Nine Dragons Saint Ancestor

”Qing’er, you seem to have a different attitude toward Yun Xiao!”

Thinking of certain matters, a mischievous thought suddenly flashed through Lu Zhan’s mind; the words he spoke caused Mo Qing’s ears to instantly flush red, which only made Lu Zhan wonder even more.

”Teacher, what are you talking about? How could I possibly fall for a boy who has only just broken through to the Meridian Rushing Realm Early Stage?”

Mo Qing, not knowing why, somehow blurted out this sentence, unaware of the significant amount of information it contained; so much so that Lu Zhan couldn’t immediately grasp it.

”Girl, did I say you fell for him? Why are you in such a hurry to clarify?”

Lu Zhan was quite interested in discussing this topic further; over the years, Mo Qing had been cold toward everyone, and ordinary men found it difficult to approach her, which had been a constant worry for him.

Even Lu Zhan’s once most proud disciple, Xue Gong, who did everything he could to please, couldn’t elicit the slightest response from Mo Qing. Unexpectedly, the mention of Yun Xiao provoked such a big reaction from her.

”Teacher, if you continue to be disrespectful of your age, I’m leaving!”

Ultimately, Mo Qing was thin-skinned, and at this moment, she completely forgot why she came; indeed, as Lu Zhan guessed, due to the incidents she experienced with Yun Xiao, she couldn’t let go of that rough-dressed youth in her heart.

”Alright, alright, I won’t talk about it anymore!”

Seeing that his disciple really seemed on the verge of anger, Lu Zhan didn’t overdo it and swiftly changed the subject, asking, ”You just mentioned that Yun Xiao told you Ice Whisker Grass could suppress your fire attribute’s violent energy?”

”He... he really said that!”

When talking about Yun Xiao, Mo Qing was still a bit unsettled, but she still retained a bit of her senses and didn’t mention that the Ice Whisker Grass also had a subtle poisonous effect on Elder Li Shan, after all, Yun Xiao wasn’t entirely sure about it, and she would not speak rashly, even in front of her own teacher.

”Ice Whisker Grass, a Spiritual Rank Intermediate herb, only grows in extremely yin and cold places!”

Having received the answer he wanted, Lu Zhan pondered for a moment, then continued with some doubt, ”But this kind of thing, even the great elders of our Jade Pot Sect have probably never seen it before; where on earth did Yun Xiao hear about it?”

Even though Yun Xiao had shown impressive knowledge and skills, ultimately Lu Zhan couldn’t equate such a novice in the Meridian Rushing Realm with those well-traveled and knowledgeable elders of the Jade Pot Sect.

In Lu Zhan’s view, Yun Xiao’s encounters with the Meridian Array were probably just flukes; he had also investigated Yun Xiao’s background, a mere merchant from Moon Bow City, what heritage could there be?

”Teacher, do you know where to find Ice Whisker Grass?”

Mo Qing, unaware of the many thoughts running through Lu Zhan’s mind, and hearing his well-put statements, couldn’t wait to raise the question.

”Logically speaking, only in the Frost Empire located at the extreme north of the Hidden Dragon Continent might there be Ice Whisker Grass!”

It seemed that Lu Zhan indeed knew about the Ice Whisker Grass; upon his declaration, Mo Qing’s expression grew somewhat somber, considering that the so-called Frost Empire was far too distant from the Xuanyue Empire.

”However, I do have a piece of news here that might mean we can find Ice Whisker Grass even within our Xuanyue Empire!”

Seeing Mo Qing’s gloomy face, Lu Zhan quickly shifted gears, capturing her attention in an instant; he stroked his beard with a smile and said, ”As far as I知道, in the northwest of our empire, a Spiritual Rank Meridian Treasure is about to emerge, and I believe it was left by a Spiritual Rank Intermediate Meridian Master!”

”Spiritual Rank Meridian Treasure?!”

Hearing her teacher’s words, Mo Qing’s eyes lit up; she naturally knew what a Meridian Treasure was—that it encapsulated the remains of a predecessor expert, likely filled with numerous treasures.

A Spiritual Rank Intermediate Meridian Master’s Treasure, for a Mortal Rank Advanced Meridian Master like Mo Qing, held an infinite allure, and according to Lu Zhan, it might even contain treasures like Ice Whisker Grass—an opportunity not to be missed.

”Girl, don’t get excited yet!”

Seeing Mo Qing’s unexpectedly joyful reaction, Lu Zhan felt obliged to temper her enthusiasm, interjecting, ”The news of a Spiritual Rank Intermediate Meridian Treasure’s emergence isn’t something only our Jade Pot Sect has; from what I know, many imperial family clans and even royalty might step in.”

Seeing that Mo Qing was paying close attention, Lu Zhan continued, ”Of course, big forces like our Jade Pot Sect or the royal family will likely send the younger generation to explore, but other families won’t do the same; they might even go all out, among them are no lack of cultivators who have reached the Meridian Union Realm!”

Several statements significantly tempered Mo Qing’s joy; what she initially thought was a straightforward acquisition of the Spiritual Rank Intermediate Meridian Treasure now seemed to require more effort to secure the treasures within.

