Teased by the Queen

Looking down at the jade tome floating before her, Medusa Queen could not help but raise her eyes and glance at the smiling Yang Chen. The corners of her lips slowly curved up as she said coldly.

"A deal? Aren't you afraid that after I take this, I'll turn on you and deny everything?"

"My, Yang Chen's, things are not so easily taken."

Although Yang Chen did not answer directly, Medusa Queen's expression darkened slightly. She gave a soft snort, swept the corner of her eye over Hai Bodong and the other two, then fixed her gaze on Yang Chen once more.

"Heh, what if this so-called secret technique has a trap in it?"

"That depends on whether Medusa Queen is willing to trust me. Or rather, whether Your Majesty is willing to take a gamble. After all, isn't using Heavenly Flame to evolve also a gamble?"

Faced with Medusa Queen's doubts, Yang Chen merely chuckled softly. His profound eyes made it impossible for Medusa Queen to see through his thoughts.

After pondering for a while, Medusa Queen ultimately chose to believe Yang Chen for the time being and see what exactly his conditions were.

"So, what does Your Excellency want? The Tagore Desert? The snakefolk? Or... me!"

However, the instant the words left her lips, a thought suddenly flashed through Medusa Queen's mind. Her gaze instantly sharpened, while the corners of her mouth carried a trace of cold mockery. Faintly, there even seemed to be a desolate sigh.

The Medusa Queen bloodline had always produced peerless beauties, women capable of toppling kingdoms and cities. Calling them rare, unrivaled temptresses of the world would not be an exaggeration. Thus, there had never been a shortage of powerful men flocking to them for their beauty, one after another. Yet over the years, all those men had died beneath Medusa Queen's sword.

The smile on Yang Chen's lips froze the moment Medusa Queen mentioned herself. He was briefly stunned, his expression somewhat blank, before he shook his head with a smile and explained.

"It seems Medusa Queen has misunderstood. My deal with Your Majesty is mutually beneficial, a win-win cooperation. I will help Your Majesty increase her strength, and Your Majesty will need to help me deal with a faction."

Under Medusa Queen's puzzled gaze, Yang Chen's expression turned solemn. With a cold face, he slowly uttered three words.

"Yunlan Sect!"

"The Yunlan Sect? With Your Excellency's strength and methods, dealing with them should not be difficult, should it?"

Medusa Queen's brows furrowed slightly. A trace of confusion and suspicion flashed through her wild yet alluring snake eyes.

It was not that Medusa Queen was boasting. Without that turtle shell, she alone would have been enough to flatten the Yunlan Sect. Yun Yun was nothing in her eyes; even if Yun Shan were still alive, he would be no different.

"I can only tell Your Majesty one thing: Yun Shan is still alive, and he has already broken through to the Dou Sect realm!"

As Yang Chen spoke, not only did Medusa Queen's expression turn grave, but Hai Bodong, Lin Sen, and Lei Na behind her also changed color dramatically. Hai Bodong cried out in disbelief.

"How is that possible? That old bastard Yun Shan was already nearing the end of his lifespan back then. How could he have broken through to the Dou Sect realm and remained hidden from the world ever since?"

As old rivals, Hai Bodong understood Yun Shan very well. That man had an overbearing, domineering temperament. Otherwise, he would not have produced so many disciples like Yun Leng, nor would the Yunlan Sect's customs have become so arrogant and disdainful of everyone else.

With Yun Shan's personality, under normal circumstances, if he had made a breakthrough, he would have wished to announce it to the whole world. How could he have kept hiding in the shadows?

Hai Bodong understood Yun Shan's temperament, but Medusa Queen knew it even better. Back then, that man had dared to barge alone into the Snakefolk Holy City just to confess his feelings to her, only to be beaten into a miserable retreat by her.

If someone as arrogant as him had truly broken through, he would likely have come to the Snakefolk Holy City at once to flaunt his might before her. It would not even have been impossible for him to forcibly take her back to Cloud Mist Mountain. How could he have remained so low-key?

Something strange must be afoot, so...

"It seems Yun Shan's breakthrough has another secret behind it, doesn't it? And you have quite a deep grudge against the faction behind him?"

Medusa Queen's lips slowly curved upward. Her beautiful eyes carried a hint of amusement as she stared intently into Yang Chen's eyes. Unfortunately, those eyes remained as deep as ever, without much fluctuation.

"That has nothing to do with Your Majesty. At least for now, they are not someone you can afford to provoke."

Yang Chen did not deny it. The Soul Hall behind the Yunlan Sect was the real trouble. Otherwise, he would not have gone to such lengths to first keep the Yunlan Sect stable for three years.

If he completely fell out with the Yunlan Sect now and the Soul Hall intervened, Yang Chen naturally had ways to protect himself. However, True Lord Hall would inevitably suffer a devastating blow, and Xiao Yan and the others with Xiao Family blood would all be erased.

Yang Chen did not care whether the Xiao Family lived or died, but Xiao Yan, Xiao Ding, and Xiao Li all carried Yang Clan blood. As for Xiao Zhan, if he died just like that, it would be letting him off too easily.

After receiving Yang Chen's answer, Medusa Queen's flame-red lips curved into a smile. She immediately reached out and seized the jade tome, then flashed to Yang Chen's side. Standing only a foot and a half away from him, her seductive voice, accompanied by waves of faint fragrance, drifted into Yang Chen's mind.

"But isn't Your Excellency afraid that I will go back on my word?"

"I heard that the Medusa Queen lineage is unwaveringly faithful only to their husbands and the snakefolk, but they do not have a tradition of always keeping their word."

Facing Medusa Queen's gaze, Yang Chen did not avoid it in the slightest. He met her eyes directly and said with a light smile.

"However, I believe Your Majesty knows what choice to make. After all, Your Majesty probably does not want Yun Shan to snatch you away to Cloud Mist Mountain, do you?"

"It seems you truly know my snakefolk quite well. Since that is the case, why not try making me unwaveringly faithful to you instead? Little fellow! As long as you conquer me, the snakefolk will be at your command."

A teasing glint flashed through Medusa Queen's eyes. As the queen of the snakefolk, she possessed a rather special ability: she could roughly judge a human's age through their scent.

This little fellow Yang Chen, who was not yet twenty but was already a Dou King, whose combat strength even surpassed her own, and who was also a high-grade alchemist, truly made Medusa Queen curious. Especially earlier, when Yang Chen had fought like a madman, that wild aura of his was quite alluring to creatures with magical beast bloodlines.

Moreover, this little fellow before her was so handsome that even Medusa Queen, as beautiful as she was, could not help but marvel.

As she spoke, Medusa Queen even subconsciously extended a slender jade finger and lightly lifted Yang Chen's chin. Yang Chen was stunned for a moment. Had he just been openly flirted with by a woman—no, by a queen?

As for Hai Bodong, Lei Na, and Lin Sen beside them, they were utterly dumbfounded. Then, they quietly gave Yang Chen's back a thumbs-up, as though saying, Second Master is incredible. He actually beat Medusa Queen so thoroughly that she was chasing after him.