The desert surface was a furnace, but the world beneath the sands was an abyss of liquid fire. Xiao Chen descended through the sand-whirlpool, his body encased in a shimmering, crystalline layer of emerald Qi. To anyone else, the friction of the sand and the skyrocketing pressure would have crushed their bones, but for Chen, his 4x Physical Constitution made the descent feel like sliding through silk.
He landed with a soft thud on a ledge of obsidian that hung over a sea of magma. The cavern was vast, larger than the entire Xiao Clan estate, its ceiling held up by pillars of unmelting rock carved with the likeness of serpents.
"The Snake-People's Palace," Chen whispered, his voice echoing over the roar of the bubbling lava.
The Guardian of the Obsidian Gate
Before he could take ten steps toward the inner sanctum, the air hissed.
From the shadows of the massive pillars, four figures emerged. They were the Serpent Guard, elite warriors of the Snake-People. Unlike the scavengers on the surface, these were all Peak Dou Shi experts. Their tails were thick with muscle, and their spears were forged from 'Deep-Sea Cold Iron'—the only metal that could remain frozen in this heat.
"Human," the leader, a scarred commander named Yue Mei, hissed. Her voice was a low, dangerous vibration. "No mammal has set foot in the Queen's Grotto for a century. You have three breaths to turn into ash, or we will help you along."
Chen didn't stop walking. His 4x Neural Processing was already calculating their strike patterns.
"I'm here for the Queen," Chen said, his tone casual, almost bored. "And I'm on a tight schedule. The 'Doubling' doesn't like to wait."
"Arrogance!" Yue Mei roared.
The four guards lunged simultaneously. Their spears created a cage of cold-attribute Qi, designed to freeze a human's heart even in the middle of a volcano.
The 4x Counter-Strike
Chen didn't draw his sword. He didn't even raise his hands into a defensive posture.
At the moment the spears were an inch from his chest, his 4x Soul Perception flared. He saw the "wind-paths" created by the spears. He moved—not a run, but a series of micro-adjustments. He twisted his torso, stepped half an inch to the left, and let the spears glide past his ribs, catching only the air.
In the same motion, Chen's palms shot out.
Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump.
He tapped each guard once on the chest. It looked like a gentle touch, but behind that touch was the 4x Multiplied Physical Strength. It was like being hit by a battering ram made of concentrated jade.
The four guards were blasted backward. Their Cold-Iron spears shattered into fragments. They hit the obsidian pillars with enough force to leave craters, their Dou Qi armors flickering and dying instantly.
Yue Mei gasped, coughing up a mouthful of blue blood. "How... you are only a Dou Shi... how is your physical force so heavy?"
"It's not about the realm, Commander," Chen said, stepping over her shattered spear. "It's about the foundation. Tell the Queen that Xiao Chen of the Xiao Clan has arrived to discuss her evolution. And tell her if she sends more guards, she won't have an army left by the time I reach her throne."
The Magma Throne and the Queen's Gaze
He walked deeper, the heat rising until the air itself glowed orange. He reached the Heart of the Volcano.
There, floating in the center of a lake of pure, white-hot magma, was a giant green lotus. It pulsed with a rhythmic light, and every pulse sent a wave of heat that could incinerate a 1-Star Dou Shi.
Sitting atop a throne of floating obsidian was Queen Medusa.
She was more beautiful and more terrifying than the legends suggested. Her skin was like cream and silk, her long purple hair cascading down her back like a waterfall of night. Her tail, shimmering with rainbow scales, coiled around the base of the throne with a power that could crush a city.
She looked at Chen, and the sheer weight of her Dou Huang (Ancestor) pressure slammed into him. It was like the mountain itself was trying to push him into the lava.
Chen's knees buckled for a microsecond. Then, his 4x Soul roared. He straightened his back, his emerald eyes glowing with a defiance that shocked the Queen.
"A child," Medusa said, her voice a velvet purr that carried a lethal edge. "A child who broke my elite guard with a single touch. Tell me, human, does your mother know you've wandered into a snake's mouth?"
"My mother is a memory, Queen," Chen replied, his voice steady. "But your future is currently a catastrophe. I can see the Purple-Crystal Seal you tried to use to temper the Flame. It's failing, isn't it? The ice is melting, and the Green Lotus is starting to eat your soul."
Medusa's hand tightened on her throne, the obsidian cracking under her grip. "You see much for a little ghost."
"I see a way for us both to get what we want," Chen said, stepping to the very edge of the magma lake. "You want to become a 7th-Tier Heaven-Swallowing Python. I want the Lotus Heart Essence to trigger my 8x breakthrough. Use my Green Wood Flame as your anchor. It is the only fire in this world that can heal you faster than the Green Lotus can burn you."
Medusa stared at him, her golden slit-pupils searching his soul for a lie. But all she found was a cold, calculating wit and a power that was growing with every passing second.
"If you fail, human," Medusa hissed, her tail uncoiling with a sound like grinding stone, "I will ensure your soul burns in this magma for eternity."
"Then let's not fail," Chen grinned, his emerald Qi erupting in a pillar of light that momentarily pushed back the magma's glow. "The show is about to begin."