Nine Evolutions of the True Spirit

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This is a world filled with mysteries from a conspiracy that has lasted tens of thousands of years;
This is a story about an ordinary cultivator’s passion and perseverance in his cultivation path;

The rise of a sect foreshadows tactics and trickeries;
The confrontation between two races reveals alliances and betrayals;

Countless deaths and secrets were buried in a catastrophe. As the secrets were slowly exposed, so too unfolded the mysteries of this world.

Let’s follow Lu Ping, an ordinary cultivator of Zhen Ling Sect, as he makes his name known in this world, forges his own legacy, and unveils the secrets of the unknown past!

Associated Names
One entry per line
真灵九变
Related Series
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Recommendations
A Record of a Mortal’s Journey to Immortality (2)
Archean Eon Art (1)
Legend of the Great Sage (1)
Recommendation Lists
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  4. No romance
  5. Unexpectedly Good Light Novels

Latest Release

Date Group Release
03/31/23 Hosted Novel c437
03/31/23 Hosted Novel c436
03/31/23 Hosted Novel c435
03/31/23 Hosted Novel c434
03/20/23 Hosted Novel c433
03/20/23 Hosted Novel c432
03/20/23 Hosted Novel c431
03/20/23 Hosted Novel c430
03/20/23 Hosted Novel c429
03/07/23 Hosted Novel c428
03/07/23 Hosted Novel c427
03/07/23 Hosted Novel c426
03/07/23 Hosted Novel c425
03/07/23 Hosted Novel c424
02/23/23 Hosted Novel c423
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Cute Potato
Cute Potato rated it
September 11, 2021
Status: c311
Synopsis

... more>>
Spoiler

The story is about a reincarnator from earth who was reborn as a commoner in a cultivation world. When we were first introduced to the MC he was already a cultivator and a member of a sect since apparently he was recognized as having some talent and became an outer disciple of the number one sect in that area. From there we then follow his journey into the cultivation world as a common cultivator.

By common, I mean REALLY common. He is an average cultivator, not the Chosen One, or Old Soul in a new body. He doesn't have any cheat (at least so far) or even a ghost teacher/guide of some sort. And I have to admit, after reading so many stories about arrogant Heaven's Chosen, psychopath MCs, etc, reading about the average joe MC who's only trying to survive one day at time and not hard-pressed to save the world from a big bad boogeyman or avenge the death of his father/mother is kind of refreshing.

The MC is actually my type, he is cunning, merciless but not mu*derous (meaning he won't hesitate to kill if the situation necessitate, but won't go out of his way to kill people after the slightest disagreement, nothing I hate more than a psychopath Mc), often hide and run when at disadvantage, seems to be good at everything despite not having a cheat, hides his true abilities and treasures, slightly devious and money oriented, BUT also rather bland and has the charisma of a turnip. The author didn't say anything about the MC's past life, but if I would have to guess based on his personality, he was probably a middle age businessman, because he sure act like it. He's like Meng Hao minus the humor and charisma.

I get that the author wanted an average joe MC, but they forgot to make him interesting. We know nothing about his past life, we know nothing about his life BEFORE he joins the sect, in fact if the MC is a sentient sausage who one day suddenly wanted to become a cultivator it won't change a thing. We don't know his past, his goals, his hopes and dreams, we know nothing. As such that when the MC joins a competition (as early as chapter 10) I really don't care. Nothing was at stake, I don't know who this guy is (you can't just expect the readers to support the MC just because you want us to, dear Author...), I have not invested in him yet, so why should I care?

So is it good? It's okay, I guess. I have a feeling that the author wasn't really into the story themselves, so they're like halfassing it. The author can write, but their heart isn't really in this.

It only has 100+ chapters so far, so hopefully it gets better soon.

Edit after 300 chaps:

The good news is the plot has expanded a bit. There are new areas to explore, new sects, allies, and enemies. The MC even gained new teacher and sisters. The bad news is, his adventures still follow the same auction/herb buying -> pill concocting -> treasure hunting -> fighting -> cultivating -> auction/herb buying cycle.

Some of the allies feel distinct and have their own personalities, the villains however, still indistinguishable, they all act and talk the same, I didn't even bother remembering their names and factions, they'll die eventually anyway.

