Serpent Ancestor

Extraterrestrial Heavenly Demons only appear when a renowned Chosen is undergoing tribulation. Ordinary cultivators are beneath their notice.

Night Owl’s gaze was fixed on the demonic hand.

”Even the extraterrestrial Heavenly Demon has been summoned. If this child doesn’t fall, he might have the potential to reach the Divine Transformation Stage,” Night Owl thought to himself.

He glanced at Xu Hei’s condition and shook his head. Xu Hei was already gravely injured; a few more bolts of lightning might be too much for him to withstand, and he still had to deal with the extraterrestrial Heavenly Demon.

This was no longer a situation of nine deaths and one life; it was almost certain death.

What use were more protectors? This kind of substance, akin to an Inner Demon, could only be dealt with by oneself!

But just then, the extraterrestrial Heavenly Demon seemed to see something terrifying. The demonic hand quickly retracted, as if trying to retreat back into the fissure.

Xu Hei was prepared. He took out a mirror and aimed it at the demon.

”Ah!!”

Amidst a faint, shrill scream, the extraterrestrial Heavenly Demon was pulled from the fissure, transforming into a dark light and being absorbed into the mirror.The previously dim Heavenly Demon Mirror regained its brightness after absorbing the extraterrestrial Heavenly Demon, returning to its usual state.

”What?”

Night Owl’s expression changed dramatically.

He saw a mirror that could even capture an extraterrestrial Heavenly Demon. What kind of mirror was that?

He instinctively wanted to rush forward to seize it, but after glancing at the watchful Demon Lord and the other unfriendly gazes, he suppressed his impulse.

Though he was a high and mighty cultivator at the Divine Transformation Stage, having lived for countless years, he didn’t know everything, nor had he seen everything. For instance, Xu Hei’s various methods had already exceeded his understanding.

An extraterrestrial Heavenly Demon, feared by any Chosen, was easily captured by a mirror.

With so many mysterious powerhouses protecting him, Night Owl had already dismissed the idea of dealing with Xu Hei.

However, what he saw and heard today had to be reported back.

”Boom!!”

The thunder tribulation descended, and Xu Hei once again unleashed his magical treasures. The Black Tortoise Shield was shattered by the thunder.

To cross the tribulation, almost all of Xu Hei’s fourth-tier magical treasures were destroyed, leaving only the Earth Armor and Golden Dragon Pagoda, both of which were damaged.

He was at the end of his rope.

Even the pills he had consumed were mostly gone, yet he hadn’t fallen; he could still fight.

Without magical treasures, without pills, he still had his physical body, his lifelong learning, and his divine abilities. He would use his battered body and indomitable will to resist the heavenly tribulation.

”Boom!” ”Boom!” ”Boom!”...

The thunder roared, and the crowd’s vision was obscured. They could only see a flood dragon in the purple sea, raising its head to challenge the heavens.

Xu Hei’s dragon scales, constantly reinforced, now shimmered with a purple-gold hue, though they were severely damaged. His dragon bones, bathed in lightning, were filled with a violent force, tempered like a thousand times over, more solid than any magical treasure, yet they had turned charred black.

His dragon vein, like the toughest whip in the world, endured the lightning and flames without breaking. This was the strengthening brought by the tribulation!

He had grown stronger, but the injuries were too severe.

”I can still fight!”

”I haven’t fallen!”

”Even if there’s only one bone left!”

Xu Hei still held his head high. His physical body was in ruins, like a piece of rotten wood, with no intact part left. Many areas had lost flesh, exposing bone, but his spirit remained unyielding, never bowing an inch.

The tribulation had reached its final stage.

This was also the most dangerous moment.

The heavens were furious, and vast thunderclouds gathered at the center, layer upon layer, growing deeper in color. The sky was illuminated with a seven-colored radiance, the epitome of beauty and destruction.

This was the most terrifying Elemental Infant thunder tribulation recorded since ancient times!

Night Owl looked at the seven-colored thunderclouds, wanting to record it with a jade slip, but any jade slip taken out would automatically shatter, unable to capture the moment.

”What a terrifying tribulation. What kind of demon is this?”

”If he survives, he could rival the ancient Immortal Lords, let alone the Divine Transformation Stage!”

Night Owl was deeply shaken by the sight of the seven-colored thunderclouds.

Qin Xuanji was speechless. His own tribulation had been a near-death experience, yet the current seven-colored thunder tribulation was infinitely more terrifying than his had been.

However, Xu Hei had also reached his limit. It wasn’t that he wasn’t strong enough, but the tribulation was too fearsome, beyond what his realm could handle.

To put it bluntly, it was as if the heavens wanted Xu Hei dead!

Everyone involuntarily looked at Xu Hei, their hearts filled with worry.

At this point, who could help him?

Who else?

Xu Hei’s current state, facing the final wave of this destructive tribulation, was almost certain death!

”Is it finally coming?”

Xu Hei looked at the surging lightning, his eyes filled with determination, no retreat.

He had considered death but would never allow himself to die under the tribulation, under the laws of the heavens. Never!

”Buzz!!”

Suddenly, a streak of light pierced the sky, traversing the void at an incredible speed, ignoring spatial distances and all obstacles, arriving above Xu Hei’s head.

