The Woe Poison Body's First Display of Power and the Shadow of the Snake-People Holy Temple

The Magical Beast Mountain Range, an unnamed secluded valley, night

As the last glimmer of daylight was swallowed by the towering peaks of the Magical Beast Mountain Range, the unnamed valley sank completely into an ink-black night. The darkness was so thick it seemed impossible to dilute, wrapping the entire valley tight. Cold mountain winds sliced through like blades, bringing not only a bone-deep chill but also the low, eerie roars of distant magical beasts—warnings, it seemed, from the underworld—that sent chills crawling down one's spine.

In the center of the valley floor, a bonfire danced merrily. Its orange-red flames moved like lively dancers, casting flickering light over several weary yet tense faces. This was the temporary campsite of the Ten Thousand Medicine Pavilion's herb-gathering team and the Wolf Head Mercenary Group's escort squad. They had set up camp for the night, hoping to find a moment's peace amid the dangers of the mountain range.

Xiao Yan leaned quietly against a cold rock, his eyes closed. He seemed to be resting with his eyes shut, but his mind had already sunk into the mysterious world within his body. Guided by Yao Lao's gentle, wise voice, he carefully circulated the Flame Mantra, like a skilled alchemist attempting to refine the faint trace of fire-attributed energy he had absorbed during the day. The energy was as weak as a glowworm, yet held endless possibilities. Yao Lao's voice drifted through his mind. "Not bad. Although this wisp of energy is extremely faint, the Flame Mantra can indeed refine foreign energies. As long as you persevere and build up little by little, you'll surely gain something. However, the energy here is mixed and chaotic, like a pool of muddy water. The slightest mistake could put you in danger, so you must be extremely cautious."

Not far away, Xiao Yi Xian sat alone on a rock well away from the bonfire, hugging her knees tightly. Against the towering mountain shadows, her small figure seemed especially frail and lonely, like a delicate flower tossed about in a gale. Firelight danced over her clear yet pale profile. Her long lashes drooped like two delicate fans, concealing the indescribable fear and faint resolve deep in her eyes, as if she were silently making a difficult but firm decision.

Manager Yao and several herb-gathering workers sat around the fire, speaking in hushed voices. Every face bore a trace of lingering fear. Thinking back on what had happened that day still made their hearts quail. They had stumbled upon several rare second-grade medicinal herbs, "Ice Crystal Grass," in a hidden mountain ravine. The crystalline herbs gleamed invitingly in the sunlight, like precious gifts from nature. But they had never imagined that an Ice Crocodile, whose strength was close to the peak of the second rank, guarded them. The Ice Crocodile was enormous, its body radiating a bone-chilling cold. When it opened its cavernous jaws, its sharp teeth looked capable of tearing anything apart. If not for Ka Gang, the Wolf Head Mercenary Group's captain and a three-star Dou Shi, who had risked grievous injury to lure the Ice Crocodile away, they would likely have died beneath its fangs. The consequences would have been unthinkable. Ka Gang now lay quietly in a makeshift tent, where the mercenary group's accompanying physician carefully tended his wounds. The faint smell of medicinal herbs hung in the air.

The Wolf Head Mercenary Group's vice-captain, He Meng, was a man with a hideous scar running across his face and eyes like a sinister, venomous snake. A Seven-Star Dou Zhe, he gave off a ferocious air that made people uneasy. Just then, he took a long swig of liquor. The harsh liquid rolled down his throat and churned in his stomach. His gaze swept over the camp like that of a greedy, starving wolf, then fixed on the quiet, nearly transparent figure of Xiao Yi Xian in the corner. A lecherous gleam flashed in his eyes, as if he meant to devour her whole.

"Damn it, what rotten luck! Nearly got ourselves killed for a few lousy weeds." He Meng cursed as he stood. His boots thudded against the ground as he staggered toward Xiao Yi Xian. With each step, the reek of liquor wafted more strongly from him. His crude words splashed out like foul sewage. "Little beauty, isn't it lonely sitting here all by yourself? Come keep this big brother company and have a few drinks to warm up."

His vulgar words and nauseating reek of liquor washed over her like a surging tide. Xiao Yi Xian shuddered and shrank back like a frightened rabbit. Disgust and terror filled her clear eyes, as though she were looking at the most terrifying thing in the world. Her voice trembled as she cried, "Y-you... get away!"

