She stared at that familiar yet somewhat indifferent face and froze completely.
Xuan Jin!
He had indeed come!
Had Young Master Xuan come to the Tager Desert for the Heavenly Flame as well?
But... didn't Young Master Xuan already possess a Heavenly Flame?
For a moment, all manner of thoughts surged through Yun Yun's mind—shock, confusion, and a trace of relief she had not even noticed herself.
Queen Medusa's reaction, however, was unprecedentedly grave.
Her bewitching purple eyes fixed firmly on Xuan Jin as the Dou Qi within her body surged to its peak in an instant.
That indescribable sense of oppression!
She was only one step away from becoming a Dou Zong, so she could sense the terror of the man before her far more clearly than Gu He and the others.
That seemingly calm body contained power capable of tearing her apart with ease.
This man was ten thousand times more dangerous than any enemy she had encountered before!
"Your Majesty!"
Four aged figures instantly appeared behind Queen Medusa.
They were the Four Supreme Elders of the Snake People Clan.
Their aged faces were filled with deep apprehension, while sharp glints flickered in their clouded eyes as if they faced a formidable enemy.
"A Dou Zong expert..."
One of the elders spoke in a dry voice. Those four words alone conveyed the horror in their hearts.
Hua She'er had long since retreated to Medusa's side. As she looked at Xuan Jin in the sky, the palm gripping her sword was drenched in cold sweat.
She could sense that with a single thought from him, she would instantly be reduced to ashes.
The entire battlefield fell into an eerie silence.
The wind stopped, and so did the cries of battle.
Everyone's attention was fixed upon the black-robed figure standing in the air.
He was like the center of heaven and earth itself; every movement he made tugged at everyone's nerves.
Amid that suffocating atmosphere, Gu He finally recovered from his immense shock.
He looked at Xuan Jin like a drowning man who had found his final lifeline.
Since the other party was a human expert, surely he would help their side, wouldn't he?
As long as this Dou Zong senior was willing to intervene, let alone a mere Queen Medusa, even the entire Snake People Clan would be no threat!
Then wouldn't the Green Lotus Core Flame be his for the taking?
At that thought, greed and hope once again overcame the fear in Gu He's heart.
He straightened his disheveled robes and forced out what he believed was a humble smile, preparing to step forward and speak.
Suppressing the excitement and unease in his heart, Gu He respectfully cupped his hands toward Xuan Jin in the sky.
"Senior!"
"This junior is Gu He, honorary elder of the Alchemist Guild of the Jia Ma Empire and a Sixth Grade Alchemist!"
"We came today only to exchange for the Heavenly Flame with the Snake People Clan. Yet this Snake People Queen is utterly unreasonable and seeks to wipe us all out!"
"I beg Senior to lend us a hand and help us subdue these Snake People! If this junior can absorb the Heavenly Flame, I will surely become a Seventh Tier Alchemist!
"Once this is done, this junior will reward you generously! Any Seventh Tier medicinal pill you desire, Senior need only speak the word, and this junior will do his utmost to refine it!"
Gu He first announced his identity, flaunting the status of which he was proudest in hopes of drawing the other party's attention.
Then, with great emotion, he accused the other side and painted himself as the victim.
Gu He's calculations clicked away in his mind.
A Dou Zong expert would certainly need high-tier medicinal pills as well.
Using pills to befriend a Dou Zong—no matter how he looked at it, this was a hugely profitable deal.
After speaking, he looked expectantly at Xuan Jin, waiting for this "senior's" reply.
In his view, he had already made such an offer; there was no reason for the other party to refuse.
But he had miscalculated. A Dou Zong expert would never regard a mere Sixth Tier Alchemist highly.
Even if Xuan Jin were not an alchemist, wouldn't trading the Heavenly Flame to a Seventh Tier Alchemist who was also a Dou Zong be far better than dealing with someone of the Sixth Tier?
Gu He's world was simply too small, and his horizons were naturally narrow as well.
Xuan Jin gave a soft laugh and casually glanced at him.
That glance was calm and unruffled, as though he were looking at a stone by the roadside or an ant.
Then a single word clearly left Xuan Jin's lips.
