Chapter 219: Yao Ming
The dark abyss next to him had no guards. This was naturally due to the continuous howling of the icy wind emanating from it. These gusts were so cold that even a Dou Zong could be frozen to death. Xiao Tian's figure flickered and he merged into space, flying towards the bottom of the abyss.
The descent was indeed deep; even at Xiao Tian's speed, it took nearly twenty minutes to reach the bottom. He gazed downward and saw a vast lake. The freezing cold that could solidify Dou Qi emanated from here. The lake was enormous, with deep yellow water streaked with blood-red, giving it a particularly eerie appearance.
As Xiao Tian landed, a subtle, chilling energy invaded his body. When he touched the lake's water, a deep yellow ice crystal rapidly spread along his arm.
"As expected of the Nine Nether Yellow Springs!" Xiao Tian remarked, and his unique fire appeared, melting the ice.
With his body enveloped in flames, he dove into the lake.
"Whoosh!"
As Xiao Tian dove deeper, shadowy figures attacked him.
"Hmph!"
Xiao Tian clenched his fist in the air, solidifying the surrounding space and trapping the shadows. He saw that these shadows were serpent-like creatures. They weren't Nine Serene Deep Ground Serpents but creatures that lived in the Nine Nether Yellow Springs. Nature's power was indeed great, with special creatures surviving in underground lava and these springs.
Xiao Tian didn't bother with these creatures and continued diving deeper.
"Help... me... Help... me..."
Suddenly, a faint voice reached Xiao Tian's ears through the water.
Upon hearing this, Xiao Tian knew it must be the former leader of the Nine Serene Deep Ground Serpent Tribe.
"Crash!"
Xiao Tian grabbed the air, causing the sand and stones below to roll away, revealing a chain over a hundred meters long. With a pull, he yanked the chain out. Following this chain, three other massive chains appeared, all anchored to the surrounding mountains, converging at a mass of pitch-black sludge.
With a wave of his hand, Xiao Tian shattered the sludge, revealing a figure as withered as a skeleton.
Xiao Tian knew this skeletal figure was Yao Ming, the former leader of the Nine Serene Deep Ground Serpent Tribe—a two-star Dou Saint. Of course, having been trapped here for years, his cultivation was far from its peak.
"Help me. If you save me, I'll agree to anything you ask," the skeletal figure rasped. "I am the leader of the Nine Serene Deep Ground Serpent Tribe..."
Xiao Tian asked, "As far as I know, the leader of the Nine Serene Deep Ground Serpent Tribe is Yao Xiao Tian, right?"
"That scoundrel usurped my position with poison and sealed me at the bottom of the Nine Nether Yellow Springs for hundreds of years, enduring endless pain from the cold. If I get out, I'll make him suffer a fate worse than death!" Upon hearing Xiao Tian's words, Yao Ming's eyes turned blood red, filled with endless regret.
Xiao Tian's eyes narrowed as he said, "I believe you can sense that I'm only a Half-Saint. If I save you and you turn against me, what should I do?"
"What do you propose?" Yao Ming retorted.
"I can save you, but you must allow me to place a soul imprint on your soul voluntarily. If you ever think of betraying me, I will detonate the imprint, causing you severe injury at best and death at worst," Xiao Tian said calmly.
Yao Ming's face changed drastically upon hearing this. Such a condition would mean handing his life over to Xiao Tian. But if he didn't agree, he'd remain trapped here indefinitely, potentially until Yao Xiao Tian decided to kill him.
After a long contemplation, Yao Ming gritted his teeth and said, "I agree!"
Hearing this, Xiao Tian was overjoyed. Controlling Yao Ming's soul meant having a two-star Dou Saint as his enforcer.
"Hu~"
Yao Ming took a deep breath, and a light flashed between his brows. An invisible soul force emerged, forming a massive black serpent.
Xiao Tian could sense that this black serpent's soul was far weaker than his own.
Without hesitation, Xiao Tian concentrated a strand of his soul power, imbued with scorching heat, which then flew into the black serpent's forehead, forming an imprint within.
Now, with a single thought, Xiao Tian could detonate the soul imprint, severely injuring or even killing Yao Ming.
"Can you save me now?" Yao Ming asked as he retracted his soul.
"By the way, do you know where the Yellow Springs Blood Crystal is?" Xiao Tian inquired.
"I've refined most of it, but I kept a piece," Yao Ming replied, spitting out a blood-colored light that transformed into a fist-sized blood crystal.
"These crystals form only once every thousand years. This is the last one."
Xiao Tian nodded, collected the blood crystal, and asked, "How do I save you?"
"Find the end of the chains and destroy the Yellow Springs Yin Stones. These stones are incredibly malicious, constantly emitting cold energy to drain my Dou Qi, keeping me weak," Yao Ming explained.
Xiao Tian flickered to the end of one chain. The chain was embedded deep within a pitch-black mountain, not large but filled with a chilling cold.
Xiao Tian formed a needle with his compressed unique fire.
"Shh!"
The needle pierced the mountain, shattering an exceptionally hard circular object within.
"Bang!"
A peculiar wave emanated from the mountain, causing the massive chain to shatter.
"Success!" Yao Ming shouted in excitement.
...
Meanwhile, in the Serpent Ground Meridian, within a grand palace, a black-clad man on a throne suddenly opened his eyes in disbelief.
"What? The seal is broken?"
"Leader, what happened?" asked an elder with a crimson serpent coiled around his shoulder.
"The seal imprisoning Yao Ming just broke," the black-clad man replied, rising abruptly and transmitting his thoughts to the elder.
"Impossible!" the elder exclaimed, his face changing. "Leader, we must kill Yao Ming this time!"
"I understand," the black-clad man nodded before vanishing.
(Chapter end)
Friends, if you want to read chapters in advance, subscribe to my patreon.
You can also buy the book if you are only interested in reading the novel.