Medusa Queen's majestic aura surged like a raging ocean. Yet, within just a dozen seconds after its release, it rapidly converged, like retreating tides, restoring calm once more.
She carefully sensed the condition of her body, her slender brows knitting slightly.
"Even with all the preparations, this evolution was still extremely dangerous. The losses during the process were far too great. It seems stabilizing the Dou Ancestor realm will still require quite a long period of time."
Suddenly, she noticed that Lin Yuan, who had already exited the state of void clarity was looking at her with a rather peculiar gaze.
Following his line of sight, Medusa Queen looked down and realized that her flawless body was exposed without reservation, in intimate contact with heaven and earth—and just as unreservedly exposed to his eyes.
Seeing him staring fixedly at her body, Medusa Queen's expression darkened at once. With a wave of her hand, seven-colored energy condensed into a pale purple brocade robe adorned with seven-colored patterns, wrapping her exquisite figure. She then shot Lin Yuan a cold glare.
However, Lin Yuan had always faced such looks calmly, even returning her gaze with a hint of playful amusement. When a trace of killing intent appeared in Medusa Queen's eyes, he shifted his gaze aside, toward the origin flame of the Green Lotus Core Flame. With a gentle beckon, the green flame obediently flew back to his fingertip and was then reabsorbed into his body.
As the Heavenly Flame returned to its place, the faint unease caused by its separation dissipated, and Lin Yuan's mind settled once more.
"Indeed, having this kind of power within me is what truly brings peace of mind. Only a pure, still-unawakened fire spirit would dare be released like this. If it were a mature fire spirit…"
Thinking of those who had died from Heavenly Flame backlash, Lin Yuan shook his head slightly.
Just as Lin Yuan finished reclaiming the Heavenly Flame, a dazzling seven-colored radiance suddenly shot toward him, moving so fast it seemed to cross space itself. The light halted abruptly before him, the transition between extreme motion and absolute stillness perfectly seamless, without the slightest distortion. It was the small Seven-Colored Heaven-Swallowing Python, gazing at Lin Yuan with eyes filled with intimacy.
Lin Yuan gently examined the little Seven-Colored Heaven-Swallowing Python before him. It was a snake beautiful to an almost excessive degree. From its appearance, it was only some ten to twenty centimeters long and about half a finger thick, its body covered in tiny seven-colored scales. Its snake pupils shimmered with a faint purple hue, giving off a subtle sense of enchantment, yet its crystal-clear eyes made it appear exceptionally pure. A peculiar, fresh fragrance lingered around its body, utterly devoid of the cold, dangerous aura typical of serpents, instead exuding an inexplicably gentle presence.
At this moment, the little Seven-Colored Heaven-Swallowing Python looked at Lin Yuan with unmistakable affection. It could sense that this person had played a crucial role in its birth, and his soul made it feel incomparably close. It softly hissed a few times, as if coquettishly acting spoiled toward him.
Lin Yuan probed it with his soul power and discovered that within its petite body lay an explosive force, its strength roughly at the early Fifth-Grade. Moreover, it radiated an extremely noble aura among magical beasts. Even the Purple Jade Scaled Snake coiled around Lin Yuan's wrist trembled under the pressure of this aura.
"Seven-colored body, faintly purple pupils, fragrant aura, power reaching the heavens—what a Seven-Colored Heaven-Swallowing Python. Truly worthy of being one of the apex magical beasts of the Dou Qi Continent."
Looking at the little seven-colored snake that had become an independent life under his planning, a hint of satisfaction appeared in Lin Yuan's eyes.
From researching the Snake-People evolution secret technique, to perfecting Medusa Queen's evolution plan, to assisting her in nourishing her soul and refining pills—part of the reason for all this was precisely so that this Seven-Colored Heaven-Swallowing Python could become an independent individual and follow him.
With such a living example of a body condensed through soul power by his side, future research into soul power would gain an invaluable case study. At the same time, Qing Lin would also gain a powerful early-stage combat companion. Moreover, a key to opening the lair of the Seven-Colored Heaven-Swallowing Python clan at the depths of the Nine Nether Yellow Springs was now firmly in his grasp.
