Chapter 1821: Another Lapdog!

"Another expert of the Holy Vein Three Realms, and much stronger than Xue Qi!"

Thoughts raced through Yun Xiao’s mind as he realized space around him had been sealed. After all, he had once been at the peak of the Holy Vein Three Realms.

Generally speaking, a cultivator who reaches the Half-step Holy Rank is already touching the threshold of mastering space power, which is the true reason they are unbeatable against Heavenly Realm peak cultivators.

However, only when one breaks through to the real Holy Vein Hua Xun Realm can they freely master space power. As one progresses in the Holy Vein Three Realms, their mastery over space power becomes increasingly refined.

Previously, within the Murong Tomb, Yun Xiao had fought against Xue Qi. He speculated that Xue Qi’s breakthrough to the Holy Vein Three Realms was too rushed, lacking significant achievements in space power.

Yun Xiao’s guess wasn’t wrong. Xue Qi’s breakthrough relied on the power of the Dragon Saliva Pond and the infusion of Emperor Dragon Qi by Emperor Canglong.

It can be said that Xue Qi’s breakthrough to the Holy Vein Three Realms wasn’t entirely due to her efforts, so her mastery over space power wasn’t very refined.

But at this moment, as Yun Xiao sensed the space power binding him, unbreakable like mighty rivers, he realized the attacker’s strength far exceeded Xue Qi’s.

"Shouldn’t have reached the Cave Nether Realm level; maybe there’s still a thread of hope!"

Fortunately, the next moment Yun Xiao sensed certain auras from that power, allowing him to breathe a bit easier. If the assailant had reached the second realm of the Holy Vein Three Realms, the Cave Nether Realm, he wouldn’t even have the slightest chance of survival.

"Water Spirit Embodiment!"

In such a critical, unsuspecting moment, Yun Xiao had only one move to save his life, transforming himself into countless streams of water.

This is a secret technique inherited from the Water Attribute Strange Spirit, a talent that even in the Nine-layered Dragon Cloud scarcely anyone possesses.

In such circumstances, Yun Xiao couldn’t deploy a Shadow Clone because the space around him was entirely sealed; even if he could create a Shadow Clone, he wouldn’t escape the opponent’s sensing.

Splish, splash...

The sound of flowing water echoed around Yingrong Lake, leaving the surrounding cultivators bewildered. Honestly, they hadn’t realized what had happened yet.

Space power is formless and traceless, and the sneak attack from behind Yun Xiao was extremely swift. Only when Yun Xiao transformed into water did they belatedly realize a change had occurred.

The one who launched the sneak attack at Yun Xiao was naturally An Sou from the Dragon Emperor Palace. He always acted cautiously, aiming for a killing blow.

In his eyes, Yun Xiao, just a young fellow who had newly reached the Heavenly Realm peak, couldn’t possibly escape his deadly strike.

Moreover, before the strike hit, An Sou, at the Hua Xuan Realm peak, had already applied his unrivaled space seal, leaving the ordinary-clothed youth nowhere to escape.

In An Sou’s view, only a cultivator of the same Hua Xuan Realm rank, and not weaker than himself, might break the space seal in such a moment.

But for a mere Heavenly Realm peak youth, how could he possibly break such a space seal? He believed this young Yun Xiao’s fate was already sealed.

"Huh?"

However, just as An Sou’s dark sword was about to pierce Yun Xiao’s heart from behind, he suddenly realized the youth had entirely transformed into liquid water.

This unexpected change caused An Sou to exclaim in surprise. It was beyond his expectations, a change he’d never imagined. How could a human cultivator undergo such a transformation?

Every time Yun Xiao used the technique of transforming into liquid water, it would invoke amazement, and this time was no exception. Even An Sou, from the Dragon Emperor Palace, found it hard to comprehend.

In truth, An Sou’s dark sword did stab into somewhere within Yun Xiao’s water flow body, but water has no fixed form. The moment it pierced, he knew this first strike was unlikely to harm the young man.

Splish, splash...

After a transformation of water flow, a humanoid figure reformed in another part of the sky, Yun Xiao restored to human shape.

At this moment, Yun Xiao’s eyes were fixated on the black-clad figure, using the sky’s light to vaguely see the face beneath the black robe.

"Hmph, who is so despicable and low? It’s just another lackey of Lu Qinwan!"

Yun Xiao, upon seeing An Sou, immediately shot a peculiar glint from his eyes, and as soon as he spoke, not only did the onlookers gasp in shock, but even An Sou felt a chill in his heart.

