The Void Ancient Dragon clan is essentially a "rule exception" on the Dou Qi Continent; their innate spatial abilities are simply beyond reason.
The more Chen Xiao interacted with them, the stronger this feeling became.
Just like at this very moment, despite being in the main base of the Nine Nether Earth Python Race, which was guarded by Dou Sheng experts, with Grand Elder Green Mountains accompanying them, they were able to penetrate deep into the Nether Snake Earth Vein without being detected in the slightest!
They proceeded without incident or obstacle, encountering no resistance, and the three of them smoothly reached the deepest part of the Nether Snake Earth Vein.
Here lay a massive, dark chasm, hundreds of feet wide and bottomless. A terrifying, chilling aura howled up from the chasm's depths like a gale. If an ordinary Dou Zong expert were here, their blood, or even their Dou Qi, would likely freeze solid instantly.
However, upon arriving at this place, Grand Elder Green Mountains' formidable strength was unquestionable, and both Chen Xiao and Cai Lin felt as comfortable as if they had returned home.
The terrifying chilling aura not only had no adverse effect on them but instead caused the Dou Qi within their bodies to circulate even faster.
"It seems this place is not only suitable for me but also for you!"
Sensing Chen Xiao's condition, Cai Lin transmitted her thoughts with a light smile.
Chen Xiao nodded silently. At this moment, he also recalled that in the original timeline, Xiao Yan had prepared the Nine Yin Yellow Springs Pill in advance to subdue the Purifying Lotus Demonic Flame.
The main ingredient for this pill, the Yellow Spring Blood Crystal, was obtained right here!
An item possessing such a chilling nature that it could aid in refining the Purifying Lotus Demonic Flame was, for him with an Ice Attribute, an opportunity.
Perhaps, this time there would be some unexpected gains!
With the expectations in his heart, Chen Xiao looked towards the deep chasm.
At the bottom of this chasm lay the sacred pool of the Nine Nether Earth Python Race.
The Nine Nether Yellow Spring!
And this was the destination for Chen Xiao and the other two.
There were no guards beside the chasm, as everyone knew that the chilling gale constantly howling within the chasm was the most natural barrier. Facing this gale, even Dou Zong level experts would not dare to venture recklessly inside.
"It's even easier now that we're here. The experts of the Nine Nether Earth Python Race probably wouldn't expect anyone to sneak in here; their soul perception doesn't even cover this area."
Grand Elder Green Mountains glanced at the dark abyss below and smiled faintly.
Without delay, he waved his sleeve again, and a dense spatial power directly enveloped Chen Xiao and Cai Lin, forcefully breaking through the extremely chilling gale and plunging into the bottom of the dark abyss.
The chasm was extremely deep. Even with Grand Elder Green Mountains' speed, it took nearly ten minutes to reach the bottom with Chen Xiao and Cai Lin.
As they neared the bottom, a lake with an extremely vast surface instantly caught the eyes of the three. The chilling aura capable of freezing one's Dou Qi was emanating from this lake.
This lake had a vast surface, and its water was a deep yellow. However, within the deep yellow, it seemed to flow with streaks of blood-like color. Wisps of pale yellow, mixed with faint bloody currents, continuously seeped out from the lake and then towered upwards towards the sky.
"This is... the Nine Nether Yellow Spring..."
Gazing at the yellow lake, the three slowly approached.
As they drew closer, Chen Xiao and Cai Lin felt a subtle, chilling force continuously flooding into their bodies.
This chilling force was like a peculiar energy. Upon entering their bodies, it caused them no discomfort whatsoever. Instead, it was like taking a natural pill, causing the Dou Qi within their bodies to increase to varying degrees.
"What a great place!"
Chen Xiao's eyes gleamed with excitement, and an uncontrollable urge to cultivate here for a period of time arose in his heart.
Grand Elder Green Mountains glanced at him and chuckled, "No need to say more about Cai Lin; the chilling energy here is extremely dense, making it highly compatible with her. As for you, it's difficult for a normal Ice Attribute to be like you. Your Dou Qi has actually undergone a subtle mutation; it can no longer be viewed as a normal Ice Attribute."
