Nine Transformations of the True Spirit.

The sun is shining brightly and the air is steaming.

A winding mountain path is embedded in the steep mountain wall, and at its narrowest point, only one person can walk close to the wall.

A long procession moved slowly along the mountain path, with a deep valley hundreds of feet below. Occasionally, a pebble would be trampled down, and only after a long while would a muffled thud be heard.

In the middle of the procession were the elderly, women, and children, who were tied together by more than twenty straw ropes, carrying bulging bundles and bamboo baskets on their backs, holding children's hands tightly, and moving forward carefully.

At the front and back of the procession were rows of young and strong men, pushing wheelbarrows and driving oxen and mules, their backs drenched in sweat.

The wheelbarrow was loaded with bedding, cooking utensils, grain, farm tools, dismantled door panels, chickens and ducks in bamboo cages, and strips of freshly smoked cured meat—this was all their possessions.

The livestock were timid, so they were all blindfolded with black cloths. Someone led them by ropes and someone else whipped them from behind, as they moved step by step along the narrow mountain path.

Whether they were old, weak, women, children, or young men, they were all dressed in tattered clothes, wearing straw sandals, and had dark, cracked skin.

At the top of the line, Wang Yue tapped his toes on a protruding rock and shouted, "Faster! We'll be in Ping Le City in another thirty li. Once we're in the city, there will be plenty of wine and meat!"

Upon hearing this, everyone perked up, but their pace remained slow.

On such a steep mountain path, one wrong step would mean certain death. No matter how tempting the food and wine were, they dared not quicken their pace.

Looking at the slow, crawling queue below, Wang Yue frowned, his eyes revealing a hint of anxiety.

The city lord has ordered that within a month, all mortals in the villages outside Pingluo City be moved into the city to escape the beast tide.

The Bureau of Pacification then issued missions to the Qi Refining cultivators in the city, with generous rewards.

When Wang Yue received the mission, there were not many villages left.

The village he was in charge of was located in a remote area, more than 300 li away from Pingluo City.

The monsters were ferocious and frequently raided villages. Villagers in every village had relatives who died in their mouths, and the situation was even more tragic in remote villages.

Now that the city lord has issued an edict, the beast tide is approaching, and with the guidance of the immortal master, they naturally obey without question.

But the villagers were afraid of being devoured by the monster, and even more afraid that all the possessions they had painstakingly accumulated over most of their lives would be lost in an instant.

Pig farmers slaughter pigs and smoke meat, while vegetable growers are reluctant to leave their nearly ripe vegetables.

Some villagers whose relatives had just died in a monster attack hoped to wait a few more days until the seventh day after their death before burying them.

There are also those who unfortunately fall ill and have difficulty moving around, and hope to wait until they recover before setting off.

Wang Yue had considered forcing the villagers to relocate, but when he looked at their weathered faces, filled with longing, he softened.

He lived in a village when he was young, and it was not until he was thirteen that he entered Ping Le City for the first time, where he was diagnosed with four spiritual roots and embarked on the path of cultivation.

Wang Yue knew the hardships the villagers faced; their possessions were all painstakingly accumulated bit by bit, and they couldn't bear to give up anything.

These villagers reminded him of the village he once lived in, but that village had been destroyed in the beast tide.

Wang Yue stopped urging them, and the villagers waited for more than twenty days before finally setting off for Pingluo City.

The village has a large population of elderly, children, women and children, and the mountain paths are treacherous and difficult to traverse, making the journey extremely slow; one can only travel twenty or thirty li a day.

Now that the one-month deadline has passed, the villagers are still unable to enter Pingle City.

Wang Yue knew he would definitely not receive a top rating; he only hoped not to fall to a bottom rating and that the Pacification Division would reduce the task rewards.

Thinking of this, Wang Yue gritted his teeth, raised his hand and flicked the storage bag at his waist, taking out a talisman.

He pointed to a spot, and the talisman spontaneously combusted without fire. A gust of wind blew by, and the villagers were terrified.

Wang Yue changed his hand seals, and when the whirlwind reached the crowd, it suddenly calmed down, carrying a slight coolness and dispelling the heat that had enveloped the villagers.

The villagers finally quickened their pace, and Wang Yue breathed a sigh of relief, temporarily suppressing the heartache in his heart.

This Gale Talisman cost him ten low-grade spirit stones, but the sooner he arrived in Ping Le City, the lower the chance of his mission rating being downgraded to low.

