22: Demonic Poison Sand Scorpion

The desert night was torn open by the bonfire, revealing a small patch of warm orange-red.

Medusa sat cross-legged beside the fire. Her multicolored gaze reflected the flickering flames, appearing and disappearing.

She had changed into a new purple brocade robe, concealing the disarray caused by the burning during her evolution. However, the cyan flame lotus mark on her forehead, along with the faint pressure around her that subtly drew upon the energy of heaven and earth, all announced that she was a completely different existence—a newly advanced Dou Zong.

Li Ao sat in the shadow opposite her, leaning against the cold rock. His long refined-steel saber lay across his knees, its cracked blade reflecting the faint light of the bonfire.

His eyes were closed, his breathing steady. He seemed to have entered a meditative state, repairing the last of the hidden injuries within his body.

His blue cloth garment was still damaged, but it could not conceal the gradually recovering, fluid, and powerful lines beneath it, resembling those of a leopard.

Between the two of them, separated by the bonfire, was also a subtle and delicate distance.

Suddenly, Li Ao's brow furrowed almost imperceptibly, and his nostrils twitched, as if he had smelled something.

Almost simultaneously, Medusa also snapped her eyes open, her multicolored radiance suddenly sharp as she swept her gaze toward the dark dune ahead and to the side! "What is it?"

Her voice, carrying the unique dignity of a Dou Zong, echoed through the silent night.

"Shasha—shasha—"

A faint, scalp-numbing scraping sound came from all directions, drawing closer and quickly becoming dense! It was as if countless feet were simultaneously scratching the sand grains!

At the edge of the bonfire's light, the darkness began to writhe like a living thing! Fist-sized scorpions, completely jet-black with glossy carapaces and tails raised, flashing with a faint blue cold light, surged out from beneath the sand layer like a tide! Their eyes were two points of crimson, locked firmly onto the two people beside the bonfire, moving at astonishing speed!

"Demonic Poison Sand Scorpions!" A trace of solemnity flashed in Medusa's multicolored eyes. The individual strength of this type of communal Demonic Beast was only equivalent to that of a human Dou Master, but their numbers were terrifying, they were fearless of death, and the neurotoxin contained in their tail stings was enough to make even a Dou King wary! Judging by the scale, there were likely at least several thousand! They were clearly drawn by the residual, not-yet-fully-stabilized exotic flame energy and blood scent remaining on the two people.

"Hiss—!"

The scorpion swarm emitted a grating hiss, instantly surging forward like a black tide! Sharp pincers opened and closed, and faint blue tail stings, like the horns of death, stabbed from every angle!

Medusa let out a cold snort. She lightly raised her jade hand, not even needing to form a seal. Multicolored radiance subtly flowed around her body, and an invisible energy field spread out, centered on her!

The hundred or so Demonic Poison Sand Scorpions leading the charge instantly smashed against an invisible iron wall the moment they entered the energy field. Their carapaces shattered, fluids sprayed, and they were instantly killed!

The might of a Dou Zong was terrifying!

However, the swarm behind them seemed devoid of fear, still surging forward one after another! Their numbers were too vast, and they were extremely cunning. Many attempted to burrow up from underground or launch attacks from the flanks and rear!

Medusa's multicolored gaze was cool and aloof. The energy field was as stable as a mountain, crushing every approaching scorpion.

But her brow furrowed slightly. Although these ants could not harm her, their ceaseless numbers and persistent harassment would inevitably interfere with her consolidating her Realm, and furthermore... she glanced at Li Ao, who was still sitting with his eyes closed, regulating his breath.

It was at this moment that a new anomaly occurred!

The sand beside the bonfire suddenly exploded! A black shadow, several times thicker than an ordinary sand scorpion, shot out! Its size was comparable to a hunting dog, its carapace displayed a metallic, dark luster, and its tail sting was no longer faint blue but an eerie purple-black. The energy fluctuation it emitted had clearly reached the level of a Dou King Peak!

The ruler of the scorpion swarm—the Scorpion Queen!

It clearly possessed a high degree of intelligence; it did not directly charge Medusa's energy field but instead chose the seemingly weakest link—Li Ao, who appeared completely defenseless in the shadow of the bonfire!

Its speed was like black lightning. The purple-black tail sting, accompanied by a piercing sound of rushing air, aimed straight for Li Ao's back! At the tip of the sting, space itself showed subtle distortion, clearly indicating extreme toxicity!

"Watch out!"

The cold light in Medusa's multicolored eyes flared. Almost subconsciously, she violently pushed her jade hand forward! A condensed multicolored energy ribbon struck later but arrived sooner, like a rainbow bridge, instantly spanning several yards and accurately slamming toward the Scorpion Queen's head!

