Nine-Nine Extreme Transformation

Afterward, Hong Qianlie kept only his three direct disciples behind, clearly having something to tell them. Qiu Ming led the remaining nominal disciples out of the hall and made arrangements for them one by one.

"This is your residence. The sect's rules and some common knowledge about the cultivation world are recorded on the jade slip. If anything is unclear, look it up yourself."

Ever since he learned that Chen Lin had the useless constitution known as the "Parasitic Soul-Sharing Body," Qiu Ming had grown noticeably colder toward him. He brought Chen Lin to a simple courtyard halfway up the mountain, gave him a few cold instructions, then hurried away.

Chen Lin didn't take it to heart. He glanced around the courtyard. It wasn't large, but it was spacious and unusually quiet, with nothing out of the ordinary. He went inside. The furnishings were just as sparse: a bed, two chairs, and a meditation cushion for cultivation. Nothing else.

Chen Lin closed the door and set everything else aside for the moment. First, he took out the jade slip containing the immortal art Hong Qianlie had given him, pressed it to his forehead, and closed his eyes to comprehend it.

"Nine-Nine Extreme Transformation."

After a long while, Chen Lin opened his eyes, a thoughtful look in them. Then he connected to the Main God Coffin.

"Nine-Nine Extreme Transformation, immortal art. Grade: unknown."

The immortal art seemed ordinary, but its contents were unfathomably obscure. Even the Main God Coffin had no information about it, which made Chen Lin even more cautious.

When the Main God Coffin couldn't find anything, there was usually only one explanation: the immortal art had never appeared in the world before, and no one had ever cultivated it. If no one had cultivated it, then the art was still in the experimental stage—or perhaps Hong Qianlie had created it himself.

Chen Lin's expression darkened.

Cultivating an immortal art whose purpose was unknown was no different from gambling with his life. Going mad from cultivation would be the least of his worries. He might even die before reaching the end.

"Prompt: The system can deduce cultivation arts. The cost in Death Energy increases according to the difficulty of the art. Would you like to proceed? Yes/No."

The Guide's cold voice suddenly rang out.

Chen Lin froze, then felt a flicker of delight. He had plenty of Death Energy at the moment and could afford to spend some, so he agreed without hesitation.

No matter how carefully Hong Qianlie had planned, he couldn't have known that Chen Lin had the mysterious Main God Coffin system inside him, capable of deducing cultivation arts and calculating the consequences of practicing them.

"Deduction in progress... Deduction complete."

"Nine-Nine Extreme Transformation, immortal art. Grade: unknown. Function: Primarily cultivates the soul. Divided into nine levels; at each level, soul strength doubles. Warning: This art is still in the experimental stage. Contractee, cultivate with caution. Death Energy spent on deduction: 1,000 points."

Chen Lin's heart sank. Part of it was the 1,000 points of Death Energy he'd spent on the deduction, which pained him. But more than that, it was clear Hong Qianlie's intentions weren't innocent. He was trying to harm him!

The soul was the most mysterious and profound thing of all. Before breaking through the Xiantian Realm and reaching the Sea-Opening Realm, it was difficult for anyone to detect changes in their own soul.

But Chen Lin knew that the power of just two souls was already too much for his body to bear. Never mind increasing it by a terrifying ninefold!

By the time he broke through to the Sea-Opening Realm, his soul power would likely erupt completely—and that would be the end of him.

Not cultivate it? That was out of the question. He couldn't resist Hong Qianlie at all. In half a month, Hong Qianlie would inspect him personally. If he found that Chen Lin hadn't cultivated the immortal art, he could crush him with a single finger.

Find a way to escape the Myriad Demon Sect?

Chen Lin's heart stirred, and he quickly contacted the Guide.

"Guide, can the restriction the Myriad Demon Sect planted inside me be removed?"

To escape the Myriad Demon Sect, he first had to remove the mysterious sect restriction that had been placed inside him.

"Spirit-Binding Restriction: A unique restriction of the Myriad Demon Sect. Death Energy required to remove it: 10,000 points."

Chen Lin's expression turned thoroughly grim.

After a long period of accumulation and a bit of good fortune, he had only managed to reach 8,000 points of Death Energy. The deduction had just cost him 1,000, leaving him with a little over 7,000. How was he supposed to save up 10,000?

