The crux of Lin Yuan's plan lay in meeting, communicating, and cooperating with Yun Shan without attracting any unnecessary attention.
Once Lin Yuan decided to meet Yun Shan, the first location he ruled out was the Misty Cloud Sect. If he were to personally go to the Misty Cloud Sect and a conflict broke out, facing both Yun Shan and Protector Wu—two Dou Ancestor experts, on their home ground would not only alert the enemy but might even leave him without a chance to escape.
There was no way he could count on Protector Wu, that cackling lunatic, just happening to be absent or on him not coveting the soul of a sixth-grade alchemist like himself.
Lin Yuan would never entrust his life entirely to luck or to the mistakes of others.
After careful consideration, he ultimately chose the Tager Desert, the territory of the Snake-People Tribe, as the meeting place.
To draw Yun Shan into the desert, Lin Yuan meticulously laid out his scheme.
First, he deliberately dealt with Hai Bodong's seal in the desert region, drawing Queen Medusa's attention and triggering that great battle.
Next, using the life of the defeated Queen Medusa as leverage, he successfully joined the Snake-People Tribe, reaching a cooperation agreement with them and becoming a high-ranking elder. In this way, he was able to borrow the power of the Snake-People Tribe and turn the desert into his own home ground.
After that, through Hai Bodong and the Miter Clan, Lin Yuan leaked the news of the Tager Heavenly Flame to Gu He. At the same time, he had Queen Medusa release half-true, half-false information in the desert to corroborate the existence of a Heavenly Flame there. He even deliberately sent a seven-colored scale bearing the aura of a Heavenly Flame into the Flame Cavern, thus luring Gu He deep into the desert.
As the honorary elder of the Misty Cloud Sect and its chief alchemist, Gu He would certainly seek the assistance of Misty Cloud Sect Master Yun Yun for such an important and dangerous undertaking as obtaining a Heavenly Flame in the desert. In this way, Yun Yun also fell into the trap.
Thus, the two main pillars of the Misty Cloud Sect, the current Sect Master Yun Yun and the chief alchemist Gu He, were simultaneously ensnared by Lin Yuan and captured in one fell swoop.
With the Misty Cloud Sect losing both of these pillars at once, Yun Shan, who was in seclusion, would inevitably be forced out to personally come to the desert to handle the matter. If he did not come, Lin Yuan would detain every Misty Cloud Sect representative sent to deal with the issue, one by one, until Yun Shan appeared.
To ensure that Yun Shan would come to the desert alone, Lin Yuan deliberately spread the news of Gu He and the others being captured to the upper echelons of the Jia Ma Empire. To enhance the credibility of the information, he intentionally allowed Feng Li, one of the Jia Ma Empire's Top Ten Experts, to escape successfully, giving everyone a channel through which the news could be verified.
He also released word that the major factions could come to ransom their people. In doing so, the entire upper stratum of the Jia Ma Empire would focus its attention on this matter.
And Protector Wu, before completing the mission related to the Xiao Clan, would absolutely not dare expose himself under the scrutiny of so many forces. If, because of him, the Gu Clan were to discover traces of the Soul Hall in the Jia Ma Empire and disrupt the schemes of the Soul Hall's higher-ups, then even dying several times would not be enough to atone for his crime.
After this series of arrangements, Yun Shan leaving his own home ground, distancing himself from Protector Wu, and coming alone to the desert would be accomplished. Lin Yuan would then have ample time and means to reach a "cooperation" with Yun Shan.
From the outside, however, this would appear to be nothing more than a simple incident: Gu He and his group trespassed into Snake-People territory and were captured, and Yun Shan emerged from seclusion to rescue them. Lin Yuan, the mastermind behind the scenes, never once exposed himself to the sight of either the Jia Ma Empire's upper echelons or the Soul Hall.
This game was finally approaching its conclusion, and Lin Yuan was in rather good spirits.
"Your Majesty, care to have a drink with me?" Lin Yuan raised the wine cup in his hand and smiled casually at Queen Medusa.
Looking at Lin Yuan, Queen Medusa could not help but feel a surge of complicated emotions. Clearly, his cultivation was inferior to hers, and he was younger as well, yet the depth of his strength and the profundity of his mind made him difficult to fathom.
Shaking her head to dispel the chaotic thoughts in her heart, Queen Medusa picked up the wine cup before her and drank it down in one gulp. "Since you're in the mood, this queen will naturally accompany you."
Lin Yuan also drained his cup.
Off to the side, Qing Lin picked up the wine jug and refilled both of their cups.
After two drinks, Queen Medusa seemed to relax a little. Fixing her gaze on Lin Yuan, she said in a deep voice, "Do you truly have confidence in facing Yun Shan? You defeated this queen without using that secret technique that temporarily boosts strength, and if you had used it, you could have defeated me head-on. However, this queen still has some understanding of the gap between peak Dou Emperor and Dou Ancestor. That is not something a single secret technique can make up for."
Lin Yuan set down his cup and looked at the intelligent woman before him, who had deduced so many things on her own. A hint of interest arose in his heart. "Your Majesty has been monitoring me during this time. Why don't you guess what my confidence comes from? If you guess correctly, I won't take a single thing from the ransom obtained from the Jia Ma Empire."
"Oh? Interesting. Then this queen will have to think carefully." Queen Medusa smiled enchantingly, her slender fingers lightly tapping her forehead as she pondered Lin Yuan's way of breaking the situation.
