I have added this story to my Patreon. You can support me and read the latest chapters there. It also fed and motivate me to write more chapters!
Link: Patreon.com/NineClouds69
--- Chapter 261 ---
Crimson Death Desert.
"Are you guys alright?" Han Yuan asked as he returned.
Queen Medusa, Hai Bodong, Yafei, and the others nodded in response, but then fell silent, feeling a bit awkward.
Han Yuan tilted his head. "What's with the long face?"
"Let's be honest. Are you really Han Yuan?" Hai Bodong asked, curious.
Han Yuan rolled his eyes at the question. "Of course, I am. Don't be too shocked; you've felt the power of my martial soul, and what I used can definitely be considered one."
"Is it a God-level martial soul?" Hai Bodong couldn't help but ask again. "Also, didn't you say that you haven't awakened your martial soul yet?"
"Why do you want to know..." Han Yuan narrowed his eyes suspiciously.
Hai Bodong smirked, "I'm just curious. The power you showed earlier was 'incredibly' strong and otherworldly."
"I can still feel the lingering suppression on my Frost Dragon Halberd, as if it were afraid of your power."
Han Yuan was about to answer that when Queen Medusa suddenly asked her a question while licking her red lips, "Han Yuan, I wonder how long you can maintain that form..."
"Maybe... we can do something about your transformation in private."
Gulp!
The men, especially Hai Bodong, swallowed nervously at Queen Medusa's alluring invitation. 'Is this the Queen Medusa I know?'
They couldn't help but look at Han Yuan with a newfound respect for being able to charm the infamous queen of the snake people, and even made her act in this way.
Han Yuan ignored their gazes and replied, "We can discuss that another time."
"Let's clean up the battlefield and leave this area first," he continued. "Han Feng actually summoned a Protector from the Hall of Souls, and it's only a matter of time before the Hall investigates this place. While I can handle a Dou Ancestor without much trouble, a Dou Venerate Expert is still too much for me."
"But would you lose?" Yafei asked, her eyes gleaming with curiosity. She knew Han Yuan's strength was definitely more than that.
Han Yuan chuckled. "Nah, I'd win."
Honestly, after fighting Protector Wu, Han Yuan felt no challenge from the Dou Ancestors anymore.
He believed only Dou Venerates and above could contest against him, as they can manipulate spatial power at will, even tearing space to create unstable wormholes for travel, which he wasn't immune to.
In fact, if Han Yuan were placed in the Douluo Continent right now, only those with Divine Powers could pose a problem to him.
Hearing Han Yuan's confident replies, the group instinctively believed in him because he had the power to back it up. Then, they cleaned the battlefield.
"You didn't kill him?" Han Yuan stared at the half-dead Mo Tianxing, who had a gaping hole in his chest.
Queen Medusa snorted, "This guy's dark Dou Qi is too potent. Even after I broke it with my Sunder Heaven, the remaining energy could only leave him in this state."
"Is that so?" Han Yuan tapped Mo Tianxing a few times, checking his condition before throwing him to the Sky Poison Pearl.
"Here," Hai Bodong said while throwing the Old Demon Tiger's body near Han Yuan. "This guy's body is quite strong, and I heard you're interested in refining a puppet."
"And I thought you were a righteous one, Senior." Han Yuan put on a surprised look.
Hai Bodong crossed his arms, "That only applies to the innocent. These guys aren't innocent."
"Since they lost to us, their fates are up to us, too."
"Heh, it seems I misjudged you, Ice Emperor." Queen Medusa couldn't help but comment. "You're quite impressive, after all."
"Hmph, I don't want to hear that from you." Hai Bodong snorted as he still recalled the humiliation this woman put him through.
Queen Medusa merely smiled when Hai Bodong lashed out like this. She glanced at the Old Demon Tiger, who had turned into a literal ice statue, and thought to herself that the Ice Emperor had become stronger. If the past version of herself fought Ice Emperor again, she doubted she could win.
Of course, the past is past. No matter how strong Hai Bodong becomes in the future, Queen Medusa would also grow, and she wouldn't be inferior to him.
Han Yuan examined the ice statue closely, "Hmm, your ice Dou Qi is more damaging than I thought, but I can work with this."
"What about Mr. Gold and Mr. Silver?"
