Evolution, Incident!

BOOM!

A terrifying aura erupted from the cave, accompanied by a scorching gale that sent Medusa's long hair dancing as she stood outside.

Immediately following, a cyan radiance shot out from the cave and landed before her.

Ye Xiu stood there, his body glowing with a faint cyan light, a smile playing on his lips as he looked at Medusa.

"Heh, kept you waiting."

Medusa looked at Ye Xiu and said calmly, "It seems you succeeded."

Ye Xiu extended a finger and, with a snap, a cluster of cyan flames suddenly sprouted forth.

"Absorbing a Heavenly Flame is a life-or-death gamble; I didn't expect you to actually pull it off," Medusa remarked, gazing at the terrifyingly high-temperature cyan flames.

"Let's go," Ye Xiu said. "It's time for me to fulfill my promise."

Medusa replied, "It wouldn't be too late to wait until you've adjusted your state before helping me complete my evolution."

"That works too," Ye Xiu nodded.

In truth, after tempering his body and raising his realm with the Heavenly Flame, his physical state had returned to its peak; he didn't feel the slightest bit of fatigue.

However, while the Heavenly Flame was theoretically one with him now and could be controlled at will, he still needed to spend some time practicing to truly master it.

Ye Xiu followed her, and the two walked side by side toward the outside.

After only a few steps, Medusa suddenly spoke:

"When you were inside just now, I felt it. Your aura surged once? What is your current realm?"

Ye Xiu replied immediately:

"I was lucky enough to break through; I am now a Seven-Star Dou Huang."

"You jumped three stars directly?" A rare look of surprise appeared on Medusa's stunning face.

"Mm." Ye Xiu nodded.

Medusa didn't speak again and continued walking forward.

Ye Xiu teased, "Now that the Queen knows Heavenly Flame tempering can significantly boost one's realm, you wouldn't happen to be thinking of going back on your word, would you?"

Medusa shot him a cold glance: "I have never gone back on my word."

Two days passed by in a flash.

Ye Xiu hadn't gone anywhere over the past two days, staying put in the courtyard. He spent his days refining a few batches of pills to practice his hand, and his nights sitting cross-legged in meditation.

He sat in the courtyard with his palms facing upward, a cluster of cyan flames emerging from his hand. The fire danced between his fingertips, turning into a lotus flower one moment and a fire snake the next, behaving quite obediently.

"That's about enough."

Ye Xiu clenched his fist, and the flames instantly retracted into his body.

Although he was only a Seven-Star Dou Huang on the surface, if it came to a real fight, an average Dou Huang would be no match for him. The Green Lotus Core Flame was simply too overbearing, and combined with his Innate Medicine Body, let alone Medusa, he could even put up a fight against a Dou Zong like Yun Shan.

Ye Xiu stood up and walked toward the Snake-Person Temple.

Inside the Temple, Medusa was already waiting for him.

"Ready?" Ye Xiu asked as he walked over.

Medusa glanced at him, nodded, and turned to walk deeper into the Temple.

Ye Xiu followed.

The two walked all the way to the depths of the Temple, arriving at the same magma pool as before. The crimson magma bubbled and hissed, sending waves of heat rolling out, but this time, standing here, Ye Xiu felt absolutely nothing.

After being baptized by the Green Lotus Core Flame, this level of heat felt like cool water to him.

Medusa stood at the edge of the magma pool, staring at the churning magma below.

"You won't fail," Ye Xiu said, noticing Medusa seemed somewhat silent. "With me here, you won't die."

Medusa turned her head to look at him, saying coldly, "Do you take me for someone who fears death?"

"Ah, then pretend I didn't say anything."

Ye Xiu smiled: "I'm not just bragging, but you already possess the bloodline of the Purple-Nether Flame Snake; all you lacked was a catalyst. The Green Lotus Core Flame can activate your ancient bloodline and evolve you into a Seven-Colored Heaven-Swallowing Python. I'm here to protect your soul, and the pill is ready too. If you still fail, there would really be no excuse."

Medusa withdrew her gaze and said:

"Let's begin."

As soon as she finished speaking, she leaped, jumping directly into the magma pool!

Before long, a layer of pale red light manifested around Medusa, shielding her from the magma. She sat in the center of the magma with her snake tail coiled, closed her eyes, and began to circulate her cultivation technique.

Ye Xiu didn't remain idle either; he took the Soul-Melting Pill from his Storage Ring and flicked his finger, sending the pill flying accurately into Medusa's mouth.

Following that, Ye Xiu released a wisp of the Green Lotus Core Flame, which flowed slowly toward Medusa's body.

At first, he had to take it slow; although a Heavenly Flame couldn't be mastered through the "boiling frog" method of gradual adaptation, one couldn't rush success either.

Next, it was just a matter of waiting.

Time passed bit by bit.

The aura emanating from Medusa began to fluctuate. As Ye Xiu poured more and more Green Lotus Core Flame into the process, Medusa's aura had been steady at first, but gradually, the fluctuations grew larger and more violent. Sweat began to bead on her forehead, her brows furrowed tightly, and her body trembled slightly.

Ye Xiu stood to the side, his soul power locked onto her the entire time.

Refining the body with a Heavenly Flame was, to put it plainly, using the Green Lotus Core Flame to burn away her old body so that a new one could be born from the ashes. This process was excruciatingly painful; anyone with a slightly weak will would have collapsed.

Medusa was truly worthy of being the queen of the Snake-Person Race; she hadn't let out a single sound even after all this time.

However, the aura around her grew increasingly chaotic, and her body began to transform.

First, something seemed to be writhing beneath her skin, then her body began to swell, bursting through her clothes and revealing delicate scales on the exposed skin.

A few minutes later, Medusa had completely reverted to her original form.

A massive purple python coiled within the magma, its entire body glowing with a cyan light. That was the Green Lotus Core Flame burning her body.

The giant python writhed in agony, its tail lashing out and sending magma splashing everywhere, while a low hiss escaped its throat.

Ye Xiu frowned.

The evolution had reached its most critical moment; if anything went wrong now, not even a god could save her.

Just then—

BOOM!

A loud explosion suddenly erupted from outside the Temple, causing the entire underground space to tremble.

Ye Xiu's expression shifted.

What was going on?

Just as he was about to sweep his soul power outside, another loud blast echoed, even louder than the first. Immediately following that, the faint sounds of fighting and shouting drifted in from outside.

Had someone broken in?

Before Ye Xiu could react, he heard Medusa let out a pained hiss.

He quickly turned back and discovered that the flames on Medusa's body had suddenly surged, causing her to convulse all over.

Damn it, she was distracted.

Ye Xiu realized then that the people outside must be Gu He and his group; these people were all here for the Heavenly Flame. Hearing the commotion, Medusa had panicked, and her evolution process had nearly spiraled out of control.

He couldn't delay any longer.

Ye Xiu took a deep breath, raised his hand, and a cluster of cyan flames emerged from his palm.

That was a wisp of the origin flame of the Green Lotus Core Flame.

With a flick of his finger, the cluster of origin flame flew from his palm and landed on Medusa. The previously violent flames instantly calmed down, becoming incredibly docile as they began to burn her body in an orderly fashion.

Medusa weakly opened her snake eyes, a flicker of surprise flashing through her massive pupils.

Ye Xiu looked at her and said in a deep voice:

"Leave the matters outside to me; don't get distracted here."

Medusa stared at him without speaking.

Ye Xiu continued, "I've left a wisp of the origin flame with you. With it there, the flames won't go berserk. The rest of the evolution is up to you. Remember, no matter what happens outside, don't pay it any mind. If you die here, I'll be finished as well."