Nine Dragons Saint Ancestor

"Yun Xiao, what you rely on is merely the Artifact Heart of the Chongxiao Stairs, but it’s a pity it doesn’t hold much value in front of me, Jiang Jingyu!"

Watching the white steps burst apart, Jiang Jingyu was quite self-satisfied. He tossed the small ladder in his hand that resembled the Artifact Heart, and his words caused Xue Changze and others to look a bit displeased.

In fact, Xue Changze and the others had not seen how Yun Xiao dealt with the Half-step Holy Spirit earlier, so they also believed Jiang Jingyu’s words were correct. Surely Yun Xiao first gained control of the Artifact Heart to save everyone from peril.

Certainly, a Strange Spirit Expert of the same level is much stronger than human cultivators, but that also depends on the situation. For instance, in this Chongxiao Stairs Space, once Yun Xiao mastered the Artifact Heart, the Half-step Holy Spirit’s strength would probably not even display half of its full potential!

After all, that Half-step Holy Spirit gained its spiritual wisdom from the cultivation of the Artifact Heart, the Artifact Heart being equivalent to its body or Spirit Crystal. Once controlled, its great potential diminishes.

Such an advantage could indeed be greatly effective when battling Jiang Jingyu, yet when that genius from the Chongxiao Sect possessed an artifact capable of neutralizing it, the situation changed completely.

Although Xue Changze and others didn’t know exactly what the small ladder Jiang Jingyu held was, seeing that it looked identical to Yun Xiao’s Artifact Heart, they realized it must be some precautionary measure by the Chongxiao Sect.

Indeed, Xue Changze and the others guessed correctly. The big shots of the Chongxiao Sect anticipated that the Chongxiao Stairs might encounter an anomaly, and that is why they sent Jiang Jingyu here.

Jiang Jingyu is one of the top geniuses in the Chongxiao Sect. He was sent to the Chongxiao Stairs Space, partly for training and partly to ensure he wouldn’t truly fall into a dangerous situation.

The white small ladder entrusted to him by the sect’s bigwigs is not the Artifact Heart of the Chongxiao Stairs, but it can exhibit effects equivalent to the Artifact Heart’s for a very brief time.

This was a peculiar artifact copied by a former controller of the Chongxiao Stairs based on certain characteristics of the stairs, finally showing miraculous effects for Jiang Jingyu at this moment.

In reality, Jiang Jingyu still felt a bit fearful at this moment, because he had some understanding of the Chongxiao Stairs. With Yun Xiao mastering the Artifact Heart, he essentially became the lord of the stairs, meaning within this space, it’s as if in his Domain.

Yun Xiao’s actual strength wouldn’t be taken too seriously by Jiang Jingyu, but if he were to harness the power of the Chongxiao Stairs, Jiang Jingyu might truly face an unexpected defeat here today.

"It’s merely a replica of the Artifact Heart; how could it truly control the Chongxiao Stairs?"

With Yun Xiao’s insight, early on when he sensed the aura of Jiang Jingyu’s white small ladder, he had already sensed some clues. Through the other’s words, he was even more convinced and let out a cold laugh.

"I wonder how long your counterfeit Artifact Heart can hold out?"

A playful smile appeared on Yun Xiao’s face, as he spoke out the truth about the replica Artifact Heart, making Jiang Jingyu’s heart skip a beat, though his face remained calm.

"Even so, it’s enough to deal with you!"

Naturally, Jiang Jingyu would not reveal his inner thoughts and he was extremely confident about his own words. Without the assistance of the Chongxiao Stairs’ power, what kind of waves could a mere kid at the Heavenly Realm Middle Stage possibly make?

After all, there’s almost a two-small-realm difference between them. Moreover, the small realms are in the Heavenly Realm, which in Jiang Jingyu’s cultivation philosophy are utterly incomparable.

"Bind!"

After Jiang Jingyu’s voice fell, a cold command came out of his mouth. Immediately, the Meridian Qi ropes that Yun Xiao had previously scattered reappeared beside him, just as imposing.

"This time, let’s see what tricks you have left?"

A cold smile appeared on Jiang Jingyu’s face as the white small ladder in his hand emitted a shapeless aura, seemingly causing a subtle influence on Yun Xiao’s actual Artifact Heart.

This was something intentionally created by the Chongxiao Sect’s bigwigs so that Jiang Jingyu wouldn’t be suppressed in this Chongxiao Stairs Space. The original purpose was just to affect the Artifact Heart Strange Spirit.

Even Jiang Jingyu didn’t expect that before meeting the legendary Artifact Heart Strange Spirit, he would need to rely on the power of the replica Artifact Heart to deal with a mere human kid at the Heavenly Realm Middle Stage here.

But since the opponent controlled the Artifact Heart of the Chongxiao Stairs, Jiang Jingyu had no other choice; no matter how much difference there was, Yun Xiao leveraging the power of the Chongxiao Stairs was something he couldn’t possibly contend with.

Jiang Jingyu was endlessly confident. If the opponent couldn’t borrow the power of the Chongxiao Stairs, then under his methods, Yun Xiao wouldn’t last more than a move or two.

