Amid the golden sands—
A series of loud explosions rang out.
A massive energy serpent, shimmering with eerie blue-green light, was blasted out of the sand.
Another fierce strike followed, obliterating the serpent entirely.
"Still not the real one!" Fan Lao said in frustration. That last attack had been his.
"Sigh... In the desert, trying to kill a serpentfolk expert really is difficult. These escape techniques of theirs are troublesome," Gu He said with a bitter smile.
Hearing this, the other experts who were busy hunting down the remaining energy serpents all nodded in agreement. Without large-scale area attacks, there was little they could do against such elusive techniques.
A glint of cold light flashed in Han Feng's eyes. He pointed in a direction and asked,
"Dan King, where does that lead?"
Gu He narrowed his eyes and looked in the direction Han Feng had indicated.
"That way leads straight to the serpentfolk royal city."
"Hmph, trying to mislead us with smoke and mirrors? She's still too naïve to fool this Dou Huang," Han Feng said coldly.
"She's headed straight for the royal city. Let's pursue her!"
Upon hearing this, Fan Lao and the others—who had been misled by Yue Mei's clone technique—revealed cruel smiles.
With a flap of his blood-red wings, Fan Lao was the first to shoot off toward the direction of the serpentfolk capital.
"Time to catch ourselves a little snake!"
Han Feng and the rest followed immediately, transforming into streaks of light as they vanished over the horizon.
Time passed in the blink of an eye.
The desert wind blew gently through the vast wasteland.
On top of the royal city walls, yellow sand drifted in the breeze.
Chen Mo stood beside Queen Medusa, shielding his eyes with his hand as he surveyed the horizon.
The entire serpentfolk capital was now under Level Three alert. Serpentfolk soldiers patrolled the walls, armed with venom-tipped spears and crossbows.
Behind Queen Medusa stood three elders of the serpentfolk, wearing terrifying fanged masks. Their hands were hidden in their black robes, silent and unmoving.
So far, only two of the eight tribal leaders had arrived: Yin Shi, leader of the Yin Serpent Tribe, and Du Qianteng, leader of the Poisonflame Tribe.
Unless the other leaders had anticipated danger and come without being summoned, they wouldn't arrive until morning at the earliest.
Yin Shi and Du Qianteng both stared directly at Chen Mo.
It was their first time seeing his face—the human standing at Her Majesty's side.
"Just a pretty boy," they both thought in unison.
Suddenly, in the northwest, a flash of blood-red light streaked across the sky, followed by a thunderous explosion.
In that instant, a chilling aura of killing intent spread across the air.
Every serpentfolk soldier on the wall instantly tensed, eyes filled with determination.
Chen Mo's brows furrowed.
"Your Majesty, allow me to investigate."
With that, he leapt from the wall.
Just before hitting the ground, a pair of brilliant golden wings burst from his back. With a powerful flap, he stirred up a cloud of yellow sand and shot off toward the northwest.
Many serpentfolk who hadn't seen Chen Mo's abilities before were left stunned.
Under the silver moon—
Amidst the swirling desert sands, Gu He came to a stop and said to Jia Xingtian and Han Feng,
"We're close. The serpentfolk royal city is just ahead. Since I've led you this far, I'll take my leave now."
Gu He had agreed to bring Jia Xingtian to meet Han Feng only out of consideration for Jia Xingtian and Hai Bodong. After all, both of them had once helped him.
Now that Han Feng had taken over, and Gu He had no further chance at obtaining the Heavenly Flame, there was no reason for him to get involved any further.
Though he wanted revenge...
It no longer served his interests.
He had no intention of keeping Gu He around anyway. While Gu He was a Dou Wang, his strength wasn't very impressive—he'd probably need protection if a real fight broke out.
Jia Xingtian and Lei Na gave Gu He a glance, then continued following Han Feng forward.
"Well, well, little snake girl. Where do you think you're running this time?"
Fan Lao trailed after Yue Mei at a moderate distance, watching her flee in exhaustion. He smirked and shouted,
"Alright then, time to send you off!"
He flicked his sleeve, sending a wave of blood-colored Dou Qi surging toward her like a deadly net.
Seeing the bloodlight close in, Yue Mei's expression turned cold. She dove low, flying close to the sand, trying to use the terrain to escape.
But the bloodlight chased after her with eerie precision—as if it had a mind of its own—until it finally struck her pale blue wings with a thunderous impact.
Struck hard, Yue Mei's face turned pale as she let out a muffled groan. Her wings shattered into pieces, and her body plummeted rapidly toward the ground.
Because she'd been flying close to the surface, the momentum caused her to tumble violently, rolling through the sand several times before crashing into a dune with a heavy thud.
Her head popped out of the sand, coughing out a mouthful of blood-mixed grit. Her aura grew weak in an instant.
"Hehehe... Time to die!"
Fan Lao sneered, his blood-colored Dou Qi surging from his body. He clapped his hands together, forming a blood orb the size of a human head.
With a violent hurl, the orb rocketed toward Yue Mei, brimming with a sinister and terrifying energy.
Yue Mei's face was deathly pale, blood trailing from the corner of her lips. Severely wounded and barely conscious, she had no strength to dodge.
She closed her eyes and steadied her breathing.
If I must die... at least let me face it with dignity!
"One Sword Through Time!"
Suddenly, a piercing sound rang out as a streak of wind rushed in from the distance. A moment later, a dazzling sword lotus collided with the blood orb—and exploded.
A powerful energy shockwave surged out above Yue Mei's head.
"Who?!" Fan Lao's face changed dramatically.
In the next moment, a three-foot-long sword wreathed in black mist plunged into the sand right in front of Yue Mei.
Then, a white figure landed gracefully on the sword's hilt, standing tall.
It was a young man with sharp, handsome features dressed in flowing white robes. As Yue Mei looked up, she saw his robe fluttering in the wind, his presence refined and striking.
Yue Mei recognized him. Her expression shifted, her red lips trembling slightly.
"So... you're still alive?" she whispered, emotion stirring in her heart.
Chen Mo glanced back and asked casually,
"You're not dead, are you?"
The comment made Yue Mei want to cough up blood all over again—from pure rage.
"Who are you, brat?" Fan Lao barked.
He was stunned that someone had stopped his attack—especially when that someone had only the aura of a Three-Star Dou Shi.
"Three-Star Dou Huang?" Chen Mo blinked.
Where the hell did you get that idea?
Yue Mei, staring at Chen Mo's back, said in a cold voice,
"Leave now. There are more Dou Huang experts coming right behind him!"
"Then why didn't you say so earlier?!"
Golden wings shot from Chen Mo's back once again. He dove down, wrapped his arms around Yue Mei, and took off toward the royal city.
As he flew, the sword planted in the sand—Demonic Abyss—dissolved into countless fragments of black magical runes and followed behind him in a swirl.
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