Evan Lin stood atop a nearby mountain peak, watching as the Luo siblings hurried forward, his expression as calm as still water.
The Blue-Flame Blood Python finally finished its selection, floating over to Evan.
To Evan's surprise, the Blue-Flame Blood Python hadn't dragged the bone over.
"So, you’ve found a place to store it yourself?"
Evan glanced at the Blue-Flame Blood Python. The python nuzzled his finger affectionately, then silently slipped back into the Scarlet Flame Command.
Evan stayed silent. Only after the Luo siblings had covered most of the distance did he move, quietly following behind.
It was early spring. In Changbai Mountain, the ranges stretched endlessly and the snow had yet to stop.
The deeper they went, the more the biting cold wind cut through them.
The Luo trio rushed forward, barely noticing the scenery. When they reached a wide-open snowy plain, Rena Luo suddenly halted and whipped around, scanning behind them.
"What’s wrong?"
"Let’s go a bit further, then find a place to stop. There’ll probably be a blizzard tonight, and if all goes well, the Sea of Flames will show up tomorrow. Once it does, we’ll follow its path and should be able to find something."
Clark took a deep breath and put away the sheepskin scroll. "Let’s move."
Rena Luo glanced back one last time. She couldn’t shake the feeling something was watching her, but soon she just shook her head and followed Clark and Gavin onward.
Not long after they left, a thin, snow-white wolf with blood-red eyes slowly crawled out from the snowbank behind them.
The wolf wasn’t big, and the tracks it left in the snow were tiny. It glanced in the direction the trio had gone, shook its head to scatter the snow from its fur, then sprinted off down another path—moving so fast it left no trace on the snow.
"Sorry, but I need them to lead the way. I can’t let you eat them."
The snow wolf had only gone a few steps when it suddenly froze. It let out a low, warning growl, baring its teeth and glaring fiercely at the young man who’d appeared out of nowhere.
A cold glint flashed in the wolf’s eyes. Without hesitating, it sprang forward like an arrow loosed from a bow, charging straight at Evan Lin.
Evan Lin casually waved his hand, sending a surge of force crashing into the wolf’s belly and flinging it through the air.
With a thud, the wolf tumbled into the snow, coughing up blood. After struggling for a moment, it finally died.
But the blood-red glow in its eyes didn’t fade, even in death.
"Interesting. It didn’t die from a single blow?"
Evan gave its corpse another look. That surge of force should have shattered every bone in an inner-energy expert, but somehow this scrawny snow wolf managed a few more breaths.
He eyed the wolf’s blood-red pupils, shook his head, then walked on, stepping through the desolate snowy plain and catching up to the Luo trio.
Not long after Evan left, another snow wolf appeared on the plain. It found its dead companion, lingered for a moment, then slowly vanished into the snow.
Night fell.
The wind grew bitterly cold.
The snowstorm in Changbai Mountain intensified.
Inside a mountain cave, a sudden spark lit up the darkness.
"Eat something to warm up first. We’ll take turns keeping watch tonight."
Clark produced a few compressed biscuits, then grabbed a handful of snow from the side, stuffed it into his mouth, and let it melt into icy water that trickled down his throat.
"The timing of the Sea of Flames is unpredictable. It could be anytime between midnight and six, or maybe at noon tomorrow. Either way, we have to keep watch. If anything unusual happens around us, we need to check immediately."
The cave gradually quieted down.
Night deepened, the moon hung high, and the wind outside grew ever more mournful.
Outside the cave, the snow kept falling harder and harder.
Midnight.
Rena Luo leaned against the fire, eyes closed, resting.
Puff...
A faint sound drifted in from outside the cave.
She suddenly opened her eyes, frowned slightly, and looked outside. "Did you hear something?"
"With a blizzard like this, nothing could be out there. Just get some rest." Gavin tossed a dry branch into the fire and shook his head.
"No, something’s wrong."
Clark, who had been half-asleep, stood up, eyes locked on the cave entrance, tense and alert.
Puff, puff...
The faint sound came again, even softer than before.
Mixed with the wind and snow, the noise sounded like something slowly approaching.
The three siblings’ faces suddenly turned serious. They clenched their fists, eyes fixed on the cave entrance.
The wind howled outside, snow reflecting the moonlight and adding to the chill.
After a dozen seconds of silence, the sound grew even denser.
"What’s that...?"
The three felt a chill run down their spines.
Not far from the cave, lines of crimson light began to appear, like lanterns being lit one by one in the darkness.
The puffing sounds multiplied, growing denser and closer.
It was the sound of soft wolf paws padding across the snow!
"A wolf pack..."
Gavin drew a deep breath, muttering to himself.
Outside the cave entrance, more than a hundred snow wolves of all sizes had appeared, their eyes glowing red like smoldering sparks in the dark.
At the head of the pack stood a massive snow wolf king, nearly 1.8 meters long—majestic and powerful, its cold eyes fixed on the three humans inside the cave as if sizing up its prey.
The pack’s leader, a towering snow wolf king, strode to the front—at least 1.8 meters long, imposing and majestic, its icy gaze locked onto the three humans in the cave, sizing up its prey.