Serpent Ancestor

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However, thinking about such things happening to himself, the tone of the Soul Refining Demon Lord softened a bit as he asked, "How do we cooperate?"

The Nightmare Demon Lord took out a jade slip and tossed it into the depths of the palace, where it vanished instantly.

"According to this plan, I harvest fear, and you gain a peerless fiend. We each get what we need, so why not?" the Nightmare Demon Lord said.

Inside the palace, after a long silence.

The voice of the Soul Refining Demon Lord came through, "I hope you don't hold me back!"

The Nightmare Demon Lord narrowed all his eyes, coldly saying, "I hope you're more reliable than Xu Fu."

…………

Penglai Sea, Xu Hei's island.

In the blink of an eye, it was another full moon night.

Moonlight spilled down, the sea surface as smooth as a mirror, emitting a silvery glow.

Xu Hei opened his eyes, staring at the walls of the cave dwelling. Under the moonlight, patterns emerged on the walls, each with a unique artistic conception.

Xu Hei focused on the first pattern, the Dragon Tail Swing move, perfectly manifesting in his mind.

But this time, Xu Hei didn't suffer a heavy blow and get knocked back; he could already withstand the impact of this conception and contend with it.

"Dragon Tail Swing, I've mastered it. Now for the second move."

Xu Hei turned his gaze to the next pattern, which depicted a dragon claw.

Xu Hei didn't have dragon claws; he needed to activate Dragon Battle in the Wild and transform into a true dragon to use this move, which also resulted in significant limitations.

It had to be a life-or-death battle for him to unleash this strike, something he couldn't use in everyday situations.

The cost was that the side effects of transforming into a dragon would multiply.

"Boom!!"

That conception struck again, and in front of Xu Hei, a dragon claw descended from the sky, hitting his chest.

"Ugh!"

Xu Hei spat out blood, once again knocked back, crashing into the corner, but he quickly steadied himself.

"This strike is still strong, but much better than last time," Xu Hei thought to himself.

He closed his eyes, quietly savoring the previous strike.

Time passed, from evening to midnight, from midnight to dawn, as he pondered for an entire night.

Gradually, three words appeared in Xu Hei's mind: Sky-Tearing Claw!

Azure Dragon Combat Technique, second move, Sky-Tearing Claw!

Lacking claws, Xu Hei couldn't perform it, but he had simulated this move countless times in his mind, mastering it thoroughly, no longer fumbling like before.

Unknowingly, the sky outside was already brightening.

Xu Hei opened his eyes, suddenly startled at how quickly time had passed.

He instinctively looked at the third pattern.

This pattern depicted an Azure Dragon soaring upwards, with a head-butting motion, a flying dragon in the sky, seemingly about to break through the firmament.

In front of Xu Hei, a phantom dragon shadow appeared, soaring through the nine heavens, stirring up storms, and charging towards him.

Xu Hei's expression changed, quickly using the Ever-changing Fish and Dragon to retreat.

"Boom!!!"

With a loud crash, Xu Hei's entire body trembled violently, as if struck by a mountain, his insides churning, directly knocking him out of the cave dwelling, landing on the sea surface.

"What a terrifying strike, the patterns behind really can't be looked at casually," Xu Hei thought with lingering fear.

He had only glanced at it, not looked closely, yet suffered such a heavy blow. According to his estimation, this move, Dragon Raising Its Head, could only be comprehended at the late stage of the demon core, or even Great Perfection.

Of course, this was for Xu Hei; for other snake demons, without Elemental Infant stage cultivation, they wouldn't even have the qualification to touch it.

At this moment, the sky gradually brightened.

Xu Hei glanced at the sky, his figure flashing as he entered the second cave dwelling next door.

The island had three cave dwellings in total. In this second cave dwelling, there were also some patterns carved on the walls, but at a glance, these weren't combat techniques; they seemed more like spells.

Xu Hei focused on the first pattern, depicting a dragon swimming in a storm.

In an instant, Xu Hei's consciousness blurred.

His consciousness arrived above the firmament, a fierce wind rising, a giant dragon coiling ahead, the storm invincible, capable of tearing apart all things, even Xu Hei's physical body felt like it was splitting.

"Azure Dragon Immortal Spell, first move, Summon Wind!"

A voice echoed in Xu Hei's heart.

"Boom!!!"

The all-tearing storm descended, blowing away the clouds, extinguishing the sunlight, everything in the world vanishing under the fierce wind, leaving only the raging storm, resembling an apocalyptic disaster.

Such a terrifying scene lasted only a moment before Xu Hei suddenly awoke, drenched in cold sweat.

At this moment, the pattern on the wall had disappeared, the sun had risen, and the moonlight had faded.

Xu Hei stared at the empty stone wall of the cave dwelling, his eyes wide, his heart in turmoil.

"Azure Dragon Immortal Spell, first move, Summon Wind!"

Without a doubt, this cave dwelling recorded the spells of the dragon clan.

Azure Dragon Combat Technique, Azure Dragon Immortal Spell; one for body refining, one for spell cultivation.

Xu Hei had never seen a true dragon, didn't know the true dragon's combat style, but from the stone walls of these two cave dwellings, it seemed anything could be cultivated.

However, when Xu Hei recalled the content of Summon Wind, he found that this move was infinitely more complex than the combat technique!

No matter what, Xu Hei couldn't simulate it.

This move seemed to be a spell only cultivable at the Elemental Infant stage, but Xu Hei had already touched its threshold ahead of time.

"Summon Wind, I wonder what conditions are needed to perform it."

Xu Hei sighed inwardly; his comprehension time earlier was too short, lasting only a breath. If it had been longer, he might have learned this move.

If he had used this Summon Wind move when facing the Soul Refining Demon Lord, he wouldn't have been so embarrassed; he could have completely avoided the Soul Refining Demon Lord's second strike.

…………

Next, Xu Hei adjusted his breath on the island for a while.

Only after his state returned to its peak did he leave the island, heading straight for the Treasure Pavilion.

In the previous battle, he had exhausted his magical treasures, with the Black Dragon Pagoda and Blood Killing Sword Formation all gone. All he had left were the Ten Thousand Poison Gourd, Soul Burning Lamp, Water Thunder Wings, and some low-grade useless items.

The opponents Xu Hei faced now were getting stronger and stronger; without top-tier third-grade items, they were useless.

Sometimes, he even needed fourth-grade magical treasures.

Xu Hei's gap with the Elemental Infant stage was too large, and with slow cultivation progress, he could only compensate through other means.

Before long, he arrived at the island of the Treasure Pavilion.

At the entrance, Octopus Brother was smoking a pipe, just like before, surrounded by clouds of smoke.

As usual, Xu Hei took out a tobacco leaf and handed it over.

Octopus Brother Wang Zhen glanced at him, took the tobacco leaf, and smiled, "Kid, did you offend someone?"

"Yeah." Xu Hei nodded, "Offended quite a few, actually."

He didn't know what the other meant by this; if it was about offending people, he had lost count of how many enemies he had made along the way.

"Heh, they say the magical treasures you sold last time were all stolen goods, and they want to reclaim them, deducting your contribution points," Wang Zhen sneered.

"Stolen goods..."

Xu Hei's eyes narrowed, indifferently saying, "The Sea Commerce Guild's doing?"

"If it were just the Sea Commerce Guild, I could block it, but the Immortal Pavilion is also meddling, saying you damaged their cave dwelling and want to confiscate your contribution points for compensation. That, I can't stop!" Wang Zhen shrugged his tentacles, smiling.

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