Nine Dragons Saint Ancestor

"It all depends on you now!"

Yun Xiao could feel the meridian qi within him being completely drained, and a bitter smile involuntarily appeared on his pale face as he murmured to himself.

He knew that if the Silver-Winged Giant Dragon failed, his own fate would likely be extremely dire.

At this moment, Yun Xiao was unleashing the Silver-Winged Giant Dragon, an enhanced version of the previous Five Elements Ice and Fire Giant Dragon, incorporating the power of his other three ancestor veins, namely the Thunder Attribute and Wind Attribute powers.

The two Thunder Attribute Ancestor Vein Powers bestowed the original Five Elements Giant Dragon with a pair of silver wings and an additional touch of Thunder Power.

As for the Wind Attribute Ancestor Vein Power, it allowed the giant dragon to more clearly sense the attribute energy in the air, increasing its speed rapidly, making it impossible for enemies to defend against.

However, after doing all this, Yun Xiao found his body completely devoid of both the energy from the Golden Snake Worm Xiao Wu and his own meridian qi cultivation, and merely standing in the sky required tremendous willpower.

Xiao Wu had fallen into a slumber after this power was exerted, but as Yun Xiao's strength improved, he did not faint as he used to. Instead, he wanted to see the outcome.

This Silver-Winged Giant Dragon, fused with the power of Yun Xiao's Eight Great Ancestor Veins and all the energy of the Golden Snake Worm Xiao Wu, flapped its wings, roared towards the sky, causing even the Vein Demons beneath the East Sea's surface to all shrink back.

"Roar!"

This dragon roar contained a true touch of Dragon Power. On the Nine Dragons Continent, the Divine Dragon was the sovereign of all creatures. Even though this Silver-Winged Giant Dragon held only a trace of Dragon Power, it struck a deep tremor in the hearts of the Sea Vein Demons.

"Damn it, what grade of Meridian Technique is this?"

Not to mention the countless human cultivators below were all in a daze, but the intermediate Silver Grade Heavenly Spirit, the deep-sea mud spirit strong entity, was roaring deeply within its heart.

Just moments ago, having full confidence in itself, believing that no matter what measures the human boy in coarse clothes used, he couldn't threaten it. It now felt like slapping itself hard in the face.

Because, from the aura of the Silver-Winged Giant Dragon, this deep-sea mud spirit sensed an aura of destruction, one capable of completely obliterating it.

If it could do it all over again, this intermediate Silver Grade Heavenly Spirit would never have allowed Yun Xiao's actions to proceed unchecked. It would have taken powerful action to stop him at the start of his display.

But now, saying anything is too late. The Silver-Winged Giant Dragon had already taken shape and was charging at the deep-sea mud spirit with such speed, giving it no time to react, let alone dodge.

Boom!

The movements of the Silver-Winged Giant Dragon were without any frills. A vast aura erupted from its body, and its dragon mouth opened wide, directly swallowing the deep-sea mud spirit expert whole.

"Is it... over?"

This scene left all the human cultivators below in disbelief.

That was an intermediate Silver Grade Heavenly Spirit, comparable to a middle-stage or even a late-stage Floating Life Realm human. How did it get swallowed by the Silver-Winged Giant Dragon before it even had a chance to act?

This was thought to be an earth-shattering battle, capable of shattering the heavens and causing sea waters to flow backwards, yet it ended so quickly and suddenly.

However, relatively speaking, although the human side was shocked, it was nothing compared to the grief of the alien spirit army, for the Silver-Winged Giant Dragon ultimately belonged to the human side, to that boy in coarse clothes.

Even Yun Xiao himself, high in the sky, didn't expect it to succeed with just one strike. He knew well the power of the Silver-Winged Giant Dragon, formed by the Eight Great Ancestor Vein Powers. With the opponent swallowed into the dragon's belly, there's probably no hope for them anymore.

"Hmm?"

Yet, at this moment, just as Yun Xiao was wiping cold sweat from his forehead, his expression suddenly changed, the already pale face turned completely bloodless.

"Something's wrong!"

Below, Wu Yingjiang and others also realized something was amiss, for the Silver-Winged Giant Dragon, having swallowed the deep-sea mud spirit whole, made no further moves, as if frozen in the sky.

These human cultivators had seen Yun Xiao unleash the Ice and Fire Giant Dragon before, and back then, the Ice and Fire Giant Dragon also swallowed alien spirits whole but always refined them completely soon after, leaving only a spirit crystal behind.

But at this moment, the Silver-Winged Giant Dragon seemed to be affected by some force, or rather, was contending with some force. And with only Yun Xiao still standing in the sky, the answer was already apparent.