Since he couldn't leave the Myriad Demon Sect for now, Chen Lin had to look for a solution elsewhere.

"Guide, is there any way to deal with this so-called 'Parasitic Soul-Sharing Body'?"

If he could resolve the troublesome constitution known as the "Parasitic Soul-Sharing Body," then things might not be as bad as they seemed. With no other options, Chen Lin decided to start there.

"Parasitic Soul-Sharing Body, special constitution. Formed when two souls merge into one, mutually dependent and perfectly intertwined, inseparable."

"Contractee may choose: 1. Body-tempering immortal arts, to cultivate the physical body until it can bear the power of two souls before breaking through to the Sea-Opening Realm. Recommended arts: Wild Sacred Body, Eight-Nine Profound Art, Nirvana Demon Body..."

"2. Exchange for a powerful bloodline that strengthens the physical body. Recommended bloodlines: Ancestral Witch Bloodline, Three Thousand Demon God Bloodline, Black Tortoise Bloodline, Titan God Bloodline..."

"3. Abandon the physical body and cultivate the divine arts of the ghost path..."

"4. Cultivate an external incarnation..."

The Guide rattled off nearly ten possible solutions. Chen Lin was dumbfounded, but then he could only smile bitterly. These solutions were all well and good, but each one was incredibly difficult. The Death Energy they required was terrifying, making them impossible for him to achieve.

Unable to think of any solution for the time being, Chen Lin simply put these matters out of his mind. He didn't know what he would face in the future, but right now, the most important thing was to grow stronger. At the very least, he needed the strength to protect himself if danger came.

At this moment, his cultivation had reached the peak of the Houtian Realm, and he was about to break through to the Xiantian Realm.

Chen Lin had cultivated the Dragon-Elephant Nirvana Art to perfection, opening the latent meridians in his body. After absorbing the essence of the Heavenly Demon Blood Pool, his physical body had also undergone several rounds of reconstruction. The potential of his bloodline had evolved from the mortal rank to the earth rank, and his foundation no longer had any flaws. It was time to break through to the Xiantian Realm.

This was a watershed.

All living things in the world were Houtian from the moment of birth, tainted by the world's turbid energy. The first step in cultivation was to return from Houtian to Xiantian: to cast off the mortal world and gain control of spiritual energy and one's own body.

Beasts at the Xiantian stage could briefly take human form for half a day. After all, humans were the most intelligent of all living beings and possessed the most suitable bodies for cultivation. Cultivating in human form could boost one's speed by nearly half.

To ensure a safer, smoother breakthrough to the Xiantian Realm, Chen Lin opened the Main God Exchange System once more.

"Spirit Essence Nine-Return Pill, quality: supreme. Origin: Main God Space. It circulates all the spiritual energy in your body nine times to attack the acupoints, giving you nine chances to break through to the Xiantian Realm. Evaluation: If you can't break through to the Xiantian Realm after all nine chances, you might as well go home and farm. Death Energy required for exchange: 300 points."

Chen Lin was speechless at the Main God Space's evaluation. He hadn't expected it to have such a dry sense of humor.

After exchanging for the Spirit Essence Nine-Return Pill, Chen Lin swallowed it without hesitation. He sat on the meditation cushion in an unusual posture, closed his eyes, and quietly focused his mind.

Before long, Chen Lin suddenly felt a stream of heat slowly circulating from his lower abdomen. At first it moved sluggishly, but in an instant, it grew faster and stronger! Before long, nine surging vortexes churned inside him like storm-tossed seas, crashing in every direction as if they were about to burst out of his body!

As a rumbling echoed inside him, Chen Lin's heart tightened. He circulated the Dao Heaven technique, guiding the vortexes through his meridians. A moment later, he closed his eyes and calmed his mind, sinking into stillness.

He remained in this state for a full day and night. Inside Chen Lin's body, one wave after another of terrifying pressure continued to build.

"Boom!"

At dawn the next day, a vast aura suddenly surged skyward from a courtyard halfway up the mountain, roaring like a flood. Under its influence, the courtyard's door exploded with a bang!

A tall, slender figure stood inside the room, long hair flying and obscuring his face. Surging spiritual energy burst through his meridians like an enraged dragon breaking free from the sea. He stood motionless, yet his aura pressed down on the heart like a mountain!