Nine Dragons Saint Ancestor

”Is it acting up again?”

Looking at the Ling Wan swollen like a ball, Tan Yun’s eyes carried a tinge of worry. As she muttered, the other three had already approached her.

”It’s been exactly seven days since the last Ling Wan episode. What kind of strange illness could this be?” A burly youth also looked concerned, but even more so, puzzled.

The members of this small team were all young prodigies from neighboring cities, capable of participating in the Jade Pot Sect’s Outer Disciple examination, indicating that their talents weren’t much less than Shang Huiyu’s at his early days.

Even with their knowledge, they were clueless about what disease Ling Wan had contracted or what evil he had encountered—his body would swell up like a ball every seven days, a pattern that had never been disrupted.

The nearly ball-shaped Ling Wan seemed in extreme pain, but he could only make some meaningless sounds, unable to do anything. Seeing him rolling around on the ground was almost unbearable for Tan Yun and the others.

”Eh? On this little Hidden Dragon Continent, could this actually be the legendary ’Mixed Element One Qi Body’?”

While Tan Yun and the others were worried whether this episode would be the end of Ling Wan, a somewhat unfamiliar voice suddenly came from behind them, causing them to turn their heads in unison.

The speaker, naturally, was Yun Xiao, who had just completed his breakthrough. Honestly, he was quite pleased with the breakthrough, but as soon as he opened his eyes, he saw Ling Wan’s weirdly swollen body.

Yun Xiao, the reincarnated soul of the Long Xiao Battle God, naturally had far greater knowledge than Tan Yun and the others. At just one glance, he recognized what that strange spherical body was.

However, Yun Xiao was puzzled—such a ”Mixed Element One Qi Body” had not appeared in the Nine-layered Dragon Cloud for many years, so how could it appear on this lowest-level Hidden Dragon Continent?

Tan Yun and the others selectively ignored the first part of Yun Xiao’s statement. They only knew that Yun Xiao had recognized the cause of Ling Wan’s bizarre condition and wondered if this strange youth had a way to solve it.

”Yun Xiao, can you... can you save Ling Wan?”

For some reason, after the battle a day ago, Tan Yun had developed an inexplicable confidence in this roughly-dressed youth. Without further thought, she directly asked for help.

Perhaps it was because of what Yun Xiao had just mentioned about the ”Mixed Element One Qi Body,”—a term even Tan Yun hadn’t heard of before—uttered by this roughly-dressed youth, it greatly strengthened her confidence.

Yun Xiao actually had a lot of fondness for the chubby Ling Wan and knew when a ’Mixed Element One Qi Body’ acted up, if not controlled, the sufferer would experience immense pain. He wondered how Ling Wan had endured through these years.

Immediately, Yun Xiao nodded, his figure flashed, and he appeared in front of Ling Wan. Just as he extended his right index finger to point at a certain spot on Ling Wan’s body, a shocked cry came from behind: ”Be careful!”

The shout came from the youth who hadn’t regarded Yun Xiao very highly before. Of course, now his thoughts had changed, as he instinctively shouted a warning.

There had been episodes before when Ling Wan had acted up, and during one instance, this very youth wanted to help alleviate Ling Wan’s pain but was sent flying a dozen yards away upon touching him, nearly causing severe injury.

Amidst the warning cries of the youth, Yun Xiao merely smiled faintly, yet his hand movement didn’t pause for an instant, accurately pinpointing the Dazhui Acupoint on Ling Wan’s back.

Honestly, with Ling Wan nearly indistinguishable from front to back, transforming into a ball, Yun Xiao’s ability to accurately locate the acupoint was all thanks to his experience as a Meridian Refining Master in his previous life as the Long Xiao Battle God.

*Puff!*

When Yun Xiao’s finger touched Ling Wan’s Dazhui Acupoint, the round human balloon appeared to find a valve to release the pressure, and Ling Wan’s body then visibly began returning to its original shape at a speed visible to the naked eye.

But Yun Xiao’s movements didn’t stop. Seeing his right index finger continue, starting from Ling Wan’s back to his chest and abdomen, he pressed several major acupoints in succession. His actions were smooth like flowing clouds and water, leaving Tan Yun and others by his side mesmerized.

Even in Tan Yun’s heart, a suspicion began to emerge, one that surfaced and clung to her thoughts, nagging her as though it were a fishbone stuck in her throat, making her eager to voice it out.

After Yun Xiao stood up with sweat all over his forehead, Ling Wan seemed to have exhausted all his strength as well and collapsed to the ground, falling into a coma. However, his breath was quite stable. Feeling this, Tan Yun and the others all breathed a huge sigh of relief.

”Yun... Yun Xiao, are... are you also a Meridian Refining Master?”

Upon seeing that Yun Xiao had regained his breath, Tan Yun finally stammered out the question. As she did, the three people beside her all looked at Yun Xiao with eyes full of expectation.

When they saw Yun Xiao nod with a smile, they all couldn’t help but inhale a breath of cold air; the roughly dressed young man who happened to be their savior was full of one surprise after another.

