Meanwhile, in the Battle Through the Heavens Plane.
The Tagor Desert, the Snake-Person Holy City, the underground altar.
"Ahhhhhh!!!"
A piercing scream rang out from the Green Lotus Core Flame at the center of the altar.
Queen Medusa was undergoing her perilous evolution, a process where nine out of ten would die!
The terrifying Heavenly Flame energy rampaged out of control, and purple waves of fire swept through the entire underground world like a tsunami.
The stone pillars around them began to collapse. Countless Snake-Person guards fled in terror, afraid of being caught in the path of that destructive power.
"Now!"
Huddled in a corner, Bo Saixi trembled with fear. Suddenly, a glint of desperate hope flared in her long-dimmed blue eyes!
Her current condition was, in fact, rather strange.
She had previously been used as a human vacuum to absorb a massive amount of cold energy from the Ice Spirit Cold Spring. Most of her Soul Power was sealed, but her body had temporarily gained an extremely strong resistance to fire.
"Medusa can barely look after herself right now!"
"All those Snake-People are running for their lives!"
"This is the one chance Lord Sea God has granted me!"
Bo Saixi seized her opportunity and flung her tattered slave's robe aside.
"Sea God's Light, protect me!"
She forcibly roused the tiny trace of Ice Spirit Cold Spring energy remaining in her body, forming a thin layer of frost armor over her skin.
Then, like a slippery fish, she darted through the fleeing crowd and gaps in the waves of fire, racing toward the exit!
Half an hour later.
The Tagor Desert, an endless sea of golden sand.
"Huff, huff—"
"I'm out—I finally made it out!"
Bo Saixi knelt atop a sand dune, gazing at the Snake-People Holy City fading into the distance behind her. Tears of joy streamed down her face.
She had escaped!
She was no longer a slave who knelt on the ground to suck up cold air and wash the queen's feet!
"I'm Bo Saixi! I'm Sea God Douluo!"
"As long as I find a body of water—even just a little stream—I can recover my strength and rule over this land!"
Bo Saixi stood and tried to sense the water elements around her.
But a minute passed, then ten—
Bo Saixi's expression slowly shifted from wild joy to deathly pallor, and finally to despair.
Dry!
It was too dry!
There wasn't a sea for thousands of miles around—not even a single drop of dew!
The air was thick with scorching Fire Attribute Dou Qi. For a Sea Soul Master with Ultimate Water, this place was nothing short of hell!
"Water, I need water—"
After just half an hour beneath the blazing sun, Bo Saixi felt the moisture in her body evaporating at an alarming rate.
Her skin began to crack, her lips grew chapped, and her once ocean-deep eyes were now bloodshot.
Without water in this world, she, Sea God Douluo, couldn't even beat a lizard in the desert!
"Go east. Keep heading east."
"I'll make it out of here—"
Relying on the physical foundation of a Level 99 Titled Douluo, Bo Saixi staggered across the desert.
Meanwhile, elsewhere.
Douluo Continent, Sea God Island.
The Seven Sacred Pillar Guardians watched the figure on the light screen: their own Grand Worship, with disheveled hair and cracked lips, crawling through the desert like a beggar. Every one of them felt their heart being torn apart.
"Grand Worship! That's our Grand Worship—"
Kneeling before the Sea God Hall, Sea Dragon Douluo wept bitterly. "Lord Sea God! Open your eyes and look!"
"Your chosen representative is about to die of thirst!"
On Douluo Continent, Bo Saixi was invincible at sea.
But in the deserts of Battle Through the Heavens, she was a fish out of water, slowly turning into dried fish.
And after who knew how long—
Just as Bo Saixi felt she was about to become a dried corpse and her consciousness began to blur, a lone shop appeared in an oasis ahead.
A tattered flag hung above the shop, bearing the image of a map.
"An Ancient Map!"
"People, a house—"
"If there's a house, there's water!"
A wolfish gleam flashed in Bo Saixi's parched eyes!
She didn't know where she found the strength, but she scrambled down the sand dune on her hands and feet, rolling and crawling toward the shop.
"Bang!"
Bo Saixi crashed through the shop's door and sprawled across the floor.
The shop was cool and shaded, filled with the faint scent of ink.
Behind the counter, a white-haired old man was absorbed in drawing a map. His brush paused ever so slightly, and his brows furrowed.
He wore a simple robe, his expression stern, and a chill radiated from him that warned others to keep their distance.
Ice Emperor Hai Bodong, once one of the Ten Great Experts of the Jia Ma Empire!
"Where did this beggar come from?"
Hai Bodong didn't even lift his head. "This shop doesn't give handouts. Get out."
In the past, if anyone had dared tell her to get out, Bo Saixi would have slapped him to death.
But now, all she could do was lie on the ground and raise a withered hand. "Water, give me water—"
"I'm the Sea God High Priest. Give me water, and I can offer you endless riches, even a Spirit Bone—"
"Sea God? Spirit Bone?"
Hai Bodong finally raised his head.
His sharp, icy-blue eyes swept over Bo Saixi.
