In the underground cavern, Medusa stood on a rock formation, gazing at the boundless sea of magma before her, hesitating over whether to go up and investigate.
If she went up, and the intruder was weak enough for Yue Mei to handle, it would be a waste of time.
If she did not go up, and the intruder was stronger than Yue Mei, while she rashly entered the magma and weakened herself, the situation would instantly take a turn for the worse.
After a brief analysis, Medusa made the right decision.
She had to go up!
Obtaining the Heavenly Flame would injure her. If someone attacked her at that moment, she would be in trouble.
To be safe, even if it cost her some time, she had to go up and eliminate this unfamiliar enemy.
Medusa immediately set off.
Meanwhile, out in the desert.
Xiao Ce was fighting three Dou Ling and more than a dozen Da Dou Shi from the Snake-People Tribe.
His physique rivaled that of a Sixth Rank Magical Beast, giving him enough actual combat strength to contend with an ordinary fifth-rank Magical Beast. Naturally, three Dou Ling and a dozen or so Da Dou Shi Snake-People were no match for him.
Xiao Ce executed the Flowing Wind Shadow-Stealing Step. With a single step, he seemed to have used a cloning technique, instantly producing more than a dozen afterimages that attacked all the Snake-People.
The Snake-People were alarmed. One after another, they unleashed their strongest attacks at Xiao Ce's afterimages, disregarding their Dou Qi expenditure.
Dodging and weaving, Xiao Ce reached a Dou Ling guard. Flames compressed and gathered in his hand as he unleashed the Blazing Flame Sky-Splitting Palm, striking with his palm.
"Aah!" A Dou Ling guard screamed. A charred, palm-shaped mark appeared across his waist and abdomen, and his entire serpentine body flew backward, leaving him unable to resist.
After the other Snake-People guards launched their attacks, the Xiao Ce before them instantly dissipated. They immediately realized these were only afterimages, but it was already too late.
Xiao Ce repeated the same trick, attacking the other two Dou Ling guards.
Two palm strikes later, the remaining Dou Ling guards had also failed to escape his clutches and lost the ability to resist.
Only the Da Dou Shi serpent-bodied guards remained standing, huddled together as they watched Xiao Ce nervously.
Just as Xiao Ce was about to finish them all off in one push, a terrifying aura carrying boundless killing intent entered his perception from within the pit.
Without the slightest hesitation, he pushed the Flowing Wind Shadow-Stealing Step to its limit and darted more than a dozen meters sideways.
Boom!
After the tremendous crash, Xiao Ce turned to look. A massive crater had appeared in the sand where he had stood.
He turned toward the exit of the deep pit, and a figure with an utterly voluptuous bearing entered his sight.
Sultry allure!
That was Xiao Ce's first impression.
The snake-woman before him was the embodiment of lust, her exquisite features like a master sculptor's work, her brows and eyes naturally carrying a soul-stealing allure.
Her breasts were neither too large nor too small, perky yet soft, fair and tender.
Her waist was slender, its contours shaped by a little muscle, without a trace of excess flesh, beautiful to the utmost.
Even Xiao Yi Xian's waist could only just match hers.
Xiao Ce was certain that the snake-woman before him possessed beauty enough to set several empires at war.
"Human! You dare injure my Snake-People subjects? You're courting death!" Seeing Yue Mei and the three Dou Ling guards in the distance, all unable to fight, the killing intent in Medusa's eyes intensified.
Xiao Se was briefly captivated by Medusa's beauty, then quickly broke free and watched her warily.
Although his physique rivaled that of a Sixth Rank Magical Beast, that did not mean his actual combat ability matched one. Besides their formidable bodies, Sixth Rank Magical Beasts also possessed considerable reserves of Dou Qi. Only the combination of the two gave them strength surpassing Dou Emperors of the same rank.
He possessed only the physique of a Sixth Rank Magical Beast, lacking equivalent Dou Qi. Naturally, his strength could not be compared to theirs.
Moreover, Medusa before him stood at the pinnacle of Sixth Rank Magical Beasts, her cultivation already at Peak Dou Emperor.
