Awakening Medusa

"I sensed that Medusa had done something at the last moment. Later, I kept feeling as though there was still a trace of life in that remnant body. So she forcibly separated out her second soul!"

Yao Lao looked at the snake egg in the Snake-Person elder's hands and spoke softly. This had to be Medusa's younger sister. What was her name again? Die?

"But doing so damaged her soul, forcing it to fall into a deep sleep. That's why she now looks like a newborn child..."

Hearing Yao Lao's explanation, the elder looked at the Heaven-Swallowing Python's pure, unclouded eyes and had no choice but to accept that this was Medusa.

"Die!"

Hai Bodong stared at the snake egg, and for a fleeting moment, he seemed to see Die's face appear. But for now, he could only hold his emotions in check.

"Master Green Fire, could you, um, maybe... hehe..."

The elder spoke with some embarrassment. They were troubling Master Green Fire again, and it felt a little unfair to offer only a Heavenly Flame in return...

"Could you please help awaken Her Majesty the Queen?"

Queen Medusa was the spiritual leader and sacred totem of the Snake-Person Tribe. They could explain her absence for a short time by claiming she was in seclusion, but if too much time passed, disaster would strike within the tribe!

It would take decades, perhaps even a century, for the newborn Seven-Colored Heaven-Swallowing Python to reach adulthood. By then, the Snake-People Tribe would likely have turned to ashes...

Yao Lao looked at Gu He. He had no pills on hand that could repair a soul or fuse two souls together. Though he had the recipes, the ingredients were most likely impossible to gather. They could only see whether Gu He had a pill or some other spiritual item.

"I don't have a solution for now. If we had a pill that could repair a soul or fuse souls, there might be a chance."

"Fuse souls?"

At Yao Lao's words, Gu He's eyes lit up. When it came to fusing souls, he did have something that might help.

"Master Green Fire, please take a look at this pill!"

"A Sixth-Grade Pill?"

Yao Lao beckoned, and the jade bottle in Gu He's palm flew into the Black Robe. A moment later, he exclaimed in surprise.

"A Sixth-Grade Pill—the Soul Fusion Pill! It can repair soul damage and fuse a soul with a body!"

"This is a Sixth-grade Pill Recipe kept by the Alchemist Guild. Since their most skilled alchemist, Guild President Fama, is only a fifth-grade alchemist, they asked me to refine the pill. I kept one as payment. It's come in handy at just the right time!"

The Snake-Person elder was overjoyed. She bowed to Gu He.

"Master Gu He, the Snake-Person Tribe will never forget your great kindness. If you ever have need of us, the tribe will do everything in its power to help!"

Gu He merely returned the bow. He had brought out the Soul Fusion Pill because he wanted to exchange ideas with Yao Lao. He politely acknowledged the elder's thanks, but his gaze remained fixed on the Black Robe.

"This is a top-grade Sixth-Grade Pill. When you sealed it, the flames should have dissipated rather than flared up. There are a few minor flaws, and its color hasn't quite reached perfection..."

Yao Lao understood what Gu He wanted. He offered a brief assessment. Gu He must have refined this pill when he was still a mid-tier sixth-grade alchemist, and it was already quite good.

Hearing Yao Lao describe the problems with his refinement as if he had witnessed it himself, Gu He was delighted. He believed that if he could exchange a few more insights on alchemy with Yao Lao, it wouldn't be long before he reached the seventh-grade alchemist level!

"By the way, didn't the Snake-Person Tribe's ancestors leave behind any secret arts or medicines? Surely they considered the possibility of soul damage?"

Yao Lao asked. Even if none of their ancestors had successfully evolved, they should have prepared a secret medicine like this for their descendants, shouldn't they?

"Um, well..."

The Snake-Person elder hesitated.

"We used to have secret medicines, but after countless years, their potency faded and they were damaged. Successive queens used them as well, so they've long since been depleted. As for secret arts, only the queens could practice them. We have only a few auxiliary techniques."

Yao Lao hadn't expected the Snake-Person Tribe's foundations to be so meager. Still, something was better than nothing.

"Then have your people assist from the sidelines with those auxiliary techniques. Gu He and I—oh, right, Yun Zimo, you come over too."

Yao Lao suddenly remembered that after Yun Zimo broke through to Dou Emperor, his soul had apparently risen along with his cultivation to the mid Mortal Realm. He could help.

"Master Green Fire, Master Gu He."

Yun Zimo, who had been standing by and doing nothing, bowed. He was nearly bored to death just standing around. At last, he could be of use.

"You know soul techniques?"

Yao Lao asked. He had seen Yun Zimo use a soul-voice to intimidate the Snake-People earlier.

"A little."

Yun Zimo wasn't sure how skilled he was, so he simply released his soul power and condensed it into a sword of light, which he sent slashing out.

