Serpent Ancestor

Xu Hei’s body suddenly froze.

The random appearances and disappearances of Historical Projections were not unusual, but Xu Hei always felt something was off.

Especially the way that dog spoke—it sounded so familiar!

”Damn it! There’s definitely something wrong!”

Xu Hei cursed under his breath, immediately took out the Earth Boat, and burrowed underground, heading east.

He didn’t know the exact location of the Earth Temple in the east of the city, but without the corpse puppet, it was easy to find by observing the distribution of buildings.

…………

An hour later.

In the eastern district of Wuyou City, at the outskirts, a temple stood at the end of the street. The temple wasn’t large, with ancient figures’ shadows coming and going, praying inside.

This was the Earth Temple.Inside the temple, there was a statue of the Earth God, with an incense burner in the middle and a merit box beside it. As a proper city, it also needed to fulfill human beliefs.

At this moment, four cultivators stood in front of the Earth Temple.

Besides the Thirteenth Ancestor and Liu Chengfeng, there were two others, a man and a woman, whom they ”coincidentally” met on the way.

”Oh, what a coincidence! Where is Daoist Liu heading?”

”Junior greets the Thirteenth Ancestor!”

The two were Jiang Lang, an inner elder of the Snake Catchers Sect, and Shen Qingzhu, the head of the Purple Mist Sect.

One was at the early Core Formation Stage, the other at the Great Perfection of the Foundation Establishment Stage.

These two shared a common trait: both had a deep connection with Liu Chengfeng. The former was a close friend within the sect, and the latter was his Dao companion.

Their appearance was extremely coincidental, and though the Thirteenth Ancestor said nothing on the surface, his face darkened.

”Did you call them?” the Thirteenth Ancestor asked coldly.

”No! Absolutely not! Pure coincidence, how could I share such a secret?” Liu Chengfeng defended.

In fact, he truly didn’t want to share it.

But he was even less confident about competing with the Thirteenth Ancestor.

The Thirteenth Ancestor absorbed yin energy, turning himself into something neither human nor ghost, looking as if he could go mad at any moment. Cooperating with him was like holding a bomb.

Others might be polite to him, but a madman wouldn’t.

Anything could happen in the ancient relic, and even if he died, no one would seek justice for him.

Jiang Lang, at the early Core Formation Stage, was outstanding, and Shen Qingzhu, as the sect leader, had more life-saving methods than a Core Formation cultivator. Having these two with him was like having double insurance.

”Hmph!” The Thirteenth Ancestor snorted coldly, ”We’re all on the same side, no need to guard against me. I’m just afraid you’ll talk too much and attract outsiders!”

He didn’t specify who these outsiders were, but everyone knew he meant the Heavenly Puppet Sect.

”Yes, yes.”

Liu Chengfeng nodded repeatedly, but inwardly he was disdainful. Not guarding against him would mean being devoured without a trace left.

”By the way, how is this inheritance activated?” the Thirteenth Ancestor muttered to himself.

At this moment, the other three also gathered around, staring at the Earth God statue before them.

The Historical Projections continued, with ancient figures coming and going, burning incense, kneeling, or tossing coins into the merit box.

Their words were all about prayers, with no valuable clues discovered.

The Thirteenth Ancestor pondered for a moment, raised his hand, and pointed at the statue, but there was no response.

”Strange, could we have been mistaken, and this is not the place of inheritance?” the Thirteenth Ancestor frowned.

At the same time, Xu Hei also arrived nearby. To be safe, he put on Zhou Qing’s straw hat and stopped at a safe distance, not approaching further.

The group fell silent for a while, then suddenly focused their attention.

They saw a projection of a big black dog approaching from afar, swaggering into the Earth Temple.

The dog took out a square Spirit Stone, tossed it into the merit box, and prayed to the Earth God, ”May I be strong and vigorous!”

A flash of light, and the dog’s size slightly increased.

Everyone’s eyes lit up, as if they had an epiphany: ”I understand, we need to put coins into the merit box!”

Almost as soon as they realized, the Thirteenth Ancestor acted.

