Nine Dragons Saint Ancestor

Bang!

How powerful can a punch be from a cultivator who is halfway through to the Meridian Rushing Realm?

As seen from the punch that Guan Hu belatedly unleashed onto the trunk of a large tree, which Yun Xiao narrowly avoided, the resounding explosion of power sent chills down his spine.

For Yun Xiao could keenly sense that if this punch had truly struck his back, he might not have died, but he would definitely be severely injured. This disparity in Meridian Qi was not something small tricks could equalize.

Luckily, Yun Xiao had precisely gauged the strengths of both sides. He had no intention of fighting Guan Tong for hundreds of rounds. Seeing Guan Tong’s punch slam strongly into the tree trunk, nearly snapping the tree in half, Yun Xiao knew that his plan had succeeded.

Regrettably, Guan Tong, still oblivious after throwing a punch into thin air, was focused only on Yun Xiao. He failed to notice the aura emanating from above the tree, which sealed his fate.

Boom!

Just as Guan Tong retracted his fist from the tree and aimed to strike down the vulnerable youth, a wildly intense aura burst from the dense foliage above him.

This aura contained energy fluctuations that even made Guan Tong’s heart tremble, coupled with an undeniable fury, causing Guan Tong to look up with a sudden heavy sinking of his heart and anger threatening to overflow.

”Yun Xiao, you dare to trick me!”

Even with his slow realization, at this moment Guan Tong understood, as he saw a dark shadow swooping down from the treetop. While dodging, he roared with fury.

But the shadow was too quick, and in the dark night, Guan Tong could almost see the ghastly glow on its lethal claws, leaving him no chance to deal with that hateful young man.

Swoosh, swoosh!

In the darkness, two silhouettes crossed swiftly. The enraged Vein Demon from the tree was now aiming straight for Guan Tong’s throat. If those sharp claws hit, even Guan Tong, who was nearly a Meridian Rushing Realm cultivator, would not remain unscathed.

It must be said, Guan Tong truly possessed great strength and quick reactions. Realizing it was too late to dodge, he could only muster all his Meridian Qi, raising his arms to hopefully withstand the Vein Demon’s powerful claws.

Crrrash!

Not far away, Yun Xiao heard the sound of fabric tearing. Immediately following, Guan Tong staggered back several steps, his left sleeve tattered beyond recognition.

It seemed that in that sudden encounter, although Guan Tong managed to avoid serious injuries, he couldn’t save his left sleeve, which looked quite disheveled in Yun Xiao’s eyes.

At this moment, Yun Xiao finally saw clearly what the dark shadow originally breaking through on the tree was, and his mood once again improved significantly.

”Tsk tsk, it turns out to be a Third Rank Advanced Peak ’Night Shadow Owl Wolf’. Now you’re really in for it!”

Yun Xiao’s face bore a cold smirk. With his knowledge, he immediately recognized the details of the powerful Vein Demon, he couldn’t help but exclaim.

It was a Flying Beast Pulse Demon, entirely dark, worth noting its head was owl-like, while its limbs resembled wolf claws projecting a dim light, seemingly containing some indescribable venom.

”Night Shadow Owl Wolf!”

As Yun Xiao murmured, Guan Tong, who had narrowly escaped, looked as dark as the bottom of a pot. Admittedly, the genius from the Imperial City Guan Family was indeed experienced and insightful, recognizing the details of the Vein Demon nearly as quickly as Yun Xiao.

However, when Guan Tong sensed the Night Shadow Owl Wolf’s Demon Meridian Qi Cultivation later, he cursed Yun Xiao’s ancestors in his heart. This young man was simply a murderous scammer.

Especially when Guan Tong sensed the extremely violent and chaotic aura of this Night Shadow Owl Wolf, he knew it was a Vein Demon in the midst of breaking through from the Third Rank Advanced Peak to the Fourth Rank.

On this Continent, cultivators are most averse to disturbances during breakthroughs, especially during major rank transitions, which require not only effort but also a bit of luck to find the right opportunity.

Compared to human cultivation, Vein Demons’ cultivation is undoubtedly much more challenging, and major rank advancements are even more so. A chance for a Third Rank Advanced Peak Vein Demon to break through to the Fourth Rank is indeed rare.

Disturbing someone’s breakthrough is akin to killing their parents. Guan Tong clearly understood that, having been schemed against by Yun Xiao, he was absolutely seen as a mortal enemy by this powerful Night Shadow Owl Wolf, and there would be no peace until one of them was dead.

This also demonstrated Yun Xiao’s malicious cunning. Under normal circumstances, Guan Tong, who was almost at the Meridian Rushing Realm, even if he unintentionally offended a Third Rank Advanced Peak Vein Demon, the latter might not fight desperately, as neither would be sure of victory.

