18: Fighting against different flames

"Go!"

Her wrist was seized by an undeniable force, coldness and heat strangely intertwined. Medusa didn't even have time to struggle free before the immense power dragged her into the core of the destructive storm!

The savage, bone-chilling wind scraped against the suddenly raised white light shield like a billion ice blades, emitting a grating shriek. In the thick, ink-like intoxicating mist, countless twisted demonic shadows rushed forward, crashing into the light shield, spreading ripples, and letting out howls that pierced the soul.

Inside the light shield, however, there was a strange, momentary calm.

Li Ao's back was right in front of her, his blue cloth robes billowing fiercely in the chaotic energy currents. The right hand gripping her wrist was as steady as an iron clamp, without the slightest tremor. His steps were swift and precise; every step landed in the weakest gaps of the energy storm or on the remnants of restrictions that hadn't completely shattered, as if the path beneath him was not a dead end but a thoroughfare he had already mastered.

How... how could he possibly see through this restriction upheaval that even she could barely make sense of?

The ice in Medusa's purple eyes completely shattered, as shock and disbelief surged like a tide. She was forced to follow his rhythm, her snake tail rapidly gliding over the jagged rocks, feeling the overbearing and scorching body temperature emanating from his palm. A sense of unprecedented, uncontrollable dizziness seized her.

Behind them, Mo Ba Si's roars, mixed with despair and madness, were rapidly swallowed by the storm. The miserable cries of the guards—who were either falling into chaos, killing each other, or being annihilated in the wind and mist—also became distant and unreal.

In her world, only the blue-robed youth pulling her forward, forging ahead fiercely on the edge of death, remained, along with the branding-iron heat on her wrist.

She didn't know how long they traveled; it felt like only an instant, yet also a long century.

Suddenly, the storm and thick mist ahead cleared!

The two rushed out of the death platform and landed on a relatively gentle set of stone steps leading deeper into the canyon. The chaos and destruction behind them were blocked by an invisible boundary, continuing to rage and roar in the platform area but unable to cross the threshold.

Li Ao released her hand.

The scorching sensation on her wrist suddenly vanished, bringing a chilling sense of loss. Medusa subconsciously curled her fingers. The expression on her stunning face was complex and hard to read. She looked at Li Ao, her red lips slightly parted, but she was momentarily speechless.

Li Ao panted slightly, his face even paler than before. Continuously using the limits of the Thunder Sound Steps, precisely navigating the restriction upheaval, and consuming a precious formation-breaking talisman was a huge burden on him. He glanced at the platform behind them, which resembled the entrance to hell, his gaze icy cold.

"Mo Ba Si..." Medusa finally found her voice, suppressing monstrous rage and killing intent beneath her coldness, "He actually dared to..."

"He is dead," Li Ao interrupted her, his tone flat, as if stating an established fact. "Even if he didn't die in that storm, you wouldn't let him live once we get out."

Medusa's purple eyes flashed with coldness, tacitly agreeing with his words. Betraying the clan and attempting to assassinate the Queen was an unforgivable crime!

Her gaze fell on Li Ao again. Her look was completely different now, containing less scrutiny and suspicion, and more of a probing curiosity—and a faint hint of reliance—that she hadn't even noticed herself.

"How were you able to see through those restrictions?" This was her greatest confusion. The restrictions of the Snake-People Clan's Holy City were the culmination of the efforts of successive Queens, profound and unpredictable. Even as the current Queen, she needed to respond cautiously to such a full-scale outbreak of chaos.

Li Ao did not answer, merely raising his uninjured right hand to point at his head, then sitting down cross-legged to regulate his breath. "Recover quickly. The path ahead may not be easy."

He closed his eyes, clearly intending not to continue the topic.

Medusa looked at his cold, stern profile, pushing all her questions back into her heart. She also walked to the side and sat down to regulate her breath. However, her mind could no longer be as calm as before. The life-or-death dash they had just shared, and the lingering warmth on her wrist, felt like a brand deeply etched into her consciousness.

About half an hour later, both opened their eyes. Their breathing had stabilized considerably.

"Let's go." Medusa stood up, her voice regaining its usual cold clarity, but as she led the way down the stone steps, the sway of her purple snake tail seemed to lack some of its usual composure.

Li Ao silently followed.

The subsequent journey was indeed not peaceful, just as Li Ao had expected. Although the chaos created by Mo Ba Si was gone, the restrictions in the core area of the Holy City were inherently denser and more dangerous. Sometimes it was energy blades appearing out of thin air, sometimes quicksand traps suddenly collapsing beneath their feet, and sometimes even auditory and visual hallucinations that acted directly on the soul.

Medusa put all her effort into leading the way, constantly striking out purple seals to defuse crises. Li Ao, meanwhile, remained silent, but whenever a danger exceeded Medusa's expectations or attacked from an extremely tricky angle, he was always able to intervene perfectly. Sometimes it was a sharp finger strike shattering a concealed energy node, sometimes a domineering punch dispersing condensed killing intent. Once, he even yanked Medusa backward abruptly, just as a silent spatial rift grazed the spot where she had been standing moments before.

Every move he made was precise and timely, as if his understanding of the restrictions here surpassed that of Medusa, the Queen!

The shock in Medusa's heart accumulated repeatedly. She began to subconsciously pay attention to his movements, even slowing her pace involuntarily at certain confusing forks in the road, waiting for a glance or a subtle gesture from him.

