Chapter 2063: Refinement
“What abilities does that bone dragon have? How can we win against it?” Zu An wondered, starting to feel frustrated.
“That’s not my responsibility. You said you"d help me get rid of those guys, so that’s for you to think about,” the Snow Lady said matter-of-factly.
Zu An was speechless.
This Snow Lady is acting more and more like a human woman.
“I"ll help you draw away that shadow person and stone monster, but you have to make sure to get rid of the bone dragon in that time. Otherwise, they probably won’t fall for it again,” the Snow Lady warned.
Zu An was a bit worried, saying, “That stone monster isn’t any weaker than you, let alone that shadow person who is even stronger than you. You’re injured right now, so won’t you be in great danger if you try to lure them away?”
The Snow Lady shook her head and replied, “This is my home, so I have my ways of protecting myself.”
At their level, she naturally wouldn’t give away all of her secrets. Since they were now partners, however, Zu An chose to trust her. It seemed he had to eliminate that bone dragon as quickly as possible. After all, she wouldn"t necessarily be able to hold up the two others for very long, and it would become more dangerous the longer they waited. However, the bone dragon’s threefold reflection ability was a bit too ridiculous. Just how was he going to get rid of it quickly?
...
The two continued forward for some time. As he looked at the surroundings, Zu An started to feel a vague sense of familiarity. The first place he had encountered the Snow Lady in the past seemed to be nearby, and back then, he had been chased until he had absolutely no way out.
When he recalled how terrifying she was, he couldn"t help but give the Snow Lady a look. She was entirely made of ice and snow. Her cheeks were clearly a bit hazy under the snowy mist, but she still looked a bit weak. He wondered if it was because she was injured.
The Snow Lady turned around and just happened to meet his gaze, asking, “Why are you looking at me again?”
Zu An said honestly, “It’s just that I feel as if you’re not the same as before.”
“How am I different?” the Snow Lady asked in confusion.
“You’re not as mean as before,” Zu An said with a chuckle.
The Snow Lady remained silent for a long time before finally saying, “It seems I really was injured badly.”
Zu An was speechless.
This woman’s way of thinking doesn’t seem to be that normal.
A while later, the Snow Lady said, “Come a bit closer to me.”
“What is it?” Zu An asked. Even though he didn’t know what she wanted, he still moved a bit closer to her. He stopped about a foot away.
“A bit closer,” the Snow Lady said with a frown.
Zu An was stunned. This woman isn’t trying to use a honey trap against me, right?
However, he immediately gave up on that thought when he saw the Snow Lady’s emotionless face. There had to be another reason for this.
Sure enough, the Snow Lady said quietly, “We"re about to approach my territory. In order to prevent you from being noticed by those guys, we have to conceal our auras.”
While she spoke, a plume of snowy mist suddenly erupted beneath her feet. Then, the mist quickly extended to Zu An’s side, wrapping the two within. She said, “Alright, we’ve now become one with the surrounding ice and snow. Those three won’t be able to find us anymore. I’m injured right now, so this is the limit of my reach."
Zu An now realized what was going on. The wind and snow around them didn’t block their line of sight, but their presence had indeed already disappeared from this world. No wonder she had been able to flee from those three powerful individuals. He turned slightly to glance at the Snow Lady. The two were now really close, with only a few inches between them. He could clearly sense the cold emanating from her body.
Now this is a real "body of ice", right? I wonder if she would melt if she walked close to a volcano...
Suddenly, both of them stopped and looked up at the tallest snow-covered mountain in the distance. The sun had already risen. A trace of golden light slowly spread across the snowy mountaintop, bathing it in color. Zu An thought to himself.
Now this is what you call sunshine over a golden mountain! The photographers of my previous world climbed up freezing mountains doggedly in order to capture these kinds of scenes. Even so, not every day was beautiful like this. You could easily go more than two weeks without any results and be forced to go home.
