Chapter 22: Uninvited guest in the mountains and forests


    In addition to the spell jade slip, the storage bag contained a few talismans, pills, a magical treasure, and a Serpent Fruit tree.


    There was also a scroll named the Myriad Serpent Record, which documented over ten thousand types of snakes and hundreds of snake demons, all encountered by snake catchers.


    Each snake''s characteristics were detailed meticulously.


    Xu Hei skimmed through it and found his own species.


    "ck Yin Snake, mildly venomous, prefers cool and shady environments, grows to two meters in adulthood, and can reach five meters when transformed into a snake demon..."


    "...The strongest ck Yin Snake encountered by snake catchers was a Great Perfection Foundation Establishment Stage snake demon, reaching eighteen meters in length. It developed demon fire within its body, capable of spewing fire poison that kills upon contact!"


    "In the end, this snake was in by an elder and refined into a pill."


    Xu Hei was secretly shocked as he read this record.


    "So, I am a ck Yin Snake. However, I can''t find any record of the scales on my tail, not even in the Myriad Serpent Record."Xu Hei felt puzzled and, after a quick look, put the Myriad Serpent Record away.


    Two days had passed, and a new ck-gold scale had grown on his tail. It would take about half a month for all ten scales to grow.


    During this period, he didn''t n to go out.


    The storage bag contained food, pills, and other supplies to sustain him for some time.


    Although the Serpent Fruit tree had a broken branch and no leaves, it seemed not to be dead. Xu Hei nted it in a spot with soil.


    He had already erased the divine sense imprint on the Beast Control Ring and imprinted his own.


    After studying it for a long time, he discovered that as long as it was ced around the neck, it could control any living being, making them act ording to his will.


    Even humans were no exception.


    Of course, it could only control the physical body, not the mind.


    Finally, Xu Hei took out a golden jade slip.


    This jade slip was the only thing he couldn''t decipher. Even when he fully activated his divine sense, he couldn''t prate it, as if it was sealed.


    Xu Hei guessed that it probably contained the cultivation techniques of the snake catcher.


    Although he was very curious, to prevent any tracking or locating function, he directly shattered it with the scales on his tail.


    "Crack!"


    The jade slip broke, and a golden light dispersed, turning into nothingness.


    Xu Hei continued to attack the jade slip until it was ground into powder and threw it into the nearby pond.


    "First, I need to cultivate escape techniques like the Earth Escape Technique and Water Escape Technique, which can also be used for pursuit. These are my top priorities."


    "Second, the Fireball Technique for destroying evidence is my second priority."


    "Third, the Gravity Technique for retrieving items from a distance, so I don''t have to use my tail or mouth every time."


    Xu Hei formted a detailed cultivation n in his mind.


    As for the Wind de Technique, Thunder Strike Technique, and Turtle Breath Technique, they were advanced spells. The jade slip mentioned that they could only be cultivated in thete Qi Refining Stage, so Xu Hei didn''t consider them for now.


    Xu Heiy on a patch of soil, silently reciting incantations. Spiritual Qi flowed from his body along a specific route to his lower abdomen.


    "Earth Escape Technique!"


    With a thought, his lower abdomen sank an inch into the ground but could go no further.


    The first experiment yielded some results, and Xu Hei was delighted. He did have some talent.


    "It''s said that the Earth Escape Technique works better if you have an earth spiritual root. I wonder what my spiritual root is."


    Xu Hei had never tested his spiritual root and could only specte.


    ...


    A hundred miles away, in Myriad Serpent Valley.


    Chen Daoling appeared in Myriad Serpent Valley once again.


    This time, he had apass in his hand.


    Thispass had divination capabilities and was borrowed from a friend at the Astrology Bureau at great cost.


    Chen Daoling pointed at thepass, and a shadow of a ck snake was projected onto it.


    This ck snake shadow was drawn based on Zhao Wenzhuo''s divine sense and bore eighty percent of Xu Hei''s essence.


    Soon, thepass began to spin, round and round.


    Finally, the needle pointed in a direction, swaying back and forth, the amplitude getting smaller but never stopping.


    "If you had a fragment of its skin or blood, the uracy would be higher. With just a projection, even the Destiny Compass can''t perfectly locate it."


    Those were his friend''s words.


    Chen Daoling''s face immediately darkened.


    Next, he tried to locate the snake catcher''s spell jade slip but found it couldn''t be located, indicating it had been destroyed.


    "What a cautious demon. I refuse to believe I can''t find you!"


    Chen Daoling began searching Myriad Serpent Valley, hoping to find any leftover bloodstains.


    ...


    Unknowingly, a month passed.


    During this month, Xu Hei had been in seclusion, cultivating spells.


    Although his Earth Escape Technique hadn''t reached perfection, it had improved significantly. He could now move through the ground using pure magical power without moving his physical body.


    His speed was even faster than Mu Yun''s at that time.


    This made Xu Hei feelpletely at ease. In terms of cultivating Five Elements Spells, he was no worse than humans.


    However, Xu Hei also had a disadvantage: the amount of True Qi he had.


    He was only at the fourthyer of the Spirit Communion Stage, just mid-stage. Such intense use of the Earth Escape Technique could only be maintained for the time it takes to burn a stick of incense.


    "The Earth Escape Technique is meant to be a trump card; it''s enough if it works," Xu Hei thought to himself.


    A month had passed, and the ten scales on his tail had regrown. After consuming arge number of pills, the eleventh scale was also in the process of transforming.


    He didn''t know when the next crisis woulde, so he had to be prepared at all times.


    As for the Fireball Technique, progress was slower.


    Xu Hei spent a week and only managed to form a small fireball the size of a palm, with no lethality.


    "Right, I remember seeing a red vine with strong fire attributes on my way back. I wonder if it will help with the Fireball Technique," Xu Hei thought.


    After more than a month in seclusion, he had almost exhausted his food and pills, leaving only a few for critical moments. It was time to go out and forage.


    Xu Hei left the cave for the first time and ventured into the outside world.


    It was now June, and the weather was getting hotter.


    After half a year of letting nature take its course, the species on the two mountains he controlled had gradually be more diverse. Xu Hei casually scanned the area and found a group of rock goats climbing a cliff.


    Such a steep location was to prevent predators from attacking.


    Xu Hei climbed the cliff, swallowed a goat, and quickly refined it with the Demon God Cauldron, expelling impurities.


    Now, he could control the Demon God Cauldron more freely.


    "Full and satisfied, time to check it out."


    Following the route in his memory, Xu Hei crawled towards his destination.


    The ce wasn''t far, just beyond the neighboring mountain. Xu Hei reached it in an hour.


    It was a bare rocky terrain with no shrubs nearby, making the temperature high. The red vine grew in the middle of the rocks, absorbing the high temperature from the surrounding hundred meters of sunlight.


    This was a mid-grade spirit medicine, the Earth me Vine, but Xu Hei didn''t know its name.


    Xu Hei initially wanted to use the Earth Escape Technique to get closer but found the rocks too hard to prate.


    "Screw it!"


    Xu Hei took a deep breath, spread his divine sense, and charged forward with all his might, turning into a ck streak heading for the Earth me Vine.


    "Roar!"


    Suddenly, a loud beast roar echoed from afar, and a silver figure sprinted towards him at high speed.


    Wherever there is spirit medicine, there must be a demonic beast guarding it.