A Sandfish Lizard.
Its body was brightly colored and covered in smooth, overlapping scales. It was one of the desert's strangest creatures.
Sandfish Lizards did not even qualify as Tier 1 Magical Beasts. Entirely harmless, they were among the favorite snacks of the desert's various magical beasts.
True to their name, although Sandfish Lizards were not actually fish, they could "swim" through sand as freely and nimbly as fish moved through water.
Searching for something in the seemingly boundless desert was like fishing for a needle in the ocean. But with these little creatures scattered throughout the sands, the difficulty dropped dramatically. Achieving his goal was only a matter of time.
The moment he entered the desert, Chen Cang captured dozens of Sandfish Lizards, examining their memories and reading their pasts.
Every Sandfish Lizard's memories were exceedingly simple. Their movements were generally confined to a range of about ten li. It was not that they did not want to venture farther, but that their innate limitations prevented it. Most became food for other magical beasts before they could travel even ten li.
"This is a massive undertaking."
Gazing across the vast expanse of the Tagor Desert, Chen Cang let out a long sigh.
Still, he supposed he ought to be content. Without the ability to read memories, even knowing that the Green Lotus Core Flame was somewhere in this desert would be little help. An ordinary Da Dou Shi had almost no chance of finding it ahead of time and could only rely on luck.
He, however, was absolutely certain he could do it!
All he had to spend was more time.
"Let's keep going. Hopefully, no Snake-People will come to cause trouble while I'm at it."
Releasing the Sandfish Lizard in his hand, Chen Cang searched the desert in a fan-shaped sweep, using Stone Desert City as his central point.
He was determined to obtain the Green Lotus Core Flame!
As everyone knew, a person's attributes were innate. Acquiring even a trace of another attribute later in life required an exceptionally rare opportunity.
Chen Cang desperately wanted a trace of the wood attribute, because it was a prerequisite for becoming an Alchemist.
When he considered extraordinary treasures of heaven and earth that might grant someone the wood attribute, Heavenly Flames were the first things that came to mind.
The Green Lotus Core Flame, and the Life Spirit Flame, which ranked fifth on the Heavenly Flame Ranking!
As far as Chen Cang knew, these two Heavenly Flames were the most likely to work a miracle.
Aside from those, the Yao Clan, one of the eight great Ancient Races, might also possess a means of accomplishing it.
After all, a person's attributes were innate, yet the Yao Clan boasted far more Alchemists than the average among the other races. That alone warranted some thought.
Beyond those few paths, Chen Cang could hardly think of any other methods.
After all, Tang Zhen of the Burning Flame Valley in the Central Plains also dreamed of becoming an Alchemist. Yet even with his status and position, that wish remained beyond his reach.
Chen Cang believed that Tang Zhen must have tried many conventional methods to acquire that trace of the wood attribute. Unfortunately, none had fulfilled his wish.
Thus, from the very beginning, Chen Cang had set his sights on the Green Lotus Core Flame.
As for the Life Spirit Flame...
Was that a joke?
Apart from the definite knowledge that Old Man Shennong had obtained it deep in the mountains, there was almost no useful information about it. He would not even know where to start.
Over the course of the day, Chen Cang used the Sandfish Lizards to search an area spanning more than a hundred li. He encountered a few unexpected scares, but found nothing related to the Green Lotus Core Flame.
His expression remained unchanged. On reflection, this was only to be expected.
He would continue tomorrow. He had more than enough patience to keep at it.
At sunset, Chen Cang returned to Stone Desert City and found an inn to stay in. He had no desire to keep disturbing someone else's peaceful life.
Elsewhere.
Hai Bodong had spent the entire day red-faced with fury before slowly regaining his reason.
After careful consideration, he still decided to find Chen Cang and sit down for a proper talk.
He had suffered so much for the Fragmented Map and spent so many years studying it, only to end up with nothing. How could he possibly accept that?
Although there was no evidence that Chen Cang had stolen the Fragmented Map, Hai Bodong could think of no other suspect.
