Flame Palm Pushes the Mountain

A moonless night with howling winds was never good weather!

Under the cover of darkness, the mercenary convoy sped onward. The desert night was bitterly cold, making it ideal for the equally cold-blooded snake people to act.

Qing Lin, who had been listless during the day, became especially lively at night. Her emerald eyes glimmered with bewitching ghostly light, as though they could draw away the soul of anyone who met her gaze.

If this scene had happened to anyone else, they would probably have been scared to death on the spot.

But Su Heng had already grown used to it. He even somewhat liked Qing Lin's unusual eyes.

He gently sheltered Qing Lin behind him and warily watched the darkness beyond the carriage. Su Heng's instincts told him that tonight was destined to be anything but peaceful.

And just as he had expected, shadowy hunters concealed in the darkness slowly approached until their prey entered their ambush circle.

"Boom! Boom!"

Violent explosions abruptly tore through the quiet night sky!

Ahead of the convoy, blue phosphorescent light shot into the sky and exploded dozens of meters above the ground, instantly illuminating the entire area around the mercenary group as brightly as day.

"Enemy attack! Desert Iron Mercenary Group, kill!"

The snake people's ambush was as swift as ghosts, but Xiao Li reacted even faster. The instant the blue light appeared, his figure flashed, turning into a streak of silver lightning as he charged fiercely toward the approaching shadows.

A series of loud explosions erupted several meters from the convoy. Within the silver radiance, one snake person was pierced through by Xiao Li's spear. With a single flash, the violent lightning energy turned him into a charred corpse.

Nine snake people had launched a frontal ambush, yet in a single exchange, Xiao Li had already slain one of them.

The remaining snake people seemed numb to their companion's death. Expressionless, they continued their assault on the convoy.

The two strongest among them surrounded Xiao Li, preventing him from returning to aid the others.

Facing the joint assault of two four-star Dou Masters, Xiao Li showed no fear. Silver lightning spread across his body like a web, forming a Dou Qi gauze garment. His dark spear whirled, and the silver electric light turned into a dense curtain of radiance that completely covered several zhang around him.

"Quick, help the deputy commander!"

Seeing Xiao Li trapped, the mercenaries immediately wanted to rush over and save him, but Su Heng stopped them with a thunderous shout.

"Nobody move! Hold the carriages! There are more of them than this. It's an ambush, not a chance encounter!"

The nine snake people had attacked in a goose formation and disregarded their comrades' lives. Su Heng saw at a glance that this was an obvious pocket formation. Since there was a pocket, how could there be no closing force?

"Uncle Wen, Uncle Li, go behind the carriages and hold the retreat route. This is a pocket formation. There must be pursuers in the rear, so be careful!"

Su Heng arranged for the two Su Clan guards, Su Wen and Su Li, to head toward the rear flank. That was the pocket of the entire goose formation, and the snake people responsible for sealing it would certainly attack from that direction.

Su Wen and Su Li were both three-star Dou Masters. Among everyone present, only Xiao Li was stronger than them, making them the most suitable choice to guard the rear.

"Qing Lin, let's get out. It's more open outside, so it'll be easier to avoid attacks. The carriage is too cramped."

Su Heng lifted the curtain and jumped down first. He then guarded the carriage entrance, waiting until Qing Lin reached it before gently lifting her down.

The compartment of this old carriage was made of ordinary wood. Any Dou Practitioner could smash it apart with a single punch. Staying inside would merely be deceiving themselves.

Outside the carriage, the Desert Iron Mercenary Group had already become entangled with the snake people. Six snake people against ten mercenaries had somehow reached a stalemate.

Most of these snake people were five-star Dou Practitioners, slightly stronger than the mercenary group's members. But their numerical disadvantage kept them outside the carriages, unable to advance another step.

Su Heng's party numbered fifteen in total. Three were Dou Masters, while the rest were three-star and four-star Dou Practitioners.

The Desert Iron Mercenary Group's members were merely young men in their twenties. Without exceptional talent or abundant resources, this was already the limit they could reach.

"Kill all the men! Take the women back so we can enjoy them properly!"

A coarse, piercing voice came from behind them. Just as Su Heng had expected, five snake people launched a surprise attack from the rear of the carriages.

The leader was powerfully built and quite strong. Facing the attacks of Su Wen and Su Li, two Dou Masters, he casually blocked them.

"A five-star Dou Master!"

Su Wen and Su Li were both shocked. They had grown up together and worked seamlessly together. When they joined forces, even a four-star Dou Master would be forced back.

Yet this snake person leader had blocked their combined attack with a casual lift of his hand. The recoil from the collision made the two Su Clan guards' insides churn, and even their Dou Qi became disordered for a moment.

The two Su Clan guards were held up by the snake person leader, while the other four snake people seized the chance to charge toward the carriages, targeting Su Heng and Qing Lin.

"Qing Lin, get behind me!"

Su Heng flashed forward and stood before Qing Lin. His left hand reached into his pocket while pale yellow Dou Qi coiled around his right palm, gathering strength.

"Mountain-Pushing Palm!"

This was the Su Clan's only low-grade Yellow-tier Dou Technique. It was originally meant to be performed with both hands, maximizing its power, but Su Heng held two orange-red pills in his left hand and could only use the technique one-handed.

