Ten Thousand Dragon-Phoenix Pagoda

Atop the tower, love's threads entwined in dual cultivation; in the shadows of Yunlan, murderous intent lay hidden.

The ninth level of the Ten Thousand Dragon-Phoenix Pagoda was a dreamlike, fantastical realm. Stars shimmered across the vaulted ceiling, casting mysterious, brilliant light. The warm jade floor glowed softly, gentle as spring. The mighty, pure Earth Vein Dragon Qi mingled with a trace of the Heavenly Snake's noble aura, becoming a misty spiritual fog that silently nourished everyone within the tower, like sweet dew from a celestial realm, moistening all things without a sound.

Queen Medusa sat upon the Seven-Colored Lotus Platform. The radiance around her had already drawn inward, yet she seemed all the more noble and mysterious. Her violet-gold eyes were deep as an abyss, seemingly able to swallow all light, while seven-colored divine rays glimmered within them like stars. Her fully awakened Heavenly Snake Supreme bloodline was like an ancient primordial beast lying in wait. Each breath stirred the energy in the tower like a rising and falling tide, reinforcing the majesty that placed her above all living beings. Yet beneath that majesty, an exceedingly faint but genuine fluctuation of her origin quietly seeped away, like an undercurrent stirring beneath a placid lake. It was the lingering backlash of the Saint's Nirvana Laws, left behind when she forcibly annihilated Saint Gu You's Nirvana Soul Finger and then condensed the Seven-Colored Glazed Finger to counterattack. Like a bone-deep parasite, this energy had taken root in the very depths of her bloodline origin, hindering the complete harmony and release of her power.

Xiao Zhan stood beside the Mystic Jade Platform. Though his blue robe was stained with dust, his figure seemed all the more upright as a pine, standing proud and alone. The aura of Peak Dou Zong was as steady and weighty as a mountain, while Dragon-Phoenix Dou Qi surged ceaselessly through his broad, resilient meridians like a mighty river. The weariness between his brows had faded, leaving only a trace of profound fatigue in the depths of his eyes, a remnant of having overdrawn his strength, along with an unyielding resolve. He keenly sensed the nearly imperceptible abnormal fluctuation on the lotus platform, like a hunter catching sight of his prey.

"Something's wrong with your origin?" Xiao Zhan's voice was low and powerful, breaking the tranquility atop the tower. It was no question, but a firm statement, unshakable as a mountain.

Queen Medusa slightly raised her violet-gold eyes. Seven-colored radiance quietly turned in their depths, like stars appearing in the shadowy night sky. Her cool voice betrayed not the slightest emotion. "A trace of the Saint's Laws remains. It's a minor ailment, nothing to worry about." As she spoke, she tried to suppress the abnormal fluctuation completely with her own power. Unexpectedly, the seven-colored radiance within her faltered slightly, and her brows knitted almost imperceptibly, as if in pain.

"The Saint's Laws are no trivial matter. Their power is treacherous and hard to predict. Forcibly suppressing them will only damage the foundation of your origin and leave endless trouble for the future." Seeing this, Xiao Zhan stepped forward. His gaze was calm as a deep pool, profound and resolute. Looking directly into those noble violet-gold eyes, he slowly said, "Dragon-Phoenix Power is supremely yang and firm, and also possesses the vitality of Nirvana rebirth. Perhaps I can help you guide and refine it, and remove this hidden danger."

On the other side of the tower, Xiao Yan was carefully guiding the Chaos Fire Seed, trying to integrate it perfectly into the circulation of Flame Mantra Dou Qi. At these words, his movements paused slightly, surprise flashing through his eyes as if the sudden suggestion had caught him off guard. Xiao Yi Xian remained immersed in the profound runes of the Ten Thousand Poisons Immortal Record. Light flowed through her violet-gold eyes as if she inhabited a world of her own. She seemed completely oblivious to their conversation, aloof from the world around her.

Queen Medusa fell silent. Beneath her seven-colored palace dress, her body tensed for a barely perceptible instant. Letting a human man guide his Dou Qi into the depths of her Supreme bloodline origin? In her long and proud life, such a thing was utterly inconceivable, like something out of a wild fantasy. Yet the steady strength beneath Xiao Zhan's calm gaze, and the domineering purifying power Dragon-Phoenix Power had displayed in the Desert of Buried Immortals, forced her to take this seemingly bold yet reasonable proposal seriously. Though slight, that trace of Nirvana Law clung to her like a bone-deep parasite, continually eroding her perfect state. If not eradicated soon, it could become a grave threat.

Time slipped by in a soundless standoff. Between one breath and the next, it seemed as if a long while had passed.

At last, a crack appeared in the icy shell within those violet-gold eyes, where seven-colored radiance flowed. Like ice first melting in spring, it let out the faintest trace of complicated emotion—and a hint of an indescribable compromise. She slowly closed her eyes. Her cool voice rang out like pearls dropping onto a jade plate, clear yet carrying an almost imperceptible tension. "...I'll trouble you."

Without further pleasantries or words, Xiao Zhan sat cross-legged before the lotus platform, facing Queen Medusa across the space between them like two motionless statues. He slowly raised his right hand, palm upward, and sank his thoughts into the depths of his dantian. The Dragon-Phoenix Origin Imprint, transformed through Nirvana and grown even more intricate and profound, suddenly blazed like a shining star! Pure, domineering Dragon-Phoenix Dou Qi, yet infused with gentle vitality, mingled with a trace of the condensed essence of the Green Lotus Core Flame. Like a golden stream, it flowed softly from his palm.

