Nine Dragons Saint Ancestor

”The energy of Heaven and Earth in Hidden Dragon Continent is indeed too thin!”

Yun Xiao first sighed with emotion, then with a flip of his right hand, a jade bottle appeared in his palm, from which he poured out a round elixir.

”Meridian Rushing Pill, it looks like I need to borrow your power!”

As soon as his voice fell, without a hint of hesitation, Yun Xiao swallowed the Meridian Rushing Pill he had taken from Xue Qi. If other cultivators of the Hidden Dragon Continent witnessed this scene, their eyes would probably bulge out in astonishment.

Because the Meridian Rushing Pill is a potent elixir designed for cultivators at the peak of Meridian Qi to launch an assault on the Meridian Introduction Realm. Such a pill, capable of directly advancing one’s Meridian Qi Cultivation, has an exceedingly domineering effect and might even ruin the meridians of a cultivator at the peak of Meridian Qi if carelessly consumed.

In fact, only those cultivators who have reached the peak of Meridian Qi have the strength to withstand the pill’s violent energy. Yet now, Yun Xiao, with his late-stage Meridian Qi Cultivation, forcibly ingested the Meridian Rushing Pill.

If an ordinary cultivator in the late stage of Meridian Qi were to attempt such a madness as Yun Xiao, their meridians would inevitably be destroyed. Even the Long Xiao Battle God of yesteryears dared not take such a risk when he was at the late stage of Meridian Qi.

All of this was thanks to the Cultivation Technique ”Ancient Dragon Taming Technique” that appeared unintentionally in Yun Xiao’s mind. After days of cultivation, even the soul of Long Xiao Battle God had nothing but admiration for this technique.

Yun Xiao now firmly believed that the Ancient Dragon Taming Technique was more miraculous than any other technique he cultivated in his previous life. Even if its current power didn’t reach the Holy Rank, its uniqueness was superior.

Let’s not talk about others, as Yun Xiao’s meridians were completely destroyed previously. With the memories from his past life, even if there was a way to heal, it would probably take at least several months.

But what about the Ancient Dragon Taming Technique? It allowed Yun Xiao to repair his meridians within just three days and even advanced his Meridian Qi Cultivation to the late stage of Meridian Qi.

This meant that the technique was unfathomably strong. Others dared not even contemplate doing what Yun Xiao confidently did. He believed that the Ancient Dragon Taming Technique would, in a very short time, help him absorb the violent energy within the Meridian Rushing Pill without backlash.

Huu... Huu...

Yun Xiao’s conjecture was proven right. As the first in the Hidden Dragon Continent to dare consume a Meridian Rushing Pill at the late stage of Meridian Qi, he obtained benefits that were incomparable to others. As the technique operated, the formless energy of Heaven and Earth within the room was drawn by him.

Boom!

In just a few breaths, under the assault of the violent energy from the Meridian Rushing Pill, Yun Xiao broke through directly to the peak of Meridian Qi, reaching the same level as Xue Qi and Yun Wei.

At this point, more than half of the pill’s medicinal effect still lingered, and this was the confidence Yun Xiao had to truly assault the Meridian Introduction Realm. The Ancient Dragon Taming Technique operated at high speed, the energy of Heaven and Earth from outside swarmed toward him. Finally, after refinement through his technique, it was stored in the major meridians throughout his body.

After the events of the day, Yun Xiao had truly stepped into his role. The strength of his previous life’s Long Xiao Battle God was temporarily unreachable, so let everything proceed step by step in an orderly fashion.

This time Yun Xiao shamelessly asked his sister for the Meridian Rushing Pill. Besides planning to assault the Meridian Introduction Realm afterward, he had a greater purpose—to activate his first Ancestor Vein.

Ancestor Vein, as its name implies, is a mysterious type of meridian, a special meridian passed down from the ancestors of a cultivator.

Such meridians do not naturally appear at birth but may suddenly manifest during major breakthroughs based on the cultivator’s own cultivation or, arguably, fortune.

Of course, despite its mysterious nature, Ancestor Vein is not beyond control. For example, in the Nine-layered Dragon Cloud of Yun Xiao’s past life, the powerful families with lineages could more easily activate the Ancestor Veins of their gifted descendants.

Or with the assistance of a Heaven Rank or Holy Rank Meridian Refining Master, activating an Ancestor Vein could be done even more efficiently. This is also one of the key reasons why Meridian Refining Masters are sought after.

Within the Ancestor Vein lies inherited power, allowing a Meridian Qi Cultivator to unleash combat strength far beyond their own in battle against enemies, and to unexpectedly gain the upper hand in evenly matched combats, catching the enemy off guard.

However, Ancestor Veins are rare, usually activated by chance during a significant rank breakthrough. Whereas some less fortunate cultivators might not activate a single Ancestor Vein even when achieving the Meridian Union Realm or Spirit Vein Realm levels.

Ancestor Veins, like cultivation techniques and Meridian Techniques, are divided into five grades: Mortal, Spirit, Earth, Sky, and Saint. Legends tell of Ancestor Veins that attain the high-level Saint Rank or even higher, with the power to destroy heavens and earth.

For instance, Yun Xiao, the Dragon Cloud Battle God from his previous life, activated a total of ten Ancestor Veins, and each one was of Holy Rank. Otherwise, he would not have become the dread of every cultivator in the Nine-layered Dragon Cloud.

