A terrifying aura erupted from Gu He and the Scarlet Flame Demon Python, engulfing the Snake-People race atop the city walls.
Mo Ba Si and Yue Mei shuddered under the overwhelming pressure, their bodies trembling uncontrollably. To their horror, they realized they couldn't muster even the slightest resistance.
"This… Could it be… the power of a Ancestor?!"
Even Queen Medusa's icy composure wavered. Though she had anticipated this, the sheer force radiating from Gu He sent a ripple of doubt through her heart.
"Did I make a mistake…?"
But then, the ancient texts of the Snake-People race flashed through her mind—the legendary benefits of evolving with a heavenly flame. Her cold eyes hardened with resolve.
"The heavenly flame… must not be relinquished!"
In the next moment, her voice rang out, sharp and commanding, across the Medusa Temple.
"Elders, I request your aid!"
As her words faded, four overwhelming auras erupted from the temple. Four shadowy figures shot into the sky, landing swiftly upon the city walls. Suspended mid-air, their aged faces came into view.
Mo Ba Si and Yue Mei gasped in astonishment before their shock turned to exhilaration.
"The Four Elders have taken action!"
Perhaps the Snake-People still had a chance in this battle!
Queen Medusa showed a faint smile. With the Elders joining the fray, her confidence surged.
Gu He's gaze swept over them.
As expected, all four had reached the pinnacle of the Nine-Star Dou Emperor realm. Their auras were potent, but he could sense the truth—their life force was nearly spent. After this battle, they would likely perish.
The central elder, an old woman with piercing serpentine eyes, locked onto Gu He. A chilling pressure coiled around him like an invisible python.
The other three elders snapped their eyes open in unison.
Their combined dou qi coalesced into a massive, inky-black serpent hovering in the air, its cold gaze fixed on Gu He. The weight of their oppression bore down on him like a mountain.
Gu He's expression darkened. With a sharp cry, violet flames erupted around him, scorching away the cold. The phantom serpent disintegrated into nothingness.
"That's… a heavenly flame?!"
The old woman's murky eyes flickered with surprise. She dispersed the remaining dou qi and spoke, her voice grating like stone on glass:
"Since you already possess a heavenly flame, why covet our Queen's?"
Gu He ignored her question. At this point, words were meaningless.
The Green Lotus Heart Flame was his objective and he would take it.
His lips curled into a sneer as he glanced between the elders and Queen Medusa.
"Queen Medusa, do you truly believe these dying relics can protect you and your treasure?"
Her heart lurched, but before she could respond, one of the elders snarled in outrage.
"Arrogant fool!" The other three elders' faces darkened with fury.
Gu He met their glares indifferently.
"Pathetic relics clinging to their last breaths."
Then—he vanished.
The Snake-People's pupils contracted.
In the span of a breath, Gu He reappeared directly before one of the elders. His palm blazed with condensed dou qi, and with a thunderous impact, he struck the snake-human elder in the chest.
When Gu He's palm strike was mere inches from the elder's chest, a terrifying surge of dou qi erupted. The sheer force tore through the air with a piercing shriek, leaving faint ripples in its wake.
"Hmph!"
At such close range, the elder had no time to evade—he could only brace himself.
A devastating impact slammed into his chest, caving it inward. The force sent him stumbling back several steps before he violently wrenched his body to a halt.
"Pfft—!"
The moment he steadied himself, a thick spray of blood burst from his lips.
In a single exchange, Gu He had grievously wounded one of the Snake-People's revered elders.
Yet as the injured elder staggered back, Gu He's brow furrowed. His soul perception flared—two other elders were already lunging at him from the right.
A sinister hiss escaped their lips as bloody light coalesced around their palms.
In an instant, the dou qi solidified into a massive, razor-sharp serpentine phantom that sliced through the sky, leaving faint afterimages in its wake as it lunged for Gu He.
"Hmph. Petty tricks."
