Nine Transformations of the True Spirit.

Liu Kaiyang placed the consumptive ghost on a jade bed in a stone chamber, returned to his cultivation room, and meditated to restore his true energy.

The stone chamber door slowly closed behind him. The consumptive ghost lay on the jade bed, his left thumb twitching slightly before returning to stillness.

The next morning, Liu Kaiyang woke up from his meditation, slowly opened his eyes, and a look of doubt flashed in them.

"The spiritual energy in the cave seems to have weakened; after a night of meditation, my true essence hasn't fully recovered..."

After leaving Ping Le City, Liu Kaiyang traveled around hunting monsters with little rest. After a month, he had consumed nearly half of his true essence.

Although his cave dwelling was remote, it was ultimately located on a spiritual vein, and with the addition of the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, it was equivalent to a miniature spiritual vein.

One night was enough for him to recover 50% of his true energy.

After he established his foundation, he left Ping Le City several times, and each time it was the same.

But this time, Liu Kaiyang cultivated all night, and his true essence only recovered to 80%.

Compared to before, the concentration of spiritual energy in the cave seems to have decreased by nearly half.

Liu Kaiyang, with a solemn expression, got up and walked out of the cave.

Only two years have passed since the last beast tide, and now the demon race is making strange moves again, and the spiritual energy of heaven and earth is inexplicably decreasing. It is unknown how long the seemingly peaceful days in Ping Le City can last.

The Demon-Slaying Hall is not far from Liu Kaiyang's cave, but it has always been a bustling place in Ping Le City, comparable to the Lecture Hall and the market, with cultivators coming and going almost every moment.

They receive missions in the Demon Extermination Hall, such as clearing out demonic beasts, patrolling at night, gathering information, and comforting escaped cultivators and mortals, in exchange for spirit stones and pills to sustain their cultivation.

Like the Elders' Hall, the Demon-Slaying Hall was also built of the most ordinary bluestone, and was quite simple.

Liu Kaiyang took out the jade slip stamped by the Qi Refining cultivator of the Extermination Division. After verification by the cultivator on duty at the Demon Extermination Hall, he received a Foundation Establishment stage pill and three mid-grade spirit stones.

He then left the Demon-Slaying Hall and went to the government office in the west of the city that was in charge of managing mortals, and handed over the list of dead and injured villagers from Wangjia Village to the Relief Department.

The Relief Officer was quite surprised to see a Foundation Establishment Officer come here in person, just for the relief funds and grain for ordinary people in a village. He treated Liu Kaiyang with utmost respect.

The person in charge personally promised that the civilians who died or were injured in Wangjia Village would receive compensation and food allowances according to the highest standards for those who died in battle, and that someone would be sent there tomorrow.

After leaving the government office, Liu Kaiyang arrived at the market town in the center of Ping Le City. The streets were bustling with people, and ordinary people and cultivators walked side by side, almost indistinguishable from each other.

To resist the beast tide, all mortals inside and outside Ping Le City are sent into the city at the age of thirteen to have their spiritual roots tested.

As long as one possesses a spiritual root, those with high aptitude, such as those with three spiritual roots, earth spiritual roots, or heaven spiritual roots, can directly receive elixirs and magical artifacts.
They will be guided in their cultivation by Foundation Establishment deacons until they reach the late Qi Refining stage before leaving Ping Le City to hunt monsters.

Even those with lower aptitude, such as those with four or five spiritual roots, can receive a basic cultivation technique and a bottle of Qi Refining early-stage pills, enough to cultivate to the second level of Qi Refining.

Afterwards, they can join the Ping Le Army, command warriors, receive a monthly stipend, slowly cultivate, and fight against monsters when the beast tide arrives.

The tributes to the Pingluo Army were extremely meager, but their advantage lay in their safety. They usually stayed in the city and at most patrolled outside the city, so they were not in danger of losing their lives.

