Serpent Ancestor

Chapter 197: Surrounded by life and death, the way to break the deadlock

The iron plate didn\'t extend infinitely and had bends. Xu Hei continued digging downward along the edges.

It took Xu Hei a full half-hour of digging before he finally saw what it was.

It was a massive square secret chamber, entirely made of metal, with only one entrance at the front, sealed off by iron plates everywhere else.

"There\'s a secret chamber beneath this herb garden. What\'s it used for?"

Xu Hei reached the entrance, staring at the dark doorway ahead, feeling a bit hesitant.

At this moment, sounds of battle could be heard outside. Although his Divine Sense couldn\'t probe out, the terrifying fluctuations of the battle kept resonating, with spells roaring—definitely a clash between cultivators at the mid-stage Core Formation or higher!

Xu Hei estimated the time; the people from the Heavenly Puppet Sect should be arriving soon.

He definitely didn\'t dare to go out. Looking at the door in front of him, Xu Hei pondered briefly and then made a decision.

"Ever-changing Fish and Dragon, External Incarnation!"

Xu Hei\'s figure became blurry, and shadows shot out from his body, overlapping infinitely beside him.

When the number of shadows reached its limit, they solidified, turning into a real entity, transforming into a black snake identical to Xu Hei himself!

This was the External Incarnation!

External Incarnation was considered a relatively advanced secret technique in major sects, typically mastered only by those at the Core Formation stage or some prodigies.

Xu Hei, in a moment of crisis, had a sudden inspiration, evolving the Ever-changing Fish and Dragon to the fourth level, naturally using the incarnation.

One must admit, the growth speed in dangerous environments is always faster than in comfortable ones, which is an advantage.

The downside is the risk of dying.

Xu Hei wouldn\'t deliberately put himself in danger just for growth; he was purely forced into it.

At this moment, Xu Hei looked at the incarnation in front of him, and the incarnation looked back at him.

This felt different from a puppet; both seemed like himself, able to be controlled at will, and casting spells felt more natural.

He could even use the incarnation to control a puppet.

Perhaps it was an illusion, but Xu Hei felt that the incarnation created by the Ever-changing Fish and Dragon was more advanced than others, almost indistinguishable from the real thing!

Even Zhou Qing couldn\'t tell at first glance, only realizing the truth when he caught it in his hand.

Xu Hei took out the ancient bell he had snatched. He had already refined it, and it was called the Bell of Chaos.

Inside the bell, a spell was engraved, named Chaos Wave, which had a strong restraining effect on corpse puppets. As long as it was struck, the Chaos Wave would automatically be released.

Xu Hei had reason to suspect that this bell originated from the Heavenly Puppet Sect.

Xu Hei sent out the incarnation, holding the Bell of Chaos, and crawled into the dark doorway.

He didn\'t know what was inside, so he used the incarnation to probe first.

"Whoosh!"

Passing through the door, Xu Hei didn\'t feel any obstruction and entered the secret chamber.

"This is..."

In an instant, Xu Hei was stunned.

Inside the chamber, a series of pills were neatly displayed on the counter, with remnants of medicinal herbs on the ground, very fresh, and various medicinal fragrances floating in the air.

It showed that someone had been here not long ago.

The pill bottles on the counter were all ancient, with the names of the pills written on them.

Xu Hei glanced over and couldn\'t help but widen his eyes, almost dropping his jaw in shock.

"Longevity Pill, Longevity Pill, Longevity Pill..."

There were many pills here, and surprisingly, half of them were Longevity Pills.

The other half were pills that Xu Hei was familiar with.

"Rejuvenation Pill, Blood Replenishing Pill, Awakening Pills..."

Looking at these familiar pills, Xu Hei smiled bitterly inside. He activated his Gravity Technique and pulled two bottles of pills over.

The pill bottles were ancient relics, but the pills inside were modern concoctions.

Xu Hei already understood who had been here before.

