Nine Dragons Saint Ancestor

”He really... succeeded?!”

Aside from those onlookers who had nothing to do with Yun Xiao, there were still many Meridian Refining Masters of Lianyun Mountain who had a good relationship with him, and at this moment they were likewise dumbfounded.

In the area where the young disciples were gathered, Si Mo’s eyes were wide open, as if he could not believe what he was seeing. Beside him, Ye Ku was the same, his heart filled with emotion.

Back when Yun Xiao had first entered Lianyun Mountain, top geniuses like Ye Ku had never put him in their eyes. At that time, the two sides indeed did not seem to have much that was comparable.

Yet in just a short three or four years, that little boy who back then could only compete with Earth Rank Low Level Meridian Refining Masters for a spot to join as a Refining Cloud Mountain Disciple had already grown to a height they could no longer hope to reach.

As for the current Ye Ku, he was merely an Earth Rank Advanced Meridian Refining Master. Needless to say he could not compare to Yun Xiao, even Liu Hanyi and Mo Qing were probably far from being his match.

The Heaven Rank Elixir Yun Xiao was refining at this moment had forcibly drawn down Six Paths Pill Thunder, putting him on equal footing with those top-tier Medical Pulse Masters on the Hidden Dragon Continent like Gu Huashan, even surpassing Qihuang Saint Hand Xiao Shijing.

Such dazzling brilliance was something Ye Ku admitted he could never achieve. Even if he could break through to a Heavenly Rank Low Level Stage Meridian Refiner in an extremely short time, he had never once imagined he could refine an elixir that would draw Six Paths Pill Thunder.

Even this former senior brother of the Sky Poison Institute was filled with endless sighs, let alone those other geniuses of Lianyun Mountain. At this moment, he felt only burning envy, with hardly any jealousy in his heart.

First of all, Yun Xiao’s Meridian Refining Technique was already a few degrees stronger than that of the Elder generation; they had no confidence whatsoever in catching up. That would simply be a futile effort.

Secondly, Yun Xiao belonged to Lianyun Mountain. As for old fellows like Gu Huashan, no one had any good feelings toward them; naturally, they hoped Yun Xiao could suppress the Huashan Old Monster and take the championship of this Medical Vein path.

Judging from the current situation, Yun Xiao had also refined an elixir that drew Six Paths Pill Thunder, putting him on par with Gu Huashan. If there was no tie for first place, there would be an additional match, and Yun Xiao still had an immense chance of taking the title.

”He finally did it!”

In a certain place belonging to the Heavenly Hospital, a middle-aged man with a jade-like face was filled with emotion. If Yun Xiao were here, he would recognize this as his teacher from the Jade Pot Sect on the Hidden Dragon Continent: Yu Shu!

Yu Shu fixed his gaze on that coarse-clothed youth standing ramrod straight in the middle of the square; all the bits and pieces from the Hidden Dragon Continent surged up in his mind like a tidal wave, impossible to disperse.

It could be said that Yu Shu had personally watched Yun Xiao gradually rise. From a youth whose family had been wiped out for no reason, to what he had become today, Yun Xiao had spent only six or seven brief years.

Yu Shu even had a feeling that he had witnessed Yun Xiao’s six or seven years of rise, but for the brilliance to come afterward, he would likely no longer be able to participate. Because he knew very clearly that the gap between them would only grow wider with the passage of time.

Judging from the Talent and strength Yun Xiao was displaying now, Yu Shu had reason to believe that not to mention the Hidden Dragon Continent not being his stage, even this Tenglong Continent would probably not be his ultimate stage.

Yu Shu’s Meridian Refining Technique and talent in Meridian Qi Cultivation were naturally not mediocre, but he admitted that compared to that cheap disciple of his, the difference was more than just a little. Given time, he would inevitably no longer be able even to see the other’s back.

Perhaps only those likewise astonishing figures like Liu Hanyi, Mo Qing, and Ling Wan could barely keep up with Yun Xiao’s footsteps. As for Yu Shu himself, he no longer had such thoughts.

Yet to see this disciple walk to where he stood today, Yu Shu not only felt no jealousy, but instead felt a sense of shared glory. Moreover, Yun Xiao’s brilliance had brought him endless benefits.

Ever since Yun Xiao returned from Impermanence Island to Lianyun Mountain, Yu Shu could clearly feel that the Deacon Elders who had once looked down on him had greatly changed their attitude toward him; many even carried a trace of obsequiousness and a trace of awe.

Yu Shu knew that all of this was because of Yun Xiao. If that former disciple had not been so dazzling and overbearing, how would these always lofty High Rank Meridian Refining Masters ever look at him with different eyes?

Apart from Ye Ku and Yu Shu, there were many others who felt all sorts of emotions because of the sixth Pill Thunder Yun Xiao had drawn at this moment—envy, jealousy, unwillingness, excitement—each different from the other.

Yet in a certain place at the outer edge of the square, Huashan Old Monster’s beloved disciple Xu Ban had a complexion entirely different from that of the Meridian Refining Masters of Lianyun Mountain; he simply could not accept this.

”Impossible, how could that little bastard possibly reach Teacher’s level? There must be some mistake somewhere!”

The mutterings from Xu Ban’s mouth spread out, causing a few people who had been standing relatively close by to subconsciously retreat several steps, as if afraid this fellow would explode on the spot and injure them.

