Watching the Great Elder's actions, Queen Medusa knitted her delicate brows slightly, but said nothing.
She knew the Great Elder must have her reasons for doing this.
At the very least, Queen Medusa was certain of one thing.
Everything the Great Elder did was for the future of the Snake-People Tribe.
After all, Queen Medusa herself had grown up under the care of the Great Elder and the others.
Thus, although the Great Elder had not explained her reasons in detail, Queen Medusa did not press her with questions.
"Once we old women have confirmed certain secrets, we will naturally tell you everything."
With a turn of her right hand, the Great Elder stored the clump of golden blood in her spatial ring. Then she turned around and, seemingly sensing Queen Medusa's confusion, spoke with a faint smile.
Queen Medusa merely nodded gently. Reclining on her throne, she once again assumed her earlier languid posture.
Meanwhile, just as Su Tian struggled to his feet, a sudden whistling sound tore through the air beside his ear.
Seriously? Again?
Su Tian groaned inwardly and hurriedly raised his head, only to see a black shadow hurtling toward him.
With no time to think, Su Tian reacted almost instinctively. He thrust out his right hand and caught the black shadow.
Thump!
Slowly opening his palm, Su Tian discovered to his surprise that the black shadow was actually a medicinal pill.
The pill was black all over and perfectly rounded, with a faint medicinal fragrance drifting from it.
"This is..."
For a moment, Su Tian was rather bewildered as he examined the pill in his hand.
Just then, the Great Elder's grating voice drifted over.
"This is a third-tier medicinal pill called a Qi-Recovery Pill. It can heal the accumulated injuries within your body and preserve your life."
"Uh... thank you for your kindness, Great Elder!"
Hearing this, Su Tian hurriedly cupped his fists respectfully toward the Great Elder and thanked her with a solemn expression.
Inside, however, Su Tian thought otherwise. Damn it, a mere third-tier pill? Are you tossing scraps to a beggar? How do you even have the nerve to offer it? If it weren't for you shameless bastards, would I have suffered all these injuries?
True as that was, Su Tian dared not display even a trace of displeasure. Whatever else might be said, he was still on someone else's turf, so he could not afford to act too arrogantly.
To survive, Su Tian could only console himself and refrain from quibbling with these shameless old women.
I won't stoop to their level! A true man knows when to bend and when to stand tall...
Though inwardly disgusted, Su Tian did not hesitate with his hands. He opened his mouth and tossed the Qi-Recovery Pill inside.
He was not worried that the Great Elder might have tampered with the pill.
After all, with the Great Elder's strength, dealing with him would be child's play.
"Gulp..."
With that thought, Su Tian had nothing to fear. He stretched his neck and swallowed the Qi-Recovery Pill straight into his stomach.
Seeing Su Tian take the pill so readily, the Great Elder's eyes flickered, and she gave him a long, searching look.
The moment the Qi-Recovery Pill entered his mouth, a faint chill abruptly spread across his tongue.
A moment later, a warm stream of pure energy surged from Su Tian's mouth into his body, making him shudder violently.
This was Su Tian's first time taking a medicinal pill, and he clearly had no experience.
Sensing the change, Su Tian immediately frowned and hurriedly sat cross-legged. Closing his eyes, he began circulating his cultivation technique almost instinctively.
It was the Flame Mantra!
Boom!
As Su Tian continued circulating the technique, his expression gradually grew calm. At the same time, his hands rapidly formed a series of strange seals, seemingly guided by instinct.
Around Su Tian, faint strands of energy in the air were drawn into his body.
His breathing gradually steadied. The Dou Qi within him moved at his will, swiftly wrapping around the powerful, pure medicinal energy before beginning to refine it furiously.
Watching this, Queen Medusa, the Great Elder, and the others exchanged flickering looks.
With their strength, they could clearly tell that this was Su Tian's first time taking a medicinal pill.
"Despite never having taken medicinal pills, he has already reached the Nine-Star Dou Shi realm at such a young age. This alone shows that the boy possesses not only exceptional talent, but extraordinary perseverance as well!"
At that moment, the Great Elder became even more certain of the suspicion in her heart.
As for Queen Medusa, she remained languidly reclined on her throne, her beautiful eyes slightly narrowed. For the first time, she regarded Su Tian seriously.
The aptitude Su Tian had displayed was exceedingly rare, even throughout the entire Snake-People Tribe.
"No wonder the Great Elder attaches such importance to this little human. It seems I misjudged him."
Queen Medusa stretched lazily, a faint smile on her lips as she studied Su Tian with interest.
Su Tian knew nothing of any of this.
At that moment, Su Tian's entire mind was immersed within his body.
