Nine Evolutions of the True Spirit

Meanwhile, on Huang Li Island, after arranging and assigning tasks to Chen Lian and Zheng Jie, Hu Lili said, “I’ll be making a trip to a garden located within Tian Ling Mountain with the Amethyst Bee Swarm. I’ll be back within a couple of months at the earliest or half a year at the latest. With Great Ancestor Tian-Lin around, your safety is ensured. I’ll be entrusting you to manage the daily maintenance of the island for me.”

Zheng Jie replied cheerfully, “Don’t worry! We’ve tightened the security of the island ever since that battle. The cultivators visiting the island are much more obedient now, and with the addition of Great Ancestor Tian-Lin, no one will be brave enough to kick up a fuss. You have to be wary of Xuan-Yin and the others during your trip. They actually tried to kill Lu Qin’er on Tian Ling Mountain. They’re obviously coming for you and her. I wonder why Junior Lu didn’t kill them back then.”

Hu Lili shook her head helplessly at the question, and answered, “Anyway, it’s never wrong to be extra cautious. Do remember to put more effort into your training. I heard that brat Zhang Zi-Cheng has already condensed his Golden Core, making you the only one amongst us that has yet to do so. Either way, my senior sisters, and the other sisters aren’t a problem. The troublesome ones are the people that are supporting them from behind the scenes.”

Zheng Jie’s expression darkened at the mention of her cultivation level. Hu Lili retrieved a jade bottle and delivered it to her, “This is a Seven-Step Striped Pellet that Lu Ping gave to me before he left. He told me to give this to you. He said that your foundation is slightly weak, causing you to struggle in the Peak Blood Condensation Realm for so many years. I didn’t give you the pill until now because I wanted you to strengthen your foundation, to build a brighter path for yourself in the future.”

Zheng Jie’s attention was entirely occupied by the Seven Step Striped Pellet. The happiness overwhelmed her as she hurriedly snatched the jade bottle away from Hu Lili, completely ignoring her advice. Hu Lili gave up and let her have her way after seeing her response.

Before leaving, Hu Lili entered Lu Ping’s training chamber and sealed it after exiting. From then onwards, no one stepped foot in the training chamber.

In one of the cave chambers in Tian Ling Mountain, four Enlightened Masters were holding a meeting. If Lu Ping was present, he would instantly recognize three of them. They were Xuan-Chang, Xuan-He, and Xuan-Qing who were at Di Kun Island.

With a slight hesitation, Xuan-Chang said, “The incident in Huang Li Island is beyond our expectations. It seems that Lu Ping is stronger than we thought. Such a person will most likely become a pillar of support for the sect like Jiang Tian-Lin. Don’t you think that plotting against him like that is a little inappropriate? Now that the rise of our sect is inevitable, and with the war between humans and monsters, we need more talents than ever. It’s not wise for us to be plotting against him.”

The middle-aged cultivator sitting in the head seat nodded. “Indeed. I initially thought that it wasn’t too excessive to station a Late Core Forging Realm Enlightened Master on the island, given how important it is. However, Senior Sister Liu is known for how protective she is of her disciples. When she sent her Early Core Forging Realm disciple to the island, I thought she was fooling around and was being reckless. Clearly, I have been proven terribly wrong. Now, with Senior Brother Jiang personally safeguarding the island, its safety is no longer our concern. Junior Brother Xuan-Chang is right. The monster race will not sit quietly and watch as our sect grows stronger, let alone the other sects. We can’t raise any internal conflicts among ourselves!”

Seeing that their opinions were aligned, Xuan-Chang and the others concurred, “Well said!”

On the other hand, Enlightened Master Xuan-Chen’s eldest disciple, Enlightened Master Xuan-Yin, had found herself in a difficult spot for the last six months. After some reflection, she finally realized that she had been used by someone else.

She couldn’t fathom how she had been easily convinced by a pawn in the Blood Condensation Realm to plot against the Water Sword Immortal’s monster pet. What’s more, the monster pet was a close friend to Enlightened Master Jiang Xuan-Xuan, whose identity was widely known to every Enlightened Master on Tian Ling Mountain.

As for the Blood Condensation Realm pawn that tricked her, he had quickly lost his life in an invasion launched by the monster race after being garrisoned on an island during a sect mission.