By then, he would cripple the boy’s Meridian Qi and take him back to the Chongxiao Sect for a thorough lesson. Only then could today’s hatred be eased, and it would also let those ordinary cultivators know that the Chongxiao Sect’s majesty is not to be provoked lightly.

"This guy really has some tricks up his sleeve!"

Seeing countless Meridian Qi ropes coming to bind him, Yun Xiao first attempted to activate the energy of the Artifact Heart but found that the Artifact Heart, which was previously unrivaled, was now somewhat out of his control.

With Yun Xiao’s insight, he could naturally deduce immediately that it was due to the effect of the replica Artifact Heart in Jiang Jingyu’s hand, so he made a decisive choice. With a thought, his body trembled slightly.

Huff... huff... huff...

A series of Meridian Qi ropes wrapped Yun Xiao up tightly the next moment, but as soon as the ropes entangled him, Jiang Jingyu’s face undoubtedly turned extremely ugly.

"It’s a Shadow Clone!"

Liu Hanyi’s Power of Soul was formidable, even from such a distance, she could sense that familiar aura. She was the first to murmur softly, with a hint of delight in her tone.

Indeed, Yun Xiao had displayed the unrivaled Shadow Clone Meridian Techniques at that moment. Even Jiang Jingyu, the half-step Holy Rank genius from the Nine-layered Dragon Cloud, was deceived.

After all, the afterimages generally produced by speed are quite easy to distinguish, but the Shadow Clone Yun Xiao created using methods from his past life was extremely realistic, impossible to tell before Meridian Qi touched it, as Jiang Jingyu hadn’t noticed whatsoever.

In this way, Jiang Jingyu’s Meridian Qi rope restraint that he believed Yun Xiao could not avoid directly missed, capturing a Shadow Clone securely, making it a big joke.

Swish!

As Jiang Jingyu realized he had tied empty air, a sound of something cutting through the wind suddenly rang out, and the corner of his eye caught sight of dark light slicing from his side, seemingly targeting his throat.

Almost instinctually, as would a half-step Holy Rank expert, although Jiang Jingyu couldn’t clearly see what the dark light was, he instinctively shifted horizontally nearly a foot, making the dark light miss him entirely.

Scratch!

A gentle sound came, and the dark light brushed past Jiang Jingyu’s left neck, though it did not harm him in the slightest, it cut down a strand of his hair fluttering upward.

Apparently, Yun Xiao didn’t idle after dodging the Meridian Qi ropes with the Shadow Clone, but seized the opportunity to wield the Dragon Taming Sword to cut.

The Dragon Taming Sword is quite confusing to the eye; if Jiang Jingyu opted not to dodge or to use his arm or weapon for a block, then this battle would have been over.

But who knew whether Yun Xiao’s speed was exceedingly fast or Jiang Jingyu’s eyesight wasn’t good, he didn’t recognize it as an unremarkable wooden sword at first, this Chongxiao Sect genius instinctively made a dodging action.

In truth, if Jiang Jingyu, with his proud nature, had been aware earlier that it was just a wooden sword, he likely wouldn’t have made such a dodging movement.

But now, even though he dodged the Dragon Taming Sword’s slice at his vital spot, he lost a strand of hair, and he could no longer underestimate that unremarkable wooden sword.

Even an ordinary sharp long sword could cut down a strand of hair, yet Jiang Jingyu, being who he was, from just his fallen hair, could realize the exceptional nature of that wooden sword.

"Crafty brat!"

Thinking of this, Jiang Jingyu cursed softly in his heart, simultaneously feeling a faint dread, inwardly sighing at his luck being decent, or else his head might not have remained intact.

Being dared by a Tenglong Continent Heavenly Realm Middle Stage youth to have a section of hair cut, for Jiang Jingyu, was undoubtedly a huge disgrace, leaving his pride hard to swallow.

"Huh?"

However, when Jiang Jingyu turned his gloomy gaze towards the youth who had already sheathed his sword standing firm, his eyes narrowed again, as Yun Xiao’s aura was now distinctly different from moments before.

"Heavenly Realm Late Stage?!"

Jiang Jingyu’s eyes filled with both solemnity and shock, as he muttered aloud, even those like Xue Changze from a distance had sensed Yun Xiao’s shifted aura.

"Damn, how could this Tenglong Continent native kid possibly possess such powerful Ancestor Vein Power?"

Jiang Jingyu indeed had vast knowledge, realizing in merely a split-second why Yun Xiao was able to break through to Heavenly Realm Late Stage cultivation now.

Yet precisely because he realized this, Jiang Jingyu found it even harder to accept, as it was something he, this Nine-layered Dragon Cloud Chongxiao Sect’s genius, did not even have the privilege of owning.

Ancestor Vein is hard to encounter; though Jiang Jingyu was a genius of the Chongxiao Sect, he came from a poor background, having only two Ancestor Veins that were merely Heavenly Rank Low Level.

To see the youth named Yun Xiao before him, after stimulating the Ancestor Vein, he could push his Meridian Qi cultivation from Heavenly Realm Middle Stage straight to Heavenly Realm Late Stage.

What does this indicate? It indicates Yun Xiao’s Ancestor Vein is certainly more than one, and all have reached Heavenly Rank Advanced level, which even surpasses Jiang Jingyu, the Nine-layered Dragon Cloud’s genius!