The battle at Black Mountain Fortress was a resounding victory for the Jia Ma Empire!
The three most powerful experts of the three Empires' allied forces, Xie Bi Yan, Yan Luo Tian, and the Three Mulan Elders, were all vanquished by Xiao Ming and Xiao Yi Xian on the spot.
After the battle, Xiao Ming's reputation in the Jia Ma Empire soared even higher, and stories of his achievements began to spread through the streets and alleys of the Empire.
At this time, Xiao Ming did not know any of this. After killing Xie Bi Yan, he wanted to rest for a while in the Black Mountain Fortress. But the pitiful look in Zi Yan's eyes compelled him to leave. So, without hesitation, the group headed straight to the Snake-People Tribe.
In the endless yellow desert, several streaks of light of different colors shone from time to time, causing some small animals on the ground to stir.
"Commander Yue Mei, we have already flown a great distance. How much longer will it take to reach the Snake-People Tribe?" Flying next to Yue Mei, Xiao Ming asked.
"It will take a while to get there. In order to avoid the experts of the Chu Yun Empire, all the people of our tribe moved away from our original headquarters, so the distance is a bit long, Master Xiao Ming, please forgive me."
"Since there's still time to go, let's speed up."
Yue Mei smiled bitterly at his words. She was actually tempted to say that her current speed was already the fastest.
"Yes." Still, she nodded her head, and with a flap of her Dou Qi wings, her speed increased by several more points.
Some time later, just as Yue Mei had said, the four of them arrived at the Snake-People Tribe's new headquarters. This was a stretch of desert cliffs that extended for more than ten miles. Inside the base of the cliffs, there were caves of various shapes and sizes, each of which was guarded by some Snake-People to a greater or lesser extent. Among them, the largest cave in the middle of the cliff was guarded by the majority of the Snake-People.
Four figures descended from the sky and landed in front of the largest cave, turning out to be Xiao Ming and his companions. As soon as they landed, it seemed that someone in the cave had noticed their presence, and several figures quickly came out of the cave, looking wary. But when they saw Yue Mei, they were surprised and reduced their guard.
"Yue Mei, weren't you supposed to be negotiating an alliance with the Jia Ma Empire? Why did you bring three humans back with you? How did the negotiations regarding the alliance go?" Asked a hoarse-voiced old man dressed in a black robe.
"Yin Shi, there is no need to mention the alliance anymore. Xie Bi Yan of the Chu Yun Empire, Yan Luo Tian of the Luo Yan Empire, and the Three Mulan Elders have all died at the hands of Master Xiao Ming. The crisis of our Snake-People Tribe has been resolved for now." Yue Mei replied.
"What! Is what you said true?" Yin Shi asked excitedly, but the excitement seemed to exacerbate his internal injuries, causing him to cough repeatedly.
Due to the Chu Yun Empire's attack, the Snake-People Tribe suffered many casualties, and the remaining experts were all seriously injured. Among them, Yue Mei was in the best condition, which is why she was sent to the Black Mountain Fortress to propose an alliance.
"Naturally, it's true. I wouldn't lie about something like that. Besides, Master Xiao Ming has already been invited by me." Yue Mei said, gesturing towards Xiao Ming.
'Eh?' Hearing this, the Snake-People Tribe experts froze, and then their faces changed greatly.
They had already heard of Xiao Ming, and although they did not know his exact appearance, they knew that his strength was terrifying.
Although they were happy that Xiao Ming had killed the Chu Yun Empire's expert, what was the point of Yue Mei inviting him to the tribe? In case he wasn't happy, the current Snake-People Tribe wasn't even enough to serve as a warm-up for him. Especially since the Snake-People Tribe had previously offended him. Thinking about this, all these experts panicked inside.
However, since Xiao Ming was right in front of them, they didn't dare to act rudely, so they all forced a smile that was uglier than crying.
"So it's Master Xiao Ming who has arrived at our humble quarters. Sorry for not greeting you in advance."
The males of the tribe were already ugly, and their smiles made them even uglier.
When Zi Yan looked at them, her nose wrinkled in disgust, and she said with dissatisfaction, "People with ugly noses, stop wasting our time and take us to see Sister Medusa!"
"This..." The Snake Men hesitated a little.
Seeing this, Yue Mei explained, "You don't need to worry, it was Master Xiao Ming who I invited back to heal Her Majesty's wounds."
