Heavenly Snake Saintess, an Opportunity for the Sea Heart Flame to Evolve!
[Only a few breaths after sending out the Communication Jade Slip, you received Xun'er's reply.]
["Senior, Dou Shengs aren't cabbages growing by the roadside. Even the faction I belong to cannot deploy them lightly. I can only send you a Dou Zun expert, but it will take time for them to arrive."]
["If your situation is urgent, I can have an elder accompany you to take a look first."]
[With that, the Jade Talisman that had crossed space spun once, then crossed space again, flying toward Stone Desert City.]
[Not long afterward, an elderly figure emerged from the darkness, radiating the aura of a Peak Dou Emperor. He cupped his hands toward you and said, "Ling Ying, shadow guard of the Gu Clan, reporting on the young lady's orders. I await your commands, Young Master Lin Chen!"]
[You nodded solemnly, then pointed west. "As a shadow guard, you must know some good tracking techniques, right? Catch those two stinking snakes from the Heavenly Snake Mansion and rescue my adorable little sister!"]
[Ling Ying assured you that it would be no problem. As a Peak Dou Emperor, he was well versed in numerous secret tracking arts of the Gu Clan. As long as his targets were not an entire major realm above him, he was confident he could catch them.]
[In the seventh month, amid the deserted dunes of the Tagor Desert, you caught up with the two members of the Heavenly Snake Mansion who had taken Qing Lin. They were Lu Man and Bai Ya.]
["Die, you scoundrels!" Furious, you unleashed Heavenly Dragon's Roar. Terrifying soul shockwaves surged outward, shaking every direction!]
[As magical beasts, their soul power was inherently weak, far inferior to that of Dou Huang experts at the same realm. Struck by an Earth Tier sonic attack, they instantly fell into a daze. Drool spilled from their mouths, and their eyes turned vacant and guileless.]
[Ling Ying seized the opening to rescue Qing Lin, then used a secret art to capture both of them alive.]
["Talk. What were you planning to do with my little sister?"]
[Not long afterward, in a dim basement beneath the Lin Chen Map Shop, you sternly interrogated the two captives from the Heavenly Snake Mansion.]
["Mmph..." Gagged, Bai Ya could only mumble, stubbornly refusing to divulge any secrets.]
["Such stubborn bones. I'll grant your wish!" Your expression turned vicious. You killed Bai Ya with a single stroke of your blade, then turned toward Lu Man, who was bound beside him.]
["Spare me, my lord! I'll talk, I'll talk!" The female Dou Emperor Lu Man, whose mouth had not been gagged, hurriedly spoke, terrified of following in Bai Ya's footsteps.]
[Lu Man then explained the abilities of the Triple Jade-Green Snake Flower Pupils and their importance to a faction like the Heavenly Snake Mansion.]
[She said that if Qing Lin went to the Heavenly Snake Mansion, she would certainly be appointed saintess, second only to the Mansion Lord in authority. Once the Mansion Lord stepped down, she might even succeed him as the next Mansion Lord!]
[You nodded thoughtfully, then said, "I understand. If the Mansion Lord dies, Qing Lin becomes the Mansion Lord, right?"]
[In the eighth month, the Dou Zun expert summoned by Xun'er arrived. To your surprise, the expert was a seven-star High-tier Dou Zun!]
[Meanwhile, your investigations revealed that the Heavenly Snake Mansion ranked among the ten strongest factions on the Northwest Continent. At the Sect Assembly held every five years, it had once nearly defeated all the other sects to become the continent's overlord. It was a top-tier faction backed by a One-Star Dou Zun.]
["Seven stars against one. The advantage is mine!"]
["Off to the Heavenly Snake Empire! Time to take office at the Heavenly Snake Mansion!"]
[With a grand wave of your hand, you prepared to bring the two little girls, Qing Lin and Zi Yan, along with Hai Bodong, to the Heavenly Snake Mansion.]
["Hold it!" Just then, a white-robed figure stepped out of the void. It was Hu Gan!]
[Hu Gan looked at you helplessly and scolded, "The Heavenly Snake Mansion is a first-rate faction in the northwest. How much longer do you intend to keep making trouble, brat?"]
["Enough is enough. I'll speak with the Heavenly Snake Mansion. Stop resorting to fighting and killing at every turn. Their deputy Mansion Lord once studied at our Jia Nan Academy, so there is a bond between us."]
["In the cultivation world, what matters is understanding relationships and social graces!"]
