28: Breath of the Ruins

Consciousness floated and sank amidst boundless paleness and excruciating pain.

Li Ao felt his bones shattering and his meridians tearing inch by inch, while a cold, deathly silent energy, like a parasitic growth, spread through his body, attempting to freeze his vitality and annihilate his soul. This was the price of forcefully attacking the spatial core and triggering the backlash of the breath of gui xu.

If not for the unparalleled toughness of the Black Iron Hegemon Body, and if not for the mysterious power from the system protecting his heart at the last moment, he would have long since turned into cosmic dust in that silver light explosion.

However, what shook his mind even more than his physical injuries was another completely different kind of weakness and coldness emanating from his palm.

He suddenly opened his eyes, his vision still blurry, but his perception had already captured the extremely faint aura beside him.

Medusa.

She leaned against his side, her once resplendent multicolored hair having lost all its luster, falling dimly like withered vines. Her captivating face was as pale as transparent crystal, as if it would shatter with a mere touch. Her eyes were tightly closed, long lashes drooping weakly, and her breathing was so faint it was almost imperceptible. The majestic pressure of a Dou Zong that once surrounded her had long since dissipated, replaced by the desiccation and deathly stillness of life essence that had been excessively burned.

To protect them both in the spatial storm, she had not hesitated to use her newly stabilized and not yet fully integrated Dou Zong essence, and perhaps even... a portion of the Green Lotus Core Flame's essence!

Li Ao's heart felt as if it had been fiercely squeezed by a cold hand, a suffocating pain spreading through him. He had never imagined that this Snake-People Clan queen, who regarded humans as mere grass and was so arrogant and cold, would go to such lengths for him.

For the Heavenly Flame? In such a desperate situation, abandoning him, her 'collaborator,' and seeking survival alone would have been a choice more aligned with her interests.

Then what was it for?

He painstakingly raised his uninjured right hand and touched her cold cheek. The temperature at his fingertips was so low it startled him.

"System... scan her status!" he roared in his mind, disregarding his own near-collapsing condition.

"Ding! Scanning... Target's vital signs are extremely weak, Dou Zong essence loss exceeds 70%, soul power is severely damaged, Green Lotus Core Flame essence is dissipating and intertwining with host's energy... Status: Dying. Estimated remaining time: Unknown (affected by the rules of this place)."

Dying!

The two words exploded in his mind like a clap of thunder!

He suddenly recalled the system's previous warning about the "breath of gui xu," and that sigh that seemed to come from ancient times... All of this was no accident! This alien space, this bizarre pale stone hall, the core crystal containing spatial rules, and the pale demonic shadow guarding the space... Behind them, there must be a greater secret, involving a higher level of power! It might even be related to the system itself, and the truth of his transmigration!

Fragments of spoilers flashed in his mind—the Fighting Qi Continent was not the only one, there was a vaster world beyond the planes, the disappearance of ancient Dou Emperors, the origin of Heavenly Flames... These vague settings in the original novel now felt like heavy boulders pressing down on his heart. Medusa's near-death state was like an alarm bell, harshly waking him up!

Strength! He needed stronger strength! Not just to crush Xiao Yan, acquire a harem, and dominate the continent! He needed strength sufficient to glimpse the truth of the world, to control his own destiny, to... protect those he cared about! Otherwise, Medusa's tragedy today might befall him tomorrow, or other goals he desired—Nalan Yanran, Yun Yun, Xiao Yi Xian... even that distant, ultimate opportunity belonging to the Flame Emperor!

He couldn't stop here!

A strong will to survive and an obsession to become stronger erupted in his chest like a volcano! He was no longer just getting stronger to complete system tasks, but to possess the power to control his own destiny and the destinies of those around him!

"Save her! No matter the cost!" Li Ao growled at the system, his eyes burning with a crazy flame.

"Warning: host's own condition is extremely poor, forced treatment may lead to the collapse of host's own essence. Furthermore, the target's injuries involve rule-level backlash, and conventional methods are ineffective. Recommended plan: Use the host's Black Iron Hegemon Body essence and blood as a guide, combined with the system's stored energy, to perform 'Life Resonance,' forcefully stabilizing her soul and vitality, but the success rate is less than 30%, and it will cause permanent foundational damage to the host."

"Execute!"

Without a moment's hesitation!

