Serpent Ancestor

"Hey? Senior, why aren't you saying anything?"

Xiao Chou looked puzzled. Usually, whenever he brought back prey, Xu Hei would devour it without hesitation. What was different today?

Xu Hei said nothing, only looking at him with a sympathetic expression.

Xiao Chou's heart skipped a beat, a sense of foreboding creeping in.

"Little Xu, you've really made it! Is this your pet?"

Hei Huang grinned mischievously, glancing at Xiao Chou.

At these words, Xiao Chou's body stiffened, his expression freezing.

He turned his head with difficulty to look at Hei Huang and said, "You... you can talk?"

"Not only can I talk, but I can also bite! Woof!"

Hei Huang bit down on Xiao Chou's leg.

Immediately, a scream like a pig being slaughtered echoed through the air. Xiao Chou clutched his leg, rolling on the ground in agony.

…………

A moment later.

Xiao Chou was tied up with a rope and hung from a tree.

Underneath the tree was the large pot he had just taken out. Hei Huang was adding firewood under the pot.

"Xu Hei, this guy actually wanted to eat dog meat. What do you think we should do? Roast him, stew him, or deep fry him?"

Hei Huang took out various seasonings from his storage bag, along with garlic, cilantro, radishes, and other ingredients.

Hanging from the tree, Xiao Chou's face turned as black as coal. He urgently called out, "Senior, you can't just watch me die! Please save me!"

Xu Hei felt a bit awkward. Of all the creatures to catch, this fool had to catch the old dog and even planned to eat black dog meat. Wasn't this courting death?

Xu Hei chuckled awkwardly, "Wouldn't it be a bit wasteful to eat him just like that?"

"Hey! You're right!"

Hei Huang's eyes lit up, nodding. "These skinny arms and legs don't have much meat. We need to fatten him up first."

Hearing this, Xiao Chou finally breathed a sigh of relief. But before he could fully relax, Xu Hei pondered, "How about we try frying one of his arms first?"

Hei Huang's eyes lit up again, clapping his hands. "Great idea, let's have a taste first."

As he spoke, he was about to make a move, causing Xiao Chou to scream and beg for mercy.

…………

After some fuss, Xiao Chou was finally let down, but he was already scared out of his wits, trembling all over.

Xu Hei was already difficult enough to deal with, but who knew this old dog was even worse.

He was so frightened that he didn't dare to say a word, for fear of inviting disaster.

"Hei Huang, what have you been up to these days?" Xu Hei asked curiously.

Xu Bai also poked her head out from the cave dwelling, watching curiously.

Hei Huang sighed, spreading his hands. "What else? Digging graves. Those sects are all heavily guarded, only the Purple Mist Sect let me barely succeed. It wore me out."

"Oh right, I took care of that old hag while I was at it. Here are your scales."

As he spoke, Hei Huang took out a pile of black gold scales and placed them on the ground, a total of fifty-two pieces.

These were the scales Xu Hei had shot out that day, which He Luohua had picked up.

"This..." Xu Hei was stunned.

He looked carefully at Hei Huang, finding that he didn't seem to be joking.

"Is this for real?"

He Luohua was a Core Formation Stage cultivator. Although that strike had severely injured her, combined with her old age and weakened strength, she was far from her peak.

But Hei Huang had casually mentioned taking her out?

"Haha, what are you so surprised about? That old hag was on her last breath. That battle exhausted her lifespan. Even if I hadn't acted, she would have died within six months."

"But the Purple Mist Sect really should fall. The ancestor died for half a day, and no one noticed. It's ridiculous!"

Hei Huang sneered.

Xu Hei nodded in agreement.

He had seen the atmosphere of the Purple Mist Sect. If it weren't for their backers and the Nascent Soul ancestor, they would have been swallowed up long ago.

"My god! The ancestor of the Purple Mist Sect has fallen?" Xiao Chou was shocked.

Such astonishing news, and he was a witness to it.

Hei Huang glanced at him, mocking, "Oh right, you're that famous simp, aren't you? The Purple Mist Sect is buzzing with your glorious deeds. I almost forgot."

Exposed for his dark history, Xiao Chou's face turned red. He argued, "I was pursuing her seriously. How can you call that simping? Besides, she's already dead. That was the old me!"

"Now, I've turned over a new leaf. I'll never simp again in this life!"

Xiao Chou puffed out his chest, his tone firm, a sense of pride welling up.

Hearing this, Hei Huang's eyes narrowed, a strange smile spreading.

"Oh? Really?"

"Of course. As a man, you have to have backbone. How can you bow and scrape to a woman?" Xiao Chou said proudly.

