Nine Transformations of the True Spirit.

Sun Congyao was still guarding the teleportation array on the Donghua Continent side.

After Chen Yuan's dual cultivation ceremony ended, Sun Congyao traveled around the Nine Immortal Continent, broadening his horizons and breaking through the bottleneck in the later stages of cultivation.

He then returned to Donghua Continent to continue guarding the teleportation array, diligently cultivating without ceasing. Today, he is not far from the peak of the late Core Formation stage and is expected to break through to the Nascent Soul stage.

Chen Yuan left him two bottles of late-stage Core Formation pills and returned to the Lingyun Mountains with Jing Shuhan.

Beyond the Lingyun Mountains, towering walls of clouds rise majestically, inspiring awe and fear.

Chen Yuan glanced at it and nodded secretly. This ten-thousand-foot cloud wall was quite different from the previous one, and it had some of the charm of the Cloud Dragon Formation of Jiao Sheng Island.

Chen Yuan took out his identity jade token and entered the cloud wall. The clouds quietly parted to both sides without any obstruction.

Chen Yuan's identity jade token was specially made, exactly the same as Jin Luoheng's sect leader token, allowing him to freely enter and exit any part of the Lingyun Sect without any formation being able to stop him.

As the two passed through the towering cloud wall, streaks of light came into view. The sky was filled with cultivators flying back and forth, their sleeves fluttering, chatting and laughing, full of vigor and high spirits.

On the mountain stone steps, the Qi Refining disciples moved nimbly, running like the wind, shuttling through the dense forest.

Occasionally, white cranes would take flight, carrying people on their backs, while colorful tigers would leap out of the forest, with cultivators sitting sideways on them.

A green snake coils around its body, and a monkey sits on its shoulder; most people who come and go have a spirit beast by their side.

The two kept their auras concealed and their escape speed slow. They also deliberately avoided people along the way, so they were not conspicuous.

Chen Yuan and Jing Shuhan returned to Yunyin Peak, the same cave he had chosen after establishing his foundation. The spiritual energy there was very thin, even Core Formation cultivators found it insufficient.

However, with Chen Yuan's current cultivation level, even if all the spiritual energy of the entire Lingyun Sect were supplied to him for cultivation, it would only be a drop in the ocean, and he would not care about the cave dwelling at all.

However, Jing Shuhan felt somewhat uncomfortable. She came from a large sect and after becoming a Daoist couple with Chen Yuan, she went to the Tai Ming Sect to cultivate, so she never had to worry about insufficient spiritual energy.

The Lingyun Sect only has one medium-sized spiritual vein, which is far too scarce to support the cultivation of more than one Nascent Soul cultivator.

This is also why most medium-sized sects only have one Nascent Soul cultivator. The spiritual energy is insufficient, and it is difficult to supply two Nascent Soul cultivators.

For this reason, after the Lingyun Sect unified the Qi Kingdom, Jin Luoheng sent Zhuge Qi and Bai Yanji to guard the Ziyang Mountain Range and Jianling Mountain so as not to delay their cultivation.

However, Jing Shuhan already knew about the situation of the Lingyun Sect. Although she felt somewhat uncomfortable, she had no shortage of pills and had no complaints.

The next day, the two went to Baiyun Peak to visit Jin Luoheng.

Chen Yuan clasped his hands in a bow and said, "Congratulations, Master, on breaking through the bottleneck and making great progress in your cultivation."

After refining the Haoran Pill given to him by Chen Yuan, Jin Luoheng successfully broke through the bottleneck and became a mid-stage Nascent Soul cultivator.

Jin Luoheng was meditating and cultivating in his cave when he saw the two arrive. He was quite surprised: "Why did you return to the Tai Ming Sect when you weren't cultivating there?"

Chen Yuan clasped his hands and bowed: "Now that I have achieved the Nascent Soul stage, I should return to my sect."

Jin Luoheng suddenly stood up, his eyes wide open: "Is this really true?"

