"Judging by your gaze, you want to kill me?"
"You've devoured my possessions, yet still wish to kill me."
"Truly a venomous snake that cannot be tamed, seeking death."
Within the Black Tortoise Mystic Realm, Gu Han's eyes turned extremely cold.
He hadn't expected that the Violet Nether Flame Serpent, which had been sealed and dormant with the Essence Crystal Jade Marrow's enhancement, would suddenly awaken and consume the Female Snake-person's body.
Thus, the Female Snake-person's Storage Ring, the numerous resources within it, and the Bewitching Strange Crystal she had produced—all ended up benefiting this wretched snake.
Originally, letting it have these benefits might have been acceptable if the Violet Nether Flame Serpent had behaved well, like the Seven-Colored Sky Swallowing Python after consuming Xiao Yan's Natal Amethyst Source, and could be kept as a pet.
This Violet Nether Flame Serpent was a late fifth-tier Magical Beast; one more step and it would become a sixth-tier Magical Beast comparable to a Dou Emperor Expert, making it a perfect hidden trump card.
However, after awakening, the Violet Nether Flame Serpent glared at him with eyes full of rage and killing intent—something he could not tolerate.
"Human, with your Dou Fighter cultivation, you cannot kill me," the Violet Nether Flame Serpent spoke in a feminine voice, its gaze icy. "Though I do not know how you obtained this Seven-Colored Sky Swallowing Python's Magic Core Crystal, I suppose it was merely luck, encountering this severely injured Female Snake-person."
"Once I refine the power within the Magic Core Crystal in my internal space, I will metamorphose into a Seven-Colored Sky Swallowing Python and break through to the sixth tier."
"You cannot kill me now. When the time comes, I will grant you a swift death!"
After speaking, the Violet Nether Flame Serpent closed its eyes, arrogantly ignoring Gu Han.
Immediately, a seven-colored glow emerged from within its body, enveloping it and forming a one-inch-thick crystalline layer.
"Heaven Seal!"
Gu Han formed hand seals with both hands, circulating the Ice Soul Mystic Classic to channel Dou Qi into his palms, then struck out a seal emitting cold air in mid-air.
Once formed, the seal naturally gathered ice-attribute Heaven and Earth Energy, enhancing it and making it increasingly cold and solid. In the blink of an eye, it expanded to two zhang in size.
This was the Heaven Seal from the Heavenly Cold Seal, allowing the user to passively utilize a trace of Heaven and Earth Energy to enhance the Dou Skill—a feat only high-level Dou Spirits could barely accomplish. This demonstrated the power of this seal technique, worthy of its origins in an Earth-level Dou Skill.
"Boom!"
The seal struck the Violet Nether Flame Serpent with tremendous force and destructive power, creating a crater in the ground beneath it and nearly embedding the serpent within. Yet, the crystalline layer on its body showed not the slightest damage.
"No wonder it's so confident."
Gu Han took a deep breath, his mood calming after the attack.
This Violet Nether Flame Serpent absolutely could not be spared, but having lost the benefits to it, he couldn't allow himself to suffer a total loss.
"Seven-Colored Sky Swallowing Python's Magic Core Crystal..."
Gu Han felt that the Female Snake-person's identity and the matter of the Magic Core Crystal concealed significant secrets.
As for killing the Violet Nether Flame Serpent, the simplest method was to rush to Wu Tan City now and openly request assistance from Ling Xiao and Ling Ying, though this would waste the Magic Core Crystal.
If he waited for the fifth-tier Violet Nether Flame Serpent to metamorphose into a sixth-tier Seven-Colored Sky Swallowing Python, with both its bloodline Talent and strength enhanced, then killing it would result in fewer losses and possibly even a profit.
By then, opening the internal space of the Seven-Colored Sky Swallowing Python would also allow him to retrieve the Female Snake-person's corpse and Storage Ring.
"The best use would be to have Qing Lin use her Azure Serpent Three Flower Pupils to enslave her, turning her into a puppet, completely devouring all her cultivation, which could also accelerate Qing Lin's growth."