Gu He's expression remained cold. With a flicker of disdain in his eyes, his hands blurred through a series of intricate seals. A colossal palm imprint materialized, radiating overwhelming force.
Unlike their flashy technique, his strike carried sheer, crushing weight. The surrounding space warped under its pressure, the air collapsing inward as an invisible shockwave formed—accompanied by a deafening sonic boom.
"Boom—!"
The palm and serpent collided midair, unleashing a metallic clangor that reverberated across the battlefield. Those with weaker cultivation clutched their ears in agony as the sound pierced their eardrums.
At the point of impact, violent dou qi rippled outward like tidal waves. Both forces rebounded, sending their casters skidding back several feet.
Horror flashed in the two elders' eyes. A razor-sharp dou qi had infiltrated their bodies, threatening to tear them apart from within.
Before they could recover, Gu He vanished again.
One elder's face twisted in panic as realization struck.
"Fourth Elder—watch out!"
But it was too late.
The last uninjured elder barely had time to register Gu He's presence before a flaming palm strike hammered into her.
"Krak—BOOM!"
A thunderous detonation shook the surrounding as a fiery shockwave erupted.
"Gah—!"
A figure spewed blood midair before plummeting like a broken-winged bird.
Silence.
Absolute silence gripped the battlefield.
On the walls, Yue Mei and Mo Ba Si stood frozen, their minds struggling to process what they'd just witnessed. When comprehension finally struck, sheer terror flooded their expressions.
"The Four Elders… lost? Just like that?"
A single clash.
That was all it took.
This silver-masked human hadn't even used a dou technique—just raw dou qi—and yet he'd crushed them effortlessly.
Queen Medusa's beautiful face paled.
Now, she understood.
She had gravely underestimated this human.
To defeat all four elders in moments…
"He's a definitely a Dou Ancestor."
It wasn't that her elders were weak—it was that he stood on an entirely different level.
"His speed is monstrous! Stop engaging him alone—activate the Five‑Snake Poison Breaking Seal!"
The gray-robed Great Elder barked, her voice laced with urgency.
At her command, the remaining three elders snapped into action, swiftly regrouping.
The Elder's hands flew through a dazzling series of hand seals. As they formed, an eerie cyan light pooled in her palms.
The others mirrored her movements with practiced precision—this was a technique they'd rehearsed countless times.
As their dou qi intertwined, a faint luminous barrier materialized around them, shielding against sudden assaults.
Gu He hovered midair, watching with mild interest as their combined power swelled.
He'd long heard of the Snake-People's unique fusion techniques—abilities that pooled multiple fighters' strengths to challenge higher-tier opponents.
"An Earth-level fusion skill…"
Such Dou Techniques were among their race's most guarded secrets, reserved only for their highest elders.
"Five‑Snake Poison Breaking Seal—Unleash!"
The Elder's voice boomed across the battlefield.
In an instant, the palms of the four Nine-Star Dou Emperor powerhouses blazed with an eerie emerald light. Four colossal pillars of venomous dou qi erupted from their hands, each several feet wide, twisting and intertwining in midair.
Within moments, the four streams fused into a single, monstrous energy column that towered into the sky. The desert winds howled in response, carrying a suffocating, bloodthirsty aura.
Then—the column writhed.
"Hiss—!"
The dou qi contorted, morphing into a gargantuan green serpent, its body stretching over a hundred feet long.
The moment it took form, the winds intensified, swirling around the serpent in visible cyclones. The very air trembled under its malevolent presence.
Gu He's eyes finally flickered with surprise.
"To think four Nine-Star Dou Emperors could produce such power…"
This was no ordinary attack—it rivaled the might of a true Dou Ancestor. Even a one-star Ancestor would struggle to withstand it.
"No wonder the Snake-People's fusion techniques are renowned across the Dou Qi Continent," Gu He mused. "Truly remarkable."
Yet his tone remained icy.
