Serpent Ancestor
Chapter 519: Cultivator's Grave

The Black Lotus's storage bag naturally fell into Xu Hei's hands, and no one dared to object.

However, the storage bag had a very strong restriction, and relying on divine sense alone was not enough to break it. Xu Hei thought for a moment and simply set up a Star Sword Formation, placing the storage bag at the center of the formation.

"Open!"

Xu Hei flicked his fingers, sending a sword light shooting out, forcibly cutting a gap in the storage bag.

"Swish!"

Suddenly, a barrage of flying needles, mixed with black and purple mist, erupted from the gap in the storage bag. Xu Hei activated the sword formation, sweeping them away chaotically. It took a whole stick of incense before he managed to extinguish the restriction.

Xu Hei breathed a sigh of relief, walked up, and picked up the storage bag.

At this moment, the contents inside were fully visible. Spirit Stones were piled into several mountains, each with five million Spirit Stones, totaling four mountains.

That's twenty million Spirit Stones.

Since when did those at the Elemental Infant stage become so wealthy?

In Liefeng City, Xu Hei had been struggling for ten million Spirit Stones, yet this woman had twenty million, enough to feed Xu Hei's bugs for years.

This Black Lotus must have quite the background!

Additionally, there was a Void Stone in the storage bag, which was likely Black Lotus's true storage artifact.

The Void Stone had no restrictions, and Xu Hei easily probed inside.

As soon as his divine sense entered, Xu Hei discovered a small hill, planted with many spirit medicines and green plants, with bottles and jars scattered on the ground.

This was clearly a medicine garden!

"A medicine garden inside a Void Stone? This isn't an ordinary Void Stone; it's a magical treasure similar to a Spirit Beast Ring!" Xu Hei thought to himself.

Bug cultivators can refine Spirit Beast Rings, and similarly, pill masters can refine rings for planting spirit medicines.

However, it requires a continuous supply of spiritual qi to keep the spirit medicines alive, and the effect is far inferior to an external medicine garden, but it's much better than just leaving them in a storage bag.

Xu Hei continued to scour and found several pill furnaces placed in the corner.

Sure enough, a poison master must also be a pill master!

Next to the pill furnaces, Xu Hei found a change of clothes, entirely white, with a very familiar style, as if he'd seen it somewhere before.

Soon, Xu Hei remembered; these were the clothes of the two female cultivators he had passed by.

Those two women had Xu Bai's Green Lotus Token at their waists, which left a deep impression on Xu Hei.

"Medicine King Valley..."

Xu Hei picked up the clothes, and inside was a token with the words "Medicine King Valley" written on it, suggesting it was a sect.

"Black Lotus should belong to Medicine King Valley along with those two women. What is Xu Bai's connection to Medicine King Valley?" Xu Hei pondered.

The name Black Lotus was certainly an alias, and the black robe was also a disguise.

Xu Hei casually picked up some of the bottles and jars, all containing refined pills.

His knowledge of pills all came from Huangfu Duanlong's memories.

"Chilling Pill, Blood Spirit Pill, Spirit Nourishing Pill, Tranquil Dew, Yang Locking Powder..."

Xu Hei glanced at the finished pills. Whether poison pills or normal pills, they were at least mid-grade fourth-tier.

"No wonder she's so wealthy; she's a pill master." Xu Hei thought to himself.

Among the six arts of cultivation, puppet masters burn the most money, while pill masters and talisman crafters make the most money.

Bug masters are a type of beast master, and their spending rate is similar to puppet masters.

Thus, the Spirit Stones on her make sense.

Of course, compared to the over twenty million Spirit Stones, the most valuable is still this medicine garden and the pills in these bottles and jars. Some of them are priceless.

Xu Hei was just worried about not having any pills to consume, and now it was like a pillow was delivered when he was sleepy.

Xu Hei transferred all the pills he recognized into his own storage ring, then took out ten million Spirit Stones and threw them into the Spirit Beast Ring to replenish the bugs' consumption.

However, Xu Hei didn't dare to touch the poison pills on Black Lotus, as he needed time to study them to avoid accidentally poisoning himself, which would be a real injustice.

"Bai Zhi, can you get more of those Golden Armor Queen Bugs?" Xu Hei asked.

"Sure, but you'll need to bring half-Supreme Spirit Stones," Bai Zhi replied with a humph.

"I have lower-grade Spirit Stones, plenty of them. Is that okay?" Xu Hei pressed.

"Lower-grade Spirit Stones can only produce Spirit-Eating Ants and Ghost-Faced Stone Spiders. Don't even think about anything else," Bai Zhi rolled her eyes.

Xu Hei was momentarily speechless.

Lower-grade Spirit Stones can only create low-level bugs; that's just how it is.

At this moment, he suddenly thought of something—the Spirit Gathering Pearl.

