Battle Through the Heavens: Starting with Cao Ying as an apprentice

"Hiss." (You too...)

"Shut up, it's all your fault anyway!" Qinglin puffed out her cheeks and stared intently at the Bilin Snake.

Recalling what had just happened, Qinglin was both amused and exasperated.

Just as she was about to refine that drop of essence blood, the Azure Scale Serpent awoke.

First, it looked at the essence blood, its eyes bursting with astonishing desire, drooling all over the ground; then, when it looked at Qinglin, its eyes instantly became pitiful, its eyes reddening, as if it was about to burst into tears at any moment.

This back and forth softened Qinglin's heart. Just as she was about to give half to it, the little guy shook its head with unusual firmness, then turned its head and began to hiss and gesture at Qinglin.

"Hiss." (Are you stupid?! Do you even know who you are?!)

"I'm a maid, the personal maid of Mistress Cailin. Is there a problem with that?" Qinglin looked completely bewildered.

"Hiss!" (Duh! There's a type of maid called a dowry maid! Do you understand?!)

"A dowry...maid?" Qinglin blinked. She, who usually only knew how to cultivate and handle affairs, was completely clueless about this kind of thing.

The green-scaled snake frantically slapped its tail, hissing. (That's the maid who married into the family with the young lady! Do you understand?)

"I still don't understand!" Qinglin tilted her head.

The Azure-Scaled Serpent rolled its eyes and bluntly said, "Hiss!" (Meaning: You're very likely to become the young master's bed warmer! And with the tacit approval of the Rainbow-Scaled Mistress, you might even go further... hehehe!)

"What?!" Qinglin's face immediately turned bright red, like a ripe apple.

"You little pervert, what nonsense are you spouting!"

"Hiss!" (So that's why!)

The Jade Scaled Serpent struck while the iron was hot.

"Hiss!" (Anyway, you'll belong to the young master in the future, so why not try to get some benefits now? Charge forward boldly! For your future happiness!)

Qinglin hesitated, feeling guilty about asking for it again.

"Hiss!" (Don't hesitate!)

The Azure-Scaled Serpent patted its chest confidently.

"Hiss?" (Perhaps in the future, you can even help Lord Cailin with his troubles! Wouldn't it be wonderful to work together from both sides?)

"Well... alright then, for the sake of Mistress Rainbow Scales, I'll give it a try!" Qinglin was completely swayed by this twisted logic.

Watching Qinglin's departing figure, the Azure Scale Serpent retreated back into the bracelet, secretly calculating: [I've finally managed to fool this little girl. Whether my future food supply can be upgraded to the highest level and I can live a good life depends entirely on your fate, my dear master!]

[Hmph, with the little snake giving you advice, you can confidently charge forward; your rise to power is just around the corner!]

Jade Scale Serpent: (*'▽`*)

Chapter 353 You all have it, but I don't!

Several days passed in the blink of an eye. Deep within the earth's veins, beside the Netherworld, the violent energy ripples gradually subsided, and the dense, impenetrable energy of heaven and earth receded like a tide.

The women who had previously secluded themselves to refine the essence blood of the Yellow Spring Demon Saint have all emerged from their seclusion. Their auras are completely different from before, and their cultivation levels have all made a qualitative leap.

With a lithe and agile figure, Zi Yan took a step forward, causing the void to tremble slightly. Faint golden dragon and phoenix phantoms flowed around her, and an aura of pressure far heavier and more powerful than before spread out—a late-stage five-star Dou Sheng! She was not far from the threshold of six stars.

Qinglin appeared more serene, the childishness between her brows had faded considerably, replaced by a cool and profound sense of mystery unique to snakes.

Although her aura was not as domineering as Zi Yan's, it was more refined and profound, clearly indicating that she had successfully opened the door to the Dou Sheng realm and her cultivation was stable in the mid-stage of the One-Star Dou Sheng realm.

However, the most astonishing progress was made by Cai Die. She was surrounded by a faint, cold aura, which strangely blended with an ancient and mysterious serpentine pressure.

Because the Yellow Spring Demon Saint's true form is somewhat related to the Ancient Heavenly Serpent, and the Butterfly also possesses the bloodline of the Ancient Heavenly Serpent, when she absorbed the essence blood containing the Yellow Spring Demon Saint's supreme essence, she not only did not experience any rejection, but instead, like a long-awaited rain after a drought, she achieved a near-perfect fusion!

