Chapter 206: The Ancestor

The woman in white stopped not far from Zhou Qing and studied him carefully, a flicker of doubt crossing her exquisitely beautiful face.

“Have we met somewhere before?”

Seeing Zhou Qing dressed in a striking red robe, the woman in white felt she had seen him somewhere, but after some thought, she couldn’t recall exactly where. So she asked.

“We have indeed met. About twelve years ago, I…” As Zhou Qing explained, the woman in white’s memory was jogged.

“So, you came here today just to seek a dead end?”

After hearing Zhou Qing’s explanation, the woman’s tone carried a hint of anger as she retorted, but she did not rush to attack.

As she spoke, two figures emerged from a large mountain cave behind her.

Among these two who came out from the cave, Zhou Qing might have seen one before but had no clear memory, while the other was someone he knew well.

The one he recognized had the body of a serpent and the head of a man, crowned with snake-like hair. This was the half-demon serpent who had once chased him and Lin Yunxi as they leapt into the gorge and had pursued them for half a night afterward.

“You are!”

As the snake half-demon stepped out of the cave, his eyes immediately locked onto Zhou Qing’s crimson robe. He remembered Zhou Qing vividly, still bitter over failing to obtain the Tribulation-Avoidance Robe back then.

After scrutinizing Zhou Qing a few moments, the serpent half-demon smiled and said, “Haha, I let you escape back then. Let’s see where you can run today.”

The purpose of Zhou Qing’s journey into this serpent clan’s territory was precisely this half-demon. So when Zhou Qing saw him, a similar smile appeared on his face.

Yet Zhou Qing wasted no words. Raising his hand, he flicked his finger, sending a ball of fire flying from his fingertip. It landed on the ground and coalesced into a fiery creature.

Once the fire creature formed, it immediately lunged at the half-demon. In the blink of an eye, the fire melted into the serpent’s body and vanished without a trace.

Everything happened too quickly for the half-demon to react. He let out a piercing scream as flames burst forth from within his body.

“Ah~”

The half-demon’s cry was agonizingly tragic, but it lasted less than three heartbeats before his body turned to ash as the flames died out.

---

Five breaths later, the half-demon had been completely burned away, leaving only a small flame flickering on the ground.

That strange flame swayed oddly, condensing into a fiery creature the size of a raccoon, emitting the characteristic cry of a Swift Flame Beast. In a flash, the fire creature appeared on Zhou Qing’s shoulder.

“I bear no other intentions. I came to your territory today solely to find this half-demon and avenge the old grudge. Now that it’s settled, if you are wise enough not to block my departure, I will not harm you.”

Having easily slain the half-demon, Zhou Qing left behind this remark and turned away.

At the cave entrance, the woman in white and another serpent demon simply watched his figure fade into the distance, unwilling to pursue.

They knew all too well that with their current cultivation, they could not match Zhou Qing. Though he was causing trouble here, if they acted, it would be like an ant trying to stop a chariot.

“This man’s cultivation is far too strong. I must go seek the Ancestor.”

“The Ancestor has been in seclusion for over three hundred years. Before she entered seclusion, she warned us not to disturb her even if the sky fell. If you go now and anger her, the consequences will be unimaginable.”

“I don’t care. That human cultivator just killed Snake Life Maru. I know I lack the power to avenge him, but the Ancestor can surely kill that cultivator and avenge him.”

“You…”

The woman in white tried to persuade the serpent demon, but once his mind was made up, he dashed into the cave behind them.

The cave was vast and dark inside, but for the serpent clan, light and darkness made no difference. The serpent demon slithered deeper into the cavern.

The spacious tunnel spiraled downward for an unknown length of time until he was stopped by a stone door.

Hesitating briefly beside it, he pushed the door open and continued downward. Finally, his form appeared before an underground lake at the cave’s bottom.

The lake was irregularly round and not very large. At its center floated a wooden boat, tightly draped in white silk, motionless.

“Ancestor, a great enemy of the serpent clan has arrived. I take the liberty to request your emergence from seclusion. Please do not be angered.”

Kneeling by the lake, the serpent demon spoke with utmost reverence.

Over a decade ago, when cultivators from outside the forest entered the wild woods, the serpent clan did not disturb the Ancestor. Although many serpents died, none of the serpent demons with foundational cultivation were harmed.

Now, however, it was different. The half-demon named Life Maru had been directly wiped out by Zhou Qing. If they did not seek the Ancestor’s emergence soon, the serpent clan’s fate would be dire.

As the serpent demon’s words fell, ripples stirred the once mirror-like lake surface. The boat floating at the center shifted slightly.

“Welcome, Ancestor, to emerge from seclusion.”

Seeing the disturbance, the serpent demon bowed again with even greater respect, repeating the phrase anxiously.

“I’ve told you all before, don’t call me Ancestor—it sounds far too archaic. And I believe I told you not to disturb me?”

An ethereal female voice reached the serpent demon’s ears as the white-clad woman on the lake’s surface appeared beside him.

This woman, called the Ancestor, looked nearly identical to the woman in white earlier at the cave entrance, but her aura was even colder.

Her voice was calm and even, yet her words carried a sharp reprimand.

Approaching the underground lake, the woman gave the serpent demon a glance, then waved her hand through the air. An invisible force hurled the serpent demon onto a large rock not far away.

He fell beside the rock, coughing up blood with a terrified expression.

“If it were my old temper, you would be dead today.”

Her tone remained steady as the Ancestor left these words behind and strode toward the upper part of the cave.