Serpent Ancestor

”What terrifying speed! No wonder Hai Teng lost to him; there’s definitely something special about him!”

Lei Man squinted his eyes, the killing intent in his gaze growing even stronger.

Being pursued, Xu Hei couldn’t afford to hesitate. He took out a conch shell and blew into it.

This was the summoning conch given to him by Bo Xi, the chieftain of the Dolphin Clan, at last night’s banquet. Bo Xi had said that as long as the conch was blown, any dolphin that heard it would quickly spread the word, and the Dolphin Clan would rush to his aid at top speed.

He hadn’t expected to use it so soon after leaving the Dolphin Clan.

”A summoning conch? The Dolphin Clan even gave him this? What exactly did this serpent do?”

Lei Man’s heart sank. He gritted his teeth and accelerated, the lightning around his body becoming even more dazzling.

Xu Hei also increased his speed. For every bit Lei Man sped up, Xu Hei matched it, maintaining the distance between them.

At this range, unless they were in the sea, Lei Man’s lightning couldn’t strike from such a distance.

”Hmph! Let’s see how long you can keep up with this endurance game!”Lei Man wasn’t in a hurry. His opponent was only at the early stage of the demon core, while he was at the Great Perfection. Even if Xu Hei could match his speed, how could he compete in endurance? Their true essence reserves were at least ten times apart.

Xu Hei realized this too.

The greatest advantage of the Great Perfection of the Golden Core was endurance. With countless years of accumulation, although they hadn’t broken through to the Elemental Infant stage, their true essence had become increasingly profound.

Xu Hei’s eyes flashed. Facing such a formidable enemy, ordinary magical treasures were useless, and even the Black Dragon Pagoda might not work.

He thought of the Ten Thousand Poison Gourd.

This gourd wasn’t considered a top-tier treasure, but the toxins it contained were potent enough to poison even those at the Elemental Infant stage. Xu Hei had studied it last night and didn’t dare touch it directly, which showed its power.

The downside was that the poison was difficult to control, essentially borrowing external force.

”Let’s test it on you first.”

With a thought, the Ten Thousand Poison Gourd appeared, releasing a cloud of purple mist that spread backward. It wasn’t long before Lei Man charged straight into the purple mist.

”Ahhh!!”

The next second, a blood-curdling scream came from behind, more harrowing than a pig being slaughtered.

Xu Hei didn’t look back, nor did he care if the opponent was truly poisoned. He released another wisp of purple mist and shot forward, widening the distance.

”You wretched beast, you’ll die a horrible death!”

Curses came from behind, but the voice gradually faded away.

With this obstruction, Xu Hei managed to shake off his pursuer.

”What a fierce poison!”

Xu Hei was secretly alarmed, looking at the gourd in his hand. Suddenly, he felt a burning pain all over his body, and quickly put the gourd away in shock.

”Could it be that even I’m getting poisoned?”

His vision darkened, and his consciousness spun. He took a deep breath, fully activating the Demon God Cauldron to absorb the toxins within him and refine them.

After several breaths, Xu Hei stabilized and continued forward.

However, Lei Man was nowhere to be seen.

That faint sense of being locked onto still lingered, so Xu Hei didn’t dare be careless. He accelerated, returning to his island at top speed.

...

At this moment, Lei Man stood in place, taking several breaths to suppress the deadly poison within him.

His expression grew darker, the killing intent in his eyes almost tangible.

He had seen the purple poison mist and hadn’t paid it much mind, nor had he intended to avoid it, merely holding an obstacle-avoiding pill. Who knew it would be useless, and he would suffer because of a single misstep?

”What kind of poison is this? Why is it so bizarre that even I’ve never encountered it?”

Lei Man squinted his eyes. He had tried various antidote pills earlier, all ineffective, and had to rely solely on his cultivation to expel the poison.

Why hadn’t Xu Hei used such poison in his earlier battle with Hai Teng, only to bring it out now?

