Before noon on the third day, the four of them finally reached the northern part of the desert. They descended from the sky and easily spotted their target sand dune.
It was simply too conspicuous.
In the midst of the endless yellow sands, only that one dune glowed fiery red, radiating intense heat. Yan Zhen was reminded of Flame Mountain.
This was the lair of the Red-Eyed Sand Scorpions. A Great Crimson Heaven Flame burned deep beneath the dune, baking the entire structure until it glowed crimson.
Before its evolution, the Red Sand Scorpion Lord had been a Red-Eyed Sand Scorpion—a species already tolerant of high temperatures. Under the relentless scorching of the Great Crimson Heaven Flame, it gradually mutated. Later, the Red Sand Scorpion Lord discovered the flame buried deep underground and took the first step toward evolution, advancing to the Mystic Ancestor Realm.
A few Red-Eyed Sand Scorpions patrolled around the fiery red dune, vigilant but emitting only weak auras at the third tier.
The bulk of their combat forces had followed the Red Sand Scorpion Lord to assault the City of Water.
According to the script, only a single King Scorpion and a group of Sand Soldier Scorpion Generals remained to guard the Red-Eyed Sand Scorpion lair. By the time Yan Zhen arrived in the story, the Myriad Snake Queen had already slaughtered them all.
Now, there was even less to worry about. The three women struck together, silently dispatching those few third-tier sand scorpions before heading straight into the scorpion cave.
The cave twisted and turned in a labyrinthine maze, leaving Yan Zhen somewhat dizzy. Yet the Myriad Snake Queen and Jiu Youyue seemed intimately familiar with the paths. They quickly located the worthless King Scorpion, slew it, conveniently cleared out the remaining Sand Soldier Scorpion Generals, and pressed deeper until they reached the Red Sand Scorpion Lord’s cavern.
The temperature here was even higher—enough that most Mystic Master Realm cultivators would struggle to endure it.
The cavern was vast and empty, dotted with sunken sand pits. But those were mere illusions. The true “entrance” lay beneath the cavern’s sole stone pillar.
The pillar appeared to support the cavern’s ceiling, but it was just another deception, erected to conceal the passage below.
A restraint seal adorned the pillar, but it posed no challenge to Jiu Youyue. Sealing and unsealing were her specialties.
Once the seal was broken and the pillar shifted aside, a sand pit identical to the others came into view—except this one belched wisps of white steam, scorching to the touch.
After stumbling upon the Great Crimson Heaven Flame by accident, the Red Sand Scorpion Lord had destroyed and sealed the original passage, then dug a new one leading to its own cavern.
“Descending from here will take us to the underground Magma Lake,” the Myriad Snake Queen said coolly, glancing at Yun Xiu and Jiu Youyue. “You two scout ahead. This Queen and Yan Zhen will follow.”
With that, she seized Yan Zhen’s wrist and pulled him to her side.
They had taken turns escorting him, and now it was her turn again. For safety’s sake, she naturally wouldn’t lead the way with him in tow.
Yun Xiu and Jiu Youyue exchanged a glance, a hint of disdain for the Myriad Snake Queen’s petty calculations.
“I’ll go first. I know the way.”
Jiu Youyue channeled her mystic power to envelop her lithe form, then plunged into the sand pit like a crescent moon.
Yun Xiu followed close behind on her flying sword.
The Myriad Snake Queen then scooped Yan Zhen into her arms, transformed into a Blood-Colored Giant Snake, and slithered after them.
Nestled in the Myriad Snake Queen’s embrace, Yan Zhen once again felt those soft, magnificent curves—not much inferior to Yun Xiu’s. His body stirred restlessly.
But he knew this was no time for that. He hurriedly circulated the Water Symbol in his sea of consciousness to calm himself.
The temperature in the underground passage was even higher, and it rose steadily as they delved deeper.
Yan Zhen’s mouth grew parched, the heat nearly unbearable. Suddenly, he heard the Myriad Snake Queen say:
“Lift your head.”
“Eh?”
Yan Zhen looked up at her, and his lips were instantly captured. Her slender pink tongue slipped into his mouth, bringing with it strands of cool, sweet saliva.
Excitement surged through him, and he eagerly drank it in, suckling her tongue and refusing to let go. At the same time, his hands grew restless, sliding around to her back to grasp her lush rear, fingers sinking deep and leaving clear imprints.
Unable to withstand such fervent assault, the Myriad Snake Queen lightly nipped him, forcing him to cool down.
Yan Zhen felt a pang of regret.
“S-Sorry, I again—”
“…It’s fine.” Her face flushed like blooming peach blossoms. She wiped her lips with the back of her hand and said softly, “Just hold on a bit longer. We’ll be there soon.”
Yan Zhen nodded. After days of reflection, he had a vague understanding of what was happening.
In the script, the Yan Zhen who refined the Evil Spirit Dragon Breath Flame was still an innocent virgin, untouched by matters of the flesh and even somewhat ascetic. Under the flame’s influence, he felt only raw agitation, with no lewd thoughts crossing his mind.
But the current Yan Zhen was different.
Having experienced all sorts of intimate play, the moment desire stirred, images of the women he’d been with flooded his thoughts—their snowy skin, plump hips and breasts, myriad charms and seductions. His body responded like it had awakened a muscle memory, craving their kisses and embraces. Body and mind alike, he was utterly unable to control himself.
In short, he had been sanctioned by lewdness!
—Damn it!
Yan Zhen was deeply unwilling. He resolved to endure, refusing to lose to his urges!
After half an hour of travel, they reached the end. Yan Zhen immediately leaped from his future wife’s ample bosom.
As the Myriad Snake Queen had said, the passage terminated in a volcanic chamber dominated by a churning Magma Lake.
Yan Zhen’s Crystal Pendant glowed faintly around his neck, clearly detecting the aura of the Great Crimson Heaven Flame.
At the same time, his system panel popped up, notifying him that the task was 30% complete.
System-chan had issued the corresponding mission as soon as they set out. It had three role-playing requirements:
First, shadow the Myriad Snake Queen, escape the Sand Scorpion Army’s encirclement via the underground aqueduct, head to the Red Sand Scorpion Lord’s lair, and locate the Great Crimson Heaven Flame.
Second, suppress the Great Crimson Heaven Flame to help the Myriad Snake Queen successfully complete her bloodline evolution.
Third, escort the weakened Myriad Snake Queen while evading pursuit from the Demon Domain Evil Cultivators.
Yan Zhen wasn’t too worried about the first two, but the third posed real difficulty.
In the script, only he shadowed the Myriad Snake Queen here, so they dove into the Magma Lake to flee into the Fire Refining Starry Sky and escape the Demon Domain Evil Cultivators’ chase. But now Yun Xiu and Jiu Youyue were present—together, the two women could even take on a Mystic Ancestor!
That made things awkward.
Unless a Mystic Venerable showed up, or Jiu Youyue turned traitor and backstabbed them.
A Mystic Venerable was impossible; such a being would easily draw the attention of the sacred lands, dooming their plans.
He could only hope Jiu Youyue played the traitor.
Yet Yan Zhen didn’t believe she would. In the script, they weren’t that close yet—she even subtly hindered the team to help him escape. Now, after several bouts of passion, he could clearly sense her affection. He couldn’t imagine her betraying them.
…
Would this plot mission really be impossible to complete?
The more Yan Zhen thought, the more troubled he became.
At his side, the Myriad Snake Queen spoke up.
“The Great Crimson Heaven Flame lies deep in the Magma Lake. This Queen will lure it out. Prepare to suppress it.”
