Serpent Ancestor

Star Island, Immortal Pavilion.

A refined and gentle man, holding a teacup, walked in through the main entrance. His appearance did not attract anyone’s attention.

The maid at the door didn’t notice him, the guards didn’t sense him, and the guests were equally unaware.

However, the moment this man entered, Mu Hou, the steward on the first floor, shuddered all over, quickly stood up, and looked towards the entrance of the reception hall.

The man with the teacup was already standing before him, without him knowing when.

”Greetings, Senior Li!”

Mu Hou hurriedly bowed in salute.

In terms of power, Penglai Island was much stronger than the Sea Commerce Guild, but the Immortal Pavilion was merely a stronghold, and Mu Hou was just a minor steward, unable to compare with Elemental Infant cultivators.

Li Yuan’an, holding his teacup, took out a portrait and placed it on the table. It depicted a horned serpent.

This was an image of Xu Hei.”This serpent appeared in the Penglai Sea and has become this year’s special recruit,” Li Yuan’an said calmly.

Mu Hou’s eyes flickered as he asked, ”Senior, do you mean...”

”You Penglai Island and the Penglai Sea share the same space, making it convenient to act,” Li Yuan’an replied.

Mu Hou’s expression changed, showing difficulty, and he said, ”Senior, we have a non-aggression pact with the Penglai Sea. If we were to assassinate their disciples, this might...”

Penglai Island and the Penglai Sea were both in an ancient space, one inhabited by humans and the other by demonic beasts, with rare conflicts and occasional cooperation.

”I didn’t say to assassinate,” Li Yuan’an shook his head slowly, ”This serpent stole the storage bag of my subordinate Liu Yong. Just give him a warning to return the stolen goods. It’s a reasonable request, not excessive, right?”

Mu Hou fell into contemplation, still looking troubled, and smiled bitterly, ”Senior, this...”

Li Yuan’an sighed, lifted his teacup, and was about to take a sip.

”Senior, don’t drink the tea. The previous matter is negotiable. I can arrange it immediately!” Mu Hou said urgently.

Only then did Li Yuan’an put down the teacup, nodded slightly, and his figure disappeared.

Mu Hou broke out in a cold sweat, cupped his fists towards the void above, and said, ”Grand Elder, how should we handle this matter?”

After a long silence, a voice finally came, ”This is not difficult. Li Yuan’an is a major figure, after all. We should give him this face. Do as he says!”

”Yes!”

With the Grand Elder’s approval, Mu Hou finally breathed a sigh of relief.

…………

Penglai Sea.

The Treasure Pavilion, located at the core of the Penglai Sea, collected countless treasures. As long as one had contribution points, anything could be exchanged.

Besides the Treasure Pavilion, there was also the Scripture Repository, accelerated cultivation rooms, simulated combat rooms, and more. The cost to access these was high, requiring contribution points. 𐍂á𝐍оᛒĘＳ

Xu Hei’s token contained only three hundred contribution points earned from tasks.

Of course, besides doing tasks, donating magical treasures or spirit stones could also be exchanged for a certain amount of contribution points, though it wasn’t cost-effective. Only nouveau riche with family mines would exchange spirit stones for contribution points.

When Xu Hei arrived, many demonic beasts had already gathered here. Over thirty newcomers had come to exchange for magical treasures to increase their task success rate.

Many senior brothers and sisters from the older generation also came to this place.

Xu Hei’s figure flashed and landed at the entrance of the Treasure Pavilion.

At the entrance was an elderly guardian, an oily octopus, holding a smoking pipe in its tentacles, puffing clouds of smoke.

A notice hung nearby: Show your token to enter.

Xu Hei presented his white token and flew into the first floor of the Treasure Pavilion.

The Treasure Pavilion had three floors. The first floor was accessible to any disciple.

The second floor required a core disciple token.

The third floor required an elder token.

Upon entering, Xu Hei’s vision immediately broadened. Row upon row of counters displayed a dazzling array of treasures.

Magical treasures, pills, talismans, formation disks, and more were all for sale. Even puppets, usually seen only in the human world, were available here.

Each treasure had its price clearly marked.

”Transformation Pill (Imitation), can transform into human form within the time of a stick of incense, effect unstable, price two hundred contribution points. Goodness, could it be refined by Xu Bai?” Xu Hei muttered to himself as he looked at a pill.

The first-floor treasures were of various types, all at least third-tier.

Xu Hei glanced around briefly. His three hundred contribution points could only exchange for a high-level third-tier magical treasure, far from what he had in mind.

However, he had quite a bit of stolen goods on him, which should fetch a good amount of contribution points when sold.

According to Xu Hei’s estimation, he could get at least over three thousand.

As for the token given by the old Flood Dragon, Xu Hei wasn’t counting on it for now, as he didn’t know how many contribution points it contained or if he could use them.

After surveying the area, Xu Hei went to a corner and focused his gaze on a lamp.

This lamp was called the Soul-burning Lamp.

As the name suggests, it was a magical treasure with a strong restraint on souls, reaching the top level of the third tier.

Xu Hei had immense physical strength and many magical treasures, but his biggest shortcoming was the lack of means to deal with sinister entities.

In the early days, he had the Soul-absorbing Flag, but now it was inadequate.

The Dragon Shatter Roar could attack souls, but it wasn’t enough on its own. He needed multiple preparations. According to Xu Hei’s estimation, this mission would inevitably involve dealing with sinister entities.

”Soul-burning Lamp, top-level third-tier magical treasure, valued at two thousand five hundred contribution points, among the most expensive in the third tier. I’ll exchange for this,” Xu Hei thought to himself.

Suddenly, Xu Hei felt a chill behind him, and a gust of wind rushed towards his back.

Xu Hei instinctively dodged, but the opponent changed direction, heading straight for the Soul-burning Lamp, clearly a feint to seize the magical treasure he had his eyes on.

”Don’t even think about it!”

Xu Hei reacted faster, inhaling sharply, and the Soul-burning Lamp flew up towards him, swallowed in one gulp.

The blue frog’s figure halted abruptly, hovering in front, eyes fixed on Xu Hei, sneering, ”Ha, not bad reflexes.”

Xu Hei knew the opponent couldn’t make a move inside the Treasure Pavilion unless they had a death wish.

Therefore, Xu Hei took a gamble, ignoring the attack from behind, and grabbed the Soul-burning Lamp.

”What do you mean by this?” Xu Hei frowned.

He didn’t believe the opponent coincidentally wanted the exact same magical treasure as him; it was obviously intentional.

”Kid, I advise you to be sensible and let Xu Bai join my team, or I’ll give you a harsh lesson!” the blue frog sneered.

”Are you threatening me?”

Xu Hei’s expression remained unchanged, but a cold glint flashed in his eyes.

”Ha, your cultivation is lower than mine. With the Beast Law, I won’t directly fight you, but I have plenty of ways to deal with you. I’ll make you isolated and miserable,” the blue frog said sinisterly.

At this moment, a thought suddenly popped into Xu Hei’s mind: to drag this frog out and give it a beating.

With his current strength, he could definitely take on someone at the Great Perfection of the Demon Core Stage, so there was no need to be afraid.

However, on second thought, Xu Hei dismissed the idea.

Acting rashly and exposing his strength before the mission would be extremely unwise.