Serpent Ancestor

”Could something have happened to the Zhou Family’s ancestor?” Bai Luo asked, puzzled.

”Impossible. He’s in the late Core Formation stage. How could anything unexpected happen to him?”

Lei He didn’t doubt Zhou Qing’s abilities. At over five hundred years old, Zhou Qing possessed numerous magical treasures. Even if Lei He were to fight him, he’d have to endure some hardship.

Even if Zhou Qing was injured by an aura of life and death at the Elemental Infant level, severely damaging his vitality, not just anyone could take advantage of him.

However, Lei He did suspect that Zhou Qing, with his deep scheming, might have obtained some extraordinary benefit and simply fled.

That snake was quite peculiar, possibly harboring some secret that Zhou Qing discovered and didn’t want to share. It was entirely possible.

The more Lei He thought about it, the more his expression darkened.

He had fought Xu Qingfeng fiercely, while Zhou Qing conveniently used the pretext of chasing the Snake Demon to escape, taking the benefits and disappearing. It was simply outrageous!

”Hmph! Last time in the Earth Path, I offended the Zhou Family. Is this some kind of protest?” Lei He muttered to himself.

”Look, what’s that?”Bai Luo suddenly pointed into the distance and shouted, ”A tree? How could there be a tree inside the Blood Corpse Cave?”

Without needing Bai Luo to say more, everyone turned to look as soon as the tree appeared.

The tree stood ten meters tall, solitary in the middle of the Blood Corpse Cave, with lush branches and roots sprawling everywhere. In this deathly silent zombie cave, it was impossible not to draw attention.

Even more bizarre was that the tree was shaped like a human, with two arms and two legs, distinctly outlined, as if its back was turned to them.

Everyone immediately moved forward, arriving in front of the tree. As they focused their gaze, they were instantly dumbfounded.

”That face is...”

Everyone was stunned.

That familiar face, with an expression of terror, who else could it be but the Zhou Family’s ancestor?

Lei He’s eyes were vacant, staring at that hysterical face, and he couldn’t help but shiver.

What had Zhou Qing encountered to end up like this?

Or was this just a rare spirit wood, deliberately carved to look like him?

The Thirteenth Ancestor of the Snake Catchers Sect, however, had a glint in his eyes. He rushed forward, grabbed the tree, and pulled with all his might.

”Rise for me!”

With a loud shout from the Thirteenth Ancestor, Zhou Qing’s roots were so deeply embedded that only a small portion was uprooted, with countless roots snapping.

Faintly, he heard a piercing scream, like a soul’s roar, emanating from within the tree, making the pained face twist even more.

”What strong resilience! This divine sense fluctuation is indeed from the Zhou Family’s ancestor, it’s him!”

The Thirteenth Ancestor hastily retreated a few steps, speaking in a deep voice.

The entire scene fell into a dead silence.

What had he experienced in life to become a tree! Moreover, Zhou Qing seemed not to be completely dead, with a faint trace of divine sense still lingering. This was beyond comprehension.

Zhou Qing had pursued immortality his entire life, and this was his immortality?

”Was it... that snake’s doing?”

Bai Qiushui felt his mouth dry up. He had long thought that snake was not to be trifled with, but he hadn’t expected it to be this extreme.

Bai Luo’s face turned pale, and he felt a wave of fear. If he had encountered it inside the pyramid, who knows what might have happened.

There was no time for everyone to think deeply, as a red-haired whirlwind arose in the distance. The Corpse King, leading a large group of corpse puppets, charged in angrily, forcing everyone to flee, their hearts shaken to the core by the scene they had just witnessed.

...

Outside the Blood Corpse Cave, in a distant underground cave dwelling.

Xu Hei opened his eyes and exhaled a stream of air. After a long period of breathing exercises, he had mostly recovered.

However, the injury from the flying sword was healing extremely slowly. He had deliberately allowed himself to be hit by the blood sword to lure Zhou Qing in.

