Villains Aren't Stepping Stones!-Chapter 53: Reunion(1)
Great Tao Desert, a massive desert located between the Eastern Region and Southern Region.
It is under the control of Spirit Hall, with various desert cities serving as trading hub between the East and the South.
And the only thing separating these two regions was the Yellow Earth Mountain Range.
This mountain range was a jagged spine of scorched sienna and burnt orange, carved into bizarre, skeletal shapes by millennia of abrasive desert winds.
And at this moment, hidden within a narrow fissure that looked like nothing more than a trick of the shadow, Fairy Liu, still navigating through Huo Yue’s weary body, slipped inside a cave.
The interior of the cave was cool, the air smelling of dry dust and ancient mineral, providing a stark contrast to the oppressive, shimmering heat of the Great Tao Desert outside.
Just then, the ethereal blue glow faded from Huo Yue’s eyes as Fairy Liu retreated back into the ring, leaving the young woman to collapse against the smooth sandstone wall.
Huo Yue breathed heavily, her chest heaving as she wiped a streak of grime from her forehead, but she couldn’t help but grin as her heart was drumming a frantic, joyful rhythm against her ribs.
"That was... incredibly thrilling!" she managed to wheeze out, her voice echoing in the cavern.
"No! No, it’s not!" Ziyan snapped, her usual cool and aloof demeanor completely shattered.
The cat-eared mercenary glared at Huo Yue with a mix of terror and disbelief before sliding down the opposite wall and closing her eyes, her feline ears twitching at every phantom sound from the tunnel.
"I really thought that I was about to die. I could practically feel those serpent tails coiling around my neck."
"But we didn’t! And look at what we got for the trouble," Huo Yue countered, her eyes sparkling with a mischievous light.
She then sat up straight, ignoring the ache in her muscles, and began to rummage through her spatial storage. "Anyway, let’s lay low here for a while. The Lamias might be fast, but even they can’t track us through the air after ma—...my little stunt."
With a flourish, she began to pull items out of her ring, and the cave floor was soon covered in a staggering display of wealth; glistening spirit stones, carved jade boxes, and bundles of fragrant, glowing herbs.
"Here," Huo Yue said, pushing a massive pile of the loot toward the stunned Ziyan. "Let’s each have half. You were a great help distracting those guards back there. It made it easier for me to steal these things."
Ziyan stared at the fortune before her, her throat bobbing as she swallowed hard.
"Thank you," she whispered, her voice regaining some of its composure as she nodded to Huo Yue, gathered her portion of the treasures, and walked deeper into the shadowy recesses of the cave to find a private spot to cultivate and mend her wounds.
Once Ziyan was out of sight, Huo Yue’s composure broke, and she began to smile like a thief who had just pulled off the heist of the millennium.
She hugged herself, rocking back and forth on her heels. "Fufufufu~! I’m rich! Rich! So filthy rich! Haoran won’t believe how much dowry I’ve gathered!"
Once she calmed down a little, she began to take a frantic, joyous inventory, and the grin wouldn’t leave her face as the haul was nothing short of legendary.
There were a total of 3 million medium-grade spirit stones, a sum that could buy a small city in the outskirts.
Then there were the ten thousand Bone-Chilling Spring Pearls, rare artifacts harvested from the deepest subterranean aquifers; they were invaluable for a fire cultivator, as they increased heat resistance and stabilized the volatile nature of one’s internal flames.
The pile continued with mountains of Rank 4 and 5 pills, followed by countless Rank 4 and 5 spirit herbs, with the occasional shimmering leaf of a Rank 6 herb that radiated a potent, medicinal aroma.
And this was only one of their treasury! There are dozens more she couldn’t open because she lacked the time! She wondered just how rich the Lamias really were.
But the crown jewel of the heist was the Blue Lily Earth Flame!
Huo Yue opened her inner world, feeling the intense, sapphire heat pulsing within her Dantian.
This was her second Heavenly Flame, ranked 18th in the Heavenly Flame rankings.
According to her master, this flame can only born under the pressure of the earth, and receiving tempering after tens of thousands of years.
Once it fully blooms, this flame has the ability to cause volcanic eruptions, and summon magma from the ground.
Integrating it during their frantic heist had been a gamble, but it had paid off.
