Half a Year
With the successful refinement of the Spirit Fusion Pill, Lin Ming had just put away the Warm Jade Bottle and was adjusting his breathing to recover some of his depleted Soul Power when the barrier of the secret chamber was triggered once again.
At this moment, Zi Yan entered the room, sniffed the air, and her large, amethyst-like eyes were filled with curiosity and excitement. "Lin Ming, Lin Ming! Did you refine some delicious pills? The taste is so unique!"
Seeing her drooling expression, Lin Ming couldn't help but chuckle and ruffled her hair, "These aren't candies, they're Spirit Fusion Spirit Fusion Pill made for Medusa to help her solve her physical problems."
"Made for Medusa?" Zi Yan blinked, then, as if she had thought of something, she immediately volunteered, patting her small chest, "I know where she is! I'll take you to her! These past few days, I'm the only one who can still talk to her; everyone else is terrified of her."
Lin Ming wasn't too surprised by this. After all, their relationship was quite good in the original novel.
"Alright, Zi Yan, you can lead the way then." Lin Ming nodded in agreement.
Led by Zi Yan, Lin Ming arrived at a relatively secluded and elegant Courtyard in the Black Mountain Fortress. This place was obviously specially prepared for Queen Medusa. The guards around were all Snake People Race warriors. When they saw Zi Yan and Lin Ming, they all bowed and did not stop them.
In the Courtyard, Medusa, dressed in red, stood by the water, gazing intently at the few spirit fish swimming in the pond. The afterglow of the setting sun shone on her perfect profile, outlining breathtaking curves, yet also adding a touch of gentleness rarely seen on her usual face.
"Medusa, Lin Ming is looking for you!" Zi Yan's voice preceded her arrival, calling out in a carefree manner.
Medusa turned around at the sound, her pale purple eyes, shimmering with iridescent colors, first glancing at Zi Yan with a hint of barely perceptible helplessness, before her gaze fell on Lin Ming. Her expression remained aloof, but she had lost some of her usual sharpness and wariness.
"Mr. Lin Ming, what business do you have with me?" Her voice was like pearls falling on a jade plate, clear and crisp, yet carrying an innate air of authority.
Lin Ming didn't beat around the bush and directly took out the Warm Jade Bottle containing the Spirit Fusion Pill, handing it over. "Your His Majesty, this is the Spirit Fusion Pill, Tier 6 Medicinal Pill. After taking it, it should help you completely fuse with the soul of the Seven-Colored Heaven Swallowing Python within you, eliminating hidden dangers and making your soul and body more compatible."
Queen Medusa's gaze froze on the Jade Bottle for a moment, and even with her composure, her breath caught in her throat slightly.
She could clearly feel the immense and strange energy contained in the Jade Bottle in the jade bottle, which was exactly what she had longed for deep in her heart. She reached out her slender hand and took the Jade Bottle. Her fingertips made a brief, slight touch with Lin Ming's fingertips, cool and smooth.
"The Spirit Fusion Pill... Thank you." Medusa's red lips parted slightly, her words of thanks still concise, but the complex light flickering in her beautiful eyes revealed the turmoil in her heart. This gift was far too heavy.
"Your His Majesty, there's no need for such formalities. The Empire was greatly aided by your arrival during this crisis, and this pill is a token of Lin Ming gratitude." Lin Ming paused, his tone becoming more serious. "Furthermore, Lin Ming have another matter I would like to ask His Majesty for assistance with."
"What is it?" Medusa gripped the Jade Bottle in her hand and looked up at Lin Ming.
"To be honest, Your Majesty, I will not stay in the Jia Ma Empire for long. After settling family affairs, I will leave the Jia Ma Empire to travel to the Middle Continent for training," Lin Ming said frankly. "After I leave, I hope Your His Majesty can help the Mittel Family to the best of your ability. Of course, unless it is a matter of life and death, I will not trouble Your Majesty easily."
Queen Medusa frowned slightly upon hearing this. To ask a queen of a different race to look after a human family? This request was truly abrupt. Several thoughts flashed through her mind: Why does he trust me so much? Is he plotting something? Or...?
Medusa's gaze unconsciously swept over Lin Ming's calm and honest face, and her doubts lessened slightly.
Given Lin Ming's terrifying strength and potential, if he truly had designs on her, he wouldn't need to resort to such a roundabout method. Unless... he had his eye on her... But as soon as this thought arose, she rejected it herself. From the moment they met until now, Lin Ming's gaze towards her, though appreciative, had always been clear, devoid of those annoying greedy and possessive desires.
So, the only remaining reason must be what he said—to find a reliable guarantee for the family. And he chose to believe in himself.
This trust is incredibly profound.
After a moment's hesitation, Queen Medusa spoke slowly, her voice still cold, yet carrying the weight of a promise, "Very well. As long as the alliance between the Snake People Race and the Jia Ma Empire remains in effect, and as long as I am still alive, I will ensure the safety of your Mittel Family."
Lin Ming smiled sincerely, "In that case, thank you very much, His Majesty. In return, if Your His Majesty or the Snake People Race ever need any elixirs in the future, please feel free to seek out my Mittel Family, and we will do our best to assist you."
This is undoubtedly a very significant promise. The friendship of a master alchemist capable of refining Tier 6 Peak pills is of immeasurable value.
Queen Medusa gave Lin Ming a deep look and nodded. "I have remembered."
