172: Chapter 172 Is this what they call the Xiao family's prodigy?

Early morning, the outskirts of the Xiao Family Divine Mountain.

Lingxiao Pavilion was a hundred-zhang tall hexagonal tower.

Formations operated within the pavilion, maintaining a constant temperature year-round.

It housed the vast collection of Jade Slips gathered by the Xiao Family over generations, recording the geography and interpersonal relations of the major powers in the Upper Realm.

Family Head had set a three-month bet, and Su Yun had accepted a Manual Laborer wooden plaque without objection.

As dawn broke, he stepped into the first floor of Lingxiao Pavilion and pulled a yellowed Jade Slip from a wooden shelf.

His Divine Sense swept through it. A vast amount of intelligence regarding Tianshu Palace and Ye Wuhun flooded his mind.

Dull footsteps echoed from outside the pavilion.

Bang.

The two Phoebe zhennan doors, weighing a thousand jin, were kicked open by a violent surge of immortal power. The hinges snapped, and wood splinters flew everywhere.

A dozen Manual Laborers cleaning inside the pavilion were sent flying by the airwave, crashing heavily into the bookshelves.

Recognizing the visitors, the Manual Laborers scrambled out of the pavilion, not daring to make a single sound.

Three young men dressed in Cloud-patterned brocade robes stepped over the threshold.

The one leading the way was none other than Xiao Jiankuang, who had been secretly plotting in a corner of the Ascension Platform yesterday.

The pressure of an Early Stage Nine Heavens Profound Immortal was released without restraint.

The air inside the pavilion instantly became incredibly thick.

The bluestone slabs on the floor cracked inch by inch, the fissures pointing straight toward the white-clad back standing by the window.

Su Yun held a Jade Slip in his left hand, his right index finger gently tracing the Formation patterns on its surface, without turning around.

"Mud-legged peasant from the Lower Realm, do you even know all your letters?"

Xiao Jiankuang stopped three zhang away, his eyes fixed on Su Yun's back, his tone filled with undisguised contempt.

"Right, after all, the only thing you're good at is serving women. You should take a good look at the access to Lingxiao Pavilion you earned by working hard in the Goddess's bed."

The other two young men let out a burst of harsh laughter.

"The Goddess must have been blinded by this bastard's Demonic Technique yesterday. A mortal body that hasn't even converted its Immortal Qi is a form of pollution just by standing on the soil of the Upper Realm!"

"Kneel down immediately, cripple your Dantian, and get out of the Divine Mountain. Stop making a fool of yourself here!"

The clamor echoed through the empty pavilion.

Su Yun turned to the last page of the Jade Slip.

Tianshu Palace possessed three Immortal Veins and a deep Foundation; it was the perfect resource pack for him to use to nurture the elites of the Taiyi Holy Land within the map of mountains and rivers.

He cut off his Divine Sense and placed the Jade Slip back in its original spot.

Throughout the whole process, he didn't spare a single glance at the three people behind him, instead walking toward the wooden stairs leading to the second floor.

Complete disregard.

This lofty and indifferent attitude instantly ignited Xiao Jiankuang's pride.

Born into the direct lineage of the Xiao Family, he was exceptionally gifted and had been revered by thousands since childhood.

A Cauldron ascended from the Lower Realm actually dared to face him with the back of his head!

"Courting death!"

Xiao Jiankuang's face twisted in rage as he suddenly reached into the Void Realm.

A pair of golden scissors, radiating a blinding immortal light, appeared out of thin air.

A top-grade Immortal Artifact, the Golden Snake Shears.

Infused with immortal power, the phantoms of two double-headed Golden Pythons emerged on the surface of the Golden Snake Shears.

The air was torn open, creating two pitch-black spatial rifts.

"Today, I shall sever your dao foundation!"

Xiao Jiankuang exerted force with his wrist, and the Golden Snake Shears turned into a streak of golden light, lunging to slaughter Su Yun's Dantian.

The speed was so great that the wooden tables and bookshelves along the way were instantly reduced to dust.

The other two prodigies wore cruel smiles, waiting to enjoy the sight of Su Yun's Dantian shattering and his screams of agony.

The Golden Snake Shears reached three inches from Su Yun's back.

Su Yun stopped in his tracks; without turning around, he simply raised his right hand casually behind him, pressing his index and middle fingers together and reaching out.

No blinding immortal light erupted, nor was there any deafening roar of magic power.

Su Yun's two fingers accurately clamped the closed blades of the Golden Snake Shears.

Time fell into absolute stillness at this moment.

The violent Golden Python phantoms dissipated into nothingness the moment they touched Su Yun's fingertips.

That destructive power, capable of crushing mountains, vanished like a clay ox entering the sea, disappearing without a trace.

Xiao Jiankuang's eyes widened.

He desperately channeled the Immortal Lord Laws within his body, the veins on his forehead bulging.

His hands tightly formed hand seals, attempting to recall the Immortal Artifact.

The Golden Snake Shears did not budge, held firmly in mid-air by two slender fingers.

Su Yun turned around, his deep black eyes looking at Xiao Jiankuang without any ripples of emotion.

"With such meager Foundations, you dare to try and sever someone's path?"

Su Yun's fingertips shifted slightly.

The wisp of pure Lower Realm Heavenly Dao Origin within his body flowed through his fingertips.

