Gu He Appears, Xiao Yan Desperately Protects His Wife

A silver moon hung high in the sky, its cold radiance spilling down. The desert, scorching by day, had now turned frigid.

In the dim night sky, two figures streaked through the air at high speed, one after the other.

Yue Mei's alluring face was solemn. She had thought that, with her strength as a Dou King, hunting down a mere human Grand Dou Master would be effortless.

Yet no matter how much she accelerated, the little fellow ahead would speed up accordingly, keeping the distance between them at roughly a hundred meters.

They had been chasing each other for nearly an hour. By all reason, the other party's Dou Qi should have been exhausted long ago.

However, he still seemed to be flying with ease, and every so often, he would even turn back to tease her.

Those taunts made Yue Mei grit her teeth in hatred. She swore that if she caught the little brat, she would make him taste the pain of Myriad Snakes Devouring the Body to vent her anger.

Unfortunately, no matter how Yue Mei increased her speed, Xiao Yan could match her, preventing the distance between them from ever widening.

Yue Mei gradually began to question her life.

No matter what, she could never have imagined that Xiao Yan had cheats.

Using his body as a medium, Xiao Yan connected to the lotus platform within his Portable Space, continuously replenishing the Dou Qi in his body. Its recovery effect was several times better than taking a Qi-Recovery Pill, leaving his Dou Qi practically inexhaustible.

If Yue Mei had been a Dou Ancestor, she would have noticed the fluctuations of spatial power around Xiao Yan.

As his soul power increased, Xiao Yan's development of his Portable Space had become more and more advanced.

Thus, when Medicine Elder offered to help him shake off Yue Mei's pursuit, Xiao Yan refused without the slightest hesitation.

He kept Yue Mei strung along like this, with the teasing amusement of a cat playing with a mouse, wanting to find out where his limits lay.

So every now and then, he would turn back and deliberately provoke her with a few teasing words, all to anger her.

"Someone's coming. A group of people. Their auras are powerful, and one of them has rather strong soul perception."

Medicine Elder's urgent voice suddenly came from within the space.

Xiao Yan's expression changed slightly. Anyone whom his teacher called powerful had to be at least a Dou King.

At once, his body plummeted rapidly, and he plunged headfirst into the yellow sand. Using the sand to block Yue Mei's line of sight, he then flashed into the space.

Yue Mei, behind him, thought Xiao Yan had fallen because his Dou Qi was exhausted, and her face lit up with delight. But when she arrived at the sandpit where Xiao Yan had fallen, Xiao Yan was nowhere to be seen. Even his aura had vanished.

As Yue Mei was puzzling over this, she abruptly raised her head, her cold gaze fixed on the pitch-black eastern sky.

After a moment of silence, a massive magical beast appeared in her line of sight, flying toward her.

Six figures stood atop the magical beast.

Within the Portable Space, Xiao Yan opened a tiny slit in the space and observed the scene with Medicine Elder.

If a Dou Ancestor were present, they would have detected the faint fluctuations of spatial power.

Through Medicine Elder's on-the-spot explanation, Xiao Yan learned that among the six figures, the handsome middle-aged man leading them was a Dou King. The four beside him were also Dou Kings, while the Dou Qi aura emitted by the black-robed man indicated that he was a Dou Emperor.

"The leading middle-aged man has quite strong soul perception. He should be an Alchemy Master," Medicine Elder said softly.

"An Alchemy Master? A Dou King Alchemy Master? Doesn't that mean he is at least a Sixth-Grade Alchemy Master?"

"In the Jia Ma Empire, there is only one Sixth-Grade Alchemy Master: the Pill King, Gu He."

Xiao Yan analyzed.

"If this man truly is Gu He, then it is hardly surprising that he could gather so many powerful experts."

Medicine Elder nodded with a smile. He knew very well how great the influence of a Sixth-Grade Alchemy Master was.

"Why did he bring so many people to the Tagor Desert?"

Xiao Yan frowned slightly.

However, he soon learned from the conversation between the leader and Yue Mei that they had actually come for his queen wife.

