Medusa paced back and forth in her bedchamber, so agitated she wanted to shed her skin.
She finally soaked in the Ice Spirit Cold Spring, contemplating life and trying to calm herself down.
It's just painless motherhood, a small matter, a small matter... what the hell!
She knew her own situation; her relationship with Xiao Xue was far from the peaceful picture she painted for the elders.
Currently, their situation was already quite good, and their relationship had eased considerably.
As long as she diligently cultivated and worked for Xiao Xue, acting as a competent enforcer, nothing would go wrong.
But now, with this incident, all her previous efforts seemed to have been in vain.
Emotionally, Medusa wanted this small life, carrying her bloodline, to come into the world.
But rationality told her that once the life force developed to a certain extent, it would inevitably be discovered by Xiao Xue.
And then, what Xiao Xue would do was unpredictable.
If she was willing to give birth, the Serpent People tribe could raise it; at worst, it would be a minor inconvenience.
But... it was highly unlikely she would be willing, as there was no emotional foundation.
And if Xiao Xue was unwilling and her relatives and elders were alarmed, then things would get serious.
At that time, not only would she be finished, but the entire Serpent People tribe would likely suffer her wrath.
Therefore, this life force was actually an invisible ticking time bomb.
Medusa even had the idea of 'getting rid of' the little Heaven Swallowing Python's soul without anyone knowing.
However, she was completely clueless when it came to souls.
To put it bluntly, she couldn't even secretly abort the fetus to protect the Serpent People tribe without Xiao Xue noticing.
After a moment of hesitation, Medusa decided to first consult with the alliance's alchemists.
Human research on souls was definitely far ahead of their Serpent People tribe's.
She wanted to ask if there was a way to treat the problem of two souls in one body, or a method to separate souls.
There was still some time, and a chance to salvage the situation.
Regardless of the outcome, she had to try.
(Some readers mentioned a lack of romantic scenes, that's because when I wrote the romance earlier, too many chapters were locked, forcing me to change the outline.)
(Xiao Xiao certainly won't be beaten, and the romance will be placed later. Medusa will have her share of suffering when she chases her wife later, don't worry everyone.)
Of course, she was still the Empress of the Serpent People Empire.
If she went personally, it would be too conspicuous.
If Xiao Xue noticed anything unusual, it would be difficult to handle.
So, Medusa thought for a moment and summoned Yue Mei, one of the eight great leaders.
The Serpent People generally had low emotional intelligence, and even with the alliance between the Serpent People Empire and the Jia Ma Empire, the rift between the two races could not be eliminated.
Compared to the short-tempered, easily cold-blooded Serpent People leaders, Yue Mei was clearly more suitable for 'diplomacy'.
Yue Mei had also already advanced to the Dou Huang rank, fully capable of holding this position.
Medusa asked Yue Mei to inquire with the alliance's alchemists about methods to resolve soul problems.
Yue Mei was greatly alarmed, thinking that Medusa herself had a soul problem, and naturally agreed without delay.
As for why Her Majesty the Queen didn't ask the Prince Regent, who was also an alchemist, Yue Mei dared not ask.
Again, don't meddle in the Queen's affairs.
Otherwise, if you share her gossip today, you'll share her funeral feast tomorrow.
Medusa saw Yue Mei's expression and knew she had misunderstood, but she didn't explain, letting her be.
Because the current problem was far more serious than her soul malfunctioning... After leaving the Serpent People tribe, Yue Mei first visited Gu He, the strongest alchemist in the alliance besides Xiao Xue.
Gu He had previously obtained a Earth Fire Lotus Seed from the Serpent People tribe, refined it, and acquired the Earth Fire Lotus's Creation Fire.
Although this flame couldn't compare to a true Heavenly Flame, it was far stronger than ordinary beast flames.
With the boost from the Creation Fire, he was able to break through from peak sixth-grade to peak sixth-grade in just one year.
Therefore, although Gu He was now an honorary elder of the Misty Cloud Sect, his relationship with the Serpent People tribe was exceptionally good.
Gu He even supplied a certain amount of low-grade pills to the Serpent People tribe for free.
He also promised that if the Serpent People tribe ever needed his help, he would act once for free, without demanding compensation.
The favor of a peak sixth-grade alchemist was worth that price.
Upon learning that Medusa had given Gu He an Earth Fire Lotus Seed, Xiao Xue didn't say anything.
Because, aside from trying to help Xun'er add a trace of wood attribute to her flames, the Earth Fire Lotus Seed wasn't very useful to her.
For auxiliary pills to refine Heavenly Flames, now that she was seventh-grade, she could completely have better choices.
