Making a Move

Queen Medusa slowly nodded her snake-like head.

Ye Xiu turned and left immediately. With a loud "boom," his Dou Qi Wings unfurled behind him, and he shot into the sky, smashing directly through the roof of the Temple.

Outside the Temple, the scene was chaotic, as if a formidable enemy had descended.

Several figures stood suspended in mid-air. Powerful Dou Qi rumbled and exploded, illuminating the entire night sky.

Opposite them stood the eight Great Chieftains of the Snake-Person Race.

Ye Xiu flew into the air, squinting as he scanned the area.

He recognized the figures in the sky at a single glance.

The most conspicuous was a woman dressed in a black robe, with a pair of cyan wings on her back.

Because Ye Xiu had not concealed his Dou Huang aura, Gu He and the others subconsciously shielded the black-robed woman as they felt his powerful presence approaching.

The middle-aged man in his forties beside her, wearing an alchemist's robe, was likely Gu He.

There were also four or five other Dou Wangs, helpers invited by Gu He.

The moment Ye Xiu appeared, everyone turned to look at him.

When Mo Basi and the other Snake-Person Dou Wangs saw him, their eyes lit up instantly.

Ye Xiu nodded, said nothing more, and flew directly over to stand in front of Yun Yun.

Seeing him, Yun Yun was completely stunned.

"...Ye Xiu?"

Ye Xiu looked at her and smiled calmly.

"Sect Master Yun, long time no see."

Yun Yun frowned, staring at him and looking him up and down.

How long had it been? Two months? Three months? She remembered that the last time they met, Ye Xiu was only a Three-Star Dou Wang. But now, she could not fathom his depth at all.

"You... why are you here?" Yun Yun asked.

Ye Xiu said, "That's a question I should be asking you. What are you doing bringing people to the Snake-Person Race?"

Before Yun Yun could speak, Gu He flew over.

He looked at Ye Xiu, then at Yun Yun, his eyes filled with confusion. However, suppressing his inner displeasure, he asked politely:

"Sect Master Yun, who is this?"

Yun Yun was silent for a moment before saying, "Ye Xiu, a... a friend I knew before."

Gu He nodded and cupped his hands toward Ye Xiu: "I am Gu He, a Sixth-grade Alchemist of the Jia Ma Empire. I have come to the Snake-Person Race today to discuss a business deal with Queen Medusa."

Ye Xiu glanced at him and said indifferently, "I know who you are. But you won't be making that deal today."

Gu He's expression changed.

The Dou Wang beside him, Yi Shi, exploded in anger: "What the hell did you say? Do you know who we are?"

Ye Xiu didn't even look at him. He flicked his hand casually, and in the blink of an eye, Yi Shi vanished. A moment later, a loud crash echoed from the distant desert as a heavy object slammed into the ground!

Every Dou Wang present broke into a cold sweat at the sight. Aside from a Dou Huang, no one could have dealt with Yi Shi so effortlessly!

"I know why you're here. You want the Heavenly Flame, right?" he said. "But the Heavenly Flame is already mine."

As soon as these words were spoken, everyone was stunned.

Gu He's face turned deathly pale: "What did you say?"

Ye Xiu opened his hand, and a cluster of cyan flames "poofed" into existence in his palm.

Gu He's pupils contracted sharply.

As an alchemist, he naturally recognized it—that was the genuine Green Lotus Core Flame!

"You..."

Ye Xiu retracted the flame and looked at him: "The Heavenly Flame is with me. If you want it, come and get it."

Gu He was trembling with rage, and the polite facade on his face vanished completely.

How long had he prepared for this Heavenly Flame? How many people had he hired? And yet, he had been intercepted by some young punk?

If Queen Medusa had swallowed the Heavenly Flame a step ahead of him, he wouldn't have dared to say anything, but this was just some unknown Dou Huang who had appeared out of nowhere.

"Good, good, good!" Gu He repeated the word three times, his face turning livid. "Since you dare to swallow my Heavenly Flame, don't blame me for being impolite!"

He turned to look at Yun Yun: "Sect Master Yun, please lend me a hand!"

Yun Yun did not move.

Gu He was stunned: "Sect Master Yun?"

Yun Yun looked at him, remained silent for a moment, and then shook her head.

"Gu He, this matter... I will not interfere."

Gu He's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets: "What?!"

