Serpent Ancestor

Xu Hei quickly calmed down. He was no longer the reckless beast charging blindly ahead. He suspected that this was yet another trick by the person behind the scenes.

”Isn’t it enough for us to kill each other in the previous stages? Now we have to keep killing here too. What exactly does the other side want?”

Xu Hei watched as the Three Corpses Daoist lunged at him again. He tried to distance himself, but his opponent had locked onto him, shadowing his every move.

Gu Yunsong clapped his hands, and his dark green face took on a deathly pallor. The area within a ten-thousand-foot radius turned into a desolate wasteland.

”Corpse Dissolution Technique, Netherworld Soil Descends!”

With a low shout, Gu Yunsong’s physical body melted and merged into the ground beneath him.

The blackness of the soil deepened, and the deathly aura surged, transforming into the legendary Netherworld Soil.

In an instant, Xu Hei’s body was covered with various corpse spots, his physical body decomposing without any pain, as if it were a natural process.

This made Xu Hei’s expression turn grim.

He had been immune to corpse poison before, but this move involved a sacrificial method to summon the legendary Netherworld Soil, a reckless act.”It seems I have no choice but to kill you.”

Xu Hei gestured, and Ji Ying appeared with a thousand Spirit-Eating Ants, diving into the Netherworld Soil below.

As a Corpse Beetle, Ji Ying was highly sensitive to the aura of corpses. In just a moment, it located the opponent’s true body.

There were three coffins hidden deep underground.

Xu Hei gripped the Star-Moon Sword and hurled it through the air. The sword light streaked like a meteor, piercing into the Netherworld Soil, traversing the void, and landing inside the first coffin.

”Slash!”

The coffin split open, and the corpse of a young man inside was instantly shredded, letting out a blood-curdling scream before dying.

”Three Corpses Daoist, three bodies—so this is your true form! Once I destroy your three corpses, let’s see how you plan to resurrect!”

Xu Hei pointed again, and the Star-Moon Sword unleashed the power of a near-fifth-tier Magical Treasure, slicing through a river of stars toward the central coffin.

”Clang!”

The second coffin was cleaved open, revealing the corpse of a middle-aged man, strikingly similar to the young one. His eyes filled with terror as he asked, ”How did you find me?”

Without hesitation, he leaped out of the coffin and fled, but was quickly surrounded by Ji Ying and a thousand insects, which pounced and began devouring him.

”Corpse Beetles? How could you have such creatures?! Ahhh!!” The middle-aged corpse was besieged by countless Spirit-Eating Ants, with Ji Ying burrowing into his ear. These insects were the bane of corpses, leaving him nowhere to hide.

In just a moment, Gu Yunsong’s two true bodies were destroyed, leaving only the last coffin, which emerged from the Netherworld Soil and fled into the distant sky.

Xu Hei wouldn’t give him the chance to escape.

The formation flags Sun Wuxiang had given him earlier proved invaluable. Eight formation flags appeared out of thin air, intercepting his escape route and trapping him within.

The coffin shook violently, and an elderly corpse emerged, this being Gu Yunsong’s old-age form.

”You want to kill me? Today, I’ll kill you instead! Die!”

Gu Yunsong’s eyes were bloodshot, his calmness replaced by madness.

His last true body exploded with a ”boom,” and countless ghosts flew out from his sea of consciousness, rushing toward Xu Hei like a storm.

Xu Hei cursed inwardly, thinking him a madman, then sank his energy into his dantian and shouted, ”Dragon Shatter Roar!”

”Roar!!”

Xu Hei’s Dragon Shatter Roar had long reached the level of shattering the void. The approaching souls were shattered by the roar, turning into nothingness, their screams echoing endlessly.

In just a few breaths, the last elderly form of the Three Corpses Daoist was completely annihilated.

With all three true bodies dealt with, the Three Corpses Daoist Gu Yunsong became the first fallen super expert.

The Netherworld Soil was broken, and Xu Hei’s physical body stopped decomposing.

At this moment, his skin had completely disappeared, his flesh half-dissolved, with many areas exposing stark white bones, looking quite terrifying, like a half-decayed corpse.

Xu Hei quickly took a healing pill, then raised his hand to summon the three coffin boards.

With his keen eye, he could tell that these three coffins were valuable, collectively amounting to a near-fifth-tier Magical Treasure.

Their function was to split a person’s soul into three, creating three bodies.

As long as the three true bodies weren’t dead, they could resurrect indefinitely.

