Serpent Ancestor

Meng Hao stared at Xu Hei's back, his eyes particularly grave. Despite being at the late Core Formation stage, he felt a faint pressure.

The techniques Xu Hei had just displayed were enough to make him treat him as an equal; this was an opponent of the same level.

Especially that sword, which could even cut through Yehuo, something even he couldn't accomplish.

"Having a method to counter Yehuo, no wonder Xu Fu is targeting him," Meng Hao's eyes flickered.

He was deep in thought, aware of the overt and covert struggles among the four guardians. The Nightmare Demon Lord had instructed him to pay special attention to this person, likely with ulterior motives.

…………

Xu Hei left the prison and arrived at a cave dwelling on the outskirts of the mountain.

This was the location indicated on the token. From afar, the cave dwellings appeared like a beehive on the mountain's surface, where all the stewards resided.

Following the directions, Xu Hei entered a cave dwelling on the edge.

Compared to the eerie environment of the prison, this place was relatively peaceful, facing the sea with a pleasant climate, equipped with a Gathering Spirit Array to extract Spiritual Qi from the underground spiritual vein.

Xu Hei discovered that the underground spiritual vein here seemed to be the same as the one on the teleportation array island.

If so, the size of this spiritual vein was quite large.

Xu Hei estimated that the distance from the prison island to the teleportation island was about five hundred miles. Could this spiritual vein really stretch five hundred miles?

Xu Hei shook his head; no matter how massive the spiritual vein, it had nothing to do with him.

"I need to find a way to escape quickly. Just arriving here and already being targeted by Xu Fu, who sent people to assassinate me, the troubles will only keep coming."

Xu Hei knew that after killing Xu Sheng and destroying Xu Fu's divine sense, the other side wouldn't let it go easily.

Every second spent here made him restless, as if ants were crawling all over his body.

However, Xu Fu wanting to kill him wasn't that easy.

This prison island was under the jurisdiction of the Nightmare Demon Lord, and the cultivators here were all his subordinates. The four guardians each had their own territories. ŕАꞐỔʙƐṧ

Xu Fu couldn't just charge into someone else's territory to kill.

Moreover, according to Hei Huang, there were at least three Elemental Infant stage cultivators stationed on this island, besides the Nightmare Demon Lord.

Although Xu Hei hadn't sensed any Elemental Infant cultivators, it was normal for someone at the Core Formation stage not to detect them. With such defenses, as long as he wasn't betrayed by his own people, there wouldn't be any problems.

Xu Hei closed his eyes and quietly performed his breathing exercises.

Not long after, it was late at night.

Yun Yan and Xiao Ran returned, and Meng Hao also went back to his cave dwelling.

Besides them, some stewards he hadn't seen before also returned to their respective cave dwellings.

Xu Hei had two neighbors, one being Yun Yan, located directly above him.

The other was on the left, a scholarly-looking man, frail and weak, with pale skin. If it weren't for his Adam's apple, Xu Hei might have mistaken him for a woman.

Of course, appearances could be deceiving, like the butcher.

Xu Hei paid special attention to his neighbors, as assassins could strike at any time.

He reinforced the stone walls of his cave dwelling with heavy restrictions to prevent anyone from digging through.

"There are fifteen stewards in total, three at the late Core Formation stage, six at the mid-stage, five at the early stage, and one at the Great Perfection of the Core Formation stage."

"This wretched place, I don't want to stay a moment longer."

Xu Hei noted down each person, but could only gauge their cultivation level, knowing nothing about their true capabilities.

To avoid drawing attention, Xu Hei planned to refine a new set of clothes.

…………

In the blink of an eye, three days passed, and it was the day of their first outing.

Xu Hei followed the crowd out of the cave dwelling.

At this moment, he wore a bamboo hat and a raincoat, carrying a bamboo pole, resembling an old fisherman. His physique was compressed, slightly larger than an average person.

