Serpent Ancestor

"Run! There's a young Flood Dragon down there!"

As soon as Mu Yun appeared, he only had time to shout before turning to flee.

He activated two Swift Wind Talismans to their limit, causing a fierce wind to sweep him away towards the outside of Myriad Serpent Valley.

"A young Flood Dragon?!"

The two were instantly horrified.

A Flood Dragon was a legendary creature, and it was said that whenever one appeared, it was at least at the terrifying Demon Infant Stage!

How could there be a young Flood Dragon beneath Myriad Serpent Valley?

If it truly was a Flood Dragon, even a young one, how could they possibly survive?

Despite their doubts, seeing their senior brother in such a panic, they knew the creature below must be terrifying. Without hesitation, they took out their Swift Wind Talismans and fled immediately.

"Boom!"

Xu Hei burst out of the ground and, without a word, chased after Mu Yun.

Only this person had seen his true form, and he absolutely couldn't let him escape!

If Mu Yun brought back news of him, the Snake Catchers would surely send stronger experts to hunt him down, and that was a consequence Xu Hei couldn't bear!

He couldn't let this person go!

Mu Yun flew towards the mouth of Myriad Serpent Valley, where the corpse of a massive black snake lay.

It was the body of the Old Snake King.

The corpse was so large that it couldn't be stored in a Storage Bag all at once. It had been cut into several pieces, with only the head remaining intact.

Without a glance, Mu Yun flew over it.

Suddenly, the head of the Old Snake King moved!

It opened its mouth and sprayed a jet of venom from its poison sac.

In the blink of an eye, the venom hit Mu Yun's face.

The distance was too close; by the time Mu Yun noticed, it was too late, and he was sprayed directly in the face.

"Ah!!!"

Mu Yun clutched his face, letting out a piercing scream as his face immediately swelled up.

"Damn it, how could I make such a rookie mistake?"

Mu Yun's face darkened. It was common knowledge that even after a venomous snake's head was severed, it still retained its toxicity, and the head could still leap up and attack.

In his panic, he had lost his composure, and the Old Snake King's head had blocked his path, leaving him no time to dodge.

Fortunately, as an expert Snake Catcher, he had antidote pills with him. He quickly took one, and the symptoms rapidly subsided.

But this brief delay allowed Xu Hei to close the distance to within thirty meters!

Mu Yun's face turned pale with fear. He bit his tongue, and his speed suddenly increased. Thankfully, with the high-quality Swift Wind Talisman, as long as Xu Hei didn't get too close, he could gradually widen the gap.

"Just wait, I'll return and ask the Grandmaster to come out of seclusion. This demon is too strange and must be captured with the full force of the sect!" Mu Yun gritted his teeth.

At this moment, Xu Hei felt as if he heard a voice in his mind.

"Child, live well, live on..."

It was the voice of the Old Snake King in its final moments.

Xu Hei didn't understand why this voice appeared in his mind or why he was so fixated on the dead snake head.

But the killing intent in his eyes had already surpassed its limit.

"Today, you will die without a doubt!"

Xu Hei's eyes flashed with boundless ferocity and determination.

He raised his tail, and the black-gold scales on it stood up one by one, gleaming with a cold light.

Mu Yun, constantly watching his rear, saw Xu Hei raise his tail and felt his hair stand on end for some unknown reason.

In the next moment.

Ten of Xu Hei's scales broke off, separating from his flesh with excruciating pain that pierced to the bone.

But Xu Hei's expression didn't change; he was only filled with madness.

"Die!"

Xu Hei flung the scales out, and they shot towards Mu Yun's back like a storm!

"No!!!"

Mu Yun screamed sharply.

He summoned a jade pendant, a life-saving treasure left by his Grandmaster, capable of unleashing a strike at the Great Perfection of the Qi Refining Stage, which no one below the Foundation Establishment Stage could withstand.

But it was too slow!

In such a short time, he couldn't activate it. From the moment Xu Hei flung his tail to the scales flying out, it was only a breath's time!

"Swish, swish, swish..."

The scales struck the jade pendant, which exploded into fragments under the immense force, and the scales continued their assault, hitting Mu Yun's body, legs, face, and head.

"Thud, thud, thud..."

In just one breath, Mu Yun was riddled with scales, blood gushing out, his face unrecognizable.

His eyes lost their color, and he fell from a meter high, the Swift Wind Talisman on his leg still exerting its remaining power, causing gusts of wind but unable to lift him.

With a heavy thud, Mu Yun hit the ground, dead.

"Pain! Pain!"

Xu Hei's whole body was in agony, the pain of the scales falling off exceeding his imagination, but he endured it, smashing Mu Yun's body into a pulp to ensure he was thoroughly dead.

Then, Xu Hei picked up the ten scales one by one.

Reattaching the scales was unrealistic; it was better to let them regrow.

Xu Hei thought for a moment and simply swallowed the scales, hoping they would regrow as he imagined.

Xu Hei crawled to Mu Yun's corpse, swallowed him whole, and took the Storage Bag, holding it in his mouth.

With a wave of his Divine Sense, Xu Hei erased the imprint on the bag and imprinted his own.

He took the nearly depleted Swift Wind Talismans and stored them in the bag, along with the Beast Control Ring.

The spoils of war could be sorted out later.

At this moment, Xu Hei looked at the dead snake head.

The Old Snake King's eyes were still open, all the venom in the poison sac gone, silently staring at Xu Hei.

Looking at the snake head, Xu Hei suddenly felt as if struck by lightning, his whole body trembling.

In an instant, a memory from three years ago surfaced in his mind.

At that time, the Serpent Fruit had ripened, producing two large fruits with a fragrant aroma.

Xu Hei, not yet fully sentient, instinctively went to devour them.

However, the overwhelming number of snakes attracted by the fruit's scent made it impossible. Over half the snakes in Myriad Serpent Valley were drawn, and only two would be lucky enough to get the fruit.

It was destined to be a brutal battle.

But then, a deafening hiss rang out.

The Old Snake King appeared, his presence overwhelming everything. All the snakes stopped fighting and prostrated themselves.

Xu Hei, trembling with fear, didn't dare move forward.

At that moment, the Old Snake King looked at Xu Hei, a black snake identical to himself. After a long gaze, the coldness in his eyes dissipated.

The pressure on Xu Hei vanished without a trace.

Xu Hei quickly went up and swallowed one of the Serpent Fruits.

Under the Old Snake King's protection, no snake dared to challenge him.

Even during his transformation after consuming the Serpent Fruit, the Old Snake King guarded him until Xu Hei fully turned into a Snake Demon, then left peacefully.

The memory from three years ago was very vague, something Xu Hei couldn't recall, but now it all came back to him.

It was like a human recalling memories from infancy, vague and fleeting, only surfacing at certain moments like a bolt of lightning.

"Old Snake King, why did you treat me like this?"

Xu Hei couldn't understand.

In his impression, snakes were cold and ruthless, even among their own kind, they would kill each other, the strong surviving.

But the Old Snake King's actions overturned this belief.

Xu Hei stood still, lost in long silence, unable to let go.

A sense of sorrow gradually filled his heart.

This indescribable emotion slowly accumulated, eventually turning into overwhelming hatred.

"Humans, Snake Catchers, I, Xu Hei, will never share the same sky with you!!"