Chapter 394: Nine-Headed Heavenly Serpent: Please Stop, I've Learned My Lesson
In a quiet, cool cave behind Starfall Pavilion, a small stone basin sat at its center. The water inside was bubbling, appearing like it was boiling.
Beside the basin, Xiao Yuan occasionally took out medicinal powders and liquids from his storage ring and added them into the water. As the clear liquid gradually turned a light red, he finally stopped. With a flip of his palm, a small jade bottle appeared, filled with a silver liquid so rich in energy it seemed almost solid.
"Whimper..."
At the sight of the bottle, the little white beast in Xiao Yuan's arms whimpered weakly. It looked drained, its once-lustrous fur dull and lifeless—an image that would tug at anyone's heart.
"Cut the whining. You already devoured an eighth-tier pill and still want more?"
Xiao Yuan wasn't about to give in and glared at the pill beast.
Szzzz!
As the jade bottle tilted, drops of the silver liquid fell into the basin, producing sharp sizzling noises. With each drop, the pool erupted in waves of potent energy.
"Qinglian, remove your clothes and enter the pool. If you absorb all the energy inside, you should be able to break through to two-star Dou Zun."
Xiao Yuan capped the bottle and turned with a smile.
Qinglian froze, then her face flushed with crimson.
"I understand..." she replied softly.
Xiao Yuan chuckled and turned away. "I'll stay, since I need to keep adding ingredients."
"Mm."
With a soft murmur, Qinglian quickly removed her clothes and leapt into the pool with a soft splash.
Only her head remained above the water, long hair clinging to her cheeks in the rising steam—making her look all the more charming.
"Focus and start absorbing the medicinal power."
Xiao Yuan's tone softened.
With his gentle voice, Qinglian slowly relaxed and closed her eyes, entering cultivation.
Satisfied that she was immersed in refining, Xiao Yuan was about to look away when his gaze suddenly caught on her exposed back. In the haze of rising steam, a mysterious tattoo began to emerge. Upon closer inspection, it resembled a massive coiled serpent—with nine heads.
As he stared at the mark in surprise, one of the serpent heads suddenly opened its eye.
A murderous aura surged into Xiao Yuan's heart.
"Hmph."
With a cold snort, Xiao Yuan's Heaven-Tier soul power surged forth, forming a large spiritual palm that smack! landed squarely on the serpent's face.
The open eye flashed with what could only be described as... shock.
Not a bro?
Qinglian felt nothing and remained unaware.
With overwhelming soul power, Xiao Yuan held his ground, his black pupils locked on the serpent.
Hidden within the misty pool, the mysterious tattoo flickered, but the serpent's eyes quickly shut again—it clearly knew Xiao Yuan wasn't one to provoke.
Xiao Yuan frowned, noting that the serpent's full body likely sprawled beneath the surface, with only the heads showing.
"A nine-headed ancient heavenly serpent, huh?"
Calmly, he summoned his soul clone, which appeared beside him in an ethereal flash.
"Go borrow Fallen Heart Flame from Xiao Yan. I want to see what this thing's really made of."
"On it."
The clone nodded and zipped away.
After that, Xiao Yuan added more red liquid to the pool.
Purging the Emperor Python Soul-Corrosion Poison from Qinglian would be tedious, but with Yao Lao and Xuan Yi's help, it was doable—just time-consuming.
What he didn't expect was that it would take four full days.
Over these days, Xiao Yuan never left the cave, continuously feeding the pool with over a hundred types of rare herbs. The thick medicinal mist eventually became so concentrated it was nearly viscous.
Qinglian's complexion improved visibly. The trace of black energy between her brows slowly faded—clear evidence that the poison was being expelled.
Meanwhile, Xiao Yuan kept studying the strange tattoo on her back. The more energy Qinglian absorbed, the clearer the nine-headed serpent became. On several occasions, its eyes cracked open, only to quickly shut again when Xiao Yuan glared.
