Nine Dragons Saint Ancestor

Swoosh!

In the Yulin Mountain Range, roughly tens of miles away from Yurong Mountain, a figure stealthily emerged from the dense forest. His expression was cautious; he frequently looked around as if he was on guard against someone.

This figure was naturally Yun Xiao, who had narrowly escaped from Yurong Volcano that day. Notably, a palm-sized, fiery-red rat lay lazily on his right shoulder.

Honestly, Yun Xiao’s escape from Mo Qing’s grasp owed much to the Fire Cloud Rat, whose extreme speed, even for someone as experienced as Yun Xiao, was astonishing.

This was another talent of the Fire Cloud Rat—speed. Even though it was merely a Fourth Rank Low Level Vein Demon, and the gap between its Meridian Qi and Mo Qing’s was vast, it still outsped Mo Qing, who could not catch up.

”Hehe, little guy, thank you so much this time!”

Yun Xiao, sensing no danger around, finally turned his head and thanked the Fire Cloud Rat resting on his right shoulder. He knew that Vein Demons like the Fire Cloud Rat could definitely understand his words.

However, after Yun Xiao spoke, the Fire Cloud Rat just glanced at him with its small eyes and then lay still again. Yun Xiao didn’t mind; during these days of travel, he had come to understand this Fire Cloud Rat.

Initially, Yun Xiao guessed that the Fire Cloud Rat had helped him possibly because it felt indebted after drinking half a barrel of his Stone Heart Marrow Liquid that day and thus chose to assist him.

But it was uncommon for a Fire Cloud Rat that had awakened to follow a human, especially one whose cultivation level was much lower.

Oddly enough, the Fire Cloud Rat carried Yun Xiao to a far-off escape, and after shrinking to the size of a palm, it just stayed on Yun Xiao’s shoulder and wouldn’t leave, making him somewhat puzzled.

It wasn’t until one night when Yun Xiao hid in a large tree and began using the Ancient Dragon Taming Technique to enter the cultivation state to recover from his injuries that he noticed something.

The Fire Cloud Rat seemed dependent on the aura generated by the Ancient Dragon Taming Technique; a small portion of the Heaven and Earth Energy attracted by the technique was also absorbed by the Fire Cloud Rat.

At that moment, Yun Xiao subtly felt that the Fire Cloud Rat stayed with him because of the Ancient Dragon Taming Technique, and the presence of the golden snake inside him; he increasingly felt the extraordinary origins of the Ancient Dragon Taming Technique.

But regarding the Fire Cloud Rat’s dependence, Yun Xiao didn’t say much—it was, after all, a Fourth Rank Low Level Vein Demon, an extremely powerful creature by bloodline, a free helper indeed.

Yun Xiao knew he had offended more and more people at the outer sect of the Jade Pot Sect. Putting aside Guan Tong, who was half-stepping into the Meridian Rushing Realm, he had also offended Feng Hang, the top one on the Mortal List, and the attitude of Shen Xiao, the second on the list, didn’t seem favorable towards him either.

Additionally, with the Talisman Poison Masters of the Jade Pot Sect lurking in the shadows, ready to strike at any moment, Yun Xiao truly felt that his strength was insufficient. In such times, added help from the Fire Cloud Was was truly like timely assistance amid heavy snow.

Yun Xiao chose secluded, lesser-trodden paths all the way, fortunately not encountering Mo Qing, the talented young girl, nor seeing the trio of Feng Hang, Shen Xiao, and Guan Tong. His luck was indeed good.

After this period of travel, Yun Xiao’s injuries had largely recovered, thanks to the physical strength enhanced by the reliance on the Stone Heart Marrow; otherwise, the recovery wouldn’t have been this swift.

The night fell quickly!

In the dense forest of the Yulin Mountain Range, Yun Xiao hid on a large tree, but this moment, he did not enter the cultivation state; instead, he reached around his waist and swiped, immediately a streak of red light flashed, and in the palm of his right hand, there appeared an infant fist-sized fiery-red crystal.

”Fire Spirit Crystal!”

Looking at the Fire Spirit Crystal that he had snatched from Feng Hang’s grasp, Yun Xiao’s eyes were somewhat mystical; he could clearly sense the Fire Attribute Energy within the crystal and secretly thought that this object must be extraordinarily useful.

The Fire Spirit Crystal was the item Yun Xiao had to retrieve for his low-level spiritual rank task. By returning this Fire Spirit Crystal to the Task Hall of the Jade Pot Sect, he would secure two thousand points.

Swoosh!

However, just as Yun Xiao intended to study what the Fire Spirit Crystal was exactly, he suddenly felt a scorching sensation in the palm of his right hand, combined with a sudden burst of suction force.

”What’s going on?”

Yun Xiao’s expression turned grim, and he muttered, because he was very clear that the sudden change was not of his own doing, but was instead an unknown transformation occurring within his body.

Previously, whether in the Arena Hall of the Shang Family or during the process of channeling the governor and conception vessels for a Ling Wan, Yun Xiao had encountered this kind of situation, which had brought him good fortune.

But at this moment, Yun Xiao felt that in the palm of his right hand, or more specifically in the Blood-red Crescent Mark connected with the Ancestor Vein, a Devouring Power was erupting, seemingly about to absorb the Fire Spirit Crystal into his body.

