Serpent Ancestor

Xu Hei always imagined every possible scenario before taking action. He immediately thought of the puppets from the Heavenly Puppet Sect.

"Judging from the wounds on that little Purple Crystal Lion, it indeed looks like the work of the Pangolin King's claws."

"But if it was done by a puppet, then everything makes sense."

The puppet mechanical beasts could be crafted into any form, including a pangolin.

It was highly likely that a disciple of the Heavenly Puppet Sect used a pangolin puppet to kill the little lion and framed the Pangolin King.

Xu Hei took a deep breath, gradually understanding the cause and effect.

Of course, this was just a suspicion and needed to be verified.

The only thing that reassured him was that the person in the shadows couldn't be too powerful. If they were at the mid to late Foundation Establishment Stage, they would have acted directly without resorting to such underhanded tactics.

Xu Hei guessed that the person was likely at the early Foundation Establishment Stage, with a small chance of being at the mid-stage.

"If it's mid-stage, should I fight or run?"

"Never mind, let's wait and see. After all, I have the Invisibility Talisman."

Xu Hei distributed some Invisibility Talismans to Xu Bai and Xiao Chou. The talismans were more than enough.

...

Soon, the two great demons were at their last gasp.

The purple crystals on the Purple Crystal Thunder Lion had lost their luster. The earthen light shield on the Pangolin King's body was also rapidly dissipating.

"Damn it! Just wait until my husband returns, I will definitely avenge this!"

The Purple Crystal Thunder Lion roared angrily and turned to leave. Continuing the fight would lead to no result; she couldn't afford to lose her life here.

At that moment, a vine suddenly extended from a nearby tree, swiftly wrapping around the Purple Crystal Thunder Lion.

The vine moved incredibly fast, almost in the blink of an eye, coiling around her and expanding like a giant rope.

Xu Hei's pupils contracted; there was indeed someone in the shadows.

The Purple Crystal Thunder Lion's face darkened. In her prime, she could have dodged it, but now she was too weak to evade.

"Swish, swish, swish..."

One vine after another, as fast as lightning, bound the Purple Crystal Thunder Lion tightly, sealing her completely. The Pangolin King in the cave was also attacked by tree roots, which split into countless branches, locking her in place.

"Humans?"

The two great demons quickly realized that humans were hiding in the shadows.

Xu Hei didn't act rashly; he simply patted his storage bag and released his puppets.

The next moment, two figures flew out from the tree, a man and a woman. The man had sword-like eyebrows and starry eyes, looking heroic and handsome. The woman had skin like snow and was equally stunning.

These two were rare beauties and handsome men in the human world.

After they appeared, they said nothing and decisively grabbed the two bound great demons, their actions swift and clean.

"Damn humans!"

The Purple Crystal Thunder Lion roared in fury, her fur standing on end, emitting purple lightning towards the man. But her remaining strength was less than thirty percent, easily neutralized by the man's casual palm strike.

On the other side, the Pangolin King only had time to throw her children into a bottomless pit before being captured by the female cultivator.

"Spare my children, and I will go with you," the Pangolin King pleaded in human language.

The woman hesitated, but the man scolded, "Shuang'er, don't dawdle. This is your test!"

Qin Shuang'er's eyes flashed with determination, and she whispered, "I'm sorry, but I must take the cubs too."

Hearing this, the Pangolin King's eyes turned red, tears streaming down her face as she closed her eyes in pain.

The Purple Crystal Thunder Lion also realized what was happening, gritting her teeth, "My children... was it you?"

The male cultivator didn't bother to explain, flicking his fingers, and a wooden flying sword shot out from his body, aiming straight for the Purple Crystal Thunder Lion's forehead.

One strike to kill!

Despair and sorrow filled the Purple Crystal Thunder Lion's eyes.

Just as the wooden sword was about to pierce her forehead.

A white light flashed in the void, and a bone flying sword suddenly emerged from the ground, shooting towards the cold-faced man at lightning speed.

The timing was perfect, just as the cold-faced man was about to kill the great demon.

