Serpent Ancestor

Xu Hei released the small lizard, which quickly disposed of the corpse. Activating the Earth Escape Technique, he sped forward at full speed.

Before long, a faint light barrier appeared ahead. This was the Restriction Formation of the Purple Mist Sect, forming a spherical shield that encompassed both the sky and the ground, preventing any intruders from entering.

At this moment, a very small circular gap appeared on the light barrier. Xu Hei's figure flickered, and he slipped through the gap.

As soon as he entered, Hei Huang was already inside, tossing over a palm-sized jade disk.

"I've already cracked all the Restriction Formations of the Purple Mist Sect. When you encounter a restriction, just press this onto it, and a gap will immediately appear in the light barrier, lasting for the time it takes a stick of incense to burn."

Xu Hei examined the jade disk, which was engraved with a Five Elements Formation diagram, emitting waves of mysterious energy.

Xu Hei tried using the Gravity Technique to control the jade disk, pressing it against the light barrier. In the blink of an eye, a small gap appeared in the barrier.

"Can it break any restriction?" Xu Hei asked in astonishment.

"Of course! You can even enter the Sect Master's cave dwelling. With the Invisibility Talisman, no one below the Core Formation Stage will be able to detect you, as long as you don't recklessly release your Divine Sense," Hei Huang said proudly.

"There are three places in the Purple Mist Sect where pills are stored: the Outer Sect Pill Room, the Inner Sect Pill Room, and the Purple Mist Pavilion where disciples exchange treasures."

"First, we'll go to the Inner Sect Pill Room, cause a bit of commotion, then use the Minor Teleportation Formation to go to the Purple Mist Pavilion. I've already set up the formation; once we take what we need, we'll teleport directly there."

Hei Huang reiterated the plan, and Xu Hei nodded in agreement.

Xu Hei could tell that Hei Huang's real target wasn't the pills in the pill rooms but the treasures in the Purple Mist Pavilion, where countless valuable items were stored.

Xu Hei didn't mind; since they were going to steal, they might as well steal more.

...

The Outer Sect Pill Room contained mostly low to mid-grade pills.

The Inner Sect Pill Room, however, housed high-grade pills, mainly used by late-stage Qi Refining disciples, and was the primary production site for Minor Essence Nurturing Pills.

There, two pill refining elders and many pill refining disciples resided, making it heavily guarded and difficult for ordinary people to approach.

Hei Huang pressed the formation disk, breaking through the light barrier to the inner sect. Both of them stuck on Invisibility Talismans and used the Earth Escape Technique to infiltrate, heading towards the pill room.

Along the way, Xu Hei saw not only female cultivators of the Purple Mist Sect but also many male disciples from other sects.

These male disciples often flattered and fawned over the female cultivators, offering various courtesies. From some of the disciples' residences, peculiar sounds could be heard, making Xu Hei secretly click his tongue.

"Xu Hei, simps never have a good ending. Just wait and see; once these male cultivators are drained of their value, they'll be discarded immediately," Hei Huang chuckled.

"Simp?" Xu Hei stared at him in confusion.

"Why are you looking at me? I'm not a simp. Woof!" Hei Huang said.

Although Xu Hei didn't understand, seeing the infatuated looks on these male cultivators' faces, he gained a deep understanding of the power of the Purple Mist Technique.

...

In the pill refining area, inside a pill refining disciple's residence.

Hua Yuntian lay on the bed, his face pale. Severely injured, he had lost a lot of weight, and his cultivation had dropped by a level.

At this moment, a beautiful woman sat on top of him. The Spiritual Qi around them resonated, responding to each other, and Hua Yuntian's cultivation slowly recovered, returning to the Foundation Establishment Stage.

He opened his eyes, but there was no joy in his gaze, only deep-seated anger.

If it weren't for the Nine Apertures Soul Returning Pill his master had given him, he would have been trampled to death by the Wild Giant Elephant!

Even so, that stomp had shattered his bones, severed his meridians, and broken his Dantian, causing his cultivation to plummet to the late Qi Refining Stage.

He had spent all his savings on a large number of pills, including a Foundation Establishment Pill, and had dual cultivated with the Silver Bell Fairy in front of him, only then managing to return to the Foundation Establishment Stage.

For this, he had exhausted all his accumulated resources and was deeply in debt, almost having to pawn his Flying Sword.

"Thank you, Silver Bell Fairy," Hua Yuntian said.

