Medusa

A month later, deep within the Tagore Desert, in the underground world of magma.

Lin Yu hovered deep within the magma. Before him floated a budding azure lotus.

The lotus had condensed from the purest azure flames. Its petals overlapped in layers, each as thin as a cicada's wing, radiating a gentle, distant azure glow.

Lin Yu reached out and placed the Green Lotus Core Flame and the Bone Prison Fallen Heart Flame within his body into the Fusion Panel together.

Before long, the light of fusion gradually faded, and a brand-new flame floated above the panel.

"Bone Prison Lotus Heart Flame." Lin Yu absorbed this entirely new Heavenly Flame into his body, then opened his eyes in satisfaction. The power of space flowed faintly beneath his feet, and he transformed into a streak of silver light, piercing through layer upon layer of magma and returning to the desert surface.

Yellow sand filled the sky, and the blazing sun hung overhead. The wind of the Tagore Desert carried scorching grains of sand straight at him, yet Lin Yu felt that this hot wind was far more refreshing than before.

Han Shanshan and Du Ning were waiting in the shade of a nearby sand dune.

Han Shanshan leaned against a weathered rock with her eyes closed, resting, while Du Ning sat beside her with Zi Yan in her arms.

Zi Yan was curled into a ball in her embrace, sleeping soundly, her tail unconsciously winding once around Du Ning's wrist.

After more than a month together, along with Han Shanshan's unlimited supply of candy pills, the little fellow had long since been completely won over. She did not even mind Du Ning's Calamity Poison Body, which leaked poisonous aura, and instead especially loved clinging to her side.

When Han Shanshan saw Lin Yu flying out from the depths of the desert, she opened her eyes and rose to her feet. Just as she was about to ask how the fusion had gone, Lin Yu came over with a cheeky grin.

"Senior Sister, I want to go take a look at the Snake-People Clan." Lin Yu rubbed his hands together, trying to make his tone sound casual and offhand.

"Don't tell me Junior Brother wants to find himself a beautiful snake woman?" Han Shanshan was extremely perceptive and nearly instantly caught the unusual implication in his words.

She crossed her arms over her chest, narrowed her phoenix eyes, and gave a soft snort. Her tone held a trace of teasing, but even more of it was laced with faint jealousy.

"Hehe, I really do want to meet the legendary Queen Medusa." Lin Yu chuckled awkwardly and admitted it honestly.

Han Shanshan's slender hand shot out like lightning and accurately pinched the soft flesh at Lin Yu's waist, giving it a light twist.

She had long mastered this move to perfection. Her strength was controlled just right—enough to make Lin Yu grimace in pain, but not enough to truly hurt him.

Lin Yu hurriedly raised his hands in surrender, repeatedly crying, "Mercy, Senior Sister!" His sorry state was utterly different from the calm composure he had shown while subduing the Heavenly Flame in the magma.

Du Ning sat to the side with Zi Yan in her arms. Watching the senior sister and junior brother bicker, she could not help covering her mouth and laughing softly.

Having traveled with the two of them for so long, she had already grown used to scenes like this.

Outside, Lin Yu was an Eighth-Grade Alchemist with unfathomable methods, but before Han Shanshan, he would always be that joking junior brother.

Zi Yan was startled awake by the laughter. She yawned, looked blankly at the three of them, then flopped back into Du Ning's arms and continued sleeping.

Half an hour later, three figures appeared above the royal city of the Snake-People Clan.

The desert sun baked the entire royal city until it was scorching hot. Most of the snake-people wore only simple cloth garments, and their thick snake tails dragged long trails through the sand as they moved. Upon seeing the three figures suddenly appear in the sky, they all showed wary expressions.

Several patrolling snake-person guards immediately raised their weapons and watched the three vigilantly.

Before long, a tall figure flew out from the temple, standing in midair before Lin Yu and the others.

She wore a dark red, form-fitting dress that vividly outlined her slender, almost exaggerated curves. Beneath her waist, slim enough to be grasped in one hand, was a long snake tail covered in dark purple scales.

The snake tail gleamed with a cold metallic luster beneath the sunlight, and every sway exuded a dangerous, deadly allure.

The moment Queen Medusa appeared, her purple-red eyes contracted sharply when they fell upon Han Shanshan and Lin Yu. With a grave expression, she uttered two words: "Dou Zong."

"Senior Sister, she's a Purple Nether Flame Snake. I wonder whether she can evolve into a Nine-Colored Heaven Swallowing Python." Lin Yu leaned close to Han Shanshan's ear and lowered his voice, lightly poking her waist with one finger.

A Purple Nether Flame Snake carried a trace of Nine-Colored Heaven Swallowing Python bloodline within her. Though it was already faint, it was not without the possibility of awakening.

If she could evolve into a Nine-Colored Heaven Swallowing Python, she would possess one of the Beast Realm's most supreme bloodlines, with the terrifying potential to grow into a Dou Saint.

"Junior Brother wants to subdue her?" Han Shanshan turned her head and lowered her voice as well.

"That's Dou Saint potential." Lin Yu spread his hands. His tone was casual, but there was not the slightest trace of jest in his eyes.

"Then she'll have to evolve first." Han Shanshan considered it for a moment before nodding.

She was not someone who failed to see reason. A powerhouse with Dou Saint potential was an irresistible temptation for any faction, and the Pill Tower was naturally no exception.

Seeing Han Shanshan relent, Lin Yu stepped forward and declared to Medusa, "I am from the Pill Tower, an Eighth-Grade Alchemist. I can temper you with Heavenly Flames. If you can evolve into a Seven-Colored Heaven Swallowing Python, I can take you under my wing."

The moment those words left his mouth, an unmistakable flicker of desire flashed through Medusa's purple-red eyes.

She knew what being tempered by Heavenly Flames meant. One careless mistake, and both body and soul would be destroyed. Even nine deaths out of ten would be an understatement.

But risks and opportunities had always gone hand in hand. If she could endure it, her bloodline would complete its transformation, evolving from a Purple Nether Flame Snake into a Seven-Colored Heaven Swallowing Python and undergoing a complete rebirth.

More importantly, the promise of an Eighth-Grade Alchemist from the Pill Tower was an opportunity that countless people could only dream of obtaining.

So long as she received the cultivation of an Eighth-Grade Alchemist, with an alchemist's resources and methods, her future achievements would begin at Battle Venerable at the very least.

By then, the Snake-People Clan would no longer have to remain confined within this barren Tagore Desert, enduring the torment of wind, sand, and blazing sunlight day and night.

"Fine!" Medusa parted her red lips and spoke a single word with absolute resolve.

As she said it, a determined light burned in her purple-red eyes.

For her people, and for herself, she was willing to take this gamble.

Hearing that, Lin Yu curled his lips into a smile.

"Your Majesty, you must not! Being tempered by Heavenly Flames is simply far too dangerous!" Hua She'er, standing behind Medusa, went pale and cried out anxiously.

"Your Majesty, please reconsider!" Upon the city walls, in the streets, and before the temple, countless snake-people dropped to their knees, their voices rising one after another as they tried to dissuade their queen.

Of course they longed to leave this barren desert and yearned for a better place to live, but they were even less willing to watch their queen embark on a gamble where death was all but certain.

"Silence!" Medusa suddenly turned around. Her purple-red snake tail carved a sharp arc through the air as her voice rang with absolute finality.