The Ice Emperor, Hai Bodong!

The Tagor Desert.

Mo City.

This city lay deep within the Tagor Desert and was the city of the Human Race closest to the Snake-People Tribe's Holy City.

At that moment, three figures approached the golden city through the sky, beating their Dou Qi Wings.

They were Chen Xuan, Yue Mei, and Gu He.

"Snake-people! On guard!"

As the three approached Mo City, the dozens of guards at the gate grew solemn, their auras surging instantly.

As the city closest to the Snake-People Tribe, Mo City naturally had frequent dealings with them. When the guards saw all three approaching with Dou Qi Wings, a trace of panic appeared on their faces.

Everyone knew that anyone capable of forming Dou Qi Wings was at least a Dou Wang. With three such experts appearing at once, how could these guards, who were only Dou Shi or, at most, Da Dou Shi, possibly stand against them?

As soon as Chen Xuan and the others landed, they saw the soldiers around them staring at them with grave expressions and could not help shaking their heads slightly.

Whoosh!

Chen Xuan took a golden token straight from his Storage Ring and tossed it to the Da Dou Shi leading the guards.

"This is... an imperial token!"

The middle-aged Da Dou Shi looked shocked, disbelief filling his eyes.

Yet the token in his hand truly belonged to the Jia Ma Imperial Family. Made of gold, it bore the character "Jia," representing the Imperial Family, on one side, while the other was engraved with the empire's guardian, the sixth-rank magical beast known as the Nether Sea Flood Dragon Beast.

This was the highest-ranking token in the Jia Ma Empire. Seeing it was equivalent to seeing the emperor himself, and its bearer could travel unhindered throughout the empire.

"Stand down!"

"My lords, you may enter freely!"

With a respectful expression, the middle-aged Da Dou Shi returned the token directly to Chen Xuan.

Chen Xuan nodded slightly at his words and strode into Mo City.

That fellow Jia Xingtian had given Chen Xuan this imperial token, saying it would let him travel freely throughout the Jia Ma Empire. Naturally, Chen Xuan had accepted it. Something like this could spare him quite a bit of trouble.

He was not afraid of trouble, but it was annoying.

Chen Xuan also understood Jia Xingtian's little scheme: he simply wanted to keep Chen Xuan from constantly stirring things up in his Jia Ma Empire.

Only after Chen Xuan and the others entered Mo City did the guards at the gate let out a deep breath and wipe the cold sweat from their foreheads.

Heaven knew how much pressure they had just been under. Those were three experts beyond the Dou Wang level!

"Boss, how did they get a token from the Jia Ma Imperial Family? They're snake-people!"

Suddenly, a rough-looking guard turned to the Da Dou Shi in confusion.

"Why do you care so much?! All you need to know is that your life's been spared!"

The Da Dou Shi's grave expression eased considerably. Then he narrowed his eyes as he watched Chen Xuan and the others recede into the distance.

That Snake-People Tribe expert had put him under immense pressure. Even without releasing any Dou Qi pressure, he had still felt like an unfathomable abyss.

Among the Snake-People Tribe, the only person with such an imposing presence was probably Queen Medusa, whose name shook the Jia Ma Empire!

He had no idea why a member of the Snake-People Tribe possessed a token from their Jia Ma Imperial Family!

Fortunately, these visitors did not seem to be looking for trouble. Otherwise, all of Mo City might have been destroyed.

After all, a Dou Huang expert's strength could practically destroy heaven and earth. The Ice Emperor Hai Bodong, a Dou Emperor whose name had once resounded throughout the Jia Ma Empire, had even frozen an entire city.

If an expert like that unleashed his true strength, killing them would be no different from crushing ants.

Meanwhile, Chen Xuan and the others walked unhindered through Mo City, naturally drawing waves of uproar.

After all, snake-people were swaggering brazenly through a human city, and the gate guards had even admitted them with great respect. Everything about it was simply inconceivable.

Some clever people had already connected a few dots and kept well away from Chen Xuan's group.

The three continued on until they finally reached a secluded corner of the city, where a shop called "Ancient Map" sold maps.

"Just as I thought. Right here!"

Sensing the powerful aura concealed within the shop, Chen Xuan could not help smiling faintly.

"Your Majesty, why have we come here instead of hurrying to find the Heavenly Flame?"

Beside him, a trace of confusion appeared on Yue Mei's exquisite face.

When they had set out from Black Rock City, she had thought they would head deep into the Tagor Desert to devour that Heavenly Flame directly. She had never expected Her Majesty to change course midway and come to Mo City instead.

Pill King Gu He, standing beside them, was equally puzzled.

"Still not coming out? Do you need me to go inside and invite you?"

Rather than answer, Chen Xuan called directly into the shop.

As Chen Xuan's words fell, a terrifying aura erupted from within the shop, and a surge of bitterly cold Ice Dou Qi came pouring out.

Crack!

In an instant, endless ice spread from the shop, freezing everything within a dozen meters.

"This aura..."

Pill King Gu He's expression changed, disbelief crossing his face.

Creak!

Just then, the shop door slowly opened, and a thin old man with a head full of white hair emerged before them.

Although the old man was thin, he exuded an inexplicably powerful presence!

"Hai Bodong!"

"It's actually you, Ice Emperor Hai Bodong!"

Gu He stared intently at the old man who had emerged, his voice tinged with shock.

Ice Emperor Hai Bodong, a renowned Dou Huang expert of the Jia Ma Empire, had remained hidden for over a decade. Gu He had never expected him to appear here.

"Gu He?!"

At the sight of Pill King Gu He, surprise appeared on Ice Emperor Hai Bodong's aged face. Then his expression turned grave as he looked at Chen Xuan in the middle. "I never thought you would still find me after I'd hidden here for more than ten years!"

Having once suffered defeat at Queen Medusa's hands, Hai Bodong was naturally very familiar with her.

With a solemn expression, Hai Bodong spoke again. "Queen Medusa, what business do you have with me?"

"Hai Bodong, you have only two choices." Chen Xuan looked at him calmly. "Submit, or die!"

The moment those words fell, Hai Bodong's face darkened, and a terrifying aura burst from his body.

Endless icy energy condensed and spread once more, turning everything in its path into a kingdom of ice.

The spreading ice swept straight toward Chen Xuan and the others, but his expression remained calm. With a slight movement of his fingertips, terrifying black Dou Qi surged forth and instantly engulfed it.

In an instant, the ice melted away.