Serpent Ancestor

"Follow my steps closely. It's easy to leave the Penglai Sea, but hard to enter. One wrong step, and you'll be trapped for a year," the seagull warned.

Xu Hei, having no feet, could only crawl slowly behind the seagull.

At this moment, they were in a world filled with dense fog, where one couldn't see their own hand. This was the natural formation of the Penglai Sea, left from ancient times and never broken.

There was no sound around, except for the patter of the seagull's footsteps and the rustling of Xu Hei's crawling.

The seagull broke the silence, "Why aren't you talking? Aren't you curious about my name?"

Xu Hei quickly asked, "May I ask for your name, demon brother?"

"I'm Lei Ou, known as the Mountain Perching Seagull," the seagull replied.

"I'm Xu Hei," he said.

"I'm not interested in your name. Just remember to bring me potatoes next time, cut into strips and preferably fried. Swallowing a whole one nearly choked me to death," Lei Ou said.

Fried... he wondered if Lei Ou would eat them deep-fried.

After about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, the Spiritual Qi of heaven and earth suddenly became dense. Just a casual breath was equivalent to ten breaths of cultivation in the outside world.

Moreover, this Spiritual Qi was very pure and easier to absorb, unlike the impure Qi outside. Living here, even a mortal could live a long life.

For a cultivator, cultivating here would yield twice the result with half the effort, making it easier to achieve the legendary perfect Foundation Establishment and perfect Core Formation!

At this moment, the dense fog completely dissipated, and when Xu Hei saw the scene ahead, he was stunned.

The sea ahead shimmered with a blue-green hue, with many algae growing, stretching as far as the eye could see.

The water wasn't deep, allowing the sea floor's plants to be visible. Sunlight reflected off the sea surface, creating a magnificent, dreamlike scene.

The sky was a boundless blue, with many small islands floating on the sea or suspended in the air. Cranes and seagulls danced together, koi swam freely, and various rare and exotic beasts lived on the islands.

Xu Hei was dumbfounded.

He had never seen such a fairyland in his life, as if living in a dream, and the scene greatly shocked him.

Lei Ou glanced at Xu Hei, who looked like a country bumpkin, and laughed, "Heh, this is just the outer area of the Penglai Sea, inhabited by local wild species. The true core area is further ahead."

Xu Hei nodded and followed Lei Ou forward.

Passing through the outer area, Xu Hei's mood gradually calmed. There were especially many islands here, both in the sky and sea, numbering at least over three thousand, each home to a considerable population of creatures.

Compared to the harshness of the outside world, this place was paradise.

A snake born outside would face life and death tests as soon as it hatched, but here, just breathing could increase one's cultivation, and spirit beasts were at least at the Spirit Communion Stage.

The difference was simply too great!

Xu Hei suddenly regretted not coming here sooner.

Before long, under Lei Ou's guidance, Xu Hei arrived at a flat island. This island had formations set up, with no signs of spirit beasts living there, distinctly different from other islands.

"This is the assessment island," Xu Hei thought to himself.

The facilities of the Penglai Sea were composed of islands, essentially similar to human sects.

"Another newcomer?"

"Hasn't the enrollment period passed? Why is someone here for assessment again?"

"Must be a connection of some elder, afraid to come during the official time for fear of embarrassment, sneaking in like that phoenix bird the other day."

Whispers came from the nearby sea, from a group of turtles. They didn't hide, and Xu Hei could clearly hear their conversation.

Two days ago, a phoenix bird with extremely poor talent joined the Turtle lineage through connections, earning their disdain.

Lei Ou thought the same but didn't care about Xu Hei's talent, as long as he brought potatoes.

"Elder Mo, the special recruit has been brought. I take my leave!"

Lei Ou bowed to the front and then left.

Xu Hei landed and arrived at the center of the island, where there was a cave. Unexpectedly, an old Flood Dragon was coiled there.

The length of this Flood Dragon was unknown, with most of its body hidden in the cave, only its head exposed. It was unclear how many years it had lived, as its skin was nearly bald, looking listless like an elderly person.

It was Xu Hei's first time encountering a living Flood Dragon, and he couldn't help but scrutinize it.

Only when the old Flood Dragon raised its head did Xu Hei retract his gaze.

"Name," Elder Mo said.

"Xu Hei."

Elder Mo gestured to the stone pillars beside him, "See these stone pillars? Test each one."

With that, he closed his eyes and lay back down, snoring like thunder.

Xu Hei's figure flickered, arriving in front of the first stone pillar.

This was the first stone pillar, testing age.

Xu Hei hadn't been cultivating for long, less than five years, but before he gained awareness, he had lived for countless years and was already an old snake.

"Buzz!"

The stone pillar lit up with eighteen lights, indicating his age of eighteen.

This was about what Xu Hei expected.

"Eighteen years old, mid-stage of the demon core, slightly above average."

Elder Mo gave an evaluation in his heart.

In the outside world, this was already an impressive talent, but in the Penglai Sea, it was only slightly above average.

After all, with someone like Hai Teng, who reached the late stage of the demon core at ten, Xu Hei seemed quite ordinary. Otherwise, in previous years, Xu Hei would have been considered a genius.

The second stone pillar tested spiritual roots.

Xu Hei leaned against it, and the pillar lit up with a colorful glow, with the brown of the Earth Spiritual Root being particularly dazzling, while the other roots were also impressive.

"Five Elemental Spiritual Roots, exceptional Earth Spiritual Root..."

Elder Mo fell silent.

He didn't know how to evaluate it, only that it was suitable for living on land, not in the sea.

The third stone pillar tested the purity of True Qi.

This assessed whether one had achieved perfect Foundation Establishment and perfect Core Formation, and in this aspect, Xu Hei was definitely at a full-score level.

However, Xu Hei didn't plan to show it. He broke down his true essence, releasing only a tiny bit into the pillar.

The pillar lit up with white light.

"White True Qi, poor! But considering this snake formed its core outside, it's understandable," Elder Mo thought to himself.

The demonic beasts of the Penglai Sea, if not all achieving perfect Core Formation, at least half had light blue true essence.

Hai Teng, needless to say, already had purple true essence, terrifyingly strong!

For some reason, every time Elder Mo saw a snake demon, he would subconsciously compare it to Hai Teng, which undoubtedly lowered Xu Hei's evaluation in his heart.

In fact, Xu Hei was already considered qualified overall.

The fourth and fifth stone pillars tested physical strength and True Qi control, respectively, to see if one was suited for a body cultivation or a magic cultivation path.

With Xu Hei holding back, he barely passed.

Although Hei Huang advised him to be more high-profile and showcase his talent, Xu Hei didn't want to attract attention and preferred to develop quietly.

Xu Hei's wish was simple: as long as he could cultivate here without being disturbed, that would be enough.

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