Chen Xiao nodded. He had absorbed and refined many good things. If he were still the same as a normal Ice Attribute, that would truly be strange.
Just like that Ice Dou Zun from the Ice River Valley, who could freeze the Dou Qi within others, Chen Xiao could also do it with ease.
In contrast, the Ice Emperor Hai Bo Dong's Ice Attribute was slightly more ordinary; being able to freeze a city or a town was already his limit.
"Grand Elder, let's go down."
"Mm... wait!" Green Mountains nodded, but he quickly sensed something unusual and raised his hand to stop Chen Xiao and the other.
Cai Lin didn't understand why, and Chen Xiao didn't disturb him, knowing that the Grand Elder must have sensed the situation beneath the Nine Nether Yellow Spring.
As expected, after sensing carefully with his eyes closed for a while, the Grand Elder opened his eyes.
"There is an anomaly down there, but it's not significant. Let's go, I'll take you to see it."
His expression relaxed, the Grand Elder waved his sleeve and took the lead, leaping into the Nine Nether Yellow Spring.
Chen Xiao and Cai Lin followed closely behind.
"Splash!"
Deep within the murky yellow lake water, three figures darted like lightning.
A white-haired old man seemed to be enveloped in an invisible spatial barrier, and the surrounding lake water could not get close to him, forming a self-contained, independent small world.
The remaining two appeared relatively normal, like fish in water, without much protection, heading straight for the lakebed.
However, the deeper they went, the more the surrounding chilling energy increased exponentially. Eventually, the two also had to raise a protective shield to resist it slightly.
After all, the terrifying chilling energy had already exceeded their capacity for short-term digestion.
"Hiss hiss..."
As the three rapidly descended, a faint sound suddenly reached their ears.
Although the sound was light, all three heard it clearly.
Cai Lin was particularly familiar with this kind of sound.
"Are they snake-type magical beasts?!"
As soon as Cai Lin spoke, she felt the water flow behind her suddenly surge.
Bang!
The moment the water current intensified, Chen Xiao fiercely punched behind Cai Lin. The terrifying force penetrated the water flow in a peculiar way, smashing into a dark shadow and directly blasting it into a mist of blood.
"Hiss hiss hiss..."
After blasting the dark shadow with a single punch, before they could even relax, they felt the water area suddenly churn violently.
Immediately, within their line of sight, a dense mass of "black mist" rapidly spread towards them.
As the "mist" drew closer, the three of them could finally see clearly that it wasn't mist at all, but rather countless snakes, entirely black with strange scales covering their bodies. The ear-piercing hissing sound was also coming from these snakes.
"They're just minor creatures, nothing to worry about. It's quite rare, though, that they can survive in this Nine Nether Yellow Spring, considering even the Nine Nether Earth Python Race can't stay here long," the Grand Elder of Green Mountains said with a smile after glancing at them.
Chen Xiao nodded slightly.
As the saying goes, rare places breed rare creatures. It was normal for peculiar environments to spawn unique life forms.
Just like the Flame Lizardmen in the magma world beneath Jia Nan Academy, weren't they a living example?
Without giving the swarm of black snakes a chance to attack, the Grand Elder spoke and then led Chen Xiao and Cai Lin further down.
Seeing this, the nearby black snakes immediately let out sharp hissing sounds and unhesitatingly lunged at the trio.
However, around the three of them, there seemed to be an invisible spatial barrier. Every time these black snakes got within ten zhang, they would instantly explode, scattering bloody mist in the pale yellow lake water.
Like moths to a flame, the black snakes rushed forward one after another. In just a few minutes, countless of them had died.
Finally, faced with this bizarre situation, the black snakes seemed to develop a sense of fear and gradually stopped, no longer daring to advance. They could only follow the three from a distance, spitting black water arrows to vent their dissatisfaction...
With these creatures no longer interfering, the trio's descent speed increased slightly.
After a few more minutes, Chen Xiao glanced downwards and saw a faint light appearing in the distance.
"We're nearing the bottom of the lake."
