"That place... is really dangerous."
Queenie Tong glanced over, the scene of the old man and his group vanishing without a trace still vivid in her mind.
She reached out and grabbed Evan Lin's wrist, her face full of hesitation and anxiety in her eyes. "How about we just leave through the back gate instead?"
"Don't take any risks."
Queenie knew Evan Lin was strong, but no matter what, she just couldn't believe those people vanished because of him.
Just like Rena Luo said, whenever a martial artist makes a move, there should always be some action or a surge of inner strength.
But just now, Queenie had stayed right beside Evan the whole time—she hadn't felt him do anything, let alone release any inner strength.
She couldn't figure out what happened, but her instincts screamed that place was dangerous—a single misstep could mean no return.
"It's fine. Just stick with me."
Evan Lin shook his head, then strode down the slope.
Queenie Tong hesitated in place, then as if making up her mind, mustered her courage and followed behind Evan Lin.
The two of them headed down the snowy slope together.
Queenie was restless and anxious inside, glancing nervously around as she stepped on the snow, afraid something strange might happen at any moment.
But every time her gaze landed on Evan Lin's back ahead of her, she felt a little steadier—there was a sense of safety there.
Queenie took a few steps forward, then suddenly felt a strange warmth rising from the snow under her feet. Looking down, she realized the snow was actually melting and refreezing beneath her.
Snow was still falling from the sky, but the snow at their feet had started to melt.
The strange sight made Queenie pause for a second. When she came back to herself, she saw Evan had already stopped ten meters ahead.
He was standing there, head lowered, staring at the ground.
It was an open patch of ground. The snow around it seemed to have been blown aside, forming a thick ring at the edge.
"What are you looking at? Did you find something?"
Queenie hurried a few steps closer, face still uneasy, dreading that she was about to see a bunch of gruesome corpses.
If that happened, she’d probably have nightmares tonight.
She didn’t hear Evan reply, but finally gathered her courage and trudged forward through the snow, step by shaky step.
At last, when she reached Evan’s side and looked down, her face went pale. She instinctively covered her mouth, barely managing not to scream.
"Don’t be afraid—it won’t hurt you."
Evan Lin spoke calmly, his gaze fixed ahead.
On the open ground in front of them, the blue water dragon had already dissipated, leaving only the tiny Blue-Flame Blood Python Evan had summoned from the Scarlet Flame Command.
Ever since Evan Lin refined the Blue-Flame Blood Python into the Scarlet Flame Command, it had lost its physical body and could only exist in the world as a being of pure energy.
The water dragon was also an energy body, but its power came from the Water Spirit that Evan provided.
Previously, after Evan obtained a Water Spirit, he could control water and borrow its power, but compared to a true artifact like the Scarlet Flame Command, the Water Spirit was still a step weaker.
The tiny Blue-Flame Blood Python was circling back and forth across the open ground.
Its body was small, and since it was hidden in a pile of snow, Rena Luo and the others hadn’t seen it earlier.
On the open ground lay six sets of human bones!
The six skeletons varied in size and were twisted in odd poses. It was clear they’d died in an instant, wiped out by the combined strike of the water dragon and Blue-Flame Blood Python before they could even react.
All the flesh was gone—only bare bones remained.
The Blue-Flame Blood Python floated in midair, weaving around each bone of one particular skeleton.
"What is that thing? What’s it... what’s it doing?"
It took Queenie a long time to suppress her urge to scream.
The Blue-Flame Blood Python seemed almost intelligent—it lifted its head and glanced at Queenie, showing neither fear nor hostility. That helped her calm down a little, and she finally dared to ask in a small voice.
"It’s choosing bones."
Evan Lin watched for a while, his gaze drifting unconsciously to his left hand.
There, the Left-Hand Dragon was still quietly slumbering, as if nothing in the outside world concerned it. But watching the Blue-Flame Blood Python’s actions, Evan couldn’t shake the feeling that the python was acting under the Left-Hand Dragon’s will.
"Choosing bones?"
Queenie was shocked by Evan’s words. "Why would it choose bones?" she asked, confused and trembling as she looked at the pile of white bones on the ground.
She looked at the eerie white bones, her heart trembling, unable to understand.
Even as she finished speaking, the Blue-Flame Blood Python, which had been weaving among the bones, suddenly seemed to discover something and became extremely excited.
It circled one particular bone faster and faster, then suddenly bit down hard, shook its tail, and yanked that bone out of the skeleton.
Evan glanced at the bone the Blue-Flame Blood Python had selected—it was obviously denser and stronger than the others, radiating power at a glance.
Even though the person was dead and their flesh long gone, this bone was still incredibly tough.
After picking out that bone, the Blue-Flame Blood Python spat a burst of fierce flame, burning the rest of the skeleton to ash.
Then it hurried over to the next skeleton.
"If I’m not mistaken,"
"It’s choosing bones to forge a dragon."
Evan spoke in a low voice, reaching out with one hand. The bone floated up from the ground and landed in his palm.
"So-called Vajra-realm experts are all about tempering body and bones. This bone is the strongest in that person’s body."
Evan glanced at the white bone in his hand, testing its feel—it was cold to the touch.
Queenie, seeing the bone so close, instinctively covered her mouth again, almost crying out in fright.
"Choosing bones."
"Forging a dragon!"
Queenie pondered Evan’s words, her gaze toward the Blue-Flame Blood Python now completely changed.
She was still mostly confused. In her mind, she recalled the day she’d seen Evan ride the water dragon and soar straight into Medicine King Valley.
"It was born a python, which means it’s a snake. For a snake to become a dragon, it must first become a flood dragon, then undergo trials before it can become a true dragon."
"Now that it’s lost its python body, and suddenly started choosing bones, I suppose it’s just unwilling to accept its fate."
Evan spoke calmly, tossing the bone lightly back onto the ground as he talked.
Hearing Evan’s words, the Blue-Flame Blood Python seemed to sense something. It quickly floated over to him, winding around his legs, gently nuzzling his finger with its head, its eyes full of silent pleading.