After knocking Gu He unconscious, Queen Medusa lifted him with her left hand and pointed her sword at Yun Yun with her right.
"Next, it's your turn, Yun Yun."
"Things can no longer be salvaged. Retreat first. If we want to rescue Master Gu He, we'll have to ask Teacher or Elder Jia and the others to intervene."
Seeing Gu He captured, Yun Yun knew the situation was already irreversible. She made a swift decision to withdraw first. Spreading her green wings, she pushed her speed to the limit and shot off in the opposite direction.
Queen Medusa let out a cold laugh, forcefully tossing Gu He toward Yue Mei, who was flying over, before chasing after Yun Yun herself.
"Trying to run? It won't be that easy."
Two streaks of azure and violet light tore through the sky, one in front and one behind, racing toward the depths of the desert. Although Yun Yun's cultivation was inferior to Queen Medusa's, as a wind-attributed Dou Emperor she possessed a natural advantage in speed. Coupled with her excellent movement technique, she was able to maneuver against Queen Medusa and avoid being captured immediately.
As Yun Yun flew over a stretch of desert, she suddenly sensed an abrupt Dou Spirit aura below—right along her planned flight path. Looking down, she saw a human Dou Spirit in green robes, a complete stranger.
"Be careful…"
Instinctively, Yun Yun wanted to warn him, but the words stopped at her lips. She shook her head. She herself was in mortal danger, being pursued by Queen Medusa. If she truly warned him, it would only draw Medusa's attention and instead bring disaster upon him.
With a change of thought, Yun Yun subtly adjusted her direction, altering her flight path to avoid the green-robed figure.
"This is all I can do. What happens next depends on your luck."
However, just as Yun Yun changed direction, the green-robed figure moved like lightning, shifting from absolute stillness to explosive motion. A pair of azure-violet wings suddenly burst forth. With a single beat of those wings, he appeared before Yun Yun in an instant. His right palm, wrapped in green Dou Qi, clenched into a fist as the Dou Qi compressed at an astonishing speed. The vast green flame Dou Qi instantly condensed, transforming into a thin layer of green light tightly clinging to his fist.
Before Yun Yun could react, Lin Yuan threw a punch. Yun Yun hurriedly raised her long sword to block. When fist and blade collided, Lin Yuan's ferocious physical strength—comparable to that of a magical beast—combined with the compressed green-flame power, erupted at the point of contact. The tremendous force blasted Yun Yun straight out of the air. Blood seeped from the corner of her mouth as her body crashed heavily into the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust.
Seizing the advantage, Lin Yuan followed up. With a thought, he transformed qi into flame, flame into whips. The green flames became several long whips that lashed out at Yun Yun under precise soul-force control, sealing off all her movements.
As Yun Yun, having lost the initiative and suffered heavy injuries, struggled to resist the assault of the flame whips, the seal in Lin Yuan's hands quietly finished forming.
"Heavenly Flame Tribulation, Ancient Dragon Suppression Spirit Seal."
Azure-violet light shot like arrows into Yun Yun's body, instantly transforming into a solid seal within her. In her shocked gaze, her cultivation rapidly declined, stopping only when it fell to two-star Dou King.
Immediately afterward, Lin Yuan executed the Cloud Dragon Movement Technique. His figure flickered as he appeared behind Yun Yun in an instant. Before she could react, he struck her with a hand chop, knocking her unconscious. He then skillfully took out a pill and helped her swallow it.
Queen Medusa, who landed beside Lin Yuan, stared at him with an odd expression. This familiar sequence of actions stirred up some deeply buried, unpleasant memories. She could not help but sneer, "As expected of the Alchemist Elder. Defeat, seal, knock unconscious, poison—this whole set of moves is truly mastered to perfection."
Lin Yuan glanced at her and chuckled softly.
"Of course. Thanks to Your Majesty, I've had practice once before."
