The Deal

At this moment, Medusa seemed to have lost her patience. Just as she was about to take Qing Lin back to the Snake-People Clan and then return to search for the Heavenly Flame, a strange male voice echoed from the magma: "Queen Medusa, please don't make things difficult for Qing Lin."

As soon as the voice fell, a figure suddenly leapt out of the magma and landed in mid-air.

"Big Brother." Seeing the familiar figure appear, Qing Lin's tears could no longer be controlled, falling from the corners of her eyes. Her heart was filled with mixed emotions: joy that Xiao Se had safely emerged from the magma, and worry that Queen Medusa was right beside her.

Xiao Se nodded and gave her a reassuring look.

"That purple, strange long sword and black-robed youth is him," Medusa was slightly taken aback when she saw Xiao Se. A hint of surprise flashed in her eyes as she recognized Xiao Se as the youth who had rescued the four members of her clan based on the description from her clan member, Yue'er.

"Human, I'll ask you this: more than half a month ago, did you rescue several Snake-People maidens?" Medusa looked at Xiao Se and asked calmly.

Xiao Se was slightly startled, then nodded and said, "Yes, that's true. Queen Medusa, the girl beside you is one of those I rescued along with the four Snake-People maidens. I would like to know if I can take her back with me. I will then leave and never step foot in the Tager Desert again."

"Fine." To Xiao Se's surprise, Queen Medusa agreed directly.

But Medusa's next words made Xiao Se unable to smile anymore. "Considering you saved members of my clan, you can take her away, but the Heavenly Flame must stay."

"Uh..." Xiao Se's mouth twitched, his expression darkened. He awkwardly smiled and said, "Queen Medusa, you must be joking. I don't have any Heavenly Flame."

"Human, don't challenge my patience. Although I don't know what methods you've used, I know you are also a peak Douhuang now. Whether we can fight is still uncertain, but it seems this girl beside me is very important to you; otherwise, you wouldn't have appeared voluntarily," Medusa said, pressing down on Qing Lin's delicate shoulder with some impatience.

"Hey, hey... As the queen of the Snake-People Clan, you're quite cunning, using a little girl to threaten someone," Xiao Se said, pulling at his mouth and unable to refrain from complaining.

Medusa's lips curved into a charming arc beneath her red and gold veil. "As the queen of the Snake-People Clan, being cunning is only relative to you humans. I will count to three. If you don't hand over the Heavenly Flame, I will crush her."

"Three."

"Two."

"Wait." Xiao Se immediately raised his hand to stop her.

"Then hand over the Heavenly Flame," Medusa extended her right hand, fingers clenched.

Seeing Medusa's imposing demeanor, Xiao Se's eyes flickered, and a smile appeared on his lips as he formulated a plan in his mind.

"If I give you the Heavenly Flame, will you really let Qing Lin go and then let us leave?" Xiao Se asked Medusa.

"Indeed," Medusa answered solemnly.

"Big Brother, don't give her the Heavenly Flame. You risked your life to get it. Qing Lin is willing to sacrifice everything for you," Qing Lin said urgently, her green eyes flashing with determination as she felt a warm current in her heart.

Xiao Se comforted her, "Qing Lin, trust me, I won't let anything happen to you. Don't say such foolish things."

As he spoke, a flicker of ghostly light appeared in Xiaose's hand, and a Green Lotus Platform materialized out of thin air. On the Green Lotus Platform, a green flame danced, and the energy contained within it was palpable to all three present.

"Quickly hand over the Heavenly Flame." Seeing the Heavenly Flame suddenly appear in Xiao Se's hand, Medusa's eyes brightened as she beckoned.

Xiao Se shook his head, again putting the Heavenly Flame into the system's storage and sighed, "You see, the Heavenly Flame is indeed with me now, but it's stored in a special space. No one else can retrieve it except me."

"I'm going to say it one last time: hand over the Heavenly Flame," Medusa frowned. Had she not been wary of the strange aura Xiao Se emitted, she would have already moved to seize it.

Xiao Se smiled awkwardly and said calmly, "This Heavenly Flame was hard-earned. If Queen Medusa were to get it and then turn around and kill the donkey after taking the cart, what would happen? After all, I am also a peak Douhuang. Being threatened like this, how can you be sure I wouldn't hold a grudge and seek revenge later?"

Hearing this, Medusa frowned and, after a moment of contemplation, spoke slowly, "I always keep my word. Hand over the Heavenly Flame, and I will let you leave. As long as you never set foot in the Tager Desert again, the Snake-People Clan will never be your enemy."

"Hehe, my queen, just now you said that being cunning is only relative to humans. How quickly you forget. If you turn around and use the excuse of 'cunning only applies to humans' afterward, where would Qing Lin and I go to cry?" Xiao Se shrugged and said helplessly.

"Then what do you want?" Medusa asked coldly.

Xiao Se smiled, cleared his throat, and said seriously, "In that case, let's be clear. I am an alchemist, and you should understand the importance of Heavenly Flame to an alchemist. Now that both of us are determined to get the Heavenly Flame, and since I have already obtained it, if you take it from me, even if you return Qing Lin to me, I would still bear a grudge against your Snake-People Clan. Although I helped rescue several of your Snake-People maidens, that was only because I dislike the ugly behaviour of human traffickers. Afterward, even if I can't deal with you, I could still hunt down some of your isolated clan members."

"You dare?" Hearing this, Medusa was furious. Her sharp voice carried an overwhelming momentum, rushing toward Xiao Se. Xiao Se casually waved his hand and easily deflected the attack.

"Hehe, let me finish! I have a proposal that benefits both parties," Xiao Se waved his hand and chuckled.

"Speak," Medusa's patience was wearing thin.

Xiao Se smiled and said, "As I understand it, your Snake-People Clan is cold-blooded, and Heavenly Flame isn't suitable for you. The reason you are so desperate to obtain it is not to subdue it but to use your clan's special secret technique to advance to Douzong. The general process seems to be: tempering your body with Heavenly Flame, then using the power of thunder to shed your old body and finally using soul power to form a new, true body."

"And if it's true?" Medusa asked, her eyes revealing a hint of surprise at Xiao Se's knowledge of the Snake-People Clan's secret technique. Her tone was cold.

Xiao Se shook his head and said seriously, "I want to make a deal with you. If you try to evolve by devouring the Heavenly Flame, it would be risking your life. As an alchemist, I can refine a special fifth-grade pill for you, called the Soul Guarding Pill. This pill only has one function: to protect the soul from damage due to evolution. In other words, it will not only increase your chances of success but, even if the evolution fails, your soul will merely fall into a deep sleep due to excessive weakness, not truly die. With a pill to heal the soul damage, you can fully recover."

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