Nine Dragons Saint Ancestor
Chapter 329 invite you into the jar

Chapter 329: 329 invite you into the jar

"How much further do we have to go?"

Following the guard out of the Moon Embracing Hall, Yun Xiao, having walked for thirty minutes, still hadn’t reached Xuan Jing’s living quarters and grew a bit impatient, thus asked aloud.

However, Yun Xiao was merely asking casually. As the vast presence of the Xuanyue Empire, the area occupied by the Royal Family was probably much larger than that of the Jade Pot Sect.

Besides, Yun Xiao knew that compared to the Crown Prince Xuan Jiuding, Xuan Jing, being born to a concubine, naturally wouldn’t enjoy the same treatment as the Crown Prince. Residing in a more remote location seemed reasonable.

"We’re close, just ahead at that grand hall!"

The guard, not daring to slacken, respectfully replied while leading the way and pointed ahead, where a majestic hall was now in Yun Xiao’s view.

"Hey, looks like the Second Prince’s treatment isn’t too bad after all!"

Observing the grand hall, Yun Xiao quietly revised his earlier guess, thinking that after all, Xuan Jing was also a Prince. Despite being born to a concubine, it seemed that His Majesty, the King, treated him quite decently.

"Young Master Yun Xiao, the Second Prince is waiting inside. I shall not enter!"

The guard, with his head bowed and a subtle gleam in his eyes, even trembled slightly as he spoke, but Yun Xiao at that moment did not notice.

"Alright, thank you for guiding me!"

Yun Xiao naturally didn’t have much to say to a guard. After waving his hand and seeing the guard quickly depart, he finally stepped forward and pushed open the grand doors of the hall.

Creeeak!

The doors opened to his touch, and as Yun Xiao just pushed open the doors, an odd sensation arose, prompting him unconsciously to raise his right hand.

In the palm of his right hand, a crescent-shaped mark was emitting strands of blood-red luminescence, appearing incredibly mysterious. This sensation even felt quite familiar to him.

It was fully dark outside, yet the hall was as bright as day, illuminated by candles. As Yun Xiao ventured deeper, that peculiar feeling in his heart grew stronger.

"Brother Xuan Jing, I’m here!"

Since it was someone else’s residence, Yun Xiao had to suppress that feeling and instead called out. However, the grand hall was eerily silent, and apart from echoes, he saw no sign of Xuan Jing.

"Something seems off."

As Yun Xiao spoke, his eyes caught rows of wooden shelves, and on these shelves, there were boxes and scrolls.

Clearly, this place did not resemble someone’s living quarters, but more like a storage site for Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures or Meridian Techniques and Cultivation Techniques, which made Yun Xiao unwittingly become more cautious.

In the entire Xuanyue Imperial Family, Yun Xiao knew many people, but if he had to mention who he had a good relationship with, perhaps Xuan Jing was the only one. Thus, as soon as he heard that Xuan Jing invited him, he had no hesitation in following the guard here.

But now, this hall evidently didn’t look like a dwelling for the living. Considering the cunning and ruthless nature of people like Xuan Jiuding, Yun Xiao faintly suspected that he, once again, might have fallen into another trap.

"Hmm?"

Thinking this, Yun Xiao halted his step, and just as he contemplated turning around and leaving immediately, his eyes caught sight of a familiar, dilapidated wooden box.

"That box!"

Yun Xiao’s gaze sharpened, instantly recognizing the worn wooden box that he had once seen in the Jade Pot Cave, which was later snatched away by Xuan Zhi and Yan Chun.

At this moment, Yun Xiao realized what that peculiar sensation was when he first entered the hall—it must have been the long, worn wooden box that triggered the sensing of the Blood Moon Jade in his hand.

However, what Yun Xiao, in his excitement, failed to notice was that as he neared the wooden box, the aura from the Golden Snake Worm inside him seemed to withdraw slightly, as if wary of the old wooden box.

Even though Yun Xiao knew that the guard’s leading him here meant no good, his feet seemed rooted to the spot at the sight of that dilapidated wooden box.

The importance of the Blood Moon Jade to Yun Xiao was profound; it was not only key to uncovering some clues about his father but could also potentially lead to the discovery of those who killed his mother and sister.

Therefore, whether emotionally or rationally, Yun Xiao couldn’t abandon the old wooden box that had caused the Blood Moon Jade to react. Even if he was facing a Heaven and Earth Net ahead, he was determined to charge through.

The next moment, seeing Yun Xiao take a deep breath, he briskly walked up to the decrepit wooden box. When he saw that the seemingly rusted black lock was still intact, he couldn’t help but let out a huge sigh of relief.

"Looks like that guy from Xuan Jiuding really can’t open this black lock!"

A thought flashed through Yun Xiao’s mind, and without the slightest hesitation, he reached to his waist and wiped it, causing a streak of black light to emerge. Following which, a similarly rusty black key appeared in his hand.

