Ten-Thousandfold Returns for Taking Disciples: Starting from Battle Through the Heavens — Part 45

"Of course!"

Qin Hao nodded. With a thought, a lotus pedestal carrying a cluster of azure flames materialized out of thin air. It was none other than the Green Lotus Core Flame Qin Hao had obtained.

"This is... the Green Lotus Core Flame!"

Medusa Queen clearly recognized it at a glance. A sharp gleam immediately flashed in her eyes.

"As long as Master Qin Hao is willing to help, my Snake-People Tribe is willing to offer the high-grade spiritual herbs stored in our treasury as payment. Our Snake-People Tribe has been passed down for thousands of years, so we do possess some foundation!"

Immediately afterward, Medusa directly displayed her sincerity.

"High-grade spiritual herbs, huh? As long as there are enough of them, I do not mind. But you also know that this process is a narrow escape from death. If it fails, the experts of your Snake-People Tribe..."

If the benefits were sufficient, he naturally did not mind making this deal with Medusa. However, he clearly could not guarantee whether Medusa would succeed as she had in the original story.

"Master Qin Hao can rest assured of that. I can guarantee that they absolutely will not take their anger out on you. I will certainly handle this matter properly, and I will give you the promised payment in advance.

"Besides, if something truly happens to me, the Snake-People Tribe's strength will inevitably be weakened. At that time, I believe the elders will not create further trouble by provoking someone like Master Qin Hao and needlessly making a powerful enemy of the Snake-People Tribe!"

After hearing Qin Hao's words, Medusa immediately gave her assurance.

"Good. I hope Your Majesty will keep her word!"

Qin Hao nodded without hesitation after hearing Medusa's words.

After reaching an agreement with Medusa Queen, Qin Hao returned alone to Hai Bo Dong's small courtyard.

"Master Qin Hao, you're back. Are you all right?"

When Hai Bo Dong saw Qin Hao, he immediately sighed in relief.

"It's nothing. But I plan to make a trip to the Snake-People Tribe next, so I'll have to trouble you to look after my disciples for the time being!"

Qin Hao spoke. He clearly did not intend to bring Xiao Yan and the others with him to the Snake-People Tribe.

Arrival at the Snake-People Tribe! The Four Great Elders! "What!? Master Qin Hao is planning to go to the Snake-People Tribe? Isn't that too risky? The Snake-People Tribe's strength is anything but ordinary. Aside from Medusa, there are several Dou Huang elders in the tribe! If they make a move..."

Hai Bo Dong hurriedly warned him. As one of the Jia Ma Empire's top experts, Hai Bo Dong naturally knew quite a bit about the Snake-People Tribe.

The Snake-People Tribe did not have only Medusa as a top-tier Dou Huang expert. Besides Medusa, there were several other Dou Huang-level experts.

"Thank you for the reminder, Elder Hai, but don't worry. I know what I'm doing. As long as the Snake-People Tribe hasn't lost its mind, they should not attack me! Unless they want Canaan Academy's experts to come and wipe them out!

"Besides, even if they do make a move, the outcome is still uncertain! Even if I cannot defeat them, if I want to leave, they will not be able to stop me!"

Qin Hao spoke with complete confidence.

"Uh, that's true! Master Qin Hao, go without worry. With this old man here, no one will be able to touch your disciples!"

After hearing Qin Hao's words, Hai Bo Dong immediately understood and patted his chest as he promised.

"Good. Then I'll trouble you!"

Qin Hao nodded. After giving Xiao Yan and the others a few instructions, he left Desert City once more and met up with Medusa Queen, who was waiting outside the city. The two immediately flew toward the Tagor Desert.

With Medusa Queen present, naturally no blind Snake-People dared to make trouble for him along the way.

By the time they returned to the Snake-People Sacred City, night had completely fallen.

Led by Medusa, Qin Hao went directly to the central temple of the Snake-People Sacred City.

"Greetings, Your Majesty. This is..."

