The mist shifted.
The ground trembled.
Li Ming tightened his grip on his sword. The Azure Vein Lotus glowed faintly in his other hand.
"Everyone… stay sharp."
From the fog, something moved — slow, deliberate, heavy.
A massive paw crushed through a tree trunk like dry grass.
Then came another.
Lan Yue's eyes narrowed. "That's… a Marsh Python. But it's mutated."
When the beast finally emerged, it towered over them — scales like molten stone, eyes glowing crimson, steam rolling from its nostrils.
Each breath it took warped the air.
Bai Guo blinked. "Oh good, a nightmare with scales."
The creature hissed — a sound that shook the forest.
---
It lunged.
Li Ming leapt back, lightning sparking beneath his feet.
Its tail smashed into the ground where he stood a heartbeat ago, sending boulders flying.
Lan Yue's sword flashed as she cut across its side, but sparks bounced harmlessly off its scales.
"It's too tough!" she shouted.
"Yun Rou!" Li Ming called.