"Clang!!"

A crisp sound rang out.

The wooden flying sword, somehow, returned like a teleportation, blocking the attack.

"Blocked?"

Xu Hei's heart trembled. He had timed his sneak attack perfectly, but it was still too slow.

Looking at the Purple Crystal Thunder Lion, she wasn't dead. The opponent seemed to have been on guard, using only twenty percent of his strength to kill the demon.

Such caution was not something ordinary people possessed.

However, the bone flying sword was made from the tusks of the Spirit-Devouring Elephant. The wooden flying sword only blocked it for a moment before the spiritual energy dissipated, and the ivory flying sword continued its charge.

"Hmm?"

The cold-faced man remained expressionless, but his heart was shocked. The power of this flying sword was beyond his expectations.

"Could it be a spirit-breaking flying sword?"

"But the opponent's spiritual power fluctuation is only at the Great Perfection of the Qi Refining Stage. How can he control a flying sword? And such a powerful one?"

Sun Jian's mind was filled with questions.

Flying swords could only be controlled at the Foundation Establishment Stage; this was common knowledge.

Of course, there were some methods to control them at the Qi Refining Stage, but their power would be limited.

Instinctively, he took out a tortoise shell shield and placed it in front of him. With a crisp sound, the flying sword pierced through the shield, shooting out from the other side.

"This..."

Sun Jian's heart finally wavered.

This was definitely not the power of the Qi Refining Stage! Even at the early Foundation Establishment Stage, few could pierce his tortoise shell spiritual treasure in one strike.

Had the opponent concealed his cultivation? No, spiritual power fluctuations could be hidden, but once in action, the resulting spiritual energy waves couldn't be faked.

Sun Jian's thoughts raced, but his actions didn't slow. Using the brief moment of obstruction, he merged into a large tree. The tree was instantly cut down by the flying sword, blood splattering everywhere.

Xu Hei's attack didn't relent. The flying sword turned again, slashing at the neighboring tree, drawing more blood.

Despite being hit twice, Sun Jian didn't flee. Instead, he charged towards Xu Hei's location.

"Wild Forest Frenzy!"

Sun Jian clapped his hands, and with a low shout, the forest came alive. Tree roots grew wildly, like sharp spikes, shooting towards Xu Hei underground.

"Not dodging, trying to trade injuries?"

Xu Hei's eyes flashed with ferocity.

Trade injuries? A human trading injuries with a demon, how laughable.

"Slash!"

The flying sword cut through, severing one of Sun Jian's arms, while Xu Hei's upper body was pierced with small holes, blood flowing.

...

Ten miles away.

A black-clothed person sat cross-legged inside a century-old tree with a five-meter diameter, motionless.

After an unknown amount of time, he opened his eyes, a look of surprise flashing through them.

"A demonic beast?"

"Unexpectedly, the rumors about Chu Kingdom are true. There's a snake demon in the deep mountains, practicing human cultivation techniques and using flying swords. I happened to encounter it."

As an inner disciple of the Heavenly Puppet Sect, Sun Jian didn't pay much attention to Chu Kingdom's affairs, only having heard a little.

If he hadn't planned to enter the mountains today and asked around, he wouldn't have known about this.

"Rumor has it that this demon is also skilled in puppet techniques, but in my opinion, it's just showing off in front of an expert."

Sun Jian sneered inwardly. He had been on guard because he had spotted the scouting snake hiding in a tree.

Such a snake could deceive others but not him. With fifty years of experience in puppet techniques, he could distinguish between real and fake at a glance.

He had pretended not to see it on purpose.

Now, the snake was trading injuries with his puppet, fighting back and forth, showing some skill.

Even his puppet had the strength of the Foundation Establishment Stage. For a small demon at the Great Perfection of the Spirit Communion Stage to suppress his puppet was unexpected.

"Boom!!!"

Suddenly, a giant sharp stone pillar shot up from beneath him, shattering the tree. Before Sun Jian could react, it pierced through his lower body.