Suddenly, he let out a surprised "Oh."
"A water-attributed constitution?"
"She's a little shriveled, but that aura—"
Hai Bodong set down his brush and came around the counter, intrigued.
He was an expert when it came to ice.
Though Bo Saixi was down on her luck, he could still recognize the Ultimate Water aura that ran deep in her bones.
"Which sect's water-type Dou Zhe are you? How did you end up in the Tagor Desert?"
Hai Bodong casually poured a cup of tea and set it on the ground in front of Bo Saixi.
When Bo Saixi saw the tea, it was as if she'd spotted her very lifeline!
She lunged forward, snatched up the cup, and drained it in one gulp!
Gulp!
With the water down, Bo Saixi finally caught her breath.
Some of her reason returned, and she also sensed how powerful the old man in front of her was.
A vicious glint flashed in Bo Saixi's eyes.
She was weak right now, but she had absorbed the Ice Spirit Cold Spring, and that terrifying chill still lingered inside her.
If she could kill the old man and take over the shop, all the fresh water and food here would be hers!
"Old man, thanks for the water."
Bo Saixi swayed to her feet, and a remnant of the Ice Spirit Cold Spring's power suddenly burst from her body. "To repay you, I'll send you to meet the Sea God!"
"Martial Soul, Sea God Avatar!"
A faint, enormous blue figure appeared behind Bo Saixi. Though it was only an illusion, it still carried a trace of divine might as it struck toward Hai Bodong's crown!
"I have to survive!"
Meanwhile, on Douluo Continent.
Countless people cried out when they saw this.
"She's repaying kindness with betrayal?!"
"Has the Grand Worship gone mad? He gave her water, and she's going to kill him and rob him?"
"But that old man looks like he's only at the Soul Ancestor level. The Grand Worship is weak, but she should still win with that killing blow, right?"
Reality, however, was often far crueler than people's hopes.
Faced with Bo Saixi's ferocious strike, the old, wrinkled face of Hai Bodong showed not a trace of alarm. Instead, he wore a scornful smile, as if looking at an idiot.
"You dare play with water in front of me?"
"And ice, too?"
—
"When I was playing with ice, you were still off somewhere playing in the mud!"
"Xuan Tier High-Rank Dou Technique, Frozen Mirror!"
Hai Bodong formed a hand seal with one hand and waved it casually.
Crack!
A thick ice mirror appeared in front of him in an instant.
Bang!
Bo Saixi's palm slammed into the ice mirror, but it didn't shatter as she'd expected.
Instead, she felt a bone-chilling force of recoil surge up her arm!
"How is that possible?!" Bo Saixi cried in shock.
"Hmph. Water-attributed Dou Qi is nothing but a little brother in the presence of ice-attributed Dou Qi!"
Hai Bodong snorted. His aged hands shot out like lightning!
"Mystic Ice Dragon Soar—freeze her!"
Whoosh!!!
A terrifying wave of cold burst forth, instantly engulfing Bo Saixi from head to toe!
It wasn't as powerful as the Ice Spirit Cold Spring, but it was Dou Qi honed through countless trials by Hai Bodong, a former Dou Huang expert!
For Bo Saixi, whose body was almost entirely made of water, it was the perfect counter!
Crack, crack, crack, crack!
In the blink of an eye!
Still frozen in her attacking pose, Bo Saixi had been turned into a lifelike ice sculpture!
"This—"
Bo Saixi's mind was still conscious, but her body could no longer move.
Through the crystalline ice, she stared in terror at the old man slowly approaching her.
She had lost.
She had lost completely.
One move, and she'd been defeated by an old map-drawing man in the desert!
"Tsk, tsk, not a bad pose."
Hai Bodong circled Bo Saixi's ice sculpture twice, stroking his chin as he appraised it. "A water-attributed constitution, and yet she absorbed my cold energy so perfectly there isn't a single bubble."
"Perfect. It's too hot in this desert."
"Keeping you in the shop as a human icebox sounds like a fine idea."
With that, Hai Bodong lifted the ice sculpture with one hand and carried her to a corner of the shop as if moving a piece of furniture. He even draped a rag over her head.
"Stay put."
"When I'm in a good mood, I'll thaw you out and put you to work cleaning."
"If you dare move—"
A cold glint flashed in Hai Bodong's eyes. "I'll smash you to pieces and use you to brew a bath!"
Meanwhile, on Douluo Continent.
Sea God Island.
Clang!
The trident fell from Sea Dragon Douluo's hand and struck his toes, but he forgot to cry out in pain.
All the Sea Soul Masters were dumbfounded.
Their sacred, invincible Grand Worship, Bo Saixi—
Her prison break had failed.
Her attempt to kill and rob had failed.
And now she'd been frozen into an ice sculpture?
—
She even had a rag draped over her head?!
"Grand Worship."
"You—you'd better stop running—"
"At least in the Snake-Person Tribe, you could still wash the queen's feet."
"Here, you've become a piece of furniture!!"
