The young girl deduced a dangerous aura approach her from behind. She seemed to have figured that it was futile to escape. Therefore, she pulled on the reins to stop her horse. Then, she dismounted from the horse.

　　She turned around; there was a golden token in her left hand. The token was covered in charm characters. She then stimulated her Real Qi. A thin layer of golden light began to bubble-up on the surface of the token.

　　The small green snake had already arrived extremely close to her. But, the girl had an unperturbed expression on her face. She exerted the entirety of her might to activate the golden token in her hand. Suddenly, the word ‘Prisoner’ emerged on the surface of the token in vague letters.

　　A strange gleam flashed across the snake’s eyes. It flashed as it was about to submerge into the girl’s body.

　　Suddenly, a green beam of light flashed in front of the girl’s body. There was a necklace with a bright-green jade pendant hung around the girl’s neck. That pendant exploded, and congealed a green light shield that wrapped around her body. Then, a profound wood-attribute aura rippled and pervaded the air.

　　‘Boom!’ A loud rumble was heard.

　　There was a fierce collision between the two green colors. The drizzly radiance of the girl’s shield gradually faded away. The snake had also barely survived the explosion. But, its size had been reduced to a thumb-size. However, it rushed towards the girl.

　　The girl’s eyes revealed a trace of apprehension. Her right hand moved towards her waist. Then, a misty white cold aura radiated. And, a sword light rushed forward at a lightning speed in order to welcome the attack.

　　The misty white sword light soared as it banged against the snake-beast; a large number of snowflakes emerged in the air.

　　A layer of greyish-white frost got condensed around the snake-beast’s body. Then, a sword light was shot towards the snake. ‘Ping!’ The frozen snake was smashed into smithereens with a thumping sound. Then, it melted into thin air.

　　However, the girl felt a formidable Real Qi being transmitted through her sword; it invaded her body. This rendered an acute pain in her stomach and organs.

　　She couldn’t bear this overwhelming pain. She opened her mouth, and spurted out a mouthful of blood. Her complexion became deathly pale.

　　She still held the golden token in her hand. The word ‘Prisoner’ had grown exceptionally clear on the token’s surface by now.

　　Meanwhile, near the lake…

　　The masked man seemed surprised as he saw Leng Ying Jie’s action. Moreover, he was amused by the admirable strength that the girl had displayed while resisting one of his blows. But then, the green whip gleamed in his hand once again.

　　General Zhang finally exterminated the green snake that had been pestering him. However, he had to sacrifice one of his arms and detonate his long-hilted axe.

　　Suddenly, he noticed that the masked man was preparing his next attack. His eyes blazed as he said, “This old man has had enough with you!”

　　Then, his Real Qi gushed out of his body. His figure flashed, and surmounted over a hundred feet distance in an instant. He then pounced on the masked man.

　　A blood-red light congealed in the air at the same time, and took the form of a gigantic fist in front of his body. It was then pounded ferociously towards the masked man.

　　The masked man didn’t even look at General Zhang. The long green whip in his hand flashed, and coiled around General Zhang’s body in midair – like a strong viper.

　　The whip gradually started to tighten-up. ‘Puff!’ General Zhang’s body burst out with a light sound, and turned into a mass of blood fog in the air. He didn’t even get a chance to issue a pitiful screech.

　　General Zhang’s blood-red gigantic fist was routed and dispersed with a loud rumble as he died. It had arrived very close to the masked man. General Zhang had formed this gigantic fist by extracting every last bit of his Real Qi.

　　The masked man then shifted his gaze towards the Princes; one of her hands had been held-up. Suddenly, a golden light dot flashed past her hand.

　　The masked man had a premonition of imminent danger. He didn’t feel good in his heart. But, he didn’t have enough time to respond. Suddenly, he felt a violent fluctuation of airwave around his body. It was followed by a hundred or more fine golden-light strings that emerged out of thin air; they were as fine as a strand of hair.

　　The golden-light strings quickly intertwined with each other, and took the shape of a glorious golden-light prisoner’s cage. And, this luminescent cage imprisoned the masked man.

　　The masked man had just seen a dazzling golden light. Then, he had lost all links with the outside world in a flash.

　　He was startled and infuriated at the same time. He tried to disperse the green light shield that was wrapped around his body.

