Nine Transformations of the True Spirit.

Ye Wendi narrowed his eyes slightly, a gleam of light flashed in his eyes: "We can't fly away from here, and there is spiritual mist covering us. They can't find our whereabouts. We must reach the top of the mountain before they catch up!"

Chen Yuan said: "Fellow Daoist Ye is right. We have come all the way here, and this is the only place with many restrictions. We found the remains of the cultivators. If there is a way to control the secret realm formation or escape from the secret realm, it must be at the top of the peak."

The three of them immediately sped up, not caring about the possible forbidden formations ahead, and ran up the stone steps to the top of the mountain.

Even if they cannot fly, a Nascent Soul cultivator can be several times faster than a lower-level cultivator when performing the art of light body movement.

The three of them quickly climbed up more than a hundred feet, and Chen Yuan in front suddenly stopped.

The stone steps ahead suddenly branched into a much narrower fork, extending towards the back mountain.

Zhang Wushan and Ye Wendi also saw the fork in the road and stopped.

Zhang Wushan asked, "Brother Chen, where are we going?"

Chen Yuan's eyes flashed with hesitation, and he said in a deep voice: "My two Taoist friends, please wait for a moment."

He stepped forward, moved as light as a feather, crossed the fork in the road, ran up a dozen feet, and stopped on the stone steps, as if waiting for something.

A hint of doubt flashed across Zhang Wushan's eyes, and he was about to ask.

At this moment, Chen Yuan suddenly said, "Don't bother with this fork in the road."

After saying that, he stepped forward and continued running towards the top of the mountain.

Seeing this, Zhang Wushan swallowed back the words that were about to come out of his mouth, and followed Ye Wendi silently.

There was no time for hesitation. Chen Yuan had already made his choice and the two could only obey.

The three of them ran and tried to fly, but after a hundred feet, they came to a fork in the road.

Chen Yuan did the same thing again. He let the two wait where they were, and he crossed the fork in the road alone, ran up several feet, waited for a while, and then let the two catch up.

Zhang Wushan and Ye Wendi were both quite confused and wondered what the significance of Chen Yuan's move was.

But it is a taboo to inquire about other people's magical powers, so they can only bury their confusion in their hearts and follow Chen Yuan all the way.

Chen Yuan is the strongest and his methods are unfathomable. Not only is his body strong and able to perform teleportation, he also masters the extremely powerful magic of thunder.

As true disciples of the ten major sects, they formed their Nascent Souls in two to three hundred years. They are truly the chosen ones of heaven. The skills they cultivate are all top-notch, and their experience is unmatched.

But in front of Chen Yuan, who had cultivated to the middle stage of Nascent Soul in less than a hundred years and had an endless variety of methods, the two of them could only admit defeat.

Now, no matter what magical skills Chen Yuan uses, they will not be surprised at all.

The three of them then encountered more and more forks in the road, with a fork every few dozen feet.

Since spiritual awareness can only extend up to ten feet, Zhang Wushan and Ye Wendi have no idea what the situation is at the end of the fork in the road.

But Chen Yuan used that mysterious method to climb up along the right path unswervingly and headed straight for the top of the mountain.

Seeing this, Zhang Wushan and Ye Wendi's doubts grew stronger and stronger.

This peak is rich in spiritual energy and has restrictions that limit flying. It is obviously the most important mountain in the secret realm, just like the Haoran Peak in the Chongde Mountains and the Tianjian Peak in the Yanjun Mountains.

According to the custom in the world of immortal cultivation, a hall dedicated to the sect's founder or the sect leader's cave residence should be built on the top of the peak.

If there really is a teleportation array to leave the secret realm, it is likely to be in a hidden place somewhere on the mountain, rather than at the most conspicuous peak.

But Chen Yuan seemed unaware of this. He ignored all the forks in the road he encountered along the way and continued climbing.

When they came to the sixth fork in the road, with only 300 feet to the summit, Chen Yuan asked the two to continue climbing to the summit. Zhang Wushan finally couldn't help but ask, "Brother Chen, are we still going to the summit?" Chen Yuan paused, turned around, frowned, and asked, "What do you mean, Brother Zhang?"

