Serpent Ancestor

Yan Feng wasn’t naive enough to believe that Xu Hei had come to save them out of goodwill.

Xu Hei didn’t look like a benevolent person. With his terrifying combat power, he could wipe them out and seize all their goods without breaking a sweat. Yan Feng was even considering whether to abandon all the goods to secure a chance of survival.

Xu Hei nodded and said, ”As you wish.”

”Yes!”

Yan Feng finally breathed a sigh of relief.

The Yan family had spent thirty years accumulating this batch of goods. If they lost everything, they wouldn’t be able to survive.

Xu Hei’s figure flickered as he arrived at a crevice in the rocks. With a wave of his hand, he lifted the layer of rocks, revealing two carts loaded with goods beneath.

These were the goods stolen from the Oli family!

During the battle earlier, Old Tree had already discovered the hiding place of these goods, which was why Xu Hei didn’t bother asking questions and directly exterminated the enemies.

”With this batch of goods, plus the seventy percent of the profits promised by the Yan family, this is a huge windfall!” Xu Hei thought to himself.However, he couldn’t celebrate too early before delivering the goods to the Wood Spirit Clan and exchanging them for spirit stones.

If they encountered bandits again, another fierce battle would ensue.

The cultivators on Dark Star were very primitive, lacking even storage artifacts. Xu Hei could store most of the goods in his storage ring, making it more convenient and secure.

”The Wood Spirit Clan has monopolized the spirit sand mines, so their strength is evident. But since they are purchasing materials, they might have a greater need for external resources. Perhaps I can make some connections then,” Xu Hei pondered.

Just then, a hearty laugh echoed from afar.

”Haha, thank you, Fellow Daoist, for helping us retrieve the goods from the Oli family! I am deeply grateful!”

Xu Hei turned his head to see an elderly stone man leading three towering stone giants approaching from the distance, their laughter booming as they quickly arrived.

The elderly stone man at the forefront was none other than Ao De, the ancestor of the Oli family, in the late Divine Power stage.

The other three tall stone men were also elite members of the Oli family, in the mid Divine Power stage, stronger than Oli.

”I heard there was a great battle here, so I led the elite of our clan to support you. I didn’t expect you had already resolved everything. Your strength is truly beyond imagination!” Ao De laughed heartily.

As he spoke, his gaze fell on the Oli family’s carts, seeing the goods intact, his smile widened.

He also nodded to the cultivators of the Yan family as a greeting.

Xu Hei frowned slightly. He had intended to keep the goods for himself, but coincidentally, the cultivators from the Oli family had arrived just in time.

A white stone man beside Ao De stepped forward, cupping his fists toward Xu Hei, ”Thank you, Fellow Daoist, for your assistance. Ancestor Ao De, why not give two-tenths of the profits to our friend here as a token of gratitude?”

This white stone man’s cultivation was second only to Ao De, reaching the peak of the mid Divine Power stage, almost on par with Xu Hei.

His name was Ao Fei, and he was in need of resources to break through to the late Divine Power stage.

”Two-tenths? Ao Fei, are you joking? Our Oli family has over a thousand members, more than ten in the Divine Power stage, each needing a share of resources. How can we give away two-tenths?”

One of the stone men in the mid Divine Power stage protested.

Ao Fei frowned, ”This man is our benefactor. Without his help, not only might we have lost all the goods, but even Oli’s life would be in danger! What’s wrong with giving away two-tenths?”

”But two-tenths is still too much. How about one-tenth?”

”Treating our benefactor like this, how will others view our Oli family?”

The three mid Divine Power stage members of the Oli family began to argue.

Throughout, Xu Hei remained silent.

Oli’s expression was extremely awkward. He had just witnessed Yan Feng willing to give Xu Hei seventy percent of the profits, yet the Oli family was squabbling over one-tenth or two-tenths.

He glanced awkwardly at Xu Hei, finding no change in the latter’s expression.

A cultivator from the Yan family wanted to speak but was stopped by Yan Feng’s gaze.

”Enough!”

Ao De shouted, silencing everyone, and they all turned to look at him.

After all, Ao De was the ancestor of the Oli family and one of the decision-makers of the current generation, holding absolute authority.

”Ancestor, we should still...”

”I’ll decide. Give this Fellow Daoist three-tenths of the profits,” Ao De said sternly.

”Three-tenths!?”

Everyone was shocked.

Giving away three-tenths? The Oli family’s members in the Divine Power stage wouldn’t even get one-tenth each. How could they accept giving three-tenths to an outsider?

”Fellow Daoist, what do you think?” Ao De looked at Xu Hei, smiling as if he believed giving away three-tenths was a great favor, and Xu Hei should be grateful.

Xu Hei said nothing and made no move to store the goods in his ring.

At this moment, his three-phase fusion state had faded, leaving him in a weakened state.

Not only had his spiritual power plummeted and his cultivation declined, but the three laws were also eroding his physical body, damaging his meridians, leaving him at less than half his peak state.

This was the price of tripling his cultivation.

Xu Hei’s heavy expression shifted to a slight smile, ”Helping you retrieve the goods was just a small effort on my part. Why would I need any profits?”

”......”

Xu Hei’s response left everyone stunned, unsure of his intentions.

Ao De was surprised, ”Fellow Daoist Xu, is it too little?”

Xu Hei took a deep breath and smiled, ”This journey is fraught with danger. We should travel together and rely on the Oli family for support. Let’s forget about the profits.”

Ao De was momentarily at a loss for words.

However, Ao Fei was overjoyed.

”Haha, since Brother Xu says so, thank you very much,” Ao Fei laughed, seemingly believing Xu Hei was trying to curry favor with them, taking it for granted.

Oli was extremely embarrassed. These foolish people had no idea who they were dealing with—a terrifying powerhouse who could easily defeat late Divine Power stage cultivators and slaughter mid Divine Power stage ones like chickens!

He opened his mouth, seemingly wanting to say something.

But after seeing Xu Hei’s gaze, he ultimately said nothing.

...

Thus, after a brief rest, they continued on their journey.

The Oli family, Yan family, and Xu Hei formed a joint convoy, heading toward the Wood Spirit Clan.

The journey was long. If they were on Divine Continent Star, Xu Hei could reach the destination in half a day. But on the gravity-heavy Dark Star, even teleportation was disabled, and flying consumed a lot of energy, so they had to travel on foot, taking ten to a hundred times longer than usual.

However, this also gave Xu Hei time to heal.

Before setting off, Yan Feng approached and whispered, ”Brother Xu, we’ll still give you seventy percent as agreed.”

Xu Hei said nothing, just nodded calmly.

He sat cross-legged on the Yan family’s cart, took a Purifying Lotus Pill, and began healing the law-inflicted wounds in his body.

The stone spirit clan’s carts were similar to carriages, with six wheels and mountains of goods piled on top.

Xu Hei moved into a stone chamber for closed-door healing.

”Xu Hei, I see you’ve become more tolerant than before,” Old Tree chuckled.

Xu Hei said, ”I remember Oli mentioned that this route was specifically chosen as a risky path to avoid enemies, yet they still encountered them. Do you think it’s just a coincidence?”