Nine Transformations of the True Spirit.

A month later, Chen Yuan opened his eyes, lowered his head slightly, raised his fair hands, and gently clenched and then released them.

He raised his sleeve and flicked it, and several wisps of water vapor gathered together, condensing into a thin water mirror.

It reflected a similarly fair face, with skin as smooth as jade, bright eyes that sparkled like stars, and thick eyebrows that slanted upwards towards the temples, exuding an air of otherworldly elegance.

A smile appeared on Chen Yuan's lips. He raised his hand to disperse the water mirror, stood up, pushed open the door, and walked out of the courtyard.

Half a month ago, he successfully refined a Jade Marrow Pill with his superb alchemy skills, which was perfectly round and flawless.

The medicinal power of the Jade Marrow Ganoderma accumulated over four thousand years is contained within it, with not a single drop wasted.

Chen Yuan took the pill, and the pure spiritual energy contained in the Jade Marrow Pill transformed into a gentle stream, softly repairing the injuries to his meridians.

The severely depleted essence blood, like a parched field receiving timely rain, greedily absorbed every bit of spiritual energy, slowly but steadily replenishing itself.

He spent seven days refining all the Jade Marrow Pills.

The injuries to the twelve regular meridians and eight extraordinary meridians have mostly healed, with only a few of the most stubborn wounds remaining unhealed.

His depleted vital essence and blood had recovered by 70-80%, and his appearance had returned to normal, no longer resembling that weak, consumptive look.

However, the Jade Marrow Pill could only heal injuries; Chen Yuan's dantian was still extremely empty, with only a meager 30% of his true essence remaining.

He spent another seven days meditating and breathing exercises to absorb spiritual energy, and his true essence recovered to 80%, and his strength was basically restored.

Chen Yuan walked out of the small courtyard, and a moment later, Dugu Sha walked out quickly from the side courtyard, looking at Chen Yuan with a hint of surprise in his eyes.

He stepped forward, clasped his hands in a fist and bowed to Chen Yuan, saying, "Congratulations on your recovery, fellow Daoist."

He straightened up, looked at Chen Yuan's face, and hesitated.

Chen Yuan returned the greeting with a cupped hand: "If you have any guidance, please feel free to speak."

Dugu Sha said solemnly, "As far as I know, there are quite a few demon generals in the Jiaolong clan who are fond of people like you, who are handsome and otherworldly."

"If I were to see you, I would certainly be tempted to take you as my male concubine."

"When you travel, it is best to wear a mask so that no one can see your true face, lest you cause trouble."

Chen Yuan smiled and said, "If that is indeed the case, I would be more than happy to accept it."

Dugu Sha also laughed, revealing a hint of respect: "I misspoke. Those demon generals are no match for you, fellow Daoist. If they have any evil intentions, they will only become your dead souls."

Chen Yuan changed the subject: "My injuries have healed, and I have other important matters to attend to, so it is inconvenient for me to stay here any longer."

"Fellow Daoist, if you remain in the Dragon God Sect, remember to keep a low profile and do not make a fuss. Inquire about the Dragon Clan in secret."

"Whether it relates to the human race or other royal families, don't miss it."

"Pay close attention to any unusual behavior from the major royal families. Please continue to keep an eye on the Frostbear clan's recent unusual activity."

Dugu Sha hesitated for a moment, then said, "Now that I have abandoned darkness and embraced light, how can I continue to serve the demonic sect?"

"I am willing to follow you, fellow Daoist, to slay demons and eliminate evil, and to do my utmost to revitalize the human race."

Chen Yuan said calmly, "Fellow Daoist, staying in the Dragon God Sect is the greatest contribution to the human race."

Dugu Sha then changed his mind and agreed: "In that case, I will obey."

He secretly breathed a sigh of relief. His biggest worry was that Master Xinghuo would make him leave the Dragon God Sect.

