Queen Medusa

Bear Two looked at Xiao Heng's confident expression and hesitated again. This woman was so strong—she seemed even stronger than Bear One. Could Xiao Heng really escape?

As he hesitated, Xiao Heng said again, "Go! I'm stronger and faster than you right now. You run first, then hurry back and find Bear One. The three of us will fight this woman together."

Seeing that Bear Two still was not leaving, Xiao Heng added, "Have you forgotten who my teacher is? Don't worry, I'll be fine!"

Remembering that great person, Bear Two finally believed Xiao Heng a little more. Gritting his teeth, he flapped the wings on his back and flew at full speed toward the Monster Mountain Range.

Medusa listened to the man and bear without stopping them, remaining where she was as though watching a show. Only when Bear Two flew into the distance did she form a hand seal, sending an even more solid snake than before after him.

This was her full-power strike. With Bear Two's speed, there was naturally no way he could escape. Though she rather admired the bond between the man and the bear, she had no habit of leaving herself a formidable enemy.

The giant snake gave chase. If nothing unexpected happened, Bear Two would not be able to evade this strike. Naturally, Xiao Heng would not let her have her way. The Purple Cloud Wings behind him blazed brightly as he flew in front of the giant snake. Holding the Immortal Slaying Sword across his chest, sword light surged forth and blocked the snake.

Seeing the giant snake stopped, Medusa did not care. She would deal with that bear first. With that thought, she moved to pursue Bear Two.

"If you go after him, I'll withdraw immediately. Believe me! After you kill him, you won't be able to catch me!"

"Breath Sever!"

Red sword light scattered in all directions, shattering the giant snake at the same time.

Sword in hand and Purple Cloud Wings spread behind him, Xiao Heng stood in midair in his black robes. Opposite him stood a lovely figure supported by a pair of red wings.

The beautiful figure wore a red dress and an ornate headdress. From head to toe, she was draped in silks and satins, outlining her flawless figure and snowy skin to perfection. The only regrets were perhaps the veil over her beautiful face and... the seven-colored tail beneath her!

The beauty slowly spoke. "You're threatening me."

Xiao Heng shook his head and gave a bitter smile. "That does not seem to be a threat. Besides, Your Majesty, wouldn't using the word 'threat' to describe yourself be more accurate?"

"Hehe! Human, you're rather interesting. You let him go—have you considered that you might be left here forever?"

"Of course I have. But I personally brought him out from his brother's side, so naturally I have to send him back safe and sound!" Recalling the past few months with Bear Two, a smile appeared on Xiao Heng's face. That fellow! If he had been any smarter, Xiao Heng really would not have been able to trick him away.

In truth, a thought had flashed through his mind—he could flee himself and let Bear Two die. But people... should not be so selfish, right?

"At a time like this, what's the point of saying so much? Let's fight! Kill me, and you'll naturally get what you want." Since things had reached this point, Xiao Heng no longer complained about fate. Fight! Perhaps there was still a chance to survive.

With that, Dou Qi rose from Xiao Heng's body. Vermilion Dou Qi mixed with flames, forming a suit of armor that tightly enveloped him. With a thought, the silver-white wisp of Sword Intent in his mind began to attach itself to the blade.

In a battle of this level, he could not afford to hold anything back. Moreover, having already lost the initiative, he could not run. If he ran, his back would be exposed, and he would die even faster.

"Very good, human. I admire your courage. I hope... you also have strength worthy of it!"

As her words fell, a multicolored longsword suddenly appeared in her hand. Medusa raised her hand and thrust forward. Xiao Heng held his sword horizontally, blocking the blade's tip.

What tremendous strength! Through their locked gazes, Xiao Heng seemed to see blazing killing intent in the beautiful snake woman's eyes!

The clash of metal rang out. The friction between Dou Qi and sword energy created a tremendous roar in the air, while sparks flew everywhere.