"Scram!"
Gu He's smile instantly froze, and he was completely stunned.
Scram?
He had actually told him to scram?
He was Pill King Gu He!
The man sought after by countless experts of the Jia Ma Empire!
When had he ever suffered such humiliation?
A surge of fury shot from his heart straight to his head, turning his face the color of liver.
Yet when he met Xuan Jin's indifferent eyes, that fury was like a flame doused with a basin of ice water, instantly extinguished, leaving behind only endless fear.
Gu He, whose mind had just been clouded by desire, finally regained his reason at this moment.
That was right. Before a Dou Zong expert, a mere Dou Wang Sixth Tier Alchemist truly amounted to nothing.
On the Snake People Clan's side, Hua She'er and the four elders unconsciously relaxed somewhat from their previously taut state.
They had thought this Dou Zong expert was an ally of the humans, and that the Snake People Clan would be doomed today.
They had not expected him to be so rude to that human alchemist.
It seemed they were not on the same side.
But the gravity on Queen Medusa's face did not diminish in the slightest.
Her keen intuition told her that the true crisis had only just begun.
This man's purpose was definitely not simple.
The faint, nearly imperceptible Dou Qi around him was extremely well concealed, but Medusa, who had also come into contact with a Heavenly Flame, still sensed some clues.
This man had come for the Green Lotus Core Flame as well! And he was far more troublesome than fools like Gu He!
Amid the awkward yet tense atmosphere, Yun Yun lightly bit her red lips and finally gathered the courage to speak toward the sky.
"Young Master Xuan, we meet again."
Her voice carried complicated emotions as it shattered the deathly silence.
Xuan Jin's gaze finally shifted away from Gu He's pale, flushed face and landed on Yun Yun.
Xuan Jin gave Yun Yun a bland nod, counting it as a greeting.
That simple gesture made Gu He and the others beside her feel their hearts sink sharply.
They knew each other!
This Dou Zong expert actually knew Sect Master Yun Yun!
Yun Yun's heart skipped slightly as she was about to say something more.
But Xuan Jin's icy voice sounded first, echoing beside everyone's ears.
"Yun Yun, you are merely a Three-Star Dou Emperor, yet you dared to intrude into the Holy City of the Snake People Clan?"
"You truly do not know the immensity of heaven and earth."
Xuan Jin's words were completely unrestrained, like a teacher scolding a student.
Yun Yun's graceful, beautiful face instantly flushed crimson.
To be rebuked so harshly in front of so many people by a man younger than herself—even with her calm temperament, she felt a burst of embarrassment and humiliation.
Yet for some reason, beneath that embarrassment, an unusual feeling arose in her heart.
Xuan Jin's tone might have been cold, but the meaning behind his words... seemed to be reproaching her for putting herself in danger?
Was he... worried about her?
The instant that thought surfaced, ripples spread across Yun Yun's heart, to the point that even she found it unbelievable.
After all, given Xuan Jin's indifferent nature, if he did not truly care, he would likely not even bother to look at her twice.
With that thought, the embarrassment in Yun Yun's heart actually faded considerably.
Little did she know, it had merely been an offhand remark from Xuan Jin.
Queen Medusa watched everything unfold, her brows furrowing tightly.
She drew a deep breath, gave Xuan Jin a slight bow, and spoke in a voice that was still cold but noticeably more polite than before.
"May I ask what business brings Your Excellency to the Snake People Clan?"
Xuan Jin's gaze finally shifted from Yun Yun and settled upon Medusa's peerlessly bewitching face.
He had to admit that this woman truly was a stunner.
Whether it was her appearance, figure, or the queenly aura she possessed from birth, all of it held a fatal allure for men.
Seeing her in person was far more stunning than seeing her in the films of his previous life.
But Xuan Jin had not forgotten the purpose of his visit. He said coldly:
"My name is Xuan Jin."
"I came here to claim the Green Lotus Core Flame."
Xuan Jin spoke in an exceptionally calm tone, as if the Green Lotus Core Flame were already his for the taking.
The moment those words were spoken, Queen Medusa's expression turned incomparably ugly.
As expected!
He had indeed come for it!
