Serpent Ancestor

After a long time, no one else dared to step forward and speak.

They didn't want to be scared half to death like Su Xue'er.

Xu Hei sighed helplessly. He had no ties to these people, but they were innocent, and everything they did was just to survive.

If he could, he would have let them all go and slipped away in the chaos.

However, the faint sensation inside him remained. The only possible way to get rid of it was to bring Ye Kong out and perform a golden cicada shell escape.

But during this process, the other side would definitely become alert.

The risk was too great, and he still didn't know what the Nightmare Demon Lord was planning.

...

It wasn't long before they reached their destination that night.

It was a massive blue hole in the middle of the ocean. The surrounding water was light blue, but the center was a large black circle, so deep that even Divine Sense couldn't reach the bottom.

It looked like a giant, devouring mouth. Just one glance made one's heart feel as if it were being swallowed.

According to the Sea God Sect's description, this place was called the Sea Eye, also a site for extracting heavy oil.

Meng Hao's oil ship was at the forefront. He took out his token, clasped his hands in respect towards the void, and said, "I am Meng Hao, here under the orders of the Protector to extract heavy oil. I hope the lord will grant passage!"

From beneath the Sea Eye, a voice like that from the depths of the Nine Hells responded, "Granted!"

Xu Hei didn't sense anyone's presence, but he knew at a glance that this was another Protector's domain.

Meng Hao respectfully clasped his hands and ordered the sixteen ships to stop above the Sea Eye, forming a circle.

"Into the sea!" Meng Hao shouted.

"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh..."

The cultivators on the ships, with water-repelling pearls in their mouths, leaped into the Sea Eye.

Once in the water, the pearls emitted a faint light, repelling the seawater. They continued to sink, the water pressure increasing, the light dimming, as if they were being swallowed.

No one knew how deep the Sea Eye was, like a cylindrical passage leading straight to the Nine Hells.

The group huddled together, no longer wary of each other, just wanting to drive away the fear. Many closed their eyes in terror.

On Xu Hei's side, everyone instinctively moved closer to him, including Su Xue'er. In such an environment, Xu Hei seemed to provide a sense of security.

This descent lasted a full hour before they reached the bottom.

Xu Hei felt as if he had dived ten thousand miles, deeper than the trench where the whale had fallen last time!

At the bottom of the Sea Eye was a massive metal structure, spanning ten thousand feet, inscribed with various formations, supporting a giant light shield that repelled the heavy water pressure.

Once inside the light shield, everyone breathed a sigh of relief. Some Foundation Establishment cultivators fainted on the spot, collapsing in a heap.

Just this journey alone had exhausted them, both mentally and physically. One could only imagine how arduous the heavy oil extraction would be.

Xu Hei landed on the ground. Although it was isolated from the seawater, the ground wasn't dry. There were water stains, and the surface was uneven, full of pits and man-made wells, hundreds and thousands of them, remnants of heavy oil extraction.

Xu Hei tried to extend his Divine Sense underground, but it could only penetrate about ten meters before being blocked.

To his surprise, once inside the formation, the faint sense of being watched disappeared!

"Heh, even the Nightmare Demon Lord can't reach here. It's a good place," Xu Hei chuckled to himself.

However, he guessed that once he left the formation and returned to the sea, he would be discovered again.

Sixteen stewards, each with their own team, stood like a group of ants at the dark bottom of the Sea Eye.

"Oil extraction begins, lasting one month. After a month, the formation will close. Those who fail to meet the quota will be severely punished, including the stewards!" Meng Hao announced loudly.

No one dared to slack off, immediately dispersing to start the extraction.

Xu Hei wasn't in a hurry. He wasn't thinking about completing the task but about how to escape.

"Is this your first time here? Do you know anything about this heavy oil?"

A gentle voice came from beside him.

Xu Hei looked up to see the scholarly man who lived next door, smiling kindly at him.

"Who are you calling a friend?" Xu Hei replied.

The scholarly man froze instantly.

Xu Hei didn't want to engage with him and quickly led his team to a remote spot to sit down.

The scholarly man's mouth twitched, cursing inwardly as he left.

"You, come here!"

Xu Hei pointed to an elderly man with white hair, one of the three Core Formation Stage cultivators, who had remained calm and seemed knowledgeable.

"Me?" The old man's body trembled, and he quickly approached, not daring to delay.

"Tell me about this heavy oil, in as much detail as possible," Xu Hei said in a deep voice.

"Yes!"

The old man immediately began to explain.

"Steward, this is your first time here, so you might not know much about heavy oil. In fact, it's a rare treasure from the ocean, originating from the ancient times, even the prehistoric and primeval eras," the white-haired old man said.

"Ancient, prehistoric?" Xu Hei was puzzled.

"The ancient era was tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands of years ago. The prehistoric era was millions of years ago, and the primeval era was over a billion years ago."

The white-haired old man patiently explained.

In those ancient times, many powerful creatures were born on the cultivation star, including world-devouring beasts, ferocious flood dragons, ancient giants, and even true dragons.

But these beasts went extinct in one cataclysm after another, their bodies buried deep in the earth's crust, undiscovered, eventually turning into heavy oil.

Because they were formed from ancient beasts, this heavy oil contained extremely rich Spiritual Qi, but it was also highly polluted.

Utilizing it was very difficult. Even if extracted, it was mostly used for refining treasures or crafting talismans, not for direct absorption.

It's said that the powerful Minor Annihilation Talisman is refined from heavy oil.

"To my knowledge, there are a few who practice demonic arts and can ignore the pollution in heavy oil, absorbing it directly to enhance their cultivation. The so-called sea god of the Sea God Sect is likely such a cultivator," the white-haired old man whispered.

Xu Hei raised an eyebrow and said, "You're speaking ill of the sea god in front of me. Aren't you afraid I'll kill you?"

The white-haired old man quickly nodded and clasped his hands, saying, "Though I am not talented, I have some skill in recognizing people. Steward, you probably didn't join willingly, did you?"

"You've got some nerve!" Xu Hei said coldly.

"Please calm down, my lord!" The white-haired old man quickly knelt.

Xu Hei glanced at him, then softened his tone, "What's your name?"

"I am Tian Zang, an elder of the Kunlun Sect in the Western regions of the Qin Kingdom," the white-haired old man replied.

Xu Hei hadn't expected him to be from Kunlun. He pondered for a moment, then took out a gourd of pills and slipped it into the old man's sleeve.

"This..." The old man looked surprised.

"Distribute these Revitalizing Pills secretly, give each person one, so they have the strength to work and don't die in the oil wells," Xu Hei said.

Tian Zang was stunned.

He knew that as slaves, they were forbidden to consume pills. If given pills, not only would they be punished, but the steward would also be penalized.

"My lord, I appreciate your kindness, but the risk is too great. I dare not accept."

"I told you to take them, so take them. If anything happens, I'll take responsibility!" Xu Hei said coldly.

Tian Zang broke into a sweat, feeling troubled. He didn't know what the steward's intentions were, whether it was pure goodwill or something else, but he had no choice but to agree.

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