Additionally, it had a chance to absorb minerals and special abilities from the giants it ate, meaning it could keep gaining new powers.
After consuming Shi You, Shiqi, and Stone Diamond, the big steel snake successfully inherited some of their abilities.
It let out a low roar, and its golden body began to change subtly.
Black lines appeared across its surface, resembling Shi You's former appearance.
As these black lines spread, the snake's presence seemed to fade, giving off a strange feeling of emptiness, even though it was still very much there.
The massive steel snake's body seemed to melt away, instantly merging with the shadows that surrounded everything.
In the blink of an eye, its huge form vanished, completely blending into the darkness.
At that moment, the steel snake was moving proudly through the shadow world.
At first glance, it resembled the legendary Giratina gliding through the Distortion World.
Larry sat quietly, meditating and feeling the steel snake's confident movement within the shadows.
He had to admit, Shi You's ability was impressive.
Although he had learned the basics of the technique from Porygon Z, actually witnessing it in action stirred something inside him.
Shi Youzhen was truly a natural killer, perfectly suited for disrupting the enemy's Hakka clan.
Not only could it reduce its presence to become almost invisible, but it could also slip effortlessly between the shadow world and the real world.
Even if a sneak attack failed, it could retreat back into the shadows, escaping harm and waiting for the perfect moment to strike again.
It was an ideal balance of offense and defense.
From the illustration ability, Larry also learned that Shi You had been incredibly lucky to stumble upon a rare Shadow Stone.
This stone had become the steel snake's "wedding dress," allowing it to move freely through the shadow world.
This shadow world was essentially a shared space for all shadows, a bit like an online world, but completely empty of anything tangible.
Normally, creatures like Marshadow and Gengar lingered in Larry's shadow, inhabiting this shadow realm.
After gliding through the shadows for a while, the steel snake flicked its tail, swung its massive body, and leapt out from the darkness.
The dark ink-like patterns on its body faded away, revealing its original golden color once again.
Unlike Shi You and Shizuan, Steelix usually looked like an ordinary steel snake.
Its appearance only changed when it activated its special abilities.
Otherwise, as Steelix consumed more and more different ores, it gradually developed a unique and unusual look.
After Shi You activated his ability, layers of bright white light appeared on the surface of the large steel snake.
Tiny diamond-like shapes suddenly formed and stuck firmly to its body, making it even more dazzling.
In just a short moment, the steel snake transformed from a low-key, almost unnoticed presence into a striking figure that sparkled everywhere.
This doesn't mean the steel snake can only use one ability at a time, in fact, it can activate several abilities simultaneously.
Each power on its own is already impressive, but combining them makes the effects even more terrifying.
Take Shi You's shadow ability and Shizuan's diamond ability, for example.
The shadow ability allows Shi You to strike unexpectedly, but it lacks variety and raw power.
A top assassin needs to be stealthy and deadly, and Shi You falls short on lethality.
If Ging were willing
To arm him with a knife, Shi You's strength would be much higher, but unfortunately, Ging is a stingy stone giant who treats his knives like treasures and never shares them.
On the other hand, Stone Diamond's diamond ability provides both offense and defense, and when combined with the shadow ability, the two complement each other's weaknesses.
However, using multiple abilities simultaneously consumes aura faster, so the cost doubles.
With a series of clicking sounds, the big shining steel snake shifted from a golden hue to a brilliant diamond-like shine.
In this moment, the steel snake reminded Larry of a peculiar Pokemon known as the Crystal Rock Snake, a rare mutant among rock snakes.
While regular rock snakes have dull gray-black scales and look plain, the Crystal Rock Snake's body is transparent and radiant, almost like a giant crystal carved by countless artists through immense effort.
It's truly a work of art.
If the steel snake were any more transparent, it might rival the Crystal Rock Snake itself.
'Maybe it should be called the Crystal Steel Snake?'
The Big Steel Snake isn't just strikingly beautiful; its attack and defense also get a significant boost when it uses this ability.
On top of that, it can turn nearby objects into diamond-like textures.
Overall, the powers of Shiyou and Shizuan are incredibly handy.
Even though Larry didn't manage to obtain the stone aura ability, he wasn't discouraged.
After reading about this ability, he felt there was still hope for the Big Steel Snake to gain stone aura powers.
The illustrated ability explains that the power to transform stone gas into various types of gases comes from a mineral called gas fossil.
This gasstone is quite unique. It's very soft, with a pure white surface and a black interior, and it's closely related to diamonds.
What makes it special is that it can only be stored in places with little gas, like inside rock walls.
When placed in a gas environment with the right concentration, the gas fossil converts into a large amount of that specific gas.
If it's placed somewhere with mixed gases, like in the air, it turns into the gas that's most concentrated there.
Surprisingly, this gas fossil is linked to diamonds!
That's why Larry still feels hopeful.
He suspects there might be a group of diamond elves nearby who supply precious diamonds to the stone giants.
If that's true, then gas fossils would naturally be around too, meaning the Big Steel Snake still has a chance to develop this ability.
Before learning about the gas fossil, Larry was mostly interested in how stone gas could be used in combat.
But now, he's more fascinated by the other potential uses of this mineral.
Essentially, when a gas fossil is placed in a certain gas environment, it produces a large amount of that gas, like oxygen if placed in an oxygen-rich area.
This versatility is what allows Shi Qi to unleash so many unique attacks.
It's no exaggeration to say that this gas fossil represents a beacon of hope.
Seeing the gas fossil's effects, the first thing that popped into Larry's mind was another hope familiar to humanity: Sanwonsui.
Sanyuan Water is known as "the original source of all liquids."
Simply put, if you have Sanyuan Water, you can transform it into any liquid you want.
At its simplest, it can become plain water, and Sanyuan Water can easily produce large amounts of it.
Beyond that, it can be changed into other types of liquids, making it a substance full of endless possibilities.
Naturally, such a powerful ability sparked the interest and desire of many people.