"Hm? Murong Wanqing. What’s going on?" Shen Haoran’s brows furrowed as he heard the voice from outside.

"The newcomer is strong. Such a powerful sound wave means their strength is at least at the Spirit Emperor Level!" Elder Bai said in a low voice.

"Spirit Emperor Level?" Shen Haoran murmured. He couldn’t think of any other Spirit Emperor Powerhouse he had offended.

"Let’s go and check it out. The black-robed man took the Hou. Given their cautious nature, we won’t find any clues here. Let’s put this aside for now and see who kidnapped Wanqing," Shen Haoran said, glancing around before heading out of the cave.

After exiting the cave, Shen Haoran struck the rocks above with his palm. The powerful Palm Force shattered the massive boulder, and the stones tumbled down, sealing the cave entrance. It was best that as few people as possible knew about the black-robed man and the Hou.

Having done this, Shen Haoran once again grabbed the unconscious Lan Quetian and returned to the Han Family with Elder Bai.

At this moment, before the Han Family’s ancestral hall, no one was left standing except for Han Xu. Bodies lay strewn across the ground, the earth stained crimson with blood. Han Xu had actually killed all of the Lan Family guards by himself!

Shen Haoran walked to Han Xu’s side and gently patted his shoulder, a gesture for him to restrain his grief. After all, the dead could not be brought back to life.

Han Xu nodded, then lifted Han Feng’s body and placed it before the Han Family’s ancestral hall.

"Shen Haoran, so you’ve finally decided to come out!" Just then, a woman’s voice, like the chime of silver bells, echoed from mid-air. A figure then descended, holding Murong Wanqing, Ling Feng, and the other two.

"You stinky snake demon, let me go!" Murong Wanqing struggled, but she couldn’t break free from that slender, jade-like hand at all.

"It’s you, Snake Emperor!" Shen Haoran cried out upon seeing the newcomer. His face instantly darkened, and he was speechless. ’This Snake Emperor is truly relentless, to have chased me all the way out of the Desert Land!’

"Wretched beast, release the young miss, or I will never forgive you!" Elder Bai roared at the Snake Emperor. Murong Wanqing was Mr. Murong’s most beloved granddaughter. If anything happened to her, Mr. Murong would go insane with rage!

"Hmph, old man, if you dare to make a move, I’ll strangle them to death! Now, have Shen Haoran hand over the Profound Yellow Fruit and return to the oasis with me, and I will release all four of them!" the Snake Emperor said coldly, her icy, beautiful eyes fixed on Shen Haoran.

"You want me to hand over the Profound Yellow Fruit? In your dreams. It’s not yours, so why should I give it to you!" Shen Haoran snorted. This Profound Yellow Fruit was a life-saving Spirit Medicine for both him and his mother. Never mind that it didn’t belong to the Snake Emperor; even if it did, Shen Haoran would never hand it over!

Seeing that Shen Haoran had no intention of handing over the Profound Yellow Fruit, a flicker of killing intent flashed in the Snake Emperor’s eyes. She tightened her grip, and a powerful Energy surged in her hand.

"Since you won’t hand over the Profound Yellow Fruit, you can prepare to collect their bodies!" the Snake Emperor snorted coldly, striking out with her palm toward Murong Wanqing and the three others.

"Wait!"

Just then, Shen Haoran’s figure flashed, and he appeared before the Snake Emperor, stopping her.

"The Profound Yellow Fruit is of great use to me. I can’t give it to you. However, we can make a deal!" Shen Haoran said in a low voice, looking at the Snake Emperor’s bewitching face.

"A deal? Hmph. You humans are extremely cunning and full of tricks, nothing but a pack of untrustworthy rats. I would never make a deal with you. You have only two choices now: either give me the Profound Yellow Fruit and return to the oasis with me, or prepare to collect their bodies!" the Snake Emperor snorted, rejecting his offer without a second thought.

Hearing the Snake Emperor’s words, Shen Haoran didn’t get angry. Instead, a strange smile played on his lips.

"Are your legs throbbing with pain right now, as if being pricked by needles? If you don’t suppress it with Spiritual Power, can you even walk, or stand?

"Also, do you feel your Spiritual Power is blocked, that some of your meridians have even completely solidified? Is your chest tight, your breath short, making you feel utterly miserable?" Shen Haoran said with a light chuckle, casting a casual glance at the Snake Emperor’s long legs hidden beneath her skirt.

Hearing Shen Haoran’s words, the Snake Emperor’s pupils contracted. "How did you know?!" she exclaimed in shock.

"Not only do I know that," Shen Haoran said nonchalantly as the wings on his back flapped and he circled the Snake Emperor, "but I also know that you must have forcibly consumed some kind of Heaven and Earth Spiritual Medicine in order to take human form. However, the Spirit Medicine conflicted with your body, so not only did you fail to transform, you also damaged your foundation. If I’m not mistaken, you consumed a Profound Yellow Fruit, correct?"

As she listened to Shen Haoran, the Snake Emperor’s expression grew uglier. A breeze blew past, revealing her legs, which were covered in green scales. Shen Haoran was right. She had indeed suffered a backlash from the Profound Yellow Fruit. Her Transformation was incomplete, and it had damaged her foundation.

"Hmph, so what if you’re right? That’s my business. You just need to hand over the Profound Yellow Fruit!" the Snake Emperor snorted, her expression icy.

"As I said, the Profound Yellow Fruit is of great use to me, so I won’t give it to you. But we can make a deal: I will refine a Transformation Pill for you to resolve the hidden dangers in your body, and in return, the Profound Yellow Fruit is mine. We’ll be even. How about it?" Shen Haoran said, meeting the Snake Emperor’s green eyes.

"A Transformation Pill!" The Snake Emperor cried out in astonishment upon hearing this. To a Spirit Beast, a Transformation Pill was as tempting as a drug to an addict. Although Spirit Beasts had much longer lifespans than humans, their comprehension of Heaven and Earth Spiritual Power was far inferior. If they could transform into a human, they would not only retain the long lifespan of a Spirit Beast but also gain the human Talent for comprehending Heaven and Earth Spiritual Power. It could be said that any Spirit Beast that successfully took human form, as long as it didn’t die prematurely, was destined to become an overlord!

However, for a Spirit Beast to take human form was harder than climbing to the heavens. After all, achieving human form was so powerful it was considered an act of defying the natural order. There were two ways to do it: one was to break through to Level Eight and transform through one’s own power; the other was to find a High Tier Alchemist to refine a Transformation Pill! But the Transformation Pill was a Seventh Grade Elixir, not something an ordinary Alchemist could create!

The Snake Emperor glanced at Shen Haoran and said dismissively, "You think *you* can refine a Transformation Pill?"

As if anticipating her skepticism, Shen Haoran’s Spiritual Thought surged within his Sea of Consciousness. In the blink of an eye, a transparent figure slowly materialized beside him, looking exactly like Shen Haoran!

Feeling that powerful Spiritual Thought, the Snake Emperor was somewhat shocked. The Shen Haoran before her looked to be only eighteen or nineteen years old, yet he possessed the strength of a Fifth Grade Alchemist! 𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

"Now, you should be convinced!" With a wave of his hand, Shen Haoran made the figure formed from Spiritual Thought slowly dissipate and flow back into his body.