Nine Dragons Saint Ancestor

”No, I am a disciple of the Nine-layered Dragon Cloud Canglong Empress. What is he? He’s nothing but a native of the Hidden Dragon Continent. How could I possibly lose?”

After a brief moment of shock, the raging in Xue Qi’s heart surged to an extreme, but she finally forced down those horrified thoughts. Her gaze locked tightly onto the coarse‑clothed youth opposite her, a strange glint flashing in her eyes.

”Right, right, that must be it. This brat must have seen the Xuanji Heavenly Claw somewhere before, that’s why he could bide his time and easily break it. As long as I use other methods, there’s no way he can do that again!”

As if she were cheering herself on, Xue Qi regained a bit of confidence. She simply did not know that the things Yun Xiao knew—how could they be something she could even comprehend?

Xue Qi thought she had climbed onto the high branch that was the Nine-layered Dragon Cloud Canglong Empress, yet never once did she imagine that the soul of the youth standing before her in this life was the former husband of her current teacher in his past life.

These things were something Xue Qi could never figure out even if she racked her brains, and so her tragic end today was already foreordained. No matter what methods she used, they would only be shackled and restrained under Yun Xiao’s suppression.

And all that Xue Qi had cultivated over the years were merely what Empress Lu Qinwan of Canglong had taught her. As for her other methods, they were even less worthy of being brought out on stage.

All these twists of fate were the cycle of grievances and karma between past and present lives. The reunion of Xue Qi and Yun Xiao was nothing more than another arrangement of destiny.

Perhaps from this meeting, Yun Xiao and those past‑life grudges would take yet another step forward. This was a kind of guiding hand of fate in the dark; the debts of a past life would have to be repaid sooner or later.

Hu... hu...

Thick strands of Meridian Qi surged out from within Xue Qi’s body. Having recovered some confidence, the method she was about to employ this time was something even she was not completely sure she could control.

”Netherworld Finger!”

As Xue Qi’s low shout fell, the Meridian Qi coiling around her body instantly turned into wisps of black mist, then, under her control, soared up into the sky.

At this moment, above the spot where Xue Qi and Yun Xiao stood, it was as if a patch of dark cloud had descended. That black cloud churned and rolled, its darkness growing ever deeper, as though some heavenly calamity was about to fall from the heavens.

”Netherworld Finger, huh?”

Sensing the pressure descending from the sky, Yun Xiao instantly felt a familiar aura within it, for this was clearly another Meridian Technique with which he was incomparably familiar.

The Meridian Techniques Xue Qi used could never escape what her teacher had passed down, and these things were ones the Long Xiao Battle God of those days knew like the back of his hand—he might even have been the one who transmitted them to that wife of his in his previous life.

Take this so‑called Netherworld Finger, for example. In his past life Yun Xiao had seen Lu Qinwan use it many times, and he knew its special variations and might inside and out.

At this moment, Xue Qi was like a clown showing off his meager skill before an expert. No matter how dazzling and shocking her methods appeared to others, in Yun Xiao’s eyes they were nothing but petty tricks.

”Die!”

Xue Qi let out another low shout. As the seals in her hands shifted, a gigantic black finger suddenly shot out from within that dark cloud in the sky, pressing down toward Yun Xiao’s head.

Sensing the energy fluctuations within that massive black finger, many people couldn’t help but take a step back, including the Cultivators belonging to the Spirit Fighting Commerce.

Experts of the Lingyun Realm like Wei Duzheng and Hou Tianlie could feel the power within that finger. They asked themselves, with their own strength, under that kind of pressure they might very well come to grief.

That seemed to have already surpassed the scope of a Heavenly Rank Intermediate Meridian Technique, but how could a girl who had only just broken through to the Lingyun Realm Early Stage unleash a Meridian Technique with such terrifying power?

Having witnessed Yun Xiao’s bizarre methods earlier, Xue Qi actually no longer looked down too much on this childhood playmate of hers. She knew she must have gotten some things wrong; if she were careless, overturning her boat in a gutter was not impossible.

So this time Xue Qi directly used a Meridian Technique she had yet to fully master, and this technique, called the Netherworld Finger, had shockingly reached the level of a Heavenly Rank Advanced Meridian Technique.

By rights, with Xue Qi’s Lingyun Realm Early Stage strength, forcibly using this Netherworld Finger was extremely dangerous. Back then, her teacher had repeatedly warned her that unless it was absolutely necessary, she must never overstep her realm to use this Heavenly Rank Advanced Meridian Technique.

On the Continent, ordinary Cultivators could generally only cultivate Meridian Techniques that matched their own cultivation. For example, if you were in the Earth Rank Third Realm, you could only cultivate Earth Rank Meridian Techniques.

Once you forcibly cultivated higher‑rank Meridian Techniques, not to mention defeating your enemies, your own body would likely suffer backlash first, your meridians snapping inch by inch as you died.

The big shots of the Nine-layered Dragon Cloud had indeed researched Meridian Techniques that could be cultivated beyond one’s realm, but those also carried certain risks—just like the Netherworld Finger Xue Qi was using right now.

This Heavenly Rank Advanced Meridian Technique sounded terrifying just from its name. Once struck by that pitch‑black giant finger, it was as if the netherworld itself clung to you; in the end your Divine Soul would inevitably be annihilated.

