Void Beetle Evolution Guide

"So that's why you appeared in Luxiang?"

“That’s right, Ramhaug told me about Haistriel’s identity. But that’s all he knows, because he’s a quiet, reserved person who never leaves his home. I guess even this little bit of information was given to him by Isyan.”

Ahri covered her mouth and giggled, finding Aura's assessment of Ornn quite amusing.

She remarked with emotion, "Hayestriel is undoubtedly lucky to have such a devoted friend like you. Of course, I'm also very lucky to have a group of wonderful sisters who go to great lengths for me. If there's any news about Hayestriel, they'll definitely bring it back."

Aura liked Ahri's assessment and laughed as well. She patted Ahri on the shoulder: "Come on!"

"You'll be staying with me for a while. I'll take you to see Haistel first. You're both my patients, so we're fellow patients."

Ahri followed Aura to Ornn's study, which, being designed to be tailor-made for a god, was as vast as a library to her.

As soon as Ahri entered, she saw a deer walking towards her, affectionately nibbling on Aura's sleeve and making a "yoyo" sound.

It has a magnificent crest of horns, and its agile body is covered with white down and runic patterns. Its thick, flowing mane and tail are deep blue, and its eyes and forehead are inlaid with gold lines and tricolored crystals.

"Alright, Heathcliff. Look, I've brought you a new friend!"

The deer spirit glanced at Ahri, then strolled around behind her, clearly attracted by the fox ancestral spirit on her.

It called out twice, but received no response.

One was mentally degenerated like a wild beast, while the other had not yet awakened; clearly, they could not reach any conclusions through communication.

“Let’s talk over at the table.” Aura led Ahri through rows of neatly arranged ancient books and scrolls to a heavy stone table. Rough runes were carved along its edges, radiating a visible magical power.

Aurora untied her notebook from her waist and gently placed it on the table, unfolding it. She casually twirled her wand, which magically transformed into a delicate fountain pen in her hand.

Then, Aura adjusted her glasses and asked, "Ali, how long have you been like this? What symptoms do you usually have? Tell me about them."

"It started back in the Shadow Isles..." Ahri described it as requested, but omitted the parts about the Wild Hunt and World Runes.

Aura listened intently, her pen flying across her notebook, leaving behind lines of delicate handwriting. She nodded occasionally, sometimes pausing to glance thoughtfully at Ali, as if deep in thought.

After Ahri finished speaking, she carefully studied her notes for a while, and finally said quite seriously, "Your situation is more serious than I thought..."

Chapter 285 Phoenix Wing Mountain

"Huh?" Ahri was taken aback, her unease rising.

Aura took a deep breath and said solemnly, "To be honest, I have seen humans chosen by beast spirits, but in you, I see the process of a beast spirit being born."

"The ancestral spirit is attached to you, constantly plundering your life essence. The reason your body has become transparent is because of its continuous absorption; your existence is gradually becoming thinner. If you can provide enough energy for it to absorb, it will return unprecedented power to you when it awakens. But if you cannot hold on, your body will be drained little by little and disappear into the material realm."

"What should we do then?"

Aura rested her chin on her hand and pondered, "The amount required by the Ancestral Spirits is enormous. I don't know how you've managed to hold on for so long. If you want to get through this, you'll need to find a way to obtain a large amount of life essence."

Ahri fell silent. It had been a long time since she had obtained life essence by consuming humans. Did this mean she was to abandon her restraint and unleash a killing spree?

Does the ancestral spirit require a large number of offerings to awaken it?

However, Aurora also said that she persisted for a long time without absorbing the life essence. Why was that?

Just then, something suddenly occurred to her, and a flash of realization appeared in her eyes—it was the Skin Armor! All along, the Skin Armor had been providing her with life essence!

If it weren't for the constant supply from her skin and nails, she would probably have been drained dry long ago.

However... the supply of skin armor alone is still not enough, and we need to find another way.

"Aurora, do you have any ideas?"

Ahri's gaze was fixed on Ara, who pondered for a moment, then lightly tapped her fingers on the table, making a crisp sound. Her gaze, through her glasses, appeared deep and focused.

