"Could it be... an Alien Species?"
Gu Yuexi quickly thought of a possibility.
Alien Species are Demon Beasts whose bloodlines have undergone some kind of unknown mutation. They often possess potential and special abilities far exceeding their peers, with their most notable characteristic being the ability to "evolve on their own."
"That's it, it must be!" The more Gu Yuexi thought about it, the more likely it seemed. "It drank my blood, which contains Qi Blood, triggering the mutated bloodline within its body and completing its first evolution!"
Having figured this out, Gu Yuexi's feelings immediately became complicated.
On one hand, contracting an Alien Species that could evolve on its own, even if it was just a mosquito, was a stroke of luck in a terrible situation.
But on the other hand...
'Even if it is an Alien Species, so what?'
Gu Yuexi's gaze quickly returned to calm, even carrying a hint of rational scrutiny.
'Throughout history, no matter how powerful an Alien Species, the number of times it can evolve is limited—three times at most.'
'A mosquito... even if it evolves three times, how strong can it possibly get?'
'Its first evolution just made it a little bigger and its proboscis a little harder... It still has no combat ability. It doesn't even qualify as the lowest-level First-Grade Demon Beast.'
'Even if its luck is heaven-defying and it evolves two more times, at its absolute peak, it would probably only reach the level of a First-Grade Demon Beast. To me, it's still just a burden.'
Gu Yuexi analyzed this silently, quickly sentencing Chu Sheng to a "suspended death sentence."
A little potential, but not much.
Still useless.
Chu Sheng: "???"
Chu Sheng, who was happily lying on the table digesting the blood and savoring the changes in his body, heard every word of the Empress's inner thoughts clearly. A look of defiance immediately spread across his mosquito face.
'What the hell?'
'Evolve three times at most?'
'A First-Grade Demon Beast at its peak?'
'Lady, who do you think you're looking down on?!'
'Heh, naive! So naive!'
Chu Sheng roasted her furiously in his mind. 'You think I'm just an ordinary Alien Species? I'm a mosquito with a system! The Infinite Evolution System! Do you have any idea what "infinite" means?!'
'Three times? That's the limit for mortals like you! My journey is to the sea of stars! To the necks of gods!'
Chu Sheng was a bit angered by her "frog in a well" comments, but on second thought, he was amused.
'Looking down on me is a good thing!'
'The more you look down on me, the more priceless your expression will be when I evolve into a Divine Mosquito that can swallow the heavens and devour the sun!'
'When that time comes, I'll make you sing "Conquer" to me every single day!'
While Chu Sheng's mind was running wild, Gu Yuexi had already stopped dwelling on his issue.
In her eyes, Chu Sheng the mosquito was, at best, a "burden" that required a long-term investment with an extremely low rate of return, possibly even a total loss.
Right now, the most important thing was to increase her own strength!
Thinking of this, Gu Yuexi no longer hesitated and dragged out the large bag containing the Spiritual Cyan Snake's corpse from under her bed.
The moment the bag was opened, a thick, bloody stench instantly filled the air.
But mixed within this bloody stench was a strange, clear fragrance—the unique scent of a High-Level Bloodline Demon Beast's Essence Blood!
'Holy shit!'
Chu Sheng's eyes went wide when he smelled it!
His [Blood Food Tracking] Passive Skill allowed him to clearly perceive that the "Energy" contained within this snake blood was more than ten times richer than Gu Yuexi's!
'If I could just get a sip of that...'
'No!'
'How could one sip be enough?'
'I need to drink until my belly explodes!'
Chu Sheng instantly tossed his earlier displeasure to the back of his mind. His black-bean-sized eyes stared intently at the now-cold Spiritual Cyan Snake, his proboscis twitching involuntarily as he nearly drooled.
'This is a supreme tonic!'
Gu Yuexi paid no mind to his craving. She sat cross-legged on the floor, placed the snake's corpse in front of her, and once again pressed her hands against the wound.
"Ten Thousand Beasts Melting Furnace, activate!"
She closed her eyes and began to circulate that Forbidden Evil Technique once more.
Trickles of crimson Essence Blood, laced with emerald green, began to flow along her arms and slowly surge into her body.
The familiar, intense pain assaulted her again, but having experienced it once before, Gu Yuexi was clearly much calmer this time. She guarded her mind resolutely and focused all her effort on refining this power.
Chu Sheng could only watch from the side, frantic with anxiety.
'Hey, hey, hey! Don't hog it all for yourself! Leave a bite for your bro!'
The blood in his stomach was still digesting, so he couldn't eat for the moment. He could only watch helplessly as Gu Yuexi absorbed the High-Level Bloodline snake blood bit by bit, his heart aching with regret.
'Those are all my Evolution Points!'
'No way! Once I'm done digesting, I have to find a way to get a sip too!'
Time passed, second by second.
Chu Sheng lay on the table, watching Gu Yuexi eagerly, then glancing at the Spiritual Cyan Snake that exuded an alluring "fragrance." He felt as if his heart was being scratched by a cat.
'Digest, faster!'
'If this doesn't hurry up, she's going to suck that snake dry!'
Perhaps his resentful thoughts had an effect, because an hour later, the system's notification prompt finally rang out like the music of the heavens.
[Ding! Blood digestion complete. Evolution Points +0.4!]
[Current Total Qi Blood: 1.9. Total Evolution Points: 0.9...]
'It's here!'
Chu Sheng's spirits lifted. He felt his round, swollen belly deflate in an instant, and an intense feeling of hunger swept over him once again.
He immediately turned his gaze toward the cross-legged Gu Yuexi.
He saw that her eyes were shut tight and her brows were furrowed. Her delicate, pretty face was covered in sweat and her complexion was somewhat pale. She was clearly at a critical moment in her Cultivation and had no attention to spare for anything else.
'A perfect chance!'
Chu Sheng snickered to himself. 'It's not that I want to steal a bite, it's just that you don't have time to watch me!'
He carefully flapped his wings, trying his best to minimize the sound of his flight.
Thankfully, after evolving, his control over his body had also strengthened considerably. Although flying still produced a buzzing sound, it was much quieter than before, like a phone set to silent vibrate mode.
He floated down lightly onto the Spiritual Cyan Snake's corpse, right next to the wound Gu Yuexi had previously made with her dagger.
An even richer, bloody fragrance assaulted his senses, almost making Chu Sheng faint from bliss on the spot.
'Time to dig in!'
Chu Sheng no longer hesitated. Aiming for a seemingly soft patch of flesh on the snake's corpse, he viciously plunged his thick, hard, Level 2 proboscis into it!
PFFT!
With a soft sound, the proboscis pierced the snakeskin without any resistance!
Although it was a High-Level Bloodline Demon Beast, it was just a cub, so its Defense was still lacking!
The next second, a fluid completely different from Gu Yuexi's blood surged through the proboscis and into his body!
If Gu Yuexi's blood was a gentle, nourishing soup, then this Spiritual Cyan Snake's blood was practically a highly concentrated energy drink—intense and potent!
A wild and pure Energy instantly exploded within his body!
[Qi Blood +0.5]
[Qi Blood +0.6]
[Qi Blood +0.5...]
[Warning! The Energy in the blood being consumed by the host is too immense. Please be mindful of your body's limits!]