Nine Dragons Saint Ancestor

The elder who had just appeared here was naturally Li Shan, who had guarded the Jade Pot Cave for many years. Just now, as he entered the fourth layer, he rushed over and saw several corpses of Inner Sect Disciples, feeling a constant dread in his heart.

In Li Shan’s view, even those Inner Sect Disciples in the Early Stage of the Meridian Rushing Realm could only flee to save their lives under the hands of that Strange Spirit, not to mention guaranteeing their survival, let alone Yun Xiao who was just at the Peak of the Meridian Gathering Realm.

Previously in Li Shan’s heart, he had already sentenced Yun Xiao to death, having absolute reason to believe that in the hands of a Fourth Rank Intermediate Strange Spirit, Yun Xiao had no chance of survival whatsoever.

But Li Shan, despite all his calculations and thoughts, never expected the situation before him—the one who was merely at the Peak of Meridian Gathering Realm, the youth who had just been taken as a Direct Disciple by the Sect Master, was actually battling with that Strange Spirit... in a brawl?

Yes, in Li Shan’s eyes, Yun Xiao and that Fourth Rank Intermediate Strange Spirit were indeed embroiled in a fight, and for a moment, he couldn’t even tell who had the upper hand.

It was precisely because of this shocking scene that Li Shan was momentarily frozen, just staring blankly at the fierce battle, not moving an inch.

As for the young man in green clothes beside Li Shan, he was naturally Yin Huan, who wanted Yun Xiao dead. Originally, like the elder, he believed he would only see a lifeless corpse of Yun Xiao here, or perhaps not even a complete corpse.

Compared to Li Shan, Yin Huan undoubtedly found the result before him even harder to accept. Why had that Fourth Rank Intermediate Strange Spirit, which could severely injure him—a Middle Stage of the Meridian Rushing Realm practitioner—with one strike, not killed Yun Xiao after so long?

No, this could not even be considered the Strange Spirit’s ability to kill Yun Xiao anymore. From Yin Huan’s perspective, it was clear that the combat situation was currently evenly matched, and perhaps in the end, the Strange Spirit might even be defeated.

Yin Huan was utterly perplexed. How could such a scene occur? Was this still the same Yun Xiao who nearly died at his hands? Was this still the same formidable Strange Spirit that once left him severely wounded with a single blow?

Whoosh whoosh whoosh...

While Li Shan and Yin Huan were entranced by the peculiar battle, a large group of figures had appeared behind them.

These dozen or so figures were all in the Early Stage of the Meridian Rushing Realm, naturally being the many talented Inner Sect Disciples who wanted to see the excitement and hoped Elder Li Shan would avenge them.

However, as soon as they arrived and saw the battle happening, their shocked expressions were identical to Li Shan and Yin Huan’s, even more so.

The fierce battle over there was not fake, seen with everyone’s eyes, but how could such a situation occur? Shouldn’t that newcomer to the Inner Sect have already been torn to pieces by the Fourth Rank Intermediate Strange Spirit?

A dozen pair of stunned eyes all focused on the unique battle unfolding, and with Yun Xiao’s soul’s sensing ability, he naturally noticed the group of people’s arrival.

Thus, Yun Xiao fought even more relaxedly because, aside from those Early Stage Inner Sect Disciples, Elder Li Shan was a genuine Spirit Vein Realm powerhouse, towering two Great Ranks above the Fourth Rank Intermediate Strange Spirit, leaving him with no worries.

Yun Xiao grew increasingly brave in battle, whereas the Strange Spirit also sensed Li Shan’s presence and no longer wanted to linger in the fight.

For these Early Stage cultivators, it still felt greatly superior, but facing a Spirit Vein Realm powerhouse like Li Shan, it would likely bite off more than it could chew.

Indeed, although the battle seemed evenly matched to the onlooking crowd, in reality, Yun Xiao had caught the Strange Spirit off guard.

As time dragged on, Yun Xiao’s shortage of Meridian Qi became increasingly apparent. Although he had indeed broken through to the Early Stage of the Meridian Rushing Realm, the gap between him and that Strange Spirit was still glaringly obvious.

Moreover, Yun Xiao had just broken through, and his use of physical strength and Meridian Qi was still somewhat unrefined. Even though he had reached a higher realm in his previous life, Yun Xiao’s body could not simply do as he wished.

Bang!

Thus, as the thought of retreating surged in the Strange Spirit’s mind, this suddenly intensified punch directly repelled Yun Xiao several steps back.

With Yun Xiao’s intelligence, how could he not realize the Strange Spirit wanted to retreat? Seeing the speed of the Strange Spirit, he knew he could not possibly catch up.

”Elder Li Shan, if you don’t make a move now, this big fellow is going to escape!”

Therefore, Yun Xiao made a decisive call, not following but instead shouting loudly towards a certain direction, and this cry finally pulled everyone’s minds back to the scene.

After all, Li Shan had experienced many big events. At this moment, he no longer dwelled on why Yun Xiao had greatly advanced in strength. Catching that Strange Spirit, which had appeared mysteriously on the fourth layer of the Jade Pot Cave and killed several Inner Sect Disciples, was his most important task now.

Whoosh!

