Serpent Ancestor

One kilometer away, atop a mountain peak.

The white-haired old ape hid within a thicket, holding a peculiar longbow. He nocked a bone arrow, drew the bowstring to its limit, and aimed at a distant figure—Xiao Chou.

Having failed to kill the snake, he decided to eliminate this human instead.

...

At this moment, Xiao Chou was covered in blood, half-kneeling on the ground, riddled with wounds. The monkey horde jeered at him, rummaging through his storage bag and scattering various items across the ground.

Among the scattered items, a white long dress caught his eye.

"Give it back..."

Xiao Chou's mournful expression suddenly froze. His eyes widened, and he stood there, stunned like a statue.

All emotions vanished from his face, making him look like a soulless puppet.

He stood up straight, gazing coldly at the monkey horde. "Did you think I was joking with you?"

Xiao Chou's tone completely changed, and even his demeanor transformed, as if he were a different person.

"Chirp chirp!"

A long-armed ape let out a provocative cry, picked up the dress, and wore it.

Xiao Chou's eyes filled with a chilling coldness, and a violent aura surged through his body.

"You're courting death!"

With a loud shout, his body transformed into a rocky form, covered in crimson rock. His size grew to four meters, turning into a mountainous giant.

The rocks on his body flared like burning flames.

"Whoosh!"

In the next moment, he disappeared, moving at unprecedented speed, like a crimson meteor, crashing forward with terrifying momentum.

Too fast, too fast! The monkey had no time to dodge and was struck head-on.

"Boom!!!"

A thunderous roar echoed. The long-armed ape that had been mocking him moments ago was instantly torn apart, its blood splattering the sky. The surrounding monkeys were also caught in the shockwave, sent flying and turning into a rain of blood.

"Chirp chirp!!"

Another long-armed ape's eyes turned blood-red. The one who had just died was its mate.

It swallowed a fruit, its veins bulging and body swelling, exuding a violent aura, its power approaching that of a great demon.

"You all must die!!"

With a loud shout, Xiao Chou's originally small arm grew tenfold, covered in molten rock, transforming into a colossal hand that swept forward.

"Bang bang bang..."

Countless monkeys were sent flying, blood splattering everywhere, limbs scattered. Even the enraged ape was instantly blown apart, half its body obliterated, unstoppable!

"This is..."

Xu Hei, watching from afar, was stunned.

How did Xiao Chou, who was being beaten just a moment ago, suddenly transform and go berserk?

Xu Hei's eyes narrowed as he saw the familiar dress. It was the one Silver Bell had given to Xiao Chou, recorded on a bamboo slip, costing fifty spirit stones.

So that's it, the simp has gone berserk!

"Whoosh!"

At this moment, the bone arrow reappeared, traversing the void, stealthily heading straight for Xiao Chou.

Xu Hei had been wary of the old ape. The moment the bone arrow appeared, he transmitted a warning through his Divine Sense: "Watch out for hidden weapons!"

Xiao Chou reacted swiftly. Instead of dodging, he charged forward, grabbing the bone arrow with his hand.

"Crack!!"

Xiao Chou's rocky arm shattered instantly, his flesh disappearing, leaving only white bones that gripped the arrow tightly.

"Go!"

With a low shout, he hurled the bone arrow back with all his might.

"Swish!!"

The bone arrow shot back at an incredible speed, piercing through the space, heading straight back into the distant thicket.

With a soft thud, no sound came from the thicket, but Xu Hei could sense that the old ape was injured.

Without even a scream, without a hint of panic, showing how terrifying the old ape was.

"Chase!"

Xu Hei decisively sent two stone golems to investigate. His condition was poor, only thirty percent of his strength remained, but he could still deploy puppets.

Unfortunately, the old ape's figure had long disappeared.

Xiao Chou's arm had turned to bone, while the other arm grew larger and thicker, slaughtering the monkey horde.

Before long, most of the monkeys were dead, and the rest had fled.

Xiao Chou's vision darkened, and he collapsed, unconscious.

His body shrank back, the crimson rocks disappearing completely, returning to normal form.

Xu Hei checked and found that Xiao Chou's Spiritual Power was completely depleted, drained from the wound on his right arm.

"This bone arrow can drain Spiritual Qi. I wonder what kind of bone it's made from."

Xu Hei was secretly astonished.

He had blocked it with his tail, preventing it from piercing through. Even the shockwave alone had injured him, showing how terrifying the bone was.

This deepened Xu Hei's resolve to kill the old ape and obtain the bone arrow!

Xu Hei burrowed underground, arriving at the spot where the old ape had been hit.

It was a thicket, with traces of footprints and some white fur and blood.

Xu Hei collected all the fur and blood.

He wasn't sure if it was left by the old ape. If it were him, he wouldn't leave such obvious clues.

Of course, it was also possible the old ape left in a hurry, unable to clean up.

"This old ape is so cunning, it might be using other demonic beasts' blood and fur to deceive me."

Xu Hei was extremely cautious, trusting nothing.

After some thought, he decided to dig up all the soil and vegetation in the area. No matter how cautious the old ape was, it would leave traces in the soil and plants.

He couldn't track it now, but there would come a time when he could.

Next, Xu Hei returned the way he came, bringing Xiao Chou back to the cave dwelling.

With the formation in place, he felt much more at ease.

Glancing at Xiao Chou's bare right arm, Xu Hei hesitated.

He had a pill for regrowing limbs, obtained from the Purple Mist Sect, but it was extremely precious, only one, worth as much as Foundation Establishment Pills.

It could regrow not just one arm, but even both, though it would be a waste on Xiao Chou.

After a long contemplation, he decided to throw Xiao Chou into Xu Bai's cave dwelling next door.

"Xu Bai, can you heal this person?" Xu Hei asked.

Xu Bai glanced at Xiao Chou's skeletal right arm and nodded repeatedly. "I can heal him. I'm best at treating injuries!"

"Alright, I'll leave him to you!"

"Don't worry, I'll make sure his right arm is as good as new!"

"…"

Xu Bai was enthusiastic about it, and she needed some materials anyway.

Xu Hei returned to his cave dwelling, took out a large number of pills and a handful of spirit stones, and placed them around.

He needed to heal and simultaneously break through to the ninth level of the Spirit Communion Stage!