Chapter 325 Medusa

When Ye Fan and his party stepped into the vast desert on the border of the Western Regions, the scene before them was shocking.

The desert is endless, with yellow sand flying all over the sky. The scorching sun is burning the earth like a flame, and the air is full of scorching heat waves. The wind is whistling, and the sand is hitting the body like a blade, making a "rustling" sound. Occasionally, a cluster of withered and yellow vegetation can be seen on the ground, stubbornly rooted in the sand, but more often there is endless silence and desolation.

The sky was a clear blue without a single cloud, making it seem even emptier. The sand dunes in the distance were rolling like golden waves, making the entire desert look dreamlike, but hiding deadly dangers.

"The environment here is simply not suitable for human habitation." An accompanying disciple couldn't help but sigh in a low voice.

Ye Fan looked around calmly, and said firmly: "That's why there may be secrets hidden here. Be alert and be careful of potential threats."

When walking deep into the desert, Ye Fan suddenly felt a strange breath. A low hissing sound came from the sand dunes in the distance, like some kind of reptile moving slowly.

Soon after, they saw a simple but large settlement - a group of buildings made of yellow sand and stones, with a rough and primitive shape, as if integrated into the desert. There were several tall bone pillars around the settlement, hung with various snake skeletons and animal skin flags, indicating the unique culture and tyranny here.

Ye Fan and his group held their breath and approached carefully to observe.

What appeared before their eyes was a group of strange-looking creatures - the snake people.

The males of the snake tribe are tall and sturdy, with bronze skin, fierce faces, cold eyes, tiny snake scales on their heads, and a thick snake tail on their lower body, which moves on the sand. They are wrapped in rough animal skin armor, holding spears, scimitars and other primitive but sharp weapons in their hands, exuding a strong sense of oppression, as if they were born warriors.

The women of the snake tribe are completely different from the men. Their upper bodies are slender and graceful, their skin is as smooth as jade, and their facial features are delicate, which even makes humans marvel; however, their lower bodies are also snake bodies, covered with colorful scales in different colors, such as red, blue, gold, green, etc., which looks weird and mysterious.

At this moment, a snake woman was sitting cross-legged on the stone platform in the center of the settlement, staring coldly in the direction of the outsiders, as if she had already noticed their arrival.

"Humans!" A male warrior of the snake tribe swam over quickly, his voice hoarse and low, "What are you doing here? Don't you know that this is the territory of the snake tribe?"

Ye Fan's eyes were calm, without any fear. He bowed slightly and said in a fake voice, "We are monks passing by, and we have no intention of offending the nobles' territory. We just got lost in the desert and came here to ask for a bowl of water."

The warrior sneered, spitting out his snake tongue and showing his sharp fangs: "There are no poor people lost in the desert, only dead skeletons. If you are really passing by, you'd better get out of here now, otherwise you will bear the consequences!"

Ye Fan did not answer immediately, but looked up at the snake woman on the central stone platform.

"Is this the leader of the nobles?" Ye Fan asked in a low voice.

The warrior was immediately furious when he heard this. He swung his snake tail, leaving a deep groove in the sand. "Human! You are not qualified to talk to an adult!"

However, just as the atmosphere was tense, the snake woman on the stage slowly spoke, her voice cold but with a bit of majesty: "Enough, Shago."

The soldier immediately suppressed his arrogance, lowered his head and stepped aside.

The snake woman slowly slid down the stone platform and walked towards Ye Fan. Her snake tail swam on the sand, making a slight "rustling" sound. Her eyes were like stars in the night sky, deep and cold, staring at Ye Fan, as if examining whether he was lying.

"Outsiders," she said slowly, "Do you know that this desert is the territory of the snake people? Anyone who trespasses will be regarded as an enemy."

Ye Fan did not flinch and said frankly: "We have no ill intentions, we are just looking for a legendary spiritual vein. If this place is really the territory of a noble, we will never offend."

The snake woman's eyes flickered slightly, as if she had some reaction to the word "spiritual vein", but she quickly regained her composure: "Spiritual vein? You shouldn't dream of such things. In the desert, any resource is the lifeline of our snake people. We are well aware of the greed of humans."

Ye Fan vaguely felt that these snake people might know something about the existence of spirit veins, but they were obviously unwilling to reveal it easily.

"In that case, we will leave as soon as possible." Ye Fan said calmly, showing due respect.

The snake woman stared at Ye Fan for a moment and nodded slowly: "I hope you will keep your promise. The desert cannot tolerate hypocritical creatures."

