Serpent Ancestor

Seeing Xu Hei like this, Bonan also put away the thought of immediately taking a pill, deciding to wait until he recovered.

”Detoxification Pill, Marrow Cleansing Pill, Meridian Clearing Pill... quite a collection.”

Bonan carefully stored the pills away. Although he was at the Demon Infant Stage and should ideally use fourth-tier pills, he had unconditional trust in Xu Hei.

”Bo Xi, take him to the treasure vault,” Bonan instructed.

Bo Xi nodded and said to Xu Hei, ”Young friend, please follow me.”

…………

East Sea, Sea Serpent Clan.

The Sea Serpent Clan’s habitat was a vast shallow area, with a central Snake Island. The island was the heart of their territory, extending a thousand miles in every direction.

A full week had passed since Hai Teng fell unconscious.

Today, he finally awoke, his entire body in excruciating pain, with broken bones and torn muscles. He was covered in various ointments and bandages, wrapped up like a sack, yet he maintained a cold and arrogant demeanor.”Young master, the clan leader has forbidden you from leaving until you recover.”

”I am the future Flood Dragon, and you dare to defy me, committing insubordination?”

Faced with Hai Teng’s authoritative gaze, the guards at the cave entrance had no choice but to relent.

”A king bound like this, what a disgrace.”

Hai Teng crawled out of the cave dwelling, unwrapped all the bandages, and burned them to ashes with true fire. However, when his injuries touched water, the pain made him grimace.

After a while of adjusting, he continued to swim forward.

He hadn’t gone far when he encountered Hai Yuntian, who seemed to be waiting for him.

”Oh? Old clan leader, what do you want with me? Handing over the leadership now seems a bit premature, doesn’t it?” Hai Teng mocked.

Hai Yuntian glared at him and then recounted in detail what had happened after he fell unconscious.

”What? My senior brother was roasted, and my sister captured? Such a formidable opponent!” Hai Teng’s expression turned serious.

”Hai Meng brought this upon herself, but from the Penglai Sea, a jade slip has arrived, instructing you to return immediately once you recover,” Hai Yuntian said, tossing over a communication jade slip.

Hai Teng glanced at it and then smirked coldly, saying, ”The sect is afraid I’ll recklessly seek out Xu Hei for revenge? Haha, am I that foolish?”

Hai Yuntian gave him a peculiar look, scrutinizing him from head to toe.

”Hmm? What does that look mean?” Hai Teng glared.

After a moment of silence, Hai Yuntian explained, ”I mean, you’re still gravely injured, so you should go back and rest.”

”Rest...” Hai Teng sneered, ”After death, there’s plenty of time to rest. As long as I’m alive, how can I stop here?”

Hai Yuntian was left speechless, shaking his head silently.

This kind of madness was incurable, only left to luck. Fortunately, he had anticipated this, knowing the guards couldn’t hold him, so he waited here. Otherwise, Hai Teng would likely have slipped away.

”By the way, you don’t need to watch me all the time. I’m planning to... dismantle my core and start over,” Hai Teng suddenly said.

”Dismantle your core and start over?”

Hai Yuntian’s eyes widened, thinking he had misheard.

Dismantling one’s core to start over meant dispersing the Golden Core and rebuilding the Golden Elixir Realm, starting from the early stage of the demon core.

Hai Teng was already at the late stage of the demon core, painstakingly accumulated to this point. Why start over?

”To face an early-stage opponent with my late-stage realm and still fall unconscious made me realize my shortcomings. My Golden Core is not perfect!”

Hai Teng said earnestly, ”There are many Chosen in this world stronger than me. Their Golden Cores might be deep blue, even purple. As a king, I must reach or even surpass them. Otherwise, how can I live up to the name of Flood Dragon?”

His words were passionate, his eyes red, veins bulging.

But Hai Yuntian was completely speechless at such madness. In all his years, he’d never heard of anyone dismantling their core to start over. Cultivation was hard-earned, and only a madman like the one before him would consider such a thing.

”I can’t persuade you, decide for yourself. Just don’t bring trouble to our clan,” Hai Yuntian said.

Hai Teng returned to his cave dwelling to go into seclusion and dismantle his core.

Not long after he left, a shadow appeared from afar, pitch black as ink, with only a pair of eyes, revealing itself as a black serpent.

”Hehe, what a fine seedling. If he joined the Sea God...” The black serpent stared in the direction Hai Teng had gone, flicking its tongue.

”Ancestor, Hai Teng is a celestial seedling from the Penglai Sea!” Hai Yuntian’s face darkened, gritting his teeth.

”Oh? Why so tense? I was just praising him,” the black serpent said expressionlessly.

Hai Yuntian breathed a sigh of relief, bowing his head, ”Please don’t take offense, Ancestor.”

The black serpent merely chuckled sinisterly, not minding, and slowly said, ”The entire East Sea will eventually belong to the Sea God, including the Penglai Sea. Believe it or not, that’s the truth.”

Hai Yuntian said nothing, merely staring into the distant deep sea, lost in thought.

…………

Dolphin Clan, beneath the palace.

Xu Hei was led into an underwater tunnel, advancing a hundred miles before reaching the end.

Here lay a massive spiritual vein, hidden beneath the Dolphin Clan, making the area rich in Spiritual Qi, which was why the Dolphin Clan had rooted themselves here.

Compared to the half spiritual vein of the Mountain Movers Sect, this was much more magnificent. Xu Hei took a deep breath, feeling instantly refreshed.

”This is where our Dolphin Clan stores its treasures. Many clan treasures are here, inaccessible to outsiders, only openable by direct descendants,” Bo Xi explained.

With a point, the door opened, revealing a spacious stone chamber inside.

The interior was filled with an array of Magical Treasures, mostly around the third tier.

The higher the placement, the higher the grade, arranged like an equilateral triangle.

Xu Hei’s gaze immediately locked onto a pair of wings at the top. The wings had two colors, blue and purple, exuding a terrifying aura even from a distance, at least third-tier top grade.

”This was obtained by our clan’s former leader from a cave dwelling. It places a great burden on the physical body, and no one has dared to use it until now,” Bo Xi said.

Xu Hei’s eyes were fixed on the item, ”May I try it?”

”Of course!” Bo Xi waved, and the wings descended, landing before Xu Hei.

The wings had no feathers, resembling the fins of a marine creature, with delicate bone patterns, akin to a flying fish’s fins.

Xu Hei infused his Divine Sense into them and immediately received information.

”Water Thunder Wings, greatly enhance stealth speed, ignore terrain obstacles, usable in sea, land, and air...”

”They can also serve as lethal weapons, their sharpness comparable to a third-tier top-grade flying sword.”

Xu Hei opened his eyes, refining the wings, which appeared on either side of his body, thin as cicada wings, sharp as blades.

In an instant, a terrifying force of lightning surged from the wings into his body, accompanied by crushing water pressure. Xu Hei felt as if he were being electrocuted in the deep sea, his body paralyzed, trembling.

Bo Xi’s expression changed, ”Xu Hei, young friend...”

”No worries!”

Xu Hei gritted his teeth, enduring for about ten breaths before the wings fell off, nearly causing him to faint.