Very soon, an equally alluring snake-woman approached and bowed to Medusa. At the same time, her gaze fell upon Qin Hao, and a trace of curiosity flashed through her eyes.

"Hua She'er, this is a guest invited by me. He is a sixth-grade alchemist from Canaan Academy. You must treat him well and absolutely must not neglect him!

"Master Qin Hao, this is Hua She'er, the commander of my guards. If you need anything, you may tell her directly. Please wait here for a moment, Master Qin Hao. I will first retrieve the things I promised you!"

Medusa introduced Qin Hao and Hua She'er to each other, then spoke to Qin Hao.

"Canaan Academy! A sixth-grade alchemist!"

Upon hearing Medusa Queen's introduction, Hua She'er's gaze sharpened, and a solemn expression appeared on her face. Naturally, she knew what kind of existence Canaan Academy was.

Not to mention that the Qin Hao before her was a powerful sixth-grade alchemist.

"Hua She'er greets Master Qin Hao!"

Hua She'er quickly spoke, not daring to show even the slightest disrespect.

"I'll be troubling Commander Hua She'er from here on."

Qin Hao said.

Afterward, under Hua She'er's arrangements, all kinds of fine wine and delicacies were served, while Medusa Queen left directly.

"What!? Your Majesty, have you truly decided to do this?"

Meanwhile, within a grand hall in the Snake-People Sacred City, Medusa Queen was speaking with four elderly snake-women.

The auras of these four old women were all extremely terrifying. The strongest among them was not much weaker than Medusa Queen, while even the weakest had reached the level of a high-level Dou Huang.

At that moment, the wrinkled old woman at the head of the group looked at Medusa and could not help but speak.

The worry in her eyes could not be concealed. Medusa Queen's talent was absolutely among the very best in the entire history of the Snake-People Tribe, and she was also the one most likely to step into the Dou Zong realm.

Medusa was currently at the peak of her condition, yet she wished to risk making such a choice. Naturally, they understood the dangers involved.

If anything happened to Medusa, the blow to the Snake-People Tribe would be unimaginable.

"First Elder, I have already made up my mind. Although I consider my talent decent, if I do not borrow external aid, my chances of breaking through are extremely slim. The shackles of this bloodline are simply too strong!

"I no longer wish to wait. Furthermore, my body and strength are both at their peak right now, making this the time when I am most likely to succeed. Once my vitality declines in the future, there will be practically no chance of success if I try again!

"If I succeed, I will certainly be able to greatly improve the Snake-People Tribe's circumstances. Even if I fail, the tribe will still have the four elders and the ten commanders.

"As long as the four great elders remain, the Snake-People Tribe's foundation will not be shaken. At most, we will have to shrink our territory. Once the next Medusa grows up, we will naturally recover once again!"

Medusa spoke with a resolute expression.

"Ah..."

Seeing Medusa's determined expression, the First Elder could not help sighing. She understood Medusa's personality very well and knew that she likely could not change her mind.

"Your Majesty, is that human truly reliable? After all, the Snake-People Tribe and humans share a blood feud. If he secretly interferes, that would be dangerous!"

Another old woman at the side spoke again, her eyes filled with concern.

"If necessary, we can join forces and suppress him directly!"

Yet another old woman said.

"No! We absolutely cannot do that! Our Snake-People Tribe only bears a grudge against the humans of several nearby empires, while he comes from Canaan Academy! We have no enmity with him, so he should not secretly sabotage us.

"Furthermore, Canaan Academy is a force that has Dou Zong experts. I have even heard that the headmaster of Canaan Academy is a legendary Dou Zun expert. Offending Canaan Academy would absolutely be an unwise choice for the Snake-People Tribe.

"Moreover, he is not weak. Though he is only at the Dou Huang level, when I met him before, I sensed a fatal threat from him. His strength is clearly far from ordinary.

"At the very least, he is no weaker than I am. If someone like him truly wishes to leave, we will likely find it very difficult to keep him. Once he escapes, what awaits us will surely be a disastrous calamity!

