Qing Lin's Changes

Shi Kang strode forward and carefully pushed aside the enormous snakeskin.

A Seven-Colored Little Snake appeared before him.

The Seven-Colored Little Snake was slender, its scales shimmering with seven-colored light, beautiful yet mysterious.

Its eyes were like two dazzling gemstones, filled with liveliness and vigilance.

It flicked its tongue, hissing as it warily watched Shi Kang and slowly backed away...

The Seven-Colored Little Snake flicked its tongue, hissing as it warily watched Shi Kang while backing away...

Medusa's soul was too weak, so control of her body had temporarily been taken over by the newborn Seven-Colored Heavenly Swallowing Python.

Thus, to the Seven-Colored Little Snake, Shi Kang was a stranger—and a dangerous one.

It stared fixedly at Shi Kang, as though judging whether he would harm it.

Shi Kang had a way to deal with that.

With a flip of his palm, a Jade Bottle appeared in his hand.

Shi Kang had not taken any Companion Purple Crystal Source from the Monster Beast Mountain Range, but as the Young Clan Leader of the Stone Clan, such a thing was hardly rare to him.

Before setting out, Shi Kang had already considered what he would use to feed the Seven-Colored Little Snake.

Though he had better things, he feared it might not like them, so he had sent people to gather Companion Purple Crystal Source in the Central Continent.

Feeding it according to the original method could not go wrong.

He had originally thought that gathering five or six bottles would be enough, but he had never expected his subordinates to be so capable. Companion Purple Crystal Source was practically everywhere in the Central Continent.

His subordinates had brought Shi Kang twenty bottles of Companion Purple Crystal Source in one go.

Twenty bottles were clearly far too many.

Still, Shi Kang had brought them all. He planned to let the Seven-Colored Heavenly Swallowing Python eat its fill and win over all of its favor, making it easier to win Medusa over later.

Having a strong family background had its perks.

The moment Shi Kang opened the bottle, the Seven-Colored Little Snake was instantly drawn to the scent of the Companion Purple Crystal Source.

Its eyes locked onto the Jade Bottle, its tongue flicking faster as its body involuntarily edged closer.

Shi Kang slowly approached. Though the Seven-Colored Little Snake remained somewhat wary, its body slightly tense, it did not retreat any farther under the temptation of the Companion Purple Crystal Source.

"Here, eat." Shi Kang spoke softly and brought the Jade Bottle closer to the Seven-Colored Little Snake.

With the Companion Purple Crystal Source right before it, the Seven-Colored Little Snake could no longer hold back.

Without caring whether there was any danger, it thrust its head inside and began greedily sucking it up.

Shi Kang took the opportunity to reach out and slowly stroke it.

Mm, its tiny scales were densely packed. They were not rough at all, but smooth and cool to the touch. It felt quite nice.

The Seven-Colored Little Snake was immersed in the delicious Companion Purple Crystal Source and did not resist Shi Kang's touch much.

The Seven-Colored Little Snake ate heartily, its little mouth opening and closing as the Companion Purple Crystal Source rapidly diminished. Before it knew it, it had consumed over half a bottle before stopping.

Shi Kang did not feel the slightest bit distressed over it.

It could not be helped. Having backing meant being this lavish.

Its little head slowly emerged from the bottle's mouth, and it even let out a human-like burp. It looked utterly adorable.

Seeing this, Shi Kang naturally reached out to stroke its head.

Having eaten Shi Kang's food, the Seven-Colored Little Snake had long since lowered its guard against him.

So when Shi Kang's hand rested on its head, it not only did not resist, but its tiny body also gave a slight wiggle. It even showed affection, gently rubbing its head against Shi Kang's palm.

In this way, Shi Kang had gained the Seven-Colored Little Snake's initial trust.

Next, he only needed to feed it slowly and nurture their bond.

As long as he formed an attachment with the Seven-Colored Little Snake, even if Medusa regained control of her body in the future, she would still be influenced by the Seven-Colored Little Snake's emotions...

After being stroked for a while, the Seven-Colored Little Snake seemed to grow sleepy, its little eyes gradually narrowing.

It wrapped its soft body around Shi Kang's arm, rested its head on his wrist, and fell asleep just like that.

Having just consumed over half a bottle of Companion Purple Crystal Source, it urgently needed to digest it properly. It would likely remain asleep for the next few days and not wake up.

