Nine Dragons Saint Ancestor-Chapter 1096: Can We Try Again?
Strange spirits are entities derived from all things in the world. They can be flowers, trees, mountains, or rocks, and they can also be certain mutants born with spiritual wisdom from the earth. After gaining intelligence, they possess various lifebound talents.
For instance, the first strange spirit Yun Xiao encountered after his rebirth was the Fire Spirit Snake. It was formed from volcanic magma and, aside from its strong fire attribute, had some special qualities of the magma, which were part of its innate talent.
Or the earth attribute strange spirit Yun Xiao encountered in the Jade Pot Cave, whose body, even after being dismantled, could reassemble, and its physical strength was unparalleled, causing Yun Xiao considerable trouble back then.
Then there was the wood attribute tree spirit strange spirit Yun Xiao encountered in the Demon Realm, whose vines ensnared him, leaving him helpless until he eventually subdued it by using fire, which countered it.
Each of these strange spirits has its inherited talents, and the water attribute strange spirits on the seventh level of Xuanyin Cave are no different. Their greatest talent is turning water invisible, making it difficult for attacks to find a solid target, giving them an advantage in battle.
However, Yun Xiao never imagined that just by refining a low-level Ninth Rank water attribute strange spirit’s essence crystal, he could inherit such a talent. This unexpected joy was indescribable for him.
Moreover, Yun Xiao only refined one-third of the low-level Ninth Rank strange spirit essence crystal this time, yet still managed to inherit the strange spirit’s talent. It was like something out of a fantasy tale.
Even the Long Xiao Battle God of the previous life had never heard of refining a Ninth Rank strange spirit essence crystal and gaining its talent inheritance. With such a strange spirit talent, Yun Xiao would surely have a significant edge in future battles.
As soon as Yun Xiao’s mind moved, his entire body seemed to flow like water, constantly changing. Although it wasn’t an afterimage clone, any attack landing on this ever-changing water flow body would surely astonish the enemy.
"You really are lucky, aren’t you!"
As Yun Xiao got familiar with the Water Flow Body, a somewhat weak voice of Golden Snake Worm Xiao Wu resounded within him. It carried a hint of surprise, as if even it couldn’t quite comprehend the situation.
"It’s time to leave!"
Yun Xiao, upon breaking through, realized Xiao Wu had awoken but paid little attention to the latter’s envious words. With a gleam in his eyes, he strode toward the exit of the first level of Xuanyin Cave.
As he broke through by refining the strange spirit’s essence crystal, the aftereffects of borrowing Xiao Wu’s power vanished altogether. His strength greatly increased, and he gained a special strange spirit talent, which significantly boosted his combat prowess.
Yun Xiao believed that if he were to face some half-step Origin Seeking Realm talents now, he could probably take them down within three moves. From now on, talents like Su Jian and Gu Changsheng from the Tenglong Continent posed no threat to him at all.
What Yun Xiao didn’t know was that during this period, certain people outside were filled with different thoughts, all because he hadn’t emerged from Xuanyin Cave.
......
Boom!
Outside Xuanyin Cave, a loud energy fluctuation sounded, followed by more than a dozen figures being forced to step back simultaneously. Among them was the Xuanyin Hall Master Xue Tianao, who had reached the Heavenly Rank.
Since the talents emerged from Xuanyin Cave several days ago, Xue Tianao had been trying to break the powerful seal of Xuanyin Cave but to no avail.
Later, Xue Tianao gathered many strong practitioners from Xuanyin Hall headquarters, including the Deputy Hall Master who had also reached the Heavenly Rank Third Realm, attempting to unite everyone in a single effort.
However, despite the growing number of strong practitioners trying countless times over several days, the seal of Xuanyin Cave remained incredibly powerful. Anyone older than a hundred years was barred from entering.
Such a large-scale effort wasn’t because Xue Tianao had much affection for Yun Xiao. The primary reason was his beloved daughter, for only that boy Yun Xiao possessed Illusion Yin Grass.
Back then, Yun Xiao gave the Illusion Yin Pill recipe to Xue Ningxiang. If they had the main ingredient, the Illusion Yin Grass, Xue Tianao could have even asked the chief meridian refining master of Xuanyin Hall to refine it.
Unfortunately, with strange spirits appearing in the Illusion Yin Cave, and the boy named Yun Xiao trapped inside for days, Xue Tianao feared the worst had already befallen him.
"Is there really no other way?"
Seeing the strong practitioners of Xuanyin Hall being repelled en masse, Xu Hongzhuang bit her red lips tightly, her face filled with despair. However, standing beside her, Ling Wan surprisingly showed little worry on his face.
"Big brother will definitely come out, I believe in him!"
