Serpent Ancestor
Chapter 454: To sacrifice one's life for righteousness

Every time the Nine-Headed Snake attempted a desperate strike, the opponent would retreat in time, preferring to give up the advantage and fight steadily rather than take risks.

No one would underestimate such a formidable figure who had guarded the Netherworld Mine for five hundred years. Even if they could kill him, it would have to be done gradually.

The Nine-Headed Snake also realized the tactics of these two demon lords, clearly intending to wear him down slowly, leveraging their numerical advantage to drag out the battle and exhaust him to death.

In this way, their side would suffer minimal losses, even if it took more time.

During the battle, the Devouring Demon Lord would occasionally taunt him with verbal attacks.

"Nine-Headed Snake, your time is up. Why struggle in vain? If you surrender, I promise not to trouble your descendants," the Devouring Demon Lord sneered.

"My descendants need no pity from you!"

The Nine-Headed Snake's voice was icy as he changed his hand gestures and let out a low shout.

"Ninefold Fission!"

In an instant, the Nine-Headed Snake's body split into nine identical forms, each with only one head.

Thus, he transformed into nine snakes!

The Devouring Demon Lord squinted his eyes in surprise, "You actually used Ninefold Fission. Are you seeking death?"

Ninefold Fission allows one to split into nine bodies, but simultaneously, one's power is divided into nine parts.

While it provides a numerical advantage, the weakened power makes it suicidal against opponents of the same level, as they could be picked off one by one!

The Nine-Headed Snake wouldn't do something so foolish.

"What trickery is this? Is he planning to go all out, or is he deliberately leaving a flaw to lure the enemy in for some purpose?" the Devouring Demon Lord pondered.

To be safe, even with the opponent split into nine and their strength drastically reduced, the Devouring Demon Lord didn't advance recklessly. Instead, he expanded the range of his sensory blockade, using the devouring barrier for suppression.

In the darkness, Xu Qingzhi's figure flickered continuously.

The Dragon Slaying Sword in his hand slashed through the cold light, striking at one of the snakes. Previously, he had been cautious, but now that the opponent was divided into nine, what was there to fear?

"Slash!!"

Blood splattered as the clone he struck was decapitated, its body flying backward and crashing into the stone wall.

This made the smile on Xu Qingzhi's lips even brighter, his confidence soaring.

"One down, next is the second!"

Xu Qingzhi's figure flickered again, targeting the nearest snake demon and slashing once more.

"Clang!!"

However, as the blade fell, there was no scene of a snake head hitting the ground. It was as if he had struck a hard object, producing a crisp sound.

Unfazed, Xu Qingzhi attempted to withdraw his sword for another strike, only to find it stuck.

Xu Qingzhi looked closely.

The snake demon before him was pitch black, its body covered in dragon scales that shimmered with a purple-gold light. It had two horns on its head, and the claws on its belly were gripping his Dragon Slaying Sword tightly, not moving an inch.

"You are..." Xu Qingzhi's pupils contracted sharply.

In the dark environment, he hadn't noticed anything unusual until now. As his gaze swept over, he was shocked to discover that the opponent's clones weren't nine.

But... ten!

"Retreat quickly!"

At the Devouring Demon Lord's low shout, Xu Qingzhi hurriedly let go and retreated backward.

In an instant, darkness descended, stripping all living beings of their five senses, making divine sense undetectable, and all perception vanished.

Even the awareness of one's existence would disappear, turning one into an unconscious puppet.

Facing the Devouring Demon Lord's strongest barrier.

Xu Hei remained calm, merely taking out a piece of black cloth and tying it over his eyes.

This piece of black cloth was the magical treasure left to him by Yu Jianqiu.

Xu Hei focused his perception on a point between his brows, needing neither divine sense nor the five senses. Xu Qingzhi was as conspicuous as a flame in the night, right before him! Just a hundred feet ahead!

"Now you want to run? Too late!"

Xu Hei's perception was obscured, but beneath the black cloth, sharp eyes pierced through, locking onto Xu Qingzhi.

Xu Hei's figure shot out from his original position, his dragon claw reaching out to grab Xu Qingzhi's chest, executing the Sky-Tearing Claw!

"Slash!"

Xu Qingzhi's chest was torn open, leaving him no room to resist. He fell to the ground, the wound expanding, threatening to tear him apart and reduce him to a pool of blood.

In one move, a guardian was taken down?

No! It wasn't over yet!

"Be careful! This person can't be killed!" the Nine-Headed Snake transmitted his voice.

"I know!" Xu Hei's expression was stern.

The blood on the ground continued to wriggle, and in the blink of an eye, it was about to reassemble into a complete human form.

In Xu Hei's mind, he recalled the third form of the Azure Dragon Immortal Spell.

This form, which he had only seen once, was called Summon Fire, a fourth-tier high-grade divine ability. Before his breakthrough, Xu Hei didn't even have the qualification to comprehend it.

But now, he simply took a deep breath, and his true essence rapidly circulated through the dragon vein, gathering in the palm of his dragon claw, forming a ball of flame.

"Azure Dragon Immortal Spell, Summon Fire!"

He waved his hand, and the flames swept across the ground, igniting the blood.

"Ah!!"

A wretched scream emanated from the blood, the voice of Xu Qingzhi wailing.

His life force was draining away, and even his soul was being scorched.

"Last time you escaped, but this time, I won't give you any chance!"

