Serpent Ancestor

Once, they too had dreams of escaping this hellish place and regaining their freedom. But as time passed, their will to survive gradually faded away.

Their bodies were still alive, but their spirits had been crushed, turning them into mere walking corpses.

The only belief they had left was to die!

”Thank you, benefactor, for killing so many of our enemies and fulfilling our wish!”

”Please, elder, do it without mercy.”

The snake horde shouted in unison.

They were grateful to Xu Hei for killing their enemies and granting them freedom.

—Then choose death freely!

Xu Hei sighed and decided to respect their choice.

He released a scale, which shot out and shattered the formation and chains that bound them, pulling out the fine needles from their bodies.There were only thirteen Foundation Establishment Stage snake demons here.

Xu Hei placed a slumber pill in front of each snake, allowing them to forget their pain briefly and die in their sleep.

This, perhaps, was compassion.

It was also the greatest kindness Xu Hei could offer.

The snake demons understood Xu Hei’s intention, and tears of gratitude and excitement filled their eyes.

”Benefactor, that flag should be able to collect souls, right?”

The giant horned python, the highest in cultivation, looked at the soul-absorbing flag Xu Hei had just taken out and asked.

”That’s right, I’ve collected many remnants of the snake catchers’ souls.” Xu Hei nodded slightly.

The other snake demons also looked over, staring at the soul-absorbing flag.

The giant horned python took a deep breath and said, ”I would like to request that after I die, benefactor can also collect my soul!”

Xu Hei frowned slightly.

”Do you know what it means to have your soul collected?”

Xu Hei said in a deep voice, ”This treasure, called the Soul-absorbing Flag, can refine souls into vengeful spirits, stripping them of their consciousness, leaving them only with the desire to kill. They will never reincarnate after death...”

”I know!”

The giant horned python interrupted him, his gaze unwavering. Then, he lowered his head, ”If my soul can kill a snake catcher, I will die without regret.”

The other snake demons, seeing this, lowered their heads without hesitation.

”Please collect my soul after I die!”

”Refine me into a vengeful spirit to kill the snake catchers!”

Various pleas echoed through the dungeon.

Xu Hei was astonished, looking at each snake. In their cold eyes, a glimmer of hope appeared.

This hope had never emerged, even when they were freed from their chains and regained their freedom.

But when they learned they could become vengeful spirits, this hope became unprecedentedly strong.

They had found their value, which was—revenge!

”Please let me kill my enemies with my own hands!”

A flower python swallowed the pill and collapsed to the ground.

”I have no regrets!”

Old Snake swallowed the pill and closed his eyes.

”Even if I never reincarnate, I will become a vengeful spirit and kill all the snake catchers!”

The giant horned python swallowed the pill and slammed its head against the wall, causing blood to flow before collapsing to the ground.

One by one, the snake demons swallowed the death pill and fell into a peaceful sleep.

Their last words, countless as they were, condensed into two words: revenge!

”My death has value, right?”

A young Black Yin Snake, after taking the last pill, lay on the ground and spoke words that seemed familiar.

Before her consciousness fell into chaos, she quietly looked at Xu Hei, her eyes filled with hope.

”I promise you, your deaths will be the snake catchers’ nightmare!” Xu Hei said solemnly.

She finally closed her eyes, dying peacefully.

Xu Hei no longer hesitated. He took out the soul-absorbing flag and waved it towards the sky.

Wisps of souls floated out from the tops of the corpses’ heads and were absorbed into the flag without Xu Hei needing to actively collect them.

They were the shadows of snakes.

They were heading towards a beautiful vision, towards hope!

Before long, all thirteen souls were absorbed into the Soul-absorbing Flag without exception.

Unlike the snake catchers’ souls, these snake souls retained their complete snake forms, vivid and lifelike, while the snake catchers’ souls were mostly scattered points of light or amorphous clouds, incomplete.

Xu Hei spat out flames, burning the place to ashes.

Just as Xu Hei was about to leave.

Suddenly, there was a disturbance within his Soul-absorbing Flag.

The souls of the snake demons, upon entering the flag, began to riot, all of them devouring the souls of the snake catchers!

They opened their mouths wide, swallowing the snake catchers’ souls one by one.

Points of light disappeared one after another, even the Foundation Establishment Stage souls were not spared, being devoured in one gulp.

”This...” Xu Hei was stunned.

This change was completely unexpected for Xu Hei.

After devouring the remnants of the snake catchers’ souls, the snake demons’ souls seemed to have grown significantly, appearing more solid and several times stronger.

Before long, over a hundred Qi Refining souls and sixteen Foundation Establishment souls were completely devoured, leaving only thirteen enhanced snake demons’ souls.

An even more surprising scene unfolded.

The formation spirit, the Jiao Python’s soul, seemed to be stimulated by something.

With eyes full of rage, it roared towards the sky and pounced on the elder’s soul beside it.

”Die! Revenge, revenge!”

The Jiao Python’s soul roared continuously, biting at the elder’s face. Each attack devoured a large amount of soul power.

The thirteen snake demons’ souls joined in the assault, surrounding and attacking the Qi Condensation elder.

The elder tried to resist, but Xu Hei’s eyes flashed, and he activated the Soul-absorbing Flag, suppressing the elder and allowing the snake horde to attack.

In just a moment, the Qi Condensation elder was completely devoured, his soul scattered, never to reincarnate.

After devouring the elder’s soul, the Jiao Python’s soul and the thirteen snake demons’ souls all sparkled with starlight, appearing even more robust than before.

Especially the Jiao Python’s soul, the confusion in its eyes had vanished, and it lowered its head towards the sky.

It seemed to be paying its respects.

This situation was beyond Xu Hei’s expectations, and he couldn’t tell if it was good or bad.

”Well, at least the benefits stayed within the family,” Xu Hei thought to himself.

Losing over a hundred souls, but they were devoured by his own snake souls.

Next, Xu Hei went to the cells of the Spirit Communion Stage snake demons. These snake demons had not been tortured, their gallbladders not extracted alive; the snake catchers had killed and eaten them directly, refining them completely.

Xu Hei released all the snake demons, including the ordinary snakes.

At the same time, Xu Hei opened a passage leading directly to the outside world.

The snake demons bowed deeply to him and left the dark underground prison with their respective tribes.

The five snake catchers were devoured by the frenzied snake horde.

Xu Hei let out a long breath.

”Brother Xu, it’s time to retreat.”

Outside, Man Jin’s voice came.

He had just looted the armory, retrieving many ivory items, as well as unprocessed ivory and elephant bones.

The lions had also destroyed the Snake Catchers Sect’s Scripture Repository, pill rooms, and other places storing valuables, but they hadn’t found much of value. It must have been taken away in the chaos, possibly hidden in a storage bag.

There were quite a few jade slips, which could be of some reference even to demonic beasts.

”There’s no time to lose, let’s go!”

Xu Hei didn’t delay, immediately climbing onto Man Jin’s back.

Man Jin stepped into the void, rushing out of Rock Serpent City, with the lion pack following behind, their bodies like lightning, quickly leaving the place.

About half an hour after they left.

An elderly man with a gloomy complexion appeared in the sky, his vast Divine Sense sweeping over Rock Serpent City inside and out.

As the Divine Sense swept through, the elder’s face grew increasingly grim.

”Hmph! My Snake Catchers Sect hasn’t suffered such a loss in a long time, and it was at the hands of a bunch of beasts!” The elder’s voice was calm, but the calmer it was, the more furious he was.

”Senior brother, the envoy from the Heavenly Puppet Sect is about to arrive, it’s best not to act rashly,” a gentle voice came from beside him.