Serpent Ancestor
Chapter 444: Elephant Tribe, only ask the heart, do not ask the traces

Wu Mountain Range, Elephant Tribe.

Xu Hei glanced at the withered old man and asked, "Prisoner? What crime did she commit?"

The withered old man replied coldly, "Now I'm the one asking questions! Didn't your elders teach you not to answer a question with a question?"

Suddenly, Xu Hei grabbed Man Qing and retreated a hundred feet away, just as a series of chains pierced through his previous position.

"Oh? So you like to fight, huh?"

Xu Hei sneered, as bone armor appeared from head to toe, covered by a layer of earthy brown keratin, forming the Earth Armor.

"Uncle Xu, let's go quickly! Don't fight him!" Man Qing urged, sending a hurried message.

"No worries." Xu Hei gave her a reassuring look, then vanished, reappearing behind the withered old man at an unimaginable speed.

"Dragon Tail Swing!"

Xu Hei swung his tail, tearing through the void, aiming at the old man. The old man of the Elephant Tribe remained unfazed, his body expanding with a crackling sound, transforming from a withered elder into a muscular giant.

"Boom!"

The clash of power was like a thunderous explosion, shaking the entire valley and sending rocks flying.

With just one strike, the muscular giant was forced back several steps, his expression darkening as his form shifted again, turning into a woolly mammoth.

However, the mammoth's fur was all white, and its tusks were worn down, clearly showing its age.

"Old man, don't push yourself too hard, or you might not catch your breath, and I can't be held responsible," Xu Hei teased.

"You insolent brat, don't be arrogant!" The mammoth roared to the sky, its body towering like an iron tower, then stomped heavily on the ground, executing a War Stomp.

"Boom!!"

A terrifying force surged from the ground, striking Xu Hei's abdomen. He didn't retreat; instead, he planted his tail into the ground, his entire body vibrating with energy, advancing instead of retreating!

The two forces collided underground with a thunderous crash, sending Xu Hei flying, while the mammoth was also knocked back a great distance.

With one strike, they were evenly matched.

This left some onlookers in the distance stunned.

This was their Elephant Tribe's previous clan leader, known as Elder Bai. Despite his age, as a noble member of the Elephant Tribe, his physical strength was unrivaled in the same realm, absolutely crushing other early Elemental Infant stage opponents!

It was their first time witnessing a demonic beast that could hold its own in a contest of strength.

Man Qing was so shocked her jaw nearly dropped. She couldn't believe Uncle Xu was so powerful!

In the eyes of the onlookers, it was already astonishing.

But in Elder Bai's eyes, a storm was raging in his heart.

"Core Formation Stage?"

In his perception, Xu Hei was clearly just a Core Formation stage demonic beast, a level lower than him, yet he could match him in strength.

Fighting across realms, what a joke? What kind of monster is this?

Their Elephant Tribe was already considered a rare overlord among beasts, could this snake be an ancient beast? No, even an ancient beast couldn't match him across realms!

Xu Hei used the Ever-changing Fish and Dragon technique, sprouting a pair of claws from his abdomen.

"Flood Dragon? Even if you are a Flood Dragon, I won't let you run rampant here!"

"It's time for you to understand why we are called the Elephant Tribe!"

Elder Bai roared in anger, his body swelling, a thick aura bursting from within, stirring a fierce gale, and faintly, the sound of a dragon's roar could be heard.

His muscles bulged, his internal blood sacs rapidly releasing immense power, his bones crackling, his strength climbing to the peak of his youth.

From this woolly mammoth, Xu Hei could actually feel the pressure of an ancient beast! This was definitely a remnant of an ancient race, otherwise, it couldn't be this strong!

Xu Hei took a deep breath, preparing to activate his transformation mode, Dragon Battle in the Wild!

Facing such an ancient variant, he had to go all out, leaving no room for error. Only a true dragon could suppress an ancient beast.

"Stop!"

At this moment, a loud voice came from afar, drawing their attention back.

Hai Teng, Nine-Headed Worm, and Xu Bai stood in the sky, holding a figure bound by ropes, the clan leader of the Elephant Tribe.

This young clan leader was tied up, hanging upside down in the air, his face full of shame and anger, an utter disgrace.

The Elephant Tribe guards in the distance were at a loss, unable to advance or retreat, left only to stare helplessly.

"Scoundrel!" Elder Bai's eyes were wide with rage.

"We tried to discuss things peacefully, but you insisted on fighting. What are you pretending for? Do you really think you can rule the world?" Hai Teng sneered mockingly.

The entire Elephant Tribe fell into dead silence.

More and more clansmen arrived, and upon seeing such a shocking scene, they all fell silent, not daring to speak.

These demonic beasts were too powerful, each possessing Elemental Infant stage combat strength, while their Elephant Tribe had only two Elemental Infant stage members, thoroughly outmatched.

As the royal family of the depths of Wu Mountain, it was their first time suffering such a loss.

Man Qing was speechless, as if realizing for the first time who Xu Hei truly was.

