Fighting Soul Clan Demoness

Chapter 634 The Flame Protector Returns to the Martial World? (4k3)

The crowd was no longer on guard against Xiao Yan, who had rescued Yunxia. The sudden relaxation caused the young men and women, who had been engaged in a long battle, to quickly become drowsy.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, Nalan Yanran also told Xiao Yan about the deeds of the Heavenly Serpent Mansion.

It turns out that when they kidnapped Qinglin, the Heavenly Serpent Palace had already noticed Queen Medusa's unusual behavior.

As cultivators who control snakes, the people of the Heavenly Serpent Palace have always held the snake-people, a species that is neither human nor snake, in utter contempt. It is precisely for this reason that they have never paid attention to the situation in the Gama Empire.

Queen Medusa was an exception.

After successfully advancing to the Dou Zong level, not only did her cultivation level undergo a qualitative change, but her race also underwent a transformation, evolving from a snake-human race into a true magical beast, becoming the strongest in the Jia Ma Empire and even several neighboring countries.

According to the Heavenly Serpent Mansion, Queen Medusa's companion serpent soul is the sixth-tier magical beast, the Purple Nether Flame Serpent. Even if she were to advance to the Dou Zong realm by chance, it would be impossible for her to advance at such a rapid pace.

The only possibility is mutation!

The Purple Flame Serpent contains a trace of the bloodline of an ancient beast. If it is lucky enough, it can be successfully activated and then transformed into the Seven-Colored Sky-Swallowing Python, a supreme serpent that can rival a Dou Sheng!

“For the Heavenly Serpent Palace, whose foundation lies in controlling snakes, the allure of the Seven-Colored Devouring Python is self-evident,” Nalan Yanran sighed. “Therefore, their palace lord issued a death order to obtain the Queen’s true form at all costs.”

"So, there's no turning back?" Xiao Yan leaned against the stone wall and said calmly.

Nalan Yanran shook her head slightly: "According to the Queen, this is a dispute over the path of cultivation."

The debate over the path.

These four simple words encapsulate the greatest hatred in the world.

Once you embark on the path of cultivation, you can't avoid the word 'competition'. Competing for wealth, seeking companions, fighting in magic, and seizing land have been the consensus of countless cultivators since ancient times. The so-called struggle on the path of cultivation is nothing more than this.

Even if the two have no hatred for each other, once they are involved in a struggle for their paths, they are destined to fight to the death.

After all, she was in his way.

Recalling the Heavenly Serpent Mansion's domineering actions in the past, Xiao Yan didn't press further and nodded.
"What did the royal family say?"

Seeing the other party so calm, even with Nalan Yanran's current state of mind, she couldn't help but feel a little surprised.

The struggle for the Dao is a closely guarded secret known only to experts at the Dou Zong level and above. Even she felt a chill run down her spine when Queen Medusa recounted it, yet the mysterious man before her remained completely unfazed.
What is he really like?
Nalan Yanran put aside her distracting thoughts, and her smile became somewhat bitter:
"The Gama Empire and the Snake People are now inseparable, an inseparable whole. Handing over the Queen is no different from uprooting our roots."

"We have to fight this battle, whether we want to or not."

Upon hearing this, Xiao Yan's gaze gradually turned cold.

After listening to the other person's story, he didn't press further. He gave a few brief replies and then casually sat down in the cave to rest.

Nalan Yanran quickly took out pills from her storage ring and, despite her injuries, fed them to the young men and women inside the cave, gently comforting them.

Once everyone had fallen into a deep sleep, Nalan Yanran finally breathed a sigh of relief. Her previously calm and gentle aura suddenly became chaotic, and she slumped to the ground, recovering her fighting spirit.

However, even though she was recovering her fighting spirit, her attention remained fixed on Xiao Yan.

For some reason, Nalan Yanran felt that the person in front of her was a bit strange, but she couldn't put her finger on why. It was as if he was someone who was both incredibly familiar and incredibly unfamiliar.

Unfortunately, the other party's attitude was too cold, and their face was hidden by a black robe, so even if she wanted to ask, it would probably be to no avail.

Nalan Yanran had no intention of bothering the other party, nor did she intend to make a fool of herself.

What Nalan Yanran didn't know was that at the same time, Xiao Yan's attention was also focused on her.

Xiao Yan frowned slightly at the thought of "this woman."

It must be said that Nalan Yanran's transformation was far beyond his imagination.

The young girl, relying on the Yunlan Sect and her own talent, disregarded the reputation of the Xiao family and brazenly went to the Xiao family to annul the engagement, causing Xiao Zhan and Xiao Yan to suffer endless humiliation.

Now that she has become the sect leader instead of the young sect leader, she has lost her former arrogance. Even her once-proud talent has faded away, and she has not even been able to break through to the Dou Huang realm.

