Just as the few members of the Gǔhé clan had swept past the sky of the small island, three streaks of light suddenly appeared along their flight path, revealing Yue Mei and her two companions, their faces cold and stern. Behind them stretched an almost overwhelming army of serpentine humans. "Do you think we're just some place to visit and leave at will? What kind of place is the Serpent Clan for you?" The fiery aura surging from Yan Ci's body rose like flames, blazing fiercely as he stared at the Gǔhé clan members, his voice rolling through the city like thunder. "Get out of the way!" Seeing their path blocked, the Gǔhé clan members grew increasingly agitated. Turning to gaze at the figure that had nearly shrunk into a small black dot, he shouted angrily, raising his hand. A pale blue flame rapidly coalesced into a fiery sphere before him, then surged forward with intense heat, bearing down hard upon Yan Ci and his companions. As soon as the pale blue flame appeared, the temperature around it surged dramatically. It seemed that the flame mastered by Gohara was no ordinary qi flame, though it fell short of the extraordinary flames—perhaps something akin to Xiao Yan's purple flame. "Hmph. While you may indeed surpass everyone else in the art of alchemy, when it comes to combat prowess, you'd better step aside and stand by!" Though the blue flame was impressive in its display, Yan Ci showed no fear, instead radiating a cold disdain. With a gentle grasp of his palm, the fiery qi swirling around his body swiftly coalesced into a flame-hand several zhang in size, which shot forth and effortlessly enveloped the blue flame sphere. Then, with a firm press, a soft thud echoed as the blue sphere shattered into countless fine sparks, gradually dissipating. At first glance, Yan Ci clearly held the upper hand in strength, suggesting his star rating might be slightly higher than that of Furuhara. Moon Mei coldly surveyed the group of Furuhara with a steady gaze, slightly turning her head to watch the small black dots drifting in the distance above. Her dark brows furrowed, for some reason, as if there was a familiar sense of recognition in that silhouette. After a brief moment of thought, she decided against sending anyone to pursue them. Their primary adversaries remained Furuhara and his companions. Moreover, at this moment, already slightly disadvantaged, they simply couldn't spare a Battle King-level warrior to go after them—without a Battle King's flight speed, even if they dispatched Battle Spirits, the latter, lacking aura wings, would be unable to catch up. Thus, after careful consideration, Moon Mei ultimately abandoned the pursuit. "Kill them! A bunch of short-tailed snakes!" Seeing Furuhara falter, Yan Li's battle aura surged fiercely, and he roared in command. "I'll hold them off—go after the one who came before! If you're late, the divine flame will truly fall into someone else's hands!" The figure in black robes moved slightly, materializing directly in front of the three members of Guo He, and bellowed. Upon hearing this, Guo He hesitated only briefly, then nodded firmly. He had no doubt in his mind about her strength—three Dou Wangs could not pose a serious threat to her. Without further words, he raised his hand, and with Yan Li and the others, surged off in a different direction. "Get back here!" Seeing Guo He and the others move, Yan Ci and the others roared in anger, their bodies just about to glide past. But the figure in black appeared like a ghost, floating before them. With a gentle sweep of his sleeves, a powerful gale surged upward, and countless massive, bluish wind blades erupted from the wind, sweeping the three back with force. "Your opponent is me." "Standing casually in the air, the cloaked figure spoke softly. Without the powerful Queen Medusa as a formidable opponent, she had already become the strongest here, capable of holding her own against countless foes—something truly no exaggeration for someone of her caliber. 'Kill him!' The cold gaze fixed upon the cloaked figure. Even the usually impetuous Yan Ci recognized that the man before him was far beyond the earlier version of the ancient river. With a sharp cry, three powerful surges of energy erupted skyward, instantly converging into three brilliant streaks of light that surged forward with fierce momentum, surrounding and pressing hard upon the cloaked figure. Seizing the moment when Yan Ci and his companions were momentarily held in check, the three members of the ancient river launched themselves with sudden force, cutting through the dense lines of serpent warriors, and swiftly breaking out of the city. With blazing fury, they pursued the direction where the black figure had vanished. Above the city, the cloaked figure calmly observed the three attacking Sovereign-level warriors, his body subtly shifting to evade their assaults. With a mere flick of his hands, the sharp gusts of energy he unleashed would send one of them staggering backward. Occasionally, poisoned spears launched from the countless Serpent people below would reach him, but