light continued to move at an unslow speed. Seeing this, Ye Guihong frowned and moved his lips silently a few times before the Jiuli sect cultivators stopped.

A moment later, the five beams of light came in front of Senior Sun and Ye Guihong and stopped, and the figures of five cultivators appeared.

The leader was an old man wearing a Taoist robe, with white hair and three long strands of beard under his chin, looking like an immortal.

He did not restrain his energy, and the aura of a great monk was looming. Looking at the spiritual light gate thousands of feet high, there was a bit of eagerness in his eyes.

But when the white-haired Taoist priest lowered his gaze and saw Senior Sun in black armor, his aura immediately disappeared.

He clasped his fists and bowed: "Are you Senior Sun Yuansun? Xuanweizi of Shaoxuan Sect, I am honored to meet you, Senior."

The four Nascent Soul cultivators behind him also saluted in unison and called him "Senior".

Ye Guihong recognized the identities of these four people with just a glance. Two of them were in the middle Nascent Soul stage, and two were in the early Nascent Soul stage. They were all long-established elders of Shaoxuan Sect and had considerable strength.

His heart sank slightly, but Sun Yuan hadn't spoken yet, so he could only wait in silence.

Sun Yuan was still staring at the Lingguang Gate, and said calmly: "Is everything okay, Daoist Cangsong?"

Upon hearing this, the white-haired Taoist priest looked even more respectful and replied, "Thank you for your regards, Senior. I hope that Master is doing well. I am following Master's orders and have come here with four of my fellow disciples."

Sun Yuan said calmly, "According to the agreement between this seat and the human race, human Yuanying cultivators are not allowed to enter Nanzhou at will without my permission. You can withdraw now, and I will forgive you for what happened."

The white-haired Taoist smiled slightly and replied respectfully: "I came here uninvited and entered Nanzhou without permission. I beg you to forgive me."

"But Grandmaster Cangsong said that the secret space here must have been left by the ancient human clan."

"Now that the secret realm has been revealed, it should be inherited by the cultivators of our human race, so I sent this junior and four fellow apprentices here. I hope that the senior will help us."

Sun Yuan finally turned around and said, "Fellow Daoist Cangsong is very well-informed. He is far away in Yizhou, but he knows the details of this space secret realm very well. Why can't it be left by my demon clan ancestors?"

The white-haired old Taoist smiled and said, "After the secret space here is opened, the spiritual energy storm will sweep across the Nine Immortal Continent. It must be vast and boundless. Only the great sects in ancient times can refine such a secret space."

Sun Yuan narrowed his eyes slightly and said in a cold voice: "What if I don't agree?"

The white-haired Taoist priest kept smiling, but his voice became deeper: "The legacy of the human race should be inherited by our race. If you do not allow it, I have no choice but to ask my Grandmaster to come out and discuss this matter with you."

Sun Yuan's eyes flashed with a sharp light, and the pressure of the demon cultivator slowly dissipated. He said coldly: "Are you threatening me?"

The white-haired Taoist priest stopped smiling and said respectfully, "I dare not do that. This is what the Grandmaster said in person. I am just following the Grandmaster's order and passing it on to you, Senior."

Sun Yuan stared at the white-haired old Taoist priest, and the pressure from his divine power became heavier, like a mountain.

The white-haired Taoist priest trembled slightly and his face turned pale, but he still said nothing. He just maintained a slightly bowed posture with his fists clasped in salute.

After a long while, the white-haired old Taoist's face was as pale as paper, and his body was shaking non-stop. Sun Yuan then spoke calmly: "This secret realm is deep in Nanzhou. No matter who or which sect left it here, I will never allow you human cultivators to go there..."

The white-haired old Taoist's expression changed slightly. Just as he was about to speak, Sun Yuan said, "But I have to give you a favor from Daoist Cangsong."

"After the secret realm is opened, I will allow the four of you to enter the secret realm, but how much you gain will depend on your luck."

As soon as he finished speaking, the pressure from the God of Transformation slowly faded away. The white-haired Taoist priest felt relieved. He no longer cared about his manners and let out a long breath.

He said: "Senior, you are very righteous, but the ten great sects were born from the human race. The secret realms left by the human race sects should be inherited by our human cultivators..."

Sun Yuan interrupted, "If you can tell me which ancient sect left this secret realm, I will give it to you."

The white-haired Taoist was stunned for a moment, glanced at Ye Guihong beside him, and immediately changed his words: "Junior is willing to follow the senior's instructions, but I wonder if the senior will enter the secret realm?"

Sun Yuan sneered: "If I enter the secret realm in person, I'm afraid that Cangsong Daoist will rush in immediately, and the other Daoists will not sit idly by. I won't ask for trouble."

The white-haired Taoist secretly breathed a sigh of relief, but his face was unusually respectful: "Master once said that the senior personally experienced the ancient flourishing age of immortal cultivation, and his position is the highest in this world."

"Even if he was the founder of our sect, he would have been respectfully addressed as a senior and would definitely not compete with juniors like us for opportunities..."

"The golden age of ancient times? Haha..." Sun Yuan muttered to himself with a hint of sneer on his lips.

He turned around, stood with his hands behind his back, stared at the Lingguang Gate, and said calmly: "It will take some time for the secret realm to open, so you guys just wait on the side."

"Junior obeys your command." The white-haired old Taoist replied, and turned to look at Ye Guihong, "Just as I expected, Fellow Daoist Ye really went ahead. However, most of your elders have been dispatched, aren't you afraid that the mountain gate will be unstable?"

He smiled and glanced at the Jiuli sect elders in the distance, with a hint of inquiry in his voice. (End of this chapter)