Nine Transformations of the True Spirit.

Chen Yuan's eyes flashed: "Fellow Daoist, have you found out why the Frost Bear clan is making unusual moves?"

As he spoke, he flicked his sleeve, and the palace doors behind him slowly closed, blocking the sunlight and darkening the room.

Dugu Sha raised his hand and made a hand seal. The brass lamps and candles standing on the ground around the main hall spontaneously combusted and became bright again.

"Nothing has been obtained yet." He led Chen Yuan to the jade dragon statue and said with a forced smile, "This hall is where I preach. No one dares to enter without my permission, which is why I am meeting you here, fellow Daoist..."

Chen Yuan glanced at the jade dragon statue, lifted his robe, and sat down on the futon: "Fellow Daoist, you are overthinking it. What harm is there in a mere jade statue?"

Dugu Sha breathed a sigh of relief, sat down opposite Chen Yuan, and said, "Fellow Daoist should know that among the eight royal clans, the Frost Bear clan is the most powerful, second only to the Flood Dragon and Kun Fish clans."

"He is also hot-tempered and reckless, so even other royal families would not easily provoke him."

"Although the territory of the Jiaolong clan borders it, it lives in the far north of the Wan Yao Continent, where it is extremely cold and there are few disputes. Instead, they often join forces."

"They joined forces to wipe out the Xuanpo Snow Ape clan 1,200 years ago (note), and they are the last royal clan to be wiped out to date."

"Therefore, after arriving in Frost City, I went directly to visit that friend and explained my purpose without beating around the bush."

"But as I expected, this matter was indeed of great importance. He was vague and did not tell me directly."

"I didn't take it seriously, but I was ordered by the sect leader to do my best to find out. So I stayed in Frost City for a few days, trying to get information from the sidelines, and finally made some progress."

"It turns out that a human cultivator suddenly appeared within the territory of the Frost Bear Clan, seemingly seriously injuring several demon generals and killing more than one demon general."

"This enraged the Frost Bear clan, who pursued and killed it with all their might, and even put up strict guard against a large-scale rebellion by human cultivators."

Chen Yuan asked, "Why is the Frostfire Bear clan so wary of humans?"

Dugu Sha explained, "It's not that we're afraid of the human race, but the Frost Bear clan is brutal and their oppression of human cultivators is far greater than that of other royal clans. Their methods are extremely cruel, and the resistance of human cultivators is the most tenacious."

A cold glint flashed in Chen Yuan's eyes as he asked, "Who was that human cultivator who suddenly appeared? Was he killed by the Frost Bear clan?"

Dugu Sha shook his head: "I haven't found out. According to my friend, the Frost Bear clan probably doesn't know this person's identity either."

"But among human cultivators, those with such strength are most likely those five great cultivators..."

He paused for a moment, then looked at Chen Yuan: "Of course, it's also possible that they are ascetic cultivators like you, fellow Daoist."

"This person has now fled into the North Sea and his whereabouts are unknown. The Frost Bear clan's vigilance will gradually be relaxed."

Chen Yuan's heart stirred, and the images of Qin Wuyai and others suddenly flashed through his mind.

The human race in this world is in such a difficult situation, there are very few great cultivators, and they should not act so recklessly.

Could those human cultivators who suddenly appeared be the other four Nascent Soul cultivators?
If that's the case, then there must be more to that spatial passage than meets the eye...

Chen Yuan narrowed his eyes, suppressing the thought. His immediate priority was to find spiritual herbs, refine them into pills, and restore his strength. This matter concerning the human cultivators could only be investigated later.

Seeing Chen Yuan remain silent, Dugu Sha assumed he was dissatisfied and, with a hint of unease in his eyes, said, "Upon returning to Dragon God City today, I will immediately summon you as instructed."

"After a night of rest and recuperation, we'll go find those three grandmaster alchemists tomorrow to inquire about the spiritual herbs, what do you say?"

Chen Yuan nodded slightly: "Then I will trouble you, fellow Daoist. I await your good news."

He bowed respectfully, rose, and walked out of the main hall. Dugu Sha quickly returned the bow and was about to see him off.

"Fellow Daoist, please wait." Chen Yuan said indifferently without turning his head. Dugu Sha, who had just taken a step, paused and had no choice but to retract his left foot, watching Chen Yuan walk out of the main hall and close the hall door.

