After returning to the Holy City, Medusa immediately began arranging the preparations for her evolution.
In an instant, the entire Snake-People Tribe was on edge. Security was tightened to an unprecedented level. Even the eight great leaders converged on the Holy City from their respective tribes, each one standing guard in a different sector of the city. Squads of Snake-People personal guards, all at the Grand Dou Master and Dou Spirit levels, patrolled the city walls and streets with sharp, menacing eyes, ready to suppress any disturbance without a moment's hesitation. Within a short time, every household had shuttered its doors, and every shop had closed. The streets were utterly deserted.
Though the common Snake-People did not know what was happening, they all willingly obeyed the orders issued from the temple. For this was the will of their supreme Queen!
"Is this really going to be alright? What if..."
"There is no 'what if'! Her Majesty the Queen is blessed by the heavens and will surely succeed!"
"That's right! Have faith in Her Majesty!"
"Heh, I've already started planning. Once the Queen succeeds, we can finally lead our tribe out of this god-forsaken desert and let our people live normal lives."
In the southeastern quarter of the city, Mo Basi stood his post, his gaze fixed on a certain direction with unconcealed worry. Before he could finish his thought, the voices of Yue Mei, Yan Ci, and Yin Shi echoed in his mind.
Hearing their transmitted thoughts, Mo Basi could only manage a bitter smile. It was not that he was a pessimist, but the secret technique she was using was far too dangerous. To call it a one-in-ten chance of survival would be an understatement. Did he not wish for the Queen's success? Of course he did. But the price of failure was too great—a price the Snake-People Tribe could not afford to pay.
However, he had no power to stop her. Once Her Majesty the Queen made a decision, not even the tribe elders could dissuade her with threats or pleas, let alone a mere Dou King leader like himself.
"Your Majesty, you must succeed..."
With a sigh, Mo Basi pushed aside his troubled thoughts and focused on the area under his watch. There was little he could do to help the Queen, except to ensure that her evolution proceeded in absolute peace and quiet.
...
Elsewhere in the city lay a rather large lake. Its waters were a clear blue, shimmering under the light. In the center of the lake, a small, verdant island stood in quiet isolation, with no bridge or path connecting it to the shore. Upon the island grew a grove of bamboo, devoid of any birds or beasts, creating an atmosphere of profound silence.
At the heart of the bamboo grove, a clearing had been made. In the center of this clearing was a pool filled with a crystal-clear liquid. A white mist rose from its surface, radiating a bone-chilling cold.
It was an Ice Spirit Cold Spring! A whole pool of it!
Two figures stood at the edge of the pool. Zhou Changqing's eyes went wide as he stared at the sight before him.
"What an extravagance! This pool of Ice Spirit Cold Spring is probably worth as much as a major city!"
He silently criticized Medusa's wastefulness, but he couldn't stop the saliva from dripping from the corner of his mouth. He could only imagine how many high-grade materials he could buy for his crafting if he were to sell this entire pool. It was no wonder Medusa had been able to use an Ice Spirit Cold Spring to suppress and trap a Heavenly Flame. With this much of it, the formation of an Ice Spirit Cold Crystal was only natural. It was clear that Medusa was willing to spare no expense for the sake of her evolution.
Medusa noticed the glistening drool on Zhou Changqing's lips, and a faint smile touched her own. "Stop staring. I'm not giving this to you. Get ready, we're about to begin."
The Snake-People Tribe lived in the desert where resources were scarce. It had taken a great deal of effort to acquire this much of the spring. She had already given him the Heavenly Flame along with the Ice Spirit Cold Crystal. If she were to touch the spring itself, even if she were willing, the four elders of the tribe would certainly object.
Hearing this, Zhou Changqing wiped his mouth and chuckled. "You jest, Your Majesty. What use would I have for this? I'm not an alchemist. If you really gave it to me, the most I could do is use it to temper some of my weapons."
Medusa didn't bother to expose his little thoughts, instead extending a fair, jade-like hand toward him.
Zhou Changqing understood immediately and offered up all of his lightning energy. Having advanced to a Dou King, the speed at which he could output Dou Qi had increased by more than a single tier. In just a quarter of an hour, all the lightning-attributed Dou Qi within his Dou Crystal gathered in his palm, coalescing into a highly compressed, basketball-sized sphere of pure lightning.
Wrapping the sphere in her own Dou Qi, Medusa's figure slowly rose into the air. She drifted gracefully until she was floating directly above the center of the pool. This Ice Spirit Cold Spring had originally been prepared for an evolution using a Heavenly Flame. Although she had abandoned that plan, the location was still useful. Even though Medusa could sense that evolving with this lightning energy was not particularly dangerous, the presence of the spring might reduce the risks even further. When the future of the Snake-People Tribe was at stake, no precaution was too great.
Taking a deep breath, Medusa stared at the sphere of lightning in her hand, and in the next second, she retracted all of her Dou Qi.
Instantly, the lightning sphere lost its containment and exploded!
Violent arcs of lightning, as ferocious as heavenly thunder, raged through the air, completely engulfing Medusa. Where she had been, there was now only a blinding white sphere of electricity, as radiant and impossible to look at as the sun itself. Arcs of lightning shot out in all directions, a blazing sun hanging in the sky. The dazzling light instantly illuminated the entire bamboo grove, and the intense heat it emitted was enough to evaporate a portion of the Ice Spirit Cold Spring below.
"Ah!"
Inside the sphere of lightning, Medusa suppressed her Dou Qi and abandoned all defense. Countless currents of electricity tore through her robes and drilled into her body through every pore. The sensation was almost identical to the torment Zhou Changqing had endured when tempering his own body with heavenly lightning.
Pain! It was the pain of being submerged in lava, of having countless steel needles driven deep into the marrow of her bones. The intense agony caused the normally calm, cool, and domineering Medusa to let out a piercing shriek.
The scream sent an involuntary shiver down Zhou Changqing's spine, reminding him of the times he had been struck by heavenly lightning until he was half-dead.
"Damn! How is this method any different from using a Heavenly Flame?!"
Shaking off the hair-raising memory, Zhou Changqing looked toward the sphere of lightning with a flicker of concern. Even if his lightning energy wasn't as powerful as true heavenly thunder, it was still potent enough to char an ordinary, low-level Dou King to a crisp, even if they defended with all their might. This showed just how powerful his lightning was. Only someone with the physical resilience of a low-level Dou King could withstand it without relying on Dou Qi.
Although Medusa was a peak Dou Emperor, her physical strength was actually inferior to his—by a considerable margin. He was genuinely afraid she wouldn't be able to handle it.
Thankfully, her screams lasted only for a moment. She clenched her teeth and endured the pain, actively guiding the lightning arcs into her body and allowing them to merge with her flesh and blood. As more and more lightning entered her system, the unique aura it carried began to stimulate her bloodline, awakening its very source. The blood of the Purple Netherflame Serpent surged violently under this stimulation.
Then, in a single instant!
"Vwoom!"
A powerful, primal aura erupted from Medusa, spreading out to envelop the entire island.
"Hiss!"
At the same time, a serpent's cry echoed through the air.
Within the blinding white light of the lightning, the colossal form of a purple serpent, over a hundred feet long, materialized. Bathed in thunder, the scales of the giant serpent glowed with a deep purple luster that grew increasingly intense.
In just a few seconds, the purple light exploded outward, almost rivaling the brilliance of the white lightning. Then, the purple light began to shift, changing from purple to blue, then to cyan... green... The transformation finally stopped when the light became a vibrant red.
Seeing this, an irrepressible look of joy appeared on Zhou Changqing's face.
"Did she succeed?"