After Iris finally slept her fill, she changed into a black robe and walked out of the cave, heading toward the lakeshore described in the diary.

Two hours later, she reached her destination. The lake water was crystal clear, rippling gently with shimmering light. Leaves along the shore swayed in the wind, rustling softly.

There wasn’t a single magical beast drinking at the lakeside, which made the place feel especially quiet. Only the whisper of wind over grass broke the silence.

“Looks like the white python at the bottom is pretty strong. Strong enough to scare everything else away from drinking here. The stronger the better. Only then can I find out where my limits are,” Iris thought to herself.

She raised the sword in her hand and thrust it into the water.

The moment the blade entered the lake, an unbelievably fierce sword aura exploded out, carving a massive scar through the water.

“Freeze!” Iris shouted.

Crack, crack, crack—

A torrent of frigid energy surged from her sword, and the surface of the lake began to freeze. Thick ice formed in an instant, then raced outward across the water…

Deep below, the white python felt the biting cold and flew into a rage. It shot up from the water, roaring, thrashing its body and claws. A wild gale followed in its wake, whipping up countless waves across the lake.

Boom, boom, boom—

Its pupils were golden, its body enormous—much larger than the black python she’d faced before.

The horn on its head was nearly two meters long, sharp like a sword, the tip barbed and vicious, gleaming with a chilling light.

Seeing it, Iris couldn’t help getting excited. Only a powerful magical beast could satisfy her hunger to grow stronger. She urgently needed such a beast to test her power.

To the white python, the two‑legged beast before it was so scrawny it wouldn’t even fill the gaps between its teeth. Its gaze brimmed with contempt as it swung a massive claw down, trying to slap Iris into a bloody paste.

Instead of retreating, Iris advanced. She lifted her sword and met the descending claw head‑on.

Clang—

Blade and claw collided, throwing out a shower of sparks.

The impact sent Iris’s body flying. She tumbled several times in midair before crashing back to the ground.

She steadied herself as she landed, blood trickling from the corner of her mouth. She cursed under her breath, “Damn beast, who knew you’d be this strong? A human body still can’t compare to a magical beast.”

The white python stared at her sorry state, its eyes gleaming with mockery. It opened its jaws wide, a foul stench washing over her as a massive tongue shot out, trying to wrap around her face.

Dodging aside, Iris snapped, “Disgusting—and your breath reeks… Better just cut that thing off.”

Her right hand tightened around the sword. She swung hard, and a slash of sword aura came crashing down, severing the python’s tongue.

Hiss—

The white python let out a shrill scream of pain. Blood gushed from its mouth.

In the same instant, Iris pushed off with her left leg. Her body shot forward, lunging at the python. Her sword traced a downward arc in the air, chopping toward its head.

The white python wasn’t alarmed by the move; it was delighted. It twisted around, lashing its tail viciously toward Iris’s sword.

Clang, clang, clang—

Three crisp impacts as blade met tail, explosions of dazzling light flaring in midair.

Sparks scattered where sword edge and tail struck.

The python’s tail was thick and powerful, but it still couldn’t fully block Iris’s blow. Lightning pulsed along the sword like a flood dragon, and in one stroke, it chopped the tail clean off.

Aooo—

The white python howled miserably, its body shuddering violently. It writhed and twisted in agony.

Blood poured from the severed stump of its tail, dripping into the water, staining the lake red.

The blood spread, ripples racing outward, forming whirlpools on the surface.

Then faint green lines appeared on the python’s skin, slowly crawling across its body like a spiderweb.

As time passed, the green markings grew denser. A faint demonic aura seeped out, spreading until the entire area was shrouded in it.

“What’s this?” Iris frowned slightly at the change.

The white python seemed to have lost all reason, leaving only a brutal, bloodthirsty hunger.

It stalked toward Iris step by step, eyes blazing red, gaze feral and ravenous, as if it meant to devour her down to the last scrap.

Seeing its transformation, Iris’s expression shifted. She quickly retreated. Her speed was fast; in the blink of an eye she’d left the lake and reached the shore.

The moment she ran, the python charged after her. Its massive claws, like a falling mountain, came slamming down toward Iris.

Her face paled, and she hurriedly dodged aside.

Then the white python spread its wings. A violent gale roared out from its back. In an instant, a towering wave over ten meters high rose from the lake.

The hurricane’s force was terrifying, sweeping across the entire surface. Countless fish, shrimp, and crabs in the lake were crushed to pulp.

When the winds died down, only devastation remained.

In the lake, aside from scattered bones, nothing was left.

Missing its mark, the white python lunged for Iris again. Its massive claws slammed down over and over, pounding the water into raging waves, pillars of spray blasting skyward as mist rolled out.

