Serpent Ancestor

Chapter 826: A small gift carries great meaning

Flame Demon Ancestor's pupils suddenly contracted, his face changed dramatically, and he was about to crush the Immortal Annihilation Pearl.At the same moment, Xu Hei also sensed immense danger.

If the Immortal Annihilation Pearl shattered, everything here would turn to dust and be completely obliterated, even from thirty thousand miles away, let alone a hundred thousand miles. It's no exaggeration!

But suddenly, Flame Demon Ancestor's movements froze.

His eyes fell into confusion, vacant and unfocused, with the hexagonal True Eye of Law still locked onto Xu Hei, but he had lost all consciousness.

Even his life force instantly dropped to zero.

It wasn't a slow decline but an instant death!

Xu Hei's pupils narrowed slightly, and he quickly moved forward, taking out the Demon God Cauldron, ready to hide inside at any moment.

In an instant, Xu Hei reached Flame Demon Ancestor's side. He carefully used the Demon God Cauldron to extract the Immortal Annihilation Pearl from his mouth and sealed it inside.

After a brief inspection, Xu Hei discovered Elder Mo's Divine Sense imprint on the Immortal Annihilation Pearl.

This made Xu Hei's expression darken.

It seemed this item couldn't be taken out lightly. Otherwise, if Elder Mo discovered it and remotely activated it, causing it to explode, it would indeed be a creative way to die.

Xu Hei pressed his hand on Flame Demon Ancestor's body, scanning it inside and out with his Divine Sense. After confirming there was no second Immortal Annihilation Pearl, he finally breathed a sigh of relief.

"Strange, how did this person suddenly die?"

Xu Hei pondered this question.

Flame Demon Ancestor's death was too sudden, which was extremely unreasonable for any cultivator close to the Void Shattering Stage.

Not to mention self-destructing the primordial spirit, there wasn't even a reaction; he died inexplicably. Even if killed by a Void Shattering Stage cultivator, there should have been some reaction time.

Xu Hei contemplated for a moment, his gaze sharpening, and he scanned again with his Divine Sense.

Inside Flame Demon Ancestor's head was empty; not only was there no flesh, but even the sea of consciousness was devoured, and the primordial spirit was gone.

In the place where his sea of consciousness disappeared, Xu Hei sensed a familiar aura.

"Ji Ying?"

Xu Hei exclaimed.

That familiar aura was indeed Ji Ying!

But after a long time, there was no response from Ji Ying.

Back then, after Ji Ying turned into a cocoon, Xu Hei left it in the stone spirit clan's cave dwelling to grow naturally.

But after not seeing it for years, Ji Ying had reached such a level of power, not only instantly killing the half-crippled Flame Demon Ancestor, but Xu Hei couldn't even sense it.

Xu Hei thought for a moment and tried to forcibly control it by activating a trace of imprint within Ji Ying.

"Buzz..."

Xu Hei heard a faint sound of wings vibrating.

A tiny black dot emerged from Flame Demon Ancestor's forehead.

It was an insect with two wings, entirely black, with a single horn on its head, resembling a cicada, facing Xu Hei.

However, this spirit insect was so small, like a fly, utterly insignificant compared to Xu Hei's hundred-zhang-tall body, like an ant.

The imprint within Ji Ying was still there, but it was so weak that even Xu Hei couldn't perfectly control this creature!

"Are you Ji Ying?" Xu Hei asked.

Ji Ying did not respond.

From Ji Ying's eyes, Xu Hei couldn't see any of the original emotions, only a desire, a longing for freedom.

Suddenly, taking advantage of Xu Hei's momentary lapse, the shadow of the black spirit insect flickered and disappeared to the horizon as if teleporting.

The distance was too great, and Xu Hei could no longer sense that trace of imprint.

Xu Hei gazed in the direction where the spirit insect disappeared, pondering a question.

Was that still Ji Ying?

That spirit insect, although it had a trace of the imprint left from back then, gave Xu Hei the feeling of an unfamiliar spirit insect he had never seen before.

Xu Hei had heard that when a spirit insect's rank far exceeded its master's, it would have the notion of breaking free, a natural law of the world's spirits. However, this insect indeed seemed unfamiliar, as if it had changed species.

Suddenly, Xu Hei couldn't help but think of the extraterrestrial demons. After all, he had witnessed several instances of body snatching by them. Could even insects be snatched? That shouldn't be possible!

Xu Hei shook his head, unable to make sense of Ji Ying's transformation.

Dark Star, his doubts were increasing, but with so many questions linked together, Xu Hei had a guess, waiting for him to verify.

He collected Flame Demon Ancestor's body and storage rings.

Then, Xu Hei returned to the original place and released the seals on everyone.

He intended to gather the fragments of Thorn King's body as well, but he didn't find a single piece, leaving him somewhat regretful.

At this moment, Xu Hei's gaze shifted abruptly, looking in a certain direction.

...

Behind a towering mountain.

Leaf King was hiding in a cave, surrounded by high-ranking elders of the Thorn lineage, all gathered together, heads lowered, faces growing increasingly grim.

They knew they couldn't escape, hiding here was merely to buy time, to discuss strategies, to see how they could survive.

"This Xu Hei is too terrifying, perhaps we should surrender, maybe he'll be lenient."

"No way! We've come this far, there's no turning back!"

"In my opinion, Xu Hei's cultivation was originally mediocre; he must have used some secret technique to forcibly elevate his strength, and he's already weakened!"

"Exactly! He once used a Divine Ability to infuse himself with a law, entering a long period of weakness. He must be even weaker now; this is our only chance!"

The group discussed, unanimously turning their gaze to the only half-step Void Shattering Stage cultivator present, the strongest among the three Grand Elders.

—Leaf King!

Under so many gazes, even with Leaf King's years of experience, he couldn't help but shiver.

"Me... fight Xu Hei?"

The thought of it made Leaf King's face turn mostly black.

What a joke! This thought, if it had crossed his mind a day ago, he might have had the courage to try, but now, was he supposed to try with his head?

Even Void Shattering cultivators were shattered, and as a half-step Void Shattering, trying would mean death.

"Leaf King, you are our only hope!"

"Even if you can't kill Xu Hei, do you expect him to spare us?"

"As for escaping, can we really escape?"

"We have no choice!"

The group chattered on.

After a long discussion, they reached only one conclusion: to fight, for a slim chance of survival.

They were hiding here to buy time, hoping Xu Hei would quickly enter a weakened state, giving them an opportunity.

"It seems... there's no other way!"

Leaf King forced a bitter smile, his face ashen.

He knew the group was right; there was no room for compromise. At this point, they could only fight.

"What do you mean, no other way? Tell me."

Suddenly, an eerie voice echoed within the cave dwelling.