"Heh-heh, why so shy? We're out in the middle of nowhere. Let big brother take good care of you..." He Meng's lecherous smile twisted his face like a demon, making the sight chilling. He stretched out a rough, bark-like hand and reached for Xiao Yi Xian's slender arm, his movement brazen and forceful.

"Stop!"

At that critical moment, a sharp shout rang out like thunder! Xiao Yan sprang from behind the rock like a swift leopard and appeared in front of Xiao Yi Xian in a flash. His eyes were cold as winter blades as he stared at He Meng. His voice was icy and firm. "She told you to get away!"

Xiao Yan's sharp, swordlike presence made He Meng pause for an instant, like a snarling hound suddenly throttled. But humiliation and rage quickly surged over him. He roared, his face twisted with fury. "You little brat, who do you think you are? You dare meddle in my business? If our mercenary group hadn't risked our lives protecting you lot today, you useless fools would've ended up in a magical beast's belly! Get out of my way!"

To He Meng, Xiao Yan was nothing more than a punk who looked to be at the Seventh or Eighth Stage of Dou Qi. Xiao Yan had deliberately concealed some of his strength, and He Meng had no idea he was more than he seemed. He didn't take Xiao Yan seriously at all. He raised a hand and shoved hard at Xiao Yan's chest, Dou Qi surging through him like a dark current. A fierce gust of force accompanied the blow, as if it would send Xiao Yan tumbling to the ground.

Xiao Yan's gaze instantly turned cold, as sharp as the keenest blade in winter and full of bone-deep chill. Dou Qi surged through his body like a nimble dragon. He was just about to teach the reckless fool a harsh lesson.

"Don't!"

At that moment, a tearful scream suddenly rang out from behind him, like the wail of a night owl, cutting through the tense atmosphere.

Xiao Yi Xian sprang to her feet in a frantic rush. Somehow, several unremarkable gray-white dead leaves she had picked that day had appeared between her slender, pale fingers. They seemed entirely ordinary, yet gave off an indescribable aura—cold, lifeless, and seemingly filled with endless destructive power. Like a sleeping volcano, that power erupted in an instant!

Fear! A terror beyond all measure seized He Meng's heart like an invisible hand, leaving him almost unable to breathe. His outstretched hand froze in midair, as though he had been bound by a spell. His pupils contracted sharply as if he were staring at the most terrifying specter in the world. It was a fear of absolute death, rooted in the instinct to survive, so profound that all the blood in his body seemed to freeze.

"Psh! Psh! Psh—!"

Xiao Yi Xian flicked her fingers. The dead leaves seemed to come alive, turning into several gray-white streaks of light that were almost impossible to see as they shot toward He Meng's outstretched arm like lightning!

There was no earth-shattering sound, no force capable of toppling mountains. Everything happened in utter silence, yet the terrifying power made one's hair stand on end.

The instant He Meng's arm touched those strange gray-white streaks, it began to change in a horrifying way, like a wax figure dropped into a vat of acid. His tough leather armor, usually able to withstand sword strikes, proved as fragile as paper and rapidly corroded and dissolved. His knotted muscles, symbols of strength, crumbled under that incomprehensible force like the last snow of spring. Even his pale bones—the hardest parts of the human body—were not spared. They turned into a cloud of gray powder before his eyes and scattered in the night wind.

"Ahhh! My hand! My hand!" He Meng let out a shriek so agonized it scarcely sounded human, a wail from the depths of hell, filled with endless pain and despair. He staggered backward, each step like treading on a blade, staring in horror at his arm, now reduced to half its length and still vanishing as the disintegration crept upward. Pain surged through him like a tide. The fear burrowing into his bones drove him to the brink of collapse, as if he were trapped in a nightmare he could never wake from.

The bizarre, terrifying sight exploded through the camp like a bomb, plunging it into instant silence. The air seemed frozen; not even a breeze stirred. Only the gray powder drifted faintly in the dim firelight, while He Meng's agonized screams echoed through the valley.

Everyone stared, dumbstruck, at the horrifying sight. The drifting gray powder and He Meng's mangled arm, the flesh steadily disappearing, seemed to belong in a nightmare. A chill shot from the soles of their feet straight to the crown of their heads, and their blood seemed to freeze. Manager Yao and the herb-gathering workers went deathly pale. Their faces looked as though they had seen a ghost, their teeth chattering as their bodies trembled uncontrollably. The other Wolf Head mercenaries were on high alert. They drew their weapons and bristled for a fight, staring in terror at the clear-featured girl standing there, her body trembling slightly, as if she were a peerless demon wearing human skin, ready to open her cavernous jaws and swallow them whole.

