Snake Woman, Rare Commodity

Hai Bodong blinked, taking a moment to process it.

Had he been drinking too much? That was Queen Medusa, a powerhouse at the Dou Emperor Peak!

"Clan Leader, Queen Medusa is immensely powerful. She has remained at the Dou Emperor Peak for many years and is by no means comparable to an ordinary Dou Emperor," Hai Bodong said tactfully after choosing his words carefully.

"My current cultivation is: Four-Star Dou Zong."

"A Dou Zong? And a Four-Star one at that?"

Hai Bodong's mind went blank for a moment, and delight spilled openly across his face. All hesitation vanished.

A moment later, Wu Yan headed straight for the depths of the Tager Desert, toward the sacred city at the heart of the Serpent-Human Tribe.

Inside the shop, Hai Bodong watched as Wu Yan vanished from the room in an instant without even opening the door or window. His heart churned with towering waves.

"Teleportation... Is this teleportation achieved through Spatial Power?"

"A Four-Star... Dou Zong. How old is he?"

"..."

Countless thoughts ran through Hai Bodong's mind. He truly felt that this "Old Ice Emperor" had become old. The new generation replaced the old.

Compared to this "new Ice Emperor," he was practically a relic of a bygone era.

"No, it should be the Ice Sect now, shouldn't it? Hehe..."

Thinking of what Queen Medusa might soon go through, even the solitary and cold Hai Bodong could not help but smile.

It had been mentioned before that on the Dou Qi Continent, humans were the dominant race. Among all the other races combined, any one of humanity's several overlord-level factions could easily suppress them.

Precisely because of this, extraordinarily profitable black-market industries such as slave trading and human trafficking had emerged.

The Serpent-Human Tribe was one of the victims.

The Serpent-Human women in particular had upper bodies like humans but snake tails below the waist. Their exotic allure drew countless people to them.

Slave merchants of all sizes maintained numerous slave-hunting squads, using every possible method to capture these rare commodities.

Many mercenary groups also got involved. The profits were simply too enormous, enough to make many people risk their lives for a chance at them.

One had to know that the Serpent-Human Tribe had several Dou King leaders, as well as Queen Medusa, who stood at the Dou Emperor Peak. Such a force was by no means weak on the Northwestern Continent.

Logically speaking, unless there was deep-seated enmity, no one would choose to offend such a faction.

But unfortunately, these snake women were simply too alluring!

Whenever the tribe suffered excessive losses, Queen Medusa would lead Serpent-Human experts to wipe out those slave-hunting squads.

Yet those squads had countless ties to the major human empires, and most of the snake women they captured ended up being enjoyed by the empire's upper ranks. Naturally, they would not stand by and do nothing.

More importantly, the two sides were natural enemies. Since they were not of the same race, how could humans tolerate Serpent-Human experts slaughtering humans?

That was a lie. Members of the same race often fought even more viciously among themselves~

After being jointly hunted down by several human empires, the Serpent-Human Tribe had no choice but to retreat into the desolate Tager Desert.

The desert was incomparably dangerous, and water was the greatest problem. Human armies simply could not advance there on a large scale. Moreover, the temperature difference between day and night was immense, and the desert at night was even more suited to Serpent-Humans.

This was not an attempt to whitewash the Serpent-Human Tribe, nor was Wu Yan a traitor to humanity. This was simply why the Serpent-Human Tribe now lived deep in the desert.

It was not as though they liked it there, right?

The Serpent-Human Tribe preferred cool environments. Would it not have been better to find a great river or lake? Why come to the desert and survive off a few oases?

In this chapter of history, humanity truly was a little... you know.

But then again, this was the Dou Qi Continent.

If you were not strong, then every hardship you suffered was deserved.

And slave merchants did not only possess snake women. They also had human slaves.

The profits involved were enormous, so enormous that... even the Mittel Clan had a portion of the related business chain.

On the Dou Qi Continent, any faction with even a little power had dirty hands.

"But what does that have to do with me? It is not disrupting my quiet cultivation."

Looking down at the Serpent-Human settlement beneath the night sky, Wu Yan lowered his eyelids and withdrew his thoughts.

Once a Dou Zong could skillfully wield Spatial Power, their traveling speed became astonishing, far beyond what a Dou Emperor could compare to.

A quarter of an hour later, the sacred city symbolizing the faith of the Serpent-Human Tribe came into view.

"Mm... The Serpent-Human Tribe seems to have four elders at the Dou Emperor Peak as well. They could make up for the lack of high-level combat strength in the clan."

Wu Yan had originally intended to unleash a Profound Ice Dragon Soar at the city and announce his arrival.

But after considering that the Serpent-Human Tribe still had some use, Wu Yan changed his mind.

Besides, there was Queen Medusa's sealing technique. These matters happened to come together nicely.

"Fine, I'll settle them all at once."

The next moment, an overwhelmingly powerful aura, like mountains collapsing and the earth splitting apart, swept across the entire city. Vast numbers of Serpent-Humans instantly fell unconscious, with only a few struggling to endure beneath that godlike pressure.

Almost the instant that terrifying aura was sensed, a figure radiating a seductive presence shot into the night sky and headed straight for its source.

Seeing the young figure standing in empty air, Queen Medusa's heart skipped a beat.

"A Dou Zong? Judging by his aura, he does not seem to have broken through recently. This will be troublesome..."

As Queen Medusa murmured inwardly, she silently heightened her vigilance.

"Sir—"

Before she could finish speaking, the man raised a finger. A streak of bright, ghastly white light condensed at his fingertip.

Seeing this, Queen Medusa knew there would be no peaceful resolution.

Without hesitation, deep-purple energy surged across her body. She was not one of those timid little women. She was the queen of the Serpent-Human Tribe!

A purple energy serpent over thirty meters long instantly formed and lunged at the figure opposite her.

Yet Wu Yan merely lifted his eyelids. Ghastly white frost poured from his body, freezing that giant purple energy serpent solid in an instant before shattering it...

The next moment, pale white light illuminated Queen Medusa's stricken, beautiful face.

"This is... the aura of a seal!"

Possessing a similar secret technique of the Serpent-Human Tribe, Queen Medusa instinctively frantically mobilized the energy within her body, trying to keep that white light outside.

But as a trace of Spatial Power attached to the pale light silently released itself, the energy barrier Queen Medusa had built with all her strength proved utterly useless. The pale light still entered her lower abdomen.

In less than a second, Queen Medusa's aura plummeted at a terrifying speed, instantly falling to rock bottom.

At that moment, no matter how she mobilized the energy inside her body, it was useless.

The ground tugged at her body, trying to pull her into its embrace.

But faster than the ground's embrace was that cold, indifferent figure.

As he drew closer and closer, Queen Medusa seemed already able to imagine what she would suffer after being captured by this human.

Despair surged over her like a tide and swallowed her whole...