Serpent Ancestor

”Could it be...”

Xu Hei wasn’t a fool; he had already realized some things but was unwilling to connect the dots.

Xu Hei’s figure flickered as he arrived at the outskirts of the City Lord’s mansion. There were no defenses here, and his Divine Sense easily perceived everything within the mansion.

Wang Xiu held an evil sword, its blade still dripping with blood. His entire body, along with the sword, was stained a deep red, exuding a murderous aura as if he had slaughtered ten thousand people overnight.

And not just ordinary people, but cultivators!

Only by massacring ten thousand cultivators could such a murderous aura be born, reaching the pinnacle of the Aura of Slaughter.

Ding Yi’s body had swelled into a small mountain, his fierce aura beyond words.

With each breath, even space seemed to collapse into his mouth, the ultimate manifestation of the Aura of Gluttony.

In contrast, the entire Liefeng City was desolate and ruined.

”You’ve come, my friend.”A calm voice echoed.

Luo Gang flew out from the City Lord’s mansion, standing in the air before Xu Hei.

Luo Gang’s appearance hadn’t changed, yet he gave Xu Hei a different feeling, as if he wasn’t a person but a city.

He was the City Lord, who had managed Liefeng City for five hundred years, transforming it from a small town to a place of utmost splendor. He represented everything about Liefeng City!

Now, with everyone in Liefeng City dead, it had fallen from its peak to the depths, the desolation perfectly merging with Luo Gang, as if he was the embodiment of the city.

His entire being exuded a sense of desolation.

”Aura, Aura of Desolation...”

Xu Hei murmured, staring at Luo Gang, ”So, this is your reason for slaughtering everyone in Liefeng City?”

Luo Gang didn’t answer directly but asked, ”Xu Hei, do you know why so many cultivators at the Great Perfection of the Elemental Infant stage ultimately die at this step, unable to progress to the Divine Transformation?”

Xu Hei looked at him quietly, without answering.

”Because they aren’t ruthless enough!” Luo Gang said solemnly, ”My aura is the Aura of Desolation, which you have long known! To break through to the Divine Transformation stage, I had no choice but to cultivate the Aura of Desolation to its extreme!”

”So, you built Liefeng City with your own hands and then destroyed it with your own hands, just to transform your Aura of Desolation!” Xu Hei’s face showed no expression.

”Exactly.” Luo Gang nodded with a smile.

He could understand Xu Hei’s feelings; anyone not on the path of evil would scoff at such a massacre, just like Chen Zimo.

Just like most of the citizens of Liefeng City.

However, in such a world, if you don’t do this, if you don’t strive with all your might to become stronger, then the next moment, it could be you who dies!

”The bones of ten thousand lie beneath the success of one general; so this is what Chen Zimo meant by those words.” Xu Hei muttered to himself.

He had long noticed something wrong with Liefeng City, but he didn’t want to get involved; it was none of his business.

But now, witnessing it firsthand, even experiencing such a tragedy himself, he couldn’t help but tremble all over.

”Where is Chen Zimo?” Xu Hei suddenly asked.

”He’s dead.” Luo Gang sighed, a hint of regret in his eyes, ”He was once one of our group of five, but he stubbornly tried to save Liefeng City. We sought him out to eliminate this hidden threat.”

Xu Hei fell silent.

He wasn’t someone overflowing with compassion, unable to be like Chen Zimo, saving the world. But he also couldn’t comfortably align himself with a group of evildoers.

However, had he really not aligned himself with them?

During his secluded cultivation breakthrough, he was well aware that it was Luo Gang who provided a large number of Spirit Stones to help him break through! Even after the cultivators in the city died, Xu Hei had remotely utilized the Spirit Stones from their storage bags.

He was also a beneficiary of the city’s massacre!

”Xu Hei, these people were nothing to you; dead is dead, what does it have to do with you?”

Another voice emerged in Xu Hei’s mind: ”Just as well, you’ve obtained the Evil Spirit Bell, collect all the souls here, refine them into evil spirits, and with a little more refining, you might gain another fifth-tier Magical Treasure!”

”That’s ten thousand souls; make good use of them, don’t waste them.”

Listening to the other voice in his mind, Xu Hei actually nodded, finding it reasonable.

But then, he shivered.

Where did this voice come from?

Why did a second voice appear?

Just as Xu Hei was bewildered, he suddenly heard a deafening roar from the distant sky outside the city.

”City Lord of Liefeng City, hand over the traitor Xu Hei, or we will slaughter everyone in Liefeng City, leaving no one alive!”

”Hand over Xu Hei, hand over the inheritance of the laws, or leave no one alive!”

Voices filled with murderous intent boomed from the horizon, echoing throughout Liefeng City, like thunder, deafening.

Among these voices, Xu Hei heard Elder Wen from the Ancient Tomb Sect, Xiong Yan from the Blood Refining Sect, Grand Elder Diyuanzi from the Yan Dao Sect, Qingyunzi from the Tianhen Sword Sect, and even people from the Divine Puppet Sect.

Without even looking, he knew this was an allied army formed by five super sects, coming to attack Liefeng City.

Judging by their slogans, this was a force no ordinary person could withstand.

Luo Gang looked up at the sky, merely shaking his head slightly, ”Xu Hei, do you understand now?”

”Cultivators fight against the heavens; if you don’t become stronger, you’ll end up like the citizens of Liefeng City, turning into bones!”

”If you still have a ridiculous sense of mercy, you’ll end up like Chen Zimo, with no place to be buried!”

Luo Gang’s voice was thunderous, leaving Xu Hei stunned.

”Chen Zimo must have gone to find some influential figure, offering the inheritance of formations as a bargaining chip, hoping for help to save Liefeng City!”

”But I’m not worried about the secret of Liefeng City being leaked; do you know why?”

Luo Gang asked with a smile.

Xu Hei didn’t answer, but he already knew the answer in his heart.

In this world, everyone fights against the heavens.

If you don’t adapt, you’ll be eliminated!

…………

Inside Ji Shu’s cave dwelling in the Divine Puppet Sect.

Qin Xuanji had rummaged through Chen Zimo’s storage bag, discovering the entire truth from the numerous jade slips left by him.

Then, as if realizing something, he took out a blood-colored crystal core from Ji Shu’s storage ring, holding it in his palm, a strange light flashing in his eyes.

”So that’s it.”

Qin Xuanji squinted his eyes, murmuring, ”This Ji Shu never intended to save Liefeng City; instead, he refined a blood condensation crystal core, refining it day and night. I originally didn’t know what it was for.”

”Turns out he planned to use this to absorb the blood of all beings in Liefeng City, creating a fifth-tier puppet.”

”Saving Liefeng City? What a joke.”

Qin Xuanji shook his head.

Looking at the already dead Chen Zimo before him, he suddenly felt that the other was somewhat laughable, yet also somewhat pitiful.

In this world, there are always those who persistently hope to ignite a flame in the dark mist, thinking they can illuminate all beings, not realizing there is no dark mist, nor any flame.

Such cultivators will only be naturally eliminated.