"Uh..." Hai Bodong put on a troubled look. "Well, I was too tired fighting the Old Demon Tiger, so I let Little Ao help me when they tried to use a secret technique and then bite them off guard."
"..." Han Yuan.
Yafei covered her mouth and giggled, "Grand Uncle is pretty smart on that."
"He waited for the last moment to ambush Mr. Silver and Mr. Gold."
"Right?" Hai Bodong proudly nodded.
"Anyway, clean those up, we should leave." Han Yuan shook his head helplessly.
After sweeping the Crimson Death Desert clean, Han Yuan and his group flew toward the Black Corner Region to mislead anyone from the Hall of Souls who might be tracking them. They planned to return to the North-Western Region, specifically the Tager Desert, and then head to Wu Tan City.
Fortunately, with Han Feng now gone, the Martial Union should have no problem conquering the Black Corner Region.
Han Feng's organization and allies likely don't know that their Medicine Emperor has fallen, making this an opportune time to strike.
As Han Yuan's group departed, a few eerie-robed figures appeared above the Crimson Death Desert.
These figures are naturally protectors of the Hall of Souls, but in a much higher position than Protector Wu. Their eyes scanned the area with their abyss-like gazes.
"I sense the aura of Protector Wu here. He should get summoned in this desert first," said the first hazy figure.
"Yes, but there's also the aura of Heavenly Flame in this territory. As far as I know, only the Wind and Thunder Fury Flame fits that description," the second figure remarked.
The third figure gazed into the distance. "You don't need to guess. It has to be that kid, Han Feng. He's actually desperate enough to summon one of our protectors."
"He must be facing a formidable enemy," a fourth figure added.
"Of course! After all, this enemy could extinguish Protector Wu's soul so easily," the fourth figure snorted in dissatisfaction. "That kind of enemy is difficult for us to fight."
"The fight didn't even last more than a few minutes," another noted.
"Few minutes to kill a Protector... Only a handful of people could achieve that unless those clans meddle in our affairs," said the fifth figure thoughtfully, causing the others to wear grim expressions.
The first figure frowned. "Have those clans discovered our secret?"
"No, that's impossible," the second figure replied, shaking his head.
"Yes, we have spies in those clans. If they knew something, we would have been alerted," the third figure disagreed.
"Then it must be a third party involved," the fourth figure concluded.
A moment of silence fell among the five of them. Even knowing a third party was involved didn't help them determine who was behind the deaths of Protector Wu and Han Feng.
The Dou Qi Continent is vast, and they couldn't possibly interrogate every living being, as that would attract too much attention and would be practically impossible as long as the Ancient Clans exist.
"Damn it, how frustrating..." the fifth figure cursed. "Let's fly around the area and look for clues."
"After that, we can start searching for the murderer."
"Okay." 4x.
The five of them began their search.
Unfortunately for them, Han Yuan wasn't an amateur. He had ordered his subordinates to clean everything that could be cleaned, including Hai Bodong's frost, the crater, the rainwater left by Queen Medusa, and the holes left by Yafei's coins.
Everything got swept clean using Earth Dou Qi.
Ultimately, they arrived at the area a thousand miles away where Protector Wu had perished.
Gasp!
They collectively inhaled sharply as they sensed the lingering aura left behind by the Fallen Holy Spear. "What a powerful Wood and Lightning Dou Qi!" one exclaimed.
"No wonder Protector Wu lost his life..." another added.
"But who could cultivate such strong Dou Qi? This level already rivals our Dou Venerate's energy in density."
"Could it be the Wind and Lightning Pavilion? No, they don't cultivate this type of Dou Qi, which is both sharp and full of vitality."
"What about the Beast Tribe? I don't recall any tribe having this kind of Dou Qi," a third figure said.
The five glanced at one another, hesitating as they considered the implications.
They realized they had drawn another conclusion after sensing this Dou Qi. What if Han Feng and Protector Wu had offended an old monster or someone with a hidden background?
The chance was low, but never zero. Nothing is impossible in the Dou Qi Continent.
Thus, Han Yuan unknowingly deterred the Hall of Souls by leaving a small clue to mislead them. He had intended to bait some of the Hall of Souls' protectors, but, ironically, it turned out he had failed successfully.