Chapter 620

Chapter 620

I Can See Through Everything

“Damn it, what are these monsters? Why won't they die?!”

Batian swung his fist casually, shattering the final streak of white light that lunged at him.

As the light broke apart, a rain of mantis-like beast corpses scattered from midair.

But Batian wasn’t the least bit satisfied with his efforts. Instead, he swore angrily.

During that latest wave of attacks, one of his clan members had been careless and got surrounded by those mantis beasts—killed on the spot.

Staring at his clansman’s mangled body, Batian’s expression turned grim.

If they were outside, these mantis beasts—only at the early Golden Core Realm—would be nothing. A single ripple of spiritual force would’ve been enough to wipe out swathes of them.

Yet within this bizarre space, there was no spiritual energy at all, and the laws themselves were twisted.

Their techniques and artifacts had been heavily suppressed. Apart from those at the late-stage Golden Core Realm, the rest were struggling to fend off the sheer numbers of mantis beasts.

Even the slightest misstep could lead to being swarmed and killed.

A tiger humbled by dogs when cast from the mountain—Batian wasn’t afraid of these creatures, but in this strange space, even he couldn’t constantly wield his artifacts to protect everyone.

Doing so would drain even his deep reserves dry.

He glanced again at the bone mountain towering into the clouds. Batian’s expression shifted unpredictably.

That mysterious young man had vanished nearly half a month ago and still hadn’t reappeared.

Was he dead atop that mountain, or had he passed the test and been transported elsewhere?

Was all this waiting even worth it?

“Brother Batian, these mantis beasts are growing more frenzied by the day. Holding our ground here is futile. We might as well leave for now. If that person does come out, he’ll have to pass through the ancient tower anyway.”

Shen Zangfeng approached from a distance, speaking calmly.

All around him lay scattered limbs and broken remains—victims from the initial onslaught, when those weaker Golden Core cultivators were caught off guard and ripped apart.

Because of that first bloodbath, most of the Golden Core cultivators who had once guarded the bone mountain had already retreated from this space.

Only a handful of the strongest forces remained, relying on their might to stay.

But now, as the mantis beasts grew more deranged, even they were struggling to cope.

Batian looked at his fallen clansman, fell silent for a moment, then nodded. “Alright. No point wasting time here with these beasts. Let’s pull out for now.”

Seeing both the Overlord Clan and the Heavenly Sword Sect depart, the Dao Heir of Dao Xu Temple, clad in his starry robes, turned to a cold-faced woman in a veil nearby.

“Fairy Luo, Batian and Shen Zangfeng have all left. Do we still wait here?”

The veiled woman lifted her gaze to the bone mountain. It remained silent and still.

After a moment’s thought, she said, “Forget it. We’ll leave as well. If another wave of mantis beasts shows up, things could get ugly.”

And just like that, all the confident experts who had stormed in brimming with purpose were forced to retreat empty-handed, disheartened.

None of this, of course, reached Lu Qing’s ears.

As for the mysterious presence that oversaw everything—it sensed what was happening, but with its vast perspective, it didn’t spare a thought for these ants who couldn’t even climb the bone mountain.

Their lives and deaths meant nothing to it. Not worth caring about.

Its full attention was on Lu Qing now.

“What is this little fellow comprehending? That aura… interesting.”

It watched Lu Qing, who was seated cross-legged with a line of jade slips in front of him. A curious glint stirred in its mind.

It could tell that Lu Qing wasn’t cultivating the Flesh-Body Divine Ability: Heavenly Witch Body of Ten Thousand Tribulations , but some other technique altogether.

What exactly it was, it couldn’t quite see.

“At last… I’ve deduced the ninth transformation.”

Lu Qing opened his eyes slowly, weariness flashing across them.

But his heart was brimming with excitement.

After relentless deduction over this period, using dozens of Golden Core techniques as reference—and even some inspiration from the Heavenly Witch Body of Ten Thousand Tribulations —he had not only completed the seventh transformation of the Perfect Golden Core Technique, but also pushed through the eighth and ninth transformations.

For the foreseeable future, at least, he no longer had to worry about technique progression.

“Still, this is as far as it goes. Deducing anything beyond the ninth transformation… Golden Core-level techniques are no longer enough.”

The ninth transformation marked the upper limit for most Golden Core cultivators.

But not for Lu Qing.

According to the records in the Great Dao chapter, the highest stage of a Perfect Golden Core was twelve transformations.

Yet after completing the ninth, Lu Qing could clearly feel it—Golden Core-level techniques could no longer provide him with sufficient insight.

After all, ordinary Golden Core techniques topped out at the ninth transformation.

To deduce the final three, he’d need to reference even higher-grade techniques.

“Nascent Soul techniques, huh…”

The thought gave Lu Qing a headache.

Nascent Soul cultivators were not to be trifled with.

Even with his current strength, he couldn’t say for certain he could take on a Nascent Soul expert.

And Nascent Soul-level techniques? They were closely guarded by powerful sects.

If any happened to fall into outside hands, the find would be kept secret, never leaked.

How could he possibly gather enough of them to serve as reference?

“Forget it. I’ll cross that bridge when I come to it. For now, improving my cultivation is the priority.”

Lu Qing thought about it for a moment. With no good solution in sight, he chose to let it go.

Now that the Perfect Golden Core Technique had been deduced to the ninth transformation, he was no longer held back by technique limitations. And with no one disturbing him here, it was the perfect place to go into seclusion.

In fact, it was the best opportunity he’d had in a long time to raise his cultivation.

“Senior, may I ask—how long until Xiaoli wakes up?”

“That’s hard to say. It depends on when the little thing finishes its transformation and condenses its witch body,” the mysterious presence replied.

“If Xiaoli awakens early… would you be willing to watch over her for a while? I plan to enter secluded cultivation.”

“That’s fine. But didn’t you just form the Heavenly Witch Body of Ten Thousand Tribulations ? You’re going into seclusion again?” the presence asked in mild surprise.

“That’s right. I’ve been stuck at the fifth transformation of the Golden Core Realm for a while. It’s time to make a breakthrough.”

With that, Lu Qing casually scattered a handful of mid-grade spirit stones across the ground, swiftly arranging a Gathering Spirit Formation.

As he activated it, pure spiritual essence surged from the stones, flowing rapidly toward him.