Chapter 503: Legendary Potential

Chapter 503: The Legacy of a Legend

Levi took a moment to understand the new body and abilities the Shadow Servant had acquired.

The Shadow Servant retained a portion of its original powers while gaining some of Netero’s and the Star Bug Empress’s capabilities.

From Netero, it gained a formidable physique and immense strength, while from the Star Bug Empress, it acquired "Adaptive Evolution" and "Parasitic Control."

Yet, none of these were the most crucial development.

The most significant revelation for Levi was that the Shadow Servant now possessed the potential to become a legendary creature.

Whether it was Netero’s body or the core from the legendary Star Bug Empress, both teemed with immense latent power.

This endowed the Shadow Servant, which had originated as a simple nightmare, with an infinitely vast horizon of potential.

Netero himself had possessed a certain degree of adaptive evolution, though it was nowhere near as monstrous as that of the Star Bug Empress.

Perhaps this was precisely why the two had managed to fuse so perfectly.

Gazing at the Shadow Servant, Levi pondered silently: since the Shadow Servant possessed the ability for adaptive evolution, would devouring more tissues from legendary creatures allow it to advance into the legendary realm?

When he voiced his hypothesis, the Shadow Servant replied, "According to the memories of the Star Bug Empress, this is indeed a viable path for advancement."

"Before the Star Bug Empress broke through to the legendary rank, she traveled everywhere, gathering and devouring the remains of legendary creatures to fuel her evolution."

Levi nodded, the matter now perfectly clear to him.

He cast another glance at the Shadow Servant, feeling a sudden surge of emotion.

He had never imagined that the Shadow Servant would actually take a step ahead of him toward the legendary rank.

Of course, it had not broken through just yet, but it had already embarked upon the path of legends, making its breakthrough merely a matter of time.

He himself had not even reached the sixth tier, let alone the ethereal and elusive path of legends.

Levi could not help but think of Gusev, wondering if she had learned from the Ice Queen how her own legendary path was to be walked.

Rustle! Rustle!

The fuzzy trees beneath his feet rustled softly, snapping Levi back to reality.

He surveyed his surroundings, suddenly remembering what he was supposed to be doing.

"Let us go. First, we must find Shengxi."

Levi flew in the direction of the soulful resonance, the Shadow Servant following close behind him like a pitch-black specter.

The City of Ice and Snow.

By the time the Ice Queen received news from Levi, he had already been inside the Ice Emperor's body for some time.

When she tried to contact him again, she could no longer reach him.

The Ice Queen grew curious as to where Levi had run off to and why he was suddenly unreachable.

Yet, more than Levi’s whereabouts, she cared about the position of the Ice Emperor.

According to the information Levi had provided, the Ice Emperor would arrive outside the City of Ice and Snow in a day at most.

Anxiety began to tighten its grip on her heart.

Fortunately, the troublesome orcs had been dealt with. The City of Ice and Snow could now focus all its resources on preparing the divine sacrificial ritual, without needing to divert forces to hunt down orcs or worrying about anyone coming to disrupt the proceedings.

Aside from the sacrificial ritual, there was another matter the Ice Queen was deeply invested in.

It concerned Gusev's legendary path.

Upon returning to the Ice Jade Palace, Gusev had informed her that she had already cultivated to the peak of the sixth tier and sought guidance on the path to advancing to the legendary rank.

The Ice Queen herself had not ascended via a standard legendary path.

Thus, she was not entirely clear on the matter.

However, she possessed a unique path of advancement.

This particular path was intertwined with the divine sacrificial ritual, and it was the very task the Ice Queen had assigned to Gusev.

Gusev remained alone within the Ice Jade Palace, making preparations for the sacrificial ritual.

In her heart, she still could not quite comprehend why the Ice Queen had granted this opportunity to her.

Logically speaking, the Ice Queen herself should have been the most suitable candidate.

Regardless, Gusev remained deeply obedient to the Ice Queen's commands, harboring no thoughts of defiance.

Even with doubts in her mind, she carried out her orders with utmost diligence.

Suddenly, several powerful auras burst into the tranquil Ice Jade Palace.

Gusev sensed them immediately.

Her expression shifted involuntarily, a sudden nervousness gripping her.

The newcomers had nothing to do with her, but they were connected to someone she cared about deeply.

Subconsciously, she turned her gaze toward the direction of the Ice Queen, her hands clenching tightly together in front of her chest as she offered a silent prayer.

Gusev had no inkling of what the Ice Queen was thinking. The Ice Queen received the powerful Holy Knights who had paid a return visit.

...

Levi journeyed through the dim, circular environment.

Looking up at the ceiling and around at his surroundings, he felt an overwhelming sense of incongruity.

Even though he had been looking at it for a long while, he still found it impossible to adapt to.

For what felt like the hundredth time, Levi marveled at the sheer scale of the Ice Emperor—it was far too massive to comprehend.

The interior of the Ice Emperor’s body was like an entirely different world.

The Jagged Tooth Mountains, the Tongue Plains, the Throat Tunnel, the Gastric Acid Ocean, the Annular Intestine World...

He truly had no idea what kind of vista awaited him next.

"Hmm? What is this..."

Levi stopped in his tracks and looked up.

Where a forest should have been, a massive, bottomless abyss had appeared.

A sinkhole.

An intestinal perforation?

The term crossed Levi's mind instinctively.

He looked ahead, confirming that this was not the end of the Annular Intestine World.

There was still a considerably long distance ahead, stretching beyond the horizon.

Therefore, the appearance of this sinkhole here was exceedingly bizarre.

"Ah!"

Levi's expression stirred slightly. He actually sensed the aura of Shengxi's soul drifting up from within the depths of the sinkhole.

Was Saint Xi swept into the abyss by that storm?

Since Saint Xi was inside, Li Wei had no choice but to go and see for himself.

As he approached the abyss, Li Wei discovered that it emanated an overwhelmingly pungent stench.

The edges of the abyss dripped with putrid blood from time to time.

Li Wei instantly realized that this was a wound within the Ice Emperor's body.

"Could it be that the Ice Emperor's plea for help wasn't referring to clearing the star worms? But rather this place?"

Li Wei recalled what Saint Xi had said earlier.

Saint Xi had mentioned that the Ice Emperor sent her a distress signal.

When Li Wei saw the rampant star worms within the Ice Emperor's body, he assumed the Ice Emperor wanted him to help clear the parasites from within.

But now it seemed that wasn't the case at all.

The star worms might be a threat, but there was an even more serious danger here, one that threatened the Ice Emperor's very life.

Li Wei flew into the abyss.

What appeared before him was a dark marsh filled with decay and stench.

The flesh before his eyes seemed polluted by something, having completely lost its original vitality, transformed into a pool of filthy black pus.

Li Wei's gaze sharpened slightly as he sensed this was not matter belonging to this world.

The force harming the Ice Emperor came from beyond their world.

He couldn't help but worry about Saint Xi's situation.

Gurgle, gurgle... Strange sounds came from ahead.

Li Wei's eyes narrowed slightly as he made out the scene before him—a massive membrane blocking the path forward.

Above the membrane was a mass of black pus and blood, within which something seemed to move, creating peculiar sounds as they swam through the foul liquid.

Li Wei cautiously approached, when suddenly the membrane bulged outward, forming the shape of a human face.

It looked like someone suffocating with a plastic bag over their mouth and nose, evoking such a strong sense of suffocation that viewers felt it themselves.

The Shadow Servant reacted immediately, about to strike at the monster lunging toward them.

Li Wei stopped him. "Wait."

(End of chapter)