Hai Bodong lightly leapt down from the ice platform, landing soundlessly on the ground. His expression was complex as he watched Liu Xi put away both fragments of the ancient map. Rubbing his dry, withered hands, he finally asked with restrained curiosity, "Little friend, I've already handed over all the map fragments in my possession. May I ask… what exactly is hidden within that map?"
Liu Xi's mood was rather pleasant. Hearing Hai Bodong's cautious tone, he smiled and replied casually, "There's indeed something good hidden within the map. But it's not something a mere Dou Huang can covet. When I break through to the Dou Zun Realm someday, perhaps I'll go and try my luck. As for you, Senior—at your age, it's best to stay in the Jia Ma Empire and enjoy your remaining years in peace. Otherwise, you might die in some distant land, and not even have a corpse left to bury."
The words were sharp and merciless—each one like a knife piercing straight into Hai Bodong's old heart. But Liu Xi didn't care. The map was his now, and he feared no retaliation. After all, even if Hai Bodong wanted to snatch it back, he had neither the courage nor the means.
More importantly, the map merely increased one's chances of finding and subduing a Heavenly Flame. Without sufficient strength, even glimpsing one would be impossible. In Liu Xi's eyes, his warning was doing the old man a favor—saving him from an early grave.
Hai Bodong's face stiffened; he opened his mouth but couldn't utter a word. His heart felt trampled by ten thousand wild horses. 'A Dou Zun to "try his luck"?' he thought bitterly. 'And I, a Dou Huang, am fit only for retirement?'
He finally let out a long sigh and shook his head. "I was being presumptuous. Since I've already given the fragments to you, I shouldn't have pried further. No need to frighten me with tall tales, little friend."
Liu Xi simply smiled, unwilling to explain further. He changed the subject easily, "Now that you've regained your Dou Huang strength, what are your plans? As for me, I'll be heading to the Imperial Capital to pay a visit to my teacher. Care to join me?"
Hai Bodong blinked in surprise. "You… have a teacher in the Imperial Capital? Wait—no, that can't be. I may have been in seclusion for many years, but I still know every old monster in the Empire. Who could possibly have produced a monstrous talent like you?"
Liu Xi shrugged, feigning modesty. "I'm quite the celebrity in the Jia Ma Empire these days. It's only natural you wouldn't have heard of me, given how long you've been hiding from the world."
With that, he took Qing Lin's delicate hand and strode toward the exit, the corner of his lips curling faintly.
Hai Bodong watched their departing figures in silence, emotions stirring in his chest.
'I really have been in seclusion too long,' he thought. 'I wonder if the Miteer Family still remembers their old Supreme Elder. Jia Ma Empire… your Ice Emperor Hai Bodong has returned.'
---
Liu Xi's journey into the Tager Desert had been nothing short of fruitful.
After returning from Hai Bodong's place, he rested for an entire day. The exhaustion from refining the 6th Tier pill finally faded away, and by the next morning, he set out once again—this time toward the Imperial Capital, with Qing Lin by his side.
Hai Bodong, having regained his Dou Huang strength, had no intention of continuing his humble life as a merchant. The next day, he too departed, accompanying Liu Xi part of the way before returning to his homeland.
Despite spending decades in that small desert shop, Hai Bodong didn't take a single item with him. When Liu Xi asked why, he merely said with a faint smile, "I've spent too long here. Too many memories. Maybe one day, when I grow tired of worldly strife, I'll return to this place… and live out the rest of my years in peace."
Standing atop a high sand dune, Hai Bodong gazed toward the distant city that marked the boundary between desert and land. The morning sun bathed it in gold, and his eyes softened with reluctant nostalgia.
Taking a deep breath, he turned to Liu Xi beside him.
"So, what's the plan now?"
Liu Xi replied, "First, we leave the desert. Once we reach the Empire's border, we can rent a Thick-Winged Bird. Since you've lived here for years, Senior, you should know which border city lies closest to this region, right?"
Hai Bodong nodded and released a faint chill from his body. Frost condensed behind him into a pair of icy wings—majestic and crystalline.
Liu Xi smiled faintly. Azure flames ignited around his back, forming two blazing wings of the Green Lotus Core Flame. Bending down, he gently lifted Qing Lin into his arms.
"Let's go."
With a powerful beat of his wings, he soared into the sky, leaving trails of azure fire in the air. Hai Bodong followed close behind, his cold wings gleaming under the sun. Two streaks of light—one blue, one white—shot through the desert sky toward the direction of the Jia Ma Empire.
---
But before they could cross the final stretch—
A deafening roar split the heavens.
"Rooooar!"
From the sea of sand below, a colossal shadow surged upward. A massive serpent-like magical beast—its size rivaling a fortress—rose to block their path, its golden eyes burning with rage.
The two halted midair, startled by its sudden appearance. Liu Xi's brows lifted slightly, not in fear but in amusement.
'Perfect,' he thought. 'A flying serpent with wings—much better than a Thick-Winged Bird. If Qing Lin can control it, it'll make a far more fitting mount.'
Hai Bodong, however, paled. His eyes widened in disbelief. "That's… that's the Eight-Winged Black Serpent Emperor! How could it appear near the Empire's border!?"
"The Eight-Winged Black Serpent Emperor," Liu Xi murmured, recalling the texts he'd once read. "A mutated variant of the two-winged Black Serpent, a Rank 3 beast. Each time it evolves, it grows an extra pair of wings. Once it reaches eight… it becomes one of the most terrifying serpents on the Dou Qi Continent."
He frowned. A memory from the original stories flickered in his mind. 'Could this be the same Eight-Winged Black Serpent Emperor from the Heavenly Snake Mansion? If it's here, it must have sensed Qing Lin's Jade Snake Three-Flower Pupils… and followed her scent. In that case, there should be a Dou Huang accompanying it.'
Sure enough, a figure in green appeared beside the massive serpent—a graceful woman, her face hidden behind a veil. Her voice rang out, clear and sharp, tinged with disbelief. "Bai Ya, are you certain you didn't sense wrong? Those two—one's a Dou Huang, the other a Dou Wang. They hardly seem like ones who'd possess newly awakened Jade Snake Three-Flower Pupils."
The enormous serpent—Bai Ya, the Eight-Winged Black Serpent Emperor—opened its massive jaws, its voice rumbling like thunder. "I'm certain. I've been tracking the aura of the Jade Snake Three-Flower Pupils all the way here!"
Liu Xi's expression turned calm and calculating. 'So, it really is someone from the Heavenly Snake Mansion. Qing Lin's pupils would indeed be best nurtured there… but whether she'll go is up to me. We'll see if they can be reasoned with—or need to be… persuaded otherwise.'
Beside him, Hai Bodong was already doubting reality. Two Dou Huang auras and an emperor-class serpent—right at the Empire's border? 'Has the world gone mad?' he thought miserably. 'Since when did Dou Huang experts become this common?'
A heavy silence fell across the desert sky, tension coiling like the serpent's tail.
(End of Chapter)
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