Gu He seemed to guess Medusa's thoughts, and his face hardened. "Your Majesty, I have already conceded this much. If you still refuse, then the four of us will fight to the death today, even if it means our bones will be buried in this vast desert."
The Tier 7 medicinal pill was the last of his fortune.
There was absolutely no way he would hand it over.
This was no longer a question of its worth.
Did she really think Gu He was a spineless coward who would do anything to survive?
He had faced countless life-and-death crises on his path of cultivation. If he had no fighting spirit, he never would have made it this far.
In the Dou Qi Continent, one could not survive by simply groveling and begging.
The strong never showed mercy to the weak.
Whether they killed you or not depended entirely on their mood.
Medusa naturally understood the meaning behind Gu He's words.
Although she could overwhelm the four of them, if they fought with their lives on the line, she would be in for a headache, even if they posed no real threat to her personally.
The reason was simple: the eight tribal leaders and many of her subjects were here.
More importantly, Zhou Changqing was here.
If they used Yun Yun to hold her back for even a moment, the other three could inflict considerable losses on her people.
And if anything were to happen to Zhou Changqing, Medusa felt she would go completely mad.
"Get lost. Next time, I will kill you," Medusa said coldly, deciding against pushing them further.
Hearing this, Yun Yun and the other three breathed a collective sigh of relief.
They didn't dare to linger for even a second longer, fearing she might change her mind. With a flap of their wings, they fled at top speed.
Watching the four streaks of light disappear, the eight tribal leaders were displeased, but since their queen had spoken, they could not object. They also understood that truly forcing the four to stay would have been a massive problem for the Snake-People Tribe.
Putting the matter aside, the eight of them flew toward Medusa.
"We greet Her Majesty the Queen!"
They approached and placed their right hands over their left chests in a salute.
Medusa gave a cool nod. She swept her gaze over them, and seeing they were unharmed, she gave her orders.
"Soothe the tribe and repair the damage."
"Yes, Your Majesty!"
Yue Mei, who had wanted to say something, could only assent with the others. After stealing a quick glance at Zhou Changqing, she and the other leaders flew off in different directions.
Medusa keenly noticed the slightly watery gaze Yue Mei cast as she left, and her brow furrowed. Fortunately, her mind didn't stray in that direction, so she didn't dwell on it.
Now that most people had left, Zhou Changqing's eyes scanned the area around the holy city.
"That kid Xiao Yan should be around here somewhere. I just don't know where he's hiding. Yao Lao's spiritual strength is damn impressive. Even Medusa can't sense him at all."
But before he could continue his search, Medusa grabbed him and vanished from the sky in a flash.
And so, in the desert outside the city, only Xiao Yan remained, hidden beneath a pile of boulders and a yellow blanket.
"What was Old Zhou looking at just now? I felt like he spotted me."
"Impossible. That little one is extraordinary, but he's not yet strong enough to see through the concealment I've provided."
"True. Well, let's just wait for nightfall. Then we can get Old Zhou out of there and figure out the Heavenly Flame situation."
As they entered the holy city, Zhou Changqing was preoccupied with how to help Xiao Yan get the Heavenly Flame. He felt a little guilty that his presence had drastically increased the difficulty for Xiao Yan.
Of course, only a little.
From the moment he transmigrated to the Dou Qi Continent, he knew he would cause a butterfly effect. And from the moment he met Xiao Yan, he was aware his existence would alter the boy's original trajectory; it was only a matter of how much. Now it seemed the changes weren't massive, but they weren't small either.
Even so, he didn't regret getting involved with Xiao Yan.
What was the point of transmigrating if he had to worry about preserving the original plot, tiptoeing around every little thing for fear of changing the outcome? He might as well not have crossed over at all.
To put it another way, his transmigration was an established fact. Whether the impact was large or small, he was bound to affect the world. Therefore, Zhou Changqing never tried to force the plot he remembered from his past life onto his present reality. Instead, he treated the original novel as a reference guide.
