Serpent Ancestor
Chapter 517: Isle Altar

Wu Yuan, the master, was asked by Xiong Yan, "Master Wu, what should we be aware of when entering the Void Realm?"

Although he had killed someone, Xiong Yan dared not venture in recklessly and sought advice from an expert.

Wu Yuan replied, "I can only say that the mortality rate inside is extremely high, over ninety percent."

"Moreover, you should travel in groups. Those who went in alone have not come out alive."

Everyone believed Wu Yuan's words.

There had been instances of meteorite falls, and even the most malevolent forces dared not question him.

Xu Hei suddenly remembered that the nine survivors all had companions, although their teammates had all perished.

Soon, the cultivators present began to form groups of three to five.

Three people gathered around Xu Hei, the first to arrive: a woman in a black robe, Xue Yang, and a white-robed cultivator with a partially covered face. They were relatively familiar with each other, having arrived first.

Han Te hesitated for a while but eventually joined them, standing alongside Xu Hei.

Thus, Xu Hei's team consisted of five members.

"Everyone, although we don't know each other and may have our guards up, once inside, let's work together. If we encounter danger, we must face it together!" Xue Yang said solemnly.

"Of course," the white-robed cultivator nodded.

"As long as you act, I won't stand by idly," the black-robed woman said.

Xu Hei nodded in agreement, "Same here."

"As long as the money is... uh, even without money, I'll help," Han Te said with a grin, but changed his tone upon noticing the unfriendly gazes.

"Hmph, this person is the least trustworthy!" the black-robed woman said coldly.

"Hey! When did I ever deceive you? Don't wrong an innocent man!" Han Te protested.

The black-robed woman couldn't be bothered to argue, clearly having been swindled out of a million Spirit Stones.

"How should I address you?" Xue Yang asked Xu Hei.

"Ma Teng," Xu Hei replied.

"Haha, so it's Daoist Ma. I'm Yang Lie," Xue Yang laughed.

The black-robed woman said, "Just call me Black Lotus."

"I'm Luo Bai," said the white-robed cultivator with a partially covered face.

Undoubtedly, all four of them were using fake names.

Only Han Te smiled brightly, "I'm Han Te. If you need anything, feel free to contact me. As long as the money is right, everything can be discussed."

With that, he took out his communication talisman and sent one to each person.

Thus, the five formed a small group.

The top experts didn't trust others, so they gathered their sect's elites to form teams.

Xiong Yan's Blood Refining Sect, Ling Wushuang's Tianhen Sword Sect, Gu Yunsong's Ancient Tomb Sect, Ji Shu's Divine Puppet Sect, and Sun Wuxiang's Yan Dao Sect.

With such a call, the number of people exceeded fifty.

"Sister Gu, should we join a group too?"

In the corner of the crowd, Ye Li whispered to Gu Yunxi beside her.

Upon hearing this, Gu Yunxi immediately thought of Xu Hei. After glancing around, she shook her head, "No need, the two of us are enough."

She tightly grasped the green lotus jade pendant at her waist, feeling it would be of great use.

Wu Yuan, Master Wu, received multiple invitations but had no intention of joining any side, standing among the rogue cultivators instead.

"Let's go!"

With Wu Yuan's command, everyone soared into the sky, entering the Void Realm in a grand procession.

There were fifty-eight people present, charging in mightily, with Xu Hei's team at the back of the crowd.

In the void world, everyone passed through a vortex and plunged into darkness. They all summoned their magical treasures, activated their protective True Essence, and used various means to protect themselves against potential dangers.

Xu Hei's heart was in his throat, even ready to use his only drop of dragon blood at any moment.

Fortunately, no danger arose during this process.

In an unknown environment, even those with evil intentions dared not act rashly.

Before long, the scene before them became clear.

Xu Hei's team landed on a floating island. The island wasn't large, surrounded by endless void, with nothing else in sight.

At the center of the island stood an altar, towering before them.

Xu Hei and the others were taken aback, looking around to find that only the five of them remained on the island—their team of five.

Everyone else was gone.

"Where did the others go?"

