Nine Transformations of the True Spirit.

Chen Yuan stepped forward and shook Jing Shuhan's hand: "I'm sorry to have kept you waiting."

Jing Shuhan smiled and said, "Three years ago, Fellow Daoist Wang told me about my husband's achievement of becoming a Nascent Soul cultivator."

"I knew that my husband needed to consolidate his cultivation, but I never expected that it would take three years. Finally, my husband has come out of seclusion."

Chen Yuan smiled, picked Jing Shuhan up in his arms, and turned to walk out of the cultivation room.

Two hours later, in the bedroom, the two quietly nestled together.
Jing Shuhan's face flushed, and she suddenly looked up at Chen Yuan: "In eight years, my husband will enter the spatial passage with those four seniors."

Chen Yuan remained silent for a long while before slowly speaking: "I will stay by your side for the next eight years. However, I need to make some preparations, and I'm afraid I won't be able to be with you day and night."

A hint of disappointment flashed in Jing Shuhan's eyes, but she still managed a smile: "The spatial passage is extremely dangerous, and eight years is too short a time. My husband certainly cannot let a small matter cause a greater loss."

"My cultivation is too low to help my husband, but I also cannot become a burden to him..."

Her voice gradually lowered: "But my husband has clearly achieved the Nascent Soul stage and is at the pinnacle of this world, yet he is still not in control of his own destiny."

"Mortals see us cultivators flying through the sky and escaping into the earth, with our supernatural powers and mysteries. They often think that cultivators are carefree and unrestrained, but in reality, they are not as happy as mortals."

Chen Yuan gently stroked Jing Shuhan's smooth back and said softly, "Once you embark on the path to immortality, you are racing against time and cannot slack off for even a day."

"Although I have achieved the Nascent Soul stage and my lifespan seems sufficient, if I do not step out of this cage, in the end everything will be in vain."

"It is absolutely impossible for me to cross the spatial passage by myself."

"Only by seizing this heaven-sent opportunity and joining forces with the four fellow Daoists to smuggle ourselves into the Spirit Realm can we have a chance to attain Dao."

Jing Shuhan lowered her head and sighed softly, "How could I not know this principle? It's just that we've only been Daoist partners for a few decades, and now we must part ways..."

Chen Yuan fell silent, unsure how to comfort him.

He certainly had feelings for Jing Shuhan, but he would not give up the opportunity to seek immortality for anyone.

After a while, Jing Shuhan raised her head again and smiled apologetically: "It was because I was too greedy that I shouldn't have swayed my husband, my fellow Daoist."

Chen Yuan shook his head slightly: "It's only human nature. If you don't care about me at all, how can we become Daoist partners?"

"Don't worry, after I sneak into the Spirit Realm, I will improve my cultivation as soon as possible, as long as I can advance to the Mahayana stage..."

Before he could finish speaking, Jing Shuhan raised her hand to cover his mouth and said seriously, "The Great Ascension stage is far away, my husband must not have such an obsession."

"If I become impatient because of this and go astray, wouldn't that be my fault?"

"I would rather remain in the human realm forever than see my husband put in danger because of me."

Chen Yuan was taken aback, then reached out and grabbed Jing Shuhan's hand, smiling as he said, "I assure you, once we reach the Spirit Realm, I will be down-to-earth and will never be impatient for quick success."

Jing Shuhan smiled, then changed the subject: "When does my husband plan to return to Donghua Continent? The sect leader has already given me the token of the Lingyun Sect elder, but I haven't yet paid my respects to Ancestor Lingyunzi..."

Upon hearing this, Chen Yuan's eyes flashed with a cold light: "This matter is not urgent. Two days later, I will enter the spatial passage with three fellow Daoists to investigate the situation inside."

"Go to Tianji Island. There is something I need you to tell Tianjizi."

……

Two days later, Chen Yuan and Jing Shuhan left the cave on Langao Island and arrived at Suyue Lake.