But now, with the Night Wolf Demon unable to strike effectively and its demonic meridian Qi surging, the whistling wind made Guan Tong dare not to be negligent, and he no longer had the mind to worry about Yun Xiao over there.

”Haha, sorry to leave you, Brother Guan Tong!”

Seeing that an intense battle between Guan Tong and the Night Wolf Demon had broken out, Yun Xiao was truly uninterested in the outcome, so after laughing heartily, he decisively turned around and disappeared into the dense woods on the mountain in a few moments.

”Yun Xiao, I, Guan Tong, swear that I will shred you into ten thousand pieces!”

Listening to Yun Xiao’s mocking laughter, Guan Tong nearly exploded with rage, his furious roar also conveying his deep-seated hatred for Yun Xiao.

Yet, the Night Wolf Demon also deeply hated Guan Tong, and even knowing that this human held the same level of cultivation, it wasn’t going to let this opportunity slip; it wanted to make him pay with his life for interrupting its advancement to the Fourth Rank.

As for how this fierce battle would end, Yun Xiao, who had left far behind, had no desire to learn. He didn’t care about what Guan Tong said either, knowing that even if he surrendered, the royal family led by Xuan Zhi would never let him off easily. The grudge between them had already deepened irreversibly.

...

Bang!

Deep in the Yulin Mountain Range, a huge figure was flung out at an extremely high speed from somewhere, then crashed heavily onto the ground, creating a large pit in the mud.

It was clear that this was a powerful vein demon, but after it crashed, it remained motionless. Then, from the spot where it had been hurled out, another slender figure emerged.

This figure was naturally Yun Xiao, who had escaped from Guan Tong’s pursuit. It had been over ten days since that night, and the distance between him and the headquarters of the Jade Pot Sect was increasing.

”Heh heh, lucky me!”

Yun Xiao walked over slowly to the gigantic demon, rummaged around inside its chest and belly for a while, and finally pulled out a bloodstained round demon core, his face showing a trace of joy.

It was a low-level Third Rank vein demon. With Yun Xiao’s current strength and without using the power of the Ancestor Vein, it would have taken quite some effort to defeat it.

Fortunately, Yun Xiao was lucky, and this low-level Third Rank vein demon already possessed a demon core, saving him much effort.

After wiping the demon core clean and storing it inside his Waist Storage, Yun Xiao turned his head to the northeast direction. Over there, in the far distance, he could vaguely see a giant mountain peak soaring into the sky, seemingly topped with a wisp of blue smoke.

”Is that... Yurong Mountain?”

Yun Xiao’s goal was that active volcano known as Yurong Mountain. Although it was still far away and he couldn’t see it clearly, the increasingly hot air hinted that he was not too far from Yurong Mountain.

During these ten days, Guan Tong hadn’t pursued him further, nor did Yun Xiao know the outcome of his battle with the Night Wolf Demon; these were not his concerns. He only knew that he needed to increase his strength as quickly as possible.

Since he could hazily see the volcano in the distance, Yun Xiao breathed a sigh of relief, relieved that he hadn’t taken a wrong turn. With that, he swiftly headed toward the mountain peak emitting blue smoke.

The saying ”seeing a mountain yet running your horse to death” held true; even though Yun Xiao could see Yurong Mountain, it still took him another day and night to reach it. The air became hotter as he approached.

”Sigh, traveling on foot is indeed slow!”

Looking at the increasingly clear giant volcano, Yun Xiao felt a twinge of sentimentality. In his previous life, he was the Long Xiao Battle God of the Holy Rank Third Realm who traveled by flying, and it had been many years since he had walked.

However, having been reborn into Yun Xiao for over a year now, he had long accepted his new reality. Still, having the chance to live this new life was not a bad thing at all.

After his contemplation, Yun Xiao did not delay any further and as he stepped onto the base of that huge volcano, he felt an intense heat. A trace of meridian Qi surged forth, and he entered into Yurong Mountain.

Yurong Mountain was indeed a massive active volcano. However, it was hard to tell how long it had been since its last eruption. The mountainside was covered with dense forests and lush trees, not devoid of life as he had imagined.

Yun Xiao had come to Yurong Mountain in search of something known as Fire Stone Heart, a kind of Heavenly Material and Earthly Treasure found only near volcanoes and in a very particular location.

Thus, as soon as Yun Xiao entered Yurong Mountain, he began searching for that special place. After approximately two to three hours, when he saw a sparkling mountain spring before him, with bubbles and steam rising from the water, his eyes lit up.

”I finally found you!”