Nine Dragons Saint Ancestor

"This place is the secret territory of my Nangong Family, you do not possess the bloodline of the Nangong Family, how could you possibly enter?"

Nangong Buxun was clearly displeased with Yun Xiao’s words. Perhaps this was also the reason he hadn’t bothered to sense carefully just now, because without the Nangong Family’s bloodline, it was impossible to enter this place.

"Brother Yun Xiao, this is the Clan Leader of my Nangong Family, you must not be disrespectful!"

As Yun Xiao’s face showed a hint of a smile, wanting to respond, Nangong Xiaofeng, who was already kneeling on the ground nearby, became anxious and lightly tugged at his sleeve, with a deep voice containing a touch of admonition.

Nangong Xiaofeng had never met the last Clan Leader back then, but he knew many legends about Nangong Buxun from his parents.

Moreover, to occupy the position of Clan Leader of the top of the Four Great Families back then, Nangong Buxun’s strength was probably at least in the final realm of the Holy Rank Third Realm?

Nangong Xiaofeng had a good impression of Yun Xiao and did not want to provoke the Clan Leader because of his unruly nature, which would undoubtedly put him in a difficult situation.

"Xiaofeng, you better stand up first. Whether that old guy is really your Nangong Tomb’s Clan Leader still needs confirmation!"

Yun Xiao had no such concerns. He spoke with a half-smiling tone as he scrutinized the dark gold figure, and then used force to pull Nangong Xiaofeng up.

"Brother Yun Xiao, choose your words wisely!"

Upon hearing Yun Xiao’s words, Nangong Xiaofeng was truly startled, while his peripheral vision caught the dark gold figure there, and he felt that person was exactly the same as the Family Head depicted in the Sword Carrying Painting, completely perplexed by Yun Xiao’s usually astute manner of speech.

"Boy, since you do not have the bloodline of the Nangong Family, please leave, you are not welcome here!"

Hearing Yun Xiao’s words, the dark gold figure’s eyes suddenly sparkled with a golden light. He then spoke softly, considering Nangong Xiaofeng’s presence and not troubling the coarse-clothed lad.

"Buxun, do you still remember the ’Seven Talks Immortal Cage Array’?"

As Nangong Xiaofeng was getting anxious, the coarse-clothed youth beside him uttered this phrase softly, causing confusion and a slight sense of shock to appear on his face.

"Bu... Buxun?!"

The address in Yun Xiao’s words was likely the reason for Nangong Xiaofeng’s shock, as the person beside him was clearly of a younger age, how could he possibly call himself a brother to the Nangong Family’s Clan Leader from a hundred years ago?

Furthermore, what is this "Seven Talks Immortal Cage Array"? Why could Brother Yun Xiao utter such inexplicable terms?

"Seven Talks Immortal Cage Array? What’s that?"

Nangong Xiaofeng’s heart was full of confusion, and the dark gold figure who abruptly heard Yun Xiao’s question also showed a hint of bewilderment on his face, as he was quite unfamiliar with this term.

"Since you don’t even know what the Seven Talks Immortal Cage Array is, how dare you pretend to be Nangong Buxun? And you still say you are not fake?"

Hearing the dark gold figure’s sound of doubt and seeing the flicker of confusion on his face, Yun Xiao had no more doubts. As he uttered his call, Nangong Xiaofeng’s complexion changed drastically.

"Fake... fake?"

Nangong Xiaofeng, experiencing ups and downs, found it hard to accept this fact; his initial excitement because the Clan Leader was still alive suddenly felt like icy water was poured over him, making it difficult for him to regain his composure.

Yun Xiao’s certainty at this moment naturally related to the so-called "Seven Talks Immortal Cage Array," knowing that the Long Xiao Battle God and the Nangong Family’s Clan Leader Nangong Buxun were close friends in his previous life.

The two frequently drank wine and played chess together, and this so-called Seven Talks Immortal Cage Array was a remnant formation obtained by Yun Xiao from a mysterious place, consisting of seven types, each incredibly abstruse. Even with his wisdom, it was difficult to thoroughly comprehend them.

And Nangong Buxun was also an enthusiast of this subject, so the Long Xiao Battle God often sought his help in solving those seven remnants. After decades, they managed to unravel six of them.

During the process of solving chess puzzles, Long Xiao Battle God and Nangong Buxun increasingly found that these seven remnants, known as Seven Talks Immortal Cage Arrays, seemed to contain a great secret; each solution provided them with an understanding of the Heavenly Dao.

Unfortunately, when solving the last puzzle, Strange Spirit Experts suddenly invaded the human border, and as the Long Xiao Battle God, Yun Xiao had to leave these leisurely matters and rush to the battlefield.

However, once the Long Xiao Battle God left, he never returned to the Nangong Family, and later, the news reaching the Nangong Family claimed that the Long Xiao Battle God had betrayed the human race and was shot dead personally by Emperor Canglong.

