Serpent Ancestor

After another day of long travel, they arrived at a vast, open plain.

At this moment, the plain was already crowded with people, densely packed.

”This is the entrance to the outer battlefield.”

Xu Hei looked at the shattered sky, as if a huge chunk had been gouged out.

Since they arrived early, they set up camp here, waiting for the opening time.

”Everyone, I am Mu Chen from the Heavenly Dao Gate, selling top-quality talismans for both offense and defense. Interested?”

”I am Ma Dashuai from Medicine King Mountain, offering a large selection of premium pills for healing and enhancement, all at a 20% discount. Don’t miss this chance!”

”Sky Net Guards, Elemental Infant stage guards for just one million spirit stones a day, buy three days and get one free, first come, first served!”

As soon as Xu Hei and the others sat down, various sales pitches came their way.

First was a sneaky-looking Taoist selling talismans, then someone selling dubious ointments, and finally, a self-promoting Sky Net Guard.”No need! Get lost, get lost, or I’ll start shooting!”

Bai Luo directly pulled out a cannon, hoisted it on his shoulder, and aimed it at the three salesmen.

The three were so frightened they trembled all over and had to leave reluctantly. Soon, they targeted a new group that had just arrived, approaching them with their sales pitches.

Wherever there are people, there is business.

Xu Hei shook his head helplessly, amazed at the lengths people would go to make money.

”Hey, isn’t this our big client?”

Suddenly, Xu Hei heard a voice and saw a young man with purple hair sitting next to him, smiling brightly.

”Not leaving yet?” Bai Luo aimed the cannon again.

”Don’t misunderstand, I’m one of you!” the purple-haired youth quickly raised his hands.

”You think I don’t recognize you? A swindler from the Jianghu, you even conned your way from the Qin Kingdom to here. Get lost as far as you can!” Bai Luo said angrily.

Han Te’s face darkened. Was his reputation really that bad?

In the end, it was Xu Hei who gestured for Bai Luo to put away the cannon.

Han Te sighed in relief, glanced at Xu Hei, and his smile became gentle.

”Fellow Daoist Xu, it’s been years. How have you been?” Han Te said with a smile.

Xu Hei frowned and asked, ”What do you want from me?”

Xu Hei knew this person had some skills; Hei Huang had specifically mentioned him. Otherwise, he wouldn’t bother listening to his nonsense.

”Haha, can’t I just come by to catch up? We came from the same place after all. Once we’re in the outer battlefield, we should support each other.”

Han Te smiled warmly, but his eyes occasionally glanced at a figure.

Xu Hei suddenly realized that the figure was the Nine-Headed Worm.

”Why beat around the bush? Just say what you want.” Xu Hei said impatiently.

Han Te glanced at Bai Luo’s stern expression and quickly took out a handful of tokens, saying, ”I am bounty hunter Han Te, taking on all kinds of jobs at fair prices, honest dealings. If you need anything, just come to me! As long as the spirit stones are in place, I can do any job!”

He handed out the tokens to everyone, especially slipping one into the Nine-Headed Worm’s hand. Only after seeing him accept it did Han Te leave with peace of mind.

”Fellow Daoist, as long as there are spirit stones, anything can be done!” Han Te said with a smile.

The Nine-Headed Worm remained expressionless.

”...” Xu Hei saw through it.

Han Te clearly knew the Nine-Headed Worm, aware that he was a rich second-generation with the most spirit stones, and had set his sights on him.

”Be careful, this person has unclear motives, there might be a trap.” Xu Hei transmitted his voice.

”I know.”

The Nine-Headed Worm directly burned the token to ashes, not even touching it.

At this moment, the sky suddenly quieted down. A dark cloud approached from the horizon, bringing with it a dense mass of figures, countless and overwhelming.

”The Divine Puppet Sect is here!”

”So... so many people!”

”Don’t be so surprised, those are all puppets!”

Various discussions arose on the plain.

Xu Hei stared at the figures in the sky. They all looked like ordinary cultivators, but under his perception, he found they had no life, all puppets.

There were as many as a hundred thousand!

Among them were also some real people, but besides Xu Hei, no one could tell them apart.

The pressure in the air doubled; surely a Divine Transformation stage expert had arrived, but with their current perception, they couldn’t identify who it was.

With the arrival of the Divine Puppet Sect, everyone returned to their positions, and even the salesmen disappeared.

Three days later.

In the sky, the shattered space was repairing, white light blossomed from within, and faintly, in the depths of the endless void, a long vortex tunnel approached from afar.

There, was the entrance passage to the outer battlefield.

After a few more days, when the passage officially approached, a vortex-shaped gate formed in the sky.

The outer battlefield opened.

”Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh...”

The Divine Puppet Sect’s team took the lead, rushing in en masse. It was impossible to tell who was real and who was a puppet, achieving the ultimate in deception.

Following them were the local sect forces from the Western Cang Realm, Little Cang Realm, and some teams of rogue cultivators.

