The Tagor Desert.
Two figures streaked swiftly through the air. Neither had Dou Qi wings; instead, they strode across the empty sky, emanating a powerful aura. Wherever they passed, fierce winds swept across the desert.
Yellow sand filled the sky, beneath a blazing sun.
In the hand of one of the black-robed men, a wisp of black flame flickered.
"This is the place."
Shen Shihuang stopped and looked down. The woman in purple robes and brocade at his side stopped with him. Barefoot, she stood in midair, her snow-white legs drawing the eye. Especially those two snowy peaks, radiating endless temptation and capable of entrancing every man in the world.
Her three thousand strands of black hair fell naturally to her waist. She was full-figured and exquisite, a peerless beauty.
"Husband, do you mean the Heavenly Flame is here?" The woman was none other than the queen of the Snake-Person Tribe in this vast desert.
Queen Medusa.
Queen Medusa furrowed her brows slightly as she looked down at the sandy ground. "There's a powerful flame aura here. Is this the Heavenly Flame you mentioned, husband?"
Shen Shihuang nodded.
The black flame in his palm withdrew, then appeared on the ground in an instant. "We'll know once we find the entrance."
The Taisui Flame.
Although it wasn't one of the Heavenly Flames on the ranking, Shen Shihuang could more or less guess how it had come to be with him. When he crossed over into this world, he must have touched the origin of time. That was why, after arriving here, he carried a Heavenly Flame born from the void origin of time.
The Taisui Flame was still in its nascent stage. There were only two ways to make it stronger.
The first was simple.
This kind of wonder simply grew stronger with the passage of time. As the saying went, a hundred years to gain a spirit, a thousand years to take shape...
Clearly, this method was all but impossible for Shen Shihuang.
He couldn't wait that long for a Heavenly Flame to grow stronger.
There was a second way for the Taisui Flame to grow stronger.
It lay in the Taisui Flame's own ability: absorbing the Origin Flame Seed energy of other Heavenly Flames. That way, not only could the Taisui Flame grow rapidly, it could also gain the abilities of the flames whose Origin Flame Seeds it absorbed.
If it absorbed the Origin Flame Seed of the Nihility Devouring Flame, then the Taisui Flame would also gain its devouring ability. Such a power was simply terrifying.
Shen Shihuang knew that a Heavenly Flame could be found here in the Tagor Desert.
The Green Lotus Core Flame, ranked nineteenth among the Heavenly Flames.
Moreover, judging by the current situation, Queen Medusa had undergone a perfect evolution thanks to the Heavenly Flame within Shen Shihuang. She no longer needed to rely on the Green Lotus Core Flame, so there was a chance it was still where it had been.
So.
Shen Shihuang had brought Queen Medusa around the desert, searching for the Green Lotus Core Flame.
When they arrived at one spot,
Shen Shihuang's expression suddenly changed.
Seeing his face change, Queen Medusa hurried over. When she saw what lay ahead, she asked, "Husband, did someone beat us to it?"
Before them was a huge pit, from which waves of scorching heat continued to rise.
"It doesn't matter."
Shen Shihuang looked at the pit. The fact that it was still there proved that Xiao Yan had obtained the Heavenly Flame only recently. And with that, a thought suddenly came to him.
In his previous life,
he had seen plenty of readers make all kinds of jokes and comments about the protagonists in novels.
One of them had been about Xiao Yan.
"Better to be Xiao Yan's underling than the third brother's sworn brother."
There was no need to explain the latter. The former alone was enough to show how upright Xiao Yan's character was. No matter how strong you were, as long as you were his friend, even if Xiao Yan became a Dou Di, he could still sit down and drink with you.
And if you needed help?
Heh.
Before you were doomed to die, Brother Yan would be a hundred percent sure to save you.
If I rely on myself to get a Heavenly Flame, even knowing where one is won't make it likely that I'll obtain it, Shen Shihuang thought. Heavenly Flames were wonders of the world, but they were also the most volatile things around. Even a Dou Zun expert could lose their life if they came into contact with one, let alone someone at his current strength.
He had almost no chance of obtaining one on his own.
Besides,
even when Xiao Yan absorbed a Heavenly Flame, the preparations involved were incredibly complicated and elaborate—and that was with a senior guiding him.
"Husband, since someone beat us to the Heavenly Flame, should we..." Queen Medusa's expression turned ruthless.
Shen Shihuang shook his head.
"There's no need. I only want the energy of its Origin Flame Seed. If the other person is willing, I can get it."
"That's much safer than absorbing it myself."
Queen Medusa was taken aback.
She didn't quite understand.
"We're friends, after all. If someone needs help, of course we'll lend a hand."
"Whoever managed to take the Heavenly Flame from our territory without a sound either had a powerful expert guiding them or was powerful in their own right. But you told me that there are no such experts in the Jia Ma Empire these days."
"Then they must have had an expert guiding them. Making friends with someone like that won't hurt."
A hint of disappointment appeared in Queen Medusa's eyes. "In that case, doesn't that mean you'll have to leave here, husband?"
Shen Shihuang took Queen Medusa's hand and gently rubbed it, smiling. "I won't be gone for long. I couldn't bear to leave you, especially your..."
Queen Medusa's expression changed. She immediately shot Shen Shihuang a dangerous look.
"But we don't know who took it. Finding them may not be easy."
Shen Shihuang wasn't worried about that. He could look among the mercenary groups around the desert or in the Jia Ma Empire's imperial capital. If all else failed, he could simply wait at the Misty Cloud Sect.
It wouldn't take more than a few months.
"I'll leave in two months. I'll spend these two months properly by your side. The Taisui Flame has elevated your bloodline. If you keep nourishing it for another two months, your strength should be stable by then."
As he spoke, ambition appeared in Shen Shihuang's eyes. "More importantly, your bloodline is too weak. That sets a limit on how far you can go. There are incredibly powerful snake bloodlines on the Dou Qi Continent. Once we're strong enough, we can seize those powerful bloodlines. It'll be the best way to grow stronger, both for you and for the entire Snake-Person Tribe."
Queen Medusa knew about bloodlines, but she had never realized just how terrifying a powerful bloodline could be.
"Now that we're Dou Zong experts, no one in the Jia Ma Empire can match us," Queen Medusa said.
Shen Shihuang let out a breath of warm air.
He looked into the distance. "Above Dou Zong are Dou Zun, above Dou Zun are Dou Sheng, and above Dou Sheng are Dou Di!"
"Now that I have the Taisui Flame, there's no way our path ends at Dou Zong."
Queen Medusa nodded.
"Fine. When you leave, I'll wait for you here."
Shen Shihuang clasped Queen Medusa's hand tightly. "No. When the time comes, you can come with me. I've never been anywhere else. I want you by my side."
Queen Medusa: "...!"