Nine Dragons Saint Ancestor
Chapter 23: Twenty-three Meridian Spirit

Chapter 23: Twenty-three Meridian Spirit

"Is it... a Spirit Vein Realm practitioner?!"

The moment Yun Xiao saw the elder through the broken doorway, he sensed something, even though his own cultivation had only just broken through to the early stage of the Meridian Introduction Realm, his insight was unmatched throughout the Hidden Dragon Continent.

Meridian Qi cultivation consists of the Mortal Rank’s three realms: Meridian Qi, Meridian Introduction, and Meridian Gathering; above these lie the Spiritual Rank’s three realms: Meridian Rushing, Meridian Union, and Spirit Vein. Yun Xiao could tell at a glance that the elder was a Spirit Vein Realm practitioner because reaching this realm brings an essential transformation to a cultivator.

Yun Xiao’s cultivation might be insignificant, but his discerning eyes remained sharp. The appearance of such a Spirit Vein Realm powerhouse in Moon Bow City was truly an extraordinary event, no wonder Shang Li was so extremely anxious just now.

Regrettably, it was precisely because Shang Li was too nervous that he was outsmarted by Yun Xiao, his forceful punch shattering the door of the Alchemy Room. This time, he was really in trouble.

Yun Xiao knew from the light sound earlier that, just like himself, the elder in the Alchemy Room had been disrupted at the last step of fusing the medicinal essence, resulting in failure.

It was indeed instant retribution. Thinking back to his own burst of anger when he was interrupted, Yun Xiao could imagine how the elder must be feeling, which is why he immediately entered a state of ’enjoying the show’.

"Dumb fool!"

The green-clothed elder inside the room stared at the empty Medicine Tripod for what seemed like several breaths before letting out an angry roar. Hearing this roar, Shang Li’s previously frozen right fist hastily retreated.

"Die!"

It seemed that out of the corner of his eye, the green-clothed elder caught a glimpse of Shang Li’s movement, suddenly turning his head with a sinister look upon his face to glare at the awkwardly standing Shang Li at the doorway, then squeezing out a word laden with the intent of death from his mouth.

Watching from the sidelines with cold detachment, Yun Xiao saw it clearly. At the moment when the word "die" escaped the elder’s lips, the latter’s right arm extended, and a green light suddenly burst forth from the palm of his right hand, attacking Shang Li at an incredibly fast speed.

"Indeed, a Meridian Spirit!"

When Yun Xiao saw the streak of green light, he had a moment of realization, for he clearly saw that it was not the elder’s Meridian Qi, but a vibrant green little snake.

This was indeed the most special attribute of a Spirit Vein Realm expert: the "Refining of Meridian Spirits." The refined Meridian Spirit could greatly enhance the cultivator’s battle power, just like being blessed by the Ancestor Vein.

The so-called Meridian Spirit is a unique method derived by a Meridian Qi cultivator after reaching the Spirit Vein Realm. The refined Meridian Spirit could be a Vein Demon or other entities devoid of Spiritual Wisdom like plants, trees, or even soul-infused rocks and metals.

Once this Spirit Vein Realm cultivator erases the Spiritual Wisdom from a Vein Demon or other living entity, it would obey their commands exclusively, using their powerful Meridian Qi to inflict harm upon enemies.

For instance, the little green snake summoned by the green-clothed elder was such a Meridian Spirit; before being refined, it must have been a highly poisonous snake. As a Meridian Spirit, aside from lacking autonomous Spiritual Wisdom, its other attributes remained virtually unchanged from before.

This was also why Yun Xiao recognized that the elder was a Spirit Vein Realm practitioner at first glance—it was precisely the aura of this kind of Meridian Spirit he was intimately familiar with, as the former Long Xiao Battle God had also refined many Meridian Spirits.

From this green venomous Meridian Spirit Snake, Yun Xiao confirmed another speculation: the green-clothed elder was not only a high-level Spirit Vein Realm expert but also an authentic Poison Vein Master.

Leaving Yun Xiao’s hidden musings alone, the green little snake arrived too quickly, reaching within a mere few inches from Shang Li in the blink of an eye. If Shang Li were bitten by this venomous Meridian Spirit Snake, he would likely be poisoned and die instantly.

It must be said that Shang Li’s reflexes were incredibly swift, seeing his life on the line, the late-stage Meridian Gathering Realm Meridian Qi erupted from his body, and then his entire figure sidestepped several feet to the right, just like Yun Xiao did previously.

Strong and fast as the green-clothed elder’s Meridian Spirit Snake was, it lacked its own Spiritual Wisdom and couldn’t adapt to changes in battle, so when Shang Li dodged, it continued to shoot straight ahead.

Crack!

A faint sound emerged, and when Yun Xiao turned to look, he was somewhat astonished. The little green snake Meridian Spirit failed to bite Shang Li, but instead, it didn’t come back empty-handed; the Commerce Medicine Pavilion’s head steward, Xue Shou, who was behind Shang Li the entire time, met with a tragedy.

To be honest, all of this happened too suddenly. From Yun Xiao’s scheming to Shang Li’s punching, to the green-clothed elder’s furious counterattack, it all took place in just a few breaths of time.

Steward Xue Shou, who had only reached the initial stage of the Meridian Introduction Realm, was in no condition to evade the blow from a Spirit Vein Realm expert’s Meridian Spirit. The green little snake pierced straight through his heart, and it was clear that Xue Shou was not going to survive.

