System: Infinite Evolution into Qilin Bloodline

The river flowed gently, carrying an indescribable chill that seemed to seep into one's very bones, inspiring fear.

Just then, an unexpected event shattered the deathly silence.

An ancient-looking corpse, as if pulled by invisible ropes, suddenly detached from the top of the river and, with a dull "plop," mercilessly plunged into the dark waters.

This sudden sight made everyone present hold their breath, their hearts pounding, as if they could feel the ominous premonition brought about by the moment the icy river water touched the corpse.

Even more shockingly, once the corpse touched the water, it melted away as quickly as ice and snow, leaving only delicate ripples that slowly spread across the river.

Zhang Qilin, with eyes as sharp as an eagle, quickly grasped the secret behind this unusual phenomenon.

Without hesitation, he extended two fingers and gently probed them into the seemingly calm river water.

When his finger was pulled out of the water again, a strangely shaped insect was caught between his fingertips.

This insect was enormous, its entire body a disturbing yellow, resembling an ordinary wasp, but its abdomen was twisted into the shape of a leech, exuding a strange blood-sucking instinct.

Zhang Qilin explained in a deep voice:

"This is a leech wasp, an extremely rare creature that combines the blood-sucking properties of a leech with the ferocity of a wasp. They often inhabit dark and damp places and feed on blood."

However, before he could finish speaking, the view from the top of the river changed dramatically once again.

The scattered corpses that had been falling were now being pulled by some force, falling from the heights and instantly turning the once calm river into a horrific scene of corpses and blood.

The leeches that had been lurking at the bottom of the river seemed to sense some kind of call and surged to the surface, densely covering the entire river surface and forming a yellow ocean that was terrifying.

Seeing this, the fat man wanted to ease the tension with a lighthearted joke, so he said:

"Luckily, these things can't fly, so we're relatively safe on the boat."

But fate always seems to play tricks on people. As soon as he finished speaking, the leeches that had been motionless suddenly flapped their wings and took to the air, swarming towards the people on the boat.

The turn of events was so swift that it caught everyone off guard, and the atmosphere on the ship instantly froze to freezing point.

Zhang Qilin frowned, his eyes sharp, as he quickly analyzed the situation before him.

He knew that leeches were not capable of flight by nature, and there must be a hidden reason behind this abnormal behavior.

He said in a deep voice:

“This is not normal. They don’t fly up for no reason. There must be something underwater threatening them.”

As soon as he finished speaking, the river suddenly surged, and a dark shadow dozens of meters long appeared and disappeared underwater. Then, a pointed head the size of a truck cab suddenly rose from the water. It was a giant aquatic creature never seen before, with its eyes flashing with an eerie green light, as if it could see into the deepest fears of people's hearts.

The sudden appearance of this enormous creature caused everyone to gasp, and the ship fell into a deathly silence.

"What the hell is this thing? Why does it look a bit like a Azure Dragon?"

The fat man exclaimed in surprise when he saw the monster's head emerge from the water.

Just then, a system notification sounded in Zhang Hao's mind.

[Ding! Rare item: Azure-Scaled Giant Python detected!]

Here it comes! Zhang Hao urgently needs rare items; he needs to evolve his Qilin bloodline to the point where he can open bronze chests before heading to Kunlun Mountain.

Therefore, every rare item is of great use to him, and now that he has encountered it, he naturally cannot let it go.

The Azure Scaled Python dwells in the turbulent underground river. Its enormous body makes it the supreme overlord of this area, possessing a terrifying power and majesty.

The giant blue-scaled python is tens of meters long and as thick as a water bucket. Its entire body is covered with blue-green scales that shimmer with a cold, eerie light. Each scale is as hard as iron and gleams with a metallic chill.

Its eyes, like two burning eerie green lanterns, scrutinized everything around it, revealing ancient and profound wisdom and ferocity.

As the giant python swam, the surrounding air seemed to be compressed by its massive body, emitting a deep and awe-inspiring roar, like a mountain moving, which was awe-inspiring.

It is not only enormous in size, but also possesses extraordinary strength and speed.

The enormous mouth, large enough to devour small beasts, is filled with sharp fangs, each one like a meticulously crafted blade, capable of easily tearing through steel.

Its flexible body allows it to move freely in the water, making it difficult for even the most agile prey to escape its pursuit.

With a single opening of its mouth, it swallows all the leeches in the surrounding area.

Facing the giant blue-scaled python, Zhang Hao showed no fear. He took a deep breath, and all the muscles in his body tensed to the extreme, as if endless power was surging within him.

With a deafening roar, Zhang Hao leaped up, charging towards the giant python like an arrow released from a bow. His fist, carrying a violent airflow and unwavering determination and courage, struck directly at the python's vital point.

With a deafening roar, the world seemed to change color as Zhang Hao's fist collided with the scales of the giant blue-scaled python, unleashing a dazzling light and a powerful shockwave.

Those hard scales were as fragile as tofu at that moment, pierced through by a single punch, and blood splattered everywhere.

The giant python let out a deafening roar, its massive body struggling violently, but it was too late to save it.

Finally, under Zhang Hao's unparalleled power, the Azure Scale Python crashed to the ground, its massive corpse stirring up layers of water before slowly sinking underwater, leaving behind ripples that were difficult to quell.

After the battle, he briefly explained a few words to Wu Tianzhen and the others, then dived into the water without hesitation to search for the giant python's corpse that had sunk to the bottom.

Zhang Hao quickly located the Azure Scaled Python.

He quickly approached, touched the giant blue-scaled python with his hand, and then gave the order:

"System, merge with the Azure Scaled Python!"

[Ding, congratulations host, 105th fusion completed. Fusion item: Azure Scale Giant Python.]

[Ding! Congratulations, host, on fusing with the rare item Azure Scale Giant Python. You have gained the item trait: Camouflage (By mimicking the surrounding environment through the sheen and texture of your skin, you can perform superb camouflage, making it difficult for others to detect your presence and thus enabling you to launch a surprise attack)]

[Ding! Congratulations, host, for fusing a rare item. Qilin bloodline evolution progress +10.]

The traits gained from fusing with the Azure Scaled Python weren't great, but that didn't matter. The most important thing was that I got 10 system experience points and 10 points of Qilin bloodline evolution progress.

当前万物融合系统已经9级（90/160），只需要70点经验就可以达到10级解锁罕见物品了。

The evolution progress of the Qilin bloodline has reached level 7 (682/960). It only needs 278 more evolution progress points to advance to level 8, which brings it one step closer to level 9. At that time, it will be able to unlock the bloodline transformation ability and summon the Qilin to fight for it.