18: Fighting Master, Yellow Sand Appears, Snake Shadow Chasing Soul

Above the precipice, the cold wind was like a knife.

Lin Chen's cross-legged figure was completely covered by a thick layer of dark blue solid ice, emanating a bone-chilling cold, like an ice sculpture. The surface of the ice layer was covered with spiderweb-like purplish-black cracks, which were traces of the fierce confrontation between Shadow Erosion Dou Qi and the ice spirit cold spring's violent energy. Inside the ice layer, his body was undergoing inhuman tempering and transformation.

Time flowed by in dead silence and extreme cold.

"Crack... crunch..."

Subtle cracking sounds broke the silence of the precipice. On the surface of the dark blue solid ice covering Lin Chen, a crack suddenly widened, and then, like a chain reaction, countless cracks spread out!

"Boom--!"

The solid ice exploded! Countless ice crystal fragments, imbued with purplish-black Dou Qi, shot out like arrows, deeply embedding themselves into the surrounding rocks!

Lin Chen's figure burst out of the ice!

He was still sitting cross-legged, but the Aura around him was completely different! A powerful, condensed, bone-chilling Aura spread out abruptly, like a waking Vicious Beast! The terrifying wounds that had previously covered his body had now healed for the most part, leaving only faint purplish-black scars, like some mysterious totem. His skin showed a tough bronze color, and his muscles were smooth and full of explosive power. The most significant change was in his Dantian—the dim Dou Qi vortex was gone, replaced by a slowly rotating, deep, night-sky-like pitch-black Qi swirl! At the center of the Qi swirl, sticky, ink-like liquid Shadow Erosion Dou Qi dotted it like stars, numbering an astonishing thirty drops! Each drop contained terrifying energy far exceeding what it had before, and the dark purple glow swirling around its edges was deeper, mixed with a hint of pure ice-blue cold Qi!

Dou Master! One-star Dou Master!

With the help of the ice spirit cold spring's vast icy energy and life essence, Lin Chen not only healed the terrifying injuries left by Hai Bodong but also forcefully broke through the barrier in desperation, stepping into a brand new Realm! The nascent Shadow Erosion Dou Qi, fused with the extreme cold Qi of the ice spirit cold spring, became more condensed and overbearing, while also possessing powerful ice-attribute corrosive abilities! Under the protection of the source core fragment's will-annihilating power, although Soul Erosion Guidance still clung to him like a maggot, his Soul also became more condensed and resilient.

Lin Chen slowly opened his eyes. In the depths of his pupils, dark red blood light, dark purple faint glow, and a hint of ice-blue coldness intertwined, like an abyssal vortex, cold, deep, and devoid of any emotion. He looked down at his left wrist; the dark red chain brand seemed to dim slightly the moment he broke through, but the purplish-black poisonous lines still coiled around it, emitting a cold, stinging sensation, like an eternal curse.

"Power..." He slowly clenched his fist, and wisps of deep purple, almost black Dou Qi, mixed with ice-blue cold Qi, seeped between his fingers. The air emitted subtle "hissing" sounds as if being frozen and corroded. Feeling the surging power within his body, Lin Chen's face showed no joy of Breakthrough, only a settled, even colder killing intent and a sense of urgency.

The encounter at the Mittel Auction House was like a wake-up call. Hai Bodong's terrifying pressure, Xiao Yan's undisguised killing intent, and the risk of exposure from that damned Hall of Souls brand... This place, Jia Ma Empire, was no longer a place to stay!

He stood up, his gaze directed beyond the precipice. The distant horizon was no longer the continuous verdure of the Magical Beast Mountain Range but an endless, golden desert, shimmering with heat waves under the scorching sun!

Tagore Desert!

In Yingu Old Man's memory fragments, the vague coordinates of the Hall of Souls's Northwest Branch seemed to point to this sea of death! More importantly, Medusa Queen's Snake-People royal court was also hidden deep within the core of this desert! The purple eyes and cold Aura of death in that poisonous swamp were etched in his memory!

"Tagore... Hall of Souls Branch... Medusa..." Lin Chen's eyes flashed with cold light. Crisis is also opportunity! The Hall of Souls Branch was certainly dangerous, but chaos and danger might also hide an opportunity to remove the brand or increase his strength! And Medusa Queen... if he could seize the opportunity, he might be able to get a share from her entanglement with the strange flame!

He no longer hesitated, his figure flickered, turning into a blurred, deep purplish-black stream of light that almost merged with the light, moving at a speed far exceeding before, rushing towards the vast golden sand sea!

The nascent Shadow Erosion Dou Qi not only gave him greater power, but his ability to conceal himself in shadows and the environment was also greatly enhanced by the Breakthrough.

... ...

A few days later, on the edge of the Tagore Desert, a simple town built of huge rocks—Shimo City.

Wind and sand were the eternal themes here. Dry, hot, and the air filled with the gritty sensation of dust. Lin Chen, wrapped in an inconspicuous grayish-brown cloak, entered the city, dusty from travel. Under the cloak, his Aura was suppressed to the extreme by the Shadow Erosion Dou Qi, like a stubborn rock. The brand on his wrist was also tightly wrapped with a special black cloth strip mixed with snake shed powder and residual poisonous miasma, suppressing its fluctuations to the maximum.

He needed information, about the depths of the desert, about the Snake-People, especially about recent unusual movements.

