Nine Dragons Saint Ancestor

Chapter 73: 73 Enemies on a Narrow Road

”Hehe, Sister Mo Qing, it seems that the Great Elder really values this selection of Outer Disciples, to have even sent you here!”

Yin Huan managed to squeeze out a smile that he thought was amiable on his face, but if one listened carefully, one could detect a hint of sourness in his tone.

It turns out that this black-clad girl with a beautiful appearance but an icy countenance is Mo Qing, the Direct Disciple of the current Great Elder of the Jade Pot Sect, who was also the one who burst into the Poison Hall after Yun Xiao was bitten by the Seven-Colored Immortal Spider.

The Jade Pot Sect has both the poison and medicine branches coexisting, and while they don’t come to blows, their differing ideologies mean they can hardly work seamlessly together. The occasional squabbles are left unchecked by the Sect Leader as long as they don’t escalate into serious issues.

Because Mo Qing’s teacher is the Great Elder of the Jade Pot Sect, it always made Fu Du feel that his Poison Doctor branch was one step below, which is why he was so eager to elevate his Meridian Poisoning Technique to the Spiritual Rank Intermediate, to be on even footing with the Medical Pulse.

Don’t be fooled by Mo Qing’s similar age to Yin Huan, nor is she the eldest disciple of the Great Elder of the Jade Pot Sect, but her Meridian Qi Cultivation is the finest in the Medical Pulse, which annoyed Fu Du quite a bit.

Even if Fu Du’s eldest disciple could stand on equal footing with Mo Qing, at least the current Yin Huan was not qualified. Therefore, although he was somewhat resentful of Mo Qing’s arrogance in his heart, he dared not show it outwardly for fear of displeasing her and suffering a beating for nothing.

Typically speaking, the examination for selecting Outer Disciples of the Jade Pot Sect wouldn’t see the presence of the Elders of the poison and medicine branches, not even the top talents among their respective disciples would pay too much attention. After all, these newly recruited Outer Disciples were far from comparable to them in Cultivation.

But Yin Huan hadn’t expected that Mo Qing would personally come this time. Her status amongst the young generation of the Medical Pulse was quite prestigious, which made him lose some confidence in the instructions from his teacher, Fu Du.

Every recruitment of Outer Disciples into the Jade Pot Sect is an important part of injecting fresh blood into the Sect, and a majority of the Inner Sect Disciples also rose from the ranks of the Outer Disciples.

Naturally, both the medical and poison branches of the Jade Pot Sect would compete for these Outer Disciples. Since it would be unseemly for the older generation of Elders to fight so blatantly, they would send younger Disciples to scout for promising talents to take under their wing.

This time Yin Huan was instructed by his teacher, Fu Du, to recruit as many new members for the Poison Vein as possible, unaware that the Medical Pulse would send Mo Qing. The pressure on him was immense.

Mo Qing, on facing Yin Huan’s hypocritical remarks, simply snorted lightly through her nose without responding. However, there was a hint of disappointment in her beautiful eyes.

Because among those dozens of young geniuses who found the Pill Recipe ingredients, not a single one caught Mo Qing’s eye, not to mention the complete lack of Meridian Refining Masters. She undoubtedly saw this batch as somewhat lacking in quality.

Previously, Mo Qing wouldn’t hesitate to give a cold greeting when seeing these young talents from the Poison Vein, but ever since she witnessed disciples of Fu Du using living people for poison trials, she felt that these individuals were too vile and ruthless, utterly unworthy of her company.

With this thought, an image of a deathly thin figure crossed Mo Qing’s mind suddenly, the face of which was enveloped in a faint seven-colored halo.

”Sigh, that kid who was poisoned by the Seven-Colored Immortal Spider is probably cold and dead by now, huh?”

Mo Qing sighed silently in her heart; the venom from the Seven-Colored Immortal Spider was so potent that even she wouldn’t dare touch it, let alone someone who was bitten. In her eyes, being struck by such a potent poison meant there was simply no chance of survival.

”Hmm?”

Mo Qing was contemplating, but after a moment, she shook her head, because she saw several more young figures in her vision. When she sensed the particular energies of the two leading individuals, her eyes lit up.

”Mortal Rank Low-Level Meridian Refining Masters, are these the two lads that teacher was talking about?”

Yin Huan, also possessing a powerful soul, immediately sensed the pedigrees of the two front-runners, and his heart stirred, stepping forward eagerly.

”It’s Zhao Ningshu and Cao Luo!”

As for the identities of these few, the young geniuses who arrived earlier were not strangers to them. When one of them exclaimed, everyone knew who these few were.

It turned out that this group of five were from the Zhao and Cao families, who had a feud with Yun Xiao. The two leaders were Zhao Ningshu and Cao Luo; both being Mortal Rank Low-Level Meridian Masters, they were definitely going to be fiercely contested by Mo Qing and Yin Huan.

The complexions of both Zhao Ningshu and Cao Luo were not very good looking. Over the past few days, they had been searching for Yun Xiao’s whereabouts with no luck, and to their delay, so many people had already arrived here.