What lay before him was the incredibly real Dou Qi Continent, not a book. The characters in the story were not NPCs, but living, breathing people. If he felt guilty over every little change, he would have died from guilt long ago.
His desire to help stemmed mainly from his good relationship with Xiao Yan. Plus, the Heavenly Flame was useless to him, so he wanted to create an opportunity for his sworn little brother.
While Zhou Changqing was lost in thought, Medusa had already brought him to the room where he had stayed during his previous visit to the holy city.
"Your Majesty, now that the trouble is resolved, when are we heading back?" Zhou Changqing asked, a brilliant idea suddenly striking him.
Though he didn't know exactly why his Lightning Qi was useful to Medusa, past experience suggested it was very important. After all, it was because of his lightning that she hadn't followed her original path of using a Heavenly Flame to evolve. That alone spoke volumes.
In that case, why not use this as a pretext to get her to leave the desert with him again?
With Medusa gone and the four Snake-People elders generally uninvolved in tribal affairs, it would be much simpler for Xiao Yan to obtain the Heavenly Flame. He, in turn, could continue to rapidly increase his strength.
It was a win-win situation.
Medusa glanced at Zhou Changqing, seeing nothing suspicious in his question. "Not yet," she said faintly. "I need to handle some tribal matters and remain here for a while."
Zhou Changqing's eagerness was only natural. If she had a way to increase her strength so rapidly without any side effects, she would be just as anxious. In fact, the strength of Zhou Changqing's Dou Qi was directly related to her own evolution. In a way, her desire for him to grow stronger was no less than his own.
But she had been away for half a year and had many things to attend to. Furthermore, with Yun Yun and the others having just left, she had to guard against the possibility of them gathering reinforcements and returning. If she wasn't here, the consequences would be dire.
"Alright then."
Zhou Changqing could only nod in resignation. This woman was not one to be argued with. It wasn't like he could force her to agree. He would have to think of another way or just pray that Xiao Yan could fend for himself.
Medusa noticed the boy's disappointment. She had a plan in mind but didn't voice it, instead holding out a slender, jade-like hand. "Today's Dou Qi."
"Coming right up."
Already used to the routine, Zhou Changqing skillfully transferred the Lightning Dou Qi from his body.
In an instant, the room was bathed in a blinding white light as countless incandescent arcs of lightning gathered in his palm.
Looking at the transformed energy in his hand, Zhou Changqing felt a surge of emotion.
"This Lightning-attribute Origin of mine is really something else. It can actually evolve after absorbing enough heavenly lightning."
His Lightning Qi had originally been silver, but as he performed his Lightning Tempering training more and more, absorbing vast amounts of heavenly lightning, it had gradually changed. It had slowly shifted from silver to its current incandescent white. It looked almost identical to the lightning from the heavens; anyone who didn't know better would think he was commanding a real thunderstorm.
Even the power of his Lightning Qi had grown far more potent, setting it apart from the Dou Qi of ordinary lightning-attribute cultivators.
He couldn't imagine how powerful his Lightning Qi would become if he absorbed enough heavenly lightning. After all, even a Dou Huang wouldn't dare to face a heavenly thunderbolt head-on.
After handing over his daily tribute, Zhou Changqing felt drained. Medusa didn't linger and left the room.
Night soon fell.
Zhou Changqing was sitting on his bed, cultivating. At his level, cultivation could completely replace sleep. He only slept occasionally to enjoy the simple pleasure of being human.
Creak.
Suddenly, a sound broke the silence. The window to his room was pushed open, revealing a cloudless sky full of brilliant stars and a bright, beautiful moon.
Zhou Changqing's eyes snapped open. He saw a figure furtively climbing through the window.
The cool night breeze rustled his long hair as his gaze sharpened. "Who goes there…"
Before he could finish, a sliver of moonlight illuminated the intruder's face, and the shout died in his throat.
His eyes widened in astonishment. "Xiao Yan?"