"What are you standing there for? Turn around right now!"
Seeing that Xiao Yan still seemed dazed, Su Tian glared at him and snapped.
"And you'd better keep your eyes tightly shut! Don't even think about taking advantage of my fiancée!"
"Ahem..."
After Su Tian's string of reprimands, Xiao Yan finally tore his attention away from Queen Medusa and remembered that Su Tian, standing right beside him, was indeed her fiancé.
Upon careful consideration, Xiao Yan had to admit that ogling Queen Medusa right in front of Su Tian was rather indecent.
He immediately cleared his throat and turned around sheepishly. Under Su Tian's scrutinizing gaze, Xiao Yan felt awkward, his expression growing somewhat unnatural.
"As a gentleman once said, look not upon what is improper. Ahem..."
Xiao Yan rubbed his nose in embarrassment, seemingly speaking to himself. After turning around, he lowered his eyes toward the tip of his nose and quieted his mind, not daring to release even a trace of soul power.
"Heh, what's this? You actually get embarrassed?"
At that moment, Yao Lao's teasing voice rang out in Xiao Yan's mind. "That's Queen Medusa. Countless people would give anything for a taste of her charms, yet you're obediently turning around to avoid suspicion?"
"Ahem... Teacher, please stop teasing me. As you said, that's Queen Medusa. Besides, Su Tian is standing right here. Doing something like that really would be shameful."
Xiao Yan gave a bitter laugh inwardly and could not help rolling his eyes at Yao Lao.
He also said irritably, "Teacher, please act your age."
"Relax. What great winds and waves haven't I weathered? I'm not that disgraceful. I'll control my soul power to monitor Queen Medusa's every move. Once the time is right, we'll act immediately!"
Yao Lao smiled faintly, entirely unbothered by Xiao Yan's teasing, and spoke softly.
Hearing this, Xiao Yan nodded silently and waited quietly for his opportunity.
Only after seeing Xiao Yan turn around as instructed did Su Tian nod in satisfaction. As for Yao Lao inside Xiao Yan, there was nothing Su Tian could do but curse inwardly.
Shameless old bastard!
Then Su Tian shifted his gaze from Xiao Yan back toward Queen Medusa.
Queen Medusa lightly bit her red lip with her pearly teeth as her slender, jade-like hands slowly undid the buttons of her brocade robe. A perfect body, like creamy white jade and seemingly a masterpiece of heaven, was laid completely bare amid the bamboo.
"Gulp..."
Looking at Queen Medusa's soft, fragrant body, overflowing with endless temptation, Su Tian stared blankly. He swallowed hard in a thoroughly pathetic display, his face flushing scarlet in an instant.
Even his breathing abruptly grew rapid, coming in heavy pants.
"Ahem... Who the hell could withstand this?"
Su Tian swallowed with difficulty, a bitter smile appearing on his handsome face, yet an inexplicable surge of pride rose within him.
This kind of temptation could kill a man! Still, Queen Medusa is my fiancée. Nobody gets to lay a finger on her! Especially that shameless Xiao Yan. I have to keep a close eye on him!
Amid the lush green bamboo, her perfect, voluptuous body, white as jade, radiated a temptation that left his mouth dry.
In Su Tian's eyes, her beautiful face carried an unintentional hint of enchantress-like allure, while her long, fair neck revealed an elegant curve.
Her waist was as slender as a willow branch, seemingly narrow enough to encircle with one hand. Yet beneath that delicate slimness lay a supple strength. Her flat, tender belly bore not an ounce of excess flesh, and a single glance inspired the irresistible urge to reach out and slowly trace a hand over it.
Below that slender waist extended a purple snake tail filled with wild beauty. Its slight swaying revealed an exotic charm in full.
"Hiss... As expected of Queen Medusa. This is just too terrifying..."
Su Tian swallowed with difficulty once more, forcibly suppressing the restlessness within him as he muttered with a bitter smile.
