Medusa's Lingering Remnant

Medusa's corpse, which had been lying on the ground, actually sat halfway up. Her eyes were dim and lifeless, wreathed in an aura of decay and death. It was exceedingly strange.

The Beast Venerable sized Medusa up and chuckled. "It is merely a remnant soul surviving on obsession! This Netherworld Venom Flame is truly domineering—it can even corrode a soul completely."

Sure enough, as soon as the Beast Venerable finished speaking, Medusa gave a bitter smile and slowly collapsed. A faint seven-colored soul light shot from her eyes, so illusory that it seemed ready to vanish at any moment. It was Medusa's remnant soul.

A trace of reminiscence flashed across Medusa's cold, beautiful soul face before turning into a mournful sigh. "Obsession... sigh!"

Xiao Le could clearly sense the tragic story hidden within those words, and could not help sighing for her.

"Senior, I know I am no match for you, but I wish to ask you to help me fulfill my obsession. So long as you help me, I am willing to offer the final value of this wisp of remnant soul. I can tell you the whereabouts of the Netherworld Venom Flame and help you refine the Heavenly Flame." Medusa's eyes carried a pleading look that made one unable to resist feeling pity for her.

Medusa's words stirred Xiao Le's heart. Cleansing and tempering the body while solidifying one's foundation was not something easily achieved; it required rare heavenly treasures.

As though sensing Xiao Le's excitement and longing, a tremor of soul power jolted him awake.

"Tell me about it."

Medusa looked toward the east and spoke gently. "I was once Medusa of the Snake-People Tribe in the Tagore Desert. Perhaps it was my misfortune that I possessed the powerful Medusa bloodline, yet had to inherit Medusa's fate. Only one Medusa may exist in each generation, unless the bloodline is passed down to a successor.

"Those who possess the Medusa bloodline must fight and slaughter one another to determine the final Medusa Queen. How could I bear to treat my younger sister so cruelly? In the end, I fled the Snake-People Tribe. I had hoped to transform and evolve with the aid of a Heavenly Flame, but unfortunately, I ultimately failed and perished, leaving behind only this wisp of obsession.

"I only hope Senior can bring my body back to the Snake-People Tribe for burial, so that I may see my sister one last time!"

So the possessors of the Snake-People Tribe's Medusa bloodline had endured such a miserable fate. No wonder Medusa in the original story had been so cold and decisive in killing.

"Sigh! Nature selects, and the strong survive!"

The Beast Venerable sighed, voicing the cruel law of the jungle.

"Fine. I will agree on this boy's behalf."

The Beast Venerable's words darkened Xiao Le's face. He had agreed so grandly, only to dump the burden on Xiao Le. How wonderful.

"Thank you!"

The moment she spoke, a beam of seven-colored radiance bloomed from the corpse. The remnant soul also ignited with seven-colored soul flames, becoming increasingly illusory as they burned, as though it would disappear the next instant.

The seven-colored radiance enveloped Xiao Le, making him feel as if he had returned to the womb to be nurtured anew.

"The Netherworld Venom Flame lies within the Nether Abyss Poison Marsh of the Chu Yun Empire. When I used the Heavenly Flame to temper myself and evolve, I relied on my formidable strength to imprint it with the unique mark of Medusa's lineage. None outside Medusa's lineage can refine it.

"I am now sealing my final power into Senior's beloved disciple's body. When the time comes to refine the Heavenly Flame, this power will automatically assist in refining it."

As expected of Medusa—even in death, she still claimed the Netherworld Venom Flame for herself...

Medusa's remnant soul gradually dissipated, transforming into a streak of seven-colored light that entered the back of Xiao Le's neck. At once, Xiao Le felt the seven-colored radiance surging into the back of his neck.

"Ah!"

The searing pain made Xiao Le cry out miserably, as though that area were being scorched by blazing fire.

At last, everything was over. The Beast Venerable also sensed that the danger had passed and withdrew from Xiao Le's body. Control of his body returned to him, along with a wave of weakness from within and agonizing pain from his torn and damaged meridians.

Enduring the pain, he took out and swallowed a handful of Qi-Recovery Pills and healing medicine, then sat cross-legged.

It was not until the sun set that Xiao Le emerged from cultivation.

Rubbing his hands together, he excitedly examined the two red lights belonging to the Medusa bloodline holder and collected them without hesitation. There were not only two red entries, but also quite a number of blue and cyan entries. There was even a purple entry—the inherited cultivation technique of the Medusa clan.

Fortunately, he had the Poison Emperor's gift. Otherwise, he might not have been able to store Medusa's corpse at all. He stripped the Poison Emperor's storage ring from him. It was a high-grade storage ring, filled with bottles and jars containing poison pills and medicinal powders. There were even substantial stores of venomous insects and snake carcasses, as well as many poison-element Dou Qi cultivation techniques and Dou Skills.

After storing Medusa's corpse in the storage ring, Xiao Le decided to leave the Death-Defying Snake Cavern.

As Medusa's corpse vanished, a plant resembling a cobra with its hood spread appeared where it had lain. A faintly fishy snake odor drifted over. At the tip of its snake tongue grew a round, vermilion fruit. Within the crystalline fruit, something like blood seemed to flow, while misty vapors enveloped it.

"Hahaha, a Snake-Saliva Fruit!"

Xiao Le laughed as he looked at the plant. He had originally planned to search other snake caverns, yet the Snake-Saliva Fruit had been hidden beneath Medusa's corpse.

A dim layer of silver Dou Qi wrapped around his hand as he carefully plucked the fruit from the snake head. He was extremely cautious, not only because the Snake-Saliva Fruit plant was highly poisonous and would poison anyone who touched it, but also because the fruit itself was incredibly fragile. He feared that one careless burst of lightning might destroy this hard-won Snake-Saliva Fruit.

Having finally emerged from the snake cavern, Xiao Le stood at its entrance as though he had returned from another world.

"From this day onward, the Death-Defying Snake Cavern will cease to exist!"

With a wave of his hand, he unleashed a streak of lightning that ignited the snake corpses covering the ground. Once he had done all this, Xiao Le turned to leave.

"Stop!"

A furious shout blocked Xiao Le just as he was about to depart.

Not far away, a group of mercenaries stared at Xiao Le with greed and astonishment.

Over the past few years, the Death-Defying Snake Cavern had practically become a nightmare for mercenaries. Yet today, a young man had not only emerged from it unharmed, but had even burned it to ashes with a single fire.

The mercenary leader wore a ferocious expression, his eyes openly filled with intense greed. Since Xiao Le had emerged safely from within, he must have obtained the secret of the snake cavern.

The fierce leader pointed the broadsword on his shoulder at Xiao Le and said viciously, "Hand over everything you obtained in the snake cavern, or else... heh heh!"

Sensing that the leader was only an eight-star Dou Practitioner, Xiao Le relaxed. The series of dangers he had faced today had made him more cautious as well.

"Heh, kid, did our Tiger Fist Mercenary Group scare you?" Seeing Xiao Le stare silently at the Tiger Fist Mercenary Group insignia on their chests, the mercenaries assumed he had been frightened by their reputation and immediately mocked him.

Xiao Le could not help laughing. He had not expected a momentary glance to be misunderstood.

"Haha, our Tiger Fist has recently surrounded the Ten Thousand Medicine Hall and shaken all of Qingshan Town!" the fierce man said proudly.

"Surrounded the Ten Thousand Medicine Hall?"