Nine Transformations of the True Spirit.

Just then, the Candle Serpent suddenly turned around, its pale golden vertical pupils looking at Chen Yuan, and let out a long hiss.

At the same time, a vague thought suddenly arose in Chen Yuan's mind, pleading with him not to make a move.

Chen Yuan was taken aback. He glanced at the dazzling ninth bolt of heavenly lightning, which contained the power to destroy the world, and a hint of hesitation appeared on his face.

The azure lightning bolt moved at an extremely fast speed, covering a distance of dozens of feet in the blink of an eye, and approaching the heavenly lightning.

But a vague thought arose in Chen Yuan's mind, and the plea contained within it became increasingly firm.

The Candle Serpent's fighting spirit was fully unleashed; it would face this heavenly lightning alone.

Chen Yuan sighed inwardly, changed the hand seal, and the blue lightning emitted by the Kui Niu Dharma Image slightly deviated, grazing past the ninth heavenly lightning, exploding in mid-air and dissipating into nothingness.

However, this bolt of lightning was still slightly affected by the cyan lightning, its speed slowed down slightly, and its power was also weakened a little.

Taking advantage of the opportunity, the Candle Serpent dodged the seventh and eighth bolts of heavenly lightning, stretched out its body, and collided with the ninth bolt of heavenly lightning with a thunderous roar!

The world suddenly fell silent, as if time had frozen at that moment. The fiery red body of the Candle Serpent and the silvery-white lightning slowly merged, as if covered with a layer of silver water ripples.

Boom!

A deafening roar erupted, followed by a long, agonizing scream. A dazzling silver light exploded, arcs of electricity crackled and sputtered, and the crackling sounds echoed for miles around.

The Candle Serpent opened its mouth wide, its sharp hiss piercing the heart. Its body was curled up in a ball, trembling incessantly in the lightning plasma. Its pale golden vertical pupils were filled with frenzy caused by pain.

Chen Yuan's heart tightened. Through the connection of the Divine Soul Blood Restriction, he sensed an extremely painful thought. Although it was weakened by several hundred times, it was still enough to make one feel despair.

But beneath this painful thought lies a hidden pride and resilience that would rather die than submit.

That was the powerful will contained deep within the bloodline of Zhu Jiuyin, which even the Heavenly Tribulation could not make it retreat in the slightest.

Below the true immortals, the true spirit is supreme.

The true spirit roams freely through all the heavens and myriad realms; how could it fear such a minor heavenly tribulation?
Although the Candle Serpent was just a young snake, it inherited the pride of its ancestor, Zhu Jiuyin, and bravely chose to face the heavenly tribulation when faced with life and death.

Instead of relying on Chen Yuan's help, they managed to dodge the ninth heavenly lightning bolt unscathed.

However, it was no longer able to use that mysterious supernatural power and could only use its physical body to withstand the heavenly lightning.

The fact that the Candle Serpent avoided all eight consecutive bolts of heavenly lightning without sustaining any injury undoubtedly enraged this world.

The power of the ninth heavenly lightning bolt greatly increased, even comparable to the seventh heavenly lightning bolt that Chen Yuan experienced during his tribulation.

Zhu Yan and Kunpeng are both powerful true spirits no less than Zhu Jiuyin. The fact that Zhu She, with a true spirit bloodline, could attract such a powerful heavenly tribulation shows how strange that invisible breath is.

However, the Candle Serpent was no ordinary demonic beast. After hatching, under the protection of Chen Yuan and four other Nascent Soul cultivators, it traversed the spatial storm and absorbed abundant spatial power.

Using his innate supernatural power, he transformed it into the power of time, not only accumulating a dense amount of demonic power, but also making his physical body extremely powerful, comparable to an eighth-level demonic beast.

Such an opportunity is extremely rare even among the Candle Serpent clan, giving it the confidence to withstand the heavenly tribulation.

Enveloped in lightning, the fiery red scales on the Candle Serpent's body shattered and turned black, and blood gushed out like a spring, only to be quickly evaporated by the powerful heavenly lightning. Its body was covered in wounds, and even its white bones could be seen.

