Serpent Ancestor

Hei Huang, seeing that his words were having an effect, continued to fan the flames, "Xu Hei, Xu Hei, others have burned the wild boars you raised, the sheep you tended, your mountain, your chickens, ducks, and birds! Don't you hate them? Don't you want revenge?"

"Do you want to be a stray dog for the rest of your life?"

Hei Huang's words grew more and more fervent.

Xu Hei turned to look at him, coldly saying, "You're the dog."

"That's not the point. The question is, do you want revenge?" Hei Huang urged.

Xu Hei pondered for a moment, then said, "A fifty percent chance is too low."

Hei Huang laughed, "I was talking about my chances alone. With you, the odds will be much higher."

Xu Hei seemed to be considering this.

After a moment, he took out a black-gold scale from his storage bag and placed it on the ground. "With this, how much higher?"

This was a black-gold scale Xu Hei had plucked from his tail and stored in his storage bag. He had discovered that once the scale was removed, it would gradually lose its spiritual essence over time, becoming dull and no longer sharp. Only when it was freshly plucked was its power at its peak. Even so, its sharpness was still formidable, making it a rare weapon. The one he had now was plucked just yesterday, and its power was still at half strength.

Hei Huang took the scale, scraped it against his palm, and saw blood. His eyes lit up.

"Seventy percent! No, eighty percent!" Hei Huang exclaimed excitedly.

"Alright, I'll add fuel to the fire as needed," Xu Hei said.

"Then it'll be over ninety percent," Hei Huang laughed.

...

Myriad Serpent Valley.

Upon arriving, Xuan Yangzi swept his Divine Sense across the valley, quickly surveying the entire area.

A glint of excitement flashed in his eyes.

"Perfect! No, beyond perfect. This is an ideal serpent breeding ground!"

"Every spring, it attracts all the serpents within a two-hundred-mile radius. What could be more thrilling?"

Xuan Yangzi was visibly excited.

He observed the area repeatedly, confirming his findings and recording them in a jade slip, giving it a perfect score in his mind.

"It's time to send this jade slip back. The master will be pleased," Xuan Yangzi smiled.

Suddenly, his gaze sharpened, shooting towards the rear like lightning.

"Hmph, I thought it was an illusion, but someone is indeed following me!"

Xuan Yangzi vanished from his spot and instantly appeared atop a mountain peak.

The place seemed ordinary, but he noticed a half-drawn formation etched into the ground.

"Trying to hide, are we?"

Xuan Yangzi snorted coldly, stomping his foot. A scream of "Ouch!" came from within the mountain, and the ground exploded, sending a black dog flying and landing on the ground.

"Oh? A mangy dog? Where's your master?"

Xuan Yangzi raised his hand, activating the Gravity Technique, lifting the black dog into the air.

The black dog merely grinned at him.

"Boom!"

Suddenly, the black dog's body exploded into pieces.

"An illusion formation?"

Xuan Yangzi's expression changed. He immediately realized he had stepped into an illusion formation, causing various hallucinations. The half-drawn formation was likely part of the illusion.

His Divine Sense was sealed, unable to detect any fluctuations, confirming it was an illusion formation.

However, he reacted decisively, throwing the jade slip towards the horizon. The jade slip soared at an incredible speed, flying far away.

His mission as a clone was to survey the terrain and gather information. Dying was inconsequential.

The opponent's illusion formation was so convincing that even he couldn't tell it was fake, indicating a formidable adversary.

"Do you really think what just happened was an illusion?"

Suddenly, a cold voice whispered in his ear.

Xuan Yangzi's eyes narrowed. The black dog that had exploded into pieces suddenly reformed, holding a black-gold scale.

"Slash!"

A flash of cold light, and Xuan Yangzi's head flew off, his eyes still filled with shock.

The black dog's explosion had been real! It wasn't an illusion!

Hei Huang's lips curled into a triumphant smile.

However, the next second!

Xuan Yangzi's headless body suddenly moved, raising an arm to grab Hei Huang by the neck, lifting him up and holding him tightly.

Hei Huang's face changed drastically as he looked at the severed head on the ground, which was staring at him with a sinister smile.

"I'm just a wooden puppet clone. Losing my head doesn't matter. I'm not dead. Your trick only earns you six points, barely passing."

Xuan Yangzi's head sneered, with no blood at the severed neck, only wooden carvings.

It was a wooden puppet clone, unaffected by losing its head.

"Slash! Slash!"

At that moment, Xuan Yangzi's smile froze.

Several black-gold scales flew out of nowhere, slicing his head in half, his arms into four pieces, his legs into three, and his body into countless fragments, turning into pieces of wood scattered on the ground.

"Fireball Technique!"

Xu Hei appeared, spitting a fireball that engulfed the wooden fragments, causing them to emit agonized screams as traces of Divine Sense were burned.

After a long while, the Divine Sense was completely incinerated, reduced to nothingness.

Hei Huang fell to the ground, panting heavily, his face pale. He cursed, "Miscalculation! It was a wooden puppet clone. Such a valuable thing used for scouting, what a waste!"

Xu Hei ignored him, casting another fireball to burn the charred wood into black ash.

"Fireball Technique!"

Xu Hei spat another fireball, melting the ground into magma, leaving nothing behind.

"Stop, stop, it's already dead!" Hei Huang cursed.

Xu Hei finally stopped.

He retrieved the scales he had shot out, swallowing them one by one, then looked at Hei Huang. "This is the eighty percent chance you mentioned? How could it be so weak?"

Hei Huang snorted, "To weaken his power, I used a costly formation to seal his Divine Sense. Otherwise, how could you ambush him? I even kept the jade slip!"

"Besides, even if you didn't act, I could have easily dealt with him."

Hei Huang stubbornly defended himself, rattling off a list of reasons. Xu Hei didn't argue, instead looking towards the horizon.

The jade slip that had flown out seemed to hit an invisible wall, unable to escape. Hei Huang waved his hand, retrieving the jade slip.

It recorded everything encountered along the way, including their confrontation. If it were sent back, it would cause great trouble.

Xu Hei scanned the jade slip with his Divine Sense, then destroyed it, burning it to ashes.

"Is it safe now?" Xu Hei asked, still uneasy.

"Not yet. Although the message didn't get through, the fact that someone at the Core Formation Stage died here means they'll come to investigate," Hei Huang said.

Before he finished speaking, Xu Hei had already vanished.

Hei Huang: "..."