At the heart of the Snake-People Holy Temple, in the altar chamber.
By now, this place had become the very heart of a vortex of raging energy, like a battlefield trampled wantonly by demons! The ancient altar that had once bound the Green Lotus Core Flame had long since shattered in the fierce battle, reduced to countless fragments. Great chunks of stone were tossed about and smashed apart by the rampaging currents of energy like fragile toys caught in a gale, each impact sending out a muffled, thunderous crash. The air reeked of pungent sulfur, as if the stench had come straight from hell. The thick smell of blood was nauseating, like congealed gore. And the chilling fluctuations of soul power made one's very spirit ache, like countless icy needles stabbing straight into the depths of the soul.
Queen Medusa was in a truly wretched state, utterly miserable!
Her gorgeous gown, once carefully conjured from cyan flames, was now torn in many places, like a splendid brocade robe mercilessly ripped to shreds. The tears revealed skin covered in fine purple scales, their surfaces mottled with charred marks like burns left by raging fire. Some wounds were so deep that bone showed, and golden blood kept seeping from them. Yet the moment it flowed out, the cyan flames burning across her body vaporized it, turning it into wisps of golden smoke. Her face was pale as paper, like a sheet of rice paper drained of all color. Deep in her purple eyes, the two flickering cyan flames had dimmed considerably, like candles on the verge of going out. Exhaustion and fury suppressed to the absolute limit filled her gaze, like a volcano poised to erupt at any moment.
The two people attacking her were terrifyingly powerful!
One of them was Protector Wu. Though his aura was much weaker than before, clearly he had suffered in his fierce clash with Queen Medusa, the black mist roiling around him had grown denser and more venomous, like a toxic fog from hell. Countless wailing vengeful spirits appeared and vanished within the mist, shrieking shrilly. Their cries were like countless blades battering Queen Medusa's mind and soul, trying to disrupt her thoughts and plunge her into chaos.
The other was a mysterious figure shrouded in even deeper black mist, viscous as ink. He was hunched over, like an old tree bowed beneath the weight of years, and withered as a skeleton. A mask carved into a grotesque ghostly face concealed his features, leaving only a pair of eyes burning with sickly green soul-flame exposed. That gaze was like a baleful glimmer from hell, enough to chill anyone to the bone. He did not attack directly. Instead, he hovered at the edge of the battlefield, steadily holding up a churning black vortex made of pure soul power. The vortex gave off a terrifying suction, like a bottomless black hole, savagely tearing at and devouring the soul power and Green Lotus Core Flame energy leaking from Queen Medusa. This wicked, overwhelming force was what kept Queen Medusa tied down, as if she were bound in ropes and unable to unleash her full strength.
This was the Soul Hall Venerable Elder! His strength was at least that of a five-star Dou Zong. He specialized in secret soul arts and used exceptionally sinister, difficult-to-counter methods, like a ghost lurking in the darkness, impossible to guard against!
"Ke ke ke... Medusa, stop wasting your strength resisting! Just obediently offer up that Heavenly Flame and the essence of your Seven-Colored Heaven-Swallowing Python to the Soul Hall. That's the only fate awaiting you!" Protector Wu let out a hideously shrill cackle, like the screech of a night owl, sending chills down the spine. He swept both hands through the air, controlling the churning mist of vengeful spirits as it instantly transformed into countless ink-black chains. The chains were like venomous serpents, twisted and sinister, lashing toward Queen Medusa.
"In your dreams!" Cyan flames blazed in Queen Medusa's purple eyes, shooting out like two fierce bolts of lightning. She flicked her jade hand, and a condensed cyan blade of flame shot out. Glinting sharply like a meteor tearing across the night sky, it easily severed a great swath of the incoming chains of vengeful spirits. Yet more chains clung to her like maggots, wrapping around her without end and leaving her no chance to defend herself. At the same time, the soul vortex in the Soul Hall Venerable Elder's hands abruptly intensified its suction, like an invisible black hole. Queen Medusa's body jerked to a halt, and a tearing pain ripped through the depths of her soul, as if tens of thousands of steel needles had stabbed into her all at once.
"Pfft!"
A vicious chain of vengeful spirits seized its chance, slipped through Queen Medusa's defenses, and lashed across her back like a sharp whip. In an instant, scales shattered and blood sprayed out like a fountain. She grunted, and her already feeble aura plunged once more, like a candle guttering in the wind, ready to go out at any moment.