This item can collect spiritual qi crystals, and over time, form Supreme Spirit Stones. Perhaps it could be used to purify spiritual qi and raise the grade of Spirit Stones.

"Forget it, this is too troublesome. I'll deal with it after leaving this cursed place," Xu Hei shook his head silently.

After a round of rest, everyone adjusted to their optimal state, even Han Te staggered to his feet, regaining his spirit.

"Everyone," Xu Hei looked at the group, took a deep breath, and said slowly, "This Void Realm is quite strange. To increase our survival rate, no matter what we encounter in the next stage, all actions will be directed by me. Is that okay?"

Everyone nodded.

Unknowingly, Xu Hei had become the backbone of this team.

He was the strongest, with the most methods, and was undoubtedly qualified to be the leader. In such an environment, having a leader would undoubtedly increase the survival rate.

Even Xue Yang had no objections.

Xu Hei walked onto the altar, gazing at the central portal. He concentrated, leaped, and jumped in.

The others followed suit, rushing in together.

After entering the portal, they felt their bodies falling endlessly, uncontrollably, and their divine senses lost their function.

Before long, they landed on a vast plain.

The plain was empty and desolate, with nothing but sand, and in the very center of the plain, something caught their attention.

An hourglass!

Besides the hourglass, there were three prayer mats placed on the ground, each in a different position, far apart.

As soon as they noticed the hourglass, it began to count down.

Grains of sand fell rapidly, and by estimation, the hourglass would run out in just a stick of incense.

"Hourglass, prayer mats?"

Xu Hei's eyes flickered, and he quickly buried a hundred flying swords underground.

Through observation, he noticed that the three prayer mats were far apart, with obvious formation fluctuations.

Moreover, there were three of them.

Three, a very sensitive number!

Because their team had four people, just one more than three.

Xu Hei's thoughts raced, and Xue Yang, Luo Bai, and Han Te were also thinking quickly.

Xue Yang was the first to react. His figure flashed, transforming into a fireball, and rushed towards one of the prayer mats at the fastest speed, without hesitation.

"Stop!"

Xu Hei shouted, and the swarm from the Spirit Beast Ring quickly rushed forward, intercepting Xue Yang's path.

Xue Yang had to stop, glaring at Xu Hei, while also looking at the other two.

The other two didn't move, but their feet were subtly poised, ready to act at any moment.

"What are you trying to do? Didn't I say all actions are directed by me? Did you forget?" Xu Hei said darkly.

Xue Yang snorted coldly, just quietly watching Xu Hei, arms crossed.

"You directing? There are three prayer mats here, but we have four people. Who do you think should stay outside?" Xue Yang sneered.

Xu Hei was momentarily speechless.

In the first stage, one person had to be sacrificed to pass.

It made one wonder what the person behind all this was planning!

According to the mastermind's idea, in this second stage, an hourglass was counting down, and there were three prayer mats, but they were four people.

The answer was obvious.

—When the hourglass finished, the person outside the prayer mats would be eliminated!

A death hourglass, a death countdown!

The three prayer mats were the safe zones!

Following the first stage's method, the second stage clearly also required them to lose one person.

Xu Hei's expression was extremely grim. The Void Realm was truly a place that devoured people. Who was the one arranging all this? Why were they doing it?

He couldn't help but recall the words of the sage: on the outer battlefield, one cannot have a merciful heart.

Three prayer mats, four people...

Suddenly, the hourglass's speed increased, not falling at the steady pace he imagined, and it wouldn't take a stick of incense.

In just a few breaths, it would be empty.

"Swish! Swish!"

At this moment, Han Te and Luo Bai almost simultaneously burst into speed, rushing towards the remaining two prayer mats.

At such a critical moment, they couldn't care less about exposing their trump cards. Luo Bai stepped on a long shuttle, shrinking the ground to inches, almost arriving in an instant, while Han Te rode a sword, also reaching the second prayer mat.

Xue Yang sneered, his body "boom" shattered, and the one communicating with Xu Hei was just an illusion, the effect of a top-tier fourth-grade talisman.

But his real body had already reached his target, the first prayer mat.

"Body Swap!"

Xu Hei whispered, and in front of Xue Yang, a bug suddenly disappeared, swapping places with Xu Hei.

"So you were secretly approaching too, directing? Ha, what a joke!"

Xue Yang sneered, swallowing a fruit in his throat, a Dao Fruit.

"Boom!!"

The heavens roared, space trembled, countless Dao patterns appeared in the void, and at this moment, Xue Yang seemed like a god descending, the sun pattern on his forehead changing dramatically, sensing the Dao, sensing the laws.

At this moment, his realm surpassed the Elemental Infant stage, reaching the legendary half-step Divine Transformation, with one foot already stepping in.

The Elemental Infant comprehends the intent, while the Divine Transformation comprehends the laws.

