Chapter 179: Bronze Demon Mountain

In Lin Qing's perception, the vast energy concealed within this towering World God Body was countless times greater than his own; purely in terms of energy magnitude, the difference was like that between a giant and an ant!

Such immense energy, even if it were only from the sixth energy level, reaching this scale, possessed terrifying power.

"Truly absurd."

Lin Qing sighed, and immediately the distant Black Flame Clone swiftly moved away, observing this massive World God Body from the air.

From an observer's perspective, this World God resembled a colossal statue radiating light throughout its form, looking very much like a human and also like a False God Body, except it lacked wings.

However, the World God had a face and clear facial features, looking exactly like himself; his naked body seemed to have returned to the primordial state, lacking gender characteristics.

Its head touched the sky, its feet stepped on the void, its body possessed an almost perfect proportion, and its height was approximately 2750 meters.

The original False God Body wasn't even as tall as his toe! Although at such a level, a larger size did not necessarily mean greater strength and could even be a flaw, being this huge was still absurd enough.

Such immense energy, even if constrained together to strike in one direction, would be enough to startle the heart, let alone being condensed into the even more mysterious World God Body!

"Let's try..."

Lin Qing, somewhat excited, attempted to drive this World God Body, using his own power as the hub to pull and draw upon the World God's vast strength.

Then, he lightly waved his arm toward the Black Flame Clone hundreds of kilometers away—

"Boom!!!"

The free-floating energy in the void brushed past by this massive divine arm was like a giant whale swishing its tail in the deep sea; countless free-floating energies instantly transformed into surging currents, and a massive energy storm like a tsunami erupted!

The Black Flame Clone hundreds of kilometers away instantly transformed into a demon form, while black flames on its entire body burned wildly, unleashing its strongest power.

Facing this tsunami-like energy storm that covered the sky and earth, the Black Flame Clone poured all its strength into frantically punching against the storm! "Boom boom boom boom boom—!"

Countless fist shadows carrying immense power erupted, striking the massive energy storm head-on.

The tsunami storm swept across hundreds of kilometers in an instant, and the countless fist shadows launched by the Black Flame Clone, having only shattered a small portion, were completely submerged by the massive energy like a tsunami! "Boom boom boom—!"

Under the Black Flame Clone's desperate struggle, within this sweeping energy storm, it was completely helpless, like a lone boat facing a tsunami, and was instantly submerged.

In just an instant, the Black Flame Clone was torn apart within the storm, scattered on the spot, and completely burned out.

"It's already gone?"

Lin Qing couldn't help but exclaim in surprise.

The Black Flame Clone was also himself; he had essentially experienced the World God's power firsthand, so he naturally understood it very clearly.

"Truly terrifying..."

Lin Qing looked at the World God Body's arm, "Just a wave through the air produced such power?"

The energy storm formed by a wave through the air possessed less than one-tenth of the power of the World God's own close-range punch! Yet even so, it easily annihilated the Black Flame Clone! "But then again..."

Lin Qing thought carefully and found it normal, "The Black Flame Clone possesses no defensive Holy Words; relying on the Holy Word of Infinite Divine Power, it only reached the peak of the fourth layer of the Yu Xingyuan, and in terms of defense, it could barely manage the fourth layer..."

And what about his own original body? Before the World God Body formed, he was already able to sweep through the fifth layer of the Yu Xingyuan, equivalent to an outstanding figure among the fifth layer.

Now that the World God Body is formed, Lin Qing believes he can pass the sixth layer of the Yu Xingyuan.

With such a huge gap, annihilating with a wave through the air was nothing strange.

"However, the power of this World God Body is too vast; I clearly cannot bring it out..."

Lin Qing sighed inwardly.

When he just now drove this World God Body, he clearly felt powerless.

It was like a child wielding a giant hammer; he could only unleash one or two-tenths of this World God Body's power.

There was no way.

This World God Body was like a colossal creature of extremely high life level; although he could control it, he did not understand life forms of such a level, did not know how to bring out its maximum strength, and barely understood the structure and characteristics of this life form.

It was like an ordinary person, who could only exert a small portion of their own strength.

"This requires slow research to gradually integrate the World God Body into oneself..."

Lin Qing shook his head slightly, "In terms of cognition and experience, one can only rely on the accumulation of time..."

Even with the Entropy Reverser's advance, one still needs something to learn.

