Dishonorable Tactics

Gu He felt that his alchemy skills were terrible.

There was no other reason; he had simply suffered a setback.

Over the past two days, Xiao Yan and Gu He had worked together to turn the Snake People Clan's stockpiled Medicinal Herbs into Pills.

Gu He was astonished to discover that his alchemy speed was slower than Xiao Yan's, his success rate was lower than Xiao Yan's, and even the quality of his Pills was inferior to Xiao Yan's.

Although Xiao Yan was using the ancient Medicine Cauldron he had snatched from Gu He, as well as the Green Lotus Core Flame, while Gu He was using the Medicine Cauldron Xiao Yan had discarded and the azure flame produced from refining an Earth Fire Lotus Seed.

Gu He had practiced alchemy for many years and had reached the Dou Wang realm. No matter what, he should not have lost this badly, right?

But the outcome was just that miserable.

In the end, Gu He simply stopped refining Pills and crowded beside Xiao Yan to secretly learn from him.

Xiao Yan was thoroughly disgusted by this, but Gu He shamelessly watched from the side and even addressed him as Teacher, leaving Xiao Yan helpless.

In the end, Xiao Yan reluctantly accepted him as a nominal disciple and told Gu He that he had a bargain-bin nominal senior sister named Yao Yue.

Gu He did not think there was anything wrong with an Alchemist trained by the Misty Cloud Sect becoming so close to the imperial family. Perhaps his heart held only alchemy and Yun Yun.

Just as Gu He was squatting nearby as usual, studying alchemy, a terrifying pressure gathered without dispersing and blanketed the entire city.

"This aura... Could it be Yun Shan, the former sect leader of the Misty Cloud Sect? Has he also broken through to the Dou Ancestor realm?"

Gu He was briefly disturbed, but seeing that Xiao Yan remained completely unaffected, he simply ignored Yun Shan and continued watching Xiao Yan refine Pills.

"Queen Medusa, come out and meet me."

Yun Shan's somewhat indifferent voice, infused with Dou Qi, spread across the entire city. Gu He's expression turned strange; this was exactly how he had been imprisoned.

Gu He shook his head and tossed aside the strange thought. Yun Shan was a Dou Ancestor powerhouse. Even Queen Medusa would definitely not find it easy to deal with him...

Just then, five terrifying auras soared into the sky. One belonged to Queen Medusa, while the other four unfamiliar auras had also reached Peak Dou Emperor.

"You..." Yun Shan's voice carried a trace of terror, but he only managed to utter that single word before being cut off. The five Snake People Clan powerhouses wasted no words and immediately unleashed their ultimate moves.

"...Teacher, are you planning to capture Yun Shan too?"

The terrifying Energy Fluctuation outside truly frightened Gu He. If he had known the Snake People Clan possessed such deep reserves, he would never have come to trade for Heavenly Flames, even if beaten to death.

"Yes. Once Yun Shan is captured, you and Yun Yun can leave." Xiao Yan remained utterly calm. Everything was proceeding according to plan.

"Teacher, rest assured. I won't leave." Gu He immediately declared his loyalty.

"..." Xiao Yan's hand trembled, and he nearly ruined the medicine.

"Do as you please. In any case, I should be leaving the Snake People Clan by then."

"Good. Then I'll follow Teacher when you leave."

"Queen Medusa! As fellow Dou Ancestors, do you have no dignity as a powerhouse at all?!"

The moment Queen Medusa and the four Peak Dou Emperors appeared, Yun Shan wanted to flee. Yet beyond those four Peak Dou Emperors, eight Dou Wangs had set up a barrier outside.

Breaking the barrier would take at least one or two breaths, but all five of them possessed the ability to injure Yun Shan, and they were coordinating their Dou Techniques.

If Yun Shan truly dared to endure their attacks for one or two breaths, he would definitely be severely wounded on the spot. Then he would not even be able to run.

