Nine Transformations of the True Spirit.

Liu Kaiyang was indignant, but without Chen Yuan's permission, he dared not make a move. He could only glare at the middle-aged man with a look of disgust on his face.

Chen Yuan remained calm. Seeing Liu Kaiyang's appearance, he laughed instead: "Your parents were cultivators of the Demon Sect. You lived under the Demon Sect's rule since childhood. After embarking on the path of cultivation, you fled to Ping Le City."

"You should have known long ago that the demonic sect cultivators commit all sorts of crimes, including rape and abduction. Why are you still so moved?"

Liu Kaiyang was taken aback, and his anger subsided considerably: "I have been living in Ping Le City for more than 20 years, and I have long been an upright person. I am no longer used to the ways of the demonic sect."

"I was furious to witness this man committing evil and bullying an innocent woman today. I am so angry that I have made you laugh at me, senior."

Chen Yuan gave him a deep look: "Cultivators have long lifespans, possess supernatural powers, and are very arrogant, often regarding mortals as ants."

"You are righteous and do not look down on mortals because they cannot cultivate. That is rare."

Liu Kaiyang said solemnly, "In my opinion, cultivators are originally mortals who have cultivated themselves. Although they have mastered supernatural powers and spells, can fly and escape into the earth, and have greater power, there is no difference in essence."

"Otherwise, how could cultivators marry mortals and have children?"

“Those cultivators who regard mortals as ants are no different from ants in the eyes of cultivators with higher realms.”

"They are obsequious in front of high-level cultivators, but they treat mortals like pigs and dogs. They are nothing more than bullies who prey on the weak and fear the strong."

Chen Yuan smiled faintly: "That's human nature, what can be done about it?"

"The instinct to seek advantage and avoid harm, and to bully the weak, is human nature."

"Unless mortals can also master the same power as cultivators, they will always be ants in front of cultivators."

Liu Kaiyang hesitated, then said nothing, but his eyes revealed a hint of disdain.

Chen Yuan's heart stirred, but he did not ask any further questions. He raised his hand and captured the middle-aged scholar's soul, then used the Soul Searching Technique.

A moment later, he had reviewed all of the middle-aged man's memories without missing a single one.

Chen Yuan withdrew his divine sense and nodded slightly: "The Demon Sect is indeed very strict in its rules. Although this person's cultivation level is low, he has been to the Demon Sect's headquarters for pilgrimage. It is located on the coast of the East Sea, more than 300,000 miles away from here."

Seven days ago, he and Liu Kaiyang left Ping Le City and flew nonstop.

After flying out of the Iron Mist Mountains, they arrived at a boundless plain. The soil was fertile and the spiritual energy was much richer. The first city they encountered was Xiyang City.

Chen Yuan immediately descended and flew towards the Dragon God Temple in the city, where he happened to witness the middle-aged man forcing the new bride to submit.

Chen Yuan wasn't trying to be a chivalrous hero; he was trying to find out the route to the Dragon Demon Cult's headquarters.

The map he obtained from Zhang Xuancang recorded the geographical features of the entire Wan Yao Continent, but it was not detailed enough, and it mainly focused on the eight royal families, with little information on the cities under the jurisdiction of the Demon Sect.

The message sent back by Zhang Xuancang's disciple, Shuo Ye, perhaps indicated that the cultivators of Ping Le City would not enter the territory of the Demon Sect, nor did it specify a route to Dragon God City.

However, according to the records Zhang Xuancang gave him, Foundation Establishment cultivators who hold the position of steward and are in charge of a city in the Demon Sect must go to the main altar for pilgrimage to show their piety and be personally appointed by the sect leader.

This middle-aged man, as a steward of Xiyang City, although only at the early stage of Foundation Establishment, had personally gone to the Dragon Demon Sect's headquarters. After Chen Yuan searched his soul, he learned the location of the Demon Sect's headquarters.

He hesitated for a moment, then raised his hand to form a hand seal. A look of pain appeared on the middle-aged man's blank face. After a while, he calmed down again, appearing even more dazed than before. Chen Yuan pointed with his fingers, and the middle-aged man's soul flew back into his body. His body trembled, and he fell backward to the ground.

Liu Kaiyang immediately stepped forward and said coldly, "This junior will finish off this lecherous thief!"

Chen Yuan shook his head: "Spare his life."

Liu Kaiyang was stunned: "Senior..."

Chen Yuan said, "Killing this person is easy, but the Demonic Sect will definitely send people to investigate this matter."

"And the last person he saw before he died was this woman. How could the demonic sect let her off easily? Instead, they took her life."

Liu Kaiyang's face showed resentment: "Then let this lecherous thief go, and let him rape this new bride after he wakes up?"

Chen Yuan said calmly, "This man raped mortal women in order to cultivate the art of lovemaking, using them as a furnace to replenish his yang energy."

"I have altered this person's memories, making him feel disgusted with this bride. After he wakes up, he will send her away and then go into seclusion to cultivate."

"He will die from a qi deviation within three months, and will not be involved with this bride."

Liu Kaiyang let out a soft sigh of relief, the anger in his eyes finally subsiding considerably, but he still stared at the middle-aged man: "That lecherous scoundrel got off easy..."

A cold glint flashed in Chen Yuan's eyes. Even the degree of demonic possession varies. The spell he left behind caused his meridians to rupture, and he suffered for seven days before dying. It was the most painful kind of suffering.

From the middle-aged man's memories, he saw that this person had poor aptitude and that reaching the Foundation Establishment stage was already a stroke of luck. That's why he turned to cultivating the Art of Union to replenish his yang energy and try to improve his cultivation level.

However, there are very few female cultivators in the demon sect. Most of them are taken as concubines by demon generals and their half-human, half-demon offspring. It is impossible for him, a steward in the early stage of Foundation Establishment, to even get a chance.

Therefore, he could only use mortal women as his cultivation vessels. Although the effect was somewhat less, he could still improve his cultivation level significantly over time.

He has only been in Xiyang City for six years, and he has already defiled more than a thousand mortal women. Most of them died after he used his sexual energy to kill them, and the others were also severely weakened and died of serious illnesses within three to five years.

But few people know about the plight of these more than a thousand ordinary women.

The middle-aged man claimed to be bestowing blessings, but the ordinary people in the city, unaware of his true intentions, assumed that these women were unable to bear the blessings of the Dragon God and were afraid of angering the Dragon God and bringing disaster upon their families, so they dared not make a sound.

In addition, thousands upon thousands of middle-aged men were conscripted to build this courtyard, and countless others were executed for violating religious rules.

If a mere Foundation Establishment stage deacon has committed such a heinous crime, how many mortal souls must be in the hands of the demon cult deacons and elders in other cities?

Although cultivators in the human realm regard mortals as ants, they are restrained by various sects. Even demonic cultivators dare not slaughter mortals at will, but instead use the souls and bodies of other cultivators to cultivate.

The so-called demonic cult claims to protect its followers, yet it treats mortals like pigs and sheep, even more cruelly than the demon race, which is truly outrageous.

Chen Yuan glanced at the middle-aged man and said calmly, "I already know the path to the Demon Cult's headquarters. There's no need to stay here any longer."

With that, he separated a wisp of light, enveloped Liu Kaiyang, and used teleportation to leave the temple, flying southeast. (End of Chapter)