Nine Transformations of the True Spirit.

Upon hearing this, Liu Fan sighed softly: "My wife only formed her Nascent Soul after the collapse of the Demon Realm, and has never met Chen Yuan, so she does not know his character."

"I once explored the secret realm of space with Chen Yuan. He is a man of strong character and will retaliate for the slightest offense."

“I chased this man for thousands of miles, forcing him to exhaust his life essence and blood, and he almost died. How could he let it go so easily?”

"Back then, my master Xiao Lingzi entered the Demon Realm and was tricked and killed by the remnant soul of the Demon Lord, who then devoured his nascent soul."

"If Chen Yuan didn't even spare my master, how could he not seek revenge against me?"

The beautiful woman in palace attire frowned: "Even though Chen Yuan is vengeful, my husband has been cultivating for a hundred years since he formed his Nascent Soul, and he is only a step away from the mid-stage of the Nascent Soul realm. He has also mastered several powerful supernatural abilities."

“Even a mid-stage Nascent Soul cultivator can't do anything to my husband, so why should I fear Chen Yuan?”

Liu Fan shook his head: "My lady, you don't know this. This person's cultivation has progressed so quickly that it is rare in the world. Moreover, he is a body cultivator, and he is rarely matched with anyone of the same level."

"Back then, I was already at the Pseudo-Core Formation stage, while Chen Yuan was only at the mid-Foundation Establishment stage, yet we were evenly matched."

“A hundred years from now, he will have already reached the Nascent Soul stage, while my husband will still be a Core Formation cultivator, and he will be humiliated by him in the sect.”

"Afterwards, cultivators from various sects entered the Demon Realm, and many died tragically at the hands of the Demon Lord's remnant soul. This person was clearly only at the early stage of the Nascent Soul realm, yet he was able to contend with the Demon Lord, and his reputation soared."

"After the collapse of the Demon Realm, in less than twenty years, he broke through the bottleneck of the mid-Nascent Soul stage. It is said that he once sparred with the leaders of the four major sects without being defeated. His strength is unfathomable."

"I have never slacked off over the years, and I believe my progress has been quite fast."

"But compared to Chen Yuan, he is still far inferior."

“As long as his whereabouts remain unknown, I cannot have peace of mind.”

The beautiful woman in palace attire comforted him, saying, "My husband is being too cautious. Even if Chen Yuan still harbors hatred, he would not abandon his cultivation to focus solely on dealing with you."

"My husband left the clan several times without incident, which shows that he had no intention of seeking revenge against my husband."

Liu Fan sighed: "My wife is right, but Chen Yuan is a very different person. I used to boast that I was a genius, and no one among my peers could match me."

"But he suffered repeated setbacks at the hands of this person. The only time he managed to suppress him with his cultivation and chase him down, he escaped by using an ancient teleportation array. It was a great humiliation."

"Now that he has been missing for over a hundred years, his cultivation level certainly hasn't stagnated. It's highly likely that he has reached the peak of the mid-stage Nascent Soul realm, or even broken through the late-stage bottleneck..."

Upon hearing this, the beautiful woman in palace attire showed a hint of pity in her eyes. She grasped Liu Fan's hand and said softly, "My husband thinks too highly of Chen Yuan. How easy is it to become a great cultivator?"

"This person only had some good fortune. He used that ancient teleportation array to enter a secret realm and obtained a treasure left behind by an ancient cultivator, which allowed him to form a nascent soul before his husband."

"In truth, in my opinion, this man is far inferior to my husband. My husband, please do not let this man cause you to lose your composure."

Liu Fan grasped the hand of the beautiful woman in palace attire in return, and gave a wry smile: "My wife still underestimated Chen Yuan..."

Before he could finish speaking, a clear, cold voice suddenly entered the cave and rang in their ears: "Where is Liu Fan? Come out and face your death!"

Both of them were taken aback. The beautiful woman in palace attire changed her expression: "Who dares to provoke my husband like this!"

Liu Fan frowned, looked at the stone door of the cave, and whispered, "This voice... seems to have come from Chen Yuan."

The beautiful woman in palace attire widened her eyes: "Is my husband sure?"

