The longer Queen Medusa fought, the more alarmed she became. She had never imagined that a Dou Wang could possess such strength, every bit the equal of an ordinary one- or two-star Dou Emperor.
Continuing like this would get her nowhere, so Queen Medusa brought out the strength of a high-level Dou Emperor.
Bang!
Their weapons clashed. Xiao Yu suddenly felt that Medusa's force had grown far greater than before. For an instant, he nearly lost his grip on the greatsword, and the web between his thumb and forefinger throbbed from the impact.
After that blow, they drew apart and stood facing each other in the sky.
"Human, I underestimated you. To think a mere Dou Wang could possess such strength."
At her words, Xiao Yu replied, "Queen Medusa's strength certainly lives up to her reputation. I am deeply impressed."
Xiao Yu's flattery did not please Medusa in the slightest. Instead, she considered it an insult, and anger crept into her voice. "Human, do you truly believe I cannot kill you?!"
Xiao Yu paid no heed to Queen Medusa's anger and said, "Queen Medusa could certainly kill me, but you would have to pay a devastating price."
"I have no intention of making an enemy of Queen Medusa. If Your Majesty would simply let me leave, I will never return to the desert to disturb you again."
He had never wanted to become too entangled with Medusa. Even if Xiao Yu had liked this character before, that had merely been an appreciation for a fictional character's portrayal, an admiration for something beautiful.
He was not Xiao Yan, nor did he belong to this world. Sooner or later, he would leave. Becoming too entangled with the people of this world would affect his original resolve to return to Earth and hinder his cultivation.
After all, throughout all this time, his greatest driving force in cultivation had been his obsession with returning to Earth.
After hearing Xiao Yu out, Queen Medusa said coldly, "Today, I shall see just how you intend to make me pay!"
The overwhelming pressure of a Peak Nine-Star Dou Emperor swept across heaven and earth, and an aura belonging solely to an emperor bore down on Xiao Yu.
An ordinary Dou Wang might have fallen to his knees, but Xiao Yu was no ordinary Dou Wang. He remained unbowed.
Within Medusa's delicate hands, red Dou Qi condensed into an energy bow, crimson radiance spilling from its surface.
Holding the bow in her left hand, she drew the string with her right. The energy between heaven and earth rapidly gathered upon it, condensing into a red arrow aimed at Xiao Yu.
Xiao Yu's expression grew solemn. Judging by Medusa's attack, even an ordinary low-level Dou Emperor would struggle to withstand it.
To avoid a disastrous upset, Xiao Yu also began unleashing his trump card.
Blue-Silver Cold Lightning and Extreme-Breaking Ice Flame gathered in his left hand. Flame and lightning appeared above his palm, intertwining as they spun.
Dou Qi and soul power poured into them wildly. Xiao Yu closed his left hand, then opened it again, revealing an ice-blue Thunder Flame.
He then swept his left hand along the greatsword's blade, coating it in terrifying cold and destructive power.
Gripping the sword with both hands, Xiao Yu raised it toward the heavens. An ice-blue energy greatsword thousands of meters long pierced the sky.
Caution also appeared in Queen Medusa's eyes. She could sense that Xiao Yu's strike was no ordinary attack. A low-level Dou Emperor would likely lose their life to it, and even a mid-level Dou Emperor might end up gravely wounded and on the verge of death.
Still not enough.
Although this attack was powerful, it was not enough to threaten her.
Is this what caused that strange phenomenon? So it was his practice of a Dou Technique that brought it about. This technique is clearly no ordinary one.
Even as she thought this, Medusa's hands did not hesitate. Once the energy had finished gathering, she released her right hand, and the energy arrow tore through the air toward Xiao Yu.
Whoosh!
With terrifying power capable of killing a low-level Dou Emperor, the red arrow came hurtling forward with unstoppable force.
Xiao Yu swung his Thunder Flame greatsword down in a vertical slash, its power enough to shake mountains and earth.
Boom!!!
Sword and arrow collided, and violent energy exploded. Ice-blue Thunder Flame and red energy spilled in all directions, while the shock waves whipped up towering clouds of sand and dust that engulfed them both!
Although this strike possessed considerable power, enough to shake a Dou Huang expert, Medusa was different. She was an expert who had already touched the barrier to Dou Zong.