[Hu Gan gave you a thorough lecture and ordered someone to take Zi Yan away. He told you to stop making trouble and pointed out that since the Heavenly Snake Mansion possessed secret arts for cultivating the Triple Jade-Green Snake Flower Pupils, having Qing Lin join them might not be a bad thing.]
[You looked displeased but said nothing. Inwardly, you thought, What a shame. I can't take over the Heavenly Snake Mansion. All those resources should have been mine!]
[Hu Gan then negotiated with the Heavenly Snake Mansion. In the end, its Four-Star Dou Zong deputy Mansion Lord accepted Qing Lin as a disciple. They subsequently held a Saintess Ceremony, installing her as the Heavenly Snake Mansion's new saintess.]
[In the ninth month, you returned to the academy and spoke with Xun'er. She said that since the Dou Zun had never needed to act, it did not count as helping you, and asked you to name another request.]
[You traded the Green Lotus Core Flame to Xun'er for an eighth-grade alchemist's legacy and a secret art of the Gu Clan called "Flame Demon Transformation."]
["Flame Demon Transformation" was a secret art that used Heavenly Flames to awaken one's potential, briefly increasing one's Dou Qi cultivation. It could be used all the way up to the Dou Zun realm, but had negligible effects on Half-Saints and stronger experts. It qualified as a high-level Earth Tier secret art.]
[Highly satisfied, you swallowed an Earth Fire Lotus Seed, applied the Marrow-Burning Liquid, and entered the ninth floor of the Blazing Sky Qi Refining Tower to begin secluded cultivation.]
[In the tenth month, you emerged from seclusion after breaking through to Seven-Star Dou Wang. You then mastered Flame Demon Transformation and prepared to advance to Sixth-Grade Alchemist, laying the groundwork for your eventual breakthrough to the Dou Emperor realm.]
[In the eleventh month, thanks to your considerable advancement in cultivation, you successfully became a Sixth-Grade Alchemist. You refined a sixth-grade Misfortune-Breaking Pill and helped Hai Bodong recover his Dou Emperor cultivation.]
[Shortly afterward, Xun'er came to bid you farewell, saying it was time for her to leave. Before departing, she left you a gift she hoped you would like: an Earth Tier Body-Refinement Dou Technique.]
["A gift? I don't really care about such things. All I care about is your affection for me, Junior Xun'er."]
["Junior Xun'er, since we're about to part, may I hug you?" you asked with a perfectly earnest expression. A trace of sorrow filled your eyes, and your words carried a wistful melancholy.]
[Could he be in love with me? Seeing you like this, Xun'er hesitated, wondering to herself. Just as she was about to gently refuse, you pulled her into an embrace.]
["Junior Xun'er, through the years we spend apart, fair days and lovely scenes will all be wasted. Though my heart holds a thousand tender feelings, with whom could I share them?" You sighed softly, then released Xun'er's soft, delicate body.]
["You..." Xun'er's expression grew complicated. She sighed, a flicker of yearning appearing in her eyes. But after glancing at the Gu Clan's Black Annihilation Army beside her, she ultimately said nothing more.]
[She then mounted the Four-Winged Unicorn and rose into the wind.]
["Brat, you think you're worthy of coveting our young lady? Take a look in the mirror. Who the hell do you think you are?!"]
[Just then, a young man with delicate, effeminate features stepped forward, Dou Qi surging around him. Clearly, he intended to get well acquainted with you.]
["Would you happen to be Ling Quan?" you asked calmly, your tone indifferent.]
["You've heard of me?" Ling Quan looked startled. A deep-blue flaming fist then greeted his face with the speed of thunder striking before one could cover one's ears.]
[With a furious shout of "Flame Demon Transformation!", you knocked the esteemed Gu Clan Dou Emperor down in just three punches. His face was bruised and swollen, too pitiful to look at.]
["So much for the Gu Clan's younger generation." You swept your sleeve across your fist, wiping away his nosebleed. Looking in the direction Xun'er had departed, you lamented inwardly, My wealthy patron is gone. How hard cultivation will be from now on! Gu Clan, you've wounded me to the quick!]
[In the second year, Xiao Yan arrived at Jia Nan Academy, and you broke through to Eight-Star Dou Wang. Hearing how he had escaped from Yun Shan, you were deeply impressed and drank with him until you were both thoroughly drunk.]
[Not long afterward, Hu Gan came to see you, his expression grim. "Something terrible has happened. Qing Lin is missing!"]