The MC is still distant as ever. He never opened up and be vulnerable to the reader, which makes it hard for me to empathize and sympathize.

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wlitsch
wlitsch rated it
September 8, 2021
Status: --
I consider this novel highly overrated. 4.2 is too high. It's around a 3. It's readable, but it is milk toast. There is no moment of awe or wonder whatsoever. The cultivation is unremarkable, mechanical, vague, and undeveloped. At least half of it isn't an anonymous peanut gallery commented on the main character's chances like Great Ruler or other tr*sh. So this novel is not tr*sh, but it's not great. The fights may not have the peanut gallery, but they are also so boring and vague that the author himself... more>> periodically cuts away and doesn't bother finishing them, only telling you how they ended sometime later.

I would have given it a 3.5 or 4.0 if I wasn't so annoyed by its gimmick. Many people have commented that the protagonist doesn't have a special item or hidden grandpa, and that is true, but there is a gimmick the MC uses to get ahead. Personally, I rather have a hidden grandpa. The MC's gimmick is hustling get rich quick schemes and then using those to buy cultivation resources. This way he can eat the best medicinal pills like candy. Doesn't that sound interesting: gulp, level up, gulp, level up, gulp...

Finally, my last gripe with this novel is that after going to great lengths to set up the protagonists character as a miser that hustles side-jobs to get wealthy and pop pills, the author can only think of one way for the MC to make friends, clearly it isn't the normal way. The normal way is talking to people, sharing a conversation, and getting to know one another. No can do. Instead the MC has to totally betray his character and just drop sh*t tons of wealth on their ass and then not even ask for them to pay him back. What a miser right. The only love interest has never had a proper conversation with him. After spending a couple days fighting together he essentially hands over wealth and contribution points to the girl equal to buying an expensive car. How many douche bags buy a girl a $60, 000 car on their second date? Also, it wasn't even a date. His blacksmith friend gets double that for free for no reason and for no compensation either. Yet he's a miser. Actually he's simp. It's annoying. The simping totally breaks character because the author can't figure out any other way for the MC to make a friend since that would require dialogue. Dialogue is not this author's forte.

Whatever, it's readable, but only just. It isn't a good novel, but it's a mediocre xianxia. <<less
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BumChikiBum
BumChikiBum rated it
July 5, 2021
Status: Completed
Good novel. Enjoyable to read. Worth your time.

Its just personally, I thought that it was such a waste that the author had not made the continuation of this novel in the immortal realm, because author have made good story & setting for the MC in the mortal realm.

Now for the short summary :
MC is just an 'ordinary' cultivator. He laid his foundation (in the 1st tier of cultivation rank) for 10 years before speeding his cultivation in through every struggles of cultivation world.

At the time he completed his foundation, He started to be mixed up in many things related to cultivation world's schemes, plotting and politics. One of the good point of this novel is that those schemes and plotting are easy to read, not too complicated and will not make your brain burning (*cough*... Kingdom's Bloodline "cough*).

Throughout the story, author also presented us with many heroes-like figures with decent back stories and plots.

For the cheat, u will not gonna find it until about 3/4 of the overall story later. I'm not gonna spoil it and I don't want to say it as a cheat because it's just too simple to be called cheat compared to other Chinese LN MCs' cheats. No system, no plug in, sign in, or granpa / grandmother in the pendant / rings or other generic cheats for the MC.
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NewbornWarrior7
NewbornWarrior7 rated it
June 23, 2022
Status: c60
A relatively mediocre novel that falls somewhere between 3 to 3.5 out of 5. There are no characters and no real plot in this novel. The main character is bland and uninspired, following the untalented cultivator archetype. He's just of average talent but he has a super strong foundation that is better than the rich geniuses because he's the only one in the world that keeps solidifying his foundation I guess. Also make sure you remember that he has a strong foundation because the author doesn't want you to forget... more>> that since it's mentioned seemingly multiple times every chapter. Basically every chapter that passes has to have some kind of mention of his foundation and how strong it is but don't worry because he is of average talent despite the fact that he advances faster and is stronger than others in his level. The other characters are just as boring and are essentially npcs in how they act. They lack personality and motivation outside of the generic "Ah I want resources / reputation". These npcs don't really affect the story in any major way and could be swapped with any other character and the plot wouldn't really change. When the author does try to give character to his characters, it's only for a chapter or two before they disappear back into irrelevance. The world is as mundane as the characters and aside from the seven bloodlines, it is basically just a generic xianxia world. Some of the cultivation terms might be changed but for the most part it falls into the same standard xianxia cultivation levels. Despite this seemingly negative review, it's not all bad. There's a lot of conflict for cultivation resources so if you're into novels having a lot of fights, this novel is fine.

