"Of course not. My goal is far greater than that price."
Xiao Zhitian came back to his senses and directly refused. Then he added, "But if you drink a cup and suppress your cultivation to fight me, I'll tell you."
"You're that eager to fight me?" Medusa looked at Xiao Zhitian playfully. She had wanted to teach him a lesson a few days ago but hadn't gotten the chance. Now that Xiao Zhitian brought it up himself, she could hardly hold back.
"We'll only know after we fight. I also want to test my strength."
Xiao Zhitian looked at Medusa's excited expression and felt something was slightly off about her.
"Come on. I'll take you somewhere no one will disturb us."
Xiao Zhitian followed Medusa to an area filled with towering boulders.
"A good place," Xiao Zhitian said, looking around.
"Then let's begin quickly." Medusa suppressed her cultivation to Two-Star Dou Ling. A slender red sword appeared in her hand.
The two stood atop separate boulders, facing each other.
Xiao Zhitian summoned his Heavenly Thunder Halberd as well. Seeing the halberd formed entirely from lightning, Medusa praised, "Such exquisite control over attributes."
Xiao Zhitian didn't reply and directly launched himself toward Medusa.
The two turned into afterimages, constantly clashing. The sounds of weapons colliding and Dou Techniques exploding echoed through the air.
As the battle continued, Medusa gradually felt the overwhelming suppression of Xiao Zhitian's lightning attribute. She began to fall into a disadvantage and had no choice but to continuously raise her cultivation, wanting to see just how far Xiao Zhitian's combat strength truly reached.
"Moon Slash!"
"Fire Snake Arrow!"
A crescent-shaped slash collided with a red, snake-shaped fire arrow. Both were repelled by the violent energy fluctuations and retreated to opposite sides. Medusa's strength had now risen to Seven-Star Dou Ling.
"I didn't expect your combat power to be this terrifying."
"This is only the beginning."
Medusa's Seven-Star Dou Ling was not an ordinary Seven-Star Dou Ling. Although her cultivation was suppressed, her Dou Huang body and combat experience remained. She was a genius who could fight above her level—a Seven-Star Dou Ling battling a Dou Wang was entirely possible.
The two once again transformed into streaks of light and clashed.
When they separated again, much of Xiao Zhitian's clothing was torn, revealing his muscular physique. Medusa, however, was unharmed—because midway through the battle, she had raised her cultivation again, now reaching Nine-Star Dou Ling.
"No martial ethics," Xiao Zhitian said while looking at his damaged clothes, staring at Medusa with a dark expression.
"Haven't you heard? The prettier a woman is, the less trustworthy her words are."
Medusa secretly glanced at Xiao Zhitian's physique, almost imperceptibly, and replied with a stubborn tone.
Looking at her like this, Xiao Zhitian couldn't help thinking: Is this still the Queen Medusa I know? Has she been possessed by some mischievous spirit?
"I've roughly determined my strength. Let's decide the winner with one final move."
Xiao Zhitian spoke seriously. Behind his back, a Peak Dou Huang Experience Card appeared in his hand—but after a moment's thought, he put it away.
Seeing his sudden seriousness, Medusa understood that the final exchange would be real.
She prepared herself.
Xiao Zhitian's halberd instantly shot into the sky, transforming into a magic formation above Medusa's head.
A several-dozen-zhang-long halberd emerged from the array, radiating a terrifying aura of destruction.
Medusa felt a powerful lock-on. She knew she could only withstand it, not dodge it.
"Serpent's Descent!"
A black hole-like vortex appeared before Medusa. From within it emerged a ten-zhang-long red giant serpent, roaring toward the massive halberd.
Xiao Zhitian clenched his fist. The halberd plunged downward. The giant serpent surged upward.
The two Dou Techniques collided violently. In the end, the serpent was annihilated, while the halberd continued descending toward Medusa.
Medusa immediately formed a shield in front of her. The halberd and shield clashed. Both shattered, the halberd having lost most of its power after destroying the serpent.
The remaining energy blasted Medusa backward.
Xiao Zhitian activated Void Piercer Art, crossing more than thirty meters instantly and bypassing the chaotic energy. One hand supported her back beneath the shoulder blade, while the other wrapped around her snake tail.
He landed gently. Seeing a trace of blood on Medusa's lips, he placed her tail on the ground and supported her with one hand.
A Fifth-Grade healing pill appeared in his hand and was quickly brought to her lips.
As for where the pill came from—naturally, it was thanks to Gu He's generous "contribution."
Medusa recognized it as a Fifth-Grade pill and sensed the rich life force within. She looked at Xiao Zhitian with flickering eyes, then opened her mouth and swallowed it.
After recovering, Medusa immediately stepped out of Xiao Zhitian's arms and turned her back to him. A faint blush appeared on her face.
In more than two hundred years, this was the first time she had been touched by a man. The more she thought about it, the redder her face became—even her earlobes turned crimson.
Looking at Medusa's back, Xiao Zhitian asked, "How are you now? Are you okay? Why didn't you unseal your Dou Qi to resist?"
"Hmph. I wanted to. None of your business."
Medusa snorted lightly, unsealed her cultivation, summoned her Dou Qi wings, and instantly transformed into a streak of light, flying away without even asking about Xiao Zhitian's goal. Only drifting sand remained behind.
"That move of yours… no Dou Wang below Four-Star could withstand it."
A voice echoed faintly.
Xiao Zhitian looked in the direction Medusa had disappeared and scratched his head in confusion.
Two more days passed in the blink of an eye after Xiao Zhitian's battle with Medusa.
At the only entrance to the Snake-People territory, surrounded by the eight tribes, Xiao Yan stood scratching his head in frustration.
"Teacher, how do we get in?"
"Hide first. I sense a Dou Zong aura approaching."
"Dou Zong? Could it be Medusa who broke through?"
Xiao Yan, currently only a small Dou Shi, immediately felt his scalp tingle. He hurried behind a boulder and hid himself completely, asking in shock.
"It's not the Snake-People's aura. It's human… they're here."
Yao Lao fully concealed Xiao Yan's presence as they hid behind the rock.
The aura Yao Lao sensed belonged precisely to Yun Shan of the Cloud Mist Sect.
Yun Shan stopped deep within the desert, his gaze directed toward Serpent-People City's Snake-People Temple, as if he could see it clearly.
"After decades of seclusion… the Tagor Desert, the Snake-People Tribe, Queen Medusa… it's been a long time."
With a sigh, Yun Shan stepped directly into the void. With each step, space rippled, and a single step carried him a hundred meters.
Yun Shan did not conceal his aura. Medusa, Xiao Zhitian, and others all sensed it immediately.
"Hm? Yun Shan?"
Medusa felt his presence and sat up from her bed within her palace chamber.
"He actually broke through to Dou Zong…"
Ever since her battle with Xiao Zhitian, something within her heart had subtly changed, but she couldn't understand it.
So she had spent the past two days hiding in her chambers, still unable to figure it out.
"Is your target Yun Shan?"
Medusa appeared beside Xiao Zhitian, looking at him and asking softly.