Nine Dragons Saint Ancestor

”Hmph, Xuan Jing, my good brother, just resign yourself to fate, in this lifetime, you will ultimately be unable to contend with your elder brother!”

As Xuan Jiuding relaxed, his gaze swept past Yun Xiao’s face and finally settled on Xuan Jing’s slightly twitching face, where he let out a cold snicker in his heart, feeling immensely pleased.

The covert actions of Xuan Jiuding and Ran Xing were unknown to anyone. Even Yun Xiao, who vaguely guessed the cause of this incident, was troubled by the lack of evidence and could not accuse Ran Xing in front of Xuan Haoran.

After all, Ran Xing had never admitted that the Yin Light Devouring Energy Worm was his doing, and it was precisely because of this that his subtle maneuvers remained undetected.

Yun Xiao knew that everything depended on himself now. If he couldn’t truly control the Yin Light Devouring Energy Worm with the whistle sound, allowing Ran Xing, the old fox, to cause chaos a few more times, his previous efforts would be utterly wasted.

Fortunately, Yun Xiao’s soul hailed from the Nine-layered Dragon Cloud, and while Ran Xing also came from a higher Plane, as far as Yun Xiao knew, this old fox was at most from the Middle Three Realms, a rank far below that of the Nine-layered Dragon Cloud.

Thinking of this, Yun Xiao secretly rejoiced that Ran Xing had used the Yin Light Devouring Energy Worm; otherwise, if he had applied some Earth Rank-level deadly poison to Xuan Jing, with his current Meridian Refining Technique, he would have had no choice but to turn to others for help, or simply lament in despair.

For instance, with the Seven Evil Poisonous Flame that afflicted Elder Li Shan, Yun Xiao had no way to resolve it with his own Cultivation and Meridian Refining Technique and had to rely on Yu Shu to heal Li Shan.

Yet as for the Yin Light Devouring Energy Worm, although its level of trickery exceeded that of the Seven Evil Poisonous Flame, the difficulty of resolving it was tenfold less for Yun Xiao because he had the bamboo whistle in his hand.

”Hmph, I simply refuse to believe it!”

Watching that the Yin Light Devouring Energy Worm, under the control of some subtle power, seemed to be edging back towards Xuan Jing’s heart, Yun Xiao’s persistence, characteristic of the Long Xiao Battle God, seemed to surge back in an instant. A cold hum sounded in his heart, and the sound of the bamboo whistle in his mouth suddenly grew louder.

Of course, this loudening was inaudible to others, but the Yin Light Devouring Energy Worm, which seemed to crawl back towards Xuan Jing’s heart, appeared unable to resist an indescribable temptation, finally trembling and then slowly moving towards his left shoulder.

”Hmph!”

As this happened, Ran Xing, linked with the Yin Light Devouring Energy Worm, also let out a cold snort in his mind, and a trace of invisible force burst forth from his right little finger once more.

But this time, how could Yun Xiao be unprepared? He shifted his body ever so slightly, blocking that invisible breath before it reached its target, allowing it to enter his own body directly.

Although the breath was emitted by an Earth Rank Low Level Meridian Refiner, it was merely meant to lure the Yin Light Devouring Energy Worm and not highly dangerous to others.

Yun Xiao dared to use his body to intercept it precisely because he knew this, and after the force entered his body, he was only slightly delayed before returning to normal.

”Damn it!”

Seeing Yun Xiao seemingly move his body casually, dissolving his force, Ran Xing’s face turned extremely sour, and he subconsciously took a step to the left.

It seemed that Ran Xing was still not giving up, or perhaps he saw something extraordinary in Yun Xiao and knew that if it continued like this, the Yin Light Devouring Energy Worm might indeed be drawn out by this man.

Ran Xing’s move was, of course, seen by Xuan Haoran, but given that the former’s preceding two manoeuvres were quite subtle and coupled with Xuan Haoran’s focus entirely on his second son, he had not detected it.

But now, with Ran Xing’s movement, Xuan Haoran immediately sensed it. He then subtly detected a breath emitted from Ran Xing’s body; though extremely faint, it was absolutely real and perceptible.

Ever since Ran Xing had interrupted Yun Xiao earlier, Xuan Haoran harbored dissatisfaction toward this Earth Rank Low Level Meridian Master, restraining himself due to his need for assistance.

Xuan Haoran, of course, did not know that the Yin Light Devouring Energy Worm was released by this old man in front of him; he still thought Ran Xing resented Bo Ku’s effective methods and wanted to interfere out of desperation.

Out of concern for his own son and being unclear about the nature of that force, Xuan Haoran naturally would not let Ran Xing’s force touch Xuan Jing.

Therefore, in the next moment, Xuan Haoran moved swiftly, even before Yun Xiao could act, intercepting that subtle force himself.

Sensing what was happening beside him, Yun Xiao also let out a sigh of relief. Although Ran Xing’s breath posed little harm to him, he was currently focusing all his attention on blowing the bamboo whistle and couldn’t afford any distraction. If he had allowed Ran Xing to proceed, he might have been unaffected, but Xuan Jing would have suffered more.

