Three-Way Melee, Eight Desolations Burning Flame Formation Activated!

Moonlight spilled down as Medusa stood atop a sand ridge, the purple scales on her long snake tail gleaming brightly.

She narrowed her slender eyes and slowly looked over everyone below, one by one.

Han Feng wore a smile, but it was far too fake, like a mask pasted on his face. The more one looked at it, the more he resembled a smiling tiger.

Gu He appeared calm on the surface, but in truth, every muscle in his body was taut, without the slightest relaxation.

Then she looked toward Yun Yun...

The instant their gazes met, it was as though something in the air snapped with a crack.

Gu He stepped forward and cupped his hands toward Medusa. "Medusa Queen, I am Gu He, an alchemist of the Jia Ma Empire..."

Before he could finish, Medusa cut him off, her tone icy. "I know who you are. There's no need for you to repeat it."

She continued, "You're merely a sixth-tier alchemist. You brought three Battle Kings and one Three-Star Battle Emperor, and you dared barge into the Tager Desert with your sights set on a Heavenly Flame?"

"Do you simply have no regard for my Snake-People Tribe, or do you think that waving the Cloud Mist Sect's banner means I should obediently step aside?"

"Hmph! Even if Yun Shan were here, he still wouldn't be qualified."

Her words were sharp and measured. Gu He opened his mouth, and the smile on his face froze.

Yun Yun frowned, but did not rush to speak.

Han Feng watched the spectacle with undisguised delight. The corner of his mouth lifted as he shifted two steps aside.

As he moved, the Gold and Silver Elders changed position as well. The three of them silently formed a stance that allowed both attack and defense.

Fan Ling, the Blood Sect's leader, remained a little farther away. Blood mist slowly swirled around him, and he appeared intent on waiting for the others to make the first move.

Medusa could not be bothered to waste any more words on them.

With a flick of her wrist, purple battle aura transformed into a gigantic python and lashed straight at Yun Yun!

"Enough nonsense. If you want the Heavenly Flame, then fight!"

Yun Yun's gaze sharpened. Green light emerged from her palm, and a swirling gust of wind coiled around the purple python.

With a light tap of her toes, she drifted backward several yards, dissipating most of the force behind Medusa's attack.

"Your Majesty, are you truly going to fight here?" Yun Yun's voice lowered. Green battle aura seeped from the folds of her clothing, gradually condensing into a faint wind barrier around her body.

Medusa did not answer at all.

Purple battle aura exploded from her body with a boom, blasting the sand beneath her feet down by a foot.

She kicked off the sand, turning into a streak of purple as she lunged at Yun Yun!

Boom!

The two figures collided atop the dune, purple light tangling with green radiance.

The Gold and Silver Elders exchanged a glance, cold smiles hanging from both their faces.

The elder in gold robes tucked his hands into his sleeves and quietly moved his fingers. His battle aura transformed into several golden needles as thin as hairs, which shot out without a sound!

The golden needles pierced through the yellow sand billowing through the sky and flew straight toward the backs of the Cloud Mist Sect's three Battle King elders!

The silver-robed elder swayed, and his figure vanished in an instant.

"Dodge!"

Yun Yun was locked in an intense battle with Medusa, yet as she shouted, the green wind ring around her abruptly expanded outward. She forced Medusa away, then turned and charged toward the three elders!

But the Gold and Silver Elders had moved too swiftly.

Countless golden needles had already pierced the bodies of two Battle King elders!

The two men groaned at the same time, their bodies immediately stiffening as the battle aura circulating within them was cut off on the spot.

The silver-robed elder had already circled behind the third elder. He raised a hand and struck down fiercely, dazzling silver light bursting outward!

That Battle King elder did not even have time to react before he was sent flying, crashing heavily into the sand and gouging out a huge pit.

"You're truly shameless!" Gu He's face twisted with fury. He hastily pulled out a pill from his Storage Ring and crushed it hard. The medicinal energy split into three streams of green light and entered the mouths of the three Battle King elders.

But Gu He was, in the end, only an alchemist. Fighting and killing had never been his strong suit.

The Gold and Silver Elders were genuine Battle Emperor Peak experts. No matter how capable Gu He was, he could not withstand the two of them head-on.

Yun Yun halted and glanced back at the three severely injured elders. Her gaze turned terrifyingly cold.

She slowly turned around to face the Gold and Silver Elders, a three-foot azure sword appearing in her hand.

Moonlight spread across the blade, casting a clear azure sheen that sent a chill down one's spine.

"You two made the first move!"

Yun Yun spoke with exceptional calm, just like her usual self—so calm that no one could sense any anger in her voice.

At the same time, the fluctuations of battle aura around Yun Yun surged upward, whipping up a violent green gale.

The next instant, Fan Ling's blood mist swept toward Yun Yun like a curtain covering the heavens. Wherever it passed, it scorched the sand black.

The blood mist collided with the clear wind around Yun Yun, producing hissing sounds, as though something were being devoured bit by bit.

Medusa stood some distance away with her arms folded across her chest, watching the chaotic battle below with interest.

She did not hurry to join the fight, nor did she aid either side. She merely waited there, waiting for the thing beneath the sand to emerge on its own.

At that moment, the sand dune began to shake.

The tremors were not too strong at first, but they soon grew increasingly violent. Sand poured toward lower ground, and huge sections of the dune's crest collapsed.

"There's something underneath!" Han Feng suddenly twisted his head, his eyes fixed tightly on the ground below.

Deep within the magma, golden formation patterns gradually lit up. Heat seeped upward through the sand, baking the surrounding air until it warped and distorted.

Meng Chen pulled down his cloak, revealing half his face. Looking at the dune crest continuously collapsing and cracking apart, he softly said, "It's about time."

He flicked his wrist, and a golden spiritual seal appeared in his palm—the formation-activating item Qing Yanjing had given him. He then pressed it into the sand beneath his feet!

"Once they're all inside, seal the entrance."

Hai Bodong rubbed his hands nearby as icy blue battle aura began to seep out.

The cracks in the sand and rock at the cavern entrance widened further and further. A blazing red glow shone up from underground, staining the entire dune crimson.

Medusa moved first!

Without saying a word to anyone, she transformed into a streak of purple light and shot down through the crack in the dune.

Han Feng followed without hesitation. The Gold and Silver Elders no longer spared Yun Yun a thought and leaped into the cavern after him.

The blood mist around Fan Ling rolled up, and he followed them down as well.

Gu He gritted his teeth and turned toward Yun Yun. "Sect Leader Yun..."

Yun Yun sheathed her sword, lowered her gaze to sweep over the three elders lying on the ground, and said to Gu He, "Stay here and look after them. I'll be back soon."

As soon as she finished speaking, her green robes flashed, and she too leaped into the fissure.

Only Gu He and the three unconscious Battle King elders remained atop the dune, their figures gradually obscured by the whirling yellow sand.

Meng Chen rose from the shadows and patted the dust from his cloak.

"They're all down there. Elder Hai, let's go too."

Icy blue battle aura supported their bodies as they silently drifted toward the fissure.

Behind them, the edges of the crack in the dune slowly began to close, as though an invisible hand were gradually sealing it shut.

The Eight Desolations Burning Flame Formation had become a cage!