Chen Yuan smiled slightly, his divine energy quietly dissipating before quickly receding.

But in that instant, Jin Luoheng felt breathless and as if a mountain was pressing down on him, leaving him with no more doubts.

He clapped his hands and laughed, completely losing his former composure and calmness: "Good! Since ancient times, no one in Donghua Continent has achieved the Nascent Soul stage. You have cultivated to this level, making you the first person in Donghua Continent in tens of thousands of years."

"From this day forward, our sect shall be the number one sect in Donghua Continent. The Four Great Profound Sects and the Five Great Demonic Sects shall all have to admit defeat."

"Having such a wonderful disciple as you, I have no regrets in this life..."

Jin Luoheng suddenly stopped and sighed: "It's a pity that in a few years, you will ascend to the Spirit Realm, and our sect's title as the number one sect in Donghua Continent will soon be lost again."

Chen Yuan smiled and said, "Master, do not worry. Before I leave this world, I can still do a few things to lay a solid foundation for our sect for all eternity."

Jin Luoheng shook his head: "Ever since you took out the inheritance of the Spirit Control Sect, now 60% of our disciples below the Core Formation stage have practiced the Way of Beast Taming."

"This is still due to a shortage of spirit beasts; otherwise, there would be even more disciples practicing the art of beast taming."

“The disciples of all the sects surrounding Qi are not as good as those of our sect.”

"Even the disciples of the four great sects are only on par with them, and they will be surpassed sooner or later."

"Our sect is not lacking in the inheritance of cultivation techniques, nor in cultivation resources."

"Just follow the steps and train your disciples. How else do you need to lay a foundation?"

Chen Yuan said, "The four great Xuan Sects and the five great Demon Sects all have large spiritual veins with pure and rich spiritual energy to supply their disciples for cultivation."

"But our sect only has six medium-sized spiritual veins, scattered in various places. If this continues, it will surely cause trouble."

"Only a large spiritual vein can truly make our sect the fifth great Xuan Sect and allow it to be passed down for ten thousand years."

Jin Luoheng frowned: "You want to destroy a sect and seize a large spiritual vein?"

“This is absolutely not possible. In a few years, you will ascend to the Spirit Realm.”

"At that time, our sect will not have a firm foothold yet, and the internal situation will be unstable. Without you guarding the mountain gate, we will inevitably become the target of everyone's attacks, and there is a risk of the sect being destroyed."

Chen Yuan said, "Master, rest assured, I have other methods and will not put our sect in danger."

"However, Master is right. This time I have returned to the sect to destroy it and avenge the previous humiliation."

Jin Luoheng was taken aback, then realized what he meant: "Are you planning to deal with the Blood Spirit Sect?"

Chen Yuan nodded, a murderous glint flashing in his eyes, and the stone hall suddenly turned cold: "That's right! Liu Fan chased after me back then, almost killing me. I've always remembered that."

"Back in the Demon Realm, I lured the Demon Lord to devour his master Xiao Lingzi's nascent soul, but that still didn't quell my hatred."

"Now that I have achieved the Nascent Soul stage, it is time to settle this grudge with Liu Fan."

A hint of worry flashed in Jin Luoheng's eyes: "The Blood Spirit Sect has a history of tens of thousands of years and a profound foundation. Who knows how many methods they have left behind? Are you confident?"

Chen Yuan said, "Master, rest assured, the Blood Spirit Sect has never had a Nascent Soul cultivator emerge, nor has it ever had a spiritual treasure to suppress its foundation."

"It is only because the cultivation world of Donghua Continent is weak as a whole that it has been able to continue for tens of thousands of years."

"If this were in the Nine Immortal Continent, it would just be an ordinary large sect, and it would be easy for the disciples to destroy it."

Jin Luoheng's expression softened slightly: "In that case, please go ahead and do as you please. Is there anything your master can do for you?"

