Serpent Ancestor

During this time, Xu Hei sent out the Star-Seeking Beast twice to investigate, but it came back with nothing.

The Star-Seeking Beast was not omnipotent. Whenever a dangerous place exceeded the limits of its abilities, it could not glimpse the full picture.

And on the Dark Star, dangerous places were the most common thing of all—in fact, the Dark Star itself was one enormous hazard.

“I have no idea what scheme the Thorn King is cooking up.”

“Forget it. As long as I’m strong enough, I can smash through any scheme or trick with a single punch.”

Xu Hei threw himself wholeheartedly into secluded cultivation.

Over these two years, he absorbed three thousand Spirit Sand along with a hundred medicinal pills that aided cultivation, allowing his cultivation to advance at a rapid pace.

With the help of the Demon God Cauldron, Xu Hei absorbed spiritual Qi far faster than any ordinary cultivator.

At the same time, Bai Zhi made gains of her own. After devouring the Thousand Thunder Centipede and a variety of spiritual herbs, she successfully bred an insect called the Purple Lightning Locust.

According to the Heavenly Silkworm Scripture, this insect’s overall strength was enough to rank among the top three!

Because Heavenly Silkworm Master himself had never laid eyes on the creature and had only heard of it from ancient texts, even he did not know the Purple Lightning Locust’s true power.

“These Purple Lightning Locusts are still only juveniles, yet they already look stronger than the Black Needle Ants.”

Xu Hei studied the three insects in his hand. Their bodies were long and narrow, purple from head to tail and covered in scales, with saw-toothed mandibles wreathed in thin arcs of lightning. They looked thoroughly ferocious.

Xu Hei pondered for a moment, pointed at the wall ahead, and ordered, “Go!”

“Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh...”

The three Purple Lightning Locusts shot out like a beam of purple light, moving too fast to leave any visible trail. Three holes instantly appeared in the wall of the cave abode, wreathed in crackling arcs of electricity.

The three holes rapidly widened, spreading like branching arcs of lightning until, in the blink of an eye, they covered the entire wall.

“Boom!”

With a thunderous crash, the cave abode built by the Thorn King collapsed just like that.

Xu Hei drew in a sharp breath.

Stronger than the Black Needle Ants hardly began to cover it—they were absurdly powerful! And this was with only three of them. If there were hundreds or thousands, what kind of scene would that be?

Putting them in the top three of the Strange Insect Ranking was honestly conservative.

Aside from the Soul-Destroying Silkworm—whose very existence even Heavenly Silkworm Master could not confirm—hardly any insect could rival them.

‘Bai Zhi isn’t much on her own, but her ability to breed insects really is second to none,’ Xu Hei thought in admiration.

Once the Purple Lightning Locusts grew in number, they would become another major trump card.

Xu Hei’s only regret was that he hadn’t been able to keep the Thousand Thunder Centipede alive, though serving as nourishment had still put it to good use.

“Two years. It’s time to come out of seclusion.”

Xu Hei walked out from the ruins of the cave abode.

Outside, Cai Hua stood rooted by the entrance, staring dumbfounded at the collapsed ruins and trembling slightly.

“No need to worry. Something just went awry with my cultivation. I’ll repair the cave abode myself,” Xu Hei said.

Only then did Cai Hua breathe a sigh of relief.

“By the way, are there any leads on the Earth Core Stone Milk I asked you to keep an eye out for?” Xu Hei asked.

“Elder, here are three drops of Earth Core Stone Milk gathered by the Clan Leader. Also, the Clan Leader has compiled all the information on the Earth Core Stone Milk into this jade slip. Please take a look!”

Cai Hua took out a jade slip and a stone vial and handed them over.

Xu Hei took them both and swept them with his spiritual sense, and Qing Shuang’s voice rang out from within the jade slip.

“Brother Xu, I’ve looked into the Earth Core Stone Milk. It’s quite rare, and most of it is around a hundred thousand years old. Anything over two hundred thousand years old is rarer still. I was only able to purchase three drops—I don’t know if they meet your requirements.”

