Bottom of Nine Nether Yellow Springs, Yao Ming

Xiao Yuan finally stopped beside the Nine Nether Yellow Springs, squatted down, and touched the lake water with his palm. Immediately, a hissing sound was heard, and a kind of deep yellow ice crystals quickly climbed up his arm.

"Indeed impressive. No wonder even the teacher said he couldn't go deep into the Yellow Springs."

Seeing the terrifying chilling power within the Nine Nether Yellow Springs, Xiao Yuan was slightly startled. He activated the Heavenly Flames within his body, which eventually seeped out and rapidly melted the ice layers.

"Cai Lin, I will first enter the bottom of the Yellow Springs to obtain the Yellow Springs Blood Crystal. After I succeed, you can enter the Yellow Springs and I will protect you."

Xiao Yuan shook his hand, turned his head, and said to Cai Lin, who had walked to his side, "Among the people here, only he and Cai Lin are able to get close to the Yellow Springs. He is able to do so because of his strength and the Heavenly Flames, while Cai Lin is able to do so because of her physique."

"Okay, be careful. If it really doesn't work, come back."

Cai Lin nodded slightly, and said with some solemnity, "The Yin-cold power of the Nine Nether Yellow Springs is too terrifying. It is hard to imagine that there is such an extremely cold place in the world."

"When I enter the Nine Nether Yellow Springs, you should hide yourself to avoid being discovered."

After Xiao Yuan finished speaking, he condensed a layer of soul barrier, enveloping the three women within it. Then, dense Heavenly Flames rapidly seeped out from countless pores on their bodies. The terrifying high temperature and the cold air came into contact, and immediately burst out into an overwhelming white mist.

"Thump!"

Summoning the Heavenly Flames, Xiao Yuan exhaled lightly, and with a swift movement, he crashed directly into the Nine Nether Yellow Springs, then sped towards the bottom of the Yellow Springs with lightning speed.

"Hiss!"

As Xiao Yuan jumped into the Nine Nether Yellow Springs, a column of white smoke rose from the lake, and bubbling water appeared continuously, clearly caused by the Heavenly Flames.

"Laugh!"

A figure flashed past like lightning in the murky yellow lake water, flames swirling around him, and each time he came into contact with the surrounding water, a hissing sound would erupt.

"As expected of the Nine Nether Yellow Springs, the chilling power it contains is terrifying."

Xiao Yuan's figure flew swiftly towards the bottom of the Yellow Springs. At the same time, a solemn expression gradually appeared on his face. The cold power contained in the Nine Nether Yellow Springs was like a force that could freeze Dou Qi. Even with the protection of the Heavenly Flames, Xiao Yuan still felt his hands and feet getting cold, and the Dou Qi that was originally flowing in his body also became a little sluggish.

"Looks like we need to speed things up; we can't stay here any longer!"

Using Heavenly Flames to resist the power of yin and cold consumes a great deal of Dou Qi. However, Xiao Yuan's Dou Qi reserves are far beyond what an ordinary One Star Dou Sheng can match. But in any case, this place is not exactly a Feng Shui treasure land for him.

Xiao Yuan moved, his speed increasing dramatically once more. A deep water mark appeared where he had passed, and only after he had passed did lake water surge in and submerge the mark.

"Hiss!"

Just as Xiao Yuan was feeling troubled by the difficulty of dealing with the Nine Nether Yellow Springs, a subtle strange sound suddenly entered his ears, and he immediately realized that the water flow behind him had suddenly become rapid.

"Bang!"

As the water flow suddenly accelerated, Xiao Yuan also threw a punch behind him. The terrifying power passed through the water in a strange way and slammed into a dark shadow, blasting it away.

"There are actually living beings in this Nine Nether Yellow Springs."

Looking at the creature that had been blasted into a mass of blood and gore, a hint of surprise flashed across Xiao Yuan's eyes. The chilling power here was such that even the Nine Nether Earth Python could not stay for long, let alone survive for an extended period.

"Hiss!"

With a punch that blasted the dark figure apart, Xiao Yuan had no time to dive down when he suddenly felt the water become turbulent. Then, within his field of vision, a dark, dense fog rapidly spread out.

Xiao Yuan stared at the black mist, his expression changing slightly. It wasn't the so-called "black mist," but rather a mass of countless strange snakes, their bodies pitch black and covered in eerie scales. The piercing hissing sound was also coming from these snakes.

"Hiss!"

Even when these strange snakes were still a long distance away from Xiao Yuan, they opened their ferocious mouths. Instantly, countless jets of dark black water shot out from their mouths. As soon as these water jets hit the lake water, the lake water automatically split apart, which caused the water jets to accelerate even faster. The whooshing sound of the water breaking through the air caused the surrounding lake water to emit a low explosion.

"Such chilling energy."