The four Nascent Soul cultivators were already waiting there, and they were all somewhat surprised to see Jing Shuhan and Chen Yuan traveling together.

Chen Yuan clasped his hands in a bow and said, "My wife misses our sect and wishes to travel to Tianji Island. She will need to travel with us for a while."

She bowed gracefully to Shu Han, smiling but saying nothing.

The four had no objections and immediately took to the sky in their escape light.

Chen Yuan and Jing Shuhan followed closely behind. After leaving the Tai Ming Sect's mountain gate, the four of them increased their speed rapidly, but Jing Shuhan, who was only at the early stage of the Nascent Soul realm, found it extremely difficult.

Chen Yuan separated a wisp of light, wrapped it around Jing Shuhan, and easily caught up with the four of them.

The speed of a Nascent Soul cultivator far surpasses that of a Grandmaster cultivator. In less than a day, they traversed several states and entered the Jade Purity Sea.

Two thousand miles from Tianji Island, Jing Shuhan took the initiative to bid farewell and leave.

Chen Yuan and his group of five continued flying forward, and two days later, they arrived at the far eastern part of the Ten Thousand Demon Sea.

A lonely, deserted island floats on the sea, amidst howling winds and surging waves.

The grey-blue sea reflected the dazzling sunlight, as if it were covered with layers of golden scales.

Waves crashed against the deserted island, shattering into pieces against the rocky cliffs, sending droplets flying.

Several miles east of the deserted island, dozens of feet below the surface of the sea, it was pitch black.

A rift, about a thousand feet long and several tens of feet wide, meanders and twists, resembling an ugly scar, abruptly lying across the seabed.

The seawater inside the crack was a different color from the seawater outside the crack, with a very faint gray light. Ordinary people would never be able to see it, but it could not escape the divine sense of the four Nascent Soul cultivators.

Moreover, the inside and outside of the rift seemed to be two different worlds. The seawater outside was surging and flowing, while the seawater inside the rift was stagnant and lay there quietly, as if it were dead.

Chen Yuan looked at the familiar deserted island before him and nodded: "It seems I was right. The spatial passage is right below this bottomless abyss."

Daoist Cangsong glanced at Lu Wangquan discreetly and asked, "How did Fellow Daoist Chen know this?"

Chen Yuan said, "Back when I had not yet formed my Nascent Soul, I met Fellow Daoist Qin by chance here."

"Fellow Daoist Qin did not look down on me because I am a Core Formation cultivator. On the contrary, he invited me to Suyue Lake for a meeting."

"It's a pity that my cultivation level is low and I'm ignorant. I didn't know that Suyue Lake was where Fellow Daoist Qin was cultivating in seclusion."

"It wasn't until we entered that ancient secret realm that we learned of Fellow Daoist Qin's identity."

“How could Fellow Daoist Qin, a dignified Nascent Soul cultivator, have come to the far east of the Myriad Demon Sea without any reason?”

"Moreover, this Ten Thousand Zhang Abyss is quite famous in the Ten Thousand Demon Sea. Before transforming into human form, the Kun fish clan must come here to temper their physical bodies and improve their mastery of spatial power."

"It makes sense that there is a spatial passage here."

Qin Wuyai laughed and said, "Fellow Daoist Chen has keen insight. I did indeed investigate the situation in the spatial passage on a whim back then."

"I never expected to encounter Fellow Daoist Chen ambushing and killing that level seven Kun fish. It seems that there is a destiny at play."

Ren Laomo gazed at the calm sea and said calmly, "Enough of the small talk. Let's enter the spatial passage as soon as possible before the spatial storm erupts, which will save us some trouble."

Upon hearing this, Chen Yuan couldn't help but recall the space storm that had nearly killed him, which had led him back to Donghua Continent by mistake.

He asked, "Is this spatial passage beneath the bottomless abyss very unstable?"