Li Shan was undeniably fast. As his figure shifted slightly, he appeared instantaneously above the Strange Spirit’s path of retreat, making the latter’s nonexistent facial expression seem to darken.

”Die, you monstrous beast!”

At this moment, Li Shan’s mood was undoubtedly unpleasant. The emergence of a Strange Spirit in the Jade Pot Cave was indisputably a severe dereliction of his duty. Moreover, this Strange Spirit had even injured several Inner Sect Disciples. Even as an Elder, he would inevitably face some disciplinary action from the Sect rules.

Li Shan didn’t have time to dwell on these matters. His priority was to kill the beast that had caused his dereliction of duty. Hence, with a loud shout, a huge Meridian Qi Palm Seal fiercely pressed down towards the Strange Spirit.

Woosh!

Everyone only heard a bizarre sound in their ears, and then they clearly saw that beneath Li Shan’s immense Meridian Qi Palm Seal, the previously malicious and unrivalled Fourth Rank Intermediate Strange Spirit had turned into a pile of mud and rocks, utterly defeated and scattered on the fourth floor of the Jade Pot Cave.

”Finally dead!”

Seeing this scene, many of the gifted onlookers felt a sense of relief, as the pressure exerted by the Strange Spirit had been too great for them. Such a creature could only be suppressed by a Sect Elder.

However, what the crowd didn’t see was a flicker of an unusual light in Yun Xiao’s eyes from not far away. His gaze fixated on the scattered mud and stone fragments. Having battled with Strange Spirits more than once, he knew that such a creature would not be so easily vanquished.

Crack! Crack! Crack!

Just as everyone was marveling at Elder Li Shan’s formidable capabilities, the mud and stones scattered on the ground surprisingly began to pulsate rhythmically and reassembled into the form of a Strange Spirit. This sudden change made the faces of the spectating prodigies turn again.

In fact, in terms of understanding these Strange Spirits, Cultivators of the Hidden Dragon Continent absolutely could not compare to Yun Xiao. Take, for instance, the Fire Spirit Snake at Yurong Volcano, which was blasted into magma by a combined attack from Feng Hang and Shen Xiao; didn’t it still try to return to the magma to recover its strength?

The current Strange Spirit was cultivated from the mud and stones of the Jade Pot Cave. Therefore, Yun Xiao was absolutely confident that the Strange Spirit, though reduced to rubble, was not truly dead and would revive.

Boom!

Woosh!

However, the things Yun Xiao could think of, Li Shan naturally also considered at this moment. Thus, without any hesitation, as soon as the Strange Spirit had just reassembled its body, his Meridian Qi Palm Seal furiously slammed down again.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Woosh! Woosh! Woosh!

As a result, people witnessed a somewhat mystical scene. Under the repeated strikes of Elder Li Shan’s Meridian Qi Palm Seal, the Strange Spirit was repeatedly reduced to rubble and then reassembled again and again.

However, the breaking and reassembling of the Strange Spirit also required energy. After continuous reassemblies, finally, another of Li Shan’s Meridian Qi Palm Seals struck down, and the scattered stones of the Strange Spirit could no longer come together.

It seemed that Li Shan’s continuous bombardment had finally drained the Strange Spirit’s energy. In front of such a powerful Spirit Vein Realm cultivator, it had no strength left to fight back. Now, its spirit intelligence truly scattered, it could no longer plague the Jade Pot Cave.

Swoosh!

Swoosh!

However, at this moment, two figures shot out from two different directions. Everyone clearly saw that they were Yin Huan from the Poison Vein lineage and Yun Xiao, who had recently joined the Inner Sect. They both had only one target—the location of the Strange Spirit killed by Li Shan.

”What are they doing?”

As people watched this scene, confusion arose in many hearts until they saw a tawny glow suddenly emitting from the scattered pieces of the Strange Spirit.

”It’s a Spirit Crystal, the Strange Spirit’s Spirit Crystal!”

A cry filled with special significance rang out, making everyone instantly understand. It appeared that Yin Huan and Yun Xiao rushed out at the first opportunity to snatch the Strange Spirit’s Spirit Crystal.

So-called Spirit Crystals are only found within Strange Spirits. For instance, the Fire Spirit Crystal obtained previously by Yun Xiao from the body of the Fire Spirit Snake during his low-level Spiritual Rank mission, which was a special Fire Attribute Spirit Crystal.

Vein Demons have Demon Cores, and thus, a Spirit Crystal is equivalent to a Strange Spirit’s Demon Core, embodying the most essential energy concentration within a Strange Spirit. A Spirit Crystal from a Strange Spirit is certainly more valuable than an equivalent level Demon Core from a Vein Demon.

Clearly, both Yin Huan and Yun Xiao had immediately noticed the tawny Strange Spirit Crystal, and they also knew that such a Fourth Rank Intermediate Strange Spirit Crystal wouldn’t catch the eye of Sect Elder Li Shan from the Spirit Vein Realm, prompting them to act swiftly.

Indeed, Li Shan had no interest in this Fourth Rank Low Level Spirit Crystal; eliminating the Strange Spirit had been his only goal. Now that his task was complete, a different kind of anticipation rose in his eyes.

Who would ultimately seize that precious Fourth Rank Intermediate Spirit Crystal?