The last trace of luck in her heart shattered completely.
"If you know what is good for you,"
Xuan Jin continued, his tone remaining calm,
"I may point your Snake People Clan toward a way out."
"If you do not..."
Xuan Jin did not finish his sentence.
But the threat contained in those unfinished words was more chilling than any vicious threat could have been.
Xuan Jin merely watched Medusa quietly, as though waiting for her to make the wise choice.
Queen Medusa's pride would not allow her to submit just like that.
The Heavenly Flame was her only hope of breaking through to the Dou Zong realm, the Snake People Clan's only chance to escape the desert's shackles!
She could never hand it over so easily!
"If you want this Queen's Heavenly Flame, let's see whether you have the ability to take it!"
Medusa shouted sharply, and the aura of a Peak Dou Emperor erupted once again without reservation.
"Overestimating yourself."
Xuan Jin gently shook his head, seemingly disappointed by her choice.
He said no more.
The next instant, an overwhelming aura a hundred times more terrifying than Medusa's swept out from within him!
It was no longer ordinary Dou Qi pressure, but a terrifying might carrying a trace of spatial power!
The strength of a Nine Star Dou Ancestor was revealed without reservation!
Boom!
When Xuan Jin's aura as a Nine Star Dou Ancestor was fully unleashed, heaven and earth itself seemed to freeze in that instant.
The clouds in the sky were scattered in an instant, and the yellow sand on the ground stopped swirling.
An indescribable, terrifying pressure descended upon everyone's hearts like billions of tons of seawater pouring down upon them.
"Thud!"
Yan Shi and Feng Li, the weakest among them, did not even have time to groan before their legs gave way and they dropped to their knees.
Their faces were filled with horror, their bodies trembling uncontrollably. They did not even have the courage to raise their heads and look at Xuan Jin.
Though Gu He barely managed to remain standing by relying on his Dou Qi and Soul Power, his legs were shaking, his face was pale as paper, and sweat rolled down his forehead like streams.
Could he be a High-Tier Dou Ancestor?
How was that possible?!
Just who was this man?
A genius from beyond the Northwest Continent?
Gu He's heart was left with nothing but endless fear and regret.
He regretted coming to provoke Medusa, and regretted even more that he had sought help from this monster just now!
Yun Yun was in slightly better condition, but she was hardly comfortable.
That pressure made the circulation of Dou Qi within her body sluggish, and even breathing became incomparably difficult.
She stared at Xuan Jin in shock, while monstrous waves rose in her heart.
How long had it been since they parted in the Magical Beast Mountain Range?
His strength had actually undergone such an earth-shaking surge once again!
This could no longer be described as "genius." He was simply a "monster"!
Queen Medusa and the four Snake People elders, who faced that pressure directly, felt it most deeply.
Queen Medusa felt as though even her soul was trembling.
The Peak Dou Emperor strength she had always been proud of was as insignificant as dust before this aura.
She finally understood that from the very beginning, the other party had never regarded her as worthy of notice.
That so-called "way out" was merely a casual handout from the strong to the weak.
But Medusa's pride would not allow her to surrender without a fight!
"You want my Heavenly Flames? Then step over my corpse first!"
Medusa let out a shrill scream and pushed the Dou Qi within her body to its utmost limit.
The four elders behind her also understood that if they did not risk their lives today, the Snake People Clan would be doomed beyond redemption.
They exchanged glances, then simultaneously bit their tongues and spat out mouthfuls of blood essence. An unnatural flush appeared on their aged faces.
"Secret art! Five Snake Poison Brake Seal!"
At that moment, the auras of the five of them were perfectly linked together through an inscrutable secret art.
Vast Dou Qi surged into the sky, condensing above their heads into an enormous energy python over three hundred meters long, entirely black and exuding foul, poisonous fumes!
This giant python was the strongest attack unleashed by five Peak Dou Emperor experts burning their life force. Its power had already come infinitely close to a true Dou Zong's strike!
"Hiss!"
The giant python roared toward the heavens, then lunged at Xuan Jin with the might to destroy the world!
Yet in the face of this earth-shaking attack, Xuan Jin's expression did not ripple in the slightest.
