The Mystic Lord powerhouses in the City of Water numbered only the Myriad Snake Queen, the Three Serpent God Priests, and the Upper Four Guards of the Eight Serpent Generals.
The Myriad Snake Queen was right here. The Serpent God Priests rarely showed their faces, and the Four Great Snake Generals already knew just how formidable Yun Xiu was…
Thus, the identity of this other Mystic Lord powerhouse was self-evident.
Any Mystic Lord coming from outside the City of Water was either a reinforcement or someone from the Demon Domain.
The City of Water had sent out pleas for aid long ago, and those reinforcements had arrived early. But they were all standing by, watching the battle unfold. They planned to swoop in like heroes only when things looked truly dire—when the city teetered on the brink of annihilation—to extract the maximum benefit.
In a word, they were opportunists, profiting from another’s misfortune.
In the script, the reinforcements from the Three Major Kingdoms didn’t enter the palace to meet the Myriad Snake Queen until after the Sand Scorpion Army had the City of Water fully surrounded. Then they made exorbitant demands as payment for their “help.” The city, desperate, had no choice but to agree.
Of course, once the Myriad Snake Queen advanced to Mystic Ancestor, she circled back and slaughtered them. Their demands evaporated, and they received only whatever rewards matched their actual contributions.
As for the Demon Domain’s agents, they had burrowed into the City of Water long ago, lurking as traitors.
When the Sand Scorpion Army laid siege, these infiltrators would approach the Myriad Snake Queen in the palace with “advice”: join the Demon Domain, and they would see the city through its crisis.
In truth, these same agents had stoked the Red Sand Scorpion Lord’s appetite for conquest. They also coveted the Great Crimson Heaven Flame.
Had the Myriad Snake Queen agreed, the Red Sand Scorpion Lord would have met certain death. The City of Water and its precious flame would have fallen into Demon Domain hands, crowning them the sole victors.
It was a perfectly calculated scheme. Unfortunately, they hadn’t accounted for Yan Zhen—this mere little Mystic Scholar.
“……”
The question remained: was Yun Xiu’s opponent one of the Three Major Kingdoms’ reinforcements, or a Demon Domain operative?
Though the clash was far off, Yan Zhen’s spiritual power had reached the Nether Realm. He could see it all with perfect clarity.
Yun Xiu’s swordplay was ruthless and unrelenting, each strike aimed to kill. She drove her foe back without mercy.
Given her gentle temperament, such ferocity could only mean one thing: her opponent hailed from the Demon Domain.
Yet Demon Domain agents were masters of secrecy. How had she spotted him?
“You stay here for now. This Queen will go take a look.”
Without waiting for Yan Zhen’s reply, the Myriad Snake Queen shot into the sky. She became a streak of red light hurtling toward the heart of the fight.
Yan Zhen could hardly stand idle. He gripped his trump card—a second-order one—in his hand. Then, unleashing the Starry Sky Dance, he stepped across the stars and gave chase.
Boom!
Mystic power collided in a deafening blast. The two combatants in the air sprang apart, glaring at each other from a distance.
Just then, the Myriad Snake Queen and Yan Zhen arrived one after the other at Yun Xiu’s side.
“Yun Xiu, are you alright?”
Yun Xiu shook her head.
“Yan Zhen, fall back. This guy’s extremely dangerous.”
The Myriad Snake Queen recognized him instantly. The man across from them was An Zi, the Demon Domain mole planted inside the City of Water—a grandmaster at the Seven-Star Mystic Lord level.
She had marked him long ago. But the moment to strike hadn’t come.
After all, as fellow Mystic Lords, he couldn’t best her in a fight. Yet if he fled, she had no means to stop him.
“What happened?”
“This man’s a Demon Domain evil cultivator, hiding right here in the City of Water. Worse, he’s a subordinate of the Evil Consort,” Yun Xiu said coldly. “All the Evil Consort’s trusted agents in the Demon Domain bear the Evil God Seal. It carries a faint aura of the evil god, detectable through secret arts.”
The Myriad Snake Queen nodded. She eyed the middle-aged man again. He managed one of the city’s boat houses—wealthy and generous, popular in upper-middle circles. His outward cultivation seemed to be only Mystic Master Realm, appropriate for his age. A Mystic General bodyguard shadowed him.
Clearly, the moment Yun Xiu identified him, she attacked without hesitation. She crippled the bodyguard first, forcing the man to unveil his true power just to survive.
But Yun Xiu was a reincarnator. In her previous life, she had attained the Mystic Saint Realm. A mere Seven-Star Mystic Lord was no match for her.
“Since we’ve flushed him out, let’s end him.”
The Myriad Snake Queen struck without another word, swift as lightning.
Yun Xiu joined her, sword flashing.
Pummeled by two Mystic Lords, the man had no chance to flee. He perished in an instant. The Myriad Snake Queen dissolved his corpse into bloody sludge with a burst of venom.
Capturing Demon Domain scum was pointless anyway. They yielded no vital secrets. Even soul-searching triggered self-destruction, dooming the searcher.
As for basic intelligence, both women—as reincarnators—already knew it all.
Yan Zhen watched from nearby and gulped hard. He thought to himself, Damn, they’re ferocious. In just a few clashes, they’d erased a Mystic Lord. Meanwhile, the Four Great Snake Generals were only just arriving, chorusing “What happened?” like idiots.
The Myriad Snake Queen waved the Snake Generals off. She turned to Yun Xiu.
“Why did you probe him?”
Yun Xiu slipped her sword into her storage ring. “His boat grazed my Painted Boat,” she said flatly. “I went out to check and noticed he was hiding his cultivation. So I tested him. Never thought he’d turn out to be Demon Domain vermin.”
“You’ve done This Queen a huge favor this time,” the Myriad Snake Queen said with a smirk. “I’ve wanted to excise this tumor for ages but never had the opening.”
“Fine, then. Hand Yan Zhen back to me.”
“One debt at a time. And don’t talk like he’s your property. This Queen is his future wife.”
“I’m his girlfriend right now…”
They had been allies in battle moments ago. Now they traded barbs like old rivals. Sandwiched between them, Yan Zhen felt a pounding headache. He rushed to play peacemaker.
“Uh, speaking of which—a bunch of powerful auras just flared up from spots around the city. Shouldn’t we check them out?”
The Myriad Snake Queen let out a mocking chuckle.
“No need for that. Let the rats scurry out themselves!”
She stamped her foot lightly. A ripple visible to the naked eye radiated outward, engulfing half the City of Water.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Three distant corners of the city erupted at once. Three figures rocketed skyward and streaked toward them.
All three were Mystic Lord Realm cultivators, but with modest star ratings—their power on par with the Four Great Snake Generals.
One was a familiar face to Yun Xiu.
Feng Xiao, Sixth-Tier Pill Refiner and the Garo King’s personally titled Chief Court Refiner. His standing rivaled hers.
Owing to his profession, he enjoyed vast networks across the Garo Kingdom, bearing guest elder titles from major factions. This trip was for the Great Crimson Heaven Flame, and he traveled with a retinue of muscle.
The other two were a vice sect master from the Sunward Kingdom’s Divine Dream Palace—a grizzled middle-aged swordsman with twin blades at his belt. He was mentor to the Third Prince who chased after Ji Ya, and he’d brought the boy along. The last was an elder from the Shadow Moon Kingdom’s Thousand Fiends Palace: a gaunt, hollow-eyed crone with jutting cheekbones, looking half in the grave already. In a couple of years, Yi Xian’er would recruit her upon release. She’d end up a rabid devotee of the Thousand Fiend Queen.