as soon as they entered his immediate range, the sudden surge of wind would scatter them wildly, causing some inconvenience to Yue Mei and her companions. Despite the cloaked figure's composed defense against the three Sovereign-level fighters, it proved somewhat difficult to swiftly eliminate them. After all, these three worked well in coordination—whenever the cloaked figure delivered a powerful blow, they would unite to counter it. Though their resistance was sometimes strained, they managed to prevent significant injuries. As a result, they were able to hold their ground, maintaining a steady stalemate against a single Sovereign-level master in the air. With composed grace, he deflected the increasingly fierce and almost desperate attacks from Yue Mei and her two companions. After a while, the cloaked figure slightly tilted his head, glancing toward the direction where the ancient river party had previously pursued them—only to find they had vanished beyond the horizon. Only then did he exhale in relief. He swept his sleeve with a sudden, powerful motion, and his overall aura instantly sharpened and intensified. With a light tap of his foot against the void, he launched himself upward by several meters. In a flash, he formed hand seals with both hands, then issued a clear, cool command: "Wind returns to the earth!" As the command rang out, a solid surge of jade-green, tangible wind surged up above his head, forming a vast, dense expanse that resembled thick layers of jade-green clouds. With a gentle downward sweep of his palm, the jade-green wind pressed down swiftly. Under the force of the wind, countless deep jade-colored blades shot out like a steady, dense rain, sweeping across the sky in a relentless barrage. Feeling the fierce, pressing qi emanating from the heavens above, Yue Mei and the other two grew serious. Back-to-back, three columns of combat energy—each of a distinct elemental nature—erupted skyward, forming three towering pillars that seemed to support the very heavens, holding firm against the steadily descending, tangible, jade-green gale, which could no longer move. Not long after the cloaked figure vanished, two streaks of light surged from the northeast and southwest of the desert, moving with the grace of stars and moonlight. A moment later, they appeared above the city, gazing down at the chaos within, their faces grim. With swift, vigorous gestures, they unleashed two powerful streams of qi, which struck hard against the vast, jade-colored wind layer, finally breaking it through coordinated efforts. Above the azure sky, a figure suddenly surged forward with fierce speed, generating immense wind pressure that pressed gently into the sand, leaving a shallow groove. Only moments later, the groove was perfectly concealed by the yellow sand carried by the wind. Soon after this figure passed, three streaks of light followed in quick succession, instantly forming three broader sand grooves on the freshly filled sand. As these three streaks vanished, a single, even more powerful black silhouette appeared, leaving behind five luminous streaks in its wake. Repeatedly subjected to such relentless assaults, the sandy ground seemed to emit a low, helpless sigh beneath the wind's relentless force. … Holding the green lotus in his palm, Xiao Yan wildly vibrated his Purple Cloud Wings, harnessing the airflow of the roaring wind. His speed was nearly as astonishing as that of the swiftest flying creatures in the desert, with golden sand rushing past beneath him. Without the guidance of Yao Lao, Xiao Yan would have easily gotten lost in this featureless desert. He gently licked his lips, swallowing two Qi-Reviving Dan pills whole. The pills that had once filled his mouth were now nearly half consumed—clear evidence of the immense Qi expenditure from his relentless, life-and-death flight. After another burst of swift travel, Xiao Yan’s stern expression suddenly shifted. He slightly turned his head and saw three small black dots steadily growing larger at the far edge of his vision. “By the gods, these guys are truly tenacious.” "Staring at the three who had closed in so swiftly, Xiao Yan felt a certain degree of panic. After all, they were three fully-fledged Domain Rank warriors—should they engage directly, even a single palm strike might send him flying. "Ladies and gentlemen, I am Gǔ Hé of the Jiāmǎ Empire. Kindly return the unique flame to its rightful owner. Rest assured, as long as the flame is stable and complete, Gǔ Hé will ensure you are not harmed!" The voice, carried by the power of his aura, thundered across the desert, resonating with unwavering force. "As if I'd believe that!" murmured Xiao Yan internally. He glanced back, only to mutter under his breath—though they spoke so confidently, their pace of pursuit was growing ever more urgent, and the gap between them was steadily narrowing. As he was about to turn his gaze away, his eyes narrowed slightly. Just beyond the trio of Gǔ Hé, a dark figure surged forward with an astonishing speed, sweeping through the desert with a truly terrifying momentum.