Nine Transformations of the True Spirit.

Upon hearing this, Cangsong Daoren and Ren Laomo looked at the Candle Serpent Egg with a strange expression.

Chen Yuan observed their reactions, sneered inwardly, and said indifferently, "Thank you for your kind words, Fellow Daoist Qin. However, if this egg is already so difficult to hatch, it will probably take thousands of years for it to grow up and become an aid to me. By then, I may have already turned into a handful of dust."

Daoist Cangsong raised his hand to stroke his beard, his face showing a look of sudden realization: "I was wondering why Ye Guihong was able to keep his life after offending Fellow Daoist Chen. It turns out he gave this egg to you."

"The Candle Serpent of the Jiuli Sect is exceptionally powerful, yet there has never been any record of it having offspring. Ye Guihong's decision to sacrifice it to save his life is quite wise."

Ren Laomo said calmly, "Ye Guihong must not know how to hatch the Candle Serpent's egg, which is why he gave it to Fellow Daoist Chen."

"Besides the five of us, who else in the human realm could come to this void and withstand the spatial storm without dying?"

Qin Wuyai nodded, a hint of regret flashing in his eyes: "Fellow Daoist Ren is probably right. This egg is nothing more than a useless piece of junk in the hands of the Nine Li Sect; its true value has never been revealed before..."

Chen Yuan suddenly became serious: "Fellow Daoists, be careful!"

As soon as he finished speaking, an extremely fierce spatial turbulence crashed into the Void Escaping Spirit Boat. The gray-white protective shield was covered with cracks, and the boat tilted heavily to one side.

The four immediately poured their true essence into the array plate to repair the protective shield. Chen Yuan released the Candle Serpent Egg from his hand and also controlled the spirit boat, slightly changing its direction and following the spatial turbulence before finally stabilizing the boat again.

Immediately afterwards, several more fierce spatial turbulences surged toward the Void Essence Boat. Everyone could no longer care about the Candle Serpent Egg in front of Chen Yuan and focused on pouring true essence into the Spirit Boat.

As the Void Spirit Ship continued to venture deeper into the spatial storm, the crimson shell of the Candle Serpent Egg flickered with light, radiating an increasingly intense vitality.

Chen Yuan could not retract it into his internal space, otherwise its life force would be exhausted and it would immediately turn into a dead egg, so he had no choice but to leave it hanging in front of him.

After everyone worked together to get through the spatial storm, several cracks appeared on the hard hull of the Escape Spirit Boat, and the gray-white protective shield became thinner.

This was just the beginning; less than half an hour later, the group would encounter a spatial storm.

Each time it survives, the Void Spirit Ship suffers further damage, becoming increasingly dilapidated.

But the group did not stop. Without hesitation, they flew into the next spatial storm and passed through the raging spatial turbulence.

After surviving more than twenty spatial storms, the Void Spirit Boat finally reached its limit. Shortly after flying into another spatial storm, it disintegrated under the impact of endless spatial turbulence.

Fortunately, everyone was prepared. Qin Wuyai's expression turned serious, and he shouted, "Fellow Daoists, quickly gather together and protect Fellow Daoist Chen in the middle!"

The group immediately followed the instructions. Chen Yuan was in the center, and the other four surrounded him, each condensing a protective shield of true essence to resist the spatial turbulence.

This consumed several times more true essence than on the Void Spirit Boat, so the group immediately sped up and flew forward under Chen Yuan's guidance.

After the Spirit Boat disintegrated, the array plate used to control it also shattered.

Chen Yuan held the Candle Serpent Egg in his left hand, protecting it in front of him, while his right hand formed a hand seal, fully activating the Kunpeng True Blood.

His white robes turned black, shimmering with a faint milky white light, and the spatial turbulence that surged forth became much smoother.

The four people who witnessed this scene all showed envy in their eyes.

Chen Yuan was skilled in spatial power, and he remained calm even in a spatial storm. They tried their best to resist the spatial turbulence, but they were helpless against him.

Moreover, they also had to protect Chen Yuan's safety; otherwise, if he were to slip up even slightly, without anyone to guide them, they would be lost in the void and face certain death.

The five continued flying forward, occasionally changing direction at Chen Yuan's prompting.

The Candle Serpent Egg in Chen Yuan's hand was now radiating a dazzling red light, full of vitality, and trembling slightly, as if it might break open at any moment.

The five of them braved more than twenty spatial storms and arrived at the depths of the void. The power of the universe was immense, and the power of the cosmos was becoming increasingly dense.

After the five people flew out of the spatial storm, their true essence consumption was greatly reduced, and they all breathed a sigh of relief.

Just then, the slightly trembling Candle Serpent Egg suddenly stopped, and a crack as thin as a hair quietly appeared on its shell, slowly extending from top to bottom.

Chen Yuan was the first to notice the unusual appearance of the Candle Serpent Egg and immediately looked down. The other four also noticed the egg's anomaly and looked over together.

