The Nine Transformations of the Ancient Demon

Father Yu appeared at his son’s side at once, pressing a finger to Yu Dao Yi’s brow to examine his injuries.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t see this coming.” His eyelids drooped, and his voice was hushed. Whether he spoke to his wife, to the child before him, or simply to himself was unclear.

Yu Yunfan watched quietly from afar. He could offer no help now, but the turbulence in his eyes betrayed a restless heart, as if something inside him struggled to break free.

The commotion had drawn several servants to the scene, who witnessed from outside this stirring tableau.

“What are you staring at? Hurry and prepare a room! Must my son lie here forever?” The words were nearly a roar, the father’s fury erupting from a desperate effort to suppress his anger—the anger of a parent who failed to care for his child.

The servants were startled. The master, usually gentle and amiable—even when a servant erred, he would simply smile it off, often mingling freely with them—now seemed utterly changed. Never had they seen him so enraged.

Soon, the servants dispersed. Father Yu wrapped his son in spiritual energy and carried him to a guest room that had already been made ready.

“It’s nothing. He’s merely unconscious. It seems he succeeded; he’ll wake in time,” Father Yu said softly.

Mother Yu gave no reply, simply sitting by the bedside, her gaze full of tenderness and pain.

Seeing this, Father Yu led Yu Yunfan away, leaving her alone for a while.

…Better prepare the guest room ahead of time, he thought. Otherwise, I might not even get to sleep in it later. If they put me in the woodshed, my reputation would be ruined.

“Father, what happened to my brother?”

“He’s fine. I just never expected the first breakthrough to be so perilous.” Ordinarily, even a cultivator at the ninth stage of Qi Refinement might not withstand the pain of such a breakthrough. That his child, somehow at the third stage, endured it was nothing short of miraculous.

“If this method is so dangerous, why not have him practice the same body-refining technique as I?” Yu Yunfan was puzzled, even faintly dissatisfied.

Father Yu said nothing, quietly watching his younger son.

“I will handle this. Don’t worry yourself. It’s late—go rest,” he said.

Though a cultivator at the seventh stage of Qi Refinement still needed sleep, it wasn’t as if missing a day or two would be unbearable. Clearly, Father Yu wanted him gone, Yu Yunfan thought.

“If so, I’ll take my leave,” he replied, unable to guess his father’s meaning or resolve his doubts. He could not help his mother, so he returned to his room.

When Yu Yunfan had left, Father Yu turned and instantly appeared in Yu Dao Yi’s former room. The place was a wreck, but the heat had faded.

Father Yu looked around, searching the small chamber carefully.

---

“Wasn’t it just my imagination?” Father Yu murmured. “This is… demon energy.”

“Very faint, but pure—so pure I’ve never seen its like. Where could it have come from?”

“And that thing—it’s gone.”

He frowned, deep in thought.

That thing was the tattered scroll, which had been with him for years. It could rival the true body of Mo Yun, and naturally bore his spiritual imprint. But after his eldest son’s breakthrough, he could no longer sense it.

“This time… perhaps I’ve really gone too far,” Father Yu whispered, a bitter smile on his face.

To hide its demon energy from him, and to make him mistake it for a mere damaged scroll—these were not simple matters.

---

Everything was hazy, indistinct. Mist shrouded the view, as if all was seen through a veil.

Yu Dao Yi wandered through gray-black emptiness, bewildered.

Where am I?

Had that old man really tricked him into the underworld? No, someone as kind as him couldn’t have ended up in hell. But there was no sign of heaven either—a pity.

It wasn’t because he was secretly mischievous that he couldn’t reach heaven; he refused to shoulder that blame.

Suddenly, a shaft of light tore through the gloom, dispelling the void in an instant.

Before him spread a wasteland: ruins everywhere, chaos and carnage. Corpses of all sorts littered the ground—named and nameless, beasts and humans alike.

He looked up. Lightning twisted and snarled across the sky, the heavens flickering between brightness and darkness.

There were no green mountains, no clear waters, no birdsong or blossoms—only devastation and broken walls.

Where am I now?

Had he practiced himself into madness?

“I say, couldn’t you make this a bit more interesting? Didn’t you say I was chosen by you? This level of difficulty doesn’t excite me at all.”

A rich, booming voice sounded at his ear, vigorous and masculine.

“That’s enough for now. Haste makes waste,” another voice replied, gentle and calm, yet bearing the weight of years.

Yu Dao Yi turned to see two men sitting by a campfire. Above the flames, some beast’s carcass was roasting, smoke rising thickly.

---

One was tall and broad, with a tiger’s back and a bear’s waist, his face rugged and his chin bristled with stubble. He held a roasted leg and gnawed at it fiercely, resembling a bull or a bear feasting.

The other was like a scholar—clad in white from head to toe, handsome and refined, a figure that inspired immediate goodwill. He possessed a fine appearance, but his eyes told a different story—ancient, weathered, as if he had seen all storms and secrets, eyes that belonged to an old man but now rested in a young face, oddly unsettling.

They seemed not to notice Yu Dao Yi, talking amongst themselves.

“So, when will I meet your standards?” the burly man asked, tearing into his meat with gusto.

“Far from now. You're still not enough,” the young man replied softly.

“Tch, you always say that. With my strength now, I may not be invincible, but I’m certainly among the best,” the burly man scoffed.

“I told you from the start—your vision is too narrow. What I want you to accomplish is far beyond your current abilities.”

“You always leave things half-said. If I keep cultivating, I’ll become immortal at this rate.”

Listening to their conversation, Yu Dao Yi’s heart raced. Good heavens, immortal? Who was this?

“Then wait until you’re immortal. I’ll explain everything then,” the young man said lightly—as if immortality meant nothing to him.

Wow, this one’s even more impressive. Immortality is trivial to him? Who is he?

“Just remember our agreement. Your task is to help me grow stronger! As for the rest, I’ll help you fulfill it,” the burly man said, standing and stretching. Perhaps from sitting too long, his body crackled and popped, the sound overwhelming even the thunder in the sky.

…That’s outrageous, Yu Dao Yi thought.

“Alright.”

“The Nine Transformations of the Ancient Demon—I’ve reached the seventh stage. I think in a few days, I’ll break through to the eighth,” the burly man declared, his body glowing with dazzling crimson light.

“Leave the Nine Transformations here,” the young man said calmly.

“Why? Is it because of her?” The burly man frowned.

The young man kept silent.

“Hah, so even you, emotionless as you are, have feelings. That’s rare,” he laughed heartily.

No emotions? There must be a hidden story here—a secret full of drama and thunder, Yu Dao Yi thought.