　　‘Bang!’ An explosive sound was heard.

　　The charm characters on the golden cage flashed. Then, the entire cage trembled. But, it still held him inside.

　　The masked man was enraged. Suddenly, the green whip in his hand emitted a bright green light as he flicked it. Then, several green strange snakes appeared out of nowhere. They then started to swoop down on the golden cage from inside.

　　A loud boom was produced every time the strange snake submerged into the cage. The radiance of the golden cage gradually began to become dimmer.

　　The golden cage finally gave up. Now, it could no more hold against the continuous attacks of dozens of green snakes. It exploded with a loud sound, and changed into glittering crystal light.

　　The masked man finally unshackled himself from the cage. But, his facial expressions turned unsightly the next moment.

　　He noticed that the girl along with her horse had disappeared without a trace. Moreover, he couldn’t figure the secret technique she had used to conceal her tracks in their entirety. In fact, he couldn’t sense the slightest aura in the vicinity.

　　*** ***

　　In the Gobi desert…

　　The blazing sun was high in the sky. The ground was scorching hot. The temperature was extremely high. Several scalding airwaves were rippling in all directions.

　　A tall person’s silhouette could be faintly seen; he was clad in a grey cloak. He was advancing in a certain direction on a David’s Deer.

　　The David’s Deer seemed to be moving in a slow and sluggish manner. However, it was taking a stride of ten feet every time it plunged its hoofs into the sand. So, they were advancing forward at an astonishing speed; the surrounding scenery flashed past their sight quickly.

　　Suddenly, the David’s Deer stopped as the grey-cloaked man pulled its reigns. It raised its head like it had his own intelligence, and looked towards the grey-cloaked man. Then, it issued a ‘moo’ sound.

　　The young man lifted the cape from his head and revealed his face; it was Shi Mu.

　　He narrowed his eyes, and his pupils turned pale-golden in color. He looked towards the ground, and then looked far ahead into the distance.

　　“Let’s go in the south-east direction,” he shook the reins, and spoke-up after he had pondered for a while.

　　The David’s Deer seemed to have understood Shi Mu’s words. So, it turned and started to advance in the said direction.

　　After half-an-hour…

　　A medium-sized oasis appeared in front of their eyes. It was dozens of feet wide. It was shrouded with verdant and thick trees. Some of the trees bore clusters of fruits.

　　There was a fairly large lake in the oasis. The water surface of the lake was tranquil. It didn’t have a single ripple; as if a smooth mirror.

　　Shi Mu beamed with happiness. He nodded.

　　“Moo! Moo!” the David’s Deer also issued a cheerful cry as it saw the oasis and the lake. It quickened its pace, and advanced towards the oasis.

　　The David’s Deer drank water to its heart’s content as soon as it arrived at the oasis; it then swayed its tail merrily.

　　Shi Mu also walked to the edge of the lake, squatted down and scooped some water into his palm to drink. Then, he took out his water container and started to fill it.

　　He stood-up after a while, and looked at the tranquil surface of the lake. It seemed as if he was lost in some thought.

　　It had been almost a month since he had bid his farewell to the tribesmen of the Flying Raven Tribe.

　　He had been practicing during the daytime, and forging ahead during the night.

　　He had made a breakthrough to the sixth stage of the Art of Breeding the Heavenly Elephants. He knew that he could only achieve this feat because of the especially-made cup of wine Sha Lang had offered him earlier. That wine was made with the gallbladders of a yellow python. Therefore, his physical strength had undergone a substantial promotion.

　　His strength would be equivalent to an official Hou Tian advanced stage warrior once he forged ahead to the seventh level of this Art.

　　However, the matter crucial at the moment was to find the Fiery Snake Tribe as soon as possible. Only then he could get hold of their Totem art. Shi Mu realized that the inhibition and masking effect of the unicorn viper’s blood had gradually become weaker. It was because of the increasing frequency of the eruption of the snake totem that he had on his chest.

　　Therefore, he had been on a constant move for the last few days… irrespective of the time of the day. He intended to reach the Fiery Snake Tribe at the earliest possible.

　　Suddenly, Shi Mu’s complexion changed, and his ears moved a little.

　　He could faintly hear a series of weapons’ clashing sounds in front of the oasis. It seemed that some people had been caught-up in a fierce battle.

