Serpent Ancestor
Chapter 424: Netherworld Mine, the journey will eventually come to an end

Yu Jianqiu looked at the materials scattered all over the ground. Even though his eyes were covered, preventing anyone from seeing his gaze, a meaningful smile curled at the corner of his mouth.

"You've had quite the adventurous life as a serpent!" Yu Jianqiu remarked.

Xu Hei knew what he was implying and could only respond with an awkward smile, saying nothing.

This guy probably already knew that the Immortal Pavilion was stolen by Xu Hei, and the heavy oil further hinted at deeper issues.

However, Yu Jianqiu didn't ask further. He calmly said, "Have you forged a flying sword before?"

Xu Hei took out the Black Dragon Sword. The sword's grade was too low and had already been discarded by him.

Yu Jianqiu picked up the Black Dragon Sword, examined it, and furrowed his brows thoughtfully.

"I'll forge one for you, but the subsequent refining and nurturing will be up to you."

"Of course!" Xu Hei nodded.

The process of sword forging involves many steps. The most complex is the forging, and the longest is the refining, which accompanies one for life.

Whether a flying sword can develop spiritual essence and a sword soul depends mainly on the subsequent refining by its owner.

"First, release your intent, let me see what kind of sword suits you," Yu Jianqiu said calmly.

"I can't release my intent yet."

Xu Hei explained helplessly. His intent only appeared during combat and couldn't be released ordinarily.

"Oh?" Yu Jianqiu was quite surprised and said, "Then use a divine ability."

Xu Hei immediately complied, performing the Azure Dragon Immortal Spell to summon the wind.

A breeze capable of killing anything blew towards Yu Jianqiu, but as it approached within an inch, it vanished into thin air.

"Desolate intent? No! Destructive intent? Also no."

Yu Jianqiu's brows knitted tightly.

Next, Xu Hei performed the Rain Summoning. Sparse raindrops appeared in the sky, falling down, but likewise disappeared above Yu Jianqiu's head.

Even though it was just a casual demonstration, Xu Hei was already exhausted.

Compared to the precise strike of the wind summoning, the rain summoning had a broader range, suitable for large-scale damage, but it consumed much more energy.

Yu Jianqiu fell into a long silence.

He discovered a problem: he couldn't see through Xu Hei's intent!

From the two divine abilities Xu Hei displayed, he sensed multiple different intents, something impossible for others.

In Yu Jianqiu's experience, only an ancient cultivator had multiple intents.

That person was a legendary figure of the time, unremarkable before forming a Nascent Soul, but once he broke through, he became famous, capable of defeating mid-stage Elemental Infants in one move and matching late-stage Elemental Infants.

It should be noted that he had just broken through at that time!

This was something Yu Jianqiu read about in ancient texts.

Later, that legend remained at the Elemental Infant stage until his lifespan ended, recorded solely because of his unique multiple intents.

However, Yu Jianqiu couldn't be sure if Xu Hei was as he imagined.

"Forget it, I'll reforge a sword for you based on your previous flying sword."

Yu Jianqiu shook his head with a sigh and picked up the Black Dragon Sword.

"Thank you, senior," Xu Hei quickly bowed and asked, "May I ask how long it will take?"

"When the sword is finished, I'll have Xiong Dabao deliver it to you, the timing is uncertain."

Yu Jianqiu glanced at the materials scattered around and said, "Also, take all these back with you!"

Xu Hei was taken aback and said, "All these materials..."

"Do I need this junk to forge a sword?" Yu Jianqiu retorted.

"..." Xu Hei was speechless.

These were materials he had painstakingly gathered, yet they were called junk.

But the implication was that Yu Jianqiu had better materials?

Seeing this, Yu Jianqiu chuckled, took out a jade slip, and tossed it to Xu Hei.

"This contains a sword formation. If you can't bear to part with this junk, forge seventy-two flying swords according to this method and form a sword formation. At least it will be put to good use."

Xu Hei was immediately overjoyed, carefully packed the materials, and bowed deeply, "Thank you, senior."

Xu Hei left, full of joy.

This trip not only got Yu Jianqiu to help forge a sword but also gained a sword formation diagram. Xu Hei would be busy for a while.

Xu Hei returned to his cave dwelling and sent his divine sense into the jade slip.

Inside the jade slip was an extremely profound sword formation called the "Star Sword Formation."

The sword formation had four levels: Twelve Celestial Branches, Twenty-Eight Lunar Mansions, Thirty-Six Heavenly Spirits, and Seventy-Two Earthly Fiends, each level stronger than the last.

At the end of the sword formation, the four levels combined to form the fifth level, which was the strongest form of the Star Sword Formation.

However, the number of flying swords required was extremely exaggerated, and without a strong divine sense to support it, controlling so many swords was impossible.

"This is really troublesome," Xu Hei sighed inwardly.

...

Outside the Penglai Sea, in a dark and deep seabed.

Here, sunlight never reaches, always a monotonous deep blue, the sea calm like a deep well, seemingly isolated by a hazy formation.

This was the external industry of the Penglai Sea, the Netherworld Mine.

It was also the place guarded by the external elder, the Nine-Headed Snake.

The Nine-Headed Snake had lived for over a thousand years, with unfathomable cultivation. It was said that five hundred years ago, it was already at the late Elemental Infant stage, the strongest among the external elders.

Back then, he was the leader of the Sea Serpent lineage, but later handed it over to Elder Jin to guard the mine. However, this was the highest secret of the Penglai Sea, known to few.

Suddenly, a white light appeared at the end of the distant darkness, separating the seawater, as if something was rapidly approaching.

As it got closer, it turned out to be a black dog and a man with a head full of purple hair. The man could no longer run, merely holding onto the dog's leg to reach the vicinity.

"Run! Run! Let's see how you run!"

A gloomy growl came from afar, like a frenzied beast, the voice hysterical.

The Soul Refining Demon Lord had never been so frustrated in his life.

To chase these two damned individuals, he had pursued them for a whole month, from the southern skies to the northern seas, almost circling the East Sea, yet he couldn't catch them.

Along the way, he encountered various traps, formations, and natural disasters, even braving several dangerous places like the Dragon Triangle, ending up battered and bruised.

No one knew how he survived this month!

To avoid being tricked, the Soul Refining Demon Lord became cautious, but when he avoided a trap, he found it wasn't a trap at all, just a decoy to make him detour.

And when he thought he saw through their tricks, what he encountered was often a real deadly calamity!

The mix of truth and falsehood, reality and illusion, made the Soul Refining Demon Lord angrier than ever, his killing intent reaching its peak!

He had already sworn with his Dao heart that he wouldn't rest until he killed these two!

"Whoosh! Whoosh!"

Hei Huang and Han Te accelerated, rushing into the range of the Netherworld Mine.

"Hmph, what's waiting for me ahead this time?"

The Soul Refining Demon Lord was used to their tricks. Without hesitation, he charged in. Whether it was a trick or not, he feared nothing, his cultivation was his greatest reliance!

On this pursuit, to replenish his energy, he had already swallowed five Ghost Infants, and he couldn't give up halfway. No matter the cost, those two must die miserably!

The Netherworld Mine was the highest secret of the Penglai Sea, its location unknown to most. Even the elders of the six lineages had no access, which also meant the Sea God Sect was completely unaware.