"Your Majesty!" Yue Mei's despairing cry came from the perimeter, her voice filled with helplessness and grief. At that moment, she and several Snake-People experts were being pinned down by two Soul Hall Dou Huangs. The battle between them was deadlocked, leaving them unable to break free and help at the heart of the battlefield. All they could do was watch their queen fall into a desperate plight.
Just as Queen Medusa was cornered, and the sickly green soul-flame in the Soul Hall Venerable Elder's eyes flickered violently as he prepared to unleash his fatal strike—
"Roar—!!!"
A majestic, overbearing dragon's roar, seemingly from the primordial wilds, erupted at the heart of the Holy Temple, carrying a fury that ripped through the soul. The sound rolled out like thunder, shaking the entire space.
A crimson-gold figure tore through the night like a falling star, bearing an unstoppable force that could shatter all things. He smashed through the layers of vengeful-spirit barriers Protector Wu had set up as if they were no more than thin paper. The figure charged into the center of the battlefield, like a battle god descending from the heavens.
It was Xiao Zhan!
A mysterious, magnificent phantom of crimson-gold dragon scales seemed to envelop his entire body, every scale gleaming with brilliant light and seeming to contain endless power. Golden flames blazed in his eyes like tangible fire, radiating a scorching, fearsome majesty. A Dragon Phoenix pressure that came from the depths of his bloodline and stood above all living beings erupted with a roar, sweeping outward like a surging tide. It scattered the chilling soul power filling the air and made the entire space tremble.
He did not even spare Protector Wu a glance. Infused with the peak power of the Dragon Phoenix Tyrant Body Art, his fist struck out without a hint of flourish, bearing enough force to shatter the void and shake the heavens. It slammed toward the Soul Hall Venerable Elder, who was controlling the soul vortex. The punch seemed to gather all the power between heaven and earth, and yet also seemed like a furious blow from an ancient god.
"Dragon Phoenix Tyrant Body! Shatter the Void!"
Xiao Zhan had unleashed this punch in a fury! It combined his profound Dou Zong cultivation, his pure and powerful Dragon-Phoenix Bloodline, and his boundless hatred and killing intent toward the Soul Hall. Every ounce of power carried his resolve and rage. He meant to crush the enemy before him to pieces.
Wherever his fist passed, space fractured inch by inch like fragile glass, each break ringing out with a crisp, thunderous sound. The cracks spread rapidly like a spiderweb, revealing the black, chaotic spatial turbulence beyond, as if a terrifying passage to another world had been opened.
The soul-flame beneath the Soul Hall Venerable Elder's mask gave a sudden flicker, like a star in the night sky shining with alarm. He clearly had not expected Xiao Zhan to break through the layers of obstruction at the perimeter so quickly, much less for this punch to carry such terrifying power, like an insurmountable mountain crashing down on him. In his haste, he could only shove the soul vortex in his hands toward Xiao Zhan's fist, trying to block the fatal blow, while leaping backward like a streak of black lightning to escape the danger zone.
"Rumble—!!!"
The sound burst through the confined space like thunder from the ninth heaven, making everyone's eardrums ache, as if the entire world had shuddered in that instant. The crimson-gold Dragon-Phoenix Fist Seal smashed into the pitch-black soul vortex. Violent physical strength and pure Dragon Phoenix energy intertwined, and dazzling light erupted as if a searing iron had been plunged into ten-thousand-year-old ice.
"Ssssss—!"
A piercing sound of dissolution and a shriek from the soul itself erupted at once, like an anguished wail from the depths of the spirit. The vortex, which could devour a Dou Zong's soul, was completely helpless before the pure Yang, unyielding power of the Dragon Phoenix Origin, as if it had met its natural nemesis. The black soul power rapidly evaporated and was purified, vanishing like dew beneath the sun. The vortex twisted and crumbled at a visible rate, until at last it disappeared into nothingness.
"Argh—!" The Soul Hall Venerable Elder let out a piercing, inhuman wail of agony, clearly suffering a severe backlash to his Soul Origin. His retreating figure hunched even further, as if the weight of age and pain had bent his spine completely. A strand of black smoke slowly seeped from beneath his mask, a visible sign of damage to his soul, like poisonous mist exhaled by a demon, ominous and terrifying.
