Chapter 319: Chapter 318: The Han Family’s Peril

"He’s... he’s dead!" Watching Wang the Fifth get instantly incinerated by the black flames, his underlings were shocked to their core. They stared at Shen Haoran, not daring to so much as breathe.

It wasn’t just his men; even Murong Wanqing stared at Shen Haoran in disbelief. His attack had been so sudden that she hadn’t had time to react. What shocked her even more was that he hadn’t even blinked when he killed the man—he was so decisive, acting without a shred of hesitation.

Shen Haoran casually dusted off his hands, then raised his head to look at Wang the Fifth’s surrounding underlings.

When Shen Haoran’s gaze swept over them, a chill ran through the Martial Artists. They immediately panicked and scattered in all directions. Their boss had died at Shen Haoran’s hands; what chance did small fries like them stand?

Shen Haoran watched them flee but didn’t give chase. Instead, he went to Ling Feng’s side. His brows furrowed tightly as he looked down at the unconscious man.

Ling Feng’s injuries were extremely severe. Besides the several knife wounds on his legs caused by Wang the Fifth, the rest were claw marks and internal injuries. He must have fought a powerful Spirit Beast to have sustained such heavy wounds. Wang the Fifth had likely taken advantage of his weakened state. Otherwise, with Ling Feng’s strength, he never would have been chased down and beaten by that man.

This made Shen Haoran curious. What kind of Spirit Beast could injure Ling Feng, a Tier Eight Spirit Marquis, this badly? And it wasn’t just him—Duan Ruyan and Shi Dahuo were in the same state, barely clinging to life by a thread!

Shen Haoran quickly retrieved healing elixirs from his Storage Ring and had the three of them take the pills. Then, he carried them on his back and headed for the edge of the Desert Land. It was nearly evening, and the Desert Land became far more dangerous after dark. It was better to leave quickly.

Shen Haoran and Murong Wanqing then carried Ling Feng and the other two, hastening their departure from the Desert Land.

...

What Shen Haoran didn’t know was that after he left, on a nearby sand dune, the stunningly beautiful, half-human Snake Emperor was holding two Martial Artists by their throats. A closer look revealed they were Wang the Fifth’s underlings.

"You said you saw a man and a woman. Where are they now?" the Snake Emperor asked coldly, her cyan eyes fixed on the two men.

Enveloped by the Snake Emperor’s powerful aura, the two Martial Artists felt as if a great mountain was crushing them, leaving them unable to breathe.

"They... they headed out of the Desert Land!" the two men answered hastily, terrified that if they were a moment too slow, the beautiful but deadly woman before them would kill them.

"Out of the Desert Land? What’s outside the Desert Land?" the Snake Emperor asked again. As someone who had never left her oasis, she knew nothing about the world beyond it.

"Outside the Desert Land is Desert City. They most likely went there to find a place to stay!" the two Martial Artists answered again.

"Desert City," the Snake Emperor murmured, her gaze falling upon the two Martial Artists once more.

"Please, let us go! We’ve told you everything we know!" Meeting the Snake Emperor’s eyes, the two Martial Artists felt their hearts clench and immediately began to beg for their lives.

"Hmph. Humans. Not a single one of you is any good," the Snake Emperor sneered. A bizarre light flashed in her eyes, and the two Martial Artists began to turn to stone.

Casually tossing aside the two petrified Martial Artists, the Snake Emperor’s delicate brows knitted together. Her beautiful eyes stared toward the edge of the Desert Land.

"Hmph. No matter where you flee, I will hunt you down!" the Snake Emperor sneered. She stretched out her palm, and a gleaming golden fruit appeared—it was the Profound Yellow Fruit.

If Shen Haoran had been there, he would have been stunned to see that the Snake Emperor had another Profound Yellow Fruit hidden away.

Staring at the Profound Yellow Fruit, the Snake Emperor steeled herself and threw it into her mouth. The moment it entered, the fruit dissolved into pure Energy that surged toward her serpentine tail.

An intense wave of pain shot up from her tail, so agonizing that even someone as powerful as her couldn’t endure it. The Snake Emperor collapsed to the ground, thrashing violently. Her massive serpentine tail began to slowly shrink, and a pair of long, human legs gradually emerged in its place. The Snake Emperor was trying to transform into a human!

She had no other choice. If she wanted to enter human territory, appearing in her half-human, half-snake form would surely get her besieged by a group of powerhouses. Her only option was to take on a human form. However, this transformation required enduring immense pain, and the Snake Emperor channeled all of it into her hatred for Shen Haoran.

"I will find you... and I will TEAR YOU TO PIECES! AAAAAAHH..." Her bloodcurdling scream echoed across the Desert Land, chilling all who might hear it to the bone. Her serpentine tail continued its slow transformation...

...

By now, night had fallen. Shen Haoran and the others had finally made it out of the Desert Land, but it was too late to hurry back to Desert City. They found a nearby cave and settled Ling Feng and the others inside.

The auras of the three injured friends had finally stabilized. The pallor on their faces vanished, replaced by a healthy, rosy color. The Healing Medicine Shen Haoran had concocted was exceptionally effective.

"Let’s rest here tonight. Ling Feng and the others should be waking up soon," Shen Haoran said, letting out a long sigh of relief after confirming there were no Spirit Beasts nearby.

"Cousin, I never knew you were a High Tier Alchemist! Looks like I won’t have to worry about getting my hands on elixirs from now on!" Murong Wanqing said cheerfully, looking at how Ling Feng and the others’ conditions had stabilized.

Hearing this, Shen Haoran just laughed. ’She wants me to make elixirs for her? There’s a fee for that. Even family needs to settle accounts, right?’

The two chatted for a while before Elder Bai returned from outside. After they had left the Desert Land, Shen Haoran had sent Elder Bai to circle back to Desert City. He couldn’t stop worrying about Han Xu and feared the Lan Family would make a move against the Han Family.

Elder Bai walked in, his expression grim. Seeing this, Shen Haoran tensed and hurried forward. "What’s wrong, Elder Bai? Did something happen?"

"You were right, Young Master. The Lan Family did make a move on the Han Family, and on the very night we left. The Han Family is no match for the Lan Family’s strength. They’re losing ground steadily and have been forced to hole up in the Han Family’s ancestral hall. What’s more, Han Ding of the Han Family has betrayed them!" Elder Bai told Shen Haoran everything he had learned.

Hearing this, Shen Haoran’s expression darkened. "What about Han Xu and Han Xue?" he asked. ’Even though Han Xu and I haven’t been through life and death together, he’s the first friend I made in the Northern Domain. I consider him my brother. Now that my brother is in trouble, I can’t just stand by and do nothing!’

"The two of them are safe for now. With Han Feng protecting them, the Lan Family can’t get to the remaining members of the Han Family. But," Elder Bai said gravely, "the Lan Family has hired several Spirit Aspect Powerhouses from somewhere. I don’t think the Han Family can hold out for much longer!"

At these words, Shen Haoran stood up and started walking out of the cave.

"Cousin, where are you going?" Murong Wanqing asked.

"Back to Desert City. I’m going to save the Han Family," Shen Haoran said grimly.

"I’ll go with you!" Murong Wanqing volunteered.

"No, stay here and wait for Ling Feng and the others to wake up. Elder Bai and I will be enough." Without waiting for Murong Wanqing’s reply, Shen Haoran rushed out of the cave. A pair of wings unfurled from his back, and he shot off toward Desert City like a streak of light...