Moreover, a peak sixth-grade alchemist was considered a major figure in the early stages and played a significant role in the alliance's development.
Therefore, using something of little value to herself to win over Gu He, a peak sixth-grade alchemist, was not a loss.
When Yue Mei approached Gu He and stated her purpose, Gu He also found it a bit difficult.
Since the Serpent People tribe had come to him, it meant that even Xiao Xue couldn't solve the problem.
Or rather, Xiao Xue, or her alchemy tower elder teacher behind her, could certainly solve this problem, but the Serpent People tribe couldn't bring themselves to ask.
That's right, Medusa was only a Dou Zong now; she was a top expert in the Northwestern Continent.
But how could a Dou Zong possibly invite an eighth-grade alchemist?
Therefore, the Serpent People tribe sent someone to him.
Gu He pieced together the truth in his mind, feeling he understood everything.
And how difficult it was to find pills or methods to solve soul problems.
For Gu He, a grassroots sixth-grade alchemist from a small place, this problem was indeed a bit challenging for him.
During their conversation, Gu He suddenly thought of something, clenched his right fist, and slammed it into his left palm.
He told Yue Mei that the Alchemist Grand Meeting in six months would have a sixth-grade pill formula as the champion's prize.
And that sixth-grade pill, the Soul Fusion Pill, should have some effect in resolving soul problems.
Since the next Alchemist Grand Meeting would be hosted by the Jia Ma Empire, the prize would naturally be kept by the Jia Ma Empire's Alchemist Guild.
The Jia Ma Imperial Family would certainly not be generous enough to use a sixth-grade pill formula as a reward.
It was likely that the entire Alchemist Guild of the Jia Ma Empire didn't even have many sixth-grade pill formulas.
This item was released by the Pill Tower as a reward to encourage alchemists on the continent, also serving as a motivational tool.
The Alchemist Grand Meeting happened once every eight years, and for the Pill Tower, only seventh-grade alchemists were qualified to enter it.
Therefore, a sixth-grade pill formula was merely a drop in the ocean for a behemoth like the Pill Tower.
And Gu He, being an alchemist, naturally had some information that others didn't yet know.
For example, the champion's prize in six months, the Soul Fusion Pill formula.
And this pill formula would inevitably fall into the alliance's hands in six months.
The Chu Yun Empire had already been destroyed, and only the alchemists of the Chu Yun Empire still had some skills.
The alchemy levels of the Mu Lan Empire and the Yan Luo Empire were far inferior to that of the Jia Ma Empire and the destroyed Chu Yun Empire.
Therefore, the young alchemists participating this year could not possibly win against him, Gu He, or Xiao Xue's disciples.
Gu He told Yue Mei these 'ahead-of-time' tidbits and then stated that after the Alchemist Grand Meeting, if needed, he could help the Serpent People tribe refine a Soul Fusion Pill.
Of course, the premise was that his disciple won the championship and the pill formula came into his possession.
And if Xiao Xue's disciple won, Gu He remembered that Xiao Xue should also be sixth-grade now.
After all, during the alliance, Medusa had publicly stated that Xiao Xue, the Serpent People tribe's Prince Regent, was a sixth-grade alchemist.
Although it had only been a year, Xiao Xue shouldn't be stronger than his peak sixth-grade self now;
But with her heaven-defying talent, she would probably be able to refine the Soul Fusion Pill in another two years.
After obtaining the necessary information, Yue Mei bid farewell and left, then went to the Alchemist Guild for a round, receiving a similar answer.
Yue Mei reported the collected information back to Medusa.
In six months, the situation might have already escalated, but Medusa could only wait.
She could only hope that the little guy was strong enough to hold on for a few more days.
After staying in the Serpent People tribe for a few days and finding nothing wrong, Xiao Xue put the matter out of her mind.
Because currently, this matter had no impact on her.
Moreover, if there were truly any dangerous situations with her body, the system would promptly conduct a self-examination and provide feedback.
So, after failing to find any problems, Xiao Xue put it aside, planning to check again during her 're-examination' a few months later.
Then, Xiao Xue returned to the Xiao Mansion in the Jia Ma Imperial Capital to see her cheap father, Xiao Zhan.
Having finally returned, she naturally had to go home and visit.
After dealing with the matters in the Jia Ma Empire, she would head to Canaan Academy to reunite with Xun'er, Little Doctor Immortal, her cheap older brother, and others.
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I've posted 70+ chapters in advance on Patreon.
Webnovel updates will still be daily, as usual.
It might not seem tempting right now but who knows what the future holds?
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