Even when the beast tide came, the Ping Le Army was protected by the great formation and was much safer than other cultivators when dealing with low-level demonic beasts.

However, the offerings from the Ping Le Army were too meager and insufficient for cultivation.

These Qi Refining cultivators often cultivate low-level spiritual herbs themselves and sell them in the market to exchange for other cultivation resources.

Anyone with even a modicum of Daoist aspirations would not join the Ping Le Army, but instead would receive missions from the Demon Extermination Hall in exchange for elixirs, spirit stones, magical artifacts, and talismans to increase their cultivation.

However, these cultivators with low aptitude mostly remain at the early or middle stages of Qi Refining, and their magical power is shallow.

The monsters are extremely ferocious, and the tasks they can take on are far fewer than those of late-stage Qi Refining cultivators, with many casualties, making it a very dangerous situation.

Only in this way can they have a chance to establish a foundation.

According to the regulations of Ping Le City, these Qi Refining cultivators only need to hand over the demon cores; all other demon beast materials, hides, and flesh belong to them.

They wouldn't give up any of their gains, dragging all the slain monsters back to the city's market to sell in exchange for precious spirit stones and pills.

Some of them have decent spiritual sense, but are not as talented as those who are truly gifted. They accumulate spirit stones and exchange them with the Demon Slayer Hall for rudimentary inheritances of various cultivation arts, and then refine pills, craft weapons, make talismans, and set up formations on their own.

Ping Le City has limited cultivation resources and needs a large number of cultivators to deal with demonic beasts. Therefore, it greatly encourages these cultivators and will have Foundation Establishment deacons who are carrying out missions take care of these Qi Refining cultivators who are willing to take risks.

Currently, there are over two thousand Qi Refining cultivators in Ping Le City, of whom as many as 80% are of poor aptitude. Most of them do not join the Ping Le Army, but instead hunt demonic beasts on their own, seeking a sliver of opportunity to achieve enlightenment amidst life and death.

Most of the monks in the market are of this type.

Each year, the number of mortals who are found to have spiritual roots increases, but those with exceptional talent are few and far between.

When they receive the basic cultivation techniques and embark on the path of cultivation full of hope, they probably don't expect that they will be fighting against demons and beasts every day, and that their lifespan will be shorter than that of ordinary people.

Liu Kaiyang walked past stall after stall, surrounded by enthusiastic greetings, but the low-level monster materials were no longer enough to make him stop.

He arrived at a shop in a very remote location. The door was half-closed, there was no signboard, and very few people came and went.

Liu Kaiyang strolled past the shop, walked around to a quiet alley, took out a mask, put it on, changed into a dharma robe, walked around once, and entered the shop.

The interior was dark, without any lights or candles. This was fine for cultivators, but ordinary people couldn't see anything.

A person stood behind the counter, wearing a gray robe and a hood that covered most of his face.

Seeing Liu Kaiyang enter, he said calmly, "This shop is already closed, fellow Daoist, please leave."

Liu Kaiyang said in a low voice, "Slay the demons and eliminate the rebels, and restore humanity."

The gray-robed cultivator changed his question, asking, "What does fellow Daoist require?"

Liu Kaiyang hesitated for a moment and said, "Do you have any healing pills that can treat broken meridians?"

The gray-robed cultivator said calmly, "A mid-stage Core Formation pill, the Meridian Repairing Pill, costs ten high-grade spirit stones and has the effect of repairing meridians."

"Are there any that are a little worse?"

"A late-stage Foundation Establishment pill, the Hundred Herbs Pill, can slightly repair meridian injuries. It costs one hundred mid-grade spirit stones."

"Is there anything even worse?"

"……Gone."

Liu Kaiyang raised his hand and flicked the storage bag at his waist, taking out twenty-three mid-grade spirit stones and placing them on the counter.

"What kind of healing pills can these spirit stones buy?"