"Courting death!" Protector Wu was both shocked and furious, madness flashing in his eyes. He acted without hesitation, abandoning his attack on Queen Medusa as black mist surged around him like a raging tide. In an instant, it condensed into a gigantic ghostly claw that blotted out the sky. The claw radiated a frigid aura that corroded the soul, as if it could freeze every trace of life. With thunderous force, it clawed at Xiao Zhan's back, intent on crushing his heart outright.
"Get lost!" Xiao Zhan roared without even turning his head, his voice like a great bell reverberating through the air and making the surrounding space tremble. He struck backward with his other fist. Its crimson-gold fist seal blazed like a burning sun as it collided violently with the pitch-black ghost claw.
"Boom!"
A deafening crash rang out, and another storm of energy erupted like brilliant fireworks blooming in the night sky, though every spark carried deadly danger. Protector Wu was thrown back, the black mist around him churning like clouds in a gale. He grunted, pain flashing across his face, clearly having suffered in the clash of power. Xiao Zhan, meanwhile, used the recoil to shoot toward the wounded Soul Hall Venerable Elder like an arrow loosed from a bow.
"Dragon Phoenix Soul-Binding Chain!" Xiao Zhan rapidly formed hand seals, and Dragon Phoenix energy surged out of him like floodwaters bursting through a breached dam. In an instant, it became several chains of energy wreathed in crimson-gold flames. Like restraints forged by ancient gods, the chains ignored the distance between them and instantly wound around the Soul Hall Venerable Elder. Flames blazed along their length, radiating a sacred, majestic aura.
"Argh! Damn it! What kind of power is this?!" The Soul Hall Venerable Elder was horrified, his voice filled with terror and despair. Bound by the crimson-gold chains, his soul-body felt as though it had been thrown into a blazing furnace, its soul power rapidly melting away like snow beneath the scorching sun. He struggled desperately, his sickly green soul-flame blazing wildly and wavering like a candle in the wind as he tried to break free of the terrible restraints.
"Your Majesty! Now!" Xiao Zhan bellowed, his voice like a battle horn, full of resolve and strength.
A cold light flashed in Queen Medusa's purple eyes, sharp as two bolts of lightning. This was the moment she had been waiting for, like a hunter lying in wait in the darkness until the perfect instant to strike. The remaining Dou Qi in her body and the Origin power of the Green Lotus Core Flame erupted without restraint, like a volcano bursting forth, unstoppable.
"Seven-Colored Poisonous Evil Seal!" (This was a supreme secret art of the Snake-People Tribe. Its hidden poison and soul-corroding power were enough to make all things tremble with fear.)
Queen Medusa's jade finger flicked, swift as lightning tearing across the night sky. A tiny finger-seal, infused with the Seven-Colored Heaven-Swallowing Python's innate poison and soul-corroding power, shot through the air with fierce force. Like a bolt of lightning crossing space, it struck the brow of the Soul Hall Venerable Elder with pinpoint accuracy. The attack was so swift and precise it seemed divinely guided, leaving anyone who saw it in awe.
"Psst—!"
There was no earth-shaking explosion, only a faint sound like a bubble popping. Amid the tense battlefield, the little noise seemed especially jarring—and yet it carried an eerie chill that made the blood run cold.
The Soul Hall Venerable Elder's struggle stopped at once, as if time had frozen him in place. The sickly green soul-flame that had been burning beneath his mask went out like a candle snuffed by a gale, leaving only wisps of smoke drifting away. An intensely concentrated seven-colored poison, mixed with the dead stillness of soul power, spread wildly from the tiny hole in his brow, surging through his entire soul-body like a raging tide. Wherever the poison passed, his soul-body quickly faded, as if all life had been drained from it.
"Im...possi...ble..." The Soul Hall Venerable Elder sent out one last indistinct ripple of thought, filled with despair and unwillingness. Then his entire soul-body began to dissolve and disintegrate like a wax figure eaten away by strong acid. It broke apart into wisps of seven-colored poisonous smoke and fragments of shattered soul, which drifted and scattered through the air until they disappeared completely, as if he had never existed.
A Soul Hall Venerable Elder at the level of a five-star Dou Zong had fallen! His death was like a brilliant star going dark in the night sky, a sight that could not help but stir a sigh.
"Venerable Elder!!!" Protector Wu let out an enraged, shocked howl, like a wounded beast roaring, filled with boundless fury and resentment. The way he looked at Xiao Zhan and Queen Medusa was full of fear and venomous hatred, as if he wanted to devour them alive.
