"May I ask, Your Majesty, if you have a Heavenly Flame in your possession?"
Hearing this, Medusa was slightly stunned, then came to a realization.
For an Alchemist like Gu He, there was nothing more precious than a Heavenly Flame.
Even though Medusa was not an Alchemist, she knew a thing or two about this information.
An Alchemist who possessed a Heavenly Flame would not only have a higher success rate when performing Alchemy, but the resulting Medicinal Pills would also be more potent.
Therefore, a Heavenly Flame held a fatal attraction for Alchemists.
Presumably, Gu He had learned through some channels that her evolution required a Heavenly Flame, which was why he asked.
"I..." Medusa was just about to say she didn't have a Heavenly Flame when she heard Gu He continue, "Your Majesty, I have no other intentions."
"Your Majesty must be aware of how important a Heavenly Flame is to an Alchemist."
"In order to find a Heavenly Flame, I have traveled to almost every strange location in the Jia Ma Empire, yet I have still come up empty-handed..."
"Your Majesty, the Heavenly Flame currently serves no great purpose for you."
"Therefore, I hope you will allow me to use other items to exchange for the Heavenly Flame from your hands!"
Hearing the word "exchange," Medusa swallowed the words that were on the tip of her tongue.
The items prepared by a Tier 6 Advanced Alchemist for an exchange involving a Heavenly Flame would certainly not be lacking.
And what she needed most right now was to become stronger in a short period of time.
To reach Dou Venerate, or even high-rank Dou Venerate or Dou Sheng, in the shortest possible time.
Thus, Medusa was very interested in the price Gu He could offer.
It had to be something of great use to Demonic Beasts.
Medusa looked at Gu He and grinned; surprisingly, this smile bore a slight resemblance to that of Protector Wu.
"Great Master Gu He, since you are an Alchemist, you naturally understand the power of a Heavenly Flame better than I do."
"Tell me, what would you need to offer for such a thing to match its value?"
Hearing this, Gu He's eyes lit up, sensing a chance.
He took a deep breath, a rare look of heartache appearing on his face, and looked up to say in a heavy voice:
"I am willing to offer a Tier 7 Transformation Pill in exchange for the Heavenly Flame! I wonder what Your Majesty thinks?"
As soon as Gu He's words left his mouth, Jia Xingtian and the others around him widened their eyes, staring at Gu He with faces full of shock.
Even Yun Yun, who was standing nearby, slightly turned her head, a look of astonishment flashing in her beautiful eyes.
Presumably, even she hadn't expected Gu He to be so generous for the sake of a Heavenly Flame.
Earlier, Gu He giving Medusa a Dou Ling Pill as a congratulatory gift for her Breakthrough to Dou Zong had already surprised everyone.
And the value of a Tier 7 Transformation Pill was more than a level higher compared to a Tier 5 Dou Ling Pill!
Medusa's pupils trembled slightly before returning to normal.
Even she hadn't expected Gu He to make such a grand gesture for the Heavenly Flame.
If one were to say that Medusa was currently guaranteed to reach Dou Venerate;
With the Transformation Pill and her talent, she could even Cultivate to Peak Dou Zun without any Bottlenecks!
It would be a lie to say she wasn't tempted by such conditions, but Medusa quickly regained her composure.
She didn't actually have a Heavenly Flame; if she showed her desire for the Transformation Pill, it would be even harder to obtain.
Thus, Medusa smiled indifferently. "Great Master Gu He, I admit the conditions you've offered are very tempting."
"However, I apologize, but I still will not exchange with you."
"Great Master Gu He might not know this, but the Bloodline of my Medusa lineage is extremely unique."
Medusa spoke effortlessly, doing her best to bluff the naive Gu He:
"After being able to transform into human form at Rank 7, the Transformation Pill no longer holds any use for me."
"If you had come before my evolution, perhaps I really would have been moved by your offer."
Hearing this, a visible disappointment appeared on Gu He's face. "I understand. Thank you, Your Majesty."
"However, Great Master Gu He," Medusa said as she took out an earth fire lotus seed from her storage ring and smiled:
"Though the deal fell through, our goodwill remains. Let this lotus seed be a gift to Great Master Gu He."
