Nine Evolutions of the True Spirit
chapter-460

In the depths of the mountain ranges in the Abyssal Monster Realm, the White Jade Lotus slowly spun atop Lu Ping's head. A wave of blue light descended from the lotus flower, covering the entire cavern as if to suppress something within.

The entire cavern was now filled with a black light that surged relentlessly through the surroundings, as if searching for an outlet to vent its energy. However, it was tightly bound by the wave of blue light descending from the White Jade Lotus.

Lu Ping gazed at the surging black light with joy clearly visible on his face and said, "Da Gui has indeed advanced to the next level, though I didn't expect it would cause such a remarkable phenomenon. If I had immersed myself in cultivation these past few days, I wouldn't have had time to suppress it, thus revealing our location."

Several days later, a tall, taciturn-looking young man appeared before Lu Ping. In a deep voice, he said, "Master, Da Gui has successfully transformed and advanced to the Core Forging Realm.”

Lu Ping smiled. "Da Gui, I need your help now. This is a critical time for you to consolidate your cultivation, but we need to get out of the Abyssal Monster Realm as soon as possible. I had no choice but to free you up for this crucial moment.”

Da Gui, who now took the form of a young adult male, nodded and replied, “Rest assured, Master. I know what has to be done.”

Lu Ping patted his shoulder and said, "Alright then, it's up to you now. Blend in the Monsters’ population in the realm to find the route out of this realm. At the same time, try to look for clues about the current situation between the Humans and Monsters. This is supposed to be the snake trio’s responsibility, but their identity is very sensitive at the moment. They were discovered back then, so we can’t allow them to show up in front of the Monsters. As for Da Bao, his cultivation level is too weak, not to mention he’s an earth-elemental spirit-seeking mouse. He’d only be captured by the Monsters and turned into a pet that serves no other purpose but for entertainment. This is why I need you out there.”

After that, Lu Ping handed two items to Da Gui and said, “Everything happened too quickly, and I’ve had no time to prepare more suitable items for you. These are trophies that I’ve acquired throughout the years. They’re considered pretty decent among the water-elemental items. This is for offense, and the other is for defense. I’m handing them to you just in case. When we break ourselves free from this predicament, I’ll get Chen Lian to forge and refine a piece of suitable equipment for you.”

Da Gui nodded and took an interspatial pouch from Lu Ping before putting the spirit stones and pellets into it. He then left the cave and wandered deep into the depths.

Meanwhile, at the airspace of Heaven Forge Mountain, as soon as Dao-Sheng’s voice sounded, Tian-Xue appeared beside Tian-Fan. She gave a casual greeting to Dao-Sheng before snarling fiercely, “Dao-Yan, show yourself! Do you think you can fool me with your little tricks? Do you think the Xuan Ling Sect is the only capable sect in the North Ocean? Don’t delude yourself!”

The space beside Dao-Sheng twisted and when the space recovered, a figure was revealed. Appearing from the space was Dao-Yan, whose expression darkened after being publicly cursed at by Tian-Xue. His originally proud and unruly personality was nowhere to be seen. Now, he looked like a prowling venomous snake waiting to lunge at its prey. In a cold and eerie tone, he announced, “The Snow and Wind Immortals are going to fight against Senior Brother Dao-Sheng, and Tian-Xiang is being detained by Senior Brother Dao-Xuan in the Fallen Rift. Now that they’re preoccupied, tell me, Senior Brother Dao-Sheng and Dao-Xuan, what do you plan to do? Are you going to sacrifice one of your Law Avatar Realm cultivators to boost his strength? Who’s it going to be? Tian-Lu or Tian-Jiang? I think neither of them could match up with Tian-Kang’s peak strength back then. Even if they resorted to such extremes, I doubt they could stay alive as long as he did.”