Qin Wuyai said solemnly, "That's right, this spatial passage has existed for tens of thousands of years, and it's becoming increasingly unstable. In the last thousand years, spatial turbulence and spatial storms have become more and more frequent."

"Although it won't be annihilated in the short term, the longer it drags on, the greater the risk of smuggling into the spirit world."

"If it weren't for that, we wouldn't have set a hundred-year deadline to enter the spatial passage."

"This is our only chance to sneak into the Spirit Realm. Future Nascent Soul cultivators may only be able to remain in this realm until they pass away."

Lu Wangquan said calmly, "Rather than sit and wait to die, I would rather die in the spatial passage."

Qin Wuyai shook his head, his figure swayed, and he fell into the sea.

The other four also descended in their escape light and arrived above the bottomless abyss.

Chen Yuan spread his divine sense. In the past, he could only probe into the ten-thousand-foot abyss, but this time he easily went deep into the ten-thousand-foot abyss and saw a huge spatial rift, which was a hundred feet long.

Qin Wuyai and his three companions did not linger and entered the abyss directly, with Chen Yuan following closely behind.

The heavy, stagnant seawater was stirred, creating faint ripples.

As the five ventured deeper, the gray light emanating from the surrounding seawater became increasingly pronounced. Upon reaching six thousand feet, Chen Yuan felt a slight squeezing force.

The strange black spiritual energy that could purify Kunpeng's true blood swirled around him, but it no longer had any effect on Kunpeng's true blood.

The dark gray seawater below faintly tinged with purple, and the surging spatial fluctuations resembled endless waves, carrying a hint of rage.

Chen Yuan continued moving, breaking through that invisible boundary.

The squeezing force increased, but it was still as light as a feather to Chen Yuan.

He still vividly remembers the first time he entered the Ten Thousand Zhang Abyss, where 2,500 zhang was the limit. Only after activating the Zhu Yan True Blood could he barely penetrate 3,000 zhang.

The second time, he went all out, activating the two kinds of true spirit blood, but he still stopped at six thousand feet. He spent several days using the force of compression to temper his physical body and absorb the mysterious light black spiritual energy to purify the Kunpeng true blood.

However, six thousand feet might still be too shallow. The black spiritual energy had a negligible effect on purifying the Kunpeng's true blood, only making it slightly purer.

After that, he was caught in a spatial storm and unexpectedly returned to Donghua Continent. Although he was extremely curious about the black spiritual energy, he dared not set foot in the ten-thousand-foot abyss again.

This time, he must find the source of the black spiritual energy.

Upon reaching a depth of six thousand feet, Chen Yuan suddenly discovered that the mysterious, pale black spiritual energy was once again penetrating his body and surging into his dantian.

The Kunpeng spirit let out a low, desolate roar, with pale black spiritual energy swirling around it. Its body slowly grew larger, but at such a slow pace that it was almost imperceptible to the naked eye.

Chen Yuan's heart stirred, and he silently absorbed the faint black spiritual energy, continuing to descend downwards.

Seven thousand zhang, eight thousand zhang, nine thousand zhang...

The light black spiritual energy deepened in color, eventually turning into pure black, and swirled around the five people.

Chen Yuan carefully observed the expressions of Qin Wuyai and the other three, but they all seemed unconcerned, as if they had long been accustomed to this black spiritual energy.

Within Chen Yuan's dantian, the Kunpeng True Spirit's body grew at an accelerated pace, increasing in size by several tens of feet in half an hour.

The Kunpeng's true blood became even purer, and Chen Yuan's perception of spatial fluctuations became more acute, increasingly chaotic and restless.

A thought struck him, and he asked, "What is this black spiritual energy?"

Lu Wangquan was right next to Chen Yuan. Hearing this, he shook his head slightly: "When we first entered this bottomless abyss, the black spiritual energy was everywhere. We have explored it several times, but we have found nothing."

