Serpent Ancestor

Day after day.

The turmoil in the Wu Mountain Range had subsided, and everything returned to normal.

Outside the imperial city of the Qin Kingdom.

A large pit had been dug here, and a group of alchemists were bound and thrown into it, huddled together back to back, trembling with fear, their faces pale.

Surrounding them were bundles of firewood, doused with flammable materials, ready to ignite at any moment.

A tall man, wearing a crown that reached the heavens and dressed in a black dragon robe, stood outside the pit. His eyes glowed like lightning, exuding an aura of dominance over the world. His gaze swept over the alchemists, and just one look made them shiver, not daring to meet his eyes.

”Is this the Longevity Pill you found?”

He held two emerald green pills in his hand, his voice full of authority.

One of the alchemists trembled and said, ”I found this... in an ancient relic.”

The Qin Emperor said nothing, waved his hand, and commanded, ”Li Si, find someone to test the pill.””Yes!”

Li Si, who had regained his physical form and looked pale, found a man to test the pill and had him take the Longevity Pill.

”Ah!!”

With a piercing scream.

The man who took the Longevity Pill rooted himself into the ground, sprouted branches and leaves from his head, and in full view, turned into a tree.

A human-shaped tree, three meters tall.

The entire place fell silent.

Everyone stared wide-eyed, as if they were dumbfounded, their heartbeats audible.

”Heh, very well, this is the Longevity Pill you wanted me to take!”

The Qin Emperor crushed the other Longevity Pill in his palm with a snap, nodding, ”First assassins, now alchemists, there’s always some treacherous people trying to harm me.”

”Burn them, burn these traitors to death!”

”Yes!”

A torch was thrown into the pit, and the fire roared to life, filling the pit with screams of agony, as hundreds cried out in unison.

Li Si’s mouth twitched at the sight.

These people were not Xu Qingfeng’s fellow disciples, just a group of alchemists.

The Qin Emperor, with his unparalleled might, had swept through the six kingdoms, unifying the central plains, but unfortunately, the wars had drained his life force, leaving him with at most a decade or so to live.

Though he appeared mighty and unscathed now, when the time came, even the supreme Human Emperor would turn to dust.

Longevity, whether for mortals or cultivators, was an insurmountable barrier.

The Qin Emperor had to find the Longevity Pill to extend his life.

In no time, the hundreds of alchemists in the pit were burned to ashes.

”Xu Fu!” the Qin Emperor called.

”At your service.”

A plump man with a shiny face stepped forward, bowing slightly. Though his figure was stout, he exuded an ethereal aura, somewhat resembling an immortal.

”I command you to lead a team beyond the East Sea and find the elixir of immortality,” the Qin Emperor ordered.

”At your command!”

Xu Fu accepted the order and withdrew.

…………

Outside Chen Family Town in the Southern Region.

In the desolate wilderness, a young boy, covered in blood, was staggering through the forest, carrying a young girl on his back.

The boy’s face was youthful, his hand gripping a dagger tightly. From behind, the growls of wolves and dogs could be heard. His face was pale, his lips tightly pressed, and a determined look flashed in his eyes.

”Qin’er, hold on, we’re almost home,” the boy gritted his teeth and said.

The boy was once Wang Xiaoniu, now Wang Ding!

On his back was his sister, Wang Qin.

The Wang siblings had been servants for the Chen Family, living a hard life but at least having food and shelter.

However, one day, a tyrant took a liking to his sister and wanted to take her as a concubine. The Chen Family accepted the tyrant’s spirit stones and planned to send his sister away.

Wang Ding begged repeatedly, knelt, and kowtowed, but all he got was a severe beating. The tyrant even wanted to humiliate his sister in front of him.

Seeing Wang Qin about to be defiled by the tyrant, Wang Ding suddenly erupted with a surge of power and killed the tyrant with a punch.

This was a huge disaster!

The tyrant was the brother of a centurion in the Qin army, a cultivator in the Qi Refining Stage, someone even the Chen Family dared not offend, let alone Wang Ding.

To appease the Qin army’s wrath, the Chen Family planned to bind the Wang siblings and hand them over to the centurion as an apology.

Wang Ding had no choice but to escape with his sister, both severely injured.

”I can’t die, I can’t fall!”

His consciousness began to blur, but he gritted his teeth, bit his tongue, and forced himself to keep moving forward.

Behind him, the sounds of hunting dogs grew closer, along with the curses of Qin soldiers.

The centurion’s presence was also drawing near.

Wang Ding’s vision was blurry, but his spiritual perception was exceptionally sharp. Even from thousands of meters away, he could sense the enemy’s presence.

