Nine Dragons Saint Ancestor

”How could this little bastard deal with a half-step Ninth Rank Strange Spirit so quickly?”

Compared to the two women and one man on this side, the two engaged in intense battle could naturally sense the outcome here discreetly. Ye Ku could be ignored, but Bai Wushuang, the top prodigy of the Heavenly Hospital, roared in anger in his heart.

Bai Wushuang always prided himself as the number one of the younger generation in Lianyun Mountain. Even the so-called Son of Thousand Poisons, Ye Ku from the Sky Poison Institute, never instilled any fear in him. The two had clashed openly and covertly without determining a clear winner.

However, Bai Wushuang believed this was because he hadn’t used his full strength. If he revealed all his trump cards to the world, Ye Ku would certainly not be his opponent.

Yet, at this moment, being forced by the half-step Ninth Rank Fog Spirit, Bai Wushuang had to give it his all. Even so, he was still overwhelmingly suppressed by that half-step Ninth Rank Strange Spirit, able to counterattack at most three out of ten moves.

Comparison can be fearsome. Previously, Bai Wushuang only focused on Ye Ku, the Son of Thousand Poisons, never expecting that the first to resolve the situation would be Yun Xiao.

If Yun Xiao had been defeated or killed by the half-step Ninth Rank Strange Spirit with a sweeping force, Bai Wushuang wouldn’t be surprised. In fact, he would find it quite natural.

But the current result was beyond his imagination. That mere Origin Seeking Realm middle-stage youth, on the contrary, effortlessly froze the half-step Ninth Rank Foggy Strange Spirit into an ice sculpture. How could Bai Wushuang accept this?

In front of Yun Xiao, Bai Wushuang always had a sense of superiority. Even when Yun Xiao once severed Liu Qingchen’s arm right in front of him, he still never took this newcomer seriously.

Only now does Bai Wushuang truly regard the youth with more consideration. At the very least, the method of freezing a half-step Ninth Rank Strange Spirit was something he, Bai Wushuang, did not possess.

Thus, amidst the shock, Bai Wushuang resolved in his heart that if he were to ever face Yun Xiao head-on in the future, he must double his vigilance against this extreme Ice Cold Power. He had no intention of becoming a humanoid ice sculpture like that half-step Ninth Rank Fog Spirit.

Swish!

While Bai Wushuang and others stood in shocked reflection, as Yun Xiao was about to store the heart of the half-step Ninth Rank Fog Spirit into his Waist Storage, a peculiar aura suddenly erupted from the spirit’s body and shot unexpectedly toward an unremarkable stone.

”Huh? Is there something unusual about that stone?”

Upon seeing this, Yun Xiao didn’t rush to store the Fog Spirit ice sculpture. Instead, he followed the aura and approached the stone, examining it closely.

It was a stone less than a foot wide, long, and high, appearing to be nothing more than an ordinary stone, with nothing conspicuous about it.

Yet guided by that subtle aura earlier, Yun Xiao did not regard it as a mere stone. He believed something unknown lay within.

The actions of Yun Xiao also caught the attention of those nearby. Besides the preoccupied Ye Ku and Bai Wushuang, Liu, Mo, and Si’s eyes were firmly fixed on his every move, wondering what he might have discovered.

”This is...”

Yun Xiao naturally didn’t concern himself with the thoughts of the onlookers. After circling the strange stone a few times, he finally sensed a faint dark gold glow emanating from a tiny crack on one side of the stone.

”Could it be... a Yun Gang Yuan Stone?!”

In terms of knowledge, none present could likely surpass Yun Xiao. Therefore, upon seeing the dark gold glow, he already had a guess. He reached out and began peeling away the stone’s outer layer.

If it was just an ordinary stone, Yun Xiao, with the support of the Ancestral Vein Fire, wouldn’t need much time to remove the outer layer.

As the outer layer fell away in the blood-red flames, the dark golden glow became increasingly prominent, causing the nearby two men and a woman’s eyes to light up.

”There really is something there!”

Liu Hanyi and Mo Qing were naturally pleased for Yun Xiao. In contrast, Si Mo, the Poison Vein genius, was extremely curious about the contents within the stone.

This item, found based on guidance from a half-step Ninth Rank Strange Spirit, likely wasn’t ordinary—at least a treasure reaching the Earth Rank Advanced level, especially since this was atop Treasure Mountain.

”It really is a half-step Heavenly Rank Yun Gang Yuan Stone!”

Once the outer layer was removed, revealing a dark golden object the size of an adult’s fist inside, Yun Xiao no longer doubted, and these words finally brought the two men and woman back to their senses.

”To find such a treasure as a Yun Gang Yuan Stone, this Yun Xiao Junior Brother’s luck is indeed... indeed...”

As the second prodigy of the Sky Poison Institute and having spent years in a place like Lianyun Mountain, Si Mo had vast experience. Earlier, he didn’t recognize the Yun Gang Yuan Stone simply because he hadn’t clearly seen its appearance. With Yun Xiao’s reminder, he naturally recognized it at first glance.

