Serpent Ancestor

Mo Wuyou gazed into the horizon, seemingly sensing something in the void. After a moment, he let out a sigh.

”What is meant to come will eventually come. Time is running out.”

He looked at the participants and produced a large piece of intricately patterned jade, which he tossed out. The jade pieces landed in front of the five teams.

In front of Xu Qingfeng were thirteen jade pieces.

Bai Luo received fourteen jade pieces.

Bai Qiushui got eight.

Xu Hei and Zhou Wendie each received sixteen.

Upon closer inspection, the number of jade pieces matched their remaining points.

”These are mechanism jades. With them, you can open the mechanism boxes found within the relic,” Mo Wuyou explained.

Everyone was taken aback.They had indeed found many mechanism boxes within the relic, but no one had been able to open them, despite trying countless methods.

Who would have thought they needed these mechanism jades to unlock them!

Everyone who came to the ancient relic had acquired some mechanism boxes, even rogue cultivators might have found one or two. Now, with a way to open them, the boxes’ value became apparent.

Xu Hei, however, was stunned.

If the mechanism jade opened the boxes, then what was the purpose of his key?

The key he obtained from the old ape could open mechanism boxes and the Earth Path...

Xu Hei’s eyes flickered as he considered various possibilities.

”Could it be a universal key?”

His breath quickened slightly.

Of course, this was just a guess and needed verification. If it truly was a universal key that could open anything, that would be interesting.

But now was not the time to think about such things.

With a wave of Mo Wuyou’s hand, Xu Hei and Zhou Wendie’s figures flew into the center of the light circle.

The circle’s area suddenly expanded, transforming into a battle platform that stretched infinitely, expanding to a width of a thousand miles—this was their battlefield.

Xu Hei remained hidden within the butcher’s body, wearing a wide-brimmed hat and armor. Zhou Wendie stood opposite him, clad in a purple robe, her face as cold as frost.

Their physiques formed a stark contrast.

Outside the circle, all eyes were on them.

”The winner between you two will receive my final inheritance,” Mo Wuyou’s voice echoed.

Xu Hei asked, ”May I ask, senior, what exactly is your inheritance?”

”I cannot tell you yet,” Mo Wuyou shook his head.

Xu Hei sighed helplessly.

He hated exposing his strength in front of others. He preferred to keep a low profile, avoiding attention and enmity.

Despite controlling his points throughout the competition, it still came down to a one-on-one battle.

Perhaps this was fate!

There was no retreat in this fight.

Yet Xu Hei had a vague feeling that his point control was not meaningless; it had at least influenced some people’s judgments.

”I’m surprised to face you instead of Bai Luo in the end!”

Zhou Wendie’s voice was calm, a stark contrast to her previous hasty retreat in the Blood Corpse Cave. Now, her eyes were filled with absolute confidence.

Last time, she had not fully recovered from her injuries, her eyes had been taken, and her strength greatly diminished.

This time, she would not repeat her mistakes!

Although she was wary of Xu Hei’s method of killing Zhou Qing, she could tell Zhou Qing was not defeated head-on but fell to some underhanded trick.

She could not afford to be careless.

Xu Hei’s expression grew serious.

His opponent was at the Great Perfection of the Foundation Establishment Stage, ready to form a core at any moment, and he was not far behind. In terms of cultivation, he had no disadvantage. Due to his perfect Foundation Establishment, Xu Hei even had an overwhelming advantage.

The only potential variables were magical treasures and hidden trump cards.

In any case, he could not be careless.

Xu Hei and this woman had a deep-seated enmity. She had repeatedly plotted to have him killed and even summoned an ancestor. Who knew if there would be a next time? If given the chance, Xu Hei would not hesitate to eliminate her.

”Whoosh!”

Zhou Wendie vanished from her spot, a pair of butterfly wings appearing behind her, moving so fast that afterimages formed.

”So fast!”

Xu Hei’s eyes narrowed as he too disappeared, leaving behind an afterimage.