Chen Yuan pondered for a moment and said, "The Blood Spirit Sect governs a country. Apart from its mountain gate, it also has many spiritual veins and mines. After its destruction, all of them will be left empty."

"It's just that the Blood Spirit Sect is thousands of miles away from the Qi Kingdom, surrounded by demonic sects, and our sect's strength is ultimately too shallow to conquer it."

"Please ask Master to summon Junior Brother Zhuge back to the sect and gather all the Core Formation cultivators in the sect."

"Three days later, we will head to the Blood Spirit Sect together to loot its treasures."

Jin Luoheng nodded slightly: "Liu Fan has always been cautious. Over the years, I have been ordering people to inquire about his whereabouts."

"But he was elusive and rarely went out, always staying in seclusion in his cave to cultivate."

"Even when he left the sect, he did so in secret, and no one knew his whereabouts. He must have been worried that you would harm him."

"If the news of your achievement of the Nascent Soul stage leaks out, he will definitely flee. The only way is to take him by surprise and come to his door."

Chen Yuan said, "Master is absolutely right. This is exactly what I was worried about."

Jin Luoheng smiled and said, "I will immediately order someone to recall Junior Brother Zhuge, Junior Brother Wu, and Junior Brother Wei, along with ninety percent of the Core Formation cultivators in our sect, and send them to the Blood Spirit Sect."

Chen Yuan was puzzled, and after asking, he learned that in the past few decades, two more people from the Lingyun Sect had achieved the Nascent Soul stage.

One of them was Wu Zexian, whom Jin Luoheng had vigorously promoted.

The other person was Wei Cifeng, a mid-stage Core Formation cultivator who joined the Lingyun Sect after the merger of the Lingyun Sect and the Guiyuan Sect.

This person was originally of average strength, but he was exceptionally skilled in formations, making him the foremost formation master in the Guiyuan Sect. After Chen Yuan handed over the Yuling Sect's inheritance to Jin Luoheng, Jin Luoheng placed most of the techniques, supernatural abilities, and cultivation arts within the inheritance into the Scripture Pavilion, concealing only the most important part.

The Spirit Control Sect is an ancient and powerful sect. Although it specializes in the art of beast taming, its other inheritances are also remarkable, far surpassing those of large sects. Compared with the top ten sects, it is by no means weak, and may even be superior.

After Wei Cifeng came into contact with the array formation inheritance of the Yuling Sect, his mastery of array formations improved by leaps and bounds.

Chen Yuan also obtained a considerable number of cultivation pills from the Yu Ling Sect's secret realm, indicating that the Lingyun Sect was not lacking in cultivation resources.

After Wei Cifeng demonstrated his mastery of array formations, he quickly gained Jin Luoheng's favor and was bestowed with elixirs.

In just a few decades, he cultivated to the peak of the late Core Formation stage, and with the help of a Nascent Soul Spiritual Object and the medium-sized spiritual vein of the original Netherworld Valley, he successfully formed his Nascent Soul and became the first Grandmaster of Array Formation since the founding of the Lingyun Sect.

However, his aptitude was limited, and in order to study array formations, his foundation was not very solid. Being able to form a Nascent Soul was already his limit, and it would be as difficult as climbing to the heavens to reach the next level.

After Wei Cifeng achieved Nascent Soul, the original Guiyuan Sect cultivators saw that Jin Luoheng treated everyone equally and did not favor the Yuanlingyun Sect cultivators. They truly let go of their grudges, and their sense of belonging to the sect greatly increased.

After that, apart from Chen Yuan, the Lingyun Sect had a total of five Nascent Soul cultivators. Among them, Jin Luoheng was in the mid-Nascent Soul stage, surpassing all medium-sized sects in Donghua Continent, second only to the Four Great Profound Sects and the Five Great Demonic Sects.

However, if we add Chen Yuan, who has been in seclusion and whose strength is comparable to that of a great cultivator, even the four great Xuan Sects and the five great demonic sects would not dare to underestimate the Lingyun Sect.

