Lieyang towered high in the sky, casting its light over a vast golden desert. The scorching climate was unbearable for ordinary people, as if they were standing in a furnace. Yellow sand swept across the land, stirring up one sandstorm after another.
Deep in the desert, a magnificent city rose above the horizon like an ancient beast with its jaws wide open, endlessly swallowing up the snake-people entering and leaving, along with the supplies they carried.
Squad after squad of snake-person guards, dressed in light but well-made gear, patrolled the city walls. Their eyes were cold and keen, sweeping over every snake-person entering or leaving Temple City like sharp swords. No disguise could escape their notice.
But deep within the central hall of Temple City, the scene was entirely different from the world outside.
Before the eye lay a clear lake, its surface rippling. It was much cooler than the surrounding desert. At its center sat a small island, with no bridge or path leading to it.
The island was not large. Lush bamboo, trees, and all sorts of flowers and plants grew across it, giving it a vibrant and beautiful appearance.
At the island's center was a pool, with nine fourth-tier ice-type Magic Cores embedded around it. Together, they formed an artificial ice pool, where cold air drifted and white mist swirled.
Vaguely visible through the mist was a graceful, voluptuous figure soaking in the pool, enjoying its icy waters.
Suddenly, a flash of white light appeared. A figure plunged from the sky and crashed into the flowers beside the pool, startling the person within it into rising abruptly and sending water spraying everywhere.
"Who is it?!"
A voice filled with authority and icy fury rang out. As the splashing water fell, the graceful, voluptuous body revealed its true appearance.
She was an exquisitely beautiful, mature snake-woman—no, a queen!
Her long, dark hair hung in three thousand strands, still beaded with droplets and giving off a faint, pleasant fragrance. Her delicate, oval face was pale and tender, without a single flaw. Her features were stunning, her slender brows furrowed, and her phoenix eyes simmered with anger. A faint chill escaped her jade-white nose. It was clear she was displeased at being disturbed while resting.
Queen Medusa slowly swam out of the pool, revealing her mature, curvaceous figure. Her full, rounded breasts were tightly encased in a red breastplate, her waist slender, and her skin as white as jade. Her purple serpentine tail swayed behind her shapely bottom, exuding a wild, unusual allure. She was utterly enticing.
When she saw the intruder, a trace of surprise flashed through her beautiful eyes.
A handsome young man, seemingly eighteen or nineteen, lay naked among the flowers, eyes shut and unconscious.
Though she had no idea how he had broken through the restrictions she had set and entered the island, Medusa was furious. She had no interest in finding out.
She raised a delicate hand and gathered Battle Qi. A crimson palm print shot from her hand, blazing with heat and distorting the air as it slammed toward the man, intent on smashing him into pulp and turning him into flower fertilizer.
Just as the Battle Qi palm print was about to hit him, dazzling white light surged into view, forming a protective barrier around the man and blocking the attack.
"What?!"
Medusa was astonished by what she saw.
At that moment, a cold, mechanical voice sounded in the man's mind.
[Ding~ The host has fallen unconscious. An enemy is attacking the host. Passive tenfold retaliation activated. Retaliations remaining: 2.]
A crimson palm print identical to the previous one gathered, but its power was ten times greater than the one Medusa had unleashed. Before she could react, it came hurtling toward her!
It moved so fast that even Medusa, a Peak Dou Emperor, could not react in time. The palm print struck her squarely in the chest, sending her flying. Her voluptuous body traced a perfect arc through the air before crashing to the ground and raising a cloud of dust.
"Pfft!"
When the dust settled, Medusa lay sprawled on the ground in a pitiful state, coughing up blood. Her phoenix eyes were full of shock, and her face had turned deathly pale. She felt as if her internal organs had all been displaced. A Battle Qi she knew all too well, yet could not control, rampaged through her body. Every inch of her hurt, as though she were about to fall apart.
