Serpent Ancestor
Chapter 464: You and I are both solitary travelers

In ancient times, the world was rich with Spiritual Qi, and sects flourished. Super sects like the Dragon Subduing Sect, Heavenly Demon Sect, Heavenly Dao Gate, and Medicine King Valley emerged, only to vanish like fish crossing a river, disappearing into the long river of history.

The Divine Puppet Sect was an exception.

As one of the few super sects preserved to this day, its secrets remain unknown to outsiders. However, it is certain that the Divine Puppet Sect's influence on the outside world has been diminishing.

With the current sparse Spiritual Qi, it is no longer possible for super sects to emerge, and even cultivators at the Divine Transformation Stage have nearly vanished. It's not due to a lack of talent but rather the harsh environment.

Above the East Sea.

A figure stood, as sturdy as an ancient pine, with eyes like a hawk, shrouded in a black cloak. This was the External Incarnation of Night Owl, a Divine Transformation Stage cultivator from the Divine Puppet Sect.

After the fall of the Demon Lord, he came to this place, standing at the dome of the sky, witnessing the entire process of the crowd cleansing the pollution.

Throughout, he made no move, not even spreading his divine sense, merely observing quietly with his eyes.

He didn’t know what happened before the Demon Lord's fall, but he could deduce a thing or two.

"The Demon Lord, an Unparalleled Arrogance, yet fell here, wasting his lifetime of True Essence in such a place. What a pity, what a pity," Night Owl shook his head silently.

In the eyes of the Divine Puppet Sect, apart from the Demon Lord at his peak, no one present was worth their attention.

Even the Sea God, with ambitions to dominate the world, was of no concern to him.

The Sea God could at most occupy some barren lands, where the Spiritual Qi was pitifully thin, holding no value for those at the Divine Transformation Stage.

Simply put, the Sea God's strength was not enough to warrant the Divine Puppet Sect's attention.

The Divine Puppet Sect, enduring for millions of years, had seen countless storms. They had experienced such extraterrestrial Heavenly Demon chaos no less than five times. They wouldn’t save the common people, only focusing on the interests of the upper echelons. They didn’t even understand why the Demon Lord would sacrifice himself to protect such a place.

Perhaps this was why the Demon Lord fell, while the Divine Puppet Sect could continue to survive.

…………

"Demon Lord, what were you thinking? Living for three hundred thousand years in the forsaken land, only to fall here, why?"

After a long silence.

Night Owl descended from the sky, his divine sense locking onto nine figures.

These nine figures were the ones who had swiftly cleansed the pollution earlier, the ones Xu Hei had endowed with nine Dragon veins.

Although the Dragon veins had been retracted, their physiques had undergone significant changes, having been baptized by the Demon Lord's True Essence, making it difficult not to change.

If Tianji Shangren were here, he would surely see that they had acquired fortune.

"You nine, are you the Demon Lord's successors?"

Night Owl's voice spread out.

Upon his appearance, everyone stopped what they were doing, looking over in shock and awe.

Because no one could sense this person's presence, as if he were a wisp of air.

Hai Teng, Nine-Headed Worm, and Xu Bai recognized him; Night Owl had appeared beside Xu Hei during his breakthrough.

Lin Ziye, quick-witted, cupped his fists and said, "The Demon Lord protects all beings; all beings are the Demon Lord's successors."

Night Owl glanced at him and said, "I give you an opportunity. Come to the Western Cang Realm, find the City Lord of Ziyang City with this token. As long as you pass the assessment, you can join our sect. Although the Divine Puppet Sect no longer recruits anyone, the resources you deserve will be provided."

"In this place, your lives have reached their peak. If you wish to ascend to the highest pinnacle, this is your only choice."

In Night Owl's eyes, this group of people had mediocre talent, not worth mentioning. He had seen countless outstanding geniuses, as numerous as cattle, and this group didn't rank at all.

The reason for giving such an opportunity was purely out of respect for the Demon Lord.

He didn’t know what the Demon Lord's intentions were, but giving out nine white tokens cost him nothing.

Night Owl tossed out nine tokens, which landed in the hands of the nine people. As Hai Teng touched the token, a series of information about the Western Cang Realm and Ziyang City appeared in his mind.

The Western Cang Realm was located on the other side of this cultivation star, requiring the crossing of half a planet to reach it. They had a more familiar name for it: the Western Continent.

Subsequently, Night Owl's figure flickered and appeared before Xu Hei.

Xu Hei's breakthrough process had left a deep impression on him.

Night Owl's original plan was to capture him directly, but after some thought, he took out a similar white token and tossed it over.

"You too."

Finally, Night Owl's gaze turned to the Demon Lord's remaining corpse fragments.

A Divine Transformation Stage corpse originally held infinite value, but the Demon Lord had deliberately dispersed all his True Essence to prevent it from being coveted.

Now, these corpses still held some value for ordinary demonic beasts, but for those above the Divine Transformation Stage, they had lost their usefulness, tasteless to eat, a pity to discard.

In the end, Night Owl casually picked up a piece of the corpse, stored it in his storage ring, and vanished.

…………

Xu Hei remained silent throughout.

Even though Night Owl didn’t make a move against him, Xu Hei's mood was still heavy.

He knew that there were still many people in this world, high above, watching coldly, indifferent to everything. No matter how the world outside crumbled, they would remain unaffected, never intervening.

Perhaps this was the truth of how they managed to survive.

The crowd dispersed, checking the surroundings, but found no trace of the Sea God's existence.

All the pollution had been cleansed.

The teleportation array was also scrapped. They left a team behind to continue the search, while the others transported some corpses, taking the watercraft back the way they came.

Xu Bai didn’t revert to her serpent form; she remained in the form of a woman in white.

Without saying goodbye, she merely cast a deep look at Xu Hei, took out a solitary boat, left the crowd, and sailed in another direction.

Xu Hei knew that was the direction of the Western Cang Realm.

"Xu Bai!" Xu Hei suddenly called out.

Xu Bai didn’t turn back; only the boat beneath her paused, waiting for his question.

"Are you still Xu Bai?" Xu Hei asked.

Xu Bai still didn’t turn back, only sighed softly, leaving a light, floating sentence.

"At the pinnacle of the Dao, you and I are both solitary travelers. Take care!"

The boat gradually drifted away, never looking back.

On the solitary boat, Xu Bai sat quietly at the bow, her eyes closed, expressionless, but tears streamed down her cheeks.

"Ten thousand years, what is a mere five years?"

Xu Bai seemed to be talking to herself, or perhaps to another person.

But suddenly, her expression changed, and she murmured again, "Five years, your mere moment, yet my entire life."

Five years was precisely the time she had known Xu Hei.

A trace of pain and struggle flashed in her eyes, but soon, she calmed down, like a block of eternal ice, like someone who had lived for ten thousand years, devoid of any emotion.

Xu Bai knew that the moment she wielded that power, there was no turning back.

To help Xu Hei, she had to use that power.

Only by becoming the Green Emperor could she catch up to Xu Hei's pace.

"Xu Bai, when you live for ten thousand years, witnessing those around you die one by one, senior brothers, junior sisters, masters, those you love, those who love you, all turning to dust, you will understand how fragile and vulnerable your current feelings are."

"What I endured back then was a thousand times worse than what you face now."

Xu Bai's voice rose slowly on the boat, as if speaking to herself.