Serpent Ancestor

The feeling of humiliation hadn't surfaced in Duanmu Qing's heart for a long time. The fact that the opponent, merely a Core Formation Stage cultivator, managed to escape from his grasp was an utter disgrace!

"Find him for me! Even if you have to search the entire Star Island, you must track him down. Don't spare any snake! No, any demonic beast!"

Duanmu Qing took out a jade slip and issued a warrant at the fastest speed.

Then, he headed towards the direction of the treasury to block the way.

…………

Beneath a pavilion of the Melodic Sect on Star Island.

The space twisted, and the figure of a snake emerged from the center of the distortion, falling into the soil.

This snake, wearing a bamboo hat, with a slender body and chaotic aura, was none other than Xu Hei, who had fled in haste.

The moment Xu Hei landed, he immediately took out a pill and swallowed it, simultaneously biting into an ancient spirit medicine, activating the Demon God Cauldron to refine it as quickly as possible to recover his state.

At the same time, Xu Hei spread out his divine sense to observe the surrounding environment.

Without a doubt, he had once again teleported to the depths underground, though he wasn't sure where exactly this was.

"Huh?"

Suddenly, Xu Hei let out a sound of surprise.

The environment on the surface was a pavilion, very familiar, as if he had seen it somewhere before.

"Isn't this the Melodic Sect? I came here last time!" Xu Hei was taken aback.

He observed the nearby terrain features again, his mouth agape in disbelief.

"No way, such a coincidence?"

This place was very familiar; it was exactly where Xu Hei had arrived the last time he used the Small Teleportation Talisman.

Even the pavilion on the surface was identical; it was the residence of a female disciple at the Foundation Establishment stage, who last time brought back a male cultivator and performed a yin-yang balancing act right in front of Xu Hei.

However, this time, the succubus who absorbed people's essence was not present.

Xu Hei took a deep breath, calmed himself down, and focused on adjusting his state after escaping from the Immortal Pavilion.

From killing Mu Hou to escaping, it had only been a matter of a dozen breaths. Xu Hei had exerted his strength to the utmost, and his body was feeling waves of fatigue.

Like last time, he used the Sky-Tearing Claw. The difference was that last time he transformed into a true dragon form and activated the Elemental Infant decree, whereas this time, he only used the Diamond Suppression Technique.

Both involved tearing through space, but the power difference was vast.

Similarly, the burden on his body this time was much smaller, and he wouldn't need to lie down for a week like last time.

"The difference between a human hand and a dragon claw is really huge," Xu Hei sighed inwardly.

After reaching the eighth level of Ever-changing Fish and Dragon, Xu Hei could transform into virtual claws to perform the Sky-Tearing Claw without needing to transform into a true dragon.

Although the power was somewhat less, it was more convenient and had fewer side effects.

…………

Immortal Pavilion.

Duanmu Qing stood at the entrance of the treasury, staring at the empty vault, completely dumbfounded as if struck by lightning.

In just a few breaths.

The treasury was completely emptied, whether valuable or not, everything was taken, not even a scrap left, even the wall skin was scraped off.

The walls of the treasury were specially crafted with mystic gold to prevent theft, explosion-proof, shock-proof, with a high safety factor, yet even this was scraped away. What kind of thief was this!

Is there no justice? Is there no law?

"Ahhh!!!"

Duanmu Qing roared towards the sky, spitting out a mouthful of blood, and collapsed to the ground.

His numerous avatars displayed various emotions—anger, sadness, sighs, shock, contemplation—each face filled with different feelings.

Some avatars, unable to bear it, fainted directly, while others showed expressions of fear, and some were enraged.

"No matter who it is, they must not be spared!"

"The opponent is too strong, we need to plan carefully and request support from Penglai Island!"

"Who provoked such an enemy?"

"Issue the highest level of wanted order immediately!"

"Unforgivable! I must tear him to pieces!"

"……"

Soon, a series of orders were issued from the Immortal Pavilion, all guards were dispatched, spreading in all directions to search for clues about the enemy.

Duanmu Qing's more than fifty avatars also moved together.

In the first-floor conference hall.

The maids also received this shocking news: the Immortal Pavilion was robbed, the steward Mu Hou was assassinated, and the treasury was stolen clean!

The news was so explosive that they doubted its authenticity!

It wasn't until Mu Hou's broken body was found by the guards that they believed it was true!

"Steward Mu is dead?"

Liu Hongmei felt heavy-hearted; she was trained by Mu Hou and served as the head of the maids, often bullying others. Every new maid suffered under her.

With Mu Hou dead, the steward would be replaced, and whether the new one would promote her was uncertain.

Compared to Liu Hongmei, the other maids felt schadenfreude; they had suffered under Mu Hou, unable to speak out, and now, that damned bastard finally got his comeuppance!

"Hahaha! Justice is served!"

"Who was the kind soul that killed him?"

The maids were curious, but no one dared to discuss it, fearing someone might overhear and report them, which would be troublesome.

Only Wang Qin knew the truth of the matter.

Because she saw the aura of that masked person, it was white!

"It's him."

Wang Qin's heart raced, but she didn't show it.

She just lowered her head, tears welling up, and bowed in the direction Xu Hei left: "Thank you."

…………

In the blink of an eye, an hour passed.

Xu Hei meditated underground for an hour, recovering from his weakness. He opened his eyes and exhaled a breath of turbid air.

"I wonder how Hei Huang is doing. It's been half a day, and there's still no news."

Xu Hei took out the communication talisman Hei Huang left him, his brows furrowed.

He wasn't worried about whether Hei Huang could escape, but rather worried that Hei Huang might sneak out to sell the loot without telling him. With that old dog's character, he could do anything.

"Damn it, I can't suffer a loss either!"

Xu Hei's eyes flickered, and he immediately took out Mu Hou's storage bag, forcibly breaking it open, causing its contents to scatter.

However, Xu Hei was disappointed. He had expected that since Mu Hou could casually take out a fourth-tier magical treasure, he would have considerable assets, but there wasn't much in the storage bag.

Even the spirit stones amounted to only a pitiful two hundred thousand, which was seriously inconsistent with his cultivation level.

"Strange, where did this guy's money go?"

Xu Hei pondered, picking up one of the pill bottles, which had a seal on it, not knowing what kind of pills were inside.

When Xu Hei opened the seal and scanned it with his divine sense, he was stunned.

One, two, three...

The pill bottle contained a total of thirteen Qingyuan Pills!

Qingyuan Pills are used for Core Formation Stage breakthroughs, such as from early to mid-stage, or mid-stage to late-stage. Xu Hei had used one Qingyuan Pill to break through to the mid-stage Core Formation.

The price of one Qingyuan Pill ranges from fifty thousand to two hundred thousand spirit stones, depending on the quality.

How did Mu Hou manage to get so many Qingyuan Pills?!

This amounted to two million spirit stones, which was insane! Moreover, Qingyuan Pills aren't something you can buy just with money; you need the right connections.