Serpent Ancestor

”Man Jin, I’m planning to visit a human city to buy some supplies. Do you need anything?” Xu Hei asked.

”Oh, you’re going to a human city?” Man Jin was slightly surprised.

Xu Hei patted his storage bag and took out a puppet, placing it in front of him.

This was a flesh puppet Xu Hei had crafted from the corpse of a rogue cultivator, similar to Qin Shuang’er and Sun Jian.

Xu Hei had found this rogue cultivator’s body during his attack on Rock Serpent City. The man had an ordinary appearance, the kind that would blend into a crowd. His storage bag was also empty, without even an identity token.

Using this puppet to infiltrate the city was ideal.

Of course, besides this puppet, Xu Hei had also made a backup and a backup for the backup.

”So it’s a puppet.”

Man Jin was well aware of Xu Hei’s puppet techniques. After thinking for a moment, he said, ”I don’t really need anything. If you have time, could you get me some bananas? Oh, and watermelons too.”

”Bananas, watermelons...”Xu Hei was speechless.

Damn it, can’t you ask for something more serious? Magical treasures or pills would be fine too.

He hadn’t expected Man Jin to be such a foodie. With his ten-meter-tall body, it seemed no amount of food would be enough.

”Hehe, I have a child now, and he likes those things,” Man Jin said with a simple smile.

Xu Hei was momentarily stunned and looked towards a hot spring, where a mother elephant and a recently born baby elephant were.

”I see.”

Xu Hei nodded and said, ”I’ll keep an eye out.”

Xu Hei put away the puppet, flashed his figure, and left the Wild Giant Elephant Tribe, heading straight north.

This trip was necessary because he had accumulated too many low-grade spirit stones. With storage bags from hundreds of people, he had over seventy thousand spirit stones and a bunch of miscellaneous magical treasures to sell.

...

Xu Hei left the mountains and first passed through Chen Family Town.

Now, Wang Ding and his sister Wang Qin were both working for the Chen Family. Wang Qin was a maid, and Wang Ding had become a servant.

The breathing exercise Xu Hei had taught them was learned by both. Although it wasn’t a complete cultivation technique and couldn’t generate cultivation, it could strengthen the body and prolong life.

Because of this, Wang Ding was recruited to do chores like chopping wood and cooking, which saved him from starving to death.

At the same time, he hadn’t forgotten to study.

”A teacher imparts knowledge and resolves doubts... Huh? Snake...”

Wang Ding was suddenly startled, looking towards the east side of the courtyard. He was about to call out to the Snake Immortal but hesitated, fearing someone might overhear, and didn’t say it.

Xu Hei was speechless. He was observing from a thousand meters away with his divine sense, yet Wang Ding still noticed.

”The Snake Immortal didn’t show up, probably because he doesn’t want to see me. Forget it, teaching me the breathing exercise in a dream was already a great favor.”

Wang Ding didn’t say anything more. He just knelt on the ground and kowtowed towards the east.

For this simple village boy, Xu Hei didn’t want him to step onto the path of cultivation. It was a cruel and inhumane world.

Once you start cultivating, it’s like a fish coming ashore. The fish is no longer a fish, and a person is no longer a person.

Xu Hei didn’t linger and quickly left, heading towards the big city in the north.

However, Xu Hei didn’t know.

From the moment he taught Wang Ding the breathing exercise, Wang Ding’s path was already set. It was a bloody, cruel, and endless road.

Once you step into cultivation, there’s no turning back!

...

Southern Region core, Chuyang City.

After six months of full restoration, Chuyang City had already regained its prosperity. This was a crucial battle for Qin Shengchu, and the city received special attention.

Over the past six months, a large number of people had migrated in. The number of cultivators and the economic strength had surpassed the Chu Kingdom’s peak.

On this day.

An unremarkable middle-aged man walked to the gate of Chuyang City. The man had a square face, a broad forehead, dull eyes, and dry lips—an appearance that would blend into a crowd.