Either Xu Hei had just obtained it, or the poison had significant limitations, or perhaps both.

”I must use my trump card. Even if it means burning my lifespan, I must capture you today.”

Lei Man’s gaze was sinister. From his back, bones extended, transforming into a pair of thunderous wings. In the next second, his figure flashed explosively, the wings vibrating, creating a sound of wind and thunder as he broke through the air, his speed doubling from before!

...

On the island, in the sky pavilion.

Tianji Shangren had rested for two days and planned to go out today, but upon calculating, he found that today was not a good day.

He had previously calculated that today was suitable for travel, so why the sudden change? He felt a shadow looming, as if a disaster was imminent.

”Better reinforce the formation.”

Tianji Shangren never doubted his intuition, quickly taking out formation flags and placing them around the pavilion.

Meanwhile, in another cave dwelling.

Han Te also felt something was off recently. He wasn’t sure if it was just his imagination, but he always felt like someone had been on the island.

Sometimes, while deep in cultivation, he even heard human voices.

”Damn it, could someone have come up here? But my formation clearly hasn’t detected anything!”

Han Te immediately donned a transparent cloak, stuck on an Invisibility Talisman, and searched the island, but didn’t see a soul.

”Could it be a ghost?”

Han Te’s expression was uncertain.

His eyes flickered, and he immediately took out a large pile of homemade landmines, burying them underground. Numerous bombs were also hidden around the cave dwelling, ready to detonate at any moment.

These were his handmade creations, and with his artifact refining skills, they could easily kill a Core Formation stage cultivator.

Against stronger opponents, he could use smoke bombs to trap them and escape.

He had finally reached a critical point in his breakthrough, and this was a feng shui treasure land; he didn’t want to relocate.

Thus, one person set up formations, and the other buried mines, proceeding methodically on the island.

Time slowly passed, about half an hour later.

Unknowingly, Han Te had buried mines in a corner of the island, and Tianji Shangren had also walked there.

Suddenly, Han Te’s heart tightened, and he looked to the sky.

At the same time, Tianji Shangren’s eyelid twitched, and he looked at the ground.

At that moment, time seemed to freeze.

In mid-air, the white-bearded elder was shrouded in smoke and clouds, concealing all his aura, like an immortal descending to the mortal world. On the ground, the purple-haired youth was covered in Invisibility Talismans, completely transparent, like a ghost walking.

Their distance was almost face-to-face, just shy of mouth-to-mouth.

Had they not bumped into each other, so close that they could smell each other’s breath, they would never have discovered the other’s presence.

”Too close!”

A signal of caution simultaneously flashed in both their minds, their expressions changing drastically as they quickly retreated a hundred feet away.

”It’s that old man who steals people’s fortunes!”

”It’s that purple-haired charlatan?”

Both had seen each other before, and the same thought crossed their minds.

”Why am I encountering him here?”

”What is he doing?”

Staring at each other, they were momentarily bewildered.

No time to ponder further, suddenly, from afar, there was a flash of lightning and thunder, rapidly approaching, the sound like a terrifying wave, the momentum overwhelming.

They looked up to see a massive electric eel, filled with rage, speeding towards them.

The eel’s cultivation had reached the Great Perfection of the Golden Core, seemingly tracking something.

”Wretched beast, you’re at death’s door. Once I catch you, I’ll skin you alive and pull out your tendons. No matter what tricks you have, it’s a dead end!” Lei Man’s voice thundered like a storm.

”Whoosh!”

A black horned serpent shot past them in an instant.

Only then did they see clearly that the eel was chasing Xu Hei!

And just as Xu Hei arrived, the formation in the cave dwelling he had left behind lit up, space rippling as a teleportation array appeared.

As the light brightened, a dog-headed phantom gradually solidified, emerging from the spatial rift.

”Little Xu actually found such a place, not bad, a feng shui treasure land, truly rare!” the dog head praised.