Chapter 110: A Bad Deal

"This kid is always like this." Xiao Li shook his head with a helpless bitter smile.

Xiao Ding looked at the envelope Qing Lin had rushed over with; he didn't even need to look at the contents to know what his younger brother was about to do.

"That's just how he is. He hasn't changed in over a decade. Once he sets his sights on something, he'll stop at nothing to get it — not even the Medusa Queen can stop him." Xiao Ding casually tossed the letter aside.

"But that is the Medusa Queen — will Young Master be alright?" Qing Lin's eyes brimmed with tears, her hands clasped together as if praying for Xiao Yan.

"Don't worry. He's not the kind of person who dies so easily. He'll come back."

Two days later, Xiao Yan, who had donned his Soul Robe and resolved to wade into this mess, had already been flying for two days. He had stopped and started along the way, costing him quite a bit of time — after all, the Ta Ge Er Desert was no longer human territory, and flying continuously would invite attacks from Fourth Rank or even Fifth Rank Demon Beasts.

If an ordinary person traveled on foot, it would probably take half a month to get from Shimo City to here.

It was also thanks to the upgrade of the Burning Art, otherwise Xiao Yan's Dou Qi wouldn't have been able to sustain his flight for so long.

Xiao Yan looked at a red dot on the map that marked danger. There were eight such red dots scattered across the entire map, distributed in several different directions throughout the Desert.

Among the SnakeTribe of the Ta Ge Er Desert, aside from some small and medium-sized tribes, there were eight massive tribes. These were the eight red dots on the map — the most powerful tribes of the SnakeTribe, holding extremely high status in the Desert. Apart from the Medusa Queen, even they refused to acknowledge one another.

The leaders of the eight great tribes were all Fifth Rank Demon Beasts, possessing the strength of a Dou Wang.

And at the very center of the eight red dots lay the SnakeTribe Empire's Shen Cheng — also the Imperial Palace of the Medusa Queen.

Therefore, for Xiao Yan to reach Shen Cheng, he had to pass through one of these great tribes.

"If the SnakeTribe possess heat-sensing abilities like actual snakes, then the effect of the Soul Robe will be greatly reduced." Xiao Yan frowned as he stared at those somewhat crimson red dots and let out a helpless sigh.

The greatest difference between Demon Beasts and humans lies in the Spiritual Soul. Demon Beasts do indeed have very weak Soul Force, but when heaven closes one door, it opens another. Demon Beasts often possess other 'physical' perception abilities.

Snake-type Demon Beasts' tongues are extraordinarily sensitive to the Infernal Heat, wind direction, and humidity in the air.

The Soul Robe can only shield against Soul Force Perception.

Xiao Yan's powerful Soul Force Perception detected a group of snake-people drawing water at an Oasis in the distance. He thought to himself: "Perhaps I can use my identity as an Alchemist to infiltrate a SnakeTribe tribe."

As he gradually approached the Oasis, the sweltering air around him also began to cool.

Xiao Yan's gaze swept the surroundings. After a moment of thought, he finally leapt into the lush thicket, his figure gradually concealed.

Taking a light sniff of the fragrance of the little grass beside him, Xiao Yan exhaled comfortably.

In the Desert, even a touch of green can feel precious.

Xiao Yan's gaze swept out through the gaps in the trees. At the end of a small path beyond the thicket, several slender, graceful snake-women stood with cold, stern faces. Their sharp eyes continuously scanned the surrounding jungle, the weapons gripped tightly in their hands seemingly ready at any moment to strike down anyone who intruded.

"These are all guards. If they spot me, they'll almost certainly attack me outright. I need to think of a way to make them capture me and take me back." For Xiao Yan to enter Shen Cheng without causing a disturbance, the best method was naturally to let the snake-people bring him in themselves.

Narrowing his eyes, Xiao Yan revealed a crafty smile. Suppressing his aura and Dou Qi, he slipped past the guards like a phantom and infiltrated toward the water source.

Xiao Yan could sense that there was an even more powerful snake-person within this water source.