But once this Heavenly Rank Advanced Meridian Technique backlashed, even Xue Qi’s Power of Soul might suffer grievous damage. This was the consequence of forcibly overstepping one’s realm to unleash a Heavenly Rank Advanced Meridian Technique.

But at least for now, Xue Qi’s use of this Netherworld Finger Meridian Technique was still very successful. Although she could feel her own soul tremble, she had reason to believe that before that, she would definitely be able to turn that coarse-clothed youth into dust.

At this moment, Xue Qi no longer had that lofty, superior posture. When her Xuanji Heavenly Claw had been easily broken earlier, she knew she had ultimately still underestimated this ”good little brother” she’d grown up with.

It was only the second move, yet Xue Qi already had the stance of fighting for her life. She believed that under the Netherworld Finger she had forced out in a Heaven-defying manner, it was absolutely impossible for Yun Xiao to survive.

Boom!

The gigantic black finger pressed down from above. Everyone saw Yun Xiao raise his head to look at the sky, yet his body did not move at all, as if he had been scared stupid by that enormous pitch-black finger.

”Just as expected!”

Seeing Yun Xiao’s completely motionless body, Xue Qi’s heart couldn’t help but leap with joy. She thought to herself that this brat indeed only knew a single method to break Xuanji Heavenly Claw; once she switched to a different method, he became utterly at a loss.

At this point, Xue Qi no longer had the slightest thought of holding back. The sibling bond between her and Yun Xiao, or rather the mother-and-son bond between her and Shang Li, had ceased to exist the moment she betrayed them back then.

In order to keep those filthy deeds of hers from being exposed, Xue Qi’s only thought at this moment was to kill Yun Xiao here and now, to remove a witness who knew the truth of what had happened in the past.

Perhaps only Xu Hongzhuang, who understood Yun Xiao extremely well, or Chi Yan, would know that with Yun Xiao’s temperament, it was absolutely impossible for him to be scared stupid by a single Extreme Meridian Qi finger.

The others had not noticed Yun Xiao’s movements, but Xu Hongzhuang had seen that at the instant that enormous black finger pressed down, Yun Xiao’s body had trembled ever so slightly. This movement was nearly imperceptible, yet it was keenly caught by her.

The current Xu Hongzhuang was also a Super Expert at Floating Life Realm Peak. Coupled with her Abnormal Physique of the Myriad Demon Divine Body and the Soul Power of a Heavenly Rank Low Level Beast Vein Master, her powers of observation far surpassed those of many Cultivators who had likewise reached the Floating Life Realm.

Having seen Yun Xiao use that kind of special method several times before, Xu Hongzhuang was truly not worried in the slightest at this moment. Under her gaze and that of the others, the gigantic black finger finally descended upon Yun Xiao’s body.

Boom!

A mighty roar of energy rang in everyone’s ears, and immediately after, they clearly saw that coarse-clothed youth named Yun Xiao actually be crushed apart by that enormous black finger, shattering like a punctured soap bubble.

”Is he dead?”

Seeing this scene, many of the Cultivators belonging to the Spirit Fighting Commerce were undoubtedly both shocked and delighted, a trace of excitement flashing in their eyes—of course, this excluded the President, Wei Duzheng.

Because at this moment Wei Duzheng clearly saw that when Yun Xiao was blasted apart by the gigantic pitch-black finger, there was no blood or flesh spraying out.

And having once witnessed Yun Xiao’s Physical Strength, Wei Duzheng also knew that even if that brat could not withstand the pitch-black finger, it was impossible for him to be directly crushed into nothingness.

”Could it be that move again?”

Certain memories surfaced in Wei Duzheng’s mind. The next moment, his expression changed slightly as he shouted loudly, ”Lady Xue Qi, be careful!”

This warning was undoubtedly a subconscious reaction from Wei Duzheng. As soon as the words left his mouth, quite a few people showed puzzled looks, thinking to themselves that Yun Xiao had already been blasted into nothingness, so what did Xue Qi still need to be careful of?

”Not good!”

At the same time that Wei Duzheng shouted his warning, Xue Qi had actually already sensed something, because as the person involved, she could clearly sense whether her Netherworld Finger had struck a true physical body or merely a phantom.

At the instant the Netherworld Finger struck Yun Xiao, Xue Qi had already sensed that something was off. However, even as a Direct Disciple of the Empress Lu Qinwan of Canglong, she had never seen such a special Meridian Technique.

At this moment, Yun Xiao had clearly used that Unrivaled Shadow Clone Meridian Technique, and the first time this method was unleashed, it had indeed caught Xue Qi completely off guard.

Whoosh!

The next instant, when Xue Qi focused all her attention on guarding herself, Yun Xiao’s True Body did not appear near her own body, but instead beside that cluster of black cloud in the sky where Xue Qi was.

As for the power of the Netherworld Finger, Yun Xiao naturally understood it, and he also knew how to break this Heavenly Rank Advanced Pulse Technique. Merely destroying the gigantic finger that shot out from the black cloud was only treating the symptoms, not the root cause.

To completely neutralize this Netherworld Finger, he had to scatter all of the black cloud that Xue Qi had condensed with her own Meridian Qi. Once that was done, this fierce Heavenly Rank Advanced Meridian Technique would collapse on its own.

All of this came from Yun Xiao’s familiarity and understanding of this Netherworld Finger Meridian Technique, and when Xue Qi saw his True Body appear beside that black cloud, her pretty face abruptly changed.