Cao Ying is jealous, Medusa is puzzled.

The flying boat flew steadily above the Tagor Desert.

Below lay endless yellow sand, and the scorching sun streamed through the portholes.

Lord Shen Wen sat cross-legged in the center of the flying boat, holding the newly refined Yin-Yang Mysterious Dragon Pill in his palm.

The pill was the size of a dragon's eye, golden and black all over, and as it slowly rotated, faint dragon roars could be heard.

He no longer hesitated, tilting his head back and swallowing the pill.

Upon entering his body, the pill didn't immediately unleash violent energy. Instead, it dissolved like warm water, and a warm current quickly spread through his limbs and bones.

But this warmth was merely superficial.

Lord Shen Wen could clearly feel it.

A hidden energy lay dormant deep within his meridians and bones, awaiting a certain trigger to awaken it.

This was the secret of the Yin-Yang Mysterious Dragon Pill.

Taking it had no immediate effect.

But once the user suffered a severe injury, nearing death.

This hidden power would erupt, protecting the heart, stimulating potential, and helping them break through their limitations to reach a higher level.

Lord Shen Wen slowly opened his eyes. Although his cultivation hadn't directly increased, there was a hint of composure added to the depths of his eyes.

Yao Chen was indeed formidable; the effect of this Yin-Yang Mysterious Dragon Pill was almost like gaining an extra life.

Moreover, he had refined it with a Tier 7 dragon demonic core, so its efficacy was certainly higher than the original.

As soon as he opened his eyes, he met a pair of charming, scrutinizing eyes.

Cao Ying was standing opposite him, arms crossed, leaning back, her gaze subtly shifting between him and Medusa.

Medusa, on the other hand, stayed alone in the corner of the flying boat, her snake tail coiled, eyes closed in meditation.

Her exquisite profile appeared particularly cold and beautiful in the light and shadow, as if out of place with everything around her, but her slightly trembling eyelashes showed that she was not as calm as she appeared.

Although Lord Shen Wen had already explained to her why he kept Medusa.

Cao Ying still felt uncomfortable inside.

It was then that Dan Chen's soul transmission echoed in Cao Ying's mind.

“Sister Ying... why did Brother Shen Wen keep this Queen Medusa?

She... she's so beautiful and powerful. Is Brother Shen Wen interested in her...?”

Dan Chen's voice carried a hint of loss and worry, “Isn't he your husband, Sister Ying? How could he...?”

Hearing this, Cao Ying's heart was a mix of emotions.

How should she explain?

Should she directly tell Dan Chen that she and Lord Shen Wen were only married in name, without substance?

Even if Lord Shen Wen truly had feelings for Medusa, she had no right to interfere?

For some reason.

This thought made Cao Ying feel an inexplicable irritation and heartache.

She didn't want, especially, to let Dan Chen, who seemed to have also developed feelings for Lord Shen Wen, know this fact.

So.

She could only repeat the reason Lord Shen Wen had given her, trying to sound calm and objective: “Don't overthink it.

Lord Shen Wen kept her because the Purple Nether Flame Snake soul she fused with contains a trace of the Seven-Colored Sky Swallowing Python bloodline.

The Seven-Colored Sky Swallowing Python is an ancient exotic beast with infinite potential. If fully activated, its future achievements could reach the Dou Sheng realm.

Lord Shen Wen intends to take her for his own use, to add a powerful helper for the future.”

“So that's it!” Dan Chen suddenly understood, her clear eyes filled with admiration as she looked at Lord Shen Wen, “Brother Shen Wen truly has discerning eyes and a meticulous mind.

Not only can he discover Sister Qing Lin's Triple Jade-Green Snake Flower Pupils.

He can also see that Queen Medusa possesses an ancient bloodline... he's truly amazing!”

Dan Chen's heartfelt praise, however, made Cao Ying feel even more disheartened.

This guy has incredibly sharp judgment.

He only picks

Qing Lin is one thing; she's young and still a maid.

But this Medusa.

Her appearance, strength, and temperament are all top-tier.

Now, with the added halo of

Although Lord Shen Wen couldn't hear the two women's soul transmissions.

But seeing Cao Ying's increasingly hostile gaze and Dan Chen's eyes filled with adoration and complex emotions, he guessed about seventy to eighty percent of it.

He rubbed his nose, helpless.

He indeed had intentions for Medusa.

Just then.

The flying boat's communication array lit up, and Xiao Ding's slightly excited voice came through: “Lord Shen Wen!