If given enough learning opportunities and experiences studying various life forms, through accumulation over days and months, he would naturally quickly understand the characteristics and structure of life forms like the World God Body, thereby solving problems in a targeted manner.

"Moreover, the process of forming the World God Body took too long; in battle, there would likely be no time, so it must be prepared in advance..."

Lin Qing silently summarized the pros and cons, the advantages and disadvantages, of this divine technique.

If it were one of the Four Great Divine Techniques, it could be cast instantly and used completely in battle.

But the World God Body uses the Four Great Divine Techniques as its core and still needs to attract and gather extremely vast energy to form such an invincible body.

This naturally requires time.

"In battle against low-level enemies, one cannot interrupt the World God attracting energy, but against enemies who are too strong, it is hard to say..."

Lin Qing frowned slightly.

And there is only one solution to this problem—

That is to integrate the World God Body into one's own body in advance, hide it, and release it directly when formation is needed, so there is no need to worry about being interrupted by enemies.

After all, this World God Body has layers upon layers of False God Domains superimposed, and also has an influence on space, so it can naturally achieve the concept of a mustard seed containing Mount Sumeru.

As long as one's own life structure is sufficiently compatible with the World God Body, the vast energy can be completely hidden within one's own body.

"This also requires time and study..."

Lin Qing couldn't help but sigh, "Even with sufficient time acceleration, one still needs enough samples and systematic courses for research and study..."

What he lacked most now was time; Earth had not yet connected with the starry sky, and as someone who had not signed a contract of servitude with an extraterrestrial civilization, he had nowhere to go to study courses on high-level life forms.

"Forget it; being able to exert one or two-tenths of the power is not bad..."

Lin Qing took a deep breath, "Before even becoming a Primeval Deity, I can pass the Yu Xingyuan..."

His gene optimization index was far higher than that of others at the same level.

Plus this terrifying World God Body, even as a semi-finished product, was enough to shock the world.

Ordinary Primeval Deities are only at the level of the fourth layer of the Yu Xingyuan; unless they possess multiple suitable Holy Words, it is possible to reach the level of the fifth layer of the Yu Xingyuan.

And he, not even a Primordial Divine Official, already has Yu Xingyuan Level Six!

If this got out, it would leave countless Level One civilizations utterly stunned.

"Eight hundred and twenty days… I could still train a bit longer, and study how to fuse the World Divine Body—just a little progress would do…"

Lin Qing immediately created another Black Flame clone and began burning it to enhance his comprehension.

But this isolated self-study was clearly very inefficient.

Half a month later, Lin Qing found he had only barely grasped a tiny fraction of the World Divine Body—enough to unlock just a few percent more power, and his progress had become negligible.

He was still far from hiding his own presence within the World Divine Body; he couldn't fuse even a single finger of it, so he gave up entirely.

…

"You're out already?"

On the silver-white platform floating in the endless dark vacuum, the black-haired woman in a golden long robe, "Suzhou Dianxia," studied Lin Qing and asked, "Gave up?"

"Mm." Lin Qing nodded slightly and sighed helplessly. "Fusing the World Divine Body is too hard. My knowledge and experience are still far too lacking. Staying here has no point."

"What?"

Suzhou Dianxia froze. "Fusing the World Divine Body? You succeeded?"

Lin Qing glanced at her, puzzled. "I thought you could see what I was doing inside the training chamber. Didn't you see me trying the World Divine Body?"

"You're a citizen of the Primordial Realm—your training chamber is your private space. Of course I can't see it." Suzhou Dianxia couldn't help saying, "The World Divine Body… you really mastered it?"

"Yes." Lin Qing nodded, too lazy to demonstrate it on the spot—it was too troublesome to materialize once.

Suzhou Dianxia could tell he wasn't lying, and her astonishment deepened. "This is too strange. Your comprehension is this strong? A life born on a planet, having seen nothing, yet possessing such comprehension?"

"Lucky break. Had a sudden enlightenment." Lin Qing said casually.

"Luck might explain it…" Suzhou Dianxia studied Lin Qing. "But luck is the universe's favor—it's not something you can see. You should try the Fifth Ruin. The better your luck, the greater the reward."

"Oh?" Lin Qing asked curiously. "Can luck be changed?"

"Of course."

Suzhou Dianxia said, "Generally, the stronger your power and the higher your talent, the more the universe favors you—and your luck naturally improves. Some rare conditions tied to the universe's origin can also raise luck."

She paused. "But for the Cosmic Divine series of divine offices, there are methods to increase luck even at the Star Stage."