Altogether, this novel isn't particularly good but if you like generic xianxia, then this novel is fine. It doesn't pretend to be deep or complicated and doesn't have many themes and plot points. Basically instant noodle tier. <<less
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TwoManArmy
TwoManArmy rated it
February 15, 2022
Status: c223
I personally quiet like this novel, I have always loved cultivation novels for the world, the cultivation, and fights and very much dont care about face slaps or harems or anything and this novel has the exact same aproach, even tho people complain that the MC doesnt have a personality I dont see it I think he is just not very expressive while I msut admit side characters dont really see much development I think that based on importance of said side characters it honestly is enough for where I... more>> am at in the novel now. It is also very refreshing that the MC isnt overpowered or the best talent, and the story focuses on how he gets stronger, its this kind of story that made me love cultivation novels. The only thing I kind of regret is that there have only been 223 chapters translated now, I have been following this since chapter 40 and like with most good novels just wish it would somehowjust get fully translated over night and sadly I am not one for machine translated novels especally with books like this where every sentence is interesting (interesting enough to read and not just skip through like in some other stories where they just fill up the word count requirment).

One kinda negative tho is like most cultivation novels numbers and size is ery random for example (not really spoiler) one of the medium sized islands under the sect of the MC is said to have a radius of 200 miles so that would be 1, 250 square miles which in contrast to how many people author tries to make you think live there and general sizes of things is waaay too big.

Overall I honestly recomend this to everyone who likes cultivation novels without any overly overpowered MC, even if you dont like it its not the kind of novel where you would get angry at it at most you'd dislike some part of it. <<less
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Shadowdracul
Shadowdracul rated it
January 10, 2023
Status: c398
Most of the good and bad points are already mentioned, I will just mention one that has not been talked about a lot.
MC’a enemies, Especially those who scheme against him in the dark, are rarely acted against. The MC has been screwed over by some people again and again so far (400 chapters), But he has yet to kill even a single freaking one, everytime you will expect him to go ahead and do it, he either just lets it go or even worse the author just changes the subject and at the end it’s all about not having evidence or for the greater good bs. Just kill them dubass, assassinate them. But no just go one let them screw him over again. Complete BS I tell yea
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Zaravo
Zaravo rated it
July 31, 2022
Status: Completed
This novel was a big disappointment for me, everything in it is very well done, and the story of the novel is well told, if there's something that someone or another doesn't like about it, it probably comes from the person's personal taste.
One of the things I found interesting is the fact that small cultivators are used as small cultivators and are treated as pawns, even the MC.
One of the things you will notice is that the big powers in the world of the novel take political clashes very seriously, so there are no "demonic" sects in this world, because everyone will join in and eliminate them.

No one wants to look bad in the cultivator world, because your enemies will band together to suppress you and take control of the resources your sect controls to weaken you. So everybody just wants to act for the "righteous" cause, but that doesn't stop them from acting in the shadows, but the moment they are discovered, the entire cultivator world will act to take a bite out at you.

There are no righteous cultivators in this world, everyone acts with their own interests in mind, and this is the most interesting part of this novel, because it forms a unique society in this cultivator world.

Large sects use the righteous cause to control and suppress small sects and stabilize their power, but this very attitude prevents them from acting scrupulously without a cause.

Well, although this world and the novel are quite interesting, this novel has a very fatal flaw, the author doesn't know how to write human interactions.
It's not that he writes poorly, or that the interactions are unbelievable.

Is that they are non-existent. The MC has sollowers (petes) who go everywhere with him, a sect behind him, friends, a dao companion, and many other connections, but the author does not write about any of them. The secondary characters, the pets, and even the MC have almost no personality because the author can't explore the human character.

