Nine Dragons Saint Ancestor

Ignoring the stunned five-member team outside due to the energy fluctuation caused by Yun Xiao’s breakthrough, Yun Xiao himself was already experiencing another surprise in the room.

The breakthrough to the Meridian Gathering Realm was complete. As Yun Xiao opened his eyes and sensed the meridian Qi strength, which was several times stronger, a peculiar aura suddenly emerged from his left shoulder.

Crack! Crack!

A distinct sound reached Yun Xiao’s ears, and when he lowered his gaze to his left, he saw layers of frost forming on his left shoulder and creeping towards his left arm, heading straight for his palm.

”This... this is...”

Seeing this scene, Yun Xiao first paused in slight astonishment, then his face erupted with ecstasy as he couldn’t help but exclaim aloud: ”It’s actually a second Ancestor Vein, and it is the Water Extreme of the Ice Attribute Ancestor Vein!”

Yun Xiao wasn’t just any cultivator from the Hidden Dragon Continent; his knowledge and experience were far superior. Sensing his left arm gradually turning into an ice sleeve and the frost flowers emerging from his palm, he was already seventy to eighty percent certain.

If someone could see through Yun Xiao’s ice sleeve to the inside, they would see a crystal clear ice line extending from his left shoulder all the way to the middle finger of his left hand, following the same pathway as the Fire Attribute Ancestor Vein he had first activated, although the attributes were drastically different.

Yun Xiao wasn’t completely sure because he couldn’t understand how the ice and fire Ancestor Veins, which gave birth to and annihilated one another, could coexist in one body—something unheard of even in his previous life in the Nine-layered Dragon Cloud.

”Retract!”

After Yun Xiao’s low command, the cold air that had frozen his sleeve into ice suddenly disappeared, and he lifted his sleeve impatiently, finally revealing the clear and translucent meridian ice line.

Even if Yun Xiao couldn’t fully comprehend it, at this moment, he had not the slightest doubt that he truly had activated a second Ancestor Vein during his breakthrough to the Meridian Gathering Realm, and this Ancestor Vein possessed the Water Extreme Cold Ice Energy.

”Could it be because of that Three-legged Ice Crystal Toad?”

Yun Xiao, unable to fathom the reason, finally came up with a plausible explanation. He had once been bitten by the Three-legged Ice Crystal Toad and ended up frozen into an ice sculpture.

The utter dread incited by the Three-legged Ice Crystal Toad’s frigid venom was well-known even in the Nine-layered Dragon Cloud. For Yun Xiao to survive after being bitten was already a miraculous fortune. If the activation of the second Ice Attribute Ancestor Vein was indeed due to this, it would be a blessing in disguise.

One could only wonder what the Talisman Poison Master and his apprentice would think if they knew of Yun Xiao’s current condition, but alas, they wouldn’t be able to see Fu Du’s expression anytime soon, as the Jade Pot Sect’s Second Elder, was also in the critical phase of refining the Three-legged Ice Crystal Toad.

Yun Xiao’s speculation was actually very close to the truth, which all began with the Blood Moon Jade that had inadvertently transformed into a crescent moon mark.

The Blood Moon Jade was a divine item of heaven and earth, an utmost Supreme Treasure fiercely contested by the most powerful forces of the Nine Dragons Continent, unfortunately ending up in the hands of Yun Xiao’s never-before-seen father.

Had Yun Xiao continued to cultivate the Ancient Dragon Taming Technique in an orderly manner, his breakthrough to the Meridian Gathering Realm would have surely activated an Ancestor Vein, albeit merely a pure Water Attribute one.

It could be said that Yun Xiao’s abduction back to the Jade Pot Sect and the severe venom of the Three-legged Ice Crystal Toad altered one of the water attributes in the Blood Moon Jade, which then allowed him to activate the Water Extreme Ice Attribute Ancestor Vein.

Whether this was luck or misfortune was hard to determine at the moment, but at the very least, this second Ancestor Vein provided Yun Xiao with an additional and unique method in his battles against enemies—and this extreme cold ice seemed likely to be just as formidable as the Ancestral Vein Fire.

After acclimatizing to the Ice Cold Power of the Ancestor Vein in his left arm, Yun Xiao looked up at the faintly lit sky outside, aware that another night had passed, and today seemed to be the day the Jade Pot Cave treasure exploration would begin.

Creak!

As Yun Xiao stepped out of the door, he faced five gazes filled with various emotions; within these gazes were delight, fervency, and envy, among others.

”Yun Xiao, did you... did you really break through to the Meridian Gathering Realm?”

Although the energy fluctuation indicated nothing less than a breakthrough, Tan Yun still felt as if she were dreaming and needed Yun Xiao to confirm it himself before she could fully believe it.

Yun Xiao was well aware that his breakthrough this time was extraordinary, but he didn’t elaborate and simply nodded his head, then quickly changed the subject, saying: ”Senior Sister Tan Yun, you should have inquired about the location of Jade Pot Cave, right?”

