Sunset Divine Temple.
Lu Jun strolled through the shattered ruins of the divine temple. The towering sanctuary built of marble looked more like a place of pilgrimage for some non-human colossal species—ancient and sacred.
In front of the high tower, more than a dozen powerful great demons lay in wait, all in serpentine humanoid forms, tens of meters tall. Their bodies were clad in gleaming silver scales, and when they stood upright, they resembled solemn knights.
Silver Serpent Warriors—Commander-level demons, the exclusive close-guard unit of the Medusas.
They stared nervously at the young human man. From him, they sensed an intense aura of danger, and faintly, countless strands of the resentful souls of their kin could be seen entwined around him, wailing in agony, including remnants unmistakably belonging to the Monarch level.
At the very least, he had slaughtered several Monarchs of the Serpent-Scorpion race.
Seeing this, Lu Jun's gaze was indifferent. He swept his eyes over the Silver Serpent Warriors and snorted coldly.
"Get lost!"
Buzz buzz buzz!
The next moment, his eyes flickered with silvery radiance. Vast spiritual power overflowed, and the sky-filling silver glow transformed into massive void hand seals, forcibly reapling more than a dozen Commander-level demons.
Lu Jun advanced as if entering an unguarded realm, arriving effortlessly atop the high tower. He reached out and touched the icy moon disc. His arm immediately hissed with rising green smoke, a large patch of tough, jade-like skin corroding and collapsing, revealing gray-white flesh beneath.
"Even a body at the Sixth Realm of Qi and Blood is being eroded?"
He was surprised. His Life Element Calamity Bearer talent [Life Sovereign] activated, his flesh emitting light as milky-white radiance spread along his arm. Nourished by dense life force, it instantly recovered to its original state, resisting the corrosion.
With a crisp crack, Lu Jun plucked out a cold,gloomy and cold eyeball, and after a brief sensing, he felt rather disappointed.
The energy of the Corrupting Evil Eye was indeed extraordinary, but it mainly absorbed curse elements drifting freely in the void, passively unfolding a decay aura that covered several kilometers.
After all, it originated from the mutated eye of some great being. Wanting to rely on this to advance to Forbidden Curse was undoubtedly wishful thinking.
"Forget it. I'll either sell it for money or place it within my own territory for use."
Lu Jun tossed the Corrupting Evil Eye into his personal space. His spiritual perception extended deep into the Sunset Divine Temple, locking onto the aura of a terrifying existence.
The master of this place already knew of his arrival, her emotions carrying a chill of hostility.
After all, anyone faced with someone who barged into their home without permission and casually helped himself would find it hard to feel any goodwill.
Escorted by a group of elite Serpent-Scorpion guards, Lu Jun showed no fear as he arrived at a ritual altar hidden within a dense forest.
Seated above was a small young girl with flawless features and a soft, graceful figure.
Her face was icy, her temperament proud. Beneath her was not the usual serpent tail but a pair of long, slender yet well-proportioned white legs, crossed together. Her jade-white feet were bare, toes round like pearls and slightly upturned, strikingly alluring.
Seeing this, Lu Jun could not help but sigh inwardly. Any one who liked tsundere girls would probably want to lick the screen, but unfortunately, he had no interest in frail little girls.
Apas questioned coldly, "Human, instead of chasing Euryale, why have you come to my territory?"
"Apas, I know who you are," Lu Jun said calmly, getting straight to the point. "The third daughter of the Medusa Mother, born from the union with a human woman."
"Compared to your two elder sisters, your chances of competing for the Serpent-Scorpion throne are slim. Once you fail, the outcome you face—death would probably be the easiest ending."
"Heh heh heh, what does that have to do with you!"
As her words fell, Apas's expression darkened. Her eyes transformed into golden-pink serpent pupils as a vast, hidden power stirred. Within a hundred zhang, the surrounding void twisted under the pressure of her spiritual force.
"Let's cooperate," Lu Jun continued unhurriedly. "Join forces to kill the Winged Medusa Euryale or at the very least, severely cripple her."
"Don't rush to refuse. Think it through. I'm not a native of the African continent. I can leave right now and go anywhere under the heavens."
"But you can't leave the Sunset Divine Temple. Even if you flee to the ends of the world, your two sisters will hunt you down relentlessly—until death—seizing your bloodline."
"This is the only chance in your entire life. There will never again be a strong expert like me, driven by personal interest, willing to challenge the Winged Medusa just to temper himself."
At these words, Apas's expression changed slightly, and she fell into deep thought.
Everything Lu Jun said was true, though he quietly concealed certain facts—for example, that the Tai'a Divine Sword needed to refine Taibai Xinjin, and that he could not disengage for a short period of time.
After a moment, Apas slowly spoke, "Fine. What you say makes sense. This is indeed a good opportunity to strangle a competitor."
The cooperation was established!
Lu Jun smiled; it was really that simple. In Africa, he had no roots, no vested interests, so the basis for trust already existed.
He also looked at the exotic girl on the throne of the altar. Through his spiritual perception, Apas's aura was indeed strong, but it carried a certain restraint.
It seemed that Apas's human body prevented her from unleashing the full strength of Medusa's most powerful mind curse. Though she possessed the latent potential of a great monarch, her current strength was only barely at the middle monarch level.
At this moment, Lu Jun recalled that he had intervened in this matter two years earlier. Apas had not yet reached her peak and still needed to undergo a ritual to become a complete great monarch.
Yes, she would have to be swallowed by a direct-line Medusa, break out from its abdomen, completing the human-snake transformation, gaining a snake tail, snake hair, and other features.
That was how Medusa's mother had originally transformed from a human mage into a Medusa.
Thus, Apas had no choice. Near Cairo, seeing her sister Euryale already heavily injured by an unknown powerful force, she had long been itching for action.
Once their decision was made, they immediately set off, rapidly heading north toward the Mediterranean. If the harpy Medusa finished consuming the curse and withdrew the Nail-Head Spiked Arrows, it would be too late.
Unexpectedly, they encountered a major incident halfway.
Hissss! Roarrr!
In Croatia, along the coastal wilderness, a man and woman were surrounded by endless scorpion-snake demons, layer upon layer, densely packed. From hidden caves, monstrous armies surged inexplicably, their roars shaking the heavens.
Deep within the scorpion-snake army, several Medusas stood tall. Their lower bodies were massive brown scorpion torsos, upper bodies were beautiful human female forms, about a hundred meters high, like several Statues of Liberty glaring coldly at them.
In addition, there were enormous snake spheres, hill-sized, countless vividly colored snakes entwined and writhing, with a crimson mother snake upright at the center, eyes icy cold.
Further back, amidst the masses of giant scorpion demons, a few towering Scorpion Kings appeared and disappeared, shrouded in swirling yellow sand, occasionally revealing ferocious pincers, their shells glinting with hard metallic luster.
Medusa Monarch! Crimson Mother Snake Monarch! Young Scorpion Queen!
At least a dozen monarchs lined up in the distance, standing tall. Against the backdrop of the blue sky and vast sea, they looked terrifying, their overwhelming monarch aura sweeping across the eight directions.
Lu Jun's expression grew serious. Passing through the line of monarchs, he gazed at the colossal human-faced serpent protected in the center by the scorpion-snake army. Its wings stretched wide, covering the sky—it was the harpy Medusa, Euryale.
The eagle-winged giant serpent let out a piercing scream, its beautiful face fierce: "Come on! Aren't you here to kill me?"