Serpent Ancestor

Xu Hei’s face changed drastically as he hurriedly tried to crawl back into the snake’s den.

Outside, there were many wolves and a bear demon at the mid-stage of spiritual enlightenment—creatures he could not provoke.

But he was soon horrified to find that his body had become swollen like a large ball, nearly four meters long, as if he had swallowed a gigantic entity.

Struggling to move several meters back, Xu Hei looked around in confusion.

Snow continued to fall, covering the world in a blanket of white. The wolf pack had long vanished, and the bear demon was nowhere to be seen.

Xu Hei felt as if his head had been hit by a heavy hammer, causing intense pain.

“What just happened?”

His head throbbed, and fragmented memories surged back, quickly piecing together the events.

Earlier, in the snake’s den, he had accidentally drunk too much alcohol, his body overheated, and he wanted to cool off.

He had eaten a lot of rabbits and apparently even a pig, but in this icy world, how could there be a pig?

Xu Hei realized with shock that the wolves he had thought were rabbits were, in fact, wolves!

As for the so-called pig…

Xu Hei swallowed hard and looked at the black bear’s head lying under a tree, staring back at him.

“I… didn’t mean to.”

Xu Hei felt a bitter pang in his heart.

This was a bear demon at the mid-stage of spiritual enlightenment, capable of killing snake catchers with a single slap. Even if he had a hundred lives, he wouldn’t dare to provoke it!

He had only been drunk and foolishly ended up killing the bear demon.

It was dangerous! He could have lost his life!

Xu Hei was deeply afraid, and he vowed never to drink alcohol again.

“If there’s anyone to blame, it’s humanity. Not only did they kill their own, but they also killed you, my demon brother. If you’re angry, go after them; don’t come after me.”

Xu Hei silently muttered these words, bowed deeply, and crawled forward to swallow the bear’s head.

This place was no longer safe.

He couldn’t return to his original spot, so Xu Hei had to find a new wintering place.

Taking a deep breath and using his remaining strength, Xu Hei crawled outside.

At this moment, he felt waves of pain—not only from swallowing but also from the bear demon’s slap. Xu Hei recalled the battle; it had been excruciating.

Facing such a gigantic beast, charging at it head-on was suicide.

Fortunately, his tough hide only resulted in a few broken bones; otherwise, a normal snake demon would have been killed multiple times over by a single slap.

Xu Hei could barely crawl; he had to wriggle like a worm, moving forward with the help of his tail scales. Fortunately, his speed was not slow.

Having lived in the mountains for many years, Xu Hei was familiar with the terrain and had prepared several wintering spots.

Soon, Xu Hei reached a crevice in the mountain rock, where a hidden pond lay below.

The pond was frozen, and Xu Hei crawled into the crevice, breaking through the ice and diving into the icy water.

The entrance to the pond was small, but the interior was vast, connected to a cave. It was extremely concealed, one of Xu Hei’s pre-selected wintering spots.

He swam for a while, then surfaced and entered the cave.

The cave was pitch black, and Xu Hei preferred this kind of environment. He lay on the ground, absorbed in digesting the bear demon meat, breathing and nurturing.

The snow continued to fall heavily, and the strong wind outside buried the corpses.

It was as if everything had never happened.

…………

That night, the government immediately organized a search team, arriving at the scene but only finding the scattered and snow-covered corpses.

The news spread back to the village, causing shock and grief everywhere.

Zhao Wenzhuo stood at the back of the crowd, his eyes red, kneeling and crying.

Next to him stood a woman in a red Taoist robe, frowning.

“Junior Brother Zhao, did you say there was a bear demon at the mid-stage of spiritual enlightenment here?” the woman in the red robe asked, puzzled.

“Yes, I didn’t expect the bear demon to be so strong! Senior Brother Ding died protecting me!” Zhao Wenzhuo said with deep sorrow.

Soon, they found Ding Hai’s dismembered corpse. His storage bag was destroyed, and everything was gone, though his eyes remained open, filled with resentment as if staring at Zhao Wenzhuo.

Feigning anger, Zhao Wenzhuo said, “Senior Sister, that bear demon must have been heavily injured by a mid-level fire explosion talisman. We should go into the mountains to eliminate the demon and avenge our Senior Brother…”

“Absolutely not! A bear demon at the mid-stage of spiritual enlightenment is far more formidable than you think. Moreover, being a bear demon, its vitality is tenacious. Injured, it will only become more ferocious. It is not something we can handle!”

The woman in the red robe interrupted him sternly.

Zhao Wenzhuo quickly bowed, “Senior Sister, your guidance is wise.”

Outwardly, Zhao Wenzhuo appeared naive, but in reality, he was quite clear about the bear demon’s strength. That bear demon had reached the fifth level of spiritual enlightenment, and a fire explosion talisman could not have injured it significantly.

The woman in the red robe grew suspicious. Why would Zhao Wenzhuo and Ding Hai need to bring thirty people to the mountains to capture snakes?

Clearly, they had ulterior motives, but with no survivors, she couldn’t gather more information.

“Regardless, it’s fortunate that you survived. Ding Hai’s death was an accident. I will explain it to the Master,” the woman in the red robe said calmly.

“Thank you, Senior Sister Song.” Zhao Wenzhuo bowed deeply.

…………

In the pitch-black cave.

A massive shadow lay in the corner, its body rising and falling with rhythmic breaths, emitting white smoke.

This enormous shadow was Xu Hei, hibernating.

At this moment, the spiritual energy mist within the Demon God Cauldron had expanded to fill the entire cauldron, a sign of reaching the second level of spiritual enlightenment.

Suddenly, Xu Hei’s body trembled violently, and the spiritual energy mist within the cauldron compressed rapidly, shrinking to a point.

Although the area had shrunk, the concentration of the spiritual energy had increased by more than ten times, nearly becoming tangible.

At the same time, an immense force burst forth, spreading throughout his body. Xu Hei’s bones cracked and thundered like a storm, and his flesh underwent a transformation.

An old snake skin fell off, replaced by a more resilient new skin.

Spiritual enlightenment, third level!

This was a critical juncture; the next four levels would lead to the mid-stage of spiritual enlightenment, marking a significant difference from the early stage.

At this moment, there was still plenty of the bear demon’s blood and qi left, and Xu Hei continued to absorb and refine it at an incredible speed.

…………

Outside Chen Family Town, in a dilapidated mountain temple.

The place was desolate, with only some beggars frozen to death, no other figures in sight.

According to old tales, this place was not a mountain god’s temple but a place of an evil deity. It had seen several murders, causing fear among people.