The Heavenly Snake Mansion Appears! Xian'er's Resolve

"Damn it."

With a thought, Lu Yuan gathered Yun Yun in his arms and turned into a streak of light, crashing into the valley like a falling rock.

The instant he landed, his feet plowed two deep furrows in the ground, and the impact of his Dou Qi sent a ring of gravel and dust flying.

Xiao Yi Xian was sitting in front of the wooden house, forming hand seals as she cultivated. Highly sensitive to all poisons, she opened her eyes and looked up to see a figure with Dou Qi Wings rushing toward her.

"Is another Dou Wang or Dou Emperor coming!?"

She instinctively gripped the medicinal powder in her sleeve, Poison Dou Qi surging around her.

But in the next instant, she saw the newcomer's face, and her heart eased.

"Lu Yuan?" Xiao Yi Xian cried in delight.

"Xian'er!"

Lu Yuan set Yun Yun securely on the ground and shot forward as an afterimage. In an instant, he was in front of Xiao Yi Xian, both hands on her shoulders. "What happened?"

There were several obvious traces of battle in the valley.

A large patch of the mountainside to the left was scorched black, as though blazing-hot snake scales had ground across it. More than half the rock face had crumbled.

The ground was pitted with craters and crossed by several enormous serpentine trenches. The deepest was deep enough to bury a person.

"Lu Yuan, Qing Lin was abducted." Xiao Yi Xian had no time to concern herself with the sharp rise in Lu Yuan's cultivation. Her voice was full of urgency.

"Who?" A suspicion rose in Lu Yuan's mind.

"An Eight-Winged Black Serpent Emperor," Xiao Yi Xian replied rapidly. "A Fourth-Order Magical Beast found this place, and Qing Lin had the Azure-Feathered Flame Snake fight it. After the battle ended, the Eight-Winged Black Serpent Emperor suddenly appeared and said he was taking Qing Lin back to the Heavenly Snake Mansion."

"Aunt Qing and I were injured by the Fourth-Order Magical Beast. The Eight-Winged Black Serpent Emperor only wanted to take Qing Lin away. Otherwise, we wouldn't have been able to stop a Sixth-Order Magical Beast at all."

"Aunt Qing was hurt more badly, but her life isn't in danger. She's recuperating inside."

"Just as I thought." Lu Yuan clenched his fists.

When Qing Lin awakened her Triple Jade-Green Snake Flower Pupils, he had worried this day would come.

When it came to the Triple Jade-Green Snake Flower Pupils, those people from the Heavenly Snake Mansion had noses keener than dogs. They were bound to come looking.

He had hoped to delay it as long as possible, hoping that by then he would be strong enough.

If he were still as he had been before, he could only have seethed inwardly. But now that he had enough strength, he certainly couldn't accept this.

"How long ago did the Eight-Winged Black Serpent Emperor take Qing Lin?" Lu Yuan asked.

Qing Lin wouldn't be in danger if she were taken to the Heavenly Snake Mansion. At least, nothing would happen to her in the short term. On the contrary, the Heavenly Snake Mansion would devote special attention to nurturing her, and she would break through to Dou Zun in less than ten years.

But he couldn't rest easy with someone else taking his woman away.

"Half an hour ago." Xiao Yi Xian pointed east. "They went in that direction. The Eight-Winged Black Serpent Emperor killed the Azure-Feathered Flame Snake."

"That's not too long." Lu Yuan's gaze sharpened. "I'll chase after them and see. It would be best if I could snatch her back."

"I advise you not to go." Yun Yun walked over of her own accord. After hearing Lu Yuan's words, she offered a warning. "The Heavenly Snake Mansion is one of the Northwest Continent's first-rate powers. It's said to have a Dou Zun expert, and there are at least more than one or two Dou Zong experts."

"Besides, when people from the Heavenly Snake Mansion act, they always appear in pairs: one person and one serpentine magical beast."

"There may also be a Dou Huang expert accompanying the Eight-Winged Black Serpent Emperor."

Hearing this, Xiao Yi Xian's face filled with worry. She looked at Lu Yuan, wanting to speak but stopping herself.

"No matter what, I have to chase after them and see." Lu Yuan's voice held an indescribable resolve. "They want to take my woman away without even a word? Absolutely not."