"Brat, you think you can play the hero with that little skill?"

The approaching snake person burst into laughter. Su Heng was merely a two-star Dou Practitioner, while he was a three-star Dou Practitioner. Besides, there were four of them, and Su Heng stood alone.

The four snake people let out excited, strange cries, as though the person before them were already dead. Their minds were filled with Qing Lin's slender waist and tender white skin—until a cloud of yellow mist exploded before them.

"Aahhh!"

The snake people, who had been arrogant and filled with lust only a moment ago, immediately let out miserable screams. The pungent smell in the yellow mist was nauseating.

The one who released the yellow mist was Su Heng!

His right palm had not struck at the snake people. Instead, it struck the pills in his left hand. His scorching fire Dou Qi instantly heated the pills to a high temperature, while the tremendous force of the Mountain-Pushing Palm directly pulverized them.

High temperature plus powder equaled an explosion, and explosions were art!

If the powder was realgar, then it was even more artistic!

Snake people were still snakes. At least, after spending time with Qing Lin, Su Heng believed snake people should possess many snake-like traits. In theory, they should also fear realgar powder.

Before they set out, his mother, Xue Yu, had given him several Realgar Pills. These pills were usually used outdoors to repel insects and prevent mosquito bites.

Realgar Pills normally could not do much to snake people. At most, their irritating odor would make them uncomfortable.

But inhaling a large amount of realgar vapor in a short time was an entirely different matter.

Su Heng shattered the pills into powder, then used the explosion to spray it over the snake people. This caused them to instinctively inhale massive amounts of realgar dust.

The four snake people inhaled large quantities of realgar powder. Their bodies immediately convulsed as they wailed in agony.

Take their lives while they were sick. Dou Qi erupted around Su Heng's body, and he had no intention of holding back.

"Mountain-Pushing Palm!"

Gathering all his Dou Qi, Su Heng struck out with both palms and fiercely slammed them into the chest of the smallest snake person.

With a miserable scream, the gaunt snake person let out his final cry before death.

Inhaling so much realgar powder had briefly left him dizzy and nauseated.

That sensation temporarily robbed him of control over his body. Unable to use Dou Qi to defend himself, he had his organs shattered by Su Heng's strike and died instantly.

Until his death, he never got another sip of water.

After swiftly killing one snake person, Su Heng did not hesitate in the slightest.

On the Dou Qi Continent, battles to the death were everywhere. Even in Salt City, two Dou Practitioners fighting each other on the streets until they were reduced to bloody pulp was commonplace. Su Heng had grown accustomed to it from a young age.

"You three can go join him too!"

Su Heng dared not waste a moment as he fiercely attacked the throats of the other two snake people.

To kill a snake, strike seven inches from its head. The throat was an extremely vulnerable vital point for both humans and snake people, especially snake people, whose throats were even more fragile than those of humans.

"Ah! Urgh..."

His palms formed sword fingers as Su Heng struck both snake people's throats at once. They twisted their bodies in agony, fell to the ground, and gradually stopped breathing.

Just as Su Heng was about to kill the last snake person, a tree-trunk-thick snake tail swept diagonally through the night and smashed violently into him.

The last snake person had already shaken off the brief spasms caused by the realgar powder and recovered from the convulsions and nausea.

Seeing Su Heng attacking him, he swung his massive tail with all his strength, blasting Su Heng several meters away.

"Aah!"

A piercing pain shot through the left side of Su Heng's body. All strength left him, and he dropped to his knees, vomiting a mouthful of blood. His vision instantly blurred, and his consciousness nearly scattered.

Damn it, was I going to die here...?

Even after giving his all, he had fallen one move short. This final snake person was actually a five-star Dou Practitioner. His desperate strike was more than enough to be fatal to Su Heng, who was only a two-star Dou Practitioner.

"Brat, die!"

Humans would not give snake people opportunities, and snake people would not give humans opportunities either.

The instant Su Heng was injured, the snake person burst forward. His slithering tail kicked up sand that filled the sky as he swung the spear in his hand, determined to tear Su Heng into pieces.

"I won't let you hurt Brother Su Heng!"

At that critical moment, Qing Lin, whom Su Heng had been protecting behind him, somehow rushed out.

Tears filled her eyes, but her expression was resolute as she spread her arms before Su Heng!

"Qing Lin, don't!"

Behind her, Su Heng cried out in agony. If Qing Lin had to take the blow for him, he would rather die himself.

Just as the snake person's spear was about to pierce Qing Lin's body, three green points of ghostly light suddenly appeared within her strange emerald pupils.

As those green points gradually spread, the ghostly radiance in Qing Lin's eyes intensified. A powerful green beam shot directly into the eyes of the diving snake person.

The savage, bloodthirsty snake person abruptly froze. Fear originating from his bloodline made his body stiffen, and the Dou Qi erupting around him instantly vanished without a trace.

"Mountain-Pushing Palm!"

The instant the snake person stopped moving, Su Heng struggled to his feet from the ground, gathered every ounce of his strength, and unleashed a fatal strike!

A violent stream of flame surged forth like heavenly fire burning the skies, striking the snake person's body in full. The terrifying force blasted him dozens of zhang away, leaving only half a charred spear on the sand.