The contorted figure within the flames suddenly unleashed a burst of Dou Qi, briefly shutting out the pain. Medusa took a deep breath.
Then she opened her mouth wide, and a powerful suction burst from within.
The Green Lotus Core Flame was instantly drawn toward her. At first, the flames struggled wildly, scorching Medusa's body.
Her skin blackened in layers, but she showed no sign of retreating.
As the flames were gradually sucked into her body, Medusa began to tremble violently. Her eyes glimmered with firelight, filled with both pain and exhilaration.
The energies within her collided and merged, and Medusa felt as though even her soul was being reshaped.
Suddenly, a brilliant seven-colored light burst from within her, bathing the entire cavern in dazzling hues.
Amid the radiance, Medusa's figure gradually blurred. Her body curled up and shrank, her tall, slender human silhouette slowly transforming into a tiny, delicate python.
Its body was covered in brilliant seven-colored scales, and as the light rippled across them, it exuded a mysterious and powerful aura.
A moment later, the light slowly faded. A little snake, about as thick as an arm and just over a foot long, appeared where Medusa had been. She had completed her evolution—she was now the Seven-Colored Heaven Swallowing Python.
The tiny Seven-Colored Heaven Swallowing Python lay limply on the ground, gazing around in confusion.
It seemed the queen's original consciousness had already faded into hiding.
Seeing how adorable she looked, Xiao Fan narrowed his eyes and finally broke into a gentle smile.
He held out a finger to her. "You're cuter like this..."
The Seven-Colored Heaven Swallowing Python was quite impressive, with extraordinary talent and immense power. She could devour other magical beasts or energies to increase her own strength.
Only a magical beast like her could barely qualify to stay by the side of a great emperor.
"From now on, your name is Xiao Cai..."
Hearing Xiao Fan call her, Xiao Cai nodded happily, then crawled onto his finger and slipped into his sleeve.
Well... he had tamed the Snake-People Tribe's queen!
"All right..."
Next, it was time to get ready to head back.
He'd been out wandering around for quite a while.
Xiao Fan reached out and drew in the now-exhausted Green Lotus Core Flame.
With a flash, he shot into the air.
Then he flew at breakneck speed toward... well, the Misty Cloud Sect.
The Misty Cloud Sect stood atop a range of mountains. On its main peak was an elegant retreat—the bedchamber of Yun Yun, the Misty Cloud Sect Master.
The room was like a corner of an immortal realm, its furnishings radiating refinement and splendor.
Pale-blue gauzy curtains drifted down from the ceiling, like the Milky Way spilling from the heavens.
Beside the window stood a white-jade dressing table. Several landscape paintings hung on the wall behind it, their inkwork seeming to fill the room with fragrance.
Yun Yun stood quietly by the window, staring outside in a daze.
Complex emotions flickered in her beautiful eyes, confusion and inner conflict tangled together.
Unbidden, her mind drifted back to that night.
Ge Ye had been reduced to a cripple. Once a gifted young disciple of the sect, he was now like a walking corpse, and when he woke, he had become a simpleton.
Her own disciple, Nalan Yanran, had also fallen into despair. The vitality she once possessed had long since vanished.
She knew they had brought it all upon themselves.
And yet Xiao Fan, the one who had set all this in motion, had actually... kissed her mouth-to-mouth!
"..."
That hateful man!!
Yun Yun was lost in a jumble of thoughts.
She had no idea that a figure had silently appeared in the room, as if he were a ghost.
Thanks to the mysterious and powerful concealment formation, his arrival had gone unnoticed by everyone in the Misty Cloud Sect.
"Sect Master Yun..."
At the familiar voice, Yun Yun instinctively spun around.
But the instant she turned, his lips covered hers.
Yun Yun's eyes flew wide with shock, and she instinctively tried to wrench herself free.
To her surprise, Xiao Fan quickly pulled away and leaned close to her ear.
His gentle breath teased her sensitive earlobe like a feather.
"Sect Master Yun, you wouldn't want anything to happen to the Misty Cloud Sect, would you?"
Yun Yun's face burned with shame and fury. She screamed inwardly, How could anyone be so shameless?!
A moment later, the two were locked in another kiss.
Yun Yun weakly pushed at Xiao Fan, but against his overwhelming, domineering strength, her feeble resistance was utterly futile.
Her heart was torn. She resented Xiao Fan's overbearing behavior, yet feared the Misty Cloud Sect would suffer for her resistance.
Gradually, Yun Yun's struggles weakened, and her body trembled.
She couldn't tell whether it was anger, fear, or some other emotion she could not put into words.
After a long while, Xiao Fan finally released her.
Looking down at the dazed woman in his arms, he let a trace of satisfaction show in his eyes.
What was that saying again?
Power magnified a person's desires.
Some chose authority, some chose women, and some chose wealth.
And Xiao Fan... since he was destined to become a great emperor, and already had the strength to run roughshod over the Jia Ma Empire, naturally he would... do whatever he pleased!
He wanted it all!
Of course, he wasn't the kind of man who forced himself on every pretty woman he saw.
Perhaps it was because of his Innate Sacred Body Dao Fetus, or perhaps his Heaven Realm Soul. Either way, ever since advancing to Dou Zong, women's emotions held no secrets from him.
Whether they felt joy or disgust, hatred or gratitude, he sensed it all clearly.
That night, he had naturally sensed the unusual feelings and happiness hidden in Yun Yun's heart, which was why he had dared to act so boldly.
Otherwise, how could he have forced himself on her the moment they met, as if he'd never seen a woman before?
With a mature woman like Yun Yun, the reserved head of a sect, he simply had to be more domineering!
If the man never made his feelings clear, and the woman remained reserved, the result was that they would never get together!
At that moment, Yun Yun gasped for breath, crystalline tears glimmering in her eyes as she glared at Xiao Fan. Her voice trembled with fury. "What exactly do you want?"
But through her soul, Xiao Fan saw the joy concealed beneath her irritation.
[Joy +1, Joy +1, Irritation +2]
Well, well, well. So she liked this kind of push and pull?
Xiao Fan's lips curled into a wicked smile.
Danger glinted in it, along with the confidence of someone in complete control. "Sect Master Yun, you should understand how I feel."
Yun Yun bit her lip until it turned pale, then turned her head away and said resolutely, "Don't even think about it!"
Xiao Fan gently gripped Yun Yun's chin and applied a little pressure, forcing her to face him.
His eyes held a domineering will that brooked no refusal. "That's not up to you."
Yun Yun: "Mmph... mmmph!"
[Embarrassment and Anger +1, Embarrassment and Anger +2, Embarrassment and Anger +3]
In the Misty Cloud Sect's secluded back-mountain grounds, the trees towered overhead, their branches and leaves interwoven.
They blocked even the few stray rays of sunlight, making the place seem gloomy and oppressive.
Yun Shan sat alone in the quiet, deep in thought.
He glanced at his reflection in the smooth, mirrorlike stone wall. His white hair fluttered in the wind.
"I have to hurry and break through to Dou Zong..."
If he failed to break through to Dou Zong, his lifespan would soon run out...
Just then, the still space around him suddenly rippled with a strange disturbance.
A shadow silently appeared like a ghost, without the slightest sound, as though it had seeped straight out of the darkness...