Xiao Yi Xian's face was paler than the cold moonlight. Her petite body swayed as though the lightest breeze could knock her over. Tears of pain, despair, and helplessness filled her clear eyes and rolled down her cheeks like broken pearls. She looked at her trembling hands as if they belonged not to her, but to a demon's claws. Fear and confusion over her own power filled her heart.

"M-monster! She's a monster! Kill her! Kill her now!" He Meng's shrieks broke the suffocating silence. Pointing at Xiao Yi Xian, he screamed hysterically, his voice filled with hatred and fear, as if he wanted to vent all his pain on her.

Though the Wolf Head mercenaries were terrified by the strange and horrifying scene, seeing their vice-captain He Meng crippled ignited their ferocity like powder catching fire. Several mercenaries exchanged glances, murderous light blazing in their eyes. In an instant, Dou Qi erupted through their bodies and surged forth like a burst dam. Their swords and sabers whistled through the air as they charged with reckless ferocity toward the isolated Xiao Yi Xian, who seemed like a lamb waiting for slaughter. In their minds, this "monster" radiating an eerie aura had to be hacked to pieces before their fear and fury could be appeased.

"Who dares touch her!"

At that critical moment, with danger closing in from all sides, Xiao Yan's roar cracked through the valley like thunder. His figure flashed across the night and appeared in front of Xiao Yi Xian. Fury blazed in his eyes, as if it could set the world aflame. He no longer concealed his Ninth Stage of Dou Qi strength. Pale-yellow Dou Qi swiftly covered his fists like a sturdy suit of armor, radiating a fierce aura.

"Mountain-Splitting Palm!"

Xiao Yan shouted. His fist cut through the air with a roar, carrying the force of ten thousand jun and an unstoppable, all-conquering momentum as it smashed into the mercenary at the front. That mercenary was only a Five-Star Dou Zhe. Faced with Xiao Yan's furious blow, he was as fragile as a paper doll. With a loud bang, the mercenary screamed and spat blood. His body flew backward like a kite with its strings cut, slamming heavily into the ground. He never got back up.

But the other mercenaries' attacks were already raining down like a violent storm. Blades flashed, brimming with killing intent, forming a net of death that looked ready to swallow Xiao Yan and Xiao Yi Xian whole.

At this life-or-death moment, when everything hung by a thread—

"Hmph! A bunch of ants, and you dare make such a racket?"

An elderly voice, cold and full of supreme authority, rang out like heavenly thunder. Its unquestionable dominance suddenly exploded in the depths of every mercenary's soul. It seemed to come from another mysterious world, carrying endless pressure that made every mercenary feel as though he had fallen into an ice cellar, his blood freezing in his veins.

"Pfft!" "Pfft!" "Pfft!"

A string of muffled thuds followed, as if the hammer of fate were pounding.

Every mercenary charging at Xiao Yan and Xiao Yi Xian like a pack of wolves, along with He Meng, who was still screaming in agony, felt as though an invisible, immeasurably powerful hammer had struck them in the chest. They all spat out mouthfuls of blood at once, the crimson arcs stark against the night sky. Their faces turned as pale as paper, as though all life had been drained from them. Their eyes were full of boundless terror and shock, as if they had witnessed the most horrifying sight in the world.

They felt as if their souls had been frozen by icy frost and torn apart by sharp blades. A supreme pressure, one that came from a higher order of life, bore down on them like a mountain, leaving them unable to move even a finger. Their knees buckled. One after another, they fell to the ground with thuds, their bodies as limp as if all their bones had been pulled out. They trembled uncontrollably like withered leaves swaying in the wind.

It was Yao Lao who had acted! With just a cold snort infused with soul pressure, he flashed across the night like a bolt of lightning, cowing the entire scene and making every heart tremble.

The valley sank into deathly silence once more, as if time itself had frozen. Only the bonfire still burned stubbornly, crackling as if recounting the shocking events that had just unfolded; the mercenaries' heavy, terrified breathing echoed through the valley, especially harsh in the quiet. Manager Yao and the others had already been so frightened that they

collapsed to the ground, as if all their strength had been drained away. They looked at Xiao Yan and Xiao Yi Xian with awe and terror, as if they were two demons who had walked out of a disaster.