The flame had not only evolved her Imperial Flame Transformation Technique into the Grand Tier Spirit Grade, but the sheer influx of pure elemental energy had forced her cultivation to skyrocket, pushing her directly into the 9th Stage of the Core Formation Realm.
And also...
Hisss~
A soft, rhythmic hissing sound vibrated against her skin, and from the sleeve of her tattered brown cloak, a small, elegant head emerged.
It was a snake no longer than a forearm, covered in shimmering scales that shifted through every color of the rainbow like a prism held to the sun.
"Oh, Xiao Mei, are you hungry already?" Huo Yue swooned, her voice turning high and motherly at the sight of the cute creature.
She opened her palms, and a lily-shaped blue flame appeared, hovering just above her skin.
Although the heat was intense, the snake seemed like it didn’t mind at all, "Come, come, eat. You need your strength if you’re going to keep being my lucky charm."
The snake, whom Huo Yue had dubbed Xiao Mei, slithered onto her palms and began to "eat" the flame, drawing the essence of the Blue Lily into its tiny body.
"I can’t believe that terrifying Queen Medusa was this cute," Huo Yue mused, poking the snake gently on its head and began petting it as it ate.
It was the ultimate irony, actually. This tiny, docile creature was indeed the terrifying Queen Medusa, the undisputed sovereign of all Lamias and a genuine 9th Stage Spirit Ascension Realm powerhouse.
The reason she had been reduced to this vulnerable state was a tale of ambition and tragedy.
She had been attempting to purify her ancient bloodline using the Blue Lily Earth Flame she found and the flame that Huo Yue stole, to breakthrough into the Nirvana Rebirth Realm.
She had succeeded in the evolution, but the process had been too violent and the backlash had thoroughly damaged her soul, forcing her into a deep slumber and regressing her body into this infantile, primal form.
It was actually because of that incident that Huo Yue had the chance to steal the flame, if not, she can only dream of stealing something that a Spirit Ascension Realm Expert possessed.
"Don’t be fooled by her appearance," Fairy Liu’s voice suddenly rang in Huo Yue’s ears, sharp and warning. "Although she looks small and harmless now, that snake is the infant form of a Rainbow-Scaled Divine Serpent, a genuine Rank 10 Demonic Beast."
"What!? Rank 10!?" Huo Yue’s jaw dropped.
In the hierarchy of the Prime Origin Realm, a Rank 1 Demonic Beast is equivalent to a Qi Gathering Realm, while Rank 10 is equivalent to a Heavenly Saint.
As for the equivalent of Body Refining Realm, well, beasts of that level doesn’t have Beastial Qi, so they couldn’t technically qualify as a Demonic Beasts, so some people merely referred to them as "Fierce Beasts", or just beasts.
And as for the Demonic Beasts that are the equivalent of Supreme Emperor, they are referred to as Supreme Beasts or Emperor Beasts.
They are terrifying creatures that can swallow the moon and stars.
"You’re telling me I’m holding a future Heavenly Saint in my hands?" Huo Yue whispered, her eyes wide as Xiao Mei licked her thumb with a forked tongue.
"I am telling you that once she wakes up, she might decide to swallow you whole for kidnapping her," Fairy Liu retorted. "Anyway, once the both of you have fully rested and stabilized your Qi, you must set off immediately. Those Lamias won’t let you off for taking away their Que—"
Fairy Liu’s voice suddenly cut off, replaced by a sharp intake of spiritual breath. "Not good! They are already here!"
BOOM!
The entire sandstone mountain shuddered, as dust and pebbles rained from the cave ceiling, and the cool air was suddenly replaced by a dry, suffocating heat that smelled of venom and ancient sand.
"HUMAN THIEF! GIVE US BACK OUR QUEEN OR BE GROUND INTO THE DUST!"
A thunderous, multi-layered voice echoed through the fissure. It wasn’t just one voice; it was the synchronized roar of hundreds, led by a powerhouse whose aura made the sandstone walls groan under the pressure.
The Lamias had found them, and they hadn’t come for a negotiation.
Huo Yue stood up, her 9th Stage Core Formation aura flaring to life, her black-and-red ruler already in her hand.
"Well, Xiao Mei," she muttered, her eyes hardening as she looked toward the cave entrance. "It looks like the thrill isn’t over yet."
