Nine Transformations of the True Spirit

Qi State, Lingyun Mountains.

Hundreds of cultivators gathered on the white jade square at the top of Lingyun Peak, including those who were in the stage of forming elixir, building foundation, and refining qi. Each of them had a serious expression and was completely silent, with only the sound of wind blowing long gowns.

In front of Lingyun Hall, a high platform was built with three chairs. Jin Luoheng and Zhuge Qi sat on the chairs, closing their eyes and resting.

Below the platform, fifteen Lingyun Sect Jindan cultivators stood with their hands behind their backs.

Suddenly, a beam of light flew from a distance and landed in front of the platform, revealing the figure of Chu Guangkai.

He clasped his fists and bowed to Jin Luoheng, his old voice slightly high-pitched: "Reporting to the master, the Guiyuan Sect's giant boat has arrived outside the mountain gate!"

Jin Luoheng slowly opened his eyes, looked at Zhuge Qi beside him, and smiled: "Thank you, Senior Brother Zhuge, for taking the trip."

Zhuge Qi nodded and stood up: "Please lead the way, Senior Brother Chu."

Chu Guangkai nodded, and with a flicker of his light, the two flew into the ten-thousand-foot cloud wall.

About two quarters of an hour later, a hundred-foot giant boat slowly sailed out of the ten-thousand-foot cloud wall. The huge boat covered the sky and the sun, and it came to the sky above Lingyun Peak before stopping.

Jin Luoheng stood up from the master's chair, and hundreds of cultivators on the white jade square scattered, and the giant boat slowly landed.

Zhuge Qi and Chu Guangkai stood at the head of the boat. Beside them was Bai Yanji, who was smiling and chatting with Zhuge Qi.

After the giant boat landed, Bai Yanji's smile disappeared, and he swung down the giant boat and came to the high platform. He bowed deeply to Jin Luoheng and said earnestly: "Meet the master!"

Jin Luoheng returned the greeting and smiled: "The ceremony has not yet been held. Brother Bai is too modest."

Bai Yanji said solemnly: "The referendum is over. From today on, there is no Guiyuan Sect, only Lingyun Sect. If the master doesn't mind, just call me Junior Brother."

Jin Luoheng followed suit and extended his hand: "Junior Brother Bai, please sit down."

Bai Yanji smiled and followed Jin Luoheng's instructions and sat down on his left.

At this time, Zhuge Qi also returned to the high platform and sat down on Jin Luoheng's right.

Chu Guangkai came to the front of the high platform with other Guiyuan Sect elders, and hundreds of Guiyuan Sect disciples also got off the giant boat together.

An elder in the late Jindan stage raised his hand and made a gesture to put away the giant boat. The scattered Lingyun sect monks gathered around again and stood aside, clearly separated from the Guiyuan sect monks.

The number of people on both sides was almost the same, but Guiyuan sect had only seven Jindan elders, and only half of the foundation-building disciples of Lingyun sect, most of whom were Qi-refining disciples.

Since Chen Yuan returned to the sect, Lingyun sect has become more and more powerful, while Guiyuan sect has been declining day by day, and has already shown a state of lack of successors.

Bai Yanji sat on the Taishi chair, looking at the Guiyuan sect disciples standing with the Lingyun sect monks below, with obvious fear or excitement on their faces, and a trace of haze flashed in the depths of his eyes.

Two years ago, when Zhuge Qi was a guest in Guiyuan sect, the monks in the sect suddenly proposed to merge into Lingyun sect.

He was furious and was about to deal with such a traitor, but was stopped by Zhuge Qi.

Zhuge Qi's subsequent fallacies and heresies made him still remember them clearly.

Bai Yanji certainly didn't believe in "the legal rights of low-level cultivators", "every cultivator has the right to choose his own path to cultivation", "Guiyuan Sect is the Guiyuan Sect of every cultivator of Guiyuan Sect, and they have the right to decide their own future"...

There is no place for the weak in front of the strong.

But unfortunately, he was a weakling in front of Zhuge Qi, no, in front of Chen Yuan.

He was sure to suppress Zhuge Qi, and he was not afraid of facing Jin Luoheng.

But when he thought of Chen Yuan, who was fighting against the Demon Lord and killing monsters like killing chickens, he could only swallow his anger and agree to the "referendum" proposed by those rebels.

Zhuge Qi put on a righteous look and praised these rebels.

He said that this was a "pioneering move" that would definitely "lead Guiyuan Sect to a better future", "the first time that low-level cultivators have made their own voices", and "a day of creation" in the cultivation world of Qi State.

