Chapter 24 An unexpected encounter with Xiao Yan, and contact with the Green Lotus Earth Core Flame!

Chapter 24: A Chance Encounter with Xiao Yan, Contacting the Green Lotus Core Flame!

Under the faint full moon.

Before the eyes of the three, a massive and beautiful snake-woman was chasing a short-haired man carrying a black heavy ruler.

Gu He's lips twitched slightly as he took in the scene.

Enemies truly meet on a narrow path.

Yue Mei, clad in her purple brocade robes, also spotted the three newcomers.

A hint of dread crept into her shocked expression, especially when her gaze landed on Gu He.

At that moment, she could no longer spare any attention for Xiao Yan.

Her figure instantly retreated dozens of meters. She watched the group coldly and sneered,

"What kind of wind is blowing through the desert tonight? Why have experts, who are usually so rare to see, taken a liking to traveling in groups?"

Gu He took a step forward.

"Haha... I didn't expect to encounter a Dou Wang level expert so soon after arriving in the Great Desert."

"I presume Your Excellency must be Yue Mei, the leader of the Mei Clan within the Snake-People Clan?" Gu He stated her name directly.

Yue Mei's heart trembled, her willow-leaf brows furrowing tightly. "Who are you? How do you know my name!?"

"Don't you know this is a Forbidden Ground? How dare you come here in the middle of the night!"

Yue Mei's beautiful rhombic eyes were tinged with a chilling solemnity.

Gu He knew that the conflict between the Snake-People and humans ran deep; sitting down for a peaceful negotiation was essentially impossible.

Thus, he spoke plainly,

"We indeed have some important business in the Tagor Desert. I wonder if Your Excellency Yue Mei could lead us into the depths of the desert to meet your clan's Queen Medusa?"

Yue Mei's beautiful eyes instantly curved into a gorgeous yet dangerous arc.

"Our two races have been at odds for many years; what is there to talk about? If our eight great leaders were to gather, the Ten Great Experts of the Jia Ma Empire would be cut in half!"

Having already manifested his Qi wings and flown into mid-air, Yan Shi's voice boomed like angry thunder,

"Old He, negotiating with the Snake-People is useless! That old fellow Lei Na was plotted against by this Yue Mei!"

Yue Mei sneered, "Has the poison on that old man been cured yet?"

"Thanks to you, the poison is gone, but one arm is completely crippled." A cold glint flashed in Yan Shi's eyes as he glared at Yue Mei.

"Old He, let's just take her down directly! Otherwise, if she escapes, our task will become much harder!" Yan Shi said.

Gu He nodded. "You two, I'll have to trouble you."

Feng Li hesitated for a moment before joining Yan Shi in attacking Yue Mei.

Gu He did not stay idle either. Activating his golden wings formed from Qi, he glanced down at Xiao Yan, who was hiding his presence while carrying the giant ruler.

Then, he set off toward the large tribe situated on the main route.

...

While being pursued by the Dou Wang level Snake-People expert Yue Mei, Xiao Yan had nearly called out to Yao Lao for help.

He hadn't expected to run into three mysterious people.

Upon observation, the identities of the three were revealed to him.

All three were among the Ten Great Experts of the Jia Ma Empire, and one of them was even the man known as the "pill king," Gu He.

After investigating from within the ring, Yao Lao spoke with some surprise,

"This Gu He is actually on the verge of a Breakthrough to Dou Huang!"

"He is currently a Nine-Star Dou Wang..."

"He is a Sixth-Rank Alchemist; he wouldn't come to the desert for fun. He's likely here to seize the Heavenly Flame..." Yao Lao's voice was somewhat grave.

Xiao Yan's heart tightened. "They also know the Green Lotus Core Flame is with Medusa?"

"Most likely."

As Yan Shi, Feng Li, and Yue Mei began their battle, Xiao Yan couldn't help but be drawn into this Dou Wang level fight, intently absorbing the combat experience.

"Snake Technique: Differentiation!"