After leaving the settlement of the snake people, Ye Fan frowned slightly and said to his accompanying disciples: "These snake people seem to know about the existence of the spirit vein, but they are very vigilant. I'm afraid we can't compete with them directly."

One of the disciples asked in a low voice: "What should we do then? Just give up like this?"

Ye Fan sneered: "Of course not. Although the snake people are powerful, they also have weaknesses. Since they live here, it means that this place is indeed extraordinary. Next, we will investigate secretly and cannot act rashly."

At this time, the voice of the Demon Emperor sounded at the right time: "These snake people are quite interesting. If you really want to do it, I can help you. However, their snake tongues make me feel uncomfortable."

Ye Fan chuckled: "Your help should be saved for when it is more needed."

The Demon Emperor did not say anything else, but Ye Fan sensed a certain kind of excitement from his words. He knew that this adventure had just begun, and the great desert and the snake people in front of him were just the first steps in his plan.

After the snake warrior Shago lowered his head and left Ye Fan and his party, his snake tail quickly meandered forward on the sand, and the dust behind him was blown up by the wind. With sharp eyes and a hint of anxiety in his expression, he went straight to the stone hall in the center of the settlement. The stone hall was built with red sandstone unique to the desert. Although it was simple, it exuded an ancient and majestic atmosphere.

Entering the stone hall, Shago knelt on the ground and said respectfully: "Your Majesty, I have something important to report!"

Sitting on the high seat in the stone palace was the queen of the snake people, Medusa. Her appearance was completely different from other snake people, with a mixture of majesty and weirdness that made people dare not look directly at her.

Her upper body was that of a peerless beauty, with skin as white as cream, eyebrows like distant mountains, eyes as bright as amber, faintly revealing a bewitching light. Her lips were crimson, with a touch of dangerous charm, and her long, jet-black hair was draped over her shoulders, drooping like a waterfall, exuding a soft luster.

The lower body was a huge snake tail, covered with dazzling purple-gold scales, each scale glowing with a cold luster, and the end of the snake tail was as sharp as a blade, which could cut through hard rocks with a slight flick. She exuded a powerful aura, as if the world was trembling under her pressure.

At this moment, Medusa sat cross-legged with her eyes closed, a thin layer of lavender mist lingering around her body, which was the unique energy of the snake queen. She was at the critical moment of breakthrough, and the aura she exuded was extremely unstable, but still so powerful that it was suffocating.

"Human monks appeared in the depths of the desert. They are trying to find out about the spiritual veins." Shago said in a low voice, with a hint of anger and uneasiness in his tone.

Medusa slowly opened her eyes, her gaze fell on Shago like a knife, and her voice was cold: "Humans? You didn't drive them away?"

Shago suddenly felt a strong sense of oppression, and cold sweat broke out on his forehead. He quickly explained: "Your Majesty, those humans did not show any hostility. I am worried that a rash move would cause unnecessary trouble, so I will let them go for the time being."

Medusa sneered, her tone cold: "Foolish! There are no harmless outsiders in the desert. Any human who dares to step into our territory is our enemy!"

She paused, a hint of gloom flashed in her eyes: "I am at the critical moment of breakthrough, and I cannot afford to make any mistakes. If any human cultivators spy on the spiritual veins, they must have evil intentions. The desert is our home, they are not qualified to set foot here!"

Medusa slowly stood up from her high seat, her snake tail gently tapping the ground, making a low sound. She stared at Shago and said coldly: "Gather the warriors of the tribe and drive these humans out of the desert! If they dare to resist - kill them without mercy!"

Shago bowed his head and accepted the order, then retreated respectfully. He was in awe of Medusa's power, but also realized the seriousness of the matter.

When Shago left, Medusa was the only one left in the stone hall. Her eyes fell on a stone tablet in the hall that was engraved with ancient runes, and her eyes were complicated.

“Human…” Medusa murmured to herself, with a hint of cold murderous intent in her voice, “If you interrupt my breakthrough, you will pay the price.”

She raised her hand slightly, and the purple mist around her suddenly shrank and turned into a halo surrounding her, appearing even more strange and powerful.

"The spiritual vein is the lifeline of the snake people, how can we allow outsiders to interfere?" Medusa closed her eyes and immersed herself in cultivation again, but the aura around her became more and more unstable, like a storm that could erupt at any time.

In Medusa's heart, protecting the homeland of the snake people is her duty, and any outsider who dares to challenge the authority of the snake people will be punished most severely.