Seeing the tacit agreement, Tan Yun rolled her eyes and silently muttered ”weirdo” before turning around to say, ”Follow me. I don’t know where the Jade Pot Cave is, but I do know where to find someone to guide us.”

This small team of six were all newcomers among the Jade Pot Sect’s outer disciples, thus they qualified for the first free treasure exploration in the Jade Pot Cave.

Of course, although entering the Jade Pot Cave didn’t incur a fee, they had to get past the guardians at each level; otherwise, this benefit would be wasted.

The group hastened towards a certain location within the Jade Pot Sect’s outer area, and upon arriving at a massive square, they saw that a crowd had already gathered there, some faces looking vaguely familiar.

This group was precisely one hundred strong, none other than the one hundred new outer disciples of the Jade Pot Sect, all having the privilege for a free exploration into the Jade Pot Cave, a rare opportunity no one wanted to miss.

Among them, the Xuanyue Empire’s Third Prince Xuan Zhi was standing in a particular spot, and by his side was Guan Hu, who had sought trouble with Yun Xiao the other day. It seemed that they were no longer avoiding revealing their status.

Of course, Guan Hu was not one of the new outer disciples entering the Jade Pot Cave this time; he was present as the guardian of the third level of the cave, and even inside the Jade Pot Cave, he would not dare to touch any heavenly materials and earthly treasures.

”Your Highness, rest assured, this time, I will make sure that brat Yun Xiao never leaves the Jade Pot Cave!”

Guan Hu glanced at Xuan Zhi with a slightly palpitated heart and spoke with a resolution, knowing that his previous failure to act at Yun Xiao’s residence had already caused some displeasure to the prince.

”I hope you won’t disappoint this prince, or you know the consequences!” Without even casting a glance at Guan Hu, Xuan Zhi kept his gaze fixed on a certain spot until a group of six people appeared, upon which his body trembled slightly.

At the same time, the gazes of nearly a hundred new sect members in the field all turned in that direction, and upon seeing the young man in simple clothing, their feelings varied.

These disciples, who had passed the tests to join the outer sect of the Jade Pot Sect, were certainly not unfamiliar with Yun Xiao, as it was he who, in the final moments, had overpoweringly defeated the early-stage Meridian Gathering Realm geniuses from the Zhao and Cao families, and even fought the Third Prince of the Empire to a standstill with his peak Meridian Introduction Realm strength.

That battle was witnessed by almost everyone present, so in their hearts, Yun Xiao was already considered a genius on the same level as the Third Prince Xuan Zhi, even though he only possessed peak Meridian Introduction Realm cultivation.

However, some gazes were filled with hidden resentment, naturally belonging to the Zhao Ningshu brothers and the Cao Luo trio, all of whom had suffered great losses at Yun Xiao’s hands, a grievance they couldn’t swallow no matter what.

Yet the strength Yun Xiao displayed deterred Zhao Ningshu and Cao Luo from rashly provoking this scourge; after all, this was someone whom even Xuan Zhi, a mid-stage Meridian Gathering Realm cultivator, couldn’t handle. It would be humiliating for them to confront him.

”Kid, I’ll let you be proud for a moment longer. Once inside the Jade Pot Cave, let’s see if you can still be smiling?”

Xuan Zhi stared at the young man with a faint smile from afar, his low muttering voice filled with a hint of resentment and murderous intent. Perhaps the Third Prince’s pride was even stronger than the geniuses from the Zhao and Cao families.

Yun Xiao completely ignored the thoughts of these young talents, and the group of six walked straight to a certain spot in the square to wait for the arrival of a steward from the Jade Pot Sect.

Hoo... Hoo...

About the time it took for half an incense stick to burn, a series of whooshing sounds suddenly came from the sky above, and upon looking up, everyone’s expressions changed.

From the inner skies of the Jade Pot Sect, suddenly a large number of dark figures flew out, seemingly headed straight for the huge square.

”It’s Vein Demons, Flying Beast Pulse Demons, everyone run for cover!”

A somewhat panicked shout rang out, and the center of the square was immediately cleared, with many people hurriedly dodging, fearing to be injured by the flying beast pulse demons.

Only a few figures in certain places remained still, including Yun Xiao. Seeing someone nearby wanting to dodge with the crowd, he couldn’t help but say with a smile, ”Stay calm, these Flying Beast Pulse Demons shouldn’t harm us!”

After some time, Yun Xiao had established his authority within this small team, and therefore, his words were taken very seriously even by Tan Yun, who stayed still, appearing much more composed than the panicked geniuses.

In a short while, even Tan Yun’s acute vision spotted amongst the group of Flying Beast Pulse Demons two particularly familiar figures standing on the backs of two of them; it seemed that Yun Xiao had already spotted this hidden fact early on.

Dozens of Flying Beast Pulse Demons stirred up a strong gust of wind and finally all landed in the center of the square. When the crowd saw the figures on the backs of the leading two Flying Beast Pulse Demons, the many talents who had just panicked and dodged could not help but show an extremely embarrassed expression on their faces.