Serpent Ancestor

In the southern forest of the Chu Kingdom, a torrential downpour began.

Another rainy season had arrived.

Xu Hei still remembered last year when he hid in the river to catch fish. Back then, he was alone with a snake, with no one to rely on, and a single misstep could mean death.

Although things weren't much different now, at least he had a dog.

This dog, if nothing else, had a keen nose and could always sense danger in advance.

Over the past two months, more than half of the pills had been consumed, and the demonic beast meat was almost gone. It was only then that Hei Huang realized he had severely underestimated Xu Hei's appetite.

Originally, the food was expected to last six months, but at this rate, it would be gone in a week.

As a result, Xu Hei's strength had skyrocketed, becoming many times stronger than he was two months ago.

His cultivation level was still at the sixth layer of the Spirit Communion Stage, but Xu Hei could feel that if he faced Zhao Yiduo again, he could crush him with just the Gravity Technique.

"Gravity Technique, I have mastered it. I can release it from fifty meters away, which isn't much different from Chen Daoling back then."

"Fireball Technique, also mastered. This low-level spell is no longer suitable for me. Fortunately, I have cultivated the Fire Serpent Technique as a replacement."

"Earth Escape Technique, I can travel a thousand miles a day."

"In addition, I have also cultivated Wind Blade Technique and Thunder Strike Technique, both of which are more powerful than the Fire Serpent Technique."

Xu Hei thought to himself. These advanced spells were originally meant to be cultivated in the later stages of Qi Refining, but Xu Hei had already mastered them in the mid-stage, and each one was quite powerful.

The strengthening of his physical body made Xu Hei's foundation incredibly solid, and even his True Qi had undergone a qualitative change, comparable to the later stages of Qi Refining.

However, Xu Hei's greatest strength was still the Earth Escape Technique, possibly due to his exceptional Earth Spiritual Root.

"Xu Hei, the puppets I promised you are finally finished."

Hei Huang threw a bunch of puppet beasts onto the ground.

There were a hundred small lizards, ten medium lizards, two giant frogs, and several birds, all scavenged from Yu Qiang's storage bag.

In addition, there was a large snake that particularly caught Xu Hei's attention.

This snake had pale golden eyes, a pitch-black body with distinct scales, and black-gold scales on its tail, looking lifelike and identical to Xu Hei.

This puppet was crafted based on Xu Hei.

Xu Hei quickly crawled closer, examining it carefully and growing more delighted the more he looked.

"How do I control it?" Xu Hei asked eagerly.

Hei Huang tossed him a jade slip and said, "This is the Heavenly Puppet Sect's unique technique, Puppet Mechanism Technique, but it only has the first layer. Make do with it."

Xu Hei's Divine Sense entered the jade slip, instantly acquiring the Heavenly Puppet Sect's technique, the first layer of the Puppet Mechanism Technique—Human Puppet Technique!

The Puppet Mechanism Technique had five layers: Human Puppet, Earth Puppet, Heaven Puppet, Demon Puppet, and Divine Puppet.

The first layer, Human Puppet, corresponded to Qi Refining Stage puppets.

It was said that the Heavenly Puppet Sect only mastered the first three layers.

Xu Hei stored the puppet beasts and began to practice.

"The Puppet Mechanism Technique is controlled by Divine Sense. The stronger the Divine Sense, the better the control, especially when controlling multiple puppets. It requires multitasking and a high level of talent!"

"At the entry level, you can control puppets three realms lower than yourself."

"When the number of controllable puppets exceeds ten, you can advance by one realm."

"......"

Xu Hei released a small lizard, a puppet three realms lower than him, at the third layer of Qi Refining Stage.

Under his mental control, the small lizard moved left and right swiftly and freely, indicating that he could control it perfectly.

Soon, Xu Hei released another one, controlling two simultaneously.

He closed his eyes, his Divine Sense attached to the lizards. Whatever the lizards saw, he could see as well.

Gradually, Xu Hei released more lizards, increasing their number quickly to five, ten, twenty.

Xu Hei had an astonishing talent in Divine Sense.

Two months ago, his Divine Sense range exceeded a hundred meters. Now, it had reached one hundred and fifty meters, surpassing even the Great Perfection of Qi Refining Stage.

Xu Hei's puppet technique progressed rapidly. In just one day, he could control thirty small lizards.