Yun Yun did not explain, only looking at Ye Xiu.

Ye Xiu was also a bit surprised.

Gu He was completely bewildered. He looked at Yun Yun, then at Ye Xiu, his expression incredibly colorful.

"Sect Master Yun, what... what is your relationship with him?"

Yun Yun did not speak.

But her expression already said everything.

Gu He was no fool; he saw it. These two definitely had something going on.

He took a deep breath, suppressed the anger in his heart, and said in a fawning tone, "Sect Master Yun, we had an agreement. Please do not break your word."

Yun Yun glanced at him. "I will return the price to you. As for today's matter, I truly cannot intervene."

Gu He's face turned from green to white.

He stared at Ye Xiu for a long time, then finally gritted his teeth. "Fine! I'll do it myself!"

He waved his hand, and those four Dou Wang immediately closed in, surrounding Ye Xiu in the center.

Ye Xiu swept his gaze over them and smiled.

Four Dou Wang: two at five-star, one at six-star, and one at seven-star. This lineup was certainly impressive within the Jia Ma Empire.

But to him...

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Ye Xiu asked.

The four Dou Wang looked at each other without speaking, but the Dou Qi on their bodies had already begun to circulate.

Ye Xiu sighed.

He didn't want to fight, but since they were pushing it to his face, he had no choice.

Just as he was about to move, Yun Yun suddenly spoke up.

"Ye Xiu."

Ye Xiu turned to look at her.

Yun Yun bit her lip and whispered, "Don't kill them... they are only following Gu He's orders."

Ye Xiu was stunned for a moment, then smiled.

This woman was quite kind-hearted.

"Fine." He nodded. "For your sake, I'll spare their lives."

As soon as the words fell, he moved.

No one saw how he moved.

They only saw a flash of green light, and those four Dou Wang were sent flying backward simultaneously, slamming heavily into the ground, unable to crawl back up for a long time.

Gu He stood frozen in place, completely dumbfounded.

In a single exchange, four Dou Wang were all taken down?

He opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but nothing came out.

Ye Xiu walked up to him and looked down at him.

"Gu He, do you still want to fight?"

Gu He was trembling all over, but he didn't dare to say a word.

Ye Xiu patted him on the shoulder and turned to walk toward Yun Yun.

Yun Yun watched him, her eyes filled with an indescribable emotion.

Ye Xiu stood still in front of her and smiled.

"Didn't expect to see me here, did you? Surprised? Shocked?"

"Mm." Yun Yun nodded as well, then said, "But I still have to thank you for being willing to spare their lives."

Ye Xiu laughed. "That was also because of you. If you weren't here, they would already be a pile of corpses."

Hearing this, Yun Yun felt her cheeks heat up, and she forcibly suppressed the corners of her mouth that wanted to curl upward.

Ye Xiu looked back at the four Dou Wang lying on the ground, then looked at Gu He.

"Get lost. Treat the matter of the Heavenly Flame as if it never happened. Don't come to the Snake-Person Race to cause trouble again, or next time, I won't be this polite."

Gu He's face was ashen, but he didn't dare to utter a word, leading his men away in a dejected retreat.

Yun Yun, however, did not leave.

She stood there, looking at Ye Xiu.

The two stared at each other for a long while.

In the end, it was Yun Yun who spoke first: "You... have become much stronger."

Ye Xiu nodded. "Just lucky."

Yun Yun fell silent for a moment, then suddenly asked, "What is your relationship with Queen Medusa?"

Ye Xiu was taken aback.

"A partnership. I help her evolve, and she lets me absorb the Heavenly Flame."

"Is that all?"

Ye Xiu raised an eyebrow: "What else would it be?"

Yun Yun did not speak.

After a while, she said softly, "I'm leaving then."

Ye Xiu nodded: "Take care on your way."

Yun Yun turned around, unfurled her cyan wings, and prepared to depart.

After flying a few steps, she stopped again and looked back at Ye Xiu.

"Next time we meet, I'll treat you to grilled fish."

With that, she flapped her Dou Qi Wings, shot into the sky, and vanished into the night.

Ye Xiu stood there, watching that figure grow smaller and smaller until she finally disappeared from sight.

"Grilled fish..." He smiled, "Alright then."

He turned around and looked toward the direction of the Temple.

Below, the evolution was still ongoing.