When they left the snake valley where they were temporarily staying, Venerable Tianhuo was standing at the entrance, testing his new body.
A wisp of crimson flame rolled over his palm, turning into a firebird one moment and a long snake the next before he clenched his fist and scattered it.
The barrier set up by the Dou Zun enveloped the valley like an invisible curtain of fire, sheltering the Snake-People Tribe's newly established camp within.
Zi Yan squatted nearby with a pill box in her arms, watching him with a serious expression.
"Grandpa, how many Ice River Valley elders can you fight now?"
Venerable Tianhuo's beard twitched.
"I've only just been revived. Can't you ask something more auspicious?"
Zi Yan thought about it.
"Then can you protect my candy?"
Venerable Tianhuo fell silent for a moment, then answered seriously, "That's harder than fighting elders."
Xiao Yi Xian sat beside the cold pool, leafing through Ice River Valley scrolls. Hearing that, she could not help laughing.
Die was leading the Snake-People Tribe in organizing the stone caverns. Hearing Zi Yan and Venerable Tianhuo bicker, the tension on her face eased somewhat.
The Snake-People Tribe finally had a place where they could catch their breath. Though it was only temporary, for these clansmen who had migrated all the way from Tagor, water veins, stone caverns, and guardians were already enough to resemble the beginnings of a new home.
Xiao Fan stood at the valley entrance and looked back.
Medusa stood at his side. Her deep-purple cloak concealed her overly conspicuous figure, and the shadow of her hood fell over her cold, beautiful features, yet it could not suppress her queenly presence.
She watched the busy clansmen in the valley, her purple eyes calm.
"Can Venerable Tianhuo hold out for thirty years?"