He decisively took out a top-grade Spirit Stone and threw it into the ancient merit box. Once inside, it disappeared instantly, undetectable even by Divine Sense.

The Earth God statue before them lit up with a faint white glow.

”There’s definitely something here!”

His eyes shone brightly.

However, the white glow of the Earth God vanished as quickly as it appeared.

Without hesitation, the Thirteenth Ancestor took out three more top-grade Spirit Stones and tossed them into the merit box. The others also took out Spirit Stones or Pills, trying their luck by throwing them into the merit box.

”Buzz, buzz, buzz...”

The Earth God statue began to flicker with light, flashing brightly. As long as something with Spiritual Qi was placed inside, it would flash.

”Ah, this...” Xu Hei watched in a daze from afar.

What was going on? Why were they giving away treasures?

He remembered Zhou Wendie used a drop of blood from her fingertip to activate the inheritance, and Xu Qingfeng had a similar experience.

But this scene, combined with the dog’s suggestive words...

Xu Hei instantly understood, this was a trap!

Could it really be like this?

At this moment, the black dog’s projection sighed, ”I still gave too little, just a slight enhancement, it’s not enough.”

With these words, the Thirteenth Ancestor seemed to be driven mad.

The Historical Projection was clearly hinting: the Spirit Stones given were insufficient, too few to activate the inheritance!

They needed to increase the amount!

He even suspected that the main inheritor would be determined by who gave the most, who was the most pleasing.

They had long heard that the Five Elements Inheritance had primary and secondary roles. For example, in the Zhou Family, Zhou Wendie was the main, and the Core Formation recruits were just helpers.

”Hmph, don’t think you can compete with me!”

The Thirteenth Ancestor directly took out a large handful of top-grade Spirit Stones, stuffing them into the merit box like a string of firecrackers, putting in about fifty, using up most of his wealth.

The Earth God shone with a dazzling golden light, as brilliant as the sun.

Liu Chengfeng had been hesitant, but seeing the Thirteenth Ancestor’s madness, continuously throwing in Spirit Stones, he felt that not doing so would make him seem out of place, missing a great opportunity.

”What treasures do you have! Don’t hold back, bring them all out!”

Liu Chengfeng became anxious, shouting to his companions.

Thus, another series of Spirit Stones and treasures were thrown in, and Liu Chengfeng himself took out a large number of Pills.

He cursed the Thirteenth Ancestor inwardly, but his actions were honest, both sides competing madly.

”Boundless merit, countless fortunes, perfect merit, enlightenment of the Dao.”

A phantom voice echoed from history, the statue under the shroud of merit appeared sacred and solemn, compelling worship, urging everyone to give more fervently.

After exhausting their Spirit Stones, both sides began to offer Spirit Medicines and Magical Treasures, which the Earth God accepted without hesitation, taking whatever was given, the merit box seemingly a bottomless pit, never satisfied.

In the end, not only did Liu Chengfeng feel something was amiss, but even the Thirteenth Ancestor hesitated.

At this rate, when would it end? He was nearly bankrupt!

Yet, the more they gave, the brighter the Earth God shone, clearly indicating that they needed to keep giving until a certain limit was reached.

Finally, Liu Chengfeng gritted his teeth and took out a shiny crystal.

”What is that?”

The Thirteenth Ancestor’s face showed greed, and he quickly tried to snatch it.

Fortunately, Liu Chengfeng was prepared, with the help of his two companions, blocking the attack and swiftly tossing the crystal into the merit box.

He didn’t know what it was either, having found it in a mechanical box.

But the concentration of Spiritual Qi inside was many times that of a top-grade Spirit Stone! It must be of great use!

”Buzz!!”

In an instant, golden light burst forth, and the Earth God seemed to come alive, his eyes full of vitality.

Everyone stopped their actions, filled with shock, staring in awe.

”Yes! This is it, the inheritance is about to activate, it’s going to be mine!”

Seeing this, Liu Chengfeng trembled with excitement.

Xu Hei also recalled the moment the inheritance was activated, the statue’s eyes coming alive, identical to what he saw now, even he was almost convinced.