Serpent Ancestor

"Boom, boom, boom..."

Boulders fell, crashing onto his head, arms, and back. Yet, a golden aura rose from Chen Daoling's body, elastic and resilient, causing the boulders to bounce off upon impact.

"A protective magical treasure, huh? Let's see how you protect yourself when buried under a hundred layers!"

Xu Hei continuously detonated talismans, hurling rocks down, covering Chen Daoling's rocky exterior with another layer of stone, and then another. Hundreds of large boulders fell in unison, creating a spectacular scene.

The rumbling sound persisted without end.

Soon, Chen Daoling was buried under countless stones, completely submerged.

This canyon was a treacherous spot Xu Hei had scouted for a long time.

A month ago, he had already envisioned encountering a formidable enemy, slower than himself. How would he escape?

From Mu Yun, he had scavenged many talismans, mostly mid-level, barely effective against mid-stage Qi Refining cultivators, and almost useless against late-stage ones.

Such talismans were useless to Xu Hei, so he used them all to attack the rocks.

As long as there were enough stones, even if you were at the Great Perfection stage of Qi Refining, what could you do? A mortal body, you can't escape being crushed!

After detonating all the talismans, endless stones fell, crashing down like an earthquake, dust rising, mountains shaking, as if a great mountain had collapsed.

After finishing, Xu Hei didn't care about the other's fate and immediately dashed down the mountain, fleeing at full speed.

Xu Hei estimated that such power could likely kill even a Great Perfection Qi Refining cultivator on the spot, but he didn't dare to take the risk and gamble. He fled first.

After Xu Hei escaped, the place gradually calmed down, the canyon completely blocked by rubble.

Who knows how much time passed.

Suddenly, the rubble began to tremble, cracking layer by layer like an eggshell, turning into powder.

A figure, burning with a blood-red flame, slowly emerged from the rubble.

It was Chen Daoling. The blood-red flames on his body burned even more fiercely, his white hair fluttering without wind, his eyes blood-red.

At this moment, Chen Daoling's aura had surpassed the Great Perfection stage of Qi Refining, reaching the early stage of Foundation Establishment.

Behind him, Mu Lei was bleeding from the head, barely breathing. His previously stabilized injuries had been aggravated by the falling rocks, and he might not survive much longer.

Chen Daoling's hatred for Xu Hei was beyond words.

A mere fourth-layer Spirit Communion snake had such cunning, setting up a rock trap, not only killing his disciple but almost causing his own death.

If not for the Divine Pill left by his grandmaster, which could boost his cultivation to the Foundation Establishment level at the cost of twenty years of lifespan, he wouldn't have escaped.

Even if not crushed to death, he could have suffocated or starved.

He had underestimated that snake!

"I don't care what kind of demon you are, today, I, Chen Daoling, will skin you alive, extract your tendons, and refine your bones!!!"

Chen Daoling was furious. Without further ado, he leaped and sped in a certain direction. The powerful spiritual vortex lifted him into the air, flying faster than before.

At this moment, he was deeply wary of Xu Hei. If this snake wasn't eliminated, it would become a major threat to all snake catchers!

In almost an instant, Chen Daoling crossed a thousand feet, his eagle-like eyes scanning below.

After several searches, he couldn't find Xu Hei.

"I've collected your demonic aura; you can't escape!"

Chen Daoling remained calm, taking out a compass and injecting a strand of demonic aura into it. The compass immediately spun, pointing in a direction.

Chen Daoling changed direction, chasing after it.

Soon, he locked onto a figure fleeing towards the river.

"You can't escape!"

Chen Daoling's eyes were cold as he dived towards Xu Hei, who was desperately running towards the river, already at the riverbank.

When the distance between them reached a hundred feet, Chen Daoling clenched his fist from afar.

Instantly, Xu Hei felt as if a thousand-pound boulder was pressing down on him, his bones creaking, unable to move.

"This is the Gravity Technique!"

Xu Hei was horrified. Such a small Gravity Technique had such power in the hands of a Foundation Establishment cultivator.

This wasn't even a true Foundation Establishment, but one boosted by secret pills, yet it had such might. If it were a true Foundation Establishment, Xu Hei had no doubt his body would shatter.

Seeing Xu Hei immobilized, Chen Daoling sneered and stepped forward.

Suddenly, his foot seemed to trigger a thin wire.

"Whoosh!"

A sapling beside him suddenly sprang up, shooting a dart straight at Chen Daoling's face.

Chen Daoling looked disdainful, raised his hand to use the Gravity Technique to intercept the dart.

However, the dart was unaffected, instantly reaching his face at incredible speed.

