Serpent Ancestor

"An old customer?"

Xu Hei took the token, surprised, and asked, "Have we traded before?"

Han Te was momentarily stunned, then chuckled awkwardly, "I was just guessing. You came in asking about Xuan Yangzi, so I thought maybe we knew each other. No offense."

Xu Hei immediately realized that this person was probing his identity.

Han Te, while appearing friendly, was actually quite cunning.

At that moment, a commotion arose in the distance.

A large group of dark figures rushed over from afar, numbering in the hundreds, moving swiftly with an imposing aura.

"The people from the Four Great Sects have arrived."

"And the Bai Family, the Zhou Family too."

Following the murmurs, familiar figures flew in from the horizon, sweeping across the sky.

Most of them, Xu Hei had seen before, were those who had fought against the Demon Clan.

There were also some who didn't seem local, dressed oddly, likely from the Eastern or Western regions, and fewer in number.

Xu Hei immediately followed.

Han Te warned, "Fellow Daoist, following them won't get you any benefits. Even if you find treasures, they'll just be taken away. We lone cultivators have no support and can only eat dust."

"What makes you think I'm a lone cultivator? Can't I be one of them?" Xu Hei sneered.

Han Te was momentarily speechless.

Xu Hei said no more and quickly caught up, arriving at the entrance of the ruins with the crowd.

Some lone cultivators also arrived, watching from a distance.

This place was originally a canyon, but one side had been flattened, turning it into an isolated mountain.

The entrance to the ruins was filled with a terrifying aura, ghostly and chilling, with black mist rising, making one's skin crawl.

It was Xu Hei's first time here, and surprisingly, he didn't feel much fear.

Yet some bystanders were already pale, sweating on their foreheads.

"So many have come this time, they must be planning to delve deep inside."

"If we can get past the corpse puppet formation, we could make a fortune."

The bystanders whispered, eyes flickering.

"Let's go!"

At this moment, Yin Mingzi took the lead, heading into the tunnel with over fifty people.

"With so many going in at once, aren't they afraid of attracting vengeful spirits?" someone wondered.

Xu Hei noticed a frail old man among them, his body withered, life hanging by a thread, like a dead man, yet his cultivation was unfathomable, beyond Xu Hei's perception.

The sense of danger from him was even stronger than from Yin Mingzi.

At least at the mid-stage of Qi Condensation.

Just then, a stream of Yin Sha Qi rushed out from the tunnel, heading straight for the frail old man.

"Perfect timing!"

The frail old man's eyes suddenly snapped open, and he inhaled, sucking the Yin Sha Qi directly into his mouth. He tapped his forehead, and black smoke billowed from his seven orifices.

"Swallowing vengeful spirits?!"

The crowd exclaimed in shock.

Daring to swallow such a sinister thing as a vengeful spirit, isn't that courting death?

But then someone realized that the old man was clearly a dying person.

"I understand now, this person is a ghost cultivator, able to use his body as a vessel to absorb vengeful spirits," an old cultivator exclaimed.

Ghost cultivators, rare and of the demonic path, live by devouring these sinister entities.

However, ghost cultivators often suffer mental issues, easily going mad, and over time, they too become vengeful spirits.

"Thirteenth Ancestor, how do you feel?" Yin Mingzi asked.

"Excellent! These vengeful spirits are a great supplement for me, allowing me to make a few more moves," the Thirteenth Ancestor replied calmly, showing no discomfort.

At this moment, deathly aura emanated from his seven orifices, making him neither human nor ghost, yet his presence was stronger than before.

"No time to waste, let's move!"

Yin Mingzi led the way into the tunnel, followed by the crowd.

First the Four Great Sects, then the Bai and Zhou Families of the Qin Kingdom, forming an alliance.

Along the way, another vengeful spirit was devoured by the Thirteenth Ancestor, further boosting his aura.

The Thirteenth Ancestor stood at the back, glanced at the hesitant lone cultivators, and smiled, "The vengeful spirits have been cleared by me. You may all enter and seek your fortunes as you wish."

With that, he entered the tunnel, ignoring the crowd.

The lone cultivators breathed a sigh of relief, forming small teams to enter the tunnel one after another.

Xu Hei's eyes flickered, but he didn't rush in, instead waiting at the entrance.

The next moment, a sudden, piercing scream echoed from within.

"Ahhh!!"

The Thirteenth Ancestor suddenly turned, spewing a thick black mist towards the lone cultivators.

The two cultivators at the front were touched by the black mist, their flesh melting away, leaving only skeletons. One of them even had a False Core cultivation, but was gone in an instant, unable to even draw a magical treasure.

"Not good, run!"

"That old bastard tricked us!"

The crowd was terrified, retreating in panic, but the black mist spread rapidly, engulfing several more, their flesh disappearing, leaving only bones.

Xu Hei's face changed drastically, and he hurriedly retreated.

He had suspected that the Snake Catchers Sect's grand setup, bringing out an old ancestor, was up to no good, and he was right.

Soon, the tunnel was cleared, and all the lone cultivators who entered became skeletons, their souls sucked into the old man's mouth.

The crowd retreated outside, their faces grim, seething with anger.

The Thirteenth Ancestor stood in the tunnel, eyes cold, a cruel smile on his lips, black mist swirling around him like a corpse.

"You really came in when I let you!"

"This place is reserved by my Snake Catchers Sect. If you know what's good for you, leave now, or I'll come out and start a massacre!"

The Thirteenth Ancestor took a probing step outside, and the crowd retreated in fear.

Among the lone cultivators, a Core Formation stage cultivator wanted to speak, but seeing that gaze, he trembled and lowered his head, knowing that one more word might turn him into a skeleton too.

Such dominance from the Snake Catchers Sect!

But no one dared to stand up for justice, such was the intimidation brought by power.

Xu Hei's face was dark; with that old dog guarding the entrance, it was hard to get in.

Earth Escape Technique?

He had tried it before; the tunnel had a strong barrier, preventing spells and even divine sense from penetrating, leaving only walking as an option.

"Hmph! Such arrogance, I want to see how your Snake Catchers Sect stops the world!"

Suddenly, a figure swept in from afar, dressed in a scholar's robe, but unkempt, with a face full of stubble.

Everyone looked over.

The newcomer was Xu Qingfeng, a Core Formation cultivator from the Chu Tian Alliance.

The Thirteenth Ancestor squinted his eyes, slowly raising his withered hand.

"You, a half-buried corpse, should be lying in a grave, yet you dare to wreak havoc in the world. Today, I shall vanquish evil and slay you, vile creature!"

Xu Qingfeng took out a scroll, the one he hadn't had a chance to open last time, exuding a powerful aura, a righteous energy that strongly suppressed evil.

"Whoosh!"

The Thirteenth Ancestor vanished instantly, his whereabouts unknown.

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