The gray-robed cultivator said calmly, "The Three-in-One Pill costs twenty mid-grade spirit stones. It can repair physical injuries and nourish the meridians, but it is useless for damaged meridians."

Liu Kaiyang slightly shifted his gaze, avoiding looking at the spirit stones on the counter, and said in a low voice, "I want one Three-in-One Pill."

The gray-robed cultivator said calmly, "Wait a moment."

He flicked his sleeve, took away twenty mid-grade spirit stones, and turned to walk through a small door.

Liu Kaiyang sighed softly and put away the remaining three spirit stones.

About a quarter of an hour later, the gray-robed cultivator walked out of the small door and handed a jade bottle to Liu Kaiyang.

Liu Kaiyang took the jade bottle, opened the stopper, and poured out a pale yellow pill, which emitted a fragrant aroma and was filled with spiritual energy.

Without making a sound, he put the pill back into the jade bottle and stored it in his storage bag.

Although he had never seen the Three-in-One Pill before, its spiritual energy was so rich that it must be at least a mid-Foundation Establishment stage pill.

Although the shop was simple, it was said to have been opened by an elder in Ping Le City, and the goods it sold were treasures that could only be obtained after completing the Demon Extermination Hall mission, so it had an excellent reputation.

Before establishing his foundation, Liu Kaiyang had visited this place several times.

The fiery red longsword in his hand was also purchased from this shop, and he was very satisfied with it.

After putting away the pills, Liu Kaiyang turned and walked out of the shop, hurrying to a quiet alley.

He removed his mask, changed back into his robes, strolled out of the market, and with a flash of light, flew back to his cave.

Liu Kaiyang activated the array to block divine sense from spying and arrived at the stone chamber where the tuberculosis demon was.

The stone chamber was silent. The tuberculosis ghost lay on the stone bed just as it had yesterday, lifeless and no different from a corpse.

Liu Kaiyang approached the consumptive ghost, extended his right hand, and placed it on his wrist.

A dozen or so breaths later, a faint throbbing sensation came from his fingertips, seemingly stronger than yesterday.

Twenty breaths later, the second pulse beat came, with the intervals much shorter than yesterday.

A smile appeared on Liu Kaiyang's lips. In just one day, the tuberculosis patient's injuries had shown significant improvement.

He raised his hand and flicked the storage bag at his waist, took out a jade bottle, poured out the Three-in-One Pill, and a look of heartache flashed in his eyes.

"If you want to take something, you must first give something..."

Liu Kaiyang muttered to himself, gently pried open the tuberculosis patient's mouth, and put the Sanhe Pill inside.

As soon as the Sanhe Danfu entered the mouth, it transformed into a pale yellow spiritual energy that surged into the body of the tuberculosis demon.

Liu Kaiyang stared intently at the consumptive ghost, placing his right hand on his wrist again to carefully sense the pulse.

To his disappointment, after the tuberculosis patient took the Three-in-One Pill, his pulse did not change at all; it neither became stronger nor did the intervals shorten.

Fifteen minutes later, Liu Kaiyang shook his head in disappointment and withdrew his right hand.

Perhaps the effects of the Sanhe Dan have not yet taken hold...

He comforted himself silently, glanced at the consumptive ghost again, and turned to leave the stone chamber.

……

At the same time, a beam of light landed on the summit of the highest mountain in Ping Le City, several miles away from Liu Kaiyang's cave.

The light faded, revealing the figure of an old man with white hair.

On the mountain wall, two stone doors quietly opened.

The white-haired old man strode into the room, passed through a narrow passage, and arrived at a stone hall.

The stone hall was simply furnished. At the head of the table sat a middle-aged cultivator in a wide-sleeved robe, with a long beard and a refined appearance, but at this moment his brows were furrowed and his expression was solemn. The white-haired old man stepped forward, clasped his hands in a bow, and said, "Disciple greets Master."

The refined-looking monk waved his hand: "No need for formalities. How is the situation in the city?"

