Serpent Ancestor

Chapter 177: Corpse Puppet System, Final Level

Xu Hei realized that he might have absorbed too much corpse Qi.

He took out an antidote pill and swallowed it, expelling the corpse poison from his body.

But just then, as the corpse Qi dissipated, all the coffins began to make noises, and pairs of claws reached out.

The lid of the nearest coffin was suddenly lifted, and a green-haired zombie wrapped in white cloth glanced at him and immediately charged forward.

"Damn it!"

Xu Hei's expression changed, and in a flash of thought, he quickly took a deep breath, swallowing countless corpse Qi into his body, no longer suppressing it, letting it permeate throughout.

With the corpse Qi entering his body, black Qi emanated from Xu Hei, and the green-haired zombie indeed stopped moving, merely staring at him quietly.

Xu Hei secretly breathed a sigh of relief, but after inhaling the corpse Qi, the dizziness returned.

He dared not use another antidote pill and could only endure the corpse poison, crawling forward.

He wasn't afraid of a single green-haired zombie; the problem was there were too many behind him. Xu Hei worried that once he started fighting, all the coffin lids would be lifted, and it would be uncontrollable.

Xu Hei guessed that he was supposed to pretend to be a corpse puppet to get through this trial.

He slightly increased his speed, but whenever he did, the coffin lids would tremble, forcing him to slow down.

Xu Hei's gaze swept over the coffins, discovering that the corpse puppets inside were all different.

There were humans, demons, fat ones, thin ones, with yellow, green, purple hair, some with wings on their backs, some just skeletons, in all sorts of forms, like a treasure map of corpse puppets.

"What does the tomb owner mean by this? Is it for me to observe the corpse puppets?"

Xu Hei secretly speculated.

The strength of these corpse puppets also varied, starting from the False Core Stage, with some even at the Core Formation Stage, each stronger than the last, their eyes like ghostly flames, their aura like Asura.

Xu Hei dared not scrutinize them deeply, only sensing them slightly.

Moreover, he discovered a pattern.

"The cultivation of the corpse puppets seems to correlate with their hair color: hairless is the weakest, green hair is slightly stronger, purple hair even stronger, followed by yellow and red hair."

Xu Hei's eyes flickered.

After walking for a while, he also noticed that the bottom of these coffins seemed to have the names of the corpse puppets engraved on them.

"Hairless Hopping Zombie, Green-haired Flying Zombie, Purple-haired Yaksha..."

Xu Hei scanned the names of the corpse puppets.

The Hairless Hopping Zombie was roughly at the Great Perfection of the Foundation Establishment Stage, similar to what he could refine.

The Green-haired Flying Zombie was at the False Core Stage, having initially formed a corpse core.

The Purple-haired Yaksha was clearly at the early stage of Core Formation.

Further on, Xu Hei found two coffins engraved with "Yellow-haired Corpse Charm" and "Red-haired Corpse King."

These two coffins undoubtedly represented the mid-stage and late-stage of Core Formation.

"There are even late-stage Core Formation corpse puppets here..."

Xu Hei's heart raced, forcing himself to stay calm.

This trial couldn't be passed by brute force; it had to be done according to the rules! Otherwise, he wouldn't even know how he died.

As for any thoughts of trickery, Xu Hei temporarily dismissed them; that was only feasible within his capabilities.

Trying to trick others here might just end up tricking himself first.

Through observation, Xu Hei noted that among the hundreds of coffins here, most were between hairless and green-haired, with very few purple-haired ones above the Core Formation Stage.

As for the Yellow-haired Corpse Charm and Red-haired Corpse King, Xu Hei only saw these two in front of him.

Xu Hei took a deep breath and crawled forward, passing by the coffin of the Yellow-haired Corpse Charm.

"Crack!"

A crack appeared in the coffin, and a surge of overwhelming corpse Qi emanated from it, spreading over Xu Hei.

This was a mid-stage Core Formation corpse puppet!

Xu Hei dared not hold his breath, allowing the corpse Qi to enter his body, making the dizziness even more intense, almost causing him to faint.

"I can't detoxify! This trial tests endurance against corpse puppets. If I can't even withstand the corpse Qi, how can I accept this inheritance?"

Xu Hei gritted his teeth, eyes firm, crawling forward.

Moments later, he reached the coffin of the Red-haired Corpse King.

This was the strongest corpse puppet here, at the late stage of Core Formation.

"Crack!"

The coffin lid opened, revealing a red-haired arm, human-like yet ape-like, with long nails, and in the darkness, a pair of eyes seemed to be watching him.

Xu Hei dared not look back, continuously reminding himself that he was a true dragon, and these corpse Qi were useless against him!

At this moment, the corpse Qi within Xu Hei surged like a vast ocean, polluting his blood and meridians, even threatening to corrupt his Divine Sense, turning him into a true corpse puppet.

But beneath his abdomen, within the range of the Demon God Cauldron, the corpse Qi could never enter.

After a while, Xu Hei felt slightly better, not pausing for a moment, passing the strongest corpse puppet and reaching the distance.

When he finally completed this path, all the coffin lids behind him closed again.

Ahead, a door to the next trial opened.

Xu Hei exhaled deeply.

At this moment, he looked ghostly, devoid of any vitality, like a dead corpse.

"Demon God Cauldron, refine!"

Xu Hei shouted, and the Demon God Cauldron operated at full power.

This time, it took him half a day to finally absorb all the corpse Qi, refining it into a black pill.

Xu Hei spat it out, and the pill floated before him, a half-finished corpse core.

"Is this the reward for this trial?" Xu Hei frowned.

Glancing back at the room full of coffins, he thought it would be great if he could control them all.

However, with his current strength, he couldn't even withstand the corpse Qi, so it was best not to indulge in such fantasies.

Xu Hei stepped through the exit, and the door behind him immediately closed. He arrived before a new stone tablet.

The stone tablet was also inscribed with numerous inscriptions.

"The third trial tests your affinity with corpse puppets."

"These corpse puppets were personally refined by me in the past. If you can't even withstand the corpse Qi, how can you receive my inheritance?"

"This inheritance includes Hairless Hopping Zombie, Green-haired Flying Zombie, Purple-haired Yaksha, Yellow-haired Corpse Charm, Red-haired Corpse King, White-haired Corpse Infant, Blood-faced Corpse Ghoul, Black-haired Corpse Demon..."

"The Divine Puppet Sect has refined countless puppets, yet little do they know, they themselves are the best puppets."

"My inheritor, reaching here means you have passed the preliminary test. Next is the final trial, questioning your heart."

"I will see if you truly wish to become my inheritor."

"Now, there is still a chance to turn back."

After reading this unexpectedly long passage, Xu Hei fell into silence, unlike before.

Previously, it was all about summarizing the trials, with nothing amiss from start to finish.

But upon reading this, Xu Hei felt an eerie vibe from the tomb owner.

Especially the last sentence, questioning whether he truly wished to become the inheritor.

Could it be that there are those who wouldn't want to?

"The Heavenly Puppet Sect doesn't use corpse puppets. Could this person be a demonic cultivator for refining so many corpse puppets?" Xu Hei became vigilant.