Bai Yanji wanted to turn against Zhuge Qi on the spot at all costs.

Without the support of Lingyun Sect, they would not dare to bully their master and ancestors even if they had a hundred guts!

But every time Bai Yanji wanted to kill, Chen Yuan's figure would flash through his mind, pouring a basin of ice water on his head, and all his anger was extinguished.

Not only did he not dare to get angry, he also had to force a smile.

But how could he be willing to give up the position of the head and watch Guiyuan Sect being annexed by Lingyun Sect.

Late that night, he sent his personal disciples to Tianxuan Sect to ask Elder Zhou for help.

But who knew that Elder Zhou had been in seclusion for many days and did not see outsiders.

Bai Yanji had no choice but to let his disciples ask to see Daoxuan, explain the pros and cons, and beg him to intervene to prevent Lingyun Sect from annexing Guiyuan Sect.

Although Bai Yanji's strength was mediocre, he was well versed in strategy and calculation, and was very good at judging the situation. Otherwise, he would not have been able to preserve the sect during the several major changes in the Qi Kingdom's cultivation world.

However, now that Lingyun Hall is the only one in power and has shown its fangs, Guiyuan Sect has no room for maneuver and must seek help from outside forces.

Facing the rebellious people's step-by-step pressure and Zhuge Qi's seemingly kind but actually threatening words, Bai Yanji pretended to be submissive while waiting for the response from Tianxuan Sect.

Finally, the disciple returned to the sect and brought back Daoxuan's letter, promising to help.

Bai Yanji breathed a sigh of relief. When Zhuge Qi pressed him again the next day, he could no longer bear it and said directly that if the Guiyuan Sect cultivators could vote on whether to join the Lingyun Sect, then could they vote on joining other sects, such as... the Tianxuan Sect.

He asked himself that he had made it very clear, and Zhuge Qi should immediately give up.

No matter how strong the Lingyun Sect is, can it still be compared with the four major Xuan Sects?

Chen Yuan's strength is not weak, but after all, he is only at the early stage of the Nascent Soul, and he is still inferior to the great cultivators.

But unexpectedly, when Zhuge Qi heard the three words "Tianxuan Sect", he was not afraid at all, but instead spoke sternly, saying something like "sects decide for themselves" and that other sects should not interfere in the affairs of the immortal world of various countries, otherwise the Lingyun Sect would definitely resist.

Bai Yanji was very surprised, but with the support of the Lingyun Sect behind him, he was naturally fearless and confronted Zhuge Qi head-on.

The two sides parted unhappily, and the referendum became a distant prospect.

But Zhuge Qi still lingered in Guiyuan Sect, talking about Taoism with those rebels every day, and his arrogance was extremely rampant.

Those rebels began to disobey Bai Yanji, and the elders who guarded the spiritual stone mines, the market and other places outside, even withheld the spiritual stones, spiritual herbs, magic tools and elixirs with various excuses and refused to pay them to the sect.

Fortunately, he had controlled the sect for hundreds of years, and there were still some elders and disciples who were loyal, so he did not completely lose control of the sect.

He did not dare to turn against Lingyun Sect directly, and could only urge Tianxuan Sect to take action as soon as possible.

But at this time, Chen Yuan, who had disappeared for a long time and did not even participate in the battle of Mingyin Valley, suddenly appeared in the Southern Wilderness and joined forces with the casual cultivator Tang Jiugongzi to kill two level nine demon kings.

A correct version can be found in 16191 book and 1 forum!

The White Crane Sect bought a horn of the ninth-level Zhentianhu from Chen Yuan. Elder Wei of the Muli Sect fought with Chen Yuan and was defeated in a few rounds. He also claimed that Chen Yuan had broken through the bottleneck of the middle stage.

This incident shocked the Donghua cultivation world.

It is not uncommon for cultivators in the middle stage of the Nascent Soul, and the ninth-level demon king is not invincible. However, more than 20 years ago, Chen Yuan had just held the Nascent Soul Ceremony, and now he has broken through the bottleneck of the middle stage. This speed of cultivation is unprecedented.

In another 30, 50, or 100 years, to what extent will Chen Yuan's cultivation level increase?

There are even rumors that Chen Yuan will be the first Divine Transformation cultivator in Donghuazhou since ancient times.

Bai Yanji soon received a report from his disciples. The Tianxuan Sect changed its mind and would "respect the rights of the cultivators of the Guiyuan Sect and let them choose their own path of cultivation."