Two red figures collided continuously in midair. Every exchange made Xiao Heng feel the immense force striking his body. In just two breaths, they had already exchanged no fewer than twenty moves.

Then Medusa continued her attacks, each strike no weaker than the last. Xiao Heng could only hold on with difficulty.

Gritting his teeth, Xiao Heng roared inwardly. "Vertical and Horizontal!"

A silver-white dragon appeared, and Medusa was not to be outdone. With a movement of her hand seal, a red giant snake no smaller than the dragon appeared and collided with it head-on.

"Not bad Dou Technique! Unfortunately, your strength is too low!"

The dozens-of-meters-long dragon and red giant snake collided in the air. After remaining locked in a stalemate for several breaths, they began to dissipate one after another!

In Stone Desert City not far away, Qing Lin suddenly heard a massive rumble. She ran outside, only to see the distant sky covered in crimson clouds—an extraordinarily beautiful sight!

Bear Two, who had already fled quite a distance, saw it all as well. However, he did not turn back. He thought, As expected of that great person's disciple. Xiao Heng will definitely escape. Mm! I need to hurry back and find Bear One, then we'll come fight this bad woman together.

Xiao Heng wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, gripping his sword tightly as he stared solemnly at the red figure not far away.

He smiled, carefree and unrestrained. "Worthy of being Queen Medusa! Your strength is truly formidable!"

Medusa could not quite understand this human. He had given his chance of survival to a magical beast, yet with death approaching, he was still so carefree. He reminded her of a former... enemy!

"Your Dou Technique is quite good. If you possessed cultivation equal to mine, I fear I would have difficulty receiving it! But are you truly prepared to face... death?" As she formed hand seals with both hands, three red giant snakes appeared once more.

Xiao Heng's smile faded. Everyone feared death, and he was no exception. But just as a famous person had once said: if I had never seen the sun, I could have endured the darkness. But he had already seen the sun.

"Come! Besides, it is still uncertain who will be the one to die!"

"Explosive Step, Breath Sever!"

With one slash, Xiao Heng shattered one of the giant snakes. He gathered Dou Qi again. "Lion King's Wrath!"

A roar burst from Xiao Heng's throat, and a crimson lion head appeared, shattering the giant snake on the right once more. But the giant snake on the left had already arrived before him. There was no time to use another Dou Technique.

Xiao Heng could only reinforce the defense around his left arm once more. Gritting his teeth, he used his fist to withstand the powerful attack head-on.

Boom!

His Dou Qi dispersed. Xiao Heng stood in the air, the vermilion armor on his body already gone, while the Purple Cloud Wings behind him were far less solid than before! His clothes were tattered, and several small wounds had appeared on his once-intact body. Blood continuously seeped from them!

"To block that move of mine, human, you are quite impressive!" Queen Medusa looked at the human before her. She had grown increasingly curious about him—his rapidly rising strength, his powerful Dou Techniques, and... his lack of fear toward death!

But the more that was so, the less she could allow this human to live. The Snake People Tribe could not have such a mysterious and young enemy.

Facing Medusa's praise, Xiao Heng actually felt a trace of happiness. Being acknowledged by an opponent stronger than himself was a man's pride!

Smiling again, Xiao Heng slowly said, "Don't celebrate too soon! I haven't admitted defeat yet!"

"Nine Strikes!"

Nine massive swords, along with the Immortal Slaying Sword in Xiao Heng's hand, attacked Queen Medusa together. Queen Medusa made a grasping motion with one hand, and a red barrier appeared before her. The ten swords struck heavily against the shield in front of her, yet could advance no further. They were slowly worn away before finally vanishing.

As the massive swords disappeared, Xiao Heng showed no trace of disappointment. Instead, he grinned. A strand of silvery-white Sword Intent once again clung to his sword tip. Compared with the Sword Intent he had used against Hai Bodong before, this one was more solid... and sharper!

Under Queen Medusa's astonished gaze, the red barrier actually began to crack from the point where Xiao Heng's sword tip touched it.