He also familiarized himself with Fallen Heart Flame. Though not his own, he had to be able to control it precisely.
For now, purging the poison took priority. The serpent could wait.
After nearly three more days, Qinglian stirred.
Blub-blub.
Bubbles rose from the pool. A graceful feminine silhouette floated within the red mist.
On a stone seat nearby, Xiao Yuan opened his eyes. The energy had subtly shifted.
"It's finishing…"
Then suddenly—
Splash!
The cave trembled violently.
"What the hell?"
Xiao Yuan jumped to his feet, eyes locked on the misty pool where a massive shadow began to stir.
His brows furrowed as he activated his Dou Qi.
Then—whoosh!—a strange, enormous eye materialized, green and sinister, containing three rotating emerald flowers.
"Green Serpent Triple Flower Pupils?!"
Xiao Yuan's expression darkened. Gold flames instantly engulfed his body.
BOOM!
The eye exploded—and from within the pool surged a massive crimson serpent with nine hideous heads.
A suffocating aura of slaughter blanketed the space.
Each of the eighteen snake eyes burned red, eerily identical to Qinglian's triple-pupil ability.
Xiao Yuan's lips curled coldly. He hurled the Fallen Heart Flame.
The flame transformed into a giant snake, exactly like the one that had once resided in the Heavenly Flame Tower of Jia Nan Academy.
Though it had only one head, the flame's soul-burning properties completely overwhelmed the serpent.
It hissed and thrashed, its flesh sizzling like roasting meat.
"Try hissing at me again?"
Xiao Yuan flew up, forged a soul-arm, and SLAP! SLAP! struck two heads.
The serpent blinked in disbelief.
"Still not convinced?"
SLAP SLAP SLAP!—each head got two smacks.
Xiao Yuan then forged flaming soul brands and seared them into each of the nine heads.
"Keep acting up, and you're done."
"...Submissive."
The nine-headed serpent's red eyes dimmed with what seemed like... resignation.
Its color faded back to green.
Poof!—a burst of bright light. The massive serpent shrank and transformed into a petite human form, falling from the air.
Xiao Yuan caught her smoothly by the waist. The soft feel made his heart tremble—but he quickly composed himself.
"You alright?"
Qinglian groggily opened her eyes and saw him up close. Her cheeks flushed red and she dove into his chest.
"Huh?"
Xiao Yuan blinked and patted her bottom. "Need me to dress you?"
"If it's you, I don't mind..."
A whisper from his arms.
"Tch. Years later, and now I'm your servant?"
Muttering, he deftly dressed her in a cyan robe.
Still, Qinglian stayed curled in his embrace.
"So... where'd you get that serpent soul? It doesn't seem to listen well."
Xiao Yuan asked.
"When I first came to Central Plains, I accidentally entered an ancient mountain range and found an old heavenly serpent's skeleton. I used my pupil ability on it, and somehow summoned its soul. But it's been unruly—even with the triple-pupil, it didn't obey. As I grew stronger, it resisted less. I think I can control it now."
"But didn't your pupils not work on high-bloodline serpents?"
"Only if it's alive. This one's just a soul. And it chose to latch onto me."
"In ancient times," Qinglian added, "only two snakes had royal bloodlines—the Heavenly Serpent and the Devouring Python. The current Nine Nether Earth Serpents are just their descendants."
"Don't worry," Xiao Yuan said with a smirk. "I gave it a proper lesson. As long as I'm around, it won't misbehave."
"You're amazing, Master!"
Qinglian beamed.
"Poison's all gone, right?"
He grabbed her wrist, scanning with soul power.
She nodded cheerfully. "I'm a two-star Dou Zun now. With my triple-pupil, I can probably control serpent beasts up to five-star strength."
"Good."
He released her wrist.
"Then let's go."
Cradling Qinglian, he strode out of the cave.
Her problem solved, it was time to begin the main task: reforging Yao Lao's body.
Xiao Yan had long since made his preparations.
Now, it was Xiao Yuan's turn.
(END CHAPTER)
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