Nine Transformations of the True Spirit.

The Qingyan Sea area is a stronghold of the islands.

Within the Zhenhai Sect's mountain gate lies a total of seven peaks and thirteen mountains, each possessing a rich spiritual energy, magnificent beauty, and unique charm.

Among them, the Seven Peaks are famous mountains that were moved from the Nine Immortal Continent by the seventh generation of the Zhenhai Sect leaders, who were also the only Nascent Soul cultivators in the history of the Zhenhai Sect. Each peak leader is a Nascent Soul cultivator.

A grand hall is built atop Zhenhai Peak to enshrine the ancestral tablets, while Qinggang Peak is where successive sect leaders resided.

The other five peaks and thirteen mountains are designated as residences for Nascent Soul stage elders, Core Formation stage elders, and Foundation Establishment stage deacons, based on the abundance of spiritual energy.

As for the Qi Refining disciples with the lowest cultivation level, they can only open up cave dwellings in the low hills outside the Five Peaks and Thirteen Mountains and diligently cultivate.

He hoped that one day he could successfully establish his foundation, join the ranks of inner disciples, and truly embark on the path of cultivation.

For most of the past thousand years, Zhenhai Sect has been the undisputed number one sect in the cultivation world of Yuqing Sea, its prestige reaching overseas, and its disciples are arrogant and domineering, running rampant in all directions.

But in the last hundred years or so, the situation has quietly changed.

The Golden Feather Eagle clan, one of the three royal clans of the Myriad Demon Sea, was suddenly wiped out. Subsequently, Tianjizi announced that this was the work of the Tianji Sect, shocking the entire cultivation world of the Jade Purity Sea.

Since then, Zhenhai Sect's reputation as the number one sect in Yuqing Sea has been shaky, while Tianji Sect's prestige has soared, and it has taken advantage of the situation to expand.

Zhenhai Sect would naturally not back down. The two sects had been in constant conflict since the death of Ji Laogui, and the conflict intensified thereafter.

However, with the power of destroying the royal family, the disciples of the Tianji Sect have generally increased their cultivation levels. Although they are still at a disadvantage, they are beginning to rival the Zhenhai Sect.

All the cultivators of Yuqing Sea believed that the conflict between the two major sects would continue indefinitely, perhaps for a thousand years without a clear victor.

However, with the destruction of the two royal clans, Kunyu and Jiaolong, the great cultivator Chen Yuan and the elder Jing Shuhan of the Tianji Sect became Daoist partners and held a dual cultivation ceremony.

The Heavenly Mystery Sect overwhelmed the Zhenhai Sect in one fell swoop, seizing the title of the number one sect from the Zhenhai Sect.

The dual cultivation ceremony, which was shrouded in secrecy by all the Nascent Soul cultivators who participated, was rumored to have been attended by a Deity Transformation cultivator.

The True Man Chen, who had destroyed two royal families, publicly humiliated Zhao Lingsong, a mid-stage Nascent Soul cultivator from the Zhenhai Sect.

After the Dual Cultivation Ceremony ended, the Zhenhai Sect remained silent, but they never received any revenge from Master Chen.

The Tianji Sect, on the other hand, was even more arrogant, competing with the Zhenhai Sect for islands, sea areas, spiritual veins, and minerals, and even forcing the Righteous Alliance to voluntarily give up many wealthy islands.

Zhenhai Sect initially swallowed its anger, but Master Chen never showed up, nor did he join forces with the three major sects to besiege Zhenhai Sect as he had done with the three royal families.

The Zhenhai Sect, having reached its limit of tolerance, launched a counterattack, bringing the Tianji Sect back to a stalemate.

But this time, the balance of power has shifted dramatically.

Moreover, as time went on, the Tianji Sect's offensive became increasingly fierce.

Now all the cultivators in Yuqing Sea know that the destruction of the three royal families of the Myriad Demon Sea was mainly due to that True Man Chen.

However, the Heavenly Mystery Sect also participated fully and received many treasures, including countless low-level cultivation resources.

A hundred years have passed, and the newly emerging low-ranking disciples of the Heavenly Mystery Sect are becoming increasingly powerful.

Furthermore, with the help of abundant cultivation resources, many disciples broke through their cultivation bottlenecks, with the number of Foundation Establishment disciples increasing by a quarter and the number of Core Formation elders increasing by a fifth.

The Zhenhai Sect only has an advantage over Nascent Soul cultivators and those in the mid-to-late stages of Core Formation, barely maintaining a superficial balance.