With this matter settled, Lin Ming felt much lighter. After exchanging a few more words with Medusa about the precautions to take when taking the Spirit Fusion Pill, he left with Zi Yan was idly playing with the fish in the pond.
A month later, upon returning to the Imperial Capital, Lin Ming, to express his gratitude to Fa Ma gifting him the formula for the Spirit Fusion Pill, specially arranged an Alchemy Room at the Mittel Family headquarters. When refining a batch of pills to enhance the family's strength, he allowed the Alchemist Guild to send all Alchemist of 4th Grade and above to observe.
When Fa Ma led a group of high-ranking members and elite Alchemist from the guild, filled with excitement and reverence, to witness Lin Ming's fluid and effortless control as he simultaneously refined over a dozen medicinal herbs and completed the complex fusion and Pill Condensation of a pill using the Purple Extreme Annihilation Flame, everyone was deeply awestruck. It wasn't just the visual impact of the Heavenly Flames, but also Lin Ming's almost artistic mastery of his soul and profound understanding of medicinal properties.
After the demonstration, Fa Ma was so excited that his face turned red. He tightly grasped Lin Ming's hand and said, "Master, your guidance today has benefited our entire guild immensely! We are deeply grateful and will never refuse your request in the Alchemist Guild! You may use all the medicinal herbs and resources in the guild at will!"
Lin Ming smiled and nodded in acceptance. In this way, he not only repaid the favor for the pill formula, but also further strengthened his relationship with the Alchemist Guild, adding another invisible boost to his family.
Time flies, and half a year has passed since that earth-shattering battle ended.
In the past six months, the situation in the Jia Ma Empire has undergone tremendous changes. Under the leadership of Jia Xingtian, Elder Hai, and others, the Jia Ma Empire's allied forces have swept across the land, uniting with surrounding forces to greatly compress the spheres of influence of the Luo Yan Empire and the Mu Lan Empire, and seizing massive amounts of resources and wealth. Although the territory of the Jia Ma Empire has not expanded much, its prestige and national strength have reached the peak since its founding.
Meanwhile, the Mittel Family, as Lin Ming's ancestral home, entered a golden age of rapid development. In the past six months, Lin Ming has devoted almost all his energy to alchemy. He has tirelessly refined thousands of various pills using the massive amount of medicinal materials he seized from the war and provided by the Alchemist Guild.
From the most basic Foundation Building Spirit Liquid to the Three-Patterned Green Spirit Pill that can help people break through bottlenecks, to the Spirit Dou Pill, the Imperial Pill, and even the Sect Breaking Pill prepared for the Peak Dou Emperor to break through to the Dou Zong... pills of all grades flowed out of Lin Ming's Alchemy Room like water, and were given priority to supply the core members of the family and those who had made contributions.
With such a lavish accumulation of resources, the Mittel Family's overall strength experienced an explosive surge!
First, there was Grandpa Liu. With the help of the pills specially refined by Lin Ming, he accumulated his strength and broke through to the Dou Wang Peak in one fell swoop!
Master Toso's cultivation level has reached the level of Six-Star Dou King. However, although his cultivation level has not improved much, his alchemy skills have reached the Fifth Grade Peak after observing Lin Ming's alchemy for half a year.
Teng Shan Great Elder also successfully broke through the barrier and advanced to the Douhuang level with the help of a pill refined by Lin Ming that helped him break through the bottleneck of Dou Wang Dou Emperor, adding another high-level combatant to the family!
As for Elder Hai, after completely refining the energy of the Imperial Pill given to him by Lin Ming, his cultivation had reached the Eight-Star Dou Emperor. With Lin Ming's full assistance in the past six months, he finally made another step forward and reached the Nine-star Dou Emperor! Lin Ming even left him two precious Sect Breaking Pill, paving the way for his future breakthrough to the Dou Ancestor Realm!
In addition to top-tier combat power, the number of Dou Wang and Dou Ling experts in the family has increased several times over, and outstanding young talents are emerging one after another.
At this point, even excluding Lin Ming Mittel family's strength had surpassed that of the Gama Empire, making them the undisputed number one power in the Jia Ma Empire!
Meanwhile, under Xiao Yi Xian's iron-fisted consolidation, the Chu Yun Empire had been completely controlled by the Poison Sect, which had thoroughly unified the entire Chu Yun Empire and become the true imperial overlord.
In the past six months, thanks to the characteristics of her Woeful Poison Body, Xiao Yi Xian's cultivation level has increased by more than one star, reaching the Peak Three-Star Dou Ancestor.
As for Lin Ming himself, during these six months of almost frantic alchemy, although he had expended a great deal of mental energy, each precise Soul Manipulation and each ultimate grasp of the flames and medicinal properties felt like a different kind of cultivation. The high-intensity use and consumption of his Soul Power, coupled with the immense energy feedback released when refining pills, allowed his cultivation to break through the one-star barrier without him even realizing it, officially stepping into the ranks of Two-Star Dou Ancestor One Star Dou Ancestor!
Upon advancing to the Two-Star Dou Ancestor level, the space within his body also changed, its diameter doubling to twenty zhang. This change made Lin Ming even more excited.
After six months of hard work, seeing everything arranged properly within the family, and feeling the ever-growing, vast Dou Qi and the increasing Soul Power, Lin Ming knew it was time to leave.