He dared not look at Queen Medusa again. He truly feared he might lose control and do something ill-timed. Although he was nominally her fiancé, he could not guarantee that, if he acted impulsively, she would not dispose of him before devouring the Green Lotus Core Flame.
Su Tian fixed his gaze on the fiercely burning Green Lotus Core Flame suspended in midair, not daring to steal another glance at that bewitching body.
At the same time, he silently considered how to find a suitable opportunity to subdue the Green Lotus Core Flame.
"Teacher, when do we make our move?"
The steadily rising heat around them made Xiao Yan wipe away his sweat and ask Yao Lao inwardly.
"Wait a little longer. Although all her attention is focused on the heavenly flame now, we still shouldn't act rashly. If we provoke Queen Medusa into attacking, I can get you out of here, but the heavenly flame..."
"Then let's keep waiting."
Hearing Yao Lao's words, Xiao Yan grimaced, moved his neck slightly, and fell silent again. His eyes remained lightly closed as he waited for his opportunity.
Letting her purple brocade robe fall to the ground, Queen Medusa slowly stepped forward. Her long, narrow eyes gazed somewhat hazily at the Green Lotus Core Flame in midair. Lightly biting her red lip, she murmured.
"If I cultivate by following the prescribed path, who knows when I'll reach the threshold of Dou Zong? And there's the marriage to that human arranged by the Great Elder. If I want to escape the engagement, I must reach the Dou Zong level before I can have a say and truly control my own destiny..."
"So, to accomplish all this and advance swiftly to Dou Zong, this is now the only road left to me."
Her slender, jade-like hand rested lightly against her smooth, fragrant shoulder as Queen Medusa bowed slightly toward the Green Lotus Core Flame in midair. Then she slowly raised her head toward the violent energy fluctuations at the city wall.
An icy glint flashed through her beautiful eyes. Lifting the dark strands before her forehead with slender fingers, she said indifferently, "If my evolution succeeds, every human here today, including Su Tian, will remain in this desert forever!"
As those chilling words fell, Queen Medusa casually pulled off the purple ribbon binding her hair.
Her sleek black hair immediately spilled down like a waterfall, falling to her willow-slender waist.
She gently tossed her head, sending her hair swaying. Her hands continually formed strange seals, and as those seals changed, the fluctuations of the natural energy amid the bamboo instantly grew violent.
Hiding in the grove, Su Tian and Xiao Yan immediately noticed the change, their hearts jolting.
Xiao Yan hurriedly opened his eyes and bent his body slightly, about to turn around to deal with any sudden developments. Su Tian stopped him with one hand, and Xiao Yan immediately looked toward him.
"What are you doing?"
"Don't rush. The right opportunity hasn't come yet. You still can't look!"
Su Tian's handsome face was solemn as he spoke in a low voice, his tone brooking no argument.
What a joke. Queen Medusa's naked body was still right there. How could he possibly let Xiao Yan enjoy even the slightest advantage?
The fluctuations within the bamboo grew increasingly violent until, in the end, a massive energy vortex faintly formed above the island. Watching this change, Su Tian's expression grew even more solemn.
Queen Medusa's body was already enveloped in a dense radiance that continually expanded and contracted.
A moment later, a mighty roar, somewhat like a lion's and somewhat like a tiger's, rolled out from within the light. Shortly after the roar rang out, the dazzling radiance abruptly intensified.
Under that blinding light, Su Tian closed his eyes almost reflexively. A moment later, when he opened them again, he discovered in utter shock that a purple giant snake, fully a hundred feet long, was hovering above the island.
"You can turn around now."
"This is..."
Su Tian watched the purple giant snake in midair and casually patted Xiao Yan to alert him. When Xiao Yan turned around and saw her, his pupils abruptly contracted, and he could not help murmuring.
"That's Queen Medusa's true form!"
Yao Lao's low voice immediately sounded in Xiao Yan's mind.
In midair, the purple giant snake's body was long and powerful, with a faintly elegant beauty. Her pale purple pupils were not savage like those of the giant snake they had encountered in the lake earlier.