These unique advantages allowed her to skip the accumulation stage of a one-star Dou Sheng and leap to the mid-stage of a two-star Dou Sheng!

"Brother-in-law, something's not right..." Cai Die felt the surging power within her body, but her brows were furrowed as she looked worriedly at the place deep in the cold pool that was still shrouded in layers of seven-colored light.

"We've all come out of seclusion, but why haven't we heard from my sister at all? It's been several days already, could something have happened to her?"

Her question immediately drew the attention of Zi Yan and Qing Lin, who had also just emerged from seclusion.

Similar worries appeared on the faces of the three women. Before Cai Lin entered, her cultivation was still hovering around the Dou Zun Transition Realm. Even if there were opportunities, she could not truly feel at ease venturing into dangerous territory alone.

Seeing the three women's tense expressions, Su Baichen smiled gently. He raised his hand and waved it lightly, causing an invisible spatial ripple to spread out. He had already quietly explored the area several times.

"Alright, alright, what's the panic about?"

His tone was firm, carrying a reassuring power.

“I just thoroughly investigated the area, and Cai Lin is doing very well. She not only found the ancient lair of the Seven-Colored Sky-Swallowing Python, but also discovered a tremendous opportunity for bloodline evolution!”

His gaze fell upon the hazy, multicolored glow, as if it could pierce through all obstacles: "She is currently receiving the complete inheritance of the Seven-Colored Sky-Swallowing Python, undergoing the ultimate transformation of her bloodline. Believe me, when she reappears, she will probably give you a shock."

Su Baichen paused for a moment, then gave an even more astonishing assessment: "In my opinion, her cultivation level when she emerged from seclusion was at least at the early stage of a four-star Dou Sheng. If the inheritance goes smoothly, it is not impossible for her to reach the threshold of a five-star Dou Sheng!"

"What?!" The three women exclaimed almost in unison, their pretty faces filled with disbelief.

From Dou Zun to four-star, or even five-star Dou Sheng? That's an enormous gap!

Don't forget!

Su Baichen looked at the three women, a hint of cunning in his eyes.

"The essence blood I gave you is the very foundation for the Yellow Spring Demon Saint to maintain his remnant soul. You must have felt the immense energy contained within it when you were refining it, right?"

The three women nodded in agreement as they recalled the events. The energy contained within that essence blood was indeed unbelievably vast.

“That’s right. On this basis, Cai Lin also enjoys the complete inheritance of the Seven-Colored Sky-Swallowing Python, and has the all-round feedback brought by bloodline evolution.”

"A four-star Dou Sheng is probably the lowest limit for her."

After Su Baichen finished speaking, he looked at Zi Yan and said, "Zi Yan, don't you think so? This level of opportunity shouldn't be unfamiliar to you, right?"

Zi Yan recalled the scene when she swallowed the Dragon and Phoenix Origin Fruit. At that time, the energy was too vast, and a small part of it was absorbed by her mother's remnant soul to awaken her. Otherwise, her starting point after the breakthrough would have been even higher.

Although Cai Lin's opportunity this time was different in nature, its astonishing level was indeed similar in its essence.

She composed herself and nodded solemnly: "That's right, it's really possible! It might even be more exaggerated than I thought."

"Alright, stop envying your sister and Ziyan. That was an opportunity that only belonged to them!"

Seeing Cai Die's "world collapsed" expression, Su Baichen couldn't help but tease her, "Because there's no use in being envious!"

"Ah!" Butterfly suddenly deflated like a punctured balloon and cried out in grievance.

Why do my sister and Zi Yan both have such immense wealth? Wait, there seems to be Qing Lin too!

"Hey, it's okay, I still have Qinglin with me. We're the closest of sisters!"

Cai Die instantly changed her mind, pulling the quiet Qing Lin into her arms and rubbing against her, trying to regain some psychological balance from this "sister in distress".

Qinglin was caught off guard by the hug. Her body stiffened slightly, but she did not break free. She simply let her be hugged and remained silent, her long eyelashes drooping.

However, just as Butterfly thought she had found an "ally" and sought comfort, a clear but obviously "destructive" voice rang out from the side.

"Hehe, Sister Caidie, it seems you're going to be disappointed if you try to find a 'sister in distress' to confide in."

With her big eyes wide open and an "innocent" expression, Zi Yan dropped an even bigger bombshell.

"Actually, the one who gained the most from this seclusion might not just be Sister Cailin. Our little sister Qinglin's gains were also beyond imagination!"

