Serpent Ancestor

Compared to the generally straightforward Stone Spirit Clan, the Wood Spirit Clan is clearly more cunning and powerful, so Xu Hei needed to be on high alert.

Xu Hei was confident that in a one-on-one situation, he feared no one. However, he knew too little about the Wood Spirit Clan. If he were to be surrounded by several of their Grand Elders, he might not escape unscathed.

”I need to be fully prepared. If this woman shows even a hint of hostility, I’ll retreat immediately,” Xu Hei thought to himself.

…………

Qinglin Tower.

A day later, Xu Hei once again set foot in this place, heading straight for the top floor.

Generally speaking, the top floor of Qinglin Tower only hosted distinguished guests and was heavily guarded with magical formations. Yet today, there was not a single guard in sight.

Before long, Xu Hei reached the top floor, where there was only one room.

From inside the room, a gentle female voice called out, ”I’ve been waiting for quite some time, Fellow Daoist Xu. Please come in.”

Xu Hei pushed the door open and entered.The room was elegantly decorated, with sunlight streaming through the windows and lush greenery everywhere, filled with a rich aura of wood-element Spiritual Qi.

Qing Shuang lay on a vine-woven recliner, wearing only a few thin leaves. Her slender figure, graceful curves, and snow-white skin were fully revealed.

Xu Hei squinted slightly and said, ”Fellow Daoist Qing Shuang, you must not be an ordinary Wood Spirit. As far as I know, ordinary Wood Spirits can’t reach the top floor.”

”Hehe, Fellow Daoist Xu, you have sharp eyes. I won’t hide it from you,” Qing Shuang smiled, waving her jade-like hand as the doors and windows closed automatically. She gazed at Xu Hei with enchanting eyes.

”Let me reintroduce myself. I am Qing Shuang, the current master of Qinglin Tower.”

As she spoke, her appearance rapidly changed, becoming younger and more petite. Her cultivation aura also surged instantly, advancing from the mid Divine Power stage to the late Divine Power stage!

This transformation happened almost instantaneously!

Xu Hei’s pupils contracted sharply, and he took two steps back, his whole body tense, ready to retreat at any moment.

He had long suspected that Qing Shuang held a noble status; otherwise, she couldn’t have casually given away a guest Token.

But he hadn’t expected that this woman was the legendary master of Qinglin Tower!

Qinglin Tower, the most luxurious inn of the Wood Spirit Clan, was highly favored by other races and was also the most powerful intelligence organization on the entire Dark Star.

It was said that the master of Qinglin Tower was second only to the three Grand Elders of the Wood Spirit Clan, and her cultivation at the late Divine Power stage made her a rare match.

No wonder Xu Hei felt an instinctive sense of danger from this woman; now it all made sense!

”Why so tense, Fellow Daoist Xu? I merely closed the doors and windows to prevent eavesdropping, not out of malice,” Qing Shuang said with a smile.

Xu Hei paused, cupped his fists, and said, ”So, you are the master of Qinglin Tower. I apologize for my rudeness. May I ask why you summoned me here? Please speak plainly.”

Xu Hei didn’t want to waste time and preferred to get straight to the point.

Every second spent in this woman’s presence made him uneasy, and he wanted to end it quickly.

Qing Shuang smiled and said, ”Yesterday, someone wanted to use me to deal with you, but I refused.”

”I know who it is—the Flame Demon Ancestor. All the assassinations I’ve faced on this journey are thanks to him!” Xu Hei said. ”He must have promised you quite a lot of benefits.”

Qing Shuang laughed, ”Indeed, he did promise many benefits. We have cooperated before. For instance, I was the one who connected him with Hei Xuan and the Western Mountain Three Bandits, enabling him to hire those assassins.”

Upon hearing this, Xu Hei’s gaze turned cold.

So, Qing Shuang was indeed an accomplice of the Flame Demon Ancestor, and from her tone, they had collaborated quite a bit!

Qing Shuang had a hand in the assassination attempts against Xu Hei.

But Xu Hei did not get angry. Instead, he asked, ”Yet here I am, and you refused this time. Why?”

Xu Hei showed a hint of confusion.

Qing Shuang smiled and said, ”Didn’t I say yesterday? Fellow Daoist Xu, you easily dealt with all the assassins, and I couldn’t help but admire you. Naturally, I wasn’t willing to kill you.”

Xu Hei was speechless, unmoved, and said, ”Could you speak plainly?”

Qing Shuang stopped joking and said, ”The reason is simple. Killing is forbidden within the Wood Spirit Clan, and if he wants to make a move in my Qinglin Tower, the reward he offered is far from enough!”

”Not enough?” Xu Hei frowned slightly.

With Elder Mo as his backing, Xu Hei couldn’t imagine how wealthy the Flame Demon Ancestor was, yet it wasn’t enough?

”He promised a lot of Spirit Stones, far beyond your imagination. But to kill someone in the Wood Spirit Clan, mere Spirit Stones can’t sway me. Our Wood Spirit Clan lacks Spirit Stones the least.”

Qing Shuang looked at Xu Hei meaningfully and said, ”However, if there were rare materials, that would be a different story.”

The Wood Spirit Clan monopolized the mineral veins and lacked Spirit Stones but needed various heavenly and earthly Spiritual Treasures, which was well-known. Otherwise, they wouldn’t purchase goods from the Stone Spirit Clan at high prices.

Seeing Qing Shuang staring at him, Xu Hei suddenly realized something, squinting his eyes, and said, ”Could it be that you called me here because you think I have some treasure and want to trade with me?”

”Of course,” Qing Shuang smiled. ”The Flame Demon Ancestor specifically wants to kill you personally and take your body. I suspect you have something he desires, worth far more than Spirit Stones.”

”Our Wood Spirit Clan doesn’t need Spirit Stones; we need rare heavenly and earthly Spiritual Treasures.”

”If you can produce a treasure that satisfies me, I can help lure out your enemy, the Flame Demon Ancestor, and even join forces to eliminate him.”

Qing Shuang gazed at Xu Hei with enchanting eyes, waiting for his response.

Xu Hei understood that the task of taking his body was also assigned by Elder Mo, all for the Demon God Cauldron.

However, it seemed the Flame Demon Ancestor was unaware of the Demon God Cauldron. Otherwise, knowing Xu Hei had such a protective Magical Treasure, he wouldn’t have sent a group of self-destructing assassins to die.

Qing Shuang was right about the treasure.

”Your clan collaborates with the Flame Demon Ancestor and then turns around to betray him. Is this how the Wood Spirit Clan treats its business partners?” Xu Hei said with a half-smile.

”Cooperation is based on sufficient benefits. Our Wood Spirit Clan only does what is beneficial to us. Don’t measure us by the standards of your human cultivators. You should understand this better after dealing with the Stone Spirit Clan,” Qing Shuang said calmly.

Xu Hei didn’t dwell on this issue.

He merely mentioned it in passing, knowing it was unreasonable to judge other races by human moral standards.

”So, you need a heavenly and earthly Spiritual Treasure.”

Xu Hei touched his storage ring and took out a jade box, placing it in his palm.

As soon as the jade box appeared, Xu Hei’s hand quickly froze, ice spreading, and the room’s temperature plummeted, making cracking sounds. If Xu Hei hadn’t immediately suppressed it with his power, the room would have been instantly frozen for miles around.

It was the Ten-thousand-year Cold Marrow.