The valley fell silent once more.
Only the sound of trembling breaths remained.
The two siblings stared at the enormous white-scaled beast before them.
Their minds raced.
*Everything?*
*What does he mean by everything?*
Ling Wei's face grew even paler.
His sister looked equally lost.
Neither dared ask for clarification.
Because those golden eyes remained fixed upon them.
Waiting.
Watching.
The pressure hanging over the valley seemed to grow heavier with every passing second.
Then—
Ling Wei hurriedly lowered his head again.
"I-I'll speak!"
His voice nearly cracked.
"Please don't be angry!"
Beside him, Ling Yue nodded frantically.
"We'll tell you everything!"
Lizarius remained silent.
The silence itself felt like permission.
Or perhaps a warning.
Ling Wei swallowed hard.
Then he began speaking as quickly as possible.
"M-My name is Ling Wei."
He pointed shakily toward his sister.
"T-This is my younger sister, Ling Yue."
The girl immediately lowered her head.
"Greetings, Senior!"
The moment the words left her mouth, she seemed to realize what she had just done.
She had greeted a giant demon beast as though it were an elder cultivator.
Yet somehow—
it felt appropriate.
The white-scaled creature simply continued staring.
Neither approving.
Nor objecting.
Ling Wei hurried onward.
"W-We come from Lotus City."
"It's located several hundred li east of this valley."
"Our Ling Clan is one of the cultivation clans there."
"We're both young master and young miss of the clan!"
He quickly added the last part.
As though being important might somehow make him more valuable alive than dead.
His sister immediately nodded.
"We're ordinary disciples!"
"Very ordinary disciples!"
Lizarius's golden eyes narrowed slightly.
The siblings instantly became even more nervous.
Ling Wei continued.
"We came to Lotus Valley to gain experience."
"To hunt spirit beasts."
"To train."
"To gain practical combat experience."
His voice gradually steadied as he spoke.
After all—
he was merely explaining facts.
"We weren't alone."
"There are nine of us in total."
"Seven younger masters and misses."
"And two elders."
The moment he mentioned the elders—
Lizarius's eyes sharpened ever so slightly.
The subtle change nearly stopped Ling Wei's heart.
He hurriedly continued.
"E-Elder Qin and Elder Zhao."
"They're both Late Spirit Refining cultivators."
"They came to supervise us."
His sister quickly added,
"They aren't far away!"
The moment the words left her mouth, she regretted them.
Her face turned white.
"Ah!"
"I-I didn't mean—"
She slapped both hands over her mouth.
Ling Wei looked as though he wanted to faint on the spot.
The valley fell silent once again.
Lizarius simply stared at them.
Late Spirit Refining.
Weak.
Completely insignificant compared to what he had recently survived.
Yet in his current condition—
things were different.
His body remained broken.
His core was damaged.
His soul was unstable.
Even moving a claw required effort.
The information was useful.
Very useful.
Ling Wei cautiously continued.
"This place is called Lotus Valley."
"It's usually safe."
"There aren't supposed to be any dangerous demon beasts here."
A bitter smile appeared on his face.
"...Obviously, we were wrong."
Neither sibling laughed.
Because there was nothing funny about their situation.
The white-scaled lizard remained motionless beneath the twisted roots.
Blood still stained his scales.
Cracks still covered his body.
Yet the longer they looked at him—
the less injured he seemed.
Not because the wounds had disappeared.
But because his presence overshadowed them.
The creature felt less like a wounded beast—
and more like a disaster temporarily at rest.
The valley seemed frozen.
Even the wind had stopped moving.
Ling Wei and Ling Yue stared at the white-scaled beast as its hoarse voice echoed through the forest.
"...Come closer."
For a moment—
neither of them understood.
Then the meaning registered.
Their faces immediately turned deathly pale.
The girl instinctively took a step backward.
"I-I can't—!"
Ling Wei reacted even faster, throwing himself to the ground again.
"P-Please, Senior! We didn't lie! We told you everything!"
His voice cracked under the pressure.
"Don't kill us!"