Instead, they held a human-like serenity and composure.
The purple giant snake slowly twisted her body in midair, her enormous head turning slightly toward the chaotic city wall. Only then did a faint icy glint flash through her pale purple pupils.
Queen Medusa's evolution is about to begin...
Su Tian stared fixedly at the purple giant snake and murmured inwardly. Beside him, excitement flickered in Xiao Yan's eyes, and his hands involuntarily clenched.
At the city wall, Yun Yun hovered in midair in her black robe. She glanced indifferently at the rather bedraggled Hua She'er and the Great Elder, whose aura fluctuated violently. A moment later, as though sensing something, she abruptly turned her head and stared at the purple radiance filling the sky over another corner of Temple City.
Her beautiful eyes narrowed slightly beneath her black robe as Yun Yun murmured, "Is the evolution about to begin?"
"Damn humans! Once Her Majesty's evolution succeeds, not one of you will escape!"
Wiping the scarlet blood from the corner of her mouth, Hua She'er spoke coldly.
"If her evolution fails, she'll disappear from this world without us having to lift a finger."
Hua She'er's words did not anger Yun Yun in the slightest. Her nature seemed inherently tranquil, with very little capable of making her lose her composure.
Such a person was like the white clouds high in the sky. Though languid and detached, she possessed the wisdom and composure to look down upon all things.
"Insolence! With Her Majesty's talent, failure is impossible!"
At that moment, the Great Elder could no longer contain her fury either. She snorted coldly and shouted.
"Perhaps. To be honest, I'd rather like to see what Queen Medusa becomes after a successful evolution."
Watching Hua She'er and the Great Elder charge toward her in fury, Yun Yun merely shook her head with a soft laugh. With a sweep of her hands, over a dozen enormous green wind blades, each more than a hundred feet long, instantly drifted toward them to slice them apart.
Meanwhile, on Bamboo Forest Snake Island, Xiao Yan stared at the purple giant snake overhead in astonishment. He swallowed, rubbed his chin, and murmured.
"What is she planning to do? Surely she isn't going to swallow the heavenly flame in one gulp? What am I supposed to do if she swallows it?"
"Uh, that question..."
Hearing Xiao Yan's question, Yao Lao faltered, then said helplessly, "I'm not quite sure either. Actually, I don't think her evolution can succeed. The destructive power of a heavenly flame is no joke. Although she's a Peak Dou Emperor, resisting a heavenly flame will still be extremely difficult."
Xiao Yan exhaled softly and smiled bitterly. "Then we'll keep waiting. If we rush out now, that already raging Green Lotus Core Flame will probably burn us into nothingness."
"Besides, there's a formidable rival beside me who also wants to seize the heavenly flame. I can't act rashly. After all, the Green Lotus Base is still in his hands."
Xiao Yan spoke softly inwardly, his gaze sweeping discreetly over Su Tian. He kept a constant watch on Su Tian's every move, waiting for his chance to seize the heavenly flame.
"Yes, there's nothing wrong with being cautious. If anything goes wrong, be ready to flee at any moment. The heavenly flame and Queen Medusa are both extremely dangerous beings."
Yao Lao's voice sounded again in warning.
Xiao Yan nodded with a bitter smile, his vigilance rising sharply. He stared fixedly at the purple giant snake in midair without blinking.
Su Tian paid no attention to what Xiao Yan was thinking beside him. The Green Lotus Base in his storage ring was ready. Once the opportunity arrived, he would act instantly and seize the Green Lotus Core Flame with the force of a thunderbolt.
The atmosphere between the two gradually grew subtle as Queen Medusa began devouring the Green Lotus Core Flame.
Her enormous body coiled in midair, dense purple light surging out from within her until it nearly enveloped the entire Divine Hall.
Su Tian understood the scene before him very well.
Queen Medusa was establishing an energy barrier to prevent Gu He and the others from disturbing her. This peculiar evolution required a quiet environment.
