Lin Yuan stood quietly to the side, his gaze gentle as he watched the interaction between Qing Lin and Xiao Cai.
Suddenly, Queen Medusa's voice sounded beside his ear.
"Come with me. Regarding Xiao Cai and your maid Qing Lin, there are some important matters I need to discuss with you."
There was a sense of solemnity and seriousness in her tone. After speaking, she walked toward a secluded cliff. Lin Yuan followed closely behind. The two soon came to a stop at the edge of the cliff, lifting their gazes to the stardust-filled sky above.
"What are your plans for Xiao Cai's future?" Queen Medusa asked softly, her tone revealing her concern for Xiao Cai.
Lin Yuan smiled faintly and replied, "I will keep her by my side and carefully nurture her growth. She has consumed the Transformation Pill and can freely switch between human and beast forms, so keeping her with me will be very convenient."
Queen Medusa nodded lightly. Though her brows were slightly furrowed, she showed no intention of forcibly keeping Xiao Cai within the Snake-People Tribe. After reflecting on everything that had happened during this period, she understood clearly that the man before her had invested an enormous amount of effort into Xiao Cai's birth. At this point, taking Xiao Cai away from Lin Yuan was practically impossible.
She gazed at Lin Yuan's youthful face, recalling the astonishing combat power and outstanding alchemy skills he had displayed. She could not help but think to herself, Perhaps letting Xiao Cai follow him will allow her to go much farther in the future. After all, the Northwestern Region is ultimately too remote, shallow waters cannot nurture a true dragon.
With that thought, Queen Medusa spoke solemnly, "Since that child calls me Mother, then I naturally have a responsibility toward her. I am willing to hand over to you the Triple Jade-Green Snake Flower Pupils inheritance passed down within my tribe. I trust that you will make good use of this power. After all, you already have a Triple Jade-Green Snake Flower Pupils bearer by your side. In exchange, you must sincerely care for and cultivate Xiao Cai. You are not allowed to treat her as a mere tool."
Hearing this, Lin Yuan's expression grew more serious as he said in a deep voice,
"Rest assured, Your Majesty. Since I have accepted Xiao Cai's calling me Father, I will naturally do my utmost to take care of her and nurture her properly. You have spent quite some time interacting with me, you should know how I treat my own people."
Queen Medusa nodded and said gravely,
"Good. Once we return to the Snake-People Sacred City, I will hand over the inheritance to you."
"This inheritance is…?" Lin Yuan asked curiously.
Queen Medusa explained.
"It is a precious inheritance left behind by one of my tribe's former Triple Jade-Green Snake Flower Pupils bearers. The Triple Jade-Green Snake Flower Pupils is a unique bloodline born of mixed heritage between the Snake-People Tribe and the human race. During my tribe's most glorious era, Triple Jade-Green Snake Flower Pupils bearers also appeared. However, as time passed, that brilliant history was gradually forgotten by the world. This inheritance is one that belongs exclusively to Triple Jade-Green Snake Flower Pupils hosts, passed down generation after generation to this day."
Lin Yuan felt a surge of emotion in his heart. He had originally planned to make a trip to the Heavenly Snake Mansion to find a way to obtain the Triple Jade-Green Snake Flower Pupils inheritance there. Now it seemed that he had gained it effortlessly—the Snake-People Tribe actually possessed a Triple Jade-Green Snake Flower Pupils exclusive inheritance passed down through the ages. This inheritance was certainly extraordinary, and Qing Lin would undoubtedly gain immense benefits from it.
Lin Yuan cupped his fists toward Queen Medusa and said solemnly, "Then, many thanks to Your Majesty."
Queen Medusa waved her hand and said calmly, "I do not need your thanks. You only need to fulfill what you have promised and take good care of Xiao Cai."
"Our objectives in the Mulan Empire have all been accomplished. We can set off to return tomorrow," Lin Yuan said after a brief calculation. Then, as if recalling something, he added, "If Your Majesty does not mind, could you accompany me on a short trip? We can also take care of some loose ends along the way."
"Oh?" Queen Medusa raised her brows slightly, her interest piqued.
"I would like to go to the Mystic Ice Pool to obtain some Ice Jade Marrow. I wonder if Your Majesty would be willing to go with me? We can also deal with that Profound Ice Azure Scale Flood Dragon, which may know something about your involvement in the deaths of the Mulan Three Elders," Lin Yuan suggested with a smile.
