Chapter 22: The Tagore Desert

Ahead lay a vast, endless desert.

"The Tagore Desert, we've finally arrived," Wei Yang said, hovering in mid-air, his black wings gently flapping behind him.

With Wei Yang's current strength as a one-star Dou Ling, using wings to fly was a manageable feat. His advanced Xuan level flight skill, coupled with the high-quality materials of his wings, made his speed and agility superior to that of a typical Dou Wang.

Even so, it had taken Wei Yang seven days of continuous flight to reach the empire's eastern border and this great desert.

From his embrace, a cute little head peeked out, curiously looking at the endless expanse of sand. As a hot wind blew by, the head quickly retreated back.

Wei Yang smiled and enveloped the little girl in a red Dou Qi shield for protection.

Once they entered the desert, the temperature around them rose significantly. The sun here was particularly scorching, making the daytime heat almost unbearable.

Yet Wei Yang felt quite comfortable, even invigorated. The Dou Qi within him seemed unusually active, allowing him to harness the surrounding elemental energy more efficiently than ever.

After a moment of sensing the environment, he laughed and said, "The fire and earth elemental energies here exceed eighty percent. If I were to fight someone here, my strength would increase by a third!"

"If I were to live here, my cultivation speed would likely increase as well."

With a flap of his wings, Wei Yang flew through the air, observing the nearly identical scenery in every direction. He realized he might be lost.

Well, not exactly lost—he still knew his direction. He just didn't know where Stone Desert City was.

"Let's see if there's anyone around," Wei Yang said, shaking his head. His wings moved, turning him into a black and red streak of light speeding forward.

"Hmm?"

Soon, he sensed a faint, distant battle. Looking in the direction, he murmured, "Over there."

With a flap of his wings, he changed direction and flew quickly toward the source of the battle.

As he drew closer, he could see, a few kilometers ahead, a group of mercenaries battling a group of snake-people.

The combatants clashed, their various Dou Qi energies colliding and kicking up clouds of sand.

"Snake-people?"

Wei Yang soon hovered above the battlefield, looking down. The little girl in his arms also peeked out, curiously looking below.

In the desert below, about ten mercenaries wielding weapons were fighting a group of roughly twenty snake-people, seemingly surrounded by them.

These snake-people had human upper bodies but snake tails instead of legs, with scales of various colors.

"Hiss~"

The sound of their tails moving was distinct, marking them as members of the Tagore Desert's snake-people tribe.

"This is my first time seeing snake-people," Wei Yang marveled, observing the twenty-some snake-people. The men looked fierce and cold, while the women were curvaceous and alluring.

Unable to resist, Wei Yang glanced a few more times at the well-endowed female snake-people.

"Hiss~"

A small hand pinched his waist, making Wei Yang gasp and quickly avert his gaze.

"Hmph," a dissatisfied hum came from his embrace.

"I was just curious," Wei Yang hastily defended himself.

He scanned the mercenaries, counting fifteen in total—ten men and five women.

The mercenaries dressed quite differently from those within the empire. Most of the men were shirtless, with two even bare-chested, their dark or bronze skin taut with muscles, exuding a sense of power.

They gave a rugged and bold first impression.

The five women had healthy, wheat-colored skin and agile figures. Unlike the more reserved women of the inner empire, these desert-dwelling women were quite bold.

Their tight leather outfits barely covered their vital areas, revealing large expanses of skin and their shapely legs.

Both sides in the battle noticed Wei Yang's arrival.

"A Dou Wang expert?"

The sight of his more than two-meter-long black wings startled both sides, causing them to halt their battle and quickly stand apart, warily eyeing each other.

Swish!

Wei Yang descended, retracting his wings and dispersing his protective Dou Qi before setting down the little girl.

"What?!"

Seeing them clearly, both sides were stunned.

The boy was dressed in black brocade embroidered with gold, his appearance handsome. The girl was in a plain white dress, her demeanor ethereal, like a fairy.

But the key point was—they were too young!

The boy looked at most sixteen or seventeen, while the girl seemed no older than fourteen or fifteen.

Their auras were restrained, giving no hint of their strength, making them appear ordinary.

But no one present was foolish enough to believe these two were ordinary.

At least, the black-clad boy was definitely not ordinary.

After all, he could fly with Dou Qi wings.

A sixteen or seventeen-year-old Dou Wang?

It was hard to believe, but the evidence was in front of them.

Unlike the snake-people, the human mercenaries, though tense, felt a glimmer of hope.

The snake-people, while more nervous, were not overly afraid. There was a tacit understanding between the high-level humans and snake-people: strong individuals generally wouldn't slaughter the weak without reason.

As long as no one intentionally courted death, the strong from either side usually refrained from mass slaughter.

Wei Yang's gaze swept over both sides before settling on the human mercenaries.

Suddenly, his brows furrowed, and the girl beside him, Ye Xian'er, also showed a look of disgust.

In the snake-people's ranks, several lecherous gazes had covertly swept over Ye Xian'er's slender waist, though they quickly averted.

Wei Yang nearly laughed in anger.

It was said that snake-people were lustful, often capturing human women, but this was too bold.

With his powerful soul perception, he instantly locked onto the few male snake-people.

Noticing Wei Yang's gaze, the snake-people who had been sneaking peeks were terrified, their faces showing panic.

Damn, couldn't control my eyes!

"Humph!" Wei Yang casually waved his hand, sending out five rapidly spinning red-hot streams of light from his fingertips.

Fiery Stabs!

A modification of the high-level Huang Dou skill Gale Stab, its power now reached the level of a low-level Xuan Dou skill.

"Lord, spare…"

Thud! Thud! Thud!

The snake-people who had been peeking barely had time to plead before red beams pierced their foreheads.

Watching the snake-people fall with gaping holes in their foreheads, Wei Yang coldly remarked, "Foolish."

Silence!

Everyone looked on in fear.

A leading snake-person with triangular pupils, both fearful and angry, hissed, "Lord, isn't this too much? Killing our people like this, aren't you afraid our queen…"

"Oh? Are you threatening me?" Wei Yang interrupted, his voice cold, his eyes turning icy.

If they couldn't control their eyes, killing them was just. Even if Queen Medusa herself came, what of it?

"… No," the leading snake-person, feeling the dangerous gaze, instantly felt as if doused in cold water, his anger extinguished, lowering his head.

All the snake-people lowered their heads, feeling a chill from their feet to their spines, their bodies cold.

Wei Yang withdrew his gaze, ignoring them, and turned back to the human mercenaries.

Seeing Wei Yang's gaze, the mercenaries shivered.

"Can anyone tell me how to get to Stone Desert City?" Wei Yang asked with a smile.

(End of Chapter)