And they had come to demand something from the queen.

Xiao Yan and Medicine Elder exchanged a glance and said in unison, "The Green Lotus Core Flame."

This group had the same goal as Xiao Yan: they had come to demand the Green Lotus Core Flame from Queen Medusa.

"These people dare set their sights on my queen wife's Heavenly Flame. They are asking to die."

Within the space, Xiao Yan's eyes turned icy.

In the desert, Yue Mei showed signs of being overwhelmed under the joint assault of two Dou Kings.

"Snake Art: Division!"

Yue Mei gave a low cry, and her entire body exploded into countless small azure energy snakes that fled in every direction.

Every one of those azure energy snakes was her, yet none of them was truly her. Her true body would continuously shift among the energy snakes.

Facing this transformation, all six figures attacked, blasting every energy snake they could see into nothingness. Yet quite a few slipped through the net, burrowing into the sand and disappearing.

Within the space, Xiao Yan was shocked when he saw Yue Mei's snake technique. It was simply a divine skill for escaping.

Unless one was a Dou Ancestor capable of instantly sealing off an entire section of space, one could only watch helplessly as Yue Mei fled.

After Gu He and the others departed, Xiao Yan finally flashed out of the space. He spread the Purple Cloud Wings behind him and pursued them by following their lingering auras.

With Gu He and the others clearing the way ahead, Xiao Yan moved unimpeded through the Snake People tribes.

Even when he encountered large Snake People patrols, Xiao Yan could easily avoid them using his Portable Space.

With a Portable Space, sneaking around was practically a divine skill.

If Xiao Yan became a thief, he would definitely be a master thief.

After leaving the Snake People tribes, Xiao Yan flew low over the desert at high speed. After more than a day of nonstop flight, he finally arrived at a majestic city.

This city was the Medusa Temple.

Amid the endless yellow sands surrounding the city stood countless enormous boulders, like towering giants guarding the temple.

Not long after Xiao Yan arrived, Gu He and the others also reached the city atop their flying magical beast.

Gu He's arrival had long since been spotted by the Medusa Guard, who stood ready on the city walls.

Yue Mei was also on the wall, along with the leader of another Snake People tribe who had rushed over.

At the sight of Gu He and his group, all of them wore grave expressions.

"While they are clashing here, we will sneak into the temple. I have already sensed the aura of the Heavenly Flame."

Medicine Elder transmitted his voice.

As someone who possessed the Myriad Flame Emperor Physique, Xiao Yan likewise sensed the aura of a Heavenly Flame somewhere within the temple.

When Gu He and the others began fighting the Snake People forces, Xiao Yan transformed into a shadow and secretly slipped into the temple.

After entering the temple, the aura of the Heavenly Flame became even clearer.

"Your queen wife is quite clever. She divided the Heavenly Flame's aura into four portions and placed them at the four corners of the city."

Within the space, Medicine Elder chuckled.

Xiao Yan smiled as well. He had also sensed the four traces of Heavenly Flame aura, but only one direction contained the real Heavenly Flame: the east.

Seeing Gu He head north, Xiao Yan wore a gleeful expression. He immediately sneaked toward the east without hesitation.

After sneaking along for more than twenty minutes, Xiao Yan arrived before a clear lake.

There was a small island in the center of the lake, and the Heavenly Flame was on it.

There were no bridges or paths leading to the island from around the lake.

Xiao Yan spread the Purple Cloud Wings behind him, moved his body, and flew toward the island.

Unexpectedly, only a few meters after flying over the lake, a powerful suction force rose from below and dragged his body toward the water.

"Careful. There seems to be an energy restriction set above this lake. Flight is forbidden."

Medicine Elder's voice came from within the space.

"You could have said that earlier."

Xiao Yan gave a bitter smile as his entire body was dragged into the lake.

The moment his body fell into the lake water, Xiao Yan's expression changed. This lake water was highly poisonous.

As soon as his body came into contact with the poison, it began to burn and fester. The toxins drilled into his body.