Qin Wuyai's eyes flashed, while Cangsong Daoren and Ren Laomo's eyes were filled with fervor. Only Lu Wangquan's eyes remained calm. Suddenly, he stepped forward and stood beside Chen Yuan.

The eyes of Cangsong Daoren and Ren Laomo changed slightly, and they reluctantly moved aside.

The cracks in the Candle Serpent's egg gradually widened, and after a long while, it finally split open completely.

A slender little snake crawled out of the egg, only as thick as a finger and a few inches long. Its body was covered with pale red scales and it exuded a faint demonic aura. Its two jet-black eyes were like black pearls, pure and flawless.

It raised its front half of its body, flicked its pink tongue, and looked around at the unfamiliar world before it, seemingly somewhat bewildered.

Chen Yuan's expression turned solemn. He bit his tongue, spitting out a mouthful of blood essence. Then, he extended his index finger, dipped it in the blood essence, and drew a complex seal script on the slender body of the small snake.

The crimson runes flashed and disappeared into the snake's body.

The little snake's eyes were no longer confused. It bent down, opened its small mouth, revealing two thin, milky-white fangs, and began to gnaw on the eggshell that had split in two.

It ate very slowly, taking about fifteen minutes to finish eating the entire eggshell. Its abdomen bulged slightly, and its pale red scales became much darker.

The little snake landed in Chen Yuan's hand, flicked its tongue, and gently touched his palm. Its black pearl-like eyes revealed a hint of intimacy.

It slowly crawled onto Chen Yuan's wrist, end to end, closed its eyes, and fell into a deep sleep, like a red jade bracelet.

Lu Wangquan smiled and said, "Congratulations, Fellow Daoist Chen. This Candle Serpent has just hatched and is already a first-level high-grade demon beast with pure bloodline and extraordinary potential."

Chen Yuan looked at the small snake on his wrist, a smile appearing on his lips. He raised his head, clasped his hands in a bow, and said, "Thank you for waiting, fellow Daoists. Let's set off now."

Qin Wuyai gave the little snake a deep look: "It's alright. Candle Snakes are extremely rare in all the heavens and myriad realms. It is my good fortune to see a Candle Snake hatch."

Chen Yuan's heart stirred, and he said, "Fellow Daoist Qin is truly knowledgeable, even knowing such things clearly."

Qin Wuyai was taken aback, then laughed and said, "How could I know? I just happened to see it in the classics left by Ancestor Danxuzi. I don't know if it's true or false, so I'm just showing off here. Please forgive me, fellow Daoists."

"The spirit boat has been destroyed. There is no time to lose. Please, Fellow Daoist Chen, guide us. The void is not a place to linger."

Chen Yuan's eyes flashed, and then he revealed the route, and the group continued on their way.

Without the protection of the spirit boat, the five of them could only rely on their own strength to resist the spatial turbulence, which greatly increased their consumption of true essence. Only Chen Yuan was quite relaxed.

To make matters worse, after passing through several more spatial storms, an endless spatial storm lay ahead.

The five could not linger. After a brief hesitation, they continued flying forward, venturing into the vast spatial storm. As soon as they entered, apart from Chen Yuan, the other four were nearly torn apart by the fierce spatial turbulence.

Daoist Cangsong's expression changed. He flipped his hand and took out a gray talisman. After tearing it to pieces, a powerful sealing force spread out.

The area within several feet around everyone immediately calmed down, forming a pure land amidst the endless spatial storm.

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief, and Qin Wuyai praised, "The Domain-Suppressing Talisman is indeed extraordinary."

The group continued flying forward, but after only a few dozen breaths, the Pure Land began to weaken, the sealing power slowly receded, and the spatial storm began to return.

Daoist Cangsong's expression changed slightly: "This spatial storm is too fierce. Even the domain-suppressing talisman won't last long. We must hurry on our way!"

Chen Yuan flapped his wings and arrived in front of the other four people. He said in a deep voice, "The situation is urgent. Fellow Daoists, please follow behind me and do not delay."

The four immediately agreed, and Chen Yuan immediately increased his speed, following the extremely faint and indistinct spatial fluctuations, and flew forward.

Half an hour later, the domain-suppressing talisman became ineffective, and Daoist Cangsong took out another domain-suppressing talisman, and the group continued on their way.

The second domain-suppressing talisman lasted for three quarters of an hour before its sealing power was completely exhausted.

Daoist Cangsong's face was very ugly, and he took out the third domain-suppressing talisman.

This time, the sealing power only lasted for a quarter of an hour before being swallowed up by the raging spatial storm.

Upon seeing this, Lu Wangquan immediately summoned the shell of the Sky-Supporting Divine Turtle, which transformed into a size of several zhang (approximately 33 meters) and enveloped everyone within it.

A desolate lament echoed faintly in everyone's ears. The spatial turbulence surged to the edge of the tortoise shell, seemingly hitting an invisible barrier before dissipating into nothingness.

But the tortoise shell was also trembling slightly, and its thick brownish-yellow color was visibly fading.

Lu Wangquan said in a deep voice, "This spatial storm is too violent; even the Sky-Supporting Divine Turtle's shell cannot withstand it for long."

