Nemesis of the Nine Serene Deep Earth Python Clan

Before returning to Qingshan Town.

Ling Yuan made another trip to the place where the Green Lotus Core Flame had been born.

He fished the Double-Headed Fire Spirit Snake out of the magma.

"Qing Lin, your eyes are actually very powerful. They can form contracts with magical beasts and make them obey you absolutely."

Following Ling Yuan's gaze, Qing Lin saw the Double-Headed Fire Spirit Snake's two ferocious heads and the flames flickering from its mouths. She instinctively took a step back, fear in her eyes.

"Don't be afraid. I've already subdued this Double-Headed Fire Spirit Snake. It won't hurt you. Come over and give it a try. Try forming a contract with it."

With Ling Yuan's encouragement, the fear in Qing Lin's heart lessened. She bit her lower lip, gathered her courage, and slowly stepped forward.

"Young Master... what should I do?"

"Uh..." Ling Yuan was instantly at a loss for words. He froze for a moment, a trace of embarrassment flashing across his face.

He only knew that the Triple Jade-Green Snake Flower Pupils could control magical beasts. He had never studied how they worked in detail, so how could he know a damn thing about forming contracts?

Ling Yuan quietly asked Ling Yun, only to find that Ling Yun did not know much either.

The Ling Clan Library definitely had records concerning the Triple Jade-Green Snake Flower Pupils, but neither of them had the leisure to research them.

Helpless, Ling Yuan could only bite the bullet and tell Qing Lin vaguely:

"Get a little closer. Look into its eyes, focus your mind, and carefully sense the connection between you and it. Just follow your feelings."

Ling Yuan felt that the general direction should not be wrong. The Triple Jade-Green Snake Flower Pupils' contract ability had to establish a connection through eye contact. As for the specifics, Qing Lin would have to figure them out and feel them for herself.

Qing Lin obediently nodded. Following Ling Yuan's instructions, she slowly approached the Double-Headed Fire Spirit Snake, closed her eyes, and took a deep breath. When she opened them again, a faint jade-green glimmer flashed in their depths, and her green eyes locked onto the snake's.

Human and beast simply stared each other down for quite some time. The surroundings were silent, save for the Double-Headed Fire Spirit Snake's occasional low hisses and Qing Lin's slightly hurried breathing.

Ling Yuan stood nearby and watched quietly without interrupting.

Fortunately, before long, the Double-Headed Fire Spirit Snake's hisses gradually weakened. Its originally furious gaze slowly became docile. It stopped struggling and obediently lay on the ground, a hint of submission appearing in the way it looked at Qing Lin.

She had succeeded!

Seeing this, Ling Yuan raised his hand and withdrew the Dou Qi binding the Double-Headed Fire Spirit Snake. Smiling, he said, "That's enough. Try making it do something."

Qing Lin's eyes lit up. Tentatively, she told the Double-Headed Fire Spirit Snake, "Y-you, stand up and turn around once."

As soon as she finished speaking, the Double-Headed Fire Spirit Snake obediently rose and turned around on the spot. It was extremely compliant, with none of its former savagery remaining.

Qing Lin then tried ordering it to breathe fire and lie down. The Double-Headed Fire Spirit Snake did everything one by one, without the slightest resistance.

A brilliant smile instantly bloomed across Qing Lin's face. She excitedly turned to Ling Yuan. "Young Master! I succeeded! I really can control it!"

Ling Yuan gently patted her head and praised her for doing well.

He could not help marveling at how overpowered the Triple Jade-Green Snake Flower Pupils were.

Qing Lin had not even begun cultivating properly yet and did not possess even a trace of Dou Qi, yet she could already easily control a Dou Ling-level Double-Headed Fire Spirit Snake. Such talent was truly astonishing.

And the Triple Jade-Green Snake Flower Pupils' abilities went far beyond that. They could not only control snake-type magical beasts and make them fight on her behalf, but also draw out those magical beasts' Dou Qi and convert it into her own strength, accelerating her cultivation.

