For a moment, the entire Snake-People Tribe fell deathly silent. No one dared speak.
The Snake God looked at Medusa, her eyes like a pool of clear water, without a single ripple. "I imagine you must have many questions right now."
Medusa stared at the Snake God in silence for a long while. Then she suddenly spoke. "That's right. I have many questions. If this concerns the fate of our Snake-People Tribe, I want to know the answers. Are you willing to tell us?"
"Yes." The Snake God nodded.
Medusa let out a deep, heavy breath, looked at Long Xiao, then turned to the others and used her own aura to free them from the oppressive pressure.
They then rose to their feet and looked at the Snake God in the sky, but still dared not make a sound.
The Snake God paid this no mind and began to speak slowly. "You may call me the Snake God, or you may call me the first Queen Medusa."
"The history of our Snake-People Tribe is neither particularly long nor particularly short. It began in an age without a Dou Di, after the continent's last Dou Di vanished ten thousand years ago."
Dou Di?
Everyone trembled. To the people of the Snake-People Tribe, that title was akin to a god. Didn't such beings exist only in legends?
"After that Dou Di vanished, the great powers of the continent fought for supremacy. Among humans, many clans possessed a Dou Di bloodline. Our magical beast race also had a few supreme clans, but compared to the humans' Dou Di bloodlines, we were ultimately a cut below."
"Dou Di-what a realm to yearn for. Humanity's talent for cultivation truly inspires envy."
"Eight thousand years ago, a man called the Pure Lotus Demon Saint emerged among humanity. Even the four strongest experts of the magical beast clans could not compare to him."
"And eight thousand years ago, I was the Seven-Colored Heaven Swallowing Python, one of those four supreme experts. The other three were the Dragon Emperor of the Ancient Void Dragons, the Ancient Heavenly Phoenix, and the Ancient Heavenly Snake."
"So you can imagine how prosperous and powerful our Snake-People Tribe was back then."
Medusa and her tribespeople were utterly stunned by these words. Eight thousand years ago?
The Snake-People Tribe's history stretched back eight thousand years, and they had even been one of the supreme beast clans?
"Back then, I found a treasured land in the Beast Region called the Nine Nether Yellow Springs and opened up an independent world, the Nine Nether Underground Kingdom. That was where our people lived and multiplied."
"Sadly, the good times did not last. Our bloodline degenerated too severely, giving our enemies an opening. Eight thousand years ago, while I was in secluded cultivation, the Ancient Heavenly Snake invaded. I escorted one branch of our people to the Northwest Continent. That branch became you."
"The Priest Lineage were my trusted followers back then, so they have always known of my existence."
Hearing this, Medusa and the others finally understood. No wonder the High Priest could summon the Snake God!
It turned out that everything had been arranged eight thousand years ago!
The Snake God continued, "In the end, I fell, and only my soul escaped. Our homeland was seized by the Ancient Heavenly Snake, and now his descendants, the Nine Netherworld Python Clan, occupy it."
"But sooner or later, I will take it all back."
The Snake God's serpentine eyes brimmed with resentment and murderous intent.
"But, Lady Snake God! Why must you sacrifice the queen's life?"
Hearing this, Yue Mei could not help looking up at the Snake God in the sky, her heart filled with grief.
Though the Snake God was their ancestor and a hero of the Snake-People Tribe, they were not people of that era.
Queen Medusa was the one they believed in.
The others desperately wanted the answer to this question as well. Why must the queen be sacrificed?
The Snake God cast an indifferent glance over them. She had not expected this generation's queen to have so many loyal followers.
"Because that is her destiny. I created the Medusa Lineage so that one day, someone with a bloodline surpassing my own would be born and allow me to live again. Even your tribal laws were established by me. But you have disappointed me terribly. Each generation was weaker than the last, and I have waited a full eight thousand years." The Snake God's voice turned icy.
Hearing this, the Snake-People fell silent.
Medusa clenched her fists, grief filling her heart.
So the Medusa Lineage had always been a lie? They had never been anything more than sacrifices to the Snake God?
Those cold, merciless tribal laws that had forced her and her younger sister to fight to the death had also been established by this ancestor before her?
"Child, were you not taught from an early age to lead the Snake-People Tribe to greatness? You are exceptional. You have surpassed me. But for the future of the Snake-People Tribe, you must make the right choice."
"As long as I use your body to live again, our Snake-People Tribe can rise in an instant. Isn't that what you want as well?"
The Snake God looked at Medusa. She could see Medusa's obsession with the Snake-People Tribe. Of course, that obsession had also been instilled through the education she had arranged all along.
Every queen had been raised the same way.
At that moment, everyone remained silent. On one side stood their ancestor's command, and what their ancestor said was true: with her strength, the Snake-People Tribe would surely rise in an instant.
On the other stood Her Majesty, the queen they believed in. They all knew how much she had given to their people over the years.
"Child, if you wish to restore our people's glory, step onto that altar. Let me use this powerful body of yours to bring the Snake-People Tribe to an entirely new height!"
The Snake God spoke calmly to Medusa, but madness had already surfaced in her eyes.
As those words fell, Medusa's body shuddered violently.
Her heart filled with bitterness and defiance.
How was she supposed to make such a choice?
"Your Majesty..."
Everyone looked at Medusa. Many refused to accept this reality, and some even shed tears.
Faced with their gazes, her heart ached with anguish. This was what she had always striven for, and she did not want to give it up.
Yet now, her own life seemed only just to have begun to shine. Given time, she could achieve it too.
But if I refuse, will that make me a traitor to the entire Snake-People Tribe? With the Snake God's strength, there is probably no one who can stop her now.
From childhood, she had been taught to lead her people to glory, and for that purpose, she had become a cold, merciless queen.
If the Snake God was telling the truth, then she truly was a hero of the Snake-People Tribe. Without her, this branch of their people probably would not even exist, and neither would Medusa.
So my entire life had already been arranged long ago...
"I refuse!"
Suddenly, a clear, forceful voice shattered the deathly silence.
Hearing that voice, Medusa trembled slightly, then looked at the figure beside her.
"It's all right."
Long Xiao pulled Medusa behind him, shielding her as he looked up at the Snake God in the sky.
The Snake God looked at Long Xiao as well, cold killing intent flickering in her serpentine eyes. "Do not stand in my way."
Their gazes met, and the atmosphere around them instantly congealed. Everyone held their breath.
In that clash of gazes, the Snake God sensed that Long Xiao was extraordinary, but she was not afraid.
She had waited eight thousand years. No one could stop her!
"The Snake God? If I'm not mistaken, you're the greatest traitor the Snake-People Tribe has ever had! Every Queen Medusa throughout the generations died at your hands, didn't she?"
Long Xiao gave a cold laugh.
What did that mean?
Medusa and the Snake-People were all stunned. They stared at Long Xiao. Could there be an even greater secret behind all this?
At Long Xiao's words, the Snake God froze for a moment before laughing. "Hahaha! To think you actually discovered it. You truly are clever, and far from ordinary. The High Priest was right. You really might ruin my plan."
At this point, the Snake God could no longer be bothered to conceal anything. After all, in the face of absolute strength, no amount of cleverness would help.
"Long Xiao, what's going on?"
Medusa caught the hem of Long Xiao's clothes and asked in a low voice.
Today, she seemed deeply flustered, stripped of her usual composure and unsure how to handle this situation.
Long Xiao patted her hand and reassured her. "Don't worry. I'll handle everything."
"Medusa, it was I who led the Snake-People Tribe out of the abyss of hell. Now I am becoming their guardian once more. You should not stand in my way."
Before you continue