This snowy mountain was more majestic than any mountain he had ever seen in his previous world, and it also had an elegant air to it. He really wondered just how those two entirely different feelings had managed to combine together atop this mountain. As the mountaintop was covered in a layer of gold, it became even more astonishing.
However, most of Zu An’s attention was on a gray figure slowly circling above the mountaintop - it was a several-hundred-meter long dragon. If it had been one of the giant dragons from the Ocean races, perhaps it would have added a bit of beauty to the scene; and yet, this was a skeletal bone dragon that was full of deathly energy, which completely ruined the view.
“What is it doing?” Zu An wondered in confusion, thinking, Has that bone dragon gone mad? Why does it keep circling the mountaintop?
The Snow Lady was also a bit baffled at first. Immediately after, she closed her eyes and seemed to be communicating with something. A while later, she opened her eyes and said, “It"s refining this entire mountain!”
“Refining the entire snowy mountain?” Zu An exclaimed in shock. Was there something special about this snowy mountain? Otherwise, why would the dragon use up so much energy to refine it? Also, just what kind of method was it using?
“The death energy around its entire body has already begun to corrode this entire snowy mountain. We can"t let it continue! We have to get rid of it as quickly as possible!” the Snow Lady exclaimed, sounding a bit panicked. “By the way, I can’t sense that shadow person and the stone monster. Can you sense their auras?”
Zu An closed his eyes when he heard her say that. He sent his vast divine sense in all directions. A while later, he opened his eyes and shook his head, saying, “I can’t sense them either. This really is strange.”
“Then there’s no problem. The snowy mountain told me that those two seem to have left for some reason. They seem to be preparing to refine other places,” the Snow Lady quickly said.
Zu An was surprised. Three powerful beings were going to refine three separate places? That perfectly matched up with the three divine artifacts. He wondered if there was any connection there. Suddenly realizing something important, he asked, “You can communicate with the snowy mountain?”
The Snow Lady gave him a strange look and replied, “This is my home, so of course I can.”
Zu An was speechless. He was becoming more and more curious as to just what kind of being the Snow Lady really was. She had previously mentioned that as long as the Great Snowy Mountain existed, she wouldn’t die. Could it be that the Great Snowy Mountain had developed sentience, and that she was its incarnation?
The Snow Lady quickly said, “The other two not being here right now is good news. I can coordinate with you now. Have you thought of any solutions?”
Zu An nodded, saying, “I do have a way, but I need your cooperation.”
“Sure, what do you need me to do?” the Snow Lady asked, sounding a bit excited. She really wanted to get these intruders out of her home as quickly as possible.
“We need to do this...” Zu An moved closer to the Snow Lady’s ear and whispered. They were now so close that he could clearly see her sparkling ear. He was briefly stunned.
Why is this ice doll looking more and more like a person?
Meanwhile, the bone dragon was still doing its best to refine the snowy mountain below. When it sensed that its death energy was gradually corroding the Great Snowy Mountain, a proud smile appeared on its sinister face. This entire place would be completely refined before much longer.
Suddenly, an ice-cold voice called out, “Ugly dragon, stop right there!”
The bone dragon raised its head and saw a beautiful snowy figure standing at the peak of the mountain across from its own. Its attention was immediately drawn. It said, “Last time, you fled with your life by a fluke. Who would have thought that you would come back to throw your life away?”
“You had your companions with you last time, and I was distracted. That was why I was injured. You’re alone today, so let’s fight a proper battle,” the Snow Lady said coldly.
The bone dragon seemed as if it had heard something utterly absurd. It retorted, “You weren’t a match for me even when you were at your strongest. You’re seriously injured right now, so aren’t you just courting death?” However, it voiced its surprise midway throug, saying, “Hold on, you clearly got away last time. How could you possibly do something so stupid?”
Zu An, who was hiding in the dark, was alarmed.
Could it be that this bone dragon saw through our plan?
However, the bone dragon burst out into laughter and said, “I got it! It seems you sensed that I was already about to completely refine this snowy mountain, so you had no choice but to come. Since you’ve come to die, don’t blame me for being rude!”