Xiao Yuan frowned deeply as he stared at the jet-black water arrows. These water arrows were exactly the same as the chilling power of the Nine Nether Yellow Springs, and even more concentrated and lethal.

"We can't get entangled with these strange things, otherwise it will consume too much of our Dou Qi."

Xiao Yuan moved swiftly, his speed suddenly soaring, transforming into a bolt of lightning that tore through the lake water, hurtling towards the Bottom of Nine Nether Yellow Springs with lightning speed. At the same time, his Emperor Realm Soul power erupted, directly destroying the souls of all the strange snakes.

"Laugh!"

Xiao Yuan pushed his speed to the limit; even in deep water, his terrifying speed still created one afterimage after another.

At the same time, the strange snakes around the afterimage stiffened and stood still, before being swept away by the water.

After passing through the area teeming with strange snakes in a near-massacre, Xiao Yuan glanced down and discovered a glimmer of light at the far end. His spirits lifted, and he quickly increased his speed. After a while, he finally appeared at the spot where the light appeared.

"Is this the Bottom of Nine Nether Yellow Springs?"

What appeared before Xiao Yuan was an extremely vast expanse of sand and gravel, with countless fist-sized pebbles scattered throughout. These pebbles emitted a faint glow, which was why the place appeared quite bright.

"The Bottom of Nine Nether Yellow Springs should connect to an extremely deep underground. If I were to go deep into there, even my physical body would not be able to withstand it and would turn into a block of ice!"

Xiao Yuan glanced around, and his soul power surged forth again as he began searching for people.

The Yellow Springs Blood Crystal had long been devoured by Yao Ming, the patriarch of the Nine Netherworld Python Tribe, who was locked at the bottom of the Yellow Springs.

After all, while ordinary humans cannot consume this, it is a highly nourishing substance for the Nine Nether Earth Python.

"Ah, help me!"

Just as he was searching, a very faint groan reached his ears through the water.

At this moment, Xiao Yuan also noticed Yao Ming's location, and immediately stretched out his hand and grabbed downwards.

"Splash!"

Xiao Yuan grabbed down with his palm, leaving a palm print on the sandy ground. As the sand and stones rolled, a massive iron chain, hundreds of feet long, was suddenly exposed to Xiao Yuan's view.

Upon seeing the enormous iron chain, Xiao Yuan narrowed his eyes slightly. With a grab from a distance, the chain was slowly pulled out. As the chain was pulled out, the ground around it suddenly trembled. Three more huge iron chains rose from the mud. These chains were all connected to the surrounding massive mountains. They couldn't be moved at all when pulled.

Xiao Yuan's gaze did not concern himself with where the chains were locked; instead, it turned to the center of the four chains, where there was a large clump of dark mud. Looking at the mud, Xiao Yuan casually waved his hand, and the mud was dispersed. As the mud dispersed, what was inside was revealed—a person!

A person whose body is completely withered and looks like a skeleton! How pitiful, Yao Ming.

"Save me, save me, save me! I'll make the entire Nine Netherworld Python Tribe serve you as their master!"

As Xiao Yuan gazed at the withered figure, the latter's sunken eyes suddenly snapped open, his gaze turning somewhat crazed as he stared at the former. A hoarse roar echoed through the depths of the Yellow Springs, sounding like a ghostly wail, chilling the soul.

Although Xiao Yuan clearly knew the whole story, he still chose to act in accordance with the current situation, and asked with some doubt:

Who are you? Why are you trapped here?

"Huff, huff."

The skeletal figure seemed to have exhausted a lot of strength in his previous struggle, and his breathing was somewhat rapid. Xiao Yuan could feel that extremely cold energy was constantly emanating from the four huge chains, consuming the Dou Qi in the former's body, keeping him in a state of extreme weakness, but at the same time not losing his life. He could only eke out a living in this perpetual state of consumption.

"I am Yao Ming, the patriarch of the Nine Netherworld Python Tribe." Faced with Xiao Yuan's question, the skeletal figure gasped for a moment before finally speaking. His voice was extremely hoarse, like sand scraping against glass, extremely grating.

"Save me! If you can get me out of here, I'll give you anything you want!"

Yao Ming stared at Xiao Yuan with an almost pleading look in his eyes and said.

"The patriarch of the Nine Netherworld Python Tribe?" Xiao Yuan frowned, but remained unmoved, saying calmly, "As far as I know, the current patriarch of the Nine Netherworld Python Tribe should be a guy named Yao Xiaotian, right?"

"That bastard, that son of a bitch, it was he who used a vicious scheme to seize my position and sealed me at the Bottom of Nine Nether Yellow Springs! Ah! This beast, he made me suffer for hundreds of years from the torment of the cold and yin power. If I am lucky enough to see the light of day again, I, Yao Ming, will make him wish he were dead!"