"If you hadn't mentioned it, I would have almost forgotten about that annoying Profound Ice Azure Scale Flood Dragon," a trace of cold light flashed in Queen Medusa's eyes. "Very well. I also wish to test how much my strength has grown. Let's go."
The two immediately flew toward the Mystic Ice Pool.
Not long after, a streak of green light shot out from the Mystic Ice Pool and landed steadily on the shore, it was Lin Yuan. He held two jade bottles in his hands, each filled with a milky-white liquid that radiated pure ice-element energy.
Queen Medusa sat atop the corpse of the Profound Ice Azure Scale Flood Dragon, exuding a unique heroic and valiant air.
Lin Yuan smiled and said, "The Ice Jade Marrow has been obtained. This one is your share, Your Majesty." As he spoke, he tossed one bottle of Ice Jade Marrow toward Queen Medusa.
Queen Medusa caught the jade bottle and nodded lightly.
"Indeed a rare treasure. The elders should like it."
"It's getting late. Let's head back. Qing Lin sent word that Xiao Cai is looking for us," Lin Yuan said with a smile.
"Mm." Queen Medusa responded softly.
When Lin Yuan and Queen Medusa returned, Qing Lin and Xiao Cai had already grown quite close.
Qing Lin seemed somewhat immersed in the new role of being an "elder sister." Ever since meeting Lin Yuan, she had always been the one being taught. Now that Xiao Cai—someone even more immature had appeared, she rather enjoyed playing the role of a mentor, even though Xiao Cai was currently far stronger than her in terms of strength.
Seeing how well the two got along, Lin Yuan felt reassured. The two of them would be spending a long time together in the future, and being able to get along so harmoniously was the best outcome possible.
Looking at the scene before him, Lin Yuan was in high spirits. He smiled and said, "Today is a good day. The Queen has successfully evolved, and Xiao Cai has been born. I'll cook personally, let's have a small celebration. I just happened to get my hands on some excellent ingredients."
Upon hearing this, Qing Lin's eyes lit up, a hint of nostalgia appearing on her face. It had been a long time since she last tasted Lin Yuan's cooking.
Xiao Cai, on the other hand, looked completely confused.
Queen Medusa looked at Lin Yuan, a trace of curiosity flashing through her eyes.
"Cooking? You even know how to do that?"
"I have some confidence in my cooking skills," Lin Yuan replied with a confident smile. Then he took out the Profound Ice Azure Scale Flood Dragon. "This one the Queen just hunted is top-grade ingredient material. Allow me to show you my craftsmanship."
As he spoke, he took out that oddly shaped cauldron specially used for cooking and began refining the dishes. Before long, one exquisite dish after another—rich in color, aroma, and flavor was completed.
Early the next morning, a massive green flying magical beast tore through the sky, racing from the Mulan Empire toward the Tager Desert.
On the back of the flying magical beast, Queen Medusa sat cross-legged, consolidating her cultivation.
Xiao Cai had reverted to her beast form, transforming into a tiny Seven-Colored Heaven-Swallowing Python and coiling around Lin Yuan's arm as she slept, digesting the high-energy medicinal pills Lin Yuan had fed her.
Qing Lin was also sitting cross-legged and cultivating. She was not far from reaching the rank of a Five-Star Dou Master.
Lin Yuan had split off a shadow clone to study the inheritance of an Eighth-Grade Alchemist.
His true body, meanwhile, cultivated while contemplating the opportunity to break through to the Dou Emperor realm. Having personally witnessed Queen Medusa's evolution, Lin Yuan now had an idea worth trying regarding how to break through to Dou Emperor.
"From the Queen's evolution process, it's clear that soul power has a greater impact on Dou Qi cultivation and breakthroughs than I previously imagined."
"A breakthrough in cultivation naturally leads to an increase in soul power. Therefore, those with high cultivation levels will not have weak souls. Conversely, this should also hold true, if one's cultivation is stuck at a bottleneck, then an increase in soul power or a breakthrough in soul realm may bring an opportunity to break through the Dou Qi bottleneck."
"Right now, both my soul and Dou Qi have reached a bottleneck. If my soul power can undergo a substantial increase, it might give me the chance to break through to Dou Emperor."
"A significant increase in soul power… It seems I'll need to make a trip to Jia Ma Scared City."
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