The reincarnated Dragon Cloud Battle God did not harbor too much expectation to achieve the same feats as in his former life, for this was the Hidden Dragon Continent, where nature’s spiritual energy paled in comparison to that of the Nine-layered Dragon Cloud, and his body was exceedingly fragile, requiring him to advance step by step.

Yun Xiao held little hope of activating his Ancestor Veins. If only considering his mother Shang Li’s lineage, the likelihood was slim, for during his previous visit to the Shang Family’s Righteous Hall, among the family members only the Family Head Shang Yan had activated an Ancestor Vein.

As for others like Shang Ying, they had no Ancestor Veins; this indicated that the Shang Family’s foundations were not deep. Such a coveted gift among cultivators across the Continent was something elusive and sought after but rarely found.

Now, Yun Xiao placed all his hopes on his unknown father’s lineage, wishing that some great figures had emerged among his ancestors, and that perhaps one or several Ancestor Veins had been passed down.

Of course, activating Ancestor Veins was not Yun Xiao’s ultimate goal. In the Xuanyue Empire of this small Hidden Dragon Continent, he knew what would earn him the respect of others fastest: to become a Meridian Refining Master.

The conditions to become a Meridian Refining Master were extremely stringent; however, Yun Xiao considered himself barely qualified in terms of a powerful Power of Soul. After all, in his previous life, he was the Long Xiao Battle God, a high-level Saint Rank Meridian Refining Master. Even though his soul had traversed countless planes to arrive at the Hidden Dragon Continent, he still possessed the qualifications for the soul of a low-level Mortal Rank Meridian Refining Master.

Yet, to become a Meridian Refining Master, there was another crucial requirement: possessing a Fire Attribute Ancestor Vein. This was the key factor that barred countless cultivators on the Continent from entering the ranks of Meridian Refining Masters.

A Meridian Refining Master could help cultivators expand their meridians, heal injuries and diseases, perform alchemy and medicine refining, and even improve the grade of Ancestor Veins. This was the most prestigious profession on the Continent, and Meridian Refining Masters also ranked among the wealthiest.

Yun Xiao believed that once he became a true Meridian Refining Master, even if he was just a low-level Mortal Rank one, the Shang Family would no longer dare to bully him and his mother as they had in the past.

The principle that one must be strong on one’s own to succeed was something that Yun Xiao, reincarnation of the Dragon Cloud Battle God, understood well. His previous intention to join the Jade Pot Sect was merely to seek external aid. But if he were still the original Yun Xiao, even if he could enter the Jade Pot Sect, he would likely face greater pressure than from the Shang Family.

Unfortunately, all the plans in Yun Xiao’s heart hinged on whether he could break through to the true Meridian Introduction Realm. He wasn’t too troubled about this breakthrough, as with the aid of the Meridian Rushing Pill and the Ancient Dragon Taming Technique, achieving this step should be no problem.

However, there were two more steps to follow: the first was to activate an Ancestor Vein during the breakthrough to the Meridian Rushing Realm, and secondly, the activated Ancestor Vein must possess the Fire Attribute.

If he couldn’t meet these two conditions, then Yun Xiao’s aspiration to become a Meridian Refining Master would fall through, and he would have to find other ways to proceed.

...

Everything was proceeding in an orderly fashion, and on this particular night within another splendid courtyard of the Shang Family, an elderly and a younger man were gritting their teeth in fury.

This pair, naturally, was Shang Ying and Shang Huiyu, who had suffered a great loss at the hands of Yun Xiao during the day. Strictly speaking, they had enjoyed a prestigious status within the Shang Family; aside from the Family Head Shang Yan, they could boss anyone around and had never suffered such humiliation before.

But today, right in the Shang Family’s most important Righteous Hall where they wanted to revel in the misfortune of Yun Xiao and his mother, grandfather and grandson were publicly humiliated by Yun Xiao, unable to even lift their heads in shame.

”Grandfather, we can’t just let this go!” said Shang Huiyu, his right wrist wrapped in a white bandage, his eyes brimming with malice. As the eldest grandson and the heir apparent of the Shang Family, such a humiliation was something he could not swallow no matter what.

”Of course, we cannot just let this go, but I don’t know what got into Yin Huan, protecting that brat at every turn, making it difficult for us to take action!” Shang Ying also had a murderous look in his eyes. Compared to Shang Huiyu’s broken wrist, the slap he received from Yun Xiao was a greater embarrassment.

”Are we going to let Yun Xiao continue to be so arrogant?” Shang Huiyu was almost beside himself with anger, but when he thought of Yin Huan’s strength and background, he felt extremely frustrated and could not understand why an Inner Sect Disciple and a genius of the Meridian Rushing Realm from the Jade Pot Sect would listen to the words of a nobody like Yun Xiao.

”There is not completely no way!” A glint of cunning flashed in Shang Ying’s eyes. His words lit up Shang Huiyu’s face with anticipation, and he continued, ”As long as you secure the spot of an Outer Disciple in the Jade Pot Sect, with the sect at our backs, and relying on father’s strength, why should we fear Yin Huan?”

Just as Shang Ying said, Shang Yan and Yin Huan were both at the Early Stage of the Meridian Rushing Realm. In terms of Meridian Qi Cultivation, they were not inferior to Yin Huan; what the Shang Family feared was the colossal Jade Pot Sect.

If they could set aside the backing of the Jade Pot Sect, then against Yin Huan, a young genius alone, the Shang Family would not have the slightest fear. As these words were spoken, a brighter gleam appeared in Shang Huiyu’s eyes.