Serpent Ancestor

Xu Hei did have a plan, but whether to implement it depended on how things developed next.

On the first day, Xu Hei didn’t assign anyone to work.

He simply gave them time to rest and adjust their state.

And on this first day, Xu Hei saw that other teams suffered considerable casualties. Some teams even lost nearly twenty people on the first day.

Those who ventured deep into the oil wells never returned.

Taking advantage of this, Xu Hei gained a profound understanding of the dangers of heavy oil, which could be broadly categorized into two types.

First, gravity.

Wherever heavy oil gathered, there was an extremely strong gravitational pull that would suck people in, completely devouring them, making escape impossible.

Therefore, the extracted heavy oil was stored separately in small barrels instead of being gathered together.

Second, pollution.This was a kind of ancient pollution that no one could explain. Those who came into contact with it too much would have their bodies turn black, and both their bloodline and physical body would gradually darken until they lost their lives.

Moreover, this pollution did not discriminate based on cultivation level, affecting both the Foundation Establishment Stage and Core Formation Stage equally.

Deacons would never personally extract heavy oil, always sending others instead, for this very reason.

”Pollution, gravity?”

Xu Hei pondered for a long time, his eyes flashing, as he walked to an oil well.

He stared at the bottomless oil well, leaped, and jumped directly into it, sinking into the abyss.

Such an action not only surprised his team but also caught the attention of the distant deacons, who looked over with strange glints in their eyes.

”This newcomer actually went down the well himself.”

”Hmph, doesn’t know what’s good for him!”

”Maybe he’s curious, thinking heavy oil is some kind of rare treasure.”

”Ignorance is fearless! Letting his team sit idle for a day, and then jumping down himself, haha, if he dies, it’ll be amusing.”

At this moment, five deacons gathered together, pointing and discussing Xu Hei.

Every time they went out, the five of them would gather, not for any other pleasure but gambling.

They bet on which side would have more deaths, which side would gain more, whether the number of deaths would be odd or even, male or female. One person would act as the banker, and the other four would place bets, having a great time.

Seeing Xu Hei jump into the oil well, their gambling instincts were immediately triggered.

The banker smiled and said, ”Why don’t we bet on how long this person will stay down there? I’ll be the banker. If he stays for less than an hour, three to one odds; one hour to a day, even odds; more than a day, three to one.”

A horse-faced man among them cursed, ”Those odds are too low. What if he dies down there?”

The banker hesitated for a moment and said, ”Ten to one!”

The horse-faced man immediately grinned, ”Not bad, ten times the odds, now that’s worth playing. I bet he dies, fifty thousand spirit stones.”

”Fifty thousand!”

Everyone exclaimed, if he really died, they’d have to pay out five hundred thousand, enough to bankrupt someone at the late Core Formation stage.

Even though they were part of the evil faction and usually had plenty of ill-gotten gains, it was still a significant amount.

But the banker just smiled slightly and said, ”Alright, I don’t believe a deacon could die down there, that would be utterly ridiculous.”

The other three also placed their bets, most of them believing Xu Hei would return within an hour, thinking that even with three to one odds, betting more would yield more profit.

The horse-faced young man just coldly smiled, a cold glint flashing in his eyes.

…………

After Xu Hei jumped into the oil well, he continued to fall, the pressure around him increasing exponentially, and his Divine Sense could only extend a little.

However, the sense of being watched inside him disappeared, which was what excited him. He could take this opportunity to get rid of Ye Kong.

From now on, the sky would be the limit, and he would no longer be monitored.

After diving a thousand feet, Xu Hei finally reached the bottom of the oil well. Black substances seeped out from the rock layers here, giving a sticky feeling.

”Is this heavy oil?”

At this moment, Xu Hei felt a faint suction coming from below. If he went any further down, he feared he would be swallowed and never return.

Xu Hei summoned the Blood Killing Sword and began chiseling into the stone wall beside him, creating a small pit from which heavy oil immediately seeped out.

Xu Hei quickly took out an iron bucket and filled it with oil.

During this process, a pungent smell continuously assaulted him, making it hard to breathe, and even the butcher’s skin gradually turned black.

The ancient pollution penetrated deep into the bone marrow, and no one would stay down the well for too long, needing to return within an hour at most.

However, only the butcher showed such symptoms; Xu Hei’s true body had no reaction.

After filling three buckets of oil, Xu Hei dug out a large pit.

With a thought, a huge mouth opened on the butcher’s body, spitting out a person, who was Ye Kong.

Xu Hei grabbed Ye Kong and stuffed him into the pit, then filled it with rocks.

”Ye Kong, you can sleep here, and no one will disturb you.”

Xu Hei did not kill him to avoid triggering the mark inside him, but leaving him in such a place, he would eventually die from heavy oil pollution.

By then, Xu Hei would have long escaped the Sea God Sect, and even if the Nightmare Demon Lord discovered it, it would be too late.

After dealing with Ye Kong, Xu Hei planned to return.

This place wasn’t as terrifying as imagined; as long as he was careful, extracting a few barrels at a time wasn’t difficult.

But just then, above Xu Hei, a large mass of black stuff suddenly fell rapidly, making a rushing sound like a waterfall.

Xu Hei’s Divine Sense turned into a sharp sword to probe, and his face changed dramatically.

”Heavy oil?”

Xu Hei was shocked. How could heavy oil be poured down from above the oil well? And such a large amount.

There was only one explanation: someone did it on purpose!

Once this oil touched the body, it would immediately penetrate inside, corroding all meridians and organs.

Just smelling it from a distance would cause the body to blacken, and direct contact would have unimaginable consequences!

Even without pollution, the terrifying gravitational pull would make it difficult to move, let alone fly, until one fell into the abyss.

Xu Hei made a decisive move, chiseling out a hole beside him, crawling inside, and setting up a light shield outside, letting the heavy oil slide past.

But the light shield Xu Hei left was corroded clean in minutes.

Immediately after, a huge oil barrel fell, exploding violently outside the hole with a ”boom,” sending heavy oil splattering everywhere!

Xu Hei kept moving, chiseling deeper and deeper, using his true body’s sword to speed up, finally diving into the deepest part, avoiding the explosion behind him.

”This damned place, I don’t want to stay a moment longer!” Xu Hei cursed inwardly.

He thought that even if someone plotted against him, it wouldn’t be so urgent, but he didn’t expect it to happen so quickly.

During the chiseling, Xu Hei’s true body inevitably touched some oil stains, causing a slight pollution even to his true body.

”Buzz!”

Suddenly, the Demon God Cauldron inside his true body emitted a buzzing sound.

The trace of heavy oil he touched was absorbed into the Demon God Cauldron, which began to refine it on its own, the cauldron spinning rapidly, emitting wisps of smoke.

”This...” Xu Hei was momentarily stunned.

…………

Meanwhile, outside.

The five people who had been gambling were still sitting together, staring at the oil well Xu Hei had gone down, waiting quietly.

Time ticked by, and after an hour, Xu Hei still hadn’t appeared.

”An hour has passed, you two lost,” the banker said with a smile.

”Damn it! What an idiot.”

The two immediately cursed.

The horse-faced man sitting on the side had a sinister cold smile on his lips.

No one knew that these oil wells, which seemed to number in the hundreds or thousands, were actually connected by a secret passage.

Just now, he had arranged for a trusted subordinate to go down the well, follow the passage, and pour several barrels of oil directly into the well where Xu Hei was.

Moreover, he had placed heavy seals at the wellhead.

Once touched by this heavy oil, even a tiny bit, there would be no burial place. He had done this extremely covertly, and it was impossible for anyone to find out.