The Grand Elder's words confirmed Chen Xiao's judgment. He immediately increased their speed, and after a moment, the three finally reached the place where the light originated.
"Is this the bottom of the Nine Nether Yellow Spring?"
What appeared before the three was an extremely vast expanse of sandy ground, covered everywhere with gravel the size of fists. These gravel pieces emitted a faint light, which was precisely why the place appeared quite bright.
Looking at the scene before them, Cai Lin felt a bit puzzled. How could the bottom of the hard-to-reach Nine Nether Yellow Spring be so ordinary?
"This probably isn't what the bottom of the Nine Nether Yellow Spring originally looked like. There's a famous item called the Yellow Spring Blood Crystal in the Nine Nether Yellow Spring, but now, looking around, not a single one can be seen," Chen Xiao explained.
Hearing this, Cai Lin finally came to a realization.
The Grand Elder of Green Mountains beside them also nodded with a smile and said, "Most likely, things are as you say, and the person who changed this place..."
As the Grand Elder spoke, he suddenly paused, raising his palm and fiercely grabbing at the gravel ground.
Crackle!
With the Grand Elder's palm strike, a clear handprint was imprinted on the gravel ground. As the sand and stones rolled, a massive iron chain, a hundred zhang long, was completely exposed to the three of them.
Seeing this incredibly thick iron chain, the Grand Elder's eyes narrowed slightly. With a grip from a distance, he slowly pulled the chain out.
As the chain was pulled out, the surrounding ground began to shake, and three more huge iron chains were dragged out from the mud.
These four iron chains, like collapsed celestial pillars, connected to four colossal mountain bodies at the bottom of the Nine Nether Yellow Spring, extending in four directions.
The trio's gaze wasn't fixed on where the chains connected but instead jointly fell upon the meeting point of the four chains.
There, a large mass of black mud had accumulated...
Gazing at the mass of mud, Chen Xiao's Dou Qi surged slightly. With a casual wave, the mud was scattered.
As the mud dispersed, what was inside was revealed – it was a person!
A shriveled, skeletal figure!
"To imprison a two-star Dou Sheng here, the Nine Nether Earth Python Race has truly gone to great lengths..." Looking at the skull-like figure, the Grand Elder of Green Mountains, despite having some premonition, showed a hint of astonishment in his eyes.
A two-star Dou Sheng, on Eastern Dragon Island today, was already on par with him, the Grand Elder.
As for the other dragon islands, they absolutely wouldn't be foolish enough to imprison a two-star Dou Sheng now.
The Ancient Dragon Clan wouldn't do this, nor would the Heavenly Demon Phoenix Clan, yet the Nine Nether Earth Python Race did!
What was even more ironic was that the Grand Elder of Green Mountains could clearly sense that none of the powerful individuals within the Nine Nether Earth Python Race were stronger than the person standing before them!
Therefore, he absolutely wouldn't believe there wasn't a story behind all this.
Upon hearing the Grand Elder mention that this person was actually a two-star Dou Sheng expert, a flicker of shock crossed Cai Lin's eyes, leading to a momentary misjudgment of the Nine Nether Earth Python Race's overall strength.
"Void Ancient Dragon... Your Excellency, save me! If you save me, I will make the entire Nine Nether Earth Python Race obey the command of the Ancient Dragon clan!"
Just as the three were examining the withered figure, the eyes within its sunken sockets suddenly snapped open.
His gaze held a hint of madness as he stared intently at the three of them. His hoarse, guttural roar echoed through the bottom of the Yellow Spring, like ghostly wails, chilling the heart.
"Who are you? Why are you imprisoned here?"
The Grand Elder of Green Mountains remained unfazed by the opponent's tempting words, calmly asking his questions with a serene expression.
"Hoo hoo..."
The skeletal figure seemed to have expended a lot of energy during his struggle. His breathing was ragged.
All three could feel an intensely cold energy emanating from the four massive chains, draining the Dou Qi within him. This kept him in a state of extreme weakness, yet it didn't kill him, merely allowing him to linger on in this endless cycle of depletion.