After saying this, she directly led the three people inside the cave. And after hearing Yue Mei's words, the group no longer stopped them and just silently followed behind.
Upon entering the cave, a huge subterranean tribe appeared before Xiao Ming and the others. The cave was enormous, and the tribe was built following the natural shape of the cave, looking as if it was perfectly embedded inside the mountain. Inside the cave, the Snake-People moved back and forth, while some Snake-People Warriors stood fully armed on high points, their sharp eyes intently observing their surroundings.
After a long while, they finally stopped at a square deep inside the cave. Standing in the square, Xiao Ming's gaze was drawn to the stone staircase that stretched to the end of his sight and finally stopped in the midst of the heavily armed Snake-People Guards.
There, the leader of the Medusa Guards unit, Hua She'er, whom he had once met, was patrolling the surroundings, and judging from the pallor on her face, she probably suffered many wounds.
The arrival of Xiao Ming and the others alarmed her, her eyes suddenly widened as she looked at Xiao Ming and his group.
"Xiao Ming?!"
Just like Yue Mei, Hua She'er recognized Xiao Ming at a glance and her body suddenly froze. Then, with a flick of her snake tail, she appeared not far away from Xiao Ming, her eyes staring at him as she said with undisguised panic in her voice.
"Why are you here?!"
"Hua She'er, there is no need for you to panic. Master Xiao Ming was invited by me to heal Her Majesty and the Great Elders. Please go and open the gate to the Sacred Land."
Yue Mei said as she wagged her snake tail and walked towards Hua She'er.
"This... the Great Elders are performing a secret technique inside, and they instructed us not to disturb them easily... alas, forget it, follow me."
Halfway through her speech, she shook her head. The four Elders had been using the secret technique for a long time, and they still hadn't been able to rescue their Queen.
Instead of continuing to wait, it would be better to trust Xiao Ming. After all, he was a high-tier Alchemist with a reputation that resonated throughout the surrounding Empires, and his methods were not something the Snake-People could compare to.
Swinging her snake tail, Hua She'er reached the top of the stone steps, then waved her jade-white palm in complex hand movements, followed by a rumbling sound that echoed through the cave as the stone door slowly opened.
"Come with me." Hua She'er said.
Xiao Ming and his companions followed her lead, with only Yue Mei joining them. The other Snake-People remained at the entrance, guarding it diligently. It was clear that even they couldn't enter and leave the area as they pleased.
The space behind the stone steps was surprisingly large, several tens of meters long and wide. There were many moonlight stones embedded in the rocks to provide light.
In the center was a gray altar. with four cushions on which sat four Female Snake-People Elders. Medusa was in the middle, surrounded by them.
The aura of the four Female Elders was faint, but Xiao Ming could tell at a glance that their strength was slightly greater than Jia Xing Tian's. Of course, they had not yet reached Dou Ancestor, but they all were in the peak Dou Emperor.
With this kind of background, it was no wonder that the Snake-People Tribe could persist against the siege of the four Empires for so long. However, it was evident that the four Elders of the Snake-People were not in good condition.
As if sensing the footsteps of the group, an old woman slowly opened her eyes. Her diamond-shaped pupils locked onto the group like a venomous snake. When she opened her eyes, the other three old women suddenly opened their eyes as well. Four wisps of cold auras rose and converged together, merging into a black python in mid-air. The python's emotionless eyes fixed on the group, and invisible oppression arose silently, pressing down on their bodies with a force of thousands of pounds.
Feeling the strong oppressive aura, Xiao Ming snorted coldly, and the temperature in the room suddenly rose. The coldness produced by the four old women disappeared instantly, and the black python shattered directly!
A hint of surprise shone in the cloudy eyes of the four old women, and the old woman who opened her eyes first said slowly.
"Dou Ancestor? I have only heard of one human being a Dou Ancestor powerhouse so young. Are you Master Xiao Ming of the Jia Ma Empire?"
Her voice was quite unpleasant, like a stone scraping against the glass, making people feel uncomfortable all over. Of course, everyone here was not an ordinary person, so they could naturally filter out this feeling.
"That's right, I am Xiao Ming."
"I didn't expect it... You really are as rumored, a young powerhouse who can reach the Dou Ancestor Realm. Truly a person with exceptional talent." The old woman gave Xiao Ming an ugly and creepy smile and continued, "I am the First Elder of the Snake-People, and these are the Second, Third, and Fourth Elders."