"Is it just the five of us here?"

They looked around, bewildered.

Xue Yang remained calm and said in a deep voice, "I guess the other teams encountered similar situations and were transported to different islands."

Xu Hei surveyed the surroundings. The island wasn't large, and with a flash, he reached the edge.

Ahead lay endless darkness, nothing in sight. He tried sending his External Incarnation into the void, but it vanished after flying a hundred feet, as if erased by something.

The other four did similar tests, probing the island's edge and finding they couldn't leave.

Beyond a hundred feet was the boundary.

No matter if it was a magical treasure, spiritual power, or an incarnation, anything beyond a hundred feet would disappear.

In other words, they couldn't leave, and the altar before them was the key to passing through.

"Let's check out the altar."

Black Lotus leaped onto the altar, and the others quickly followed, reaching the top.

The altar was covered in countless intricate line patterns, resembling meridians, spreading everywhere. In the center was a groove, its purpose unknown.

All the lines connected to the groove.

"What does it mean?" Black Lotus squinted.

It was everyone's first time here, with no experience, so they could only explore and speculate.

Han Te took out a hoe and stood by the altar, his eyes gleaming. He struck the altar hard, but with a "clang," not even a scratch was made.

"Damn, it's so hard, it must be a treasure!"

Han Te's eyes lit up, and he struck again, but it remained unmoved.

He then tried digging the island's soil, finding similar results.

After several attempts, nothing was unearthed, and his hoe ended up with a notch.

Xu Hei was speechless.

"This place is protected by a formation, you can't dig it up. These aren't treasures, just ordinary materials," Luo Bai reminded.

Han Te cursed and reluctantly stopped.

Xu Hei stared at the groove in the altar's center, then at the crisscrossing lines, and suddenly his pupils contracted, as if realizing something.

Could these lines be blood vessels, and the groove a heart?

Xu Hei had this inexplicable thought, sending a chill down his spine.

...

In the void world, many identical islands existed.

On one island appeared six members of the Blood Refining Sect.

Like Xu Hei, they first explored the perimeter, finding they couldn't leave, then headed to the altar's center.

Xiong Yan stared at the groove in the center and smiled slightly after a glance.

"Elder Shi, come over, I have something to show you," Xiong Yan said with a smile.

Elder Shi approached with curiosity.

Suddenly, Xiong Yan grabbed his head and pressed it into the groove.

"Smack!!"

Elder Shi's head was smashed, blood gushing into the groove, which began to pulse violently, flowing into the adjacent blood vessels and spreading throughout the altar.

Elder Shi tried to break free, but his body seemed glued to the groove, unable to leave even without Xiong Yan's force.

"Help me, help me..."

Elder Shi's screams grew weaker and weaker.

In an instant, the late Elemental Infant stage elder turned into a dried corpse, his blood drained.

The remaining four were silent, not daring to make a sound.

After absorbing Elder Shi's blood, the altar's blood vessel patterns lit up, and a portal opened in the center, leading to the next location.

"That's right, you must kill someone to proceed to the next level," Xiong Yan said coldly, leading the other four through the portal.

The portal closed, the blood vanished, as if nothing had happened.

The Blood Refining Sect was the first team to pass.

...

Outside the Void Realm, in the eastern wasteland.

Beneath the Divine King's Hall, where the Fire Phoenix Seal was located, a distortion occurred, revealing a fiery, beautiful figure in the twisted space.

It was Jiang Nine Phoenix.

After the Void Realm opened, she was awakened, exiting seclusion a year early. Her injuries were healed, and her cultivation, which had dropped a level, quickly recovered to its peak with the help of the Wutong Heart.

The first thing Jiang Nine Phoenix did upon arrival was to spread her Divine Sense, searching for Xu Hei.

"Gone?"

Jiang Nine Phoenix frowned slightly, her first thought being whether Xu Hei had been burned to ashes.

After all, being suppressed by the Fire Phoenix Seal for two years, even a late Elemental Infant stage cultivator could be reduced to ashes.

But after checking repeatedly, she found no trace of Xu Hei, not even his Storage Bag or a speck of dust.