After walking for about half an hour, the villagers finally emerged from this extremely treacherous section of the mountain road. The road widened slightly, and they could vaguely see the towering city walls of Ping Le City in the distance. A smile finally appeared on Wang Yue's lips.

Just then, out of the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of a streak of light flashing across the sky, heading straight for Ping Le City at an extremely fast speed.

Wang Yue was startled and looked up at the streak of light. Then several more streaks of light flew from a distance, streaking across the sky and following closely behind the streak of light. They seemed to be in a hurry, and even... revealed a hint of panic.

Some sharp-eyed villagers also spotted the streaks of light and muttered a few words under their breath.

A middle-aged man in his forties walked quickly to Wang Yue's side and asked in a low voice, "Master Wang, why are these deacons rushing back to Ping Le City? Could it be that the beast tide has already arrived?"

He is the village chief of this village, a skin-refining martial artist, and has served in the Ping Le Army for a year, so he has the most extensive knowledge.

Wang Yue frowned, a bad feeling rising in his heart. He turned around and shouted, "Faster!"

Several more streaks of light streaked across the sky. One of them slowed down and landed above the villagers, revealing the figure of a young cultivator dressed in a green robe with handsome features.

Wang Yue quickly stepped forward and bowed: "Junior Wang Yue greets the steward..."

Before he could finish speaking, the cultivator in green robes interrupted him: "The beast tide has arrived, it's just a hundred miles behind us. Quickly abandon everything and hide in Ping Le City!"

The young monk's voice wasn't loud, but it reached the ears of every villager clearly.

The villagers gasped in surprise. Wang Yue's expression changed, and he turned around, shouting sternly, "Don't panic!"

"You have all heard it. The beast tide has arrived. If you want to live, don't worry about these material possessions anymore."

"Push them all off the cliff, travel light, and you'll be able to save your lives!"

The villagers hesitated, but the middle-aged man beside them was very anxious and jumped onto a wheelbarrow.

He stood on a dilapidated wooden cabinet and shouted, "Didn't you hear what Master Wang said? You're about to lose your lives, and you're still thinking about these broken possessions. Aren't you afraid of being eaten by monsters?"

After saying that, he bent down, picked up a square table next to the cabinet, and threw it off the cliff.

The young man pushing the wheelbarrow stared wide-eyed and shouted, "Village chief, what are you doing...?"

The middle-aged man glared back without any politeness and shouted, "Do you want your life or this broken table?"

The young man shrank back, his face full of heartache, and muttered, "That's a new table I just had last year..."

"What are you muttering about? Go find your parents and wife!"

The middle-aged man jumped off the wheelbarrow, gave it a powerful push, and sent the wheelbarrow and everything on it tumbling down the cliff.

The young man watched as all his belongings tumbled down the cliff, his eyes turning bloodshot. He screamed, then suddenly turned and ran back, shouting hoarsely, "Father, Mother, Xiaofeng, throw these things away quickly..."

The others, without further hesitation, cried and shouted as they threw their wheelbarrows, bedding, and bundles off the cliff.

Those villagers driving their livestock were the wealthiest families in the village, and were always the envy of others.

But now they could only weep as they drove all the livestock that couldn't get through the narrow mountain path down the cliff.

Hearing the pitiful cries of the livestock and the screeching sound of the wheelbarrow sliding off the rocks, the villagers' hearts were bleeding, but their hands did not slow down in the slightest.

They lived in the place closest to the monsters and had witnessed their ferocity firsthand.

The initial hesitation was merely instinct; once the decision was made, there would be no further wavering.

The villagers quickly pushed everything off the cliff, and the able-bodied men, carrying the elderly and helping the young, hurried along the mountain path amidst cries.

Wang Yue turned around and bowed deeply to the cultivator in the blue robe: "Thank you for the reminder, sir. May I ask your esteemed name, sir?"

The cultivator in the green robe glanced at the villagers hurrying by and said indifferently, "Liu Kaiyang."

Wang Yue said, "So it is Steward Liu. I still need to escort these mortals into Ping Le City. Please excuse me for now. I will visit your residence to express my gratitude after we return to the city."

Liu Kaiyang frowned: "More than a month ago, the city lord issued an edict ordering all ordinary people from villages and hamlets to move into the city. Why have you delayed until now?"

Wang Yue said, "It's a long story. These villagers are reluctant to part with their belongings and have many other matters to attend to, which is why they have delayed their journey to the city until today..."

