As the fury within him gradually subsided, Xiao Yan finally exhaled in relief. He hesitated, then carefully turned his gaze once more toward Qinglin's back. This time, however, he was far more cautious, closing his mind tightly and allowing the purple-brown flames to slowly spread from within his body. In the pool, gentle steam rose, causing the mysterious tattoo on Qinglin's smooth back to become subtly visible. The nine-headed serpent's eyes on the tattoo once again closed, and thus the earlier disturbance did not reoccur. Xiao Yan furrowed his brows, intently observing the tattoo. It must have been quite large, since only a portion of the nine-headed serpent's body was visible above the water—clearly, there was still a substantial portion of its body coiled beneath the surface. Xiao Yan gazed at this rather mysterious nine-headed serpent, yet felt somewhat bewildered. He had never heard of such a type of beast existing on the current continent. Moreover, the fierce and oppressive aura emanating from the creature proved overwhelming—even when he was completely unprepared—clearly indicating it was no ordinary beast. "What exactly is this?" Xiao Yan furrowed his brows, still utterly puzzled after a long while. Could any of the nine-hells earth-midnight serpents, even the most ancient, resemble this unusual form? After prolonged contemplation, he could only shake his head and set the question aside, resolving to ask Su Qinglín once she awoke—then he would surely gain a clearer understanding. With this thought in mind, Xiao Yan ceased his fruitless pondering and glanced at the color of the water in the pool. Then, he reached into his storage amulet once more, withdrawing a small jade bottle and pouring out a portion of pale red liquid. To completely eliminate the Emperor Python's heart-eroding poison from Qinglin's body, there is a rather intricate and time-consuming process. Fortunately, Xiao Yan has now grown into a true master of alchemical art; otherwise, few others would dare to attempt such a task. Although Xiao Yan fully understood that resolving the Emperor Python's heart-eroding poison would be both troublesome and time-consuming, he hadn't anticipated that this process would stretch over nearly four days. Throughout these four days, Xiao Yan remained continuously within the cave, never leaving. The various herbs and medicinal materials he added to the pool reached nearly a hundred in number, their refined energies permeating the pool so intensely that even the energy mist began to thicken and become viscous. Yet though time and herbs were being consumed in great quantities, Qinglin's complexion grew increasingly vibrant beneath the steaming aura of energy mist, and the subtle black streaks lingering in her brow gradually faded—clear signs that the Di-Mang Erosion Poison within her was being rapidly neutralized. During these days of tending to Qinglin's detoxification, Xiao Yan had grown increasingly attentive to the mysterious nine-headed serpent tattoo on her back. Over several days of observation, he noticed that as more energy flowed into Qinglin's body, the tattoo became progressively clearer, and even the serpent eyes atop the nine heads slightly opened. Whenever those faint serpent eyes blinked open, Xiao Yan sometimes unconsciously felt a surge of fierce, almost aggressive energy spreading through his heart—though fortunately, his inner composure remained steady, allowing him to resist the strange influence of the nine-headed serpent. And after going through these changes, Xiao Yan grew increasingly curious about this mysterious tattoo—it seemed to be an ancient artifact. Yet on the current Dragon Qi continent, such a beast might no longer exist; otherwise, Xiao Yan would have heard of it by now. Nevertheless, despite his curiosity, Xiao Yan knew that the most important thing was to first eliminate the toxins within Qinglin's body. Thus, he settled down and continued waiting. This monotonous process of care and patience lasted nearly three days, and finally, after seven days of closed eyes in the pool, Qinglin stirred and showed signs of movement. "Gurrrl... Gurrrl..." The pale red water in the pool continuously released bubbles, steaming gently, and faintly, a graceful, delicate silhouette could be seen beneath the surface. Over nearly a decade, the little girl from long ago had blossomed into a fresh, vibrant beauty. Sitting beside the pool on a stone bench, Xiao Yan slowly opened his eyes, sensing a subtle shift in the energy within the water. "Is it nearly complete?" He murmured softly. Suddenly, a rushing sound of water broke through, startling him. As he prepared to rise, the entire cave began to tremble violently. "What's going on?" Xiao Yan's expression tightened, and he quickly stood up, his gaze fixed on the misty pool, where the disturbance clearly originated. Xiao Yan narrowed his eyes, intently gazing into the pool, as if a vast outline were subtly emerging and fading within the mist. Noticing this strange phenomenon, a slight furrow formed between his brows, and his inner qi began to surge swiftly. At the very moment his inner qi was circulating, the diffused energy mist suddenly quivered, and then a strange eye of the size of a human head appeared out of nowhere. Within the vividly green eye, three small dots rapidly expanded, eventually transforming into three unusual green blossoms that swiftly rotated around the pupil. "Bi She San Hua Eye!" As the strange eye appeared, Xiao Yan's heart