An Sou didn’t know that the young man before him was the reincarnation of the Long Xiao Battle God. Having followed Lu Qinwan when she married into the Long Xiao Battle God’s family from the Lu family, how could Yun Xiao not recognize him?

Many house slaves followed Lu Qinwan when she married. The Ma Nu who died at the Ten Thousand Demons Mountain of Tenglong Continent was one of them. However, it was clear that the house slave An Sou present at the moment was much more formidable than Ma Nu.

The crowd was shocked, firstly because this inconspicuous old man in black was also from the Dragon Emperor Palace and was someone by the side of the Empress, which gave him quite the formidable backing.

Secondly, who was this young man to dare to address the Empress of the Canglong by name, without any trace of reverence and even with thick sarcasm? Was he not too bold?

Perhaps only a small portion of them knew why the young man was so audacious; after all, they had seen Yun Xiao’s massacre at the Murong Tomb.

Even many elders from the Emperor Palace, including Chief Tan Qigong, were slain by Yun Xiao, so it was clear this young man harbored a deep-seated vendetta against the Dragon Emperor Palace, likely entering a state of undying enmity.

"The old man should be someone sent by the Empress to protect Lady Xue Qi, just never revealing himself," someone with quick wit among them reckoned, considering Xue Qi had declared her identity in the Murong Tomb. As the direct disciple of the imposing Empress of Canglong, how could she not be protected?

"Yun Xiao is really unlucky; just after breaking through to the Heavenly Realm Peak, he’s about to die here by Yingrong Lake!"

Another cultivator appeared to take some schadenfreude pleasure, for during the Murong Tomb incident, Yun Xiao had told them to scram and even threatened them, so naturally, they didn’t harbor good feelings toward this young man.

The crowd wasn’t foolish; they knew that if the Empress sent someone to protect Xue Qi, that person would undoubtedly not be weaker than Xue Qi, possibly even several levels stronger.

A Heavenly Realm late-stage Yun Xiao might have driven Xue Qi away after employing some methods, but under the present circumstances, the disparity was too evident. His chances of victory were slim indeed.

To the cultivators at the Heavenly Rank Third Realm level, the level of An Sou at the Hua Xuan Realm Peak was undoubtedly too high; they couldn’t clearly sense it, but at least they knew that the rough-clothed youth was in dire straits.

Compared to the onlookers, An Sou, hearing Yun Xiao’s words, felt stormy waves surge in his heart, realizing that even in the Dragon Emperor Palace, fewer than a handful knew of his existence.

Unlike Ma Nu, An Sou had a name that suggested he liked operating in the shadows, specifically handling Lu Qinwan’s dirty work.

But such an unobtrusive presence in the Dragon Emperor Palace was unveiled by a young man scarcely twenty years old, how could this not terrify An Sou?

"Kid, it doesn’t matter who you are, for daring to harm Lady Xue Qi, you won’t leave here alive today!"

An unsolvable puzzle to An Sou, he nevertheless decided to cease entangling himself with those inexplicable matters, letting a flicker of mania show on his aged face hidden beneath the black robe, words themselves giving one a shiver.

"You think you can do it with just your Hua Xuan Realm Peak cultivation? You’re so confident?"

At this, Yun Xiao finally sensed An Sou’s true cultivation level, sneering dismissively though inwardly reaching peak tension.

Recalling a hundred years ago when the Long Xiao Battle God perished, An Sou seemed to only possess a Heavenly Realm level; unexpectedly, a hundred years later, he reached the Hua Xuan Realm Peak.

Though breaking an entire rank in a hundred years was nothing extraordinary, for the Heavenly Realm Peak Yun Xiao, it was indeed too formidable.

"Hua Xuan Realm... Peak?!"

Yun Xiao’s words left the onlookers dumbfounded; among them, some imagined the old man’s strength might exceed Xue Qi’s, but never to such an extent.

The Hua Xuan Realm Peak, the final small realm of the first Great Rank of the Holy Vein Three Realms, one step away from the Cave Nether Realm, becoming a true Dragon Cloud powerhouse.

"Hopeless!"

Thinking of An Sou’s Hua Xuan Realm Peak cultivation, many in the field internally sentenced Yun Xiao to death. Given such a disparity in strength, if the young man escaped alive, their cultivation views would be upended.

"Facing death yet so stubborn, among those unafraid of death I’ve seen, you rank among the top!"

Firmly confident, An Sou remained unprovoked by Yun Xiao’s sneer amidst absolute power, even expressing admiration at this juncture.

Such praise was unwanted by anyone present, for if receiving it meant imminent death, like Yun Xiao at this moment, it was a compliment hard to bear.