Nine Dragons Saint Ancestor

”These two guys, how exactly did they get here?”

Yun Xiao’s heart roared in frustration. In his mind, neither Xuan Zhi nor that strange old fellow had the qualifications to enter the ninth layer of the Jade Pot Cave.

Moreover, wasn’t Elder Su He guarding the outside? Why wasn’t there any warning? Now Yun Xiao had to face such a powerful opponent alone, how could his mood possibly get any better?

Xuan Zhi, who was only at the early stage of Meridian Rushing Realm, was insignificant to Yun Xiao, so his eyes were entirely fixed on the black-robed elder, as if trying to discern something.

Upon closer inspection, Yun Xiao did notice something peculiar: a faint cold aura emanated from the old man, which was somewhat similar to the icy aura in his left arm’s Ancestor Vein.

”Is it Elder Fu Du?”

After dodging that sneak attack earlier, the voice Yun Xiao heard made him mistake the comer for Elder Fu Du, but when he turned around, the person’s appearance was nothing like Fu Du’s.

At this moment, however, Yun Xiao was already sixty to seventy percent sure that the individual radiating a unique icy aura was Fu Du. This old man had probably used some special method to drastically alter his appearance, temporarily preventing others from recognizing him.

Even after that initial outcry, the black-robed elder had remained silent, but this only made Yun Xiao more suspicious. If it was an intruder, why would they care about concealing their identity?

But the most convincing reason was the touch of Ice Cold Poison that Yun Xiao sensed, which was identical to the aura of the Three-legged Ice Toad Ice Cold Poison within his body. On the Hidden Dragon Continent, who else but Yun Xiao could have such an aura?

Caught off guard by Yun Xiao’s sudden outburst, a glint flickered in the black-robed elder’s eyes, yet his face remained stiff and expressionless.

Meanwhile, Xuan Zhi turned his head to glance at the black-robed elder, and seeing no reaction from the latter, he relaxed.

While Xuan Zhi was looking over, the black-robed elder remained silent, but made a gesture towards the worn wooden box, indicating that the Third Prince should quickly take it.

Delighted by the elder’s signal, Xuan Zhi couldn’t contain his elation. This worn wooden box was his primary objective for coming to the Jade Pot Sect, and now that it was within reach, how could he not be thrilled?

Whoosh!

Despite having only recently broken through to the early stage of Meridian Rushing Realm, Xuan Zhi, with a royal background, practiced top-grade Cultivation Techniques and Meridian Techniques. His speed at this moment was quite astounding.

Seeing this, Yun Xiao was enraged, but just as he was about to step aside to stop Xuan Zhi, a tremendous force suddenly assaulted him from the side, forcing him to evade first.

This attack was naturally from the elder, and such an overwhelming force made Yun Xiao realize that he had underestimated the situation, for this power was aimed precisely at taking his life.

With Yun Xiao’s cultivation at the late stage of Meridian Rushing Realm, he could fend off even early-stage geniuses of Meridian Union Realm such as Yue Qi and manage self-preservation at the very least.

But now, under the casual blow of the elder, he discovered that he was utterly helpless to avoid it, completely different from the previous sneak attack. His escape routes were all sealed off.

This was the power of a Spirit Vein Realm expert, the disparity between two major ranks. In this moment, Yun Xiao suddenly found his earlier thoughts laughably naive.

Under the power of such a mighty being, not to mention competing for the worn wooden box, even escaping became extremely difficult; even if he could barely dodge one or two strikes, if the elder was intent on taking his life, Yun Xiao might be unable to fly even with wings.

”The item is secured, kill him!”

As Yun Xiao struggled to dodge that formidable blow, another piece of bad news echoed in his ears. He just caught a glimpse of Xuan Zhi grabbing the wooden box out of the corner of his eye, and a voice already came through.

Hearing this voice, Yun Xiao felt the force in the black-robed elder’s hands intensify by several folds, so he had no choice but to stand his ground and fight back.

Bang!

Regrettably, the gap in strength between the two was too great. Even with all his might, Yun Xiao could scarcely withstand a few clashes. At a certain moment, a loud sound rang out, and his body was sent flying backward.

”Cough... cough...”

Barely managing to stabilize himself, Yun Xiao couldn’t help but cough twice, a trail of crimson blood trickling from the corner of his mouth, indicating a severe internal injury from the blow.

Whoosh!

However, the black-robed elder was ruthless in his advantage, swiftly advancing on Yun Xiao as if he were his shadow. Seeing another blow about to be delivered, Yun Xiao feared his brain would burst open and he would die on the spot.

”Hmm?”

Who would have thought that at this moment, just as Yun Xiao’s thoughts stirred, intending to activate his three Ancestor Veins in a final effort, the fatal blow from the man in black was suddenly retracted.

The somewhat astonished Yun Xiao, in the next moment, saw another figure clad in black appear before him—not at all a stranger to him—it was the Great Elder of the Medical Pulse lineage of the Jade Pot Sect: Lu Zhan!