Such a method was more cruel than killing him outright, which explained his immense hatred.
"I am the Clan Leader of the Nine Nether Earth Python Race, Yao Ming..."
After a moment of catching his breath, the skeletal figure finally spoke in response to the Grand Elder of Green Mountains' inquiry.
His voice was extremely hoarse, like gravel scraping against glass, grating and unpleasant.
"Save me, esteemed sir. If you get me out of here, I'll agree to anything you want!" Yao Ming stared at the three with pleading eyes.
"The Clan Leader of the Nine Nether Earth Python Race?"
The Grand Elder frowned, still unmoved, and said indifferently, "As far as I know, the Clan Leader Yao Ming of the Nine Nether Earth Python Race perished hundreds of years ago just as he was about to succeed. Isn't the current Clan Leader his younger brother, Yao Xiaotian?"
As the Grand Elder of Eastern Dragon Island, Green Mountains, despite his years of secluded cultivation, was aware of major events.
The change of Clan Leader in the Nine Nether Earth Python Race had been quite a significant matter back then.
"What you said is true, Yao Xiaotian! That scoundrel, that son of a bitch! He used a treacherous scheme to seize my position and then sealed me at the bottom of the Nine Nether Yellow Spring! Ah! That beast! He made me suffer the torment of his chilling energy for hundreds of years. If I ever see the light of day again, I, Yao Ming, will make him wish he were dead a thousand times over!"
Upon hearing Yao Xiaotian's name, Yao Ming's eyes instantly turned blood-red. Endless resentment surged from his eyes, and his furious roars echoed endlessly at the bottom of the Yellow Spring.
The Grand Elder of Green Mountains stared at him for a moment and said, "If you are Yao Ming, then you are Yao Xiaotian's elder brother. For the position of Clan Leader, he treated you so cruelly?"
Hearing this, Yao Ming let out a self-deprecating laugh.
"What does it matter if we are brothers? For that position, he would do anything!"
"Since you know about the change of Clan Leader in my Nine Nether Earth Python Race, you must also know that I was the most legitimate candidate for Clan Leader back then. Many Elders in the clan favored me. As long as I was there, Yao Xiaotian would have no chance of becoming Clan Leader. He knew this very well."
"Therefore, he acted respectfully towards me on the surface, but secretly plotted a scheme. He poisoned me first, causing my strength to plummet, and then defeated me. Afterward, he announced to the outside world that I had perished, but in reality, he secretly sealed me at the bottom of this Nine Nether Yellow Spring to endure endless torment!"
Yao Ming's hatred was intense, and his tone grew colder as he spoke, his murderous intent impossible to conceal.
After listening to Yao Ming's account, the Grand Elder nodded slightly.
The situation with the Void Ancient Dragons wasn't much better, really.
The three Dragon Kings weren't they also acting rebelliously for power?
Han Feng, the personal disciple of Medicine Venerable Yao Chen, even dared to murder his master for selfish gain.
Therefore, it wasn't strange for brothers to turn against each other.
Having understood the whole story, the Grand Elder of Green Mountains stopped paying attention to Yao Ming and turned to Chen Xiao and Cai Lin, casually blocking Yao Ming's senses.
"It is basically confirmed that he is telling the truth. Dou Sheng powerhouses do not appear out of thin air. The death of Yao Ming back then was already full of suspicion. Now that I've heard his explanation, it all makes sense."
"As for whether to save him..."
"Chen Xiao, you decide."
If it were a few years ago, with Yao Ming's promise, the Grand Elder would definitely have tried to win him over as an ally.
A two-star Dou Sheng, plus the Nine Nether Earth Python Race, that would be a considerable force, significantly easing the pressure on Eastern Dragon Island.
But times had changed. The Old Dragon Emperor had been found, and Zi Yan was already absorbing and digesting the energy of the Dragon Phoenix Origin Fruit!
Those so-called Three Dragon Kings were, in the Grand Elder's eyes, grasshoppers after autumn – they wouldn't last much longer and could no longer stir up any major trouble.
Therefore, whether to save Yao Ming was no longer that important.
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