Starting from Douluo to Capture Goddesses

"I implore Lord Xu Ran to please help me,"

"If Lord Xu Ran is willing to assist me, in the future, even if I have to climb mountains of swords or plunge into seas of flames, I will not hesitate," Hai Bodong respectfully said to Xu Ran.

"I have come precisely to aid you. Your body is sealed by Queen Medusa, and there is no need to concoct a separate elixir," Xu Ran said, patting Hai Bodong's shoulder lightly.

Crack!

As if something had shattered within the unseen realms,

immediately after, Hai Bodong's aura surged violently.

The aura of a Dou Huang level explosively released, as if it held the power to destroy heaven and earth.

"This..."

"My strength has returned! I, the Ice Emperor Hai Bodong, am back! Hahaha!"

"My Lord is mighty."

"I will never forget the kindness you have shown to me," Hai Bodong said, kneeling on one knee, his eyes brimming with gratitude.

"There is no need for that, you are Ya Fei's elder, and it is only right that I save you," Xu Ran said as he helped Hai Bodong to his feet.

"You should leave this place as soon as possible. Although I have forcefully broken Queen Medusa's seal on you, she must have sensed it by now, and you will be exposed soon. If you get sealed by Medusa again, don't come looking for me," Xu Ran joked.

In fact, if one did not forcefully break the seal directly, one would need to concoct an elixir.

That elixir required a particular ingredient found deep in the desert, territory belonging to Queen Medusa, which was why Hai Bodong had been staying here. This place, abundant in fire elements, held no benefits for him, the Ice Emperor.

"My Lord, you probably didn't come here just to restore my strength. Are you here for the 'Strange Fire'?"

"I take an interest in mapping; I once wandered in the Tagore Great Desert and fortuitously obtained some information about the 'Strange Fire.' After some investigation of these details, although I still cannot be certain exactly where the 'Strange Fire' is located, I was able to deduce the places where it's likely to be found," Hai Bodong said as he gently fished out a thin parchment from his chest and handed it respectfully to Xu Ran.

It was an extremely detailed map of the Tagore Great Desert, marking not only the locations of water sources within the desert but also carefully indicated the scattered Snake-People Tribes.

However, Xu Ran knew where the 'Strange Fire' was.

It had been acquired by Queen Medusa, who was now attempting to advance to the Douzong realm, relying on the 'Strange Fire.'

But for now, Xu Ran wasn't going to approach Medusa immediately. He wanted to first visit Qing Lin. Qing Lin, possessing the "Tri-Flower Pupil of the Green Snake," had the ability to subdue Serpentine Demon Beasts, and her talent was extremely high.

Yet, she was regarded as an anomaly at the present.

"Would you like me to guide you, my Lord? I am very familiar with these places. If you intend to take on Queen Medusa later, I can also help," Ice Emperor Hai Bodong said, clearly holding a grudge against Medusa and wishing to reclaim his honor through Xu Ran's intervention.

"There's no need. Go back to the Jia Ma Empire. You needn't worry about my affairs," Xu Ran said, frowning and dismissing Hai Bodong with a wave of his hand.

Medusa was one of the wives he had decided on; how could he bear to lay a hand on his own wife?

He, too, wanted to be a heroic outlaw!

Moreover, he was even more curious to see what Medusa looked like now, half snake, half human... Before he crossed over, Xu Ran had watched anime, and the depiction of Medusa was enchantingly attractive, simply incomparable.

There weren't many beauties who could handle being half beast, half human and still conform to human aesthetics, and Medusa was one of them.

But if she was half human, half snake, exactly where would he... go in?

That place, had it become a snake, or remained human?

After all, that area was right in the middle, and nobody could really say.

...

Stone Desert City.

Upon arriving in Stone Desert City, Xu Ran had Xiao Yi Xian and the others find accommodations, and they left directly. Ever since they had come to the desert, the three women's spirits had been low. Thankfully, upon learning that Xu Ran was there for the Strange Fire, they perked up.

Strange Fire was a legendary treasure, something all alchemists dreamed of. However, in such a hot environment, sweating profusely every day, they were all uncomfortably hot. Xu Ran, on the other hand, feasted his eyes. Although he could look whenever he wanted, the hazy beauty gave him a different feeling every time he saw it.

The cities within the desert, compared to those inside the Empire, had an added sense of simplicity and solidity—perhaps because of the proximity to the Tagore Desert, the defenses here were much stricter than within the Empire, and armed soldiers could be seen patrolling everywhere in the city.

Mo Sha Mercenary Corps was a faction established by Xiao Yan's two older brothers, and it held considerable prestige within Stone Desert City.

And Xu Ran had found Qing Lin not far from the Mo Sha Mercenary Corps.

Qing Lin was dressed in elegant attire, petite in stature yet mature in figure, just looking slightly green around the edges. At the moment, she was surrounded by a group of people pointing and making remarks, her face pale, hugging her legs, her small body trembling uncontrollably, eliciting a feeling of compassion.

She kept apologizing, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you."

Near the Tagore Desert, it occasionally happened that human women were violated by snake-people. By general logic, snake-people and humans mating would not typically result in pregnancy, but there are always exceptions, a very rare chance that a woman who had relations with a snake-person would become pregnant, like Xiao Someone in the original story. A single encounter, a lasting memory...

The people around looked on at Qing Lin without any pity, instead harboring a subtle disgust.

In Stone Desert City, everyone knew of Qing Lin's identity. It was only because Qing Lin now belonged to the Mo Tie Mercenary Corps that she wasn't excessively bullied. Mercenaries living on the edges of the desert harbored deep-seated blood feuds with the snake-people, and whenever these mercenaries thought of the snake-people blood flowing in Qing Lin's veins, they couldn't help but show signs of disgust—a sentiment virtually nothing could suppress, born of long-standing animosity between humans and snake-people.

Qing Lin, bearing both human and snake-people bloodlines, was on the receiving end of discrimination and loathing from both sides. It could be said that Qing Lin was a pitiful little girl.

Although there were many conflicts and even hatred between humans and snake-people, that was no reason for them to take it out on a little girl.

"Move aside!"

Xu Ran casually sent two unfortunate souls blocking his path flying and then stepped up to Qing Lin.

Looking at the fragile girl before him, he directly picked her up from the ground.