Off to Black Rock City!

Inside the Sacred Hall.

Hearing Gu He's question, Chen Xuan nodded slightly. He was indeed planning to refine the heavenly flame.

After two months of cultivation, his strength had already reached the Peak Dou Emperor level.

Now that he had become a Peak Dou Emperor, he naturally intended to refine the green lotus core flame and become a strong cultivator at the Dou Zong level.

Although Gu He already knew that Her Majesty possessed a heavenly flame, he could not help feeling envious after hearing Chen Xuan confirm it.

A heavenly flame!

What alchemist did not want a heavenly flame of their own?

"Master Gu He, there is no need to be envious. If an opportunity arises, I will naturally find you a heavenly flame."

"To tell you the truth, there is also a heavenly flame in the Black-Corner Region. If I get the chance, I will seize it for you."

Seeing Gu He's envious expression, Chen Xuan spoke with a faint smile.

"What?! There is a heavenly flame in the Black-Corner Region!" Gu He froze at those words, then became ecstatic. "Thank you, Your Majesty! I will never prove unworthy of your great kindness!"

A heavenly flame!

If he truly obtained a heavenly flame, the debt he owed the Snake-People Tribe would be immeasurably deep. He, Gu He, would surely follow them to his dying breath.

At that moment, Gu He even felt that none of the powerful figures in the human world were as generous as this queen of the Snake-People Tribe.

Chen Xuan was not lying, of course. There really was a heavenly flame in the Black-Corner Region. No, there was more than one-if Jia Nan Academy was included, there were three.

Jia Nan Academy had countless powerful experts, so he naturally could not afford to provoke them at this stage.

But in the Black-Corner Region, Medicine Emperor Han Feng, who had come from the Central Plains Continent, possessed a heavenly flame.

If the opportunity truly arose, Chen Xuan would not mind taking that heavenly flame from him. After all, he did not cultivate the so-called Flame Mantra. Powerful though that cultivation method was, the pain it inflicted was more than ordinary people could endure.

With the Meteor Tear, he had absolutely no need to cultivate the Flame Mantra.

He also had the many wondrous items from the system's check-ins, so he had no need for that unbearably painful Flame Mantra.

"Your Majesty, the Blood Lotus Pill will be no problem at all. I previously prepared the medicinal materials needed to refine it. I can deliver it to you tomorrow."

Then Gu He looked respectfully up at Chen Xuan. "I also have a Naling, which can open a space within the body to store a heavenly flame."

"However, we are still missing one thing needed to refine a heavenly flame!"

Still missing one thing?!

Looking at the respectful Gu He, Chen Xuan thought for a moment before saying, "Ice spirit cold spring?!"

"Yes, Your Majesty. Ice spirit cold spring is extremely rare. Even after searching for years, I have never found any," Gu He replied directly. "However, Gute in Black Rock City does have some. That fellow is eccentric beyond belief. Even when I offered him an Emperor-Breaking Pill in exchange, he refused!"

An Emperor-Breaking Pill was a Sixth-Grade Pill. Trading it for a medicinal material that was only around the fifth rank meant taking a crushing loss.

Yet even with that offer, Gu He had failed to obtain the ice spirit cold spring from him.

"Gute?"

"You two, make preparations. We will go to Black Rock City and take that ice spirit cold spring." Chen Xuan narrowed his eyes slightly. "Trade? I have no intention of trading with him!"

At those words, Gu He understood Chen Xuan's intentions.

He knew Gute was in for it this time.

This was someone who killed without batting an eye. Gute would be lucky not to pay with his life this time.

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Hearing Chen Xuan's words, Yue Mei and Gu He immediately answered.

Chen Xuan nodded slightly.

Since he intended to refine the green lotus core flame, he needed to make absolutely certain nothing went wrong. Naturally, he needed the three essentials for refining a heavenly flame: a Blood Lotus Pill, a Naling, and ice spirit cold spring.

