After a long while, above the boundless swamp.
Shen Liuyu and the other Tianshui Academy students gradually recovered from their petrified state.
They clearly witnessed Xiao Lin's overwhelming combat power just now, as well as the final scene of the Medusa Serpent retreating.
"That young man is dead!"
Grief surged in Shen Liuyu's heart, her eyes brimming with tears.
She felt that it was she and her classmates who had dragged down that young genius.
After wiping away her tears, Shen Liuyu suddenly hugged Shui Bing'er tightly and burst into tears against her shoulder.
"She was a hero. That Medusa Serpent is severely injured—we must leave this place while we still can."
Although Shui Bing'er was the youngest among them, she was calmer than anyone present.
She quickly issued new instructions.
"I don't know whether Teacher Shao is safe. Take her with us and leave first."
As Shui Bing'er's words fell, the girls stopped crying.
They buried their grief and anger deep in their hearts, then quickly departed with Shao Wanqing.
…
Meanwhile, on the other side.
Under the Medusa Serpent's extreme speed, Xiao Lin felt as though he were riding a high-speed train. In no time at all, they arrived before the Jade Phosphor Poison Barrier.
"Listen to my commands."
At this moment, Xiao Lin was already seated on the Medusa Serpent's head, directing it as they crossed the poison barrier.
Near the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Eyes.
Before the Medusa Serpent even got close, it smelled countless strange fragrances.
Just inhaling them made it feel as though its body had already improved considerably.
But aside from these fragrances, what affected the Medusa Serpent even more deeply was—
The endless streams of extreme ice and fire spiritual energy. To it, this energy was nothing short of deadly poison.
There was also an overwhelming dragon aura powerful enough to immobilize it completely.
This dragon aura directly triggered fear deep within its bloodline.
It dared not move.
Not even a little.
Although the Medusa Serpent appeared utterly useless at this moment, Xiao Lin didn't mind at all.
The more fearful it was of dragon might, the less he worried about it turning on him.
The dragon aura at the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Eyes was effortlessly controlled by the two great Dragon Kings.
If the Medusa Serpent dared to resist, Xiao Lin only needed to open his spiritual space and let the two Dragon Kings take over.
The Medusa Serpent would be suppressed so completely it wouldn't even be able to twitch.
Moreover, Xiao Lin could also borrow the surrounding dragon aura to bluff his way through—using borrowed authority—to make the Medusa Serpent understand who was really in charge.
And in the future, when Tang Hao and Dugu Bo returned—
With two Titled Douluo powerhouses present, would the Medusa Serpent dare to act recklessly?
"You stay here and don't move. I'll go gather some immortal herbs for you."
Xiao Lin jumped down from the Medusa Serpent's head and walked straight toward the interior of the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Eyes.
If he wanted the Medusa Serpent to recover from its injuries and rapidly increase its cultivation, the only thing Xiao Lin could think of was immortal herbs.
Perhaps some top-grade spiritual herbs might also be effective.
As Xiao Lin entered the surrounding medicinal garden and took a look around, he quickly found immortal herbs and spiritual herbs suitable for the Medusa Serpent.
The immortal herb was naturally the Earth Dragon Golden Melon.
This was a supreme treasure of earth attribute. Xiao Lin had originally planned to absorb it when awakening his second martial soul.
Giving it to the Medusa Serpent now wasn't really a waste.
After all, when the Medusa Serpent eventually sacrificed itself, it would only become nourishment for Xiao Lin.
And the higher the Medusa Serpent's cultivation, the greater the boost to his own strength.
Aside from the immortal herb, Xiao Lin also spotted several top-grade spiritual herbs.
Earth Mother Lingzhi—a massive lingzhi shaped like an umbrella canopy. This top-grade spiritual herb had once been evaluated by Tang San as something capable of rivaling immortal herbs.
Its only flaw was that it was too large, causing its medicinal power to be too dispersed, making it unsuitable for soul masters to absorb.
That was why Tang San hadn't taken it back then.
But this wasn't an issue for the Medusa Serpent.
The Earth Mother Lingzhi possessed powerful vitality and healing properties, perfect for treating the Medusa Serpent's injuries.