He merely raised his right hand casually and extended a single finger.
A wisp of icy blue flame danced upon his fingertip like an elf.
Nether Sea Ice Flame.
He lightly pointed at the roaring black python.
The wisp of icy blue flame shot from his fingertip.
Before the hundred-zhang black python, it was so tiny that it could almost be ignored.
However, the next instant, a sight that no one would ever forget unfolded.
The icy blue flame touched the black python's head.
The terrifying giant python jointly unleashed by five Peak Dou Emperor experts was like a punctured balloon, like ice and snow beneath the sun. Starting from its head, it silently and swiftly melted away and collapsed!
In merely one breath, the enormous python completely vanished into nothingness.
As though it had never existed.
"Pfft!"
Queen Medusa and the four elders suffered a devastating backlash, simultaneously coughing up great mouthfuls of blood. Their bodies fell from the air like kites with snapped strings and slammed heavily into the ground, their auras instantly withering to the extreme.
One finger.
Just one finger.
The combined attack of five Peak Dou Emperors had been reduced to ashes.
A Dou Zong expert was terrifying indeed!
The entire world fell into dead silence.
Gu He watched this scene, and his soul nearly fled his body in fright.
He no longer dared to harbor even a shred of wishful thinking. Seeing that Xuan Jin's attention was still on Medusa and the others, he discreetly signaled Yan Shi and Feng Li, then began inching backward step by step.
He was going to run!
He had to leave this dangerous place immediately!
Though Gu He's movements were slight, everyone present possessed keen senses.
Xuan Jin simply could not be bothered with him.
A few ants he could crush at any time—if they ran, then so be it.
Having received silent permission, Gu He was overjoyed.
He no longer dared to linger. Gathering Yan Shi and Feng Li, who had already been frightened senseless, he pushed his Dou Qi to the limit. The three of them turned into streaks of light and fled madly toward the desert's edge without looking back.
In that bedraggled state, they no longer possessed even a trace of the bearing of the Pill King and Dou Wang experts.
Yun Yun remained where she was, unmoving.
She stared blankly at the godlike figure in the sky, then at Gu He's fleeing back. An immense sense of helplessness welled up within her.
Was this the difference?
Before absolute power, so-called status and so-called schemes were all utterly laughable.
"I... am still too weak."
She murmured to herself, clenching her fists tightly until her nails dug deep into her palms.
At that moment, Yun Yun's thirst for strength became stronger than ever before.
After taking one deep look at Xuan Jin, Yun Yun finally turned around and transformed into a streak of azure light, chasing after Gu He.
She knew that staying here would not help at all. She might even become Xuan Jin's burden.
Xuan Jin did not stop her.
He watched the five figures disappear beyond the horizon before turning his gaze downward once more.
Xuan Jin slowly descended and hovered before Queen Medusa and the four elders, looking down at them from above.
"Now, do you still want me to step over your corpses?"
Xuan Jin's voice remained calm.
Queen Medusa struggled to rise, but the injuries within her were far too severe. The moment she moved, she spat out another mouthful of blood.
She raised her head and fixed Xuan Jin with those purple eyes, still filled with defiance and stubbornness, without saying a word.
She accepted her defeat.
But making her beg for mercy was absolutely impossible!
Yet while she could hold on, the four elders could not.
They were already at the end of their strength. That strike had nearly exhausted all their life force.
The eldest among them used the last shred of his strength to extend a withered hand toward Xuan Jin, pleading hoarsely:
"My lord... please... spare the Snake People Clan..."
"We... are willing... to offer up the Heavenly Flames..."
Hearing the elder's plea, Medusa's delicate body trembled, and sorrow appeared on her face.
She knew the elders were doing it for the entire clan. As for herself, she could no longer cling to her pride.
Medusa slowly closed her eyes, silently accepting it.
Just then, eight powerful auras rapidly approached from the distant sky.
They were the Snake People Clan's Eight Great Commanders, arriving belatedly.
The moment they arrived, they saw the Queen and four elders lying on the ground, barely clinging to life, as well as Xuan Jin floating in the air.
"Your Majesty!"
"Elders!"
Before you continue