Without the slightest hesitation, he spat out a mouthful of pure black soul-blood. The blood mist, like black smoke, instantly melded into the dark mist roiling around him. In an instant, the mist grew denser and more sinister.
"Soul Escape: Blood Shadow Ten Thousand Miles!"
Protector Wu and the black mist around him instantly blurred, as if a mysterious veil had fallen over them. He became a streak of blood-red light moving at incredible speed, like a meteor crossing the night sky. Ignoring all spatial obstacles, he fled for his life through the broken barrier surrounding the Holy Temple. He was so fast that even Xiao Zhan could not stop him in time; all he could do was watch him vanish into the distance.
The heart of the battlefield fell silent in an instant, as if time itself had frozen. Only the disordered currents of energy still whistled through the air with sharp cries, like a lament lingering after the battle. The air was thick with the stench of blood, like a heavy fog pressing down on everyone and making it hard to breathe.
"Pfft!"
Queen Medusa could no longer hold on. Her delicate body shuddered, and she spat out a mouthful of golden blood flecked with seven-colored light, which arced through the air with tragic beauty. Her body fell helplessly from the sky like a kite with its string cut, like a gorgeous flower withering in a violent gale.
"Your Majesty!" Xiao Zhan's heart lurched with worry. His figure flashed like a streak of golden lightning across the sky, and he appeared beneath Queen Medusa in an instant. He reached out with both arms and gently caught her scarred yet still breathtakingly beautiful body.
Her skin felt cold and slick to his touch, the unique texture of the Seven-Colored Heaven-Swallowing Python's scales, like a priceless treasure beneath his hands. At the same time, the pungent smell of blood and the scorching aura of the Heavenly Flame hit him, making his heart clench. Queen Medusa's breath was faint, like a candle guttering in the wind. Her purple eyes struggled open a crack. In them lay the exhaustion of one who had survived disaster, as if she had endured a thousand years of hardship; a boundless hatred for the Soul Hall, like a flame that would never die; and a faint, unrecognized dependence, like a tiny glimmer of starlight in the night sky.
"Th...ank...you..." Her lips barely moved, and her voice was as soft as a breeze passing by. After she uttered those two words, she lost consciousness completely. Forcing her Origin secret art to kill the Soul Hall Venerable Elder had already exhausted her completely. Combined with her previous injuries, it had left her like a lamp running out of oil, her flame of life wavering on the verge of going out.
Xiao Zhan held the gravely wounded, unconscious Queen Medusa tightly in his arms. He could feel the chaotic, violent energy raging inside her like a surging tide, her crumbling aura like a flame on the verge of dying out. His brows drew tightly together, like two unscalable peaks, his heart heavy with worry. Though the Soul Hall Venerable Elder had died on the spot, Protector Wu had escaped, like a time bomb planted in the shadows, leaving endless trouble behind. And Queen Medusa's condition was even more perilous. She stood at the edge of a cliff; one misstep could send her plunging into an abyss of eternal ruin.
[Detected: Queen Medusa (Seven-Colored Heaven-Swallowing Python) has suffered severe damage to her Origin, her soul is on the verge of collapse, and the backlash from the Heavenly Flame is worsening! Immediate treatment required!] [Option One: Consume 50% of the host's blood essence and Dragon Phoenix Origin to forcibly stabilize her injuries. Risk: The host will be severely weakened, and his cultivation may fall.] [Option Two: Guide the remnants of the Heavenly Flame and the power of the Dragon Phoenix contract within her body, and perform the "Nirvana Seal" art. This will send her into a deep slumber, allowing her life force to recover slowly in stillness. Risk: During the seal, she will be extremely vulnerable, like a candle in the wind, and her time of awakening will be unknown, like an uncharted journey through the mist.]
The system's warning was cold and cruel, like a sharp blade of ice stabbing straight into Xiao Zhan's heart.
Xiao Zhan lowered his gaze to the pale yet still peerlessly beautiful face in his arms. Her closed eyes and quivering lashes seemed to speak of endless pain and struggle. He felt the faint stir of the bloodline contract, like a cry for help coming from afar, and the distant, indistinct call from the depths of his soul. It was the faint will to survive remaining in Queen Medusa, like a tiny star glimmering in the darkness. His gaze gradually grew resolute, like an immovable mountain.
"System, execute option two! Nirvana Seal!" Xiao Zhan's voice was low and firm, carrying an unquestionable resolve.