Yao Lao's sudden, overbearing pressure shook Xiao Yan as well, sending storm-tossed waves through his heart. But he quickly recovered, forced down his inner turmoil, and seized Xiao Yi Xian's small, icy hand. She was still trembling, her gaze empty. Her hand was as cold as ice, filling Xiao Yan with sympathy.

"Let's go!" Xiao Yan said in a low voice, his tone resolute. Without the slightest hesitation, he pulled her along and turned, darting into the dark mountain forest outside the valley like a streak of black lightning. In an instant, they vanished without a trace.

All that remained was a scene of utter devastation. A group of terrified mercenaries lay sprawled on the ground, as if bound by a spell. Gray powder that had yet to disperse hung in the air, a testament to the horror that had just unfolded. The heavy stench of blood lingered like the breath of a demon. The terrifying pressure in Yao Lao's snort branded itself deep in the souls of every survivor, never to be forgotten. The seemingly ordinary youth and the strange girl at his side became nightmares they could not escape, haunting their minds like ghosts.

Deep in the Tagor Desert, on the outskirts of the Snake-People Holy City.

Night poured across the vast, boundless Tagor Desert like thick ink. As darkness fell, the desert temperature plunged. Cold moonlight, like a layer of frost, spilled softly yet mercilessly across the endless sea of sand. Under the moonlight, the fine grains gleamed with a lonely, chilly light, as if the earth were telling of endless vicissitudes.

The outline of an ancient city, impossibly vast, appeared and disappeared in the hazy moonlight like a prehistoric behemoth lying in wait beneath the sea of sand. It radiated a mysterious, dangerous aura. Towering serpent-shaped stone carvings coiled along the city walls. Each one was different: some raised their heads and flicked their tongues, while others curled into spirals. Every carving was lifelike, as if it might awaken from slumber at any moment and exude a savage, imposing air that made the blood run cold.

The entire city was enveloped by a faint purple barrier, imperceptible to the naked eye but radiating powerful energy fluctuations. Like a gigantic transparent bowl, it sat firmly upside down over the desert, sheltering the city within. Faint purple light flowed across its surface, as if it contained endless mysteries and power.

Xiao Zhan lay silently in the shadowed lee of a massive sand dune, several miles from the Holy City, like a ghost. He had suppressed his aura to the utmost, seeming to merge with the surrounding sand and rocks. Even his faint breathing had vanished without a trace. His gaze, solemn as iron, remained fixed on the magnificent and dangerous city in the distance, wariness and contemplation in his eyes.

[Warning! A large-scale energy barrier lies ahead (Snake-People Tribe Holy City protective barrier). Strength: can withstand a full-force attack from a Peak Dou Emperor. Forcing your way through will trigger a violent alarm and a counterattack from the barrier!]

[Warning! Dense high-energy readings detected within the barrier! Dou Wang-level auras: four (located in the western towers). Dou Emperor-level aura: one (located in the central Holy Temple), extremely dangerous! Host advised to proceed with caution!]

The system's warning sounded like an icy tide, refreshing again and again in Xiao Zhan's mind. Every word struck his heart like a heavy hammer.

"Four Dou Wang elders, and Queen Medusa guarding the center..." Xiao Zhan's brow furrowed. His already resolute face grew even more solemn. He knew that forcing his way into the Holy City would be tantamount to suicide. Even as a Dou Zong, surrounded by a group of experts on their home turf, he would face almost certain death, trapped in a dragon's lair or tiger's den with little chance of escape.

His gaze settled on the faint purple energy flowing slowly across the barrier, hazy as a dream. He circulated his soul power, sending it cautiously toward the barrier like the most precise and nimble probe. He tried to sense the subtle patterns of energy moving through it, as if feeling out a mysterious and dangerous treasure.

"Hmm..."

In an instant, a faint yet clear energy fluctuation answered him. It was as complex as billions of tangled threads, making it difficult to unravel. Analyzing it by force would take an enormous amount of time and effort, like searching for a particular pearl in a vast ocean, and would easily trigger the hidden alarm, bringing unwanted trouble.

Suddenly!