Xiao Yu knew this well, yet he had still unleashed his blue ice thunderflame, all for this very moment.
"Illusory World Thunderflame!"
The Myriad Transformation Flame and Returning-to-Truth Lightning gathered and fused in his hand, giving birth to a transparent Thunder Flame.
Xiao Yu hurled it out. The Illusory World Thunderflame swiftly merged into heaven and earth, enveloping the space within five thousand meters.
As the Illusory World Thunderflame continued to transform, this space began to seal itself off from the outside world. Every blade of grass and every tree, the sun, moon, and stars, the cycling of the five elements, the balance of yin and yang, and the interweaving of time and space formed an independent world.
When Xiao Yu had been a Dou Ling, he could already use the Illusory World Thunderflame to create an illusory world a thousand meters in diameter. Now that he was a Dou Wang, he could expand its range to five thousand meters, and its duration had also increased to around a minute.
However, Xiao Yu was not naive enough to believe that this little world could kill Queen Medusa, even though he could control its destruction and annihilate the things within it.
After all, this was a false, illusory world sustained by his power. Even if he exhausted all his Dou Qi, it would be difficult to inflict fatal damage on Medusa.
Besides, he had no intention of doing anything to Queen Medusa. He had used the Illusory World Thunderflame solely to trap her and buy himself time to leave.
Once the illusory world took shape, Xiao Yu wasted not a moment. His Thunderclap Twin Wings beat, and he flew west at an astonishing speed.
Within the dust clouds, Medusa sensed the Dou Wang's aura vanish completely the instant the thunderflame illusory world formed.
With a wave of her right hand, the sand and dust filling the air instantly dispersed. There was no longer any sign of Xiao Yu in the sky.
"To think he could disappear right under my nose. He truly is extraordinary."
Having already lost Xiao Yu's aura, Medusa knew that, given his speed, finding him again would be impossible.
Yet, surprisingly, Queen Medusa was not angry. Instead, she quietly surveyed her surroundings.
This world felt entirely different from before.
Descending to the ground, she found that the endless yellow sand had vanished. In its place, flowers and grasses carpeted the earth, and the desert had become a forest, brimming with life.
The sun hanging in the heavens was no longer unbearably scorching. Instead, it had become as warm as spring.
Although she already knew this was not the Tagor Desert, such a peaceful environment could not help but stir Queen Medusa's longing.
At the same time, she was astonished that Xiao Yu possessed such means.
Bending down, she plucked a vivid flower from the grass and sniffed it. Its fragrance drifted past the tip of her nose and into her nostrils.
Medusa felt that her heart had never been so peaceful. All her previous worries seemed to have ceased to exist.
Then Medusa carefully sensed this world. It felt utterly real, yet carried a trace of illusion, like a dream or a bubble.
Before long, Medusa pointed a finger at the space before her.
Crack!
Space fractured. Cracks spread outward like a spiderweb, and this thunderflame illusory world began to collapse.
Scorching sunlight shone through. In a mere instant, the Thunder Flame illusory world dissipated completely, leaving behind only scattered fragments of Thunder Flame.
Medusa caught the Thunder Flame fragments. The instant she touched them, an indescribable tremor rose from deep within her heart.
Medusa shuddered, staring blankly at the transparent flame and lightning that had become tiny points of light above her palm.
"This is certainly no Dou Technique! These are extraordinary things that can rival Heavenly Flames!"
Then Medusa closed her hand, drawing the lingering sparks of the Myriad Transformation Flame and Returning-to-Truth Lightning into her body.
An incomparable yearning from within her bloodline filled Medusa with delight.
These extraordinary things could actually stir such a tremor of longing in her bloodline.
They would be tremendously effective in evolving her bloodline, even more so than Heavenly Flames!
If she could absorb large quantities of these two extraordinary things to temper her bloodline, they would surely allow her to evolve and break through the barrier to Dou Zong. They might even grant her bloodline boundless potential!
The final part of this chapter was a setup I arranged to create a bond between Xiao Yu and Medusa.
Also, I have replied to a lot of comments lately, but I will be replying much less from now on. I will only respond to comments offering opinions or suggestions, since I really do not have that much time.
Otherwise, some esteemed readers will surely say, "If you have time to reply to comments, why not write more? You update so little every day. It's too short-you're just lame! (dog-head emoji)"
Before you continue