However, he could not take the initiative to ask to stay, lest Master Xinghuo suspect him of having ulterior motives.

Human cultivators can only survive in remote and desolate places. They lack cultivation resources and have to fight against beast tides. Their lives are precarious. Even Nascent Soul cultivators have suffered many casualties.

If he stayed in the Dragon God Sect, he would be a high-ranking Nascent Soul Elder, backed by the Flood Dragon Clan, and would receive generous treatment. He only needed to secretly gather information and would not have to worry about his life being in danger.

However, a few months ago, Xing Qianyue died in the Iron Mist Mountains, which angered the sect leader, and he must avoid this place from now on...

Chen Yuan was unaware of Dugu Sha's thoughts, but the existence of the Fire Lotus Mark made him completely unconcerned that Dugu Sha might have ulterior motives.

Chen Yuan activated the Kunpeng True Blood, and a pair of jet-black wings slowly unfurled from his back.

Upon seeing this, Dugu Sha immediately composed himself, took two steps back, clasped his hands in a bow, and said, "Respectfully seeing off Fellow Daoist Xinghuo."

Chen Yuan nodded slightly: "Farewell."

He flapped his wings and used teleportation to arrive at Ling Shuoye's residence.

Chen Yuan folded his wings and spread his divine sense. Ling Shuoye and Liu Kaiyang were both meditating and cultivating.

He transmitted his voice to the two men: "Come to the main hall immediately."

The two awoke from their meditation, both looking somewhat surprised and delighted. They got up, left the cultivation room, and hurried toward the main hall.

Chen Yuan sat down in the main seat. A moment later, Ling Shuoye and Liu Kaiyang entered one after the other, bowed and greeted him. When they saw the change in Chen Yuan's appearance, they couldn't help but show a few surprises, but they quickly concealed them.

Chen Yuan didn't explain further. He looked at Ling Shuoye and said gently, "I have achieved my goal in coming to Dragon God City and will return today."

"Does Young Friend Ling have any message he needs to convey to Fellow Daoist Zhang?"

Ling Shuoye was stunned. After arriving in Dragon God City, this Senior Chen only asked him to find out Dugu Sha's whereabouts, and then gave him no other instructions.

On the day Dugu Sha left Dragon God City, Ling Shuoye was filled with anxiety, already prepared for his identity to be exposed and for his death to vanish.

But who would have thought that Senior Chen would return to the city that very day, and more than a month later, Dugu Sha would also return to Dragon God City safely, and everything would be peaceful again.

Since then, Ling Shuoye has always had a lingering question in his mind.

It is unknown whether this unfathomable Senior Chen truly subdued Dugu Sha as he claimed, leaving no future troubles.

Or perhaps it was just a pretense, and they didn't actually harm Dugu Sha.

But since Senior Chen didn't bring it up, and he didn't dare to ask, he simply replied respectfully, "I often relay messages to my master, and I dare not trouble you any further."

Chen Yuan pondered for a moment and said, "If young friend Ling encounters any calamities in the future, he can seek help from Dugu Sha."

"Just say that you are acting on the orders of Master Xinghuo, and he will naturally lend a hand."

"But if it's just a trivial matter, you shouldn't easily reveal your identity to him."

Ling Shuoye was overjoyed. This Senior Chen was indeed incredibly powerful; Dugu Sha had been captured by him.

He bowed deeply: "This junior understands, Dugu Sha is, after all, an elder of the Dragon God Sect."

"Even if you are intimidated by the senior, the Blood Vein Gu still exists in his body, so you can't trust him easily."

“If it weren’t for a matter of life and death, I would never have come to ask for your help.”

Ling Shuoye's tone revealed a hint of determination. Although Senior Chen had said that he could remove the Blood Veil Gu, he did not believe it.

For tens of thousands of years, no one has been able to erase the Blood Veil Gu, so how could Senior Chen possibly do it?