"I hope Great Master Gu He will look after my Snake-People Clan in the future."
In Medusa's view, Xiao Xue had two storage rings, and the truly good things must be kept in the high-grade one.
Therefore, although the fire attribute energy of this lotus seed was strong, it shouldn't be considered all that precious.
After all, the energy contained within a single earth fire lotus seed wasn't actually that much; it was normal for Medusa to underestimate its value.
But how could she know that as long as it was edible, regardless of its preciousness, Xiao Xue didn't dare put it in Ahri's storage ring.
However, since she was using the little one Xiao Xue's things after all, Medusa picked the one of the lowest quality and handed it to Gu He.
Taking advantage of Gu He's inattention, Medusa secretly left a tracking mark on the earth fire lotus seed.
As long as Gu He accepted this lotus seed, she would be able to know his location at all times.
—She, Medusa, was preparing to rob him!
How could she possibly pass up a Transformation Pill delivered right to her doorstep?!
In fact, exchanging one earth fire lotus seed for one Transformation Pill was an absolute steal, even if the earth fire lotus seed was precious.
After all, in the original story, Xiao Yan had pitifully exchanged one earth fire lotus seed for just a small bottle of ice spirit cold spring.
While the value of an earth fire lotus seed was certainly more than that, it still wouldn't surpass a Tier 7 Transformation Pill.
However, value is something that varies from person to person—
Sensing the dense energy within the earth fire lotus seed, Gu He was moved to tears. "Thank you, Your Majesty!"
Look at that, now that's what you call class!
As a Tier 6 Advanced Alchemist, Gu He could naturally tell what it was that Medusa held.
Medusa was a Demonic Beast and didn't know much about Heavenly Flames, but that didn't mean Gu He was ignorant as well.
This was an earth fire lotus seed from the Green Lotus Core Flame! It took a hundred years for a single one to condense!
Something so precious, and Medusa had just casually given it to him!
By refining this earth fire lotus seed, he could produce the "Green Lotus Life Transformation Fire."
Although its quality was far inferior to a Heavenly Flame, it was still much stronger than the Beast Fire he currently used!
This was a fire-wood attribute flame most suitable for Alchemists to use in Alchemy!
If it weren't for Yun Yun still being by his side, and the fact that he was still a guest elder of the Cloud Mist Sect, making his status and the environment inappropriate;
Gu He would have wanted to say right then and there, "Your Majesty, from now on, I'll be following your Snake-People Clan."
Gu He's hands trembled as he took the earth fire lotus seed, carefully placed it in a jade bottle, and then stored it in his storage ring.
After finishing all this, Gu He cupped his fists toward Medusa and said solemnly, "Gu He is here to offer his thanks to Queen Medusa."
Seeing Gu He's excited appearance, Medusa felt a sudden wave of nervousness—
Could it be that the value of that lotus seed is actually very high?!
However, there was naturally no reason to take back something that had already been given away.
She could only nod, pretending not to care as she replied:
"It's no matter, as long as Great Master Gu He can look after my Snake-People Clan when you refine Medicinal Pills in the future."
To this, Gu He naturally agreed without hesitation.
The Alliance negotiations finally concluded, and everyone returned to their respective homes. Once the people arranged by Jia Xingtian were in place, the Snake-People Clan would begin their relocation.
Medusa did not return to the temple; instead, she secretly followed Gu He, looking for an opportunity to get her hands on that Transformation Pill.
To become stronger—there was no shame in it.
As it turned out, what she didn't expect was that someone was even faster than her.
Before Medusa could even make a move, she discovered a cloud of black mist appearing before her, transforming into a black figure.
Medusa couldn't help but become vigilant, because she hadn't detected the other party's presence at all.
In other words, the strength of that black mist was very great, perhaps not even inferior to her own.
The black shadow looked at Medusa, gave a "Jie Jie Jie" laugh, and tossed a jade bottle to her.
"Jie Jie Jie, Your Majesty, is it for this Transformation Pill?"
"Since we are colleagues, and it's inconvenient for you to act right now, I've retrieved it from Pill King Gu He for you."
"When the time comes, please put in a good word for me before the Venerate."
Medusa subconsciously caught the jade bottle, completely bewildered by the black shadow's words.
"This person... who is it?"
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