After discussing a few details, Yan Zhen followed his two masters’ instructions and headed to the celestial body housing the Great Crimson Heaven Flame alongside Cai Lian, ready to commence the transfer of her pupil power.
Cai Lian had been secluded here in cultivation for some time, and a Coiling Snake Dao Platform had even been raised above it specifically for meditation.
Yan Yan, ever the sensible one, didn’t disturb her father emperor and mother consort. She stayed obediently on the altar, munching on snacks with Long Ying.
Someone else, however, followed along with a perfectly calm expression—
Cai Lian whirled around, glaring at Yi Xian’er. “Thousand Fiends, what are you following us for? This doesn’t concern you!”
Yi Xian’er’s face remained impassive as she replied coolly, “What’s the rush, Myriad Snake? I’m just here to protect Yan Zhen, in case you mess up and hurt him.”
Cai Lian was far from pleased. This was a rare chance to be alone with Yan Zhen, and she had no intention of letting anyone interrupt—especially not this Killing Woman!
“This Sovereign isn’t like you, bungling even the smallest tasks.”
“Everything should be handled with utmost care. You’re too arrogant, Myriad Snake.”
“Are you lecturing This Sovereign?”
“You could say that.”
The two women locked eyes in a fierce standoff, their gazes clashing in the air and sending visible ripples through space.
“Stop, stop, stop.” Yan Zhen hurriedly stepped between them. “No fighting, no fighting. Yan’er is still watching. Act like the adults you are.”
Both women huffed almost in unison and turned their faces away.
Yan Zhen cleared his throat twice, then took one of their hands in each of his and said gently, “Alright, let’s get started with the pupil power transfer. Cai Lian, let Xian’er handle protection duty. We can finish the preparations while the Evil Consort is still recovering, before she comes looking for us.”
Though the two weren’t on good terms, they knew what mattered most.
The trio ascended the Coiling Snake Dao Platform. Yan Zhen and Cai Lian sat facing each other, while Yi Xian’er took a seat behind Yan Zhen, ready to protect him at a moment’s notice.
The Snake God Clan’s Petrification Eye was a “bloodline divine ability,” its power scaling with one’s cultivation realm. Now that Cai Lian had reached the Mystic Venerable Realm, the Petrification Eye had evolved into a Venerable Mystic Technique capable of petrifying even space itself!
Cai Lian activated her Snake God Bloodline, and a vertical pupil-shaped divine pattern coalesced at her forehead—that was her Petrification Eye.
The Petrification Eye glowed brightly, shining on Yan Zhen and causing stone-like skin to spread across his body.
Yan Zhen immediately summoned the Rootless Earth Spirit Fire to envelop his entire form. He then reopened his eyes, meeting the gaze of the Petrification Eye head-on.
The instant their eyes locked, a Mystic force surged from within him, starting from his Dantian, flowing through his meridians, emerging from his acupoints, and hardening his flesh from the inside out.
Yan Zhen didn’t dare slack off. He circulated the Rootless Earth Spirit Fire with all his might, desperately absorbing the immense pupil power.
But the Petrification Eye’s strength exceeded expectations.
If he went all-out to resist it, he could hold on just fine. However, absorbing it solely with the Rootless Earth Spirit Fire couldn’t keep pace with the petrification’s speed.
As Yan Zhen gradually turned into a statue, Yi Xian’er nearly moved to help him dispel it.
After all, the Petrification Eye was the extreme manifestation of “Earth Power,” more accurately termed “Earth Fiend.” It was a great tonic for someone with a Fiend Body like hers.
But then Cai Lian spoke up. “You have Snake God Bloodline too. Circulate it now.”
Yan Zhen came to a sudden realization. He promptly activated the Snake God Bloodline within him, and the petrification slowed dramatically.
Seeing this, both women breathed a sigh of relief, though they remained fully focused on watching over him.
A full half-hour passed before Yan Zhen finally absorbed all of the Petrification Eye’s pupil power and smoothly exited his cultivation state.
He flipped open his palm and summoned the Rootless Earth Spirit Fire once more. Amid the muddy, sludge-like flames, a snake-shaped talisman pattern hid—identical to the divine pattern on Cai Lian’s forehead.
