At that moment, Queen Medusa could barely contain her excitement. Her full breasts rose and fell sharply, and an unusual light shimmered in her beautiful eyes.
With the green lotus core flame right before her, Queen Medusa could no longer restrain her eagerness.
"You are the key to whether I can enter the realm of Dou Zong!"
Queen Medusa drew a deep breath, finally calming the turmoil in her heart a little. Her red lips pursed slightly as she murmured to herself.
Just then, the slowly revolving mass of green lotus core flame seemed to sense Queen Medusa's presence.
In an instant, a towering blaze of scorching flames erupted from within it, forming an enormous green lotus in midair. It then hurtled toward Queen Medusa, as though determined to crush her where she stood.
Whoosh...
At the sight, a grave expression immediately crossed Queen Medusa's lovely face. Her red lips moved, releasing a cold snort.
"I shall see just how much power this green lotus core flame can unleash, nurtured in the scorching magma deep underground and tempered countless times by molten fire!"
Although Queen Medusa showed little change in expression, her heart abruptly tightened.
After all, heavenly flames were born of heaven and earth. The energy they contained could destroy the heavens and earth, overturn mountains, and churn the seas.
Although the green lotus core flame did not stand particularly high on the Heavenly Flame Ranking, if it erupted fully, its terrifying might would demand even Queen Medusa's utmost caution.
It was precisely this heaven-defying power that drove countless experts to seek every possible way of subduing heavenly flames.
Even someone who was not an Alchemist could harness the power of heavenly flames, provided they cultivated the fire attribute and successfully subdued one.
That formidable power within heavenly flames was what Queen Medusa needed as well.
However, Queen Medusa did not intend to control the green lotus core flame. She wanted to rely on it to complete her own evolution.
Still, the aura emanating from the heavenly flame exerted a certain suppressive effect on Queen Medusa.
With her formidable strength, however, Queen Medusa could withstand that suppression for a short time.
Boom...
All of this took long to describe, but happened in the blink of an eye. The green lotus formed by the green lotus core flame came crashing down toward Queen Medusa.
As that powerful attack erupted in midair, a deafening roar immediately rang out.
"Purple Spirit Devouring Serpent Palm!"
The gravity on Queen Medusa's lovely face deepened. Dou Qi erupted within her, and she raised her delicate hand, striking fiercely at the enormous green lotus bearing down on her.
At the same time, her red lips parted slightly, and a cold shout echoed through the underground cavern.
Hiss, hiss, hiss...
At Queen Medusa's command, powerful Dou Qi instantly gathered over her delicate hand. It seemed to possess a corrosive quality, producing low sizzling sounds in the air.
Queen Medusa kept her gaze fixed on the green lotus rapidly descending overhead.
At that moment, an enormous purple palm imprint broke free of her hand and instantly swelled as it met the air.
In the blink of an eye, it matched the enormous green lotus in size.
Had anyone else been there to look up, they would surely have been horrified. A purple palm imprint and a green lotus confronted each other in midair, only an instant away from colliding.
Queen Medusa narrowed her long, beautiful eyes slightly as a faint sense of unease rose within her.
By then, the purple palm imprint, radiating its corrosive aura, had already approached the green lotus in midair.
Under Queen Medusa's gaze, the two collided with a crash.
Yet at the instant of contact, the purple palm imprint and the green lotus strangely froze for a single breath.
"This is bad!"
Queen Medusa's expression changed drastically. Before she could retreat, she saw the green lotus dissolve the purple palm imprint in midair with utterly overwhelming force.
It seemed that even Queen Medusa's power could not stop this attack.
And it was not over yet.
The next moment, the enormous green lotus suddenly swelled. Under Queen Medusa's shocked gaze, it erupted with a deafening blast that seemed capable of destroying heaven and earth.
Rumble...
Queen Medusa's expression changed sharply. She wanted to retreat, only to discover that all the violently destructive power unleashed by the green lotus was surging straight toward her.
Although the green lotus core flame possessed no consciousness of its own, it could lock onto Queen Medusa's aura.