”Once inside the outer battlefield, everyone will be dispersed. Take these tokens; as long as you’re not too far apart, you can sense each other.”

The Nine-Headed Worm distributed a token to everyone, which they accepted.

Xu Hei thought for a moment, then took out spirit insects, giving each of them one.

”These insects are called Remembrance Cicadas, and they also serve as a sensing tool. If you encounter danger, release the Remembrance Cicada, and it will automatically seek out the nearest one.” Xu Hei explained.

”Got it!” Everyone accepted them.

In the outer battlefield, no one could be trusted except their own people.

With everything prepared, the seven Chosen quickly rose and rushed into the vortex gate in the sky.

”Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh...”

Like seven grains of sand in the desert, they vanished into the passage.

Subsequently, Qin Xuanji, Han Te, along with a group from the Qin Kingdom, also entered the passage.

In a corner, a veiled woman in white appeared, her figure graceful and light, with a blue lotus embroidered on her dress.

Though her face was covered, her ethereal and pure aura attracted many gazes.

”So... so beautiful!”

Someone stared in a daze, only to black out and faint.

As the woman in white passed by, those who saw her earlier inexplicably found their minds blank, completely unable to recall her.

…………

Xu Hei’s vision brightened, as if flying in the sky, the speed increasing, feeling like the legendary ascension to the heavenly realm.

During this process, Xu Hei felt dizzy; many couldn’t withstand it and fainted, but Xu Hei remained conscious, just closing his eyes.

It lasted for a full day before the flying sensation disappeared.

His body relaxed and suddenly fell, crashing to the ground.

”Whoosh!”

Xu Hei quickly stabilized himself, avoiding making too much noise.

He opened his eyes and found himself in a mountain forest, lush with greenery, birds singing, and flowers blooming. The ground was covered with vegetation, most of which Xu Hei had never seen before, very peculiar.

And the spiritual energy here... Xu Hei took a deep breath, feeling refreshed and invigorated, his long-stagnant cultivation faintly improving.

”Ah, so refreshing! As expected of a fragment of the upper realm, the spiritual energy is so abundant!”

Xu Hei took deep breaths, as if he had arrived at a cultivation paradise. He grabbed a handful of soil and took a big bite, even the dirt tasted fragrant.

”Haha, what a place!” Xu Hei laughed heartily, sat cross-legged, and immediately entered a cultivation state.

Xu Hei greedily breathed in, seemingly unaware that something underground was approaching.

And so, one second, two seconds, three seconds... it got closer and closer, silently.

”Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh...”

Suddenly, a large net descended from the sky, spikes emerged from the ground, and shadows charged from four directions, wordlessly exuding a fierce killing intent towards Xu Hei.

”A foolish kid, we’ve killed countless rookies like this.”

”Heh, today is the day the outer battlefield passage opens, always some newcomers who don’t know their limits, perfect for us.”

”Too bad he won’t get to experience the world’s dangers.”

These shadows had various thoughts, but without exception, they all believed Xu Hei was doomed. They had ambushed newcomers countless times on the outer battlefield, always successful.

As long as their luck wasn’t too bad, with someone landing nearby, they could succeed.

Little did they know, when they harbored murderous intent, Xu Hei’s perception had already locked onto them, pretending to be unaware to lure them in.

And Xu Hei’s action of grabbing soil seemed foolish, but in reality, he had already buried a flying sword underground.

”Perfect timing, Star Sword Formation! Sending you on your way!”

Xu Hei’s eyes snapped open, and at the moment of impending danger, he activated the second level of the Star Sword Formation, the Two-Eight Constellation Sword Formation.

With limited time, he could only set up the second level of the formation, but it was more than enough for this group.

”Swish, swish, swish...”

In an instant, blades and swords flashed, starlight dazzling, the Milky Way hung upside down, resonating from underground to the starry sky, forming a starry river-like sword curtain, encompassing the heavens and earth.

The shadows underground had just made their move when the sword formation took shape. They realized this wasn’t a formation set up on the spot but was premeditated.

”Not good, it’s a trap!”

The shadow leader exclaimed, and everyone retreated without hesitation, abandoning the attack on Xu Hei. Their decisiveness and swift retreat, giving up as soon as they decided, made Xu Hei admire their combat skills.

Unfortunately, it was too late.

Once they stepped into the sword formation, there was no turning back.

”Slash, slash, slash!”

Sword Qi crisscrossed, blood splattered, accompanied by various severed limbs and screams.

The net in the sky was cut into countless pieces, the spikes on the ground vanished under the sword light, and the defensive magical treasures used by the shadows were like paper, blown to dust by Xu Hei’s Summon Wind.

In an instant, the team of four shadows was annihilated by Xu Hei, leaving no bones behind.

These four were not weak, especially their leader, who had mid-stage Elemental Infant cultivation and excelled in stealth. If they had been more cautious, Xu Hei might not have been able to keep him.

But they came to him, stepping into the sword formation, so it was just a gift.