Serpent Ancestor

Xu Hei sprang into action, arriving in front of a millennia-old Purple Flame Vine. As the vine lashed out at him with a whistling sound, he exclaimed, ”It’s sentient!”

Startled, Xu Hei dodged and then bit down on the vine, pulling it from the ground and storing it in a Void Stone.

It’s not uncommon for plants that have lived for thousands of years to become sentient. Just as humans and demonic beasts can cultivate, plants can naturally gain sentience after surviving for millennia, although the process is much more arduous.

Xu Hei moved to another patch of grass, but before he could act, a carrot-shaped creature emerged from the ground and tried to flee. Its roots acted like human legs, propelling it swiftly, faster than most at the Foundation Establishment Stage could catch.

”Ever-changing Fish and Dragon!”

Xu Hei moved like lightning, capturing the ”carrot” in an instant. It was a thirty-thousand-year-old Earth Spirit Fruit, which began to wail like a baby once caught, its cries sharp and piercing.

Xu Hei knocked it unconscious with a flick of his tail and stored it in a Void Stone. A plant of thirty thousand years is far more valuable than one of ten thousand years.

Continuing his spree, Xu Hei collected several other millennia-old medicinal herbs, not sparing even those of a thousand years, gathering about ten in total.

”I’m rich, I’m rich! Just selling these would be worth a fortune, beyond estimation!”

Xu Hei’s heart raced with excitement, but he took a deep breath to calm himself. With so many eyes watching from outside, keeping his bounty was another matter entirely.Especially the Zhou Family’s patriarch, who, despite showing no expression, radiated a chilling killing intent that Xu Hei could sense even through the seal.

...

Outside the passage.

The surviving rogue cultivators, having narrowly escaped death, fled in panic, with only a few daring to linger at a distance, their eyes fixed on the ancient medicinal garden, flickering with greed.

”Old Daoist, what did you see earlier?” Liu Buqun asked in a deep voice.

Tianji Shangren replied, ”For someone like the Zhou Family’s second patriarch, whose lifespan is at its end, there should be signs of death energy. I can recognize it at a glance, yet this person shows no such signs!”

”As for what I’ve divined, I can’t tell you yet.”

Hearing this, Liu Buqun fell into deep thought, ”Could it be that this person has some great fortune?”

Tianji Shangren merely shook his head with a cold smile, ”Great fortune wouldn’t belong to someone like him. It belongs to those destined by fate...”

At this point, Tianji Shangren suddenly turned his head, his eyes shining with unprecedented brilliance.

”Such strong luck, this time there’s no mistake!”

He stood up and walked towards the cave’s entrance.

Meanwhile, the main forces of the Heavenly Puppet Sect, Bai Family, Zhou Family, and the four sects of the Southern Region had arrived at the entrance of the Blood Corpse Cave, advancing inside.

...

After a thorough search, Xu Hei had taken most of the inconspicuous medicinal herbs. The garden looked much the same as before, but its scattered components had been cleaned out by Xu Hei.

Most of the spirit medicines were a thousand years old, and he only took ten of the ten-thousand-year ones, with three being sentient, a low ratio.

Additionally, Xu Hei noticed signs that some herbs had been previously harvested. Only a few low-grade thousand-year ones were taken, and if Xu Hei hadn’t been observant, he wouldn’t have noticed these details.

”Zhao Wenzhuo mentioned someone had entered here earlier, and it seems true!”

Xu Hei looked around. Besides the harvested herbs, the person left no other traces.

Xu Hei didn’t dwell on it, just kept it in mind.

At this moment, many precious spirit medicines remained in the garden.

Xu Hei’s eyes flashed as he brought out a corpse puppet, placing it in front of a massive Rafflesia.

He had never seen this flower before and didn’t know its species. Its pistil emitted a bloody scent, seemingly to lure creatures closer.

Suddenly, the Rafflesia lunged, like a monstrous maw, swallowing the puppet whole in an instant.

Its attack speed was comparable to the Core Formation Stage!

In Xu Hei’s perception, the puppet was instantly digested, becoming nourishment for the giant flower.

”This thing is indeed not to be trifled with!”

Xu Hei had suspected the flower was unusual from the start, and testing it with a puppet confirmed it.

Xu Hei glanced at the hundred-thousand-year-old Gold Thunder Bamboo atop the peak and the formation about to shatter behind him, quickly abandoning the idea of digging it up.

Even if he succeeded, the group outside wouldn’t let him go.

The risk was too great, so Xu Hei decisively gave up.

He took out a Small Teleportation Talisman, ready to activate it, but suddenly felt a sense of foreboding.

Instinctively, he felt this place was unsuitable for teleportation!

Based on past experiences, using it here had a high chance of teleporting him into the mountains, requiring multiple uses to escape.

Even if he luckily appeared on the surface, he could easily get lost or encounter danger.

”Better to trust the known than gamble on the unknown,” Xu Hei thought, putting away the Small Teleportation Talisman.

The soil here had the same effect as the stone walls outside, blocking Divine Sense.

Xu Hei made a quick decision, placing a puppet outside, then using an Invisibility Talisman to hide himself in a pit.

This spot was originally where a spirit medicine grew, now occupied by Xu Hei.

Using dragon scales to dig, he tunneled several hundred feet deep.

His hiding place was absolutely undetectable.

Of course, this wasn’t enough.

Xu Hei continued digging, but soon hit something resembling an iron plate, blocking further progress.

”What’s beneath here...”

Xu Hei’s pupils contracted.

”Boom!!”

A roar came from outside as the sealing formation was completely shattered, and everyone rushed into the medicinal garden.

Zhou Qing wasted no time, heading straight for the back of the garden, his only target being Xu Hei.

Not to mention the treasures Xu Hei carried, the herbs he dug up alone had to be seized!

”Leave it to me!”

Xu Qingfeng threw a ”Stop” character above Zhou Qing’s head, momentarily freezing him.

Xu Hei didn’t hesitate, controlling the puppet to activate a teleportation talisman.

”Buzz!”

A spatial ripple flashed, and the puppet was instantly teleported away.

Xu Hei lost contact with the puppet, not knowing where it had been sent. If the distance was too great, this would happen.

In the garden, Zhou Qing also sensed the strong spatial fluctuation. With a swift movement, he arrived at the spot where Xu Hei’s puppet had disappeared, his face darkening.

”You escaped again!” Zhou Qing’s face turned ashen.

As expected, if he were in the other’s shoes, facing a late Core Formation Stage pursuer, he would do the same. It was the optimal solution.

But he didn’t know that what had just been teleported wasn’t Xu Hei himself, but merely a puppet.

However, Zhou Qing had no time to ponder further.

At this moment, members of the Chu Tian Alliance began harvesting herbs, and a few fearless rogue cultivators also entered, digging up thousand-year spirit medicines.

Zhou Qing sensed the approaching main forces, heading straight for this place.

”Longevity Pill! Even without the Longevity Pill, there might be longevity spirit medicines!”

Zhou Qing spread his Divine Sense, scanning the various herbs in the garden. Even with his knowledge, many were unfamiliar.

He didn’t care, grabbing a handful of spirit medicines and stuffing them into his storage bag, then heading straight for the Gold Thunder Bamboo at the mountain’s peak.