The intermediate silver celestial spirit swallowed by the Silver-winged Giant Dragon was not immediately refined, but instead employed some techniques within the dragon's belly, attempting to break through the dragon's defenses from the inside and turn defeat into victory.

Thinking about this, the faces of countless human cultivators below turned grim, as the seemingly straightforward battle suddenly changed, plunging the situation into complexity once more.

In fact, when the Silver-winged Giant Dragon swallowed the celestial spirit, the humans couldn't quite believe it, though they internally hoped for this outcome.

Strictly speaking, the current situation is the most objective result. How could an intermediate silver celestial spirit be dealt with in one move by a mere early-stage Floating Life Realm youth? It clearly defies common sense.

The standoff between the Ice and Fire Giant Dragon and the alien spirit expert in the sky lasted for about a dozen breaths, during which Yun Xiao and the human cultivators felt their hearts nearly stop.

Wu Yingjiang and Wu Tong could sense Yun Xiao's current aura—it was genuinely at the end of its tether, uncertain when it might fall headfirst into the East Sea.

If the intermediate silver alien spirit truly broke the Silver-winged Giant Dragon's defenses from the inside, there would be no need to speculate on the battle's outcome; but if the Silver-winged Giant Dragon managed to completely refine the Deep Sea Swamp Celestial, a major victory still awaited the humans.

"This is bad!"

Amidst the humans' vacillating emotions below, Yun Xiao, who sensed most directly, suddenly turned pale, and with a heart-stopping moment, noticed a significant change at the Silver-winged Giant Dragon's location.

Boom!

The Silver-winged Giant Dragon, after a tense standoff lasting several breaths, suddenly exploded with a resounding boom. Though not a real flesh and bone body, at this moment, it seemed to carry a sense of intense bloodiness in the eyes of onlookers.

As the Silver-winged Giant Dragon exploded, the hearts of countless human cultivators sank to rock bottom, aware that this implied Yun Xiao ultimately failed.

Yun Xiao's state showed he had no strength left to continue fighting, and if the celestial spirit expert broke out from the dragon, there would be no human cultivators able to withstand such a level of alien spirit expert, without a doubt.

As energy rampaged, a dark-gray figure appeared intermittently amidst the explosion's energy—it was the celestial spirit expert of the Deep Sea Swamp, although looking quite battered.

The formerly elegant, constantly changing Water Flow Body had long disappeared, and now the Deep Sea Swamp seemed like actual mud, riddled with wounds.

It was clear that despite being swallowed and refined by the Silver-winged Giant Dragon, it had not fared well, and although ultimately causing the dragon to explode apart, it must have come at an enormous cost.

Regardless, Yun Xiao was already devoid of power to continue fighting, whereas the intermediate silver celestial spirit, despite its disheveled state and chaotic aura, clearly was not entirely out of combat capability.

In comparison, the outcome of this battle was self-evident. Countless alien spirits rejoiced, while the humans fell silent, seemingly foreseeing the impending catastrophe.

"Damn it! Bastard! Damn!"

Amidst Yun Xiao's regret and despair, the celestial spirit expert of the Deep Sea Swamp kept roaring angrily, evidently having suffered greatly this time.

The celestial spirit expert of the Deep Sea Swamp had never expected that a youth, who raised his Meridian Qi Cultivation to the early-stage Floating Life Realm through a secret technique, could wield such powerful Meridian Techniques, catching it entirely off guard.

If anything went wrong, the celestial spirit of the Deep Sea Swamp might never have escaped from the dragon's belly, eventually becoming a silent, inadvertent Spirit Crystal.

All of this resulted from its own carelessness, though at this moment, it evidently transferred all resentment to the human youth, the gaze filled with intense killing intent.

"Alas, ultimately failed by a whisker!"

Seeing the intermediate silver celestial spirit rushing towards him, Yun Xiao sighed.

Feeling the strength leaving him, he couldn't even support his body, and softly began falling into the ocean below.

Whoosh!

Fortunately, the Green Phoenix accepted Yun Xiao as its master, and when Yun Xiao was still ten feet above the sea, it swiftly flew over from afar, catching him and preventing him from drowning.

"Why are you coming over now?"

Forcing his eyes open, feeling the green light in front of him, Yun Xiao knew the Green Phoenix had saved him. Though wishing to get off the phoenix's back, he lacked even the strength to lift a finger.

The Green Phoenix had followed Yun Xiao from Yanji Lake for over a year, yet its cultivation only rose from Ninth Rank low-level to Ninth Rank Intermediate. Such Demon Vein Qi Cultivation was no match for that intermediate silver celestial spirit anyway.