Yet whenever the tyrannical surge of essence blood crashed against Medusa's vital organs, a faint yellow membrane of life-force shimmered into existence, absorbing the brunt of the impact and sparing her from mortal wounds.
Her meridians, however, could not escape unscathed. Under the relentless battering they tore and ruptured again and again, fine cracks spiderwebbing through her qi pathways like shattered jade.
Then — suddenly — motes of prismatic light mingled with streams of verdant liquid blossomed within her body. The Illusory Nine-Star Grass and Liquid of Everlasting Life worked in concert, tirelessly knitting torn channels, mending ravaged flesh, pouring vitality back into the fray.
A trace of relief finally flickered through the giant python's golden pupils.
The restorative power was gradually outpacing the destruction. The tide was turning.
She marshaled her Dou Qi with iron resolve, forcibly seizing control of the rampaging drop of Nine-Colored Heaven-Devouring Python essence blood and beginning to refine it in earnest.
As more and more of its primal energy yielded to her will, the hues dancing across her serpentine form shifted and flowed. It was as though an invisible divine hand stirred a palette of heaven's seven colors — scarlet, azure, violet, emerald, gold, indigo, crimson — blending them with uncanny harmony. No clash, no dissonance; only breathtaking, ever-changing magnificence.
A discerning eye would notice: amid the original seven resplendent shades that adorned her scales, a brand-new color was slowly emerging — faint at first, then steadily deepening.
Nine colors… the mark of a true Nine-Colored Heaven-Devouring Python.
Atop the palace spire, Xiao Jietian sat cross-legged in perfect stillness, soul force extended like an invisible bridge. A continuous thread of verdant-green light flowed from his palm downward, merging seamlessly into Medusa's coiled form below.
The reason the healing liquid could overtake the pace of ruin so swiftly was not merely its own profound efficacy — it was also because Xiao Jietian ceaselessly channeled the boundless life essence of his Extreme Wood Heavenly Lightning and the innate regenerative might of his supreme wood-attribute constitution into her body.
Only when he sensed her aura finally stabilizing — no longer teetering on the edge of collapse — did he exhale a long, relieved breath and slowly withdraw the stream of Dou Qi.
From this point onward, the path belonged to Medusa alone.
She must fully refine the essence blood, fuse with its origin, awaken and forge her own Nine-Colored bloodline, and complete the heaven-defying evolution.
As dusk deepened into night, Xiao Jietian grew mindful of another concern.
His two young daughters — innocent and emotional — would soon return. Should they sense their mother's perilous state, their tender hearts might falter, tears would flow, and he and the others would spend precious time soothing them instead of guarding Medusa's tribulation.
To forestall such disturbance, he swiftly sent a sound transmission to Han Yue, asking her to take the girls to the Xiao clan's outer stronghold for a night of play. Only after Medusa's evolution concluded safely would they be allowed to return.
A graceful figure clad in flowing purple-and-white descended silently beside him.
The Little Fairy Doctor first swept her spiritual sense through the palace below, worry flickering in her gentle eyes. Then she settled quietly at Xiao Jietian's side.
"How is Sister Fei Yan faring now?"
"Stable," Xiao Jietian replied softly, patting the back of her hand in reassurance. "The worst has passed. Now it is merely a matter of time and endurance. But she must not be disturbed under any circumstance — otherwise the entire effort collapses, and her life itself hangs in the balance."
The Little Fairy Doctor nodded, tension easing slightly from her shoulders.
Though Medusa and she loved to spar with words, to compete in small, petty ways, the bond between them ran deeper than blood. They had fought shoulder-to-shoulder, stirred trouble together, and more often than not ended up as an unstoppable pair on the battlefield or in mischief.
"How exactly did you obtain the essence blood of a Nine-Colored Heaven-Devouring Python?" she asked quietly.
Legends spoke of it as a divine beast of antiquity — so rare that even in the golden age of ancient eras, sightings were counted in mere whispers.
Xiao Jietian repeated the same fabricated tale he had used before, smiling wryly to himself: One lie begets a hundred more.
He still had no intention of revealing the existence of his mysterious "system" — not yet. Only when his strength, and theirs, had reached a realm where such knowledge would not bring peril would he speak the full truth.
The Little Fairy Doctor listened in silence. When he finished, a flash of cold killing intent and anger passed through her eyes — not toward him, but toward the peak eighth-tier beast that had dared clash with him.
"Were you hurt?" she asked, voice tight with concern.
Xiao Jietian thumped his chest with exaggerated bravado.
"Do I look injured? Your man is invincible! A trifling peak eighth-rank magical beast — crushed with a flick of the wrist!"
The Little Fairy Doctor could not help but laugh at his posturing. Yet her thoughts drifted to the sounds and glimpses she had overheard last night — the fierce "sparring" of Dou Techniques and raw strength between him and Medusa that had lasted until dawn.
She cast him a sidelong, playful glance.
"You truly don't seem injured… You didn't rest at all last night, yet you were still so… vigorous."
Xiao Jietian leaned closer, voice dropping to a teasing murmur.
"Then next time, shall we try that same 'Dou Technique sparring' together?"
"Absolutely not!" The Little Fairy Doctor refused instantly, cheeks tinting pink. "My body isn't forged like Fei Yan's magical beast physique. If we went at that intensity, I'd fall apart halfway through."
She nestled into his embrace, gazing up at the star-strewn night sky, then spoke in the gentle yet firm tone of an elder sister who had long managed his affairs.
"I know you are mighty, but do not take such risks alone again. Call for us. Our strength may aid you now. There is power in unity — understand?"
As the second woman to claim his heart, she had always shouldered the role of gentle overseer — arranging, reminding, protecting.
"Next time, without fail," Xiao Jietian promised solemnly, catching her slender hand and idly tracing patterns across her palm. "I see every effort you make for me."
"I know you too well — it goes in one ear and out the other." She sighed helplessly, reached up, and lightly tapped his forehead. "Just… be careful. You are no longer alone. You still have us."
"I cherish my life greatly," he murmured, drawing her closer until she leaned back against his chest. His palm settled gently over her lower abdomen — still flat despite bearing Xiao Ze, yet softer, more yielding than Medusa's taut resilience. "I could never bear to lose any of you…"
The Little Fairy Doctor smiled, then looked up at him with mock indignation.
"I knew it. Your favorite is still Fei Yan, hmph."
"You are all my beloved treasures," Xiao Jietian declared, pinching her cheek with feigned righteousness. "For any one of you, I would brave any peril. In the future, speak fewer words that sow discord among us."
The Little Fairy Doctor naturally understood: if any of them — or any sister — required a heaven-defying treasure, Xiao Jietian would move mountains to obtain it. He cherished and guarded them all with equal devotion.
Yet she could not resist teasing further.
"You still deny it? Every time, she receives the most — tell me, when has it not been so?"
She suddenly sat upright, turned to face him fully, hands planted on her hips in exaggerated accusation.
Xiao Jietian blinked, momentarily stunned — then burst into helpless laughter at her earnest, pouting expression.
The night wind carried their soft voices across the palace rooftops, while below, in the sealed training chamber, Medusa battled on — inch by painful inch forging her path toward eternity at his side.