With their status as Meridian Masters, they naturally had no trouble finding the medicinal ingredients required by the Pill Recipe, but they did not anticipate ranking so far back, a bit too embarrassing for their pride.

Fortunately, at this moment, the welcoming by Yin Huan finally made Zhao and Cao feel a sense of superiority, as they could sense the terrifying strength of the young man before them, which was certainly beyond their own capabilities.

”Hehe, it must be Brother Ningshu and Brother Cao Luo, Yin Huan has been waiting here for a long time!”

Yin Huan was adept at social interaction, with a smile on his face, and as soon as he announced their names, Zhao and Cao felt flattered and hastily stepped forward to pay their respects.

”So, it is Elder Brother Yin Huan, I have long admired your great reputation!” Having heard of this famous talent of the Poison Vein from the Jade Pot Sect, Zhao Ningshu and Cao Luo naturally did not dare to show the slightest negligence.

”The two brothers did not disappoint me indeed; my teacher has entrusted me to ask, how is the noble Family Head doing?” Yin Huan said, it was unclear if he truly meant it, but upon hearing this, Zhao and Cao were even more delighted.

”Fine, all is well, the Second Elder has been concerned!” Speaking of Elder Yin Huan’s status, he was much higher ranked, and even when he was not present, Zhao Ningshu and Cao Luo did not dare to show any disrespect.

”Alright, hand over the Pill Recipes and medicinal materials you have brought!”

Just as Yin Huan and Zhao Cao were having a pleasant discussion, a slightly cold voice suddenly rang out from the side, causing both of them to turn their gaze.

Hearing Mo Qing’s cold voice, a sneer emerged in Yin Huan’s eyes as he thought to himself: ”You woman might have strong Cultivation, but when it comes to dealing with people and worldly matters, I can outpace you by a wide margin!”

Indeed, as Yin Huan thought, Mo Qing was truly a top talent within the Jade Pot Sect, and with her Cultivation level, she could indeed intimidate Zhao and Cao, causing them to feel awe.

However, after Yin Huan had earlier put on a display of enthusiasm, the encounter with Mo Qing’s icy demeanor made anyone think differently; in Yin Huan’s view, his first move was already extremely well played.

The medicinal materials of the talents from the Zhao and Cao families were naturally without any issues; under Mo Qing’s inspection, the five of them were officially inducted as Outer Disciples of the Jade Pot Sect.

Tap tap tap!

However, at this moment, five figures suddenly appeared not far away. Yin Huan and Mo Qing did not show much reaction, but when Zhao Ningshu and Cao Luo turned their heads, the expressions in their eyes suddenly changed.

It turned out that these five figures were none other than Tan Yun’s team, who had some connection with Yun Xiao. After searching through Medicine Valley, it seemed they had gathered the Pill Recipe materials and come to the Final Land.

Yet, this team had first made enemies with the Cao Family’s third son, Cao Jun, and later because of Yun Xiao, they caused the Cao Family’s second son, Cao Ju, to lose a right hand. The animosity between the two parties was already considerable.

As for the Zhao Family, when they saw the young plump boy in Tan Yun’s team, a murderous intent couldn’t help but flash in their eyes.

The Zhao Family was a distinguished family in Ningfeng City, but unexpectedly produced Ling Wan, a ”freak” who would sometimes turn into a meatball. For the past ten years or so, although other families in Ningfeng City did not dare to speak openly, they were mocking the Zhao Family behind closed doors.

Thus, this time, the Family Head of the Zhao Family sent Ling Wan and his two brothers to participate in the Jade Pot Sect’s Outer Disciple assessment and instructed Zhao Ningshu and his brother Zhao Xingwu to seize the opportunity to assassinate Ling Wan if possible.

The Zhao siblings were clear in their hearts; their father sending Ling Wan to participate in the assessment at the Yulin Mountain Range was not with the intention for Ling Wan to truly join the Jade Pot Sect. Wouldn’t that just bring disgrace upon themselves within this vast Sect?

Therefore, almost at the same instant, the three brothers from the Cao Family, as well as Zhao Ningshu and Zhao Xingwu, promptly stepped out and blocked the way in front of Tan Yun’s five-person team.

”What are you doing?”

Seeing this, Mo Qing’s pretty face changed slightly, but just as her voice rang out, Yin Huan had already stepped in front of her and turned to reveal a strange smile.

”Elder Sister Mo Qing, it seems this is a personal grievance among the Outer Disciples, we should probably not interfere, right? Besides, isn’t this also a part of the assessment?” Yin Huan spoke earnestly, and though his words made some sense.

The reason for requiring these talents from the major families to find Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures wasn’t solely to assess their ability to recognize medicinal materials, but also to foster a competitive spirit among them.

In the struggle for medicinal resources, these competitors would definitely have to fight it out, which in a sense, served to sift out the chaff and ensure that only the most elite would join as Outer Disciples of the Jade Pot Sect.

Even though Zhao Luo and Zhao Ningshu were already true Outer Disciples of the Jade Pot Sect, they were not inside the Sect at this moment. For a trivial matter like this, Yin Huan really didn’t want to intervene, and he was even advising Mo Qing not to bother, clearly indicating he wanted to sit back and enjoy the drama amidst his boredom.