The Snake-People Tribe.
Deep within the Divine Temple.
In an extremely secluded area.
Ripples shimmered through the air. Space split open, forming a rift.
Xiao Xuan stepped out of it!
Whoosh!
In an instant, he appeared on the small island in the middle of the lake below!
"Looks like Medusa has been preparing the Ice Spirit Cold Spring ten years in advance so she can break through to the seventh rank."
Right in front of Xiao Xuan was a small pool, filled to the brim with crystal-clear liquid.
White mist curled over the surface of the water, and an icy chill spread through the area around the pool.
Xiao Xuan had only come to try his luck. He hadn't expected Queen Medusa to have started preparing ten years ahead of time for a breakthrough using Heavenly Flames to temper her body.
She really was ruthless.
Xiao Xuan didn't waste any time. He opened his mouth and sucked in a mighty breath!
The Ice Spirit Cold Spring in the pool surged toward his mouth of its own accord!
In less than thirty seconds,
he had devoured every last drop of the Ice Spirit Cold Spring!
[Ding, the host has devoured a large amount of Ice Spirit Cold Spring. Physical recovery progress +0.1%. Remaining progress: 95.62%]
[Ding, congratulations, host. You have achieved a thousand devourings (including those in the Heavenly Tomb). Customizing reward to suit the host's current circumstances...]
There was actually a reward like this!
Xiao Xuan was overjoyed.
He quickly began to pray.
"Give me a perfect body, give me a perfect body!"
"No, wait! That sounds ambiguous!"
Xiao Xuan abruptly froze, then hurriedly corrected himself:
"I mean... restore my body, restore my body..."
As he focused intently on repeating the words,
a cold female voice rang in his ear!
"Who are you?"
At the sound of the voice, Xiao Xuan's heart gave a jolt!
The system hadn't actually rewarded him with a woman, had it?!
That would be a real pain in the ass!
He turned to look!
A woman in an extravagant purple brocade robe stood there, her curvaceous figure full and voluptuous. Her narrow, pale-purple eyes were fixed intently on him!
"No way! It really did give me a woman?!"
Xiao Xuan was at a loss for words.
But when he saw that the woman in purple didn't have legs below her waist, just a purple snake tail, he finally understood!
She was Queen Medusa!
By rights, he had an Emperor Realm Soul. How could he have failed to sense a Dou Emperor approaching him?
Oh, right!
He had just devoured the Ice Spirit Cold Spring.
It was still being converted.
That was why he hadn't sensed her!
That was dangerous. Next time, he needed to set up a barrier!
Meanwhile,
the system reward had arrived!
It was a new scroll containing a method for body snatching!
And this divine art let him possess different bodies again and again!
The important thing was...
it wouldn't interfere with his ability to restore his own body through the Devouring Method!
In other words, before restoring his body,
he could use someone else's?
"The Ancient Clan! The Hun Clan! This is going to be fun!"
At that moment, Medusa's gaze shifted. She noticed that the pool of Ice Spirit Cold Spring she had worked so hard to find was completely empty!
Even the earth beneath it had gone dry!
She instantly flew into a rage!
"You little thief! You stole every last drop of my Ice Spirit Cold Spring!"
Wings shot out from Queen Medusa's back. Dou Qi surged through her body as she charged at Xiao Xuan!
Xiao Xuan flicked a finger!
Whoosh!
Queen Medusa, who had been hurtling toward him, froze in midair as though struck by a binding spell!
"Let me go! Let me go!"
Medusa couldn't move, so all she could do was shout.
Xiao Xuan flashed over to her.
He raised a hand and gripped her chin!
"Medusa, you wouldn't want the Snake-People Tribe wiped out because you acted rashly, would you?"
As he spoke, Xiao Xuan gently pressed down with the fingers of his left hand!
Boom!
The entire lake below sank dozens of yards in an instant!
The small island in the middle of the lake disappeared completely!
Queen Medusa stared at the scene before her in disbelief!
She didn't dare say a word!
Then she suddenly remembered the plight of the Snake-People Tribe.
In an instant,
a glimmer of tears appeared in her pale-purple eyes!
"Forget it. I was in the wrong here, too."
Seeing her like that, Xiao Xuan's heart softened.
"I know the Snake-People Tribe is looking for a new place to live. Here, take this jade and go to Misty Cloud Mountain in the Jia Ma Empire. Find a man named Yao Chen. He'll make the arrangements!"
Leaving behind a jade token, Xiao Xuan vanished like a phantom!
At the same time, Queen Medusa could move again!
"Bastard! A worthless piece of jade in exchange for the Ice Spirit Cold Spring I worked so hard to collect! Only an idiot would want your lousy jade!"
Queen Medusa snatched up the jade token and threw it into the lake below!
Back at the Divine Temple,
Yin Shi had just returned from negotiations with the Jia Ma Empire.
The leaders of the Eight Great Tribes had gathered at the Divine Temple once more.
Yan Ci impatiently demanded, "Yin Shi, what did the Jia Ma Imperial Family say?"
Yin Shi ignored him and respectfully addressed Medusa on the raised dais:
"Your Majesty, it seems a major event took place in the Jia Ma Empire recently! All of the Jia Ma Empire's top experts went to Misty Cloud Mountain..."
Yan Ci only heard half of it before he lost his temper.
He shouted, "Good! Your Majesty, see? We haven't gone to attack them, and they're already planning to attack us! I say we strike before they're ready and catch them off guard!"
"Right, strike first!" Mo Basi chimed in.
Yin Shi shook his head with a laugh. "If we did what you suggest, our Snake-People Tribe would be wiped out in an instant!"
"What do you mean?!" Hua She'er heard that something was off!
Yin Shi said, "The Jia Ma Empire hasn't been ruled by the Imperial Family for a long time!"
"Could it be... the Misty Cloud Sect replaced the Imperial Family and became the new ruler of the Jia Ma Empire?" Hua She'er asked with a frown.
Yin Shi shook his head. "No, it wasn't the Misty Cloud Sect. Every faction in the Jia Ma Empire is now ruled by a mysterious clan!"
"What? A mysterious clan?!"
The other tribal leaders were all astonished!
Was there really a faction in the Jia Ma Empire more powerful than the Misty Cloud Sect?
They had fought there for years!
How had they never heard of it?
Queen Medusa sat on her throne in the Divine Temple, still feeling vexed over the stolen Ice Spirit Cold Spring.
She wasn't in the mood to listen to them.
"Did you learn anything about this mysterious clan?"
"Your Majesty, the mysterious clan's surname is Xiao."
"Oh."
Queen Medusa barely paid attention.
The others fell into thought.
As far as they knew, there had never been a powerful clan named Xiao in the Jia Ma Empire... or in any of the surrounding empires!
Where had this clan come from?
"And also..."
Yin Shi hesitated.
Hua She'er asked, "And what?"
Yin Shi gave a helpless laugh. "And... at the foot of Misty Cloud Mountain... the elder standing guard there was actually a Dou Wang expert! His strength was on par with mine!"
Hiss!
A chorus of sharp breaths rose through the Divine Temple!
A Dou Wang guarding the gate?
What kind of powerful faction could afford such extravagance?
Medusa furrowed her brows as well!
Yin Shi took a deep breath, then continued, "I told that elder what we were hoping for. He said he couldn't be sure whether the alliance leader would agree, and told me to come back and wait for word."
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