Many stewards glanced at him briefly, not lingering, and headed straight for the prison gate.

However, the scholarly man with a gentle demeanor looked at Xu Hei twice and cupped his fists, asking, "I haven't seen you before, may I know your name?"

Xu Hei ignored him and quickly followed the crowd to the prison gate.

The scholarly man shook his head helplessly and didn't pursue further.

At this moment, all the prisoners inside the prison came out, each wearing shackles, with restrictions on their bodies, draining their True Qi.

Core Formation cultivators had their true essence sealed, their Golden Cores shriveled, leaving them powerless, like walking corpses.

Including Xu Hei, there were sixteen stewards in total, all present.

Meng Hao stood at the front of the crowd and announced loudly, "This outing's task is to extract deep-sea heavy oil. Foundation Establishment stage cultivators must extract ten barrels, Core Formation stage cultivators one hundred barrels, within a month."

"Fail to meet the quota, and you'll have your blood drawn as a substitute."

Upon hearing this, all the cultivators trembled, fear evident in their eyes.

Clearly, they had heard of the dangers of oil extraction, where a single mistake could cost lives. The prospect of having blood drawn for missing a barrel made their faces pale.

"Extracting oil..."

Xu Hei's eyes flickered, remaining silent as he stood in the area assigned to him.

There were fifteen stewards present, each responsible for over a hundred people.

Xu Hei's group consisted of one hundred and five Foundation Establishment stage cultivators and three Core Formation stage cultivators. Many were newcomers, venturing out for the first time, their eyes filled with anxiety.

Some seasoned veterans were much calmer, eyeing Xu Hei, unsure of their intentions.

Next, Meng Hao distributed an oil ship to each steward.

The ship was enormous, a hundred zhang long, capable of holding over a thousand people, though most of the space was for storing oil. It was said that heavy oil couldn't be stored in a Storage Bag, as it would leak out, a peculiar phenomenon.

Xu Hei stood on the deck, waiting for everyone to board.

At Meng Hao's command, the sixteen oil ships roared to life, heading towards the deep sea.

The ship was equipped with a large formation, the sea breeze brushing against it, producing a rustling sound.

Xu Hei sat cross-legged.

Behind him, eyes constantly scrutinized him, filled with fear and anxiety, faint sobs echoing.

Fellow cultivators had different temperaments; some took a hundred years to reach Foundation Establishment, while others, Chosen, reached Core Formation at twenty. Their attitudes towards danger varied greatly.

Before long, a frail-looking woman approached, speaking softly, "Sir, I am a disciple of the Melodic Sect, physically weak. I hope you can assign me some lighter tasks during work. I can serve you at night."

This woman was clearly an experienced hand, her voice soft and charming, every gesture exuding allure. Her cultivation technique had similar attributes, stirring restlessness in one's heart.

Her name was Su Xue'er, and she had used this tactic on the previous steward to secure lighter work and survive.

However, this was of no use to Xu Hei.

Xu Hei glanced back at her, and Su Xue'er immediately put on a pitiful expression, sitting on the ground like a duck, her tattered robe revealing her fair skin.

"Are you sure?"

Xu Hei removed half of his bamboo hat, revealing a menacing face, with a large patch of tentacles writhing on it. Each mouth emitted a sinister laugh, and a dozen eyes locked onto her.

Su Xue'er froze for a second, then let out a piercing scream.

"Ah!!"

Su Xue'er screamed in terror, falling to the ground, her face pale, dizzy, nearly fainting from fright.

She screamed, scrambling away, hiding back in the crowd.

The crowd behind was in an uproar, but apart from Su Xue'er, no one else saw Xu Hei's appearance. In the blink of an eye, Xu Hei had put his bamboo hat back on.

Someone asked Su Xue'er why she screamed and what she saw.

But how could Su Xue'er dare speak ill of Xu Hei? She just shook her head repeatedly, her body trembling, saying nothing, cold sweat drenching her entire body.

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