”Who dares to trespass into Jade Pot Cave?”

It was indeed Lu Zhan who saw Yun Xiao in danger and naturally prioritized rescue. However, after his angry shout, he was secretly struck by a sense of alarm.

Jade Pot Cave was the foundation of the Jade Pot Sect, and now someone had invaded as deep as the ninth level, unbeknownst to anyone; this was a disgrace for the entire Jade Pot Sect.

What shocked Lu Zhan was that the aura emanating from the man in black was not weaker than his own, and there was something extremely bizarre about it that made him feel apprehensive.

Seeing the man in black remain silent, Lu Zhan turned his gaze elsewhere and bellowed lowly again: ”Xuan Zhi, do you not fear that your actions will lead to enmity between the Royal Family and our Jade Pot Sect?”

”Hmph, so be it if there is enmity; does the Royal Family actually fear your Jade Pot Sect?”

Now that he had what he needed and his plan was complete, Xuan Zhi felt an extreme sense of relief. There was no longer a need to kowtow to the elders of the Jade Pot Sect or put on a facade of utmost respect like before.

As Xuan Zhi had stated, in the Xuanyue Empire, it has always been the Royal Family that held the greatest power. Even as formidable as the Jade Pot Sect was, it never dared challenge the authority of the Royal Family.

Xuan Zhi believed that as long as he brought this wooden box back to the Royal Family, even if the Jade Pot Sect was relentless, they would not dare create an uproar in the Royal Court, right?

What Xuan Zhi seemingly forgot, however, was that after the appearance of the Great Elder Lu Zhan, the situation on the field had changed. If Lu Zhan could hold off the man in black, Xuan Zhi was no match for Yun Xiao.

Hearing Xuan Zhi’s words, Lu Zhan realized they had fallen into the Royal Family’s trap this time, but as the Great Elder of the Jade Pot Sect, having witnessed this matter, he definitely would not let these two culprits succeed in their plot.

”Yun Xiao, take back that item!”

With a covert glance at the wooden box in Xuan Zhi’s hand, Lu Zhan bellowed lowly. As he moved, he was already engaged in combat with the man in black.

Seeing this, Yun Xiao also heaved a sigh of relief. Under the hands of the man in black, he had been utterly powerless, but now, the tables seemed to have turned.

Even though Yun Xiao had sustained some internal injuries from the man in black’s attack, he was confident that, with his cultivation at the Late Stage of Meridian Rushing Realm, dealing with Xuan Zhi who was only at the Early Stage, should not be a problem.

However, what puzzled Yun Xiao was that Xuan Zhi did not seem like a fool and should understand the current situation. So, why was there no trace of fear on the face of this Third Prince of the Empire?

Regardless, Yun Xiao was absolutely determined to secure that dilapidated wooden box. Now with this chance to retrieve it, both in sentiment and reason, he would not let it go, so in the next moment, he moved instantaneously.

Yun Xiao’s speed was undeniably fast, and his target was clear—to snatch back the wooden box first. He believed that under his strike, Xuan Zhi would have no chance of keeping the wooden box.

Yet, plans cannot keep up with changes. Yun Xiao’s seemingly foolproof strike inevitably met with an unexpected turn, for just as his right hand’s fingers were about to grasp the edge of the wooden box, a palm exhaling green fumes suddenly stretched out from an angle, poised to touch the back of his hand.

Feeling the potent and eerie energy from the palm, Yun Xiao made a split-second decision because he could not ensure that his right hand would not be rendered useless by this single touch and was not willing to take the risk.

The promptness of Yun Xiao’s reaction was indeed commendable. At the moment he withdrew his hand, he shockingly found that the air where he was supposed to touch had seemingly been corroded into a vacuum by some mysterious force.

Obviously, this was an extremely potent poison, and Yun Xiao believed that if he hadn’t withdrawn his hand just then, his right palm would likely no longer exist now.

”Is it you?!”

Yet as Yun Xiao withdrew his hand and turned his gaze towards the face of the assaulter, his eyes narrowed once again. The figure was not entirely familiar to him yet also not a stranger.

”Tsk tsk, who would have guessed that a distinguished Fifth Elder of the Jade Pot Sect would collude with the Royal Family? Truly eye-opening!”

After recognizing the person’s identity, Yun Xiao couldn’t help but let out a mocking sneer, for it was none other than the Fifth Elder, who once held control over the Inner Sect’s Jade Martial Institute: Yan Chun!

To be honest, Yun Xiao didn’t know much about Yan Chun, having only met him during his visit to the Jade Martial Institute. Yet, he never had much regard for these elders of the Poison Vein lineage.

Nevertheless, Yun Xiao could never have imagined that after Elder Fu Du’s help to Xuan Zhi, Yan Chun would so brazenly attack him. Has he given up on even retaining his position as the Fifth Elder of the Jade Pot Sect?