This key looked inconspicuous, but it cost Yun Xiao a thousand points to exchange for it from the Outer Sect’s Mysterious Artifact Hall of the Jade Pot Sect. To get this black key, he even got into a fight with Xuan Zhi from Bi Luo.

At that time, Yun Xiao had no idea what the black key was for. A thousand points were not easy to come by; that amount was considered a huge sum of money within the Jade Pot Sect.

Only at this moment did Yun Xiao realize that exchanging a thousand points for this key was totally worth it, because compared to the contents inside the wooden box, what was a thousand points?

Always rational, Yun Xiao, at this time, couldn’t care about anything else. With his heart pounding with excitement, he stepped forward once more and thrust the black key into the keyhole of the black lock.

As if it were custom-made, the black key and the black lock fit together perfectly, making Yun Xiao extremely excited, but in the next moment, the excitement on his face disappeared.

"Why won’t it turn?"

Yun Xiao applied force with his hand, trying to unlock the black lock, but no matter how he turned, the key just wouldn’t budge, which frustrated him greatly.

However, Yun Xiao didn’t have time to dwell on his frustration, because before he could even ponder what was happening, a flash of cold light was already slashing down furiously from his right, aiming straight for his right wrist.

Although Yun Xiao didn’t know what that cold light was, he clearly understood that if he didn’t withdraw his hand, his right palm might not be saved.

Yun Xiao made a split-second decision. With a thought, he intended to pull out the black key. In his view, this action wouldn’t affect his timing to withdraw his hand. The black key could not be left to others.

However, Yun Xiao miscalculated again. The black key he thought he had easily inserted couldn’t be pulled out no matter how hard he tried when he did pull, giving him quite a shock.

In this critical moment, a thought sparked in Yun Xiao’s mind like lightning. Without time to pull out the black key, he had to let go and save his right palm first.

No matter how important the black key was, it wasn’t as important as his own right hand. Moreover, without the right palm, he ultimately wouldn’t be able to retrieve the key. This was the fundamental truth that as long as the green mountains are there, one need not fear running out of firewood.

The extremely frustrated Yun Xiao finally managed to save his right palm thanks to his extremely quick reflexes. As he released his grip and withdrew his hand, the cold light swept past him, narrowly escaping a fate where his palm wouldn’t be spared.

Yun Xiao, having narrowly escaped danger, wasn’t feeling too well. He knew that he had ultimately been calculated against by Xuan Jiuding, and that guy’s target had always been the black key in his Waist Storage all along.

This also showed how sinister Xuan Jiuding was. When his soft approach at the Heavenly Moon Pavilion failed, he resorted to such a vicious plan to lure Yun Xiao here.

Or perhaps Xuan Jiuding had guessed Yun Xiao’s personality, knowing that even if he was aware of the dangers, he wouldn’t resist the temptation to venture in. As it turned out, his guess about Yun Xiao was extremely accurate.

From the moment Xuan Jiuding sent out the invitation to Yun Xiao, he had started his scheme. It had only slightly changed later on. Now his plan was undoubtedly a great success.

Actually, Yun Xiao’s visit to the Royal Family also harbored the intention of retrieving that old wooden box. It’s just a pity that this was someone else’s home turf, and he was ultimately outsmarted by Xuan Jiuding, losing the black key.

But was it just as simple as losing the black key?

As Yun Xiao dodged the strike and turned around, his expression darkened a few shades more because the figure standing in front of him was not too unfamiliar to him.

"Yan Chun!"

These two words were almost squeezed out between Yun Xiao’s teeth. The figure who had suddenly launched a sneak attack was none other than Yan Chun, the Mid Stage of Meridian Union Realm expert whom he had severely injured with the power of the Golden Snake Worm in the Meridian Treasure.

Yan Chun glanced at the black key on the old wooden box, then turned his head with an extremely pleased smile on his face.

To suffer severe injuries in the Meridian Treasure, and that at the hands of a junior who had just reached the Early Stage of Meridian Rushing Realm, was a major humiliation for Yan Chun, who was at the Mid Stage of Meridian Union Realm.

Even after that, Yan Chun recuperated for over a month. After a hard recovery, he managed to regain some strength. It’s worth mentioning that this mishap turned into a fortune for Yan Chun, as he managed to break through to the Late Stage of Meridian Union Realm through the healing process.

Sworn enemies often have heightened animosity when they meet. Both personally and publicly, Yan Chun would not let Yun Xiao off the hook. However, at this moment, he seemed to have forgotten how he had been defeated by Yun Xiao in the Meridian Treasure.

"Heh heh, Yun Xiao, bet you didn’t expect us to meet again so soon!"

Yan Chun’s face bore a smirk of assured victory and his words were laced with irony. It seemed that today he was intent on avenging the serious injury inflicted by Yun Xiao in the Meridian Treasure, and this opportunity seemed enormously favorable.