Yao Lao was a little dumbfounded. Yun Zimo had condensed a Soul Sword so effortlessly, and it seemed quite powerful. This was what he called "a little"?

"All right. Later, try to see if you can use the Soul Sword to cut through Medusa's sealed soul sea."

Yao Lao's soul power was too strong, while Gu He's was too gentle. Yun Zimo's sword soul wasn't powerful, but it was sharp enough. It should be able to carve open a gap and guide the pill's medicinal power inside.

"Please, everyone, wait outside!"

Yao Lao called out. The Snake-Person elder bowed before leading everyone out of the underground chamber. A moment later, only the three of them remained. Even Xiao Yan, who had wanted to stay and observe the soul technique, was picked up by the Snake-Person great elder and carried away.

"If Medusa's soul can wake up for a while, we won't be needed. She can simply take the Soul Fusion Pill and recover on her own."

Yao Lao muttered. A wisp of Bone Spirit Cold Flame drifted out and flew into the mass of soul light.

The little snake recoiled in fear, its eyes filling with terror and an inexplicable chill.

"Don't be afraid. Bone Spirit Cold Flame is born from the spirit and is ideal for examining the state of a soul."

Yao Lao reassured it casually, not knowing whether the little snake understood. Threads of flame wound around the snake, slipping through its mouth and between its scales to enter its body. In the blink of an eye, they darted back out.

"Medusa's soul is completely dormant. Only the newborn Heaven-Swallowing Python's soul is active."

"You open a crack, and Gu He will dissolve the pill. Then I'll use Bone Spirit Cold Flame to draw out its full medicinal power, and you'll use your sword intent to send it into Medusa's soul sea."

After giving his instructions, Yao Lao worked with Gu He to dissolve the Soul Fusion Pill, offering occasional pointers that left Gu He enlightened.

"Little one, don't be afraid."

Yun Zimo first took out a bottle of Earth Flame Marrow and dripped a few drops into the Heaven-Swallowing Python's mouth. After it let out a comfortable hiss, a white mist spread from his palm, numbing the python's senses. Then, carefully, he pressed an extremely compressed soul sword against its head and slowly guided it inside, sensing for the soul sea.

"Found it!"

After a long while, Yun Zimo's spirits lifted. Through the walls of the soul sea, he vaguely saw Queen Medusa sitting cross-legged within, eyes closed and hands forming a seal.

"Master Green Fire, Master Gu He, I'm beginning!"

Yun Zimo spoke softly. The white mist thickened, and the Heaven-Swallowing Python grew drowsy. The little sword gently pierced the soul barrier.

"It won't work. An ordinary Soul Sword can't break through!"

Yun Zimo furrowed his brow, then steeled himself and split a small blue-white sword from his soul origin. It had branched off from the sword embryo he had formed using his soul origin and natal essence blood.

"Crack!"

A tiny fissure appeared in the Heaven-Swallowing Python's soul barrier. Seeing this, Yao Lao sent all the Soul Fusion Pill's medicinal power to Yun Zimo, who guided it thread by thread along the origin sword and into Medusa's soul sea.

Sensing a foreign presence invading, Medusa's sleeping soul instinctively tried to expel it. But the instant it made contact, it unconsciously absorbed it. Realizing how nourishing it was, the soul suddenly began to suck it in with tremendous force.

"Not good!"

Caught off guard, Yun Zimo hurriedly severed the soul link. Medusa had sucked the origin sword and part of his soul power into her soul sea! Cutting the link left him dizzy and unable to recover for a moment.

The next instant, a soul-rending pain crashed into his mind. Yun Zimo's face paled. He quickly took out a pill, swallowed it, and closed his eyes to focus on recovery.

A dazzling purple seal of light erupted from within the Heaven-Swallowing Python. A massive phantom python, dozens of zhang long, stretched across the sky. As the light gradually faded, a naked woman appeared before the three of them. Yun Zimo, who had just recovered, and Medusa, who had just opened her eyes, met each other's gazes.

A physician's heart was benevolent. Yao Lao and Gu He remained calm; as alchemists, they had seen every sort of woman, and it was all the same to them. Still, to avoid suspicion, they had both turned away before the light faded.

After Yun Zimo met Medusa's eyes, he coughed softly and turned his head, pretending not to be fazed as he silently repeated, See no evil, see no evil. But that fleeting glimpse had left a rather vivid impression.

"..."

A blush appeared on Medusa's cheeks, then vanished as her face returned to its usual icy beauty. With a flash of light, she was dressed in robes.

Damn it, what did this brat take her for? A pet?

After receiving the Heaven-Swallowing Python's naive thoughts and memories, she recalled Yun Zimo's flushed face. A strange, embarrassed irritation stirred in Medusa. Then she donned a light veil and spoke with an impassive expression.

"Thank you, all three of you!"