Serpent Ancestor

The old dog couldn't remember when he first became enlightened.

He only remembered that he was a notorious vicious dog around Snake Village, infamous for stealing food from beggars, biting many people, and even eating corpses. He was a tyrant among the wild dogs.

He couldn't recall exactly how many corpses he had eaten, but he remembered two people clearly.

It was in an abandoned temple, where a man and a woman were placed on the tribute table.

Since then, he had become enlightened and often gained some human knowledge.

"Heh, so humans hide their dead in graves. What a waste."

The old dog was very excited and started digging graves and stealing corpses, always reaping some rewards.

Especially last winter, when thirty people in the village died at once, he couldn't dig up the graves fast enough.

However, over time, he was discovered, and the authorities issued a warrant for his arrest, indirectly leading to the slaughter of all the wild dogs in the nearby villages.

The old dog narrowly escaped, but he no longer dared to enter the village and had to survive by digging up wild graves.

"I heard there's a new cemetery outside Chen Family Town. I'll check it out someday," the old dog thought to himself.

Suddenly, his gaze shifted to a patch of grass, and he sniffed with his dog nose.

"A snake?"

He vaguely caught the scent of a snake.

These days, he had eaten snakes before, but the old dog had an extremely keen sense of danger. His scalp tingled, and goosebumps rose all over his body.

"Danger, run!"

The old dog trusted his instincts completely, which was why he had repeatedly escaped the authorities' hunts!

Without hesitation, he bolted, not even bothering with the human bones.

"Why did it run away?"

Xu Hei, hiding in the shadows, watched in amazement.

Xu Hei was certain he was a hundred meters away from the big black dog and hadn't shown himself. There was no way the dog could have detected him.

"Is its nose that sensitive? Let's follow and see."

Xu Hei immediately used the Earth Escape Technique to pursue.

Having lived in Snake Village for many years, Xu Hei had a keen eye.

This black dog was clearly not a wild survivor but a stray dog from a human city, living off human scraps.

Yet, this stray dog had evolved into a dog demon with such keen senses, which surprised Xu Hei.

What surprised Xu Hei even more was what happened next.

The big black dog seemed to sense Xu Hei's pursuit, quickening its pace and constantly changing directions, trying to shake him off.

To think, Xu Hei was underground, and the dog could still smell him?

The old dog rushed to a steep slope, leaped, and rolled down like a ball, increasing its speed.

Xu Hei also sped up, chasing closely.

The old dog felt Xu Hei getting closer, and goosebumps rose all over his body. Upon landing, he opened his mouth wide and shouted:

"Help! Murder! A snake demon is killing people!"

The old dog opened his mouth and, surprisingly, spoke human language, screaming continuously.

The sound was extremely sharp, like the wailing of ghosts and wolves, immediately attracting the attention of distant villagers.

"Damn!"

Xu Hei almost cursed.

He had heard of parrots mimicking speech, but a dog? And asking humans for help? What kind of trick was this?

Seeing the black dog escape into the villagers' sight, Xu Hei immediately stopped and ceased his pursuit.

With his speed, he could catch up and capture the big black dog, but it wasn't worth the risk. He was only curious about the dog.

"Look, it's that black dog!"

"The one that digs up graves?"

"Damn it! Stop right there!"

Two villagers, seeing this, immediately grabbed their hoes and rushed over. The big black dog, sensing danger, turned and fled without fighting back.

In truth, with the old dog's strength, killing a few people would be easy, but he had only ever eaten the dead and never killed the living.

The old dog was smart. If he committed murder, it wouldn't just be a few soldiers after him; even the Astrology Bureau would get involved.

Xu Hei, watching from a distant hill, saw the big black dog being chased into the alleys of Snake Village and fell into deep thought.

"This old black dog seems famous? How come I've never heard of it before? Did it just appear this year?"

Xu Hei was puzzled.

Clearly, this old dog, like him, had also become enlightened and highly intelligent. Xu Hei had never seen another enlightened demon besides himself.

Why did this happen? What did he and the old dog have in common?

Could it be that the old dog also ate some kind of human elixir?

Xu Hei immediately thought of something and shook his head.

"No! It shouldn't be the human elixir. That elixir was just a breakthrough pill for Taoists, nothing rare. There must be another reason!"

Xu Hei seriously suspected that his enlightenment was due to some other cause!

It was this cause that led to the black dog's enlightenment as well!

Xu Hei thought hard but couldn't figure it out for now. He could only capture the big black dog and ask.

But the big black dog had hidden in Snake Village and hadn't shown any movement. Xu Hei didn't know which direction it would come out from, making him a bit frustrated.

Should he chase into Snake Village and capture the dog in the street?

With the dog's cunning nature, it would definitely shout and attract a crowd, possibly even the attention of the Astrology Bureau.

That was an Imperial Court organization, far more formidable than the Snake Catchers. Xu Hei wouldn't dare provoke the Astrology Bureau even with a hundred times his courage.

"Hmph, you like digging graves? I'll just wait by a grave for you to take the bait!" Xu Hei thought to himself.

…………

In the mountains, outside Xu Hei's territory.

Two figures, one in front and one behind, reached the border of two mountain peaks. They were Chen Daoling and Mu Lei.

Chen Daoling held a compass, squinting his eyes, and said in a deep voice, "Indeed, there's a snake demon's aura here."

As a veteran Snake Catcher, he had spent his life dealing with snake demons. Sometimes, just a glance or a sniff was enough to distinguish a snake demon's scent from countless demonic beasts.

At this moment, his gaze shifted to the side, where a large pack of wolves was rushing out of the forest, quickly surrounding the two of them.

Behind the wolf pack stood a tall Moon Cang Wolf, its fur black and white, with a crescent moon mark on its forehead, staring intently at the two men.

"Howl!" The wolf king roared.

The wolf pack immediately charged, attacking the two men.

Chen Daoling stood with his hands behind his back, unmoving.

Mu Lei took out a palm-sized thunder seal and pointed it with his hand. A bolt of lightning shot out from the seal, striking the center of the wolf pack.

"Boom!!!"

The thunder exploded, instantly blasting five wolves away, their bodies turning black. Two of them turned to ashes on the spot, leaving no trace.

Seeing this, the wolf king was terrified and turned to flee without hesitation.

"Die!"

Mu Lei shouted coldly, pointing the thunder seal again. Another bolt of lightning shot out, chasing after the wolf king.

The wolf king reached the edge of a cliff and leaped off. The lightning exploded three inches behind him, blasting his tail clean off. A wail echoed as he fell.

Mu Lei walked to the edge of the cliff and looked down. The wolf king lay at the bottom, crippled if not dead.

He hesitated for a moment but decided not to pursue.

"Let's go. I can feel the Flood Dragon's lair is nearby," Chen Daoling said, looking at the compass in his hand.

"Yes!" Mu Lei responded excitedly, clasping his fists.