Emerging from the wolf's den, only to fall into the tiger's lair.

Although he was in Mo City that day, he clearly felt the soul-shaking aura erupting from deep within the desert.

As well as the subsequent seven-colored radiance and heavenly tribulation that shot into the sky.

That was a sign of successful evolution.

In his opinion,

Facing a Dou Zong,

Shen Wen and the other two had no chance of survival.

He even despairingly believed that his last hope of breaking the seal had been completely shattered with Shen Wen's demise.

He could only linger in this small map shop for the rest of his life until he died of old age.

But he never expected it.

Not only was Shen Wen alive,

He was also standing shoulder to shoulder with the notorious Queen Medusa, their relationship appearing strangely ambiguous!

Shen Wen looked at Hai Bodong's ghost-like expression and said casually, "Why can't I be alive?

Not only am I alive, but I also subdued the Snake-People Clan along the way.

Now Medusa is my subordinate, is there a problem?"

"Sub... subdue the Snake-People Clan?!" Hai Bodong gasped, his eyes nearly popping out.

He subconsciously looked at Medusa, wanting to find traces of refutation or coercion on her face.

However, Medusa merely glanced at him lazily.

Although her light purple eyes were still cold, there was no killing intent, but rather a kind of... presupposition?

Hai Bodong's heart was greatly shaken, and he looked at Shen Wen's calm demeanor again.

And with Cao Ying, Dan Chen, and the little girl he hadn't seen before all looking unfazed, he had no choice but to believe this utterly absurd fact.

The people from the Pill Tower indeed possess extraordinary means!

He could only explain it this way in his heart.

Shen Wen was too lazy to explain further, so he simply flicked his finger, and a jade bottle flew precisely towards Hai Bodong.

"Here, the poe pill. Our transaction is complete."

Hai Bodong fumbled to catch the jade bottle, his hands trembling with excitement.

He impatiently pulled out the stopper, and a strange medicinal fragrance immediately permeated the air, invigorating him.

After confirming it was correct, he gave Shen Wen a deep look, no longer hesitated, and tilted his head back to swallow the poe pill.

The pill entered his stomach.

It instantly transformed into a torrent of hot and pure medicinal power, rushing towards the cold seal in his Qi Sea that had entangled him for decades.

"Chi chi chi—"

Like ice and snow meeting a blazing sun, the solid seal rapidly began to melt under the specifically counteracting medicinal power of the poe pill.

Hai Bodong's originally stagnant fighting qi, like a flood released from a dam, began to surge forward!

His aura instantly skyrocketed from a Dou Ling to a One-star Dou Huang.

"Hahahaha—!!!"

"So refreshing!"

Feeling the long-lost immense power filling his body, Hai Bodong couldn't help but let out a long roar to the sky, the sound waves rattling the maps in the shop.

Decades of pent-up frustration.

At this moment, it was all released with this long roar. He felt completely relaxed, as if reborn!

However, his laughter had not yet fully subsided.

A pressure infinitely more terrifying than his current Dou Huang realm descended with a crash, like a towering mountain, precisely pressing down on him!

"Thud!"

Hai Bodong, who had just been full of high spirits, was directly forced to one knee by the pressure without any resistance.

His knee cracked the stone slab on the ground.

The ecstatic smile on his face instantly froze, turning into horror. He struggled to raise his head, looking at the source of the pressure.

It was Queen Medusa, looking at him with cold eyes.

"Medusa! You...!"

Hai Bodong was both shocked and angry, his newly recovered fighting qi frantically circulating, attempting to resist.

But under the absolute pressure of a Dou Zong, his struggle was like an ant trying to shake a tree.

He suddenly cast his gaze towards Shen Wen, his eyes filled with confusion and a plea for help: "Lord Shen Wen! What does this mean? Our transaction..."

Shen Wen spread his hands, his face showing helplessness: "Transaction?

That's right, I helped you refine the poe pill and remove the seal.

Now you've eaten the pill and the seal is broken, so the transaction is naturally over."

He paused, his tone even more indifferent, "As for what Medusa wants to do... that's her own business, what does it have to do with me?"

Upon hearing this, Hai Bodong's heart instantly sank halfway.

The transaction is over, and Shen Wen won't interfere?

Then wouldn't he, having just recovered some of his strength, immediately die at Medusa's hands?

He hastily shouted, "But she... isn't she your subordinate now?!"

Hearing this, Shen Wen instead laughed: "Exactly, precisely because she is my subordinate, she wants to do some things she wants to do.

Should I, as her master, stop her? That would be too unkind."

Medusa listened to Shen Wen's words, a cold sneer forming on her lips, and her gaze towards Hai Bodong grew even colder.

The immense pressure intensified, making Hai Bodong's back bend even further, his forehead veins bulging, and sweat pouring down.

Hai Bodong groaned inwardly.

He was truly panicked now.

Out of the wolf's den and into the tiger's maw—Shen Wen was clearly planning to watch the show!

Watching Hai Bodong drenched in cold sweat and looking disheveled under Medusa's pressure, Shen Wen slowly spoke again.

"Alright, Medusa, pull it back for now." Shen Wen waved his hand, his tone casual.

Medusa snorted coldly upon hearing this, and the mountain-like pressure instantly receded like a tide.

Hai Bodong immediately felt his entire body lighten, gasping for air, but dared not relax in the slightest, vigilantly watching Shen Wen and Medusa.

Shen Wen strolled to the counter, tapped the desktop lightly with his finger, and his gaze fell on Hai Bodong: "Hai Bodong, there's something I'm quite curious about.

That incomplete map you gave me before.

I've studied it carefully; the fractured edges are quite peculiar. It doesn't look like violent tearing, but rather precise segmentation by some special means.

Tell me, is the other part also in your possession?"

Hai Bodong's expression changed slightly, not expecting Shen Wen to observe so meticulously.

He subconsciously glanced at Medusa beside him, and his throat bobbed.

Circumstances were stronger than him. Now that he had just recovered his strength, he absolutely did not want to provoke this malevolent deity and her unfathomable master behind her.

"Yes... it's here with me."

Hai Bodong, helpless, honestly took out another piece of fragmented map identical to the previous one from deep within his storage ring and handed it over.

"Lord Shen Wen has sharp eyes; this was indeed originally a complete map."

Shen Wen took the fragmented map, placed the two pieces together, and the broken edges fit perfectly.

He toyed with the reassembled map, asking with interest, "I'm curious, how did you separate it? This material isn't ordinary."

Hai Bodong dared not conceal anything and quickly said, "It was Guter, that fellow who is obsessed with treasures.

He has a strange metal wafer, thin as a cicada's wing, yet incredibly sharp. I used that metal piece to barely manage to separate this map."

"Guter? Special metal?"

Shen Wen raised an eyebrow, lost in thought.

The Fighting Qi Continent was once glorious, with a hundred schools of thought contending.

Refining tools, runes, mechanisms, and other unorthodox paths also flourished for a time, so it's not surprising that some strange things were left behind.

It's just that now only alchemy remains, and he hasn't delved deeply into it.

"I'll take the item."

Shen Wen waved his hand, signaling Medusa to completely release her suppression on Hai Bodong.

Hai Bodong felt as if he had received a great pardon and immediately bowed to Shen Wen: "Thank you, Lord Shen Wen, for your benevolence!

If there are no other instructions, this old man... I'll take my leave now!"

He didn't want to stay for another moment, especially not wanting to face Medusa.

With that, his fighting qi surged around him, and he was about to condense Dou Qi Wings to escape.

"What's the rush?" Shen Wen's faint voice sounded again, freezing Hai Bodong's actions midway.