”Tomorrow, the Task Hall should be announcing this Spiritual Rank Intermediate task; if you’re interested, you might want to explore that Meridian Treasure!”

Lu Zhan, while appearing to inquire, knew his disciple’s temperament well and said with a smile, ”Of course, it’s best to find some helpers, because sometimes, two fists are hard-pressed against four hands!”

It must be said that Lu Zhan truly understands Mo Qing’s character. If he hadn’t said that last sentence, he really would have been worried about Mo Qing facing challenges alone in that Spiritual Rank Intermediate Meridian Treasure. She might have suffered a great loss.

”Understood!”

Mo Qing’s beautiful eyes shifted, and without saying anything more, she walked straight to the outside. However, she did not return to her own palace but headed towards a certain place. There, lay a great hall exuding an aura of icy coldness.

...

Cold Jade Hall.

Three days had passed since Yun Xiao returned from the Jade Martial Institute. During these three days, he had been constantly cultivating the low-level Spiritual Rank Small Golden Light Pulse Array.

With the records on the scroll and the assistance of Yun Xiao’s past life experiences, even if it was just three days, he had mastered the pulse array to perfection. Although limited by his Meridian Qi and unable to unleash its maximum potential, it was still far from being useless.

If the Inner Sect Disciples were to find out about this, they would probably be shocked to the point of dropping their jaws. However, for Yun Xiao, who had cultivated many Heaven Rank and Holy Rank pulse arrays in his previous life, this was nothing significant.

”Yun Xiao, come out!”

Just as Yun Xiao finished cultivating and was exhaling deeply, a familiar female voice rang out from outside the Cold Jade Hall. He was slightly startled, then stood up and pushed the door open.

”Sister Mo Qing?”

Seeing the young girl in a black dress standing outside the palace door, Yun Xiao felt a bit puzzled. He didn’t know the purpose of Mo Qing’s visit, and such a visit in the deep night was certainly not in character for this icy beauty.

”I’ve got information on the Ice Whisker Grass. You must go to the Task Hall tomorrow!”

Mo Qing didn’t beat around the bush, but for some reason, when facing Yun Xiao, she felt a bit conflicted in her heart. She wanted to stay with Yun Xiao a bit longer, yet her reserved nature cautioned her against it.

So after speaking those words, Mo Qing turned around and left, leaving Yun Xiao alone in the dark night, perplexed. This genius girl from the Medical Pulse lineage, her actions were perhaps too willful, weren’t they?

Nevertheless, Yun Xiao decided to visit the Task Hall the next day. Ice Whisker Grass was something he had mentioned to Mo Qing, but he didn’t expect there to be news so soon.

Actually, Yun Xiao hadn’t told Mo Qing another thing: that Ice Whisker Grass not only benefited her and Elder Li Shan but also had a special use for himself, particularly for that Cold Ice Attribute Ancestor Vein.

”Hm? Ancestor Vein!”

Thinking of this, a notion subtly shifted in Yun Xiao’s heart, and he immediately returned to the Cold Jade Hall. Over the past few days, he suddenly discovered that there seemed to be a force stirring within his right leg.

”What’s going on?”

Back in the hall, Yun Xiao rolled up his right trouser leg, revealing a faint yellowish line under the skin, mysterious and causing much confusion.

Yun Xiao had activated the Ancestor Veins in both his arms while breaking through to the Meridian Introduction Realm and Meridian Gathering Realm, which were entirely opposite in nature. However, when he broke through to the Meridian Rushing Realm inside the Jade Pot Cave, he hadn’t activated any Ancestor Vein, which had deeply frustrated him.

Until today, after successfully cultivating the Small Golden Light Pulse Array, Yun Xiao noticed the changes in his right leg. The faint visible thread seemed to contain a special power, the characteristic taste of the Ancestor Vein.

But this particular Ancestor Vein seemed different from the Ice and Fire Ancestor Veins on Yun Xiao’s arms; it seemed to require some mysterious power to be truly activated.

”What should I do?”

Yun Xiao stared at the elusive yellowish line on his right leg, feeling conflicted. Theoretically, when breaking through Great Rank, the Ancestor Vein should activate automatically. Even in his past life, he hadn’t encountered such a situation.

After pondering for a moment, Yun Xiao activated the Ancient Dragon Taming Technique, channeling strong Meridian Qi into that yellow line, but it didn’t seem to help at all.

”Could something be missing?”

Seeing that even the Ancient Dragon Taming Technique was ineffective, Yun Xiao felt somewhat dejected. However, he had a tenacious nature and spent the whole night trying different methods, although ultimately it only left him more frustrated.

Night soon passed.

As the first rays of dawn washed over the Cold Jade Hall the next morning, Yun Xiao stood up wearily, and the Ancestor Vein in his right leg remained unactivated.

Feeling desolate, he recalled Mo Qing’s words from yesterday, pushed open the palace door, and headed towards the Task Hall of the Jade Pot Sect’s Inner Sect, curious about why Mo Qing had summoned him there.

However, as Yun Xiao walked along, his movements were somewhat unnatural. His limping right leg attracted the attention of many Inner Sect Disciples, making him quite embarrassed.