[Command confirmed! Immediately guiding the host's Dragon Phoenix contract mark and the remaining energy of the Green Lotus Core Flame... Carefully constructing the Nirvana Seal...]
Xiao Zhan rapidly formed a series of profound, intricate hand seals, each one a mysterious rune that glimmered with strange light in the air. The contract mark between his brows lit up like a brilliant star, and strands of gentle power imbued with Dragon Phoenix energy flowed into Queen Medusa, mingling with his pure Dou Qi. This power guided the remaining, rampaging energy of the Green Lotus Core Flame within her along a strange path, as if weaving a mysterious net of life.
Gradually, the wounds across Queen Medusa's body stopped bleeding, as if an invisible hand had staunched the flowing blood. The violent fluctuations of energy were forcibly suppressed and drawn inward, like a tamed beast settling into hibernation. A faint cocoon of light appeared around her, woven from cyan flames and crimson-gold runes, wrapping her entire body as if she were enclosed in a dreamlike bubble. Inside the cocoon, her form slowly shrank and changed amid the flames, as if undergoing a mysterious metamorphosis.
At last, the cocoon of light disappeared. In Xiao Zhan's palm lay not the peerlessly beautiful, majestic queen, but a tiny, delicate snake barely over a foot long, its entire body covered in seven-colored scales. It was deeply asleep, its breath faint but steady, like an infant sleeping peacefully. Faint patterns of cyan flame flowed across its seven-colored scales, like mysterious stars twinkling in the night sky, radiating a unique, captivating charm.
The Seven-Colored Heaven-Swallowing Python's mysterious, magnificent true form had appeared! The Nirvana Seal had been completed perfectly, like the beginning of a mysterious ritual of rebirth for Queen Medusa.
Xiao Zhan carefully cradled the little snake, fast asleep, its delicate scales gleaming with dreamlike colors in the dim light, like the world's most precious work of art. He could truly feel the faint life force within it, like a candle flickering in the wind, weak yet stubbornly burning; and he could feel the contract that linked it closely to him, like an invisible thread winding their fates together. His heart was a tangle of emotions: relief at having survived disaster, worry about the future, and deep concern for Queen Medusa. He gently placed the little snake in the inner pocket of his clothes, close to his body, as if putting it in the safest harbor in the world.
"Yue Mei!" Xiao Zhan called out in a deep voice, his shout echoing across the battlefield like a great bell.
"Elder Xiao!" Yue Mei was covered in blood, her clothes torn, like a withered flower battered by wind and rain. She had barely managed to drive off the two Soul Hall Dou Huangs. Now that the Venerable Elder had fallen and Protector Wu had fled, the two Dou Huangs had long since lost the will to fight. Yue Mei staggered over, every step seemingly exhausting the last of her strength. When she saw the little seven-colored snake in Xiao Zhan's palm, tears instantly blurred her emerald-green slit pupils, her eyes filled with worry and grief for her queen. "Your Majesty..."
"Her Majesty's life is no longer in immediate danger, but she needs to sleep and recover. The Holy Temple has been destroyed, and the Soul Hall may return at any moment, like a venomous snake lurking in the shadows, ready to strike a fatal blow!" Xiao Zhan's voice was grave, like a heavy mountain pressing down on everyone. "Gather all the surviving members of the tribe at once. Abandon the Holy City and retreat to the 'Snake Abyss Oasis' deep in the desert! Keep this under wraps, rebuild our strength, and wait for the day we can rise again!"
"Yes, Elder Xiao!" Yue Mei held back her grief and nodded firmly, determination shining in her eyes. Xiao Zhan had killed the Soul Hall Venerable Elder and saved their queen. His word was now the highest command, like a beacon in the darkness guiding them forward.
Deep in the Tagor Desert, in the Death Sand Sea.
The merciless sun hung high in the sky like a gigantic fireball, scorching the undulating dunes. The burning sand was like ore in a vast furnace, while the air shimmered and steamed. Waves of heat rolled toward them like a surging tide, making it hard to breathe. Fine grains of sand were swept up by the howling wind, forming a sandstorm that blotted out the sky. Like a giant yellow dragon rampaging and roaring between heaven and earth, it buried everything in its path.
A slender figure struggled through the raging sandstorm. She carried an unconscious boy on her back, his body looking so fragile amid the wind and sand. Each step took tremendous effort, as if she were struggling against all of nature. Yet her eyes held a stubborn determination, as if no matter how many dangers lay ahead, nothing could stop her from moving forward.