Li Ao suddenly sat up, disregarding the excruciating pain of his bones feeling like they would crack, and carefully propped up Medusa's cold, limp body, letting her lean against his chest. He placed his hands on her back and dantian, frantically squeezing and extracting the remaining essence and blood from his Black Iron Hegemon Body, mixing it with the last bit of stored energy in the system space. It transformed into a scorching and domineering torrent of life, pouring into Medusa's almost lifeless body with reckless abandon!

"Ugh ah—!"

An indescribable pain instantly engulfed Li Ao! He felt his life being ignited, burning away rapidly! Blood seeped from his skin again, and blood vessels burst from all seven orifices, making him look like a porcelain doll about to shatter. But the madness and determination in his eyes were as unyielding as a rock!

As the scorching vitality surged in, Medusa's cold body trembled slightly, and an extremely abnormal flush appeared on her pale face. The flickering flame of life within her, stimulated by this domineering external force, suddenly pulsed like a spark thrown into boiling oil!

But immediately after, a more intense conflict erupted!

The residual, deathly silent rule power from the "breath of gui xu" within her, and the life-filled Black Iron Hegemon Body essence and blood and system energy that Li Ao poured in, clashed like fire and water, engaging in a furious struggle and annihilation within her meridians!

"Pfft—!"

Medusa suddenly spat out a mouthful of black, icy clotted blood, and her body began to twitch violently!

Li Ao held her tightly, letting the black foul blood splash onto him, his hands, which were infusing life, remained as steady as a rock, even increasing the intensity of the output! He was using his own life to forcibly contend with that bizarre rule backlash!

"Hold on... you have to hold on!" he growled at the semi-conscious Medusa in his arms, his voice hoarse like sandpaper rubbing, "Aren't you going to lead the Snake-People Clan to rise? Don't you want stronger power? If you die like this, are you worthy of your clansmen? Are you worthy of your burning essence?!"

Perhaps hearing his words, or perhaps sensing his desperate protection, Medusa's twitching body gradually calmed down. She laboriously, extremely slowly, lifted her heavy eyelids.

Reflected in her blurry vision was Li Ao's face, close at hand, covered in blood and madness. Blood continuously overflowed from the corners of his mouth, yet his eyes were frighteningly bright, as if two hellfires were burning within them.

Their eyes met.

There were no words.

In Medusa's pale eyes, his current disheveled yet incredibly determined appearance was reflected. An unprecedented, extremely complex emotion, like a bursting flood, broke through all her mental defenses. Shock, incomprehension, bewilderment, and... a stirring she had never experienced in hundreds of years, of being so cherished, so desperately protected.

She slowly, using her last ounce of strength, raised her cold hand and gently placed it on the back of his equally cold and blood-stained hand, which was pressed against her dantian.

The faint response from her fingertips invigorated Li Ao!

He stopped speaking, fully guiding the raging vitality to contend, neutralize, and wear down the deathly silent rules... Time flowed in this silent, tragic tug-of-war.

He didn't know how long it had been, it felt like a century.

The raging deathly silent rule power within Medusa was finally temporarily suppressed and largely dispelled by Li Ao's almost self-destructive infusion of vitality. Her pale complexion regained an extremely faint hint of life, and though her breathing remained weak, it was no longer intermittent.

Li Ao felt her vitality finally stabilize and stop draining, and his tightly strung mind suddenly relaxed. The frantic will that had supported him receded like a tide, and extreme weakness and intense pain instantly engulfed him.

His vision went black, and he could no longer support himself, collapsing onto the cold, hard pale ground with Medusa in his arms.

In the moment before he completely lost consciousness, the only thing he could do was hold her even tighter, using his body to shield her from the cold of this deathly silent space... When Li Ao regained a trace of consciousness, the first thing he felt was the faint but real warmth emanating from the body in his arms.

He laboriously opened his eyes and looked down.

Medusa was still unconscious, curled up in his arms, a very faint flush of color on her pale face, and her breathing was much more stable. The green flame lotus imprint on her forehead, though still dim, no longer looked as lifeless as before. Her dim multicolored long hair also seemed to have regained a very subtle luster.

She was alive.

This realization allowed Li Ao's constantly anxious heart to finally settle. What followed was an overwhelming wave of weakness and intense pain. He felt as if he had been completely hollowed out, without even the strength to move a finger. The system interface remained dim, barely able to maintain his most basic vital signs.

