Nalan Yanran let out a startled yelp at Xiao Yan's sudden boldness. Her small fists rained down on his shoulders in playful protest.
"It's still broad daylight! Someone will see us!"
"Daylight is precisely the time!" Xiao Yan laughed heartily, clamping down on her wriggling form with iron arms. "In the open sun, with heaven as witness — how thrilling!"
"You shameless rogue! You'll say anything!" Nalan Yanran's cheeks blazed like sunset clouds. She hastily buried her face against his broad back, as though that could shield her from the eyes of the world.
Xiao Yan only grinned wider at her futile attempt at concealment.
In the whole of Eternal Heaven World, who did not know? Nalan Yanran was his wife — openly acknowledged, proudly claimed. What need was there for secrecy?
"Today we shall try some new… equipment," he murmured, voice low with mischief.
Nalan Yanran refused without a heartbeat's hesitation. "Absolutely not! Don't even dream of it! Last time I must have been bewitched to agree!"
Inwardly she grumbled: It's all Master's Husband's fault — that improper fellow corrupted Xiao Yan!
Before that one drunken night spent drinking and trading tales with Xiao Jietian, Xiao Yan had never known such things. Yet ever since, strange garments and playful contraptions had begun appearing in his hands. The moment he first produced them, she had known at once who the instigator was.
She still remembered the day she visited her teacher Yun Yun's chambers and glimpsed — quite by accident — an entire wardrobe filled with similar scandalous attire.
Xiao Yan, however, was unperturbed by her refusal. Xiao Jietian had once advised him with a knowing smile: At first they refuse — it is only natural. But when feelings deepen and trust is absolute, they will naturally yield.
Carrying her protesting form like a treasured prize, Xiao Yan strode directly into his palace.
…
In the heart of Eternal Heaven Palace's main hall, Xiao Jietian slowly opened his eyes.
Medusa lay curled against his arm, still deep in slumber. Whatever dream graced her mind painted a soft, contented smile across her normally proud lips.
Perhaps sensing his awakening, her long lashes fluttered. Golden phoenix eyes opened blearily. She gazed up at him and mumbled in a voice thick with drowsiness:
"So tired… feels as though my entire body has fallen apart…"
Xiao Jietian shifted his arm ever so slightly. Medusa rolled lazily, sprawling atop him like a languid serpent claiming its sun-warmed rock.
"No… no more…" She snapped awake in an instant, eyes wide like a startled kitten. "Go find the others. This Queen truly cannot endure another round…"
Xiao Jietian only smiled, arms encircling her slender waist more comfortably.
"I merely wished to hold you like this. It feels warmer, more at ease."
"You're still laughing! It's all your fault!" Medusa huffed, delivering a series of light, petulant slaps to his chest.
"Yet you won't let me leave either."
He drew her closer still, savoring the silken glide of her skin against his. Medusa pillowed her cheek upon his chest, listening to the steady drum of his heart. They lay entwined in quiet, trading murmured endearments like precious secrets.
…
After a long stretch of tender sweetness, the morning haze finally lifted from their minds.
Medusa sat at the bed's edge, leaning back into Xiao Jietian's embrace. One delicate hand drifted to her flat abdomen, stroking absently as she asked in a soft voice:
"Tian… how much longer until our little one arrives?"
"Likely quite some time yet." Xiao Jietian placed his broad palm over hers. "According to the ancient bloodline records of your Snake-People Tribe, the stronger the lineage, the longer the gestation. With the Nine-Colored Heaven-Devouring Python essence coursing through you… it will not be swift."
The moment his hand settled, he felt the taut resilience beneath — firm, elastic muscles honed by cultivation, devoid of any excess softness. Among cultivators who deliberately tempered both body and figure, few bore even a trace of superfluous flesh. Her skin was smooth as the finest Shu brocade, warm and yielding yet possessed of an inherent spring-like strength.
"That's far too long…" Medusa's lips pursed in a rare pout. "By the time she emerges, little Xiao Ze will already be toddling about, causing chaos everywhere."
Xiao Jietian could not help but laugh at her dejected expression — truly adorable on one so regal.
The reason for her grievance was plain: she and the Little Fairy Doctor had conceived around the same time. Yet Xiao Ze had long since been born and was growing swiftly, while Medusa's abdomen remained perfectly flat, without the slightest swell.