With a flick of her withered hand, the other elders politely bowed to Xiao Ming. Although the Snake-People Tribe was hostile to humans, regardless, Xiao Ming was a powerful individual and he deserved their respect. They were not young anymore and did not simply attack humans on sight.
In the past, the Snake-People Tribe had even formed alliances with human alchemists, as the secret method of cultivating Medusas required the alchemists to refine medicinal pills. Without human alchemists, who would have refined pills for them?
"Four Elders, I have invited Master Xiao Ming here to treat the wounds of Her Majesty the Queen and yourselves." At this moment, Yue Mei stepped forward once again and said.
"Mm, good job." The First Elder nodded slightly, then said to Xiao Ming, "Please proceed with treating Her Majesty's wounds first, Master Xiao Ming."
"No problem," Xiao Ming nodded before ascending the altar alongside the impatient Zi Yan. Xiao Yi Xian and Yue Mei stayed behind, waiting patiently in the same spot.
Approaching Medusa, Xiao Ming squatted down and examined her. Medusa's face was as seductive as ever, wrapped in a luxurious and expensive purple brocade robe that hugged her curvaceous figure, exuding a seductive charm. At this moment, her face was pale, without a trace of blood, adding a touch of fragile beauty to her appearance.
In addition, there were multiple terrifying wounds running through her body, which had already stopped bleeding, but it was still evident that she had experienced an extremely brutal battle.
Looking at Medusa's half-dead appearance, Zi Yan finally couldn't hold back her tears.
With tears in her eyes, she wanted to throw herself on Medusa, but Xiao Ming was quick to grab the back of her collar.
"Zi Yan, Medusa is still seriously injured. If you do that again, I think we won't need to treat her anymore. We can bury her directly."
"Ah!" Zi Yan blinked her big watery eyes. "Then treat her quickly, Xiao Ming!"
Putting Zi Yan aside, Xiao Ming placed his hand on Medusa's arm and began to examine her under the expectant gaze of the Snake-People Tribe Elders.
After a moment, Xiao Ming slowly opened his eyes and let out a sigh.
"Alas!"
The battle at Black Mountain Fortress was a resounding victory for the Jia Ma Empire!
The three most powerful experts of the three Empires' allied forces, Xie Bi Yan, Yan Luo Tian, and the Three Mulan Elders, were all vanquished by Xiao Ming and Xiao Yi Xian on the spot.
After the battle, Xiao Ming's reputation in the Jia Ma Empire soared even higher, and stories of his achievements began to spread through the streets and alleys of the Empire.
At this time, Xiao Ming did not know any of this. After killing Xie Bi Yan, he wanted to rest for a while in the Black Mountain Fortress. But the pitiful look in Zi Yan's eyes compelled him to leave. So, without hesitation, the group headed straight to the Snake-People Tribe.
In the endless yellow desert, several streaks of light of different colors shone from time to time, causing some small animals on the ground to stir.
"Commander Yue Mei, we have already flown a great distance. How much longer will it take to reach the Snake-People Tribe?" Flying next to Yue Mei, Xiao Ming asked.
"It will take a while to get there. In order to avoid the experts of the Chu Yun Empire, all the people of our tribe moved away from our original headquarters, so the distance is a bit long, Master Xiao Ming, please forgive me."
"Since there's still time to go, let's speed up."
Yue Mei smiled bitterly at his words. She was actually tempted to say that her current speed was already the fastest.
"Yes." Still, she nodded her head, and with a flap of her Dou Qi wings, her speed increased by several more points.
Some time later, just as Yue Mei had said, the four of them arrived at the Snake-People Tribe's new headquarters. This was a stretch of desert cliffs that extended for more than ten miles. Inside the base of the cliffs, there were caves of various shapes and sizes, each of which was guarded by some Snake-People to a greater or lesser extent. Among them, the largest cave in the middle of the cliff was guarded by the majority of the Snake-People.
Four figures descended from the sky and landed in front of the largest cave, turning out to be Xiao Ming and his companions. As soon as they landed, it seemed that someone in the cave had noticed their presence, and several figures quickly came out of the cave, looking wary. But when they saw Yue Mei, they were surprised and reduced their guard.