Battle Through the Heavens Plane, Tagor Desert, inside Gu Tu Shop.
Outside, the blazing sun scorched the desert like a gigantic steamer, the air wavering as waves of heat rolled across the sand.
But inside this narrow shop, it was as cool as late autumn.
"Slurp—"
Hai Bodong sat behind the counter, contentedly lifting a coarse ceramic bowl and taking a sip of ice-cold sour plum soup. He let out a satisfied sigh.
"Refreshing."
"In weather this hot, a sip of chilled sour plum soup makes you feel like an immortal."
As he spoke, he set down the bowl and looked toward the corner of the shop.
There stood a lifelike ice sculpture of a beautiful woman.
Bo Saixi remained frozen inside the solid black ice, caught in a pose with her claws bared as she tried to unleash her Sea God Avatar.
The dirty rag draped over her head was still dripping water, but that did nothing to diminish the deep despair in her peerlessly beautiful face.
What was worse, Hai Bodong took a small chisel and slowly walked up to the ice sculpture.
"Clink! Clink!"
With practiced ease, he chipped off several pieces of ice from Bo Saixi's shoulder, where the layer was thickest.
Then, right in front of Bo Saixi, he dropped the pieces of ice, imbued with the fragrance of the Sea God High Priest, into his sour plum soup.
"Gulp."
Hai Bodong swirled the bowl, watching the ice cubes bob in the red liquid, and nodded with satisfaction. "Mm, not bad."
"Ice condensed from water-type Dou Qi really does melt more slowly than ordinary ice, and it even has a faint hint of the Cold Spring's flavor."
"Perfect for chilling drinks."
Inside the ice sculpture.
Bo Saixi's consciousness was clear, and that was precisely why she wanted to die right then and there.
Humiliation!
This was blatant humiliation!
She was Bo Saixi, the Sea God, the spokesperson of the ocean!
A god whom countless Sea Soul Masters worshipped!
Her body, her Soul Power—how noble and sacred they were!
And now someone had frozen her into a popsicle!
Turned her into an air conditioner!
Even chipped ice off her body to chill sour plum soup?!
Kill me! If you've got the guts, kill me!!
Bo Saixi roared furiously in her heart, desperately rolling her eyes as she tried to kill the old man who was desecrating a god with her gaze.
But Hai Bodong didn't care about her glare at all.
After finishing his sour plum soup, he seemed to grow bored. He dragged over a chair and sat opposite the ice sculpture, studying Bo Saixi as though she were a work of art.
"Stop glaring. Your eyes are about to pop out."
Hai Bodong wiped the chisel unhurriedly and said coolly, "I spared your life because your constitution really is unusual."
"Water-type Dou Zhe are already scarce in the Tagor Desert, and someone as pure as you is rarer than a phoenix feather or a qilin horn."
"And besides—"
Hai Bodong's gaze suddenly sharpened. The aura he released in that instant made Bo Saixi's soul tremble inside the ice. "It seems you've absorbed Ice Spirit Cold Spring?"
"Your technique was crude, and you wasted most of its medicinal power, but the trace of cold lingering in your marrow has some research value to me."
He saw through it!
Bo Saixi was horrified.
How could this old man, who seemed to have only the strength of a Soul Ancestor, have such a keen eye?
He'd seen through her experience absorbing the Cold Spring in the Snake-Person Tribe at a glance?
"Who exactly are you—"
Bo Saixi desperately wished she could speak.
She could tell that this old man was no ordinary draftsman!
That control over ice, that gaze that seemed to see through everything—he was undoubtedly a true powerhouse!
As if he'd seen through Bo Saixi's confusion, Hai Bodong gave a cold laugh and lightly pressed a finger to the center of the ice sculpture's brow.
A gentle flow of Dou Qi entered, melting the ice around Bo Saixi's head—but nowhere else.
"Hah, hah—"
Bo Saixi could finally breathe. She gasped desperately, greedily drawing in the cool air.
"Tell me, where did you get the Cold Spring?"
Hai Bodong stared into her eyes, his tone leaving no room for argument. "Was it that woman, Medusa?"
"Zzt—"
Bo Saixi's body stiffened. Though only her head could move, the fear in her eyes betrayed her. "You—you know Queen Medusa?"
"Hmph. We go way back."
Hai Bodong touched his own aged face, a flash of hatred passing through his eyes. "If not for that woman, how would I have fallen so low, ended up looking like this, and had to hide away in this lousy shop drawing maps?"
"But—"
Hai Bodong changed the subject and looked at Bo Saixi. "Since you escaped from the Snake-Person Tribe, and you carry the scent of the Cold Spring, it seems that woman Medusa is preparing to evolve?"
Bo Saixi didn't dare hide anything. She nodded quickly. "Yes! That's right! She's evolving! I escaped in the confusion!"
"Senior! As long as you let me go, I can take you there! I know where she's evolving! While she's weak, you can take your revenge!"
Bo Saixi tried to turn Hai Bodong against Medusa, even imagining that the old man and Medusa might both be badly wounded, letting her reap the benefits.
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