Now, no matter how swiftly Queen Medusa retreated, she could not shake off the violent power released by the exploding green lotus.
"Damn it! How can this thing be so troublesome? I already took it seriously enough, yet I still underestimated the terrifying power it contained!"
Queen Medusa knitted her brows tightly. Her Dou Qi Wings beat constantly as she twisted and retreated through the air. Watching that terrifying, violent power draw ever closer, she gritted her teeth and spoke angrily.
Yet saying any of this now served no purpose.
Seeing that she could not escape its pursuit, the proud Queen Medusa's temper flared. Her Dou Qi Wings abruptly stopped, and she simply abandoned her retreat.
Boom...
A dazzling purple light immediately burst from Queen Medusa's body.
In the blink of an eye, the purple light gradually dimmed, and Queen Medusa's figure vanished. In her place hovered an enormous, bewitchingly beautiful python, coiled in midair. Her lantern-sized eyes gleamed with a dangerous, icy light.
Queen Medusa had chosen to assume her true form to withstand that terrifying, violent power.
It all happened in a flash.
At that very moment, the violent power came crashing toward her. Rather than dodge, Queen Medusa charged straight into it.
Hiss, hiss...
Queen Medusa opened her enormous jaws and let out a piercing hiss. With a fierce sweep of her massive tail, her huge body accelerated, colliding with the violent power in an instant.
Clearly, Queen Medusa had chosen to stake everything on this attempt.
Rumble!!!
The instant they collided, a deafening blast erupted through the underground cavern. Shock waves scattered in every direction, sending shattered rocks flying and blasting enormous cracks into the ground.
Beneath those cracks lay scorching, deep-red magma!
Queen Medusa no longer had the strength to pay much attention to any of it.
Hiss, hiss...
In her true form, Queen Medusa opened her enormous jaws and released a shrill hiss, actually attempting to swallow all the violent power striking her body.
But she had clearly underestimated the might of this attack from the green lotus core flame.
Bang!
Bang, bang!
Bang...
As Queen Medusa swallowed that violent power in her true form, an even stronger force erupted once more, spreading outward from within her body in an instant.
Immediately, brilliant scales as large as a palm burst from Queen Medusa's body.
Those shattered scales shot like meteors into every corner of the underground cavern, only to be buried beneath broken rocks.
"Purple Spirit Serpent-Slaying Seal!"
Queen Medusa's true form writhed violently in midair. As fierce explosions continued to ring out within her, she ultimately endured all of that violent power by sheer force. Dazzling purple light appeared once more, and a supple figure stepped out from within it. Her red lips parted, releasing a cold, low shout.
Queen Medusa crossed her delicate hands, forming a succession of strange seals that radiated an intensely rich purple glow.
"Hmph. Now it is my turn!"
Queen Medusa's hands suddenly moved faster. A purple seal shimmering with a strange light appeared, then drifted into midair under her control.
Clearly, unleashing this seal was no easy task for Queen Medusa. A pale cast crept over her lovely face, and rapid breaths escaped her red lips.
Judging by this attack, Queen Medusa clearly intended to seal the green lotus core flame!
While Queen Medusa struggled with all her strength to subdue the green lotus core flame, Su Tian sat quietly in his courtyard, his eyes lightly closed and his legs crossed in a peculiar posture.
"Hoo..."
A breath following a particular rhythm lingered around Su Tian's mouth and nose before slowly entering his body.
Only after a long while did Su Tian slowly open his eyes. A sharp gleam flashed through them, making him seem like a keen blade drawn from its sheath.
Crack, crack...
Su Tian stood and stretched his somewhat stiff body, immediately producing a series of crisp cracks.
"I've recovered to my peak condition now. Next, it's time to keep practicing that Dou Technique!"
After the Great Elder left, Su Tian had considered his options and stopped studying alchemy for the time being. Instead, he shifted his attention to the Dou Technique the system had previously rewarded him with: the Earth-tier Low-grade Dou Technique, Army-Breaking Dragon Fist.
With Qing Mu present, Su Tian could hardly practice his Dou Technique in front of him, so he could only continue studying alchemy as Qing Mu instructed.
