Nine Transformations of the True Spirit.

The Sea of ​​Ten Thousand Demons, the far east, a bottomless abyss.

The gray-blue sea stretched endlessly, with only a lonely, desolate island floating on its surface, amidst howling winds and surging waves.

Lu Wangquan stood on the edge of a cliff by the sea, his hands behind his back, looking down at the ocean with a slightly solemn expression.

Suddenly, he raised his head and looked towards the horizon.

A moment later, a streak of light came from afar and arrived in an instant, landing in front of Lu Wangquan and revealing Chen Yuan's figure.

Lu Wangquan clasped his hands in a respectful bow: "Fellow Daoist Chen."

Chen Yuan returned the greeting with a cupped hand: "I wonder how many days Fellow Daoist Lu has been waiting here?"

Lu Wangquan gave him a deep look: "I arrived yesterday, and you've come today, fellow Daoist."

"Only after you came within a hundred miles did I realize how strong your divine sense is."

Chen Yuan laughed and said, "It's just a minor technique to conceal one's aura. I'm sorry you had to laugh at me, fellow Daoist."

"I was afraid of keeping you fellow Daoists waiting, but I didn't expect that the two of us would be the first to arrive."

Lu Wangquan smiled slightly: "The three of you are the leaders of a sect. Before you leave, you will inevitably have many matters to explain, so you will be a little late."

"However, Fellow Daoist also has a sect behind him. There are still five or six days until the agreed time, yet you have arrived so quickly, which is quite unexpected for me."

Chen Yuan said, "Lingyun Sect is just a small sect. How can it compare to the Ten Great Sects? I had already made all the necessary arrangements before I came here."

Lu Wangquan nodded, then changed the subject: "Fellow Daoist Chen, how confident are we that we can sneak into the Spirit Realm?"

Chen Yuan pondered for a moment and said, "We have only just entered the spatial passage and do not know its full extent. I am also unaware."

"However, when we entered the spatial passage last time, we encountered a spatial turbulence. Not long after we went forward, we also encountered a spatial storm. The road to the spirit world must be extremely dangerous."

"Fortunately, with the five of us working together, even if the spatial passage is treacherous, we should have a 30-40% chance of reaching the spirit world."

Lu Wangquan said, "Thank you for your kind words, fellow Daoist. If we really reach the Spirit Realm, fellow Daoist, you must be careful of the other three fellow Daoists."

"It would be best to separate from us, remain anonymous, and not easily reveal your identity in public."

Chen Yuan asked, "What do you mean by that?"

Lu Wangquan said solemnly, "The four of us have spared no effort to support you in your transformation into a god, all in order to use your power to act as a beacon, guide our way, and smuggle ourselves into the spirit world."

"We will do our best to protect you before you reach the spirit world."

"But if you really succeed in smuggling into the Spirit Realm, both the cultivation technique that can refine true spirit essence blood in your possession and the true spirit essence blood in your body are rare treasures. How could they not be coveted?"

"I hit it off with you immediately, fellow Daoist, and naturally have no intention of harming you. But whether the other three fellow Daoists have such intentions is another matter."

"I hope you will consider my words carefully."

Chen Yuan's eyes flashed, he clasped his hands in a bow, and said solemnly, "Thank you for the reminder, fellow Daoist. I will definitely be careful."

……

Three days later, Qin Wuyai, Cangsong Daoren, and Ren Laomo arrived together.

Chen Yuan's divine sense was astonishing; he detected Cangsong Daoist and Ren Laomo's presence as soon as they entered within two thousand miles of him.

However, he did not notice Qin Wuyai until he was within two hundred miles.

Qin Wuyai truly lives up to his reputation as the number one alchemist in the Nine Immortal Continent; his divine sense is indeed astonishing.

The three landed in a burst of light, and Qin Wuyai clasped his hands in a bow: "We were busy arranging sect affairs, which delayed us for a few days. We apologize for keeping you two waiting."

Chen Yuan and Lu Wangquan both said it was alright. After the five of them exchanged greetings, Daoist Cangsong spoke up: "Now that all of you fellow Daoists have arrived, there is no need to delay any longer. Shall we set off?"

Everyone's expressions turned solemn, and they all nodded in agreement.

Qin Wuyai vanished beneath the sea in a flash of light, with the others following closely behind.

The abyss remained unchanged, the light gray water heavy and still, silent and still.

The five of them dived all the way to the bottom of the abyss. Chen Yuan secretly observed the expressions of the four of them, and there was nothing unusual about them. No one noticed that he had filled the passage after taking away the mysterious blood bead.

Qin Wuyai flipped his hand and took out the Void Escape Boat, tossing it forward until it grew to a size of ten zhang.

The three-story building on the deck is exquisite and elegant. A sail has been hung on the originally bare mast, and an iron anchor has been added to the bow.

Qin Wuyai smiled and said, "I asked Elder Chi of the Chongyue Sect, the number one Qi Refining Grandmaster of the Nine Immortal Continent, to refine the canvas anchor that Fellow Daoist Chen brought out into the Void Escaping Spirit Boat. It is a perfect match."

