Conditions

"What are your conditions?" Upon hearing this, Medusa was somewhat moved. She was willing to die for the Snake-People Race, but she didn't want to die in vain.

"It's simple. Regardless of whether your evolution succeeds or not, I want to take away the Heavenly Flame and Qing Lin. From then on, the Snake-People Race will have no further involvement with me," Xiao Se said solemnly.

Upon hearing Xiao Se's conditions, Medusa fell silent. After a moment of thought, she nodded and said, "I agree, but to be on the safe side, the girl cannot be returned to you until I complete my evolution. However, during this time, the Snake-People Race will treat her as a VIP."

"Okay." Smiling, Xiao Se nodded and looked at Qing Lin, saying, "Qing Lin, you'll have to endure some inconvenience for now."

"My life was given to me by Big Brother. Whatever Big Brother wants me to do, I will do," Qing Lin said, her green eyes filled with determination.

"Then let's have a pleasant cooperation." Xiao Se cautiously approached Medusa and extended his right hand. He thought to himself: Once you evolve into the Seven-Colored Heaven Swallowing Python, I want you to call me Master.

Seeing Xiao Se's outstretched white hand, Medusa frowned slightly, hesitated for a moment, then raised her jade hand to grasp his briefly before pulling away, cursing inwardly: Damn human, daring to threaten this Queen. Once I advance to Douzong, I will definitely kill you.

Thus, the two with hidden agendas reached a preliminary agreement.

Years later, when they had become a couple, both would blush when recalling this scene.

Of course, that's a story for another time.

The Sacred City of the Snake-People Race.

As usual, Yue Mei was patrolling the Sacred City of the Snake-People Race. Although she was one of the eight tribe leaders of the Snake-People Race, she spent most of her time in the Sacred City, ensuring its safety.

While Yue Mei was observing, suddenly, two red lights streaked across the sky from afar, moving extremely fast and almost reaching the Sacred City in the blink of an eye.

"These two auras—one is quite familiar and seems to be from the Queen, but who is the other one?" Yue Mei said, frowning as she watched the two red lights rapidly approaching.

Seeing Yue Mei standing in place, Hua She'er, with her snake tail swaying, came over, patted Yue Mei's shoulder, and said with a smile, "Yue Mei, what are you daydreaming about?" She then looked up, her eyes widening in disbelief, "Is that the Queen? And with a human… and it seems like there's a little girl too?"

Yue Mei nodded and waited quietly for Queen Medusa's arrival.

Soon, Queen Medusa landed in front of the two. Accompanying her were Qing Lin and Xiao Se.

"Your Majesty." Hua She'er and Yue Mei both bowed in greeting.

Medusa nodded and glanced at Hua She'er. "Hua She'er, take this girl to the side hall to rest. Except for not allowing her to leave and no one being allowed to approach her, all other conditions should be met."

"Yes, Your Majesty." Hua She'er nodded, walked up to Qing Lin, and said seriously, "Little girl, come with me."

"Big Brother." Qing Lin looked at Xiao Se with a hint of reluctance in her eyes.

"Go on. I will come to pick you up once everything is done," Xiao Se said, gently patting Qing Lin on the head with a warm smile.

"Mm." Qing Lin nodded and followed Hua She'er into the Snake-People Race palace under Xiao Se's watchful eyes.

With Qing Lin staying in the Snake-People Race, Xiao Se didn't have to worry about her safety. Although Medusa disliked humans, she wouldn't harm Qing Lin, as both the Heavenly Flame and the Soul Guarding Pill required Xiao Se's assistance. If Qing Lin were to come to harm, Medusa wouldn't benefit either.

As for other external forces, the Salt City Mo Family didn't have the strength, and the only possible threat was the Sky Serpent Mansion. If Qing Lin went to the Sky Serpent Mansion, she might develop as in the original story. 

After all, the Sky Serpent Mansion, aside from wanting to arrange her marriage with the former sect master's eldest son, treated her quite well, seeing her as a potential successor. 

By the time Qing Lin or Xiao Se have the ability to confront the Sky Serpent Mansion, if the Mansion still tries to arrange a marriage, it would only matter if Qing Lin is unwilling. Otherwise, it would be impossible for them to force the issue.

"How long will it take you to make the Soul Guarding Pill?" Medusa asked Xiao Se.

"That depends on how quickly you gather the materials. If you have the materials and a slightly better alchemy cauldron, it might only take a day," Xiao Se said with a smile, handing Medusa a list of ingredients from his spatial ring.

Medusa looked at the list, hesitated for a moment, and then said slowly, "Follow me. These materials are rare, and the Snake-People Race's treasury cannot provide them. I have them."

"Okay." Xiao Se nodded, expecting to go to the small island hidden within Medusa's temple.

Yue Mei watched the two leave, feeling somewhat confused. She only knew that her Queen seemed to have reached some kind of agreement with the young, seemingly unbelievable human.

Following behind Queen Medusa, Xiao Se walked through a corridor in the Medusa Temple. After about ten minutes, the view opened up to a small, clear lake.

In the center of the lake was a small island, surrounded by rippling water with no visible paths.

"The materials are on that island. Follow me," Medusa said, looking at the island, and without waiting, her red wings extended, and she flew over.

Looking at the not-so-large lake, Xiao Se smiled wryly. The lake was protected by a barrier and the water was highly toxic; it was clear that this woman was testing him.

"Brother, this small lake seems a bit strange. If you try to fly across, you might be forcibly pulled into the water. I'll use my telekinesis to send you over," Hong Kui said softly in his mind.

"Mm." Xiao Se nodded, then spread his wings and, with Hong Kui's telekinesis support, safely crossed the lake.

Medusa, who had arrived on the island before Xiao Se, was slightly surprised when she saw that Xiao Se didn't use any special methods but merely flew over with his wings.

"The materials you need can be found here. Stay here for now," Medusa said, pointing to a nearby herb garden.

Xiao Se nodded and walked towards the herb garden, casually asking, "When do you plan to start the evolution?"

Hearing this, Medusa hesitated for a moment before replying slowly, "About seven days from now."

With that, Medusa's red wings flicked and she left the small island.

Looking at the valuable herbs in front of him, Xiao Se smiled slightly and extended his hand: "With so many herbs, the whole island might be destroyed by the Heavenly Flame when Medusa evolves, so I can't let them go to waste."

Seven days passed quickly. With the previous experience of refining Blood Lotus Pills, Xiao Se managed to make the Soul Guarding Pill on the first day.

He spent the following days diligently refining, during which he almost succumbed to the temptation of devouring the Green Lotus Core Flame several times, but considering he still needed to subdue the Seven-Colored Heaven Swallowing Python, he managed to resist.

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