And like I said, it's not that he writes bad interactions, it's that he doesn't write them at all.

One of the clearest examples that have become recurring in the novel is that the secondary characters can never explain the story of something, the author always takes it to him to explain the details and summarize what the characters' conversation was about and this takes a lot of the character's personality.

This novel is very good, and I don't have things to say about it, but the lack of personality and character exposure really hit it very hard, which took my 5 stars and made me give it only 3.
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SpicyJesus
SpicyJesus rated it
June 7, 2022
Status: c62
I tried but I couldn't continue. The types of characters I like are apathetic antiheros. And in that department, this story delivers relatively ok. But the main problem is that there isn't really any character interaction or any dialogue that makes up for an MC that is relatively introverted. The story starts with some prior events, such as having a cultivation level and everything, but there are no real interactions between characters that show a plot. It's kinda just the MC going with the flow and not really talking. There... more>> is action, adventure and an ok plot as far as I am concerned, but there are no other notable characters who he speaks to or have interaction with. Dropped for me. <<less
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Macho
Macho rated it
January 7, 2022
Status: c170
It's about a pretty average cultivator of an esteemed sect, though the main character has some uniqueness which is revealed soon enough. Yeah, and he is a transmigrator, though we know next to nothing of his past.

The prose towers over most repetitive, filler-fueled drivel, to which, I'm sure, some credit can be given to the translator.

The main character is a blank page, really, nothing radical, very little to go on from which to draw interest or build interesting dynamics.

Combat and dialogue is good. It doesn't have the same 'how dare... more>> you, Junior!' vibes, nor are the prodigies and young masters intrusive nor serve as major drivers of conflict.

I found myself enjoying the somewhat chill pace. The main plot is pretty interesting, what-with competition, cultivation, banditry, and warring.

What I dislike most is the lack of character building and a distinct absence of those, you know, special moments where the story would show some interesting interactions or worldbuilding. It seems the author is too rigid in following his plot arcs, which is a shame, since his prose is good and the characters capable of drawing curiosity, which all the more disappointed me.

Overall, the novel stands above most, though it so far is quite forgettable. <<less
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Drake888
Drake888 rated it
July 10, 2021
Status: c264
A great simple xianhuan so far. The normal sect cultivation story but without weird extra stuff. What I mean is that the MC is a genius and has a lot of lucky situations but he doesn't have some super expert's ghost, or magic inheritance, or other ridiculously powerful cheat to help him. Technically this is an isekai but that only helps the cx a little bit and is the reason that he can be considered a genius. No weird otherworldly powers, no secret family background, no other OP complications come... more>> from the reincarnation besides his soul starting out a bit stronger than normal. A nice break from the other stuff that is currently out there where the MC is secretly being pursued or helped by an evil emperor or is the only inheritor of the strongest cultivation technique. Just a cultivation genius (normal genius, not "master every technique with ease" genius) outperforming most of his peers and trying to find treasures and other cultivation resources.

It also has some fun animal companions later. They aren't a big focus but there is sometimes some dialogue with them and they have (2D) personalities. <<less
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Kbcpro
Kbcpro rated it
May 20, 2021
Status: --
The novel had cautious MC at the start, however, this has gradually changed and by chapter 300, the MC does what he wants, flaunts his wealth and let his sect and teacher back him up. This is despite repeated reminders from his teacher to not to do so and hence the cautious MC tag should be removed and this can no way compared to novel like rmji which has consistent character of the MC from the start.

Having done so, the novel is ok, and translation is decent (though a bit... more>> slow) and hence you can give a try, but you would have to depend on machine translation which is not good and hence you may wish to wait before the chapters are stacked up and / or support the translator <<less
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bRabbit
bRabbit rated it
March 16, 2021
Status: c14
Solid so far.

MC is relatively calm in his demeanor, yet decisive when he needs to be. He is pretty tactful which is helping him in the sect.

From the way it's looking, he isn't going to stumble across an old grandpa in a ring, or some other cheat, and will instead be slowly accumulating smaller fortunes and the like- that's a plus in my book.

The only reason I didn't give 5 stars is because it is lacking some flair in the writing style to really take it to the next level... more>> (in my opinion).