"No need for such words, Young Master Hua. We are about to become Dao companions; it's only right to help each other," Silver Bell replied with a smile.

Hua Yuntian sighed. If it weren't for Silver Bell giving him a large sum of Spirit Stones and helping him obtain the Foundation Establishment Pill, he wouldn't have recovered his cultivation so quickly.

It was said that the Foundation Establishment Pill had been obtained from a simp.

Every time he thought of that despicable person in the shadows, he felt a surge of anger, almost spitting blood, unable to cultivate in peace.

"I, Hua Yuntian, swear that one day I will capture you with my own hands and tear you to pieces to avenge my hatred!" Hua Yuntian vowed inwardly.

"Silver Bell Fairy, are you there?"

At this moment, a young man's voice came from outside, soft as if afraid of disturbing her. "I heard you were unwell, so I brought you some medicinal supplements."

The young man had dark skin and an honest, simple appearance.

A trace of impatience flashed in Silver Bell's beautiful eyes. She coldly said, "Leave the items at the door and you can go."

"Alright!" The young man outside put down the supplements, hesitated for a moment, and asked, "Is there someone else inside?"

"Young Master Hua is here, guiding me in spell techniques," Silver Bell said, her voice breathless, accompanied by the sound of the bed creaking.

The dark-skinned young man was stunned, then bit his lip, feeling bitter inside.

"So it's Young Master Hua."

He lowered his head and turned to leave, dejected.

But after a few steps, he stopped, clenching his fists, feeling a sharp pain in his palms, as if unwilling to accept it.

Some nearby female disciples saw this and couldn't help but cover their mouths, laughing and whispering.

"Look, Xiao Chou is here again."

"Xiao Chou is a genius of the Mountain Movers Sect. Why does he keep humiliating himself?"

"Knowing he's being played by Silver Bell, he still goes to her. I heard he even gave her a Foundation Establishment Pill."

"Some men are born to be turtles."

"Serves him right!"

...

Before long, the duo of Xu Hei and Hei Huang arrived at the pill refining area.

Despite being underground, Xu Hei could still smell a faint medicinal fragrance, indicating that the land had absorbed the properties of the pills over the years.

This place was divided into the pill refining area, assessment area, lecture area, and disciple residence area.

In the center stood a building, the pill refining area. From within, Xu Hei sensed two powerful auras, likely two Foundation Establishment elders.

Additionally, there were eight slightly weaker auras, belonging to eight pill refining disciples.

"One elder is at the early Foundation Establishment Stage, the other at the mid Foundation Establishment Stage. You distract one, and I'll handle the other. Once we have the pills, we'll meet at the teleportation formation," Hei Huang said.

Despite their prior discussion, Xu Hei confirmed, "How should I distract them?"

"Any way you like. Kill someone, destroy a building, as long as it catches the attention of a Foundation Establishment cultivator. Just don't make too much noise."

After a brief exchange, they split up.

Moments later, Xu Hei arrived at the disciple residence area.

Pill refining was a major industry of the Purple Mist Sect, so there were many disciples here, each carrying a large number of pills.

Xu Hei wanted to kill them all and take their storage bags but restrained himself to avoid causing too much commotion and alerting the Sect Master.

Xu Hei released a small snake for reconnaissance, checking each room and selecting targets.

Suddenly, his eyes narrowed, sensing a familiar aura.

The scent came from a rather luxurious building, one of the finest in the residential area.

Xu Hei's snake tongue was very sensitive to auras, and he instantly recognized it as Hua Yuntian!

"Hua Yuntian is still alive!"

Xu Hei's eyes flashed as he thought, "This person has a significant background, likely a disciple of a Core Formation cultivator, and must have some life-saving items. But he must be severely injured and here for healing."

Xu Hei quickly analyzed the situation and guessed why Hua Yuntian was here.

The Purple Mist Sect, being a major pill refining sect, had pills comparable to those of the Snake Catchers Sect and even had dual cultivation techniques to help quickly heal and restore cultivation.

He wondered how much Hua Yuntian had recovered. He was a Foundation Establishment cultivator and had a life-and-death feud with Xu Hei.

If possible, Xu Hei would not let him go, planning to strike while he was weak.

Xu Hei moved closer, observing in secret. Outside the building stood a dejected young man from the Mountain Movers Sect, looking as if he had suffered a blow.

Strange sounds came from inside the building.

With each sound, the young man's expression twitched.

"This..." Xu Hei's expression turned peculiar.