"However, using the Azure Serpent Three Flower Pupils to control and enslave an ancient serpent-type Magical Beast is very difficult. Qing Lin might need to reach Dou Spirit or even Dou King strength to accomplish this."
"If only there were a way to completely transform her into my likeness."
Gu Han sat cross-legged opposite the Seven-Colored Sky Swallowing Python, cultivating while contemplating strategies.
Meanwhile, at the Xiao Family in Wu Tan City.
Gu Qingqing frowned slightly and said, "Xun Er, what do you mean by this?"
Asking for her opinion only to go against it—wasn't this deliberately embarrassing her, her own cousin?
Gu Qingqing's mother was Xun Er's mother's younger sister. Although both bore the surname Gu, they had risen from among the Ancient Clan's billions of descendants.
Xun Er's bloodline power was too potent; her mother died during childbirth due to difficult labor. After that, Xun Er's aunt raised her as her own daughter.
But when Xun Er was three, her aunt entered a secret realm to explore an opportunity for sainthood and went missing.
Another year passed, and Gu Yuan, not wanting Xun Er to be influenced by the Ancient Clan's internal atmosphere and environment, personally sent her to the Xiao Family.
Gu Qingqing had arrived a year ago to replace an executive who was returning to the clan to break through to the Dou Venerable level.
"Does Qingqing-jie think I don't know?" Xun Er's lips curved slightly. "Whenever you place a bet, you lose ten out of ten times. If you win, something bad happens. You've only won twice in your entire life."
Gu Qingqing was peculiar—she could win in normal gambling or games, but whenever there was a stake involved, she would definitely lose.
In her lifetime, she had only won twice: the first time when Xun Er's mother died in childbirth, and the second time when news came that her own biological mother had gone missing.
"What does that have to do with you giving Gu Han an Earth-Rank Low-Level Fighting Skill!?" Gu Qingqing's ears turned red as she inwardly cursed the ancestors, eighteen generations back, of whoever leaked the information to Xun Er.
She completely overlooked the fact that the person might share the same ancestors as her.
"Regarding Gu Han, we are essentially placing a bet on his future." Xun Er smiled charmingly, making the flowers in the room seem dull in comparison. "If Qingqing-jie says you disagree, that means you don't have faith in Gu Han's future, or at least not enough."
"Then I must bet that Gu Han's future will be very promising, so of course, I need to increase the stakes."
Gu Qingqing: "..."
If you weren't the clan leader's daughter, as your elder sister, I'd teach you a lesson right now.
"Elder Ling, continue to protect Gu Han in secret." Xun Er shifted her gaze to Ling Ying. "Find a suitable opportunity to give him this scroll of Dou Skill."
A faint glow flashed on Xun Er's ring, and a pure white scroll appeared in her hand, which she tossed to Ling Ying.
"Yes, young lady." Ling Ying stored the scroll, accepted the order, and withdrew.
"Young lady, this subordinate takes her leave." Ling Xiao bowed respectfully.
"Aunt Ling, you may go." Xun Er nodded with a smile.
Ling Xiao quickly exited the room, leaving only Xun Er and Gu Qingqing behind.
"This is an Earth-Rank Low-Level Fighting Skill. Although it's nothing special in the Ancient Clan—anyone who passes the Black Annihilation Army assessment can obtain one—within the Jia Ma Empire, there are none openly available." Gu Qingqing felt Xun Er was being too generous.
There were quite a few High-Level Profound Rank Exercises and Dou Skills circulating within the Jia Ma Empire, but not a single Earth-Rank one was publicly known.
While poverty and weakness were one factor, there were also certain systems and rules in place.
"This is because I trust Qingqing-jie very much." Xun Er lowered her eyes with a faint smile.
Gu Qingqing: "..."
"However, this is the final addition for the initial stage. Only if he goes to develop in Central State within five years will I add more."
"Tell me, as a young lady raised outside the family, wouldn't it be interesting to personally nurture someone who surpasses all the young disciples within the clan?"
Gu Qingqing's lips twitched slightly: "You're the young lady. If you say it's interesting, then it's interesting."
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