Evan was a bit puzzled by Shadow's words. "Can't you just break open the Mystic Ice around you directly?"
"No, that's not possible. I know you could easily break this Mystic Ice, but I need to absorb your fire-element energy to neutralize the ice-and-snow power inside my body. Only then can my strength improve. The ice-and-snow force here is way too strong—it reminds me of a place that's very similar to this one." Shadow said.
Shadow's words grew more and more mysterious, leaving Evan completely baffled. Suddenly, Evan realized Shadow seemed to know a lot more than before—maybe it was because his strength had risen and his inherited memories had expanded.
"What place? Don't tell me this isn't part of the Netherworld?" Evan asked in surprise.
"I don't know if this is the Netherworld or not, but I remember a place in the God Realm that's a lot like this—the Abandoned Wastes. But the Abandoned Wastes are way scarier than here. With our current cultivation, we couldn't even survive inside for a second.
The cold there is even more terrifying—Heavenly God–level experts would be instantly frozen into ice chips if they entered. But this place is much weaker, so I think it's just a similar environment." Shadow said.
Evan stared at Shadow in shock and asked, "How do you know all this? You're way different than before—did your breakthrough change you?"
"Of course. When my cultivation breaks through, I get more inherited memories. Actually, boss, there's something you don't know: I'm not really a Bloodshadow Berserker Lion—I've got another identity. I can't tell you what it is yet, but when I transform, you'll see for yourself.
Once we reach the God Realm, you'll be shocked. I'll be way stronger than Old Goldwing."
Shadow didn't say what exactly he was, and Evan didn't want to press. It was definitely some kind of special identity—at least a divine beast, maybe even a top-tier one. Just thinking about it made Evan's back go cold.
He'd gotten Shadow from an old man—a plain, ordinary magical beast egg that turned out to be a divine beast. If people heard that, most wouldn't believe it.
"Boss, I'm going to start absorbing the ice-and-snow power now. When I freeze into a block of ice, you'll need to unleash your fire element at full strength. Don't worry, Heavenfire won't hurt me. Whether I can get even stronger depends on you." Shadow said seriously.
With a roar, Shadow transformed into his true body—a gigantic lion as big as a mountain appeared in midair. Evan was completely stunned by the sight.
"Are you kidding me? With a body that huge, even my strongest fire element can't cover you completely! Are you trying to wear me out?" Evan said, exasperated.
Shadow acted like he hadn't heard him. He took a deep breath and sucked in all the falling snowflakes within several li—the giant mouth swallowed them all. If you piled up those snowflakes, they'd be taller than a mountain right now.
In other words, Shadow had just absorbed more snow than his own body size. Who knows what his stomach is made of—his appetite was absolutely insane.
But Evan knew that once the snow was in his mouth, Shadow would just digest it. Still, snow is just water, and swallowing a whole bellyful of water would be tough for anyone. Thinking of this, Evan quickly dodged aside.
He'd barely moved when, right in front of Evan, Shadow actually peed in midair. The urine was like a waterfall, reeking so bad it made you want to throw up. In no time, the low temperature froze it into Mystic Ice.
Evan didn't know whether to laugh or cry. Shadow just kept crazily absorbing, moving fast, and Evan could only follow close behind. After about half an hour, Shadow had absorbed more than half the snow in a several-li radius.
But he still didn't stop, just kept absorbing, his eyes shining with excitement as he let out roar after roar.
Another half hour passed, and Shadow relieved himself again. This time, a thin layer of ice formed over his body—it wouldn't be long before he was completely frozen.
Evan waited patiently, not sure how much time had gone by, when Shadow suddenly crashed down from the sky, landing on the ice and snow with a violent tremor. His eyes were now completely covered by Mystic Ice.
"Boss, it's time! Hurry and use Heavenfire to melt this Mystic Ice!" Shadow shouted from inside the ice.
"Can't you shrink your body? With you this huge, are you trying to kill me from exhaustion?" Evan complained.
"Just keep roasting me, I'll shrink my body when the time comes. I can't do it yet though—hurry up, I'm about to lose it. The ice-and-snow power is way too strong!" Shadow said, sounding a little panicked.
Evan didn't hesitate anymore. He summoned his Fire Golden Body, and both he and the clone unleashed powerful fire-element energy toward Shadow's massive form.
Now, Evan's Fire Golden Body had grown stronger along with his own power—just like the saying goes, 'the rising tide lifts all boats.' He could use Heavenfire too. Although his clone couldn't match Evan's output, it still produced a sizable burst.
As soon as Heavenfire appeared, the air started crackling, and the massive moisture turned into thick mist, shrouding the area in haze.
Evan couldn't figure out why there was so much water vapor in such low temperatures—it should've just turned into snowflakes or crystals. While he and the Fire Golden Body went all out with Heavenfire, Shadow frantically channeled his Immortal Spirit Force inside.
At the same time, Shadow absorbed fire-element particles into his body. Evan and his clone felt like they couldn't supply enough, but when they saw the Mystic Ice melting fast, it all seemed worth it.
Time ticked by. The Fire Golden Body couldn't speak, but it was still connected to Evan's mind. It had used up too much fire element—if it kept going, its strength would start to drop.
Evan sensed this and immediately recalled the Fire Golden Body. He shouted to Shadow, "Hurry up and shrink your body! Even if I die, I can't melt all the Mystic Ice off you when you're this huge!"
As soon as he finished, Shadow let out an earth-shaking roar from inside the ice, full of pain. Evan saw the icy shell cracking apart, melting faster under the heat of Heavenfire.
Fire-element light started shining from inside Shadow—he was using the fire energy he'd absorbed to melt the Mystic Ice from within. Evan realized that only by expanding the space inside the shell could Shadow shrink down and finally break free.
If you shattered the Mystic Ice directly, it would hurt him—Heavenfire's power was more than Shadow could handle right now. They had to use the ice's own cold as a buffer to balance things out...