However, the Scorpion Queen was unusually cunning. Just as the multicolored ribbon was about to hit, its massive body twisted violently, avoiding the vital spot in a posture that defied common sense!

The multicolored ribbon grazed its carapace, tearing half of it away, causing dark green fluid to splash out, but failing to kill it in one strike!

And its purple-black tail sting, its momentum undiminished, continued its vicious stab toward Li Ao!

Just as the highly toxic tail sting was about to touch Li Ao's clothes—

Li Ao, who had been regulating his breath with his eyes closed, suddenly opened them!

In his eyes, there was no panic, no surprise, only a cold tranquility, like ten thousand years of profound ice!

He didn't even turn his head.

His right hand, holding the saber, moved faster than the limit of vision! With just a slight flick of his wrist, the cracked refined-steel saber on his knee sprang up half a foot, as if it had a life of its own!

"Clang!"

A metallic tremor so slight it was almost negligible.

That long saber, which looked like it might shatter at any moment, used the tip of its hilt to strike the side of the Scorpion Queen's purple-black tail sting, exactly seven inches from the tip, with an angle of exquisite perfection!

That spot was the weakest and most crucial node for the transmission of the poison needle's force!

"Puff!"

The Scorpion Queen's inevitable strike, as if its death point had been struck, instantly had its concentrated power dissipate! The purple-black tail sting uncontrollably deviated to the side, plunging viciously into the sand beside Li Ao, corroding a sizzling, deep pit!

And Li Ao, utilizing the slight rebound force transmitted through the hilt, rotated half a circle smoothly along the ground as if weightless, turning from having his back to the Scorpion Queen to facing her side.

Only then did the strong wind generated by Medusa's angry multicolored ribbon stir the hair on Li Ao's forehead.

The Scorpion Queen let out a sharp, painful hiss, clearly not expecting this seemingly weak human to possess such strangely precise methods! It instinctively wanted to retreat.

But Li Ao did not give it the chance.

As his body rotated, his empty left hand, with fingers held together like a blade, flashed with a dark iron luster at the fingertip. Carrying a sharpness capable of severing everything, it struck later but arrived sooner, like a venomous snake darting out, precisely touching the fractured wound on the Scorpion Queen's carapace that had been exposed due to its injury!

"Sizzle—!"

There was no grand display of power, only a slight sound, like a hot knife slicing through butter.

That extremely condensed, sharp finger force instantly penetrated its body, ruthlessly destroying all life force within the Scorpion Queen!

The Scorpion Queen's massive body suddenly stiffened, the light in its crimson compound eyes rapidly dimmed, and then it softly collapsed onto the ground, utterly silent.

From the Scorpion Queen's sudden ambush to its casual counter-killing by Li Ao, the entire process occurred in the blink of an eye!

Fast! Precise! Ruthless!

A slaughter that was almost artistic!

Having lost the Scorpion Queen's command, the surrounding surging scorpion swarm immediately fell into chaos. Their hisses became disorganized, and their offensive slowed down.

With a wave of Medusa's hand, the multicolored energy field expanded again, clearing out a section of the remaining sand scorpions.

Safety was temporarily restored beside the bonfire.

She stood rooted to the spot, her multicolored gaze fixed on Li Ao, watching him slowly withdraw his stance and place the cracked long saber back across his knees, as if he had merely swatted a fly.

His cold, stern face remained expressionless, yet deep in his eyes, a faint trace of discomfort, arising from the movement of his muscles aggravating his injuries, seemed to flash past.

But Medusa's heart could not be calm.

Just now... she had acted subconsciously.

With her current Dou Zong strength, she could have easily protected them both, but the instant the Scorpion Queen ambushed Li Ao, an almost instinctive reaction made her strike without thinking.

And he... had already perceived everything?

That absolute calmness maintained even at the brink of death, that outrageously precise combat instinct, that effortless technique that turned decay into magic... just how many secrets was this human hiding?

Li Ao raised his eyes, meeting her complex and inscrutable gaze, and said flatly, "Thank you."

He was referring to her strike that intercepted the Scorpion Queen just now.

Medusa was slightly taken aback, and then a strange emotion welled up in her heart.

She pursed her red lips, her multicolored gaze shifting to the flickering flames of the bonfire. Her voice carried a hint of strangeness that she herself hadn't noticed: "...This King merely didn't want you to die too easily; the exotic flame hasn't been obtained yet."

Li Ao looked at her slightly averted face, whose features appeared increasingly soft under the firelight, and the faint blush that quietly crept onto her jade-like earlobe. He did not expose her clumsy excuse.

He closed his eyes again and continued regulating his breath.

Only the corner of his mouth seemed just a fraction softer than before.

The bonfire crackled, illuminating their silent figures.

The desert night was still long.

And certain things quietly taking root seemed even more profound and inscrutable than the night itself.