Liu Fan's expression turned solemn as he stood up and walked out of the cave: "Whether it is or not, we'll know at a glance."

The two stepped out of the cave, their escape light flashing as they soared into the sky.

At the same time, hundreds of beams of light rose from the Blood Python Mountain Range, and several cultivators headed straight for this peak.

The two were shocked to realize that the voice was not specifically directed at them, but had spread throughout the entire Blood Spirit Sect!

Qian Wei's cave dwelling wasn't far from here. He rode his escape light to the two of them, his face filled with horror, and bowed with clasped hands: "Master..."

Liu Fan raised his hand to stop them, and spread his divine sense. He saw a cultivator standing with his hands behind his back in front of the sect's protective formation, dozens of miles away.

The man's sleeves fluttered and rustled, his expression was cold and stern, and his murderous aura was overwhelming, as if a god of death had descended to earth. His face was extremely familiar; it was none other than Chen Yuan, the man who made him uneasy day and night.

Just as he looked at Chen Yuan, Chen Yuan also noticed him, turned his head, and looked in this direction.

Chen Yuan's icy voice echoed once again through the Blood Python Mountains: "Fellow Daoist Liu, it's been a long time. I, Chen, have come to take your life today to avenge the thousand-mile chase you took years ago."

The beautiful woman in palace attire was also a Nascent Soul cultivator, and had once seen a portrait of Chen Yuan in Liu Fan's possession.

Upon seeing Chen Yuan's insolent words, the beautiful woman in palace attire angrily exclaimed, "It really is Chen Yuan! How dare he show his face in front of our sect's gate and spout such arrogant words! Does he think our sect has no one to rely on?"

Liu Fan, however, looked grave, his brows furrowed: "Chen Yuan is not an unwise man; he has always acted cautiously. Yet today he is so arrogant. He must have something on his mind."

The beautiful woman in palace attire said angrily, "Chen Yuan has already come to our door to bully us, yet my husband still harbors any fear?"

"Our sect has been passed down for tens of thousands of years, weathering storms and standing firm. Even the calamity of the Demon Realm can be safely overcome."

"Even if this person truly becomes a great cultivator, what does it matter?"

"Unless he has reached the Nascent Soul stage, he is courting death!"

Upon hearing this, Qian Wei nodded emphatically: "Master has repeatedly tried to find this person's whereabouts without success. Now that he has finally shown up, it is a great opportunity to gather the strength of the entire sect and kill him!"

Liu Fan gazed at Chen Yuan, who stood in the distance with a cold expression and an aura of murderous intent that seemed almost tangible, and still harbored some doubts.

But his expression softened a bit, and he said in a low voice, "Perhaps I'm overthinking it. Let's see what he's really up to."

Liu Fan knew perfectly well that what the two said was absolutely right, but after dealing with Chen Yuan several times, he found it hard to believe that Chen Yuan would come alone to his death.

With a thought, Liu Fan vanished in a flash, flying towards Chen Yuan, with the beautiful woman in palace attire and Qian Wei immediately following.

At the same time, a faint yet majestic voice resounded throughout the Blood Spirit Sect's mountain gate: "Blood Spirit Sect disciples, return to your positions. Elders, follow me to meet the enemy. Those who disobey will be punished according to the sect rules. No mistakes will be tolerated!"

The beams of light that had risen into the air suddenly stopped and then fell back down.

Others shouted and rallied the lower-ranking disciples.

Only six streaks of light, like Liu Fan and the beautiful woman in palace attire, flew towards Chen Yuan.

The distance of several dozen miles was covered in an instant. Liu Fan and the beautiful woman in palace attire arrived in front of the array and stopped.

At this moment, the array had turned blood red, as if blood had condensed, staining Chen Yuan outside the array with a bloody color as well, making him look extremely terrifying.

A cultivator flew slowly over, dressed in a black robe. He looked extremely young, only seventeen or eighteen years old, even somewhat immature. However, his eyes were full of vicissitudes, as if he had experienced the world and seen through its ways.

Everyone clasped their hands in greeting and said, "Welcome, Master."