Now, however, Qing Mu had suffered considerable injuries during his fight with Mo Bass. Although he had followed Hua She'er to select some medicinal ingredients for treating his injuries, a full recovery would clearly take time.
Thus, after returning from the pill room, Qing Mu had only given Su Tian a few brief instructions regarding alchemy before returning to his own quarters. There, he began refining medicines suited to his injuries so that he could restore his body to peak condition as quickly as possible.
This finally gave Su Tian some time alone, and he decided to begin practicing his Dou Technique.
In his previous battles, Su Tian had lacked Dou Techniques and could only combine his physical strength with Dou Qi to attack. Although he could unleash reasonably powerful attacks, that only held true against opponents at his own level.
If he encountered an opponent above his level, Su Tian could easily be forced onto the defensive and placed at a disadvantage.
This was also why Su Tian had always yearned for a Dou Technique.
"An Earth-tier Low-grade Dou Technique really isn't easy to cultivate."
Su Tian stretched hard, a bitter smile involuntarily appearing at the corners of his mouth.
Although Su Tian had expected cultivating a Dou Technique to be difficult, only when he actually began did he discover just how difficult it was.
According to the technique's description, he had to compress his Dou Qi eight times in an instant, then channel it along specific meridians into his palm. After that, he had to turn his palm into a fist and abruptly release the compressed Dou Qi, forming a dragon of Dou Qi that burned everything in its path to ashes.
Yet when Su Tian tried to perform it, he could not produce the army-breaking dragon. He could not even squeeze out a single spark.
"Compressing Dou Qi inside the body is already incredibly dangerous. The slightest carelessness can cause serious injury, or even severe damage to the meridians, yet this Dou Technique requires eight compressions!"
Recalling his attempts to practice the technique, Su Tian felt like weeping but had no tears.
To master Army-Breaking Dragon Fist, he had to perform those three steps with perfect fluidity, without the slightest pause between them.
Otherwise, failing to unleash the technique would be the least of his worries. If the compressed Dou Qi ran wild, it could easily injure him internally.
This was also why Su Tian had never successfully executed Army-Breaking Dragon Fist.
Trying to compress his Dou Qi eight times had put Su Tian through endless suffering. If not for his powerful body and the many low-grade healing medicines he had refined earlier, he would probably have accumulated considerable hidden injuries by now.
Even now, Su Tian could only reliably compress his Dou Qi twice.
If he forcibly attempted a third compression, his current control over Dou Qi was insufficient to manage it properly. It could easily run wild and damage his meridians.
Thus, whenever Su Tian sensed even the slightest sign of trouble, he immediately stopped compressing his Dou Qi and expelled it through his meridians before it could erupt.
Looking around, he saw that the courtyard ground was riddled with pits. Naturally, these were all Su Tian's "masterpieces."
"Damn it, I'm so jealous of Xiao Yan!"
Experiencing the difficulty of cultivating an Earth-tier Low-grade Dou Technique, Su Tian could not help heaving a long sigh inwardly.
When Xiao Yan cultivated the Earth-tier Low-grade Dou Technique, Flame Splitting Wave Ruler, he had Yao Lao beside him to offer guidance, undoubtedly sparing him a great deal of trouble.
Yet aside from those visions of the Dou Technique being practiced, Su Tian had only himself to rely on. It truly gave him an endless headache.
"No! I refuse to believe it! Even without Yao Lao, I can still surpass that fellow Xiao Yan!"
At that thought, Su Tian gritted his teeth fiercely. A powerful competitive spirit rose within him, and he refused to admit defeat.
Then Su Tian drew a deep breath. A stream of fiery-red Dou Qi surged from his Dou Crystal, racing along specific meridians.
Soon, that stream of Dou Qi came to a halt in Su Tian's lower abdomen.
Su Tian's eyes flashed, and he instantly directed his mind toward the fiery-red Dou Qi in his lower abdomen, beginning to compress it.
Condense!
With that low inward shout, the stream of Dou Qi seemed to fall under the control of an invisible hand. Its volume gradually shrank, while the aura it emitted grew increasingly concentrated.
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