Xiao Yi Xian's lips had long since cracked like parched earth, and thin streaks of blood oozed out, congealing into dark red scabs. Her pale green dress, once fresh as a new leaf in spring, had long since been stained gray-yellow by the merciless sand. The torn fabric snapped in the gale, like a helpless sigh from her exhausted body.
Her slight frame swayed in the raging sandstorm, like a tiny boat adrift in a storm-tossed sea. With each step, her feet sank deep into the scorching sand as if the earth were gripping her tightly. It took all her strength to pull them free, leaving a trail of deep and shallow, crooked footprints that were quickly buried by the windblown sand.
The unconscious Xiao Yan on her back breathed as faintly as a candle in the wind. His heavy body seemed like a mountain weighing mercilessly on her shoulders. Sweat mixed with sand trickled down from her temples and fell onto the scorching ground, instantly evaporating and leaving behind only a faint circle of moisture.
She bit down hard on her lower lip, nearly drawing blood. Her clear eyes were veined with exhaustion, but more than that, they held a heartbreaking tenacity, like a flame burning alone in the darkness. With one hand, she clutched the Detoxification Spirit Bead against Xiao Yan's chest, as if it were shielding him from unseen danger. With the other, she gripped a crude bone dagger, carved from a magical beast's bone she had picked up on the road. It was rough, but its primitive edge was sharp. She warily scanned her surroundings with the keen eyes of a leopard, not missing the slightest disturbance.
"Hold on... Xiao Yan... Just hold on a little longer..." she whispered, her voice so hoarse it was almost inaudible, as if she had squeezed the words from the depths of her throat. Yao Lao had fallen asleep, leaving her with only her own narrow shoulders to rely on. Using the faint energy-sensing ability of the Seven-Colored Poison Scripture and the sense of direction provided by the Detoxification Spirit Bead—which seemed to weakly repel the Green Lotus Core Flame and always pointed in the opposite direction—she made her way step by step toward the depths of the desert, where a safe oasis might lie.
Yet the sandstorm grew more and more violent, like an enraged beast roaring. Visibility was less than ten meters; all around them was chaos, as if they were lost in a giant maze. The shrill howl of the wind sounded like wailing ghosts and wolves, battering their eardrums and filling them with fear.
Suddenly—
"Rustle, rustle..."
A dense, eerie scraping sound pierced through the howling wind and sand, drifting from behind a dune off to the front and side, like the approaching footsteps of the Grim Reaper.
Xiao Yi Xian's pupils shrank, and her heart clenched as if an invisible hand had seized it. She stopped at once, held her breath, and pressed herself against the lee side of the dune, hidden from the wind, like a startled fawn curled up in a corner. She cautiously poked out her head and fixed her gaze on the direction of the sound.
Dozens of giant scorpions, their bodies the color of earth and almost indistinguishable from the sand, slowly emerged from behind the dune! Each was as large as a young ox, its menacing pincers gleaming like metal, like a pair of sharp scythes. Their tails were held high, the deep-blue stingers shining with a deadly gleam, like poisonous spikes in the darkness, sending chills down the spine.
Second-rank pack-type magical beasts—the Sand Poison Demon Scorpions—had appeared! Like ghosts and assassins of the desert, they brought death's shadow wherever they went, inspiring terror in all who heard of them. Their ferocious appearance was like that of evil spirits from hell, each inch of their armor radiating an ominous chill.
At that moment, the Sand Poison Demon Scorpions seemed to be drawn in by some mysterious aura. Perhaps it was the lingering smell of blood on Xiao Yan, its rusty tang scattering in the gale; or perhaps it was the vigorous life force emanating from the Detoxification Spirit Bead, a bright glimmer in the darkness, too conspicuous to ignore. They were crawling rapidly toward the place where Xiao Yi Xian and Xiao Yan were hiding, surging forward like a tide! The "rustling" sound was like the Grim Reaper urging them onward, growing closer and clearer with every moment.
Xiao Yi Xian's heart sank into an endless abyss, as if a huge stone had pressed down on her and left her unable to breathe. Ahead lay the vicious, menacing swarm of Sand Poison Demon Scorpions. Behind her were unknown pursuers from the Misty Cloud Sect; she was like a bird trapped in a cage, with no way to know whether she had managed to shake them off. Above her roared the deadly sandstorm, its howling wind and flying sand ready to swallow everything. This was true desperation, an merciless trial fate had set before her.