This strand of Dou Qi did not rush straight toward Queen Medusa. Under Xiao Zhan's exquisite control, it transformed into countless energy filaments finer than hair, shimmering with red-gold and emerald hues. Like living tendrils, they reached toward her with extreme caution and slowness, as though testing the unknown before them.

Buzz—!

When the first red-gold and emerald filament touched the invisible layer of seven-colored radiance protecting Queen Medusa's body, space seemed to freeze for an instant, and time grew slow and heavy. The seven-colored radiance rippled violently, like water struck by a stone! A tremendously powerful repulsive force erupted from the instinct of her Heavenly Snake Supreme bloodline, trying to cast off and annihilate the "intruder" like a raging storm.

"Focus." Xiao Zhan's low voice rang out like a stabilizing needle, steady and powerful, carrying an unquestionable authority. His eyes were tightly shut, but fine beads of sweat had already appeared on his brow, glistening in the light. Clearly, he was enduring tremendous pressure. Yet the Dragon-Phoenix Dou Qi flowing from his palm did not retreat in the slightest. Instead, it grew ever more condensed and gentle. The aura of Nirvana vitality within its red-gold radiance grew richer, like a spring breeze softly brushing over the restless seven-colored light, patiently soothing it.

Repulsion and reassurance—two utterly different forces clashed fiercely on an invisible plane, sparks of light bursting between them. Time seemed to grow slow and heavy, trickling by one moment at a time.

Xiao Yan had already stopped cultivating. He watched the invisible struggle between his father and Her Majesty the Queen, holding his breath. His palm clenched without his noticing, his knuckles turning white with the strain. His eyes were full of tension and anticipation. Xiao Yi Xian, too, was stirred by the subtle yet powerful energy fluctuations. A trace of surprise flashed through her violet-gold eyes, then they returned to their stillness, like the calm surface of a deep pool, untouched by ripples.

At last, under Xiao Zhan's unceasing "reassurance" with Dragon-Phoenix Holy Might and the vitality of the Green Lotus Core Flame, the violent seven-colored radiance around Queen Medusa gradually calmed, like a wild horse finally tamed. The repulsive force receded like the ebbing tide, and the invisible protective energy seemed to open its gates, making way for the red-gold and emerald filaments through an exceedingly narrow passage.

Hiss...

The nearly inaudible sound of energy flowing rang out softly, like fine threads passing through the air. Countless delicate strands of Dragon-Phoenix energy, like the hands of the most skillful artisans, cautiously pierced the seven-colored radiance and slowly entered Queen Medusa's body, like fine rain nourishing parched earth.

The instant the energy filaments entered her body!

Boom—!!!

The souls of both of them seemed to be thrown into a boiling furnace at once, undergoing an unprecedented tempering and transformation!

Xiao Zhan felt an indescribable torrent of will, vast as a sea of stars and chillingly noble, suddenly pour back through the slender energy filaments! The scene before his eyes changed abruptly. The view atop the tower was instantly replaced by a boundless, magnificent world flowing with seven-colored radiance. It was the unconscious reflection of Queen Medusa's bloodline origin, unfolding before him like a splendid painting. He saw the colossal phantom of the Seven-Colored Heaven-Swallowing Python swimming freely through the radiant haze. Its eyes were cold, yet deep within them, a point of dark-gold light held the universe in balance, revealing a pride that looked down upon all things and living beings—as well as the confusion and burden brought by the evolution of its bloodline, hidden beneath the surface, like an invisible mountain weighing on the heart.

At the same time, Queen Medusa's consciousness was pulled into a golden-red world that was scorching and domineering, yet imbued with an unyielding will to protect! It was a world deep within Xiao Zhan's Dragon-Phoenix Origin Imprint, a world brimming with power and conviction. She witnessed a red-gold divine dragon and an azure-flame Heavenly Phoenix entwined and crying out together in the chaos, their voices shaking the nine heavens. She saw a burning battlefield, flames of war filling the sky. She saw Xiao Yan's tender face, filled with resolve and defiance. She saw the Snake-People Tribe's oasis swaying in the wind and rain... She also felt the conviction that had erupted time and again in dire straits, protecting everything by his side, along with the heavy worry he had buried deep within himself because of her slumber, a worry he had never clearly recognized, surging into her heart like a tide.

Their Soul Origins were laid bare to each other at that moment! No secrets, no disguises—only the most primal, most genuine torrents of thought and emotion, meeting like two rushing rivers and raising monstrous waves.

"Ugh..." They both let out a muffled groan at the same time, their bodies shuddering violently! For the first time, uncontrollable astonishment and a trace of panic appeared on Queen Medusa's flawless face, like ripples spreading across a calm lake after a stone was thrown in. Xiao Zhan's composed expression was also overwhelmed by the tremendous shock in an instant. His bloodied lips pressed tightly together, betraying the pain and pressure he was enduring.

However, this unprecedented merging of souls also brought an unexpected effect! The Nirvana Law energy coiled deep within Queen Medusa's bloodline, under the dual restraint of Xiao Zhan's Dragon-Phoenix Dou Qi and the essence of the Green Lotus Core Flame, and within the "resonance field" formed by the brief convergence of their wills, became as clear and exposed as ice beneath the blazing sun—impossible to hide!