"Oh? What's the Star Stage called for the Cosmic Divine series?" Lin Qing asked curiously.

"The base level of the Cosmic Divine series is 'Divine Walker,' the Primordial Stage is 'Divine Child,' and the Star Stage?" Suzhou Dianxia said. "It's called 'Star God.'"

"Star God…"

Lin Qing nodded slightly.

"I advise you to ask fewer questions about high-level titles," Suzhou Dianxia warned. "You don't even know the true name of the mysterious energy inside you. Knowing too much will only bring trouble."

"What level is qualified to know?" Lin Qing asked.

"Not that high," Suzhou Dianxia said. "As long as you're a Star-born being—once you transform into a star yourself and your consciousness becomes as solid as a star—you won't need to worry about this risk."

Lin Qing nodded thoughtfully.

This mysterious energy is the origin of all transcendence—gene evolution, mental force, even power awakening all involve it, and it can absorb external energy to keep evolving.

"Your comprehension is surprisingly high."

Suzhou Dianxia studied Lin Qing. "You should be fine taking the Divine Child Trial now. Unless your luck is abysmal, you'll almost certainly succeed."

"Abysmal luck?" Lin Qing asked.

"For example," Suzhou Dianxia smiled, "in a Divine Child Trial with only a hundred participants, you somehow end up facing a top genius from a Level Two civilization. Then there's nothing you can do."

Lin Qing asked curiously, "What level is a top genius from a Level Two civilization?"

"Your current level—someone who masters a set of combinable perfect Divine Arts."

Suzhou Dianxia said, "But such geniuses have far higher gene optimization indices than you, so it's normal you'd lose to them. Still… even among Level Two civilization's Divine Walkers, such top geniuses are one in ten thousand."

Original text being read!

Hearing this, Lin Qing felt a slight easing in his chest.

One in ten thousand?

Among a hundred Divine Walkers competing, encountering such a top genius means less than a one percent chance.

If he could still run into one, he'd have nothing to say.

"In Level Two civilizations, becoming a Divine Walker already counts as a genius, so most can master one or two Divine Arts."

Suzhou Dianxia said casually, "The more skilled ones master a few more Divine Arts and pair their Sacred Characters well—those already have a decent chance of success."

She glanced at Lin Qing and smiled. "Anyway, ordinary Level Two civilization geniuses won't match you—you'll easily take first place."

Lin Qing's mood lifted considerably. He joked half-seriously, "What if I run into a Level Three civilization genius?"

"Don't worry—it's impossible," Suzhou Dianxia shook her head.

"Impossible?" Lin Qing asked.

"Not even in the Star God Trial—let alone the Divine Child Trial—could you possibly encounter a genius from a Level Three civilization," Suzhou Dianxia said firmly.

Lin Qing finally relaxed.

According to the Island Guardian's words, before mastering a Divine Art, he was barely at the elite level of a Level Two civilization.

He now understood why.

—The gap in gene optimization index was too vast. Even as a Divine Walker, even when he pushed his power one level higher, his advantage was still minimal—hence he was only considered elite.

Only after mastering a powerful Divine Art could he be called a genius of a Level Two civilization.

If he mastered a perfect combinable Divine Art like the World Divine Body, he'd be a top genius even among Level Two civilizations—one in ten thousand!

The Island Guardian probably never imagined… he'd actually master the "World Divine Body."

No wonder the Island Guardian thought he had no hope of passing the "Divine Child" Trial.

With only one or two Divine Arts—or even a few more—his old gene optimization index would never let him compete with Level Two civilization geniuses.

"Let me give you a suggestion."

Prince Su suddenly said: "You've managed to cultivate the World God, even if you can only unleash one or two tenths of its power—still, it's astonishing. In a Level Two civilization, you'd be a genius among geniuses. This kind of comprehension is extraordinary."

She looked at Lin Qing: "When you take part in the Divine Son Trials, don't reveal you're from a Level One civilization. Otherwise, if those from Level Two civilizations learn you have no background, they might investigate you—and what they might do to you afterward is hard to predict."

Lin Qing nodded slightly. "I never intended to reveal it."

He understood this principle well.

If he could become a Star God Official, as a Level Three Universe Citizen, a Level One civilization couldn't bind him with contracts.

But Level Two civilizations were different.

Level Two civilizations certainly had Level Four Universe Citizens, who could easily draft contracts binding him at Level Four or higher.

"That still isn't enough—you'll definitely be discovered..."