Moreover, what caused the change in Yun Xiao and Shang Li’s expressions was, as Xue Shou incredulously and slowly collapsed, the skin on his hands that were exposed began to rot away at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Just a few breaths’ time later, what was once a living person had transformed into a puddle of decayed pus and blood. Even his clothing seemed to have been completely corroded by the intense poison within the little green snake, leaving no trace behind.

With such virulence, even Yun Xiao, who was no stranger to myriad circumstances, didn’t dare to come into contact with it. After all, his current cultivation was only at the early stage of the Meridian Introduction Realm, and he had no power to resist against the techniques of a master from the Spirit Vein Realm.

Compared to Yun Xiao’s apprehension, Shang Li on the other side looked deathly pale. With such intense poison, even as a strong cultivator of the Meridian Gathering Realm, being touched by it wouldn’t fare any better than Xue Shou.

Whoosh!

A streak of green light flashed by, and in Shang Li’s eyes, filled with fear, the little green snake had already returned the way it came. It finally vanished into the hands of the green-robed elder, an astonishing sight.

Presumably, it was because the elder, confident in his identity as a Spirit Vein Realm powerhouse, scorned the idea of striking twice after missing his first attempt. Seeing this, Shang Li breathed a huge sigh of relief but didn’t dare to relax in the slightest.

"Sir, this matter truly has its reasons, please allow me to explain!"

It seemed that Shang Li finally calmed his fear enough to muster the courage to speak. As he did, he cast a venomous glance toward Yun Xiao.

Shang Li knew that the life-threatening danger he faced this moment was all due to Yun Xiao’s schemes. If he hadn’t reacted quickly, he might have turned into a pool of pus and blood just like Xue Shou.

"Old man spent three days, nearly succeeding in alchemy, only to have you ruin it. Tell me, how should this debt be settled?"

The green-robed elder clearly didn’t care about the implication in Shang Li’s words. To him, the elixir that was ruined held the utmost importance. If the Shang Family couldn’t provide a satisfactory explanation today, he wouldn’t mind wiping the Shang Family from Moon Bow City.

A Spirit Vein Realm powerhouse would never care about a small family whose strongest member was only in the Meridian Rushing Realm. Moreover, the elder was not only fiercely powerful in his own cultivation but also a genuine Spiritual Rank Poison Vein Master with a formidable background, clearly not someone who would regard the Shang Family highly.

"Yes, yes, sir, my Shang Family will surely compensate you double. Whatever you require, just name it, and my Shang Family will do everything possible!" At this moment, Shang Li, far from the dominant Second Young Master of the Shang Family, was more like a groveling toady.

"Compensation? Heh, Shang Li, do you even know what kind of elixir I was refining? Does your Shang Family have the means to compensate for it?" A cold sneer appeared on the sinister face of the green-robed elder, causing sweat to immediately drip from Shang Li’s forehead.

Although Shang Li was unaware of the elder’s origins, he did know that both the elder’s Meridian Qi cultivation and his Meridian Poisoning Technique were tremendously terrifying, likely matchless in all of Moon Bow City.

Therefore, Shang Li didn’t dare to slight him and had not even informed the other members of the Shang Family about this matter. He had wanted to use this opportunity to ally with a Spirit Vein Realm powerhouse and a Spiritual Rank Meridian Refining Master to become the next Family Head of the Shang Family.

Unfortunately, due to Yun Xiao’s little scheme, Shang Li’s plans fell through entirely. Now, he faced the wrath of this supreme powerhouse. At this moment, he truly despised Yun Xiao to the core.

Seeing that Shang Li could only utter submissive and incoherent words, the elder seemed to lament the ruined elixir, and a surge of anger welled up within him. His body’s Meridian Qi surged violently, as if he might erupt in a rage and harm someone the next moment.

"Sir, please wait a moment!"

Sensing the terrifying aura emanating from the elder, Shang Li’s desire to survive became uncontrollable. After hastily calling out, he pointed at Yun Xiao and said, "Sir, it’s all because of this young man that your alchemy process was inadvertently disrupted. This cannot be blamed on me!"

It seemed this was Shang Li’s last straw in attempting to shift the disaster elsewhere, and this was truly caused by Yun Xiao’s machinations, not a false accusation.

Moreover, in Shang Li’s heart, even if he couldn’t survive, he was determined to drag Yun Xiao down with him. With desperation and venomous hatred interwoven inside him, he didn’t care about anything else.

"If that’s the case, then you two can go to hell!"

As a Poison Vein Master, the elder’s nature was naturally not kind, evident from his swift and relentless action earlier. Moreover, in his heart, even the lives of these three men combined were probably not as valuable as that single damaged elixir.

At this moment, Shang Li knew he had no chance of survival. How could a Spirit Vein Realm powerhouse care about him? And how could such a person care about a small family like the Shang Family?

But who would have thought that just as the elder was about to employ his Meridian Poison Skill to fatally poison both Shang Li and Yun Xiao, a somewhat lazy and disdainful voice suddenly came from outside the door.

"Tsk tsk, it’s just a low-level Spiritual Rank ’Yin Suppressing Pill.’ Seeing you shouting and fighting like this, you really haven’t seen much of the world!"