I will keep reading, and update this impression/review in the future. As 14 chapters really isn't a lot to go on. <<less
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anjaana7877
anjaana7877 rated it
November 14, 2023
Status: c1454
Its 4 Star partly due to the lack of good cultivation novels... frankly it doesn't do anything new or out of the ordinary, but the Author does have a overarching plot line in mind and delivers on that.... the result is you get a good enough novel which can be read without hurting your brain cells...

One of the major reasons for my interest in continuing to read the novel was the detailed analysis of each cultivation realm.... there are only 4-5 cultivation realms and every step is explained in detail...... more>> this is something which major cultivation novels would hardly do it...

Negatives: Too much plot armor for MC... though if you like me who is into MC gaining treasures and loot, I guess you won't mind it much... <<less
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Mr.Mochi
Mr.Mochi
July 12, 2023
Status: c71
Make money, eat pill, level up, repeat.

You can tell this author really struggles to develop characters and write relationships whether it be friends or otherwise. His writing is cold, mechanical, lonely, sad and most importantly dull. Just a meh MC.

Nothing really exciting or interesting to read about. He reached his big goal from the beginning and it's kinda whatever. Someone else hits that goal and there's a party with people giving gifts.

... more>> A lot of chapters are just bloat over explained nonsense that result in being outdated in 10 chapters.

It's a bit disappointing to read- especially when sentences are thrown like this "He fed the monster meat to his pet mouse, it seems it got stronger. He had also tried the meat earlier and it made his body as strong as a body refiner." What?! What's with this casual gloss over a power up, and prior to this there's been no mention of what exactly is a body refiner. The way this was written is so vague and open- it's just convenient crap. Not to mention he just casually blindly eats monster meat after seeing his first monster? But you want to give me 3 chapters on farming?

Skip this. <<less
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rhianirory
rhianirory rated it
May 26, 2022
Status: c292
good for giving your brain a break from those overly complicated stories full of scheming and twist after twist that make your head hurt or leave raging.

a chill and easy read with a meh main character. I don't love or hate him, and the only thing that stands out about him is that he's rich and lucky. The flow of the story is consistent and interesting enough that I'll continue reading til the end, provided a few things don't pop up in an attempt to pander to the H crowd.

so... more>> far, this is the most 3.5 cultivation story I've read in a while. The prose and cohesive story line makes it better than average, but it still seems to be missing that something that makes you sit up and pay attention, which is my usual criteria for giving a 4. Still, I rounded it up hope that the later chapters have a lot more character development. <<less
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Vallan.Mandrake
Vallan.Mandrake rated it
April 7, 2022
Status: c208
This is a 4 Star novel. It's an enjoyable read, and not exceptional/standout but definitely upper tier quality XianXia, BUT:

Essentially, this novel feels like is a slightly inferior copy of "A Record of a Mortals Journey to immortality" (which is great. Thus this one: 4 stars). Good is that the MC has good-ish morals (for a cultivator!), no "FACE!", "Engagement", "All consuming revenge", "Young Masters" or "s*x" or whatever is in the tr*sh tier novels. The beginning feels slow. Almost all plot-points, features, etc are heavily inspired form other novels,... more>> nothing truly original, and nothing outstanding. So far, no reason to remember this novel after enjoying it. The MC and the writing feels somewhat bland (perhaps the writing is due to the translation? The MC is definitely bland. Was an Transmigrator/Reincarnator, but that has literally absolutely no influence.), but both steadily improves and, at ch 200 it's pretty good. Sadly, it lacks long term planning (the only times long term wishes have been uttered/thought, they are fulfilled by random chance) or any cultivation theory beyond technique names; the world building is only always what is relevant, and nothing more.

Summary: Easy, fun XianXia reading, but nothing more. <<less
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jad14661
jad14661 rated it
March 16, 2021
Status: c147
currently reading the mtl and here are some of my thoughts (light spoilers) ... more>>
Spoiler

the MC becomes very wealthy very often but on the brightside most of the stuff he gets is only for his level so no broken heavenly immortal sultra or god devouring sabers and such, at least so far, the thing that is bothering me a lot atm is that the MC will got plotted against multiple times and still have no response, like one time he almost got killed cuz of a plot and the same guy who plots against him tried taking his stuff too when he thought he died

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