"She's starting!"
Su Tian and Xiao Yan watched the sky intently. Their expressions suddenly tightened, and they spoke in low voices almost simultaneously.
High above, after circling several times, the purple giant snake suddenly let out a clear, low cry. Then, without hesitation, she plunged headfirst toward the Green Lotus Core Flame.
"She's... She actually dares to clash head-on with a heavenly flame!"
Seeing Queen Medusa's actions, Xiao Yan sucked in a cold breath and hurriedly retreated.
Su Tian had already withdrawn a considerable distance before Queen Medusa made her move. Under his gaze, the purple giant snake instantly swooped down and, without the slightest hesitation, desperately burrowed into the Green Lotus Core Flame.
The instant the purple giant snake plunged into the heavenly flame, Queen Medusa let out an agonized scream that made their scalps crawl.
Hearing that piercing scream, Su Tian and Xiao Yan shuddered involuntarily. Then they peered through the screening bamboo leaves at the Green Lotus Core Flame in midair.
The purple giant snake thrashed her enormous body wildly. Su Tian could clearly see that, shortly after she entered the heavenly flame, the scales on her body began rapidly warping. Finally, the heavenly flame scorched them black, and they fell helplessly from her body.
Crimson blood gushed from the places where her scales had fallen away. The moment it appeared, the heavenly flame's terrifying heat burned it into nothingness, leaving glaring, ghastly streaks of blood across the purple giant snake's body.
"Scree... screee..."
Agonized screams continually rang out from within the heavenly flame. As she rapidly lost blood, the purple giant snake's body shrank at a visible rate.
Even someone as powerful and proud as Queen Medusa could not stop herself from screaming in such wild agony. It was hard to imagine just how excruciating the pain she endured must have been.
Under the Green Lotus Core Flame's scorching heat, the pain was no longer merely physical. Even her soul could not escape the heavenly flame's burning.
Such horrifying suffering made Su Tian feel the terror of a heavenly flame all the more keenly.
Standing on a rock some distance away, Xiao Yan stared fixedly at the flames. His face was somewhat paler than Su Tian's. Queen Medusa's agonized, heart-shaking screams had truly shocked him.
"Teacher, what should we do now..."
Xiao Yan turned his head to look at the figures drawn over by the disturbance and frowned slightly. Watching the Green Lotus Core Flame, which was burning so fiercely that even space seemed to warp, he asked inwardly.
"Wait. The Green Lotus Core Flame has already been driven into a frenzy by Queen Medusa. Anything that comes within a certain range of it will be burned into nothingness."
Yao Lao's helpless voice rang out.
Xiao Yan glanced at the pool beneath the Green Lotus Core Flame and discovered that the place once filled with ice spirit cold spring had long since become a pitch-black cavity.
At a rough glance, that cavity was at least a dozen meters deep. The bamboo surrounding the heavenly flame had also been reduced to ashes in an instant. As a breeze swept past, great stretches of the bamboo forest became bare ground.
"Such terrifying destructive power..."
Wiping sweat from his face and feeling the air around him grow increasingly hot, Xiao Yan gave a slight shudder and summoned the Purple Flame Garment over his body. Only after retreating several more steps did he feel somewhat better.
Xiao Yan looked up and saw Su Tian still standing not far away. He had not even summoned his Dou Qi Armor, simply watching the raging Green Lotus Core Flame in silence.
At this sight, Xiao Yan's eyes flickered slightly, and he suddenly called out.
"Su Tian, Queen Medusa has already begun her evolution. Something could happen to the Green Lotus Core Flame at any moment. Hurry up and take out the Green Lotus Base, just in case!"
At Xiao Yan's reminder, Su Tian merely turned his head and gave him an indifferent glance, his handsome face utterly calm.
Yet a faint trace of mockery showed in Su Tian's eyes.
"Moron, is there something wrong with your brain? Sometimes I really can't tell whether you're an idiot or you think I am."
Before you continue