The white-haired old man looked troubled: "This disciple has carefully searched the inside and outside of Ping Le City and found nothing unusual."

The refined cultivator's brows furrowed even more deeply: "If there's nothing unusual, why has half of the spiritual energy in the spiritual vein vanished into thin air...?"

"Have you seen all the cave dwellings of the cultivators in the city?"

The white-haired old man shook his head: "Master ordered that this matter not be publicized. I only secretly searched the caves of the lower-level disciples with my divine sense, but I found nothing."

“The elders’ cave dwelling has a powerful array, and I cannot secretly investigate without the elders’ knowledge.”

"However, in my opinion, this matter is definitely not something a Core Formation cultivator could have accomplished, and it should have nothing to do with the elders. Could it be the work of the demon race?"

The refined cultivator shook his head slightly: "You are right. None of the elders have the ability or reason to do so."

"But if it was done by the demon race, the spiritual energy would be halved, and the power of the city's protective array would also be greatly reduced. The beast tide would have already swept in, and it wouldn't be so peaceful now."

The white-haired old man frowned: "But there is nothing wrong with the spiritual vein, yet the spiritual energy has disappeared out of thin air, as if it has been intercepted by something, but we cannot find the location of this thing. It is too inconceivable."

“Master needs to make a decision soon. The cultivators in the city have already noticed something. Elder Zhu and Elder Jiang inquired about this matter with me today.”

"If the cause cannot be found out, a reason must be fabricated to appease people."

The refined cultivator said in a deep voice, "A few days ago, news came back from Shuoye that the Dragon Demon Sect had issued an edict to gather people and assemble in Cangling City. The next beast tide is probably not far away."

"At this time, if news of abnormal changes in the spiritual veins were to spread, the people in the city would surely be filled with panic."

The white-haired old man's expression changed: "The last beast tide has just receded, and now it's about to start again. Our strength has not yet recovered, how can we resist it?"

The refined cultivator smiled nonchalantly: "The demon race is powerful, while the human race is weak. Human cities are merely clinging to life between the eight royal clans."

"If the eight royal families had stopped fighting amongst themselves and had united to deal with us, they would have already wiped out all the human cities."

“Since I became a Nascent Soul Master, Ping Le City has been established for 349 years, and has protected hundreds of thousands of people. That is enough.”

“Ping Le City will eventually be destroyed, perhaps a hundred years from now, or perhaps when the next beast tide arrives.”

"But as long as the demon race continues to bully us, the human race will continue to resist."

"So what if the beast tide comes again? It's just death."

"Kill more demonic beasts, kill more traitors, and your soul will be reborn to fight the demon race again in the next life."

"Human cultivators have fought bravely one after another. One day, humanity will be able to exterminate the demon race and restore this world!"

The white-haired old man's expression turned solemn, and he bowed deeply: "Disciple will certainly follow Master, slay all the demons, and fight to the death without retreating!"

The refined cultivator laughed loudly: "Good! Give the order that, starting today, the number of cultivators patrolling inside and outside Ping Le City will be doubled, and they must be on high alert without the slightest slackening."

"Dispatch all the officers of the Listening Division to investigate the movements of the demon race and the demon cult."

“Send five hundred Qi Refining cultivators to various villages and relocate all mortals to Ping Le City within a month.”

"The Pingluo Army's pay was increased by half, and they were given wine and meat to conserve their strength and prepare for battle."

"Issuing the decree, the beast tide is approaching. I will reserve half of the spiritual energy to refine a magic weapon in order to severely damage the monsters, protect the city, and prevent the cultivators in the city from panic."

The white-haired old man immediately agreed: "Disciple obeys!"

He bowed deeply, strode out of the cave.

The refined monk watched his figure disappear into the passage, and the smile on his face slowly faded.

He slumped down, leaning back in his chair, and looked up at a luminous pearl on the ceiling of the stone hall. Its soft light seemed so dazzling.