“Success! Cai Lian, I—”
Before he could finish, Cai Lian, who had been sitting cross-legged before him, toppled toward him. Yan Zhen caught her instinctively in his arms.
“Are you alright, Cai Lian?”
The Sovereign Lady glanced at her husband and whispered softly, “I’m fine.”
“Just a bit drained, that’s all.”
Yan Zhen had absorbed every last bit of the Petrification Eye’s pupil power in one go. She wouldn’t be able to use it again for at least a month—not until she completed the Snake God Clan’s Bloodline Awakening Ritual and could truly unleash the Snake God Bloodline’s power.
Seeing her pretty face pale, Yan Zhen retrieved a restorative pill from his storage ring and fed it to his Snake Snake Wife.
“Eat this.”
Cai Lian obediently parted her lips, accepting the pill from her husband. She then leaned against his chest and closed her eyes to recover.
Yi Xian’er, sitting behind Yan Zhen, curled her lip at the sight. “Not even pretending properly. If you were truly drained, you’d fall backward—not straight into his arms like some shameless woman.”
At those words, a flush crept across the Sovereign Lady’s alluring features, but she held back from getting up to retort. Pretending not to hear, she continued savoring this rare moment of tenderness.
The familiar warmth from his body and the steady thump of his heartbeat filled her with contentment.
Yan Zhen chuckled and turned his head, extending his other hand to beckon Xian’er over as well.
Yi Xian’er’s cheeks tinted pink. Seeing the Snake Woman blissfully enjoying herself, she squeezed into Yan Zhen’s embrace too.
Cai Lian cracked her eyes open. The two women glared at each other before opting for a temporary truce. Each claimed one side, agreeing to mind their own business.
Yan Zhen held one in each arm—his left around a water-snake waist, his right cradling a peacock-like figure. With two beauties in his lap, he felt utterly content.
“You’re both important to me. Try to get along from now on, for the children’s sake.”
Cai Lian let out her habitual soft hum, dismissing the idea, but then Yi Xian’er leaned in and planted a kiss on Yan Zhen’s cheek, cooing sweetly, “You’re the head of the household. Whatever you say~”
The difference was clear.
Cai Lian panicked at once. She refused to believe this Killing Woman could ever truly get along with her. It was obviously just empty words to fool her husband—a scheming hypocrite through and through.
Sure enough, Yan Zhen was delighted. He turned to his Snake Snake Wife. “Cai Lian~”
The Sovereign Lady desperately wanted to battle this Killing Woman right then and there, three hundred rounds if need be, and rip off her fake mask. But under Yan Zhen’s gaze—tender yet commanding—she could only relent. “As you wish.”
No sooner had the words left her mouth than Yan Zhen sealed her lips with his own.
Cai Lian’s heart fluttered with both shyness and joy. Her delicate hands clutched at his collar, shifting from yielding to his advances to taking the lead herself, completely lost in the long-awaited pleasure.
When their lips finally parted, Cai Lian panted lightly, her slender snake tongue peeking out, her allure on full display.
But before they could pause, Yi Xian’er twisted Yan Zhen’s body toward her and offered up a fragrant kiss of her own. She didn’t just kiss him—she made exaggerated sounds, as if desperate for everyone to know how much she was enjoying it. Cai Lian found it utterly nauseating, a blatant provocation. Gritting her teeth, she reached for Yan Zhen’s belt.
She was just an inexperienced newbie, nothing to brag about. She and little sister Zi Ji knew far better how to please their husband!
With that thought, Cai Lian slid onto Yan Zhen’s lap… and sure enough, it instantly drew his attention. He placed a hand on her head, gently stroking her silky hair.
Yi Xian’er noticed the Snake Woman’s little maneuver and refused to back down. She draped herself over his other side.
There sat Yan Zhen on the Coiling Snake Dao Platform, a hand on each little head, two stunning faces reflected in his eyes. His body and soul brimmed with satisfaction!
—Sometimes, a little quarrel wasn’t so bad after all, heh~