Upon recalling the chaotic battle back in the place of inheritance, she recalled the might displayed by Lu Ping. When she remembered his fearsome gaze, a gaze filled with intense murderous intent, fear slowly crept over her.

Xuan-Yin had previously received an invitation from the Li Clan, one of the clans under the Zhen Ling Sect. They had invited her over to help them set up a new island protection formation in their Flying Lightning Island.

This Li Clan was no stranger to her. When Lu Xuan-Ping returned to the North Ocean once again, his reign of terror began with the Li Clan’s Clan Head, Li Xuan-Liang. Three years ago, someone had sneakily set up a spirit vein migration formation on the mini spirit veins in the Li Clan’s possession, robbing the Li Clan of their mini spirit veins and turning them into a laughing stock in the North Ocean.

With the spirit vein stolen from them, the island’s protective formation had been reduced to scraps. Although the Li Clan insisted that the person who stole their spirit vein was Lu Xuan-Ping, they had no evidence of this. Additionally, no one was brave enough to offend a Great Ancestor’s direct disciple, let alone when he was strong in his own right. After all, no Early Core Forging Realm cultivator would be brave enough to set up an establishment deep within the territory of the monster race with his fellow companions. Even if someone had the courage to do so, he would lack the strength to stand firm in the lands of the monster race. Yet, Lu Ping had done so, and had pulled it off remarkably.

Ever since the Huang Li Island’s battle, the Water Sword Immortal had advanced into the Mid Core Forging Realm and had become even more unstoppable. Rumor had it that he had claimed the lives of a couple of monster Enlightened Masters. With all of his achievements, no one was stupid enough to underestimate him.

Knowing that the Li Clan was on bad terms with the same person that she had offended, Xuan-Yin figured that her way out was to cooperate with the Li Clan and fend him off together.

With her mind made up, Xuan-Yin left the cave and made her way to Tian Ling Mountain. She failed to notice a couple of violet bees buzzing around the flowers in one of the gardens right outside of her cave. Right as she left, the largest bee flapped its wings and left with the smaller ones.

As she was traveling, Xuan-Yin was thinking about how she was going to clarify things with Li Xuan-Liang. Suddenly, her expression became twisted and she spread out her divine revelation, and said, “Who’s there!”

“Hehe, you’re really fierce, lady!” A young girl donning white clothes emerged before her. There was a wide smile on her face. Alongside her chubby cheeks, the little girl was the definition of cute.

Xuan-Yin was caught off guard, and couldn’t help but exclaim, “Monster Enlightened Master!”

The little girl pouted upon seeing Xuan-Yin’s wariness, “You’re boring! I don’t like you!”

Realizing that the girl was only a First Layer Core Forging Realm cultivator, Xuan-Yin’s anxiety eased up a little. She snapped, “You’re really gutsy to run amok deep in the Zhen Ling Sect’s territory. Do you have a death wish?”

The little girl made a funny face in response, before glancing behind her. “What do we do now?”

She’s not alone!, Xuan-Yin’s expression contorted again, while another childish voice sounded behind her. “Aunty Hu said this lady tried to kill Big Sister Qin’er. I say we kill her first!”

Xuan-Yin turned around, finding a little girl wearing green clothes. She appeared to be around the same age as the girl in white, but by the way she talked, she seemed like an adult.

A moment of realization struck Xuan-Yin, causing her expression to darken. She shouted, “You! Hu Lili sent you? That b*tch! Is she working with the monster race to plot against her own kind? How dare she?”

Suddenly, the ocean twisted, and a whirlpool formed in the air, restricting Xuan-Yin’s movements. Alongside the appearance of the whirlpool was another boy that looked around the same age as the two little girls. He pointed his finger at Xuan-Yin, and said, “Don’t accuse someone else! You’re the bad person here!”

The appearance of the third monster Enlightened Master, shocked Xuan-Yin greatly. Channeling energy to her legs, Xuan-Yin unleashed a shockwave, dispersing the water that was restricting her movement, and creating a green formation beneath her legs. Then, a pillar of green flame emerged from the formation beneath her legs, surrounding her inside as Xuan-Yin ignited a charm in her hands. Some smoke was emitted, charging right into the sky before a loud explosion took place and created flares. This was the Zhen Ling Sect’s warning charm.