Stone Marrow Flower—a snow-white flower growing within hard rock. Because it was wedged tightly in stone crevices, forcibly removing it would waste much of its medicinal power, which was why Tang San hadn't taken it either.
This was a top-grade spiritual herb capable of strengthening the defensive abilities of earth-attribute soul masters, making it suitable for the Medusa Serpent as well.
The final top-grade spiritual herb was Earth Dragon Beard.
There was nothing special visible on the surface; it mainly grew deep underground. Its root system resembled dragon whiskers and absorbed the power of the earth veins to grow.
Because it was difficult to harvest, it had been left here.
According to Tang San, absorbing this spiritual herb could awaken the ability to sense dragon veins and manipulate terrain.
Xiao Lin merely smiled at this claim. Even immortal herbs didn't possess such abilities—let alone spiritual herbs.
So the question was: which of these treasures should he feed to the Medusa Serpent?
After thinking for a long time, Xiao Lin ultimately decided to give the Medusa Serpent the Earth Dragon Golden Melon, and give the others to the Medusa Serpent's offspring.
That way, the other Medusa Serpent would likely grow into a hundred-thousand-year soul beast and be offered as a sacrifice to Little San.
However, the Earth Dragon Golden Melon had originally been prepared for Xiao Lin himself.
So he planned to replace it with another immortal herb later.
The question was—would it be enough for the four of them to share?
The Earth Dragon Golden Melon was suitable for earth-attribute soul masters and might even awaken the already faint dragon bloodline within the Medusa Serpent.
Black Jade Divine Bamboo—this one was suitable for Little San.
He'd previously been worried about the insufficient attack power of Little San's Blue Silver Emperor martial soul. Wouldn't this perfectly make up for that weakness?
That way, Little San wouldn't need to specifically search for a tri-fusion soul beast soul ring.
A dual-fusion soul beast soul ring would suffice.
Then there were Primordial Unity Immortal Herb, Star Luo Spirit Pearl…
If those were given to Xiao Wu and Tang Ni, what would he eat?
Autumn Dew That Sees Through All?
That was an immortal herb he had painstakingly prepared and cultivated himself—it didn't count.
Before long, Xiao Lin's gaze settled on the Fragrant Qiluo Immortal Plant.
Its fragrance could accelerate the growth of other plants and neutralize all poisons.
Little San had replanted it here so his mother could revive more quickly.
This was clearly more suitable for Little San's Blue Silver Emperor martial soul.
Forget it—he'd discuss it with Little San later and see whether he wanted the Fragrant Qiluo Immortal Plant or the Black Jade Divine Bamboo.
Without letting Tang San and the others suffer any losses, Xiao Lin plucked the Earth Dragon Golden Melon—the one with a white flower crown and elongated, oval-shaped orange-red fruit.
When Xiao Lin returned to the Medusa Serpent with the Earth Dragon Golden Melon, all of the Medusa Serpent's heads instantly widened their eyes.
Staring at the Earth Dragon Golden Melon emitting a strange fragrance, desire filled the Medusa Serpent's body.
"This is for you. If you eat it, not only will your injuries recover, it may even improve your physique and talent, allowing you to reach the level of a hundred-thousand-year soul beast much faster."
Xiao Lin casually tossed the Earth Dragon Golden Melon.
Countless snake heads rushed forward, scrambling for it.
In the end, the Medusa Serpent restrained its smaller heads and swallowed the Earth Dragon Golden Melon whole.
Due to its massive size—its mouth alone could easily fit Xiao Lin—there was no need for a specific method of consumption like human soul masters required.
The moment the Earth Dragon Golden Melon entered its body, the Medusa Serpent felt a strange surge of energy.
"Thank you, my lord."
Without thinking further, it immediately lowered its head to thank Xiao Lin.
"Absorb it properly. And from now on, you are not allowed to harm humans at will."
"Yes."
After accepting Xiao Lin's command, the Medusa Serpent finally calmed its mind and focused on absorbing the energy of the Earth Dragon Golden Melon.
(End of Chapter)