Liu Kaiyang frowned even more: "This is a matter of life and death; how can we be so soft-hearted as to act like women?"

Wang Yue gave a wry smile: "It was my oversight..."

He is now filled with regret. If he had forced the villagers to relocate earlier, they would be living a carefree life in Ping Le City now.

Liu Kaiyang pondered for a moment and said, "Fine, I have encountered you all today, how can I sit idly by?"

"Go and protect these mortals and hurry on your way. If any demonic beasts come after us, I will warn them in time."

Wang Yue was overjoyed and bowed deeply, saying, "Thank you very much, Steward Liu!"

Liu Kaiyang shook his head slightly: "You don't need to do that. I, Liu, will not risk my life here for these mortals."

"I'm only giving you half a day. When the beast tide comes, I, Liu, will not risk my life to stop it. You'd better watch yourself."

Wang Yue gritted his teeth and said, "Don't worry, Steward Liu, I will not be so sentimental as to act like a woman again."

Liu Kaiyang nodded slightly, his escape light flashed, and he flew into the sky, trailing behind the villagers' procession.

Wang Yue lightly stepped forward, using his lightness technique to catch up with the villagers, and shouted sternly, "Do not stop, move forward quickly! If anyone falls behind, the rest of you must continue forward. Do not stop and wait. Anyone who disobeys will be executed!"

Upon hearing this, fear appeared on the villagers' faces, and they involuntarily quickened their pace.

Liu Kaiyang flew slowly in the sky, glanced at the villagers who were moving like ants through the mountains, and then looked up at Ping Le City in the distance, his eyes clouded with gloom.

Three days ago, he left Ping Le City to exterminate the demonic beasts. At first, it went very smoothly, and he killed six level-one demonic beasts in just two days.

The low-level monsters have become much more active compared to a month ago.

He only needs to kill one more level-two demonic beast and three more level-one demonic beasts to return to the city and report back.

Liu Kaiyang wasted no time and searched for level-two demonic beasts overnight, but he found nothing. Instead, he killed two mid-level level-one demonic beasts.

Today, he continued his search for level-two demonic beasts, when suddenly an acquaintance from the Listening Bureau flew over from afar, looking flustered.

Liu Kaiyang hurriedly stopped him, and after asking, he learned that the beast tide had broken out and was sweeping towards Ping Le City!

Liu Kaiyang was greatly alarmed and, no longer caring about the clearing mission, immediately rushed back to Ping Le City.

He hadn't flown far when several more stewards from the Listening Department flew over from a distance, confirming what the steward had said.

Liu Kaiyang had no more doubts. In order to keep abreast of the movements of the demon race, Ping Le City built more than a dozen strongholds in the area bordering the demon race.

Two Core Formation elders and over thirty stewards from the Listening Division were assigned to keep a close watch on the demon race's situation and frequently infiltrate their territory to gather information. Only when a beast tide arrived would they panic and flee back to Ping Le City.

Liu Kaiyang fled all the way here and saw these villagers who had not yet moved to Ping Le City. Feeling compassion for them, he descended with his escape light and spoke up to remind them.

The other stewards were clearly not as kind as him; even though this place was so close to Ping Le City, not one of them stopped.

Liu Kaiyang sighed softly. He had experienced a beast tide once and knew how terrifying it was, so he could understand their fear of it.

He also wanted to rush back to Ping Le City to avoid disaster, but the lingering sense of pity in his heart prevented him from leaving with a clear conscience.

……

After discarding all their belongings, the villagers moved forward at a speed more than twice as fast, but in Liu Kaiyang's eyes, it was still as slow as a tortoise crawl.

Wang Yue repeatedly urged them on, but the villagers could no longer speed things up.

An elderly woman stopped, shook off the white-haired old man who was helping her, and said breathlessly, "I can't walk anymore, you go ahead..."

The old man stopped too: "What nonsense are you talking about? Let's go!"

The old woman leaned against the mountain wall and shook her head weakly: "Don't worry about me..."

The old man was frantic. He grabbed his arm and dragged him forward, saying, "Just two more mountains and we'll reach Ping Le City. Just hang in there, hang in there!"

The old woman shook her head, her voice growing weaker and weaker: "I can't go on anymore, you should go quickly, I can't be a burden to you..."

The old man gritted his teeth and tried to carry the old woman on his back, but he was almost exhausted and failed twice.

The two were originally in the middle of the line, but after some commotion, they ended up at the back.

