Queen Medusa's Scrutiny

In the eastern part of the Jia Ma Empire, deep within the Tagor Desert. The scorching sun baked the endless yellow sands, and even the air warped beneath the intense heat.

Within the Divine Temple of the Snake People Holy City.

A breathtakingly alluring figure reclined lazily upon the throne. Her multicolored brocade robe traced out her stunning curves, while beneath her skirt, a purple snake tail swayed gently, carrying a wild and dangerous beauty. Her face was exquisitely beautiful, yet it radiated an innate coldness and majesty, as though she were a queen high above all things, looking down upon the world. She was none other than Queen Medusa.

At this moment, however, her long, seductive violet eyes held less of their usual disdain and more gravity and contemplation.

Below, an elder of the Snake People Race was respectfully delivering intelligence from the heartland of the Jia Ma Empire.

"...Yun Shan, the sect leader of the Misty Cloud Sect, had his cultivation crippled. The sect sealed off its mountain, and ninety percent of its resources were taken. A Soul Hall Protector perished. All of this was because of a man named Xiao Chen. He is the eldest son of the Xiao Family in Wutan City, who vanished fourteen years ago. It is said that... he possesses the strength of a Dou Zun."

The moment the words "Dou Zun" fell, the entire Divine Temple seemed to fall silent for an instant. The Snake People Race experts standing on either side looked at one another, their eyes filled with disbelief. How could a Dou Zun possibly appear in a place like the Jia Ma Empire?

Queen Medusa's slender jade fingers lightly tapped the armrest of her throne, producing crisp sounds. Her red lips parted, and her voice carried a unique huskiness and magnetism—enticing, yet cold. "Xiao Chen... the Xiao Family..."

She was no stranger to the Xiao Family, for Xiao Yan—the youth who possessed two Heavenly Flames and shared a complicated entanglement with her—came from that family. Her original plan had been to use Xiao Yan's Green Lotus Core Flame to complete her evolution. Though an accident later occurred due to the Heavenly Flame's violent nature, transforming her into her current Seven-Colored Heaven Swallowing Python form and creating a strange symbiotic connection between her and Xiao Yan.

And now, Xiao Yan's brother, who had been missing for years, had returned as a Dou Zun and swept through the Misty Cloud Sect and a Soul Hall Protector with thunderous force? The news was too shocking, forcing her to reevaluate many things.

"Has the information been confirmed?" Queen Medusa asked indifferently.

"Reporting to Your Majesty, intelligence from multiple sources has been cross-verified, and it is basically true. The pressure of a Dou Zun on Misty Cloud Mountain that day, as well as the later disappearance of the Soul Hall Protector's aura, were no fabrication. The Xiao Family of Wutan City has now become an existence no one in the Jia Ma Empire dares provoke," the elder answered respectfully.

Queen Medusa fell silent for a moment. A Dou Zun... that was a realm far beyond her current reach. The Snake People Race was trapped in the desert, lacking resources. As their queen, her greatest wish was to lead her people to an oasis suitable for survival. For that, she had risked devouring a Heavenly Flame and nearly suffered the destruction of both body and soul.

The emergence of a Dou Zun had completely shattered the balance of power in the Jia Ma Empire and even its surrounding regions. For the Snake People Race, this was both a crisis and perhaps... an opportunity?

She thought of Xiao Yan. That stubborn and somewhat unusual youth now had a Dou Zun brother to rely on... The "connection" between them seemed to have become somewhat different.

"Xiao Yan... where is he now?" Queen Medusa asked, her tone revealing neither joy nor anger.

"According to the scouts' reports, Xiao Yan has already returned to Wutan City with his brother, Xiao Chen. Since Xiao Chen's return, the Xiao Family has been making frequent moves, seemingly carrying out a major reorganization to strengthen itself."

Queen Medusa gave a slight nod. Light flickered within her violet snake eyes as she pondered something unknown.

Just then, an extremely faint ripple appeared in the space within the Divine Temple without any warning.

Queen Medusa abruptly straightened up, her snake tail coiling in an instant. A powerful aura at the peak of the Dou Huang realm erupted, filling the entire Divine Temple as she shouted sharply, "Who is it?!"

The Snake People Race elders and guards immediately tensed as well, drawing their weapons and watching their surroundings vigilantly.

As the spatial ripple faded, a figure in green robes appeared soundlessly in the center of the Divine Temple like a ghost, as though he had always been there.

The newcomer was young and handsome, with an aloof, otherworldly air. It was Xiao Chen.

His calm gaze swept across the Snake People Race members, who were facing a great enemy, before finally settling upon Queen Medusa atop the throne, whose peerless allure contrasted with her icy aura.

"Queen Medusa, I have long heard of your great name." Xiao Chen smiled faintly, his tone mild, as if he had merely come to visit a neighbor. "Please forgive my uninvited arrival."

A storm surged in Queen Medusa's heart! She had not detected at all how he had appeared! She could barely even sense the slightest Spatial Fluctuation! Was this the strength of a Dou Zun?

Suppressing the shock in her heart, she maintained her queenly dignity and said coldly, "You are Xiao Chen? You trespassed into the Snake People Holy City. What is your purpose?"

Xiao Chen paid no heed to her cold tone. Instead, his gaze carried a hint of scrutiny as it fell upon Queen Medusa's seductive face and graceful figure, lingering for an instant on the strange state within her body, where her soul was intertwined with that of the Seven-Colored Heaven Swallowing Python.

So she has indeed fused with the Seven-Colored Heaven Swallowing Python. Her soul has yet to fully stabilize, and the two consciousnesses are still locked in a struggle... Xiao Chen understood. This matched the plot of the original work he knew.

He withdrew his gaze and looked directly into Queen Medusa's guarded violet eyes. "I did not come here with hostile intentions. I have come specifically to speak with the Queen... regarding my younger brother, Xiao Yan."

His words were calm, yet they carried an undeniable weight.

"Also, regarding Your Majesty's soul fusion with the Seven-Colored Heaven Swallowing Python, as well as the future path of the Snake People Race, perhaps... we can discuss that too."