The sword that had seemingly slowed down became impossibly fast in that instant—so fast that even the infamous Queen Medusa could barely react.

Several multicolored snake scales fell, along with a few drops of Queen Medusa's blood.

Xiao Heng smiled faintly. "Your Majesty, what do you think of that strike?"

Queen Medusa frowned. Although she had reacted in time to make up for it, she had only managed to shift Xiao Heng's sword slightly. The wound on her tail still proved just how sharp that strike had been.

On the surface, it appeared to be only a small wound, but only Xiao Heng and Queen Medusa knew what kind of damage that sword strike had truly caused.

Her crimson lips parted. "Not bad! You actually wounded me! But I won't give you another opportunity like that."

The smile remained on Xiao Heng's face. "Heh! Not necessarily. You should know that beasts are at their fiercest when there's no way out!"

"Blazing Flames, kill..."

The two activated their Dou Techniques at the same time. This clash seemed even fiercer than the last! They collided again and again, occasionally exchanging Dou Techniques as well.

In a battle like this, blood seemed indispensable. Even someone as powerful as Queen Medusa could not escape the fate of being wounded.

Under Xiao Heng's reckless assault, another wound appeared on Queen Medusa's left shoulder.

As for Xiao Heng, he was clearly in far worse shape than Queen Medusa. There were at least a dozen wounds across his body, and it was difficult to find any part of him still intact. He was covered in injuries inflicted directly by Dou Qi and overwhelming force.

"Rashomon!" A red arrow was blocked outside the green shield that stood over three meters tall. Xiao Heng charged at Queen Medusa again with all his strength.

"Explosive Step!"

"Mountain Breaking Strike!"

The immense force made even Queen Medusa retreat several steps, and the red greatbow in her hand vanished. At the same time, another wound appeared on Xiao Heng's chest.

Xiao Heng panted heavily as he stood on the ground, his body already unable to straighten properly. He swallowed more than ten medicinal pills as though they cost nothing.

After holding her off for so long, Bear Two should have gotten far away by now, right? At that thought, a few traces of a smile appeared on Xiao Heng's exhausted face.

He could not remember who had once told him that there were many things in life one could neither choose nor change. Since smiling was one day and crying was also one day, while one could not choose life, one could choose to face each day with a smile.

From then on, Xiao Heng had often kept a smile on his face. That was right! Since it could not be changed, why not face it smiling?

Leaning on his sword, Xiao Heng forced himself to stand straight. Raising his sword, he smiled again.

"Queen Medusa, I have one more sword strike. I came up with it on the spot, and I don't know what to call it. But since it's a sword strike made before death, I'll call it Carefree!"

After a pause, he continued, "All my life, what I wanted most was to be carefree, yet it seems I never managed it. Forget it. For this final strike, I ask Queen Medusa to test it!"

As he finished speaking, he raised his head to look at the sky. In that instant, he seemed to see many things—his past life, this life, the people he had met, the things he had encountered, the words he had heard, the farewells that had faded away. Everything seemed to be right before his eyes.

A smile hung on his face. At that moment, there was not the slightest energy fluctuation from him; all he had was a body covered in wounds! Yet a steadily strengthening fluctuation emerged from the Immortal Slaying Sword.

Queen Medusa narrowed her eyes. This human had proven his strength through his actions. Moreover, the aura now appearing from that sword actually made even her feel afraid.

But she was Queen Medusa. She feared nothing, and she could fear nothing.

"Then let this queen send you on your final journey!" Her hands formed seals, and behind Queen Medusa, a gigantic red serpent even larger than all the previous snakes appeared once more.

The powerful fluctuations of Dou Qi caused the Yellow Sand beneath them to rise, while the air currents began to whirl.

Xiao Heng raised his left hand as though feeling the wind and murmured, "The wind is rising!"

Then he thrust out his sword. At the same time, the giant serpent behind Queen Medusa roared and launched its attack.