"Young Master Xiao Lin, where are we going?"
Qing Lin clutched Xiao Lin's sleeve tightly with one small hand. Even nestled in his arms, she could not help feeling frightened by the fierce wind that kept buffeting her as they flew.
"The Magical Beast Mountain Range. Have you ever been there, Qing Lin?"
With Dou Qi Transformation into Wings carrying them swiftly through the sky, Xiao Lin gazed down at the scenery flashing past beneath them and asked softly.
"The Magical Beast Mountain Range? I've heard the mercenaries talk about it. There are lots and lots of magical beasts there. It's very dangerous!"
Having lived in the Tagor Desert and Mo Tie City since childhood, Qing Lin was venturing far from home for the first time after bidding farewell to Xiao Ding and Xiao Li with Xiao Lin. She could not help feeling nervous, her palms growing slightly sweaty.
Xiao Lin smiled. His Dou Qi Wings gave a slight beat, increasing their speed again.
Xiao Lin had infused this Heavenly Dao Avatar with strength roughly equivalent to a seven- or eight-star Dou Wang.
Condensing an avatar consumed some of the energy the Plane Embryo had recovered. The more energy used, the stronger it would be.
If one hundred percent of that energy equaled a Dou Di or above, a mere Dou Wang required less than one percent.
However, both retrieving objects from other worlds and purifying and modifying them into versions suited to this world required planar energy.
Moreover, his purpose in nurturing the continent's prodigies was to restore his own planar energy.
Thus, Xiao Lin conserved that hard-earned recovery wherever he could. The avatar only needed to guide matters along; barring exceptional circumstances, it did not need to be too powerful.
The Magical Beast Mountain Range, at the boundary between its outer and inner regions.
Ancient trees towered into the heavens, blotting out the sky and sun. The damp air was thick with the scent of rotting leaves and earth.
Occasional roars of magical beasts rang out in the distance, startling flocks of birds that circled above the canopy without leaving.
Xiao Lin walked ahead, strolling through the forest as leisurely as though he were in a courtyard.
Qing Lin followed on tiptoe behind him, her eyes darting about, every movement cautious.
A faint layer of energy fluctuations surrounded them, concealing their auras completely.
"Young Master Xiao Lin, can I really control a fifth-rank magical beast with my strength as a Five-Star Dou Zhe? It won't swallow me in one bite, will it..."
Deeply uneasy, Qing Lin tugged at the hem of Xiao Lin's clothes, pouting as she spoke in a tiny voice.
"You certainly can't handle other magical beasts, but if it's a snake-type magical beast, you can try anything below Dou Emperor."
"Don't worry. I'm here."
Xiao Lin shrugged at her words, responding with a helpless smile.
This little girl was obedient and well-behaved, with tremendous potential. She was simply far too timid.
The Triple Jade-Green Snake Flower Pupils were the bane of almost all snake-shaped magical beasts, capable of establishing a unilateral, compulsory link with them and thereby controlling them.
Their controlling power depended on the user's cultivation. In the original story, Qing Lin had been able to control a Two-Headed Fire Spirit Snake with Dou Ling cultivation while she was still at the Dou Qi stage.
Now that she was already a Dou Zhe, she likely stood a good chance of controlling a fifth-rank magical beast.
Once the Triple Jade-Green Snake Flower Pupils matured, a space could form within the eyes, allowing the snake-type magical beasts under their control to be stored inside.
The space was limited in size, but it would expand as her strength increased. The user would slowly absorb the Dou Qi of the magical beasts drawn into that space, though the rate of consumption was very slow.
In the original timeline, Qing Lin had relied on this ability to advance from the Dou Qi stage to Dou Zun in less than ten years.
Now, Xiao Lin intended to bring that advancement forward and shorten the time required.
"There. Let's start by trying that third-rank magical beast over there, then gradually increase the difficulty."
Xiao Lin raised a hand and pointed. Following that direction, they saw a slender, blue-violet snake coiled inside a hollow in a thousand-year-old tree ahead.
