Nine Dragons Saint Ancestor

”Zhao Ningshu, Cao Luo, block that young man, the Third Prince will generously reward you!”

A voice suddenly came from within Medicine Valley, startling both Zhao and Cao, who quickly turned their heads and realized the white-robed figure rushing towards them was who exactly?

”It’s Xuan Zhi!”

Zhao Ningshu and Cao Luo exchanged glances, seeing confirmation in each other’s eyes. They had both heard about the Third Prince of the Royal Family participating in the Jade Pot Sect’s entrance examination and no longer harbored any doubts.

With the involvement of Xuan Zhi, the Third Prince of the Empire, Zhao Ningshu and Cao Luo naturally understood that the Purple Energy Flower Lotus was not their share. However, the phrase ”generous reward” spoken by Xuan Zhi still held their attention and did not diminish the Meridian Qi around them.

And even without the promise of a reward, both men often lamented their lack of opportunity to connect with Xuan Zhi. Now they had a chance to earn a favor from him, how could they possibly let it slip by?

However, as they pondered over this, Zhao and Cao were baffled. It was said that the Third Prince had already reached the Middle Stage of the Meridian Gathering Realm. How could Yun Xiao, that young man, have snatched the Purple Energy Flower Lotus from him? It defied common sense.

They were somewhat familiar with Yun Xiao’s methods, especially the latter, who had once sparred with Yun Xiao. Hence, their doubts arose, which surpassed their understanding.

Yet sensing the Meridian Qi Cultivation of Yun Xiao at the Late Stage of the Meridian Introduction Realm, Zhao and Cao had no intention of retreating. Even if this young man had some unknown techniques, in a direct fight, he would definitely not be a match for the two of them together; this was unquestionable.

Initially scheming for their own interests, the two family heads after their recent cooperation seemed to have developed a tacit understanding, positioning themselves on either side to block Yun Xiao’s way out of the valley, ensuring that nothing went wrong.

Perhaps both Zhao Ningshu and Cao Luo did not want the opportunity to gain favor with the Third Prince to fall into the other’s hands. At least by making a move themselves, Xuan Zhi would have to acknowledge the favor.

With two cultivators at the Early Stage of the Meridian Gathering Realm locking him down, Yun Xiao also felt tremendous pressure, especially with Xuan Zhi from the Middle Stage of the Meridian Gathering Realm closing in from behind. If caught, escaping today would become extremely difficult.

Therefore, Yun Xiao understood clearly that he must not entangle with these two. He needed to find a way to quickly bypass them. Once he could leave the valley first, the sky would be the limit.

But for a cultivator at the Late Stage of the Meridian Introduction Realm to break through the joint efforts of two early-stage talents from the Meridian Gathering Realm was easier said than done. Even those peak talents from the Meridian Introduction Realm watching the excitement weren’t sure they could do it.

But is Yun Xiao an ordinary cultivator? The moment his mind shifted, he immediately activated his Ancestor Vein Power, boosting his Meridian Qi Cultivation to the Peak of the Meridian Introduction Realm first.

Sensing Yun Xiao’s sudden surge in Meridian Qi, Zhao Ningshu and Cao Luo were taken aback. At this moment, the elder of the Cao Family finally understood the strange aura Yun Xiao emitted while outside; it was the Ancestor Vein Power.

”Good lad, to possess the Ancestor Vein Power!”

A dark gleam flashed in Zhao Ningshu’s eyes, his words seemingly praising but filled with jealousy. Like Cao Luo and Xuan Zhi, both had only activated a Fire Attribute Ancestor Vein upon breaking through to the Meridian Gathering Realm and thus had become Meridian Refining Masters.

Because becoming a Meridian Refining Master required stringent conditions, Zhao Ningshu and others held a strong sense of superiority, which now seemed to dissipate, leaving them feeling off-balance, just like Xuan Zhi moments before.

Yun Xiao, however, didn’t have as many thoughts. After raising his Meridian Qi to the Peak of the Meridian Introduction Realm, his speed surged dramatically. Furthermore, sensing a slight instability in Cao Luo’s aura, he chose to break through from this Cao Family Head’s side.

In fact, during the recent fight with the Red-tailed Tiger Crocodile, Cao Luo had lost more Meridian Qi because Zhao Ningshu was duplicitous and strategic, preserving his strength well, achieving his goals.

However, given Cao Luo’s disposition, instead of getting angry, he was pleased to see Yun Xiao approaching. This way, the merit of intercepting Yun Xiao might be credited more to him than to Zhao Ningshu.

Yet Cao Luo was completely unaware that Yun Xiao, now at the Peak of the Meridian Introduction Realm, was not so easily outmatched. Perhaps, caught off guard, he might suffer a significant loss.

To avoid being caught by Xuan Zhi, Yun Xiao never planned to battle Cao Luo for three hundred rounds. Thus, at that moment, he resorted to a different tactic, one he had used before but was distinctly different.