Xu Hei's expression was cold, the flames burning ever fiercer, and Xu Qingzhi's screams grew sharper.

However, the Devouring Demon Lord showed no intention of rescuing him.

Xu Hei sensed Xu Qingzhi's soul fire and found that it showed no signs of dimming. This person wouldn't die, not even truly injured.

"Xu Hei, do you know my title?"

A cold laugh came from the blood, "I am the Undying Demon Lord! You can never kill me... Ah!!"

Before he could finish, Xu Hei intensified the flames, subjecting Xu Qingzhi to torment. The blood twisted in the fire, gradually drying up, shrinking until only a small mass remained.

In just a moment, all of Xu Qingzhi's flesh and blood were incinerated, leaving not a trace behind.

But as before, Xu Qingzhi's soul fire didn't extinguish.

All his blood was merely a decoy, not his true weakness!

The Devouring Demon Lord realized that it would be difficult to kill the Nine-Headed Snake alone, and he began to harbor thoughts of retreat. This mission was a failure.

However, they hadn't lost much. They could come and go as they pleased, merely losing a few subordinates.

"Hmph! Consider yourself lucky!"

The Devouring Demon Lord rose to leave the Immortal Pavilion.

Suddenly, his ascending figure froze in mid-air, as if stuck in a spider's web. The remaining eight bodies of the Nine-Headed Snake had somehow formed a web-like formation in the sky, crisscrossing and even locking the space completely.

"What?" The Devouring Demon Lord's face changed dramatically, "Using your physical body as a formation, are you insane?"

The devouring intent erupted, drawing life force from the Nine-Headed Snake's clones and absorbing it into the Devouring Demon Lord's body.

Despite the loss of life force, the formation set by the Nine-Headed Snake remained unmoved, holding the opponent tightly, unable to budge.

Even the sensory barrier set by the Devouring Demon Lord was slowly being opened.

Xu Hei looked up, his gaze locking onto the immobilized figure of the Devouring Demon Lord in the sky.

In an instant, he understood the Nine-Headed Snake's intention: to use his clones to hold the opponent, preventing escape!

Xu Hei said nothing, merely producing a sword in his hand, the True Dragon Sword!

"Slash!"

Xu Hei struck with the sword, shattering the void, like a sword piercing through the stars, stabbing into the Devouring Demon Lord's chest, piercing his heart.

"Ugh!"

The Devouring Demon Lord spewed blood, forming small black holes that shot towards Xu Hei, only to be sucked back by the web halfway.

His physical body, his true essence, everything was trapped by the formation set by the Nine-Headed Snake.

At this moment, the Devouring Demon Lord was a sitting duck, able to do nothing but vent his anger on the Nine-Headed Snake.

"Old man, get out of my way!"

The Devouring Demon Lord roared again, the black hole behind him condensing into a black spear, piercing through the Nine-Headed Snake's body, creating countless bloody holes.

Under his frenzied devouring, the Nine-Headed Snake's physical body was nearly dried up, almost turning into a bundle of sticks.

At this moment, Xu Hei's second sword came!

"Slash!"

The Devouring Demon Lord's head was also severed, transforming into an abyssal vortex in mid-air, but Xu Hei burned it to ashes with Summon Fire.

Now, the Nine-Headed Snake's flesh had been drained, leaving only bones, like skeletal frames coiled in the sky, trapping the Devouring Demon Lord.

The Devouring Demon Lord wasn't dead yet, still clinging to life.

Xu Hei remained unfazed, his True Dragon Sword slashing once more!

The third sword!

"Slash!!"

The Devouring Demon Lord's Elemental Infant was pierced by Xu Hei's sword, splitting into two, then four, and finally shredded into countless pieces by the sharp sword aura, completely vanishing into nothingness.

"It's over," Xu Hei said calmly.

The dark barrier vanished.

Xu Hei removed the blindfold, and the sunlight outside shone through the gaps, illuminating the Immortal Pavilion, casting light on Xu Hei's face and the Nine-Headed Snake's formation.

The remaining body of the Nine-Headed Snake had turned into rows of snake skeletons, suspended in the air, forming a spider web shape, motionless.

Xu Hei remained silent, bowing deeply to the bodies in the sky.

If not for the Nine-Headed Snake's self-sacrifice, giving his life to trap the Devouring Demon Lord, Xu Hei could never have taken him down so easily.

This was a top-tier Elemental Infant stage expert, a guardian of the Sea God Sect, not someone easily killed!

The Nine-Headed Snake had lived long enough, knowing his time was short. He split into nine, willingly playing the supporting role, creating the opportunity for Xu Hei to strike. Even when Xu Hei arrived, without any verbal exchange, he had planned everything.

Such decisiveness, such character, deserved respect from anyone!

"Senior's great righteousness, the younger generation will never forget!" Xu Hei clasped his fists in salute.

However, now was not the time to collect the bodies, as there was still an Undying Demon Lord to deal with. The Nine-Headed Snake's body lay here, trapping the area, preventing anyone from escaping.

Xu Hei spread his divine sense, carefully scanning, when suddenly, his eyes narrowed.

"Something's not right!"

A flash of insight struck Xu Hei's mind.

He remembered when the Nightmare Demon Lord died, his physical body was destroyed, but a trace of black substance escaped into Jiang Ying's body.

Could these two guardians have a similar ability?