Prince Su paused, then said: "Alright, I'll open the Bronze Demon Mountain on Earth ahead of schedule."

"Bronze Demon Mountain?" Lin Qing blinked in surprise.

From the intelligence Prince Su had given him, he knew that what Earth called Site Six was named the Bronze Demon Mountain—but Earth had never been able to enter it.

Now he understood why.

—Because Earth hadn't been opened yet, hadn't truly connected to the stars.

And the purpose of the Bronze Demon Mountain was simple.

It was called a "demon mountain" because it contained countless demonic temptations; those with insufficient willpower would sink and drown within it.

This ruin was a place to test and hone willpower.

Yet...

The ultimate purpose of the Bronze Demon Mountain was to provide "Guiding Seals" to each Level Two civilization.

Level Two civilizations were hidden within Void Secret Realms that converged cosmic origins, so Level One civilizations couldn't even find them.

But with a Guiding Seal, one could enter the Void Secret Realm of a Level Two civilization.

Level Two civilizations maintained contact with each other; traveling to another Level Two civilization's Void Secret Realm was like going abroad, and the Guiding Seal was the visa.

Only a Guiding Seal infused with a trace of Void Origin could enter other Void Secret Realms.

The reward for passing the Bronze Demon Mountain's trial was the granting of a Guiding Seal for each civilization's Secret Realm.

It was, in fact, an extremely important ruin treasure.

He hadn't expected this Prince Su to be willing to open it early for him—Lin Qing could feel...

Last time, when he demonstrated extraordinary comprehension in the Starry Vault, the Vault's AI had grown even more favorable toward him, even voluntarily replacing two of his treasures with better ones.

This was the same again.

It seemed...

That this kind of comprehension, capable of fusing Divine Techniques, was even more important than he'd imagined? "The existence of the Bronze Demon Mountain is to give you descendants a chance."

Prince Su said softly: "Those born in Level One civilizations have low gene optimization indices, low comprehension, low talent... their upbringing is poor. It's normal that they're inferior to Level Two civilizations in these aspects."

"But spiritual will is different. Level Two civilizations, due to their overly advantageous environments, are born without needing to worry about survival. As innate primal beings, they don't even need to hone their willpower—and their spiritual state is generally ordinary."

She said: "The Bronze Demon Mountain gives you a chance: if your willpower is strong enough, you can enter a Level Two civilization for training and compensate for your other disadvantages."

Lin Qing nodded slightly, understanding her meaning.

Though most people yearned for equality, everyone knew people could never be truly equal.

Birth, genes, talent, environment, fortune... any advantage, in others' eyes, was a form of inequality, prompting the question: Why? But the world was simply like this.

The Bronze Demon Mountain offered a chance to make up for it.

"As long as you obtain a Guiding Seal in the Bronze Demon Mountain, you won't have to worry about Level Two civilizations discovering you're from a Level One civilization."

Prince Su said: "The Void Origin aura of a Guiding Seal is unmistakable. Only a select few in Level Two civilizations are even eligible to receive one—it's more than enough to conceal your identity."

Lin Qing nodded in realization.

It was like in ancient times, when most people never left their homeland in their entire lives.

"I see your willpower is strong."

Prince Su studied Lin Qing. "You've clearly experienced true life-or-death moments. If you can further hone your willpower in the Bronze Demon Mountain, it will become formidable."

"I'll do my best," Lin Qing smiled slightly.

Though his life hadn't been long, his experiences had been many.

He'd endured the deaths of loved ones, the disasters of the apocalypse, betrayal and deception that threatened his life, true death and rebirth...

Living longer didn't automatically make one's will stronger—it was just as normal to grow more fragile.

Some things could never be understood without experiencing them.

Like how most people didn't know what true death felt like—even those with resurrection abilities knew they'd inevitably revive; that wasn't true death, and offered little willpower cultivation.

"I've done all I can to help you. The rest is up to you."

Prince Su reminded him: "By the way, as a citizen of the Primordial Realm, after each life-layer transformation, you may come once."

"Oh?" Lin Qing smiled. "Thank you."

"It's what you deserve," Prince Su shook her head slightly. "If the Primordial Realm hadn't been reduced to this graveyard and a few ruins, you'd have received far more."

Lin Qing said nothing, only replied: "I'm leaving."

Next, after visiting Site Six—the Bronze Demon Mountain—he must attend the Primitive-Level God Official Trials.

(End of Chapter)