“The ancestral spirit is the continuation of your people’s will. It is closely connected to you and almost inseparable. If you forcibly separate it, it will not only cause the ancestral spirit to dissipate, but also have irreversible effects on your soul and body.” After a pause, Aura continued.

"Therefore, I suggest we take a compromise approach first. I will ask Ramhaug to help you create a tool to suppress the ancestral spirit. For him, this is a piece of cake. This tool can temporarily suppress the power of the ancestral spirit, slow down its plundering of life essence, and buy you more time. After that, you will have to find a way to support the ancestral spirit yourself."

"I understand. Thank you." Ahri thought for a moment, seemingly having come up with a solution, and solemnly thanked Aura.

……

Meanwhile, Kasha and her group were rushing towards Phoenix Wing Mountain.

With Portil's addition, their travel time was greatly reduced.

However, the dragon also needs to rest. If you are in a hurry, when you land, you can have Talia use the stone slabs to support the group and glide along. The speed will not be too slow.

They rushed as fast as they could and finally arrived at their destination.

The sight before them astonished everyone—the so-called Phoenix Wing Mountain was actually two unique icebergs that intersected with each other.

These two icebergs were very likely originally one, towering majestically like two giants standing side by side, their sections bulging out and embedding themselves in each other's depressions, forming a jagged, deep canyon. The canyon is profound and mysterious, like an entrance to another world.

For some unknown reason, whenever the aurora borealis appears in the night sky over the North, the two icebergs become iridescent under its light. From a distance, the two mountains resemble a pair of outstretched wings, beautiful and magnificent, as if a giant ice phoenix is ​​about to take flight.

“Phoenix Wing Mountain, it truly lives up to its name.” Aisha murmured softly, her eyes filled with awe. She had never seen such a unique sight before, like a work of art sculpted by nature itself, breathtakingly beautiful.

"Have you ever seen the Ice Phoenix? Are its wings also this colorful?" Kasha asked curiously, her gaze still fixed on the magnificent iceberg.

“No, not at all. I saw Anivia once; she was made entirely of pure ice, and only one color. That pure, icy blue could freeze a person’s soul.” Ashe’s expression hardened.

“In my opinion, it would be more appropriate to call this mountain Butterfly Wing Mountain,” Talia joked with a smile.

As they drew closer, they soon discovered that the path to the canyon was blocked by a violent blizzard.

The blizzard swirled rapidly around the mountain, forming a white, ring-shaped wind wall. The wind speed was extremely high; the howling of the hurricane could be heard from afar, making it impossible for ordinary people to cross.

No wonder Braum needed a hero's stew to get inside; resisting the blizzard must have taken a lot of effort, and he needed to be well-fed to have the energy to move around.

However, this was not a problem for the group, as they had at least five ways to get through.

"I don't know how thick the wind wall is. If it's no more than thirty meters, I can just open a portal and bring everyone over." Kasha estimated the distance, but the white wind wall made it impossible to tell its thickness.

Sephiroth waved his hand dismissively and said, "Why bother? Just let Portil carry everyone through from above. This barrier only protects against the ground, not the air. I guess it was set up by the Ice Crystal Phoenix to make it easier for itself to fly in."

She made the decision on her own, which earned her a glare from Portil, who wondered why she was always being bossed around.

Noticing the resentful look from the side, Sephie reluctantly added, "If all else fails, I can also conjure up my true form and at least break the wind barrier."

"That's settled then. Let Portilo go first."

"I'll fly over and see what happens. If it's okay, I'll come back for you."

The Wild Hunt ultimately adopted Sephiroth's plan, and although Portil harbored resentment, he could only flap his wings and take to the skies above Phoenix Wing Mountain.

Botil circled Phoenix Wing Mountain several times under the aurora. The influence of the wind wall was just as she had seen; it only blocked the way in and out on the ground, and there were no restrictions on traveling back and forth in the high sky.

Taking this opportunity, Wild Hunt used her perspective to observe the rift valley, trying to see what was inside, but unfortunately, the view was blocked by the intersecting mountains.

