Before the Great Crimson Heaven Flame fell, the Great Marsh Desert had been a vast lake known as the Cloud Dream Great Lake.
The formation of the Cloud Dream Great Lake could be traced back to a miraculous Spirit Spring. From a small spring eye, it had eventually transformed into a massive lake spanning an entire region, even giving rise to a unique civilization.
Now that the great lake had turned into a desert, that spring had not yet dried up. It was enshrined deep within the royal palace of the City of Water and called the Holy Spring. Only successive Female Monarchs and their heirs were permitted to enter.
There were no guards outside the Holy Spring, but a powerful Restraint Seal had been laid over it—one that even a Mystic Lord powerhouse would struggle to break.
Only the Female Monarch could dispel the seal.
However, Yan Zhen’s Crystal Pendant was itself a Spatial Secret Treasure that could bypass most restraints.
Just as he had done to enter the palace, he first let the Crystal Pendant pass through the restraint. Then Yan Zhen activated the Star Shifting Fire Seal and slipped into the Fire Refining Starry Sky before emerging again.
In the script, this was how Yan Zhen evaded his pursuers. After all, no one would ever suspect that a mere Little Mystic Scholar could pierce this restraint and enter the Female Monarch’s private healing chamber.
Yan Zhen successfully entered the chamber housing the Holy Spring, and the tension in his body gradually eased. From here on, there should be no problems.
The Myriad Snake Queen should now be in the throes of the Extreme Flame’s outbreak, wracked with agony and weakened to the point of near collapse. Even if she spotted him, she wouldn’t be able to do much—just watch helplessly as he took the Water Element Heart.
In the script, Yan Zhen took two Water Element Hearts: one to use and one as a spare.
After grabbing the Water Element Heart, Yan Zhen took pity on the Myriad Snake Queen’s weakened state. Under the guidance of his Beautiful Female Master, he circulated the Emperor Flame Technique and drew out the Scarlet Flame from her body.
Not only did this heal her, but it also allowed Yan Zhen to adapt to the power of the Great Crimson Heaven Flame. Later, he subdued the Great Crimson Heaven Flame itself and gained an unexpected advantage.
So doing good really did bring its rewards.
Yan Zhen thought optimistically to himself as he strode openly into the palace, his mindset as relaxed as a tourist’s.
Meanwhile—
In the solemn and sacred grand palace, glowstones the size of human heads were embedded in the ceiling, casting a bright glow that illuminated the circular pool below.
The pool was nearly a hundred zhang in diameter—over three hundred meters across—and bubbles rose from it with cheerful gurgles, as if from an endless source. Yet the water never overflowed the edges by even a drop.
This was the site of the Holy Spring.
Above the Holy Spring, Water Element Hearts wrapped in colorful bubbles floated in the air, lending the scene a dreamlike quality.
The Myriad Snake Queen was healing herself in the spring.
She was completely nude, her flawless pink-and-white figure half-submerged in the Holy Spring and half exposed amid the cluster of bubbles in midair. Most of her jet-black hair cascaded down her back, veiling her smooth jade-like skin, while two locks draped over her chest, modestly covering the tips of her lofty snow-white peaks.
Thanks to the dense Snake God Bloodline in her body, the Myriad Snake Queen’s features bore the distinctive traits of the Snake Descendants: vertical pupils in her crimson eyes, scales on her hands, pointed earlobes, a sinuous water-snake waist, and an even more slender pink tongue.
Her face was stunningly beautiful and seductive, yet her demeanor was as aloof as an iceberg, carrying the inherent dignity of one long accustomed to high authority. It deterred any profane thoughts.
But at this moment, ragged gasps escaped her alluring red lips one after another. The pain of the Extreme Flame invading her body was already excruciating, and her Snake Descendants’ bloodline was utterly countered by it, intensifying her suffering.
“That scorpion… to think it had grown so strong. I couldn’t even defeat it with a Venerable Mystic Technique.”
The Myriad Snake Queen’s voice was as clear and crisp as the Holy Spring itself, echoing softly through the palace.
Soon, a cheeky girl’s voice chimed in her mind:
“Hey, I told you not to fight it, Mother Concubine. That big scorpion is a Mystic Ancestor now, and it controls a strand of Scarlet Flame. Your strength is limited by your bloodline too. Until it evolves, you can’t match it—especially without Spatial Power. You can’t unleash the full might of an over-rank Venerable Mystic Technique~”
The Myriad Snake Queen seemed well accustomed to the voice. She let out a cold snort but offered no rebuttal.
In her previous life, her battle with the Red Sand Scorpion Lord had ended in steady retreat and deep humiliation. Reborn now, she had thought her high-grade Mystic Technique would let her triumph, but she had still underestimated it.
The outcome was far better than in her past life, at least. Back then, she had taken heavy wounds just to crack its shell. This time, she had nearly severed one of its massive claws.
Yet the fight still ended in her defeat, invaded by Scarlet Flame just as before.
It was a pity her Snake God Bloodline hadn’t evolved yet. Otherwise, wielding a Saint Mystic Technique with it would have made even a Mystic Venerable shed a layer of skin—not to mention a mere Mystic Ancestor.
“Mm! This Extreme Flame is truly infuriating.”
“That’s not fair to say, Mother Concubine. It’s that big scorpion’s fault, not the Extreme Flame’s. Extreme Flame is so cute! Anything with ‘flame’ in the name is cute~”
Like herself, hee hee.
“You think you’re cute?”
“Uh… doesn’t Mother Concubine think so?”
“We’ll talk when you’re as trouble-free as Ling’er.”
“Ling’er is just a little airhead. I’m way cuter than her—and anyway, you gave birth to me, Mother Concubine. How could I turn out anything less than gorgeous~?”
“Hmph, you little ingrate. Aren’t you always going on about how Aunt Zi is a heavenly beauty?”
“Huh? Is Mother Concubine jealous?”
“Yan Yan, I see your butt’s itching for a spanking.”
“I-it was just a joke! Aunt Zi really is a heavenly beauty, but Mother Concubine outshines the heavens~”
The Myriad Snake Queen’s lips curved up ever so slightly.
“Oily sweet-talker. Wonder who you learned that from.”
Yan Yan giggled.
“I didn’t learn it from anyone. Father Emperor says it too~”
At the mention of her “Father Emperor” by her daughter, the Myriad Snake Queen’s expression grew subtly complicated.
It had been nearly a year since her rebirth. For some reason, her daughter’s consciousness had also awakened within her.
Faced with such an astonishing event, her first instinct had been to seek out her husband and discuss it with him. But then she remembered: he wasn’t her husband yet.
He didn’t even know her. And the woman he fancied right now wasn’t her or Zi Xunyi, but that one from Cloud Heaven Palace—while he was also entangled unclearly with the Evil Consort’s Secondary Body.
Beyond them, there was the Vixen from the Golden Jade Chamber of Commerce and the Yin Sha Woman from Shadow Moon Kingdom, both in ambiguous flings with him.
The thought soured her mood.
Back then, he had first taken advantage of her weakness to ogle and grope her body, then claimed her forcibly in a berserk state, even impregnating her with Yan Yan.
They had essentially married for the sake of their daughter, with a shaky emotional foundation. At least, he harbored no deep love for her—just simple pity and responsibility.
Had he not taken the initiative to propose in the City of Water later on, she never would have wed him.
