"Teacher, is this the sacrifice you mentioned? With all these decorations and lights, why does it look like a wedding to me?"
At the very back of the Snake-People Tribe, Xiao Yan, disguised as a snake-woman, knelt down to avoid exposing himself and asked in a low voice.
"Teacher!"
"Teacher!"
"Teacher!"
After calling out three times in succession without receiving a response from Yao Lao, Xiao Yan began to panic.
"I am here. Later, try your best to restrain your aura and do not get discovered. Four powerful auras are about to emerge from within the Medusa Shrine, and one of them has reached the level of a Dou Zong."
Yao Lao's voice was very heavy. He never expected that this small Snake-People Tribe could actually produce a Dou Zong.
Prior to this, he did not think highly of Medusa's evolution. Even if the evolution were successful, she would inevitably fall into a weakened state, unable to exert the strength a Dou Zong should possess, and he was confident in protecting Xiao Yan and leaving the Snake-People Tribe safely.
But now it was different. The Snake-People Tribe had produced a Dou Zong, and by that Dou Zong's side, there were two Dou Huang Peak experts, as well as an expert whose aura was not inferior to a Dou Huang.
Such a lineup, even in the Central Plains, would be considered a significant force.
"Dou Zong." Xiao Yan swallowed hard. This was the second time he had heard of a Dou Zong. Could it be that Medusa had already successfully evolved?
"Teacher, has the Heavenly Flame already been swallowed by Medusa?" Having come this far, Xiao Yan was truly unwilling to give up.
"Likely not. The secret technique of the Snake-People Tribe is to use the Heavenly Flame to shed their original body, then use the power of thunder to condense a new body with spirit power. If Medusa relied on the Heavenly Flame for her evolution, the Heavenly Flame should still be with the Snake-People Tribe, unless..."
Unless the Heavenly Flame had been refined by Xiao Se, who had already arrived. This was the sentence Yao Lao did not say.
"Then Teacher, let's continue searching later. Since we've already reached this point, I am truly unwilling to give up." Xiao Yan gritted his teeth and said.
"Hmm. However, with a Dou Zong present, I cannot freely release my spirit power to investigate, otherwise, it is very likely we will be exposed. Let's take it one step at a time. At critical moments, preserving our lives is what matters most." Yao Lao replied.
Xiao Yan nodded. While the two were speaking, the doors of the Medusa Shrine were completely opened, and two figures, a man and a woman, walked out from within.
The male appeared to be about sixteen or seventeen years old, dressed in groom's attire. His face was like polished jade, with sword-like eyebrows and star-like eyes. The entire person seemed to be the essence of the world's beauty, gathering handsomeness, nobility, and elegance in one body.
The female was even more extraordinary, wearing a golden crown, a red dress paired with golden decorations, and a red gold-inlaid veil covering her face. Her perfect, enchanting figure combined with her bewitching and moving appearance gave one endless room for imagination.
"It's him!" Xiao Yan's pupils shrank violently. Memories flooded his mind. After more than three years, he had once again seen this person he had almost forgotten.
If there were two people he hated in his heart, the first was Nalan Yanran, and the second was Xiao Se.
The former broke off the engagement, causing him and his father, Xiao Zhan, to be humiliated in public, becoming the laughingstock of the Xiao Family and even the entire Wutan City.
The latter stole his beloved, the girl who haunted his dreams, Xiao Xun Er.
Since the last time, which was three years ago, Xun'er's attitude towards him had changed, becoming somewhat unfamiliar to him. Although their relationship in the past could not be considered overly intimate, they had addressed each other as siblings.
However, three years ago, all of this changed, and Xun'er's attitude towards him became much more indifferent.
At first, he thought Xun'er was sulking at him, until later, when he heard people in the clan mention that Xun'er seemed to have fallen for the suddenly emerging Xiao Se, and even her joining the Jia Nan Academy was to follow in Xiao Se's footsteps.
Thinking back carefully, it seemed that during the few days when his Qi had just vanished, the previously insignificant Xiao Se began to have an inexplicable connection with Xun'er.
It seems this Xiao Se had ulterior motives long ago!
While Xiao Yan's mind was filled with countless thoughts, Yao Lao's voice resonated in his heart: "It seems you still remember him."
"Yes." Xiao Yan nodded: "Teacher, do you also know Xiao Se?"
"I suppose you could say I know him." Yao Lao gave a bitter smile. Being inside the storage ring, his mood at this moment was extremely complicated. Recalling two years ago, when the other party sought him out for a trade, he was merely a Dou Ling. Meeting again in the Magical Beast Mountain Range, he had already become a Dou Huang. Now, having not seen him for only three months, he had already reached the Dou Huang Peak. Such a rate of advancement, even to him, was unheard of.
"Didn't Xiao Se go to the Jia Nan Academy? How could he appear in the Tagor Desert? And get married to a woman of the Snake-People Tribe? Who is that woman by his side?" Asking four questions in succession, Xiao Yan felt very depressed in his heart. Looking at Medusa beside Xiao Se again, he always felt an emptiness in his heart, as if he had lost something.
"The woman beside Xiao Se is, without a doubt, Medusa. As for why Medusa would marry Xiao Se, I do not know. Perhaps something happened between your clansman and Medusa, and feelings developed, who knows."
Yao Lao did not mention that Xiao Se was the Dou Huang who gave him the Soul Fusion Pill in the Magical Beast Mountain Range, nor did he reveal Xiao Se's true strength at this moment. He was afraid of crushing Xiao Yan. One must know, when he first learned that Xiao Se had achieved a Breakthrough to Dou Ling, Xiao Yan had nearly become self-secluded. It took him several days of decadence to recover.
"Medusa? How could Xiao Se possibly marry Medusa?" Xiao Yan was greatly alarmed in his heart. This Xiao Se could actually marry Medusa of the Snake-People Tribe, a Dou Zong, this was too shocking.
"There is nothing impossible." Yao Lao sighed softly and transmitted via spirit power. With Xiao Se's strength at the age of sixteen as a Dou Huang Peak, plus his status as a Seventh-Rank Alchemist, it would not be an exaggeration to say that Medusa was the one marrying up.
"Teacher, what about the Heavenly Flame?" Xiao Yan suppressed the imbalance in his heart and asked.
"Xiao Se is also an Alchemist. Up until now, I have not sensed the aura of the Heavenly Flame. If the Snake-People Tribe had a Heavenly Flame, it has likely already been refined by Xiao Se." Yao Lao was both happy and worried. Happy that the groom was Xiao Se, so even if they were discovered by the Snake-People Tribe, they wouldn't be too hard on them; worried that the trip to the Tagor Desert had been in vain.
"Xiao Se is also an Alchemist?" Xiao Yan was even more shocked. After the brief shock came anger, because he felt that the Heavenly Flame he had sought with such great difficulty had just been snatched away by Xiao Se. Furthermore, he was clearly the number one Genius of the Xiao Family, so why had this cast-off of the Xiao Family surpassed him by so much? Not only did his cultivation reach Dou Ling in just a few short years, stealing his Xun'er. That wasn't enough, he even married Medusa of the Snake-People Tribe, and snatched the Heavenly Flame that very likely existed within the Snake-People Tribe.
The extreme unwillingness in his heart caused Xiao Yan to clench his fists tightly. Depression, unwillingness, envy, jealousy—multiple emotions blended together. At this moment, he had never hated someone so much.
"Go up and greet him. After all, he is your clansman; he shouldn't make things difficult for you. Perhaps he can even provide you with some help. While there is still one year left, let's try our luck elsewhere." Yao Lao said helplessly.
(End of Chapter)
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