Serpent Ancestor
Chapter 524: Legacy of the Ancient

When Hei Huang first mentioned that Han Te had a secret, Xu Hei didn't think much of it. But now, seeing how far Han Te had come, it was clear it wasn't just a coincidence.

Ling Wushuang became wary the moment Sun Wuxiang appeared.

The Tianhen Sword Sect and the Yan Dao Sect had always been arch-enemies, constantly targeting each other.

Sun Wuxiang immediately mocked, "Doesn't the Tianhen Sword Sect pride itself on being righteous? Why are you colluding with the evil faction to kill and rob?"

"In a place like the Void Realm, what righteousness is there? I believe you're the same, aren't you?" Ling Wushuang retorted.

After breaking out of the trap, Xu Hei targeted Gu Yunsong and slashed his coffin lid with a sword.

Seeing that the corpse Qi was ineffective, Gu Yunsong slapped the coffin, releasing a horde of zombies that lunged at Xu Hei. These zombies were all at the late Elemental Infant stage, and judging by their appearance, they had all died at Gu Yunsong's hands.

Xu Hei flicked his hand, and the Star-Moon Sword shot out, bypassing all the zombies to pierce the coffin lid, creating a large hole. With a fierce pull, the coffin lid was sliced off with a single stroke.

"You little brat, how dare you destroy my coffin lid! You're courting death!" Gu Yunsong was furious.

Having succeeded with his strike, Xu Hei retreated swiftly, and the Star-Moon Sword quickly returned to his feet.

Xu Hei stood in mid-air on his flying sword, watching the pursuing zombies. He summoned fire with his left hand and lightning with his right, hurling them at the zombie horde. Flames and thunder descended, striking the zombies down from the sky.

Meanwhile, Han Te and Xiong Yan were still in a chase, with the former fleeing and the latter pursuing, yet unable to catch up.

Xiong Yan's smile grew wider, his eyes filled with excitement and cruelty.

"Well, well, well! So you're this fast. I'm getting more and more interested in you." Xiong Yan licked his lips, his eyes burning.

Han Te anxiously said, "Fellow Daoist, I haven't provoked you! Let's talk this out!"

"But I want to provoke you, what should I do?" Xiong Yan smiled brightly.

Hearing this, Han Te was exasperated, cursing inwardly. He hated dealing with people who didn't play by the rules.

"Buzz!"

At this moment, another person was teleported in.

This person was clad in silver armor, devoid of any vitality—it was Ji Shu from the Divine Puppet Sect.

Ji Shu glanced at the fleeing Han Te and suddenly raised his palm, shooting a beam of Spiritual Qi from his palm towards Xiong Yan.

Xiong Yan immediately halted, watching the beam pass in front of him and explode ahead with a loud bang.

"Boom!!"

The shockwave soared, and the light was blinding. Xiong Yan was blasted backward, landing on the ground. He wiped the scorched mark off his forehead, squinting at Ji Shu, and asked, "What do you mean by this?"

"This person is my honored guest; you shall not kill him!" Ji Shu replied calmly.

Saying this, he tossed a storage bag to Han Te.

Han Te caught the storage bag and found it contained ten million Spirit Stones. He exclaimed in surprise, "Daoist Ji is truly generous. From now on, I'll follow your orders."

Ji Shu remained expressionless, staring at Xiong Yan.

Xiong Yan stared for a moment, then suddenly frowned, "No, I remember the Divine Puppet Sect only sent three people in. In the first three trials, one person must die in each. How are you still alive?"

This statement aroused everyone's vigilance.

The Divine Puppet Sect was a super sect on the Divine Continent Star, well-known even on the outer battlefield. People had secretly noted who they sent in.

According to the rules of the first three trials, all three should have perished by now.

"Hmph, how do you know my team only had three people? Why can't it be four or five?" Ji Shu said indifferently.

He had no intention of explaining further.

Although Xiong Yan was suspicious, he had no evidence; it was all speculation.

Ling Wushuang and Sun Wuxiang faced off for a moment but ultimately didn't make a move.

Xu Hei exchanged a few moves with the Three Corpses Daoist, but the latter couldn't do anything to Xu Hei and eventually gave up.

Xu Hei wanted to eliminate Gu Yunsong, but with so many people around, all watching intently, he decided against it.

Xu Hei's performance, however, was noted by everyone, who speculated about where this expert had come from, able to hold his own against Gu Yunsong.

