Her Majesty the Queen's Calculations

"Boom!"

Ye Qingzhou's feeling had been right.

After he refined the Purifying Lotus Demon Flame Seed, it instantly purified all the impurities in his bloodline, body, meridians, and even his soul, turning them into energy that fused into his Dou Crystal, physique, and soul.

The hidden injuries left by his years of cultivation, the pill toxins remaining from the pills he had swallowed, and the small amount of energy he had not refined were all tempered and purified away.

His cultivation rose rapidly, only stopping once he had reached Three-Star Da Dou Shi.

His soul power grew noticeably. It had only recently reached the Late Mortal Realm and had still been somewhat unstable, but now it was completely stable.

His physique also improved. Ye Qingzhou had always paid attention to tempering his body. He felt that his vitality, Qi, and spirit all had to be strong. Though he had not pursued the path of external body cultivation, he did not want any shortcomings, and now he had developed copper skin and iron bones.

After this round of transformation, Ye Qingzhou was stunned. He instinctively opened his hand and summoned the Purifying Lotus Demon Flame Seed.

"Holy shit, it really fucking deserves to be called the Purifying Lotus Demon Flame."

Ye Qingzhou realized he had still been conservative.

The wisp of purifying lotus demon flame in his hand did not even count as an infant flame; it was merely a flame seed. Yet it felt stronger than the several Seventh-Rank Magical Beast Flames kept in the Ye Clan's ancestral hall.

If he could obtain the reward a few more times and let the flame seed continue growing into an infant flame or even a mature flame, it might soon become a terrifying Heavenly Flame capable of wiping out a Dou Sheng.

Unfortunately, he did not know how to trigger the reward, so he could only write his diary obediently and wait for a random reward.

"Good thing I'm not serious, so I write a diary. Now this is what you call cheating."

"Cheating once feels good for a while; cheating all the time feels good all the time. Writing a diary is the true path."

Ye Qingzhou closed his fingers, and the pinkish-white purifying lotus demon flame silently melted into his body. The secret chamber was as quiet as before, no different from how it had been.

But only Ye Qingzhou himself knew that, after this night, he had more than several times as many trump cards as he had a day ago.

"Still, I can't stop cultivating. That's another way to fleece the diary."

Ye Qingzhou formed a hand seal and began cultivating.

He soon discovered that the cultivation method he practiced seemed to have already reached the minor accomplishment stage.

It was all thanks to the Purifying Lotus Demon Flame Seed, which had improved both his physical and soul aptitudes.

"Hmm?"

At the very moment Ye Qingzhou began cultivating, on a small floating island deep within the Pill Tower's secret realm...

A mature woman with a graceful figure and exceptionally beautiful features, who gave off a peach-like air of ripeness, had a slight change of expression.

"This feeling... is it a Heavenly Flame?"

"It's coming from the direction of the Ye Clan in Ye City. What a coincidence."

"Once I've finished refining this Eighth-Tier Pill, I'll go take a look."

The woman possessed a Spirit Realm soul and was currently refining an Eighth-Tier Pill that required the power of a Heavenly Flame. Half a month ago, she had made a special trip to the Star Realm to obtain a portion of the Three Thousand Burning Flame's Child Flame, so she was especially sensitive to the presence of Heavenly Flames at the moment.

Ye Qingzhou knew nothing of any of this.

And the culprit behind it all could be said to be Queen Medusa.

At that moment, the queen looked at Hai Bodong, who was trembling as though awaiting judgment, and a brilliant smile blossomed across her incomparable face. "Hai Bodong, you've been so cooperative that I've decided not to kill you."

She had never intended to kill Hai Bodong in the first place. After all, the diary copy mentioned a few things about Mittel Ya Fei.

Judging from her experience as an avid reader of storybooks, Ya Fei had a keen eye for investments and would certainly get on good terms with Xiao Yan.

If the Mittel Family gained Xiao Yan's friendship, that meant gaining the friendship of the future Flame Emperor.

She had just obtained the map fragment, and the diary had shown that her fate had changed.

She did not know whether it was Xiao Yan's fate or her own.

But she reasonably guessed that there might be something between Hai Bodong and Xiao Yan.

In that case, there was no harm in sparing Hai Bodong's life, and she could even make use of him.

