Nine Transformations of the True Spirit.

The mountains rise and fall in a continuous, steep range, as if cleaved by a knife and axe. Among the jagged rocks, terraced fields, barely carved out, resemble a string of dilapidated steps on the verge of collapse.

Beneath the barren soil lay sharp pebbles; hoes would strike and sparks would fly, and the mountain wind, carrying sand and dust, would lash the farmers' chapped faces.

Old Wang, his body hunched over, vigorously swung his hoe, leveling the field.

His back was bent by the weight of time, and his rough hands were covered with calluses and cracks, with dirt embedded in every line.

"Dad, save your energy, no matter how hard you try, you won't grow much wheat..."

Behind Old Man Wang, a young man just as thin as him pursed his lips, weakly wielding a hoe, his face full of frustration.

Old Wang paused, but without turning around, he continued digging at the ground, saying, "You little brat, the immortal master just cast a spell, and the ground is only now loose enough to move. Hurry up and get to work, and sow the seeds as soon as possible."

"If you keep being lazy, I'll punch you to death."

His voice wasn't loud, but it carried an undeniable air of authority beneath its calm tone.

The young man shrank back and muttered a few words: "Life in the mountains is so hard, it's better to believe in a Taoist sect. At least the immortals can give us some food..."

He complained, but his hands didn't dare stop moving, swinging the hoe with much more force than before.

Old Wang turned around abruptly, his cloudy old eyes blazing with anger. He raised his voice slightly and said, "What are you saying? That's not an immortal, it's an iron wolf, a man-eating iron wolf!"

Life in the mountains is tough, but at least we're still human.

"If we leave the mountains, we won't even be human anymore."

"If I hear you say that again, I'll punch you to death!"

The young man looked at Old Wang's very thin hands, but with unusually large joints, and finally shut his mouth and buried his head in hoeing the ground.

Old Wang snorted coldly, bent down, and continued hoeing the ground, the wrinkles at the corners of his eyes deepening.

He knew perfectly well that the land on the mountain was barren, and no matter how carefully it was tended, the harvest would not be good.

But they had no choice. Besides feeding themselves, they also had to support the army in Ping Le City and fight off the man-eating Iron Wolves. They could only keep working hard, facing the yellow earth and turning their backs to the sky.

Looking up, besides Old Man Wang and his son Wang Er, there were more than thirty other farmers hoeing and loosening the soil in the scattered terraced fields under the scorching sun.

They all remained silent, exerting themselves tirelessly, clearly accustomed to this daily grind.

"Cough cough!"

Old Wang coughed violently twice and spat a mouthful of bloody phlegm onto the edge of the field.

He quickly rubbed his feet on the ground and covered the blood with soil so that the young man behind him wouldn't see it.

The sun gradually rose higher, making people dizzy.

A sudden gust of wind swept through the mountains, causing Old Man Wang to stagger.

At the same time, a strange sound came from the distant mountains and forests, like the sound of branches breaking, or the low growl of some kind of wild beast.

Old Wang straightened up, squinted his dim eyes, and looked toward the source of the sound.

"Dad, why did you stop?"

The young man also stopped what he was doing and looked in the direction Old Wang was looking.

Before Old Man Wang could answer, the trees at the edge of the forest began to shake violently.

A dark figure suddenly darted out of the forest, as tall as a person, with bared fangs. It let out a long howl that shook the mountains and forests and startled the birds into flight.

Immediately afterwards, two more dark figures, each as tall as a person, darted out of the forest, let out a long howl, and rushed up the mountain.

The three black shadows were incredibly fast, each step covering several meters in a single stride; even the steepest mountain walls could not stop them.

In no time, the three black figures climbed dozens of feet and quickly approached the terraced fields halfway up the mountain.

"Iron Wolf! Iron Wolf is here!"

Someone shouted loudly, their voice filled with terror.

Old Wang's heart sank. He gripped the hoe tightly in his hand, turned to the young man, and hissed, "Hold the hoe!"

Old Wang turned and ran to the edge of the field, bending down to grab the bamboo basket that was on the ground.

The bamboo basket was tattered, with two holes, but it contained his and his son's lunch for the day—two coarse flour pancakes—which they absolutely could not let Iron Wolf waste.

But just as Old Man Wang picked up the basket, he snatched it away from the young man who had caught up from behind.

"Dad, I'll carry him!"

Old Wang said nothing more, and the two of them trudged along the narrow mountain path, heading towards the other side of the mountain.

Not far above, in another terraced field, a middle-aged man was also fleeing towards the mountains for his life.

He waved his arms wildly and shouted in a hoarse voice, "Run! Run to the village!"

Upon seeing Old Man Wang and his companion, the middle-aged man called out again, "Third Uncle, you two come with me!"

He is the village chief of Wangjia Village. Everyone in Wangjia Village is surnamed Wang and worships the same ancestor. Old Man Wang is a relative of the middle-aged man who is still within the fifth degree of kinship.

Even when the iron wolf arrived, the middle-aged man did not forget to urge everyone to flee for their lives.