She looked at the unconscious Xiao Yan in her arms, his face gray and lifeless as paper. His once ruddy cheeks were now drained of color, and his lips were cracked and peeling. Then she looked at the increasingly close, hideous magical scorpions. A trace of despair flashed through her clear eyes, like a shooting star that vanished in an instant. But then an even colder determination kindled within them, like a flame in a winter's night, steadfast and blazing.
She gently set Xiao Yan down, careful not to wake him, and leaned him against the warm dune, as if it were the last shelter she could offer him. Then she slowly stood up. Though her figure was slender, she radiated an unquestionable resolve as she boldly stepped in front of him, facing the surging swarm of Sand Poison Demon Scorpions, like a brave warrior guarding her most precious treasure.
"I won't... let you hurt him..." she murmured. Her voice was soft, yet full of strength, as if she were speaking to herself and proclaiming it to the whole world at once. The gray-white poisonous mist between her slender fingers, suppressed until now, no longer stayed still. Like a volcano that had been restrained for a million years, it erupted wildly, seething with boundless fury and resolve. The secret art of the Seven-Colored Poison Scripture raced through her body like a precision machine, every gear turning at breakneck speed. The gentle life force radiating from the Detoxification Spirit Bead was like an anchor, barely allowing her to preserve a sliver of clarity as her poison power ran rampant, keeping her from being consumed by its backlash.
The gray-white poisonous mist billowed and gathered around her, gradually taking the form of twisting, writhing serpents of mist that exuded the dead stillness of death. They bared their fangs and claws, as if ready to drag every living creature into an endless abyss. Her pupils turned completely into eerie gray-white vortexes, like two bottomless black holes, brimming with mystery and danger.
"Come on!" Xiao Yi Xian cried out softly. Her voice was swept up in the howling wind and sand, seeming especially faint, as if it might be swallowed by the boundless yellow sand at any moment. Yet it held a grim resolve utterly at odds with her delicate appearance, like an epiphyllum blooming on a winter's night, fleeting yet so brilliant it made the heart tremble. She charged straight at the oncoming swarm of magical scorpions without hesitation!
A lonely, desperate dance of poison, fought to protect the one she loved, began to unfold on the stage of death known as the Death Sand Sea. The gray-white poisonous mist fluttered beside her like dreamlike silk, while the twisting serpents of poisonous mist danced as her partners, joining her in this dance of life's lament amid utter despair.
Meanwhile, at the edge of Snake Abyss Oasis.
Xiao Zhan stood tall atop a towering dune, like a majestic mountain overlooking the Snake-People Tribe survivors as they hastily set up camp at the edge of the oasis below. The camp was shrouded in grief, exhaustion and sorrow written on every face. In his arms, the little seven-colored snake seemed to sense some mysterious force. It stirred slightly and gently rubbed its tiny head against his chest, as if trying to convey something.
Suddenly, the bloodline contract mark deep in his soul sent out an intensely powerful tremor, surging through his heart like a swelling tide. The tremor pointed straight toward the Death Sand Sea, deep in the desert, where death hung heavy in the air!
At the same time, the little seven-colored snake in his arms seemed to be drawn by some powerful force and grew restless. Its tiny body wriggled inside his pocket as it tried to poke its head out. Facing the same direction, it let out a faint hiss filled with urgency and longing.
"This feeling... could it be Yan'er?!" Xiao Zhan's pupils contracted, shock and worry flashing through his eyes. The call of their shared bloodline tugged at his heart like an invisible thread. Added to that was Medusa's keen sensitivity—now that she had become a Seven-Colored Heaven-Swallowing Python—to an aura of the same origin. Was it the lingering aura of the Green Lotus Core Flame, or the unique fluctuations of the Woe Poison Body? Together, the two signs shone like beacons, pointing him toward the way.
"Yue Mei! Keep an eye on the tribe! I'll be back soon!" Xiao Zhan dropped the words, his voice firm and forceful, admitting no argument. Before Yue Mei could answer, his figure vanished into spatial fluctuations like an apparition fading into thin air, and he instantly shifted toward the source of the tremor at full speed!
Yan'er, hold on! Father is coming! His repeated cries seemed to cross the barrier of time and space, carrying endless warmth and strength as he raced toward the unknown danger.
Before you continue