Their fear was immediate.
Raw.
Unfiltered.
Because every instinct they possessed screamed the same thing:
Moving closer to a demon beast capable of killing Core Formation cultivators was suicide.
The white-scaled creature didn't move.
Didn't react.
Didn't raise its voice.
It simply watched them.
Golden eyes calm.
Cold.
Impatient.
"...Quiet."
The word was spoken softly.
Yet it struck like a hammer.
Both siblings froze instantly.
Their mouths snapped shut.
Their trembling stopped only because fear made it impossible to move.
A heavy pressure settled over them once more.
Not increasing.
Not diminishing.
Simply there.
Unchanging.
Waiting.
Then Lizarius spoke again.
"...Do as you're told."
The valley fell completely silent.
Ling Wei swallowed hard.
His throat felt dry.
He glanced at his sister.
She was shaking so badly she could barely stand.
Neither of them moved for several long seconds.
Then—
slowly—
Ling Wei forced himself upright.
One step.
Then another.
Each movement felt like walking toward his own execution.
Ling Yue followed immediately after him, tears still clinging to the corners of her eyes.
They approached.
Closer.
And closer.
Until finally—
they stood only a few feet away from the enormous white-scaled beast.
Its presence towered over them even in its weakened state.
Every crack in its scales looked deep enough to swallow them whole.
Neither dared breathe too deeply.
Then Lizarius spoke.
"...Place your hands on me."
The siblings froze once more.
Ling Yue immediately shook her head.
"N-No..."
But Ling Wei's expression twisted.
He understood something far worse.
Refusal was not an option.
He looked at his sister.
Their eyes met.
Terror.
Hesitation.
Then helpless acceptance.
Slowly—
he raised his hand.
"...Do it."
He whispered.
Ling Yue hesitated for another heartbeat.
Then, trembling violently, she followed.
Both hands moved forward.
And pressed against the white scales.
Cold.
Hard.
Unnaturally dense.
The moment contact was made—
BOOM.
A faint surge of energy rippled outward from Lizarius's body.
Not an explosion.
Not an attack.
A marking pulse.
Black light flickered beneath their skin.
Both siblings instantly recoiled.
"Ah—!"
Pain never came.
But something worse did.
On the backs of their hands—
a mark formed.
Dark.
Coiling.
Like a living seal carved directly into their flesh.
Ling Yue stared at her hand in horror.
"W-What... what is this?!"
Ling Wei's breathing became frantic.
"It's... it's a curse mark..."
His voice shook uncontrollably.
A curse mark meant death.
Control.
Or something even worse.
Their fear skyrocketed instantly.
But before panic could consume them—
Lizarius spoke again.
Calm.
Unchanging.
"...Poison."
Silence.
The single word crushed the air.
Ling Yue's face turned white.
Ling Wei's pupils contracted.
"P-Poison?!"
Lizarius continued.
"...It will kill you instantly."
The valley turned deathly still.
The siblings felt their souls freeze.
Ling Yue's legs gave out completely.
She nearly collapsed.
Ling Wei barely remained standing.
"W-Why?!"
His voice broke.
"W-We didn't do anything!"
For the first time—
Lizarius's golden eyes shifted slightly.
Not anger.
Not hatred.
Not amusement.
Only calculation.
"...You didn't."
That answer somehow made everything worse.
Because it meant this had nothing to do with justice.
Nothing to do with punishment.
Only control.
Ling Wei's voice trembled violently.
"T-Then why..."
The white-scaled beast remained still.
Its voice emerged low.
Cold.
Absolute.
"...Because you will obey."
A suffocating silence followed.
The meaning was clear.
Their lives no longer belonged to them.
Ling Yue began crying silently.
Ling Wei clenched his fists so hard they shook.
Both of them finally understood the truth.
They had not encountered a wounded beast.
They had not encountered an ordinary demon beast.
They had encountered something far more terrifying.
Something intelligent enough to negotiate.
And ruthless enough to guarantee obedience.
Lizarius's gaze remained fixed upon them.
Then he added calmly,
"...Do as you're told."