But it was too late. The three black figures were incredibly fast, and in the blink of an eye, they reached the vicinity of the terraced fields.

Only then did Old Wang get a clear look at them. They resembled wild wolves, but were larger than oxen, covered in jet-black scales, with scarlet eyes and claws as sharp as sickles.

A chill ran through him. He turned and quickened his pace, urging the young man, "It's Iron Wolf! Run!"

"what!"

A scream rang out, and Old Man Wang glanced out of the corner of his eye and saw that Wang Er from the village had been pounced on by a wolf, his neck bitten off, and blood splattered on the ridge of the field next to him, staining the area red.

Two other iron wolves also pounced on several villagers, and screams of pain and cries for help filled the air, turning the terraced fields into chaos.

Old Wang and his companion followed behind the middle-aged man, desperately fleeing towards the village.

The three iron wolves killed the man but did not eat him. They continued to chase the fleeing farmer, their scarlet eyes revealing cruelty and mockery.

Old Wang stumbled and ran towards the village. His lungs felt like they were on fire, but his survival instinct made him disregard all that.

Screams and roars of monsters echoed from behind him, each sound making his heart clench.

Villagers continued to die, but this also slowed down the three-headed iron wolf's advance.

Finally, Old Man Wang saw the village in the distance. Overjoyed, he quickened his pace.

There were more than a dozen men beside the two, and the middle-aged man who had been shouting for everyone to flee shouted, "Hurry up! As long as we get back to the village, with the formation set up by the immortal master, we won't be afraid of the iron wolves!"

Suddenly, Old Man Wang stopped, coughed violently twice, and spat out a mouthful of bloody phlegm.

The young man quickly reached out and grabbed Old Wang's arm: "Dad, give it your all, we're almost at the village!"

Old Wang gasped for breath, then abruptly shook off the young man's hand and shoved him hard on the back: "I can't go on, you run!" The young man stumbled forward, then turned back, trying to pull Old Wang along to escape: "Dad..."

Old Man Wang dodged the young man's hand, turned around and pounced on the three iron wolves, saying, "Don't worry about me, you run!"

"father!"

The young man's eyes were bloodshot as he reached out to grab Old Wang's shoulder, but the middle-aged man beside him held him back tightly.

"Dog, listen to your dad, run!"

The young man gritted his teeth, tears streaming down his dry face, and turned to run back into the village.

Old Wang turned around and saw the young man's back. He smiled with satisfaction and turned back away.

He hunched over, raised his hoe, and staggered toward a pursuing iron wolf, shouting fiercely, "Beast, I'll fight you to the death!"

Iron Wolf seemed to understand what he was saying, and a hint of anger flashed in his scarlet eyes.

It roared angrily, pushed off the ground with its four legs, revealing two rows of sharp, pale white teeth like daggers, and pounced on Old Man Wang.

The hoe struck the iron wolf's head, which was covered in jet-black scales, but didn't even leave a white mark before flying into the sky.

Iron Wolf bit down on Old Man Wang, its dagger-like teeth piercing deep into his body. With a sudden jerk of its head, it tore him in half, spilling his heart, liver, and intestines onto the ground.

Old Wang wasn't dead yet; blood and foam were bubbling from his mouth, and his two skin-and-bones hands gripped the iron wolf's head tightly as he chuckled bitterly, "Beast...beast..."

The young man turned around and saw this scene. He cried out in anguish, "Father!"

The middle-aged man gritted his teeth, his eyes red-rimmed, and forcefully pulled the young man's arm, growling, "Run!"

Iron Wolf threw Old Man Wang's severed body to the ground, stared at the young man with his scarlet eyes, licked the blood from Old Man Wang's mouth, and then pushed off the ground with his feet, chasing after him.

It was less than twenty feet away from the two of them, which seemed far away, but to the Iron Wolf, it was an instantaneous arrival.

But just as the Iron Wolf pounced a few feet, a streak of crimson light descended from the sky, piercing deep into its back. Its hard black scales were as fragile as paper, and it was pinned to the ground!
The other two iron wolves, having just killed a villager each, immediately threw away the carcasses in their mouths upon seeing this, looked up, their scarlet eyes filled with vigilance.

A man, dressed in a blue robe, appeared to be in his early twenties with a handsome face. He stared at the two iron wolves with a frosty expression.

The villagers, who were fleeing for their lives, were overjoyed. The middle-aged man's eyes widened, he released the young man's hand, knelt down, and kowtowed heavily: "Master Liu, save us!"

The man in the blue robe said coldly, "You beast, prepare to die!"

He raised his hand and summoned a crimson light that flew out from the Iron Wolf's body. It was a fiery red longsword that slashed straight at a living Iron Wolf.

Upon seeing the man in the blue robe, the ferocity in the eyes of the two iron wolves vanished without a trace, replaced by fear and terror, just like a human. They immediately turned and fled for their lives.

A gust of demonic wind rose from beneath the feet of the two iron wolves, increasing their speed dramatically, but they still couldn't keep up with the fiery red longsword. The longsword caught up with them, beheading them one by one.