The small lizards scattered, crawling all over the mountains and fields, each moving extremely nimbly. Xu Hei could clearly see through each lizard's vision.

This expansive view was something Xu Hei had never experienced before.

At this moment.

A white snake darted out from the grass, biting one of the small lizards and attempting to swallow it.

Xu Hei controlled the lizard to twist lightly, escaping from the white snake's mouth and disappearing.

"I wonder how that little white snake is doing," Xu Hei thought to himself.

Looking at the white snake, Xu Hei suddenly remembered the one that had bid him farewell in Myriad Serpent Valley.

Two months had passed, the rainy season had arrived, and the mountain fire should have subsided by now.

Xu Hei suddenly felt an inexplicable urge to go back and take a look. If he didn't, he would feel uneasy.

"Strange, why do I feel this way?"

Xu Hei was puzzled.

He had only met the white snake by chance, so why did he feel the same unease as when his territory was invaded? It was very odd.

As a demon cultivator, Xu Hei was very sensitive to such instincts. After thinking for a moment, he decided to put away all the small lizards.

At this moment, Hei Huang suddenly appeared and said, "Those two little demons following you are in trouble."

"Hmm?" Xu Hei stared at him intently.

"I left a Golden Light Curse on them. It activates automatically in life-threatening situations, protecting them for an hour. It has already activated. Do what you must."

Hei Huang said calmly, sending out a Divine Sense to mark the location of the Golden Light Curse.

In the next second, Xu Hei vanished, fully activating his Earth Escape Technique and moving forward at unprecedented speed.

A rumbling sound came from underground, like an earth dragon tunneling through. Wild beasts scattered in fear, as if something terrifying was rushing past underground.

Hei Huang followed, but soon realized in shock that he couldn't keep up.

"My heavens, how is he so fast?"

Hei Huang was dumbfounded. He activated the Wind Travel Technique and Wind Sail, chasing at full speed, but still couldn't catch up with Xu Hei.

Flying couldn't keep up with tunneling. This was absurd!

He could only watch as Xu Hei got farther and farther away.

"Could he be a top-tier Earth Spiritual Root?"

Hei Huang speculated.

At this moment, Xu Hei had reached an unprecedented speed. His Earth Escape Technique was already perfected, and at his full speed, even Foundation Establishment cultivators might not catch up.

His cultivation level was low, but his foundation was incredibly solid.

It was no exaggeration to say that if Xu Hei wanted, he could step into the later stages of the Spirit Communion Stage at any moment and continuously break through several layers.

But he didn't do that!

Xu Hei didn't know why he felt uneasy, but since it was an instinctive reaction, he decided to follow it.

"Boom!!!"

The earth dragon tunneled through, causing the soil to lift. Xu Hei got closer and closer to his destination.

During this process, more black-gold scales unknowingly appeared on his tail.

…………

Five hundred miles away, in a deep pit, the little white snake was crushed at the bottom. A giant hammer kept pounding down, causing a rumbling sound.

She was already severely injured and couldn't move. A layer of hazy golden light surrounded her, blocking all attacks.

But as time passed, the golden light gradually faded.

"This snake has so many secrets. It might be the old snake demon that was widely rumored before!" Xue Hu said excitedly.

"This mangy wolf is the same, with a layer of golden light protecting it."

Another cultivator, Zhu Ze, threw out chains, wrapping the wolf king layer by layer, making it immobile. The wolf king's body was also protected by a layer of golden light, preventing the chains from touching it.

But as time passed, the golden light on them gradually weakened.

The two cultivators noticed this and their eyes gleamed with excitement.

"In less than an hour, this golden light will dissipate. Capturing such evil creatures will earn us great merit!" Xue Hu laughed.

Zhu Ze squinted his eyes. He felt that the golden light seemed to be buying time, giving him a bad feeling.

Although Zhu Ze was cruel, having killed countless demonic beasts by skinning them alive, he was naturally cautious and always kept an eye out.

"Is there a senior from our Mountain Movers Sect nearby?" Zhu Ze asked.

"Uncle Ye is at a camp a hundred miles away. Why?" Xue Hu asked, puzzled.

"Uncle Ye is enough."

Zhu Ze nodded, took out a communication jade slip, recorded a message, and sent it flying into the sky.