Before long, El arrived at Xiao Yan's location, at the edge of an underground lake with water that was greenish in color due to an extremely strong poison.
In the center of the poisonous lake, there was a small island. From there, El could smell Queen Medusa's fragrance very clearly, a sign that the Heavenly Flame was also in that place.
Without hesitation, El walked up to Xiao Yan. "Xiao Yan, why haven't you crossed over yet? Are you waiting for Ji?"
Xiao Yan who had already noticed El's presence turned around, giving his a glance. "Oh, you have arrived."
Xiao Yan's gaze then returned to the poisonous lake water as well as the small island in the center. "This water is very poisonous."
Xiao Yan turned his gaze toward El, then said, "My plan is to swim all the way to the small island in the center. Of course, I have the technique to do so, so you just wait here."
El looked at the small island, where Queen Medusa and the Heavenly Flame were. Without saying anything, he squatted down, took off his footwear, and then deposited it into the Sky Pearl Poison.
Seeing El's actions, Xiao Yan frowned in confusion. "You want to go there too?"
"Yes," El replied casually. "Of course. Ji wants to see the form of that Heavenly Flame firsthand."
Xiao Yan frowned slightly when he heard El's words. "So, you intend to swim there as well?"
El stood up, flashed a faint smile, and then gave Xiao Yan a glance. "Why swim? Ji has a Dou Technique to walk on water."
Xiao Yan raised his eyebrows, slightly surprised.
"Oh yes, about Xiao Yan wanting to swim..." El continued in a flat tone. "Ji has a better plan. Would Xiao Yan like to hear it?"
Xiao Yan was silent for a moment, while in his mind, he asked Yao Chen. 'Master, what do you think?'
Yao Chen replied with a tone of voice full of wisdom. "This child had many secrets from the beginning. So... Why not listen to his ideas?"
Xiao Yan smiled slightly at Yao Chen's suggestion, then said. "What is Ji Lan's plan?"
"Lend Ji Heavy Xuan Ruler for a moment." said El, thrusting out his right hand. "Don't ask too many questions. You will understand it yourself."
Xiao Yan, who had not yet grasped El's meaning, immediately took out the Heavy Xuan Ruler stored in the Space Storage Ring and handed it to El.
El received the Heavy Xuan Ruler, and immediately positioned as if he was about to slash horizontally. "Xiao Yan, hurry up and get on the Heavy Xuan Ruler."
Xiao Yan looked at El with doubt clearly reflected in his eyes. "Do you... want to throw me up there?"
El sighed lightly before replying casually, "Of course not. Don't worry, this method is safe and much faster. So, hurry up. Our time is precious."
Inevitably, Xiao Yan boarded the Heavy Xuan Ruler, although a sense of doubt still lingered in his mind.
However, Xiao Yan knew that if something bad happened, Yao Chen could act to protect his body from the poison.
Once Xiao Yan had climbed up and held on tightly to the side of the Heavy Xuan Ruler, El bent down slightly, preparing to dart across the surface of the poisonous water.
In an instant, his Dou Qi Cloak was activated. Purple-colored Dou Qi glowed like clusters of stars in the sky, completely enveloping his body.
From underneath the mask, more precisely around the neck to shoulder area, a pattern of glowing red flames appeared, pulsing slowly, a sign of Demon Slayer Mark being reactivated, strengthening his body even further.
El took a deep breath, cold air mixed with Dou Qi condensed in his mouth, forming a faint white mist.
In the next instant, without warning, El's body shot out at full speed from a stationary position, moving in an instant without being affected by inertial forces, just like a shadow piercing through space.
Xiao Yan's eyes widened, shocked at the constant speed that El displayed.
Even Yao Chen, who was in the storage ring, was also surprised to see El's movements which were not only extremely fast but also supported by a physique that seemed to surpass the limits of ordinary humans.
"This kid's speed... It seems like it can already match Dou Ling. His physical forging technique is truly extraordinary," Yao Chen said in Xiao Yan's mind.
Xiao Yan gulped, breaking out into a cold sweat slightly. He could not imagine how El was able to move that fast with such stability.