Yun Xiao looked even a year or two younger than them, but such a youngster, who may not yet be sixteen, was already a Meridian Refining Master. How could that be conceivable?

Did this not imply that Yun Xiao activated an Ancestor Vein when he broke through to the Meridian Introduction Realm, and that this Ancestor Vein was even a Fire Attribute Ancestor Vein? And even then, Yun Xiao’s fluent movements just now didn’t seem like those of a newly minted low-level Mortal Rank Meridian Refining Master at all.

Consequently, Tan Yun was finally able to surmise that Cao Ju’s right palm was burned because of the Ancestral Vein Fire unleashed by Yun Xiao, indirectly demonstrating the formidable power of the Ancestor Vein.

However, Yun Xiao didn’t have so many thoughts. He pointed towards the unconscious Ling Wan and asked, ”Does he have such an attack every seven days, and is it extremely painful each time?”

”Yes, Yun Xiao, what did you just mention about the ’Mixed Element One Qi Body’? What exactly is that?” At this moment, Tan Yun finally came back to her senses, replaced by a trace of curiosity, while the other three people all pricked up their ears upon hearing her question.

”I once read about this miraculous thing... Ahem, in an ancient tome. In a way, it’s an extremely rare innate Abnormal Physique that starts in the mother’s womb, producing something called ’Mixed Element Qi,’ which is why it’s called the ’Mixed Element One Qi Body’.”

Yun Xiao originally wanted to say it was in the Nine-layered Dragon Cloud, but luckily corrected himself in time. Given his mysterious origin, these people wouldn’t delve into where he saw that ancient tome.

After speaking, Yun Xiao took another look at Ling Wan and said with emotion, ”The Mixed Element One Qi Body is a legendary physique rarely seen in ten thousand years, and this innate Abnormal Body is something others can only covet without obtaining. If it can be properly guided, future breakthroughs to Holy Rank Third Realm will be much more effective than for an ordinary cultivator.”

”Scare... Holy Rank Third Realm?!”

Suddenly hearing these four words from Yun Xiao, Tan Yun and the others seemed as if they had been struck dumb. They, who were still only in Mortal Rank Third Realm and hadn’t even reached the Meridian Gathering Realm, wouldn’t even dare to think about the so-called Holy Rank Third Realm.

Meridian Qi Cultivation is divided into five major levels: Mortal Spirit, Earth, Sky, and Saint, and within each level are three major realms, thus creating terms like Mortal Rank Third Realm or Spiritual Rank Third Realm.

And Holy Rank Third Realm is the peak of cultivation in Nine Dragons Continent, the supreme state that every cultivator dreams of reaching. Alas, the path of cultivation is fraught with hardships and dangers. Every step taken must be earned through tribulations, not to mention Holy Rank Third Realm. It is still a matter of debate whether there is anyone on the Hidden Dragon Continent who has even reached Heaven Rank Third Realm.

At this point, Tan Yun and the others no longer doubted Yun Xiao’s words. After he finished speaking, their gaze, now somewhat envied, fixed on the unconscious plump boy, filled with emotion.

All along, Tan Yun and the rest thought that Ling Wan suffered from an incurable disease because the outbreak of the Mixed Element One Qi Body caused extreme pain to Ling Wan. Now it seemed that what was considered a curse was actually an unrivaled Abnormal Physique that appears once in ten thousand years?

”However...”

A trace of worry suddenly appeared on Yun Xiao’s face, and after a moment of contemplation, he said, ”The energy of the Mixed Element One Qi Body is truly too strong. When an outbreak occurs, it causes one to swell unbearably, and with any carelessness, the whole body would burst open. Perhaps this is the so-called blessing and curse in one?”

Hearing Yun Xiao’s words, Tan Yun became worried again and said, ”Yun Xiao, didn’t you just manage to control Ling Wan’s outburst? Please, I beg you to help him!”

Yun Xiao shook his head slightly and explained, ”The reason I could control it just now is because my Meridian Qi is much stronger than his, and because the Mixed Element Qi in his body has not yet fully materialized. With time, not only would I be unable, but even a Spiritual Rank Meridian Refining Master would probably be helpless.”

Listening to Yun Xiao’s explanation, Tan Yun’s face became even more melancholic, and she said with a deep sigh, ”Alas, Ling Wan has really suffered many hardships. At home, he is not favored by his parents, and he is bullied by his two elder brothers. Now it seems that all this trouble was caused by his Mixed Element One Qi Body!”

”Oh? What happened?” Yun Xiao’s gaze turned back, sincerely interested as he was very intrigued by the Mixed Element One Qi Body and knew the potential of this Abnormal Physique. He also had a good impression of Ling Wan and was earnestly willing to help.

”Yun Xiao, you might not know, but Ling Wan’s surname was originally Zhao. The Zhao Family in Ningfeng City is also a prominent family, but this too is the cause of Ling Wan’s misery.”

Tan Yun sighed softly, continuing, ”When Ling Wan was born, everything seemed normal. But when his family went to hold him, he became swollen to an unrecognizable degree, causing everyone in the Zhao Family to treat him as a monster, and thus the third young master of the Zhao Family had a life worse than a servant.”