"The speed of the Void Spirit Boat has increased by 50%. If it encounters spatial turbulence or spatial storms again, its stability and defensive capabilities will increase by at least 30%."

Chen Yuan said, "It's nothing to worry about. We're all in the same boat, so we should work together to ascend to the Spirit Realm and continue our path."

Daoist Cangsong stroked his beard and smiled: "Fellow Daoist Chen is absolutely right. I have specially refined three domain-suppressing talismans, which can temporarily calm the spatial storm. If it comes to a critical moment, they can help us escape danger."

After saying that, he turned to look at Lu Wangquan and Ren Laomo.

Lu Wangquan flipped his hand and took out a mottled brownish-yellow tortoise shell: "This tortoise shell comes from a level ten Sky-Supporting Divine Tortoise, and is enough to withstand a spatial storm for several hours."

The group looked at Ren Laomo in unison. He said calmly, "I also have ways to withstand spatial storms. You will all know when the time comes."

Daoist Cangsong frowned, about to ask another question, but Qin Wuyai interrupted him: "Alright, fellow Daoists, please board the spirit boat. Let's set off now."

Daoist Cangsong remained silent, gave Old Demon Ren a deep look, and with a flicker, flew onto the spirit boat.

Once everyone had boarded the spirit boat, Qin Wuyai took out the array plate that controlled the Void Escaping Spirit Boat and handed it to Chen Yuan: "There are no directions or ups and downs in the spatial passage. We can only rely on Fellow Daoist Chen to guide us on this journey."

"Please operate the array plate, fellow Daoist. We will then infuse our true essence to drive this vessel."

Chen Yuan took the array plate and said solemnly, "Fellow Daoists, rest assured, I will do my best."

He raised his hand, made a hand seal, and tapped the array plate. The canvas fell down, and the Void Escaping Spirit Boat flew forward, slowly entering the spatial rift.

A void appeared before me, seemingly gray and black, yet neither gray nor black, vast and boundless, with no end in sight.

The spatial turbulence surged incessantly. The four poured their true essence into the Void Essence Boat, raising a gray-white light shield to keep the spatial turbulence at bay.

Chen Yuan activated the Kunpeng True Blood, and a pair of black wings stretched out from his back. His eyes were slightly closed as he searched for that subtle spatial fluctuation amidst the chaotic and violent spatial turbulence.

The void is boundless, but the entrances and exits of a spatial passage have the same landmarks and emit identical spatial fluctuations. As long as one's senses are sharp enough, one will not get lost.

The four men stared intently at him, their expressions slightly grave.

Although Chen Yuan had already demonstrated his abilities once, they were still quite nervous because it concerned their ascension to the Spirit Realm.

After a while, Chen Yuan opened his eyes, and the Void Escaping Spirit Boat suddenly trembled slightly and flew to the left front.

The four breathed a sigh of relief and immediately poured their true essence into the array plate. The speed of the Void Escaping Spirit Boat increased dramatically, and its wide sails swelled up under the turbulent spatial currents, increasing its speed by another 50% as it flew forward.

But not long after it took off, Chen Yuan changed the hand seals, and the Void Escaping Spirit Boat turned and flew to the right.

In the short span of a quarter of an hour, the Void Spirit Boat changed direction several times.

Cangsong Daoist couldn't help but ask, "Why does Fellow Daoist Chen keep changing directions?"

Chen Yuan said, "The void is constantly changing. The exit of this spatial passage will not change on the Spirit Realm side, but it is unpredictable on the void side, and the path is naturally constantly changing as well."

"This time, with our full strength and the help of the canvas, the speed of the Void Spirit Boat has greatly increased, and we have changed direction more frequently."

Qin Wuyai frowned: "Fellow Daoist Cangsong, in this spatial passage, none of us can discern the direction, so we should follow Fellow Daoist Chen's directions."

A hint of embarrassment flashed in the eyes of the Taoist Cangsong, and he remained silent.

Chen Yuan continued to control the Void Essence Boat, and the four of them silently poured in their true essence, without any further doubts.

Fifteen minutes later, a spatial storm appeared ahead.

Chen Yuan's eyes narrowed, and with a change of hand seals, the canvas slowly rolled up before he entered.

Spatial storms are far more violent than spatial turbulence. Last time, when the Void-Transfer Ark entered one, it only stayed for a short while before returning the way it came, without feeling anything.

But this time, the Void Spirit Boat must experience its full power before it can traverse this spatial storm.

Outside the spatial storm, the gray-white protective shield trembled slightly, the four people's true essence was consumed rapidly, and the speed of the escape boat dropped sharply.

Upon entering the core of the spatial storm, fine cracks began to appear on the gray-white protective shield, requiring the injection of true essence to repair it.

At this point, Chen Yuan could no longer simply provide directions; he also poured true essence into the array plate to reduce the consumption of the other four people.

At the same time, Chen Yuan poured true essence into the anchor, making it incredibly heavy and stabilizing the erratic Void Spirit Boat.

An hour later, the Void Spirit Boat finally passed through the spatial storm, and everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

But after flying for only half an hour, a second spatial storm appeared ahead, much more violent than the previous one.

