Serpent Ancestor

”Ma Teng, you cowardly rat who hides in the shadows, you don’t even have the courage to fight! You’ll never reach Qi Condensation in this life!”

The Foundation Establishment cultivator continued to curse.

These words were venomous, almost like a psychological suggestion meant to disrupt one’s Dao heart.

For an ordinary cultivator with a weak Dao heart, such words might indeed provoke them into a fight, falling right into the enemy’s trap.

But Xu Hei remained unmoved.

The opponent mistakenly thought that Xu Hei, who had used the Thunder Tribulation Pearl to blow up the casino, was a hot-headed and impulsive person.

Such people are the easiest to provoke!

In reality, Xu Hei was very calm. His impulsiveness was always based on his own will.

As long as he believed something was right, he would do it even if it meant defying the heavens and facing death.

Conversely, such low-level provocations were useless against him!”Ma Teng, you’d rather never reach Qi Condensation than fight me. You’re a disgrace to cultivators, a joke!”

As Xu Hei sped away, the taunting voice behind him grew fainter and fainter.

It was clear that the opponent couldn’t track his movements.

”Ma Teng’s inability to reach Qi Condensation has nothing to do with me!” Xu Hei chuckled inwardly.

He had easily defused the psychological suggestion with this method.

However, this made Xu Hei more vigilant.

If the opponent knew his name, could he still defuse it?

Xu Hei knew that every word related to cultivation carried immense power. Once such a suggestion took hold, it could significantly affect one’s state of mind.

This was no longer a simple provocation but a battle of Dao hearts.

”My Dao heart is too strong to be disturbed by such petty tricks.”

Xu Hei thought for a moment. Since the opponent had come after him and used such despicable means, he couldn’t just let it go without a response.

Xu Hei made a quick decision, took out a dragon scale, and carved a line of words on a large rock by the riverbank.

”You two can’t catch me with your strength, so you resort to such despicable means. You’re unworthy of being called immortals. Your cultivation will end here!”

As he carved the words, Xu Hei infused them with his insights from reverse cultivation, adding a touch of profound meaning. This made the words far more potent than mere insults.

After finishing, Xu Hei didn’t care whether the opponent would find it. He immediately used the Earth Escape Technique to flee far away.

In reality, if the opponent wasn’t stupid, they would follow the river and eventually find the rock.

Xu Hei didn’t expect the words to have a significant effect, but if they could disrupt the opponent’s state of mind and make them spend energy to counteract the influence, that would be enough.

…………

On the riverbank, the black-faced man Gongshu Yi continued to shout.

”Ma Teng’s puppet master, I’ll give you three more breaths to consider. If you don’t even dare to face a Foundation Establishment cultivator like me, what right do you have to talk about cultivation?”

”……”

After shouting for half an hour, Gongshu Yi was exhausted.

He opened a mechanical box, and a yellow dog appeared inside.

Gongshu Yi said bitterly, ”Elder Dog, that person is completely unresponsive. He must have already left!”

The yellow dog looked grim and said coldly, ”Even if he has left, he must have heard your words. His state of mind is inevitably damaged. This trip was not in vain.”

The yellow dog flashed and disappeared, replaced by a middle-aged man—Ding Quan’s true form.

Ding Quan looked around to make sure no one was hiding nearby, then sighed and prepared to leave.

Suddenly, he raised his hand and sucked a rock from the riverbank into his hand.

”This is…”

Gongshu Yi also came over. When he saw the words on the rock, his face changed dramatically, and he took several steps back in alarm.

The rock bore the line Xu Hei had left, suggesting their cultivation would end here.

Ding Quan’s face turned ashen, uglier than if he had eaten something foul.

”Damned bastard!”

He crushed the rock in his hand.

The fact that the person had left such words indicated that not only had he not been affected by their taunts, but he had also calmly thought it through and countered, putting them in a difficult situation.

Ding Quan wasn’t much affected, but Gongshu Yi might be in trouble.

Ding Quan turned to look and was stunned.

Gongshu Yi stood there pale-faced, trembling, his legs shaking, and cold sweat pouring down.

He kept replaying the words ”despicable means, unworthy of being called immortals” in his mind.

He had used many despicable means in his life.

”Gong! Shu! Yi!”

Ding Quan’s shout was like a thunderclap, jolting Gongshu Yi awake.

Gongshu Yi spat out a mouthful of blood and was thrown backward, landing on the ground.

”What just happened…”

He looked bewildered. Just seeing those words had made him lose consciousness, repeatedly reflecting on his despicable actions.

Ding Quan realized something was wrong. It wasn’t just the words; there was something else attached to them.

He took a deep breath, realizing he had underestimated the opponent.

”Thank you, Elder Ding!”

Gongshu Yi came to his senses and quickly bowed in gratitude.

If it weren’t for Ding Quan’s thunderous shout breaking his thoughts, he might have suffered severe damage and really ended his cultivation here.

”Alright, I’ll continue to investigate this person in the shadows. You don’t need to get involved.”

Ding Quan sighed.

He had initially brought Gongshu Yi along to use his Foundation Establishment cultivation to lure the opponent into a counterattack. Given the opponent’s arrogant nature, he might have fallen for it.

But it backfired. The opponent didn’t take the bait and almost caused Gongshu Yi serious harm.

”Yes!”

Gongshu Yi took a deep breath, bowed, and left with lingering fear.

Surrounded by a group of yellow dogs, Ding Quan stared downstream, lost in thought.

…………

Xu Hei didn’t continue drifting along the river.

After a certain distance, he used the Earth Escape Technique to burrow underground, found an underground river, and kept diving, constantly changing directions.

Another day and night passed.

Xu Hei remained underground, and the jade compass showed no signs of pursuit. He had completely shaken off his pursuers.

Even Xu Hei didn’t know where he had escaped to.

”I’m exhausted. I’ll sleep first.”

Xu Hei dug out a cave, took out the Soul-absorbing Flag, wrapped it around himself, and fell into a deep sleep.

As long as danger approached, the snake spirit within the Soul-absorbing Flag would automatically attack the intruder and wake Xu Hei.

He didn’t know how long he slept.

During his sleep, the tip of his tailbone was quietly changing.

In fact, after Xu Hei stormed the Heavenly Dragon Casino and detonated the Thunder Tribulation Pearl, the first dragon bone at the tip of his tail had already begun to transform.

As Xu Hei fell into a deep sleep, this transformation reached its final stage and was finally completed.

Five days later.

Xu Hei slowly woke up, the pain in his physical body gone, feeling refreshed as if he had recovered from a great battle.

It was said that human cultivators rarely slept as deeply as he did.

They usually rested in a meditative state and never in deep sleep, which was a difference between human cultivators and demonic beasts.

”I seem to have become stronger?”

Xu Hei frowned slightly. The first thing he felt upon waking was this instinctive realization.

He scanned himself with his Divine Sense and suddenly discovered that the first bone at the tip of his tail had turned a dark golden color.

In appearance, it had reached a perfect state.

This was purely a feeling. Xu Hei’s self-perception told him it was perfect.

Moreover, his cultivation had also improved slightly, with his solidified spiritual foundation covering about thirty percent, still seventy percent away from the mid-stage.

”I’ve improved this much!”

Xu Hei was astonished.