A Purple Lightning Viper, a third-rank magical beast with both lightning and poison attributes, renowned for its speed.
"Go on, Qing Lin."
"Show me the results of your training during this time. Shine your Triple Jade-Green Snake Flower Pupils into its eyes."
"Don't be afraid," Xiao Lin said quietly. "Remember, you're its bane. You're its master."
Qing Lin took a deep breath, released Xiao Lin, and stepped forward several paces on her own.
She raised her head, circulating her Dou Qi. Her jade-green eyes met the snake's scarlet pupils, and three tiny green flower marks slowly spun within her eyes, turning faster and faster.
"Hiss-"
The Purple Lightning Viper seemed to sense danger approaching. It suddenly burst out of the tree hollow, winding around the branches as it spiraled up to a branch tip.
It moved as swiftly as a streak of lightning, giving Qing Lin a fright.
However, seeing that the newcomer was merely a green-clad girl with the strength of a Dou Zhe and a timid aura, the Purple Lightning Viper grew considerably less wary.
Then its venomous fangs flared outward, and it lunged straight for Qing Lin's throat!
Foul-smelling venom traced two dark-green trails through the air, leaving wisps of black smoke rising even from the air in its wake.
"Ah!" Qing Lin cried out, instinctively raising her hands in front of herself and closing her eyes.
"Don't close your eyes!" Xiao Lin barked, though he did not move.
"Look at it! Use your will to suppress its instincts!"
Qing Lin shuddered all over and forced her eyes open.
In that brief instant, venom sprayed out, and the Purple Lightning Viper had already hurtled right in front of her!
In a lightning flash, Dou Qi surged, and Qing Lin's pale-green eyes abruptly changed.
Her Triple Jade-Green Snake Flower Pupils suddenly lit up. The three green flower marks seemed to break free of some restraint, blooming with a brilliant, eerie glow within her eyes!
A small blue-green snake emerged from her Inner Space, immediately blocking the Purple Lightning Viper's venom and lunge for her!
Seeing this, Xiao Lin, who had already been preparing to intervene, relaxed.
Then the light projected outward as though it had taken solid form, enveloping the attacking Purple Lightning Viper.
The magical beast's body abruptly stiffened. A trace of resistance flashed through its scarlet pupils, before... they gradually turned jade-green.
"Hiss... hiss, hiss..."
It slowly settled onto the ground, its triangular head lowered, its flickering tongue growing slower and more docile.
"It... it worked?" Qing Lin rubbed her slightly dizzy head, her small mouth hanging open as she stared at the scene before her in disbelief.
When she had first subdued the Jade Phosphorous Serpent, she had passed out outright. Witnessing the process with her own eyes this time left her quite excited.
"Not bad."
Seeing the green flower on the Purple Lightning Viper's forehead, Xiao Lin stepped forward and ruffled Qing Lin's hair.
"The Dou Qi this third-rank magical beast provides should be enough for you to quickly cultivate to Dou Shi."
With an exuberant Qing Lin continually stroking the docile Purple Lightning Viper beside him, Xiao Lin strolled slowly around the area, as though he were in his own courtyard.
His Soul Force spread continuously in every direction.
Although the Magical Beast Mountain Range contained many magical beasts, snake-type beasts were not found everywhere.
Just as Xiao Lin's soul kept probing and sweeping over their surroundings, he suddenly discovered that a fairly large group of humans had unexpectedly appeared nearby.
It was a mercenary company of about twenty people, halted before a vast, damp swamp.
Every one of them was trembling uncontrollably. Their apparent leader was a girl dressed in a pale-white dress, panic repeatedly flashing through her eyes as well.
Her appearance could not be called breathtakingly beautiful, but she possessed a fresh, ethereal air, like a clear mountain spring that made anyone who saw her forget the mundane world.
Xiao Yi Xian.
Opposite the group, bubbles kept rising from a deep, foul-smelling mire. The head of a fourth-rank Rot-Bone Mud Snake emerged from it, flicking its tongue at the mercenaries with a "hiss, hiss."
An icy, bloodthirsty gleam shone in its reddish-brown pupils!
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