Chapter 710: Great Demon 73

Jin Yuan looked from Jin Huan to Tan You. "You’re right. Jin Zhao was your name, but now that she’s back, she’ll naturally need a new one. She is the first empress of the Golden Ring Snake clan, and its hardships are finally over."

"From now on, the Golden Ring Snake clan will be like the rising sun, growing more prosperous with each passing day."

Tan You had already guessed what Jin Yuan was going to say. "You want to name her Xi? The character ’Xi’ means bright light. Wanting her to shine like the sun, never fading—that won’t be easy."

"I knew Ahzhao would understand me," Jin Yuan laughed heartily. "Let’s call her Jin Xi. It’s just like the blessing your master gave you. May you shine like the eternal sun and lead the Golden Ring Snake clan to even greater glory."

Jin Huan... no, Jin Xi, was stunned for only a moment before shifting into her human form and bowing to Tan You and Jin Yuan. "Thank you, Ancestor, for bestowing this name upon me, and thank you, Master. Master, you really have high hopes for me."

Tan You gave her a sidelong glance. "No pouting. You’re a grown-up now, why are you still acting spoiled with me? Have you no shame?"

Jin Xi glanced at Tan You, who looked to be only fourteen or fifteen, then back at herself, her expression completely unapologetic. "Shamelessly so."

Jin Yan made a silly face at her. Jin Xi shot him a glare, refusing to lower herself to the level of a little brat.

"I’m going to the clan lands to cultivate." Tossing out this sentence, Jin Xi headed off to her lands alone. This time, however, no one followed her. Everyone was crowded around Tan You, including the Great Demons from the Demon Market.

The Peacock circled Tan You twice. "Well, I’ll be. After all these years, I finally see what you really look like. Aside from being a little chubby, you’re gorgeous from head to toe."

The once-fox-maiden, Little Xuan, also circled Tan You in fascination. "So chubby and cute! If I could hug you, I bet you’d be all soft and squishy."

Tan You glared at her. "Don’t think I can’t handle you lot just because I look like this now."

The Great Demons all laughed and chuckled. They had plenty of questions, but since they were all so close with Tan You, this kind of harmless teasing was perfectly fine.

Jin Yuan also found Tan You’s current state quite refreshing. But remembering that she was planning to leave, he couldn’t help but try to persuade her. "You helped us seize two slivers of destiny. Are you sure you don’t want to stay a while and see how things play out before you go?"

Tan You did want to know what would happen next. "In that case... I guess I’ll stay and see? It’s true this has been weighing on my mind, and I’d hate to leave without knowing the outcome."

"Besides, I heard you’re skilled in Alchemy. Why don’t I follow you for a while and see what it’s all about? I really don’t have a knack for it."

Jin Yuan’s slender eyes narrowed slightly, then a smile spread across his face. "Alright. Since you want to learn, I’ll be sure to teach you everything I know."

For once, Tan You sounded a little unsure of herself. "I’m just afraid I won’t be any good at it."

Jin Yao piped up, "It’s not like you have to invent your own formulas. They all have detailed ratios. If you can’t innovate, can’t you at least imitate? Just copying the recipe should be simple enough, right?"

Tan You said, "Alright, I guess I’ll give it a try?"

The truth was, back in her life with Wen Ming, her attempt to secretly learn from that old traditional Chinese doctor had been a major blow to her confidence. A science-minded person thinks in straight lines; how could she possibly grasp concepts like the Five Elements and Yin-Yang in traditional medicine?

Even now, if you asked Tan You to explain it, she wouldn’t be able to articulate the reasoning. To put it bluntly, it was all based on a ’feeling,’ and describing a feeling with words was just too difficult.

Tan You didn’t rush back. For now, she was learning Alchemy from Jin Yuan. However, all sorts of roars could be heard from the alchemy room from time to time. Tan You, who had always prided herself on being a model student, had finally met her match in Jin Yuan.

"I told you to memorize the formulas, but what are you doing? You’re trying to figure out the *principles* behind them... but you can’t even grasp them..." Jin Yuan massaged his forehead. "You’re just like the second brother. You always want to investigate everything until you understand it, but then you can’t explain it and just end up tying yourself in knots."

Tan You looked completely innocent. "I can’t help it! As soon as I see a formula, I can’t stop myself from wondering what effects these Spirit Plants have, why they’re mixed in these specific ratios, and why the timing and order matter. Isn’t it just like a chemical reaction?"

"And what about this ’add to taste’ part? How exactly am I supposed to judge that? Is it purely based on experience? Isn’t there some kind of quantifiable summary?"

Jin Yuan was already used to her spouting words like ’chemical reaction.’ "Don’t ask me. I can’t explain it. Why is teaching you such a pain?"

Tan You’s expression was calm. "I told you, I’m not cut out for this. Second Uncle’s Array Dao is much easier to learn. Everything in it can be explained with math."

Jin Yuan was really digging his heels in now. "I refuse to believe it! You’re not a block of wood; you can’t be unteachable! I’m not asking you to innovate or understand anymore. Just memorize it. Rote memorization!"

Jin Yu propped his chin on his hand, a smile of keen interest on his face. "When do you think Big Brother is going to snap?"

Jin Zhen replied, "Hard to say. I don’t think Big Brother will admit defeat that easily, and Ahzhao isn’t the type to give up, either."

Jin Yao added, "I agree. Ahzhao has a voracious appetite for knowledge. She wants to learn absolutely everything she can get her hands on."

Jin Jue said, "Still, watching her struggle so stubbornly with the Alchemy Dao is both heartbreaking and hilarious. When have we ever seen her this flustered? She’s always been so brilliant. To see her like this now... sigh."

While Tan You and Jin Yuan were locked in their struggle over the Alchemy Dao, Jin Xi had returned to her clan’s lands and thrown herself into frantic cultivation. For a mere Seventh Rank snake demoness to suddenly have to master the cultivation base of a Third Grade Immortal Monarch was like asking a three-year-old to hold back a torrential flood.

The fact that she didn’t collapse immediately was a testament to Jin Xi’s exceptional mental fortitude. Having had a brush with death and then being so viciously backstabbed, her perspective on people and events was naturally completely different than before.

For now, she had only just managed to stabilize her cultivation base. To master it completely, however, she still had a long road ahead of her.

"Host, we’re finally back! I was sooooo bored." The moment her consciousness returned, Tan You heard her little system’s electronic voice. It even sounded a little pouty.

’Thinking about how the little system had been practically in confinement the entire time she was in the Cultivation World, it must have been even more bored than I was.’ Tan You’s heart softened. "You can go and play as much as you want now. It was indeed a little dangerous back there."

The Beauty System replied, "No playing. Host, aren’t we going to settle the mission?"

Tan You thought for a moment. "Alright, let’s settle the mission."

’She felt she had done a good job with the Cultivation World mission. As for the original owner, Jin Xi, she had gotten her revenge, was on the path to cultivation, and even had a powerful backer now. At the very least, Jin Xi won’t repay my kindness with hatred, right?’

On a larger scale, the shackles on the Golden Ring Snake clan had been completely broken. In the future, their atavistic evolution wouldn’t be as difficult as before. In any case, by the time she left, the Golden Ring Snake clan was already starting to grow and prosper.

In that world, she had also changed the fates of many members of the Demon Clan. She even brought about the birth of Jin Yan, who acted as a natural counter to the Evil Qi on the ancient battlefield, which in turn would indirectly reduce the casualty rate of the various clans’ grand competitions.

One could say she had saved countless lives.

Tallying up all her accomplishments, Tan You couldn’t help but wonder what kind of extra rewards she would get this time when the Beauty System settled the mission.