Exploding on the spot was naturally impossible, but Xu Ban did indeed feel at this moment that a suffocating anger had nowhere to vent. That brat called Yun Xiao—how could his Alchemy Technique possibly be comparable to his teacher’s?

Ever since Xu Ban was accepted as a disciple by Gu Huashan, he had always believed that his teacher was omnipotent, that even these Heavenly Rank Meridian Refining Masters from Lianyun Mountain might not be his teacher’s match.

He even had a notion in his heart: once his teacher took the championship of the Meridian Refining Conference, he would definitely have him compete once against Lianyun Mountain’s President Lu Yanji, that publicly acknowledged number one Meridian Refining Master on the Hidden Dragon Continent.

In that case, if his teacher won, wouldn’t Xu Ban’s own status rise with the tide? These thoughts had long since taken deep root in Xu Ban’s heart.

But now, a youth barely over twenty had actually matched his teacher in Alchemy, and was countless times stronger than Xu Ban himself; this shattered the confidence he’d originally held in his heart in an instant.

Countless Cultivators, and countless people connected to Yun Xiao, all had different feelings because of that Sixth Path Pill Thunder, but no matter what they felt, none of them could change this fact.

And as the person directly involved, Gu Huashan’s face at this moment was already so dark it seemed water was about to drip, and just like his disciple Xu Ban, he too did not want to accept this fact.

Previously, Mo Qing had refined some unknown Elixir that drew five strikes of Pill Thunder, which had already filled Gu Huashan’s heart with unspeakable jealousy. That little girl looked to be only just over twenty.

Fortunately, Gu Huashan himself had refined a Soul-Melting Demon-Taming Pill that drew six strikes of Pill Thunder, which finally let him press Mo Qing by a head, so that sliver of dignity he still had was not trampled flat.

But while Gu Huashan managed to fend off Mo Qing’s trampling, he ultimately could not withstand Yun Xiao’s methods. The moment the Sixth Path Pill Thunder descended, Gu Huashan felt as if his old face was being slapped crisp and loud by that coarse-clothed youth.

Even though for now both sides had the same Six Paths of Pill Thunder, with neither truly suppressing the other, Gu Huashan still had a distinct feeling of being slapped in the face.

Because compared to that coarse-clothed youth not yet past his early twenties, Gu Huashan’s century of Medical Pulse Technique felt as if it had all been cultivated onto a dog. How could he possibly swallow this?

But things had come to this point, and Gu Huashan had no way to change it. He couldn’t just swoop in front of Yun Xiao’s Medicine Tripod and forcibly yank that Pill Thunder out, could he?

Even if Gu Huashan had such a thought, even if you lent him a hundred guts, he still wouldn’t dare step into the range of the Pill Tribulation over Yun Xiao’s Elixir right now. What awaited him there was very likely annihilation, his body and soul scattered.

”Vice Chairman Qian, now that that Huashan Old Monster and Yun Xiao have both refined Elixirs that drew Six Paths of Pill Thunder, do we need an extra round to decide the winner?”

In the northern seating area, Ouyang Wuantong stroked the non-existent beard on his chin and asked with apparent implication, making Li Yunfan beside him nod slightly.

At least this Sect Leader of the Shenxiao Sect knew very clearly that in the entire history of the Meridian Refining Conference, there had never been a single champion who was tied with someone else.

Therefore an extra match was imperative. It was just that Ouyang Wuantong raised this suggestion a bit too early; in the next instant, he saw Qian Sanyuan and Qingmu Wu turn their gazes over, smiling yet not smiling.

”Master Ouyang, the competition isn’t over yet. There’s no need to reach a conclusion so quickly, is there?”

This time it was Qingmu Wu who spoke. It was obvious he had already realized something. Even though he was a Poison Vein Master, there was still a trace of excitement lurking in the depths of his eyes at this moment.

”That’s right, Master Ouyang, haven’t you noticed that the Thunder Cloud above Yun Xiao’s head hasn’t dispersed?”

Qian Sanyuan forcibly pressed down the excitement in his heart, and as soon as these words came out, the ever-astute Ouyang Wuantong and Li Yunfan both felt a heavy shock in their hearts. Thinking of that one possibility, they felt as if their brains were no longer enough.

”Could it be... the Elixir Yun Xiao refined can actually draw a se... seventh Path of Pill Thunder?”

This Sect Leader of the Shenxiao Sect, Ouyang Wuantong, who was usually steady and shrewd, even started stumbling over his words at this moment. The thought that had just risen in his heart was simply too earth-shaking; he didn’t dare accept it for a while.

Even though Ouyang Wuantong was not a Meridian Refining Master, he still knew very well about the Pill Tribulations that descended when a Heavenly Rank Elixir was born. Generally speaking, Heavenly Rank Low Level Pills could at most draw six strikes of Pill Thunder.

From this perspective, whether it was Gu Huashan’s Soul-Melting Demon-Taming Pill or the Elixir Yun Xiao refined, both already counted as the very Peak of Heavenly Rank Low Level Pills.

And now, judging from what Qian Sanyuan and Qingmu Wu were saying, the Elixir Yun Xiao refined this time might not only draw six strikes of Pill Thunder. Realizing what that meant, Ouyang Wuantong and Li Yunfan instantly made the connection.

If there truly was an Elixir that could draw a seventh Path of Pill Thunder, that would mean this Elixir had already surpassed the category of Heavenly Rank Low Level and reached the level of a Heavenly Rank Intermediate Pill.

”Th-this... how is this possible?!”