Tracking Chen Cang down was not difficult. The combination of one man and one horse was simply too conspicuous. After a few inquiries, Hai Bodong learned that he had headed toward Stone Desert City.
That brat is devious and cunning. He definitely won't admit it, much less return the Fragmented Map. If I want to cut my losses, our only option is to share the map. I have to make him promise to take me along to uncover the treasure once he solves its secret, or give me sufficient compensation. Otherwise...
At worst, I'll simply make the Fragmented Map's contents public. Then none of us will get anything out of it!
Before arriving at Stone Desert City, Hai Bodong had already settled on his terms.
Little did he know that behind the Fragmented Map lay one of the Dou Qi Continent's highest-level dungeons. Never mind his current Dou Ling strength—even the Ice Emperor at his peak would not have qualified as cannon fodder.
With his little scheme in mind, Hai Bodong stepped into Stone Desert City.
Yet he had taken only a few steps before his brows furrowed.
How had Medusa's aura on that brat grown so much stronger in a single day?
If the aura he had sensed yesterday had been as faint as a firefly's glow, what he sensed today was like the bright moon hanging overhead. It was impossible to ignore.
No!
Hai Bodong abruptly stopped in his tracks. The bewilderment on his face turned to terror, and without daring to linger another instant, he turned and fled toward the city gates.
He understood now. This was not the aura on Chen Cang at all.
Queen Medusa herself had come!
As for why he could no longer sense that faint aura on Chen Cang, the explanation was simple. In all likelihood, the brat had already fallen victim to Queen Medusa!
Yes, that had to be it!
Exactly! That woman was so vicious. Why would she leave a mark on some brat she had nothing to do with?
She had been marking her prey!
Hai Bodong had pieced together every crucial detail. Yet instead of feeling pleased at that annoying brat's death, he felt like the fox mourning the rabbit, grieving the fate they shared.
He had no time to mourn Chen Cang, much less think about the Fragmented Map. All Hai Bodong wanted now was to escape with his life.
With Chen Cang dead, the Fragmented Map must have fallen into Queen Medusa's hands. He would never have any hope of retrieving it in this lifetime.
While Hai Bodong fled headlong for his life, inside Stone Desert City, in an inn not far from Chen Cang's lodging...
Queen Medusa walked to the window and gazed toward the outskirts of the city, her lovely brows drawing together slightly.
Just now, she had sensed a somewhat familiar fluctuation of aura. But even after pondering it for a while, she could not place it, forcing her to cast her mind farther back.
At last, she remembered something.
"Oh, it was him."
A smile blossomed across Medusa's face, but she had no intention of pursuing him.
There had never really been much of a grudge between her and Hai Bodong. She had attacked him partly to fight for that Fragmented Map, and partly to weaken the Jia Ma Empire.
After all, the Ice Emperor had already made quite a name for himself following the gathering of experts back then. If left unchecked, he would surely have become another top-tier emperor. For the Snake-People Tribe, struggling to survive in the cracks between stronger powers, that was certainly not good news.
Back then, Medusa had taken Hai Bodong seriously.
Now, however, even encountering him stirred no emotion in her.
From today's chance encounter, she could tell that the Ice Emperor was essentially finished.
As for the Fragmented Map that had sparked the conflict all those years ago, Medusa had long since lost interest in it.
In her view, if the Fragmented Map truly concealed a great opportunity, Hai Bodong would not be in such a miserable state now.
Thus, the Fragmented Map was either meaningless or led to some minor opportunity—useless to a Dou Huang expert, and of little value even to a Dou Ling.
An opportunity like that was not worth wasting her energy on.
By comparison, Queen Medusa was far more interested in the brat who had returned to Stone Desert City and was staying in the nearby inn.
She had followed him from the shadows all day and could say with certainty that he was searching for something in the desert.
That also made Queen Medusa curious. What secret lay hidden in this desert that she had yet to discover?
Before you continue