Nine Dragons Saint Ancestor

Huff... Huff...

In a grand hall at Denghai Pier, streams of Heaven and Earth energy surged towards the figure sitting cross-legged on the bed, as if brewing a greater opportunity.

This figure was naturally Yun Xiao. At this moment, it had been a full ten days since he entered this hall to refine the Intermediate Silver Grade Heavenly Spirit Crystal.

During these ten days, there were no significant changes outside. The human cultivators steadfastly guarded the coastline, occasionally disturbed by Strange Spirits, but none reached the Heavenly Rank level.

Notably, during these ten days, cultivators from the northern cities and human cultivators from the southern cities all converged on Denghai Pier.

As a result, the pier, which had been deserted for nearly a year, suddenly became lively, and the city at the pier gained much vitality.

Figures like Feng Qiyun and Qiu Xian from the Meridian Refining Master Association naturally learned the results of the great battle that day. They felt a mix of emotions and some pride.

After all, both Mo Qing and Liu Hanyi hailed from the Meridian Refining Master Association, especially the young boy who turned the tide. Though he had only joined Lianyun Mountain for two years, he was indeed a disciple of Lianyun Mountain.

To be honest, when Feng Qiyun, Qiu Xian, and the other elders first saw Yun Xiao, they only saw the tip of the iceberg. Even though they were extremely impressed, they still thought Yun Xiao was just a leader among the younger generation.

Who knew that the young man, much younger than Ye Kusi Mo, managed to accomplish what their own generation could not? That was a mighty Heavenly Rank Strange Spirit that he slayed three of.

Throughout their journey, Feng Qiyun and others had never encountered Strange Spirits of the Heavenly Rank, and even Half-step Heavenly Rank Strange Spirits were rare.

Even when fighting against Half-step Heavenly Rank Strange Spirits, the battles were extremely difficult. Without the formidable physiques of Liu Hanyi and Mo Qing, they might have been stopped in one of the cities.

Now that all forces had gathered at Denghai Pier, all discussions inevitably revolved around the name "Yun Xiao." It's believed that from now on, this name will resonate across the entire Tenglong Continent more than a year and a half ago.

As for these people and matters outside, Yun Xiao naturally had no time to care. As time went by, the energy of the Intermediate Silver Grade Heavenly Spirit Crystal had been mostly absorbed and refined by him.

Due to this being a Mud Water Attribute crystal, Red Feather wasn't particularly interested. Additionally, Golden Snake Worm Xiao Wu had already fallen into a slumber due to overusing energy.

Even though Xiao Wu could still compete for energy with Yun Xiao while asleep, it wasn't as much as when awake. Therefore, this time, two-thirds of the Intermediate Silver Grade Heavenly Spirit Crystal's energy was absorbed and refined by Yun Xiao.

That was the lifelong essence of an Intermediate Silver Grade Heavenly Spirit. If ordinary Peak Earth Bending Realm cultivators were to refine this energy, the sheer impact might have been enough to make them explode and die.

Fortunately, Yun Xiao was no ordinary person. His physical strength, comparable to a Silver Grade Heavenly Spirit, allowed him to withstand the intense impact and reach this critical moment of breakthrough.

Of course, Yun Xiao's breakthrough at this moment wasn't to directly reach a level equivalent to the Heavenly Rank Third Realm but to achieve Half-step Heavenly Rank cultivation. After all, moving from the Earth Rank Third Realm to the Heavenly Rank Third Realm is a very complex process.

Even though Yun Xiao had reached the Saint-grade Peak cultivation in his previous life, he still needed energy accumulation.

Obviously, with his reborn special body, two-thirds of the energy from an Intermediate Silver Grade Heavenly Spirit Crystal was not enough to directly break through to the Early Stage of Floating Life Realm.

Boom!

At a certain moment, a strong force suddenly erupted from Yun Xiao's body, signifying the energy fluctuations of a breakthrough to Half-step Heavenly Rank.

At this moment, he finally succeeded.

Countless energy particles gathered onto Yun Xiao's body and were fully absorbed until the energy fluctuations around him stabilized. Only then did he open his eyes.

A sharp light shot out from Yun Xiao's eyes, piercing several feet into the air, appearing extremely mystical. After dissipating into the air, he leaped up from the bed.

"Injuries completely healed, Half-step Heavenly Rank, not bad!"

Although he did not directly reach the Early Stage of Floating Life Realm, this was within Yun Xiao's expectations. Hence, a satisfied expression appeared in his eyes, and he spoke with a light smile.

Creek!

Pushing open the door, Yun Xiao immediately saw several familiar figures standing outside the hall, among them Liu Hanyi, Mo Qing, and Xue Ningxiang. Standing at the forefront was the strongest, Hu Ying'er.

"Ha ha, all have breakthroughs, congratulations, congratulations!"

When Yun Xiao's powerful Power of Soul swept over everyone's cultivation, a gleam appeared in his eyes because he suddenly noticed that these four women and one man had changed significantly from ten days ago.

