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Translator: Tamon
The Snake Catchers, an organization south of Chu Kingdom specialized in capturing snakes. At least that was what circulated among the masses.
In truth, from a cultivator’s standpoint, they were a sect.
A sect with a legacy that spread for thousands of years. Ages ago, when it was at its peak, it was known by another name, a bold name—Dragon Subduing Sect!
In the endless river of history, unmatched in all but time, the Dragon Subduing Sect declined, starting with the the fall of their 18th leader. The even was followed by members unable to cultivate their dragon subduing art to the highest level.
They were forced to regress two grades, changing into the Snake Catchers Sect and their disciples calling themselves snake catchers.
The Dragon Subduing Sect’s name was too flashy, so they chose to swallow their pride in changing their name out of fear of catching the wrong kind of attention and ending up wiped out, down to their last disciple.
…
These days, shocking news took Chen Town’s cultivator community by storm.
“Have you heard? A millennium demon snake came out of the nearby mountain and almost wiped out all the snake catchers’ party!”
“I heard Chen Daoling lost six of his eight disciples and came out himself to avenge them, only to be beaten within an inch of his life. He aged twenty years overnight!”
“Heavens Almighty! Chen Daoling was a half-step Foundation Establishment cultivator!”
“What you don’t know is that he swallowed a Soul Rupture Pill. He had the power of a true Foundation Establishment cultivator and still lost.”
“That’s horrible! We best stay away from that mountain!”
Most of the gathering cultivators in the tavern talked about this hot topic, shocked as the news unfolded.
They weren’t the only ones. Mortals made their own rumors about the mountain’s demon snake.
As the unchecked rumors spread through word of mouth, a full picture of the old snake demon took form, now thought to be divine!
It had inky scales, except for a row of dark golden ones at the tip of its tail. Its pupils were golden and an oval head; not much different from the Old Snake King.
True or not, everyone was unanimous in their decision to give this snake a wide berth, the widest they could.
Some believed the demon snake committed a heavy crime that would send snake catchers after it. Its days were sure to be numbered.
Wang Xiaoniu and his sister were in Chen Town’s private school when they noticed the demon snake’s painting.
[The Old Snake King is so amazing!] They gasped.
All that stuff about Xu Hei killing people left and right, then devouring the stragglers, fell on deaf ears, not believing for a second. For he had met Xu Hei.
…
Home, Xu Hei entered seclusion for the past three days to lick his wounds.
In top shape, it was time to check his spoils, Mu Lei’s storage bag.
He eyed the black dog to the side. “Could you not stand so close?”
“Heh, you take that garbage for some treasure? I’d refuse it even if you gave it to me.” The black dog mocked.
Xu Hei gave him a hard look but still opened the bag.
Mu Lei had a lot more stuff than Mu Yun. They piled on the ground!
Eight pill vials, one thunder talismans and many other kinds, a heap of ingredients, and a miniature alchemy furnace around the many jade slips.
Then there was that palm-sized stone enveloped in a white hue and a faint Spiritual Energy aura.
“Spirit stone!” The dog lit up and pawed to snatch it.
Xu Hei was faster, using his Divine Sense to shove everything back in the storage bag before stuffing it in his belly. He inched back, staring at him in warning.
The dog jerked and looked away in awkwardness. “Humph, I was just curious. Whatever.”
Xu Hei didn’t even blink.
The black dog scratched its chest while looking away before leaving in awkward silence.
…
Days went by and Xu Hei’s life calmed. If he wasn’t training a magical art, he was feasting on his latest prey.
He was so sharp that he’d need but three days to grasp the basics of any magical art.
Attraction was his main focus. The repeated practice improved its range to five meters.
It was this art that almost crushed him in his last fight.
[The old guy’s Attraction could hold me from three hundred meters. I must reach that stage as well!] Xu Hei motivated himself.
The black dog hadn’t left since, sometimes sitting cross-legged with black mist coming off its head while its body shone in an eerie light.
Xu Hei treated him like air.
“Disciple, keep eating like that and you’ll never advance.”
Xu Hei was feasting on a boar when the black dog popped on his left to ridicule him.
Xu Hei eyed him as he never missed a swallow.
The dog mocked. “Even a dog would scoff at such garbage.”
“Then what am I supposed to eat?” Xu Hei’s temper flared.
“What else but top-grade demons and spiritual herbs.” The black dog laughed.
“There are hardly any demons nearby, and none of them would give me much boost. I’m better off going after humans,” said Xu Hei. As a mid Awareness demon, early Awareness demons no longer cut it.
The black dog stared for a while before giving a wide grin.
He vanished from the spot, giving Xu Hei a pause as he used his Divine Sense.
The dog was nowhere within his range. Even his aura was gone.
“He’s gone?” Xu Hei was stunned.
He was thorough in his search of the whole mountain, but the dog was truly gone. But that still wasn’t enough of an assurance, only after the day passed did he relax.
Anyone would feel uneasy being watched by such an unknown powerhouse, a snake included.
Xu Hei went back to his cave and took out Mu Lei’s storage bag to sort it out.
He spent two hours replacing the Thunder Seal’s Divine Sense mark with his own.
Then he organized the pills, talismans, and miscellaneous.
Of the two storage bags he had, he put the most important things in the first, top pills, top talismans, and magic treasures.
The second bag held the average and low-grade stuff that offered him little use.
There were still many ingredients he couldn’t make sense of, metals, herbs, and animal parts that Xu Hei piled in the corner.
Xu Hei gave special attention to the spirit stone, however, placing it in the first bag.
He put Mu Lei’s jade slips on the ground and scanned each with his Divine Sense.
Xu Hei already knew the basic magical arts, making them worthless.
That left him with but a few, but those made Xu Hei’s eyes shine.
“Alchemy Catalog, 45 volumes, an alchemy diary…”
Xu Hei’s heart jumped in joy, his breath hiking.
Pill and herb knowledge.
They were exactly what Xu Hei needed!
The memories he had mentioned many spiritual herbs and pills, but vaguely.
These jade slips, however, detailed everything about a herb or pill.
After all this time, Xu Hei knew of the Snake Fruit Tree, for instance, but not its worth. The jade slip changed that.
“Snake Spiritual Fruit, a low spiritual herb that gives snakes an eighty percent chance to become demons. Eating three of them offers a twenty percent chance of reaching mid-level. The main ingredient in the making of Qi Recovery Pill, Youth Pill…
“Snake Spiritual Fruit Tree, high-grade spiritual herb. Bark, branch, and leaves contain potent medicinal characteristics. Never to be taken raw, or the result would be exploding from the wild energy. First is to be refined into a Minor Boost Pill…
“Earthfire Vine, mid-grade spiritual herb absorbing the essence of the sun. Has a violent fire Spiritual Energy…”
Xu Hei absorbed all he could like a sponge for the next four hours.
The knowledge came at the perfect moment, maximizing Xu Hei’s experience and worldview.
Mu Lei had a good grasp of alchemy. His storage bag also had a miniature alchemy furnace along with many of dried spiritual grass to supply it.
Xu Hei put aside learning alchemy for now. He had many pills on him and he’d give it a try when his stock was gone and he’d learned all he could from the records.
He flinched and stashed everything back in their bags just as the black dog made its unwanted reappearance.
This time, he came with two multicolored birds in its mouth, putting them down.
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