Pill Lightning

"Stubborn fool!" Medusa's gaze turned completely cold.

Just then.

Dan Chen, who had been watching the battle nervously from the side, moved as well.

Though timid by nature, seeing Cao Ying injured and unable to disregard their sisterly bond, she cast all caution aside.

Gentle yet formidable Dou Qi erupted.

She was also a Dou Emperor, and a strange soul fluctuation accompanied her fiery Dou Qi.

It transformed into a dazzling streak of light, joining Cao Ying's renewed offensive as they swept toward Medusa together!

Cao Ying took the lead, her Blood Spirit Demonic Flame turning into a Giant Python that roared as it charged.

Dan Chen supported from the flank, soul interference and fiery ambushes complementing each other.

The two joined forces, and their power instantly doubled. Medusa, who had only just gained a slight upper hand after Cao Ying's breakthrough and was preparing to finish her off, was forced to defend herself!

"You... are courting death!" Medusa was utterly enraged.

She had already given them a chance. Since they insisted on seeking death, they could not blame her for being ruthless!

If Cao Ying and Dan Chen escaped and brought Pill Pagoda experts here, the consequences would be unimaginable.

Better to eliminate the threat once and for all. As long as she evolved successfully and advanced to Dou Zong, the vast world would surely have a place for her!

"Hiss—!"

A sharp snake cry resounded across the desert. Medusa's body suddenly swelled, and within the dazzling purple radiance, she revealed her enormous true form.

A Purple Nether Flame Snake more than a hundred feet long!

Its snake eyes were cold and merciless, while a terrifying pressure crashed down like a tsunami, far surpassing anything from before!

The Purple Nether Flame Snake's massive tail swept out with mountain-shattering force, crushing the flame and soul barrier jointly formed by Cao Ying and Dan Chen as if it were rotten wood!

"Pfft!" "Pfft!"

The two women spat blood and flew backward at the same time, their auras instantly weakening. Faced with Medusa's fully unleashed true form.

Even working together, they still found it difficult to resist.

Killing intent overflowed from Medusa's snake eyes. She opened her enormous jaws, and a purple energy breath capable of annihilating everything began to gather, aimed at the powerless Cao Ying and Dan Chen.

This attack was meant to reduce the two women, along with everyone from the two mercenary groups below, to ashes!

At this critical moment—

"Rumble!!!"

A deep boom, as though it had come from heaven and earth itself, suddenly rang out from the direction of Stone Desert City.

Immediately afterward, everyone involuntarily raised their heads to the sky.

Above Stone Desert City.

Heaven and Earth Energy churned madly as dark clouds gathered at a visible speed. In the blink of an eye, they formed a dense thundercloud covering half the sky!

Silver serpents writhed within the thunderclouds as terrifying lightning power frantically condensed, unleashing rumbling booms that made hearts tremble!

Pill Lightning! And Pill Lightning of exceptionally high quality!

This earth-shaking phenomenon instantly drew all of Medusa's attention.

Medusa's cold snake eyes stared fixedly at the rolling thunderclouds above Stone Desert City. Even she felt her heart quiver at the destructive energy contained within them.

A Seventh-Grade Pill!

And an exceptionally high-quality Seventh-Grade Pill at that!

The thought exploded in her mind like thunder.

To draw such Pill Lightning, the alchemist's skill had clearly reached an extraordinary level.

She instantly understood that Cao Ying and the others had not come alone.

There was an Alchemist behind them who could refine Seventh-Grade Pills!

And that person was in nearby Stone Desert City, with the pill about to take shape!

The person searching for Heavenly Flames was not these two, but the person in Stone Desert City!

More importantly, Seventh-Rank Pill Lightning was not something a Dou Emperor could withstand. It required at least the strength of a Five-Star Dou Zong to resist it safely!

What did that mean?

It meant that a Dou Zong expert was very likely hidden within Stone Desert City!

Perhaps that expert was the protector of the Alchemist, or perhaps an elder from their sect.

No matter which it was, if she killed these two Pill Pagoda geniuses now.

She would be offending both a Seventh-Grade Alchemist and a Five-Star Dou Zong at the very least, perhaps even inviting the Pill Pagoda's towering wrath.

