Nine Dragons Saint Ancestor

Meridian Refining Master Association.

Around the perimeter of a not-so-small square, quite a number of watching Cultivators stood gathered. Among these Cultivators, most were young geniuses of the Sky Poison Institute, and there were also some of the institute’s Elders present.

There were also some outside Cultivators whose faces showed peculiar expressions as they stared at a certain young figure within the square, as though expecting something. That young figure was by no means unfamiliar to them.

”What do you think, will Senior Brother Si Mo succeed this time in refining that Earth Rank Advanced Poison Pill?”

In the eyes of one young genius of the Sky Poison Institute there was a trace of excitement. It seemed that they held considerable admiration for that young man in the field.

The young man in the field was none other than the former number two genius of the Sky Poison Institute, and now its number three genius, Si Mo. Aside from those two Demons, Liu Hanyi and Ye Ku, his Poison Meridian Skill was the most formidable among the younger generation.

”I think it’s a bit doubtful!”

Hearing the question from the Poison Meridian genius beside him, the Son of Thousand Poisons, Ye Ku, merely furrowed his brows slightly. His words made quite a few people fall into thought.

At present, Liu Hanyi was in seclusion, attempting to charge into the Lingyun Realm, and those Heaven Rank Elders were not here. If one were to speak of who understood the Poison Meridian Skill best, it would likely be this Son of Thousand Poisons.

Yet Ye Ku was not optimistic about Si Mo’s alchemy this time. That meant he had already seen some problems.

Only, these problems should have accumulated bit by bit over the course of the alchemy process. Now that things had reached this stage, there was no longer any way to change them.

Ye Ku himself was an Earth Rank Advanced Meridian Refining Master, and refining certain Poison Pills was his specialty. Although Si Mo’s Meridian Qi Cultivation had reached the Early Stage of Earth Bending Realm, his Poison Meridian Skill had always remained at the level of Earth Rank Middle Level.

This time, opening the furnace to refine a Poison Pill in such a public setting, he was hoping to use the experience and insights from refining an Earth Rank Advanced Poison Pill to break through his Meridian Refining Master level in one stroke.

However, compared to the Great Rank of Cultivation, the levels of Meridian Refining were undoubtedly even more stringent. Perhaps Si Mo’s Power of Soul was already sufficient, but to truly become an Earth Rank Advanced Meridian Refining Master was by no means so easy.

Earth Rank Advanced Elixirs would not trigger a Pill Tribulation, but after another thirty minutes had passed, everyone could tell something was off, because Si Mo’s expression grew increasingly unsightly.

”Could it really be about to fail?”

Sensing the slowly forming pill prototype within the Alchemy Furnace, there was not the slightest hint of a smile on Si Mo’s face. Instead, there was a trace of melancholy at seeing his efforts about to be wasted.

Because only Si Mo himself knew that the highly poisonous pill within the furnace, although it already looked like an Elixir, had completely failed to achieve the effect he had anticipated. It was nothing more than a Waste Pill.

Normally, after a Poison Pill formed, it would erupt with a fierce surge of Alien energy. If ordinary outsiders stood too close, they might be invaded by that terrifying energy and be afflicted with deadly poison.

Yet now, there was not the slightest fluctuation of energy on that Egg-shaped Pill. Clearly, countless poisonous ingredients had been ruined by Si Mo in this refinement.

”Alas, there’s nothing more to be done!”

On the outer edge, the Son of Thousand Poisons, Ye Ku, could sense everything even more clearly. He sighed and shook his head, pronouncing judgment on Si Mo’s failure this time, and secretly thinking that this Meridian Refining Technique was indeed not so easily advanced.

”You should have Taiyin Grass, right? Throw it in!”

Yet just as Ye Ku let out a sigh, and most of the knowledgeable onlookers had concluded that Si Mo’s alchemy this time was doomed to fall short at the final step, a clear, bright voice suddenly rang out across the square, making everyone freeze.

”This voice... why does it sound somewhat familiar?”

Geniuses like Nie Xiaosheng of the Shenxiao Sect could not help but violently tremble the instant they heard that voice. A sense of familiarity welled up from within.

”Yun Xiao! Yun Xiao is here!”

A moment later, the first to react was still this Shenxiao Sect genius. His face immediately lit up with delight as he turned his gaze toward the source of the voice, where two figures were approaching side by side.

One of them had a graceful figure and was none other than the current Yongle Island’s Dao Hu Ying’er, while at her side was a coarse-clothed youth with a Wooden Sword on his back and a lazy, fiery-red mouse sprawled on his shoulder. Who else could he be but Yun Xiao?

”It really is Lord Yun Xiao!”

With Nie Xiaosheng’s reminder, everyone recognized the identities of that man and woman. Instantly, the outskirts of the square boiled over, and excitement surfaced on every face.

Even the geniuses of the Sky Poison Institute were extremely stirred. After all, Yun Xiao’s current status in Lianyun Mountain was even higher than that of President Lu Yanji.

It was just that ever since returning from that battle at the Stepping Heavenly Stone, not even Ye Ku and Si Mo had seen Yun Xiao again. Later on, even they started to somewhat believe those rumors.

That was because Yun Xiao had already quietly left Lianyun Mountain long ago, entered the Chongxiao River, and gone to the higher plane of Nine-layered Dragon Cloud; just thinking of this made everyone feel a bit desolate.

Yet now, as that coarse-clothed youth slowly walked into the plaza, all those speculations in everyone’s hearts instantly vanished into thin air. What could dispel rumors better than having the real person stand right in front of you?

