After leaving the map shop steeped in chill, Mo Lin did not linger in the city.
With the fragmentary map of the Purifying Demonic Lotus Flame and the map of Heavenly Flame clues gifted by Hai Bodong tucked away, he moved like the wind, leaving through the city gates and plunging once more into the boundless, scorching sands.
Based on his memories of the original story, he knew that a "coincidence" was waiting for him near Stone Desert City.
Rather than being passively drawn in, he would take the initiative and seize control. Not only would that save considerable time, it would also let him more smoothly involve himself with the Desert Iron Mercenary Group, making it easier to search for the Green Lotus Core Flame later.
He activated his movement technique and sped through the desert like a streak of green smoke.
His powerful soul perception spread outward like radar, carefully searching for a particular presence.
Sure enough, on a stretch of gravelly wasteland not far from Stone Desert City, he sensed several faint, chaotic human auras, mixed with an unpleasant, cold and fishy energy fluctuation—the distinctive aura of snake people!
He hurried to the scene and saw several mercenaries clad in Desert Iron Mercenary Group uniforms locked in a bitter battle.
Their opponents were not magical beasts, but several agile snake people with strangely colored skin and curved blades in their hands!
Two or three injured mercenaries already lay on the ground, their blood staining the yellow sand red. The battle was extremely fierce.
The woman directing them from the front was Xue Lan. She wielded a longsword with sharp, fierce swordsmanship as she fought a snake-person squad leader, but she was clearly at a disadvantage and in grave danger.
Mo Lin concealed his aura and quietly observed