"So this is your objective? Is this why you were so enthusiastic about helping me evolve?"
Medusa Queen's calm voice sounded out, carrying a trace of probing as she stepped through the air toward Lin Yuan, her eyes revealing complex emotions.
"What I told you before was all true. Witnessing your evolution, this near-miraculous act of creation was my primary goal. As for this little fellow, it was more a matter of going with the flow." Lin Yuan replied casually as he took out a bottle from his storage ring, a portion of Fire Spirit Marrow obtained from the Mu lan Valley treasury, an extremely fire-element-rich heavenly treasure and opened it.
The Seven-Colored Heaven-Swallowing Python seemed to sense something. In what looked like an instant teleportation, it appeared at the bottle's mouth, poking its tiny head inside and greedily licking the Fire Spirit Marrow with its tongue. A look of intoxication appeared in its light-purple eyes.
Medusa Queen did not speak. She simply looked at the little Seven-Colored Heaven-Swallowing Python, which seemed almost drunk from the immense energy of the Fire Spirit Marrow, and felt an inexplicable complexity in her heart. Her thoughts were in disarray, she did not know how to define her relationship with this little Heaven-Swallowing Python, nor how she should treat it.
Lin Yuan gently stroked its small body, while the little Seven-Colored Heaven-Swallowing Python landed on his shoulder, affectionately rubbing its tiny head against his cheek.
"For now, I'll call you Xiao Cai. How about it?" Lin Yuan said with a smile, lightly tapping the Seven-Colored Heaven-Swallowing Python's head with his finger, giving it a nickname.
"Hiss~"
The Seven-Colored Heaven-Swallowing Python let out a soft cry in response, as if answering him, then licked Lin Yuan's cheek, clearly accepting the name.
"Mm, then that's what I'll call you from now on." Lin Yuan smiled in satisfaction.
He turned to Queen Medusa. Noticing the complicated look in her eyes as she gazed at Xiao Cai, he smiled and asked, "Your Majesty, are you thinking about Xiao Cai?"
"What do you think the relationship between it and me is? And what about the relationship between you and it?" Queen Medusa asked calmly in return.
"Well… that's hard to say." Lin Yuan paused, as if something had just occurred to him. He took out the Transformation Pill he had obtained from Gu He from his storage ring. To Queen Medusa's astonishment, he directly fed it to Xiao Cai.
Lin Yuan had already decided not to let Zi Yan take the Transformation Pill for the time being. That girl's personality was far too lively and playful. Once she could transform into her true form, it would be easy for her to expose herself. The situation within the Ancient Dragon Clan was far too complex, with too many uncertainties, it was not yet the time for her to reveal herself. Raising her strength first was the priority. Since that was the case, giving the Transformation Pill to Xiao Cai was the best choice.
The moment the pill entered her mouth, Xiao Cai erupted with dazzling seven-colored light. Her body rapidly expanded, what had originally been a Seven-Colored Heaven Swallowing Python only one or two dozen centimeters long transformed in mere moments into a colossal beast over ten zhang in length.
The enormous seven-colored python floated in midair, its scales shimmering with radiant hues, exuding overwhelming majesty and power.
However, the transformation was not yet over.
A vast medicinal force radiated outward from within Xiao Cai's body, triggering further wondrous changes. Before long, the massive body of the Seven-Colored Heaven Swallowing Python began to slowly shift. Her form rapidly shrank, her scales gradually fading away, replaced by skin as smooth and lustrous as jade. In the end, she transformed into a small girl about eight years old, bearing a striking resemblance to Queen Medusa, landing before Lin Yuan.
She opened her eyes and looked down at her own body, confusion written across her face, clearly at a loss over the sudden changes she had undergone.
But when she saw Lin Yuan, her eyes immediately lit up, and she called out affectionately, "Daddy."
Upon hearing this, Lin Yuan quietly activated the first form of the Purifying Spirit Art—Severing Thoughts, to eliminate the stray thoughts in his mind. Maintaining a calm expression, he nodded toward Little Cai.
Xiao Cai then turned to look at Queen Medusa standing to the side, her voice filled with uncertainty.
"Mother? Or… older sister?"
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