With no time to think, Medusa struggled to her feet, took a fifth-grade healing pill from her Storage Ring, and quickly swallowed it. She closed her eyes, focusing on refining the medicinal energy and suppressing the Battle Qi running wild inside her, doing both at once.
Meanwhile, the man who had been unconscious stirred at the system's prompt in his mind. His eyelids twitched, and he gradually woke.
"Mm..."
Gu Shenge opened his eyes and stared at the unfamiliar, strange-looking ceiling. A flicker of confusion crossed his face.
He struggled to lift himself from the ground and looked around. His expression shifted from confusion to bewilderment, then to shock.
Where was this?
Gu Shenge remembered being attacked with a knife by his girlfriends working together. Could this be the underworld? But it didn't look like it.
[Ding~ The host has awakened. Based on the host's current situation, the newbie gift pack has been delivered. Please check it.]
Gu Shenge: "Huh?"
The next moment, information about the system flooded into Gu Shenge's mind.
The system had no complicated name. It was simply called "System." By a twist of fate, it had chosen Gu Shenge, who had been attacked with a knife by his girlfriends, and helped him rebuild his body before sending him at random to another world.
The system had once suffered severe damage, so most of its functions had shut down. Only four remained operational.
They were [Lottery], [System Store], [Marry Wives and Take Concubines], and [Time-Space Travel].
[Lottery]: Draws could yield anything from the myriad worlds. There were seven grades, from lowest to highest: Yellow, Black, Earth, Heaven, Divine, Saint, and Chaos.
The system automatically awarded one Yellow-grade draw each month. Ten draws could be combined into a higher-grade draw, up to Heaven grade. Origin Points could also be used for exchanges.
[System Store]: The host could use Origin Points to buy anything from the world he was currently in.
[Marry Wives and Take Concubines]: Once the host married a female living being or took one as a concubine, the system would reward him based on her various attributes. It would also give the other party a betrothal gift.
Wives and concubines were divided into ranks: primary wife, equal wife, favored concubine, good concubine, and humble concubine.
The betrothal gifts varied by rank.
[Time-Space Travel]: By consuming varying amounts of Origin Points, the system could take the host to other worlds at random or to a world of his choosing.
After receiving the system's information, Gu Shenge realized that he had crossed over into the Battle Through the Heavens World. More importantly, he had landed on Medusa's island.
Medusa had also been badly injured by the system's passive tenfold counterattack and was healing not far away.
"System, can we make a deal? Could you give me some clothes first?"
Looking at his naked body, newly rebuilt by the system, Gu Shenge immediately contacted it. Whatever else could wait—he needed clothes first.
[Ding~ The newbie gift pack contains something the host wants.]
At that, Gu Shenge focused his thoughts and took the Novice Gift Pack out of the System Space, then opened it.
In addition to a set of clothes, the Novice Gift Pack contained ten thousand Origin Points, a flawless, white jade-like pill the size of a longan, with nine Pill Patterns and a faint Pill Glow, and a ball of emerald-green light.
Gu Shenge hurriedly put on the clothes. He looked at the pill and the emerald-green light, and information about them appeared in his mind.
[Name: Perfect Sect-Breaking Pill]
[Description: A Perfect Sect-Breaking Pill made by the system. It can help a Dou Emperor break through to Dou Zong with one hundred percent success and has no side effects.]
--
[Name: Triple Jade-Green Snake Flower Pupils]
[Description: An innate pupil ability that can forcibly establish a one-way link with snake-type magical beasts, allowing the user to control them and store them in the space opened by the Triple Jade-Green Snake Flower Pupils. The user can gradually absorb their cultivation, though the rate depends on their own strength, and the space's size also changes with their strength.]
After reading the descriptions of the two items, Gu Shenge understood why the system had said the Novice Gift Pack was tailored to his current circumstances.
The Triple Jade-Green Snake Flower Pupils were meant to deal with Medusa! The system was so thoughtful!
~
PS: I won't be pursuing Xiao Xun'er. I'm not interested in her.
Before you continue