He must have used some means to deceive the Blood Silk Gu and save Dugu Sha's life, which was already extremely difficult.

Chen Yuan smiled but didn't explain further; it was good that Ling Shuoye was being cautious.

He turned to look at Liu Kaiyang: "We are leaving Dragon God City today. Do you have any unfinished business?"

Liu Kaiyang shook his head: "I meditate and cultivate every day, and have nothing to worry about."

Chen Yuan nodded slightly, then, without wasting any more time, stood up, activated his Kunpeng True Blood, and black wings unfurled from his back. Ling Shuoye bowed deeply: "Respectfully seeing you off, Senior."

Chen Yuan separated a wisp of light, wrapped it around Liu Kaiyang, flapped his wings, and disappeared.

Ling Shuoye straightened up, looked at the empty main hall, sighed softly, and his eyes became resolute again.

……

Iron Mountain Range.

A dead city lies deep in the valley, its majestic gate reduced to half, its wide door panel wedged diagonally into the pile of rubble.

Whenever the wind passes through the city gate, it emits a faint wailing sound, as if the dead city is weeping softly.

The stone plaque carved above the city gate was half broken, and only the two characters "Ping Le" could be vaguely seen.

The once wide fields outside the city are now overgrown with weeds, and the once straight road is now riddled with potholes and in a dilapidated state.

There wasn't a single intact building in the city; everywhere was just broken walls and ruins.

The charred, gray-black wood lay on the ground, cracked and washed by rain, clearly having recently been ravaged by a fire.

But not a single skeleton was found in the city, suggesting that everyone had evacuated before the fire started.

The mountains north of the city are bare, revealing ugly rocks and cliffs, and are covered with collapsed palaces and pavilions.

Scattered among the mountains were beams and pillars of spirit wood, not completely charred black, shimmering with a faint spiritual light.

Two streaks of light flew in from the horizon and stopped above the city, revealing the figures of Chen Yuan and Liu Kaiyang.

Chen Yuan looked down at the broken walls and ruins below, then at the mountain peaks to the north of the city, and frowned: "Why would the demon race take revenge on an empty city, even destroying the spiritual veins?"

The medium-sized spiritual vein upon which Ping Le City relied has now been severely damaged, and is even inferior to a micro-spiritual vein.

The once exceptionally beautiful mountain peaks are now shrouded in a deep aura of death, resembling elderly people in their twilight years.

Liu Kaiyang's face turned ashen as he looked at the cave where he had lived for several years, now covered by several collapsed boulders.

He whispered, "The royal demon generals are of noble status. Ao Lin and She Mo both died under the walls of Ping Le City. The two royal families, the Flood Dragon and the Blood Serpent, will certainly not let this go."

"I once heard Elder Shi say that in the past, if a Nascent Soul cultivator killed a royal demon general, the royal family would retaliate, wiping out the entire city without a single survivor."

"But this time, the city lord led his people to move to Xingzhu City ahead of schedule. Since the demon race could not vent their anger on my human cultivators, they could only destroy Ping Le City."

"As for destroying the spiritual veins as well, it's to prevent the cultivators in the city from moving back here."

Chen Yuan nodded slightly, a hint of coldness flashing in his eyes.

He had only looked at a few jade slips, and ultimately, he did not understand the brutality of the demon race as well as the cultivators of this realm.

Chen Yuan withdrew his gaze and slowly asked, "Where did you find me?"

Liu Kaiyang replied, "Two hundred li north of Ping Le City..."

He pointed out the path, and Chen Yuan rode his escape light and flew north.

His purpose in returning to the Iron Mist Mountains was to investigate the exit of the spatial passage; he was simply passing through Ping Le City on the way.

According to the map given to him by Zhang Xuancang, the Wan Yao Continent is vast, even surpassing the Jiu Xian Continent by a considerable margin.

The territories of the seven royal families are intertwined, with the dragon and fish clans having the largest territories, each occupying the East China Sea and the South China Sea respectively.