tightened instantly, and he instinctively stepped back. "Poof!" As soon as he retreated, the eye burst with a loud sound, and a massive figure surged forth from the pool water, darting toward Xiao Yan with lightning speed. Staring at the massive form charging toward him, Xiao Yan instantly drew in a sharp breath. It was a colossal serpent bearing nine fierce, jagged snake heads. The entire body was a deep, rich red, as if centuries of blood had settled into it—immediately conveying an overwhelming, indescribable aura of ferocity and menace. The serpent swayed its nine heads, and its eighteen eyes—each a vivid, fierce gaze—had now turned blood red. Most astonishingly, the red eyes mirrored precisely the same appearance as when Qing Lin activated her Bi She San Hua Jing. Fixing his gaze on the nine-headed serpent charging directly at him, Xiao Yan's eyes flashed rapidly. As the creature was about to crash into his body, he suddenly roared, "Qing Lin!" The cry, carried by the surge of his aura, thundered through the cave like a bolt of lightning, causing the stone cavern to tremble violently. Under the roar of that sound, the massive body of the nine-headed serpent suddenly stilled. A flicker of struggle appeared in its blood-red eyes, which then swiftly faded, and the jade-green hue gradually returned. "Shh!" As the jade-green tone emerged, the serpent's massive form suddenly burst forth with a brilliant glow, then rapidly contracted, and soon transformed into a slender, delicate figure that plunged heavily from the sky. Seeing Qinglin fall, Xiao Yan moved swiftly, catching her slender waist in his arms. The soft, yielding touch stirred a gentle ripple within him. He steadied his breath, gazing at Qinglin, who was slowly stirring to consciousness in his arms, and asked, "Are you all right?" Qinglin slowly opened her eyes, gazing at Xiao Yan who stood just inches away. A sudden sense of warmth surged through her delicate body, causing her cheeks to flush instantly. She quickly broke free from Xiao Yan's arm, darting swiftly behind the stone pillar. As she heard the soft rustling sounds of dressing from behind the pillar, Xiao Yan couldn't help but rub his nose, feeling a slight sense of embarrassment. Only after she had finished dressing did Qinglin step out from behind the pillar, her face still flushed—her earlobes glowing crimson. Xiao Yan cleared his throat, adopting a serious tone and asked, "What happened just now? That thing..." Hearing this, Qinglin blinked in surprise, then tightly clasped her hands, stammering, "That was the soul of a primordial celestial serpent." "Primordial celestial serpent?" Xiao Yan was momentarily stunned. He had indeed heard of the ancient celestial serpent—believed to be one of the progenitors of the ancient serpent beast lineage, possessing the power to destroy the heavens and the earth. Indeed, it could be considered on par with the ancient celestial phoenix. However, the ancient celestial serpents were rarer in number than the phoenixes, and had already gone extinct even in ancient times. Even more so, considering the present day? "No... I remember the ancient texts never mentioned that the primordial sky-serpent from ancient times had nine heads..." "This is a mutated version of the primordial sky-serpent—why it has developed this way, I'm not sure. When I first arrived in Zhongzhou, I accidentally entered an ancient mountain range and encountered the fossilized remains of a primordial sky-serpent. Out of curiosity, I used the Bi-She San-Hua Vision. To my surprise, a soul-body emerged from the fossil. It's quite difficult to tame—despite my use of the Bi-She San-Hua Vision, it often refuses to listen and even causes trouble from time to time. However, as my strength grows, its resistance is gradually diminishing. I believe I'll be able to control it easily in the future." Xiao Yan stared in astonishment. Controlling a mutated primordial sky-serpent? This creature—wasn't it comparable to the ancient sky-phoenix? Once it matured, even a Supreme Battle Master could stand a chance against it. "You said your Bi She San Hua eyes couldn't control these ancient-blooded serpent beasts, didn't you?" "If this celestial serpent had a physical body, then indeed I couldn't control it. But this one is merely a soul—and I didn't actively choose to control it. It's the serpent that insists on staying with me." Qing Lin sighed. "In ancient times, only two types of serpent beasts truly possessed royal lineage. One was the ancient celestial serpent, and the other was the Heaven-Devouring Python. The current nine-yuan earth-mortal serpents are merely their descendants." "The Heaven-Devouring Python?" Hearing the name, Xiao Yan's brow lifted slightly. He seemed to recall that after Cailing evolved, she became the Seven-Color Heaven-Devouring Python. "Shouldn't the toxins within them have been fully resolved by now?" Xiao Yan shook his head, then glanced at Qing Lin. Qinglin nodded, beaming with a smile. "Now that my strength has reached the rank of One-Star Douzun, if I activate my Bi She San Hua Eye, I should be able to control a snake-shaped beast with the strength of a Four-Star Douzun." Hearing this, Xiao Yan couldn't help but shake his head in resignation. Indeed, the Bi She San Hua Eye of this girl was quite extraordinary—not only can she control snake-beasts, but should she successfully harness the soul of the ancient celestial snake in the future, that alone would make her an immensely powerful combatant.