Although becoming a Battle King is already quite impressive, he is undoubtedly far inferior to the peerless genius who once had lofty ambitions.
Just as Xiao Yan was lost in thought, a light footstep suddenly sounded in his ear. When he looked up, a jade bottle emitting a faint medicinal fragrance was already being handed to him.

"These are pills refined by Master Guhe. Thank you for saving my sect's elder earlier." Nalan Yanran said gently with a smile, "Since you are from the Jia Ma Empire, you must be familiar with the name of Master Guhe, right?"

Xiao Yan was taken aback for a moment, then casually took the jade bottle, opened it, and saw that it was a fifth-grade 'Rejuvenation Pill'.

Given Nalan Yanran's cultivation level, the pills before her were undoubtedly her last trump card.

"Please accept it without worry. If a mere bottle of pills can save an elder's life, then my Yunlan Sect will have gained an advantage," Nalan Yanran said with a gentle smile.

"Hmm." Xiao Yan didn't stand on ceremony. After a brief hesitation, he casually put the pill into his storage ring.

Although the fifth-grade pills were no longer of any use to him, given Nalan Yanran's stubborn nature, he probably had no choice but to accept them.

"Speaking of which, you are the young sect leader of the Yunlan Sect back then?" Xiao Yan said indifferently, "Giving away fifth-grade pills, you really are rich and powerful."

Nalan Yanran was visibly taken aback for a moment, then suddenly smiled with relief and shook her head, saying:
"To be honest, this is my last trump card."

"Since you know it's your trump card, why did you dare to give it away?" Xiao Yan asked with a half-smile. "Giving away your trump card often means entrusting your life to someone else."

"As you have said."

Nalan Yanran sighed softly, then raised her head and said slowly, "But only sincerity can earn trust and understanding, can't it?"

"Since you know my name, you must also know about the 'Three-Year Agreement' that shook the entire Gama Empire."

"Back then, I ignored the advice of my relatives and elders and, solely out of selfishness, went to the Xiao family to break off the engagement, causing the entire Xiao family to suffer great humiliation."

"Back then, the Xiao family was not as powerful as it is now. Even in Wutan City, they were far from being the strongest. The gap between them and my Nalan family was almost unimaginable."

"I thought that as long as I could give them enough benefits, I could easily break off the marriage with such a family. So I asked Master Guhe to refine a Qi Gathering Powder as an apology."

"But I was wrong, very wrong. What they wanted was not my charity, but the dignity ingrained in their bones, and the face necessary for survival."

At this point, Nalan Yanran's lips suddenly trembled, and her beautiful face no longer showed any trace of her youth.

Since becoming the sect leader, she has never mentioned these things to anyone else.

"They need dignity because the Xiao family cannot be without its pillar. They also need face because without face, the market they depend on for survival will be ostracized and ridiculed by other families. And these are things that the Qi Gathering Powder cannot provide."

"So I lost, lost to that young master of the Xiao family whom I had belittled in every way. Some people say that God punished me and deliberately restored his talent, but I feel that I am the culprit who forced him to rebel against fate."

"After that battle, the entire Yunlan Sect was destroyed, and the opportunity that originally belonged to me, the 'Gate of Life and Death,' was also buried in history along with the sect. Only then did I realize what kind of pain it would bring to lose what I should have had." "Without the protection of my elders, without the support of the sect, and with no one treating me like a child anymore, I cut off my long hair and began to work hard to maintain the sect. I began to lower my posture and try to please those forces that I once looked down upon."

"Gradually, I shifted my focus away from cultivation and began to take care of my disciples and the emotions of those around me. Some people said I had lost my ambition, but I felt that this was what made me a qualified sect leader."

"The man who defeated me has long since left this place and is said to have made a great name for himself in Zhongzhou. And a friend of mine is now by his side, and perhaps we will never have the chance to meet again in this lifetime."

Nalan Yanran's beautiful eyes turned red, and her captivating voice became hoarse. After an unknown amount of time, she finally spoke haltingly:
"If there's any regret, it's that I realized it too late. I became the sect leader of the Yunlan Sect, but I still haven't had a single close friend."

After saying this, Nalan Yanran breathed a sigh of relief, but a hint of embarrassment appeared on her face.

Facing a complete stranger, she unconsciously revealed all her innermost thoughts. Even with Nalan Yanran's current composure, she couldn't help but feel somewhat awkward.

She rummaged in her pocket for a while and pulled out a bottle of strong-smelling liquor. She took small sips and a blush of intoxication appeared on her originally fair and flawless face.

The once naive young lady is now quite skilled at drinking.

From youth to maturity, it is also a cycle.

Xiao Yan quietly experienced the various sensations, and a complex feeling also arose in his heart.

He rarely drinks, but right now he felt a strange surge of impulse.