Xue Yang had already grasped a trace of the power of laws.

Everyone present felt a mighty power of heavenly might, irresistible, as if facing a god, facing a true Divine Transformation stage!

"Xu Hei, if you want to kill me, just do it. Why find some grand excuse? Among the four of us, one must die, and you directing, isn't it just to let me die?"

Xue Yang's eyes were blood-red, the sun on his forehead swelling violently, strands of flame Dao patterns appearing, those were the patterns of laws.

"Even if I'm not as skilled as others, I'm not someone to be slaughtered. If I want to kill you, it's as easy as turning my hand!"

Xue Yang raised his palm, the patterns of laws becoming clearer, his body melting as if unable to bear such heavenly power.

Xu Hei, seeing this stance, had no intention of fighting Xue Yang. Such a strike, even if he used the Star-Moon Sword, would likely result in serious injury.

He grabbed the prayer mat on the ground, swapped again, and returned to his original position.

"You think you can escape?"

Xue Yang moved in an instant, crossing a thousand feet, pressing down with a palm, not only his body but also the power of heaven and earth descending.

"Boom!!"

The light of laws intertwined, space twisted, rippling layers of waves. Xu Hei felt the pressure of a god, biting his lip, his whole body tense, his mind moved.

"Great Star Sword Formation!"

Countless sword lights shot up from the ground, forming a sword formation in the blink of an eye. This was the hundred flying swords Xu Hei had buried upon arrival.

These hundred flying swords were forged from star fragments, with strong star power, and the formation could draw on the stars of the heavens, greatly enhancing its power.

Though still unable to contend with laws, there was a chance to hold out until the hourglass ran out.

"Boom!!"

Xue Yang's palm pressed down, and the Star Sword Formation, just formed, was annihilated in a large swath, simply not on the same level of power.

With just one strike, Xu Hei's Star Sword Formation was destroyed.

"Poof!" Xu Hei spat blood, retreating several steps, his face pale as paper.

Xu Hei was about to draw the Star-Moon Sword to counterattack when an unexpected scene unfolded.

Xue Yang suddenly groaned, falling straight from the sky, crashing to the ground, his aura rapidly weakening, the god-like pressure vanishing in an instant.

And the law patterns on his forehead were writhing violently, sometimes splitting, sometimes merging, chaotic and unstable. Xue Yang kept spitting blood, his face growing paler.

"Damn it! The laws of the outer battlefield are incomplete, no wonder the Divine Transformation stage is forbidden to enter!"

"So that's it, I see!"

"I hate it, I hate it!"

Xue Yang roared, spitting another mouthful of blood.

His cultivation aura fell from the Elemental Infant stage Great Perfection to the late stage, then quickly to the mid-stage.

Before Xu Hei could counterattack, the opponent was already severely injured, unable to fight.

"The laws of the outer battlefield are incomplete?" Xu Hei pondered the meaning of this sentence.

The fruit Xue Yang consumed was a strange fruit that could touch the laws, and through inherited memories, Xu Hei thought of a heavenly material and earthly treasure known as the "Dao Fruit."

This treasure allows one to gain the power of laws for a short time, possessing the combat power of half-step Divine Transformation.

However, if the laws of this place are incomplete, the Dao Fruit's side effects come into play.

In an instant, Xue Yang weakened, his cultivation fell, his true essence scattered, and the chaotic laws gathered at his forehead, gradually, he shed two lines of blood tears.

Xue Yang slumped to the ground, despair in his eyes, looking at Xu Hei.

Xu Hei and the other two were all sitting cross-legged on the prayer mats.

The hourglass completed its final step.

"Hahaha, I, Blood Sun True Master, have reached this point, it's fate, it's destiny. Tianchen Star, I can't return."

Xue Yang laughed wildly, his black hair flying in the wind, his laughter mad and crazed.

His strength in this team, even if not as good as Xu Hei, was stronger than the other two. Even if one had to be eliminated, it wouldn't be him.

Unfortunately, Xu Hei wanted him dead, and he had to die.

Cultivators go against the heavens, one wrong step, and every step is wrong.

The backlash of the Dao Fruit was just a trivial reason.

The Void Realm eliminates over ninety percent of cultivators, and Xue Yang had anticipated this moment. Though unwilling, this is the fate of a cultivator.

The hourglass ran out.

"Whoosh!"

An invisible breeze released from the hourglass, sweeping in all directions, passing over everything.

The multiple puppets Xu Hei left behind were blown away, vanishing like smoke.

Xue Yang was swept by the breeze, his laughter abruptly stopped, his body turning to ash, vanishing like smoke, not even a trace of ashes remained.

In front of Xu Hei, Xue Yang disappeared just like that.

Only the prayer mats where the three were seated emitted a faint light, blocking the wind that killed everything.