"Father, do you want me to deal with her?" The Ninth Grade Golden Pill's voice reached his ears.
Xiao Ce shook his head slightly, declining the Ninth Grade Golden Pill's offer to act.
Although he was no match for Medusa, his Sixth Rank physique would ensure he could hold out for a while.
When he had fought Yue Mei earlier, he had caught her off guard, relying on the Breath-Concealing Technique to defeat her in a single blow, gaining little combat experience. Fighting Medusa, on the other hand, would let him properly hone himself.
In the distance, Medusa had no idea that a single decision from Xiao Ce had spared her from death.
She gathered her Dou Qi and shot two purple venomous snakes toward Xiao Ce.
The purple venomous snakes rushed toward him, intertwining. Naturally, Xiao Ce would not be foolish enough to take them head-on. He extended his palm, and the scarlet Myriad Beast Spirit Flame, driven by his Dou Qi, swept toward the two little purple snakes.
Under the Heavenly Flame's intense heat, the two little purple snakes did not last long before bursting into Dou Qi energy and dissipating with a bang.
After dealing with the venomous snakes, Xiao Ce immediately withdrew the Myriad Beast Spirit Flame. Nearly a fifth of the Dou Qi in his body had already been depleted.
Medusa did not know how much Xiao Ce had expended. Seeing him deal with her attack so easily, her expression grew serious.
Xiao Ce knew that he would definitely be at a disadvantage in an exchange of ranged attacks. He pushed off hard, shooting forward to reach Medusa.
As queen of the Snake-People Tribe, Medusa had undergone comprehensive training. Whether in ranged attacks or close combat, she had no shortcomings.
Facing Xiao Ce's close-range attack, she raised her hands to block. Feeling his formidable physique, almost equal to her own, she was slightly surprised.
Xiao Ce closed in on Medusa and exchanged blows with her, fist against fist, elbow against elbow.
He drove his knee toward Medusa's lower abdomen. Medusa twisted aside and immediately retaliated with her snake tail, while he seized the opportunity to grab her thick, smooth tail and wrap it around his waist, pressing in toward her upper body.
Startled, Medusa gathered Dou Qi in both hands and slammed them viciously toward Xiao Ce's chest.
Xiao Ce met them head-on with both hands, his body sinking slightly. Reinforced by Dou Qi, Medusa's physique was much stronger than his.
As they struggled against each other, fine beads of sweat appeared on Xiao Ce's forehead.
Knowing that he would inevitably lose if this continued, Xiao Ce simply went with the momentum, interlocking his hands with Medusa's before thrusting his head forward.
Under Medusa's gaze, so shocked that she was somewhat dazed, he nudged her covering aside with his mouth. Looking at that astonishing weak point, he opened his mouth and bit down.
"Aah!" Medusa let out an agonized cry. Her snake tail erupted with all her strength, nearly severing Xiao Ce at the waist.
She pulled her hands free and put her covering back in place, then struck Xiao Ce's chest with both palms in succession, sending him flying.
Xiao Ce fell onto a sand dune. A sweet taste rose in his mouth, and he spat out a mouthful of blood, his internal organs ruptured by Medusa's two palm strikes.
Fortunately, the Three Thousand Star Body took effect, rapidly healing the injuries inside him. Within a few breaths, Xiao Ce regained his strength and pushed against the sand to stand.
Now, Medusa clutched one of her lethal weapons, looking at Xiao Ce as though she wished to strip away his flesh and blood and torture him to death.
"I will kill you!" Medusa mobilized all her Dou Qi, no longer caring that she still had to seek the Heavenly Flame in the underground magma afterward. She was determined to kill Xiao Ce right then.
Xiao Ce neither dodged nor evaded. He knew that he would not need to act next.
Sure enough, just before Medusa's attack could land on him, an incomparably vast surge of Dou Qi suddenly poured out of the Ninth Grade Golden Pill.
Medusa's attack dissipated outright before it could reach Xiao Ce.
Xiao Ce: If you've got the guts, take it up with my demon king bodyguard.
Before you continue