The people outside the temple exchanged bewildered looks, but Xiao Fan was hardly idle on the island. The instant the lightning tribulation dispersed, the system's voice rang in his ears.
"Ding! Mission complete. Reward: Medusa's favor. Medusa's favor has increased."
Hearing the system notification, Xiao Fan put off checking it for now. After all, so many people outside were watching like tigers eyeing their prey, and his goal was the Green Lotus Core Flame.
Xiao Fan hurried toward the Green Lotus Core Flame along the path he had taken earlier. The once-lush bamboo groves around him had been reduced to scorched earth by the ravaging lightning.
After rushing as fast as he could, Xiao Fan finally reached the island's center. The small pebble-lined lake had long since vanished, replaced by an enormous crater, with Medusa's charred body lying inside.
At the edge of the crater, Xiao Fan stopped rather than going any farther and cautiously called down, "Your Majesty?"
Seeing no response from Medusa's "remains," Xiao Fan was just about to step forward when her enormous body suddenly exploded into a cloud of dust. In its place appeared a little purple snake, roughly two centimeters long, hovering in the air.
Xiao Fan cautiously studied the little purple snake floating there. Their eyes had barely met, and before he could react, she vanished. The next second, he discovered that she was already pressed against his shoulder.
A chill rose in his heart. He had sensed absolutely nothing before the little purple snake appeared before him, as though she had materialized out of thin air.
Turning to look at the little snake mere inches away, Xiao Fan saw that her entire body was covered in tiny, iridescent purple scales. Her pale purple eyes gleamed with an uncanny light, and at