The moment he saw the letter, Bai Yanji was stunned.

This was completely Zhuge Qi's weird talk, which made him hate it. The Tianxuan Sect actually said so!

He had to accept a cruel fact that Tianxuan Sect had given up Guiyuan Sect.

Bai Yanji sat in the cave for three days and three nights. On the fourth day, he walked out of the cave and found Zhuge Qi. He changed his previous resistance and was willing to join Lingyun Sect, and there was no need to hold the "referendum ceremony".

But Zhuge Qi sternly refused, saying that the referendum must be held. Lingyun Sect had no intention of annexing Guiyuan Sect and would only respect the choices of Guiyuan Sect cultivators.

Bai Yanji thought it was completely unnecessary, but Zhuge Qi insisted, so he had to agree.

Three months ago, after a month of preparation, the referendum ceremony was officially held.

All 849 cultivators of Guiyuan Sect participated in the vote, 575 in favor, 138 against, and 136 abstained. With an overwhelming majority, the resolution to merge Guiyuan Sect into Lingyun Sect was passed.

The entire referendum ceremony was carried out in accordance with Zhuge Qi's suggestions, including three options: in favor, against, and abstention.

They also had to set up formations to prevent others from spying, adopt a secret ballot, and count the votes on the spot under the supervision of everyone, which was eye-opening.

Every word of Zhuge Qi was very novel, but even the Guiyuan Sect cultivators who were most opposed to the referendum ceremony had to admit that the referendum ceremony was extremely fair, and Lingyun Sect did not seem to have the intention of forcibly annexing Guiyuan Sect.

This also gave Bai Yanji a glimmer of hope in his heart. As long as there were enough cultivators who opposed the annexation of Lingyun Sect, the referendum ceremony would not pass, and Guiyuan Sect would not be annexed by Lingyun Sect.

But the result obviously disappointed him. He had never expected that there were so many Guiyuan Sect cultivators who wanted to be annexed by Lingyun Sect.

He knew that Lingyun Sect had made a promise that as long as it was annexed by Lingyun Sect, every Guiyuan Sect disciple would receive the same treatment as Lingyun Sect disciples, and the cultivation resources they obtained in Guiyuan Sect would be at least doubled.

Moreover, Lingyun Sect successively annexed Ziyang Sect and Mingyin Valley, and obtained two medium-sized spiritual veins, two medium-sized market towns, many spiritual stone veins, spiritual plant gardens and other places, all of which needed to be arranged with new formations.

Guiyuan Sect mainly inherited the formations, and the disciples in the sect more or less practiced the way of formations. There were a large number of sect tasks to receive, and the rewards were very generous.

Bai Yanji had arranged loyal disciples to secretly surrender to those rebels and inquire about the news, and knew all these things.

But he was still very angry. It was just some petty gains, so these people gave up their loyalty to the sect and became shameful rebels!

These rebels also argued that Guiyuan Sect first attached to Ziyang Sect and then to Lingyun Sect, and suffered humiliation, so it would be better to directly merge into Lingyun Sect.

Bai Yanji also admitted that in order to survive, he had to offer tributes to powerful sects such as Ziyang Sect and Lingyun Sect.

But this is also for the sake of the sect's inheritance. Why can't these disciples understand his difficulties?

Now that Guiyuan Sect has merged into Lingyun Sect, these low-level disciples have benefited.

But as the sect master, he originally enjoyed the entire Guiyuan Sect's offerings alone. Even if he had to share part of it with Ziyang Sect and Lingyun Sect, it would not hinder his cultivation.

Now he has changed from the master of a sect to a supreme elder, and he is not from Lingyun Sect. How should he deal with it?

Now he only hopes that the cultivation resources he gets will not be reduced too much. Although he has been trapped in the bottleneck of the middle stage for nearly a hundred years, he still has a glimmer of hope and is unwilling to give up.

When Bai Yanji felt mixed emotions, Jin Luoheng looked around and said, "After the referendum ceremony, the monks of Guiyuan Sect have passed the resolution to merge into our sect. The merger ceremony will be held today..."

He stopped halfway and looked up into the distance.

Seeing this, Bai Yanji was surprised and looked up into the distance.

A beam of light flew out from the ten-thousand-foot cloud wall at an extremely fast speed. It arrived in front of the platform in a moment, stopped, and Chen Yuan's figure appeared.

Bai Yanji was shocked and stood up quickly.

Chen Yuan ignored him, but bowed to Jin Luoheng: "I am a step late, please forgive me, Master." (End of this chapter)