Chapter 747: 747, come out and work!
"Free-for-all?"
As soon as Xu Huang announced this rule, not only the contestants who had broken into the top five but also the spectators were astonished. It was a concept they were hearing for the first time.
According to the onlookers, previous Spirit Fighting Conferences had always been rounds of combat between Meridian Spirits, until a champion was finally decided. Unexpectedly, this year's final championship contest had suddenly changed its rules.
However, relative to certain individuals and the onlookers, the expressions of the other four who had also made it into the top five of the Qi Seeking group were somewhat complicated, and even after a moment, filled with a hint of excitement.
These four exchanged glances, then shifted their gaze to the young man in coarse clothing, suddenly feeling as if this year's Qi Seeking Spirit Fighting Conference might no longer be as unreachable as they thought.
Yun Xiao's previous performances were stunning. He had overcome several cultivators at the peak of the Qi Seeking Realm from the Spirit Fighting Commerce, and had even defeated the strong Meridian Spirit of Peng Muxin in the Seeking Origin Realm, successfully capturing the Spirit Crystal.
The remaining four contestants, needless to say, had their share of luck to have reached this point. However, this kind of luck clearly wasn't enough to defeat that monstrous genius.
The previous four almost rushed to compete for the second place because they knew that if their Meridian Spirit fought against Yun Xiao's one-on-one, the chance of winning was almost non-existent.
But now, if the final fight among the top five turned into a free-for-all, could they first team up to defeat Yun Xiao's Meridian Spirit and then vie for the championship?
In their hearts, Yun Xiao was the biggest opponent, the other four seeming equal to themselves. If they could first eliminate Yun Xiao, the variable, their chance of winning the championship would undoubtedly increase greatly.
"Goodness, the Spirit Fighting Commerce is really pulling out all the stops!"
Being stared at with such peculiarity by those four, Yun Xiao, who was the reincarnation of the Long Xiao Battle God, had seen it all before and immediately understood their intentions, letting out a cold laugh.
Yun Xiao knew that this was definitely because Xu Huang was disgruntled that Peng Muxin had lost and died to him, hence this strategic plot.
However, the rules of the Spirit Fighting Conference were originally set by the Spirit Fighting Commerce itself; there was no stipulation that the final champion must be determined in a one-on-one battle.
Although a free-for-all had many variables, in the end, the five who had advanced from thousands shouldn't have any connections, normally making any alliances unlikely.
Yet, when some saw those four competitors clasping fists and staring at the somewhat solitary Yun Xiao, they understood something. Despite despising the despicable tactics of the Spirit Fighting Commerce, they harbored another kind of anticipation.
Having performed so extraordinarily before, could Yun Xiao create another miracle under such a siege? This biggest dark horse of the current Spirit Fighting Conference might continue his streak, with the outcome soon to be revealed.
"The final championship battle of this Spirit Fighting Conference begins now. The number one stages of the two groups will be your main battlefield!"
Xu Huang didn't care about the mocking expression on Yun Xiao's face and just pointed to the two number one stages. However, the number one stage for the Spirit Vein Realm didn't receive much attention.
Everyone's eyes were focused on the number one stage of the Qi Seeking group, and at this moment, one of the top five cultivators had already sent his Meridian Spirit up to this stage.
It looked like a huge and fierce tiger-shaped Meridian Spirit. However, this time, its true body stood below the stage, not intending to climb up.
After all, it was a clash of five types of Meridian Spirits, and the stage was only so big. If the true bodies also stood on it, it would be somewhat restrictive. Since it was a fight of Meridian Spirits, even from below the stage, as long as they weren't too far, it would still be easy to control.
Moo!
As the tiger-shaped Meridian Spirit appeared on the stage, a resounding cow's roar erupted not far from it, followed by a sudden appearance of a huge bull-shaped Meridian Spirit on the stage.
Swish!
At the same time, another direction saw the appearance of another Meridian Spirit, though this one was much skinnier than the first two. It was clearly visible to the crowd—it seemed to be a monkey-shaped Meridian Spirit.
Monkey-shaped Vein Demons are known to be the most intelligent of all Vein Demons. From a young age, their Spiritual Wisdom is comparable to human children, and when adult, apart from not being able to speak, their minds are almost indistinguishable from humans.
"Sss...Sss..."
As this monkey-shaped Meridian Spirit appeared, from one side, many spectators saw a pitch-black figure climbing up toward the stage. Those with sharp senses could see clearly; it was a massive, entirely black snake, even its forked tongue jetting out in pitch-black color.
"It's the Black Star Snake of the unorthodox Daoist, reputed to be fatally venomous, impossible to cure even by Earth-rank Meridian Refining Masters!"
A cry of alarm suddenly came, causing everyone to react immediately; their eyes, filled with awe, turned toward the pitch-black snake below the stage and a figure in black.