The two women loved to compete — sometimes openly, sometimes in subtle, veiled ways. Xiao Jietian secretly delighted in it; whether they allied against him or vied for his favor, he was always the ultimate beneficiary.
"You're still laughing!" Medusa huffed, swatting his hand away from her abdomen with feigned anger. "I'm going to get truly upset!"
Yet the moment his palm retreated, it returned — unrepentant — to reclaim its former place.
"How exactly do you plan to 'teach her a lesson'?" Medusa tilted her head, eyeing him suspiciously.
Xiao Jietian's smile turned profoundly mysterious.
"With a stick, naturally. Children must be disciplined from the earliest age."
Medusa blinked in confusion — then felt the unmistakable hardening against her thigh. Comprehension dawned in an instant. Her cheeks ignited.
"You… you utter scoundrel! No decency at all!"
She sprang to her feet in mock outrage, rolling her eyes dramatically before turning away. Yet even in her feigned anger, she stretched languidly — deliberately showcasing the flawless curves of her body, every line a masterpiece of temptation.
Xiao Jietian watched with undisguised appreciation, eyes gleaming.
"Little Tianzi," Medusa called over her shoulder, crooking a slender finger with regal command and a bewitching smile, "come here and serve your King. Wash and dress me."
"At your command, my Queen."
Xiao Jietian rose without hesitation, only too willing to indulge her whim.
…
While Xiao Jietian and Medusa indulged in this sweet morning ritual of dressing — hands lingering, laughter mingling — far away in the Central Plains, above an immense, mirror-like lake, the heavens suddenly quaked.
A deafening boom rolled across the waters. Space itself tore open with agonizing slowness, a pitch-black spatial rift yawning wide.
Moments later, a profound gate of darkness stabilized in midair.
Three figures emerged in succession — each one radiating an aura so vast and oppressive that even the lake's surface trembled and stilled in submission.
The foremost figure — a woman whose bearing was both graceful and unassailable — spoke softly, yet her words carried the weight of imperial decree.
"To the Northern Region."
Though gentle, the command brooked no dissent.
A flicker of tenderness crossed her eyes as she gazed northward, lips curving in a private smile.
If you will not come seeking me… then I shall come seeking you. I wonder — will you be surprised?
…
Back in Eternal Heaven Palace, more than a quarter-hour had passed before Xiao Jietian and Medusa finally finished dressing.
With a casual flick of her finger, Medusa reduced last night's scattered garments to fine ash, sending the remnants drifting out of the palace to settle harmlessly among the flowers.
She turned to Xiao Jietian, fingertips tracing the immortal contours of his face. Her gaze burned with profound, unshakable resolve.
"I am going to begin refining the Nine-Colored Heaven-Devouring Python essence blood…"
She wanted nothing more than to stand eternally at his side. Yet with only the Seven-Colored Heaven-Devouring Python bloodline, she would forever fall short. She knew — with bone-deep certainty — that Xiao Jietian was destined to ascend to the long-lost realm of Dou Di.
How many years could a Dou Di live? Far longer than any Dou Sheng.
But the limit of a Seven-Colored Python was Dou Sheng. One day she might wither into old age while he remained eternally youthful.
No. She refused such a fate.
Having received the Nine-Colored essence blood from his hand, she had already sworn an oath to her own heart: no matter the agony, no matter the peril, she would refine it and evolve.
Only a Nine-Colored Heaven-Devouring Python could stand shoulder-to-shoulder with him at the pinnacle of the world — and remain by his side through eternity.
Xiao Jietian reached out, gently stroking her silken hair.
"Do not worry. I will always be right here, waiting for you."
With a flick of his sleeve, a jade box and three jade vials — one large, two small — floated before them.
He opened the box first. Within lay a small spirit herb bearing five leaves. Upon each leaf shimmered nine radiant motes of multicolored light, twinkling like imprisoned stars.
"This is the Illusory Nine-Star Grass. It possesses miraculous power to mend damaged meridians. Consume it before you begin the refinement. Should your channels suffer injury during the process, its medicinal force will swiftly repair them, sparing you lasting harm."
Medusa gazed solemnly at the precious herb resting in the jade box before her.
Before she could respond, Xiao Jietian's voice continued, calm yet filled with unwavering certainty…