As Su Tian continuously circulated his cultivation technique, he rapidly refined the pure energy. Finally, it became droplets of gentle, pure liquid energy that flowed into the vortex in his abdomen.
Just then, the previously calm air around Su Tian suddenly trembled violently. Wisps of pale-white Dou Qi seeped out of the air and streamed endlessly into his body.
This sudden development made Su Tian's gradually relaxing expression change once again.
As far as Su Tian could sense, each wisp of pale-white Dou Qi entering his body felt like a needle stabbing him, bringing waves of intense, piercing pain.
However, the pure medicinal energy within him had yet to be fully refined, so Su Tian could not stop circulating his technique.
Otherwise, not only would he fail to heal his injuries, he might even suffer backlash.
With no other choice, Su Tian bit down hard on his lip and tried to control his Dou Qi to ease the collision between the two energies within him. Yet the process sent waves of spasmodic pain through his meridians.
Fortunately, after reaching the Nine-Star Dou Shi realm, Su Tian's meridians had become considerably tougher than those of an ordinary person.
Thus, although Su Tian felt some pain, it remained within what he could endure. For the moment, the two constantly colliding energies had not caused much damage either.
Damn it! You're just a pill. I refuse to believe I can't refine you!
Within Su Tian's body, Dou Qi enveloped the dark, pure energy. As he refined it furiously, portions of that dark energy were continuously broken down into pale-white Dou Qi.
The refined energy then joined the ranks of the refining army.
Inside Su Tian, that mass of Dou Qi was rapidly swelling at a rate visible to the naked eye.
The vortex rotated slowly, continuously spewing Dou Qi that refined the pure energy pouring into it.
The dark, pure energy within him was like a dam on the verge of releasing a flood, seemingly ready at any moment to spill out of the vortex that had already reached its limit.
Su Tian dared not relax his concentration for even an instant, keeping his attention fixed on the overflowing vortex.
Within his body, the pure medicinal energy had combined with the energy absorbed from the air to form a considerable mass. Yet the vortex now seemed unable to accommodate even the slightest additional trace of energy.
Clearly, the vortex had reached its limit. If he continued forcibly pouring energy into it, it would likely burst. Su Tian dared not imagine the consequences.
At that moment, Su Tian finally understood his current situation.
He was clearly about to break through!
At this critical juncture, Su Tian immediately recalled the scene of Xiao Yan breaking through to Da Dou Shi.
I've got it!
Without further hesitation, Su Tian took a deep breath, then slowly exhaled a breath of stale air. The hand seal directing his cultivation technique abruptly changed.
According to Xiao Yan's method, every Dou Shi on the verge of such a breakthrough would instinctively choose the correct course of action-a course proven successful by countless predecessors.
That course was compression!
Gaseous energy could be compressed into higher-grade liquid energy.
And liquid could naturally be compressed into solid energy of an even higher grade.
This so-called solid energy was precisely the secret behind a Da Dou Shi's ability to summon Dou Qi Armor that seemed almost tangible.
Once he understood this, Su Tian immediately knew what to do.
As Su Tian abruptly changed the hand seal directing his cultivation technique, the vortex within him went still for an instant. Then rings of rippling fluctuations spread across its surface.
As the fluctuations grew increasingly violent, the vortex eventually resembled boiling water. Fierce black waves continually surged forth from its very center.
While the energy ripples continued to fluctuate, the once slowly rotating vortex suddenly accelerated. It happened in an extremely short span of time-less than ten seconds.
The once slowly rotating vortex had now become a madly spinning spiral sphere.
At the same time, a fiery-red Dou Qi Armor abruptly appeared around Su Tian, clinging tightly to his body.
Within Su Tian, the vortex's rapid rotation actually produced rings of dark arcs around it. The whistling of its rotation echoed continuously through his body.
Faintly, the sound seemed to carry a strange rhythm. It passed through his meridians and bones, finally breaking through his skin and flowing into the Dou Qi Armor writhing over Su Tian's body.
Only after this violent disturbance flowed into the Dou Qi Armor did its writhing slowly cease.
A moment later, fiery-red light flickered fiercely. The Dou Qi within him also poured into that fiery glow, merging with it as the vague outline of a suit of armor slowly emerged.
As the light gradually dimmed, a suit of fiery-red armor engraved with strange flame patterns could be seen covering Su Tian's body.
Although its appearance was somewhat indistinct, it seemed to contain a savage, scorching energy that could erupt at any moment, making it clear that his previous Dou Qi Armor could not compare.
This nascent Dou Qi Armor quietly took shape without Su Tian noticing. Within his body, an equally earth-shaking transformation was underway...
Before you continue