Whether it was Liu Hanyi, Mo Qing, Xue Ningxiang, or Hu Ying'er, even Ling Wan had broken through from the Peak of the Earth Bending Realm to the Half-step Heavenly Rank, standing side by side with him.

Even Xu Hongzhuang, who was originally only at the Middle Stage of the Earth Bending Realm, surprisingly broke through to the Late Stage of the Earth Bending Realm. At this moment, Yun Xiao couldn't help but marvel at these individuals' special constitutions, truly uncommon.

It must be said that the battle between life and death is indeed the best way to enhance strength. If it weren't for being in this Slaughter Spirit Battlefield, if it weren't for the life-and-death pressure of the Strange Spirit, it would have been absolutely impossible for these people to break through so quickly.

However, Yun Xiao's relationship with these individuals was anything but shallow. With everyone achieving breakthroughs, he was naturally extremely delighted and felt more confident about the planned venture to Impermanence Island.

Whoosh!

Just as Yun Xiao was conversing with the others, a fiery red shadow suddenly darted up, finally landing on his shoulder. It appeared to be a palm-sized fiery red mouse.

"Huh? Chi Yan, you..."

Yun Xiao naturally recognized the fiery red shadow as Chi Yan. When he turned to look at this little creature, his eyes shone even more brilliantly, even carrying a hint of indescribable surprise.

"Hehehe, Brother Yun Xiao, we have broken through to the Half-step Heavenly Rank, but we are still far from matching Chi Yan!"

Beside him, Ling Wan's injuries had fully recovered. He had a good relationship with Chi Yan, and while pointing at the little creature, he sighed, further proving that Yun Xiao's sensing was not mistaken.

"Low-level Silver Grade Heavenly Demon!"

At this moment, Yun Xiao no longer had any doubts. Just ten days ago, Chi Yan was still a Half-step Heavenly Rank and had been beaten to life or death by the Fire Attribute Heavenly Spirit Fire Cloud Rat. But now, Chi Yan had astonishingly broken through to the Sky Demon level, moving ahead of him.

The classification of the Vein Demons is different from that of humans, yet quite similar to the Strange Spirits. Vein Demons reaching the Heavenly Rank are called Sky Demons and are compared to humans at the Floating Life, Lingyun, and Heavenly Ranks, with Silver-grade, Golden-grade, and Holy-grade counterparts.

Comparatively, Vein Demons' breakthroughs at the major ranks are more challenging than those of human cultivators. Only when they reach the Holy Demon level, experience heavenly tribulation, and transform into human form can their cultivation speed match that of humans.

Hence Yun Xiao never thought that Chi Yan could break through to the Sky Demon level in such a short time. To him, it was simply an unexpected surprise, making him momentarily unable to react.

This further convinced Yun Xiao of the insights gained from the battle between life and death. Breaking through to the Sky Demon level was half due to Chi Yan Fire Cloud Rat's special bloodline and half because of the battle with Fire Cloud, even the merit of being severely injured.

At the time, Chi Yan was the most heavily injured, to the point where Yun Xiao couldn't sense his aura, thinking he had perished, which led him to use Xiao Wu's power to kill those three low-level Silver Grade Heavenly Spirits.

Little did he know, from disaster to fortune, Chi Yan miraculously broke through from Half-step Heavenly Rank to the realm of the Low-level Silver Grade Heavenly Demon.

Believing in Chi Yan's special bloodline, if he encounters the same level Heavenly Spirit Fire Cloud again, he might be able to take down that guy solo.

"Yun... Yun Xiao!"

While Yun Xiao's thoughts were shifting, a somewhat unfamiliar voice suddenly came from beside his ear, startling him and making his eyes shine brightly.

At the same time, the few women and men beside him also widened their eyes, realizing the voice wasn't from any of them but from the little Vein Demon on Yun Xiao's shoulder.

It was Chi Yan speaking. In fact, a Vein Demon reaching the Sky Demon level could already speak like a human. However, this was Chi Yan's first time speaking human words, so it still sounded somewhat awkward.

Perhaps Chi Yan had been with Yun Xiao since he was conscious, and these two words had brewed in his heart for many years until this moment when he truly called them out.

"Hahaha, this is wonderful!"

Hearing Chi Yan call his name for the first time, Yun Xiao was extremely excited. After laughing heartily three times, he stroked Chi Yan's mouse back and softly said, "From now on, call me big brother just like Ling Wan."

"Big... big brother!"

Upon hearing this, Chi Yan's awkward voice echoed, and from now on, these two words would be engraved in his heart's depths, never to be forgotten.

"Since everyone has made breakthroughs, next..."

After toying around with Chi Yan for a while, Yun Xiao finally turned his head, his expression gradually becoming cold, and then softly spoke, drawing the attention of those around him to him.

"My friends, would you be interested in joining me, Yun Xiao, to challenge the Dragon's Lair on Impermanence Island?"

As Yun Xiao's voice softly resounded again, the faces of those beside him showed extreme excitement, nodding without any hesitation, indicating they had been prepared for this.