The three little ones did not seem to realize the importance of the first strike. They stood to the side and watched as Xuan-Yin alerted the Zhen Ling Sect. After completing her preparations, Xuan-Yin heaved a sigh of relief while the three little ones exchanged a glance. The girl in green giggled and then opened her mouth and started breathing abruptly. Immediately, Xuan-Yin sensed an invisible power tearing her green barrier apart. An ear-deafening screech sounded out, causing the green barrier to look as if it was about to break at any moment.

Panic started washing over Xuan-Yin. She hadn’t thought that this little girl would be on the same level as her and would also be so bold and decisive. Yet, before she could grasp the situation properly, the boy in blue reached his hand into the ocean, unsheathing a spear made of pure water and thrusting it at Xuan-Yin. When the tip of the spearhead came in contact with the barrier, the barrier started bending inwards and cracking.

Xuan-Yin was very scared and started to complete some hand signs. She attempted to break herself out of the dire situation by launching an attack on the three monsters. However, to her horror, she found herself unable to put up a fight against the three little ones, because she was a cultivator that focused on formations. She was never an expert at direct combat, so she was cornered by a barrage of attacks that gave her barely any time to attack.

The girl in white stomped the ground like an angry child throwing a tantrum, creating large ice spikes that were sent towards Xuan-Yin, throwing her off balance.

When she came back to her senses, she could only watch in terror as her formation started to crumble. The force of the impact caused Xuan-Yin to splurt out a mouthful of blood, while the girl in white clapped cheerfully, “She’s done for!”

The boy scoffed in response before channeling his energy into the ocean, extracting the water, and creating another water spear. The girl in white giggled once more and waved her hand, freezing the water and creating a frozen spear.

The spear was then sent flying towards Xuan-Yin, while the girl in green exhaled, sending a gust of wind that boosted the spears speed. Xuan-Yin could only watch as the spear rammed into her formation barrier before effortlessly piercing through her heartspace.

The girl in white then hopped playfully towards Xuan-Yin’s body and retrieved her interspatial instrument. The three little kids then hopped back into the ocean. A moment later, peace returned to the area, and vague conversations between the kids could be heard.

“Boring. Spells are boring! I’ll have Daddy make me some mystic treasures next time!”

“I want a spear, just like the one I made just now. I also want a mount. I want to be as cool as a general!”

“I want a sword. I hope Daddy will teach me some sword skills.:

“Dagger! Ling’er wants a dagger!”

…

Meanwhile, at the bottom of the valley in Tian Ling Mountain, where Lu Ping’s Wave Listening Palace was located, Hu Lili was strolling casually along the beach. She only returned to Tian Ling Mountain and continued commanding the violet bees when harvesting the mature spirit herbs in the gardens.

Apart from a few higher-ups, the cultivators in Tian Ling Mountain thought that the violet bees were the well-known Amethyst Bees that were bred by Great Ancestor Tian-Lu. As a result, none of the gardens’ owners dared to give them any trouble. Whenever they saw the bees, they would grant them full access to their spirit gardens.

As for Lu Ping, he stayed back on Ice Frost Island for a year. During this period of time, he managed to complete everything he wanted to do on the island. Similarly, the other sects were also almost done exploring the island. With his teacher, along with the Late Core Forging Realm cultivators, Xuan-Huo and Xuan-Sen, on the island, there was no need for him to be worried for its safety. With that, he started missing his Huang Li Island, so he decided to bid his teacher farewell.

After entering Liu Tian-Ling’s temporary training chamber, he immediately clarified his intentions. Liu Tian-Ling remained silent after hearing his request, making Lu Ping feel speechless.

After some time, Liu Tian-Ling opened her eyes and looked directly at Lu Ping, “What happened on Huang Li Island? What did that person tell you?”

Lu Ping was stunned by her question. Lu Ping realized that the person Liu Tian-Ling was referring to was Jiang Tian-Lin. Hence, he explained to her what happened before and after the battle of Huang Li Island. He also told her about how Jiang Tian-Ling caught him during the battle on Huang Li Island; how he saw Great Ancestor Tian-Fan in Liberal Palace, and how Enlightened Master Xuan-Shang and the others were sent to Ice Frost Island as punishment. Hearing all of that, Liu Tian-Ling grinned. “It seems like this is all the work of Xuan-Shu. Xuan-Chang must have also been involved in these matters. Hmph. He only knows how to give in, and he calls that being flexible. He’s nothing like a man at all!”

Lu Ping kept silent, not daring to make any comments.