He remembered that there should have been a huge shovel stuck at the foot of the mountain outside the Wind Wall. He had told Ash that Nunu and Willump had been teleported into Hearthland through that shovel.

But after a few rounds, he didn't find any huge shovel. It was probably because after Nunu triggered it, Ornn didn't want anyone else to break into Hearth Village and disturb him in the same way, so he took the shovel back.

After confirming that it was safe, Portil went back to pick up the group and carried them through the blizzard wall to the entrance of the canyon.

Chapter 286 Rift Valley

The rift ahead resembled a giant wound, stretching between two icebergs and constantly emanating a deep, chilling aura.

Once inside, everyone felt a biting chill, and the howling wind whipped through the ravine, like ghostly hands pulling at them, causing them to instinctively wrap their clothes tighter.

The light was dim, but not the complete darkness that engulfs everything at the winter solstice; it was more like the afterglow of dusk.

The ice itself seemed to emit a dim, ethereal light, reflecting in layers between the rifts, so the group didn't need to carry torches or firewood.

Not far into the rift valley, the group saw a huge wolf ship frozen in the waves, its hull tilted as if trying to escape some terrible fate at the last moment.

The masts and sails on the ship were already covered with thick frost, and the wolf-head bow still looked ferocious, with sharp icicles hanging down, making it look inexplicably desolate.

“A war took place here,” Ashe said in a low voice, her gaze sweeping around, trying to find some clues in this frozen battlefield.

Strangely, although the waves were frozen into huge ice walls, the surrounding lake water remained liquid, with only a few scattered ice floes floating on the surface, as if the lake was protected by some mysterious force from the cold.

“Something’s fishy.” Kasha frowned.

Upon hearing this, Saifei walked to the lakeside, squatted down, and carefully observed the lake water. The lake water was entirely ice-blue, and one could immediately tell that it contained powerful magic.

“There’s definitely something strange about this water.” She said, sticking her finger in, completely ignoring the strangeness before her.

The moment she touched the lake water, frost began to spread from her fingers, quickly covering her arms and shoulders, eventually freezing her entire body into an ice sculpture. Her expression remained frozen in that instant of surprise, as if wondering why the lake water wouldn't freeze.

Seeing this, the group hurriedly dragged her away from the lakeside.

As Kasha thawed the ice, she complained, "Honestly. Knowing there was something strange, she still deliberately touched it. How could she be so heartless?"

"Perhaps this is the dragon race's composure; they can confidently handle whatever happens." Talia shook her head with a wry smile as she watched Sephiroth brush off the ice shards as if nothing had happened.

"Don't talk nonsense, I don't do that, that's just arrogance." Portil stood to the side, arms crossed, giving him a disdainful look.

With Saifei's example before them, and the lake water being exceptionally cold, turning into an ice sculpture with the slightest touch, the group did not choose to reach the other side by jumping on the ice floes.

Instead, they climbed onto the wolf boat, then carefully walked onto the bridge formed by the broken mast, and successfully reached the other side.

In this narrow terrain, Portil cannot take off, but Kai'Sa, with her insect wings, can. However, to avoid the loud noise of flapping wings triggering an avalanche or disturbing anything, it's best to just walk.

As the group ventured deeper, the light in the rift valley grew increasingly bright.

Ash's gaze was drawn to the clusters of ice crystals that were beginning to grow on the road and the ice cliffs on both sides.

These ice crystals are beautifully shaped, like blooming ice flowers, each petal crystal clear and emitting a soft glow.

Generally speaking, naturally formed ice blocks rarely grow into such regular shapes; only certain special minerals can form such structures under specific conditions. Clearly, these ice crystals are not ordinary.

She carefully reached out her hand, her fingertips gently touching one of the ice flowers. The instant her skin touched the ice crystal, a familiar, bone-chilling cold spread from her fingertips, as if even her blood had frozen.

Ashe quickly withdrew her hand, muttering softly, "Thank goodness, my three sisters, there's so much True Ice here..."