This person is none other than Yan Zhang, the sect leader of the Blood Spirit Sect, a powerful figure in the demonic path who commands respect throughout Donghua Continent.

Yan Zhang glanced at Liu Fan, then looked at Chen Yuan outside the formation, sized him up, and frowned: "Fellow Daoist Chen, you are a guest from afar, and I welcome you with open arms. But you claim that you want to kill Elder Liu of our sect. What is the reason for this?" Chen Yuan gave Liu Fan a deep look, making no attempt to hide the killing intent in his eyes, and said coldly: "Back then, when the Blood Spirit Sect and the Joyful Union Sect invaded the Qi Kingdom, the six sects of the Qi Kingdom suffered a crushing defeat in the Battle of the Demon-Slaying Desert."

"Liu Fan chased Chen for thousands of miles, forcing Chen to exhaust his life essence and almost die. This grudge must be avenged."

"I have come here today to settle this score."

Yan Zhang frowned. He naturally knew about the grudge between Chen Yuan and Liu Fan, but he simply couldn't believe that Chen Yuan would go to the Blood Spirit Sect alone because of this grudge.

But Chen Yuan's calm and composed demeanor made Yan Zhang uneasy, wondering where his confidence came from.

He tentatively asked, "If I remember correctly, before the cultivators from various sects entered the Demon Realm, our sect's former elder, Xiao Lingzi, gave you an eighth-level Jingni Demon Core."

"Fellow Daoist also promised not to pursue this matter further, so why are you going back on your word today?"

Chen Yuan said, "Times have changed. Back then, the calamity of the Demon Realm affected the entire Donghua Continent. We should put aside past grievances and join forces to eliminate the disaster of the Demon Realm."

"But Chen's life cannot be compensated by a single level eight demon core. Only by offering Liu Fan's life as compensation can this matter be settled."

Even with lingering doubts, Liu Fan flew into a rage upon hearing this: "Chen Yuan! I only chased you for over a thousand miles back then; I didn't take your life."

"Later, after you formed your Nascent Soul, you humiliated me to my face. My master gave you an eighth-level demon core as an apology, but you still managed to kill me in the Demon Realm."

"Yet you are still not satisfied, forcing your way to our mountain gate, going too far. Do you really think my Blood Spirit Sect has no one to rely on?"

Everyone's faces were also filled with anger. They had all heard of Chen Yuan's reputation, and some had even witnessed Chen Yuan displaying his divine power in the Demon Realm, fighting against the Demon Lord and surviving.

But no matter how powerful Chen Yuan is, he cannot openly bully the sect and show no respect for the Blood Spirit Sect.

He only said he wanted to take Liu Fan's life, but in reality he was trampling on the dignity of all the cultivators of the Blood Spirit Sect.

We must not let Chen Yuan succeed today, otherwise the Blood Spirit Sect will never be able to mention the Five Great Demonic Sects again, and its disciples will never be able to hold their heads high when they travel outside.

To everyone's surprise, even though Chen Yuan was being so aggressive, Yan Zhang remained unperturbed.

He looked Chen Yuan up and down and said slowly, "As the saying goes, it is better to resolve enmity than to make it. Back then, Junior Brother Liu bullied the weak and chased after you. His actions were indeed extremely inappropriate."

"However, he has already apologized to you, and his master, Xiao Lingzi, has also taken out a treasure to compensate you."

"Over the years, the Blood Spirit Sect and the Lingyun Sect have lived in peace. Why does Fellow Daoist Chen want to stir up trouble again?"

"In my opinion, let's just drop this matter. Fellow Daoist, please leave and let's pretend nothing happened. What do you say?"

Everyone was stunned. Liu Fan suddenly turned to look at Yan Zhang and said in disbelief, "Sect Leader Brother!"

The beautiful woman in palace attire, her face full of sorrow, bowed gracefully to Yan Zhang and said softly, "Sect Leader, this person has come to our door to bully us. In front of all the cultivators in the sect, he openly said that he wanted to kill Liu Lang to avenge him."

"It's as if they're seeking revenge against rogue cultivators, showing no regard for our sect whatsoever."