Far outside Lake Heart Island, four Snake People Clan elders watched the island with worried expressions.

With Shi Long and Shi Fei guarding the vicinity of Lake Heart Island, no one could approach. Though they were deeply worried for the Queen's safety, they could only fret from afar and had no way to inspect the situation.

They had also witnessed the earth-shaking Heaven and Earth Phenomenon just now, but they were too far away to determine whether Queen Medusa had succeeded in breaking through.

At this moment, all four silently prayed for Medusa, hoping that the Queen would be safe and successfully break through.

Just then, after putting away the Green Lotus Core Flame, Shi Kang slowly flew out from Lake Heart Island.

On his way back, he happened to encounter the four Snake People Clan elders.

The First Elder hurried forward, respectfully bowed, and asked, "May I ask, sir, how is our Queen?"

The four of them knew that Shi Kang was extraordinarily powerful and that his background was unfathomable, so they acted with utmost respect and did not dare show the slightest negligence.

Seeing their anxious and worried expressions, Shi Kang felt that, as Medusa's clanswomen, they had the right to know her condition. He thus showed them the Seven-Colored Little Snake sleeping soundly around his wrist and said calmly, "The breakthrough succeeded, but she is still rather weak. She needs to recuperate for some time before she can take human form."

The four elders had limited knowledge and could not recognize that this Seven-Colored Little Snake was the legendary, incomparably powerful Seven-Colored Heavenly Swallowing Python.

They merely heard Shi Kang say that their Queen had evolved successfully, and joy immediately appeared on their faces.

"For the time being, I will take care of it." Shi Kang was informing them, not asking for their opinion.

Second Elder hesitated. "This... sir..."

Shi Kang's sharp gaze instantly fell upon her as he coldly asked, "Hm? Do you have an objection?" His gaze was like a sharp sword, making Second Elder's heart tremble.

The First Elder quickly stepped forward to smooth things over. "You misunderstand, sir. We could not ask for more than for you to personally care for Her Majesty the Queen. Your strength is formidable, so you will surely take proper care of her."

"Good that you understand." After leaving behind those words, Shi Kang did not linger. His figure flashed, and he flew toward his residence.

In his view, it was already gracious enough that he had told them Medusa had successfully evolved. He had no interest in wasting time with them.

Among the Snake People Clan, only Medusa was worthy of Shi Kang's attention.

If they were not Medusa's clanswomen, Shi Kang would not even have wanted to speak a single extra word to them.

Watching Shi Kang fly away, the four Snake People Clan elders looked at one another.

Second Elder was still somewhat unwilling to accept it. "First Elder, are we really just handing the Queen over to him?"

The First Elder rolled her eyes at the not-too-bright Second Elder. "What else can we do, snatch her from him?"

"Uh..." Second Elder fell silent.

Though the four of them were all uneasy about entrusting their Queen to Shi Kang, there was nothing they could do.

They could only console themselves inwardly: at least the Queen had successfully broken through. Now they only needed to wait for her to take human form. They hoped the Queen would recover soon and lead the Snake People Clan out of the desert...

Meanwhile, Shi Kang was heading back to his residence when he encountered the little girl Qing Lin halfway there.

Calculating the time, Qing Lin had already been brought back by Shi Kang for quite some time.

After arriving among the Snake People Clan, Qing Lin had received the snakespeople's attentive care.

She had always served others before, treading carefully every day and fearing she might make a mistake. How could she ever have imagined that someone would serve her in turn?

Thus, Qing Lin had initially been frightened and unaccustomed to it. She always felt uneasy and wanted to tell Shi Kang that she did not need maids, but Shi Kang was either away or in seclusion cultivating, and she could not find him at all.

Qing Lin simply could not see Shi Kang, so she could only keep those words bottled up inside.

Gradually, under the care of the snake people maids, she began to accept being attended to by them.

It had to be said that improved surroundings and conditions could truly change a person's mindset.

For instance, Qing Lin was still somewhat cautious, and there was still a trace of timidity in her words and actions. But compared to how readily she used to cry in Stone Desert City, she had improved considerably.

When Qing Lin saw Shi Kang, she hurriedly trotted over and respectfully greeted him with a bow. "Young Master!" Her voice was clear and pleasant.