Serpent Ancestor

The shattered space spread upwards, time was running out. Xu Hei coldly shouted, ”I’ll give you three breaths to decide.”

”Either follow me for five hundred years, and I’ll help you rescue the swarm, or I’ll throw you into the crowd to be at their mercy. Think carefully!”

The Insect Emperor glared at Xu Hei with eyes full of resentment. After a moment, she gritted her teeth and said, ”How can I trust you?”

”Two breaths left!” Xu Hei responded coldly.

The Insect Emperor was anxious and angrily said, ”Five hundred years is too long. I’ll follow you for ten years, and when the next passage opens, we’ll be even!”

The bargaining began, slashing from five hundred years to ten. This made Xu Hei’s mouth twitch; she really dared to propose that.

”One breath left!” Xu Hei said.

The Insect Emperor’s face turned livid, ”Twenty years, that’s my bottom line!”

Xu Hei remained unmoved.

At this moment, the three breaths were up. Xu Hei slightly tightened his grip, lifting the Insect Emperor high, ready to throw her into the shattered void.As for stripping her and throwing her into the crowd, it was just a casual remark. He wouldn’t actually do it; it would only cause trouble for himself. Since she didn’t know what’s good for her, he might as well kill her and be done with it.

”Time’s up, you can die now,” Xu Hei said.

The Insect Emperor hadn’t expected that Xu Hei’s threat to throw her out was just a joke, and he intended to kill her instead.

”Spare her!”

Suddenly, a voice came from Xu Hei’s storage bag—it was Ji Ying.

Ji Ying hurriedly spoke to the Insect Emperor, ”Your Majesty, how about a hundred years? You still have a bright future ahead, don’t throw it away like this!”

At the same time, he transmitted to Xu Hei, ”Xu Hei, with your rapid cultivation, a hundred years is no different from five hundred. Please, show some mercy.”

Ji Ying tried to mediate, hoping they would both compromise.

”You can still talk?” Xu Hei was slightly surprised.

When Lei Xuan captured Ji Ying, he severely injured him with one strike. Unexpectedly, Ji Ying still had the strength to speak, indicating that the blow was too light.

Ji Ying quickly transmitted, ”Xu Hei, I’m loyal to you. Though I’m with the Insect Emperor, my heart is with you. If I hadn’t diverted the Insect Emperor’s main forces, how could you have captured her so easily? I’m definitely on your side!”

Ji Ying’s slick words sounded convincing, leaving Xu Hei momentarily stunned.

However, he wasn’t as easily deceived as the Insect Emperor and didn’t delve into the matter.

Hearing Ji Ying’s voice, the Insect Emperor’s mood eased considerably.

Although she would rather die than be humiliated, she suddenly remembered Ji Ying was there, and he would surely come up with a good plan.

”Fine, a hundred years it is. I’ll follow you for a hundred years,” the Insect Emperor’s voice came with a hint of resentment and compromise.

At this point, Xu Hei also took the opportunity to agree, nodding, ”Alright, relax.”

The Insect Emperor relaxed her entire body, withdrew her Divine Sense, closed her eyes, and lost all resistance.

Only then, like a corpse, could she be stored in the storage bag.

Xu Hei waved his hand, enveloping the Insect Emperor’s body with Divine Sense. The Insect Emperor turned into a beam of light and was stored in the storage bag.

Inside the storage bag, the space was cramped and dimly lit. The Insect Emperor felt utterly humiliated but could only endure it.

”As agreed, I’ll rescue your swarm, but I can only save a small part. The rest will have to escape on their own,” Xu Hei said solemnly.

The Insect Emperor remained silent.

Xu Hei patted the storage bag and took out a handful of top-grade spirit stones, clutching them in his hand.

Sensing the Spiritual Qi, all the Spirit-Eating Ants and Ghostface Stone Spiders rushed towards the spirit stones.

Compared to the queen’s command, the spirit stones were the best directive!

