Beauty Serpent was startled. She did have old injuries, but had no idea how Evan Yang had discovered them. Suspicious and uneasy, she asked, "How did you find out?"
"That's my business. Naturally, I'm not going to tell you," Evan Yang replied.
"Stop showing off," Beauty Serpent said.
"Alright, enough nonsense. If you want me to treat you, you have to do as I say. If not, you can leave right now," Evan Yang said.
Beauty Serpent had suffered from her injuries for many years, enduring hours of torment every day. Naturally, she didn’t want to keep living like this, so she asked, "You really can cure me?"
"Of course. Why would I lie to you?" Evan Yang said.
"Alright then. If you heal me, I’ll do as you say," Beauty Serpent replied.
Evan Yang looked at Beauty Serpent, then had her sit down and close her eyes. He channeled his Heaven-Cold qi into her injured spots. For these old wounds, he was confident, but for the lingering corrosion, he relied on the Polar Sacred Flame to resolve it.
So, with the Polar Sacred Flame and Heaven-Cold qi at work, Beauty Serpent endured intense pain. After half a day, Evan Yang withdrew his hands and said, "Alright, you should feel much better now."
Beauty Serpent was still sweating from the cold, but was excited—the pain she’d suffered for years had vanished, replaced by an unprecedented sense of comfort.
"Thank you. Since you’ve cleared my injuries, I’ll follow your instructions. Tell me, what do you need me to do?" Beauty Serpent said.
"First, guide me to that stone, but you don’t need to get close to it. Second, tell me what this place really is?" Evan Yang said.
"So that’s what you want. I’ll help with both, and I can tell you first what this place is," Beauty Serpent said.
"What place?" Evan Yang asked.
"The Yin Ground of Netherdeep Gorge, and within it, the Dragon-Hollow Cave," Beauty Serpent replied.
"Dragon-Hollow Cave? That’s a strange name," Evan Yang said, sounding doubtful.
"Of course it is. There used to be a divine beast dragon here, but it left long ago. That’s why it’s called Dragon-Hollow Cave. People often come here looking for anything related to dragons, but it’s not that easy—such ideas are ridiculous. I came here back then hoping to find some dragon hide or something to make a good artifact, but I ended up trapped here for years," Beauty Serpent explained.
"Dragon?" Evan Yang fell into thought. He had never seen a real dragon, though he’d seen some statues. But he couldn’t imagine how powerful a dragon truly was.
"Yes, a dragon. But it’s empty now. Anyway, I’ll take you to find that stone," Beauty Serpent said.
Evan Yang nodded and followed Beauty Serpent deeper inside. Oddly, the cave didn’t get smaller—it actually grew larger the farther they went.
It was said this was where the dragon used to be active, so the tunnels were all quite large. Evan Yang noticed some scratch marks on the walls, as if something had gouged them.
"Did those marks really come just from the dragon's hide rubbing against the wall?" Evan Yang was shocked. If mere skin could make those gouges, that was terrifying.
Beauty Serpent was a spirit beast with high intelligence, but even she felt a strange fear standing here. The lingering aura left by the dragon made her instinctively uneasy.
Not only that, Evan Yang sensed that Brocade and Jade Rabbit inside his ring were restless. Though their eyes were closed and they hadn’t awakened, he could feel a provocative aura—like they wanted to come out and challenge the place.
It was the first time Evan Yang had seen this happen, so he watched curiously for a while until they calmed down. "Strange, why did they stop?" He waited for the two to wake up, but after a long time, they didn't.
Seeing no reaction, Evan Yang had to keep following Beauty Serpent. After a while, Beauty Serpent broke into a cold sweat and said, "We're here. It's just ahead. You go on."
Evan Yang glanced at Beauty Serpent, realizing she couldn't go any further, so he had her step back. He moved ahead and soon spotted a stone, with several scales beneath it.
Picking up the stone, he felt a strange chill. Seeing nothing else unusual, he put it away and turned his attention to the scales. But just a light touch made his finger bleed.
"So sharp!" Evan Yang exclaimed, shocked by the razor-like scales.
Just then, Beauty Serpent came over. Since Evan Yang had put away the stone, she didn’t sense anything, but when she saw the scales, she trembled and said, "It’s true—these are dragon scales from its hide."