However, this Magical Treasure had to be used in conjunction with the Ancient Tomb Sect’s cultivation technique, turning oneself into something neither human nor ghost. Xu Hei had no intention of using it but could sell it instead.

Xu Hei also found Gu Yunsong’s storage artifacts, a total of ten storage bags, which he inspected one by one.

With a quick glance, Xu Hei saw that the Spirit Stones amounted to ten million, not as much as the Black Lotus, but there were many strange pill bottles, most containing corpse poison.

In one of the storage bags, Xu Hei was stunned upon opening it.

Inside were over a hundred corpses of various types, men and women, young and old, Core Formation and Elemental Infant, both human and demon, too numerous to count.

Some were freshly dead, while others had clearly been dead for some time, emitting a rotting stench, tools for cultivating corpse poison.

”This is...”

Suddenly, Xu Hei’s gaze focused on one of the corpses in a separate storage bag.

This corpse was alone in a storage bag, its corpse poison having turned a dark purple-black, the most potent poison Xu Hei had ever seen, yet the corpse remained intact, exuding a terrifying pressure, with charred marks on its body.

”A Divine Transformation stage corpse?”

Xu Hei’s pupils contracted, then he shook his head and muttered, ”No, judging by the aura, this doesn’t seem like a true Divine Transformation cultivator, more like one who failed a Tribulation Crossing at the Divine Transformation stage.”

The charred marks on the body were clearly from being struck by lightning, not just any thunder tribulation, but the awe-inspiring might of a Divine Transformation heavenly tribulation!

Being able to attempt a Tribulation Crossing meant having the conditions to break through to Divine Transformation, but unfortunately, not everyone succeeds.

Once a Tribulation Crossing fails, the person dies, all efforts in vain, and their body is used to refine corpse poison—how tragic.

”This must have been Gu Yunsong’s preparation for his own future breakthrough to Divine Transformation, but alas, he never got the chance to use it,” Xu Hei sighed inwardly.

He sat cross-legged, took a pill from the ones seized from the Black Lotus, and quickly healed his injuries.

In the distance, the battle continued, with everyone locked in a fierce struggle.

Before long, Xu Hei’s decomposed skin had regenerated. It must be said, the pills from Medicine King Valley were indeed remarkable.

In Huangfu Duanlong’s memory, Medicine King Valley was once a renowned major power, but in later generations, it had declined, with few inheritors and difficult to trace.

As Xu Hei’s thoughts wandered.

Suddenly, he seemed to sense something, raising his head to gaze into the distance.

At the edge of his vision, a woman in white appeared, her face veiled, wearing a conical hat. Her white robes were as pure as snow, adorned with patterns of green lotuses, and each step she took left behind illusory lotus blossoms.

Xu Hei’s pupils contracted, but he quickly regained his composure.

Before long, the woman in white reached the sky above the battlefield. She took out a pill bottle, gently poured out some powder, and scattered it into the air.

”Whoosh!”

The powder drifted with the wind, falling into the battlefield.

Those who had been in a state of madness during the battle gradually regained clarity.

After completing this, the woman in white gracefully departed, heading deeper into the tomb.

Xu Hei watched her retreating figure until she disappeared from sight, then withdrew his gaze.

...

Meanwhile.

In the center of the great tomb, a figure that had been sitting silently suddenly looked toward the center of the battlefield, locking eyes on the woman in white.

”It’s actually her, one of the four heroes of the human race, the Green Emperor.”

”The defeated one of the past, returning today.”

The withered figure murmured to himself.

Then, he turned his gaze to Xu Hei, muttering, ”This demon can free himself from the influence and even kill his opponent, barely passing.”

”As for the others, they’re still lacking.”

Every person who entered the Void Realm had their performance observed by him, and he gave evaluations as if speaking to someone, or perhaps his self-talk had become a habit.

At this moment, his gaze paused, once again looking toward a solitary island.

There, a striking figure engulfed in flames had passed the first sacrificial test with just a drop of blood.

This could only mean one thing: that drop of blood was alive!

”Oh? Things are getting more interesting.”

...

Before long, the chaotic battle ceased.

Everyone had fought with all their might, risking their lives, resulting in severe injuries. Continuing the fight might lead to mutual destruction.

”What happened to me?”

”Did I go mad?”

”This tombstone is the problem!”

Everyone quickly retreated, distancing themselves from their opponents, breaking out in a cold sweat.

Their strengths were evenly matched, all at the peak of the Elemental Infant stage, and none had the confidence to defeat their opponent. Fighting to the death in such a situation was undoubtedly irrational.

