Traces of the Snake-People

Early the next morning, Xiao Yan woke from sleep with Little Fairy Doctor in his arms.

After getting up and tidying themselves a little, the two left the inn and headed straight for the best medicinal herb shop in Mo City.

When the herb shop owner saw two people charging over so aggressively first thing in the morning, he nearly thought they had come to kick down his door. Who would have thought they were bringing him a huge deal?

Although Xiao Yan and Little Fairy Doctor had not earned many gold coins during their two years in the Magic Beast Mountains, they had accumulated a great number of magic cores, beast parts, and medicinal herbs unavailable in the Tagore Great Desert. To the herb shop owner, all of those were scarce goods.

And Xiao Yan and Little Fairy Doctor were not just there to sell things—they were buying as well.

With a sweep of Little Fairy Doctor's delicate brows, basket after basket of herbs was packed up, mainly ingredients for healing pills and Dou Qi recovery pills, along with a small amount of ingredients for refining poisons.

The herb shop owner was overjoyed. The only flaw was that both Xiao Yan and Little Fairy Doctor were clearly experts.

Xiao Yan handled the selling, watching the shop assistants inspect the materials with utmost care and refusing to yield even the slightest amount.

Little Fairy Doctor was even more frightening. She personally inspected every batch of herbs before it was packed, uncovering countless hidden tricks.

If Little Fairy Doctor had wanted to extort him, the herb shop owner would probably have had to give her the herbs for free just to keep her quiet.

No, my dear lady, can I just refuse to do this business?!

Under the herb shop owner's pleading gaze, Xiao Yan and Little Fairy Doctor finally left the shop laden with goods.

"Honestly, he was the one playing tricks. How could he blame us for it?" Thinking of the look in the herb shop owner's eyes when he saw them off, Little Fairy Doctor felt somewhat unhappy.

"Alright. What he did was dishonest, but everyone has their own difficulties. We do not need to concern ourselves with it." Xiao Yan comforted her. As the two spent more time together, Little Fairy Doctor would occasionally throw little tantrums like this.

Because they had bought and sold so many herbs, it was already nearly noon. Xiao Yan and Little Fairy Doctor first went to have a meal at a restaurant.

That afternoon, the two purchased various foods and water, as well as tents and other supplies needed for traveling through the desert.

By the way, Xiao Yan secretly picked out several exotic outfits for Little Fairy Doctor as well. Despite her scornful gaze, he decisively paid for them.

That night, Xiao Yan wanted Little Fairy Doctor to try them on and see whether they fit.

How could Little Fairy Doctor fail to see through that pervert's intentions? She ignored him entirely.

Xiao Yan felt deeply regretful about that.

Thus passed their final night before entering the desert.

The next morning, at the gates of Mo City.

"According to Elder Hai Bodong, the west is Medusa Clan territory. Unless necessary, he advised us to first investigate the suspicious locations east and north of Mo City."

On a thin sheet of parchment was a map of the Tagore Great Desert for several hundred li around Mo City, with the city beneath their feet as its center. Hai Bodong's map was exceptionally detailed, clearly beyond comparison with maps made by others.

On the map, there was a flame-shaped marker in each of the eastern, western, and northern directions from Mo City.

To be honest, too much time had passed since Xiao Yan's previous life. He could no longer clearly remember where the Green Lotus Core Flame was located.

He only remembered that, in the original story, the Green Lotus Core Flame had ultimately been taken by Medusa Queen first. So perhaps it was at the location to the west?

But just to be safe, he still decided to check the other two places first.

"Which direction do you think we should go first, Xian'er?" Xiao Yan looked toward the girl beside him.

Little Fairy Doctor looked different from usual today. She wore an outfit suited for traveling through the desert, displaying a different kind of exotic beauty.

Do not misunderstand—it was certainly not the revealing kind.

Rather, it was the kind of loose robe that covered the entire body, protecting against the blazing sun while still allowing air to circulate.

"Hmm, we should go east first. There are more mercenaries active in the north than in the east. If the Heavenly Flame were in the north, it would be far more likely to have been discovered than if it were in the east. But since no one has found it yet, that means it is more likely to be in the east." After thinking for a while, Little Fairy Doctor pointed at the flame marker on the eastern side of the parchment.

"Alright, then we will go east." Xiao Yan put away the map and made the decision.

Across the boundless desert, amid howling winds, a faintly visible group of figures traveled east of Mo City. They left behind long, winding tracks that were swiftly covered by flying yellow sand.

