Serpent Ancestor

Despite the octopus’s head being smashed by Xu Hei, its tentacles were still moving. Xu Hei summoned a flying sword and sliced one off.

”Slurp!”

Xu Hei bit into the tentacle, sucking it in one gulp, causing his body to swell into a giant stick. He quickly refined it, and his body shrank back down.

He reminisced about the past when he wouldn’t dare approach a dead octopus, fearing it might come back to life. Now, he was so bold that he’d eat even a live one.

After swallowing two tentacles, Xu Hei bit into the octopus’s massive head, devouring it bit by bit.

The Demon God Cauldron also refined with full force, and Xu Hei’s vitality surged.

He felt his physical body strengthening, his meridians becoming more resilient, and his bones elongating. A new meridian was gradually extending from his head downward.

To open the dragon veins, one must clear nine new meridians, connecting them all.

By then, whether it was true essence or physical strength, it could be exerted to the fullest.

A true dragon can summon wind and rain and can also sanctify its physical body.Xu Hei bit into the octopus’s Golden Core, swallowing it in one gulp, crazily absorbing the true essence within and integrating it into his own body.

This process lasted an entire day.

After a day, Xu Hei finished eating the octopus’s head and refining the Golden Core, reaching his peak state, full of energy and vitality.

Even better, he felt like he had grown a bit taller.

”Still, eating more meat is the way to grow!” Xu Hei sighed.

The remaining six large tentacles were stored in the Void Stone by Xu Hei as reserve food.

He didn’t know how common such large octopuses were in the sea, but he figured it was best not to eat them all at once, lest he craves them later with none left to eat.

Xu Hei searched around the area but found no trace of Xu Bai. He took out the communication token she left behind, but it also showed no response.

Shaking his head, Xu Hei returned to the shallow sea area.

He created an external incarnation, left the sea surface, and soared into the sky, surveying the surroundings. For a thousand miles around, it was all vast ocean, with not a soul in sight, leaving him unsure of where to go.

However, a thousand miles away, Xu Hei spotted a small island.

”First, find a place to retreat.”

Xu Hei immediately submerged and swam towards the island at full speed.

The island wasn’t large, with a diameter of only about a hundred miles, which Xu Hei could circle in a few breaths.

Xu Hei applied an Invisibility Talisman and landed on the island. After checking the environment to ensure no one had been there, he dug out a cave dwelling and began setting up formations.

Since it was a place for retreat, Xu Hei couldn’t be careless, lest any passing cultivator notices something amiss.

Before long, a shielding formation was completed.

Next, Xu Hei set up a defensive formation and an illusion formation, layering multiple formations together as a precaution.

Xu Hei let out a long breath.

”Even a mid-stage Core Formation cultivator passing by wouldn’t notice this formation, unless a late-stage Core Formation cultivator scanned with divine sense, then they might detect something unusual,” Xu Hei thought to himself.

He took out a pile of mechanism boxes from his storage bag and laid them on the ground. These were spoils from Wuyou City, which he hadn’t had a chance to open yet.

Including the storage bags obtained from previous kills, he hadn’t had time to check them either.

Finally, Xu Hei had the time now.

”Let’s open some mystery boxes first.” Xu Hei took out a mechanism jade, inserted it into a mechanism box, and it opened, revealing a glowing crescent jade stone.

The jade was entirely purple, with a restriction inside. As long as the wearer was attacked, it could raise a shield, serving as a defensive magical treasure.

Xu Hei put it away and proceeded to open the next one.

…………

On the sea surface.

A piece of driftwood floated over, with a figure hidden beneath it. The figure had purple hair, was covered in Invisibility Talismans, and wore a transparent cloak from a mechanism box, rendering the entire person transparent.

According to Hei Huang’s standards, even a Great Golden Immortal wouldn’t be able to detect it.

”I, Han Te, have really stepped in dog poop this year. How did I get so unlucky?”

”I just wanted to deliver someone. Who did I offend?”

Han Te cursed inwardly.

He carried Bai Qiushui, drifting downstream. The journey was smooth until they reached Haiya City, where he thought he had completed his mission perfectly.

Who knew, just upon reaching Haiya City, before he could dock, he was sucked away by a strange force.

From afar, he only saw eight ships suspended on the river, forming a formation.

Han Te used all his strength but couldn’t escape the pull, getting sucked into the formation.

Later, he entered a teleportation channel, and luckily, a master broke the channel, allowing him to escape midway. Otherwise, who knows where he would have been sent.

It certainly wouldn’t have been a good place.

Falling into the sea wasn’t the end; he was then chased by a giant octopus. Fortunately, he had enough Invisibility Talismans to escape, fleeing all the way here.

”In this thousand-mile radius, there’s only this one island. I’ll retreat here first; I’m exhausted!”

Han Te grumbled, climbed onto the island, put away the driftwood, and after checking around to ensure no one had been there, he relaxed and carved out a cave dwelling in the center.

Then, he took out formation flags and began setting up formations.

Since it was a place for retreat, Han Te couldn’t be careless, lest any passing cultivator notices something amiss.

Before long, a shielding formation was completed.

Next, Han Te set up a defensive formation and an illusion formation, layering multiple formations together as a precaution.

Han Te let out a long breath.

”I wasted so many spirit stones again. Such a loss, such a loss. When I get back, I’ll definitely have the Bai Family reimburse me,” Han Te thought, heart aching.

He took out two mechanism boxes and two mechanism jades, which were the Bai Family’s reward to him.

”I’ve been so unlucky; I hope I can get something good to balance my luck,” Han Te thought to himself.

…………

Next to Han Te’s cave dwelling.

Xu Hei crawled out from his cave dwelling, looked around, and frowned slightly. He seemed to have sensed something earlier, but a sweep with his divine sense revealed nothing.

He didn’t think much of it, taking out an octopus tentacle, rubbing it with sea salt, intending to air-dry it into jerky.

”That’s it!”

Xu Hei’s eyes suddenly lit up, as if he had thought of a brilliant idea.

”The butcher can merge with humans; can it merge with demonic beasts?”

Xu Hei’s eyes sparkled.

He immediately took out the butcher, intending to give it a try.

He stuffed a tentacle into the butcher’s body, refining it with puppet techniques. The process was extremely long, and after two failures, Xu Hei finally got the hang of it.

Using a Transformation Pill as an aid, supplemented by a thousand-year spirit medicine, he finally completed the fusion.

The butcher extended a tentacle, waving it in the void.

The tentacle was small but could expand continuously, reaching a hundred feet long, like a demon dancing wildly!

”Success!” Xu Hei was delighted.

With this, the butcher’s combat power would soar.

He took out three more tentacles, stuffed them into the butcher’s body, and after a week, the butcher had completed an evolutionary upgrade.

However, the butcher’s appearance became more abstract, its face full of tentacles, indescribable in words.

Xu Hei wondered if humans would appreciate such a design, but he certainly didn’t.

With two tentacles left, he planned to marinate them for slow consumption, not intending to give them all to the butcher.