We've discovered a place, and the nearby sand shows signs of having been melted by high temperatures, forming a substance similar to glazed glass!

There are residues of scorching fire-attribute energy at the nearby edges.

It perfectly matches the flame location marked on the map!”

Finally found it!

Everyone on the flying boat was invigorated.

As for the Sand Mercenary Group?

After Xiao Ding and Xiao Li both advanced to Great Dou Master, and personally witnessed Lord Shen Wen's terrifying strength in crushing a Peak Dou Huang.

Luo Bu very shrewdly chose to surrender.

The process of incorporating the Sand Mercenary Group was smoothly uneventful; Stone Desert City was already completely under the control of the Mo Tie Mercenary Group.

“Full speed ahead, destination: the entrance!” Lord Shen Wen immediately ordered, temporarily casting aside the subtle atmosphere on the flying boat.

The flying boat changed direction and sped towards Xiao Ding's location... The five people disembarked from the flying boat and followed Xiao Ding to the special place they had discovered.

“Is this it?”

Lord Shen Wen walked on the desert; there was a peculiar spot, and indeed, unusually active fire-attribute energy lingered around it.

Medusa crossed her jade arms over her chest and said, “I already felt there was something wrong here, but I thought it would be difficult to go straight down, so I planned to take my time.”

“And then someone got there first.”

Lord Shen Wen shrugged, “Then that's actually beneficial for you. If I had arrived and found the Green Lotus Core Flame already in your hands.

Then I would have just attacked your Snake-People Clan.”

“You...”

Cao Ying saw the two bickering and interrupted, “Husband, how do we get in?”

Lord Shen Wen looked at Cao Ying. In all the time they had been married, Cao Ying had never called him 'husband'.

But soon.

Lord Shen Wen knew what was going on; it was likely Medusa who had given Cao Ying a sense of crisis.

This was a good sign.

Lord Shen Wen: “The four of us will just blast our way down.”

“Even if you found a possible location, it's so vast underneath. Without direction, how will you find it?”

Medusa couldn't help but retort.

“I can vaguely sense the scorching flame below!”

Cao Ying spoke again.

Anyway, she didn't want Lord Shen Wen and Medusa to talk too much.

Moreover, her Crimson Emperor Fire Sovereign Qi could indeed sense the extremely explosive power below.

“I naturally have a way to sense it too.”

Lord Shen Wen said directly that his Flame Ancestral Symbol had long detected the extremely dense flame power below.

“Qing Lin should come with us too.”

Amidst the three people's puzzled expressions.

Lord Shen Wen asked Qing Lin to come down with them to see if her Triple Jade-Green Snake Flower Pupils, which weren't fully activated yet, could control the Two-Headed Fire Spirit Snake.

“Ah... okay...”

Qing Lin nodded timidly, mainly because of her constitution, being near Medusa always made her extremely nervous.

Only when she was by Lord Shen Wen's side did she feel a little safe.

Under the combined efforts of four Dou Huangs, a wide passage began to appear.

As they delved deeper, not long after, Cao Ying whispered, “The earth-attribute energy here is almost gone; it's practically all fire-attribute energy. We should be close.”

What Cao Ying could sense, Lord Shen Wen naturally could also sense.

Finally, with only a thick stone wall remaining, Lord Shen Wen casually waved his hand, and Dou Qi instantly transformed into a silver lightning bolt as thick as an arm.

“Boom—!”

The stone wall shattered.

The next moment.

A crimson world appeared before the five, and a wave of heat instantly rushed towards them.

However, Lord Shen Wen and the other two were Alchemists.

They themselves cultivated fire-attribute techniques, and Medusa's bloodline was inherently cold, giving her resistance to this heat wave.

Medusa, though, glanced at Qing Lin, noticing that Qing Lin also possessed a cold power similar to her own.

‘A hybrid... offspring of a Snake-Person and a human? But why has she lived so long?’

Medusa frowned, her gaze falling on Lord Shen Wen.

Why was this man always surrounded by various special women?

Cao Ying was one thing.

And that human woman named Dan Chen, during the previous battle.

She had noticed that when Dan Chen attacked her with soul power.

There was always a strange devouring power trying to directly swallow her soul.

If her own soul hadn't also fused with the Purple Nether Flame Snake, giving her unique properties, she probably wouldn't have been able to force those two women back.

And now.

There was one more, a hybrid of the Snake-People Clan and a human who had lived for so many years.

Strange, truly strange!