Serpent Ancestor

"Foundation Establishment Great Demon?"

Hua Yuntian's face changed instantly.

Xu Hei was also deeply shaken. He had seen many cultivators at the Foundation Establishment Stage, but this was the first time he had encountered a demonic beast at this level. And judging by the situation, this was clearly no ordinary Foundation Establishment demonic beast.

In the distant sky, a rumbling sound echoed, as if wheels were grinding over the earth, causing the heavens and earth to shake. A mammoth elephant, carrying a fierce demonic wind, stepped through the air, its presence like the collapse of heaven and earth.

"Run!"

Hua Yuntian looked as if he had seen a ghost. He grabbed two cultivators beside him and flung them towards the mammoth elephant, then retreated at lightning speed, fleeing into the distance as fast as he could.

The other cultivators were horrified and scattered in all directions, fleeing for their lives, no longer caring about sticking together.

The two cultivators thrown by Hua Yuntian were pulverized into dust by the terrifying aura before they even got close to the mammoth elephant. Blood and flesh scattered, but the mammoth elephant continued its stride, covering a thousand feet with each step, chasing after Hua Yuntian.

"This is at least late Foundation Establishment, maybe even Great Perfection!"

Xu Hei judged roughly in his heart after observing through his small lizard.

He never expected that this group of seemingly ordinary mammoth elephants would attract the help of such a terrifying mammoth elephant. It was too frightening.

What kind of creatures were hidden in this forest? Xu Hei had no idea.

"Let's slow you down."

Xu Hei certainly wouldn't let Hua Yuntian escape so easily. With a thought, he activated the Earth Spike, aiming it at Hua Yuntian's path.

Hua Yuntian sensed something, his face twitching as he quickly veered to the side.

In the instant he dodged, a sharp stone pillar shot up, almost grazing his face.

Although it didn't harm him, it slowed him down.

"Earth Spike!"

Xu Hei cast the spell again, mimicking Ye Haichuan's method, aiming at Hua Yuntian's path to block his escape.

"Thud! Thud! Thud!"

Stone pillars shot up one after another, always appearing in Hua Yuntian's path whenever he tried to move.

In just a moment, the distance between him and the mammoth elephant closed rapidly.

"You despicable scoundrel!"

Hua Yuntian was nearly driven mad with rage. Under normal circumstances, this spell couldn't possibly hit him. He could even track the caster's location and launch a thunderous counterattack. But now, he didn't dare.

He had never felt so aggrieved. His hatred for the person in the shadows was boundless.

"Shameless scoundrel! One day, I will tear you to pieces!!"

Seeing the mammoth elephant getting closer, Hua Yuntian could no longer endure. He crushed a golden jade pendant, and a golden shield of light rose around him.

Ignoring all the Earth Spikes, he charged forward, out of Xu Hei's spell range.

The mammoth elephant chased after him, and in a moment, both disappeared into the distance.

"I've stalled him long enough. The rest is up to you."

Xu Hei thought to himself.

Without hesitation, he released a large lizard to chase after the remaining cultivators.

There were ten people in total. Three were killed initially, two more died later, and two were thrown by Hua Yuntian. That left three.

Xu Hei kept an eye on Hua Yuntian while also watching these three.

Xu Hei himself chased one, while a group of large lizards tracked the other two.

For humans, Xu Hei would strike while the iron was hot, not letting any opportunity slip by.

As for Hua Yuntian's fate, Xu Hei didn't care. He had done enough; the rest was up to the mammoth elephant.

"Whoosh!"

Xu Hei emerged from the ground, spitting a bolt of lightning that instantly turned the person flying high in the sky, trying to avoid the Earth Spikes, into charred remains.

Elsewhere, the two who had split up were caught by the group of large lizards. One was killed in a chaotic attack, while the other escaped.

Xu Hei arrived shortly after and, after a ten-breath chase, successfully dealt with the escapee.

"These mechanical beasts are still not good enough."

Xu Hei shook his head.

He needed to hurry and control his large snake and giant frog better, as they could rival puppets at the Great Perfection of the Qi Refining Stage.

He didn't dare covet the mammoth elephant's corpse, but killing a group of human cultivators and collecting a pile of storage bags was enough.

Xu Hei returned the way he came, passing the battlefield and having his small lizard retrieve the storage bags of the cultivators.

Most of the male elephants were dead, mostly from severe injuries, with only two barely clinging to life.

Xu Hei thought for a moment and decided to help them to the end. He took out two healing pills from a storage bag and had the small lizard deliver them.

The two elephants, showing intelligence, used their long trunks to roll up the pills and swallow them, trumpeting at the small lizard in gratitude.

Xu Hei sighed inwardly, deciding not to show himself. If they wanted to thank someone, they could thank the small lizard.

"Seeing you so pitiful, I'll help you out. Just don't go extinct, or there'll be nothing to eat in the future," Xu Hei thought.

In the distance, a rumbling sound approached. The mammoth elephant was returning.

Xu Hei didn't linger, observing from afar before quickly turning to leave.

From a distance, Xu Hei heard a loud trumpet.