—Xu Bai.

Xu Bai had left a jade slip saying she had found a pill refining holy land. He didn\'t expect it to be here.

He just couldn\'t figure out how Xu Bai had reached this place, which was fraught with danger, where a slight mistake could cost one\'s life.

Not to mention the Red-haired Corpse King and the various corpse puppets in the Blood Corpse Cave, just getting here without Core Formation cultivation and incredible luck would be nearly impossible.

Xu Hei naturally knew that Xu Bai was researching the Longevity Pill.

He casually pulled over a bottle of Longevity Pills. The pills inside were emerald green, full of vitality, yet for some reason, Xu Hei had a gut feeling that this pill should never be consumed!

And on the surface of the Longevity Pill, there was a cross mark, which Xu Bai usually wouldn\'t make.

This only indicated that there was something wrong with this pill!

Xu Hei pondered briefly, took away some Longevity Pills, and left only three bottles.

He also took all the other pills, then took out some empty pill bottles he found in the corpse puppet\'s room and placed them here.

Afterward, he collected the fresh herb remnants on the ground, sprinkled some dust, and perfectly simulated the appearance of an ancient pill refining room.

After some arrangements, Xu Hei couldn\'t guarantee to fool everyone, but deceiving over ninety-nine percent was enough.

"Where has Xu Bai gone?"

Xu Hei took out the jade slip Xu Bai left behind, inserted his Divine Sense into it, and roughly sensed that the direction was towards Wuyou City.

...

At this moment, the struggle in the herb garden had reached a fever pitch.

The spirit medicines here were not defenseless; they all had strong offensive capabilities.

A Rafflesia could swallow a Core Formation cultivator, and a bomb tree would throw explosive fruits when approached, easily injuring a Core Formation cultivator.

There was also an eighty-thousand-year-old willow tree, with willow branches like flying swords, possessing strength comparable to mid-stage Core Formation.

The hundred-thousand-year-old Gold Thunder Bamboo even had late Core Formation cultivation.

However, plants were still plants; as long as they couldn\'t move, humans had ways to deal with them.

The premise was human unity.

When Zhang Tie exhausted all his strength to cut a piece of Gold Thunder Bamboo, only to be ambushed by the Zhou Family\'s ancestor, things took an unpredictable turn.

Initially, both sides were harmoniously harvesting, taking what they needed, but now, a life-and-death battle had erupted.

After a round of fighting, both sides were heavily injured and retreated.

As the main forces of the Heavenly Puppet Sect, Snake Catchers Sect, and others entered the scene, the Chu Tian Alliance immediately faced a life-and-death crisis, on the brink of annihilation.

Lei He, Zhou Qingxuan, the Thirteenth Ancestor of the Snake Catchers Sect, and others—ten Core Formation cultivators in total—were completely unmatched against the two from the Chu Tian Alliance.

The passage was blocked, and the perimeter of the Blood Corpse Cave was also sealed.

There was no way to escape, no way to retreat; it was a certain death situation!

However, in the face of such a desperate situation, the Chu Tian Alliance showed no sign of panic.

"If you dare to make a move, I\'ll destroy this herb garden, and no one will get any benefits!"

Xu Qingfeng took out a scroll, ready to unfold it, releasing a world-destroying wave, causing even the space to tremble as if it would collapse.

"And all the corpse puppets suppressed here, I\'ll lift all the seals and see how you deal with the corpse puppet army!"

Xu Qingfeng\'s first statement only made everyone hesitate.

The second statement made everyone\'s faces change dramatically.

As Xu Qingfeng raised his hand, the sealed Red-haired Corpse King outside let out a roar, a red-haired whirlwind rising, ready to crawl out from the ground.

Everyone was shocked and could no longer remain calm.

"Stop! We agree to a ceasefire!"

Lei He hurriedly shouted, stopping Xu Qingfeng\'s reckless actions.