"Yue Mei, weren't you supposed to be negotiating an alliance with the Jia Ma Empire? Why did you bring three humans back with you? How did the negotiations regarding the alliance go?" Asked a hoarse-voiced old man dressed in a black robe.
"Yin Shi, there is no need to mention the alliance anymore. Xie Bi Yan of the Chu Yun Empire, Yan Luo Tian of the Luo Yan Empire, and the Three Mulan Elders have all died at the hands of Master Xiao Ming. The crisis of our Snake-People Tribe has been resolved for now." Yue Mei replied.
"What! Is what you said true?" Yin Shi asked excitedly, but the excitement seemed to exacerbate his internal injuries, causing him to cough repeatedly.
Due to the Chu Yun Empire's attack, the Snake-People Tribe suffered many casualties, and the remaining experts were all seriously injured. Among them, Yue Mei was in the best condition, which is why she was sent to the Black Mountain Fortress to propose an alliance.
"Naturally, it's true. I wouldn't lie about something like that. Besides, Master Xiao Ming has already been invited by me." Yue Mei said, gesturing towards Xiao Ming.
'Eh?' Hearing this, the Snake-People Tribe experts froze, and then their faces changed greatly.
They had already heard of Xiao Ming, and although they did not know his exact appearance, they knew that his strength was terrifying.
Although they were happy that Xiao Ming had killed the Chu Yun Empire's expert, what was the point of Yue Mei inviting him to the tribe? In case he wasn't happy, the current Snake-People Tribe wasn't even enough to serve as a warm-up for him. Especially since the Snake-People Tribe had previously offended him. Thinking about this, all these experts panicked inside.
However, since Xiao Ming was right in front of them, they didn't dare to act rudely, so they all forced a smile that was uglier than crying.
"So it's Master Xiao Ming who has arrived at our humble quarters. Sorry for not greeting you in advance."
The males of the tribe were already ugly, and their smiles made them even uglier.
When Zi Yan looked at them, her nose wrinkled in disgust, and she said with dissatisfaction, "People with ugly noses, stop wasting our time and take us to see Sister Medusa!"
"This..." The Snake Men hesitated a little.
Seeing this, Yue Mei explained, "You don't need to worry, it was Master Xiao Ming who I invited back to heal Her Majesty's wounds."
After saying this, she directly led the three people inside the cave. And after hearing Yue Mei's words, the group no longer stopped them and just silently followed behind.
Upon entering the cave, a huge subterranean tribe appeared before Xiao Ming and the others. The cave was enormous, and the tribe was built following the natural shape of the cave, looking as if it was perfectly embedded inside the mountain. Inside the cave, the Snake-People moved back and forth, while some Snake-People Warriors stood fully armed on high points, their sharp eyes intently observing their surroundings.
After a long while, they finally stopped at a square deep inside the cave. Standing in the square, Xiao Ming's gaze was drawn to the stone staircase that stretched to the end of his sight and finally stopped in the midst of the heavily armed Snake-People Guards.
There, the leader of the Medusa Guards unit, Hua She'er, whom he had once met, was patrolling the surroundings, and judging from the pallor on her face, she probably suffered many wounds.
The arrival of Xiao Ming and the others alarmed her, her eyes suddenly widened as she looked at Xiao Ming and his group.
"Xiao Ming?!"
Just like Yue Mei, Hua She'er recognized Xiao Ming at a glance and her body suddenly froze. Then, with a flick of her snake tail, she appeared not far away from Xiao Ming, her eyes staring at him as she said with undisguised panic in her voice.
"Why are you here?!"
"Hua She'er, there is no need for you to panic. Master Xiao Ming was invited by me to heal Her Majesty and the Great Elders. Please go and open the gate to the Sacred Land."
Yue Mei said as she wagged her snake tail and walked towards Hua She'er.
"This... the Great Elders are performing a secret technique inside, and they instructed us not to disturb them easily... alas, forget it, follow me."
Halfway through her speech, she shook her head. The four Elders had been using the secret technique for a long time, and they still hadn't been able to rescue their Queen.
Instead of continuing to wait, it would be better to trust Xiao Ming. After all, he was a high-tier Alchemist with a reputation that resonated throughout the surrounding Empires, and his methods were not something the Snake-People could compare to.
Swinging her snake tail, Hua She'er reached the top of the stone steps, then waved her jade-white palm in complex hand movements, followed by a rumbling sound that echoed through the cave as the stone door slowly opened.