Qin Wuyai added, "When Ancestor Qingya entered the spatial passage, this black spiritual energy was already present in the ten-thousand-foot abyss, but it will not affect the spatial passage, so there is no need to pay attention to it."

Chen Yuan felt relieved. Since none of the four were interested in the black spiritual energy, there was no need to rush.

The five arrived at the bottom of the abyss, which was indeed ten thousand feet deep. It was pitch black all around, with only the true essence shields on Qin Wuyai and the other three, as well as the giant silver-gray spatial rift, emitting a faint light.

The spatial fluctuations here are extremely violent. Around the spatial rifts that are hundreds of feet long, there are countless smaller spatial rifts flickering and silently swallowing the seawater.

The spiritual energy of heaven and earth was swallowed up by endless spatial rifts, resulting in extreme chaos. Even a Nascent Soul cultivator could not mobilize it in the slightest.

However, the mysterious black spiritual energy remained extremely dense, completely unaffected by the spatial rift, continuously penetrating Chen Yuan's body and slowly purifying the Kunpeng True Blood.

Chen Yuan spread his divine sense, leaving no place unchecked, searching for the source of the black spiritual energy.

The four of them had already descended into the spatial rift, but slowed down considerably to avoid colliding with it.

Suddenly, his expression changed slightly, and he said, "Be careful!"

Upon hearing this, Qin Wuyai and the other three immediately employed their respective methods.

Qin Wuyai raised his hand and made a hand seal, and the heavy seawater around him suddenly began to flow, surrounding him and forming a solid barrier.

Lu Wangquan raised his hand and threw out a fiery red shield covered in layers of scales, which he held in front of him.

Daoist Cangsong flipped his hand and took out a cyan jade talisman. He pointed at it, and the talisman flashed with light. A giant tortoise formed from cyan light flew out from it. Its shell was thick and covered with moss, and it firmly blocked Daoist Cangsong behind it.

Ren Laomo narrowed his eyes, and suddenly a silver zombie appeared in front of him. It had a ghostly face, fangs, a pair of fleshy wings on its back, and a ferocious look in its eyes.

The next moment, a spatial turbulence erupted from the giant spatial rift. It was invisible and intangible, but it shredded everything in its path without leaving a trace.

However, when the spatial turbulence reached the four Nascent Soul cultivators, it was like waves hitting a reef, and was firmly blocked.

The water flow barrier and the deep red scale shield remained unmoved. The giant blue tortoise opened its mouth and spat out a beam of blue light, while the silver flying zombie used its fleshy wings to protect itself, completely dissipating the spatial turbulence.

Chen Yuan did not use any special techniques, allowing the spatial turbulence to surge in, yet he remained unharmed.

The spatial turbulence wasn't particularly fierce, and with four Nascent Soul cultivators intervening to block it, it quickly dissipated.

The four looked at Chen Yuan, their eyes simultaneously revealing a hint of surprise.

Daoist Cangsong praised, "Daoist Chen, you have such skill that you can see through spatial turbulence as if it were nothing. I admire you."

Qin Wuyai nodded: "The spatial turbulence erupts without warning and is even more dangerous than spatial rifts. Fellow Daoist Chen was able to sense it in advance. This will save us a lot of trouble when we sneak into the Spirit Realm."

Chen Yuan said, "With the help of the four fellow Daoists, I have achieved the Nascent Soul stage. I will not let the four fellow Daoists' efforts go to waste."

Qin Wuyai and Cangsong Daoist laughed, and Lu Wangquan also smiled, but Ren Laomo remained indifferent.

Qin Wuyai said, "We cannot stay here any longer. Let's enter the spatial passage now."

Having said that, he took the lead and flew towards the giant spatial rift.

The other four followed, with Chen Yuan at the very end.

After the four people ahead of him had all entered the giant spatial rift, Chen Yuan suddenly turned around, took a deep look at a cliff a hundred feet away, then withdrew his gaze and entered the spatial rift. (End of this chapter)