To know that the Fire Spirit Crystal was crucial for Yun Xiao to complete his task this time, if it were to be devoured by that mysterious power, all his efforts would be wasted with not only no 2,000 points reward but also a deduction of 500 points.

Right now, Yun Xiao didn’t even have a single point, where could he possibly find 500 points to be deducted, but the spontaneously erupting power was completely out of his control, he could only let it act freely.

Swoosh!

It has to be said that Yun Xiao’s worries were not unnecessary. In a moment, after a flash of red light, the fist-sized Fire Spirit Crystal had disappeared from his right palm, obviously having been swallowed into his body.

At the same moment, Yun Xiao felt a lightness on his left shoulder, as the Fire Cloud Rat also seemed to sense something and jumped from his shoulder onto a nearby tree branch.

”Little guy, what’s wrong?”

Turning his head, Yun Xiao saw the Fourth Rank Low Level Vein Demon Fire Cloud Rat, the mouse’s eyes full of caution, and even a hint of... fear, prompting him to ask aloud.

”Squeak!”

Little did Yun Xiao know, just as he finished speaking, another flash of red light appeared in the palm of his right hand, seemingly startling the Fire Cloud Rat, causing it to take a step back again and, still unsatisfied, jumped to an even farther tree branch, staring at Yun Xiao without moving.

Regarding the anomaly of the Fire Cloud Rat, Yun Xiao was only puzzled, but the red light on his right palm finally dimmed at this moment, and he then made another discovery.

”So, it was you causing trouble!”

With a focused mind, Yun Xiao’s Inner Vision Eye had located the position of the Fire Spirit Crystal, and when he sensed the direction of the fiery red crystal’s movement, he finally came to a realization.

Because at the end of the Fire Spirit Crystal’s movement, there was a small snake wrapped in strands of golden light, the very Golden Snake Worm Yun Xiao had accidentally acquired from Shang Family Snake Nest, yet never understood.

This Golden Snake Worm, after entering Yun Xiao’s body, caused him to be in a coma for a whole year; until he woke up, it was competing with the Dragon Cloud Battle God’s spirit for control over Yun Xiao’s body, leading to a fierce struggle and almost costing Yun Xiao his life after being sent back to the Jade Pot Sect by the Talisman Poison Master for testing, nearly dying nine times.

Yun Xiao himself could not say whether the Golden Snake Worm being inside his body was good or bad. If you say it’s good, well, its thought of controlling his own body was not commendable; if you say it’s bad, then during the poison test in the Poison Hall, without it, he might have already turned into a pool of pus and blood.

When Yun Xiao and the Dragon Cloud Battle God’s spirit regained control of the body, the Golden Snake Worm had fallen into a deep sleep due to absorbing a massive amount of intense toxic energy, but at this moment, it seemed to sense something in its sleep, and it autonomously devoured the Fire Spirit Crystal.

Yun Xiao’s Inner Vision Eye saw it clearly, the Golden Snake Worm was still in deep sleep, while the Fire Spirit Crystal seemed to have some kind of spirituality, moving towards it at a very fast speed, and eventually, the two quietly touched.

Whoosh!

Under a sudden burst of red light, the Golden Snake Worm’s body seemed to emit strands of golden light, and immediately Yun Xiao clearly sensed that the energy in the Fire Spirit Crystal was rapidly flowing towards the Golden Snake Worm.

Seeing this scene, Yun Xiao wanted to weep without tears. That was his task item for this time, and that Fire Spirit Snake only appeared once a year, there was truly no chance to get another Fire Spirit Crystal.

Hardly had he obtained the Fire Spirit Crystal—having almost lost his eyes and life—now it had bizarrely been devoured by a creature in deep sleep, what was Yun Xiao supposed to use to complete the task?

That kind of power was not under Yun Xiao’s control, so he could only watch helplessly as the energy inside the Fire Spirit Crystal was gradually devoured, eventually turning into nothing, dissipating inside his body.

Up to now, Yun Xiao had only just seemed to have regained some control over his body, which made him very depressed. Looking at his empty right palm, his face darkened like droplets might fall.

”Alas, it seems this time, I’ve really run out of luck!”

Yun Xiao stood dazed for a while, in the end, he could only sigh. Everything was destined by fate, it seemed that the energy from the Fire Spirit Crystal must be greatly beneficial to the Golden Snake Worm; otherwise, it wouldn’t sense the Fire Spirit Crystal’s aura in its sleep and suck it into its body.

”Squeak!”

Just as Yun Xiao was feeling disheartened and depressed, he suddenly heard a familiar sound by his ears. When he turned his head, he saw the Fire Cloud Rat had somehow jumped back and called out to him.

”Lucky to have you, little buddy!” Yun Xiao reached out and gently stroked the small body of the Fire Cloud Rat, seemingly finding some comfort, and his mood wasn’t that depressed anymore.

Pfft!

However, at that moment, Yun Xiao’s expression suddenly became serious; because he shockingly discovered that the palm-sized Fire Cloud Rat, when it opened its mouth, a crystal emitting a fiery red color was actually spat out from its mouth.