The surrounding spatial turbulence became even more ferocious, crashing silently against the gray-white protective shield of the Void Spirit Boat, yet stirring up ripples of spiritual light, like the splashing water from a torrential downpour, never ceasing.

Chen Yuan said solemnly, "Fellow Daoists, please be prepared. We were not far from the human realm just now, and the spatial storm was not particularly violent."

"But now, the Void Spirit Boat has already entered the depths of the Void Land."

"The spatial turbulence and spatial storms we encounter will be several times or even ten times more dangerous, so we must be extremely careful in dealing with them."

The four men looked solemn and nodded in unison.

Chen Yuan changed his hand seals, and the Void Escaping Spirit Boat flew into the spatial storm. It immediately began to sway left and right, and rise and fall, as if it were a small boat thrown into the sea, about to be swallowed by the surging waves.

Fine cracks appeared on the gray-white protective shield. The Void Spirit Boat was ultimately just a top-tier magic weapon. It could be called a treasure in the human realm, but in the void, it appeared so fragile.

The five immediately poured their true energy into the spirit boat to repair the protective shield.

The spirit boat moved even slower, and in the spatial storm, the spatial fluctuations of the beacon became increasingly subtle and harder to perceive.

This spatial storm was extremely vast, and the Void Spirit Boat had been flying for two hours but still hadn't managed to break out of it.

Suddenly, Chen Yuan opened his eyes, his expression changing slightly.

Upon seeing this, the four men's expressions changed.

Qin Wuyai asked solemnly, "Fellow Daoist Chen, have you discovered anything? Has something unexpected happened ahead?"

Chen Yuan shook his head: "There is nothing wrong ahead, but something in my hand has suddenly changed a little."

As he spoke, he flipped his hand and took out the Candle Serpent Egg.

Since the egg came into Chen Yuan's hands, it had remained completely still, but now it was emitting a faint red glow.

The previously faint signs of life have now become much stronger and are still increasing.

The four men's gazes fell upon the Candle Serpent's Egg, and Daoist Cangsong asked, "What is this?"

Chen Yuan also stared at the Candle Serpent's egg: "This is a beast egg that I obtained by chance, but I have been unable to hatch it."

"There was a sudden commotion just now, which caught me off guard and startled you all."

Qin Wuyai stared thoughtfully at the Candle Serpent's egg and slowly said, "Could this be the egg laid by the Candle Serpent of the Nine Li Sect?"

Lu Wangquan and the other two were all taken aback. Chen Yuan's heart stirred, and he looked up at Qin Wuyai: "Fellow Daoist Qin has discerning eyes. This egg is indeed the egg of the Candle Serpent. I wonder how you could tell?"

Qin Wuyai smiled slightly: "Our sect's founder, Danxuzi, once left behind a book that records the demonic beast, the Candle Serpent."

"This kind of monster is extremely peculiar. Legend has it that it is a descendant of the true spirit Zhu Jiuyin. It is extremely rare. Those with pure bloodlines have the ability to manipulate time."

"The eggs they lay can only hatch in the void."

"This egg is exactly the same as the Candle Serpent Egg in the ancient books. I, Qin, just made a wild guess, but I didn't expect to be right."

"Just now, did you sense that the life force contained in this egg suddenly began to dissipate?"

Chen Yuan nodded: "That's right, why is that?"

Qin Wuyai explained, "The hatching speed of the Candle Serpent's egg should have been extremely slow, but as we ventured deep into the spatial storm, the Candle Serpent's egg sensed the overwhelming spatial power, and its hatching speed greatly accelerated, causing its life force to be rapidly depleted."

"If you had taken it out any slower, this egg would probably be dead by now."

Chen Yuan's heart skipped a beat: "Thank you for your explanation, Fellow Daoist Qin, but since the Candle Serpent is a descendant of the True Spirit Candle Nine Yin and has the ability to control time, why must it hatch in the void?"

Lu Wangquan and the other two also looked puzzled as they all looked at Qin Wuyai.

Qin Wuyai laughed and said, "Fellow Daoists, have you not heard that the four directions above and below are called the universe, and the past and present are called the cosmos? The power of space is the power of the universe, and the power of time is the power of the cosmos?"

Before the creation of heaven and earth, there was a state of chaos, without distinction between the universe and time and space.

"The void does not belong to the myriad realms of heaven and earth. It is similar to the chaotic land, without four directions, without up or down, and the passage of time is greatly slowed down."

"After we entered the spatial passage, it felt like several hours had passed, but in the myriad worlds, perhaps only a few breaths had passed."

"The Candle Serpent's egg appears to be absorbing the power of space, but in reality it is absorbing the power of time."

"And places filled with the power of time are extremely rare, so this egg can only hatch in the void."

He paused for a moment, then looked at the Candle Serpent Egg: "The Candle Serpent Egg in Fellow Daoist Chen's hand is still hatching so slowly in this spatial storm, its bloodline must be extremely pure."

"With careful nurturing, fellow Daoist, he will surely become a great asset in the future." (End of Chapter)