"Phew." Hai Bodong let out a great breath of relief, looking like a drowning man who had just been pulled from the water.

Queen Medusa had killed countless people and was notorious for her ferocity, but she was also famous for keeping her word.

For that very reason, the Snake-People Tribe's transactions with the surrounding empires went smoothly.

"I can even remove the seal on you," Queen Medusa continued.

Hai Bodong's breath caught, and he raised his head in disbelief. "Really?"

If the seal could be removed, he could regain his Dou Emperor strength.

A Dou Ling was not weak, but before a Dou Emperor, one was no more than an ant.

"I disdain lying." Queen Medusa folded her arms.

"What do you need me to do?" Hai Bodong knew there was no such thing as a free lunch.

"If I remember correctly, you're a grand elder of the Mittel Family." Queen Medusa was equally direct.

"If Your Majesty wants the Mittel Family to trade with the Snake-People Tribe, I can't make that decision." Hai Bodong's expression changed slightly as he spoke frankly. "Although the Mittel Family is one of the Jia Ma Empire's three great families and controls the greatest commercial resources, it still amounts to little before the Imperial Family."

"If we do business with the Snake-People Tribe without the Imperial Family's consent, it would jeopardize our very foundation."

Hai Bodong did not consider himself a good person, but as a grand elder of the Mittel Family, he would not make the entire family sacrifice its interests and suffer suppression by the Imperial Family for his sake.

In the Jia Ma Empire, whether it was the Misty Cloud Sect or the four great families, even together they could not compare to the Imperial Family.

The Dou Wangs the Imperial Family had stationed in the major cities, together with those in the army, added up to a frightening number.

It was only because the Misty Cloud Sect was an important force helping the Imperial Family resist the Chu Yun Empire to the north, and had two Dou Huang experts, that the Imperial Family was willing to cede it a portion of the benefits.

Of the empire's nine great provinces, the Misty Cloud Sect had real influence in only two.

"I have no such intention." Medusa narrowed her long, slender eyes. "All I want is for you to provide me with some information. It won't concern the Jia Ma Empire. I only want you to occasionally look into some heavenly treasures, Cultivation Methods and Combat Skills, or information on certain individuals for me."

Her companion serpent soul, the Purple Nether Flame Snake, had dispersed, and her own bloodline had already transformed into that of a Seven-Colored Heaven Swallowing Python. All she needed to do was enter seclusion for a while to break through the bottleneck and become a Dou Zong.

Once she reached that level, it would not be difficult for her to lead the Snake-People Tribe out of the Tagor Desert.

The territory she most wanted to seize was Mulan Valley and the Mulan Great Grassland in the Mulan Empire.

Unless necessary, she did not want to antagonize the Jia Ma Empire, and even wanted to cooperate with it.

But there was no need to tell Hai Bodong any of this, much less explain it.

"Fine." Hai Bodong thought it over and agreed.

As long as it did not involve the empire or cause the Imperial Family to set its sights on the Mittel Family, he was willing to help provide information.

"A wise decision." Queen Medusa raised a hand and sent out a small serpent of energy that slipped into Hai Bodong's body.

"The seal will be removed in three days. You'll regain your strength then."

With those words, Medusa's figure vanished in an instant. She also needed to find a secluded place to break through to Dou Zong.

"That ruthless woman is even stronger than she was back then!" Hai Bodong's pupils contracted sharply.

Though he could only exert the strength of a Dou Ling now, he still had the discernment of a Dou Emperor.

Yet he had been completely unable to see how Medusa had left. She had probably used the power of space.

Since Queen Medusa could wield so much spatial power, she was probably not far from breaking through to Dou Zong.

The night passed without incident.

The next morning.

Ye Qingzhou stretched and walked out of the secret chamber.

As expected, Ye Xinlan was already there, and a variety of side dishes had been set out on the stone table.

To his surprise, the elder who had been unwilling to give his name had also arrived early.

"Hmm?" Ye Zhong's gaze fell on Ye Qingzhou appraisingly, and he said with a hint of surprise and doubt, "You broke through? Three-Star Da Dou Shi?"

Ye Qingzhou was surprised too.

Although he had not hidden it, the other man had seen through his true strength with a single glance.

This elder was probably more than just a Dou Wang!