It was only because he had dragon scales and Zhou Qing had held back a bit that he hadn’t lost his life.

”Let’s see what I’ve gained from this trip.”

Xu Hei took out a storage ring and removed the seal, revealing its contents.

It was a massive space, a hundred meters in length, width, and height, totaling a million cubic meters. Xu Hei couldn’t help but gasp at the sight.

It was the first time he had seen such a large Void Stone.

Inside, it was piled high with spirit medicines and pill bottles, but as Xu Hei swept his divine sense over them, the spirit medicines turned to dust.

Just like the last time, when he had cut open a Void Stone in the gambling stone workshop, the spirit medicines inside crumbled at a touch, having been stored for too long to be preserved.

However, the jade bottles containing pills were still intact, each sealed, likely retaining some medicinal potency.

In a corner, there were about thirty top-grade Spirit Stones piled together, which made Xu Hei’s eyes light up.

In addition, there was one item that caught Xu Hei’s attention.

It was a massive stone slab, inscribed with a large amount of text.

The contents of a divine sense jade slip cannot be preserved for long unless by a great divine ability user.

But inscribing on a stone tablet is the simplest and most enduring method of storage. Even after tens of thousands of years, or even a million years, as long as it’s not exposed to the elements, the carved text can still be seen.

Xu Hei focused on the stone slab, examining it closely. The handwriting was elegant, clearly written by a woman.

”I don’t know how many years it will be before this stone tablet is discovered, perhaps tens of thousands, perhaps a hundred thousand, perhaps a million, or perhaps never.”

This was the first sentence on the stone slab.

”I, Gongshu Ruyi, a direct disciple of the third generation sect master of the Divine Puppet Sect, a member of the Pill Hall of Wuyou City.”

”I inscribe this text to reveal the truth of this history, so that future generations may remember.”

...

Xu Hei scanned the stone slab, reading it word by word from top to bottom.

In ancient times, heroes rose, and the Hundred Schools of Thought contended.

Confucianism, Daoism, the Buddhist sect, and the Demon Cult each occupied their own territories, with talented individuals emerging in great numbers, making it a golden era.

Gongshu Zi, renowned for his art of mechanisms and puppets, founded the Divine Puppet Sect as the first Grandmaster. After breaking through to Divine Transformation, he wandered beyond the world and disappeared.

Afterward, the second-generation sect master, Mo Ban, inherited the sect, continuing to promote the art of puppets and mechanisms, determined to change life through technology and create a perfect world.

The third-generation sect master, Mo Wuyou, was even more so. He fulfilled Mo Ban’s wish and created the most perfect city in the world—

Wuyou City!

Wuyou City, as the name suggests, is a place of long-lasting happiness without worries.

The old have support, the young are cared for, no one picks up lost items on the road, and doors are not locked at night. Regardless of race, gender, or status, there is no sorrow or conflict, making it a paradise everyone yearns for.

To fulfill the wish of Wuyou, he continuously improved Wuyou City, using the art of mechanisms to elevate the living standards of its inhabitants far beyond any place of the time.

This was Mo Wuyou’s Dao, to protect this city without worries and break through to Divine Transformation!

Regarding this, Xu Hei also had some understanding.

It is said that at the Elemental Infant stage, it’s not just about cultivation but also about cultivating one’s aura and Dao heart.

Using Wuyou City as his Dao heart to prove the Dao of Wuyou, this was what the third-generation ancestor Mo Wuyou did.

During this period, Mo Wuyou’s identity was merely that of a mortal City Lord, without performing any immortal deeds. Yet, through some artisan techniques, he turned Wuyou City into a paradise.

For ten consecutive years, there was not a single crime recorded.

He fulfilled the lifelong pursuit of the second-generation ancestor, just half a step away from Divine Transformation!

However, human desire is limitless.

Every dynasty has the iron rule of peace lasting no more than a hundred years, let alone a single city.