Transformation Pill

"Interesting. That kid stayed in the underground magma for quite a while..."

In an instant, the alluring woman swept in front of Xiao Yan, her long serpent tail twisting around him. His throat tightened. Countless people would have blushed to find that stunning face so close, but he felt no attraction—only dread rising from the depths of his heart.

His gaze drifted downward.

Beneath the half-concealing gauze, he glimpsed her slender, supple waist, as fluid as a snake.

Queen Medusa's tail coiled around Xiao Yan. Her distinctive fragrance filled his nose as she studied him with curious eyes.

After all, even she, a Peak Dou Emperor, would not have dared remain in the magma for so long.

As Hai Bodong and Qing Lin stared in disbelief, Medusa leaned closer and lightly sniffed Xiao Yan's neck. The gesture looked intimate, but her voice carried a biting chill.

The curiosity in her eyes vanished, replaced by anger.

"You devoured that Heavenly Flame?!"

"I did." Xiao Yan nodded slightly, his eye twitching. If he had known, he would have come a few days earlier. Who would have thought he would run straight into Medusa? Or had she sensed the disturbance when he absorbed the Heavenly Flame?

Either way, he was in trouble.

If he were also a Dou Emperor—no, even a Dou Wang—he could pin this overbearing queen of the Snake-People Tribe to a couch and smack her backside. Unfortunately, he was only a Da Dou Shi...

Dealing with a Dou Ling would be easy enough. But she was a Peak Dou Emperor, one step from becoming a Dou Zong. Even Yun Shan might not be able to defeat her now.

Xiao Yan wanted to cry. Could his luck get any worse?

"Human, you deserve to die!" Queen Medusa's eyes blazed. This was the Snake-People Tribe's secret: by devouring a Heavenly Flame and using a special advancement method, she could evolve her bloodline into a Seven-Colored Heaven Swallowing Python. It was her tribe's only chance to rise, and this human had ruined it.

When the Snake-People Tribe had migrated here, they had fought humans several times and lost every battle. In the end, they were driven into the arid desert. They had never accepted it. Why should humans occupy those vast, fertile plains year after year?

That was why she had devoted herself to breaking past the Dou Emperor realm. She had even neglected her cultivation while searching for a Heavenly Flame, pouring untold effort into the hunt. But now...

"You ruined it!"

Queen Medusa's tail tightened sharply around Xiao Yan. Her pale violet eyes turned icy. She wanted him dead.

Even if he had absorbed the Heavenly Flame, she could kill him and seize it by force. But compared with a pristine Heavenly Flame born of heaven and earth, one torn from his body would lower her chances of evolving into a Seven-Colored Heaven Swallowing Python by more than ten percent.

"Hiss..." Xiao Yan sucked in a breath. The tail looked slender and soft, but its crushing grip was terrifying. Clearly, she was taking her anger out on him.

A Dou Emperor had plenty of ways to kill.

"If I'm not mistaken, you want to break past the Peak Dou Emperor realm and become a Dou Zong," Xiao Yan said, his face pale as he endured the pain.

"That's right." Queen Medusa shot him a cold glance and snorted.

"I can help you. I can refine the Sect Breaking Pill you need."

Xiao Yan felt as though the air were being squeezed from his chest. He forced out each word.

"..."

"A little insect like you dares make that claim? Even Pill King Gu He wouldn't boast so boldly." Queen Medusa narrowed her eyes at him, though her tail loosened a little.

"Phew..."

Xiao Yan exhaled and opened his palm. A python formed from Qi Fire emerged and coiled around his arm. Two differently colored flames could be seen within it.

He released the pale cyan flame, and the entire Qi Fire python turned that color in an instant.

"You really are an alchemist?!" Medusa leaned closer, the graceful curve of her pale neck visible as she studied Xiao Yan with suspicion.

Two Heavenly Flames!

Judging by his control over them and his Dou Qi cultivation, he had to be at least a Third- or Fourth-Rank Alchemist. She knew enough to recognize the signs.

The Snake-People Tribe's bloodline was naturally yin-aligned, at odds with the fire attribute required of alchemists. Alchemists were not merely rare among them; there were none at all.

"But the Sect Breaking Pill is a high-tier Sixth-Grade Pill. Even an ordinary Sixth-Rank Alchemist would struggle to refine it, let alone a mere Third- or Fourth-Rank Alchemist like you." Queen Medusa's voice was soft and alluring, though she sounded more patient now.

"I'm only sixteen, and I'm already a Fourth-Rank Alchemist. Give me a year or two—or three or four at most—and I'm confident I'll reach the sixth rank," Xiao Yan said calmly.

He was betting everything on his talent. Yet even the ruthless Queen Medusa fell silent for a long moment. At last, she glanced at him and parted her tempting red lips. "Fine."

"But the others know what happened today. They must die." Medusa looked toward Hai Bodong and Qing Lin, who were huddled in the corner.

"Elder Hai, didn't you just tell me you could knock Queen Medusa unconscious with one move? Your Profound Ice Dragon Soars is unbeatable! Hurry and do something!" Qing Lin cried anxiously.

Hai Bodong: "..."

His aged face twitched. Do something? He could not beat this woman even when he had been a Dou Emperor. Now that he was only a Dou Ling...

Queen Medusa glanced at Hai Bodong. She had clearly recognized her old acquaintance long ago. With a cold sneer, she raised a finger to kill him.

"Wait!" Xiao Yan frowned.

"I'll go to the desert with you, but you can't touch them."

"Heh. Boy, you're the first person who's dared bargain with me." Queen Medusa idly examined her uncanny violet nails, a dangerous smile spreading across her beautiful face.

"The fact that I've allowed you to live doesn't mean you can give me orders."

"I've already devoured the Green Lotus Core Flame, so your plan to evolve your bloodline by swallowing a Heavenly Flame is no longer possible. There are no other Heavenly Flames near the Jia Ma Empire; the only one is in Jia Nan Academy. If you want to become a Dou Zong, you have to rely on me. Besides... I know a way to help your bloodline evolve."

Xiao Yan glanced at Queen Medusa. She had probably never intended to let him leave. She would imprison him among the Snake-People and make him their alchemist.

And what she truly wanted was not the Sixth-Grade Sect Breaking Pill, but the seventh-grade Transformation Pill.

In the original story, she had dismissed Gu He's Transformation Pill, but only because she had steeled herself to take another path. Now that her chances of evolving her bloodline had fallen so sharply, the Transformation Pill was naturally her first choice.