“Haha, I heard that Senior Uncle Dao-Yan is the third strongest cultivator of your sect. I wonder if we could have the honor to compete with you and learn some new tricks?” said Tian-Lin as he and Tian-Ling walked out together.

Dao-Yan narrowed his eyes. He turned around, shifted his gaze toward the Snow and Wind Immortals, and nodded. “Hmmm. It seems like you’ve both mastered the Soul Link, the secret technique of your sect. Is that where you gained your confidence from?”

As he spoke, Dao Yan narrowed his eyes and he looked at the Wind and Snow Twin Immortals beside him, nodding and saying, "I see that you two have also mastered the 'Equal Greetings' divine skill. It is only with this skill that you would have the confidence to challenge me."

With that said, Dao-Yan’s expression suddenly twisted. He locked his eyes on Tian-Lin and Tian-Ling before saying grimly, “That’s it. I see how it is now. I’ve always thought Tian-Xiang was the one supporting your people behind the scenes. It appears that you’re the ones who defeated and murdered Junior Brother Dao-Kong.”

Tian-Lin maintained his smile while Tian-Ling’s expression suddenly darkened. An icy chill flashed across her eyes.

Suddenly, Dao-Yan glanced behind his shoulder. Behind him, Feng Xu-Dao and Dao-Li, the other two cultivators of the Xuan Ling Sect, had arrived. Feng Xu-Dao immediately focused on the husband and wife, a myriad of expressions twisting his face. Anger, frustration, and many more emotions could be seen running through him. In the end, he grunted unhappily as if to declare his presence to everyone present.

Following their appearances were Tian-Lu and Tian-Jiang. The six Law Avatar Realm cultivators of the Zhen Ling Sect stood off against the five Law Avatar Realm cultivators from the Xuan Ling Sect. Everything was exactly like the battle from fifty years ago. This time, however, the Zhen Ling Sect’s growth was much quicker than their opponent’s. Back then, the Zhen Ling Sect had lost the upper hand and Tian-Kang was on the verge of losing his life because they were not as strong as they were now. This time, after Tian-Lin and Tian-Ling teamed up once more, they achieved a strength that surpassed that of Tian-Kang back then.

Just as the two sides confronted each other, Dao-Sheng uttered, “Did both of you actually achieve an Eighth Grade Golden Core at the same time?"

Given Dao-Sheng’s unique position, Tian-Lin maintained the respect he held toward those with strength despite the approach of an imminent battle. After all, Dao-Sheng’s reputation wasn’t only due to his cultivation level. It was the bodies of the many mid-Law Avatar Realm cultivators he buried in the past that earned him the title. Ever since emerging victorious, he had firmly secured his position as the strongest cultivator in the North Ocean. Even Tian-Xiang himself tasted defeat at the hands of Dao-Sheng.

Tian-Lin bowed and paid his respects to Dao-Sheng, who was undeniably the senior in the cultivation path. Tian-Lin, however, did not put himself in a lowly position. Instead, in a humble yet confident manner, he replied, “My wife and I were fortunate enough to achieve the Eighth-Grade Golden Core. It’s all luck.”

The moment Tian-Lin’s words rolled off his tongue, Feng Xu-Dao’s expression twisted once more. Though he had already anticipated this, he still couldn’t help but feel even more unhappy and angered at the revelation.

With a nod, Dao-Sheng acknowledged them and said, “Jiang Tian-Lin, you were a powerful genius back then in the North Ocean. If it weren’t because of his earlier entrance into the cultivation world, you would’ve surpassed Feng Xu-Dao long ago.”

Feng Xu-Dao simply lowered his head at Dao-Sheng’s remarks. Though no one could see his face, they could tell that Feng Xu-Dao was feeling extremely embarrassed at this moment.

Yet, there was nothing Feng Xu-Dao could say, nor could he hold any grudges against Dao-Sheng. After all, Dao-Sheng was not only the pillar that supported the Xuan Ling Sect, he was also Feng Xu-Dao’s master.