Gu Yunsong's Ancient Tomb Sect, Ji Shu's Divine Puppet Sect, Xiong Yan's Blood Refining Sect, Ling Wushuang's Tianhen Sword Sect, and Sun Wuxiang's Yan Dao Sect—all were super sects with Divine Transformation Stage cultivators.

On their respective cultivation stars, they were the strongest sects, and as elite disciples nurtured with the sect's resources, their strength and methods were formidable.

Defeating any one of them was extremely difficult.

"Heh, you all ruined my plans, I'll remember this." Xiong Yan sneered sinisterly and flew off into the distance.

Everyone dispersed, beginning their search in this area.

This was a vast graveyard, filled with tombstones as far as the eye could see, countless strong cultivators buried here.

Xu Hei gazed at the boundless black plain, suddenly reminded of the Dragon Tomb, another burial ground.

However, there were still significant differences from the Dragon Tomb.

"Fellow Daoist, impressive skills. May I know your esteemed name?" Sun Wuxiang approached, wearing a Taoist robe. Though young, he sported a mustache, giving him a rather amiable appearance.

"Xu Hei."

"So it's Fellow Daoist Xu!" Sun Wuxiang's eyes flashed as he whispered, "Fellow Daoist Xu, it seems you had a conflict with the Tianhen Sword Sect?"

Xu Hei squinted his eyes. How did he know?

Xu Hei had inquired before; the Yan Dao Sect and the Tianhen Sword Sect were on the same planet, always at odds. Sun Wuxiang might have found some clues and wanted to confirm with Xu Hei.

After a moment's thought, Xu Hei said, "There was a bit of a conflict. I stole their Supreme Spirit Stones."

"Supreme Spirit Stones?" Sun Wuxiang's pupils shrank, and he asked in a deep voice, "Could you elaborate?"

Xu Hei glanced at him and chuckled, "Elaborate? Once we leave the Void Realm, any memory of this place will be erased. What good would it do to tell you?"

Sun Wuxiang was momentarily speechless.

Though that was the case, he was very curious about the source of the Tianhen Sword Sect's Supreme Spirit Stones. Logically, a mortal cultivation star couldn't sustain two super sects.

Yet the Tianhen Sword Sect, despite lacking resources, could produce a Divine Transformation Stage cultivator every five thousand years and maintain their cultivation without decline. This was what puzzled him.

"Fellow Daoist Xu, could you satisfy my curiosity? I promise you won't be disappointed." Sun Wuxiang pressed on, handing Xu Hei a storage bag.

At this moment, Ling Wushuang also realized something, his gaze turning cold as he looked over.

Xu Hei merely glanced at the storage bag and returned it, deliberately laughing loudly, "Haha, Fellow Daoist Sun, you're joking. I have no conflict with the Tianhen Sword Sect; I was just kidding earlier. Don't take it seriously."

He had seen the contents of the storage bag.

A mere ten million Spirit Stones, without even a magical treasure, was like giving alms to a beggar.

Moreover, revealing the secret of the Supreme Spirit Stones to Sun Wuxiang would mean making a mortal enemy of the Tianhen Sword Sect.

Xu Hei had no intention of making enemies for no reason in such a place.

Besides, Xu Hei was wary of Sun Wuxiang, whose character was unknown. If he revealed the truth and Sun Wuxiang turned on him, who could he turn to for justice?

No matter what Sun Wuxiang's intentions were, Xu Hei preferred not to get involved.

Xu Hei was about to leave.

At this moment, Ling Wushuang flew over, clasping his fists, "Fellow Daoist Xu, it was all a misunderstanding earlier. This is a small token of apology. Our Tianhen Sword Sect values making friends, especially with talents like you. Consider this guest token a gift; you'll be a friend of our sect."

He handed over a storage bag and a guest token.

Xu Hei took a look; the storage bag contained no Spirit Stones but a sword-shaped talisman, filled with sharp Sword Qi, undoubtedly a lethal weapon.

Judging by the aura, this Sword Qi likely came from a Divine Transformation Stage sword cultivator!

In a place like this, it was far more valuable than ten million Spirit Stones. Ling Wushuang was being very generous.

Additionally, the guest token implied a lot. Accepting it would make him a guest of the Tianhen Sword Sect, putting him at odds with Sun Wuxiang.

Xu Hei's expression turned strange, and he hesitated.

Sun Wuxiang's face darkened, feeling targeted as Ling Wushuang tried to win Xu Hei over right in front of him.

Sun Wuxiang thought for a moment, steeling himself, and handed Xu Hei another storage bag.