“Didn’t expect this white python to grow four limbs… and wings, too,” Iris muttered while dodging.

She suddenly felt the air temperature plummet. Frost formed over the lake. The python exhaled a breath of pure ice, spewing it toward her. Strips of freezing frost locked the air in place and came lashing at Iris like a torrential downpour.

“Flame!”

Iris shouted. Fire burst to life along her blade, blazing fiercely. She swung her sword, using the flames to block the incoming ice.

Ice and fire slammed into each other again and again, spraying sparks and sending up colorful clouds of steam.

Suddenly, cold power struck from both sides, clamping around Iris and freezing her in place. She couldn’t move at all.

Seeing this, the white python brought its huge claw crashing down, intent on smashing her into paste.

Right then, White Flame ignited on Iris’s left hand. It swelled rapidly, and in a flash, became a roaring blaze that wrapped around her entire body.

The White Flame jumped to the python’s claw and began to burn. Its massive talon reddened in an instant.

“Ahhh—” The python screamed in pain and tried to yank its claw back, but it was too slow. The fire had already spread to the back of its hand and raced up its arm, turning the whole limb bright red as it baked.

“Tsk tsk… It’s been a while since I had barbecue. Roast snake’s gotta taste amazing,” Iris said with a squinting smile, staring at the python.

The python frantically blasted its claw with icy breath, but the instant the frost touched White Flame it evaporated. The White Flame didn’t die down—instead, it burned even hotter. In no time, its entire arm was reduced to ash that vanished with a passing breeze.

Right after that, Iris’s left hand suddenly moved on its own. It fired another streak of White Flame at the python. The blaze was savage, and in an eye‑blink, it burned the creature’s other claw to ash as well.

The White Flame slowly spread over its whole body. The white python shrieked, its body twisting and convulsing. Its skin split open, revealing bloody entrails and chunks of meat.

It spun around and dove into the lake, trying to use the water to douse the fire inside its body.

The heat of White Flame was terrifying. Wisps of pale fire rose across the lake’s surface, and the water level started to drop…

Iris’s left hand was completely out of control. It kept pouring White Flame into the lake, as if determined to evaporate every last drop.

Watching this, Iris felt a sharp pang. These past days, she hadn’t dared use White Flame at all, afraid that if she exhausted its power, her left hand would disappear with it.

“Hey, Little Left, I’m begging you, stop… If you keep shooting like this, you’ll vanish. It’s not worth it,” Iris pleaded with her left hand.

She reached out her right hand and slowly pressed Little Left down, trying to force it to stop releasing White Flame. But Little Left, as if provoked by something, shook up and down, refusing to stop, still firing flame at the lake like it absolutely had to roast it dry.

The waterline kept sinking lower. The white python’s screams echoed nonstop as the whole lake churned and boiled. Gradually, the water began to truly boil.

Watching this, Iris sighed inwardly. “I just wanted some training. Now look at this—Little Left went and roasted the whole thing for me.”

In the lake, the python’s corpse finally floated to the surface. Its body was charred black by White Flame, nothing left but a burnt husk.

Once the python was completely dead, the White Flame on her left hand finally faded.

“Looks like Little Left won’t stop until the enemy’s completely gone. That’s a bit too persistent, don’t you think?” Iris muttered to her left hand.

She stepped forward and tapped the python’s corpse lightly. It crumbled into ash on contact, leaving behind only a heart the size of a human head, hovering above the lake. It glowed faintly like a night‑pearl, shining with a mysterious magical power.

She reached out and grabbed it. A chill instantly seeped into her palm. “No wonder it could spit ice. Its heart actually holds an incredibly pure ice element. Looks like Baixi can get even stronger.”

Thinking of Baixi, Iris couldn’t help feeling a little down. “I wonder how those two are doing. Without me there, is Baixi bullying Baiying every day?”

She knew better than anyone how much that snake loved tormenting Baiying.

Muttering to herself, she stored the python’s heart away into her storage space.

Then she lifted her head to the murky sky and murmured, “When will I be able to leave this damned place?”

Up above, magical beasts tore into each other. Their roars and screams shook the heavens, turning the sky dim.

The battle overhead was brutal. Beasts clashed in a frenzy, the scene a complete mess of slaughter.

Iris had once thought about flying out of here. But every time a beast flew too high, lightning would crash down from the sky and blast it to pieces.

More and more, this place felt like a prison to her. Thunder roared above, while below, endless magical beasts fought and fed, the winners living on and the losers becoming meat.

Her only hope of leaving was the passage mentioned in the diary. But its owner hadn’t written down where it was, which frustrated her to no end.

“Sigh…” Iris let out a long breath.