But its mouth was filled with sharp, painful hissing, which never stopped. Its curled-up body twisted and trembled constantly. It looked miserable, but it also showed a strong vitality and still had the strength to struggle.

The power of the ninth heavenly lightning was not inexhaustible. After several dozen breaths, the dazzling lightning finally began to dim.

The pain and madness contained in that vague thought were also slowly diminishing.

Chen Yuan secretly breathed a sigh of relief. Through the connection of the soul and blood restriction, he conveyed a message of comfort and encouragement to the Candle Serpent. He slowly lowered his hands, but the Kui Niu Dharma Image behind him did not disappear.

Several dozen breaths later, the lightning that enveloped the Candle Serpent's body finally dissipated.

The candle snake no longer emitted sharp hissing sounds, but only breathed rapidly.

The pale gold in his vertical pupils slowly faded, revealing several menacing blood vessels.

The massive swirling clouds in the sky slowly dissipated, the lightning flashes within the clouds began to thin out, and sunlight shone through the gaps in the dark clouds.

The Kui Niu True Spirit in Chen Yuan's dantian suddenly let out a low roar, revealing a hint of longing.

Chen Yuan's heart stirred, and he raised his hand to form a hand seal. The Kui Niu Dharma Image behind him opened its mouth and inhaled, stirring up a gust of wind.

The myriad bolts of lightning flashing in the clouds of calamity converged all at once, like swallows returning to their nests, and fell into the mouth of the Kui Niu Dharma Image.

A hint of satisfaction appeared in the blurred eyes of the Kui Niu, as if it contained spiritual wisdom, before it slowly disappeared.

Chen Yuan looked inward at himself and then at the Kui Niu True Spirit in his dantian. He saw that several lightning patterns had quietly appeared on its body, and its aura had increased slightly.

The true blood of the Kui Niu within his body also increased slightly.

A sudden realization dawned on Chen Yuan: the Kui Niu Dharma Form could not only resolve the Heavenly Tribulation, but also absorb its power to enhance its own might.

However, he was not the true spirit of the Kui Niu after all; he only possessed the bloodline of the Kui Niu and was unable to completely resolve and absorb the heavenly tribulation.

The Kui Niu Dharma Form can at most weaken the power of the lightning tribulation by 20-30%, making it even more difficult to absorb the power of the heavenly tribulation.

It can only absorb the remaining half of the lightning power when the heavenly tribulation ends.

As the myriad bolts of lightning were swallowed up by the Kui Niu Dharma Form, the tribulation clouds retreated even faster, disappearing without a trace in less than ten breaths.

The sky was clear and bright, like a flawless piece of glass, with a few wisps of clouds drifting by, like a light veil casually tossed aside by an immortal.

The sunlight poured down without obstruction, gilding the mountains with a dazzling golden edge.

If it weren't for the deep ravines split open by the heavenly lightning and the clearly visible collapsed mountains, it would seem as if the heavenly tribulation had never occurred.

Despite being covered in wounds, the candle snake still stood tall, exuding an air of arrogance.

The spiritual energy of heaven and earth rapidly converged, condensing into a blue river of energy that descended from the sky and enveloped the candle snake.

Having successfully overcome the tribulation, the heavens bestowed timely rain.

The tattered scales on the Candle Serpent's body receded, and the charred and hideous wounds healed rapidly. The newly grown red scales were like carved red jade, or like rising flames, flowing with spiritual light.

Its body, which was thirty feet long, slowly grew until it reached a length of one hundred feet before stopping.

As its body changed, the Candle Serpent's aura surged, and a dense demonic energy filled the sky, unleashing a powerful pressure.

Having withstood the ninth tribulation of lightning, it finally became an eighth-level demon beast.

The Candle Serpent let out a long hiss, revealing a hint of joy, and then lowered its head to pounce on Chen Yuan.

Its enormous body rapidly shrank, transforming back into a small, red snake a few inches long. It withdrew its aura, landed on Chen Yuan's left shoulder, and affectionately nuzzled his face.

Chen Yuan smiled slightly, raised his right hand, gently stroked the head of the little red snake a few times, then flipped his palm over, and the little red snake obediently swam into his palm.