Xu Hei took out an Earth-Escaping Talisman, wrapped it around the spirit stones, and then threw the stones towards an area away from the shattered zone. The Earth-Escaping Talisman activated, heading into the distance. The swarm immediately scattered, chasing after the talisman.

This was the best way to save the swarm.

The Insect Emperor’s soul was severely injured, leaving her powerless to control the swarm. Xu Hei, however, used this method to save the underground insects.

Witnessing this maneuver, the Insect Emperor was deeply shocked, though she said nothing.

Having lived underground for years, her mind wasn’t agile, and insects were inherently the least intelligent creatures.

Xu Hei said no more, his figure shot upwards, rushing towards the surface.

At the same time, he held a spirit stone in his hand, attracting nearby swarms to follow.

…………

On the surface, the ruins of the Divine King’s Hall.

The news of the Divine King’s Hall’s Spiritual Qi revival had spread widely. After a year and a half of fermentation, many rogue cultivators and spies from various sects and factions gathered here.

Among them were spies from the Tianhen Sword Sect.

However, the Tianhen Sword Sect hadn’t sent core personnel, and they had no access to the Supreme Spirit Stones. Their task was merely to keep an eye on Xu Hei.

But over a year had passed, and they hadn’t seen even a trace of Xu Hei, not even a hair. The two sentries were distracted, treating it as a vacation.

On this seemingly peaceful day.

From deep underground, a rumbling sound emerged, one after another, like an earth dragon rolling beneath.

The people on the surface were puzzled.

Before long, with a loud bang, a dark figure burst from the ground, raising a cloud of dust and immediately drawing everyone’s attention.

All eyes in the ruins turned to see a figure in a black robe, covered in dirt, looking quite disheveled—it was Xu Hei, who had escaped from underground.

”Finally out.”

After leaving the underground, Xu Hei quickly found an open space, sat cross-legged, and took a pill to focus on healing.

His supply of pills was running low, having consumed most during his seclusion. This was the last portion.

Of course, he still had a Kylin Pill, capable of instantly replenishing dragon blood, but it was too precious, and he didn’t plan to use it now.

Moments later, groups of people began to gather, all standing at a distance, not daring to approach rashly.

Naturally, they could see that Xu Hei was severely injured, his aura extremely weak, and couldn’t help but entertain malicious thoughts.

Among them, three cultivators exchanged glances, and the leader stepped forward, ”Fellow Daoist, you seem to have been through a fierce battle. Do you need assistance?”

This man wore a purple robe, appeared middle-aged, and his aura was at the mid-stage Elemental Infant, equivalent to Xu Hei.

Xu Hei ignored him, continuing to focus on his breathing exercise.

”Not speaking?”

The middle-aged cultivator’s eyes turned cold, and he struck like lightning. His arm turned a dark green, like a ghostly claw, reaching for Xu Hei’s storage bag at his waist.

Waves of green light rippled from his arm, and suddenly, the sky darkened, the ground echoed with ghostly wails, and countless ghostly shadows appeared, as if descending into a nether hell.

”It’s Wei Tao, the Green Demon Hand!”

”This kid is doomed, being targeted by this group!”

The onlookers retreated repeatedly.

Wei Tao and his two companions were notorious robbers in the area, specializing in ambushing lone cultivators, killing them for their treasures, their infamy widespread.

Such individuals were common on the outer battlefield, but these three were particularly ruthless, enjoying torturing their victims, making them infamous even among robbers.

”Courting death!” Xu Hei merely snorted coldly, paying no heed, letting Wei Tao charge forward.

”Pop, pop, pop...”

Suddenly, the ground exploded, and countless tiny black shadows emerged from underground, swarming towards Wei Tao. Their mandibles pierced him, and he couldn’t evade, his body riddled with holes, letting out a blood-curdling scream.

”Spirit-Eating Ants?”

Seeing these black shadows, everyone was horrified.