Thus, Yun Shan could only hope that the battle's aftershocks would damage the barrier, allowing him to escape afterward.

"Don't worry. I won't kill you." Queen Medusa smiled faintly as a massive energy serpent opened its jaws at Yun Shan, while the other four Elders sealed off every space where he could hide.

"You Snake People Clan have hidden so many Dou Emperors. The Jia Ma Imperial Family will never let you off!" Yun Shan shouted furiously.

"Why don't you guess whether the Jia Ma Imperial Family knows the true strength of our Snake People Clan?" Queen Medusa's face was full of mockery, and her movements became even sharper.

Yun Shan's expression twisted savagely. That bastard Jia Xing Tian was definitely waiting to watch a joke. If he was trapped here too, then the Misty Cloud Sect would truly be finished.

If Yun Shan and Queen Medusa had fought one-on-one, they might have battled for days and nights without determining a victor. But now, a group of powerhouses had come at him with lethal force from the outset. To avoid being injured, Yun Shan could only use his Dou Qi Armor to forcibly endure some of the weaker attacks.

This caused Yun Shan's Dou Qi to drain at an extreme rate. At most, half a day later, his Dou Qi would be exhausted, leaving him unable to continue.

"Ultimate Wind: Falling Kill!"

Knowing that he could not drag this out any longer, Yun Shan gathered all the Dou Qi in his body into a single point, transforming it into a white beam of light that stabbed toward Queen Medusa.

To his surprise, Queen Medusa actually dodged the attack directly, allowing the white beam to shatter the barrier.

"Hmph!" Without time to make any further threats, Yun Shan snorted and turned to flee, only to slam headfirst into another, sturdier barrier.

Yun Shan was both shocked and enraged. The four Peak Dou Emperors had actually taken over from the eight Dou Wangs and formed the array together.

Unlike the barrier formed by the eight Dou Wangs, the barrier created by these four Peak Dou Emperors not only restricted Yun Shan's movements but also suppressed ten to twenty percent of the Dou Qi within his body.

Meanwhile, Queen Medusa was enveloped from head to toe by a serpentine phantom, clearly receiving a considerable enhancement.

"Didn't you want a one-on-one fight? Now I'll give you the chance." Queen Medusa smiled.

"Ah!" Yun Shan howled madly in rage and charged at Queen Medusa with all the Dou Qi in his body.

However, Queen Medusa had completely changed her fighting style. Relying on the giant serpent's phantom, she repeatedly evaded him. Her occasional counterattacks were only meant to weaken Yun Shan's attacks and prevent him from breaking the barrier.

Yun Shan vented for over an hour, expending more than half his Dou Qi, before unleashing another ultimate move:

"Ultimate Wind: Falling Kill!"

As expected, Queen Medusa dodged. What surprised Yun Shan was that the four Peak Dou Emperors also did not meet the attack head-on, instead voluntarily dispersing the barrier.

Yun Shan had no time to think and fled once more, only to discover in astonishment that his speed had somehow slowed considerably.

As a wind-attributed Dou Ancestor with an advantage in speed, Yun Shan had only fled for two breaths before Queen Medusa caught up to him, and the two became entangled in battle once again.

Waves of dizziness continuously washed over his mind, and even the speed of his sword swings grew slower and slower. At this moment, Yun Shan finally understood what was happening:

"You even poisoned me!"

"Isn't it perfectly normal for our Snake People Clan to use poison? Or would you rather put down your sword and fight me barehanded?"

Yun Shan's vision darkened, and he directly spat out a mouthful of blood.

At that moment, the other four Elders also caught up. Since they had voluntarily dispersed the barrier rather than having Yun Shan break it, they had not suffered any backlash, and their Dou Qi remained relatively abundant.

Yun Shan was surrounded and attacked by the five in despair. In the end, he was afflicted by potent poison, his Dou Qi was exhausted, and he was struck by Queen Medusa's Snake Seal Curse.