“In addition, the Black Rock Clan of the Stone Spirit Clan seems to possess Earth Core Stone Milk of very high age, but they keep it deeply hidden. Out of caution, I didn’t act on my own, though by my estimate, it’s at least three hundred thousand years old.”

“The Dark Steel Clan of the Stone Spirit Clan is also suspected of having Earth Core Stone Milk of advanced age.”

Xu Hei went through the contents briefly.

Just as he had expected, Earth Core Stone Milk was a supreme treasure of the Stone Spirit Clan. A single drop could produce a Divine Power expert, so there was no way they would ever put it up for sale.

Only within the Stone Spirit Clan itself could such a treasure be found.

“No matter what, Earth Core Stone Milk is of great use to me. I won’t pass up a single drop over two hundred thousand years old.”

“As long as there’s the slightest chance, I have to go see for myself.”

This was Xu Hei’s hope for ascension, and his hope for cultivating the White Emperor Scripture to the sixth layer. Nothing would make him let it slip by.

Even if he had to steal or rob to get it, Xu Hei wouldn’t hesitate.

Putting away the Purple Lightning Locusts, Xu Hei headed out at once and found Qing Shuang.

“You’re out of seclusion!”

Joy lit up Qing Shuang’s face at the sight of him.

“The intelligence you provided was very useful. Many thanks, and farewell!”

Xu Hei cupped his hands in salute and immediately set off, heading straight for the Stone Spirit Clan where the Earth Core Stone Milk might be found.

Qing Shuang had done him a huge favor this time. Had Xu Hei tried to ask around on his own, there was no telling how long it would have taken to uncover anything, and he might even have courted trouble in the process.

That was the advantage of having backing.

“Hey! Wait!” Qing Shuang called out loudly.

“Need something?”

Xu Hei halted and looked back in confusion.

Qing Shuang took a deep breath, as if making up her mind. Gritting her teeth, she rushed forward to block Xu Hei’s path, forming a spell seal with her hands as a lotus mark appeared between her brows.

“What’s the meaning of this?”

Wary, Xu Hei took a step back.

With a posture like that, she was clearly about to unleash a divine ability on him, yet Xu Hei couldn’t see a shred of killing intent in her eyes.

It was truly baffling.

“Xu Hei, do you dare fight me?”

The moment Qing Shuang spoke, Xu Hei was dumbfounded.

She continued, “Although I admit I’m no match for you in overall strength, we’ll only compete in spells, not physical strength.”

“A pure duel of spells, with victory decided by divine abilities—do you dare accept?”

Qing Shuang’s neck was flushed red as she forced herself to sound calm.

Xu Hei’s confusion only deepened. He looked Qing Shuang up and down with a strange expression, unable to figure out what she was playing at.

“Clan Leader Qing Shuang, if you have something to say, just say it straight. Why beat around the bush?” Xu Hei frowned and cupped his fists.

Qing Shuang’s cheeks burned even redder, but she didn’t utter a word.

“Have I offended you in some way?” Xu Hei asked.

“No,” Qing Shuang said, shaking her head.

“Are you displeased that I’m heading out this time?” Xu Hei asked again.

“Not that either.” Qing Shuang shook her head again.

Now Xu Hei’s expression grew even stranger, and he looked at her as though she were a fool.

After a moment, Xu Hei shook his head.

“Let’s skip the duel. I’ve never known how to hold back when I strike, and I’d hate to hurt our rapport. Farewell!”

Cupping his hands once more, Xu Hei left without looking back.

“Hey! Are you really not willing?”

Qing Shuang called out after him, but Xu Hei ignored her completely and vanished in a flash.

That left her standing there completely stunned.

“Strange! Aren’t cultivators from the outside world supposed to love fighting?”

“How could this happen?”

Qing Shuang was left utterly bewildered.