A hint of bewilderment flickered in his eyes as he murmured, "When will humanity finally rise above its limitations?"

……

Liu Kaiyang meditated and cultivated in his cave. Seven days later, he awoke from his meditation and went to the stone chamber where the tuberculosis demon was.

The spiritual energy of heaven and earth was still only half of what it used to be, but fortunately, he refined the pill he received from the Demon Slaying Hall, and his cultivation level increased a bit.

Liu Kaiyang placed his hand on the tuberculosis ghost's wrist, and after a few breaths, he felt the tuberculosis ghost's pulse beating, which was much stronger than it had been three days ago.

Ten breaths later, a second throbbing sensation was felt at the fingertip.

A hint of joy flashed in Liu Kaiyang's eyes as he spread his divine sense and probed into the body of the tuberculosis demon.

The originally damaged meridians have begun to heal, with subtle spiritual energy flowing through them. However, this energy will dissipate after traveling a short distance, merging into the limbs and bones of the tuberculosis demon.

Liu Kaiyang was stunned. How could a single Three-in-One Pill have such a significant effect?
He withdrew his divine sense and carefully examined the tuberculosis ghost. Its face was still sallow and its skin was dry, but upon closer inspection, a faint glimmer could be seen.

Liu Kaiyang frowned. The tuberculosis patient's injuries had healed so quickly that it was definitely not due to the effects of the Three-in-One Pill.

But even though he was lying there without taking any other medicine, his injuries miraculously healed...

Liu Kaiyang was even more puzzled. He straightened up, but he couldn't figure it out no matter what he did.

"Forget it, why bother with so much? This person is so extraordinary, he must be at least a Nascent Soul cultivator, and maybe even a legendary great cultivator..."

Liu Kaiyang muttered to himself, then suddenly clasped his hands in a fist and bowed to the consumptive ghost on the stone bed, chanting, "Senior, although my cultivation is low, I have used my only spirit stones to exchange for a healing pill for you. I have done nothing wrong, but I have worked hard."

"This is all the wealth I have accumulated over the years. I was planning to upgrade my low-grade longsword to a mid-grade spiritual weapon, but for your sake, senior, I am willing to spend a fortune."

"I hope that you are not a cold-hearted person and will bestow some treasures upon me."

"This junior doesn't ask for much, just thirty or forty top-grade spirit stones, one or two high-level magic treasures, and a divine cultivation technique that leads directly to the Nascent Soul stage, preferably a fire-based technique. This junior will be perfectly content..."

After a while, he finally stopped, a smile on his lips, and walked out of the cave.

With a flash of light, Liu Kaiyang flew into the sky and headed towards the Hall of Preaching.

Every fifteen days, the Core Formation Elders in Ping Le City would take turns preaching and teaching in the Preaching Hall, guiding the Foundation Establishment Stewards in their cultivation.

For those deacons who have already taken elders as their teachers, being able to frequently listen to their master's teachings and receive detailed answers to their cultivation questions naturally eliminates the need to listen to other elders' sermons.

However, Ping Le City only has eleven elders. In addition to cultivation, they also have to guard the Elder Hall and exterminate monsters of level five and above. They are busy with their affairs and have no time to spare. They are extremely strict in accepting disciples.

There are fewer than forty deacons in the city who are qualified to become disciples of the elders.

Every single one of them was a person of exceptional talent, at least a cultivator with three spiritual roots, and they all possessed astonishing strength, surpassing that of other cultivators of the same level.

Liu Kaiyang has mediocre talent, possesses four spiritual roots, and reaching the Foundation Establishment stage is already quite difficult, so it's impossible for him to be favored by a Core Formation elder.

The elder's instruction, which took place every fifteen days, was his only opportunity to receive guidance from a Core Formation cultivator, and he never missed a single one.