"Friend in the shadows, my mammoth tribe owes you a favor. We will repay you generously when you reveal yourself."

This was the voice of the mammoth elephant. Such a high-level great demon could already communicate verbally.

Xu Hei sighed. He had come to hunt but ended up saving lives. It was almost laughable.

However, gaining the favor of the mammoth elephant wasn't a loss. He hoped there would be some demonic beast meat in the storage bags to enjoy.

Suddenly, Xu Hei had a thought.

The mammoth elephant returned so quickly. Did Hua Yuntian die?

In such a short time, Hua Yuntian couldn't have gotten far. If he went to check, he might be able to finish him off and grab his storage bag.

But Xu Hei quickly shook his head, dismissing the idea. Hua Yuntian had a significant background. If he was a disciple of a Core Formation Stage cultivator, looting his corpse might lead to an encounter with his master.

He couldn't guarantee that the Invisibility Talisman would work against a Core Formation Stage cultivator.

"Know when to stop and don't be too greedy," Xu Hei thought.

Next, Xu Hei didn't rush back to his cave dwelling.

He moved far away, finding a secluded cave to check the storage bags and organize the items.

These people were easily killed by him, so they didn't have any extraordinary treasures, just common items.

Xu Hei categorized the items:

Low to mid-grade treasures, useless to him but useful for Xu Bai.

High-grade treasures, which he could keep as more is always better.

Unknown treasures, needing Hei Huang's identification or his own research.

To his relief, there was plenty of demonic beast meat, with five at the late Spirit Communion Stage, totaling about eight thousand pounds, roughly equivalent to a small mammoth elephant.

It was enough to last him a while.

He also found some Minor Essence Nurturing Pills, enough to fill a small bottle.

There were also plenty of talismans, just enough to replenish his battle losses.

Xu Hei immediately ate a late Spirit Communion Stage leopard and took two Minor Essence Nurturing Pills, starting to refine them on the spot.

Demonic beast meat combined with pills was the ultimate enjoyment.

Xu Hei could feel his hungry body rapidly absorbing the energy, his spiritual qi growing quickly, especially after the battle.

In the Demon God Cauldron, the spiritual qi water ball kept expanding, growing to about the size of a fist, with the spiritual qi stream becoming even thicker.

This seclusion lasted for three days.

After three days, the Minor Essence Nurturing Pills were gone, but there was still plenty of demonic beast meat left.

The spiritual qi water ball had grown to its limit. Xu Hei had reached the Great Perfection of the seventh layer of the Spirit Communion Stage, but he was still a bit short of the eighth layer.

Xu Hei sighed. Nine storage bags yielded only half a bottle of Minor Essence Nurturing Pills.

These pills were extremely precious to human cultivators, who would usually consume them immediately, rarely storing them in their storage bags, leading to limited gains.

If Xu Hei were in the human world, he could buy them with spirit stones or exchange them for contribution points in a sect.

But as a wild demonic beast, his opportunities to obtain pills were too few.

The black jade stone contained nearly two thousand spirit stones, a considerable fortune, but he couldn't trade with humans. The last time Hei Huang traded, he killed a disciple of the Heavenly Puppet Sect, causing a huge trouble.

"I wonder how Xu Bai's pill refining is going."

Xu Hei was full of anticipation and decided to go back and check.

...

In a distant forest.

A corpse, crushed into a pulp, lay quietly. Upon closer inspection, it was Hua Yuntian, with his storage bag lying untouched beside him.

No one knew how long had passed.

Suddenly, the long-dead Hua Yuntian opened his eyes and coughed violently.

His flattened body gradually swelled, and the scattered flesh began to heal.

"You're awake," said a calm voice. In the sky, a faint shadow of a middle-aged scholar appeared.

"Master, did that despicable person show up?" Hua Yuntian asked urgently as soon as he woke, but he immediately coughed violently, spitting blood, his breath weak.

"Since your feigned death three days ago, he has not appeared," the middle-aged scholar said.

Hua Yuntian's severely injured body trembled violently upon hearing this, and he fainted again in a fit of rage.

The middle-aged scholar frowned deeply, shaking his head in silence.

...

Crossing several mountains, Xu Hei returned to his cave dwelling.

He first checked the surroundings, finding no signs of human or demonic beast activity, and the markers he left were untouched. Only then did he approach the cave.

"Three days should be enough to refine one or two batches of Minor Essence Nurturing Pills," Xu Hei thought.

From a distance, he suddenly heard a thunderous explosion from the cave.

The sound was intense, shaking the entire mountain, with faint sounds of collapse.

"An enemy attack?"

Xu Hei's heart jolted. He rushed forward, spreading his divine sense to stay alert.

As he got closer, he saw black smoke billowing from the cave. A large black dog, covered in dust, ran out, coughing and looking miserable.

Seeing it was Hei Huang, Xu Hei sighed in relief.

But seeing the ruined cave, mostly collapsed, Xu Hei's heart sank again. He quickly appeared and asked, "What happened?"

Hei Huang, seeing Xu Hei return, gritted his teeth and said with a dark face, "Who let her learn pill refining?"