Wang Yue shouted sternly, "Hurry up and catch up, don't waste time!"

The old man looked at Wang Yue and pleaded, "Master Wang, my wife can't walk anymore. Please, have mercy and save her..."

Wang Yue sighed inwardly, but his expression remained icy: "I have already said that if anyone falls behind, the others must not linger and must catch up immediately!"

The old man glanced at the frail old woman and gritted his teeth, saying, "Then I'm not leaving either!"

Wang Yue's eyes flashed, and he said calmly, "Take care of yourself."

He lightly touched the ground with his feet, gracefully passing by the two men and catching up with the villagers.

Liu Kaiyang glanced at the two of them, shook his head, and ignored them.

Starting with the old woman, villagers began to fall behind. No matter how much others pleaded, Wang Yue refused to let them stay or offer any help.

No one dared to disobey the immortal master, but the villagers who had lost loved ones looked at Wang Yue with undisguised resentment in their eyes.

As yet another young girl fell behind, a young man couldn't help but speak up: "Master Wang, I still have the strength, let me carry her..."

Wang Yue said coldly, "With the beast tide behind us, we are not allowed to linger or offer any assistance."

The young man glanced anxiously at the young girl, his voice involuntarily rising a few decibels: "Master Wang, we've traveled this far and haven't seen a single beast tide. What's there to be afraid of if we slow down a bit..."

Before he could finish speaking, the village chief shouted sternly, "Shut up! You dare disobey Master Wang's orders?"

The young man's eyes reddened: "Fourth Uncle, I just want to save Xiao Cui..."

The village chief said coldly, "I also want to save Xiao Cui. I don't want to see anyone fall behind!"

"But our village was too greedy and didn't believe Master Wang's words. They thought the beast tide had only receded two years ago and wouldn't come back so soon."

"They took more than twenty days to set off, and they even brought all these pots and pans with them. Were they fleeing a disaster or moving house?"

"You want to save Xiao Cui, he wants to save Xiao Hong, and someone else wants to save their parents. Let's just leave them all here and feed them to the monsters!"

The young man glanced back at the young woman, his face contorted with pain: "But the beast tide is nowhere to be seen yet..."

The village chief said sternly, "It will be too late if we wait for the beast tide to catch up!"

"Do you think all the immortal masters in Ping Le City are like Immortal Master Wang and that celestial immortal master, willing to risk their lives for us mortals? Let's hurry on our way!"

The young man lowered his head dejectedly and walked forward in silence, never looking back again.

The villagers walked for several hours, crossed two mountains, and arrived in the valley. They were only about thirty miles away from Ping Le City, and could see the knights patrolling outside the city in the distance.

More than forty people have fallen behind, mostly the elderly, women, children, and some women with weaker constitutions.

Some people didn't believe the beast tide would catch up and chose to stay and wait, but many more followed the others and struggled towards Ping Le City under the village chief's stern reprimands.

Liu Kaiyang felt a little relieved; once he got here, he should be safe from the beast tide.

But just then, a long howl came from afar, desolate and lingering, like a bugle call to advance in the army, but ten or a hundred times more chilling and filled with a strong murderous aura.

The mere mention of it sends shivers down one's spine and fills one with dread.

Liu Kaiyang's expression changed, and he suddenly turned around.

It was dusk, dusk was falling, and the distant mountains looked like dark eyebrows.

The last rays of the setting sun dyed the sky red, gilding the undulating peaks with a blood-red hue.

A mountain breeze swept through the treetops, creating a rustling sound.

Suddenly, a cloud of dust rose from the distant mountain ridge. At first, it was just a thin gray mist, but it quickly surged and spread like a tide.

Beneath the smoke and dust, the shadowy figures of beasts moved about, initially just a few scattered individuals, but then they merged into a vast expanse, like a black torrent cascading down the mountainside.

Birds took flight in fright, and the sound of beasts' hooves pounding the ground was like muffled thunder, making the mountains seem to tremble slightly.

Liu Kaiyang's pupils contracted; the beast tide had arrived so quickly!

He descended into the light of his escape and proclaimed loudly, "The beast tide is approaching, it's only thirty miles behind us. If you want to survive, hurry up and get going!"

The villagers were terrified and quickened their pace again, having just slowed down a little.

Wang Yue was also very anxious. He used his lightness technique to run back and forth along the line, shouting loudly to urge everyone to speed up.

But compared to the surging tide of beasts, the villagers' desperate escape was far too slow.