Hei Huang cackled, then with a wave of his hand, took out a corpse from his storage bag.

It was a female corpse, but it looked almost alive, with tender skin exuding a faint spiritual aura, and an exceptionally beautiful face, as if she were merely asleep.

It was the deceased Silver Bell.

"Silver Bell!!"

Xiao Chou's eyes immediately widened. He shouted and rushed over with red eyes.

Hei Huang waved his hand, putting the corpse back into the storage bag.

"Look at you, still saying you don't simp. You even want to simp for a corpse. Truly, a dog can't change its habit of eating shit!" Hei Huang scolded.

Xiao Chou froze, his face alternating between green and white.

He stared at Hei Huang, hesitating for a long time before pleading, "Can you... give me that corpse? No, I just want a piece of clothing."

"Get lost!"

"Please! Senior Dog!"

"Scram!"

"......"

Seeing Xiao Chou almost kneeling, Xu Hei was dumbfounded.

What happened to never simping again?

What happened to backbone? This was the quintessential simp!

It was simply maddening!

Xu Hei couldn't help but shiver, secretly warning himself to take this as a lesson.

"With such good spiritual roots, if you had focused on cultivation, you would have reached Foundation Establishment years ago. What a waste of talent." Hei Huang cursed.

Xiao Chou, like a lost soul, realized his problem and lowered his head. "Then, what should I do?"

Seeing his humble attitude and not insisting on the corpse, Hei Huang nodded slightly and said leisurely:

"Actually, it's not entirely your fault. The Purple Mist Technique is a bit sinister, capable of unknowingly planting a love parasite. And you happen to be susceptible to it, making it easy for you to fall into the trap."

"When you can use your willpower to break free from the love parasite's influence, you might surpass ordinary Foundation Establishment and achieve Perfect Foundation Establishment."

"Perfect Foundation Establishment?"

Xu Hei looked thoughtful. He had some impression of this term.

"Since you're all on the verge of Foundation Establishment, I'll explain what Perfect Foundation Establishment is." Hei Huang looked around at Xiao Chou, Xu Hei, and then at Xu Bai in the distance.

Everyone quickly gathered around, listening quietly.

"Foundation Establishment is about compressing the spiritual power within your body into a solid state, forming a spiritual base. Spiritual Qi flows continuously, endlessly, this is Foundation Establishment."

"However, Foundation Establishment cultivators vary in strength, mainly due to True Qi!"

Hei Huang waved his hand, and an image appeared in the air.

In the image, there was a wisp of white True Qi.

"See this wisp of True Qi? White! Most Foundation Establishment cultivators have this kind of white True Qi, plain and ordinary, this is ordinary Foundation Establishment."

"However, a small number of Foundation Establishment cultivators have light blue True Qi. These cultivators are usually peerless Chosen, with strong spiritual roots, powerful cultivation techniques, and willpower, all three are indispensable!"

"Foundation Establishment with blue True Qi is Perfect Foundation Establishment!"

Hei Huang waved his hand, and the image changed, the True Qi turning light blue.

Xiao Chou had seen this information in ancient texts but didn't know much about it.

Xiao Chou's eyes gleamed, and he quickly asked, "If one achieves Perfect Foundation Establishment, how strong would they be?"

"In the same realm, one can fight ten, no exaggeration." Hei Huang smiled.

Xiao Chou's breathing became rapid.

Xu Hei, however, didn't feel much and asked, "Is there anything beyond Perfect?"

Hei Huang looked at him in surprise and nodded.

"Of course! The deeper the color of True Qi, the more perfect it is. After blue comes deep blue, then purple, but such cultivators are rare across the continent."

"It's mainly due to the limitations of cultivation techniques. There are very few techniques suitable for Perfect Foundation Establishment, like the Heavenly Demon Technique, which is one."

"I wonder what kind of extraordinary genius created this technique!"

Hei Huang sighed with his claws behind his back.

Xu Hei thought of those heaven-defying pills and nodded in agreement, "The creator of the Heavenly Demon Technique must be a peerless genius."

He said this sincerely. Those pills were not something an ordinary person could refine.

"Naturally, but let's stay humble, it's just so-so."

Hei Huang grinned, his mouth crooked.

Hearing this, Xiao Chou frowned and muttered, "Heavenly Demon Technique? Just the name sounds like an evil cult. The creator must be a scoundrel."

"In my opinion, he's probably a rat everyone wants to..."

Before he could finish, he noticed the sudden silence around him.

Xu Hei was looking at him, Xu Bai was looking at him, and Hei Huang's smile had vanished, staring at him intently. The atmosphere was extremely eerie.

Xiao Chou was utterly confused.