Nine Dragons Saint Ancestor

”Is he planning to... turn the tables?”

Seeing the water droplets instantly frozen, a strange light flashed in Xue Tianao’s eyes as he thought of a possibility and looked towards Lu Yanji not far away.

”Just watch!”

The President of the Meridian Refining Master Association seemed quite calm, with a faint smile on his face, as if he wasn’t concerned at all about Yun Xiao over there.

In truth, Lu Yanji had great confidence in Yun Xiao. To him, the odds of defeating the Intermediate Holy Grade Heavenly Spirit You He against Yun Xiao were not favorable.

And for the young man in coarse clothes, whom he could say owed a life-saving debt, Lu Yanji had witnessed many of his techniques and knew Yun Xiao was far more than just someone from the Hidden Dragon Continent.

If that young man was truly rooted in the Hidden Dragon Continent, how could he know the secrets of the Nine-layered Dragon Cloud Lu Family? That was the key to Lu Yanji’s confidence in him.

In just this moment, Yun Xiao’s Ice Cold Ancestor Vein Power had already frozen all those water splashes into granules of ice, marking the beginning of his counterattack.

Swish, swish, swish...

A series of wind-breaking sounds rang out, and those water explosion energies that were under You He’s control just moments ago suddenly became Yun Xiao’s ultimate magical technique, swarming towards You He’s body.

Watching the ice granules getting closer to You He, a hint of anticipation flashed in Yun Xiao’s eyes. He didn’t expect these ice granules to truly harm You He, instead having a deeper plan.

It was unquestionable that You He was a Water Attribute Heavenly Spirit, and although Yun Xiao had powerful Ancestor Vein Fire, You He was ultimately stronger by a small realm. He wasn’t confident that the Ancestor Vein Fire could handle him.

Moreover, the Water Attribute Heavenly Spirit had to guard against the Fire Attribute attacks even more strictly. Yun Xiao believed that if he unleashed the Ancestor Vein Fire, it would require even greater effort to deal with him.

Thus, Yun Xiao took a different approach, activating his Ice Cold Ancestor Vein Power at this moment and infused it into each water droplet.

If any part of the Holy Grade Heavenly Spirit You He’s body touched an ice granule, the other granules would instantly converge, freezing the Water Attribute Holy Grade Heavenly Spirit into an ice sculpture.

Reaching the Heavenly Realm level, Yun Xiao had gained new understanding of his Five Elements Ancestor Veins Power, such as the technique of simplifying complexity and vice versa.

At this moment, the ice granules flying towards You He were overwhelming and unavoidable, as they had been for Yun Xiao earlier. Unless You He escaped the Stepping Heavenly Stone range, he would inevitably be hit by the ice granules.

But this Stepping Heavenly Stone battle was initiated by You He inviting Yun Xiao, and being forced out of the Stepping Heavenly Stone after just a few moves would be too embarrassing.

Thus, at this moment, Yun Xiao, the challenger, could remain calm, while You He, the initiator, was caught in a dilemma, not wanting to lose face or clash directly with the ice granules.

Perhaps in You He’s subconscious, he had already realized the deadly threat these ice granules posed to him, but how to deal with such a dense counter-attack?

”Disperse!”

In this critical moment, You He had no time to think further. An explosive voice came from his mouth, and then his entire body burst apart instantly.

At this moment, You He’s colossal body transformed into countless water droplets, intermingling with the counter-attacking ice granules from Yun Xiao, creating a magical spectacle.

It’s worth mentioning that the water droplets from You He’s body did not collide with any ice granules, as if a giant hand was separating them in the heavens, keeping them apart.

Meanwhile, a crystalline entity, as transparent as a crystal, soared into the sky. Seeing this head-sized crystal, all human cultivators revealed their heated expressions.

”It’s the spirit crystal of a Holy Grade Heavenly Spirit!”

Especially a Floating Life Realm Water Attribute cultivator, sensing the rich Water Attribute within the crystal, almost couldn’t resist the urge to seize it.

Fortunately, this Floating Life Realm cultivator retained some rationality, knowing the consequences of rashly taking action would be dire.

The Intermediate Holy Grade Heavenly Spirit’s Strange Spirit Crystal was indeed abundant in energy and useful for all Water Attribute cultivators, but one needed to consider whether they had the qualifications to possess it.

Even now, with You He voluntarily offering his spirit crystal, if Yun Xiao had truly defeated him to force the spirit crystal out, it would still belong to Yun Xiao, and anyone desiring it would need his permission.

Amidst countless fervent gazes, the spirit crystal emitting the rich Water Attribute flew higher, avoiding the myriad ice granules, while the remaining water droplets from the You He body perfectly missed the granules without touching a single one.

Compared to those spectators, Yun Xiao, who was on the Stepping Heavenly Stone, had fewer misgivings. Although the Ice Bead did not manage to hit You He’s body, forcing out its Spirit Crystal could be considered a different kind of success.