"Come with me." Hua She'er said.
Xiao Ming and his companions followed her lead, with only Yue Mei joining them. The other Snake-People remained at the entrance, guarding it diligently. It was clear that even they couldn't enter and leave the area as they pleased.
The space behind the stone steps was surprisingly large, several tens of meters long and wide. There were many moonlight stones embedded in the rocks to provide light.
In the center was a gray altar. with four cushions on which sat four Female Snake-People Elders. Medusa was in the middle, surrounded by them.
The aura of the four Female Elders was faint, but Xiao Ming could tell at a glance that their strength was slightly greater than Jia Xing Tian's. Of course, they had not yet reached Dou Ancestor, but they all were in the peak Dou Emperor.
With this kind of background, it was no wonder that the Snake-People Tribe could persist against the siege of the four Empires for so long. However, it was evident that the four Elders of the Snake-People were not in good condition.
As if sensing the footsteps of the group, an old woman slowly opened her eyes. Her diamond-shaped pupils locked onto the group like a venomous snake. When she opened her eyes, the other three old women suddenly opened their eyes as well. Four wisps of cold auras rose and converged together, merging into a black python in mid-air. The python's emotionless eyes fixed on the group, and invisible oppression arose silently, pressing down on their bodies with a force of thousands of pounds.
Feeling the strong oppressive aura, Xiao Ming snorted coldly, and the temperature in the room suddenly rose. The coldness produced by the four old women disappeared instantly, and the black python shattered directly!
A hint of surprise shone in the cloudy eyes of the four old women, and the old woman who opened her eyes first said slowly.
"Dou Ancestor? I have only heard of one human being a Dou Ancestor powerhouse so young. Are you Master Xiao Ming of the Jia Ma Empire?"
Her voice was quite unpleasant, like a stone scraping against the glass, making people feel uncomfortable all over. Of course, everyone here was not an ordinary person, so they could naturally filter out this feeling.
"That's right, I am Xiao Ming."
"I didn't expect it... You really are as rumored, a young powerhouse who can reach the Dou Ancestor Realm. Truly a person with exceptional talent." The old woman gave Xiao Ming an ugly and creepy smile and continued, "I am the First Elder of the Snake-People, and these are the Second, Third, and Fourth Elders."
With a flick of her withered hand, the other elders politely bowed to Xiao Ming. Although the Snake-People Tribe was hostile to humans, regardless, Xiao Ming was a powerful individual and he deserved their respect. They were not young anymore and did not simply attack humans on sight.
In the past, the Snake-People Tribe had even formed alliances with human alchemists, as the secret method of cultivating Medusas required the alchemists to refine medicinal pills. Without human alchemists, who would have refined pills for them?
"Four Elders, I have invited Master Xiao Ming here to treat the wounds of Her Majesty the Queen and yourselves." At this moment, Yue Mei stepped forward once again and said.
"Mm, good job." The First Elder nodded slightly, then said to Xiao Ming, "Please proceed with treating Her Majesty's wounds first, Master Xiao Ming."
"No problem," Xiao Ming nodded before ascending the altar alongside the impatient Zi Yan. Xiao Yi Xian and Yue Mei stayed behind, waiting patiently in the same spot.
Approaching Medusa, Xiao Ming squatted down and examined her. Medusa's face was as seductive as ever, wrapped in a luxurious and expensive purple brocade robe that hugged her curvaceous figure, exuding a seductive charm. At this moment, her face was pale, without a trace of blood, adding a touch of fragile beauty to her appearance.
In addition, there were multiple terrifying wounds running through her body, which had already stopped bleeding, but it was still evident that she had experienced an extremely brutal battle.
Looking at Medusa's half-dead appearance, Zi Yan finally couldn't hold back her tears.
With tears in her eyes, she wanted to throw herself on Medusa, but Xiao Ming was quick to grab the back of her collar.
"Zi Yan, Medusa is still seriously injured. If you do that again, I think we won't need to treat her anymore. We can bury her directly."
"Ah!" Zi Yan blinked her big watery eyes. "Then treat her quickly, Xiao Ming!"
Putting Zi Yan aside, Xiao Ming placed his hand on Medusa's arm and began to examine her under the expectant gaze of the Snake-People Tribe Elders.
After a moment, Xiao Ming slowly opened his eyes and let out a sigh.
"Alas!"
