Serpent Ancestor

Chapter 176: Bai Luo's Collapse, Land of Corpse Poison

After Xu Hei left, the back door closed shortly after.

At this moment, inside the first stone chamber.

Bai Luo was panting heavily, his True Qi exhausted, sitting on the ground with a pale face, unable to muster the strength to stand. He looked utterly drained.

In his hand, he held a golden leaf, exuding an immense pressure. This was a decree left by the Elemental Infant ancestor of the Heavenly Puppet Sect, containing a trace of the profound meaning that only those at the Elemental Infant stage could comprehend. It was one of his strongest trump cards.

It was with this item that he managed to suppress the butcher and seal him in the coffin.

Originally, he intended to use force to eliminate the butcher, but that thing was simply unkillable. It could regrow a severed arm, with endless limbs, wounds healing frantically, and it could devour other corpse puppets to enhance its power, with the corpse Qi growing thicker.

Forced into a corner, he had no choice but to switch to sealing, thus using this trump card.

Bai Luo put away the golden leaf, his face flushed, and spat out another mouthful of blood, his breath weak.

"This was supposed to be my last resort, and now I've used one up. What a huge loss this trip turned out to be!"

He came to this ancient relic with a goal in mind, not just for the opportunity in this Earth Path, but for the greatest opportunity at the end.

However, having passed the first challenge, there was no turning back now!

He took a deep breath, adjusted his mindset, and walked into the passage leading to the next challenge.

There was a stone tablet here, with inscriptions carved on it.

Bai Luo glanced at the inscriptions.

"Defeat the Cat King and place it in the coffin to pass..."

"Cat King?"

Bai Luo was stunned for a moment, then carefully read the inscription again.

In an instant, he froze.

Put the Cat King in the coffin?

That wasn't a Cat King at all; it was clearly the butcher!

Though young, Bai Luo was not a fool. He immediately understood that the thing wasn't an original corpse puppet of this place but was deliberately swapped by someone!

Bai Luo clenched his fists, his delicate features twisted in extreme anger.

So, the difficulty of his first challenge wasn't supposed to be this high; it was only because of the trap set by the person before him that it became so difficult!

It forced him to use the paradise painting, and in the end, to seal the butcher, he even used the golden leaf decree.

"Argh!!! I will never forgive you in this life!!"

Bai Luo roared to the sky in anger, almost spitting out another mouthful of blood.

He had already suspected that the butcher was added later, but he was unwilling to believe that the other party had such capability. Yet the facts were right in front of him, leaving him no choice but to believe!

Bai Luo sat cross-legged on the ground for a long time before slowly calming his inner rage. He took several pills to stabilize his True Qi and adjusted his mindset to its best.

This trial was not only a test of strength but also of character.

The Heavenly Puppet Sect had specifically trained him for this relic, preparing him for various situations, including harsh environments and tormenting opponents.

This had honed Bai Luo's mindset far beyond that of ordinary cultivators. Although not yet at the level of some sect elders, among his peers, he was exceptional.

An hour later, when Bai Luo opened his eyes again, he had regained his calm demeanor.

"A small setback like this won't defeat me."

"Those who achieve great things don't mind such minor troubles."

Bai Luo exhaled and, with firm steps, walked into the second stone chamber.

Inside the stone chamber was a formation test, a nine-square grid.

Nine formations, first completing the outer eight, then stepping into the center.

Bai Luo only needed a glance at the environment to understand the test's content, and he inwardly sneered.

However, he suddenly became alert. Since the person before liked to set traps, could there be traps left here as well?

Bai Luo squinted his eyes.

He decisively pressed a finger to his forehead, extracting a wisp of divine sense and cultivation, condensing it beside him.

This time, he spared no expense in cultivation, spending a day to create an external incarnation identical to himself, with the same aura.

"Go!"

Bai Luo pointed forward, and the external incarnation stepped onto the first square.

"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh..."

A fierce wind blade appeared, a wind-based killing formation, attacking the external incarnation.

Bai Luo hadn't even had time to breathe a sigh of relief when he saw a massive meteor appear above both his and the incarnation's heads, falling down—a large-scale group spell, Falling Stars.

"Not good!"

Bai Luo's face changed dramatically, hurriedly raising a light shield. His incarnation was instantly crushed, and all the attacks came roaring towards him.

…………

In the passage, Xu Hei stood before a stone tablet, reading the inscription.

"The second challenge is the nine-square grid formation I created in my youth, consisting of the most basic nine killing formations. Simply break them one by one to pass."

"There are three methods to break it: first, follow the formation rules and meet the requirements to break it. Second, break it with brute force. Third, analyze the formation structure and break it with another formation."

"Among them, the third method is the best. Those who pass using this method can comprehend the mysteries of the nine formations and benefit for life. This is the reward for the second challenge."

Xu Hei thought he had found a loophole, not realizing that the tomb owner had deliberately designed it this way to allow him to comprehend formations and break formations with formations.

Xu Hei sighed inwardly, adjusted his state to the best, and proceeded to the third challenge.

The third stone chamber.

As soon as Xu Hei entered, he felt an overwhelming corpse Qi filling the chamber. Inside, there were no less than a hundred coffins, with a large amount of gas emanating from them, turning the air a purplish-black, easily causing poisoning.

Xu Hei sniffed. Although he disliked the smell emanating from the corpses, he did not reject it, nor would he be poisoned by it.

This seemed to be a natural advantage.

Xu Hei breathed a sigh of relief. With coffins placed everywhere, he followed the narrow path towards the end.

"Crack!"

Suddenly, the first coffin opened, and a withered claw reached out, emitting a terrifying fluctuation, definitely a powerful corpse puppet close to the False Core.

The lid was lifted, and a pair of glowing green eyes looked over.

Meanwhile, countless coffins behind him began to stir, making cracking sounds as if they were about to open.

"Could it be that this challenge requires me to deal with so many corpse puppets?"

Xu Hei looked at the coffins behind him, his heart alert, instinctively retreating.

As Xu Hei retreated to the Cat King's side, those green eyes turned, staring straight at the Cat King.

Xu Hei pondered for a moment, hoisted the Cat King onto his back, and continued crawling forward.

As Xu Hei advanced, the lids of the coffins behind him opened one after another, with countless eyes peering out, seemingly ready to rise from their coffins. But upon seeing the Cat King, they all stopped.

"After passing the first challenge, there's a reward of a shroud, meaning in this challenge, as long as I wear the shroud and disguise myself as one of them, I can pass?" Xu Hei calculated inwardly.

The shroud was taken by the butcher, but having the Cat King seemed to work as well.

Suddenly, Xu Hei felt dizzy and nauseous, as if he wanted to vomit.

It was the first time he had encountered such a situation.