Swoosh!

Yun Xiao’s speed could not be described as slow. In that moment, the Earth Burst Stone Lotus Armor on him disappeared instantly, and a pair of silver Thunder Wings flashed into appearance. He darted toward the Strange Spirit Crystal that had soared into the sky like a silver-gray thread.

Everyone stared blankly at that silver-gray thread, wanting to see if Yun Xiao, at such an astonishing speed, could seize control of the Water Attribute Spirit Crystal before anyone else.

If he could truly grasp that Water Attribute Spirit Crystal and gain control, then this battle would be considered over. However, such an outcome might leave everyone with a lingering sense of unfulfillment.

After all, this amazing battle had only gone on for a few moves. If it ended like this, it would make the Holy Grade Heavenly Spirit You He seem too easy to defeat.

Yet, in the hearts of the people, there was a sense of anticipation. After all, the Spirit Crystal is the most vital possession of the Strange Spirit; once controlled, it’s impossible for them to form a new body again, even for a Holy Grade Heavenly Spirit.

Just as such a thought arose in people’s minds, they overlooked one issue: You He is not foolish. It hadn’t reached a life-or-death moment yet, so why would he casually sacrifice his Spirit Crystal?

Gush gush gush...

Just as Yun Xiao approached the Spirit Crystal of the Holy Grade Heavenly Spirit, intending to grab it in his hand, a sound of flowing water reached his ears, and immediately he realized that he seemed unable to move.

Numerous streams of water extended from that Strange Spirit Crystal, like translucent Immortal Ropes, encompassing Yun Xiao’s entire body within them.

”Damn it, that guy You He is so despicable!”

Upon seeing the sudden change in the sky, Ling Wan, who had just regained some strength after escaping from a trap, couldn’t help but curse loudly, as even he could see that the unveiling of the Spirit Crystal by the Holy Grade Heavenly Spirit You He was a ploy to lure Yun Xiao.

The Spirit Crystal, although essential to a Strange Spirit, is also their source of power, the place where the Strange Spirit’s strength is most concentrated, incomparable to the power they can normally exert.

It seemed that previously, You He revealed his Spirit Crystal in front of everyone not due to the threat of those Ice Granules, but to lure Yun Xiao indeed. Now it looks like this strategy was tremendously successful.

The binding power from the water jets spewing from the Spirit Crystal is far more formidable than the previous so-called Thousand Flower Burst energy. You He believed that Yun Xiao, who was now bound, certainly couldn’t break free in the short term.

As swiftly as wind and cloud changed, that Spirit Crystal in the sky gushed with the sound of water and, in no time, coalesced into a massive body, looking no different from before.

”Haha, Yun Xiao, unexpected, isn’t it? Quite a surprise, right?”

A voice filled with triumphant laughter descended from the sky, echoing throughout the Stepping Heavenly Stone, leaving all human cultivators’ faces somewhat ugly.

Those cultivators, like Ling Wan, realized that the previous scene was indeed orchestrated by the Holy Grade Heavenly Spirit, and whether Yun Xiao could turn the tide whilst bound by the Spirit Crystal’s power remained uncertain.

Even Lu Yanji, a middle-stage Heavenly Realm strong practitioner, showed an extremely grim expression upon sensing the binding power of those water jets, as he considered that if he himself were bound by them, it would be impossible to break free in a short time.

In Lu Yanji’s view, Yun Xiao indeed possessed a powerful Ancestor Vein Fire, but dealing with an Intermediate Holy Grade Heavenly Spirit, solely comparing Meridian Qi, You He undoubtedly had the upper hand.

Perhaps given a certain amount of time, Yun Xiao could potentially burn away the water jet bindings with Ancestor Vein Fire, but would You He, who just seized this opportunity, allow Yun Xiao such extensive time?

The answer was clearly no!

As soon as You He’s laughter ceased, he immediately took action, his body darting before Yun Xiao, elevating a particular water jet tentacle, and astonishingly transforming it into a giant Water Attribute hammer aimed fiercely at Yun Xiao’s head.

Witnessing this scene, countless people were filled with despair, because the immense power of the Holy Grade Heavenly Spirit You He’s smash, irrespective of Yun Xiao’s physical strength, in such a space where evasion was impossible, would result in a cracked skull upon impact.

”Master Xue, prepare to act!”

The rapidly changing situation in the sky also caught Lu Yanji off guard. As his words fell, a dense force of Meridian Qi erupted all over his body.

Lu Yanji knew that, given Yun Xiao’s current predicament, external intervention was necessary to alter the course, otherwise, upon impact with that giant water hammer, even a Daluo Golden Immortal wouldn’t be able to save Yun Xiao’s life.

However, Lu Yanji was well aware that amidst such sudden developments, even if he and Xue Tianao, Wu Zhukong managed a timely intervention, it might not truly ensure the survival of that rustic-clothed youth.