After rummaging through his storage ring for a while, Xiao Yan finally pulled out a tattered wine pouch from a corner. Judging from its appearance, it seemed to have come from an enemy who had died at his hands.

Unscrew the bottle, and ignoring the spiciness, Xiao Yan gulped it down.

And so, the two men who had once been enemies sat facing each other in the cave and began to drink by themselves.

They didn't drink together, but it was as if they were drinking together.

All past grudges and hatreds are erased here, and from this day forward, our lives are no longer intertwined.

After finishing the wine in the bottle, Xiao Yan stood up, looked at the half-asleep figure, and with a thought, made her fall into a deep sleep.

"Thank you," Xiao Yan said softly.

To reconcile with Nalan Yanran is to reconcile with one's past self.

Stepping out of the cave, Xiao Yan stretched. His face, which had been tense and slightly stiff, now appeared unusually relaxed, thanks to the effects of the alcohol.

"As expected, I'm not good at pondering these grand principles." Xiao Yan looked up at the sky and suddenly laughed, "Anything that gets in my way, I'll just crush it."

Having said that, he vanished into thin air in a flash.

Heavenly Serpent Empire, Heavenly Serpent Palace.

As the top power dominating the Northwest Region, the Heavenly Serpent Palace has long controlled everything in the empire. The entire Heavenly Serpent Empire has been turned into the territory of the Heavenly Serpent Palace, and the royal family exists in name only.

This is why the Heavenly Serpent Palace has obtained resources and territory far exceeding those of other sects. Its expansion of power far exceeds the imagination of other sects, making it a truly colossal entity qualified to contend for supremacy.

At the previous sect conference, the Heavenly Serpent Palace almost defeated all the sect leaders and became the true overlord of the Northwest.

At this moment, several figures sat around in the Heavenly Serpent Palace, each possessing a terrifying cultivation level comparable to the peak of the Dou Zong realm.

If this were outside, anyone here could immediately establish a first-rate power and be offered opportunities by countless empires!

"Your Majesty, the relationship between the Nagama Empire and the Snake People is very complicated. I'm afraid it's impossible for them to hand over Queen Medusa so easily."

An elderly man with graying hair said in a low voice, "Right now they are only defending and not attacking. In my opinion, they are probably just stalling for time."

Upon hearing this, the strange young man in the center narrowed his eyes slightly and said in a soft voice, "Delaying time? With the strength of the Jia Ma Empire, even if they delay, what kind of reinforcements can they call in?"

"Although Queen Medusa is quite powerful, she is only a juvenile form of the Seven-Colored Sky-Swallowing Python. The more you oppress her, the more difficult it is to subdue her."

"Yes, but-"

Seeing that the old man seemed to want to say something but hesitated, the strange young man waved his hand and said with a playful smile:

"They're stalling for time, but aren't I also taking advantage of the situation? Don't forget, we still have her."

Upon hearing this, everyone's pupils contracted, clearly realizing their master's intentions.

"You mean you want Miss Qinglin to take action?" the old man exclaimed in shock. "The Jia Ma Empire is her birthplace. Isn't this...isn't this a bit inappropriate?"

"Hehe, as the next head of my Heavenly Serpent Mansion, how could I possibly be associated with a barren land like the Jia Ma Empire?"

The strange young man tapped the wooden table lightly, the sound like the hissing of a snake's tongue:

"Moreover, Qinglin is a hybrid of snake people and humans, and has been despised by both sides. Her mother even died because of this."

"If she knew the current state of the Gama Empire, and with the instigation of those around her, what do you think she would do?"

"This"

The elders exchanged glances, and each saw an undisguised shock in the other's eyes.

As expected of the Lord of the Manor, he has schemed to such an extent!
Not only was the hidden danger of Qinglin's background completely resolved, but even the method of controlling the Seven-Colored Devouring Python was already prepared.

“She is too naive. If we don’t push her a bit, I’m afraid she will have a hard time inheriting my position.” The strange young man said gently, “Once Chun’er marries her, I can abdicate in peace.”

However, at that moment, a sudden change occurred!

Almost the instant the strange young man finished speaking, a cold gaze suddenly swept across the interior of the Heavenly Serpent Palace.

The snake's instincts made the strange young man realize the other party's murderous intent almost instantly, and his soul power surged out in an instant, trying to find the source of the murderous intent.

But just as he was about to cast his gaze outside the hall, his body froze in place as if he had been frozen in place, his eyes staring blankly ahead.

Suddenly, a figure clad in a black robe appeared inside the Heavenly Serpent Mansion. He leaned against the wall, standing silently without activating a single wisp of battle qi.

"Want to abdicate?"

The figure in black robes slowly raised his head, revealing a faint smile: "Need any help?"

In an instant, the entire audience was filled with horror!

(End of this chapter)