The Frost Bear and Howling Moon Silver Wolf clans are next, while the Blood Serpent, Nightmare Raven, and Fiend Tiger clans have the smallest territories.

The Sky-Supporting Divine Turtle clan is the most unique; they only occupy the entire South China Sea and have never set foot on the Myriad Demon Continent.

The Turtle God Cult he established also had the fewest number of disciples.

The land territory of the Jiaolong clan is located in the eastern part of the Wanyao Continent, covering hundreds of thousands of miles, comparable to two large states on the Nine Immortal Continent in the human realm.

The territory of the Frost Bear Clan is located in the northeast of the Myriad Demon Continent, bordering the Flood Dragon Clan.

To the west of the Flood Dragon Clan lies the Blood-Eyed Serpent Clan.

The Iron Mist Mountains are located at the junction of these three royal clans. They cover a vast area, with treacherous terrain and extremely barren land, which is why several human cities were established there.

Two hundred miles passed in the blink of an eye. Following Liu Kaiyang's instructions, Chen Yuan arrived at the dense forest where he had found himself.

His divine sense spread out like a tide, revealing every detail within a radius of a hundred miles, perceiving every inch of land and every breath.

However, a quarter of an hour passed, and there was nothing unusual about it.

Chen Yuan frowned and instructed Liu Kaiyang, "Wait here."

He soared into the sky, braving the fierce winds, searching for the exit of the spatial passage, but still found nothing.

Chen Yuan did not give up. He circled the peak, exploring the surrounding area for thousands of miles, but still could not find the entrance to the spatial passage.

Three days later, Chen Yuan finally stopped, his brows furrowed.

If he came to this world through the exit of the spatial passage, he would have fallen within a thousand miles at most, and it would be impossible for him to have made no discovery.

However, it was impossible for him to force his way through the spatial barrier while severely injured.

Could it be that, under the influence of that Void Cicada, although he had already passed through the spatial passage exit, he was randomly scattered somewhere in this world, far away from the exit?

A hint of doubt arose in Chen Yuan's heart, and he descended into the aura of escape.

Under the tree where he had once collapsed unconscious, Liu Kaiyang was meditating and cultivating.

His eyes were slightly closed, his expression focused, and his aura surged, bringing him closer and closer to the mid-stage of Foundation Establishment.

Chen Yuan nodded secretly. While he was waiting for Dugu Sha to return in Dragon God City, Liu Kaiyang was exceptionally diligent and never stopped cultivating.

He was only away for a few days, and Liu Kaiyang didn't want to waste any time. His resolve was extraordinary.

Chen Yuan coughed twice, and Liu Kaiyang opened his eyes, stood up, clasped his hands in a bow, and said, "This junior has been unruly..."

Chen Yuan's voice wasn't loud, but it struck him like a thunderbolt, instantly waking him from his meditation.

A hint of reminiscence appeared in Chen Yuan's eyes: "It's alright. Your diligent cultivation reminds me of my youth, when I was just like you, unwilling to waste even a single moment."

Liu Kaiyang blushed and said, "Senior is too kind. I am of mediocre talent. If I do not work harder, I am afraid I will not even have a chance to form a core."

Chen Yuan said, "Talent is certainly important, but without a firm Dao heart, one will not go far in the end."

"Those with exceptional talent may have an overly smooth path in their cultivation, and they may not necessarily go further than you."

Liu Kaiyang asked, "May I ask, senior, what exactly is the Dao Heart?"

Chen Yuan said calmly, "The Dao Heart is not some ethereal thing; the Dao Heart is the goal."

"It is to improve one's cultivation, to endure the loneliness of sitting in meditation all year round, to walk between life and death, and to give up all worldly vanities."

"Why are you cultivating so diligently?"

Liu Kaiyang hesitated for a moment, then said in a low voice, "This junior only wants to go home." (End of Chapter)