　　Shi Mu’s complexion became dignified. He pulled out the black blade and the Sky Splitting Bow from the back of the David’s Deer. Then, he stealthily slipped towards the battlefield.

　　The sound grew increasingly louder as he got closer to the place. He could now hear angry shouts and painful cries of barbarians.

　　He passed through a forest. Then, a vast-stretched open area appeared in front of him.

　　He hid behind a clump of bushes. Then, he started to peep through the cracks.

　　He saw seven or eight barbarian men being indulged in a fierce battle with a young girl; the girl wore a leopard-skin jacket. The crisp sounds of the collision of their swords could be heard even from such a long distance.

　　Shi Mu’s pupils turned golden, and his facial expression changed.

　　That young girl’s clothes were that of a barbarian woman. However, she looked like a human owing to her exquisite movements, delicate swordsmanship, and some hard-to-detect details that she carried on her body.

　　Her camouflage was nearly perfect. Shi Mu felt that he wouldn’t have noticed this minute difference if he didn’t possess an extraordinary eyesight.

　　He saw that the girl held a three feet long white sword. Her sword was emitting an intermittent burst of cold white Qi. Traces of sparkling silver sword-shadows were left behind every time she brandished her sword. They gradually constituted a spherical-shaped sword ring around her body. And, it looked like a snowball that was acting as a shield to protect the girl.

　　The surrounding seven or eight barbarians were totem warriors. They possessed the strength of Hou Tian middle stage warriors. They had long green blades in their hands. Their blades were glittering and flickering as they moved up and down – like nimble leopard cats.

　　But, they couldn’t penetrate the girl’s defensive ring; no matter what attack and angle they resorted to.

　　However, the girl’s clothing was heavily smeared with blood. Even her face looked pale. It seemed that she had received plenty of wounds over her body.

　　Three corpses of the barbarians lay on the ground nearby. A slender cut could be seen on the throats of each one of them. It seemed that they had been slaughtered by the girl’s sword.

　　The young girl seemed quite proficient in the sword art. But, her physical strength couldn’t support her exquisite moves anymore since it had nearly reached its limit.

　　The barbarians had also noticed her condition. Therefore, they had gathered around her, and were making random attacks. They weren’t trying hard to kill her. Instead, they were waiting for the time when her strength would get consumed in its entirety.

　　Shi Mu’s hesitation died down as he noticed this situation. His hand slipped towards his back, and pulled out the Sky Splitting Bow.

　　Meanwhile, the girl’s face had turned red, and her eyes were sparkling with exertion. A fit of an uncontrollable coughing came over her. Even the sword in her hand started to quiver. The ring of sword shadows around her body also revealed a little crack.

　　One of the barbarian men gleamed with happiness as he saw this. The green blade in his hand transformed into a green lighting, and broke through the sword ring via the tiny crack. He then attacked the girl on her neck.

　　It was clear that he wanted to cut off the girl’s head.

　　The girl’s eyes flashed. Her dazzling silver sword quivered, and shot out a sparkling sword-shadow. The shadow flashed, and collided with the barbarian’s blade.

　　‘Clang!’ Her sword cut the barbarian man’s blade in two halves with a loud sound.

　　She then flicked her wrist, and thrust her sword forward at a lightning speed. Her sword moved so fast that it was almost impossible to see its trail in the air. Only a cold light could be vaguely seen.

　　The big barbarian man held his arm up along with the green blade to dodge the attack. But, his raised arm was cut off from his shoulder before he could understand anything. Several thin red lines emerged around his neck at the same time. He staggered back while covering his throat with his other hand, and started to issue heart-curdling screeches. Then, he tumbled down on the ground.

　　“Meng!”

　　The other barbarians called out loudly. They were taken over by sorrow and resentment at the same time. But, they didn’t dare to rush towards the girl. Instead, they started to brandish their blades more forcefully. This continual movement formed a compressed blade net. The barbarians then forced the blade net towards the girl.

　　The girl’s internal injuries had been affected by killing the tall barbarian; a trace of pain floated into her eyes. She opened her mouth, and spat out a mouthful of blood. Her sword also became sluggish and listless.

　　The surrounding barbarians had learnt their lesson. So, they didn’t dare to make any rash movement. And, they continued to wield their blades in order to exhaust her to death.