A deal, a snake becomes a flood dragon, and Lu Man's shock!

"You..."

The woman in green paled as she watched Lin Chen approach, a trace of despair surfacing in her eyes.

"I know why you came. Too bad you couldn't just talk things over properly from the start."

"You made such a huge scene and even got physical. Look, wouldn't it have been rude of me not to hit back?"

Lin Chen shrugged, his expression utterly innocent.

"We..."

The woman in green held her breath and was just about to speak when Lin Chen cut her off again.

"Say, you're not fake Dou Emperors, are you? Why are you so weak? Don't tell me you haven't even cultivated an Earth Tier Cultivation Method?"

"No way, no way. I heard the Heavenly Snake Mansion was rolling in wealth. They couldn't bear to give you even one Earth Tier Cultivation Method scroll?"

"Pfft!"

As his words fell, the woman in green finally coughed up a mouthful of stagnant blood. Her breathing grew considerably faster, her chest heaving violently. Clearly, he had infuriated her.

"Only the Mansion Lord and the elders of our Heavenly Snake Mansion are qualified to practice Earth Tier Cultivation Methods. The Mansion Lord treats us extremely well. Don't you dare spit such bloody slander!"

"We were outmatched today, and we accept our defeat. But don't get too pleased with yourself. You're merely a Dou Wang. So what if you control heavenly flames?"

"If the Mansion Lord wishes, he can send a Dou Zong elder to capture you any day. Don't be so arrogant!"

The woman in green panted, an angry flush creeping into her pale face as she spoke indignantly.

"Oh, a Dou Zong expert. I'm so very scared..."

Lin Chen put on a cautious expression, then grinned. A cold glint flashed through his eyes as he said indifferently, "Then if I kill you both, won't he never find out?"

His words swept over the woman in green like a chilling wind from the depths of the Nine Hells, making her shudder involuntarily.

"You... you can't do that..."

The woman in green trembled all over, feeling an icy killing intent lock onto her. Her slender body shook uncontrollably as she said aggrievedly, "We mean no harm. We only want to bring the bearer of the Triple Jade-Green Snake Flower Pupils back with us. The Heavenly Snake Mansion will give her the finest cultivation resources, find her the best teachers, and raise her into the most dazzling prodigy on the Northwest Continent!"

"Hmph, raising a genius into another genius? Was one of your ancestors some master surnamed Yu?"

Lin Chen snorted disdainfully, contempt in his eyes. Every word deliberately belittled the Heavenly Snake Mansion, leaving the woman in green seething.

"We... our Heavenly Snake Mansion used to have a seventh-rank master alchemist too. It's just that the Lion Nether Sect poached that master during the last Sect Assembly. Once the Mansion Lord recovers from his injuries, he will definitely..."

The woman in green instinctively argued back, but toward the end, even she lost most of her confidence. Her voice gradually weakened until it was barely audible.

After all, on the Dou Qi Continent, generally only high-ranking seventh-rank alchemists were qualified to be called "masters." At that level, they would have a place even among the great powers of the Central Plains. Their status was exceedingly exalted.

Eighth-tier alchemists, meanwhile, were called "Alchemist Grandmasters." They were capable of founding their own sects and leaving names that endured for a thousand years. In any era, they were outstanding figures, dragons and phoenixes among men.

As for ninth-rank alchemists, they were already figures akin to great grandmasters. Across the entire Dou Qi Continent, they could be counted on one's fingers, and every one of them was a towering figure as elusive as a divine dragon whose head appeared but whose tail remained unseen.

Since someone had poached their Seventh-Rank Alchemist, they must have offered an exceptionally high price. How could that alchemist possibly return?

"Tsk, tsk. See? The Heavenly Snake Mansion simply doesn't offer good enough benefits. Even your master alchemist got poached. Honestly, how can you raise Qing Lin properly when you're like this?"

"If the Heavenly Snake Mansion has nothing but vermin like you, how could it ever claim the throne as overlord of the Northwest Continent?"

"I say you'd better hurry up and become the Lion Nether Sect's dogs. Perhaps someday, if your master is pleased, they'll toss you a bone to chew!"

Lin Chen clicked his tongue, mocking them without the slightest restraint.

"You... you've gone too far!"

The woman in green could no longer stomach his words. Enduring the intense pain in her body, she moved to teach Lin Chen a lesson.

Unfortunately, the moment she rose, several deep-blue beams shot out and instantly froze her hands and feet. She toppled to the ground with a thud, eating a mouthful of sand and dirt.

