Serpent Ancestor

Xu Hei was sliced into two, yet he felt no pain, only the most primal instinct—hunger, driving him to hunt!

Despite his body being severed, he still charged towards the crowd, devouring madly.

Xu Hei had gone mad! Or perhaps, he had reverted to his instincts.

When a sentient being is stripped of its intelligence and loses pain, fear, joy, anger, sorrow, and happiness, it becomes like this!

The Ancient Tomb Sect, left with no choice, sacrificed more souls, one blade after another falling upon Xu Hei’s body, causing his physical form to continuously split apart.

”What kind of monster is this?”

”He’s still not dead?!”

Before the eyes of the people in Ghost City, Xu Hei, who had been cut into countless pieces, continued to writhe. The demonic flower kept releasing demonic energy, and his fragmented body seemed to be drawn by some force, merging together to form a complete flood dragon.

Despair engulfed the crowd.

Before long, a hundred thousand souls had been exhausted. They had given their all, yet they still couldn’t stop Xu Hei.Daoist Minghe looked outside the city, hoping for help from the Skynet, but why would Skynet care about their lives?

Then, Xu Hei began a frenzied slaughter.

Just like in Tianhen City, he killed from the southeast to the northwest, from the commercial district to the cave dwelling area.

Ghost City was doomed!

Most of the living in the city were sacrificed, and the rest, including Daoist Minghe and the elders of the Ancient Tomb Sect, were all devoured by Xu Hei.

From the moment Xu Hei entered the city, it took merely the time of a stick of incense.

Under the watchful eyes of Bai Luo and others, this great city was utterly annihilated.

”Is he... mad?” Bai Luo murmured in confusion.

”Did you see that? Is this what you want to protect?” the Kirin mocked mercilessly, ”Is this what the Mo family ancestors taught you?”

Bai Luo fell silent.

Universal love and non-aggression, the Mo family’s path, had long been etched in his heart. He protected Xu Hei, partly out of gratitude, and partly because Xu Hei had repelled the sea god, a great favor to him and the East Sea.

Such a Xu Hei, with a heart of righteousness, couldn’t possibly be a demon!

But when he witnessed Xu Hei devouring group after group of human cultivators, regardless of gender or age, Bai Luo’s resolve wavered.

Seeing is believing, hearing is not. No matter what Xu Hei had done before, Bai Luo could ignore it, but he couldn’t pretend not to see what was happening before his eyes.

Bai Luo looked at Bai Qiushui, who simply closed his eyes and gave no response.

”I’ve felt that before...” At this moment, the usually silent Ah Yin spoke up, looking at Xu Hei, ”He must be in great pain.”

Everyone turned to the silver-haired girl.

It was the first time they heard Ah Yin speak voluntarily.

The Kirin’s expression suddenly changed, ”Run! That flood dragon has its eyes on you!”

The three cultivators from Skynet made a decisive escape into the distance, and Bai Luo and his companions fled as well.

Their choice was very wise.

After Xu Hei finished devouring the last person in Ghost City, he set his sights on them, chasing after them. But just as he reached the city gate, he was intercepted by a formation left by the Kirin.

Taking this opportunity, everyone vanished in the blink of an eye.

Xu Hei lost his target, and the living beings in Ghost City were completely devoured.

Not a single soul remained, not even the departed souls, turning it into a dead city!

Before long, the demonic flower within Xu Hei, deprived of nourishment, retracted, turning back into a flower bud.

Xu Hei also lost his source of power, plummeting from the sky and crashing into the center of Ghost City, motionless, as if asleep.

In the blink of an eye, several days passed.

With the Ten Thousand Ghosts Formation broken, Ghost City was no longer shrouded in gloom, and warm white light bathed the entire city.

Everyone knew Xu Hei was inside, but no one dared to venture close. From then on, the area within ten thousand miles of Ghost City was marked as a forbidden zone, akin to Liefeng City.

At least until the passage opened, no one dared to come.

...

In the ruins of Chaos Star City, at the center.

Below the meteorite crater, a figure sat quietly. Before him was a black-purple meteorite, emitting strange halos that kept the surrounding space in a state of stasis.

Anything approaching the meteorite slowed down, as if time itself was decelerating.

This figure was none other than Qin Xuanji after the body snatching.

”There’s one year left until the passage opens, success or failure hinges on this!”

Qin Xuanji took out a blood-red crystal core, and with a wave of his hand, merged it into the meteorite, becoming one with it. Then, he threw himself onto it.

He endured excruciating pain as he pressed the black-red meteorite against his dantian, the terrifying power tearing his physical body apart, causing him to faint.

...

In the Void Realm.

As for Nine-Headed Worm, Hai Teng, and Xiong Dabao, after crossing the bridge, they were swept by a strange force into the depths, entering a tomb chamber.

This place was located within the mountain directly beneath the Tomb Elder.

Ahead sat a dried corpse, resembling the Tomb Elder. Although the monsters couldn’t sense any aura, they instinctively felt that this corpse was far more powerful than Huangfu Duanlong!

”I am the Tomb Elder under the Canglan Immortal Lord. Upon seeing me, do you not pay your respects?”

The dried corpse opened its eyes, and a majestic voice echoed.

”Greetings, senior!”

The three monsters simultaneously knelt halfway, cupping their fists towards the elder.

”Only teams that pass the first three trials without losing a member can meet me. If even one dies, they will encounter my evil self.”

”You are different from other cultivators. Those with karmic hindrances are most easily swayed by inner demons, making future breakthroughs extremely difficult! This opportunity is not for them!” the Tomb Elder said.

The three monsters exchanged glances.

Hai Teng spoke honestly, ”But I’ve killed many people too! I was even an assassin outside!”

”…”

The other two monsters’ faces changed; couldn’t Hai Teng keep his mouth shut?

The Tomb Elder, however, laughed.

”No matter what happens outside, your performance in the Void Realm has been satisfactory. The previous challenges were set by my evil self. By not being influenced, you have escaped his control and met my true form.”

The Tomb Elder’s words enlightened the monsters, but also raised more questions.

The Tomb Elder then explained the situation in detail, mentioning the demon disaster, Canglan Immortal Lord’s intervention, the fall of the Northern Cold Region, and more.

This left them in shock.

So that’s how the Outer Battlefield came to be!

”Time is limited. You have only five years. How much you gain depends on your abilities!” The Tomb Elder didn’t waste words, handing over three cultivation techniques, which landed before them.

These three techniques were top-tier in the lower realms, each with multiple divine abilities tailored to their paths, perfectly suited for them.

Hai Teng put away the Ocean Commanding Divine Art in his hand and asked, ”Senior, I have a question. What is the karmic hindrance you mentioned earlier?”