Chen Yuan moved his right hand to his chest and looked down at the small red snake in his palm, its scales becoming increasingly translucent. Its vertical pupils had returned to being two black pearls, revealing a hint of innocence, completely unlike the cold eyes of a snake.

Feeling the affection and intimacy emanating from the little red snake, Chen Yuan smiled slightly and sent a thought to inquire about the mysterious divine power that could stabilize heavenly lightning.

Ordinary demonic beasts can transform into human form after surviving the tribulation of lightning.

However, spirit beasts that have had their souls and blood restricted by cultivators since childhood cannot take human form or even speak human language under the constraints of the Great Dao, even if they survive the tribulation of lightning. They are simply more intelligent and no different from ordinary people.

As for those spirit beasts that can guard the cave and relay messages, they are usually captured by cultivators later, have restrictions placed on them, and then take pills to remove the horizontal bone in their mouths.

The small red snake could not speak, but it roughly understood the message Chen Yuan was conveying, and immediately replied with a message.

Chen Yuan then understood that the mysterious divine power was called the Breath of Time. It did not freeze the heavenly lightning, but rather slowed down the passage of time within a ten-zhang radius of the Candle Serpent. The speed of the heavenly lightning was greatly reduced, and from the side, it appeared as if it had been frozen in place.

The Candle Serpent's cultivation level was not high, and it was facing a heavenly tribulation. At most, it could only freeze the heavenly lightning for three breaths, but that was enough for it to avoid the heavenly lightning.

When the Heavenly Tribulation descended, it firmly targeted the cultivators undergoing the tribulation and the demonic beasts.

Using ordinary methods, even if one could escape temporarily, the heavenly lightning would catch up with them again.

However, the breath of time exhaled by the Candle Serpent directly altered the flow of time, essentially stealing three breaths of time.

The lightning bolt should have struck the Candle Serpent within those three breaths, but the Candle Serpent dodged it.

Time cannot be reversed, nor can it be turned back.

Three breaths later, the heavenly lightning returned to normal, but it could never turn back. Thus, the Candle Serpent had survived the first tribulation of lightning.

Chen Yuan clicked his tongue in amazement. No wonder the Heavenly Tribulation was so angry; the power of the remaining lightning tribulation suddenly increased significantly.

Even a heavenly tribulation cannot unleash the first bolt of heavenly lightning again; no matter how angry it is, it can only increase the power of the second and third bolts of heavenly lightning.

The power of time was too profound. Even though the Candle Serpent possessed the bloodline of Candle Nine Yin and continuously exhaled the breath of time, exhausting its demonic power, it could only withstand the ninth heavenly lightning with its physical body.

Fortunately, the Candle Serpent absorbed abundant spatial power, making its physical body strong enough to successfully overcome the greatly enhanced heavenly tribulation.

Chen Yuan looked at the small red snake he was gently stroking in his palm, a hint of tenderness in his eyes. He sent a thought to it, telling it that he would find a spirit beast pouch to serve as the snake's dwelling.

The small red snake raised its front half of its body, its dark eyes filled with confusion.

A question filled with doubt arose in Chen Yuan's mind: What is a spirit beast bag?
Chen Yuan smiled. The little red snake had just hatched and had fallen into a deep sleep. When it awoke, it summoned a lightning tribulation. It was still completely ignorant of this world.

He mentally gave a brief introduction to the spirit beast pouch, worried that the little red snake wouldn't understand, only saying that it was a place similar to the Void Land.

Sensing this thought, the little red snake quickly shook its head, as if shaking its head, its eyes filled with resistance.

A thought also came from the little red snake in Chen Yuan's mind: it did not want to enter the spirit beast bag; it wanted to stay by its master's side.

As this thought arrived, the crimson snake lowered its body and swam to Chen Yuan's right wrist, its head and tail connecting to form a circle. It closed its eyes and transformed back into a blood jade bracelet, but this time it was much more dazzling than before.

Feeling the warm sensation on his wrist, Chen Yuan shook his head and chuckled, no longer mentioning the spirit beast pouch.

He turned around, mounted his escape light, and soon returned to Xingzhu City, landing in front of the cave.

Zhang Xuancang and Daoist Zuiyun were already waiting there. When they saw Chen Yuan return, they immediately came to greet him.

