Nine Dragons Saint Ancestor

Chapter 297: 297 Treasure Stealer

”Yun Xiao... Senior Brother Yun Xiao?!”

When the crowd saw the youth in coarse clothing walking over with ease, they were all stunned, as Yun Xiao had left an extremely deep impression on many during the last Outer Sect competition.

Killing Guan Tong, who was third on the Mortal List, defeating Feng Hang, who was first on the Mortal List, and finally leaving Shen Xiao, who was no less formidable than Feng Hang, completely drained of his Meridian Qi—these achievements were unimaginable even in the wildest dreams of previous Outer Disciples.

It should be known that Yun Xiao only joined the Jade Pot Sect as an Outer Disciple this year. Among the newcomers, accomplishing any one of those feats would have been enough to fill them with pride.

Yet, in the past decade or so, only Mo Qing, the leading figure of the young generation within the Inner Sect, had done so. Yun Xiao could be considered the second, and whether there would be others to follow was still a matter of debate.

Furthermore, the fact that Yun Xiao had been taken as a Direct Disciple by the Sect Leader of the Jade Pot Sect, who had never before accepted disciples, made his reputation within the Outer Sect akin to an untouchable legend.

It was not until this moment, seeing Ling Wan and Yun Xiao, that those few Outer Disciples suddenly remembered that these two new Inner Sect ”Senior Brothers” seemed to have some acquaintance with Tan Yun and the others.

No matter how much younger Yun Xiao and Ling Wan were than themselves, as long as they had been promoted to the Inner Sect, they had to address them as Senior Brothers. This was determined by strength, not by age.

Thinking back to how Yun Xiao had miserably defeated Feng Hang and Shen Xiao during the Outer Sect competition, the Outer Disciples who had just been oppressing Tan Yun felt a chill run down their spines, cursing their bad luck for crossing paths with such a nemesis today.

Even though lethal fights were prohibited within this Outer Sect boundary, today’s incident was initiated by them. They believed that if Yun Xiao decided to teach them a lesson, probably no one would dare speak out against it, after all, he was the disciple of the Sect Leader.

As those few disciples Panic ensued, Yun Xiao had already approached, looking at Tan Yun and the others whom he hadn’t seen for a long time, feeling quite emotional.

In fact, regarding Tan Yun’s team, Yun Xiao owed them a life-saving debt - a favor he always kept deep in his heart, looking forward to repaying some day.

As for the current situation, Yun Xiao did not take it seriously. Seeing him cast a cold glance at the few people beside him, he then chuckled lightly, ”What are you standing around here for? Do you want me to invite you for tea?”

”Yes! Yes! Senior Brother Yun Xiao, we’re leaving now!”

Hearing Yun Xiao’s words, those few Outer Disciples scrambled away swiftly, their departure carrying an air of being chased away, which brought a sense of relief to Tan Yun and the others.

However, when Tan Yun’s gaze shifted to Yun Xiao, her heart was filled with endless emotion, thinking about how when she had first saved him, his cultivation had been even lower than hers.

Who would have thought that in less than a year, Yun Xiao had grown so much that Tan Yun could barely even see his back anymore.

Not just Yun Xiao, even the other comrade Ling Wan had far surpassed Tan Yun and her companions, who felt rather bitter being overtaken one after the other.

Especially today, when they were helpless against the bullying and Yun Xiao and Ling Wan’s mere presence scared the other Outer Disciples witless - such prestige was something they all longed for in their dreams.

Leaving aside the reunion and catching up for now, something unusual was about to happen within the Inner Sect of the Jade Pot Sect - an incident that would not allow Yun Xiao to remain indifferent.

...

Inside the Jade Pot Sect’s Inner Sect, the Poison Vein faction!

Within a dark green hall, there was a quiet ambiance, but a closer look would reveal silhouettes flickering in certain corners.

However, these figures seemed to be waiting for something, making no sound, creating no disturbance; everything appeared quite normal.

This hall was the Mysterious Artifact Hall of the Poison Vein faction of the Jade Pot Sect, an important place for the Poison Vein; it stored various items needed for refining highly poisonous substances, waited for Elder Deacons or young disciples to exchange with their impressive points.

Originally, the Mysterious Artifact Hall that Yun Xiao had entered in the Outer Sect contained only Mortal Rank items, both medicinal and poisonous substances stored together in one hall, just separated into two levels.

But within the Inner Sect of the Jade Pot Sect, there were two Mysterious Artifact Halls. In fact, Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures that reached the Spiritual Rank already had significant differences between the medicinal and poisonous ones and could no longer be kept together in one hall.

Thus, in the Inner Sect, the Mysterious Artifact Halls were distinctly separated, with the medical and poison factions not interfering with each other. For instance, within the Poison Vein’s Mysterious Artifact Hall, there were all kinds of poisonous artifacts, even including the corpses of Highly Poisonous Pulse Demons.

In the northeastern corner of the great hall, behind a wooden rack, there were two figures, one old and one young. The younger figure looked somewhat familiar – it was none other than Yin Huan, the most beloved disciple of the Second Elder Fu Du, and an Inner Sect genius who had clashed with Yun Xiao several times!