Liu Kaiyang flew in the air, looking down from above, and could see everything clearly.

The torrent of beastly shadows surged toward this place at an astonishing speed, but the bird demons were even faster, a dark mass that blotted out the sky, flying toward this place amidst a chorus of sharp screechs.

Occasionally, a few desolate and chilling howls would ring out, like the horns of the beast tide's advance, guiding its direction.

Liu Kaiyang's heart sank. Judging by the speed at which the beast tide was surging, these villagers would perish in the mouths of the monsters before they could even escape into Ping Le City.

He was just a Foundation Establishment cultivator in the early stage, and even if he tried his best, he could only save a few people at most.

Wang Yue and the villagers below also felt the earth tremble, and the desolate howl and the sharp cry of the demonic bird had already reached their ears.

Although they hadn't seen any monsters yet, they knew this was a sign of the approaching beast tide.

Within fifteen minutes at most, the demonic army will sweep in and destroy everything.

The villagers were filled with panic. Some were so frightened that they didn't know what to do, while others collapsed to the ground, crying loudly, but unable to take another step.

Besides them, there were two other groups of villagers who crossed the mountains and entered the valley from other directions, heading towards Pingluo City.

The earth trembled, and the two groups of villagers were thrown into chaos and brought to a standstill.

Several streaks of light streaked across the sky, heading towards Ping Le City.

Like Liu Kaiyang, they were all Foundation Establishment deacons on missions when they encountered a beast tide and hurriedly fled back to Ping Le City.

One of the streaks of light suddenly slowed down and stopped beside Liu Kaiyang, revealing the figure of Deacon Sun, who said urgently, "The beast tide has arrived. Why is Fellow Daoist Liu stopping here? Why didn't you enter the city sooner?"

Liu Kaiyang finally stopped hesitating: "Fellow Daoist Sun, please go ahead. After I have rescued a few mortals, I will return to the city."

Deacon Sun glanced at the villagers below, shook his head, and without lingering, flew towards Ping Le City in a flash of light.

Liu Kaiyang landed, flicked his sleeve, and sent out several strands of light to encircle the six mortals before rising back into the sky.

He followed behind Deacon Sun, flying towards Ping Le City, but at a much slower speed, as if he were a porter carrying a heavy burden, struggling to move forward.

Seeing this, Wang Yue gritted his teeth, reached out and grabbed two villagers beside him, then used his lightness technique to run forward.

When the other villagers saw this, they cried out for help to Wang Yue, but Wang Yue did not slow down at all.

On the distant city wall of Ping Le City, soldiers stood in formation, surrounded by cultivators. Refined cultivators, white-haired elders, and several Core Formation elders stood suspended in the air, gazing at the distant surging tide of beasts.

The refined cultivator lowered his gaze, sweeping over the three groups of villagers with gloomy expressions, and sighed softly: "Huaizhong, Moyang, Mingchuan, the three of you go and rescue these mortals back to the city."

The white-haired old man frowned: "The beast tide will arrive soon. Master has already issued an order, and a month is more than enough time."

"Why waste our true essence on these mortals who failed to move into Ping Le City within the deadline?"

The refined cultivator said in a deep voice, "Although they have made mistakes, if we sit idly by and watch them perish in the mouths of demonic beasts, wouldn't we be even worse than that early Foundation Establishment stage steward?"

The white-haired old man stopped arguing, clasped his hands in a bow, and said, "Disciple obeys."

He and two other Core Formation elders rode their escape lights and flew out of the city.

The white-haired old man went straight for Liu Kaiyang, and with a wave of his hand, the mortals flew to his side.

Liu Kaiyang quickly clasped his hands and bowed, saying, "Thank you for your help, Elder Zhou."

The white-haired old man nodded slightly and continued flying forward, arriving above the villagers.

The villagers immediately knelt down and cried out for help.

The white-haired old man raised his hand and made a hand seal. A cloud of mist appeared out of thin air beneath everyone's feet, quickly spreading out and lifting them up, flying towards Ping Le City.

The other two Core Formation elders also used their own methods to capture hundreds of villagers and transport them to the city before the beast tide arrived.

At this moment, Liu Kaiyang had already flown back to the city. Seeing that all the villagers had survived, he breathed a sigh of relief.

The surrounding cultivators all turned to look at him, their gazes filled with a variety of expressions, including surprise, admiration, disdain, and mockery.

A gentle voice suddenly sounded in his ear: "What's your name?" (End of Chapter)