Xiao Zhan's gaze sharpened, gleaming like a pair of keen daggers. With his keen perception, like a hunter spotting a faint glimmer in the dark, he precisely detected an almost imperceptible "lag" in the energy flow along a secluded stretch of wall in the barrier's northwestern corner. It was like a hidden back eddy beneath an inconspicuous section of riverbed, where a river that should have flowed unceasingly quietly turned back on itself.

"Is it a barrier node? Or a weak point caused by years of disrepair?" Thoughts raced through Xiao Zhan's mind like lightning, each one driven by curiosity about the unknown and wariness of danger. Without hesitation, he focused all his soul power on that small area like a spotlight and scanned it in depth, trying to uncover the secret hidden behind the energy.

[Scanning...]

[Traces of weak spatial energy residue detected... A being proficient in spatial power (at least Dou Zong strength) is suspected to have briefly penetrated the barrier recently, disturbing local energy laws and creating a fleeting, hard-to-detect "rift." Rift status: unstable, slowly self-repairing. Estimated time until fully repaired: 12 hours.]

"Spatial power? A Dou Zong?" Xiao Zhan's heart was rocked by a tempest.

Besides him, had another Dou Zong expert recently infiltrated the mysterious and dangerous Snake-People Holy City? What was this expert's goal? Queen Medusa, the powerful and unfathomable ruler? The legendary Green Lotus Core Flame, said to contain boundless power? Or some other secret unknown to him? Questions bubbled up one after another in his mind.

This unexpected discovery struck Xiao Zhan's heart like a heavy hammer, instantly tightening his nerves and setting off alarm bells within him. The situation before him was far more complicated than he had imagined, like a tangled mess where every thread could conceal a deadly danger. Yet, as the saying went, danger and opportunity went hand in hand. This complex situation had unexpectedly given him a rare opportunity: the mysterious "rift" left behind by the unknown Dou Zong who had infiltrated the city.

But danger shadowed the opportunity, immense enough to chill him to the bone! If the "rift" closed while he was passing through, or if the Snake-People experts guarding the barrier noticed him, he would be plunged into certain peril, exposed to the combined attacks of four Dou Wang and a Peak Dou Emperor. He would be like a lamb among wolves, utterly powerless to fight back.

"System, immediately calculate my odds of infiltrating through the rift and the optimal route." Xiao Zhan issued the command in his mind, determination in his eyes.

[Calculating...]

[Success rate: 67.8% (This estimate is based on the rift's current stability and the host's spatial control ability). The optimal route has been precisely mapped. The host must complete the spatial traversal within 0.3 seconds, at a specific angle and speed, to ensure success...]

67.8%! That number was like a ray of dawn in the darkness. The odds were better than even, meaning success was not out of reach.

A resolute look flashed in Xiao Zhan's eyes, as if he had steeled himself for a desperate gamble. Fortune favored the bold. For the Heaven-Rank Dou Technique he dreamed of, and for the grand "More Children More Blessings" plan to come, even a mountain of blades or a sea of fire was worth braving!

He no longer hesitated. His body slid silently down the dune, light as a feather. Taking cover in the shadows of the rolling sand dunes, he crept toward the deadly "rift" in the barrier's northwestern corner like a seasoned desert predator. Each step was cautious, as if he were walking on thin ice, lest he make the slightest sound.

The closer he drew to the barrier, the more intense the invisible pressure became, weighing on his heart like a boulder and making it hard to breathe. The air was filled with the Snake-People Tribe's distinctive chill and the barrier's low, humming energy, as if warning of unseen dangers. Xiao Zhan used his Dou Zong-level soul power to its utmost, sensing everything around him. With each step, he carefully avoided soft patches of sand that might retain his tracks, while perfectly blending his energy fluctuations with those of the surrounding environment, leaving not the slightest trace.

He was now less than a hundred meters from his target!

Xiao Zhan could even clearly make out the Snake-People warriors patrolling the city wall, their spears in hand and their shadows stretching long in the moonlight like omens of death. He could also hear the hissing sounds of their conversations in the Snake-People language, like venomous snakes flicking their tongues, chilling to the bone. He remained motionless behind a weathered boulder, as though turned to stone, his heart seeming to stop as he held his breath and waited for the perfect moment, like a hunter waiting for prey to step into a trap.

A patrol squad marched past the target area, their steps orderly but faintly lazy. The sound of their footsteps rang through the silent night like an alarm bell, then vanished in an instant.