The two of them looked at the blood jade bracelet on Chen Yuan's right wrist at the same time, their faces showing hesitation.

Master Zuiyun asked, "I wonder if your spirit beast has survived the tribulation?"

At this moment, the sky above Xingzhu City was cloudless. Since Chen Yuan left, the calamity clouds had quietly dissipated.

The mortals in the city cursed the fickle weather under their breath, while the cultivators were greatly surprised by the sudden surge of energy in the heavens and earth, which then calmed down just as suddenly.

It was only after Master Zuiyun issued an edict stating that his test of supernatural powers had caused changes in the celestial phenomena that the cultivators in the city dispersed.

The two then went to Chen Yuan's cave dwelling to wait for Chen Yuan's return.

Chen Yuan was fully aware of this, and during the tribulation of the Candle Serpent, his divine sense remained constantly overshadowing Xingzhu City.

However, Xingzhu City lacked spiritual energy, so the great formation could not be activated at all times. Chen Yuan's divine sense was unimpeded, and he saw everyone's reactions.

He looked apologetic and bowed with his hands clasped: "My spirit beast suddenly awakened and summoned a lightning tribulation, causing the spiritual energy to become chaotic. I hope Fellow Daoist Zuiyun will not take offense."

"Fortunately, this beast was still quite strong, and the power of the heavenly tribulation was mediocre, so it managed to survive the lightning tribulation."

As soon as Chen Yuan finished speaking, he suddenly felt the blood jade bracelet tighten around his wrist.

Chen Yuan chuckled inwardly and sent a reassuring thought, causing the blood jade bracelet to slowly loosen.

Upon hearing this, Master Zuiyun's eyes flashed with a hint of amazement: "An eighth-level demon beast... Fellow Daoist Chen has a great talent."

Zhang Xuancang took a deep look at the blood jade bracelet and said in a low voice, "Fellow Daoist Chen, you must never reveal this spirit snake to the demon race in the future, otherwise you will be hunted down by the demon race to the death."

Chen Yuan nodded: "Rest assured, fellow Daoists, I understand."

Level 8 spirit beasts are nothing special in the human realm, but the Jiuli Sect alone has countless level 8 or higher spirit beasts.

There is even a divine-level candle snake guarding the mountain gate, which has been passed down for tens of thousands of years without being destroyed.

However, in this realm, the demon race is supreme, and naturally, they will not allow humans to raise spirit beasts.

Thousands of cultivators gathered in Xingzhu City, but very few of them kept spirit beasts, and most of them were level one demon beasts.

There are very few monsters of level two or above, and not a single one of them is level five or above.

Spirit beasts require cultivation resources, while human cultivators are barely able to take care of themselves, let alone use precious pills and herbs on spirit beasts.

Moreover, the demon race considers it a great disgrace for humans to raise spirit beasts. Low-level demon beasts are one thing, but if anyone dares to raise a spirit beast to level eight or above, they will definitely be killed.

In the past, several Nascent Soul cultivators' spirit beasts survived the tribulation of lightning. When the demon race learned of this, they joined forces to hunt them down in their anger, and even some high-ranking demon generals participated in the hunt.

Without exception, all of these Nascent Soul cultivators died at the hands of the demon race.

Over the past two years, Chen Yuan has consulted hundreds of ancient texts and is no different from the cultivators of this realm, so he is well aware of this.

Seeing that Chen Yuan knew what he was doing, Master Zuiyun and Zhang Xuancang stopped trying to persuade him.

The two bid farewell and left, but just as they mounted their escape light and flew into the sky, a beam of spiritual light flew from outside the city and headed straight for the cave of Master Zuiyun.

Master Zuiyun let out a soft exclamation, raised his hand, and the ray of spiritual light folded in the air and landed in his hand; it turned out to be a sound transmission talisman.

Chen Yuan and Zhang Xuancang both stared intently at the sound, while Master Zuiyun raised his hand and pointed at the sound transmission talisman, listening intently.

A moment later, he raised his head, looked at Chen Yuan, and smiled: "Fellow Daoist Shen has finally sent word, inviting Fellow Daoist Chen to Falling Star Peak for a chat." (End of Chapter)