The Qi Refining cultivators in Ping Le City were not so lucky. There were only a little over two hundred Foundation Establishment cultivators, and after deducting those who went out on missions, at most half of them remained in the city.

Some deacons became disciples of elders, while others, having lost hope in the path, had no need to listen to sermons.

Therefore, only forty or fifty people participate each time the elders preach, which is still manageable.

However, there are too many Qi Refining cultivators in Ping Le City, and most of them are of mediocre talent and have no hope of Foundation Establishment. Even if Foundation Establishment deacons preach to them, the effect is minimal.

It is said that when the city lord Zhang Zhenren first established the city, he ordered the Foundation Establishment Stewards to regularly teach and preach to the Qi Refining cultivators, but this was soon abolished and never resumed.

……

When Liu Kaiyang arrived at the Hall of Preaching, there were already more than twenty Foundation Establishment deacons gathered there, only a few of whom he knew.

Liu Kaiyang was not from Ping Le City. He had fled from the territory under the jurisdiction of the Demon Sect. He had only been at the Foundation Establishment stage for a few years. He was either out clearing out demon beasts or staying in his cave to cultivate. He did not know many people.

After exchanging greetings with the others, Liu Kaiyang went to a secluded corner, sat on a futon, and waited calmly for the sermon to begin.

Foundation Establishment cultivators entered the hall one after another and sat down on the futon in front of Liu Kaiyang.

Suddenly, a voice rang in his ears: "I am a step late, Brother Liu, how have you been?"

Liu Kaiyang turned around, and a man of similar age to him stood to the side, handsome and dashing, with a smile on his face, bowing to him with clasped hands.

Liu Kaiyang rose to return the greeting, then spread his divine sense over the cultivator before him and said with a smile, "It's been a month since we last met, Brother Yu. Your cultivation has improved again. I admire you."

He didn't know many people in Ping Le City, and if he were to talk about close friends, he only had this one person in front of him.

This person was named Yu Yunzhou. Like Liu Kaiyang, he was also at the early stage of Foundation Establishment and never missed a lecture by a Core Formation elder.

The two had met several times at the Preaching Hall, and later, by chance, they encountered each other again while clearing out monsters. Together, they killed a group of two-headed eagles and reaped a great harvest.

Two years ago, when the beast tide struck, the two fought side by side again, saving each other's lives more than once, and their friendship grew even stronger.

Yu Yunzhou laughed and said, "I was lucky. Half a month ago, when I was carrying out a clearing mission, I encountered a level four Yin Bone Snake and a level three Ghost Face Spider fighting each other, and both were injured."

"That Ghost-Faced Spider was incredibly powerful, and I couldn't do anything about it, but the Yin Bone Serpent couldn't escape, and I managed to get away with it."

"After returning to the city, I obtained four cultivation pills from the Demon Extermination Hall, refined them all, and my cultivation level increased by a few points."

Liu Kaiyang shook his head: "Brother Yu is too modest. No matter how badly the Yin Bone Serpent is injured, it is still a level four demon beast. Ordinary early Foundation Establishment cultivators would be no match for it."

The valiant monk smiled and was about to speak again when the hall suddenly fell silent.

The two turned their heads and saw an old woman with white hair and wrinkled skin slowly walking into the hall, and everyone bowed to her.

Liu Kaiyang and the valiant cultivator dared not be negligent and quickly clasped their hands in a fist and bowed to the old woman.

The old woman simply nodded slightly, walked to the stone platform a zhang high in front of everyone, sat cross-legged, and said calmly: "Today, I will explain to you a cultivation technique called 'Crimson Sun True Fire Technique'."

"How fire-elemental cultivators cultivate is all contained within."

"Those who practice other techniques can also apply this knowledge to other areas. Listen carefully..."

Liu Kaiyang's spirits lifted. Although he didn't cultivate the Crimson Sun True Fire Technique, it shared many similarities. He immediately focused intently, listening carefully, not wanting to miss a single word. (End of Chapter)