Serpent Ancestor

Outside Myriad Serpent Valley.

Xu Hei dug a large pit and buried the corpse of the Old Snake King, placing a large stone as a marker.

He was mimicking human customs, hoping that the Old Snake King could rest in peace and be reincarnated as a human in the next life, free from suffering.

A snake's life is short, barely over a decade. Even if the Old Snake King hadn't died in battle, his lifespan was near its end.

"Anything with intelligence cares about its offspring. I guess that's why you gave me the Serpent Fruit," Xu Hei thought to himself.

He bowed three times to the stone.

He didn't know if the Old Snake King was his parent, grandparent, or great-grandparent, but he was certain that the Old Snake King was his predecessor.

Without the Old Snake King, there would be no Xu Hei.

Xu Hei returned underground, stored the Serpent Fruit tree in his storage bag, and left Myriad Serpent Valley, heading back to his own territory.

Since the Snake Catchers had discovered Myriad Serpent Valley, he couldn't stay there any longer.

As for the fate of Myriad Serpent Valley, Xu Hei didn't know. Snake Catchers captured countless snakes every year, and Myriad Serpent Valley, being rich in snakes, was likely to face a bloody disaster.

Not long after Xu Hei left Myriad Serpent Valley, he suddenly noticed something.

By a small stream ahead, a figure lay motionless, covered in black, with multiple snake bites on their body, on the brink of death.

It was one of the two Snake Catchers who had escaped, Song Shiyu!

Song Shiyu lay on the ground, barely breathing.

"It's her?"

A flash of murderous intent appeared in Xu Hei's eyes, and he instinctively wanted to rush forward and devour her.

But then he hesitated.

"Why is she poisoned and lying here? Something's off!"

Xu Hei, always cautious, didn't approach rashly.

He extended his divine sense, covering the area like a web, scanning both above and below ground.

His divine sense now covered an impressive ninety meters, equivalent to the late Qi Refining Stage, but he found nothing unusual.

There were no other people, no traps. Song Shiyu was indeed on the verge of death.

"Could it be... Zhao Wenzhuo's doing?" Xu Hei was shocked.

He suddenly recalled a detail.

Why was the Old Snake King's head blocking the entrance to Myriad Serpent Valley, hidden by a tree in such a precise position?

A snake's head remains active for a long time after being severed. Snake Catchers wouldn't make such a basic mistake!

The body was taken away, leaving only the head, filled with venom. It was clearly intentional!

The more Xu Hei thought about it, the more his scalp tingled.

What was Zhao Wenzhuo up to? Why would he kill his senior brother and harm his senior sister?

Killing Ding Hai could be seen as a conflict of interest, but how to explain this?

Xu Hei even suspected that the Snake Catchers inside the octopus were also Zhao Wenzhuo's doing!

"What is he trying to achieve? Why is he doing this?"

Xu Hei was increasingly shocked.

At that moment, a large snake slithered over, biting Song Shiyu's legs and starting to swallow her from the bottom up.

Xu Hei observed for a moment and confirmed it wasn't a trap.

Song Shiyu was indeed close to death, but she seemed to have used a turtle breathing technique, sealing her heart and all her acupoints to prevent the venom from spreading.

As a result, she couldn't move and had entered a state of suspended animation.

Xu Hei thought for a moment, then turned and left without approaching or taking the storage bag.

The reason was simple: he didn't know what tricks the other side might be playing.

Since the woman wasn't dead and still had a breath left, it meant Zhao Wenzhuo didn't dare to kill her. If so, why should Xu Hei take the risk?

If she had some kind of restrictive magical treasure that activated upon her death, he would be doomed without scales to protect him.

Not long after Xu Hei left, there was a loud "boom" in the distance, as if something had exploded, sending up a hundred-foot-tall pillar of fire.

Xu Hei sighed and quickly moved away from the area.

...

Outside Snake Village, on a hill.

There was a grave with two tombstones in front of it, surrounded by overgrown weeds.

Zhao Wenzhuo knelt before the tombstones and kowtowed heavily three times.

"Father, Mother, Little Sister, I am about to avenge you!"

"Liu Tong, Chen Xue, Ding Hai, Song Shiyu, Mu Yun, they have all gone to accompany you. Three more to go!"

Zhao Wenzhuo's eyes were red, and he gritted his teeth, saying each word with determination, "Chen Daoling, and all his disciples, I won't spare a single one!"

Zhao Wenzhuo stood up and returned to the outskirts of Myriad Serpent Valley, his body covered in wounds.

He released a venomous snake, which bit him. Before long, he collapsed into unconsciousness.

...

About half an hour later.

Two figures descended outside Myriad Serpent Valley, an old man and a young one. The old man stared at the bloated python and sent out a sword light.

"Slash!"

The python was cut in half, revealing the figure inside—Zhao Wenzhuo.

The other person quickly checked him and sighed in relief, "That was close, he's still alive. If we had been a moment later, he would have been beyond saving."

The person took out a pill and fed it to Zhao Wenzhuo, simultaneously helping him circulate his cultivation technique.

Chen Daoling's face was grim as he coldly said, "I want to see which demon caused me to lose two disciples!"

He spread his divine sense, armed with a sharp sword, and stepped into Myriad Serpent Valley.

...

The instigator, Xu Hei, after a long journey, returned to his mountain.

This place was located outside Snake Village, in the mountains ten miles away, far from Myriad Serpent Valley. Even at Xu Hei's speed, it took him two full days to climb.

Back in his familiar territory, Xu Hei scanned with his divine sense and found all his prey still there, which made him sigh in relief.

However, there were some wolf droppings on the ground, which made him frown slightly. But as long as there were no human footprints, he didn't care.

Xu Hei had no time to deal with it and immediately returned to the cave where he had hibernated last winter.

Back in the familiar dark environment, Xu Hei completely relaxed.

He then spat out the storage bag and extended his divine sense into it.

He had already checked it once on the way, and now he took out a large handful of jade slips, more than a dozen in total, and examined them one by one with his divine sense.

Instantly, streams of information flowed into Xu Hei's mind.

Xu Hei's eyes lit up.

"Five Elements Spells: Fireball Technique, Water Bullet Technique."

"Five Elements Escape Techniques: Earth Escape Technique, Water Escape Technique, Fire Escape Technique."

"Basic Spells: Gravity Technique."

"..."

The information in the jade slips was all about cultivation spells.

Xu Hei had learned a lot about these spells from the human knowledge he had acquired, but he didn't have the specific cultivation steps.

Now, all these steps were presented in the jade slips, ready for him to learn.

Xu Hei's physical body was already strong and fast. With the aid of spells, he didn't believe the Snake Catchers could do anything to him!

"The difference between me and a demonic beast is that I possess intelligence comparable to humans. Even complex spells, I can learn!"

"Once I master these spells, let's see how the Snake Catchers can capture me!"

Xu Hei's eyes were resolute. He would inherit the Old Snake King's will.

He had to survive, survive!