Staring at the vast, empty desert, Xiao Yan gradually regained his composure. He glanced down at the ring on his finger and sighed, "Master, shall we now come out?" Upon hearing Xiao Yan's words, the dark, ancient ring trembled slightly, then drifted out slowly. The elderly medic, Xu, first scanned the spot where the group had previously vanished, then turned to Xiao Yan, smiling with a thoughtful expression. "It seems the desert is about to witness something significant." Xiao Yan nodded slightly. With such an impressive group gathered, it was no surprise the desert would become unsettled—likely, once Yue Mei returned, the serpent people's tribes would be placed under martial alert. "Why have they come to the Tagoer Desert? Does the Jia Ma Empire intend to go to war with the serpent people again?" Xiao Yan frowned, slightly puzzled. "From their earlier conversation, it appears they are seeking the Queen Medusa," the elder said calmly. "Look for Queen Medusa... Though their forces are indeed strong, Queen Medusa isn't exactly easy to handle. Moreover, among the eight tribes of the Serpent People, there are so many powerful warriors that once they gather, I doubt the group we saw earlier will be able to make it out of the desert unscathed." Xiao Yan spread his hands, a touch of smug satisfaction in his smile. Among the group, aside from that enigmatic black-robed figure, whom he found somewhat favorable, the rest were as strangers to him. Naturally, he had no intention of worrying about them. "That black-robed figure is also a Divinity Realm master, you know," the Elder of Medicine smiled. "What does a Divinity Realm master matter? Back in the old days, Hai Bo Dong was also a Divinity Realm master—yet he still ended up looking rather embarrassed against Queen Medusa." Xiao Yan chuckled, then paused and mused, "Still, I wonder—why are they seeking out Queen Medusa? In the Serpent People's society, humans have always been treated rather poorly." "The old pharmacist gently stroked his beard, smiling, "The middle-aged man I mentioned earlier possesses particularly strong spiritual perception—presumably, he is also a pharmacist." "Pharmacist?" Hearing this, Xiao Yan was first taken aback, then gasped in astonishment, "A pharmacist at the Duke King level? How is that possible?" Seeing Xiao Yan's expression of sheer disbelief, the old pharmacist shook his head slightly, smiled calmly, "I won't have made a mistake—I am certain he is indeed a pharmacist." As he gazed at the old pharmacist's composed smile, Xiao Yan gradually calmed down, furrowing his brows and murmuring, "If he truly is a pharmacist, then with his Duke King-level strength, shouldn't he at least be a Sixth-Rank pharmacist? Yet in the Garma Empire, there is only one such Sixth-Rank pharmacist!" "As the words came to a close, Xiao Yan's eyes gradually narrowed, and he slowly exhaled, as if trying to fully release the shock within him. After a long pause, he finally spoke softly, 'Was that middle-aged man earlier none other than Dan King Guo He?' 'If he truly is Guo He, then it's no surprise that he has gathered so many powerful individuals.' Doctor Yao smiled, fully aware of the influence a Sixth-Rank Alchemist could wield. 'Heh, I never expected that...' Shaking his head with a gentle smile, Xiao Yan's expression seemed strangely puzzled. He recalled that back then, Lan Yanran had presented him with a Qi-Collecting Powder—something he himself had created. 'An alchemist suddenly gathering so many strong figures to the Great Desert in search of the Queen of Medusa—I wonder if he's also eyeing the Unique Flames. I simply can't imagine how he managed to obtain such information.' Doctor Yao slightly raised his gaze toward the horizon of the desert, and smiled calmly. Upon hearing this, Xiao Yan's face slightly tightened, and he clenched his fists firmly. He had invested tremendous effort in securing the Qinglian Earth Heart Flame—anyone who sought to obstruct his path he regarded as an enemy, even if that person, such as the powerful Dan King Guo He of the Jima Empire, held strong influence. "Master, let's set out..." With a sudden grasp, Xiao Yan lifted the heavy ruler firmly planted into the sand. Taking a deep breath, he spoke calmly, "Regardless of their true intentions—whether it be the Qinglian Earth Heart Flame or otherwise—we must swiftly reach the heart of the desert. If Guo He indeed has such plans, then let them engage in their own rivalry." "Hm, that sounds like a good plan. Let us then become the fishermen." After a brief pause, the old doctor smiled and nodded. Then, his body trembled, and he shimmered into a stream of light, vanishing into the ring. He folded the Xuanzhong Chi into his Na Ji, and with a slight compression of his lips and a subtle tremor in his back, the Zi Yun Wings flapped out, gently vibrating before lifting his body into the air. Gazing upward at the silver moon in the sky, he murmured, "The ancient river tribe must surely be in turmoil now, due to the passage of Guo He and his companions. This is the perfect opportunity for us to slip through quietly. I believe Moon Mei will not remain in the tribe; she may journey deep into the desert to deliver a message to Queen Medusa..." "Agreed. We'll proceed. As I pass through the tribe, I'll mask your aura. With the dusk sky, we should be able to make it smoothly." A voice from within the ring spoke. Nodding slightly, Xiao Yan took a pill of Qi-Returning into his mouth, then powerfully flapped his wings, his body instantly transforming into a streak of shadow. Under the soft glow of the moonlight, he once again took flight toward the large settlement situated along the main route. … Flying wildly through the air for nearly half an hour, a massive tribal fortress gradually emerged on the distant horizon. Inside, the fortress was lit