The moment they stepped out of the house, Langtian froze.
A cold, bone-deep chill ran down his spine. His blood turned to ice.
Never in his life had he imagined seeing something like this.
"S-Senior Sister Shangguan…" he stammered, his eyes wide. "What the heck is THIS?!"
But Shangguan Yue Ling simply tapped his shoulder and looked ahead with a smug smile, her eyes gleaming with pride and her chest puffed out.
"Hehe, how is it? Beautiful, isn't it?"
Langtian slowly turned his head back toward the thing in front of them, and nearly forgot how to breathe.
Because standing before them was the colossal skeleton of a demonic beast. A serpent. A giant serpent whose rib bones alone towered over the house they had just exited. Each curved bone arched like a pale-white bridge into the sky, some snapped and jagged at the edges, others still perfectly smooth, polished by time and wind.
Even the skull alone was big enough to hold five of the houses. Its fangs were long and curved, as big as giant tree trunks. The empty eye sockets stared down at them.
The creature's remains coiled across the valley like the fossilized spine of a forgotten god.
And even in death… the sheer aura it radiated made Langtian tremble, giving him goosebumps all over his skin.
His heart pounded in his chest.
"D-Dragon?" he stammered.
"No, not quite a True Dragon," Yue Ling corrected with a grin. "It's a Jiao—a demonic Jiao, to be precise."
"R-Right…" Langtian muttered, still staring at the massive skeleton like it had swallowed his soul whole.
Now that Senior Sister mentioned it, he began to notice the details.
A Jiao wasn't a True Dragon.
But it was close.
In cultivation lore, it was said that a serpent seeking to evolve into a dragon had to undergo a series of transformations, each more profound than the last. There were six stages:
Snake
Python
Giant Python
Jiao
Horned Serpent
True Dragon
Only after reaching the stage of Horned Serpent could the beast attempt the Heavenly Tribulation, the final test to ascend and be recognized as a true dragon by the heavens.
The Jiao stage was the fourth step in this journey. At this point, the serpent would already have clawed limbs, hardened scales like armor, a massive body, and the ability to manipulate wind and rain. Some even developed rudimentary wings or the ability to fly short distances.
However, they still lacked the signature dragon horns and the divine essence of dragon qi.
But even so… a Jiao was a force of nature.
A beast at this level could tear down mountains, shatter cities, and summon storms with a single roar. It stood at the boundary between mortal beast and divine creature.
So then… why was a Jiao here?
At this scale, with bones this massive and thick, this creature must have been at least Rank 8, maybe even Rank 9!
A true terror of the cultivation world!
And yet… here it lay, turned to bone, coiled silently in this cursed valley.
"Yeah, I killed it," Yue Ling said casually, as if she were talking about squashing a bug. "Then I turned its skeleton into decoration to scare off the other demonic beasts."
"WHAT?!"
Langtian whipped his head toward her so fast his neck cracked. His eyes nearly popped out of his skull.
"R-Really?!"
Pffft—!
Yue Ling burst into laughter, clapping a hand over her mouth.
"Of course not, dummy!" she giggled. "This skeleton was already here when I found the place. I just built my little hut next to it. The Jiao's lingering aura is so terrifying, most of the beasts in this area don't dare to come near. It's the perfect natural defense, don't you think?"
Langtian blinked. "…Oh."
"And as for why the Jiao is here?" She shrugged. "No clue. I stumbled across this place completely by accident. When I arrived, it had already been long dead—just bones left."
Pheww…
Langtian let out a breath he didn't know he was holding.
"Senior Sister, you scared the life out of me!"
"Wait, wait," Yue Ling grinned. "You seriously thought I was strong enough to kill that thing?"
"Yeah!" Langtian blurted. "You said it so convincingly!"
"Hahaha! That's adorable." She snorted. "If I really was strong enough to slay a demonic Jiao, do you think I'd still be stuck here for ten years, living off demonic beasts?"
"Right…" Langtian muttered, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly.
Yue Ling turned and gave him a little wave.
"Alright, enough talking. Come on, let's go."
"Senior Sister, where are we going now?"
"Hunting," she replied with a playful wink over her shoulder.
Langtian stiffened. "You mean… demonic beasts?"
"Duh. What else is there to hunt around here?" she grinned. "Relax. You don't have to fight just yet. Just stick close to me, watch carefully, and help me butcher the carcass afterward."
Gulp.
Langtian swallowed.
"…Okay."
He nodded, and followed his senior sister into the dark.