Serpent Ancestor

The Sea God Sect’s lair was quite far from the Penglai Sea. Back then, it took Xu Hei a full seven days to escape back to Star Island.

This time, even with Bai Luo’s warship traveling at full speed, it still took three days to arrive.

During this period, Xu Hei spent his time in deep sleep. He was utterly exhausted, both physically and mentally, reaching his limits.

Xu Bai was the first to leave the group, heading straight for the Western Cang Realm without hesitation.

The other eight also had their own thoughts.

However, their understanding of the Western Cang Realm was limited, so they needed to study it further.

...

In front of Mo Xuan’s tombstone, Xu Hei took out an ancient spirit medicine and buried it underground.

”Master, the Sea God’s physical form has been destroyed, and its spirit has fled. The crisis is over, and your sacrifice was not in vain.”

”Senior Yu Jianqiu also sacrificed himself, but I, Hai Teng, and the Nine-Headed Worm... we of the younger generation have survived.””Xu Bai went to the Western Cang Realm, also known as the Western Continent. She has her own path to pursue, and I understand.”

”Master, we are all doing well, so you can rest in peace.”

”…”

Xu Hei buried the spirit medicine there and poured out a jug of wine, though he didn’t know if Mo Xuan drank.

Yu Jianqiu left no body behind; his tombstone was on Martial Arts Island.

When Xu Hei arrived, Xiong Dabao was kneeling in front of the tombstone, clutching a wine gourd, a relic left by Yu Jianqiu.

Xu Hei approached and said, ”Senior Yu, thank you for forging the True Dragon Sword and the Star Sword Formation. I will not let this sword down!”

Next, Xu Hei handed over the object formed from the Nine-Headed Snake’s corpse to the Nine-Headed Worm.

It was a trapping formation called the Nine Extreme Demon Trapping Formation, capable of releasing a giant web to seal space and ensnare all living beings within it.

The most crucial aspect was the space sealing, which could render teleportation arrays and shifting talismans ineffective.

Without this item, Xu Hei wouldn’t have been able to kill the Devouring Demon Lord.

”I’ve handed over the relics, take care!” Xu Hei said.

”Wait!” the Nine-Headed Worm called out to him. ”I’ll accept my father’s relics for now, but I can’t let you suffer a loss. If you need anything, just ask.”

Handing over the relics was something Xu Hei was supposed to do, and he hadn’t planned on asking for anything in return.

But since the other party insisted, Xu Hei didn’t hold back and said, ”Do you have any spirit stones, top-grade ones?”

Upon hearing this, the Nine-Headed Worm handed Xu Hei a storage bag without hesitation.

Xu Hei took it and was stunned.

It was filled to the brim with top-grade spirit stones, piled like a mountain, totaling six thousand!

Top-grade spirit stones weren’t easy to come by, and their quantity was very limited. The Snake Catchers Sect only had a reserve of two thousand. It was only because the Nine-Headed Snake guarded the Netherworld Mine that so many were accumulated.

Although the exchange rate with lower-grade spirit stones was one thousand to one, it often took more than two thousand to exchange for one.

In other words, these top-grade spirit stones were worth over ten million lower-grade spirit stones!

Ten million!

Even if you killed Xu Fu, who was at the top of the bounty list, the reward would only be ten million.

”So you’re this wealthy,” Xu Hei remarked in surprise.

”They were all left by my father, and I can’t use them for now. Since you need them, I might as well give them to you,” the Nine-Headed Worm said calmly.

Though he spoke lightly, Xu Hei knew the value of top-grade spirit stones wasn’t something you could just exchange for.

Even cultivators at the Divine Transformation Stage could use top-grade spirit stones for cultivation.

”With this, my next dragon clan ultimate skill might come sooner,” Xu Hei thought to himself.

Dragon Battle in the Wild had cost him a thousand top-grade spirit stones to acquire, and the next one should require ten thousand.

Now, with this accumulation, he already had nine thousand top-grade spirit stones. With a bit of effort, he could easily gather the remaining amount.

Xu Hei knew he had gained a great advantage, but he didn’t refuse. He simply said to the Nine-Headed Worm, ”These spirit stones are useful to me, so I’ll accept them, and consider it a favor I owe you.”

”That’s enough for me,” the Nine-Headed Worm replied with a smile.

He was well aware that six thousand top-grade spirit stones were a fortune. He had intended to forge a connection, which was why he handed over all his assets to Xu Hei.

...

In the following days, Xu Hei, apart from resting in seclusion, managed to gather enough to reach ten thousand top-grade spirit stones.

Then, he returned to the island Mo Xuan had given him.

”Let’s begin!”

Xu Hei took out the top-grade spirit stones, stuffing them into his stomach one by one. Each time they touched the Demon God Cauldron, they were quickly absorbed.

One, ten, a hundred...

Xu Hei devoured them rapidly, taking a stick of incense’s time to finish consuming ten thousand top-grade spirit stones.

”Buzz!!”

In an instant, a faint light shone on the Demon God Cauldron, and the true dragon sculpture on its surface seemed to come to life, vivid and lifelike.

The Ever-changing Fish and Dragon, Dragon Shatter Roar, and Dragon Battle in the Wild were all dragon clan ultimate skills that were highly useful to Xu Hei.