Upon hearing the news in the Nangong Family, it was like a bolt from the blue, shocking Nangong Buxun into a stupor. He never believed his friend would do such a thing, so he once considered seeking an explanation from the Emperor Canglong Palace.

The outcome afterward needn’t be elaborated upon. The original culprit behind the assassination of Long Xiao Battle God was none other than the Empress of Emperor Canglong, who, unable to bear seeing Nangong Buxun and the Four Great Families agitating for justice, finally intervened personally and annihilated the Four Great Families.

At this moment, Yun Xiao could perceive that the dark golden figure was indeed identical to Nangong Buxun from back then, but its aura was exceedingly strange, prompting him to probe with words.

If the opponent was truly Nangong Buxun, how could he know nothing about the Seven Talks Immortal Cage Array? That was a celestial chess game that the two had researched for decades without unraveling.

Especially the final game, which had almost become a terminal game, possibly one that no one could ever solve — the Seven Talks Immortal Cage Array, now a closed Chapter.

With this slight probing, Yun Xiao saw through the opponent’s true nature, and a cold smile flashed across his mind as he stared unblinkingly at the dark golden figure of unknown origin.

"Boy, who exactly are you?"

The dark golden figure, being stared at by Yun Xiao, did not exhibit the panic of having its nature exposed as expected and instead asked in a low voice filled with a hint of murderous intent.

"You needn’t worry about who I am. The point is, with Yun Xiao here today, your tricks won’t succeed, so you’d best put them away!"

Yun Xiao simply mentioned a name from his past; he was not one to easily divulge such things, even in the presence of Nangong Xiaofeng. That’s his consistent caution.

"Is it really... really not the Clan Leader, my lord?"

The hope that had just arisen was instantly extinguished. Only now did Nangong Xiaofeng come to his senses.

From the conversation between them, he finally realized the truth: that figure was not the incredibly talented Clan Leader of the Nangong Family.

"If I’m not mistaken, you are actually a Strange Spirit with a Gold Attribute. Because you once saw Nangong Buxun, you transformed into his likeness to achieve your own ends!"

Yun Xiao didn’t have many thoughts about it. Nangong Xiaofeng’s face undoubtedly turned extremely unsightly as he recognized that he previously knelt before a Strange Spirit.

On the Nine-layered Dragon Cloud, the rancor between humans and Strange Spirits was a hundred times fiercer than on the Tenglong Continent; every year, hundreds of skirmishes of various sizes would erupt, with countless human cultivators perishing at their hands.

The previous Long Xiao Battle God specialized in confronting the Strange Spirit army, but only when Holy Spirit Experts appeared would he resolutely spring into action.

The Strange Spirits of the Nine-layered Dragon Cloud were distinct from those in the Lower Five Realms and Middle Three Realms, where Holy Spirit Experts were as plentiful as cattle, and even the legendary Strange Spirit Emperor might not be vanquished by Emperor Canglong.

The Strange Spirits claimed their own territories on the Nine-layered Dragon Cloud, persistently encroaching upon human lands for years. For at least the past century, without Long Xiao Battle God, many human territories have been occupied by Strange Spirits.

Nangong Xiaofeng was raised on the principle that encountering a Strange Spirit means life and death, yet today he found himself kneeling before one. If his parents knew, they might enact severe punishment.

Luckily, Yun Xiao was beside him, accurately discerning the Strange Spirit’s nature, preventing Nangong Xiaofeng from descending further into error, his heart now simmering with anger.

"Within the great hall lies what you desire, but you cannot enter!"

Yun Xiao ignored the Strange Spirit and Nangong Xiaofeng’s feelings, pointing at the doorless and windowless dark golden hall, his words making the dark golden figure visibly tremble.

"How do you know?"

The dark golden figure’s question inadvertently confirmed Yun Xiao’s earlier deduction, leaving Nangong Xiaofeng without doubt, realizing his own foolishness.

If Yun Xiao hadn’t been there, Nangong Xiaofeng would have been misled by the Strange Spirit, with no telling the predicament he might end up in.

"Enough. How you know is irrelevant. The point is, this Nangong family boy not only possesses the direct bloodline of the Nangong Tomb but also Gong Jinzhu, and that’s quite sufficient!"

Not waiting for Yun Xiao’s reply, the dark golden figure’s anger and gloom vanished instantly upon some realization, pointing instead at Nangong Xiaofeng.

"I already said, with Yun Xiao here, your plans are futile. You’d better oblige and serve as the Array Heart Strange Spirit!"

Yun Xiao’s expression remained unchanged; he merely repeated his previous words. His final sentence revealed the dark golden figure’s origin, indeed a Spiritual Wisdom cultivated from the Artifact Heart of the Nine Revolutions Golden Palace Array.

Furthermore, Yun Xiao could deduce that due to the Nine Revolutions Golden Palace Array, despite cultivating its Spiritual Wisdom, it could never escape the large array’s confines, bound for life by it.