Nine Dragons Saint Ancestor

"Thousand Illusion Flying Flower Needle!"

A voice that seemed to contain a certain peculiar aura came from the Flying Flower Empress, making her face appear somewhat more solemn and awe-inspiring at this moment.

At the same time, the entire body of the Flying Flower Empress, Ye Luochen, seemed to fall into a state of illusion, causing her graceful figure that caught everyone's eyes to blur as well.

"What is that?"

One of the Xuanyue Empire cultivators exclaimed in shock as he found, to his amazement, that around Ye Luochen's body, there were faintly visible petals dancing, exuding an extremely mystical aura.

At this moment, Ye Luochen resembled a fairy of a hundred flowers fallen to the mortal world, and no one knew where those dancing petals around her had come from, making her figure even more indistinct.

"These aren't real petals!"

The Sect Master of Jade Pot Sect, Yu Shu, with his extremely formidable Power of Soul, quickly realized the reason behind this and slightly shook his head, explaining, "Those are Meridian Qi Petals that Ye Luochen has formed by condensing Meridian Qi to the utmost limit using some special technique!"

With Yu Shu's explanation, everyone finally understood. Once one's Meridian Qi reaches the Meridian Rushing Realm, it can be released externally, and the stronger ones can even condense objects from Meridian Qi.

For example, the white crescent that Xuanyue Crown Prince Xuan Jiuding used in the past, or the Meridian Qi Sword that Yun Xiao used; forming countless Meridian Qi Petals using some technique was not an impossible feat.

In fact, the Meridian Qi Petals that Ye Luochen was using now had some similarities in essence with Xuan Jiuding's Moon Dance, only that the power of the two was incomparable.

Compared to Yu Shu, perhaps Yun Xiao, who was even closer, could see even more clearly. To his shock, he noticed hidden amongst those millions of petals were silver needles occasionally emitting a chilling light.

These silver needles were not made from Meridian Qi, but actual objects controlled by Ye Luochen; this mixing of real and illusory attacks was most difficult to guard against.

Because if you block the attack made from Meridian Qi but are struck by those real silver needles, the outcome would be just as unthinkable. And Yun Xiao believed that since Ye Luochen had launched this move, she must have achieved a masterful level of control between the real and the illusory.

"With my Essence Blood...sacrifice to the Flying Flowers!"

When everyone was staring dazedly at the Flying Flower Empress wrapped in petals, a solemn voice once again came from Ye Luochen's mouth, and shortly after, everyone seemed to see a hint of blood-red light emerge, presumably the Essence Blood sacrifice to the Flying Flowers as mentioned by Ye Luochen.

Boom!

After that blood-red light flashed and disappeared, the next moment, those Flying Flower Silver Needles that wrapped Ye Luochen's body suddenly exploded with a loud bang.

And these exploding flying needle petals were not scattering aimlessly but instead, like bees attracted to honey, swarmed towards a roughly dressed young boy, covering the sky like a blanket.

It was clear that these Flying Flower Silver Needles were under Ye Luochen's control, but with the multitude of petals and needles intermixing, it was too difficult to discern clearly, let alone finding any pattern within that instant.

Everyone believed that if they were in Yun Xiao's position at this moment, they would probably choose to stop resisting altogether because no matter which direction you try to dodge, countless Flying Flower Silver Neediles were waiting for you. And if you tried to retreat backwards, the speed would likely not outpace the Flying Flower Silver Needles.

Perhaps this was the origin of the name "Thousand Illusion Flying Flower Needle"; the combination of flying flowers and a thousand illusions made it impossible for the enemy to defend and retreat.

As the person involved, Yun Xiao was naturally the first to sense the aura of those countless Flying Flower Silver Needles. Only the one who mastered this technique, the Flying Flower Empress, could unravel the attack patterns.

At this point, Yun Xiao naturally couldn't expect the Flying Flower Empress to help him. He knew his response had to be in an instant; otherwise, the Flying Flower Silver Needles from a cultivator at the Earth Rank Third Realm would undoubtedly leave him riddled with holes.

Since there was no room to escape to the front, back, left, or right, Yun Xiao also didn't bother making futile efforts; he saw him put the Dragon Taming Sword back on his back, his hands moving quickly the next moment.

Crack! Crack! Crack!

One could only see, with the motion of Yun Xiao's hands, a layer upon layer of substance that seemed like mudstone surged from under his feet, and in the blink of an eye, it had wrapped around his entire body.

"Is that... a lotus flower?"

Many distant onlooking cultivators, looking from afar, could no longer see any human form where Yun Xiao once stood, but instead, a shape that resembled a lotus flower.

Of course, the lotus shape of Yun Xiao at this moment was different from when the Golden Blade Strange Spirit Jin Wuli had his entire body transformed into a Golden Blade; he seemed to be enclosed within a lotus flower.

No one knew what had happened to Yun Xiao at this moment. They also didn't know whether the defense that looked like Lotus Armor could withstand the assault of the Flying Flower Empress's Thousand Illusion Flying Flower Needles. Everything would be revealed in the unfolding moments.

"Earth Burst Stone Lotus Armor, I'm relying on you now!"