Her voice held a hint of amazement, mixed with a touch of awe. She hadn't expected that the rare treasures the Freljord people so desperately sought would be so readily available here, like the flowers and plants used to adorn a garden.

“The bottom of the Howling Abyss is full of True Ice, far more than this. Send you there, and I guarantee you'll be speechless with surprise.”

Aisha's words seemed to remind Portil of some unpleasant memory, or perhaps he felt disdain and contempt for her overreaction and ignorance, so he couldn't help but make a sarcastic remark.

Aisha ignored Portil's taunts, giving her only a brief glance before turning her gaze back to the ice crystals. She clasped her hands together in a devout prayer, seemingly begging for forgiveness for Portil's earlier disrespect.

"Can you see Zhenbing unable to move?" Kaisa joked, trying to ease the slightly tense atmosphere.

Aisha shook her head, her tone calm: "Although I'm tempted, I won't take any of the True Ice. This is the sacred place where the Ice Crystal Phoenix dwells, and we should maintain the most basic reverence for the gods. Let's keep going; I feel she's waiting for us ahead."

The group continued on their way when they suddenly heard the sound of claws scraping against the ice.

Upon seeing a wolf slowly emerge from around the corner ahead, everyone stopped in their tracks, worried that a pack of wolves might be following behind it.

It bared its teeth and let out a low growl of warning. Ashe's gaze was fixed on the wolf, her brow furrowing slightly: "It's a Frosttooth Wolf... no, something doesn't seem right with this wolf."

A normal Frosttooth Wolf should have blue and white fur, sharp fangs like icicles, and a chilling aura emanating from its throat and eyes.

However, the Frosttooth Wolf before them was completely different—its fur was a strange blackish-purple, as if it had been corrupted by some dark force. Its eyes glowed with a scarlet light, and its fangs were no longer crystal clear, but instead emitted a malevolent black aura.

Without a word, Kai'Sa arrived beside Frostooth Wolf in the blink of an eye, kicked it away, sending it crashing into an ice cliff and falling to the ground, whimpering in pain.

Portil followed, his gaze sweeping over the Frosttooth Wolf's body, when he suddenly noticed black ice crystals shimmering faintly beneath its fur.

"How did this wolf get corrupted by black ice, especially in a place like this..." Portil pondered in a low voice, his brows furrowed and his eyes filled with deep doubt.

Upon hearing Portil's words, Ashe's pupils suddenly contracted, as if struck by some ominous premonition.

Her heart pounded with anxiety, and she asked in a trembling voice that she herself didn't realize, "You guys think... Anivia might have also been corrupted by the Void?"

"No matter what, Anivia is a powerful demigod, it shouldn't be that bad, right?"

“That’s right, that’s the guardian of Freljord, the one who brought the first snow.”

Exhaust

Despite everyone's efforts to comfort her, Aisha's heart remained unsettled. An invisible shadow seemed to hover over her, pressing down on her and making it hard for her to breathe.

She gripped the ice bow tightly, her knuckles turning slightly white from the force, and murmured, "I hope so... I hope so."

In this atmosphere of trepidation, they arrived at the core area of ​​Phoenix Wing Mountain, which was the end of their journey.

After passing through the rift, a statue of Anivia, made entirely of pure ice, suddenly appeared before them.

The statue is incredibly lifelike; the ice phoenix spreads its wings, poised to take flight, as if it might break through the ice and soar into the sky at any moment. Every feather is meticulously carved, radiating a soft glow, imbued with boundless power and wisdom, making one feel as if they are meeting the statue in person.

However, the thing Ashe feared most still happened.

She saw that one of the statue's wings had been completely corroded into black ice, the once crystal clear ice crystals now dark and gloomy, radiating an unsettling and evil aura.

The black ice spread like a plague, turning half of the ice cave where the statue was located blackish-purple. Black veins crawled through it, emitting a faint crackling sound as if they were scraping against her brain.

The statue's original sacred image was gone, leaving only an invisible pressure that made Aisha press her knuckles against her temples, trying to relieve the maddening headache.

Chapter 287 The Corroded Statue

"This isn't real...this isn't real..."