Serpent Ancestor

The outcome of this battle was already destined.

Xu Hei single-handedly defeated two people, one dead and one fled, with one of them being among the top ten experts in the eastern wasteland. Once the news spreads, Xu Hei will surely become renowned across the eastern wasteland, becoming a new generation legend.

At the same time, he will also face the fiercest pursuit from the Tianhen Sword Sect.

”I’ll have to change my identity,” Xu Hei thought to himself.

He possessed the Ever-changing Fish and Dragon technique, which allowed him to alter his appearance, giving him an advantage.

Additionally, the storage bag he acquired from Wan Jianyi likely contained a magical treasure for changing appearances, capable of disguising even Divine Transformation Stage cultivators, which might be worth trying out.

...

Outside Liefeng City.

Luo Gang and his group arrived at the site of the battle, but the fight had already ended, and Xu Hei had long since left. They had no way of knowing the outcome and could only deduce from the traces that there were three participants.

”Didn’t expect Xue Yang to be involved; this battle might not have gone well,” Ding Yi remarked.Luo Gang wanted to help Xu Hei, but the other party was a colossal entity like the Tianhen Sword Sect, and judging by Xu Hei’s solitary actions, it was clear he didn’t want them involved.

”Chaos Star City seems to have something big happening; we should prepare to depart,” Luo Gang said.

...

Xu Hei traveled at full speed for three days before finally stopping.

He dug a hole underground, reaching a very deep place, and created a small space where he sat cross-legged, performing breathing exercises to absorb spiritual qi.

After a long while, he took out the storage bags of the two individuals and opened them.

The spirit stones in the two storage bags were all used up, with a total of ten million taken by Xu Hei, leaving only two thousand top-grade spirit stones. Most of the spirit medicine had been used on Lin Tianhe, leaving Xu Hei with few treasures.

However, as disciples of the Tianhen Sword Sect, they had no shortage of flying swords. In Wan Jianyi’s sword box, there were over a thousand flying swords, each only palm-sized.

Xu Hei erased the divine sense from each one and selected the highest quality hundred swords.

These were far better than the ones he forged himself.

”Someone else’s sword will never truly be mine; I need to find time to forge a new set of flying swords. That way, the power of the Star Sword Formation can reach a new level,” Xu Hei thought to himself.

Finally, Xu Hei was left with only a transparent mask in his hand, light as a feather, like a thin piece of paper.

”So, this is how Wan Jianyi disguised himself,” Xu Hei mused.

In Huangfu Duanlong’s memory, there was a description of this item. It was crafted using the eyes of a demon fox and the Thousand Illusion Vine as the main materials, along with hundreds of auxiliary materials.

Once worn on the face and infused with the target’s aura, it could transform the wearer into the target’s appearance, completely mimicking their aura.

Xu Hei’s Ever-changing Fish and Dragon technique could change his appearance, but his scent was easily exposed, allowing those who had seen him to recognize him at a glance.

But with this item, he could also mimic the aura, thus covering his weakness.

”Aura...” Xu Hei pondered.

He put the mask on his face and took out Lin Tianhe’s personal belongings, among which was a strand of hair, which he attached to the mask.

In an instant, the mask absorbed the hair, and Xu Hei’s appearance changed to resemble Lin Tianhe.

”Truly amazing!” Xu Hei marveled to himself.

With this, couldn’t he disguise himself as others to act?

Xu Hei’s eyes flickered slightly as if he had thought of something.

”Bai Zhi, do you still have the blood of Xue Yang from before?” Xu Hei asked.

Bai Zhi didn’t respond verbally; instead, a Spirit-Eating Ant crawled out and spat out a glob of blood.

Xu Hei immediately took the glob of blood, extracted a drop, and pressed it onto the mask, activating it slightly.

His form changed once again, transforming into Xue Yang’s appearance.

”Heh, this treasure is truly remarkable,” Xu Hei chuckled to himself.

He removed the mask, stored it safely, and sorted the materials from the two storage bags, using divine sense to cleanse each treasure to ensure there were no marks, then placed them into a void stone filled with seals, which he swallowed and hid within the Demon God Cauldron.

This way, no one could track him.

Now possessing ten million spirit stones, as long as he was frugal, he wouldn’t have to worry about spirit stones for two years. But Xu Hei’s army of insects needed expansion, and forging flying swords required spirit stones; there could never be too many spirit stones.

”The Tianhen Sword Sect operates rather mysteriously, always hiding and concealing, even their core disciples go out masked.”

”Especially since I took the supreme spirit stones, they don’t dare to mention it publicly.”

Xu Hei pondered.

He began to suspect that the Tianhen Sword Sect had numerous locations for refining supreme spirit stones, fearing exposure would attract the covetous eyes of others.

Or perhaps someone was already watching them.

After all, on the outer battlefield, the Tianhen Sword Sect was not the only dominant force, and if such secrets were exposed, their losses would be immeasurable.

Thinking of this, Xu Hei’s eyes flickered, as if he had discovered an incredible secret.

”In that case...”

Xu Hei took out a map and immediately headed towards a marked ancient relic.

...

At the end of the yellow sand.

The void in this place suddenly shattered, creating a massive pit, and a blood-covered figure emerged from the pit, landing on the sandy ground.

This person immediately burrowed underground, imitating Xu Hei’s method, sitting cross-legged deep below, consuming a pill, and performing breathing exercises to regulate his breath.

This blood-covered figure was Xue Yang.

Xue Yang felt heavy-hearted; since his rise to fame, he had never suffered such severe injuries.

”This time, I’ve suffered a great loss, forcing me to use the Void Escape Technique once, damaging my cultivation. The day of Divine Transformation seems far off now.”

After a long time, Xue Yang managed to suppress his chaotic injuries, calming himself down.

”The Tianhen Sword Sect lost two disciples; they won’t let this go easily. If they trace it back to me, how should I respond?” Xue Yang pondered deeply.

In fact, he had no significant relationship with the Tianhen Sword Sect. He was merely acquainted with Lin Tianhe, and since the other party offered sufficient benefits, they had cooperated.

But now, Lin Tianhe and Wan Jianyi were both dead, killed while traveling with him.

If the Tianhen Sword Sect investigated, he could push the blame onto Xu Hei, but would they believe him? He himself faced considerable risk, potentially unable to escape the consequences.

Though he was one of the top ten experts in the eastern wasteland, personally fearing no one, the Tianhen Sword Sect, as a colossal entity, had countless ways to deal with him.

Moreover, he still didn’t know why Lin Tianhe was pursuing Xu Hei.

When he asked about it, the other party merely said lightly, ”Don’t ask about things you shouldn’t know.”

Their constant secrecy made him suspect he might have been drawn into some hidden affair. Of course, he wouldn’t probe further; the less he knew, the safer he was.

”For now, it’s best not to show myself; I can’t afford to provoke the Tianhen Sword Sect.”

After much contemplation, Xue Yang chose the safest method—hiding away, pretending he was dead too.

Everything he did was solely for the breakthrough to Divine Transformation, not wanting to get involved in complicated matters.