Meanwhile, Lin Yuan drank leisurely, admiring the sight of the beauty deep in thought.
"It's pills, isn't it?" Before long, the corners of Queen Medusa's lips lifted into a faint smile, a glint of wisdom flashing in her eyes. "This queen remembers that before refining the Snake Marrow Bone-Shedding Pill, you refined two sixth-grade pills of inferior quality. I have also heard that there are certain pills that can greatly enhance one's cultivation for a short period of time."
"Your Majesty's intelligence truly lives up to my expectations. You win this time, the items obtained from ransoming people from the Jia Ma Empire will all be yours." Looking at her, Lin Yuan praised her sincerely. At the same time, he once again reminded himself that it was not that his wisdom was inherently superior to others', but rather that his advantage in information had allowed his schemes to succeed repeatedly. He must never underestimate others because of this.
Having scored a small victory over Lin Yuan, Queen Medusa was in a good mood. She sighed softly. "On this Dou Qi Continent, so many troubles can be solved with alchemy, with a single pill. Alchemy really is wondrous."
Hearing her sigh, Lin Yuan seemed to recall the days he had spent bitterly cultivating his alchemy skills. His gaze became distant. "That's why I value it so highly. And it's worth me valuing it this much, isn't it?"
"It is indeed worth it. Unfortunately, my Snake-People Tribe is born with a cold constitution, destined to be incompatible with alchemy. It truly is a pity." At this thought, Queen Medusa's expression dimmed slightly. As a queen, she understood all too well the importance of a high-level alchemist to a race.
Shaking her head, Queen Medusa looked toward Qing Lin behind Lin Yuan and said, half-seriously and half-teasingly, "Little girl, half of the blood flowing in your body comes from my Snake-People Tribe. Have you ever thought of returning to our clan? Your cultivation talent is so outstanding—being a mere maid is far too much of a waste. I can decide this myself. If you return, you will be the Eldest Princess of the Snake-People Empire, your status second only to mine and that of the elders."
After saying this, she glanced lightly at Lin Yuan. His expression, however, did not change at all.
"No. I only want to be Young Master's little maid. I only want to stay by Young Master's side." Qing Lin refused instantly, without the slightest hesitation.
"Is that so?" Seeing Qing Lin's completely unhesitating expression, Queen Medusa felt rather complicated emotions. She drained the wine in her cup in one gulp and set it down, straightening her posture as she said solemnly, "Elder Alchemist, regarding the matter this queen mentioned earlier?"
"You mean the matter of using the Heavenly Flame to help you evolve?" Once the discussion turned serious, Lin Yuan also set aside his casual demeanor. "I can help you with that matter, but we'll need to wait for a period of time."
"Why?"
"Yun Shan may strike at any time. I need to keep myself in peak condition to deal with him."
"Moreover, this matter is of great significance, it can be described as a gamble with a nine-in-ten chance of death. As the Fifth Elder of the Snake-People Tribe, I cannot watch my queen take such a risk so lightly. I believe the other four elders share the same opinion as I do."
"But didn't you agree before?"
"That agreement was established on the premise that you would capture Gu He and Yun Yun for me. However, Yun Yun was captured by me, so that agreement does not stand."
"You—"
"Besides, it's not that I'm unwilling to help you. Rather, I believe that relying solely on that bloodline secret art for evolution is too rash. There is room for optimization in this matter. Using that secret art as the core, I've drawn up a plan. Take a look and see if you have any objections or suggestions."
As he spoke, Lin Yuan took out a notebook from his storage ring and placed it on the table.
Medusa Evolution Plan · First Edition
Upon seeing this, Queen Medusa picked up the notebook with a strange expression and began flipping through it. The more she read, the more complicated her emotions became. This notebook was a complete plan built around the Snake-People Tribe's ancestral bloodline secret art. What left her both amused and exasperated was that a plan produced by a human was actually far more comprehensive than what she, the Snake-People Queen, had envisioned in her own mind. Was it because the vast knowledge base of alchemists gave them a unique perspective?
Closing the notebook, Queen Medusa asked with mixed feelings, "So you want me to first prepare all the things listed in this plan, and only then will you help me?"
Lin Yuan nodded and said solemnly, "Exactly. Once everything is prepared, I will assist you with the evolution. I can help you with the pill refinement, but you'll have to find the ingredients for the Heaven Soul Blood Bone Pill yourself. Oh, right—there's one more thing."
As if he had just thought of something, Lin Yuan took out a scroll from his storage ring and handed it to Queen Medusa. "Sign this."
With some confusion, Queen Medusa opened the scroll. However, just seeing the opening made her blood pressure spike. At the top large characters—
Disclaimer of Responsibility.
Suppressing her anger, Queen Medusa read through the entire document. When she looked at Lin Yuan again, the complicated emotions in her eyes had turned into icy coldness.
The entire scroll essentially stated that this evolution was something Queen Medusa had forcibly requested the Alchemist Elder to assist with. If the evolution failed or serious problems arose, all responsibility would be borne by Queen Medusa alone. The Alchemist Elder would bear no responsibility whatsoever, and the Snake-People Tribe could not hold him accountable because of this matter.
Seeing the fury-filled gaze of Queen Medusa, Lin Yuan spread his hands helplessly and said, "Your Majesty, don't look at me like that! Even with my help, your chances of successful evolution aren't particularly high. I'm merely preparing for the worst."
"After all, you wouldn't want my assistance to end up making me an enemy of the Snake-People Tribe, would you?"
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