As long as they could find enough snake-type magical beasts, Qing Lin's combat power and growth rate would become terrifying.

Coincidentally, the Ling Clan had more than enough strength to help Qing Lin gather snake-type magical beasts.

And the Nine Serene Deep Earth Python Clan had enough members to serve as Qing Lin's power banks.

Ling Yuan calculated inwardly that if Qing Lin could drain the Nine Serene Deep Earth Python Clan's Dou Qi dry, then even if she could not reach the realm of a Nine-Star Dou Sheng, breaking through to a Seven-Star or Eight-Star Dou Sheng would be no problem at all.

From that perspective, Qing Lin's talent was actually better than both Medusa's and Xiao Yi Xian's.

Outside the courtyard in Qingshan Town where Ling Yuan had previously stayed, it was exceptionally quiet. Only faint cries from a magical beast could be heard.

Ling Yuan led Qing Lin to the courtyard gate and immediately spotted Zi Yan squatting outside his room.

The little girl was boredly playing with a second-tier rat-type magical beast. Its entire body was dusty gray, and Zi Yan had it firmly by the tail, spinning it around and around.

The magical beast was spun so dizzy that its limbs flailed wildly as it continuously squeaked in pain and despair. It had clearly been tortured to the verge of collapse, yet it could not break free from Zi Yan's hand at all.

"Spin it again and you'll pull its tail right off," Ling Yuan teased.

Hearing Ling Yuan's familiar voice, Zi Yan's body stiffened sharply. Then she raised her head, and delight instantly appeared on her face, her eyes shining like stars.

She immediately released the magical beast's tail. Taking the chance, it staggered away in a panicked escape and vanished in the blink of an eye.

Zi Yan hopped toward Ling Yuan, wanting to shout, "Ling Yuan, you're finally back!" But after taking only two steps, her gaze fell upon Qing Lin at Ling Yuan's side.

Ling Yuan was rather sharp. He had held Qing Lin's hand on the way here, but he did not hold it anymore once they arrived.

After all, Qing Lin, Medusa, and the others still could not compare to Zi Yan.

Yet even so, a trace of jealousy still rose in Zi Yan's heart.

She looked Qing Lin up and down. Qing Lin was petite and appeared even more delicate than Zi Yan, but all the places that ought to have developed had developed quite nicely.

Then she looked at herself. She was still flat as a board, and the disparity in her heart grew even greater.

More women were getting close to Ling Yuan. First it had been Xiao Yi Xian, and now it was Qing Lin. Zi Yan's sense of urgency was growing stronger and stronger.

Zi Yan naturally grabbed Ling Yuan's hand and looked at Qing Lin. "Who is she?"

Ling Yuan knew she was jealous, so he secretly transmitted his voice to her and briefly explained how Qing Lin had been bullied since childhood because of her mixed bloodline and had no one to rely on.

In any case, Ling Yuan made it sound as pitiful as possible.

After hearing his voice transmission, the guarded look in Zi Yan's eyes gradually faded as she looked at Qing Lin, replaced by a hint of sympathy.

She recalled her own childhood. Although she had also been alone, she had possessed considerable strength and could occasionally bully weaker magical beasts.

But Qing Lin was different. She had been bullied since childhood and did not even have the ability to resist. The thought of it made her seem pitiful.

Seeing this, Ling Yuan spoke at the right moment. "Qing Lin was often bullied before, so she's rather timid. You can take better care of her from now on."

Zi Yan said, "Fine, then. I'll protect her from now on!"

Ling Yuan glanced at Zi Yan as she puffed out her little chest.

The little girl had no assets to speak of. Why did she keep puffing out her chest?

Thinking this, Ling Yuan transmitted his voice to Yao Chen inside the ring.

He told him to come out and take a look at Zi Yan.

Ling Yuan had forgotten earlier that the one inside the ring was also an eighth-tier alchemist.