This was his gift, one he had never told anyone about.

It was also the reason why, as an ordinary mortal, he had repeatedly evaded pursuit and escaped into the mountains.

However, he had been on the run for two days straight, his physical and mental strength at their limits. No matter how sharp his spiritual perception, there would come a day when it dulled.

”Brother, leave me, save yourself,” Wang Qin’s weak voice came.

”I will never leave you!” Wang Ding gritted his teeth.

Carrying Wang Qin, he continued to flee, unknowingly arriving at a village.

Snake Village.

This was his home.

Returning to the familiar thatched cottage, he vaguely remembered two years ago when he had tried to hang himself in his room, only to be saved by Old Snake. From that moment, his fate began to change.

Now, Old Snake was gone, and Wang Ding had reached a dead end.

He knew he couldn’t hide from the Qin army here, but fleeing into the mountains was a death sentence, either killed by the Qin army or eaten by wild beasts.

His sister couldn’t hold on any longer; he had to return home.

Wang Ding drew water from the well to clean his sister’s wounds and his own, then found some dried herbs to apply to the injuries.

He also picked an uneaten watermelon from the melon patch and shared it with Wang Qin.

”Father, Mother, your son is unfilial.”

He knelt heavily before the ancestral tablets.

Wang Ding took an iron shovel from the house and stood at the village entrance, in front of the stone stele.

In the distance, the Qin army quickly surrounded him.

”Well, this brat dares to come out. I’ll kill him myself to avenge my brother!”

The centurion, a cultivator in the Qi Refining Stage, drew a large machete and approached Wang Ding without a word, aiming to slash at his neck.

Wang Ding showed no fear in his eyes, shouting as he swung the iron shovel.

The Qin soldiers sneered, thinking this peasant’s move was suicidal against the centurion.

At that moment, the stone stele beside Wang Ding emitted a faint light.

Wang Ding didn’t know.

This stone stele was the Reverse Cultivation Stele left by Xu Hei!

”Buzz!”

A sense of reverse cultivation surged into Wang Ding’s sea of consciousness, making his eyes shine brightly.

In a daze, he felt as if he had become Xu Hei, with the will to slay immortals as a mortal!

The iron shovel in his hand cut through the air, its power surging, slicing the machete in half, and with undiminished force, it pierced the centurion’s chest.

”Splurt!”

The centurion was cut in half, blood gushing.

Before dying, disbelief lingered in his eyes. He couldn’t believe he would die at the hands of a mortal boy, as if he had seen a ghost.

Everyone was stunned, the entire place fell silent.

…………

A thousand miles outside Snake Village.

”Hmm?”

An old Taoist with an immortal aura stopped in his tracks, looking towards Snake Village.

Holding a horsetail whisk and stepping on a cloud, his eyes filled with surprise, it was Tianji Shangren.

”Reverse cultivation? Another child of destiny?”

Tianji Shangren’s eyes flashed, and without hesitation, he flew towards Snake Village.

Behind him, Liu Buqun followed closely.

Soon, they arrived at Snake Village, seeing the stone stele at the entrance and the boy lying on the ground.

The boy had killed a centurion, and as the other soldiers swarmed him, he managed to kill two more. Ultimately, he was overwhelmed, cut down to the ground.

His arm was severed, his body bore multiple wounds, deep enough to see bone, and one cut nearly sliced him in half, leaving him on the brink of death.

”Father, Mother, little sister, see you in the next life.”

Wang Ding closed his eyes, tears sliding down his cheeks.

A large blade was about to fall on his neck, ready to kill him on the spot.

”Boom, boom, boom...”

Suddenly, the Qin soldiers exploded into thin air.

Before Tianji Shangren could act, Liu Buqun had already moved, killing them like squashing ants, leaving no survivors.

”I know you cultivators can’t afford karmic burdens, but I don’t believe in that stuff. From now on, I’ll handle the dirty work of killing!” Liu Buqun sneered.

Tianji Shangren remained silent.

He said nothing, immediately raising his hand, and Wang Ding’s critical injuries stopped bleeding instantly.

The boy floated into the air, landing on Tianji Shangren’s cloud.

Before losing consciousness, the boy vaguely saw an immortal standing before him.

”Save... my sister...”

Wang Ding managed to say before closing his eyes.

————

Consider this chapter an extra.

By the way, I’d appreciate some free gifts, just a little advertisement will do. I’ve never asked for gifts before, mainly because I’m worried about affecting the reading experience (especially with AI narration), but if I don’t ask, many won’t give.

I hope everyone can click on the ads to support the author. I’ll try not to mention this in the future. Any unrelated content will be left for the summary at the end of the volume.