”Hmph!”

Upon receiving that cryptic force, Xuan Haoran’s eyes suddenly erupted with a fierce gleam, the cold snort also targeting Ran Xing as if issuing a warning.

Seeing this, Ran Xing involuntarily shivered. Although he was an Earth Rank Low Level Meridian Refining Master, his Meridian Qi Cultivation had not yet broken through to the Earth Rank Third Realm, but remained at the Peak of Spirit Vein Realm.

Thus, Ran Xing had no confidence that he could be victorious against Xuan Haoran, especially since he harbored great designs and was unwilling to fall out with the King of the Xuanyue Empire at this moment, causing him to be caught in a dilemma.

Honestly, Ran Xing did not want to see that fellow named Bo Ku actually cure Xuan Jing. Didn’t this imply that even a Mortal Rank Advanced Meridian Refining Master was inferior to Bo Ku’s methods?

But now, it seemed that Xuan Haoran had already picked up on some clues. If Ran Xing were to forcefully interfere, it might lead to unnecessary complications or even a full-blown conflict with the anxiously concerned Xuan Haoran.

This was Xuanyue Palace, and Ran Xing was not confident in the face of Xuan Haoran, let alone considering the additional strength of the Royal Family; he might not even have the chance to leave the palace alive.

With this in mind, Ran Xing turned his gaze to the Crown Prince and saw the latter shake his head slightly, prompting him to instantly abandon certain thoughts and conceal his obscure aura, acting as if nothing had happened.

This scene made Xuan Haoran even more suspicious of Ran Xing’s actions, concluding that this old fellow indeed did not want to see Bo Ku succeed and thus brashly intervened with no other thought.

With Ran Xing’s interference out of the picture, Yun Xiao breathed a huge sigh of relief. Saving a person was truly fraught with difficulty, but what followed was the most critical moment.

Yun Xiao’s Meridian Qi Cultivation was already half depleted, but to blow the bamboo whistle and force the Yin Light Devouring Energy Worm out of Xuan Jing’s body, he still needed to persevere.

As Yun Xiao blew breath after breath into the bamboo whistle, the seemingly nonexistent whistle sound step by step lured the Yin Light Devouring Energy Worm towards Xuan Jing’s right wrist.

At this moment, in this space, everyone was afraid to even let out a breath, lest they disturb Yun Xiao’s efforts risk putting Xuan Jing in a highly dangerous state, potentially provoking enmity with the Royal Family.

Moreover, people like Liu Hanyi and others harbored a strange hope, wondering if Yun Xiao could actually succeed. It seemed he was close to reaching his limits.

Drip! Drip!

Beads of sweat slid from Yun Xiao’s forehead to his chin and then dropped to the floor; the sound was clearly audible in the quiet hall, but who in the present company had the mind to bother with such trivial matters?

A trace of pity surfaced on Xuan Haoran’s face, wishing he could substitute himself. At this moment, he suddenly felt a growing fondness for the unknown Bo Ku.

Although Bo Ku might have come for the royal reward, he had not given up on curing Xuan Jing under such circumstances and might even risk his own Cultivation Foundation. In both emotion and reason, Xuan Haoran owed Bo Ku a tremendous favor.

”The consequence of overestimating oneself is failure at the last moment!”

Conversely, Ran Xing, the instigator, with his powerful Soul, was sensing Yun Xiao’s condition, suddenly let out a cold laugh in the quiet hall.

However, after the laugh, Ran Liang suddenly found several angry glances cast at him, causing him to let out an awkward laugh and his old face to turn a bit flushed.

Speaking out at such a crucial moment, Ran Xing could indeed cause Yun Xiao’s efforts to fail. However, it wasn’t intentional this time; he genuinely sensed Yun Xiao’s condition.

In fact, people like Xuan Haoran and Liu Hanyi without Ran Xing’s powerful Soul could also see that Yun Xiao was reaching his limit.

The continuous sweat beads, the slightly pale face, and the slightly trembling body were all indicating that Yun Xiao might collapse at any moment and even suffer serious backlash.

Whether those who held good will or animosity towards Yun Xiao, at this moment, they all couldn’t help but be moved, putting themselves in his shoes, wondering how many would do as Yun Xiao did for an unrelated person, even with a handsome royal reward.

”If this Bo Ku can truly cure Jing’er, then he will forever be a friend of my Xuanyue Royal Family!”

Xuan Haoran secretly made a decision, albeit with the condition that if Xuan Jing wasn’t cured, all would be forgotten.

At this point, Yun Xiao naturally did not know the thoughts of the onlookers, for he had reached a critical moment—success or bers2. But as Ran Xing had mentioned, as a Mortal Rank Advanced Meridian Refining Master attempting to forcibly extract the Yin Light Devouring Energy Worm, even if Yun Xiao employed some extraordinary methods, the consumption of both his Meridian Qi and Soul was immense.

The exhaustion of his Soul power made Yun Xiao feel like fainting, yet a stubborn resolve in his heart warned him that he must not pass out now, as he could not afford to fail this time.