Serpent Ancestor
Chapter 565: Who is the Inner Demon?

At first, Xu Hei was just searching the bodies, but when he saw the fleeing crowd, a murderous intent suddenly arose in his heart. Without a second thought, he charged forward and began a massacre.

With a single sword strike, Xu Hei slaughtered everyone in the pavilion. This was a shop in Tianhen City, and Xu Hei rushed in, looting all the supplies.

Then, he headed to the next pill shop, using the same method to rob it clean.

After leaving the City Lord's mansion, Xu Hei went straight to the commercial district, launching a robbery in the wealthiest part of Tianhen City. Wherever there were cultivators, there was his shadow, killing and seizing treasures.

Xu Hei had gone mad with killing, and the number of cultivators who died at his hands quickly surpassed a thousand, continuing to rise. Anyone who saw him was doomed.

"Boom!" "Boom!" "Boom!"...

Several cannonballs fell, turning a row of buildings in the commercial district into ruins in an instant. Xu Hei reached out his hand, and all the storage bags were absorbed by him.

"Enough, stop killing. We have enough spirit stones! These innocent people have not provoked us, why must we annihilate them?"

Suddenly, a voice echoed in Xu Hei's mind, a voice that was his own.

This voice sounded just like him, as if it came from his own mouth.

Xu Hei merely sneered coldly at this: "If the Tianhen Sword Sect hadn't gone to Liefeng City to kill me, would I be here for revenge? They brought this upon themselves!"

"But what does this have to do with them? These rogue cultivators just live here, they've never offended me!"

The voice in his mind spoke again.

"It doesn't matter, they must die! Since they've already offended me, they must be eliminated! Even though they're only at the Foundation Establishment Stage or Core Formation Stage, who can guarantee they won't reach the Elemental Infant stage or even stronger in the future? Have you forgotten to nip the problem in the bud?" Xu Hei reprimanded.

"Besides, don't I need money? Raising insects requires spirit stones, cultivation requires spirit stones, my consumption is several times that of other cultivators. Without enough spirit stones, how can I continue cultivating?"

"Since I've come this far, why pretend to be a good person? Might as well slaughter them all!"

Xu Hei's words left the voice in his mind speechless.

After a long time, the voice in his mind finally said:

"I wasn't like this before!"

The tone had weakened.

The former Xu Hei did everything for survival, he had a bottom line, never killing the innocent, only killing when absolutely necessary.

But now, was the figure with blood-red eyes, black hair wildly dancing, and sword drawn to slaughter the city really him?

Was it really him?

Xu Hei felt a sharp pain in his heart.

"No! Don't do this! Stop! Stop killing!"

The voice inside suddenly roared.

"Shut up, you inner demon, don't disturb my Dao heart!"

Xu Hei shouted angrily, thrusting his sword once more, killing a group of cultivators who were kneeling and begging for mercy on the spot.

"The current me is the true me, you are just an inner demon! I am a snake demon, destined to become a dragon, how can I have compassion for humans?"

"I'm not the inner demon, you are the inner demon!"

Xu Hei dragged his long sword, one hand transforming into a dragon claw, his body gradually covered in pitch-black dragon scales, his eyes turning into dragon eyes, and dragon horns sprouting from his head.

Although still in human form, as he walked, his form gradually changed, no longer human.

"How can a dragon have compassion for a group of ant-like humans?"

"The Heavenly Demon Technique is meant to eradicate ridiculous compassion, to suppress an inner demon like you!"

Xu Hei's eyes were blood-red, standing amidst a sea of blood and corpses.

At this moment, as he reclaimed his "true self," an indescribable fervor began to surge within Xu Hei's heart.

Drop by drop of black blood appeared within him, it was dragon blood!

However, this dragon blood was different, it was purely pitch-black, with astonishing demonic thoughts, born in slaughter, appearing in one crime after another.

The dragon summoned with this kind of dragon blood could only be a demonic dragon!

Xu Hei was unknowingly evolving towards the direction of a demonic dragon.

Even the golden Elemental Infant within him was tainted with a layer of black.

Dragon scales, dragon bones, dragon veins, dragon blood, under such circumstances, Xu Hei had actually birthed dragon blood, as if he had found his true path.

Suddenly, his body froze, his hand trembled slightly, and a trace of struggle flashed in his eyes.

"No! This is wrong, I'm not the inner demon, you are!"

The voice in his heart roared.

And Xu Hei did not refute, just smiled slightly and questioned:

"Do you think humans care about killing a bunch of chickens?"

"The gap between dragons and humans is far greater than that between humans and chickens. To become a dragon, you must recognize this! If you don't even know this, do you deserve to be called a dragon?"

"Inner demon, you will always be just an inner demon, don't ever think of affecting my Dao heart again! I will become the strongest dragon in the world!"

As Xu Hei spoke to himself, his trembling slowly subsided.

A cruel smile appeared at the corner of Xu Hei's mouth, and deep within him, the voice of the "inner demon" never appeared again.

…………

Two hours later.

Under the bombardment of Qin Xuanji and the charge of the puppet army, this city of thirty thousand people was completely washed in blood, with only a few who used special methods to escape.

Over ninety percent of the cultivators were trapped in Tianhen City, meeting untimely deaths.

Even those with high skills chose not to stand out at this time, slipping away quietly like the elder guarding the treasury, which was the best choice.

Of course, such people were destined to leave no name behind.

In this city massacre, they only remembered one person—Elder Mo Yun.

Perhaps years later, a monument would be erected here, but that was a story for another time.

"Chen Zimo of Liefeng City, Mo Yun of Tianhen City, once I reach Divine Transformation, I will carve your names on the outer battlefield."

Qin Xuanji stood on the ruins of Tianhen City, thinking to himself.

From a mortal's perspective, he was an outright demon. However, he still held great respect for those who sacrificed themselves for righteousness.

They were all martyrs.

The mission was complete, and the blood crystal core had absorbed enough blood essence, giving him confidence to refine a fifth-tier puppet, achieving Divine Transformation through mechanical means.

Xu Hei glanced at Qin Xuanji, who only nodded slightly before quickly leaving without any exchange.

…………

A day later.

In the western part of the Central Plains, at the Ancient Tomb Sect's stronghold.

This city, named Ghost City, was shrouded in clouds all year round, suitable for those cultivating sinister techniques. There were not many cultivators in the city, only about five thousand.

But after Xu Hei arrived, more than half of these five thousand cultivators fled, leaving only about a hundred who were either unafraid of death or willingly surrendered, unwilling to leave.

Xu Hei searched the city but found nothing of value, not even the city-protecting formation "Ten Thousand Ghosts Formation" at the City Lord's mansion was present.

It seemed they had heard of Xu Hei's notorious reputation and fled in advance, giving him no chance.

Xu Hei felt utterly bored.

In this way, other places were likely in similar situations, unless the other party was confident in dealing with Xu Hei, in which case, Xu Hei would not dare to advance rashly.

"In that case, there are still some small cities in the Central Plains, should I just slaughter them too?"

Xu Hei suddenly had this thought.

"Ah!!"

Suddenly, Xu Hei clutched his head and let out a scream.