Serpent Ancestor

The Forty-Nine Heavenly Tribulations are meant for a Foundation Establishment cultivator reaching Great Perfection and forming a Golden Core. How could they appear on a mere snake?

”Boom!!!”

The thunder tribulation struck Xu Hei’s head, but it was completely absorbed by the reverse scale on his forehead, as if it turned into nourishment, leaving him unharmed.

Xuan Yangzi’s heart sank, and he shouted, ”We must not let him cross the tribulation, kill him!”

Wu Mochou raised his hand, and a giant sword flew out. But as it approached Xu Hei, the thunder tribulation fell with a roar, turning the flying sword into ashes in an instant.

A small lightning bolt was drawn towards Wu Mochou, who hurriedly took out a pagoda to block it. The lightning struck the pagoda, shattering it into pieces.

Everyone realized that attacking Xu Hei now would trigger a chain reaction from the tribulation.

Xuan Yangzi’s face was cold as he said, ”Surround him. Even if he crosses the tribulation, what can he do? A dying snake is nothing to fear!”

...

As time passed.The spiritual foundation within Xu Hei grew larger, several times that of an ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivator. His True Qi had turned a deep, profound black.

Such blackness was unheard of, even among ancient cultivators!

Only by tracing back to ancient times could there be any clues.

Cultivation techniques, spiritual roots, temperament, and... one’s own Dao!

Xu Hei’s Dao was the path of reverse cultivation.

And his mysterious cultivation technique gradually revealed its true nature.

A vague voice appeared in Xu Hei’s mind, conveying the complete content of the technique!

”This cultivation technique is inherited from the Great Void Ancestral Dragon, the only technique for a snake to transform into a dragon, the Nine Transformations of the True Dragon!”

”To transform from a snake to a dragon, one must undergo nine transformations: forging dragon scales, tempering dragon bones, opening dragon veins, creating dragon blood, growing dragon claws, raising dragon might, shaping the dragon body, and igniting the dragon soul!”

”Each transformation is not only a physical change but also a spiritual one!”

”The first transformation of the Nine Transformations of the True Dragon, the dragon scales, is now complete!”

With the appearance of Xu Hei’s reverse scale, the final dragon scale was finally perfected.

His entire body of scales trembled with a terrifying pressure, even the surrounding Snake Catchers felt a chill of fear.

Their cultivation technique, the Snake Catching Technique, was supposed to suppress snake-type demonic beasts!

But facing Xu Hei, not only did it fail to suppress him, it instilled fear instead!

This was no ordinary snake!

What was he?

At this moment, Xu Hei finally understood why his scales grew wildly when he rushed to save the white snake and the wolf king from a thousand miles away.

He finally understood why, on that day, when he faced He Luohua and used the Mountain Severing Abyss technique, his scales surged.

—He was perfecting his Dao!

The Nine Transformations of the True Dragon were not just about refining the physical body but also cultivating the Dao.

The first transformation, the dragon scales, could only be achieved by truly understanding the meaning of the reverse scale, transforming into a true dragon.

Without the reverse scale, he would never become a true dragon, always remaining a snake!

Only dragons have reverse scales.

”Crack!”

A rift opened in the void.

A pitch-black demonic hand reached out, with overwhelming demonic energy sweeping out.

”An extraterrestrial Heavenly Demon?!”

Everyone was horrified and retreated.

But as soon as the demonic hand fully emerged, revealing a demonic eye, it glanced at a bronze mirror in mid-air and quickly retracted, disappearing without a trace.

The rift closed, as if it had never appeared.

Everyone looked at each other, bewildered.

It was just an interlude.

...

Moments later, the tribulation disappeared, and the thunderclouds dispersed.

Xu Hei opened his cold eyes, looking at the crowd. Though his form hadn’t changed much, his aura was vastly different, no longer resembling a snake demon.

Whether it was an illusion or not, everyone felt as if they were facing an emperor, not a snake demon.

Especially the reverse scale on his forehead, which looked like an imperial mark!

With a thought, Xu Hei took out a Blood Replenishing Pill from his storage bag marked with a skull and swallowed it.

This Blood Replenishing Pill, if taken by a human, would cause an excess of blood, bursting out.

But for Xu Hei, it was just right.

This was not a human pill; it was a pill for a demon king.