Inside the town's only tavern, "Sand Scorpion's Tail," the place was bustling with noise, filled with the rough laughter of mercenaries, the smell of cheap ale, and the sour odor of sweat. Lin Chen chose the darkest corner, sat down, and ordered the cheapest strong liquor, like a silent traveler, pricking up his ears to catch the sounds around him.

...Have you heard? A few days ago, those guys from the 'Sand Mercenary Group' suffered a great loss near the Snake-People Oasis! It's said they ran into an elite patrol team of the Snake-People, and the leader was even a Battle Spirit-level Snake-People chief, named... Yue Mei?

Tsk tsk, the Sand Mercenary Group really kicked an iron plate this time! But it's strange, why have the Snake-People's patrols suddenly become so frequent recently? And all led by experts?

Who knows! I heard there's something big happening at the royal court! Even Medusa Queen hasn't shown her face for several months! There are rumors that...

Shh! Silence! Is Snake-People business something we can casually guess about? Be careful of trouble coming from your mouth!

What's there to be afraid of! In this godforsaken place... But seriously, the energy fluctuations deep in the desert have been very strange recently. Sometimes at night, you can see blue and red lights shooting up into the sky, it's quite scary...

Could it be a rare treasure appearing?

Rare treasure? Heh, even if there is one, it's for those big figures and the Snake-People to fight over; it won't be our turn! Better think about how to get more water and get out of this cursed place alive!

Blue and red light? Medusa Queen not showing up for several months? Snake-People patrols strengthened? Lin Chen quickly connected these fragmented pieces of information.

Green Lotus Core Flame! Medusa Queen's evolution ritual!

Yingu Old Man's memories and the original novel's information instantly confirmed it! Medusa Queen was probably undergoing that extremely dangerous evolution with the help of the strange flame at this moment! The strange phenomena deep in the desert were precisely the signs of the collision between the strange flame and the Queen's power! The Snake-People strengthening their patrols was clearly to guard the royal court and prevent external interference!

"The time... has come!" A dark glint flashed in Lin Chen's eyes. Medusa's evolution, the Snake-People's power being restrained, and the royal court's defenses would inevitably have gaps! This was an excellent opportunity to fish in troubled waters, seek clues about the Hall of Souls Branch, and even... try to get a share of the strange flame's residual energy!

He put down the almost untouched wine glass, left a few copper coins, and stood up, preparing to leave the tavern and go deep into the desert.

However, just as he pushed open the creaking wooden door of the tavern and stepped into the scorching wind and sand outside—

"Hiss hiss..."

An extremely faint, yet cold and slimy serpent's hiss, like an invisible thread, instantly wrapped around Lin Chen's eardrums, piercing his Soul! This sound, like the one he heard at the edge of the poisonous swamp back then... was exactly the same! But clearer, and even... closer at hand!

Lin Chen's hairs stood on end instantly! Shadow Erosion Dou Qi instinctively gave a frantic warning! He suddenly looked up!

Diagonally opposite the tavern, in the shadow of a low stone house, a figure enveloped in a large black robe stood silently. The wide hood covered most of his face; only two cold, indifferent, and somewhat playful and probing... purple faint glows could be seen under the shadow of the hood! Like the vertical pupils of a venomous snake!

The lower half of the black-robed figure was hidden in the shadows, but Lin Chen's powerful Soul perception clearly caught that beneath the black robe, it was not human legs, but the outline of a... gently swaying tail covered with fine scales!

Snake-People! And definitely not ordinary Snake-People! That cold, noble, and scrutinizing Aura...

It was that gaze from the edge of the poisonous swamp! It was a powerful expert under Medusa Queen! They actually tracked him here?!

Cold sweat instantly soaked Lin Chen's back! His confidence from having just broken through to Dou Master quickly melted away like thin ice under the scorching sun, under the gaze of this cold stare! How did the other party find him? Was it because of the brand on his wrist? Or... was the lingering Aura from refining the snake shed essence blood sensed by a fellow clan expert?

"Little bug... you hide quite deep." A cold, strangely magnetic female voice, like a venomous snake flicking its tongue, sounded directly in Lin Chen's mind, full of condescending playfulness, "Your Majesty the Queen... is very interested in you. Come with me."

Before she finished speaking, the black-robed Snake-People figure moved slightly, as if merging into the shadows, and a bone-chilling killing intent, like an invisible chain, instantly locked onto Lin Chen! The surrounding space seemed to become viscous!

Escape! He must escape immediately! Before the other party truly made a move!

Lin Chen's eyes burst with a desperate, fierce light! The Shadow Erosion Dou Qi of a one-star Dou Master erupted without reservation! Deep purple, almost black Dou Qi, mixed with ice-blue cold Qi, instantly covered his entire body! He no longer concealed himself, his figure turning into a distorted afterimage, with a piercing sound of breaking air, fleeing desperately towards the depths of the desert!

"Hmph, futile." A cold snort sounded from behind him. The black-robed Snake-People figure disappeared from its original spot as if teleporting, and an even more powerful, even colder Aura, like a maggot clinging to bone, pursued him closely! Its speed far exceeded Lin Chen's!

Outside Shimo City, where yellow sand filled the sky, a new, more dangerous hunt instantly began! The prey was Lin Chen, who had just broken through to Dou Master, and the hunter was a mysterious expert from the Snake-People royal court, with unfathomable strength! The desert's curtain of death had only just begun to open a corner!