Nine Dragons Saint Ancestor

Xuanyue Imperial City, North Gate!

Yun Xiao had arranged for support on several other fronts, but he didn't have much time to attend to the outcomes there, for at this moment his battle with Nie Wencang had reached a fever pitch.

The Lingtian Emperor of the Lingtian Empire, in terms of strength, seemed to be even stronger than Xu Lingsong, the Sect Master of Lingyun Sect—defeating him with ease was proving to be not so easy for Yun Xiao.

Of course, this was also because Yun Xiao had yet to deploy his ultimate trump cards. He wanted to see just how powerful the combat prowess he could unleash at the peak of the Spirit Vein Realm truly was.

In contrast, Nie Wencang grew increasingly alarmed as the battle progressed. Ever since his breakthrough to the Earth Rank Third Realm, he had never encountered such a formidable opponent.

Conventional wisdom held that a cultivator of the Earth Rank Third Realm, even if they had only just broken through to the early stages of the Qi Seeking Realm, should have no trouble crushing an opponent at the peak of the Spirit Vein Realm, or even at a Half-step Earth Rank.

Yet here was this youth, who had only recently reached the peak of the Spirit Vein Realm, not only effortlessly slaying Luo Qingkong, the Half-step Earth Rank ruler of the Black Star Kingdom, but also fighting Nie Wencang to a standstill. This truly overturned Nie Wencang's understanding of cultivation.

No matter how Nie Wencang summoned the Earth Power, there seemed to be something in the opponent's techniques that could neutralize his force, rendering his supposedly effective tactics futile time after time.

Moreover, as time went on, Nie Wencang could feel a sort of special aura—or possibly multiple auras—emanating from Yun Xiao's body, which made him quite uncomfortable.

"Do you feel it?"

Noticing Nie Wencang's deliberate avoidance of bodily contact with him, a trace of amusement flashed in Yun Xiao's eyes. Then he saw Nie Wencang's figure shift slightly, creating a bit of a distance between them.

Whoosh whoosh whoosh whoosh whoosh!

As Yun Xiao manipulated the handprint, five orbs of Qi rose into the air, seemingly containing the five elements of metal, wood, water, fire, and earth.

"Five Elements Transformation, generating and overcoming, an endless cycle!"

A low shout emerged from Yun Xiao's mouth, and then the five orbs spun rapidly, as if forming an extremely mystical array.

Clearly, this was the special technique Yun Xiao had relied on to break through Xu Lingsong's Lingyun Five Thunders back in the Lingyun Sect, and after some time practicing, the Five Elements Power he wielded now was undoubtedly stronger.

This was a unique offensive method Yun Xiao had comprehended from the power of the Five Elements Ancestor Veins. Or perhaps, it was a method that had been innate in him all along.

In any case, compared to the Earth Rank Meridian Techniques familiar to Yun Xiao in his past life as the Long Xiao Battle God, this Five Elements Power suited his current self much more, and it was the strongest method he could wield at this moment.

In truth, Yun Xiao's most powerful technique should be the Dragon Taming Sword, a weapon that maims or cripples upon touch. However, using such a sharp weapon became quite difficult to unexpectedly sever a part of the opponent's body once they were guarded against it.

The five differently colored Qi orbs hovered and spun, and in the next moment, they shifted positions in front of Yun Xiao, forming a five-colored Qi circle. Then, with changes to his handprints, a beam of five-colored light instantly shot out from the center of the Qi circle, aiming straight at the somewhat distracted Nie Wencang.

All of this happened in a flash. Nie Wencang, already frustrated by Yun Xiao's close combat, had not anticipated that the youth would create distance in the blink of an eye and launch such an unpredictable attack with the five-colored light pillar.

Although Nie Wencang was not certain how powerful the bombardment of the five-colored light pillar was, after the battle thus far, he no longer dared to underestimate this youth at the peak of the Spirit Vein Realm.

Whoosh!

It must be said that Nie Wencang's speed was indeed unparalleled in the Lingtian Empire; even under the lightning-fast assault of the five-colored light pillar, he managed to avoid it, the beam streaking past him before flying off into the distance.

"Hm?"

However, just as Nie Wencang dodged the beam, he sensed something and his expression changed. Turning his head, he witnessed the beam flying into the ranks of the Lingtian Imperial Soldiers.

Standing at the forefront of the Lingtian Empire's soldiers were several high-ranking generals at the peak of the Spirit Vein Realm, but their strength was no match compared to Nie Wencang.

The sudden five-colored light pillar was incredibly swift. Nie Wencang had just dodged it with his formidable reflexes and speed, but these cultivators at the peak of the Spirit Vein Realm had no time to react.

"We must block it!"

One of the Lingtian Empire's generals at the peak of the Spirit Vein Realm let out a roar, and he, along with several others behind him, unleashed their strong Meridian Qi. Before them, a Meridian Qi Shield materialized.

