This Dao Ancestor is too young.

"Young Master Shang, why aren't you making a move!"

The old snake roared in anger.

The old man no longer launched attacks; a triangular shield surrounded him, deflecting blow after blow.

Zhang Yuanzhu stopped and faced the old man directly.

Is there a hidden enemy?

The boy knew he couldn't delay any longer, or things would change.

At this moment, all the muscles in my body tensed, my internal organs trembled, and bursts of power erupted.

At this moment, the energy within his dantian surged and churned, fully supporting him, and a deep blue radiance emanated from his body, burning like flames.

At this moment, his will was resolute, and the longsword in his hand rang out with a clang.

Power comes from the balls of your feet.

Boom~

The rocks beneath him crumbled, and a figure, carrying layers of air waves and streaks of dark blue light, charged forward.

kill!

The longsword swung down and struck the triangular shield hard.

Bang~ Crack~

The shield flew out diagonally, and the longsword snapped in two.

The boy's eyes were cold, and his movements were not slow in the slightest. He threw down the sword hilt, his five fingers joined together like a long knife, and cleaved through the air waves, slashing down at the old man's head.

With one hand thrusting forward, he aimed for the old man's eyes, ruthless and decisive.

All changes happened in an instant. By the time the old snake came to his senses, the aura of death had already filled his heart.

"Thief!"

The old man roared, his aura surging outwards, his head desperately trying to dodge.

What a pity! It's too slow!!

The yellow light shattered, flesh tore, bones broke, eyes exploded, and all struggles and roars came to an abrupt end.

Zhang Yuanzhu withdrew both hands, ignoring his bloodied and mangled fingers, and didn't even glance at the fallen Green Snake Chieftain. His gaze swept around warily.

There was no sound, and no enemy came to reap the spoils; only suppressed sobs could be heard.

"Have they left?"

Zhang Yuanzhu's eyes were deep and profound.

He didn't believe that the Green Snake Chieftain would seek help from a non-existent ally in a life-or-death situation; it was clear that the other party had abandoned the old man and left directly.

After observing for a moment and confirming that no one was around, the boy walked toward the old man's remains.

He stretched out his palm, and a stream of water formed, covering his five fingers. He then began to examine the remains.

Soon, the boy found two thumb-sized white stones in the lining.

The stone is crystal clear, with wisps of mist flowing inside, and it feels cool to the touch when held in the palm of your hand.

"Spirit stones?"

Zhang Yuanzhu gently stroked the white stone, and wisps of energy flowed from his fingertips into his kidneys, then into his dantian to replenish his depleted energy.

"A good result."

The young man chuckled, carefully placed the spirit stone close to his body, and walked towards the corner, stepping over blood and bones.

A triangular shield, as black as ink, came into view.

He bent down to pick it up, the moment his palm touched the shield...

Boom~

"Why do I have to suffer such torment? I feel it's unfair."

"Honest and law-abiding, yet his family was destroyed, and he became a remnant soul. Hate! Hate! Hate!"

"Mother, I'm scared. I want to see you so badly, even if it kills me."

Desperate screams echoed in his mind, turning the smile on the boy's face into silence.

His gaze fell upon the triangular shield in his palm, where he could vaguely sense the struggling, wailing remnant soul within. Each wailing, each wisp of resentment, would transform into resources for the magical artifact, making it even more powerful.

The boy stood rooted to the ground for a long time before slowly uttering a few words:

"They were killed too quickly; they got off too easily."

The next moment, he gripped the shield tightly with one hand and raised the other hand, clenching his fists together.

A deep blue light emanated from the fist, then slammed into the shield like a heavy hammer.

bang~

The magical artifact wailed, but Zhang Yuanzhu seemed completely oblivious, continuing to hurl punches at it relentlessly.

The shield gradually cracked, and gaps appeared.

This low-grade magic artifact, a rare find in this chaotic land, is about to shatter.

When his breath was exhausted, all that remained was his fist, with specks of blood flowing down the back of his fist, yet his movements did not slow down in the slightest.

With the final punch, the triangular shield shattered into several pieces.

Wisps of black mist rose from the fracture, transforming into distorted faces—old people, women, children, and countless other beings.

They hovered in the sky, without howling or roaring in resentment, simply gazing blankly at the boy standing below with his fist clenched.

Blood stained her cotton robe, blood dripped from the back of her fist, and her black hair danced in the wind, exuding an indescribable charm and elegance.

Just like that, a magical artifact was given up!

"Life is too bitter; I don't want to come back in the next life!"

Zhang Yuanzhu spoke softly, gazing at the many incomplete souls.

"Thanks!"

The remnant souls had already realized something, bowed and said thank you, then slowly dispersed and vanished into the world.

Compared to the endless torment of being trapped in a magical artifact, pure destruction might be a form of liberation.

what!

Zhang Yuanzhu was surprised.

He sensed several relatively intact souls vanish into thin air, disappearing as if taken away by something. Only a trace of extremely pure, chilling energy lingered in the air.

"The Underworld? The netherworld? Reincarnation?"

The boy muttered to himself, his eyes filled with uncertainty.

If there is reincarnation and the underworld in this world, the future self in that memory will inevitably be involved. Even if one becomes the Great Ancestor, there will still be regrets in one's heart that need to be made up for.

But in that memory of the future, there was never a single image of the underworld.

Various thoughts flashed through the boy's mind, and then one by one they fell silent.

Call ~

Zhang Yuanzhu exhaled a breath of stale air, his eyes unusually bright.

It's quite amusing that if everything I encounter and see is similar to that future memory, what's the point?

He stretched out his palm and gently beckoned, causing pure Yin energy to fall from mid-air and hover in his palm.

At this moment, the energy within his dantian flowed naturally, carrying a certain longing.

Without hesitation, Zhang Yuanzhu sent the pure Yin energy in his palm into his body, into his kidneys, and then into his dantian.

At this moment, the dark blue aura within his dantian surged and rushed upwards, covering the yin energy.

At the same moment, the spirit stone in his chest rapidly consumed, and wisps of spiritual energy surged into his dantian.

His cultivation level rose at a visible speed, and his aura became increasingly refined.

境界：蕴气境（5/100..7/100...11/100）

His cultivation level only stopped increasing after he had completed one-tenth of his cultivation journey.

Click~

A spirit stone in his arms shattered and scattered to the ground.

Zhang Yuanzhu carefully sensed himself, and a smile appeared on his face.

Although they lost a low-grade magic weapon, the gains were still considerable.

He put the broken shield and the remains of the old snake into his storage bag, then followed the sound of weeping and walked deeper into the camp.

Ta-ta-ta~

The low, heavy footsteps echoed across the mountaintop, and the weeping seemed to sense someone's arrival, gradually ceasing.

Zhang Yuanzhu stopped in front of a wooden house.

The house is dilapidated, occupies a large area, and the door is locked with chains.

The boy, holding a longsword he had picked up at random, took a step forward and slashed down.

stab~

The chain broke.

The door was pushed open, and moonlight streamed in, piercing the darkness and revealing a series of wiry, thin figures, numbering approximately several hundred.

They were disheveled, dressed in tattered robes, and their eyes were filled with fear as they looked at the boy at the threshold.

Zhang Yuanzhu remained silent, scanning the crowd and making some guesses about their identities.

Are they consumables that were looted?

slap~

With a flick of his wrist, he tossed the old snake's head into the center of the house, bathed in moonlight.

"I have wiped out all the bandits of Green Snake Stronghold!"