"Chief, three more humans just escaped. We have already gone deep into human territory and are far from the clan. If this continues, the humans will discover us sooner or later! Are we still moving forward?" Within the large group of dozens, a strange-looking person braved the fierce wind and approached a towering figure at the center of the group. He appeared to be the leader of this party.

"Of course. This is an order personally issued by Her Majesty the Queen! Our Golden Snake Tribe entered this dangerous human territory to find the Heavenly Flame and offer it to Her Majesty. On this journey, we will either succeed or die. There is no turning back!" the towering figure said without room for doubt. "Jinjie, return to your position!"

Jinjie gritted his teeth, unconvinced. But seeing the increasingly impatient look in the chief's eyes, fear gained the upper hand. He took his leave and retreated.

The Snake-People Clan's party continued onward, heading east of Mo City.

Today was already the sixth day since Xiao Yan and Little Fairy Doctor had entered the desert. According to Hai Bodong's map, they would reach the marked location in about three more days.

Under the scorching sun, even Xiao Yan, who had already refined a Heavenly Flame, still felt unbearably hot. Huge beads of sweat rolled down his cheeks and fell into the sand below. Before the tiny creatures nearby could rush over to drink them, the droplets evaporated and returned to the air.

Xiao Yan pressed a water skin to his dry, chapped lips and took a small sip. As his throat moved, a cool stream of water flowed down into his stomach.

He raised the remaining water skin over his head, and a slender jade hand covered by a loose robe took it from him.

The Tagore Great Desert was indeed no place for humans to live, but the fire-attributed natural energy contained within it far surpassed that of other regions of the Jia Ma Empire. It was an excellent place for Xiao Yan to cultivate.

On the night before leaving the city, he had not merely been thinking about how to get Little Fairy Doctor into some wonderfully alluring clothes. More importantly, he had been refining medicinal liquid to assist his cultivation in the Tagore Great Desert.

Yao Lao's Storage Ring contained a medicinal liquid called Burning Blood, which was extremely suitable for use in such an environment.

Its grade was simply a little too low, so before coming to the Tagore Great Desert, Xiao Yan had slightly improved the formula himself, adding the essence blood of several third-tier fire-attributed magic beasts and the like.

It had to be said that the results were quite good. The pain made Xiao Yan twitch uncontrollably.

But the path of cultivation had always been arduous. What was a little pain? It did not even compare to the hardship of refining a Heavenly Flame.

To make the most of their time on the road, Xiao Yan went even further. He carried the Black-Weight Ruler on his back and had Little Fairy Doctor sit on it, applying Burning Blood medicinal liquid to him in real time.

Even Little Fairy Doctor was startled by this nearly self-torturous method of cultivation, but the results were obvious as well.

Although the cultivation gained from Heavenly Flame energy was far from unstable, and his long experience in the Magic Beast Mountains had given Xiao Yan excellent control over his strength, that did not mean he had reached his limit.

Six days of cultivation had made Xiao Yan feel that his foundation had become a little more solid, while his cultivation had also improved somewhat. He was only one step away from becoming an Eight-Star Great Dou Master.

After applying Burning Blood to Xiao Yan once more, Little Fairy Doctor lovingly used a handkerchief to wipe the sweat from his forehead, keeping it from blurring his eyes and preventing him from seeing the road ahead.

When Little Fairy Doctor put away the handkerchief and wanted to continue identifying their direction, a dark figure lying collapsed amid the distant yellow sand caught her attention.

Neither Little Fairy Doctor nor Xiao Yan was particularly saintly, but they still had some kindness in them. Since they were confident in their strength and did not fear repaying kindness with enmity, they would offer a little help to people in distress whom they encountered in the desert.

Walking over to the stranded person and confirming that he was still alive, Xiao Yan took Little Fairy Doctor and the Black-Weight Ruler down from his back.

He took out a fresh water skin from his Storage Ring and slowly fed water into the man's mouth.

Little Fairy Doctor did not remain idle either. After checking the man's pulse for a while, she injected a thread of poisonous gas into his body.

This poisonous gas had no other purpose. Its sole effect was to cause pain and awaken someone from unconsciousness.

In addition, it could reactivate a person's immune system, briefly strengthen their resistance, and clear their mind. It was a kind of Beneficial Poison Little Fairy Doctor had created herself.

Xiao Yan had originally suggested the idea. Little Fairy Doctor had thought it impossible at first, but when she actually succeeded in creating it, the girl had been overjoyed.

