The next day, at the first hint of dawn.
Someone gently knocked on the gate of the Xiao Clan's courtyard.
Yao Chen was in the courtyard, guiding Xiao Yan's Dou Technique training while keeping half an eye on Xiao Yixian as she tried using her newly acquired poison flame to nourish a medicinal herb. His soul perception stirred, and a hint of surprise crossed his face.
Xiao Yan and Xiao Yixian also looked toward the gate in confusion. Who could be here so early?
Lin Hai appeared silently in the courtyard, as if he had expected this. He said calmly, "Come in."
The gate swung open.
A figure of breathtaking allure—and equally chilling presence—slowly stepped into the courtyard.
She wore a purple dress that traced a stunning figure, and her peerless beauty could make a hundred flowers pale in comparison.
Yet what drew the eye most was not her beauty, but the queenly aura she possessed by nature: cold, noble, and imperious. In her pale violet eyes lay a tangle of emotions—struggle, humiliation, helplessness, and a faint hope for the future.
It was none other than Queen Medusa!
Her arrival seemed to freeze the air in the courtyard.
Xiao Yan and Xiao Yixian immediately felt an immense pressure. They instinctively took half a step back as the Dou Qi in their bodies surged to resist it.
Even Yao Chen's soul form grew solemn. He could sense the immense power within the Snake-Person queen, along with her icy resolve.
Medusa's gaze swept over Yao Chen's soul form and the two young disciples, then settled on the man in green robes standing with his hands behind his back, his expression calm.
She drew a deep breath, as if steeling herself, then walked step by step toward Lin Hai.
Under everyone's gaze, the haughty queen whose fearsome reputation had spread throughout the Jia Ma Empire slowly—and with immense difficulty—knelt, her serpent's tail coiling beneath her. She bowed the head she had never lowered to anyone.
Her long purple hair fell across half her face, but it could not hide the slight tremor in her voice.
"Medusa... is willing to lead the Snake-Person Tribe in submitting to you."
"I beg you... to honor your promise."
Those two short sentences seemed to drain all her strength. They carried boundless humiliation, yet also a hint of relief.
For the future of her people, for the hope of breaking through to Dou Zong and beyond, she had set aside all her pride.
The courtyard fell utterly silent.
Xiao Yan and Xiao Yixian stared in stunned disbelief, unable to believe what they were seeing!
That was the fearsome Queen Medusa! She had actually... actually knelt before their uncle and pledged her submission?!
What had their uncle done when he went out yesterday?!
Yao Chen's pupils contracted, his heart shaken beyond measure.
This senior not only had access to heaven-defying resources, but his methods were unfathomable. He had even brought Queen Medusa to heel!
Lin Hai looked at Medusa kneeling before him, his expression still calm and unsurprised.
He said evenly, "Get up. Since you've made your choice, I naturally won't treat you or your people unfairly."
Medusa slowly rose and lifted her head. Her gaze had turned cold once more, though deep beneath that chill lay a complexity that was difficult to detect.
"Where are your people gathering?" Lin Hai asked.
"Outside the Holy City. Thirty thousand elite soldiers are ready to move, and the rest—the elderly, women, and children—are prepared to migrate," Medusa replied, her preparations swift and efficient.
"Good." Lin Hai nodded. "Lead the way. We're going to the Magical Beast Mountain Range."
He offered no further explanation and rose into the air.
Medusa immediately followed.
Seeing this, Yao Chen said to Xiao Yan and Xiao Yixian, "Stay here and focus on your cultivation." Then his soul form drifted up after them. He was intensely curious about how this senior intended to relocate the entire Snake-Person Tribe.
Lin Hai, Medusa, and Yao Chen's soul form turned into streaks of light and soon reached the depths of the Magical Beast Mountain Range.
Under Lin Hai's powerful divine sense, they quickly found an extremely secluded valley, ringed by mountains on all sides, with a vast basin in its center.
The surroundings were quiet, the energy fairly abundant, and the valley far from any human city.
Lin Hai hovered directly above the basin, looking down over the region, which stretched dozens of miles in every direction.
Medusa and Yao Chen watched him in silence, uncertain what he intended to do.
Lin Hai slowly raised both hands and made a loose grasp toward the vast valley basin below.
RUMBLE—!!!
A terrifying power beyond description, as if drawn from the very origin of the world, suddenly descended!
The space across the entire mountain range began to warp and shudder violently!
The valley basin below seemed to become a lump of dough kneaded by an invisible giant hand!
The earth groaned under the strain, while the surrounding peaks shook violently, as if they might collapse at any moment!
As Medusa and Yao Chen watched in utter horror, they witnessed a sight they would never forget!
The spatial structure of the vast basin below was being forcibly altered, expanded, and reinforced!
It was as if an enormous invisible bubble of space had been driven into the basin and fused with it!
The landscape within the basin blurred and warped, as though seen through rippling water. Space inside was expanding at an utterly unnatural speed, stretching outward in every direction and deep beneath the earth!
The mountains and terrain were effortlessly reshaped by an invisible force. Rivers were diverted, and the ground was compacted and reinforced...
The process continued for about the time it took an incense stick to burn.
When the terrifying spatial fluctuations and the might of heaven and earth finally subsided, the landscape below had completely changed!
From the outside, the valley basin, which had originally stretched only dozens of miles across, seemed little different in size. But the spatial fluctuations emanating from within were more than ten times as profound.
It was as if the entrance led to another vast world!
Lin Hai slowly lowered his hands, his expression still calm, as if he had merely straightened his collar.
He looked at Medusa and Yao Chen, both completely dumbstruck, their very souls trembling, and said evenly:
"The space has been opened."
"It has its own water sources and forests, along with fertile land for cultivation. There's enough room for your people to live and multiply, and the energy here is far denser than in the outside world."
"I've placed a barrier at the entrance. Unless you permit it, outsiders will have difficulty even detecting it, let alone entering."
Medusa stared blankly at the valley entrance, which radiated strange spatial fluctuations. Then she whipped her head toward Lin Hai, her eerie, slit-pupiled eyes filled with unparalleled shock, fear, and a fervor she could not put into words!
He had opened up a small world with a wave of his hand?!
What kind of godlike power was this?!
The last trace of reluctance and humiliation in her heart vanished completely, replaced by utter reverence and submission!
To follow an existence like this might be an immense stroke of fortune for the Snake-Person Tribe!
Yao Chen's soul form trembled so badly that he seemed ready to fall apart. At last, he had gained a hazy yet terrifying sense of this senior's strength—he was no ordinary Peak Spirit Saint!
He might even be... the legendary Peak Spirit Saint!
"Go," Lin Hai said to Medusa. "Move your people inside. From now on, this will be the Snake-Person Tribe's new Holy City. Once they're settled, I'll help you break through to Dou Zong."
Medusa drew a deep breath, suppressing the turmoil in her heart. Then she bowed to Lin Hai once more, deeply and with heartfelt submission. "Medusa, on behalf of all the Snake-People, thanks her master for this gift!"
This time, there was no humiliation in her voice, only boundless respect and excitement.
She turned into a streak of purple light and sped toward the Snake-Person Tribe's gathering place. She had to tell her people this incredible news at once!
Yao Chen watched Medusa's retreating figure, then looked at the entrance to the newly opened space below, and finally at the unfathomable Lin Hai beside him. He let out a long, long sigh.
"Your abilities truly... wrest the very work of creation from heaven and earth."
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