The man in the green robe descended in a beam of light, and after scanning his surroundings, he saw a scene that resembled a hellish inferno, a sight too gruesome to bear.

The corpses of villagers were everywhere, most of them torn apart by the monsters, many of them like Old Man Wang, who was torn in two.

Blood stained the barren yellow earth, and the air was filled with a strong smell of blood.

Many peasant women rushed out of the village, their eyes wide, calling out loudly for their husbands.

Some peasant women, upon seeing that their husbands were still alive, burst into tears of joy and rushed forward.

But many more peasant women saw their husbands' corpses, and were overcome with grief, crying out in despair.

The young man staggered to the upper half of Old Wang's body, looked at his still wide-open eyes after death, knelt down, lay on Old Wang's body, and wept uncontrollably.

"Father... if you had run a few more steps, you wouldn't have died..."

Seeing this, the man in the blue robe looked at her with a hint of pity and shook his head slightly.
The middle-aged man came to the man in the blue robe, knelt down, and kowtowed heavily: "Master Liu, we will never forget your great kindness in saving our lives!"

Upon seeing this, the man in the blue robe immediately raised his hand to help the middle-aged man up. An invisible force lifted the man up, and he said gently, "This is my duty."

The middle-aged man stood up, hesitated for a moment, and asked, "Master Liu, logically speaking, the Iron Wolves shouldn't have come to our Wang Family Village. These three Iron Wolves..."

The man in the blue robe sighed: "You're right, Wangjia Village shouldn't have suffered this calamity."

"But recently, the activities of monsters have become increasingly rampant. Scattered level one monsters have been infiltrating the defense line and harassing villages everywhere. It is impossible to defend against them. You must also be more careful."

The middle-aged man was startled. He looked around and lowered his voice, saying, "Master Liu, can you tell me the truth? Is another beast tide coming?"

The man in the blue robe pondered for a moment, then said in a low voice, "The last beast tide just receded less than two years ago, so it shouldn't be coming again for the time being."

"The elders in the city share the same view; otherwise, they wouldn't have sent someone here to perform a rainmaking spell to help you sow your seeds."

"However, it is indeed unusual that a level one demon beast could come here. You should all be extra careful."

The middle-aged man, his face full of worry, bowed deeply and said in a low voice, "Thank you for the reminder, Master Liu, but we still have to plant wheat, so we really can't go to Ping Le City to hide. I will definitely tell the villagers to be more vigilant."

The man in the blue robe looked somewhat reluctant and said, "I, Liu, will first scout around the area to make sure there are any remaining Iron Wolves that might come to harass Wangjia Village again."

"Tell me the names of the dead and wounded when you return."

“I will return to Pingluo City and apply for compensation for Wangjia Village. I will then send someone to deliver it to you, which will save you some trouble.”

The middle-aged man looked grateful, bowed deeply, and said loudly, "Master Liu is kind and has helped our Wangjia Village to receive compensation. We wish Master Liu great progress in cultivation and that you will soon achieve the Core Formation!"

Upon hearing this, everyone knelt down and exclaimed, "Master Liu is merciful!"

Even the peasant women whose husbands had died suppressed their grief and kowtowed in gratitude.

The young man climbed off Old Wang and kowtowed three times to the man in the blue robe: "Master Liu has avenged my father. You have shown me such great kindness. In my next life, I will serve you like a cow or a horse to repay your kindness!"

The man in the green robe sighed inwardly, then mounted his escape light and flew into the sky, heading in the direction from which the Iron Wolf had come.

He spread his divine sense, which was within a hundred feet in radius, and slowly swept through the forest, but he did not find any trace of the Iron Wolf.

As darkness fell, the man in the blue robe searched the entire area within a thirty-mile radius of Wangjia Village, but still found nothing.

He turned and flew back towards Wangjia Village, but out of the corner of his eye, he suddenly caught a glimpse of blood flashing through the mountains and forests.
The man in the blue robe was startled and immediately slowed down, lowering his head to look at the forest.

But the crimson hue had vanished. The man in the green robe spread his divine sense and scanned the forest, but found nothing.

He pondered for a moment, then slowly retreated until he caught a glimpse of that bloody light out of the corner of his eye, at which point he stopped.

The man in the blue robe stared intently, but the trees obscured his view, and he could only vaguely see a faint bloody light. He could see nothing else, and his consciousness was completely empty.

He frowned and muttered, "Could there be other demonic beasts hiding here? But if they are demonic beasts, why would they reveal their presence? Could it be that a treasure has appeared in the world..."

After hesitating for a moment, the man in the blue robe reached out and touched the storage bag at his waist, taking out a fiery red longsword and a red iron shield, which expanded in the wind and stood in front of him.

"I'll see what's causing this trouble!"

The man in the green robe gritted his teeth, descended in a burst of light, and landed in the mountains and forests.

The crimson light finally revealed its true form: a blood-red jade bracelet.

It was wrapped around a person's wrist, reflecting a faint blood-red glow in the twilight. (End of Chapter)