Upon hearing this, the four increased their speed and flew forward.

Chen Yuan changed direction repeatedly, without even having time to warn them. Fortunately, the four of them were all Nascent Soul cultivators and reacted very quickly, following closely behind him.

An hour later, the brownish-yellow color on the back of the tortoise shell had completely faded, and it was covered with cracks.

A quarter of an hour later, the tortoise shell quietly shattered, and the spatial turbulence returned.

Qin Wuyai tossed out a jade ruyi, which hovered above the crowd, casting a cyan light that blocked the spatial turbulence.

Daoist Cangsong breathed a sigh of relief: "With Fellow Daoist Qin's Ruyi Lingbao, we have nothing to worry about."

Qin Wuyai's expression was solemn: "Although Ruyi is a spiritual treasure, it does not contain spatial power, so I'm afraid it won't last long."

Everyone tensed up and dared not delay, continuing to fly forward.

Two hours later, the spiritual light of the jade ruyi dimmed. Qin Wuyai sighed softly, "The jade ruyi has reached its limit. It must be nurtured for several hours, otherwise its spirituality will be damaged if it continues. I ask Fellow Daoist Chen and Fellow Daoist Ren to help."

As he spoke, he raised his hand and took the jade ruyi back, and the spatial storm enveloped everyone again.

Chen Yuan narrowed his eyes, his true essence surging within him, as he prepared to summon the Kunpeng Dharma Image to resist the spatial storm.

But at that moment, Old Demon Ren said calmly, "Leave it to me, Ren."

After saying that, he raised his hand and made a hand seal. A set of armor emerged from his body, exuding a terrifying aura. Its power was in no way inferior to that of the jade ruyi.

The armor was entirely black, covered in scars, and had ferocious beast heads on its shoulders, though they were somewhat blurred, exuding a terrifying aura.

One of the most conspicuous scars extends from the beast head on the left shoulder of the armor all the way to the right chest, where the old demon's robe can be faintly seen behind it.

Qin Wuyai, Cangsong Daoist, and Lu Wangquan all changed their expressions. Cangsong Daoist exclaimed, "Fellow Daoist Ren actually brought the Xuan Yin Armor out of the human realm? How will the Xuan Yin Sect stand in the world now?"

Ren Laomo's eyes were cold as he said indifferently, "If one cannot ascend to the Spirit Realm, what use is the Xuan Yin Sect even if it lasts for thousands of generations?"

As soon as he finished speaking, he changed his hand seals, and several streams of black energy rose from his black armor and flew towards the four people.

Chen Yuan's expression changed slightly, and he was about to dodge when Lu Wangquan transmitted his voice, "Fellow Daoist Chen, do not panic. This is the Xuan Yin Armor Separation Technique."

Chen Yuan paused, letting the black energy settle on his body and transform into a set of illusory black armor, exactly the same as the one worn by Ren Laomo. The other three were the same.

The violent spatial turbulence crashed into the illusory black armor, but it was like an ant trying to shake a tree, unable to budge it, but the black armor was also rapidly becoming thinner.

Ren Laomo said calmly, "The Xuan Yin Armor can block everything, and it can even withstand spatial storms. However, fellow Daoists will need to provide their own true essence."

Upon hearing this, Chen Yuan immediately poured true essence into the illusory black armor, which became solid again, firmly blocking the surging spatial turbulence.

The group continued on their way, and because the black armor directly protected their bodies, they no longer needed to stay in one place, which made them much more agile and increased their speed.

Four hours later, the black armor on Ren Laomo's body finally dimmed, and the illusory black armor on the four people was reduced to a thin layer.

Ren Laomo looked at Chen Yuan and said calmly, "The Xuan Yin Armor has reached its limit and needs to be nurtured. Now it's up to Fellow Daoist Chen."

Chen Yuan nodded, and Ren Laomo immediately put away the Xuan Yin Armor, and the spatial storm returned.

Chen Yuan raised his hand and formed a hand seal. The image of the Kunpeng appeared behind him, flapping its wings and letting out a long cry that echoed far and wide in this void.

The turbulent currents in the surrounding space paused for a moment before surging back in, but they became much calmer.

The Kunpeng Dharma Image enveloped everyone, and spatial turbulence swept over the Dharma Image as if water were gently flowing by.

Everyone looked surprised, even the usually indifferent Old Demon Ren showed a look of astonishment in his eyes.

Qin Wuyai clapped his hands in admiration: "Fellow Daoist Chen, you have such skill! You were able to summon the Kunpeng Dharma Image. Even in the Spirit Realm, few people can display such supernatural power!"

The Taoist Cangsong murmured, "The Kunpeng Dharma Form... what kind of supernatural power is this?"

Chen Yuan's heart skipped a beat, and he gave Qin Wuyai a deep look: "Fellow Daoist Qin is indeed knowledgeable and well-informed, even about the affairs of the Spirit Realm."

Qin Wuyai smiled slightly, neither confirming nor denying: "We cannot linger here; let's hurry on our way." (End of Chapter)