"If we let him leave, what will become of our sect's reputation? How will Liu Lang walk in the cultivation world in the future? I hope the sect leader will think it over carefully."

Yan Zhang frowned and secretly transmitted his voice to the two men: "You two, please calm down. I am well aware that Chen Yuan's actions will greatly damage the reputation of our sect. I wish I could grind him to dust."

“But he knew he was not one of our opponents, yet he still came here alone. There must be something strange about it. We should not act rashly.”

"We will investigate the matter thoroughly before making any decisions. I will certainly not let Junior Brother Liu lose face for no reason."

The two men were appeased by Yan Zhang, and although they were still extremely dissatisfied, they could only suppress their dissatisfaction.

Liu Fan stared intently at Chen Yuan, his hands, hidden in his sleeves, clenched into fists, his knuckles white and veins bulging.

The beautiful woman in palace attire pursed her lips, her pretty face was cold, and her eyes were full of resentment as she looked at Chen Yuan.

But Chen Yuan had no intention of backing down; instead, he refused to budge an inch: "As I have said, I am here today to take Fellow Daoist Liu's life."

"As long as Fellow Daoist Liu takes his own life, I, Chen, will immediately withdraw, and the grudge from back then will be settled."

"Fellow Daoist Liu's soul can also be reincarnated, preserving a chance to attain Dao in the next life, which is the best of both worlds."

His tone was very calm, but it completely enraged Liu Fan.

His once handsome face was now completely distorted as he uttered, word by word, "Chen Yuan, I swear to kill you!"

Everyone's expression changed, and an old man shouted, "Chen Yuan, you've gone too far!"

A middle-aged cultivator said coldly, "Do you perhaps intend to force an elder of my Blood Spirit Sect to his death at my sect's gate?"

A Nascent Soul elder who looked like a seven or eight-year-old child turned around, clasped his hands in a bow to Yan Zhang, and solemnly said, "Sect Leader, this person is heartless and insane, and doesn't know what's good for him. Only by killing him can we preserve the face of our sect."

Yan Zhang stared at Chen Yuan and slowly said, "Fellow Daoist Chen, are you really not going to back down?"

Chen Yuan said calmly, "I will not retreat until Liu Fan is dead."

Yan Zhang narrowed his eyes: "If you want to kill Junior Brother Liu, you will be making an enemy of my Blood Spirit Sect. Don't blame me for being ruthless!"

Upon hearing this, Chen Yuan showed no panic whatsoever; instead, he smiled and said, "So, Sect Leader Yan intends to protect Liu Fan?"

Yan Zhang said in a chilling voice, "That's right. Since Fellow Daoist Chen is determined to die, I, Yan, will grant your wish today."

"Elders, follow me into battle to meet the enemy, kill this man, and then march on the Qi Kingdom to destroy the Lingyun Sect and avenge Elder Xiaolingzi!"

After saying that, he moved and flew out of the sect's protective formation, with everyone following closely behind.

Yan Zhang still harbored doubts, but Chen Yuan was so aggressive that it was impossible for him to leave.

To be on the safe side, the only option was to kill Chen Yuan with swift and decisive action, so no mercy was shown.

Just as everyone flew out of the blood-red array, Chen Yuan said calmly, "Since Sect Leader Yan is determined to protect Liu Fan, then let the entire Blood Spirit Sect be buried with Liu Fan."

Having said that, he no longer concealed his aura, and the pressure of his Nascent Soul stage suddenly spread out, enveloping the entire Blood Python Mountain Range!
The Blood Spirit Sect elder, who had been so aggressive, suddenly stopped, his face turning deathly pale.

The old man who had reprimanded Chen Yuan muttered, "A Nascent Soul cultivator..."

Liu Fan stared wide-eyed at Chen Yuan, his expression frozen on his face.

Yan Zhang's pupils contracted, and he shouted, "Quickly retreat into the great formation!"

As if waking from a dream, everyone retreated rapidly, returning to the sect's protective formation.

Chen Yuan ignored them completely, letting everyone retreat. He simply raised his hand, formed a hand seal, and shouted, "Condense!"

His aura surged, his eyes turned silver-white, and a Dharma image slowly materialized behind him. (End of Chapter)