Serpent Ancestor

A day had passed since the great battle ended.

Five shadows flickered into the ruined Liefeng City from outside the city walls.

The five shadows took on human forms, exuding no aura, like human shadows drifting through the city like ghosts.

These figures were none other than the Shadow Kill Gang, the strongest bandit organization in the Eastern Wasteland.

Similar to the Extinction Gang, the Shadow Kill Gang lived by plundering, committing crimes everywhere, notorious for murder and treasure hunting. However, the Shadow Kill Gang was far stronger than the Extinction Gang, ranking among the top in the world of bandit cultivators.

The Shadow Kill Gang excelled at stealth, coming and going without a trace, even the major sects were reluctant to provoke them.

Upon hearing about the events in Liefeng City, they rushed over immediately, seeking opportunities, hoping to find some overlooked treasures.

As the five shadows passed by, storage bags on the ground disappeared one after another, taken into the shadows’ possession.

Occasionally, some precious materials in the ruins were quickly collected by them.

With their gains, their courage grew, and they spread out, soon finding many valuable items.”Come quickly, I found an unconscious flood dragon!”

Suddenly, one member of the Shadow Kill Gang called out.

The other four quickly gathered, staring at the flood dragon in the ruins, a strange light flickering in their eyes.

Xu Hei lay amidst a pile of rubble, crushed by a collapsed building, his dragon horns and claws broken, severely injured, his aura faint, almost undetectable.

”What do we do? Should we capture it?”

One of them asked.

”Don’t be rash, we’re here for wealth, no need to invite trouble.”

The leader of the Shadow Kill Gang shook his head.

Though tempted by the mysterious flood dragon, he knew his limits and dared not touch what shouldn’t be taken.

”Boss, this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, miss it once, miss it forever, think it through.”

Another member said meaningfully.

”I heard Xiong Yan killed Ding Yi of Liefeng City and took his opportunity, that’s how he got the chance to break through to the Divine Transformation Stage!” the person added.

The implication was clear: if Xiong Yan could do it, so could the Shadow Kill Gang.

The five shadows exchanged glances, three of them nodding in agreement.

The leader still shook his head, ”No, the risk is too great! Since news of Liefeng City has spread, more bandit cultivators are bound to come. We might as well use this as bait and watch what happens.”

Saying this, he left a mark beside Xu Hei, emitting a strong spiritual power fluctuation, then retreated to observe in secret.

This was the safest approach, using others as experiments.

The other four agreed, believing that with this mark, sooner or later, cultivators would be drawn in to check on Xu Hei.

But shortly after they left the mark.

An invisible ripple spread from the city center, sweeping across the area.

”Retreat quickly!”

As the words were spoken, the five fled simultaneously.

”Whoosh!” The ripple swept through.

Four of the Shadow Kill Gang’s shadows were frozen, their physical bodies manifesting from the shadows.

Clad in black, their robes withered and decayed into dust, scattering with the wind.

Their bodies also dried up, flesh and blood weathered, bodies shriveled. In an instant, they turned into mummies.

No blood, no true essence, as if they had experienced countless years in a moment.

Only the leader of the Shadow Kill Gang, his face changing dramatically, took out a lamp, casting a faint light, forming a one-meter radius of light, blocking the invisible ripple.

”Such strong desolation laws, this is the Divine Transformation Stage!”

The leader spat blood, the lamp in his hand shattering inch by inch, as if enduring countless years, finally exploding into fragments with a ”bang.”

He burned his lifespan, fleeing towards the outskirts of Liefeng City at the fastest speed, but after only two breaths, his body froze forever mid-flight.

His face showed terror, maintaining a fleeing posture, standing at the edge of Liefeng City, reaching outwards.

Just one step away from leaving the city, but that step was like a chasm.

He too turned into a mummy, forever frozen in the city.

…………

Half a day later, two rogue cultivators arrived at Liefeng City, also hoping to strike it rich.

But upon seeing the leader of the Shadow Kill Gang at the city gate, they turned and fled without hesitation.

In a blink, three days passed.

During this time, a total of ten groups came to Liefeng City, half of them scared away, the other half, after finding some treasures, were swept by the invisible desolation laws, turning into mummies, forever remaining in Liefeng City.

In the days that followed, Liefeng City became a forbidden zone of life, no one dared to step in.

As for outside the city, the Divine Wutong Tree, burned to charcoal, was long ignored, with a sinister formation there, driving people mad at a glance, more terrifying than Liefeng City.

…………

Time flew by.

In the blink of an eye, a month passed.

Sun Wuxiang took one look outside the city and left, issuing a strict order that the Yan Dao Sect must not approach the city.

The Divine Puppet Sect wanted revenge, having only lost some puppets, their strength largely intact, and they still had their strongest, Ji Shu, yet to act.

But soon, a major event occurred in the Divine Puppet Sect.

—Ji Shu disappeared!

The first disciple of the Divine Puppet Sect, seen as the most hopeful to break through to the Divine Transformation Stage, vanished at this critical juncture, leaving no trace.

Moreover, he severed all communication talismans with the elders.

This forced the Divine Puppet Sect to halt their revenge plans and consider Ji Shu’s situation.

”I suspect Ji Shu was body-snatched.” Someone astutely noticed the problem.

Since returning from the Void Realm, Ji Shu hadn’t communicated with them, his behavior completely different, as if he had become another person.

”Whether it’s body-snatching, we’ll know when the outer battlefield opens.”

…………

Day after day, year after year.

The battle of Liefeng City reshuffled the outer battlefield’s landscape, the five super sects no longer as formidable as before.

But once the ten-year period ends and the gates open, these super forces will have new strong members joining, and it will still be their world.

As long as their Divine Transformation Stage ancestors live, the super sects remain an insurmountable mountain.

Unknowingly, two years had passed since the battle of Liefeng City.

Initially, people still approached Liefeng City, but as more cultivators died, the place became desolate.

Centered on Liefeng City, a thirty-thousand-mile radius became a forbidden zone of life, with the risk of being attacked by laws if approached.

At this moment, thirty thousand miles away.

A young man with purple hair sat on a hillside, staring in the direction of Liefeng City, gritting his teeth, ”You owe me money, don’t think you can get away with it! It’s been two years, I need to calculate the interest.”