A strange tacit understanding quietly developed amid the silent peril.

Finally, after passing through an "Shadow Corridor" filled with twisted light and shadow that seemed capable of devouring all light, the view suddenly opened up.

It was a massive underground space. The high dome was inlaid with countless strange, self-illuminating crystals, illuminating the entire space as brightly as day. In the center of the space was a magnificent palace constructed entirely of some kind of black jade. The palace was ancient in design, exuding endless antiquity and majesty. Surrounding the palace stood eight enormous stone pillars, each coiled with a lifelike giant serpent statue, their snake eyes like living things, gazing down.

A tide of Heaven and Earth energy, countless times richer and purer than the outside world, permeated the air; a single breath made one feel refreshed. But at the same time, a mountain-heavy pressure enveloped the space, filling people with awe.

This was the true core of the Snake-People Clan's Holy Land, the place where successive Queens inherited their power and where they rested eternally.

"We've arrived." Medusa stopped, looking at the black palace. Complex emotions—awe, remembrance, and a hint of determination—flickered in her purple eyes. "The Green Lotus Core Flame is sealed within the 'Fire Fusion Secret Realm' deep inside the Sacred Hall. I cannot fully control the restrictions there; I can only use my bloodline and a token to open the passage and attempt to guide its power."

She turned to look at Li Ao, her expression solemn: "After entering the Secret Realm, I will need to focus entirely on communicating with the Exotic Flame, with no time for anything else. The space inside the Secret Realm is extremely unstable, filled with the violent energy leaked from the Exotic Flame, and it might even give birth to some... Fire Spirits. You..."

"I will ensure your safety," Li Ao interrupted her, his tone calm but carrying a convincing certainty. "Until you complete your evolution, or... I take the Exotic Flame."

Medusa gave him a deep look and said no more. She walked up to the Sacred Hall's huge, tightly shut stone door, which was carved with complex serpent patterns. She bit her fingertip, dripping a single drop of purple blood containing tremendous energy into a groove on the door.

"Buzz—!"

The serpent patterns on the stone door seemed to come alive, slowly beginning to writhe, emitting a low, ancient hum. The heavy stone door silently slid inward, revealing a deep passage radiating scorching heat.

"Follow me."

Medusa stepped in first.

Li Ao followed closely behind.

The passage was not long. At its end was a distorted light curtain, rippling like water. Beyond the light curtain, a crimson world was vaguely visible, and the terrifying high temperature stung the skin even through the barrier.

Medusa took a deep breath, formed a seal with her hand, and the purple rhombus crystal above her head reappeared, shooting a beam of purple light into the light curtain.

The light curtain violently fluctuated, slowly opening a gap just wide enough for one person to pass through.

An even more violent heat wave rushed out!

Medusa didn't hesitate, flashing inside.

Li Ao's eyes narrowed. He activated the Thunder Sound Steps and passed through the light curtain almost simultaneously with her!

The scene instantly changed!

It was no longer a cold palace, but a boundless world of crimson magma! Beneath their feet were black reefs floating on the lava. The air was filled with dense fire poison and sulfur fumes, and the searing heat distorted the space itself. In the center of this magma world, an incredibly huge cluster of azure flame slowly pulsed and contracted like a heart. Every pulse caused the space of the entire Secret Realm to tremble, emitting suffocating waves of destruction!

The core source of the Green Lotus Core Flame! It was far larger and more violent than what he had seen in the lava cave before!

Beneath that azure flame cluster, a massive, entirely crimson, lotus-shaped stone platform quietly floated. Engraved on the platform were countless ancient sealing runes, which were currently flickering unsteadily, clearly no longer able to completely restrain the terrifying fire cluster above.

The moment Medusa entered this place, her face instantly turned pale, and her delicate body trembled slightly. The pressure originating from the Exotic Flame's source carried a natural hostility and rejection toward her, the one attempting to "devour" it.

Suppressing her discomfort, she flew onto the crimson stone platform, sat down cross-legged, and rapidly changed her hand seals. The purple crystal above her head burst into light, attempting to establish contact with the Green Lotus Core Flame above and guide its power.

However, the Green Lotus Core Flame seemed to be completely enraged by her actions and suddenly swelled! An azure fire python, ten times thicker and a hundred times more condensed than the one in the lava cave, roared down toward Medusa on the stone platform with the will to incinerate everything!

Simultaneously, the surrounding magma violently churned. Seven or eight Fire Spirits, entirely condensed from pure flame energy and varying in shape, roared as they leaped out of the magma and lunged toward the platform! These Fire Spirits possessed powerful auras; even the weakest were comparable to a Dou Wang!

Crisis descended instantly!

Medusa's pupils constricted. She needed to focus all her energy on communicating with the Exotic Flame and couldn't spare any attention to defend herself!

Just in this critical moment—

A blue-robed figure, like an immovable boulder, blocked the path in front of the stone platform, facing the destructive fire python and the swarm of Fire Spirits head-on!

Li Ao's eyes were sharp as knives, and his fine steel long saber loudly left its sheath!

The Black Iron Hegemon Body, fully activated! A dark black iron luster flowed over his entire body, and a fierce, overbearing aura surged skyward, actually managing to temporarily withstand the monstrous fire might!

Since the injury to his left hand had not healed and he couldn't exert force, he gripped the saber single-handedly, pointing it diagonally forward.

"Your opponent is me."