Upon hearing the name Yao Xiaotian, Yao Ming's eyes instantly turned blood red, and boundless resentment surged from them. His mad roar echoed endlessly in the depths of the Yellow Springs.

Xiao Yuan clicked his tongue in amazement. This guy had actually been sealed here for hundreds of years. Such an end was indeed quite tragic. The cold power of the Nine Nether Yellow Springs was like a sharp blade penetrating the human body, causing such pain that ordinary people could not bear it. Yet this guy had suffered such torment for hundreds of years. Even Xiao Yuan couldn't help but shake his head upon hearing this.

"Can you tell me about your connection with that Yao Xiaotian?"

Xiao Yuan shrugged and said.

"I am Yao Xiaotian's biological elder brother." Yao Ming hesitated for a moment before finally speaking in a hoarse voice, "Originally, I was the most legitimate candidate for the patriarch of the Nine Netherworld Python Tribe. Many elders in the clan also favored me. Originally, Yao Xiaotian had absolutely no chance of becoming the patriarch. He knew this in his heart, so he usually acted very respectfully towards me, but in secret, he plotted a vicious scheme. First, he poisoned me, causing my strength to drop drastically. Then he defeated me and sealed me at the Bottom of Nine Nether Yellow Springs."

"How fraternal! However, I don't need your Nine Netherworld Python Clan to serve me as their master. I only need you to do me a few small favors, such as letting my woman cultivate in the Nine Nether Yellow Springs for a period of time. I think such a deal should be very worthwhile for you, right?"

Xiao Yuan asked.

"Fine, as long as you can get me out of here, you can make any request you want!"

Xiao Yuan is now Yao Ming's last hope, so Yao Ming has no objection to Xiao Yuan's words at all.

"What is your current strength, and what is Yao Tianxiao's strength?"

Xiao Yuan narrowed his eyes slightly and said.

"When I was sealed, I was only Intermediate Half-Saint. But the tempering of the Yellow Springs power over these hundreds of years, although it caused me countless sufferings, also increased my strength. Now I have reached the level of Two Star Dou Sheng. As long as I see the light of day again, my Dou Qi will be able to recover quickly and reach its peak." Yao Ming said, "As for Yao Tianxiao, when I reached the level of Half-Saint, he was only at the Dou Zun Peak. With his talent, after so many years, he should be able to reach around the level of One Star Dou Sheng. However, he has a confidant, namely the Great Elder of my Nine Netherworld Python Tribe. According to my guess, this person should also have the strength of One Star Dou Sheng now. Back then, this old dog also helped Yao Tianxiao seriously injure me and seal me away."

"Two One Star Dou Sheng?"

Upon hearing this, Xiao Yuan nodded. To him, One Star Dou Sheng was nothing more than an ant that he could easily crush.

"My biggest obstacles are these two. Once I get rid of them, the Nine Netherworld Python Tribe will surely fall under my control. At that time, you will be my savior. Although I, Yao Ming, am not exactly a benevolent person, my word is my bond. If I take control of the Nine Netherworld Python Tribe in the future, I will do my best to fulfill any request you may have."

The Yao Ming stared intently at Xiao Yuan and said in a deep voice.

"Very good, it seems our cooperation will be very pleasant. However, just to be on the safe side, I will set a talisman for you first. If you dare to have any other thoughts, your soul will be scattered and your body will decay, turning into a pile of dry bones."

After Xiao Yuan finished speaking, he didn't care whether Yao Ming was willing to accept such unequal conditions. He directly condensed a chaotic-colored talisman. The terrifying Emperor Realm Soul, even if it only leaked a trace of aura, still made Yao Ming's expression change drastically.

This person is incredibly strong!

The next moment, Yao Ming realized that the talisman had appeared deep within his soul.

Such terrifying methods truly shocked Yao Ming.

Although the feeling of being controlled was unpleasant, the thought of the suffering he had endured over the past few centuries caused his resentment to surge. He no longer cared about such trivial matters and said in a deep voice, "Now that the talisman has been planted, can you help me break free?"

"By the way, I need some Yellow Springs Blood Crystal to come to the Nine Nether Yellow Springs. Do you know where those things went?"

Xiao Yuan didn't answer Yao Ming's question, but instead asked another one.

"Even in the Nine Nether Yellow Springs, Yellow Springs Blood Crystal are extremely rare. Generally speaking, it takes nearly a thousand years for a palm-sized piece to condense. I have devoured all of these over the past few hundred years."

Upon hearing this, the Yao Ming hesitated for a moment, then suddenly opened its mouth, and streaks of blood-red light shot out, finally hovering in front of Xiao Yuan. There were three blood-red crystals about the size of a fist. Within the crystals, it seemed as if endless blood was flowing, making them look extremely strange.

"Sorry, these three are relatively complete. The rest have been mostly digested by me and are no longer of use."

Yao Ming, fearing that Xiao Yuan might find it too little, quickly explained.