Besides his stronger immortality, Jiang Xiaofeng had also gained another ability.
Jiang Xiaofeng controlled his current body.
Inside Jiang Xiaofeng, two ribs rose from their original positions and began growing larger and harder.
Soon, the two ribs pierced through Jiang Xiaofeng's back, rapidly lengthening, thickening, and turning red.
When it was all over, a pair of finely formed dragon wings had appeared behind Jiang Xiaofeng.
After all, the evil dragon Durin was a Western dragon, so there was no helping the fact that the wings he produced were dragon wings.
At least they looked much better than Stormterror's appearance, whatever species he was...
In short, this was the most useful ability Jiang Xiaofeng had gained so far: Evil Dragon Transformation.
Since he had only absorbed one Crimson Agate, he could only manifest the dragon wings.
If he absorbed more, perhaps he could turn his entire body into an evil dragon at any time.
Fortunately, Evil Dragon Transformation was reversible.
Jiang Xiaofeng slowly retracted his enormous dragon wings.
Looks like I'll have to collect some Crimson Agates to devour...
Jiang Xiaofeng thought to himself.
And when Jiang Xiaofeng successfully absorbed the Crimson Agate's energy...
Two fellows with almost identical appearances looked in Jiang Xiaofeng's direction at the same time.
One merely glanced in Jiang Xiaofeng's direction before returning to painting the Hilichurl in front of him.
The other, however, was utterly shocked when he sensed Jiang Xiaofeng's presence.
"Someone actually absorbed my power!"
He spread wings almost identical to those on Jiang Xiaofeng's back and rushed toward Jiang Xiaofeng's location...
When he found Jiang Xiaofeng, however, he discovered that Jiang Xiaofeng had no intention of running away...
Yes.
Jiang Xiaofeng had sensed him too.
One of the finest creations of the alchemist Gold, Rhinedottir: the evil dragon Durin.
At that moment, Durin had Albedo's appearance. The only difference was the four-pointed star on the neck: Albedo had one, while Durin did not.
It was proof of Albedo's status as an artificial human, while Durin had removed that flaw to show that he was a real human.
Jiang Xiaofeng and Durin stared at each other.
After a long while, Durin spoke first.
"Why can you accept my power?"
"Are you... from Khaenri'ah?"
Durin asked.
He truly hoped to meet someone from Khaenri'ah and learn what exactly had happened there back then, rather than remain in the dark.
Otherwise, how could that dragon and that god have suppressed him here in this snowy mountain?
Jiang Xiaofeng shook his head.
Durin's expression involuntarily darkened.
"Then what exactly are you?"
"Other than that fellow in the sky, no one could absorb my power and remain as rational as you."
"Let alone seem to use my power so well..."
As Durin spoke, his aura slowly grew dangerous.
"I'm not the Heavenly Principles. What are you thinking?"
"Also, Khaenri'ah has already fallen, but your mother, the alchemist Gold, Rhinedottir, should still be alive and well."
"You're pretty useless, really. You're an alchemical creation, yet you still got sealed away here in Dragonspine. Speaking of which, did Dragonspine get that name because your corpse is here?"
Jiang Xiaofeng was trying to anger Durin.
After all, he planned to absorb the power of the heart Durin had left behind. It would be a little awkward if Durin discovered that, so he might as well deal with Durin now.
Unexpectedly, after Jiang Xiaofeng said all that, Durin made no move.
Jiang Xiaofeng was puzzled. Had his insults not been harsh enough?
Jiang Xiaofeng wanted to keep talking, but Durin spoke first. "Are you... an artificial human too?"
Jiang Xiaofeng was about to deny it when he noticed something was off.
Wait, I do seem to be an artificial human.
"I'm different from you."
"The methods and techniques were different."
Jiang Xiaofeng said.
At the same time, he felt that things were looking a little bad.
Barring any surprises, he and Durin would not be fighting.
Sure enough, Durin's eyes lit up at his words.
"Then... could you teach me the method used to create you?"
Although Jiang Xiaofeng had guessed what Durin would say, hearing it still left him numb.
"I'm one of the Beheaded. How would I know how I was created?"
Jiang Xiaofeng said irritably.
If he knew, he would surely have captured people to experiment on long ago.
"The Beheaded?"
Durin asked.
"The name of my species."
"If you really want to know how I was created, stay in the snowy mountain for a while."
"If you trust me, I'll take you to meet the fellow who turned me into this when the time comes."
That was right.
Jiang Xiaofeng still remembered the fellow who had spoken into his ear when he first woke up.
He mentioned the Panacea! It was almost certainly that bastard, the Collector!
And from what the Collector said, I can still return to the island?
Then there's even more I can do...
"All right."
Durin agreed.
Normally, Durin would not have been so agreeable.
However, he had discovered that Jiang Xiaofeng could actually absorb his power and even put it to use, leaving him very curious about Jiang Xiaofeng.
What he wanted even more was to gain more knowledge, learn it, and make himself stronger, thereby replacing that Albedo!
He and Albedo were both creations of the alchemist Gold, Rhinedottir. What Albedo originally possessed was wisdom, while what he possessed was power.
But that did not mean Durin was a fool!
Durin was very clever too. Otherwise, he would not have been able to create Fake Albedo after stealing Albedo's research notes and studying them for a while.
Of course, Durin's blood had also played a part...
Thus, Durin did not turn against Jiang Xiaofeng for the time being.
However, he could not guess what Jiang Xiaofeng was thinking either...
"By the way, do you know where else there are any powerful monsters in the snowy mountain?"
Jiang Xiaofeng asked Durin.
That was a pointless question.
Jiang Xiaofeng merely wanted to follow Durin around to pinpoint the Crimson Agates' locations, then visit them one by one and absorb them after Durin left.
It was not as though he did not know what monsters were there. He simply did not know their precise locations...
Durin turned around.
"Would the Cryo Hypostasis do?"
Jiang Xiaofeng could not see Durin's expression. He merely assumed Durin had turned to lead the way, so he said, "Sure."
But I wanted powerful creatures. You've been in the snowy mountain for so long-haven't you created any formidable monsters?
"Then let's go."
Durin spread his dragon wings and took flight.
Jiang Xiaofeng activated the Wings of the Crow, spread his dragon wings, and shot into the sky.
Looks like the Wings of the Crow are only useful for speeding me up now...
Jiang Xiaofeng thought.
Then he followed behind Durin, heading toward the Cryo Hypostasis.
As Jiang Xiaofeng flew, he remembered something.
"Hey! Isn't there a bunch of Ruin Guards near the Cryo Hypostasis?"
"Yes."
Durin replied.
Jiang Xiaofeng said nothing more and flew behind Durin.
Soon, they arrived at the Cryo Hypostasis's location.