Upon closer inspection, it was a sword!

A sword entirely black, resembling a dragon or a serpent. Though it was just a sword embryo, its sharpness was suffocating.

”This is...” Xu Hei looked toward the horizon.

From afar, Yu Jianqiu’s voice came.

”This sword is just one step away. This step, I leave to you. With heart, with intent, with spirit, infuse your essence into the sword. This is your sword!”

Listening to Yu Jianqiu’s instructions, the calamity in the sky finally descended.

Xu Hei stood up, dragon claws forming seals, and the black sword soared upward, clashing with the descending thunder.

”Boom!!!”

The heavenly thunder struck, merging with the sword light. On the surface of the black sword, fine dragon scales appeared.

These were the sword’s scales!

”This is the first sword intent, named Rebellion!” Xu Hei shouted.

The seven-colored thunderclouds trembled, followed by another thunderbolt crashing down, colliding with the ascending black sword, illuminating the surroundings with blinding white light and tearing the sky and earth with terrifying vibrations, causing countless beings to lose their hearing.

The black sword was struck down, but in just a breath, it straightened again, a dragon spine appearing on its blade.

This was the sword’s spine!

”This is the second sword intent, named Pride!” Xu Hei’s cold voice spread.

The thunderclouds seemed enraged, contracting, as a seven-colored thunderbolt ten times thicker than before descended, pouring down towards the black sword.

Xu Hei grabbed the black sword, charging towards the seven-colored lightning. His small figure, like a moth to a flame, was completely engulfed by the lightning.

”Boom!!”

Sword light and thunder light intertwined as Xu Hei fell from the sky.

When the light faded, nine veins appeared on the black sword’s blade, converging on the dragon spine, like nine dragon veins meeting at the center.

This was the sword’s vein.

”The third sword intent, named... Home.” Xu Hei closed his eyes.

All sounds vanished.

The seven-colored thunderclouds in the sky quickly dissipated, and the nearby beings stared blankly at the fallen Xu Hei, unable to speak for a long time.

The Five-Nine Thunder Tribulation had ended.

This Elemental Infant thunder tribulation was the strongest since ancient times, without equal.

As for the owner of the tribulation, he had fallen into the deep pit of Myriad Serpent Valley, still clutching a sword in his dragon claw, a black sword as shattered as he was.

This sword was engraved with dragon scales, a dragon spine, and nine dragon veins.

It was as if Xu Hei’s inner self was projected onto it, affirming his Dao heart and imprinting his intent onto the sword.

At this moment, the Golden Core within Xu Hei’s body had completely vanished, replaced by a small flood dragon coiled above the Demon God Cauldron.

This was his Elemental Infant!

Xu Hei’s appearance had also transformed, with two horns, long whiskers, a dragon tail, and a dragon spine, with claws beneath his abdomen. He had evolved into a flood dragon.

Thus, Xu Hei officially crossed that barrier, reaching the Elemental Infant stage!

”Buzz!!”

Xu Hei’s body was enveloped in a green light, his shattered physical form slowly repairing, bones regrowing, dragon scales regenerating, and dragon veins strengthening.

During this process, no one disturbed him.

Time passed without notice.

Everyone outside had left, including Night Owl.

In the vast Myriad Serpent Valley, only Xu Hei remained.

…………

In the East Sea, the blue waters had vanished, replaced by an endless expanse of black.

Where the black pollution spread, life was devastated, all living things turned to ash.

In just a month, countless marine species went extinct, and numerous races disappeared forever.

Seals, seagulls, fish, shrimp, whales... It was conservatively estimated that over eighty percent of species were extinct, marking an unprecedented mass extinction.

The last mass extinction had to be traced back to the ancient era, sixty million years ago.

That great catastrophe led to the extinction of countless exotic beasts recorded in the Classic of Mountains and Seas, leaving them only as legends.

”A power completely opposite to Spiritual Qi, clearly here to destroy the world!”

”If it spreads throughout the East Sea, there will be no more Spiritual Qi, and it will become a stronghold for demons, with unimaginable consequences!”

On Star Island, many high-ranking officials of the East Sea gathered to discuss countermeasures.

Their ancestral homes were all in the East Sea, and they couldn’t just leave. If they surrendered this place, the Sea God Sect would only become more rampant. If you retreat, they advance, and eventually, they would devour the entire world.

They had to find a way to stop this.

”At the rate of that black pollution, how long until it reaches Star Island?”

”At most, half a year!”

Half a year... The room fell silent.

Time was running out for them.

But faced with such terrifying power, after a month of discussions, they were at a loss, unable to come up with a plan. Not even the leaders of the eight major forces, or giants like the Penglai Sea, Penglai Island, and the Sea Commerce Guild, had any solutions.

And at that moment.

A sinister voice echoed in their ears.

”Half a year? Hehehe, you underestimate our Sea God Sect!”

The voice was eerie and chilling, as if it were right beside them.

Simultaneously, an indescribable darkness enveloped the entire conference hall. This darkness wasn’t the absence of light but the stripping away of their senses!

Everyone’s pupils contracted in horror.

”We’re under attack!!”