Now! Xiao Zhan seized the fleeting opportunity with precision, as though a lamp had suddenly lit in the darkness.

A sharp gleam burst from Xiao Zhan's eyes like two streaks of lightning across the night sky, brilliant and fierce. Without hesitation, he unleashed the Flowing Cloud Steps with all his strength. In an instant, a mysterious force seemed to sweep him up, turning him into a blurred afterimage that almost merged with the moonlight. He moved faster than the eye could follow, like a shooting star crossing the sky, leaving behind only a fleeting trail as he shot toward the tiny point of lag in the barrier's energy, visible only to his soul perception.

At the same time, his hands moved like nimble butterflies, rapidly forming an incomparably complex and profound hand seal. Every bend of his fingers and every touch of his fingertips seemed to contain the principles of the world. Dou Qi surged through his body like a burst dam, following the route provided by the system as it rapidly stirred the spatial power around him. That spatial power seemed like a slumbering behemoth awakened by Xiao Zhan's Dou Qi, beginning to churn and surge around him.

"Rrrip—!"

A barely audible sound rang out, like cloth being gently torn, yet it carried a sharpness that made one's heart tremble. Though faint, it seemed like the opening of fate's door, heralding the start of a thrilling adventure.

The instant Xiao Zhan touched the barrier, the resilient pale-purple energy rippled like a calm lake struck by a pebble. The ripple spread faintly, as if the barrier were making one last stand. Yet Xiao Zhan relied on his powerful strength and precise control, seeming to turn into a distorted ray of light. At an angle that defied the laws of physics, he forced his way through the barrier, like a nimble fish slipping through a fine-meshed net, and vanished on the other side.

The whole process was as swift as lightning flashing across the night sky, finished in less than 0.3 seconds! It happened so fast that there was barely time to blink, as if time itself had stood still.

When Xiao Zhan's figure appeared like a ghost in the shadow beneath the wall on the inside of the barrier, cold sweat had already soaked through the back of his clothes, clinging to his skin and bringing a bone-deep chill. In that fleeting instant, he had clearly felt the raging spatial turbulence and barrier energy surge past him like a violent tide. The force was so powerful it could tear anything apart in an instant. The slightest misstep would have left him shattered to pieces, beyond salvation!

"Phew..." Xiao Zhan breathed out slowly, forming a faint cloud of white in the still air. He forced down the roiling blood and energy within him and gradually calmed his pounding heart. Then he immediately suppressed his aura to the utmost, like an lifeless stone blending into its surroundings.

He slowly raised his head. The true Snake-People Holy City lay before him like a primordial behemoth, revealing its ancient, sinister, and powerful aura without restraint. Narrow streets twisted and turned like the creature's tangled veins. Strange serpent-shaped buildings stood packed together like scales protruding from its body, radiating mysterious, eerie light. The air held an even stronger chill and a faint fishy odor, enough to make one shiver.

In the distant city center, a towering pyramid-shaped Holy Temple reached toward the clouds, gleaming with a majestic, mysterious light beneath the moon's gentle touch. That light seemed like an invisible summons, or perhaps a dangerous warning. It was the residence of Queen Medusa, and the place where the legendary Green Lotus Core Flame was most likely to be found—a brilliant yet dangerous pearl, drawing countless people toward it even as it made many others hesitate.

Xiao Zhan's gaze instantly sharpened, glinting in the darkness like a pair of keen daggers. Successfully infiltrating the city was only the first step, like crossing the first perilous mountain. The truly challenging and dangerous journey had only just begun. Like a leopard merged with the shadows, he moved lightly and nimbly toward the Holy Temple, creeping forward in silence and taking care not to make the slightest sound.

What he did not know was that less than half a quarter of an hour after his successful infiltration, an elite Snake-People guard unit led by the Dou Wang elder Yue Mei appeared like ghosts in the barrier's northwestern corner, where the abnormal fluctuations had occurred. With keen eyes and orderly steps, they searched the area meticulously, overlooking no possible clue, like a pack of hounds sniffing out hidden prey.

At the same time, deep within the Holy Temple, a pair of purple eyes slowly opened—cold and imposing, seemingly containing endless majesty and allure. Like a deep, frigid pool, they radiated a chilling aura. They gazed toward the northwest, a trace of confusion flashing in their eyes, as if pondering something. A moment later, that confusion was replaced by icy killing intent, like a bitter winter wind that made one shudder...