Zhang Wushan repeated his guess and finally advised: "The Yuling Sect should not build a teleportation array on the top of the mountain. The Jiuli Sect cultivators and the Divine Transformation Demon Cultivator are chasing them closely."

"If we come up empty-handed, we will be trapped and caught by them."

"Why not choose a fork in the road and look for a teleportation array? At the very least, we can avoid the pursuers behind us. Our spiritual awareness is greatly limited here, so they may not be able to discover our whereabouts."

Ye Wendi nodded slightly, looking at Chen Yuan with a questioning look in his eyes, obviously he had the same idea.
Chen Yuan hesitated for a moment, then said seriously, "I must go to the top of the mountain. If you two Taoist friends are anxious, you may as well separate here and look for the teleportation array on your own."

Zhang Wushan was stunned. "Brother Chen, you are too serious. I just reminded you. I have no other intention. Since you want to go to the top of the mountain, I will accompany you."

Ye Wendi's eyes flashed, and he said calmly: "I will follow the lead of Fellow Daoist Chen."

Chen Yuan shook his head slightly: "You two Taoist friends are worrying too much, this is what I really think.

"I know very well that the teleportation array cannot be built on the top of the mountain."

"But there is something on the top of the mountain. I am determined to get it. I have to go to the top of the mountain first. You two fellow Taoists don't have to go to the dangerous place with me."

Zhang Wushan smiled bitterly and said, "Brother Chen, what are you talking about? The Jiuli Sect cultivators and that Divine Transformation Demon Cultivator must have already entered the mountain by now."

"If we separate from Brother Chen, we will be in danger."

"Now we can only rely on Brother Chen's strength to have a glimmer of hope of escaping."

"Even if there are dragons and tigers ahead, we can only follow Brother Chen."

Chen Yuan turned his head and looked at Ye Wendi, who sighed softly: "I am ashamed and can only take refuge under the wings of Brother Chen."

Seeing this, Chen Yuan's expression became serious: "Don't worry, my two Taoist friends. There are many forks in the road here. The Jiuli Sect and that demon cultivator who has transformed into a god may not necessarily catch up with us."

"Even if they block us at the top of the mountain, I will do my best to deal with them and protect you two fellow Taoists."

The two men were cheered up and no longer hesitated. They followed Chen Yuan and climbed up the stone steps.

There were no more forks in the road, and the three of them ran all the way and finally reached the top.

The top of the mountain seemed to have been cut off by someone, making it extremely flat and covered with white stones of the same material as the stone steps. It was flickering with a faint light. It was unknown what kind of spiritual material it was made of that could have remained immortal for tens of thousands of years.

In the center of the mountain top, a nine-meter-high white marble platform rises from the ground, supporting a magnificent palace.

The roof of the hall was covered with a layer of golden tiles that looked like fish scales. They seemed to be made of the scales of some monster and were more dazzling than gold.

The gargoyles at both ends of the main ridge look up to the sky, the brackets under the eaves are stacked like dragon claws holding the moon, the vermilion lacquered hall door is inlaid with nine gilded door nails, and the auxiliary head holding a ring is in the shape of a coiled dragon holding a pearl.

The door of the hall was open, and above the lintel hung a golden plaque with nine dragons, with the three large characters "Hall of All Spirits" inscribed on it.

Chen Yuan's eyes flashed with a sharp light. He stepped on the ground and his body became like floating cotton. His speed increased a lot and he ran straight to the palace gate. Zhang Wushan and Ye Wendi hurriedly followed.

The three of them came to about three feet away from the main hall gate. Chen Yuan suddenly stopped and looked at the deep and dark hall gate with a frown.

Zhang Wushan and Ye Wendi were unable to react and were a step slow. They stopped just then and stood side by side with Chen Yuan.

The two followed Chen Yuan's gaze, with some doubt in their eyes, and looked at the palace door carefully, and finally saw some clues.

A barely perceptible transparent curtain blocked the entrance to the hall, with only a few ripples occasionally showing its presence. (End of this chapter)