Then Lu Yuan said to Xiao Yi Xian, "This is Yun Yun, the Misty Cloud Sect Master. Xian'er, have Xiao Lan take you and Aunt Qing to the Lu Clan in Salt City. Whether or not I can bring Qing Lin back, I'll head straight back when the time comes."

"Take me with you," Yun Yun said at once. "Although my cultivation is sealed right now, if we really run into danger, I can still force the seal open."

"I said it would take seven days for my cultivation to recover if no one helped me. Now that you've broken through to Dou Wang, you can pour in Dou Qi to help me wear down the seal's power. It'll take one day at the earliest, two at the latest. Then I can help you."

"And given my standing in the Jia Ma Empire, perhaps I can persuade the Heavenly Snake Mansion to show me some consideration."

Hearing this, Lu Yuan thought for a moment, then nodded. "All right, I'll take you with me."

"Xian'er, take Aunt Qing back to the Lu Clan."

"Mm." Xiao Yi Xian nodded obediently, unwillingness hidden in her eyes.

She was too weak. She couldn't help at all, so what right did she have to stand beside Lu Yuan in the future?

Once they reached Salt City, Lu Yuan would begin cultivating the Seven-Colored Poison Scripture while taking poison, raising his strength as quickly as possible.

"Aunt Qing, go back to the Lu Clan with Xian'er first. Tell my father his son will be back soon to back him up."

Lu Yuan entered the wooden house and helped Zhang Qingqing to her feet together with Xiao Yi Xian.

Aunt Qing was badly hurt, but fortunately her injuries were all external. After taking a medicinal pill, she only needed to rest quietly for a while to recover.

"Xiao Yuan, you're a Dou Wang?" Zhang Qingqing asked as they helped her onto the back of Xiao Lan, the Blue Eagle.

"Yes. I was lucky enough to have a little fortuitous encounter." Lu Yuan nodded slightly.

"Good, good!" Zhang Qingqing's lips moved. At last, she let out a long breath, her eyes reddening slightly. "When you return to the Lu Clan, I'll tell you a few things."

"All right." Lu Yuan's gaze sharpened. He could roughly guess what Zhang Qingqing wanted to tell him.

It had to be a long story.

"Fly slowly and take them safely to Salt City. I'll bring you a reward when I get back." Lu Yuan reached out and patted Xiao Lan's head.

"Aw." Xiao Lan responded with a haughty little cry.

Xiao Lan let out a long cry, spread her wings, and soared into the sky, flying northeast.

Xiao Yi Xian turned her head and said softly, "Lu Yuan, I'll wait for you to come back."

Lu Yuan watched the Blue Eagle disappear into the clouds. Only then did he pick Yun Yun up, spread his Dou Qi Wings, and fly high into the sky before speeding due east.

"The Qing Lin who was abducted and this Xiao Yi Xian are your two cultivation partners?" Yun Yun asked.

"Mm," Lu Yuan answered softly.

"Am I not better than her?" Yun Yun said, sounding somewhat surprised. "For their sake, you actually rejected me so decisively."

"They stayed by my side when I was reduced to a cripple. Feelings can't be measured by strength." Lu Yuan lowered his head and met Yun Yun's eyes. "In the future, when I'm much stronger than you, I won't abandon you either."

"Wait until you're stronger than me before you say that." Yun Yun avoided his gaze.

She was the Misty Cloud Sect Master; she wouldn't be won over so easily.

"How do I help you break the seal?" Lu Yuan asked with a smile.

"Put your hand on my dantian and draw on the power of heaven and earth to reinforce your attacks on the Amethyst Seal left by the Amethyst Winged Lion King." The tips of Yun Yun's ears turned slightly red.

"All right." Lu Yuan immediately did as she said.

He placed his hand on Yun Yun's lower abdomen, then drew on the lightning-attribute power of heaven and earth to reinforce his attacks. It entered Yun Yun's body through several acupoints and repeatedly struck a layer of purple crystalline power.

In the blink of an eye, a day passed.

Lu Yuan flew at full speed. Thanks to the Seven-Colored Poison Scripture he cultivated being a Low Earth Tier cultivation method and his own status as a High-Rank Dou Wang, even though he constantly expended Dou Qi to help Yun Yun wear down the seal, the Dou Qi in his body increased rather than decreased, and he remained at peak condition throughout.

Near a mountain range bordering a desert, Lu Yuan's eyes flashed, and he landed on a mountaintop.

"Found them!"