He leaned against the cold stone pillar, holding Medusa, like two stone sculptures relying on each other for survival.

Recalling his previous madness, he felt no regret. Medusa could not die. Not only because of the Heavenly Flame, not only because of that indescribable stirring, but also because her existence was an important piece of the puzzle for him to verify his own path and glimpse higher levels of power. Her background—Queen of the Snake-People Clan, ancient bloodline, Heavenly Flame fuser—itself contained immense secrets and value. Saving her outweighed the disadvantages.

Of course, the protective urge that uncontrollably surged forth at the brink of death was also real. This subtly changed his definition of 'power.' Power purely for domination and plunder was empty. Only power with a heart of protection could truly be impregnable and go further.

He looked at the quiet sleeping face of the woman in his arms, her brows, stripped of their usual majesty and sternness, revealing a breathtaking fragility and softness. He reached out, his fingertips gently brushing her cool cheek, his movements unprecedentedly gentle.

"The Queen of the Snake-People Clan... is actually more... than I imagined," he murmured softly to himself, the rest of his words dissipating at his lips, turning into an almost inaudible sigh.

Perhaps, on the path to dominating the Dou Qi Continent, besides crushing and seizing, there could be another way.

Just then, Medusa's long eyelashes trembled, and she slowly opened her eyes.

The multicolored brilliance had not yet returned to those eyes, which still held a hint of weakness and confusion. She first looked around somewhat puzzled, then her gaze fell upon Li Ao's face, close at hand.

Their eyes met again.

There was no longer the previous tension, no calculations or probing, and no madness of life and death. Only the calm of surviving a catastrophe, and the complex emotions that had sprouted in despair and could no longer be ignored.

Medusa looked at his pale face, at the still-wet bloodstains on his body, felt the vitality within her that had been forcefully stabilized, and the domineering yet gentle power belonging to him that subtly intertwined with her own aura... She understood everything.

She didn't speak, just quietly looked at him, and in the depths of her multicolored eyes, it was as if ice and snow were melting, and spring waters were beginning to flow.

Li Ao also didn't speak, he merely withdrew the hand that had gently caressed her cheek, his gaze calmly meeting hers.

In this pale wasteland forgotten by the world, two powerhouses from different races, bearing different missions, had their relationship profoundly changed by a sudden spatial storm and a desperate act of mutual protection.

The road ahead was still unknown, dangers still lurked everywhere.

But some seeds, once planted, are destined to take root and sprout, until they become towering trees.

Li Ao felt the hollow weakness within him, and looking at the queen in his arms who relied on his body temperature, a sharp glint flashed in his eyes.

Strength... he needed to improve his strength faster!

To leave this place, to seize the Heavenly Flame, and also... to be able to face everything that had subtly changed.

He closed his eyes and began to fully circulate the only remaining trace of power from the Black Iron Hegemon Body, simultaneously communicating with the dormant system, trying to find an opportunity to recover quickly and even break through.

Medusa looked at his closed eyes, his profile showing determination and perseverance, and gently rested her head on his not-so-broad but inexplicably comforting chest. She also closed her eyes, beginning to guide the trace of vitality he had given her, slowly repairing her damaged essence.

Pale, deathly silent.

But in this desperate color, something was breaking through the earth, tough and tenacious.

(Li Ao's inner monologue: Medusa's background is definitely not simple. The ancient secrets of the Snake-People Clan, the rules behind the Heavenly Flames... and that damned spatial storm and the "breath of gui xu"—all of this points to a vaster world beyond the Fighting Qi Continent. Xiao Yan has Yao Lao and the Burning Technique, and with me, a world bug, his growth trajectory will inevitably change. I must be faster! Nalan Yanran, Yun Yun... those key characters and opportunities from the original novel, I must get to them first! System, give me more missions, faster ways to get stronger! This body, the potential of the Black Iron Hegemon Body, is far from being fully exploited!)

(Medusa's inner whisper: Human... Li Ao... who exactly are you? How can you make this Queen...? Never mind. If I can survive this time, the grievances between the Snake-People Clan and you may need to be re-evaluated. The Heavenly Flame... perhaps it's not entirely non-negotiable. But, snakes and humans, are we truly... destined to walk different paths?)