Chapter 1826: The Shattered Yingrong Lake

At the start of this battle, no one expected such a situation to arise; shouldn’t a super expert at the peak of Hua Xuan Realm easily crush that rough-clothed boy or capture him?

Yet, in the end, it was the superior An Sou who suffered a great loss, and suddenly, everyone became more curious about the rough-clothed youth’s identity and background.

How powerful must the sect family be to cultivate such a demon-like genius? Even the Sovereign of Nine-layered Dragon Cloud and the shocking Emperor’s son from Emperor Canglong Palace couldn’t possibly contend against a Hua Xuan Realm peak expert at the Heavenly Realm Peak, right?

Upon this horizontal comparison, those present suddenly discovered an astonishing fact: the unparalleled talent from Emperor Canglong Palace seems less mysterious than this youth in front of them.

"However... he probably still won’t survive today’s calamity!"

The elder who spoke earlier murmured again, with a hint of regret and some pity in his tone, mixed with various emotions.

After all, everyone could see that Yun Xiao managed to injure An Sou merely by taking advantage with that magical Wooden Sword, largely due to An Sou’s carelessness.

If An Sou hadn’t chosen to clash his Black Sword hard against the Wooden Sword, he probably wouldn’t have suffered even the slightest injury, and the outcome of this battle wouldn’t have had so many twists.

Even though An Sou lost two fingers, it didn’t greatly impact his combat strength—he is still a grand expert at the peak of Hua Xuan Realm.

In contrast, that rough-clothed youth was gravely wounded under the black whirlwind and seemed to have exhausted his last bit of strength using Wooden Sword’s Illusion Form to injure, now appearing incredibly feeble.

It seemed that Yun Xiao needed to exert immense effort just to remain in the air. In such a state, facing An Sou, who hadn’t consumed much energy, the outcome was predictable.

"Kid, I have changed my mind. After capturing you, I will first break your limbs, then blind your eyes, deafen your ears, cut off your tongue, letting you experience humanly miseries without dying!"

Amid the strange thoughts of the onlookers, An Sou in the sky finally calmed down after a bout of chaos, and his malicious voice made people feel horrified just by listening.

No one has meticulously counted the hundred human miseries, but solely the tortures from An Sou’s mouth are unbearable even for a Cultivator of the Heavenly Rank Third Realm.

Especially after undergoing such brutality, and still being able to clearly sense pain on one’s own body, it may be a hundred times scarier than death; no one dares claim they can retain their true self amid such experiences.

At this moment, An Sou truly hated that youth deeply, although losing fingers wasn’t a grave injury and he could seek a Holy Rank Medical Pulse Master for reconnection, yet he couldn’t swallow this anger.

This boy first used that strange Wooden Sword to transform into Miss, then cut off two of his fingers. Though An Sou is merely Lu Family’s slave, he has pride.

As the saying goes, even a seventh-grade official stands by the side of the Prime Minister’s doors. As the house slave of Emperor Canglong, An Sou’s status in the Nine-layered Dragon Cloud is likely nobler than some Clan Leaders of Intermediate Families or Sect Masters.

Yet An Sou mostly did unspeakable deeds in secret, so not many people on the Continent knew him; if his identity were revealed, who knows how many people would want to curry favor?

Such tremendous disgrace, if the opponent were a fellow expert at the peak of Hua Xuan Realm, perhaps An Sou wouldn’t be so furious, but alas, it is merely a young lad at Heavenly Realm Peak!

"Little Five, it seems we must fight for our lives again!"

Upon hearing An Sou’s malevolent words, Yun Xiao knew what would happen once he fell into An Sou’s hands, so he could only rely on his last trump card.

"Even if we join forces, we may not be a match for that old fellow. Look for an opportunity to enter the lake!"

At this moment, Little Five didn’t bicker with Yun Xiao, fully aware of the outside old fellow’s overwhelming power, lending his strength to Yun Xiao only prolongs the resistance for a brief time.

However, Little Five has been within Yun Xiao’s body, knowing a Supreme Saint Realm expert exists in Murong Tomb; if they truly escape to the lake bottom, perhaps there is a slim chance of survival or even turning the tables.

Because it seems evident An Sou will not spare Yun Xiao; when chasing into Murong Tomb and utilizing Murong Sou’s Supreme Saint Realm prowess along with the Water Dragon Sky Flipping Array’s might, can they not handle a Hua Xuan Realm peak fellow?

However, these innermost thoughts can only become clear after fully activating the trump card power—if An Sou possesses any undisclosed means, Yingrong Lake might truly become Yun Xiao’s burial ground.