"Cough, cough!" Whether he had been awakened by choking on the water or by Little Fairy Doctor's poison, the unknown man had awakened.

"Th-this is... You... who are you?" the man asked groggily, firing off several questions in a row.

"This is east of Mo City. If you head west, you should be able to return to the city in about ten days," Xiao Yan answered. Looking over the man's belongings, he found that not only was he short on water, but his Storage Ring containing food was nowhere to be seen.

Perhaps he had lost it. Shaking his head, Xiao Yan did not intend to investigate further. After casually leaving behind several water skins and some food, he turned to leave with Little Fairy Doctor.

"Y-you two, please wait!" The man struggled to get up. "Snake-people! There are snake-people ahead!"

Snake-people? Xiao Yan was startled. He turned around and walked back to the man. "You are saying there are snake-people ahead?"

"Yes." The man swallowed. "I was originally a mercenary hunting magic beasts nearby. About ten days ago, a group of snake-people suddenly came here. I tried to hide, but failed, and they captured me. Fortunately, they seemed to be looking for something, so they did not kill me. Instead, they made me lead the way."

The man took another gulp of water before continuing, "Fortunately, a sandstorm suddenly rose here three days ago, and I escaped amid the chaos."

"Snake-people? Why would snake-people appear here?" Little Fairy Doctor frowned, finding it strange.

Xiao Yan had some guesses. Judging by the timing, it was not strange for members of the Snake-People Clan to have found their way here.

Sure enough, the man quickly answered, "It seems they are looking for a Heavenly Flame."

"A Heavenly Flame? Aren't the Snake-People Clan naturally cold-bodied? Why are they looking for a Heavenly Flame?" Little Fairy Doctor froze slightly, speaking in surprise. Her expression became wary, but she then looked at the man with suspicion. She suspected that he was not being honest and was trying to deceive them!

"It is true! Really, I am not lying to you!" Sensing Little Fairy Doctor's suspicion, the man shouted. He felt like crying without tears. He had deceived quite a few people before, but this time he truly was not lying.

"Alright, Xian'er. I think he is not lying to us. After all, this sort of lie is far too ridiculous." Xiao Yan had mostly believed what the man said.

Little Fairy Doctor trusted Xiao Yan's judgment.

"You said the Snake-People Clan came here. Do you know which direction they went?" Xiao Yan turned to the man.

"Th-this..." The man hesitated, blaming himself for foolishly letting it slip just now. Information about a Heavenly Flame had always been valuable. Even with the Snake-People Clan nearby, it was still valuable—if anything, that made it even more valuable, because it meant there had to be something here. Unfortunately, he had only just woken up and had not reacted in time.

Xiao Yan naturally saw the man's hesitation. After thinking for a moment, he roughly understood his thoughts. Although the man was only looking out for himself and had not done anything particularly wrong, Xiao Yan still decided to have a friendly conversation with him.

But the man was clearly sensible. Seeing the change in Xiao Yan's expression and Little Fairy Doctor turning around, he immediately stopped hesitating. "Northeast! They went northeast!"

Upon hearing that, Xiao Yan and Little Fairy Doctor took out Hai Bodong's map and looked. The flame marker on the map was indeed northeast of their current position, about three days away.

The two exchanged a glance and saw a trace of urgency in each other's eyes.

Xiao Yan put the Black-Weight Ruler into his Storage Ring. This was clearly not the time to continue cultivating and travel at a leisurely pace.

The two quickly made their preparations. Xiao Yan said to the man, "Did you not say that you often hunt magic beasts around here and know the area well? Come with us too. By the way, what is your name?"

"My name is Sun Shan. Um... can I not go?" Sun Shan looked at Xiao Yan hopefully, his face pitiful.

But when he saw Xiao Yan's expression gradually becoming friendly again, Sun Shan immediately corrected himself. "I will go! I will go right now!"

With that, he nimbly scrambled up from the ground. It had to be said that cultivators had strong bodies. Someone who had been unconscious not long ago could run so quickly.

"Mm." Xiao Yan nodded, then suddenly remembered something. "You said your name was Sun Shan?"

"That is right," Sun Shan replied.

"You do not happen to know someone named Ming Luo, do you?" Xiao Yan asked with a strange expression.

"Ming Luo? No, I do not know him. But I do have a friend named Zhong Bang. He was also captured by the Snake-People Clan, and I do not know whether he escaped." As he spoke, Sun Shan sorrowfully began wiping at his tears, though his dehydrated body could not produce any.

Xiao Yan: "..."