When that time came, the entire Snake People Clan would face annihilation!

The immense sense of danger caused Medusa's killing intent to ebb away like the tide, replaced by deep wariness and hesitation.

The certain intent to kill Cao Ying and Dan Chen had already dissipated by more than half.

Medusa returned to her half-human, half-serpent form, her expression shifting uncertainly.

Just as she pondered how to end this conflict gracefully, without appearing weak while preserving the Snake People Clan—

"Whoosh!"

A sharp sound of tearing air came from the direction of Stone Desert City!

A figure shot into the sky, faint traces of energy fluctuations from alchemy still lingering around him.

The Dou Qi Wings on his back beat fiercely as he soared upward at astonishing speed, flying without hesitation straight toward the terrifying Pill Lightning thunderclouds!

Dou Qi Wings?

A Dou Emperor?!

Not a Dou Zong expert walking through the air by controlling space!

The pupils in Medusa's eyes abruptly contracted, filled with utter disbelief.

An absurd, insane thought rose in her heart. Could it be that the person who had refined the Seventh-Grade Pill had no idea how terrifying Seventh-Rank Pill Lightning was?

Or... did he actually intend to use the body of a Dou Emperor to forcibly withstand the might of heaven and earth, enough to severely injure or even kill a low-star Dou Zong?

After her shock, a trace of ridicule and cold amusement appeared in Medusa's eyes.

She looked at Cao Ying, whose face had turned pale as she stared fixedly at that figure, and mocked her.

"Hmph! Do people from your Pill Pagoda not even know such basic common sense?

Seventh-Rank Pill Lightning is powerful enough to rival a Five-Star Dou Zong's full-force strike!

He is only a Dou Emperor. Charging up so recklessly, is he trying to get himself killed?"

Cao Ying and Dan Chen naturally knew how terrifying Seventh-Rank Pill Lightning was.

Cao Ying pressed her red lips together tightly, unable to conceal the worry in her beautiful eyes. Yet she recalled Shen Wen's earlier instructions and his ever-surprising methods.

Forcing herself to remain calm, she said coldly, "What can a Dou Emperor from some remote place possibly know of the methods of our Pill Pagoda geniuses?"

Medusa seemed to have heard the greatest joke in the world. Her snake tail swayed lightly, and her tone grew even colder. "Truly, the ignorant know no fear!

This Queen would like to see how he is reduced to ashes by this Pill Lightning!"

Yet before her words had faded.

The scene that followed.

Froze every trace of mockery and cold amusement on her face, turning it into unparalleled horror!

Shen Wen, soaring into the sky, faced the enormous bolt of lightning that roared down like a silver dragon.

He truly showed no sign of using any Dou Technique!

He hovered beneath the thunderclouds, his Dou Qi Wings gleaming under the lightning. Facing that silver pillar of light capable of destroying heaven and earth.

Not only did he refuse to evade it, he suddenly spread his arms wide. Green light surged around his body, faint green Dragon Marks emerging as an ancient, tyrannical aura soared into the heavens!

"Boom—!!!"

The thick Pill Lightning struck Shen Wen squarely!

Blinding lightning instantly swallowed him, transforming into a violently flashing sphere of thunder in midair.

Wild lightning power raced crazily across his body like countless silver serpents!

Cao Ying and Dan Chen's hearts leaped into their throats, while Qing Lin was so frightened that she covered her little mouth.

Medusa's enormous snake eyes widened round, her cold vertical pupils filled with incomprehensible shock.

She could clearly sense the destructive energy contained within that Pill Lightning. It was power enough to threaten even her!

Yet amid the rampaging lightning, the sight she had expected—Shen Wen being struck into charred remains, body and soul utterly destroyed—did not appear.

Instead, though the sphere of lightning was violent, it seemed constrained by some invisible force and did not erupt completely.

Vaguely, the figure at the center of the lightning could be seen trembling slightly, yet still standing tall.

The green Dragon Marks on his body seemed to grow clearer and more solid under the baptism of lightning!

"H-how is this possible?!"

Medusa could not help murmuring in shock.