As the fight reached its Late Stage, Yue Mei's body suddenly trembled, and then, to everyone's astonishment, she abruptly exploded...

Countless dark-green energy snakes surged out in all directions, darting away at high speed.

Yan Shi and Feng Li reacted quickly, striking down most of the energy snakes instantly. However, a portion evaded interception and burrowed into the sand.

Xiao Yan, hiding in the shadows, clicked his tongue.

"Finally got rid of that woman..."

"But... why does it feel like someone is missing..."

Suddenly, his expression changed.

A massive dark-green energy snake erupted from beneath the sand, lunging fiercely toward his throat.

Yan Shi and Feng Li naturally noticed, but since they didn't know Xiao Yan, they did not move to help.

Fortunately, the simple black ring flashed—

The attack was blocked by Yao Lao.

The ferocious energy snake instantly turned into black ash.

Xiao Yan gripped his xuan heavy ruler, his heart pounding with fear.

Seeing that Xiao Yan had dealt with the energy snake, Yan Shi and Feng Li silently set off toward the depths of the desert.

...

"Teacher, you can come out now, right?" Xiao Yan tapped his ring.

The pitch-black, simple ring trembled slightly.

Yao Lao slowly drifted out.

His gaze first swept over the direction where Yan Shi and Feng Li had departed, then he turned to Xiao Yan,

"Don't get distracted in the future, be more careful next time... Also, there is venom on your xuan heavy ruler; remember to deal with it later."

Xiao Yan acknowledged the advice and then voiced his confusion,

"Teacher, where did that Pill King Gu He go?"

Yao Lao's expression turned solemn. His hand tightened as he stroked his white beard, his eyes fixed on the desert depths,

"Not good! I'm afraid he has already gotten a head start on us to find Medusa!"

Xiao Yan's face paled.

...

Gu He had indeed taken the lead.

He masked his aura and flew over the massive tribal fortress.

When passing the heavily guarded watchtower fortress, Gu He used the Dust-Leaving Immortal Steps in mid-air, passing through the defenses effortlessly; even the Flying Beasts failed to notice him.

At the moment Gu He entered the desert depths, Yan Shi and Feng Li began causing a commotion at the outer tribe.

For a time, the Snake-People's attention was entirely on the outer tribal fortress. No Snake-Person could have imagined that Gu He had already reached the innermost part of the desert.

At the center of the depths was a city, within which stood Medusa's temple.

But Gu He knew that the one currently in the central temple was merely Medusa's Clone; her true body was in another temple in the eastern part of the city, and she was preparing to devour the Heavenly Flame to evolve her Bloodline.

Gu He sneaked into the true temple, evaded the patrols, and found the crystal-clear lake.

A small island stood in the middle of the lake, but there were no bridges on the water leading to it.

"Whoosh—"

Gu He wrapped his body in Azure Sea Flame enhanced by purple flame, slowly descending into the bottom of the lake and beginning to swim toward the island.

Bang!

Suddenly, a massive water snake surged up, splashing water everywhere.

Gu He frowned,

"Annoying!"

In the next instant, the giant snake was pierced through by a flick of his finger.

Hiss hiss hiss...

The hideous, giant mouth snapped only for a moment before its life came to a permanent end.

Gu He didn't care for more and continued paddling forward until he stepped onto the island.

The island wasn't very large, planted everywhere with lush bamboo forests and various flowers and herbs. it looked vibrant and possessed a certain beauty.

Sensing the aura of the Heavenly Flame, Gu He walked toward the depths of the island.

Before long, he reached the central area of the island.

Surrounded by a pool of ice spirit cold spring was exactly what he sought: the Green Lotus Core Flame!

Eight green leaves, like the most perfect green jade, formed a lifelike green lotus.

This wisp of Heavenly Flame was slowly rising from a lotus platform carved from crystal.

As the green flames churned, they looked like exceptionally cute little snakes possessed of spirituality.

And to its left was the famous Queen Medusa!