The surrounding sects that used to provoke trouble on the borders of Qi have now all settled down and no longer dare to contend with the Lingyun Sect.

The Lingyun Sect has no intention of expanding for the time being. After unifying the Qi Kingdom, the sect's cultivators are scattered in various places, and there is a shortage of manpower, but there is no shortage of spiritual veins and cultivation resources.

Especially after Jin Luoheng took out the inheritance of the Spirit Control Sect, more and more disciples began to practice the art of beast taming.

The Lingyun Sect did not have the habit of cultivating spirit beasts. Although Jin Luoheng ordered people to go to the Southern Wilderness to capture young demon beasts and bring them back to the sect for cultivation, the time was short and the effects had not yet been seen.

Many disciples had to go to the Southern Wilderness on their own to find spirit beasts, and with manpower becoming increasingly scarce, they had even less interest in fighting with other sects.

However, under the influence of the Lingyun Sect, the Qi court strengthened its military, recruited soldiers, and launched campaigns in the south and north, east and west, expanding the territory of Qi by a full fifth.

All the sects in various countries knew that this was the work of the Lingyun Sect, and dared not send their cultivators to intervene. They could only rely on their respective courts to resist.

However, the Qi Kingdom has six medium-sized spiritual veins within its borders, which are rich in spiritual energy, bring favorable weather, abundant harvests, and a prosperous and powerful nation, far surpassing its neighboring countries and making it invincible.

In the past, the State of Qi could not expand its territory because the six major clans checked and balanced each other, and the Qi court could only maintain the status quo.

Currently, the Lingyun Sect is the most powerful sect. Although it has no time to compete with other sects in the surrounding areas, it does not prevent it from expanding its territory first.

After all, the more ordinary people the Qi Kingdom has, the more people with spiritual roots it will have. Only with successors can the Lingyun Sect prosper day by day.

After a long talk with Jin Luoheng, Chen Yuan learned that the Lingyun Sect was becoming increasingly powerful, which put his mind at ease. He then returned to his cave with Jing Shuhan.

The next day, Zhuge Qi, Wu Zexian, and Wei Cifeng returned to the mountain gate, and the Core Formation cultivators stationed in various places also returned one after another.

The three were overjoyed to learn that Chen Yuan had achieved the Nascent Soul stage, and were even more shocked when they heard that he intended to destroy the Blood Spirit Sect.

The power structure of the four major Xuanzong sects and five major demonic sects in Donghua Continent has lasted for tens of thousands of years. The last time a large sect was destroyed was 30,000 years ago.

Chen Yuanfu's return to the sect and his intention to destroy the Blood Spirit Sect will inevitably shake the entire Donghua Continent.

They were merely early-stage Nascent Soul cultivators, and they would be content if their sect could become the fifth great Xuanzong.

Now, they are about to participate in such a momentous event and become famous throughout the cultivation world, which excites them greatly.

Two days later, apart from a few Core Formation cultivators guarding various places and those who went out to travel, the other thirty-seven Core Formation cultivators gathered at Lingyun Peak.

Li Qingshan and Liu Ye left the sect three years ago and have not yet returned, so they are not included here.

The group quietly left the Lingyun Mountains. Chen Yuan went first, followed by Jin Luoheng, Jing Shuhan, Zhuge Qi, Wu Zexian, and Wei Cifeng, who led the Core Formation cultivators, and flew north.

……

Qin State.

A majestic mountain range winds across the land, its rocks slightly reddish. Viewed from above, it resembles a giant blood-red python, shrouded in a light mist.

Nestled within the mountains, pavilions and towers stand side by side, grand halls abound, pines and cypresses stand tall, and clear springs flow.

Light streaks across the sky, cultivators roam freely in the mountains, and occasionally birds and beasts appear, creating a scene of celestial beauty.

If someone were to arrive here for the first time, they would never guess that this is actually the mountain gate of the Blood Spirit Sect, one of the five great demonic sects, located in the Blood Python Mountain Range.