The Upper Realm had endured countless era-spanning wars, and its Laws were long since fragmented and incomplete.

These so-called Upper Realm prodigies broke through by absorbing incomplete Laws, leaving their Foundations hollow and unstable.

But Su Yun had devoured the complete Heavenly Dao of a plane in the Lower Realm; in terms of power level, he formed an absolute dimensional suppression over these natives.

Crack.

The crisp sound of metal snapping exploded within the pavilion.

The top-grade Immortal Artifact, the Golden Snake Shears, began to disintegrate from the clamped blades.

Countless golden metal fragments, mixed with discarded Law runes, drifted down under the pavilion's gravity field.

Losing the connection to his life-bound Immortal Artifact, the backlash of the Laws instantly erupted.

"Pfft—"

Xiao Jiankuang violently spat out a large mouthful of blood.

The protective immortal light on his chest burst apart, and his body flew backward uncontrollably.

His knees slammed heavily onto the broken bluestone floor, creating two deep pits.

Silence. A deathly silence.

The two prodigies who were waiting to watch the show were frozen stiff.

The immortal swords half-drawn from their scabbards were stuck, leaving them in a dilemma.

Their legs trembled uncontrollably beneath their robes.

A Nine Heavens Profound Immortal who was arrogant just a second ago hadn't even touched a corner of the opponent's clothes before his top-grade Immortal Artifact was crushed by two fingers, and he was kneeling and heavily injured.

The golden dust of the Immortal Artifact fell onto Su Yun's white clothes and then slid off the fabric, leaving him unstained.

Su Yun walked up to Xiao Jiankuang and looked down at him from above.

"Scram."

A single, simple word, carrying a coldness that crushed everything.

A sense of extreme humiliation flooded Xiao Jiankuang's brain.

He gritted his teeth and looked up at Su Yun.

Blood dripped down his chin.

He didn't believe it!

He would never believe that a mud-legged peasant who had just ascended could possess such terrifying physical strength!

"You're cheating!"

Xiao Jiankuang roared, his voice hoarse and distorted.

"You must be wearing an Ancient Defensive Dao Artifact bestowed by the Goddess! What kind of skill is it to rely on the power of external objects!"

This was his only remaining self-consolation.

Admitting his inferiority was more painful than death.

Su Yun raised an eyebrow, looking at the loser at his feet searching for excuses, and did not speak to explain.

Seeing Su Yun's silence, Xiao Jiankuang thought he had hit upon the truth.

He struggled to his feet and pulled a healing Immortal Pill from his storage ring, stuffing it into his mouth.

A venomous light gathered frantically in his eyes.

"You can only rely on this body nourished by women to throw your weight around."

Xiao Jiankuang wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and suddenly pointed to a black stone door at the back of Lingxiao Pavilion.

"For Upper Realm Cultivators, the Divine Soul is the Foundation! If you truly have ability, do you dare enter the Divine Soul Training Ground with me!"

"We will cast aside our physical defenses and engage in a life-and-death duel within the dojo using pure Primordial Spirit power. No Magic Treasure can shield you from disaster!"

Hearing this, the other two prodigies' eyes lit up, and they immediately chimed in.

"That's right, the Lower Realm is barren; even if he trains his Physical Body to be tough, his Divine Sense will surely be exhausted and fragile. In a clash of souls, he will definitely be unable to withstand a single blow!"

"Do you dare to accept? If you're afraid, go to the square right now, kowtow, and admit your mistake!"

The three of them shouted loudly using crude provocation tactics.

Su Yun's gaze passed the three of them and looked at the black stone door inscribed with countless complex Formation patterns.

The Divine Soul Training Ground: stripping away the Physical Body for a confrontation of Divine Sense.

The loser's soul is annihilated, while the winner can devour the opponent's dissipated soul fragments to strengthen themselves.

Su Yun was just wondering how to obtain resources under the Xiao Family's nose.

Within the map of mountains and rivers in his Sea of Consciousness, the elites of the Taiyi Holy Land urgently needed high-level Upper Realm energy to refine their Primordial Spirits.

Three big meals delivered to his doorstep—it would be a waste not to take them.

"Good."

Su Yun spoke. His tone was as flat as if he were agreeing to a trivial matter.

Xiao Jiankuang was stunned for a moment, clearly not expecting Su Yun to agree so readily.

Ecstasy instantly drowned his reason.

"You've got guts!" Xiao Jiankuang hurried toward the stone door, forming hand seals and striking them into the Formation.

Rumble.

The heavy black stone door slid open to both sides.

An extremely cold wind, unique to soul power, whistled out from inside the door, making the Jade Slips in the pavilion rustle.

"After you, the number one Genius of the Lower Realm."

Xiao Jiankuang stepped aside, his facial muscles twisting with extreme excitement.

Su Yun stepped forward and entered the stone door without hesitation.

His white clothes looked particularly striking in the darkness.

Xiao Jiankuang wiped the blood from his chin and sneered at the other two.

"So what if his Physical Body is tough? In the Divine Soul Training Ground, I will tear his Primordial Spirit apart inch by inch and turn him into a drooling idiot!"

The two nodded with cruel grins and followed Xiao Jiankuang into the darkness.

The heavy stone door slammed shut behind the three of them.

Completely cutting off all perception from the outside world.