His hair was messy, he wore a thick coat, and his waist was tied with a burlap sack, making him look like a bloated dumpling.

Fortunately, it was winter; otherwise, this appearance would make him look like a lunatic.

Xu Hei had originally planned to wear a mask, but now, with the whole country catching spies and remnants of the Chu, masks were banned in the city. Xu Hei had no choice but to take off his mask.

”Entering the city requires a fee of five taels of silver.”

The guard at the gate said, frowning at Xu Hei’s appearance.

”Silver?”

Xu Hei was stunned and quickly searched his body.

After searching for a long time, he couldn’t find any silver, which made him very embarrassed.

At this moment, the guard stared at his face for a long time, his expression changing. He trembled and said, ”Senior, please enter. We won’t charge you!”

Another guard’s face also turned pale, and he took a few steps back.

”Hmm? No charge?” Xu Hei frowned. ”You’re not going to arrest me, are you?”

”No, no! Cultivators always enter the city for free!” The two guards quickly shook their heads.

Xu Hei didn’t think much of it and walked into the city.

After Xu Hei entered the city, the two guards exchanged glances and waited for a long time until Xu Hei was completely out of sight before whispering.

”That person is...”

”Yes, it’s him. I recognize every wanted criminal’s portrait. That man is Ma Teng, who lost everything, even his wife and children, and still owes the Heavenly Dragon Casino a thousand spirit stones. He’s currently wanted by the casino...”

”Shh, keep your voice down. Cultivators have extremely sharp senses. Don’t let him hear us.”

The two guards’ faces changed, and they didn’t dare to discuss further.

After entering the city, Xu Hei didn’t walk far before realizing something was wrong.

He noticed that some passersby were subtly observing him, staring at his face, but quickly looking away when Xu Hei glanced back.

Was his face that strange?

Or was his figure too conspicuous?

Xu Hei’s true body was hidden under his clothes, making him appear a bit bulky, but it was a reasonable amount of fat.

Xu Hei thought for a moment and gradually quickened his pace, becoming more vigilant.

Chuyang City was divided into the inner city and the outer city.

The inner city was the cultivator’s area, occupying one-third of the city’s area.

After entering the inner city, Xu Hei headed straight for the Myriad Treasure Pavilion trading area.

Suddenly, a group of cultivators emerged from the street corner, rushing towards Xu Hei with fierce expressions.

Xu Hei instinctively wanted to run but stopped himself.

”Ma Teng, you dare show your face? You have some nerve!”

”Get him!”

The leading black-clad cultivator waved his hand, and the others swarmed Xu Hei, punching and kicking him.

Xu Hei didn’t want to cause trouble, but he quickly realized that this group had a grudge with the former owner of this body.

So this person’s name was Ma Teng. What bad luck, running into this right away.

Xu Hei took a step back, activated the Gravity Technique, and sent the group flying, causing them to fall in disarray. Xu Hei had held back, so no one was killed.

”This...” Everyone was shocked.

The black-clad cultivator’s face darkened and said, ”Ma Teng, do you know the consequences of defying the casino?”

”Speak plainly. What do you want?” Xu Hei said impatiently.

The black-clad cultivator laughed coldly and said, ”You owe our casino one thousand three hundred spirit stones. Are you trying to deny it?”

”Hmm?”

Xu Hei was stunned. All this trouble was over some money?

Xu Hei suddenly realized that the original owner of this body was just a Qi Refining Stage cultivator. One thousand three hundred spirit stones was an enormous sum!

He remembered how surprised he was when he found over a thousand spirit stones in Zhao Yiduo’s black jade stone.

The black-clad cultivator was sure Ma Teng couldn’t repay the debt, which was why they attacked.

One thousand spirit stones would take a Foundation Establishment cultivator a long time to save, and a Qi Refining Stage cultivator might never earn that much in a lifetime without great fortune.

As for how Ma Teng owed the money.

It started with just a hundred, but with interest piling up, it grew to this amount.