Sensing the thick Lotus Armor encasing his body, Yun Xiao couldn't help but feel a sense of awe – this was, after all, his first time deploying this special kind of armament, and he wasn't quite clear on the extent of its defensive power.

Clearly, this was a Defensive Meridian Technique that Yun Xiao had figured out after refining the Earth Burst Stone Lotus, a technique that one could only possess through the process of refining such a lotus.

The Earth Burst Stone Lotus had greatly enhanced Yun Xiao's physical strength, making it comparable to a beginner-level Seventh Rank Vein Demon. Yet his flesh and blood body, when struck by swords and sabers, could still be gravely wounded.

However, at this very moment, the Earth Burst Stone Lotus Armor that Yun Xiao had deployed enveloped his body with a layer as tough as the Earth Burst Stone Lotus itself, a perfect defense against the attack of the Thousand Illusion Flying Flower Needle.

Ding ding ding…

Thud thud thud…

As the Earth Burst Stone Lotus Armor completely covered Yun Xiao's body, countless petal needles came hurtling towards him, emanating two distinct, odd sounds that were overwhelming to the ear.

The clear sound came from the physical silver needles striking the Stone Lotus Armor, while Meridian Qi petals nearing his body exploded one after another with immense force, dissipating into invisible energy into the air.

"Could it be… it's actually holding up?!"

Seeing countless flying flowers and silver needles shooting towards Yun Xiao's Lotus Armor without penetrating it immediately, everyone gasped in shock.

Even those from the Jade Pot Sect who had previously witnessed Yun Xiao taking down a Half-step Earth Rank as if slaughtering a dog, and heard that Nie Wencang, an Earth Rank expert, had fallen at his hand, had not witnessed it with their own eyes.

It wasn't until this moment and in this place that everyone truly saw the extent of Yun Xiao's strength. It may have been just the tip of the iceberg of his defensive armor, but being able to withstand the Thousand Illusion Flying Flower Needle from an Earth Rank powerhouse like the Flying Flower Empress was indeed an extraordinary feat.

"Hmph, I refuse to believe that this tortoise shell of yours can hold up indefinitely!"

Seeing that her Thousand Illusion Flying Flower Needle failed to perforate Yun Xiao immediately, the Flying Flower Empress could not help but snort coldly as she clenched her right hand fiercely, causing the numerous Flying Flower Silver Needles to suddenly intensify.

Crack!

At a certain moment, amidst the monotonous clash of sounds, a third distinct sound suddenly emerged. Some Cultivators with keen eyesight noticed a crack climbing onto a section of Yun Xiao's Lotus Armor and they likely grasped some understanding.

It was evident that Yun Xiao's Earth Burst Stone Lotus Armor couldn't hold up much longer. And at that moment, almost half of the Flying Flower Silver Needles were still prevailing. Without the defense of the Earth Burst Stone Lotus Armor, one could only imagine Yun Xiao's fate.

"However, to have sustained for so long under the Flying Flower Empress's unique move, that's enough reason to be proud!"

After considering the strength of the Flying Flower Empress, Ye Luochen, people felt more resigned. Conversely, they cast an admiring glance towards the young man who had persisted for so long.

After all, Ye Luochen was a genuine Earth Rank Third Realm powerhouse. If these ordinary Peak of Spirit Vein Realm Cultivators faced her, she wouldn't even need to use the Thousand Illusion Flying Flower Needle; probably just a single silver needle would suffice to end their lives, right?

Regardless, Yun Xiao's Earth Burst Stone Lotus Armor, in the end, couldn't withstand the full assault of the Thousand Illusion Flying Flower Needle. As time passed, more and more cracks appeared on the armor, and it was evidently about to fail.

In reality, even though those from the Xuanyue Empire knew that Yun Xiao might not be a match for the Flying Flower Empress, they weren't overly concerned. After all, there was still a Seventh Rank Low Level Vein Demon lurking and eyeing them covetously.

Everyone knew that even if Yun Xiao was slightly inferior to Ye Luochen, the difference wasn't significant. If he couldn't handle her alone, then together with the Blood Winged Fire-Eyed Lion, they should be able to deal with the Flying Flower Empress, right?

But at this moment, Yun Xiao didn't seem to feel like he was at his last stand, so he didn't call for the Blood Winged Fire-Eyed Lion's assistance.

Witnessing this scene, many who were well-acquainted with Yun Xiao, such as Mo Qing and Yu Shu, felt something unusual stirring in their hearts. Could it be that in such a dire situation, the young man still had a trump card up his sleeve?

Whoosh!

Ultimately, the Earth Burst Stone Lotus Armor couldn't withstand the attack of the Thousand Illusion Flying Flower Needle and shattered with a loud crash, revealing a slender young man in simple clothes.

However, as those petal needles hardly cared about the shattered Stone Armor and continued to swarm towards Yun Xiao, everyone wanted to know what would happen next.

Swoosh!

At that moment, just when most people believed Yun Xiao would be shot into a sieve, the young man's figure suddenly retreated, creating a distance of about a yard from the swiftly incoming Flying Flower Silver Neediles.

And then, everyone clearly saw that before the young man's body, a giant Meridian Qi Sphere had appeared out of nowhere, slowly rotating as if it were devouring the air around it.

"Earth Vein Desolation, heed my command, condense!"