In the original story, Queen Medusa had endured it directly with her own body. The agony of that terrifying burning had been horrific, and she had nearly failed.

Chen Xuan naturally needed to make thorough preparations. Of those three items, only the ice spirit cold spring remained.

Chen Xuan would not reason with weaklings who had no value.

Those who knew what was good for them would obediently hand it over. Those who did not had only death awaiting them.

Chen Xuan would show them no courtesy. After all, this was a world where the strong ruled supreme, and there was no longer anyone in the entire Jia Ma Empire who could challenge him.

Chen Xuan, Yue Mei, and Gu He made a few preparations, informed the elders and leaders, then left the Snake-People Holy City and headed straight for Black Rock City.

When several elders offered to accompany him, Chen Xuan refused them outright.

There was no need to mobilize such a force merely to fetch some ice spirit cold spring.

As Chen Xuan recalled, Gute was only a third-grade alchemist. Sending the three of them was already giving him plenty of face.

The Jia Ma Empire was vast, with dozens of enormous cities. Black Rock City lay near the Tagor Desert, and its grand scale was enough to rank it among the empire's foremost cities.

Black Rock City also had quite a few experts, as well as a branch of the Alchemist Guild, so it was naturally bustling and prosperous.

Along the way, the three formed Dou Qi Wings and flew straight toward Black Rock City. No expert dared stand in their path.

Anyone capable of forming Dou Qi Wings was at least a Dou Wang.

Time flew by. When Chen Xuan and the other two reached the skies above Black Rock City, evening was already approaching.

"Your Majesty, this is Black Rock City. Even within the Jia Ma Empire, it is considered a grand and imposing city."

Looking down at the immense city, Chen Xuan nodded slightly.

This city had at least a million inhabitants, and he could sense quite a few experts within it. Although none were above the Dou Wang level, there were plenty of Dou Ling experts.

In the Jia Ma Empire, a Dou Ling was already a powerful local figure, capable of founding a sizable clan.

In some cities, even a Da Dou Shi could bring a clan to prominence.

Such was the world of Dou Qi. Its experts formed a pyramid: the higher one climbed, the fewer people there were.

How many people lived in the Jia Ma Empire?!

Yet it had produced barely ten Dou Emperors in total, and that included their Snake-People Tribe. Without the Snake-People Tribe, there were only five!

Without a word, they headed straight toward Black Rock City's gates.

The city guards spotted the three immediately. Chen Xuan was the most conspicuous, with his human head, serpentine body, and terrifying aura.

The Snake-People Tribe?!

In an instant, not only the guards but also the many mercenaries and civilians on the street by the main gate looked astonished.

Most of their gazes lingered on Queen Medusa's and Yue Mei's bodies. Beauties of their caliber were rare, after all.

Since when had the Snake-People Tribe dared enter their Black Rock City so openly?

This was the Human Race's territory!

At the gate, Chen Xuan suddenly stopped. He slowly closed his eyes, then snapped them open. Looking at everyone's expressions, his beautiful eyes filled with anger. "Ants!"

The instant those words fell-

Rumble!

A surge of red Dou Qi erupted, its terrifying force shaking everything within a hundred meters.

Thud, thud, thud!

In an instant, cold sweat broke out on everyone's faces, and they dropped straight to their knees.

Even Gu He and Yue Mei felt a terrifying pressure descend on them.

"Let's go!"

An icy voice came from Queen Medusa's lips.

At those words, Gu He's and Yue Mei's expressions shifted slightly.

Her Majesty now seemed completely different from just moments before. Previously, Queen Medusa had been imposing, but she had lacked that cold, haughty air that kept others a thousand miles away.

Now, in the blink of an eye, she seemed to have become someone else entirely.

Her originally black Dou Qi had actually turned red?!

Even her aura had changed, giving him a sense of extreme danger, something downright terrifying.

Gu He looked bewildered. She seemed different from the Queen Medusa he knew.