Chen Daoling, shocked, dodged sideways but was still grazed on the neck, even tearing a large gash in his protective True Qi, ignoring all defenses!

The dart fell to the ground, and Xu Hei swallowed it in one gulp, diving into the river and disappearing.

Chen Daoling touched the trickle of blood on his neck, his expression uncertain.

"What was that hidden weapon?"

The incident happened so fast, he only vaguely remembered it seemed to be a black-gold scale?

Chen Daoling's chest heaved, his face twisted, feeling an unprecedented humiliation.

Being ambushed at the Great Perfection stage of Qi Refining was one thing, but even at Foundation Establishment, he was ambushed. If he hadn't dodged in time, he might have lost his life.

This only intensified his killing intent.

Such a cunning and sly demon, if allowed to grow, would undoubtedly lead to the extinction of snake catchers!

He couldn't leave any future troubles. Even at great cost, he had to kill this snake!

"I said, even if you hide at the ends of the earth, it won't matter!"

Chen Daoling took out the compass again, injecting Xu Hei's aura into it. The compass immediately spun, pointing in a direction.

...

At this moment, Xu Hei was underwater, frantically swimming downstream.

It was a pity. If he had known, he would have set ten scale darts, shooting them all at once. He didn't believe the other wouldn't die. But Xu Hei couldn't risk everything, as he wasn't sure the other would fall for it.

This great river was also a pre-planned escape route, with turbulent currents and countless whirlpools, difficult for humans to navigate, easily swept away by the water.

However, for powerful cultivators, the impact was minimal.

Xu Hei had already overestimated the opponent, but still faced the worst situation.

A Foundation Establishment cultivator was not someone he wanted to provoke unless absolutely necessary.

However, snake catchers and snakes were mortal enemies. This day would come sooner or later.

Fate was like this. No matter how cautious Xu Hei was, he couldn't escape!

The only fortunate thing was that the opponent was only at Foundation Establishment in cultivation, not in Divine Sense. Foundation Establishment Divine Sense could extend for miles, making everything visible.

"The opponent has cultivated for over a hundred years and surely knows the Water Escape Technique. I can't stay in the water; I must get ashore..."

Xu Hei knew it was only a matter of time before the opponent found his location. So, where should he escape to?

Being hunted by a Foundation Establishment cultivator, where was his way out?

Xu Hei's mind raced, and unconsciously, he had moved a thousand meters.

At this time, his Divine Sense saw the Dragon King Temple by the river, with villagers from Chen Family Town burning incense and worshiping.

A flash of inspiration struck Xu Hei's mind, and he couldn't help but think of a place.

—The Mountain God Temple!

Xu Hei had his awakening in the Mountain God Temple, and it had also helped him resolve Chen Fan's inner demon.

Xu Hei had pondered many questions over a year of cultivation. That Mountain God Temple was definitely not a simple place!

Perhaps, Big Black's awakening was also related to the Mountain God Temple. Back then, Xu Hei had left two corpses there.

"The Mountain God Temple is two miles outside Chen Family Town, and Chen Family Town is nearby."

Xu Hei's heart raced. This was fate.

Xu Hei didn't act immediately. He calmed down in the water, took a pill from his storage bag, and then leaned against the riverbank.

"Go!"

Xu Hei used the Earth Escape Technique, rushing towards his destination.

At this moment, he unleashed unprecedented speed, his blood starting to burn, like an underground earth dragon, only erupting in moments of life and death.

As Xu Hei dashed out, Chen Daoling seemed to sense something. He stared at the compass, looking sharply in Xu Hei's direction.

"Little beast, even at great cost, I will tear you to pieces today!"

Chen Daoling shouted from afar, pursuing.

One in the sky, one underground, both racing at top speed, passing by Chen Family Town.

Except for a few cultivators who sensed something and looked puzzled, the mortals were completely unaware.

Xu Hei's Divine Sense soon spotted the dilapidated Mountain God Temple. He gritted his teeth and burst out of the ground, rushing into the temple.

Shortly after, Chen Daoling followed the compass's guidance, arriving. He stared at the broken temple, about to chase in, but stopped.

"Hmm?"

Chen Daoling squinted, focusing on the temple's entrance, deep in thought.

"This snake is cunning and sly. Why would it choose to hide here? Could it be a trap?"

Chen Daoling couldn't understand.

If he were the snake, he wouldn't leave the river, but follow the current, using the water's changes to set traps.

But now, hiding in this broken temple, what did it mean?

Chen Daoling's Divine Sense scanned the temple inside and out, finding nothing unusual.

However, when his Divine Sense swept over the Mountain God statue, he inexplicably felt a pang of fear.