[Your expression changed drastically, and you asked what had happened.]
[As it turned out, Qing Lin's talent with the Triple Jade-Green Snake Flower Pupils was extraordinary. With the Heavenly Snake Mansion's support, she had broken through to Dou Wang in just one year. Its Dou Zun Mansion Lord wanted her to marry his offspring to foster a bloodline possessing the Triple Jade-Green Snake Flower Pupils and strengthen the Heavenly Snake Mansion.]
[Qing Lin refused. With the deputy Mansion Lord's support, she secretly fled the Heavenly Snake Mansion and went to the Central Plains. Her whereabouts were now unknown.]
["Relationships and social graces, my ass! The bigger fist is the only truth that matters!" you roared, then took out a Jade Talisman.]
[It held a drop of blood essence Qing Lin had left behind. Using a secret art to sense her location, you traveled through Space Wormholes without pause, heading for the Central Plains.]
[In the third year, after an entire year of searching, you finally found Qing Lin in the Beast Region of the Central Plains.]
[After several years apart, Qing Lin had grown into a young woman, ever more graceful and lovely. Her dark hair reached her waist, her figure was slender, and her bosom was full—a true beauty with extraordinary eyes.]
["Qing Lin!" you shouted the instant you saw her.]
["Young master, run!" To your surprise, Qing Lin's face paled in alarm. In a flash, she grabbed you and sped into the distance. Throughout it all, you had no power to resist.]
[This is spatial confinement! The Spatial Power that only Dou Zongs can wield! You were utterly shocked. The Triple Jade-Green Snake Flower Pupils truly were extraordinary. What exactly had Qing Lin experienced over these years?]
[Then, from nearby, three streaks of dark light approached, their auras no weaker than Qing Lin's. One was an eerie-looking man in a dark-blue robe, with a large character meaning "python" embroidered on his chest. He looked particularly imposing.]
["Seize her! She stole our clan's sacred water! Ten thousand deaths wouldn't atone for her crime!" The eerie-looking man pursued Qing Lin with an anxious expression.]
[Confused, you asked Qing Lin what this sacred water was. She did not answer. Instead, she knocked you unconscious with one blow and fled frantically.]
[In the third month, you and Qing Lin escaped your pursuers. Qing Lin explained that those hunting her belonged to the Nine Netherworld Python Clan, renowned throughout the Beast Realm. As for the sacred water, it was Yellow Springs Water produced in the clan's sacred land, the Nine Nether Yellow Springs.]
[The Nine Nether Yellow Springs was one of the world's rare sacred lands capable of helping snake-type magical beasts advance to the eighth rank or even Half-Saint. Even a little of its Yellow Springs Water was enough to help ordinary snake-type magical beasts break through their bottlenecks to the seventh or even eighth rank!]
[Qing Lin then handed you a jade box. When you opened it, you saw murky yellow lake water flowing within, giving off such terrifying cold that even your Sea Heart Flame faintly stirred.]
[But mine is a Heavenly Flame... You were shocked. Then the Sea Heart Flame plunged straight into the Nine Nether Yellow Springs water, merging directly into it like melting snow!]
[That's impossible... Astonished, you found it inconceivable. Then you remembered the Sea Heart Flame's special property: it could dissolve in water! This Heavenly Flame had been born beneath the crushing pressure of the seabed, amid deep waters of immeasurable weight!]
["Hiss, hiss..." Amid the hissing, the Yellow Springs Water rapidly dissolved. A dark-blue flame slowly floated out, radiating both extreme cold and extreme heat, like the two poles of ice and fire. It was utterly extraordinary!]
[You felt the Sea Heart Flame undergoing an unprecedented transformation. Your Dou Qi cultivation climbed steadily, and your entire body experienced a change unlike anything before!]
[Qing Lin stared at you blankly, finding it unbelievable. Just as she was about to speak...]
["Riiip!" The surrounding space tore open, and an enormous snake head emerged. Its body radiated a terrifying aura that shook space itself, while its deep eyes were filled with indifference.]
["Those who steal our clan's sacred spring shall die!"]
[The giant snake opened its enormous maw. With a thunderous boom, countless freezing currents roared forth. Horror spread across your face, but before you could resist, you were engulfed.]
[You died!]
[This simulation has ended-]
[You may choose one of the following three items.]
[1. Water of the Nine Nether Yellow Springs]
[2. Flame Demon Transformation (high-level Earth Tier secret art)]
[3. Peak Sixth-Grade Alchemist experience]