A pause.
"...And you live."
Another pause.
"...Disobey."
His eyes narrowed slightly.
"...And you won't."
The valley remained silent.
The decision had already been made for them.
And in that moment—
the two siblings realized they were no longer cultivators on an expedition.
They were hostages.
Or perhaps something even worse.
Tools.
And the only thing keeping them alive...
was how useful they remained.
The valley remained silent for a moment too long.
Lizarius lay beneath the twisted roots, his golden eyes half-lidded as he studied the two trembling humans.
*Kill them... or use them.*
The thought passed through his mind without emotion.
Killing them would be easy.
Even now, in his wounded state.
But that was precisely the problem.
Easy actions often created complicated consequences.
He could barely move.
His core was fractured.
His soul remained unstable after surviving the Nascent Soul attack.
And more importantly—
they were not sect disciples.
They were members of a cultivation clan.
That meant families.
Connections.
Resources.
Investigation.
Retaliation.
If they disappeared without explanation, others would come searching.
More humans.
Possibly stronger ones.
At the moment, that was unnecessary trouble.
His golden eyes narrowed slightly.
*Useful... or irrelevant.*
The answer formed quickly.
Useful.
Then they would live.
For now.
A faint shift of energy moved through his broken body.
Not outward—
but inward.
Deep compression.
Every remaining strand of spiritual energy folded back into his core.
Like storm clouds collapsing into a single point.
His massive body trembled once.
Then—
it changed.
The enormous white-scaled form began to shrink.
Rapidly.
Bones.
Muscles.
Scales.
Wings.
Everything compressed inward as though reality itself were folding around him.
The siblings' eyes widened.
"W-What—"
Before Ling Wei could finish speaking, the mountain-like beast before them had already become smaller.
Smaller.
And smaller still.
Until—
nothing remained except a small white figure resting upon the ground.
A lizard no larger than a human forearm.
Still covered in cracks.
Still stained with blood.
Still radiating something profoundly unsettling beneath its calm exterior.
A jade storage ring hung loosely around one hind claw, glinting faintly beneath the forest canopy.
The transformation ended.
Silence followed.
Ling Yue blinked repeatedly.
"...It shrank?"
Ling Wei didn't answer.
He couldn't.
His mind was still struggling to process what he had just witnessed.
Then—
the small white lizard opened its eyes again.
Still golden.
Still calm.
Still watching.
Its voice emerged weaker now, yet somehow even clearer within the silence.
"Pick me up."
The words struck them like a hammer.
The siblings froze instantly.
"W-What?" Ling Wei blurted before he could stop himself.
The small lizard didn't move.
Didn't blink.
Only stared.
"Carry me."
A brief pause followed.
Then, even colder—
"Take me to the city."
The weight behind those words was unmistakable.
Not a request.
Not a suggestion.
An order.
Ling Wei's throat tightened.
Ling Yue instinctively took half a step backward.
Neither moved for several long seconds.
Too many questions flooded their minds.
Why did a demon beast want to enter a human city?
Why did it need them?
Why were they still alive?
Finally—
Ling Wei swallowed hard.
His hands trembled as he slowly crouched down.
"...Big Brother..."
Ling Yue whispered.
"I know."
His reply was barely audible.
Yet his eyes never left the small white lizard.
Because he understood one thing perfectly.
Refusal was not an option.
Slowly.
Carefully.
He extended both hands.
He hesitated for only a fraction of a second.
Then gently lifted the small creature.
It was lighter than expected.
Far lighter.
Yet the moment it settled into his palms, an instinctive chill ran through his entire body.
It felt like holding something that should never be touched.
Something that did not belong in human hands.
Ling Yue walked beside him, still trembling.
The white lizard remained motionless.
Then its voice sounded once more.
Quiet.
Cold.
Absolute.
"Move."
And so—
they moved.
Step by step.
The two siblings began walking out of the valley.
Carrying something they could not understand.
Something that should have killed them.
Something that had instead chosen to use them.
Behind them—
the forest remained silent.
As though the entire world was holding its breath.