Her Fire Phoenix Seal showed signs of being refined by someone.

"He actually... escaped?"

Jiang Nine Phoenix's breath caught, flames in her eyes almost becoming tangible.

However, she didn't erupt in rage as she had two years ago. Instead, she calmed down, muttering to herself, "No matter, I can suppress you once, I can do it twice. Your Divine Sense is marked by the Fire Phoenix Seal. Next time we meet, I'll kill you myself!"

She put away the Fire Phoenix Seal, turning it into a flame mark that merged into her brow.

Then, Jiang Nine Phoenix sped towards Chaos Star City at the fastest speed.

...

Inside the Void Realm, thirteen teams were undergoing an unknown trial.

An hour had passed, and three teams had already advanced to the next level. Their choice, without exception, was to sacrifice a member.

Xu Hei's five-person team remained stuck at the first level.

They tried various methods, placing Spirit Stones in the groove, using their strongest spells, or attempting to analyze the formation, all to no avail.

Xu Hei hesitated, unsure whether to voice his thoughts.

If he suggested trying blood, the others would likely decide he should try it himself. What if his blood triggered a chain reaction and backfired on him?

Xu Hei wouldn't take such a risk.

He didn't know if the others had realized this or, if they had, were like him, unwilling to speak up. It was possible.

So they stalled for an hour.

"Thud!"

Suddenly, Black Lotus collapsed.

Everyone turned to see her body turning black, eyes rolling back, black blood oozing from her mouth, her body twitching slightly.

"There's... poison," Black Lotus said weakly.

The group realized that a poisonous substance had appeared in the air from somewhere.

They quickly activated protective measures, isolating their eyes, mouths, noses, but their bodies continued to darken, isolation proving ineffective.

Xue Yang, dizzy and swaying, sat cross-legged, took an antidote pill, and a blood-red sun appeared on his brow, manifesting a phenomenon of heaven and earth, fully suppressing the poison.

With the Blood Sun revealed, his identity was exposed, but in such a place, it didn't matter. After all, once outside, all memories would be forgotten.

Xu Hei also sat cross-legged, secretly using the Demon God Cauldron to refine, but feigned being poisoned.

Han Te and Luo Bai both fell, legs weak, spitting black blood.

"Who did this?" Xue Yang demanded angrily.

He looked at Xu Hei, staring intently, clearly questioning him.

"You suspect me?" Xu Hei squinted, "Anyone here could have poisoned us, or it could be the altar itself. What do you mean by suspecting me?"

Xue Yang spat a mouthful of black blood, gritting his teeth, "Who else but you?"

"Because, among the five of us, only you aren't poisoned!"

With Xue Yang's words, everyone looked over, surprised.

Xu Hei's eyes narrowed as Xue Yang raised his hand, the blood-red sun in his palm rising and crashing toward Xu Hei, expanding in mid-air, splitting into three, forming a line.

Scenes of doomsday intent, various disasters manifested, including the destructive phenomenon of a meteorite falling.

At this moment, Xu Hei felt as if suppressed by heavenly might, his bones bending, body creaking, space confined, the pressure before a star's impact.

It seemed Xue Yang had also gained insight from witnessing the meteorite fall, achieving a breakthrough in doomsday intent.

However, Xue Yang had been hiding his strength. Now, he wasn't just a top ten expert in the eastern wasteland, but even on the outer battlefield, he could rank in the top ten.

He could compete with the Heart-Devouring Demon, Three Corpses Daoist, Unmatched Sword Emperor, and others.

After three days of separation, one must look at him with new eyes. Xu Hei had gained insight from the meteorite, crafting the Star-Moon Sword, while Xue Yang had his own opportunities.

Facing such a terrifying strike, Xu Hei dared not hold back. He leaped up, swinging his sword, the Star-Moon Sword unsheathed, a simple strike landing on the three blazing suns.

With three loud cracks, the three suns were severed by Xu Hei's sword.

Though he dismantled the attack, the fact that Xu Hei wasn't poisoned was now exposed.

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