Serpent Ancestor

Old Black Snake couldn't remember when he first gained sentience.

He only remembered that he was a notorious Snake King in the Snake Village area, infamous for devouring over twenty people. The authorities had tried to hunt him down, and even a Demon Subduing Daoist had pursued him, but none could capture him.

As a result, the legend of the man-eating Snake King spread through the village, scaring children into staying indoors and keeping the lights on at night, while the snake catchers stood guard through the night.

He couldn't recall exactly how many people he had eaten, but he remembered the last two vividly.

***

The first was a young boy named Human Elixir, who was being chased by an old Daoist and had fled into the mountains.

"Human Elixir, you owe me your life! After consuming so many of my herbs, how can I let you escape?" the Daoist cursed as he chased.

The boy ran for a full day and night, exhausted and covered in wounds. He knelt before a Bodhisattva statue in a dilapidated temple, crying and begging for protection.

Old Black Snake, seeing his pitiful state, swallowed him whole, ending his miserable life.

The Daoist arrived just in time to witness this scene and screamed in agony, "No! My elixir! I spent ten years refining that Human Elixir! Spit it out!"

Feeling a bit guilty seeing the Daoist's despair, Old Black Snake swallowed him too, reuniting him with the boy in his stomach.

***

These were the only memories Old Black Snake had.

From then on, he began to develop intelligence and gained a wealth of knowledge about the human world.

For instance, snake catchers captured snakes; Daoists practiced spells; Human Elixir was a human-shaped pill that extended life and enhanced cultivation.

He also learned about human stories, books, and all sorts of strange knowledge that surfaced intermittently.

"Humans have names, so I'll give myself one too. I'll be called Xu Hei!"

He liked the story of Xu Xian from the human world. People called him Old Black Snake, so he combined it to become Xu Hei.

In truth, he envied humans. They were born with intelligence, while Xu Hei had to go through countless reincarnations to gain his.

He decided to cherish this life and never die easily!

The more he had, the more he feared losing it. The once fearless Old Black Snake now became afraid of death.

"Humans are too dangerous. I should stay away from them. Fierce beasts are also scary. I'll stick to safer food."

Xu Hei made up his mind to avoid humans and fierce beasts. Eggs, poultry, and livestock would be his main targets.

In the days that followed, Xu Hei roamed the edges of small towns and villages, stealing chickens, ducks, fish, geese, and small rodents.

Days passed, and the stories of the man-eating Snake King faded, but livestock began to disappear in large numbers. Fish in ponds dwindled, making residents too afraid to let their chickens and ducks roam freely, keeping them all indoors.

Xu Hei had a huge appetite, capable of eating several chickens in one meal, which the village poultry couldn't sustain.

***

A month passed.

Xu Hei hadn't eaten for seven days.

During this time, Xu Hei had fully digested human knowledge, growing to five meters in length, with a demon core forming in his abdomen.

"With a demon core, I'm now a snake demon," Xu Hei rejoiced.

The demon core, like a human cultivator's dantian, was his core. Though only the size of a fist, it was his most precious possession.

The birth of the demon core meant he was no longer an ordinary beast but a demonic beast.

However, his excessive stealing had depleted his food sources.

He didn't dare hunt large beasts, fearing injury. Compared to the risk of fighting in the wild, he preferred being a petty thief.

"I haven't eaten in a long time. I need to find food in the town."

Xu Hei slithered his massive body toward Chen Family Town.

Chen Family Town was the largest town in the area, named after the prominent Chen Family, who had the most abundant food. Xu Hei, having lived there for years, knew the Chen Family's location well.

Xu Hei moved cautiously, making no sound as he entered the Chen Family's backyard.

The backyard housed many livestock. Xu Hei flicked his tongue, sensing the air, and his eyes lit up.

He smelled pigs!

Pigs were his favorite food—fatty and filling, one pig could last him a month. Unfortunately, pigs were kept in pens.

Since gaining sentience, he had never eaten pork, fearing discovery by humans.

"Just one pig, and I'll stop."

Xu Hei calculated, his stomach growling, as he slithered onto the roof beam, inching into the pitch-black pigsty like a leech.

The pigsty was large. He found a corner and climbed in along the wall. The pigs, sensing a snake, grunted and instinctively backed away, but not too frightened. Some even curiously approached, thinking it was food.

This was why Xu Hei liked pigs—they were dumb, unlike other animals that ran at the sight of him.

Without hesitation, Xu Hei opened his jaws and swallowed a piglet whole.

Xu Hei's large size allowed him to swallow a piglet with ease, just as he had once swallowed humans.

The pigs squealed in terror, retreating to the corner, finally realizing Xu Hei was dangerous.

It took Xu Hei great effort and two minutes to swallow the piglet, his body swelling into an oval shape.

"Time to escape," Xu Hei thought, but then had a sudden idea.

Since he had sneaked in, why not eat more?

With the demon core, his digestion speed had increased. This pig would be digested in half a day.

Xu Hei flicked his tongue, surveying the area. It was night, and the Chen Family was silent, with faint snores in the distance. As long as he didn't make too much noise, he wouldn't be discovered.

Even if someone went to the toilet at night, he could escape quickly.

With this in mind, Xu Hei wrapped around a fat pig and swallowed it. This time, it took five minutes, his body swelling like a small mountain.

There were only five pigs in the pen, with three left. Xu Hei couldn't move, so he curled up in a dark corner to digest.

***

By dawn, he would have digested most of it.

About an hour passed.

"Bang!"

Suddenly, the pigsty door was kicked open. Xu Hei, startled, curled into a small ball, hiding behind the wall.

"Thud!"

A bloody figure was thrown into the pigsty. It was a young man, fairly handsome but covered in wounds, barely breathing.

"Is this trash dead?"

"So what if he is? He dared to compete with Young Master Qiu for a woman. This is his fate!"

The two men at the door clapped their hands and left the pigsty.

The young man, eyes closed, took his last breath and died.

A human had died right under Xu Hei's nose.

The man looked familiar, possibly a young master from Chen Family Village, whom Xu Hei had seen before.

Xu Hei quickly slithered onto the roof beam. It was said that the dead were unlucky, and he didn't want to get involved.

The two men had just left. Xu Hei planned to leave after they were gone, never to return.

Suddenly.

The recently deceased young man opened his eyes.

"Zombie!" Xu Hei's pupils contracted, thinking of a term he had learned from the Daoist's knowledge, holding his breath, not daring to move.

The young man sat cross-legged, a look of surprise in his eyes, muttering, "Chen Fan? Haha, what a coincidence, sharing the same name as me."