"Prepare!"

Yun Xiao said no more. As his words just fell, his expression suddenly changed, sharply suppressing the energy wildly surging from Little Five, leaving the latter puzzled.

This was a crucial moment; if delayed for even a second, allowing An Sou to approach, Yun Xiao might not even have the chance to harness Little Five’s power.

Yet Yun Xiao’s actions were deliberate, for he had his reasons. Ignoring Little Five’s resentful gaze, he stared intently at the approaching An Sou, his eyes flickering with an unusual light.

"Give up resisting!"

As his true form approached, the unflinching stance of the ragged clothed youth before him seemed to have stunned An Sou. Feeling quite satisfied, he coldly spoke out as his right arm was poised to strike Yun Xiao’s Dantian, aiming at his vital point.

It seemed An Sou had also grown wary of Yun Xiao’s endless tricks. He simply wished to cripple the boy’s Dantian, turning him into a disabled person, thinking that there would be no way he could cause trouble anymore, right?

Whoosh!

However, at that moment, a torrential stream surged from underneath the lake below An Sou’s feet. It burst forth like a stone column, akin to bamboo shoots after a spring rain, growing wildly, reaching An Sou’s feet in an instant.

"What is this devilry?"

Feeling the overwhelming aura rising from beneath his feet, An Sou’s expression changed slightly. Due to the previous experience with the Dragon Taming Sword, he didn’t dare to impulsively confront it this time.

Puff!

As An Sou withdrew his palm and retreated, a water column shot skyward, passing right in front of Yun Xiao. The water attribute aura contained within caused An Sou, who retreated several steps, to feel a surge of fear.

The sudden change not only shocked An Sou but also left the onlookers dumbfounded. What happened today was truly bewildering. Had another incident occurred to shift the tides of battle again?

"Who dares to play tricks before me? Are you tired of living?"

Stepping back several paces, An Sou displayed an unpleasant look but opted not to attack immediately. Instead, he glared angrily at Yingrong Lake below and shouted.

As a house slave of Emperor Canglong, An Sou indeed held the right to speak such words. Yet, this time, he had no idea who he was dealing with or what kind of terrifying existence he was facing.

"Hmph, just a mere ant at the peak of the Hua Xuan Realm, daring to talk big. Who gave you the courage?"

As doubts rose in An Sou and everyone’s hearts, a deep voice suddenly emanated from the waters of Yingrong Lake. Then, as if the lake water had boiled, fine bubbles appeared incessantly.

Those bubbles grew increasingly agitated, eventually bursting open in all directions, a water column rising. Atop the column stood an aged humanoid figure.

"Indeed, it is him!"

At the sight of this aged figure, Yun Xiao immediately knew Murong Sou had appeared. Yet, upon sensing a peculiar aura from him, Yun Xiao couldn’t help but feel touched.

Previously, deep within Murong Tomb, Yun Xiao had helped Murong Sou control the Water Dragon Sky Flipping Array, allowing him to absorb its energy in hopes of making further strides.

Now it seemed Murong Sou’s aura had strengthened but hadn’t genuinely surpassed his limits. Clearly, he sacrificed the hard-earned opportunity to come and save Yun Xiao upon sensing his peril.

Although this might not necessarily mean losing the entire chance, Murong Sou would have to spend great effort to once again absorb the energy of the Water Dragon Sky Flipping Array. It was indeed a bit of a loss.

In truth, before Yun Xiao’s past identity was revealed, he and Murong Sou didn’t share a particularly deep bond. Murong Sou didn’t need to go to such lengths for him.

In this continent, if there’s an opportunity to improve one’s power, especially advancing a Great Rank, even fathers and sons, brothers, could turn against each other.

Now, Murong Sou was willing to abandon his chance to break through for the sake of a mere acquaintance, choosing to assist instead. Naturally, Yun Xiao felt deeply moved.

"Who are you?"

While Yun Xiao was filled with gratitude, An Sou remained perturbed, for he couldn’t sense the opponent’s true cultivation, which made him uneasy.

Typically, failing to perceive a Cultivator’s cultivation is due to one of two scenarios: either the opponent uses some mysterious method to conceal their cultivation aura, rendering it undetectable.

The second possibility was more discouraging: being inferior to the opponent by a Great Rank. In such cases, escape could become extremely difficult.

At this moment, An Sou indeed felt this uncertainty. However, after speaking out, he inclined toward believing the first scenario, as this was the remote Nine-layered Dragon Cloud North Domain. How could a Super Expert of higher Great Rank possibly appear here?