Crack!

However, this seemingly formidable Meridian Qi Shield lasted less than a moment before it was pierced by the five-colored light pillar; it then drilled into the chest of the general, exited out his back, and continued into the body of the second person.

Crack crack crack...

Such a sight unfolded, extremely horrifying to behold. The five-colored light pillar, unstoppable like a flying divine dragon, burst forth directly through the ranks of the Lingtian Empire's troops, vanishing finally far beyond at the rear of the encampment.

Above the path carved by the flight of the five-colored light pillar, not a single soul was left alive. Any cultivator struck by it bore a hideous hole in the chest, with the heart inside seemingly vaporized in an instant.

Whether it was a general at the peak of the Spirit Vein Realm or mid-tier commanders of the Meridian Rushing Realm, or even low-rank soldiers from the Meridian Introduction and Meridian Gathering Realms, their fates were no different.

"You little beast, I will kill you!"

Witnessing this scene, Yun Xiao felt somewhat disappointed, yet Nie Wencang, who had subconsciously dodged the light pillar, was bursting with fury, bellowing angrily.

Possibly, not even Nie Wencang himself noticed that his roar contained a tremor, aware that if he had reacted even slightly slower, his end might have been the same as those low-rank generals and soldiers, pierced through the heart and dead.

However, in Nie Wencang's heart, he was certain that such a supremely powerful five-colored light pillar couldn't be unleashed by Yun Xiao too many times, as the consumption of Meridian Qi for such a powerful Meridian Technique must be an enormous burden.

Swoosh!

However, in the very next moment as Nie Wencang's thought settled, he saw not one but five light pillars erupt in succession from in front of Yun Xiao, causing his face to twist with shock.

Nie Wencang dared not face even a single light pillar head-on, let alone five in succession, and these pillars seemed to be connected, faintly locking onto his aura.

"One Force Escape!"

This incumbent king of the Lingtian Empire was no pushover. Having seen the power of the pillar, he wouldn't let it impact him no matter what, so he immediately voiced a loud shout.

"Huh?"

Immediately after, Yun Xiao discovered that Nie Wencang's aura, which had been locked by the five-colored light pillar, vanished in that instant, and even his soul power struggled to sense Nie Wencang's presence.

If it weren't for the fact that the Lingtian Emperor stood fairly close by, Yun Xiao would truly believe that the man had dissipated into the very fabric of the world, existing no longer.

"So it's a secret technique for concealing one's aura!"

Yun Xiao, with the memories of Nine-layered Dragon Cloud from his previous life, identified the trick in an instant. It seemed that Nie Wencang, seeing the dire situation, had resorted to a Concealing Technique.

The so-called One Force Escape, theoretically, could even deceive heaven and earth but a mere early-stage cultivator in the Qi Seeking Realm couldn't possibly reach such a defiance of the heavens. What he needed to deceive was merely the five-colored light pillar that had locked onto his aura.

Swoosh swoosh swoosh swoosh swoosh!

The five light pillars, having lost their target, flew straight into the Lingtian Empire's ranks, as the first pillar had done. This time, among the targets, one panicked face stood out.

"Mother, save me!"

The owner of that petrified face was none other than the former Crown Prince of the Xuanyue Empire, Xuan Jiuding. Seeing the five-colored light pillar drawing ever closer, knowing he stood no chance, he cried out for help.

Sadly, it seemed that Xuan Jiuding had forgotten that his own mother, Nie Yi, though much stronger than him, wouldn't be much stronger than the Lingtian general who perished under the five-colored light pillar, not to mention that his uncle, an Advanced Earth Rank Third Realm cultivator, hadn't dared to meet the light pillar head-on either.

"Don't!"

Nie Yi's face turned pale with fear, but even if she were given the guts, she wouldn't dare let the five-colored light pillar touch her. Therefore, even with worry for her son's predicament, she could only voice a cry of sorrow.

Crack!

Of course, Yun Xiao's five-colored light pillar wouldn't stop. The next moment, one of the pillars pierced through Xuan Jiuding's body, halting both the expression on his face and his cries for help.

"I... am I dead?"

Perhaps up until the moment of death, Xuan Jiuding couldn't quite believe it. Even when pushed into a corner by Yun Xiao and Xuan Jing, fleeing from the Xuanyue Imperial City in a panic, he never anticipated dying this way.

Backed by his uncle, the Earth Rank Third Realm Lingtian Emperor, and with the joint forces of Eight Great Empires besieging the Xuanyue Empire, Xuan Jiuding always believed that after this battle, he would regain his dignity.

But death came in such a bizarre manner, merely a seemingly inconsequential five-colored light pillar, like a dragon serenely flying from the heavens, brought him to an untimely demise.

In the last fleeting moment before Xuan Jiuding's consciousness faded, his gaze finally settled on that rough-clothed youth, filled with resentment and unwillingness. A pity that he had no more chances for revenge.