He hesitated for a moment, not daring to spread his divine sense. After a while, he walked to the entrance of the main hall, raised his sleeve and flicked it open. The two heavy wooden doors slowly opened.

There was no one outside the hall, the sky was cloudless, and the sun hung high in the sky, casting a shadow under the eaves.

Dugu Sha sighed, turned around and walked back to the main hall. With a heavy flick of his sleeve, the hall door slammed shut, trembling violently.

……

After Chen Yuan used his teleportation technique to return to Ling Shuoye's residence, the black wings on his back slowly retracted and disappeared.

He pondered for a moment, then spread his divine sense and scanned the entire courtyard, only to find Ling Shuoye and Liu Kaiyang together, answering his questions about cultivation.

For the past few months, Chen Yuan has been meditating and cultivating, absorbing spiritual energy to slowly recover from his injuries, and has had no time for anything else.

Liu Kaiyang was only allowed to listen in when Ling Shuoye asked him for advice; he was not specifically instructed in cultivation.

Perhaps seeing that Liu Kaiyang was following Chen Yuan and that Chen Yuan was quite kind to him, Ling Shuoye disregarded the difference in their cultivation levels and intentionally befriended him, often giving Liu Kaiyang guidance in his cultivation.

However, it is also possible that he had been infiltrating the Dragon God Sect for many years without ever removing the mask on his face, and finally encountered a cultivator from Ping Le City. Overjoyed, he inevitably took extra care of him.

Chen Yuan's lips moved silently a few times. He raised his hand, pushed open the door, stepped into the courtyard, and then flicked his sleeve, causing the courtyard gate to open gently.

He looked up at the sky, and under the influence of the formation, the sky was clear and cloudless, and he could see the towering three-hundred-foot-long stone dragon sculpture in the distance.

After a while, Ling Shuoye arrived outside the courtyard. He paused, saw the gate was open, and then walked in. He stopped in front of Chen Yuan, clasped his hands in a bow, and said respectfully, "I wonder what instructions Senior has for me?"

Chen Yuan lowered his head and asked, "Young friend, how much do you know about the Frostfire Bear clan?"

Ling Shuoye paused for a moment: "Since joining the Dragon God Sect, I have stayed in this city and rarely leave, so I don't know much about the Frost Bear Clan."

"All I know is that the Bear God Sect and the Dragon God Sect often join forces to suppress our human cultivators, and that the Bear God Sect cultivators are brutal, enjoy eating raw human flesh, and are exceptionally cruel."

"However, I have some connections with a priest who oversees several spirit stone mines in the northern border. Half a month ago, I heard him mention that the border between the Frost Bear Clan and the Flood Dragon Clan is heavily guarded, with demonic beasts and cultivators constantly patrolling, as if something has happened within their territory."

Chen Yuan's eyes flashed, and he nodded slightly: "I understand, young friend, please return."

Ling Shuoye's eyes showed a hint of doubt, but he didn't ask any further questions. He simply clasped his hands in a bow, took his leave, and departed.

Chen Yuan returned to his cultivation room and sat down to meditate and regulate his breathing.

As his injuries slowly healed, his true essence recovered to 30%. Although it was still far from its peak, he was no longer so strained when using his supernatural powers.

Two days later, Chen Yuan, who was meditating, sensed that the Fire Lotus Mark had been triggered. He immediately activated the Kunpeng True Blood, teleported to the front of Dugu Sha's main hall, folded his wings, and pushed open the door to go inside.

Dugu Sha was waiting in the hall. When he saw Chen Yuan approaching, he immediately went to greet him, but his expression was rather unpleasant.

He led Chen Yuan to sit down in front of the dragon jade statue. Chen Yuan asked, "Fellow Daoist, have you found out any information about the three spiritual herbs?"

Dugu Sha's expression grew even more grim, and he said in a low voice, "Yesterday I visited a grandmaster alchemist in the Demon Sect to inquire about these three spiritual herbs."

"But according to him, the herb garden in Dragon God City only contains thousand-year-old spiritual herbs."

"All the three-thousand-year-old spiritual herbs are on Fulong Island, and are directly controlled by the Jiaolong clan." (End of Chapter)