Xu Hei hadn’t transformed into a dragon yet; he had only completed the first step, gaining true dragon scales, but his physique was far beyond that of a snake demon.

As the pill entered his body, his previously exhausted flesh and blood rapidly recovered.

”Go!”

Cui Yuan, holding a thunder seal, waved his hand, and a purple thunderbolt as thick as a barrel condensed into a thunder spear, shooting towards Xu Hei with indescribable speed, reaching him in an instant.

”Boom!!!”

The void shook, and the ground was split into a thousand-foot chasm.

But Xu Hei’s figure had completely disappeared.

”Quick, dodge!” Xuan Yangzi shouted angrily.

”Snap!!”

With a flick of his tail, a mid-Foundation Establishment cultivator’s head was smashed, blood spraying, his body torn apart, turning into pieces.

There was no time to use any magical treasures; all defensive talismans exploded automatically, unable to block the attack.

This strike, Xu Hei didn’t use any spells; it was pure physical combat!

Everyone was horrified and retreated, only to see a flash of black light, and Xu Hei disappeared again.

”Whoosh!”

Xu Hei turned into an arc of lightning, darting through a string of figures, killing six people in an instant, including two Foundation Establishment cultivators.

”Bang, bang, bang...”

Blood and flesh exploded, limbs flew everywhere, with no trace of spell fluctuations; it was pure physical collision.

Cui Yuan waved his hand, and four large flags flew out, planting themselves in four directions. With a change of hand gestures, he shouted, ”Four Symbols Snake Trapping Formation!”

In an instant, the four flags emitted red, green, white, and yellow lights, forming a square formation, trapping the area tightly.

Cui Yuan clasped his hands together and shouted ”Constrict,” causing the formation to rapidly close in, trapping Xu Hei within.

Xu Hei’s movement range grew smaller and smaller, soon colliding with the formation.

”Boom!!”

The formation shook violently, Cui Yuan’s face turned pale, almost spitting blood, but he gritted his teeth, eyes bloodshot, and activated the formation again, tightening it further.

Wu Mochou wasn’t idle either; he cast a glazed pagoda, which hovered high above, its colorful light covering Xu Hei’s head.

Xu Hei’s speed slowed, as if he were a worm trapped in mud.

Soon, he stopped completely.

”Kill!”

Seizing the opportunity, the others unleashed their spells, bombarding Xu Hei with a barrage of colorful lights, causing the ground to collapse, the earth to rumble, and the sound of explosions to spread for miles!

Facing a mutated snake, they had responded perfectly.

The Snake Catchers Sect members showed joy, but their faces soon stiffened.

As the dust cleared, Xu Hei’s body was covered in thick stone armor, sixteen Earth Shields, thirty-two light rings, along with his dragon scales and the Stone Vein Technique, blocking all attacks.

”Crack, crack...”

The shields, light rings, and armor shattered one by one, leaving Xu Hei unharmed.

Everyone gasped.

”Earth Shield, I’ve only seen eight shields at most, how does he have sixteen?”

”Is that thick earth armor?”

They couldn’t understand how Xu Hei’s basic defensive spells could have such terrifying effects!

Xuan Yangzi’s face turned grim, realizing that mid-Foundation Establishment spells could no longer harm Xu Hei.

But among them, only two were late-Foundation Establishment cultivators, Wu Mochou and Cui Yuan!

Xu Hei looked at the crowd coldly and said, ”Now, it’s my turn!”

He recalled the earth spells he had learned before.

Advanced spell, Mountain Embrace Seal?

No, not needed. Xu Hei directly aimed for the pinnacle spell, Falling Stars.

This move was one of the most powerful killing techniques in the Foundation Establishment stage, with a wide range, capable of covering everyone.

But the cost was that the more targets, the greater the consumption!

Even with Xu Hei’s perfect Foundation Establishment and unprecedented black True Qi, he couldn’t attack everyone at once.

High-quality True Qi didn’t mean a large quantity.

Xu Hei couldn’t afford such consumption!

But his killing intent was overwhelming!

”No matter! Today, no matter the cost, none of you will leave alive!”

Xu Hei made up his mind, took out a whole bottle of Rejuvenation Pills from his skull-marked storage bag, and swallowed them all in one gulp.