Yun Xiao was incredibly rapid, and his entire Meridian Qi surged into the Ancestor Vein within his right arm. In that moment, his right hand’s speed doubled his body’s speed.

Even Cao Luo, the person involved, could only see an afterimage of Yun Xiao’s right arm swinging past, then felt his arm from the back of his right hand to his shoulder being touched as if grazed by a dragonfly, followed by a numbing sensation.

”This... this is the Fuxue Technique? But how could it be so fast? And so precise?”

Cao Luo’s right arm tingled with numbness, and he had no time to think about what method Yun Xiao had used, but Zhao Ningshu, who was quite close to them, was now completely stunned because he saw a scene he had never imagined.

At this moment, what Yun Xiao was using was naturally the Fuxue Technique he had once used in the Shang Family. Back then, he was only in the middle stage of Meridian Qi Cultivation, his opponent was only Xue Qi, a cultivator at the same level, and it didn’t require much effort.

But Yun Xiao’s opponent now was Cao Luo, who was a whole great rank higher than him, and this was the huge gap between Meridian Qi Cultivation and the Meridian Introduction Realm. The higher the rank, the bigger the gap between each great rank.

Now, Yun Xiao was no longer the same person who had only reached the middle stage of Meridian Qi Cultivation. Even though he could execute the Fuxue Technique at the Meridian Qi stage, the power of this technique increased as the Meridian Qi improved.

Just now, Yun Xiao used the Fuxue Technique at an extremely fast speed, touching all the major acupoints from the back of Cao Luo’s right hand to his right shoulder.

These acupoints were important nodes connected to the arm’s meridian channels. Once externallly brushed, the Meridian Qi within the channels would become blocked. Although it wouldn’t render him completely immobile, it definitely made it impossible for him to attack or hurt others.

Zhao Ningshu, from the Zhao Family recognized Yun Xiao’s use of the Fuxue Technique. If it were just the ordinary Fuxue Technique, perhaps he wouldn’t be so surprised. However, the speed and precision Yun Xiao displayed were shockingly astounding.

Previously, the Fuxue Technique Yun Xiao used only took a blink of an eye to hit all six major acupoints on Cao Luo’s right arm, and none were missed.

Being able to hit the acupoints so quickly and accurately, one could not simply measure it by Meridian Qi Cultivation. Those who could reach this level were either experienced old monsters or lifetime experts in this field.

But how old was Yun Xiao? Setting aside his low Meridian Qi Cultivation for now, the accuracy and speed of identifying the acupoints were unheard of for Zhao Ningshu. He believed that even his father, the current Family Head of the Zhao Family, could not achieve this.

It has to be said that Yun Xiao’s unexpected enhanced version of the Fuxue Technique targeted Cao Luo’s right arm, but it subdued two people, because Zhao Ningshu, on the other side, was stunned by the skills displayed at that moment.

This undoubtedly gave Yun Xiao a great opportunity. Taking advantage of Cao Luo’s shock and the numbness in his arm, Yun Xiao swiftly darted past him. Unexpectedly, the moves he initially prepared for Zhao Ningshu seemed unnecessary now.

”Damn it, don’t let that kid get away!”

Only when Zhao Ningshu heard Xuan Zhi’s furious shout did he snap out of it. By then, Yun Xiao had already gained a distance of several meters.

A moment’s negligence allowed Yun Xiao to escape so far. Zhao Ningshu felt embarrassed, but his reaction was incredibly fast, and he seemed to use a peculiar and tricky movement technique to quickly catch up with Yun Xiao.

”Damn it!”

Just as Yun Xiao thought he had a chance to break free upon sensing the familiar presence quickly approaching from behind, his heart sank, wondering if his hard-won opportunity would ultimately be ruined by Zhao Ningshu.

Who knew that just as this thought arose, a huge beast pounced from the front, making him swiftly dodge to the left.

Zhao Ningshu was extremely confident in his movement technique. Considering the short distance, he believed there was no way Yun Xiao could escape. If he could entangle him, the favors of the Third Prince from the Royal Family were secured.

However, just as Zhao Ningshu reached out his right hand to grasp Yun Xiao’s right shoulder, the figure in front of him had already dodged. Following closely, a familiar silhouette charged angrily toward him.

What boomed right in front of Zhao Ningshu was a massive red crocodile tail which, with tremendous force, swept him several meters back. Caught off guard, Zhao Ningshu struggled to stabilize and stared at the huge beast, his expression extremely dark.

Clearly, this enormous creature was the Red-tailed Tiger Crocodile. It had just been attacked by Zhao Ningshu and Cao Luo and was in a rage. Yet unexpectedly, these hateful humans seized an opportunity and hurried into Medicine Valley. Enraged, it immediately followed into the valley.

In the time it took for lightning to strike, Yun Xiao and Cao Luo’s confrontation was quick, Xuan Zhi had not yet caught up, but the Red-tailed Tiger Crocodile had.

At this moment, its hatred was directed at Zhao Ningshu and Cao Luo; the roughly dressed young man who had dodged past it barely received a glance before it charged toward the other two.