"What's the rush? I haven't finished yet. Can bringing back the Triple Jade-Green Snake Flower Pupils reverse the Heavenly Snake Mansion's decline? One person being powerful doesn't mean your entire Heavenly Snake Mansion is powerful."

"Besides, I won't hand Qing Lin over to you. Give up on that idea."

Lin Chen withdrew the Sea Heart Flame from his hand, leisurely clapped his hands, and gave an instruction to Hai Bodong, who had just arrived.

"Old Hai, bring it over and let them have a look."

"Coming right up!"

Hai Bodong carried a cold iron cage in his hands. He strode up to the two of them and dropped it onto the ground with a clang.

Inside the cage, a massive, fiery-red, two-headed python writhed restlessly back and forth. Its serpentine eyes were filled with unease as it flicked its tongues rapidly, letting out hissing sounds.

"What are you trying to do?"

The woman in green looked at the fiery-red python in bewilderment. With her knowledge, she naturally recognized it as a fourth-order magical beast from the Beast Realm, the Two-Headed Fire Spirit Snake. Its bloodline's upper limit could reach the sixth rank, making it an exceptionally fine serpentine magical beast.

Lin Chen said nothing. With a flick of his finger, a mass of deep-blue flame shot out and instantly engulfed the entire Two-Headed Fire Spirit Snake. Terrifying heat surged, immediately drawing a howl of agony from the snake!

"Hiss!"

The Two-Headed Fire Spirit Snake's heads slammed frantically against the cold iron cage, its eyes filled with pain. Its fiery-red Snake Scales instantly turned charred black, exposing the crimson flesh beneath—a sight that made one suck in a cold breath.

"Why must you torment it like this? If you want to kill it, then kill it! Why humiliate a snake? If you've got the guts, come at me, Lu Man!"

Unable to bear the sight, the woman in green, Lu Man, cried out, glaring angrily at Lin Chen.

"You think you're worthy of enjoying such a good thing? This is the Guardian Snake I've prepared for my Qing Lin. Who do you think you are?"

Lin Chen shot her a disdainful glance, then took out several Pill Bottles, crushed them, and tossed their contents into the Two-Headed Fire Spirit Snake's mouths.

"Hiss!"

The Two-Headed Fire Spirit Snake felt a warm current surge throughout its body. At some point, the scorching flames had cooled, becoming bone-piercingly cold. Streams of intensely frigid energy seeped into its body. As the forces within and without intertwined, dazzling fiery-red light suddenly burst from its body!

Boom!

Vast Heaven and Earth Energy converged, then descended as a crimson pillar of light.

Within the pillar, the Two-Headed Fire Spirit Snake's body grew thicker and stronger. A small fleshy bump seemed to rise atop its heads, gradually forming jade-colored horns. Four long, sharp claws emerged beneath its belly, making it the very image of a crimson flood dragon!

"That's impossible... its bloodline evolved?"

"This aura... a Twin-Headed Fire Spirit Flood Dragon? Even its rank increased? A fifth-rank magical beast?"

"What kind of method is this? What pill did you feed it?"

Shock appeared on Lu Man's face. In the Beast Realm, any creature belonging to the flood dragon lineage possessed a formidable bloodline. Upon reaching adulthood, it would be at least a seventh-rank magical beast!

With good luck, it could even reach the peak of the seventh rank!

Although reaching the eighth rank was difficult, a seventh-rank magical beast was already a dragon or phoenix among beasts on the Northwest Continent. Even the Heavenly Snake Mansion had few of them!

"It's a Secret Recipe that requires heavenly flames. Even if I told you, you couldn't use it. You people at the Heavenly Snake Mansion are all snakes with cold, yin attributes. Would you dare refine heavenly flames?"

"Even if you did refine them, it'd be useless if you don't understand alchemy and can't adjust the dosage for different serpentine magical beasts. They might even die on the spot. Go back and tell your Mansion Lord about this deal of mine. See whether he's interested."

"If he's interested, he can send someone to Jia Nan Academy to find me. I'm currently an elder of Jia Nan Academy, and Vice President Hu Gan is my adoptive father. I'll give you a ten-percent discount."

Lin Chen snapped his fingers. Amid a series of cracking sounds, the solid ice covering Lu Man and Bai Ya instantly melted, restoring their freedom.

Then Lin Chen looked at Qing Lin beside him, stroked her little head, and instructed, "Go on. Use the method I've been teaching you lately to form a contract with this Twin-Headed Fire Spirit Flood Dragon. If he dares resist, I have ways to help you."

Qing Lin nodded at his words, then walked up to the magical beast that had just evolved. Three jade-green flower buds slowly appeared in her pupils. As they rotated, an exceedingly mysterious fluctuation spread outward.