up with bright lights, though the flickering flames revealed a sense of unrest. As he drew closer, Xiao Yan could even hear murmurs of chaos carried on the wind. He felt a quiet sense of relief and thought to himself, "It seems they truly made it straight through from here." As he finally reached the fortress's upper level, he quickly scanned the vast, seemingly endless tribal settlement, feeling a subtle sense of awe. On the towering walls, stretching dozens of meters high, countless arrow towers stood densely packed, their arrow tips glowing a soft purple. Under the moonlight, the towers shimmered with a cold, serene radiance. Staring at this dense, intricate defense system resembling a heavenly web and earthly net, Xiao Yan couldn't help but wipe a cold sweat from his brow. With such formidable strength, even a senior Battle Master or Battle Spirit, if not careful, would likely be reduced to a honeycomb of arrows within moments. However, despite the fortress's rigorous defenses, Xiao Yan was relieved to find that a massive channel had been forcibly carved through the entire defensive perimeter. All the arrow towers near the channel had been crushed to rubble by powerful impacts—clearly the work of the ancient He River group earlier. Perhaps due to this sudden wave of destruction, the vast fortress had now become disoriented and in chaos. Seizing the moment of confusion, Xiao Yan managed to weave through the defenses, gliding through the air, and finally launched a desperate barrage toward a different section of the fortress. Soaring high above, Xiao Yan once again felt the immense scale of this fortress. Even the largest city he had ever seen, Black Rock, could not compare in size. "Eight Great Tribes—indeed, the most powerful force among the Serpent Clan," Xiao Yan murmured, impressed, as he sped through the night sky. "Approaching the fortress now—be careful. The arrow towers here have suffered less damage, and the garrison forces haven't lost many." Suddenly, the voice of Yao Lao resonated within his mind. At these words, Xiao Yan straightened his expression, scanning the towering walls nearby. Indeed, the walls had not been destroyed—only bearing a few massive cracks—and along those walls, hundreds of fully armed Serpent Clan members patrolled, each wielding sharp spears. "Aah…" Just as Xiao Yan was about to surge forward and break through the final layer of defense, a strange roar—somewhere between a wolf and a fox—suddenly echoed from the sky. Listening to the sound, Xiao Yan's face paled, and he looked up to find a massive, dark, odd bird circling above him. Clearly, it was one of the sentinel creatures deployed by the serpent people to monitor the skies. "Alert! Alert! Intruder detected in the upper sky! Fly-spear troops, prepare! Apply poison to the spears—ready for projection!" As the alert sounded in the night, a sharp, commanding voice rang out from the city walls. Upon hearing the order, the slightly disoriented serpent guards instantly fell silent, swiftly applying the toxic liquid to their fly-spears, and then fixed their fierce gazes upon Xiao Yan, who was now swiftly sweeping across the sky with relentless momentum. "Found...!" Under the intense gaze of hundreds of eyes, Xiao Yan's scalp felt slightly tingling. Without hesitating to let the massive black bird swirling above his head take precedence, his purple-clouded wings flapped rapidly, and his figure surged forward as a streak of black light, shooting straight toward the city walls. "Target the Wolf Hawk—strike him down and bring him down!" On the city wall, a graceful and elegant snake woman, her eyes blazing with fury at the figure in the sky, coldly commanded after a brief pause. As soon as her voice fell, hundreds of fully armored snake warriors on the wall roared in unison. They stepped back one step with their right feet, then spun halfway, and suddenly leaned forward. With their long spears coated in venom, they launched them into the air, their sharp, piercing sounds echoing through the still night sky. "These damn humans! Do they think our Mei She tribe is easy to conquer? Tonight, they've managed to breach our defenses repeatedly!" Staring coldly at Xiao Yan, who was now within the range of the spears' attack, the elegant serpent woman clenched her silver teeth in furious rage. The group led by Kuro, who had advanced first, had managed to breach the city walls, relying on the fact that no strong warriors from the tribe were stationed there to defend. Now, with Xiao Yan arriving alone, how could the clearly prominent serpent woman remain composed? Her gaze remained ice-cold as she gazed upward, as if she had caught sight of the terrified face that Xiao Yan had shown just before his final breath. A streak of blood curved across her red lips, and she awaited the feast of blood to unfold in the void. She could clearly sense that the human warrior high above was no more than a Battle Master level. Though she didn't fully understand how a Battle Master could fly, that didn't diminish her resolve. Under such relentless waves of toxic spears, a Battle Master could only meet one fate—being pierced and shattered into fragments, one piece at a time. Yet, under the watchful eyes of hundreds stationed on the city walls, as the toxic spears were about to pierce the human flyers' bodies, a surge of brilliant white flame erupted within them—then, with a sudden, resolute charge, they surged directly into the oncoming tide of spears. In an instant, the flame-wreathed figures, blazing through the deadly array of spears, surged forward, crashing through the lethal barrage with unyielding momentum. With no pause, they darted like lightning across the city walls, vanishing into the night sky. The cold, elegant serpent woman gazed at the black night sky, her voice icy, charged with lethal intent.