"What?! How is this possible!" Butterfly suddenly released Qinglin, staring wide-eyed in disbelief like a cat whose tail had been stepped on.

"Qinglin, tell me quickly, this isn't true!" She stared intently at Qinglin, as if trying to find a flaw in her face.

Caught in Cai Die's intense gaze, Qing Lin, already somewhat nervous, blushed even more deeply, her ears turning slightly red. After a moment's hesitation, she whispered, "Sister Cai Die... um... you know, I have the Jade Serpent Three-Flower Pupil... so..."

She didn't finish her sentence, but the meaning couldn't be clearer.

Her greatest gain from this trip was not the direct increase in her own cultivation level, but rather that, thanks to her extraordinary talent, she had begun to try to subdue and control the entire Nine Netherworld Python clan!

Once she successfully refines and absorbs the power of these powerful Nine Netherworld Pythons, especially the power of the Dou Sheng-level experts left behind, her strength growth curve will probably be no worse than that of Cai Lin, who received the inheritance!

Cai Die stood frozen in place, as if countless thunderbolts were exploding in her mind.

Everyone else had incredible opportunities, but she was the only one left out?

Is there no justice in this world? The immense sense of disparity and injustice instantly overwhelmed her psychological defenses.

"I won't listen! I won't listen! This isn't fair—!"

Finally, the butterfly could no longer withstand the successive "blows" and her mentality completely exploded. She covered her ears, squatted down, and let out a shout full of grievance and protest.

Chapter 354 Lei Zhen seeks cooperation.

After Cai Die relentlessly poured out her heart for two whole days, Su Baichen finally couldn't resist those big, watery eyes that seemed to hold all the grievances in the world.

Left with no other choice, Su Baichen could only pass on part of the core essence of the Yellow Spring Demon Saint to Cai Die, which finally calmed Cai Die down.

After settling Cai Die in, Su Baichen hadn't even caught his breath when the puppet connected to his soul in the Pill Tower sent him an urgent message from Xuan Yi, saying that there was something extremely important and he had to return to the Pill Tower immediately.

Su Baichen frowned slightly, his gaze sweeping over the three women meditating beside him—Cai Die, Zi Yan, and Qing Lin.

He sighed softly, his tone gentle yet carrying an undeniable solemnity: "Xuan Yi is pressing me hard; it seems something big has happened. I must return to the Pill Tower immediately."

Su Baichen's gaze swept over the three women one by one, and he said, "Listen up, Cai Lin is at a critical moment right now. You must guard this place and not let her be disturbed in any way."

"Understood, boss, don't worry. Anyone who dares to disturb Sister Cailin, I'll chop them down with the Dragon Slayer Sword!" Ziyan patted her chest, making a solemn promise, exuding a fierce aura.

"Young Master, I will have the Azure Serpent with Three-Flower Eyes keep a constant watch on the surroundings and will never allow anyone to come within a hundred feet of the Mistress." Qinglin stroked the Azure Serpent coiled around his arm, his eyes firm and loyal.

Even Cai Die rarely put away her playful smile, and nodded solemnly: "Brother-in-law, I will protect my sister well."

Seeing this, Su Baichen nodded and instructed, "The jade pendant I gave to Cailin before has the ability to assist people in their comprehension. I estimate that in another year or two, my sister should be able to come out of seclusion."

"Just keep watch, that's all. See you later!"

After giving his instructions, Su Baichen flashed and transformed into a streak of light, rushing towards the Pill Tower.

As soon as Su Baichen stepped into the Pill Tower, he bumped into Cao Ying, Little Fairy Doctor, and Xiao Yu, who had just returned from the Heavenly Tomb.

"Why are you back so soon?" Su Baichen asked the three of them.

Upon hearing this, Cao Ying was also quite helpless, saying, "There's nothing I can do. I've encountered a bottleneck in my cultivation. Apart from Senior Xiao and Junior Sister, no one in the Heavenly Tomb can beat me, so I have no choice but to come out."

Little Fairy Doctor chimed in, "There are simply too few energy bodies on the third level of the Heavenly Tomb. We searched around and found that it wouldn't be of much help in breaking through the bottleneck, so we came back to consolidate our cultivation."

Upon hearing this, Su Baichen chuckled inwardly.

Back then, when he played chess with Xiao Xuan in the Heavenly Tomb, the stakes were all the Dou Sheng-level energy bodies on the third level. After the two of them joined forces to "harvest" them, it would be good if only a few Dou Sheng-level energy bodies were left. No wonder the three women withdrew early.