178: Chapter 178 The Nine Ministries Council

Ning Yuan did not answer. With a wave of his hand, ten Demon Seeds drifted toward Ancestor Yu Ying and merged into his body one by one.

During this process, Ancestor Yu Ying could only watch in terror, not daring to show the slightest dissatisfaction, even though his heart was in an extreme state of panic.

Although he did not know what exactly had merged into him, he assumed it was nothing more than a method of control. It seemed his life could be saved, but from then on, he would be subject to another's control.

As the Demon Seeds merged, Ancestor Yu Ying's heart underwent an earth-shattering change. All sorts of thoughts vanished, leaving only the purest heart of submission; even if he were told to die, he would not hesitate in the slightest.

After sensing the change in Ancestor Yu Ying, Ning Yuan finally felt at ease. Before planting the Demon Seeds, he would not have believed anything Ancestor Yu Ying said, for the human heart is the most complex thing, and who knew what he was planning.

Beside him, Tao Yao also seemed to notice the change in Ancestor Yu Ying. She could not help but secretly marvel; no matter how many times she saw Ning Yuan's method, it always left her in awe.

If such a method were in the hands of someone with impure intentions, there was no telling how much trouble it would cause, unlike Ning Yuan, who used most of them on women.

"Tell me, where is the spring of life?" Ning Yuan asked.

Facing Ning Yuan's inquiry, Ancestor Yu Ying naturally revealed everything and said respectfully:

"The spring of life is located on Nine Profound Mountain. However, since the Nine Profound Realm was created, the spring of life has gradually begun to dry up. Now, only nine drops of the spring of life can condense every hundred years!"

Hearing this, Ning Yuan and Tao Yao could not help but frown. What could a mere nine drops of the spring of life do? Moreover, it would take a hundred years; how could they wait that long!

Nine drops of the spring of life might be useful to Zhou Lengdie and Yu Congwen, but to irrigate the enlightenment tree was simply a pipe dream!

According to the enlightenment tree's growth cycle, to grow to the stage where one could comprehend Concepts, a hundred or even several hundred drops of the spring of life might not be enough, let alone nine drops.

The spring of life, which was said to be able to shorten a Spirit Medicine's growth time by a thousand years, also required a sufficient quantity; otherwise, its effect might not even be as strong as spiritual liquid.

In the Nine Profound Realm, the existence of the spring of life could be said to be known to everyone, but the specific situation was only qualified to be known by those at the Void Refining stage. He hadn't expected that after putting in so much effort, the answer he got would be this, which greatly disappointed Ning Yuan.

Ning Yuan asked, "How many years are left until the spring of life condenses now?"

"About ten years or so. Actually, if Master wants to obtain the spring of life sooner, it's not impossible, it's just..."

"Stop beating around the bush and speak directly!"

"In recent years, the condensed spring of life has been completely divided among the Cloud Tiger Tribe, the Silver Wolf Tribe, and the Cracked Bear Tribe. Perhaps there are some leftovers within their tribes!"

In other words, to obtain the spring of life, whether now or ten years later, they could not bypass them!

These were the top three powers in the Nine Profound Realm. Relying on himself alone to obtain the spring of life was essentially no different from pulling a tooth from a tiger's mouth.

The Cloud Tiger Tribe possessed four Void Refining experts!

The Silver Wolf Tribe possessed three Void Refining experts!

The Cracked Bear Tribe possessed two Void Refining experts!

Even with the weakest Cracked Bear Tribe, with Ning Yuan's current strength, he might not be able to gain a decisive advantage. To obtain the spring of life, it seemed he would have to find another way!

"This matter needs to be planned carefully. We will return to Yuying City first and think about how to deal with the upcoming situation!"

It now seemed that obtaining the spring of life in a short period of time was already impossible. Moreover, after his identity was exposed, he might have to face the hostility of the entire Nine Profound Realm. These things alone gave Ning Yuan a headache, and he needed to think carefully about how to solve them.

Immediately, he signaled Tao Yao to unseal the Spirit-Sealing Talisman on Ancestor Yu Ying's body, and then the group quickly sped toward Yuying City... In the main hall of the Cloud Tiger Tribe.

A dozen or so figures sat around a huge table in the hall. It was silent, and the atmosphere was extremely heavy, yet many people looked toward the person in the seat of honor with a trace of fear in their eyes.

He wore a tiger-patterned robe, and with every movement of his sleeves, he faintly exuded a kingly aura. His face did not look old; instead, he looked like a young man in his twenties. However, his eyes occasionally revealed a sense of the vicissitudes of time, showing that he was not as young as he appeared.

This person was the Cloud Tiger Tribe Old Ancestor, Yun Yi, who possessed the Cultivation Stage!

He was also the number one person in the Nine Profound Realm!

"Regarding the matter Fellow Daoist Blood Python mentioned, what are everyone's thoughts?" After the silence in the hall lasted for a long time, Yun Yi finally slowly raised his eyes, scanned the crowd, and spoke indifferently.

"..."

As his voice fell, it was met with another long silence. No one took the lead in expressing an opinion; people either turned to look at others or sat as steady as if on a fishing terrace, remaining silent.

The Cloud Tiger Tribe had always wanted to dominate the Nine Profound Realm and had long regarded it as their exclusive domain. If it weren't for the other eight divisions uniting against them, the Nine Profound Realm would have already become the Cloud Tiger Tribe's back garden.

With an outside invasion, the most anxious should be the Cloud Tiger Tribe, not those with middling strength. Perhaps for them, it wasn't necessarily a bad thing.

"Since this matter was discovered by Fellow Daoist Blood Python, then please let Fellow Daoist Blood Python speak!" Yun Yi turned his gaze toward Ancestor Xue Mang, who was sitting at the end, and spoke again.

How could Yun Yi not know what everyone was thinking? They just wanted their Cloud Tiger Tribe to be the spearhead and test the depths of the outsiders!

If they won, everyone would remain as before!

If they lost, they certainly had the ability to kick the Cloud Tiger Tribe while it was down!

Hearing this, Ancestor Xue Mang could not help but curse inwardly. This was making him the spearhead; no matter what he said, he would easily offend someone, and he might end up pleasing no one.

The others also turned their gazes toward Ancestor Xue Mang at this time, their eyes containing various meanings—warning, mockery, watching a play, and other meaningful looks that were too many to mention.

"Hehe, although I discovered this matter, I am well aware that my strength is insufficient, so I will still listen to everyone. Whatever everyone says is what goes!" Ancestor Xue Mang said with a smile, but in his heart, he cursed these people: A bunch of fools, not worth plotting with!

When they have a use for me, they call me brother; when I'm useless, they ignore me!

Now they want me to take the lead? In their dreams!

"Hehe..."

"Then if we let you go deal with the outsiders, will you go?"

"I'm afraid the one who runs the fastest will be you. Is that how Ancestor Yu Ying was sold out by you?"

"..."

As Ancestor Xue Mang's voice fell, the others one after another spoke out in mockery. This caused the fire of anger to burn in Ancestor Xue Mang's heart, but he did not dare to show it in the slightest and had to keep a forced smile.

Among all the people here, his strength was the weakest. Previously, Ancestor Yu Ying was there to bear the brunt, but now that Ancestor Yu Ying was absent, the object of everyone's mockery naturally became him.