Seeing Queen Medusa's expression darken, Lin Yuan calmly continued, "Speaking of which, Your Majesty, as the Fifth Elder of the Snake-People Tribe, I have a duty to offer you advice. Please forgive my bluntness, but Your Majesty's performance this time was truly disappointing. Dealing with a single Dou Emperor and a few Dou King took so long that I had to step in personally. I am genuinely worried about the future of our Snake-People Tribe."
When it came to verbal sparring, Queen Medusa was clearly no match for Lin Yuan.
"You—!"
Faced with Lin Yuan's repeated references to himself as 'your subordinate' and his constant expressions of 'concern,' Queen Medusa clenched her silver teeth, left speechless. After all, Yun Yun had indeed been taken down personally by him, and with far greater efficiency than her own.
At this moment, Queen Medusa's desire for Heavenly Flame evolution grew even stronger. She knew that even if she were to break through normally to the Dou Ancestor realm, she would most likely still not be a match for the man before her. The humiliation she had suffered also seemed impossible to reclaim.
She shot Lin Yuan a fierce glare, her resolve to undergo Heavenly Flame evolution becoming even firmer. Only by evolving through a Heavenly Flame by completely shedding her old self would she have a chance to reclaim her dignity from Lin Yuan.
Observing Queen Medusa's expression, Lin Yuan nodded inwardly. He was not merely trading barbs with her for the sake of it; rather, he was deliberately provoking her with words to strengthen her determination to use the Heavenly Flame for evolution. The firmer her resolve, the greater the value of the Heavenly Flame in his hands, and the more initiative and influence he would have in the matter of her evolution.
During these days, Lin Yuan had studied several ancient records and secret techniques of the Snake-People Tribe, and he had developed a strong interest in Queen Medusa's evolution. In his view, the Snake-People Tribe—especially the Medusa lineage—might not be outstanding in raw strength, but their level of mystery and eeriness was extremely high. With Queen Medusa alone, coupled with a Heavenly Flame, it was possible to bring the long-extinct Seven-Colored Heaven-Devouring Python back into the world. This was undoubtedly a feat that seized the very creations of heaven and earth.
What astonished Lin Yuan even more was that Queen Medusa's evolution involved the evolution of the soul itself, as well as the near-miraculous act of condensing a new body using soul power. The bloodline secret arts of the Snake-People Tribe were truly marvelous beyond measure. Lin Yuan had a premonition that by deeply participating in this process, he might gain extraordinary insights—ones that would be of immense importance to his future.
Lin Yuan cast another deep look at Queen Medusa. She was the one most likely to allow him to personally witness that complete process.
"Medusa, Medusa… you must succeed," Lin Yuan silently wished her well. After all, a successful case was exceedingly rare. If she were to fail, his future research might face considerable obstacles.
Pulling his thoughts back, Lin Yuan said to Queen Medusa, "Your Majesty, it's time for us to return."
Queen Medusa coldly swept a glance at Lin Yuan, then her gaze fell upon Yun Yun, whom he was holding in his arms. It was as if she saw her former self—defeated and captured, sealed, poisoned and then recalled the series of events that followed. Suddenly, her thoughts seemed to connect in an instant.
She drew in a sharp breath, looked seriously at Lin Yuan, and said in a deep voice,
"This scheme of yours—using the Heavenly Flame as bait to lure Gu He. But Gu He is an honorary elder and the chief alchemist of the Misty Cloud Sect. For something as important as seizing a Heavenly Flame, he would certainly seek the help of the Misty Cloud Sect's leader. So… your true target was Yun Yun?"
Queen Medusa shook her head, rejecting her own conclusion.
"No, that's not right. Gu He is not your true target, and Yun Yun shouldn't be either. The two of them were merely bait, used to draw out the real target. That means your true objective is the former sect master of the Misty Cloud Sect—Yun Shan."
She frowned slightly and continued her analysis, "Yun Shan's strength is comparable to mine. By common sense, with your strength, dealing with him shouldn't be difficult. There would be no need to go through such elaborate trouble."
"Then there is only one conclusion—"
"Yun Shan, that old man… has already broken through to the Dou Ancestor realm?"
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