The man known as the Disreputable Daoist, though dressed with the air of an immortal, was familiar to many as a genuine Poison Vein Master, whose skill in the Poison Meridian Path was likely to break through to Middle Level Earth Rank soon.
Because the Disreputable Daoist's Meridian Qi Cultivation had reached Half-step Origin Seeking Realm, prior to this, he was the most likely contender to win the Qi Seeking group championship in this Spirit Fighting Conference.
The notoriety of the Disreputable Daoist's Black Star Snake was also well-known; it was said that this snake had once bitten a cultivator in the Early Stage of the Origin Seeking Realm, forcing the powerful victim to sever his own arm to avoid death from the venom, an affliction not even immortals could cure.
With that, the fame of the Disreputable Daoist had spread; not just ordinary cultivators in the Qi Seeking Realm, but even new entrants to the Origin Seeking Realm would not easily provoke him, as the path of Poison Meridian sometimes proved to be unexpectedly lethal.
"That Seventh Rank Advanced Thunder Spirit Crystal will definitely be mine!"
After releasing his Black Star Snake, the Disreputable Daoist coldly stared at a boy in coarse clothes, his heart set on winning the championship of the Qi Seeking category in this Spirit Fighting Conference.
In fact, without Yun Xiao, the chance of the Disreputable Daoist winning the championship would undoubtedly have been much greater, so now he regarded Yun Xiao as his only rival, paying little attention to the other three competitors.
On the stage, four Meridian Spirits were positioned in four different directions, but for some reason, the tiger, ox, and monkey Meridian Spirits seemed to have a subtle fear of the Black Star Snake, keeping quite some distance.
It's worth mentioning that although these three Meridian Spirits kept some distance from the Black Star Snake, a closer look would reveal that the positions of these four spirits together encircled a specific area, clearly indicating a tacit agreement.
"Black Star Snake, hm?"
With Yun Xiao's discerning eye, he naturally recognized it as a highly venomous snake that had reached a near Eighth Rank; thus, with a flash in his eyes, he had already decided who would fight.
"Xiao Wu, come out and handle this!"
With a shout in his mind, Yun Xiao, using his Inner Vision Eye, saw the Golden Snake Worm, Xiao Wu, glancing at him with a touch of impatience in its eyes.
"Why should I listen to you?"
The Golden Snake Worm, Xiao Wu, always harbored this attitude towards Yun Xiao; in fact, it had only participated twice in this Spirit Fighting Conference, yet both times had been absolutely stunning.
"Hurry up, stop with the nonsense!"
However, just as the Golden Snake Worm was about to refuse, another familiar voice came from within Yun Xiao. It was from the Dragon Tree Spirit Little Dragon.
If there was anything that the fearless Golden Snake Worm hesitated about, it was the Dragon Tree Spirit. Once the Little Dragon spoke up, Xiao Wu immediately swallowed the words he was about to say.
"Don't say I don't take care of you; that Black Star Snake is a near Eighth Rank level. Aren't you interested in its potent venom at all?"
The real reason Yun Xiao wanted the Golden Snake Worm to fight was that, while the Three-legged Ice Crystal Toad might also counter strong poisons, only the Golden Snake Worm could utilize an opponent's venom as its own.
"Just a near Eighth Rank Black Star Snake, I truly don't think much of it!"
The Golden Snake Worm was hesitant, but after speaking, its form had already swept out from the palm of Yun Xiao's right hand, eliciting a strangely familiar sensation among the audience.
Yun Xiao's first encounter in the Spirit Fighting Conference was with Jiang Nanchao from the Late Stage Qi Seeking Realm, and that time, he directly had the Golden Snake Worm, Xiao Wu, fight because he hadn't thought about the presence of the Three-legged Ice Crystal Toad's Meridian Spirit.
The second time Xiao Wu fought was against a Heavenly Hidden Beast from Douling Commerce, where Yun Xiao wanted to use the Golden Snake Worm's sensing ability to locate the hidden beast's position.
These two battles featuring Xiao Wu had left a profound impression on the onlookers, so at this moment, seeing the Golden Snake Worm for the third time, expressions of anticipation emerged on their faces.
At this point, the audience would no longer consider the Golden Snake Worm, Xiao Wu, as just a common grass line worm as they had on the first day, although they still did not believe it to be a true Divine Dragon. Nevertheless, it was definitely a powerful and unique Vein Demon.
However, seeing the positions of the five Meridian Spirits on the stage, the crowd was certain that the four competitors seemed ready to unite first to take care of Yun Xiao's Golden Snake Worm.
"Worthless curs!"
The Golden Snake Worm, Xiao Wu, having swept onto the stage, also sensed its situation right away. Yet, there was no sign of panic; instead, a soul transmission filled with undisguised disdain echoed back.