Haibodong

After Jia Xingtian departed, the small courtyard briefly returned to tranquility.

Yao Chen continued to ponder his pill formulas, Xiao Yan practiced diligently in the distance, while Lin Hai picked up his teacup, his gaze already cast toward the eastern province of the Jia Ma Empire—Desert City.

He intended to subdue Haibodong, have him and Yaoye form the Haiye organization, and mobilize personnel from the imperial family and the Miteer Clan to disperse across the northwestern regions in search of information on other Heavenly Flames. As for the Heavenly Flames whose locations were already known, Lin Hai did not wish to retrieve them just yet; he would wait until Xiao Yan broke through to the level of a Dou Practitioner, then take him along to retrieve them one by one.

The next moment, his figure vanished from the Xiao Clan courtyard without a sound.

In Desert City, inside the "Gu Tu" map shop.

Haibodong was focused intently on drawing a map, attempting to piece together clues about a potential Heavenly Flame deep within the desert from countless fragmented bits of information.

Suddenly, the door was pushed open, and a young man in green robes walked in.

There were no footsteps, no fluctuations of energy; it was as if he had been standing there all along.

Haibodong's entire body stiffened abruptly, a tremor originating from the depths of his soul making it nearly impossible for him to hold his pen.

He jerked his head up and saw a pair of deep, calm eyes. That gaze seemed capable of piercing through his body, striking directly at the damned seal within him.

"Who are you...?" Haibodong's voice was hoarse. The residual ice-attribute Dou Qi within him instinctively condensed, the temperature in the shop plummeted, and frost even began to form on the walls.

This was his instinctive reaction when encountering extreme danger.

Lin Hai ignored this meager chill, his gaze falling upon him as he said indifferently, "Being trapped by Medusa's seal for so many years—it doesn't feel very good, does it, Haibodong?"

The single sentence struck Haibodong's mind like a thunderclap! His greatest secret had been laid bare by this newcomer in a single breath!

"Who exactly are you?!" Haibodong was both shocked and furious, his body tensed as if facing a formidable enemy, even though he felt as insignificant as a grain of sand before the other man.

"The one who can break your seal." Lin Hai's tone was flat, as if he were speaking of a trivial matter. "I will give you two choices. One: stay here and grow old clutching your erroneous maps. Two: pledge your loyalty to me, and I shall restore your power this very instant."

"Now?" Haibodong's pupils constricted, filled with disbelief. "Without a Break-E Pill, how could you..."

Before he could finish, Lin Hai took a single step and appeared instantly before him.

A hand pressed casually against Haibodong's dantian.

Haibodong had no time to react; he only felt a terrifying, indescribable power, vast as a sea of stars, surge into his body!

This power was incomparably domineering, yet possessed a control so precise it reached the extreme. It easily located that dark, bone-gnawing seal—the Snake Sealing Curse left behind by Queen Medusa.

That sturdy seal, which had once driven him to despair and which he had struggled against for years without being able to shake in the slightest, was as fragile as thin ice meeting a scorching sun before this vast power. It did not even last a single breath; it let out a silent wail, instantly crumbled, and was completely evaporated!

"Pfft!"

The moment the seal was broken, Haibodong's body shook violently, and he spat out a mouthful of black blood that had been stagnant for years.

But what followed was the long-lost, surging torrent of ice-blue Dou Qi, rushing madly into his meridians and energy vortex, which had been dried up for years!

Boom!

A powerful, frigid aura erupted from his body uncontrollably, threatening to shatter the shop and alert the entire city.

Lin Hai frowned slightly. The hand pressed against his dantian did not move, while his other hand waved casually.

The terrifying wave of Dou Qi, which could have frozen the entire shop and half the street, was as if gripped by an invisible giant hand; it was instantly compressed back into Haibodong's body, not a sliver leaking out.

Pedestrians on the street merely shivered inexplicably, completely unaware that they had just walked past the gates of hell.

Haibodong closed his eyes, his body trembling slightly from the massive energy impact and overwhelming joy.

He could clearly feel that his power had returned, stabilizing at the four-star Spirit Emperor level.

A moment later, he snapped his eyes open, brilliant light flashing within them, an ice-blue coldness flickering and vanishing.

He felt the surging power within his body; it was as if he had been reborn!

Without any hesitation, Haibodong knelt on one knee, his head bowed low. His voice trembled with excitement, yet it was filled with unprecedented awe and submission: "Haibodong thanks you, Great One, for this gift of rebirth! I pledge my loyalty to you for this life; through mountains of blades or seas of fire, I shall not utter a word of dissent!"

To break the seal of a Spirit Emperor with a wave of one's hand and easily suppress the resulting eruption of power—what kind of heaven-defying means was this?

He didn't even dare to guess the other's true cultivation level; he only knew it was far beyond his imagination!

Pledging loyalty to such a powerhouse was no disgrace; it was a supreme stroke of fortune!

"Rise," Lin Hai said calmly. "Since you have pledged your loyalty to me, I have a task for you."

"Please, Great One, give your orders!" Haibodong stood up, his posture straight. The cold, sharp aura of the former Ice Emperor had returned, but when facing Lin Hai, only absolute respect remained.

"First, return to the Imperial Capital immediately. Consolidate the strength of the Miteer Clan, select core members who are absolutely loyal, sharp, and possess a certain level of strength, and prepare to await my summons."

"Second, upon your return, bring all the medicinal herbs in the Miteer Clan's treasury and any others you can collect—especially those capable of refining pills to increase cultivation—to the Xiao Clan in Wutan City."

Haibodong's heart stirred, and he immediately replied, "Yes! This subordinate obeys!" He guessed that the Great One must have a high-level alchemist under his command; this was clearly for large-scale pill refinement.

"Go, and see it done as soon as possible." Lin Hai waved his hand.

Haibodong bowed once more. Without the slightest delay, his Dou Qi surged, and with a flash, he transformed into a blurred blue shadow, streaking toward the Imperial Capital. His speed was many times faster than it had been before the seal, and his heart was filled with excitement and drive.

Lin Hai watched the direction in which Haibodong had disappeared, his expression calm.

With the herbs in place, Yao Chen, this "pill-refining machine," could operate at full capacity, providing sufficient "ammunition" for his subsequent plans.

He turned, took a single step, and his figure vanished into the wind and sand of Desert City, as if he had never appeared at all.