As they crossed paths, a crisp metallic sound echoed in the void, and a blade mark appeared on the butcher’s arm, though it was unclear what had caused it.

”Whoosh!”

Zhou Wendie charged again, her speed rivaling that of an average Core Formation cultivator, even faster than the butcher’s Ever-changing Fish and Dragon technique.

Xu Hei extended countless arms, reaching for Zhou Wendie, but she sidestepped and flashed past, slicing off one of the butcher’s arms.

”This is one of the Zhou Family’s Four Divine Techniques, the Startling Swan Step!”

Someone outside recognized Zhou Wendie’s footwork and exclaimed in astonishment.

”This is a spell only Core Formation ancestors can learn. When did she master it?”

”Did you see the wings on her back? That’s also a third-tier magical treasure, the Illusory Butterfly Wings!”

”The Startling Swan Step combined with the Illusory Butterfly Wings makes her speed comparable to the Core Formation Stage.”

The crowd marveled.

They all knew the two were merely testing each other, but even in this probing, Xu Hei was at a disadvantage.

No wonder she was one of the top Chosen in the Qin Kingdom, capable of fighting across realms!

In fact, Zhou Wendie had already sparred in secret with three rogue cultivators her family had recruited.

Three early-stage Core Formation cultivators. Among them, Cang Ming had fought her for a hundred moves without using trump cards, ending in a draw.

The blue-clad woman surrendered after two hundred moves.

Han Te was defeated in just three moves, though there was suspicion of him holding back. But still, he was a Core Formation cultivator using true essence, yet he was no match for Zhou Wendie.

It was clear that Zhou Wendie’s strength could already rival an early-stage Core Formation cultivator.

”Whoosh!”

Zhou Wendie charged again. Xu Hei could discern her position, but the butcher’s large size made dodging difficult, leaving him a sitting duck.

Xu Hei pondered briefly, and as she approached, he sank his energy into his dantian and let out a mighty roar: ”Roar!!”

Dragon clan’s ultimate technique, Dragon Shatter Roar!

However, he only used twenty percent of his power before stopping, not wanting to reveal too much.

Yet even with just twenty percent, Zhou Wendie’s movement halted, causing a brief stiffness. Xu Hei quickly formed a hand seal and shouted, ”Earth Rock Spike!”

Countless rocks in the void formed spikes and shot toward Zhou Wendie’s figure, piercing through her in an instant.

However, Zhou Wendie’s figure vanished; what was pierced was merely an afterimage.

”So it was a feint.”

Xu Hei’s expression remained unchanged as he struck the void beside him, sending three ivory flying swords stabbing into a large umbrella, spinning and bouncing off.

Xu Hei realized immediately that this woman had too many defensive magical treasures, protecting not only her physical body but also her divine sense.

Even soundwave spells couldn’t catch her off guard.

Of course, Xu Hei had only used twenty percent of his power in the Dragon Shatter Roar, so it was normal not to break through her defenses.

”Whoosh!”

Zhou Wendie retreated a thousand feet away, covering herself with her wings and vanishing from sight.

At this moment, she withdrew to a corner, her expression heavy.

”This person is incredibly strong. I’ve already used fifty percent of my cultivation and the Startling Swan Step, yet I can’t do anything to him. Even getting close is extremely difficult.”

Zhou Wendie swallowed a pill to maintain her optimal state.

At this rate, even if she used all her cultivation, without employing her Ice and Fire Dual Pupils, victory would be hard to achieve.

Because she could tell her opponent was also hiding his strength, though she didn’t know how much.

”I’ll use the Four Divine Techniques to force out his true self.”

Zhou Wendie made up her mind.

The Zhou Family’s Four Divine Techniques were well-known in the Qin Kingdom.

Speed technique, Startling Swan Step. Palm technique, Void Shattering Palm.

Blade technique, Invisible Sword. Eye technique, Void Piercing Eye.

Each technique was a decisive killer move in the Core Formation Stage.

Just as Zhou Wendie was formulating her plan, she saw a shadow appear before her.