A young cultivator passed through the Blood Spirit Sect's protective formation and arrived deep within the Blood Python Mountains. On an inconspicuous three-hundred-zhang mountain peak, he descended with a beam of light.

There is a cave halfway up the mountain, with its stone door tightly closed, covered by green vines, and completely silent.

The young cultivator stepped forward, clasped his hands in a bow, and said loudly, "Disciple Qian Wei greets Master."

After a while, the stone door opened silently, and Qian Wei stepped inside.

Behind him, the stone gate quietly closed.

Qian Wei walked through a narrow passage and came to a slightly dark stone hall.

A man who looked even younger than him sat in the main seat. He was incredibly handsome and could make countless young women fall in love at first sight. He was none other than Liu Fan, who had a life-and-death feud with Chen Yuan.

Standing beside him was a woman with a beautiful face, a voluptuous figure, and a shapely figure, dressed in palace attire.

Qian Wei clasped his hands and bowed: "Disciple Qian Wei greets Master and Mistress."

Liu Fan looked at Qian Wei, a glint of expectation in his eyes, and asked, "How was your trip? Did you hear any news about Chen Yuan?"

Qian Wei lowered his head: "This disciple has been waiting in Lingyun Market for two years. Our sect's spies have reported to us several times, but we still don't know Chen Yuan's whereabouts."

"All we know is that he claimed to be staying at the mountain gate in seclusion, but in reality he had already left the Lingyun Sect and his whereabouts are unknown."

Liu Fan frowned: "You don't even know where he went?"

Qian Wei lowered his head even further: "Chen Yuan's cultivation is profound, and he holds a very high position in the Lingyun Sect. Our secret agents can only cautiously inquire, and it is already difficult enough to find out that he left the sect."

Liu Fan's expression turned completely gloomy: "You will go to Qi again tomorrow to continue to investigate Chen Yuan's whereabouts."

Qian Wei looked distressed: "I can only wait in the market. How to gather information will have to be done by our sect's spies. If they make no progress, I'm helpless..."

Liu Fan said coldly, "Then we'll use spirit stones to bribe the Lingyun Sect disciples. In short, we must find out Chen Yuan's whereabouts!"

Qian Wei reluctantly agreed: "Disciple obeys."

He bowed and stepped back, and the beautiful woman in palace attire said, "Wait a moment."

Qian Wei stopped and looked at the beautiful woman in palace attire: "What are your orders, Master's wife?"

The beautiful woman in palace attire smiled slightly: "You will need to conceal your identity when you go to Qi, which will inevitably delay your cultivation."

"Take this bottle of Blood Soul Pills. They can nourish your Blood Spirit and make up for the loss."

She flipped her hand and took out a jade bottle, then pushed it gently towards Qian Wei.

Qian Wei looked grateful, accepted the jade bottle with both hands, and bowed deeply: "Thank you for the gift, Master's wife!"

The beautiful woman in palace attire said gently, "I know you've been working hard away from home."

"But among your master's five disciples, you are the most meticulous in your work, so I have no choice but to trouble you. I hope you will not resent your master."

Qian Wei bowed deeply: "Master's wife is too kind. It is my duty to share Master's burdens. I will do my best without any complaints."

Liu Fan's expression softened at this moment, and he said calmly, "Remember to be careful on your journey and do not reveal your identity."

"Yes."

Qian Wei turned and walked out of the cave. The beautiful woman in palace attire turned to look at Liu Fan, her delicate eyebrows slightly furrowed: "Husband, although Chen Yuan has a deep grudge against you, he has never shown his face in the cultivation world in the past hundred years. He only occasionally preaches to the disciples of Lingyun Sect. Perhaps he has already let go of this matter."

"Even if he still harbors resentment towards my husband, he wouldn't offend our sect just to seek revenge. Why is my husband still so wary of him?" (End of Chapter)