"But a mere Earth-level dou technique… is nothing before me."
His hands moved.
"Vermilion Bird Seal!"
Dozens of intricate hand seals flashed through his fingers in the blink of an eye. As the final seal formed, the very fabric of space shimmered—a celestial pattern of stars materialized above him.
Then came the cry.
A piercing shriek tore through the heavens as a colossal, flame-wreathed figure emerged—the Vermilion Bird, its wings ablaze with crimson fire. The heat radiating from its form was so intense it seemed capable of scorching the world itself.
Gu He's fingers twitched.
"Go."
The Vermilion Bird's phantom shot forward—silent, swift, deadly.
Despite its overwhelming dou qi, it left no ripple in its wake. That very stillness was what made it terrifying.
Queen Medusa's golden serpentine eyes tracked the blazing streak across the sky. Even from this distance, she could sense the apocalyptic power contained within that fiery silhouette.
A bead of sweat trailed down her temple.
"This… is the deciding moment."
Beside her, Yue Mei and Mo Ba Si clutched their chests, their breaths ragged. The sheer pressure emanating from the Vermilion Bird was suffocating.
The Vermilion Bird, though dwarfed by the colossal serpent, struck with the force of a falling star.
"Unleash!"
The moment of impact was deafening.
"BOOM—!"
A cataclysmic explosion erupted, flames and venomous dou qi clashing in a maelstrom of destruction. The shockwave radiated outward, swallowing everything within a thousand-meter radius.
Even Medusa, standing atop the city walls, staggered back. Those too slow to react were sent flying, their bodies scorched by the searing heat. Blood sprayed from their lips, only to evaporate midair.
The sky itself darkened, the sun blotted out by thick, churning fireclouds. The temple grounds trembled, the very air shimmering with residual dou qi.
Silence.
Then—
"Gulp."
The sound of dry swallows echoed across the battlefield. Everyone present stood frozen, their faces painted with disbelief.
Yue Mei and Mo Bas wiped the cold sweat from their brows with trembling hands.
In the face of such overwhelming, near-cataclysmic power, even the mightiest Dou Wangs felt insignificant—like ants before a storm.
This was a realm far beyond their comprehension.
The colossal green serpent, upon colliding with the Vermilion Bird's phantom, dissolved like snow under a scorching sun.
In mere moments, the once-ferocious dou qi construct vanished without a trace, leaving only an eerie hiss that echoed faintly across the sky before fading into silence.
As the flames gradually subsided, countless gazes turned upward, searching anxiously through the dissipating storm. Whispers spread like wildfire—every Snake-Human desperate to know:
Had their elders survived?
Or had that human annihilated them all?
The firestorm raged for what felt like an eternity before finally beginning to wane. Yet, within its heart, two figures remained eerily still.
A tense silence gripped the city walls.
Then—
Whoosh!
Four figures plummeted from the sky like broken-winged birds, crashing onto the desert sands outside the city.
Queen Medusa's pupils constricted.
Another crushing defeat.
Before the Snake-People could process the horror, another sound split the air—
Swoosh!
A white-clad figure burst from the dying flames, his Black Ice Sacred Armor gleaming ominously against the smoke-choked sky.
"Queen Medusa," Gu He's voice boomed, divine and merciless, "what hope do you cling to now?"
His words reverberated over the temple like a death knell. Every Snake-Human bowed their head, their will to fight extinguished—replaced only by primal terror.
Medusa's face drained of color.
Her gaze flickered to the motionless elders below. Then, slowly, she closed her eyes.
It was over.
Even with their entire race united, they stood no chance against this monster.
Gu He descended onto the Scarlet Flame Demon Python, his eyes frosty.
"This is your final chance."
His next words turned the air to ice: "Give me the heavenly flame... or witness the extinction of your kind."
Medusa's gritted her teeth.
"Fine," she hissed, her voice raw with defiance. "Take it. Before that, promise me you won't harm my people.
…
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