”Senior Brother Yun Xiao...”

Even Si Mo, who was currently doing Alchemy in the plaza, turned his head. When he saw that it was Yun Xiao walking in, his body couldn’t help but tremble; he didn’t even care about the Elixir in the Alchemy Furnace anymore and immediately tried to stand up to salute.

However, this also meant Si Mo ignored the words Yun Xiao had just said when he came over earlier. He felt that since this pill had already become a Waste Pill, there was no need to do any more pointless work.

”During Alchemy you must never be distracted. Sit!”

Seeing this, Yun Xiao’s expression couldn’t help but grow a bit darker, as if he hated iron for not becoming steel. Hearing that solemn voice, Si Mo didn’t dare complete his salute; his half-risen body instantly sat back down.

”Did you not hear what I said just now? Where is the Taiyin Grass?”

At this moment Yun Xiao carried a natural air of authority. Hearing his two consecutive commands, even the murmurs on the outskirts seemed to quiet down a lot. High Rank Meridian Refining Masters like Ye Ku were looking on with astonished eyes.

Because they could clearly sense that the pill in Ye Ku’s Medicine Tripod had already turned into a Waste Pill; it was absolutely impossible for it to become a true Poison Pill again.

But now, from Yun Xiao’s words, it seemed there was still a chance to bring the dead back to life. For a time, quite a few Earth Rank Meridian Refining Masters felt a strange emotion in their hearts—some confusion, and some anticipation.

If such words had come from another Meridian Refining Master, even a Heavenly Rank Meridian Refining Master, Ye Ku and the others would probably have scoffed. This was obviously something impossible to accomplish.

But when it came to that coarse-clothed youth with the Wooden Sword on his back, none of the Cultivators of the Continent would treat him as an ordinary genius anymore. He was the double champion of this Meridian Refining Conference.

On the Tenglong Continent, there was likely no one who dared claim their Meridian Refining Technique surpassed Yun Xiao’s. Whether in the Poison Meridian Path or the Medical Vein, even Lu Yanji felt inferior to him.

What’s more, Yun Xiao had now already broken through to the Heavenly Realm Middle Stage. With his Meridian Refining Technique unrivaled on the Continent, the number of Meridian Refining Geniuses wishing to become his disciples was countless, yet he simply had no intention of taking disciples.

Therefore, hearing Yun Xiao’s seemingly absurd words, although everyone felt puzzled, not a single person dared to voice a rebuttal. They merely watched quietly as Si Mo swept his hand across his Waist Storage, and a small blade of grass that exuded an icy chill appeared out of thin air in his palm.

”Throw it in!”

Sensing that it was indeed the Earth Rank Advanced highly poisonous herb Taiyin Grass, Yun Xiao gave a slight nod, then repeated what he had said upon his arrival a moment ago, his voice somewhat heavy.

Si Mo now had a kind of blind trust in Yun Xiao. Even though this was completely different from the poison concepts he was familiar with, he did not hesitate in the slightest and directly tossed the Taiyin Grass into the Medicine Tripod.

To tell the truth, the Highly Poisonous Elixir Si Mo was refining this time was an extremely fierce Extreme Yang Poison Pill. Fire Poison coiled within it; once someone was hit, at best all the blood vessels in their body would burst, at worst they would be burned from the inside out into a pile of ashes.

For such an Extreme Yang Poison Pill, the poisonous materials used were naturally all extremely firm and extremely yang items. Suddenly adding a stalk of extremely yin, extremely cold Taiyin Grass into it might very well cause the Medicine Tripod to explode on the spot, no?

If it were under normal circumstances, there was no way Si Mo would dare mess around like this. He believed that if his teacher saw this act, he would probably be locked up in the little dark room for half a month.

Fortunately, at this moment Feng Qixian indeed was not here, nor was the Dean of the Sky Poison Institute, Qingmu Wu. Moreover, even if these old-generation powerhouses were present, seeing that Yun Xiao was the one giving the guidance, they probably wouldn’t dare utter a single extra word of nonsense.

Bang!

When Si Mo tossed the extremely yin, extremely cold Taiyin Grass into the Medicine Tripod, it instantly clashed with those violent, masculine energies, erupting in an exceedingly fierce energy fluctuation.

This was the result of blazing heat and bitter cold colliding. Si Mo’s Power of Soul had only just broken through to the Earth Rank Advanced level; under such an eruption he almost lost control entirely.

Whoosh!

Yet at this moment, another formless power seemed to suddenly surge into the Medicine Tripod, causing the formerly ferocious energy that was on the verge of Destruction of the Cauldron to instantly calm down.

”That’s Senior Brother Yun Xiao’s Power of Soul!”

Si Mo did not directly collapse. Sensing that vast and boundless formless power, he immediately knew it belonged to Yun Xiao’s Power of Soul, and he couldn’t help but feel deeply moved.

Even the spectators could sense that formless power Yun Xiao had unleashed. At once, each had their own thoughts, secretly thinking that in this case, even if the Highly Poisonous Elixir was refined successfully, it shouldn’t have much to do with Si Mo.

Originally, everyone thought Yun Xiao suddenly speaking up to give guidance was to help Si Mo refine this Waste Pill back into a success; they hadn’t expected him to take over himself.

In this way, it was now Yun Xiao’s own Poison Vein Technique on display. In the eyes of the crowd, this inevitably felt a bit less than perfect.