Over a month had passed since Yin Huan and his team returned from the Meridian Treasure, and during this period, Yin Huan had the fortuitous breakthrough to the late stage of the Meridian Rushing Realm.

Initially, inside the Meridian Treasure, Yin Huan was only at the middle stage of the Meridian Rushing Realm. He had been suppressed by Yun Xiao, who was at the early stage of Meridian Rushing Realm, which was a great humiliation to him.

After returning to the sect and completing the mission, Yin Huan still had many Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures obtained from the Meridian Treasure. It was precisely these powerful treasures that enabled him to make another breakthrough in such a short time.

Yin Huan was at this location because of a curious incident: The Steward guarding the Inner Sect’s Poison Vein Mysterious Artifact Hall had noticed items going missing from the hall without any trace or reason.

It was only today, when Yin Huan came to the Mysterious Artifact Hall intending to exchange points for an indispensable item, that he heard about the situation from the Steward. With a shrewd mind, he immediately thought of a strategy, akin to ”lying low and waiting for the rabbit” combined with a ”Heaven and Earth Net.”

In Yin Huan’s view, the thefts from the Mysterious Artifact Hall could only be attributed to two reasons: one was that some Inner Sect disciples had stealthily taken the items, and the other was the work of non-human entities, such as Vein Demons or Strange Spirits.

Yin Huan was bold. Since the culprit didn’t dare to rob openly, it suggested that their strength wasn’t much higher than that of the Steward beside him, and they were also more fearful of revealing their location and attracting trouble.

”Yin Huan, will your method really work?”

The Steward named Shi Ping from the Poison Vein lineage’s Mysterious Artifact Hall continuously scanned the hall with unease and quietly asked.

To tell the truth, although the missing items hadn’t been many recently, they were mostly low-level but valuable Spiritual Rank treasures. If these items couldn’t be recovered, Shi Ping would have to compensate with his own points. After all, he was the appointed Steward of the Poison Vein lineage’s Mysterious Artifact Hall.

The approach suggested by Yin Huan was not particularly ingenious in Shi Ping’s eyes. Since the thief was utterly elusive, there was a chance they could sense the presence of cultivators in the Mysterious Artifact Hall, and if they didn’t come, it would be a wasted effort.

”Don’t worry. Based on the list of items you reported missing, I deduce that the thief is interested in Fire Attribute Heavenly Treasures. Therefore, I’ve placed a special item here in the Mysterious Artifact Hall. As long as they sense it, they’ll surely come!”

Yin Huan was confident, and as soon as he finished speaking, his gaze shifted to a certain direction, and he chuckled softly without turning his head: ”Here they come!”

Upon hearing Yin Huan’s words, Shi Ping immediately fell silent, not even daring to breathe too loudly. As he also shifted his gaze to that location, they finally saw a window being quietly opened from the outside, followed by a flash of flame-red as something sneaked inside and vanished without a trace.

”What was that?”

Although Shi Ping had reached the mid-stage of the Meridian Union Realm and was a legitimate Mortal Rank Advanced Poison Vein Master, he was unable to discern what that flame-red shadow was and muttered under his breath.

But in the next moment, Shi Ping didn’t need Yin Huan to explain, for the flame-red shadow, without any hesitation, dashed directly towards a certain place – the very spot where Yin Huan had said the item was placed.

”I guessed right; it’s certainly a Fire Attribute Vein Demon!”

When Yin Huan caught a glimpse of the details of the flame-red shadow, he spoke with certainty, and sensing the details of the Fire Attribute Vein Demon, he completely relaxed.

Shi Ping, Yin Huan, and even the hidden guards of the Mysterious Artifact Hall all saw clearly that it was a flame-red mouse about the size of a palm – a type of Vein Demon they had never seen before.

”So, it’s this little beast, utterly ignorant of life and death!”

The Mysterious Artifact Hall Steward Shi Ping, who could clearly sense the aura of the flame-red mouse, could not help feeling righteously indignant. As a mid-stage Meridian Union Realm powerhouse, he had been made a fool of by a small mouse that seemed to have just broken through to the intermediate level of the Fourth Rank. This was an affront he could not swallow.

”Steward Shi, stay calm and be patient!”

Although Yin Huan appeared somewhat constrained when facing Yun Xiao, in truth, he was a meticulous-minded Inner Sect genius. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have been held in such high regard by Elder Fu Du. Thus, he immediately pressed on Shi Ping’s shoulder, signaling him not to act rashly.

This was because Yin Huan had already set up mechanisms near the item, ensuring that once the flame-red mouse came close, it would have no chance of escape, saving them the effort of a chase.

The flame-red mouse that had entered the great hall never expected to have fallen into a trap already laid out. It sniffed with its tiny nose and hurried towards a certain spot under the pleasantly surprised gazes of Yin Huan and Shi Ping, growing ever closer.

Seeing this scene unfold, everyone hiding within was filled with anticipation, secretly thinking that this time they would finally capture the treasure stealer. Although they might not be able to make the old mouse spit out what it had swallowed, at the very least, they could relieve the frustration built up over many days.