Taking off his Soul Robe, Xiao Yan pulled out a water flask and, pretending to be timid, clumsily made his way to the water's edge to begin drawing water.

Suddenly, a faint sound of breaking water rang out. The previously mirror-still surface of the lake suddenly revealed a figure — a woman with an explosive figure burst up from the bottom of the lake, her back to him.

Her smooth, beautiful back faced Xiao Yan as she shook her long hair. Her long locks clung to her snow-white fragrant shoulders, and droplets of water slid down her healthy, wheat-colored skin, finally trailing past her irresistibly slender waist.

As the woman's body turned, that perfect figure with its defined abdominal lines was suddenly exposed to Xiao Yan's gaze. Even though Xiao Yan had been mentally prepared, a surge of desire still shot straight to his brain.

Xiao Yan forcibly suppressed his most primal impulse, putting on the appearance of a pure-hearted youth who had accidentally intruded, and hurriedly covered his eyes with his hands: "I-I'm so sorry, this one did not mean to see the young lady bathing."

"Hehehe, young lady? Take a closer look — your humans don't call me Yue Mei 'young lady,' you know." Yue Mei slowly walked up out of the lake, and once she emerged from the water, a crescent-moon-yellow tail was revealed.

Xiao Yan spread his fingers and peeked through the gaps. He was so startled that he immediately fell on his backside, exclaiming: "Y-you're a snake-person!"

Xiao Yan was so frightened that he scrambled and crawled trying to run outside. Just then, with a whoosh, a snake tail wrapped around his ankle.

Yue Mei's spring-water-like eyes gazed at Xiao Yan with a smile. After a moment, her slender hand covered her Red Lips as she laughed: "Little human fellow, you took advantage of big sister and now you want to just walk away like that?"

"Ah! I really didn't do it on purpose. I just wanted to get some water." Xiao Yan put on a mournful face, his expression carrying three parts fear, three parts regret, and four parts lecherousness.

The dramatic tension of that performance was on par with a Best Actor-level performance!

"Hehehe, not on purpose? You managed to get past all those guards outside — and you say it wasn't on purpose?" Yue Mei reached out and gently lifted Xiao Yan's chin, speaking in a teasing tone.

"I am an Alchemist. My Soul Force is relatively strong, which is why I was able to get in."

"An Alchemist?"

Upon hearing the word Alchemist, Yue Mei's expression instantly changed, becoming serious. A flash crossed her eyes as she asked: "How can you prove it?"

Xiao Yan hurriedly took out a Pill Bottle from his storage ring and handed it to Yue Mei.

Yue Mei opened the bottle stopper and took a light sniff. An instant cool, refreshing sensation immediately spread throughout her entire body.

"A Third-Rank Pill?!" Yue Mei's heart jolted. She had never expected that this somewhat delicate and youthful-looking boy before her was actually a Third-Rank Alchemist!

Although a Third-Rank Pill was of no use to her, for Third-Rank snake-people it was an absolute treasure. Moreover, if cultivated to reach Four-Grade or even Five-Grade, it could raise the strength of an entire tribe.

Especially the Dou Wang Pill among Five-Grade Elixirs, which could allow a Dou Wang to advance one level without any side effects — even she couldn't resist that temptation.

Yue Mei revealed a greedy expression as she looked at Xiao Yan, laughing: "Hehehe, so it's the esteemed Alchemist. I wonder if the esteemed Alchemist knows that although our SnakeTribe are cold-blooded by nature, during our mating season our bodies become extremely scorching hot. I've fallen for the esteemed Alchemist at first sight, making Yue Mei unbearably hot — if you don't believe me, touch me."

Xiao Yan immediately gulped, and actually reached out to touch Yue Mei's arm. An instant chill transmitted from her fingertips.

Yue Mei's voice, laden with cold intent, came: "Hehe, you really did touch me."

"Guards! Take this fool who doesn't know when he's dead back with us!"

Clack clack clack — one blade after another was placed against Xiao Yan's neck from behind.

"Sigh, one Third-Rank Pill only gets me one touch — what a loss." Xiao Yan inwardly lamented that he'd made a bad deal.

(End of this chapter)