"Qing Lin, come here!" Xiao Heng called. Qing Lin hurried to his side.
At that moment, Mo Cheng, still gripped in Xiao Heng's hand, disintegrated into ash. Blue flames surged, enveloping Qing Lin as Xiao Heng pulled her into his arms. The green wooden floor beneath them charred to nothing.
A woman in green robes, who had lunged to snatch Qing Lin, attacked Xiao Heng instead. With a pulse of his pale blue Dou Qi wings, Xiao Heng crashed through the roof and soared into the sky.
The green-robed woman pursued relentlessly. "Your strength is beneath mine. Hand over the girl!" she demanded.
Xiao Heng didn't respond. He fled, the woman hot on his heels. Within moments, they were outside Yan City. "Young Master, I'm dragging you down!" Qing Lin said, her eyes misty with guilt.
"Nonsense. You're mine for life," Xiao Heng said firmly, channeling more Dou Qi to boost his speed.
"Mmm!" Qing Lin clung to him tightly.
"Does the Heavenly Snake Mansion think they can do whatever they please?" Xiao Heng said, halting once they were far from Yan City.
"You know my identity, yet you still won't surrender the girl?" the green-robed woman snapped.
"A mere Dou Huang thinks she can take her from me?" Xiao Heng sneered. Though the woman's strength surpassed his by five stars, his Blue Devouring Flame gave his two-star Dou Huang cultivation enough edge to hold his own.
"Where does a two-star Dou Huang get such confidence?" the woman laughed. "And who said I'm alone?"
She blew a sharp, peculiar whistle. Moments later, a colossal serpent, spanning over ten zhang, slithered through the sky and hovered beside her.
Its massive body was clad in deep, glossy black scales that gleamed coldly. Interwoven with the scales were vibrant, multicolored patterns, like mystical totems crafted by nature. Sprouting from its back were eight enormous wings, black tinged with purple, their intricate surfaces shimmering with sharp, radiant edges. As they flapped, gusts of wind roared.
The serpent's enormous head bore two spiraled black horns, their surfaces etched with fine, twisting patterns that glinted with a metallic sheen.
"The Eight-Winged Black Serpent Emperor!" Xiao Heng exclaimed.
"Now you know. Hand over the girl, and we might let you live," the woman said.
"Think you're the only one with backup?" Xiao Heng retorted. A flicker of black light flashed from his cyan ring, and a two-meter-tall, iron-tower-like man appeared beside him, standing guard.
"A puppet?" the woman said, startled.
"Lu Man, you can't even handle a two-star Dou Huang?" the Eight-Winged Black Serpent Emperor, Bai Ya, hissed.
"Less talk, Bai Ya. Test that puppet's strength," Lu Man snapped.
"Old Black, go!" Xiao Heng commanded. The black iron-tower puppet shot toward the pair. Bai Ya whipped its tail at the puppet, confident in its beastly physical prowess.
Old Black's right fist met the scale-covered tail. Bang! The unassuming punch sent Bai Ya hurtling hundreds of meters, blood and shattered black scales raining down.
"This puppet's strength is terrifying—Dou Zong level!" Bai Ya gasped, returning with a gaping, bloody wound on its massive tail, now twisted and unusable.
"A Dou Zong puppet? Are you sure?" Lu Man asked skeptically.
"Try it yourself if you don't believe me," Bai Ya retorted.
"Together, then!" Lu Man declared. Green Dou Qi erupted from her, coalescing into a massive black energy fist before her. Bai Ya spewed a torrent of black flames from its maw, forming a fiery replica of an Eight-Winged Black Serpent.
"Qing Lin, what do you think of this Eight-Winged Black Serpent Emperor?" Xiao Heng asked the girl in his arms. Lu Man and Bai Ya's attacks were as insignificant to Old Black as a fleeting breeze.
"It's strong, but it's a bad snake," Qing Lin said fiercely.
"Then let's capture it. Once you're strong enough, you can use your Triple Jade-Green Snake Flower Pupils to control it. Jie jie jie!" Xiao Heng laughed.
"Young Master's plan is perfect. I'll make it suffer!" Qing Lin glared at Bai Ya, green glints flickering in her eyes. The power gap was too vast for her to control it now, but her intent was clear.
Their conversation wasn't loud, but Bai Ya, with its six-star Dou Huang senses, heard every word. Its black flames faltered as it stole a glance at Lu Man, already plotting its escape. With eight wings, it couldn't outfight the Dou Zong puppet, but it doubted the puppet could match its speed. It had come for the Triple Jade-Green Snake Flower Pupils—not to be enslaved by them.
The fiery serpent and energy fist struck Old Black. The fist shattered under a single punch, while Xiao Heng's blue flames absorbed the fiery serpent, fueling his Blue Devouring Flame. Elevating the flame from Dou Huang to Dou Zong required more energy than Xiao Heng's own breakthrough would.
Seeing this, Bai Ya turned and fled, its speed unmatched among Dou Huangs. Old Black, a three-star Dou Zong puppet, outclassed Bai Ya in strength but lagged slightly in speed. Puppets, unlike human Dou Zongs, excelled in physical power but lacked mastery over spatial forces. Had Xiao Yi Xian been here, Bai Ya wouldn't have escaped.
Though Bai Ya fled, Lu Man wasn't so lucky. After enduring two solid blows from Old Black, she dangled limply in the puppet's grasp like a ragdoll.
"You abandoned me, you coward!" Lu Man spat, cursing Bai Ya.
"Weren't you so smug earlier? What's with the long face now? Not a fan of smiling?" Xiao Heng taunted, eyeing Lu Man's ashen expression.
"Hmph. Kill me or torture me—do as you please!" Lu Man rasped, her breath weak but her defiance intact.
"Hard bones, huh…" Xiao Heng began, but his words trailed off as he sensed a powerful presence approaching. His Blue Devouring Flame quivered faintly.
"Good news for you," he said, his tone shifting with a sly grin.