"Elders, remember this well. Unless he truly does something that harms the Snake-People Tribe, do not provoke him under any circumstances. Even if I truly fail, you must not take your anger out on him! The Snake-People Tribe cannot withstand such turmoil!"

Medusa Queen hurriedly spoke with a stern expression. The warning in her eyes was completely undisguised, because in her view, this was no different from courting death.

She was willing to risk her life for a future for the Snake-People Tribe. She did not want the tribe to bring about a disastrous calamity by provoking Qin Hao.

"Mm, Your Majesty is right!"

After hearing Medusa's words, the First Elder's face also turned solemn. She immediately spoke and looked toward the other three elders.

"Understood!"

Seeing the First Elder's expression, the three of them finally nodded one after another.

Naturally, Qin Hao knew nothing of the conversation between Medusa and the elders.

After Qin Hao waited in the queen's palace for nearly half an hour, Medusa Queen finally arrived. This time, she was not alone. Four elderly snake-women followed behind her.

"As expected of the Snake-People Tribe. Their foundation truly is extraordinary!"

After sensing the auras of the old women, Qin Hao thought to himself. He had clearly guessed their identities. If nothing unexpected had happened, they should be the Snake-People Tribe elders who had appeared in the original story.

One peak Dou Huang, one nine-star Dou Huang, one eight-star Dou Huang, and the last was also a peak seven-star Dou Huang.

Without exaggeration, if Yun Shan, who had pledged allegiance to the Hall of Souls, was excluded, then the Snake-People Tribe's high-level combat strength absolutely crushed that of the Jia Ma Empire.

The reason the Snake-People Tribe had been driven into the Tagor Desert was not due to the Jia Ma Empire alone. It was the result of the Jia Ma Empire joining forces with several neighboring empires.

"Sorry to have kept Master Qin Hao waiting. This is the payment I promised you earlier. Please see whether you find it satisfactory. If you are not satisfied, we can discuss it further!"

At that moment, Medusa's voice rang out, and she handed Qin Hao a storage ring.

Qin Hao did not stand on ceremony. He directly took the storage ring and immediately sent his consciousness into it to inspect its contents.

"Gasp..."

When he saw what was inside, Qin Hao could not help drawing in a sharp breath. Although he had been mentally prepared and had guessed that Medusa Queen's offer would not be small, he had not expected her to produce so many good things.

The value of these items was even greater than what the Jia Ma Royal Family had given him before. Both their quantity and quality far exceeded that previous offering.

What satisfied Qin Hao most was that perhaps because the Snake-People Tribe lived in the Tagor Desert, or perhaps because their bloodline was yin in nature and they disliked fire-element items, over ninety percent of the spiritual herbs Medusa had given him this time were fire-element.

This was exactly what he wanted and perfectly matched his own attributes.

"Not bad. Very good. I have felt Your Majesty's sincerity, and I am very satisfied. Rest assured, Your Majesty, I will certainly cooperate to the best of my ability. Also, I have a pill formula called the Heavenly King Heart-Protecting Pill.

"This Heavenly King Heart-Protecting Pill is a sixth-grade medicinal pill. Its effect is to protect the heart and preserve one's life force to the greatest extent possible in a critical moment! It should be useful to Your Majesty! If the Snake-People Tribe can provide the medicinal ingredients, I can help refine it once as a gesture of my sincerity!"

After thinking for a moment, Qin Hao spoke.

"There is actually such a medicinal pill!? Then we truly must thank Master Qin Hao! What medicinal ingredients does it require? My Snake-People Tribe will certainly gather them as quickly as possible!"

Before Medusa could speak, the First Elder behind her was the first to say it eagerly.

"Thank you for your kindness, Master Qin Hao. Oh, right, Master Qin Hao, let me introduce you. These are the four elders of my Snake-People Tribe..."

Medusa also came back to her senses, a delighted expression appearing on her face. If she had the help of such a medicinal pill, Medusa felt that her chances of success would naturally increase considerably.

"Greetings, everyone!"