"The Heavy Xuan Ruler alone feels very heavy to me... But Ji Lan can lift it casually and even run this fast without being disturbed?" muttered Xiao Yan inwardly.
From the very beginning, Xiao Yan had already realized that El held many secrets, including his background which was so mysterious.
Did El come from one of the Ancient clans? Just like, Xun'er? As Yao Chen had once said, when looking at the Dou Technique that could temporarily increase the realm?
However, Xiao Yan chose not to ask about that. After all, in this Dou Qi world, everyone had to have at least one secret each.
Xiao Yan himself was no different. He also kept a great secret, a ring that contained the soul of Yao Chen, his teacher, who taught him the Alchemist Technique and various powerful Dou Techniques.
Finally, not long after, El had reached the edge of the small island. El stopped smoothly on the water surface before stepping onto the land.
Without wasting any time, Xiao Yan immediately descended from the Heavy Xuan Ruler. As soon as his feet stepped on the ground, El returned the heavy blade to him casually, as if its weight was not something significant.
Xiao Yan put the Heavy Xuan Ruler back into the storage ring, while El kept his eyes on the heavy sword, while deactivating the Demon Slayer Mark, making El's body feel tired for a moment.
"The weight of the Heavy Xuan Ruler is not a problem for me," El thought. "But, its Dou Qi suppression effect is a bit troublesome. If there was no such effect, I could move even faster."
After Xiao Yan finished, the two immediately moved towards the location where Queen Medusa and the Heavenly Flame were.
However, before they arrived, explosive sounds resounded throughout the area, accompanied by an unusually strong Dou Qi pressure. Amongst the rumbling, there was also a loud screech from a large creature that sounded like it was in pain.
In fact, El's nose smelled the fragrance of roasted snake meat, it only needed to be given some seasoning then it would be even more fragrant.
Xiao Yan and El looked at each other, both instantly understanding the situation without the need to speak.
"Queen Medusa has already begun to swallow the Heavenly Flame to evolve."
Without hesitation, they quickened their pace, preparing for whatever awaited them ahead.
***
Arriving there, El and Xiao Yan immediately hid behind a boulder, carefully observing the situation.
In the air, a giant snake with purple scales that looked so beautiful was floating, as if the laws of gravity did not apply to it.
Undoubtedly, it was Queen Medusa who had activated her Serpent Soul in order to increase her strength and chances of evolutionary success.
However, her situation was far from good. Currently, she was hit by the Blue Lotus Flame that continued to attack her mercilessly.
It burned from various sides, destroying his beautiful purple scales and making him scream in pain.
El glanced at Xiao Yan for a moment.
Xiao Yan's face looked serious, although he was clearly communicating with Yao Chen in his mind. El could tell from the subtle change in scent that Xiao Yan emitted.
Then, El turned his attention back to Queen Medusa who was suffering in the midst of a painful evolutionary process.
'Master... do you think Queen Medusa will succeed in evolving as in the original plot?' El asked in his mind.
"Why would a student ask such a question? Perhaps you have a crush on Queen Medusa?" said Yuri in a teasing tone.
El smiled faintly behind the mask before answering in his mind, 'There's no way I could be interested in Queen Medusa.'
"I'm just simply asking. So, what does Master think? For some reason, I feel like Queen Medusa will fail." asked El, her forehead furrowing slightly.
"Students have heard of the foolish smile that is destined by 9 sufferings and 9 births? So, in any timeline, Queen Medusa managed to evolve," Yuri explained without hesitation.
El was silent for a moment. Behind hid mask, Rinnegan's six tomoe rotated slowly, watching Queen Medusa's deteriorating condition.
The Heavenly Flame continued to burn her body, making her weaker and weaker with time.
Then, with a loud screech, Queen Medusa's body finally fell. Her entire body was charred, no longer able to fight back.
The fiery dust that burned Queen Medusa's body fell slowly, like blue snowflakes decorating the air. The scene seemed to be a flower bed of death for the queen of the snake nation.
Meanwhile, the blue lotus-shaped Heavenly Flame that was previously raging now began to subside, spinning slowly in the air, as if waiting for its new owner.