Si Mo’s expression was filled with envy, yet he struggled to find the right words, because it couldn’t simply be attributed to luck alone.

After all, the half-step ninth-rank Fog Spirit was dealt with by Yun Xiao. Without this victory, that kind of guidance wouldn’t have appeared, and the Cloud Steel Elemental Stone wouldn’t have been acquired.

”Cloud Steel Elemental Stone? What is that?”

In contrast, after exchanging a glance, Liu Mo and the other person looked bewildered. It seemed they, hailing from the Hidden Dragon Continent, had never heard of such Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures nor understood its effects.

”Cloud Steel Elemental Stone is a very special and magical object because it contains both rigid and flexible powers. Once refined by someone, it may transmit both these powers, allowing a mystical transformation of the body.”

Apparently, Si Mo had researched information on the Cloud Steel Elemental Stone before and spoke eloquently, seemingly gaining some sense of superiority, while the words from his mouth also delighted Liu Mo and company.

Si Mo was right; Cloud Steel Elemental Stone, as the name implies, possesses the flexibility of clouds and the hardness of metals, with the ability to switch between these two forms at will.

Just imagine a human cultivator inheriting these two transformative powers—rigid and flexible—in battles with others, wouldn’t it result in twice the effect with half the effort?

Take the Fog Spirit just now as an example, where hitting felt like striking the air, making it hard to guard against, while the transformation between rigid and flexible made the Fog Spirit’s attack seem substantial.

If not for Yun Xiao’s Ancestral Vein Ice Cold Power having a restraining effect, it wouldn’t be easy for Yun Xiao to deal with the half-step ninth-rank Fog Spirit. Even Bai Wushuang and Ye Ku were pressured to their limits, weren’t they?

Naturally, Yun Xiao was aware of the special effects of the Cloud Steel Elemental Stone, which was why he was so excited; if he could successfully refine the half-step heavenly-rank Cloud Steel Elemental Stone, it would undoubtedly advance his physical strength significantly, potentially reaching the level of an eighth rank advanced Vein Demon, not beyond possible.

”Is it possible that for every half-step ninth-rank Fog Spirit defeated, one gets guidance?”

Holding the Cloud Steel Elemental Stone in his hand, Yun Xiao stored the half-step ninth-rank Fog Spirit into his Waist Storage, and such a thought suddenly occurred to him. He then glanced in Ye Ku’s direction.

”Whether it is or not, won’t testing it out reveal the answer?”

Yun Xiao shifted his thoughts, and in an instant, his figure moved slightly, quickly arriving at Ye Ku and the half-step ninth-rank Strange Spirit’s battlefield. A burst of cold air sprayed forth, causing the Fog Spirit to dodge hastily.

”Yun Xiao, I can defeat it!”

Amidst the fierce battle, Ye Ku suddenly felt the pressure lighten, and when he turned his head, he instantly understood what had happened. Yet, instead of gratitude, a sense of pride emerged.

Earlier, Ye Ku naturally witnessed Yun Xiao easily dispose of a half-step ninth-rank Fog Spirit. As the top talent of the Sky Poison Institute, even though he no longer considered Yun Xiao as an enemy, he couldn’t possibly admit to being inferior to this new Refining Cloud Mountain disciple.

”Don’t worry, I won’t steal your stuff; I just want to prove something!”

Upon hearing Ye Ku’s words, Yun Xiao wasn’t angered. Rather, the next moment, he made some moves just as Ye Ku began his actions.

Though the half-step ninth-rank Fog Spirit had an advantage, defeating Ye Ku was still challenging, now compounded by Yun Xiao’s involvement, throwing it into chaos.

This one insisted on helping, and although Ye Ku’s expression was somber, he had no recourse. His actions became increasingly fierce, showing he wanted to ensure Yun Xiao couldn’t surpass him, proving himself as not merely useless.

Crack! Crack! Crack!

Fighting two against one, and both human cultivators’ strengths weren’t less than the half-step ninth-rank Fog Spirit’s. In just a dozen moves, the Fog Spirit was hit by Yun Xiao’s finger, spreading ice crystals.

Boom!

Ye Ku didn’t display a shred of leniency either; upon seeing the Fog Spirit’s body stiffen, he launched a cunning attack swiftly, shattering the frozen Fog Spirit into pieces, which Yun Xiao viewed with distress.

”Hey, be gentle!”

It’s known that the half-step ninth-rank Fog Spirit’s corpse is an excellent nourishment for the Dragon Tree Spirit Little Dragon. Yun Xiao isn’t sure if its fragmentation would render it ineffective for the Little Dragon.

”Hm?”

Meanwhile, Ye Ku suddenly sensed something in his mind and ignored Yun Xiao’s loud protest, turning his gaze toward a certain big tree.

Following his gaze, the tree looked ordinary, yet with Yun Xiao’s prior experiences as lessons, none of them considered it just a regular tree.