Only now did they realize how perilous it had been.

Xiong Yan, holding his spine sword, sheathed it on his back, glanced at the approaching Xu Hei, and asked in surprise, ”Gu Yunsong, is he dead?”

Upon hearing this, everyone was suddenly alert.

Among the representatives of the five major sects, only Gu Yunsong was missing.

Xu Hei took out Gu Yunsong’s three coffin boards, flashed them before everyone, then put them away.

”He attacked me while I was in a state of enlightenment, and this is the result,” Xu Hei said coldly.

The entire scene fell silent, and Xiong Yan was left speechless.

Xu Hei had actually killed Gu Yunsong! Xiong Yan thought to himself, Gu Yunsong’s strength was similar to his own, so did that mean Xu Hei could easily kill him too?

Unconsciously, everyone took a few steps back.

Everyone present was a prodigy, all equally matched! Only Xu Hei had slain his opponent, which showed how impactful this was to everyone.

This was exactly the effect Xu Hei wanted.

In fact, it was just that the Demon God Cauldron countered the corpse poison, and Ji Ying found Gu Yunsong’s true body’s location, allowing Xu Hei to coincidentally eliminate him.

In life-and-death battles between cultivators, it wasn’t just about strength but also compatibility and luck.

If it were a different opponent, Xu Hei might not have been able to kill them.

Xu Hei no longer paid attention to the wary crowd. He approached the large tombstone and placed his hand on it, his Divine Sense probing inside.

At the same time, he secretly gave orders to Bai Zhi, Ji Ying, and September: anyone who dared approach would be killed without mercy.

Though he didn’t think anyone would dare make a move against him at this moment.

Unexpectedly, Xu Hei didn’t sense any information appearing.

”Buzz!” The tombstone before him emitted a white light, and an ancient jade slip emerged from the tombstone, falling into Xu Hei’s hand.

The jade slip glowed faintly, accompanied by spatial distortions, with strong law fluctuations emanating from it.

”Law Inheritance!” Everyone exclaimed in shock.

Xu Hei looked at the jade slip in his hand, his face showing astonishment.

A Law Inheritance was the lifetime comprehension left behind by a Divine Transformation stage expert before death, its value immeasurable, capable of helping someone break through to the Divine Transformation stage.

Any law would bring immense benefits!

It’s no exaggeration to say that many Elemental Infant stage cultivators at the peak were stuck at the law barrier, unable to advance. But with this Law Inheritance, everything would fall into place!

For a moment, everyone was envious.

It was said that the Void Realm contained secrets for breaking through to the Divine Transformation stage, and indeed, who wouldn’t be tempted?

However, recalling the strength Xu Hei had just displayed, everyone was envious, but no one dared to rashly attempt to seize it.

”No wonder some people break through to the Divine Transformation stage in the Void Realm; it turns out such things exist,” Xu Hei thought to himself.

This was a hot potato, with everyone’s eyes fixed on him, unblinking.

They were all Elemental Infant stage cultivators at the peak, all here to break through to the Divine Transformation stage, needing just this.

But Xu Hei was different; he was only at the mid-stage Elemental Infant.

The Law Inheritance was still too early for him.

Xu Hei stored the jade slip in his storage bag, which immediately burst, unable to withstand its divine power. Xu Hei’s eyes flickered, and he directly swallowed it, hiding it in the Demon God Cauldron’s position.

Then, he looked at everyone and said, ”I suspect there are more of these large tombs, not just one. You can search around and see if there are other Law Inheritances.”

This made sense.

Everyone exchanged glances, but only two rogue cultivators dispersed, heading in different directions.

Most of them stayed put, waiting to heal their injuries.

They were very cautious. Xu Hei was now being targeted, and the best way to eliminate future threats was to follow them when they dispersed and kill them one by one.

They wouldn’t act rashly until their injuries healed.

Xu Hei glanced at Xiong Yan, who was healing on the spot, and thought it was a pity. He really did have plans to kill him.

He glanced in the direction Xu Bai had gone, stepped on the Star-Moon Sword, and flew up.

Xu Hei moved swiftly, crossing a thousand miles in an instant, but all he saw ahead was an endless expanse of the great tomb, with no sign of Xu Bai.

”Is there something special in the direction she’s heading?”

Xu Hei wasn’t necessarily looking to meet her, just curious about what purpose Xu Bai’s Green Emperor had in coming here.

He paused for a moment, then continued in that direction, tracking her.