"Now, can you answer my question?" Xu Hei looked at Elder Bai before him and asked, "What crime did she commit?"

Elder Bai remained silent, the ancient dragon elephant bloodline he had just activated was suppressed back.

Whispers arose among the elephant herd.

Only then did they realize that Xu Hei and his group seemed to be standing up for Man Qing, and Man Qing actually had such strong friends!

The Elephant Tribe's clan leader gritted his teeth and said, "She has a lowly bloodline, what right does she have to become a companion to our tribe's Chosen? This would dilute the purity of our Elephant Tribe's bloodline!"

Then, the Elephant Tribe's clan leader briefly explained the situation.

The involved party, the Elephant Tribe's Chosen, also stepped forward, exchanging glances with Xu Hei, then looking at Man Qing with a complex expression.

Xu Hei raised an eyebrow, "Just because of this?"

"Isn't that enough?"

The Elephant Tribe's clan leader clenched his teeth and shouted, "The reason we can still be called the Elephant Tribe is because we have always adhered to not interbreeding with other species, preserving the thin dragon elephant bloodline to this day!"

"Why can our Ancestor still use the ancient bloodline talents?"

"Why can we be the royal family in the depths of Wu Mountain?"

"Why can we bear the name of the Elephant Tribe!"

The Elephant Tribe's clan leader stared at Xu Hei, his eyes bloodshot, "You don't understand the efforts we've made to ensure bloodline purity, the sacrifices, the generations of effort, how can it be destroyed by one person?"

"Once a precedent is set, what of our ancestors' efforts?"

He looked at Elder Bai, the woolly mammoth with white fur.

Elder Bai remained silent.

Man Qing and the Elephant Tribe's Chosen were also silent.

Elder Bai suddenly recalled a young girl from many years ago, he and she were forcibly separated by the family, but it was precisely because of this that the correct bloodline was born—the current clan leader of the Elephant Tribe.

This matter had always been a heavy stone in his heart, forever weighing on him.

Xu Hei was at a loss for words.

Hai Teng's previously arrogant demeanor also fell silent.

They gradually realized that sometimes, strength couldn't solve everything.

The Elephant Tribe's clan leader continued, "If I don't imprison her, what can I do? Drive her away? This rebellious son will surely seek her out, and if they have offspring, do we accept them or not?"

"I admit, there are certainly benevolent clan leaders in this world who can tolerate everything, but what becomes of such tribes?"

After speaking, the Elephant Tribe's clan leader looked at Man Qing and sneered, "Isn't your father's tribe like that?"

"Enough!"

Xu Hei roared, unleashing the Dragon Shatter Roar, sending the Elephant Tribe's clan leader flying, spitting blood and crashing into the ground, creating an elephant-shaped crater.

The Elephant Tribe's clan leader realized he had misspoken, lying motionless in the pit, not daring to rise.

Xu Hei's chest heaved, and after a while, he coldly said, "I don't care about your damn rules, Man Qing is my brother's daughter, and I thank you for taking her in and nurturing her to the Core Formation stage!"

"These resources are a token of gratitude, from now on, she owes you nothing!"

Xu Hei took out a storage bag and tossed it over.

He had destroyed the Snake Catchers Sect, and resources useless to him were countless, casually taking some out was enough to repay the favor.

"Man Qing, no matter what choices you make in the future, no one can stop you! Moreover, if they dare to harm you in the slightest, I'll destroy this place!"

Xu Hei knew he had done enough.

Staying wouldn't change anything, things would remain as they were.

He could only do his best to protect those he wanted to protect, and that was enough.

"Thank you, Uncle Xu!" Man Qing bowed her head to Xu Hei.

Xu Hei looked at the elephant herd ahead, recalling the words of the Elephant Tribe's clan leader, sighed, and turned to leave.

"Fellow Daoist!" Elder Bai's voice transmitted from afar, "Survival is the first priority for us cultivators, humanization will only lead to a pointless death!"

As he spoke, Elder Bai transformed from a woolly mammoth back into a withered old man.

His words carried a deeper meaning.

Wasn't Man Jin killed because he was too humanized? Even his tribe was wiped out because of it.

Xu Hei paused for a moment, then replied, "Do you know why the end of demonic beasts is to take human form, and not humans taking beast form?"

At these words, Elder Bai's pupils slightly contracted, and he quickly asked, "Why?"

Taking human form was an ancient rule, yet few understood why.

Even Elder Bai himself couldn't help but transform into a human shape.

He hadn't truly taken human form, but used his powerful cultivation to alter his form through the Divine Ability of flesh and blood, a natural habit that allowed him to live in human form.

"You and I are both seekers of the Dao. Before truly touching the Dao, what is right, what is wrong, who can tell?"

"That's your Dao, it has nothing to do with me!"

Leaving these words, Xu Hei flew far away, disappearing into the horizon.

Unknowingly.

When Xu Hei looked within himself, he found that his remaining dragon vein had grown significantly, more than a year's worth of closed-door cultivation combined.