"Fellow Daoist Xu, this scoundrel and two evil cultivators tried to kill you earlier. Such a two-faced person cannot be trusted. Consider this a gesture of friendship." Sun Wuxiang said solemnly.

Xu Hei accepted the storage bag, which contained eight formation flags, intricately linked with complex formation patterns, likely a formation set.

A quick glance showed it had the effect of trapping enemies, comparable to the trap formation used against him earlier.

This was far more valuable than mere Spirit Stones.

Simultaneously, Sun Wuxiang also handed him a guest elder token.

"This is our sect's guest elder token. Even if you lose your memory upon leaving, holding this token will ensure you're treated with respect by our sect," Sun Wuxiang said.

Xu Hei hadn't expected that Sun Wuxiang's simple inquiry would trigger such a chain reaction.

Of course, it was more likely that his earlier performance had impressed everyone. For a powerful and resourceful rogue cultivator like him, it was normal for various factions to try to recruit him.

"Thank you both, but I have some matters to attend to. I'll take my leave!"

Xu Hei cupped his hands, pocketed both storage bags, and quickly departed.

"Hey!"

Both called out, but Xu Hei was already disappearing from sight.

They suddenly felt they had been tricked, though they couldn't pinpoint how.

Regardless, to prevent Xu Hei from being recruited by their rival, they had to accept being tricked.

Han Te glanced at his "patron" and smiled, "What are your plans, Brother Ji?"

He was genuinely curious why Ji Shu, who had no relation to him, suddenly gave him money, especially since Qin Xuanji was nowhere to be seen.

"Speak less. When I need you to act, I'll let you know," Ji Shu replied calmly.

…………

Xu Hei flew onward, surrounded by countless tombstones, densely packed and endless.

"So many tombstones?"

"The ancient war claimed so many cultivators, which makes sense. But the question is, who buried them?"

Xu Hei pondered.

The tombstones varied in size, each containing different auras, likely related to their respective tomb owners.

He randomly approached a tombstone, its inscriptions long gone, but a powerful aura still lingered.

Xu Hei thought for a moment, then took out the Star-Moon Sword and began digging into the grave.

Moments later, he had excavated a hundred-zhang deep pit, empty, with no remains or leftover magical treasures.

Xu Hei took a deep breath, his Divine Sense transforming into a sharp blade, probing into the tombstone to seek the lingering intent.

"Boom!"

Suddenly, Xu Hei trembled, feeling a strong impact of intent. Blood trickled from his mouth as he grunted, activating the Diamond Suppression Technique and Heavenly Demon Technique to withstand the force.

Moments later, Xu Hei saw a vision.

It was a scene of a meteorite falling from the sky, drawing closer, unlike anything he had seen in Chaos Star City. The vision was blurry, intermittent, with the screams and cries of cultivators from ancient times.

In a daze, Xu Hei heard a voice.

"I am Gao Sheng, an elder of the Biluochuan Sect. Unable to face this calamity, I leave these words as a testament to future generations..."

Xu Hei listened to the words within the tombstone.

It was the testament of an ancient cultivator who couldn't survive the meteorite calamity, leaving his words etched in stone.

However, the words were fragmented, with signs of artificial repair, but Xu Hei could barely make them out.

Biluochuan Sect, a sect primarily of water cultivators, Gao Sheng's message was mainly a testament, leaving no inheritance or cultivation techniques, much to Xu Hei's disappointment.

After a long time, Xu Hei finally awoke.

Then, he hurried to the next tombstone, probing it with his Divine Sense, connecting with the tombstone.

Moments later, he saw another vision and heard fragmented words, drifting like ghosts from ancient times.

This was a cultivator's struggle before being struck by a meteorite, using various laws of power, yet still powerless, ultimately burning his life force to send his two disciples far away, but in vain.

After seeing this, Xu Hei moved to the next tombstone, probing its contents.

"Dead, all dead, dead well, hahaha!"

This was a cultivator's mad ravings before death, appearing deranged, losing rationality, yet his power surged a hundredfold in an instant.

Though he died, Xu Hei clearly felt the intent within.

It was an intent born from a state of madness, a desperate, all-out strike, for he had nothing left to lose.

"I see, I understand now."

Xu Hei realized.

This place was the burial ground for cultivators killed by meteorites on the outer battlefield.

Every deceased cultivator left behind a testament hidden within the tombstones.

Of course, not everyone struck dead left a testament; it could also be a final counterattack or insights from their lifetime.