In reality, it has been steadily being eroded by the Tianji Sect, its territory shrinking day by day, and its affiliated sects and families constantly rebelling. Anyone with eyes to see can see that the tide of events is irreversible.

In another two or three hundred years, when the Nascent Soul cultivators and late-stage Core Formation cultivators of the Heavenly Mystery Sect surpass the Zhenhai Sect, they will dominate the position of the number one sect in the Jade Purity Sea.

It is even more stable than the Zhenhai Sect before it, and the Wentian Sect a thousand years ago.

After all, none of the elders in Zhenhai Sect and Wentian Sect had become Daoist partners with Chen Zhenren.

Everyone believed that the Heavenly Mystery Sect would steadily advance, gradually surpassing the Zhenhai Sect and dominating the entire Jade Purity Sea cultivation world.

A few days ago, Tianjizi sent a proclamation to Zhenhai Sect, which spread rapidly throughout the cultivation world of Yuqing Sea.

In this manifesto, Tianjizi vehemently denounced sixty-four crimes of the Zhenhai Sect, including many such as the Zhenhai Sect's unjust annihilation of a medium-sized sect on a certain day of a certain month of a certain year, which was extremely heinous, and the crimes of a certain Core Formation elder of the Zhenhai Sect forcing a certain Core Formation rogue cultivator to death on a certain day of a certain month of a certain year, which spanned a thousand years and was expressed in strong language.

But none of that matters. In the cultivation world, the strong prey on the weak. How could the number one sect in Yuqing Sea not bully small and medium-sized sects, families, and independent cultivators?

Most notably, at the end of the manifesto, Tianjizi stated that in half a month, he would mobilize the entire sect to besiege Zhenhai Island and challenge the Zhenhai Sect to a decisive battle.

These words shocked the entire cultivation world of Yuqing Sea.

The conflict between the Tianji Sect and the Zhenhai Sect is becoming increasingly fierce, but most of the battles are between Foundation Establishment and Core Formation cultivators. Battles between Nascent Soul cultivators are extremely rare. In the past hundred years, only two people have died, one from each of the two sects.

Tianjizi's sudden declaration of war against Zhenhai Sect caught everyone off guard, including Zhenhai Sect itself.

But since the great cultivator had spoken of it himself, he immediately summoned all the cultivators in his sect to Tianji Island, making it seem like he was going to launch a major battle, leaving no room for doubt.

Master Yuhai reacted swiftly, immediately summoning the cultivators of his sect back to the mountain gate to prepare for battle.

Although it was late at night, the island of Zhenhai was brightly lit, with cultivators flying back and forth, patrolling the area, and the defenses were tight.

The market on the island had been closed three days ago. Apart from cultivators from the Zhenhai Sect and its affiliated sects and families, everyone else was driven away and forbidden from setting foot within a thousand miles of Zhenhai Island.

All fifteen Nascent Soul cultivators of Zhenhai Sect returned to the sect, and nine out of the one hundred and twenty-four Core Formation cultivators and one thousand one hundred and eighty-nine Foundation Establishment cultivators also returned to the sect.

Tianjizi, a great cultivator, even dispatched a Nascent Soul cultivator to deliver a proclamation, making a great show of force. Zhenhai Sect dared not slacken in the slightest.

Even if Tianjizi really did go mad from his cultivation and it was just empty talk to scare people, it's better to believe it than not.

Although there are still ten days until the half-month deadline, no one knows whether the Heavenly Mystery Sect will make a move ahead of schedule, so the Zhenhai Sect can only be on guard at all times.

Looking around, the sky was filled with patrolling cultivators, spreading their divine senses to search every corner.

In fact, with Core Formation cultivators and Nascent Soul cultivators guarding the mountain gate, there is no need for Foundation Establishment cultivators to patrol at all times.

However, with a formidable enemy approaching, if all the low-level cultivators remain in their caves to cultivate, they will only become lax and complacent, and some may even have wild thoughts and develop fear.

Moreover, there is no reason for high-level cultivators to be on constant alert while low-level cultivators can sit comfortably in their caves.

Amidst the tense atmosphere, Nascent Soul cultivators occasionally extended their divine senses to investigate, and no one dared to slack off.

One by one, the low-ranking disciples flew silently across the night sky, their presence only indicated by the glowing identity jade tokens.

The night was deep, the Jade Rabbit patrolled the sky, the moonlight was like water, and white frost covered the ground.

Suddenly, a cold voice rang in the ears of all the cultivators of the Zhenhai Sect: "Where is True Person Yuhai? I, Chen, have arrived with my wife under the moonlight to annihilate your entire sect and avenge our grievances!" (End of Chapter)