He eagerly anticipated what the next dragon clan ultimate skill would be.

”Buzz!”

Countless pieces of information surged into Xu Hei’s mind like a tidal wave, one after another. Xu Hei felt a splitting headache, his veins bulging, almost unable to bear it.

Fortunately, his willpower was extraordinary, preventing him from collapsing.

Finally, amidst the pain, Xu Hei heard a voice.

”Supreme dragon clan ultimate skill, Dragon Soul Descent!”

”Summon the ancestral spirits to fight alongside you, known as the strongest summoning divine ability of the present age. The level of the summoned spirits varies with cultivation, divided into six tiers.”

”General, King, Emperor, Venerable, Saint, Ancestor—six levels of spirits.”

”…”

Countless waves of information flooded into Xu Hei’s mind.

This time, the information was the most extensive Xu Hei had ever received. It took a full three days for him to slowly awaken, with shock still lingering in his eyes.

”Dragon Soul Descent, a summoning-type divine ability.”

Xu Hei breathed heavily.

He had never heard of a summoning-type divine ability before. In the world of divine abilities, they were typically formed by utilizing and combining the forces of the Five Elements of Heaven and Earth.

Even when using external objects in battle, they were usually spirit insects, spirit beasts, or wandering souls.

The only thing Xu Hei could think of that summoned something out of thin air for battle was Hei Huang’s Gate of Hell.

However, the conditions for its use were quite stringent.

It required dragon blood as a sacrifice.

This was clearly prepared for the fourth transformation of the Nine Transformations of the True Dragon, the creation of dragon blood.

But now, with the dragon vein just completed and no sign of dragon blood, Xu Hei was completely at a loss as to how to obtain it.

As long as he had dragon blood, even a single drop, he could attempt to use it.

”Since the conditions are stringent, it means the power is formidable. There’s no rush; I’ll wait until I have dragon blood,” Xu Hei thought calmly.

He suddenly considered whether there might be ancient dragon blood left in the Penglai Sea over the years. Even if it wasn’t his own, it might be worth a try.

Xu Hei immediately sought out the teacher to inquire, only to receive a negative answer.

”There is no dragon blood, but there is a place rumored to have dragon clan relics. There might be dragon blood there,” the teacher said.

”Where?” Xu Hei asked eagerly.

”The Dragon Triangle,” the teacher replied.

Xu Hei’s eyes flashed as he recalled the ancient architectural complex he had witnessed in the Dragon Triangle, deep within a trench.

The buildings were only visible on a full moon night.

If it weren’t for Hei Huang stopping him at the time, he might have gone down there.

”That place has divine sense imprints left by predecessors and surveillance formations. But looking at the East Sea, the strongest individuals are only at the Elemental Infant stage, and the Divine Transformation Stage is almost extinct.”

Xu Hei pondered for a moment and decided to wait until he was stronger before exploring. There was no rush.

With his current strength, he feared few Elemental Infant stage cultivators, but someone at the peak of the Elemental Infant stage, like the Soul Refining Demon Lord, could still pose a threat.

Since someone had set a trap and was eyeing the dragon clan relics, they were unlikely to be weak. Without absolute confidence, Xu Hei wouldn’t take the risk.

Now, it was time to test his strength.

In previous battles with the Sea God Sect’s protectors, he had help from seniors. Xu Hei had never fought alone.

Xu Hei immediately went to the Simulated Combat Tower and took out Mo Xuan’s token.

As promised, the tower now belonged to Xu Hei, but he hadn’t taken it away and left it there.

When Xu Hei eventually left, he might take the tower with him.

”Master, please choose a battle mode,” the tower spirit Miao Miao’s voice came.

”Ranked!” Xu Hei said.

”Matching in progress...”

”Your opponent: Anonymous; Race: Human; Rank: Thirty-eight stars.”

It didn’t take long for Xu Hei to be matched with an opponent. He chose an ocean terrain, but he didn’t reveal his snake form, opting for a human form instead.

His opponent chose a desert terrain.

In the void, the two terrains collided, one of water and one of earth, stretching over a hundred miles.

Suddenly, Xu Hei found the scene before him somewhat familiar.

”The battle will begin in ten breaths. Please prepare, ten, nine, eight...”

Xu Hei looked at the endless desert ahead, his expression suddenly turning strange.

When the time came—

”Buzz!”

A familiar aura swept from the desert, causing the plants in the water to wither at an alarming rate, the seawater to vanish, and even Xu Hei’s flesh and skin to dry up rapidly.

This aura not only corroded the physical body but also the spirit.

”The Aura of Desolation!” Xu Hei recognized it.

The Aura of Desolation, Xu Hei had encountered it in the Combat Tower. It was the same opponent he faced when he first used Mo Xuan’s token for ranking, Luo Gang.

Back then, Xu Hei was instantly defeated by the opponent, unable to last even a single breath.

But now, Xu Hei could counter with his own aura.

He had many auras, and the first one was Reversal!

”Boom!!”

An invisible clash occurred in the void as Xu Hei reversed the flow, his once withered body quickly recovering, a rebirth in the face of adversity.

The aura was just a probe; the divine ability was the main focus.

In the desert, countless grains of sand formed a massive hand, reaching out to grab Xu Hei. The hand was a thousand feet wide, covering the sky and blocking out the sun, majestic and grand.