Perhaps in Ling Wan’s single-minded thinking, there has never been anything Brother Yun Xiao couldn’t accomplish. Even though he was currently alone on the seventh level of the Xuan Yin Cave, facing possibly a Heavenly Rank Strange Spirit, he firmly believed Brother Yun Xiao would definitely manage to escape.
However, individuals like Ling Wan, those carefree ones, were indeed rare in the scene. The vast majority still believed Yun Xiao would never emerge from the cave, with some even displaying a cold sneer of schadenfreude.
Take Su Jian, the top talent of the Dou Ling Chamber of Commerce, for instance. Their Chamber of Commerce sent three people this time, and now he’s the sole survivor, while the other two geniuses perished because of Yun Xiao.
Furthermore, Yun Xiao had previously offended the Dou Ling Chamber of Commerce, so even though Su Jian was technically rescued by Yun Xiao this time, he felt zero gratitude towards that ragged boy.
It could also be because, on the seventh level of Xuan Yin Cave, Su Jian witnessed Yun Xiao’s combat power far surpassing ordinary people, causing him deep-seated fear of that simple-clothed boy.
Already decided to be enemies, for a young talent with limitless potential and whom he might never overcome, Su Jian had no reason to wish for him to survive.
Perhaps Yun Xiao dying in Xuan Yin Cave would be the best outcome for both Su Jian and the Dou Ling Chamber itself.
Gu Changsheng of the Xuan Yin Hall felt similarly. His reason for not wishing Yun Xiao to survive was mainly because of Xue Ningxiang, aspiring to become the Hall Master’s son-in-law, his long-time dream.
After a few days of recuperation, Gu Changsheng’s severe injuries had healed halfway. He vaguely suspected that if Yun Xiao came out alive, his dream might never be realized.
Besides these two talents bearing hatred towards Yun Xiao, others felt a mix of emotions. Among them were the Wuyan Palace elders and Ye Suxin of the Killing Heart Sect, feeling more resentment than gratitude. 𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞
Then there were first-class forces like Jun Tieshu of Firewood Valley, Nie Xiaosheng of the Shenxiao Sect, and the Zhao Family on Ling Kong Island, who didn’t harbor much animosity towards Yun Xiao. Everything stemmed from the desire for the Illusion Yin Grass on the seventh level.
The subsequent turn of events made everyone realize their lives were worth far more than a mere Illusion Yin Grass, and ultimately, they were saved by Yun Xiao.
Consequently, upon realizing the Illusion Yin Grass was unattainable, they couldn’t help but feel some gratitude towards Yun Xiao, along with a touch of admiration, illustrating the oft-complex nature of human hearts.
Away from those either opposing or superficially connected to Yun Xiao, worries akin to Xu Hongzhuang’s occupied the minds of Ye Ku and others from Lianyun Mountain.
No matter how much confidence they had in Yun Xiao, as days passed, the hope for his survival seemed increasingly bleak.
"Hall Master, it’s useless. Give up!"
A trace of despondency flashed across the face of Xuanyin Hall’s Deputy Hall Master Lian Yuluo; trying countless times to break the Xuan Yin Cave’s sealing yielded no success, draining her of all confidence.
Xuanyin Hall’s Deputy Hall Master Lian Yuluo might be a woman, but her cultivation was far superior to many of the faction leaders or island masters, having reached the Heavenly Rank Floating Life Realm.
Notably, Deputy Hall Master Lian is not just a Heaven Rank Third Realm powerhouse; she’s also a genuine Low-Level Heavenly Stage Pulse Refiner, with meridian refining skills rivaling Vice President Qian Sanyuan of the Meridian Refining Master Association.
Deputy Hall Master Lian deeply cared about the Hall Master’s daughter, Xue Ningxiang. However, with her Low-Level Heavenly Stage refining technique, whether faced with innate pulse cutting or its current aftereffects, she was helpless, leading to frustration.
Thus, she was determined to witness how the young man named Yun Xiao managed to overcome this innate pulse cutting. Why should a Heavenly-grade Pulse Refining Master like her simply accept the abilities of a young boy?
Regrettably, it seemed the chance disappeared; trapped for days in Xuan Yin Cave, Yun Xiao was unlikely to emerge alive.
The strong members of Xuan Yin Hall were working together to break the seal, ultimately doing all they could.
After the initial days, figures like Xue Tianao and Lian Yuluo realized the best chance to save Yun Xiao had passed.
If the seventh level of Xuan Yin Cave contained many Strange Spirits, even if they broke the seal now, they could only kill those spirits as revenge for Yun Xiao.
"Master Xue, Deputy Hall Master Lian, please try one more time..."
Just as Xue Tianao sighed and was about to instruct the elders to stop wasting efforts, a somewhat weak voice rang out again, revealing the speaker without even looking; it was Xu Hongzhuang, the talented young girl from Demons Mountain.
