Chapter 78: Arrays
The moment the giant spider collapsed and split into two clean halves, Clayne’s attention was originally focused on the Mother Mantis.
After all, the scene that had just unfolded was simply too ridiculous.
The spider had not been weak.
He had personally created the conditions that allowed it to emerge victorious.
He had watched countless mutated creatures slaughter one another.
He had watched the giant spider devour its opponents and stand at the top of another bloody royal rumble.
Yet despite all of that strength, despite all of that evolution, despite all of the power it had accumulated through consuming creatures enhanced by the heavenly tribulation tempered dried mango fruit, it had still died in a single strike.
Not several strikes.
Not a prolonged battle.
Not an exchange of techniques.
One strike.
One movement.
One flash.
Then death.
That alone was enough to make Clayne increasingly wary of the Mother Mantis.
However, before he could continue analyzing the situation, something unexpected caught his attention.
A faint glow.
At first it was barely noticeable.
A weak shimmer hidden among blood, flesh, and shattered body parts.
Yet the more he looked, the clearer it became.
The remains of the giant spider were emitting light.
A crystal.
Another crystal.
It was embedded near the creature’s back.
Unlike the ordinary crystals he had seen inside undead before, this one appeared more refined.
The color was strange.
Yellow mixed with red.
Almost as though molten gold and blood had been fused together.
The crystal pulsed rhythmically.
Each pulse released a faint glow.
Each pulse seemed to contain a strange vitality.
Clayne’s eyes narrowed immediately.
He had already begun noticing a pattern.
The giant worm had possessed one.
The giant spider possessed one.
Several other powerful creatures produced through the dried mango experiments had also left similar objects behind.
That meant these crystals were important.
Extremely important.
Perhaps they were the true rewards of the mutations.
Perhaps they were the condensed essence of all the energy accumulated through the battles.
Clayne was already considering retrieving it later when something happened.
The Mother Mantis reacted.
For the first time in a long while, the giant crimson predator showed something different.
It was not hostility.
It was not killing intent.
It was not caution.
It was curiosity.
Its head slowly turned toward the glowing crystal.
Its crimson eyes became fixed on it.
The Mother Mantis stood completely still for several moments.
Then its forelimbs twitched.
Its wings vibrated faintly.
Its body tensed.
The next moment, it vanished.
The distance separating it from the corpse might as well have not existed.
One moment it stood beside the egg sac.
The next moment it had already arrived beside the spider’s remains.
The speed was so outrageous that even Clayne nearly failed to follow the movement.
The Mother Mantis lowered its head.
Its mouthparts opened.
Then, without hesitation, it swallowed the crystal whole.
Crunch.
The crystal disappeared.
Clayne immediately sat upright.
His eyes widened.
His heart skipped a beat.
The first thing that appeared in his mind was a question.
Would it become stronger?
The second question followed immediately afterward.
Would it evolve again?
Then a third.
Would it gain another ability?
Then a fourth.
Would it become impossible to deal with?
After all, the Mother Mantis was already terrifying enough.
If it became stronger than it already was, then even Clayne did not know whether he could still handle it.
Fortunately, what happened next was not what he expected.
The Mother Mantis did not absorb the crystal for itself.
Instead, it immediately returned to the egg sac.
The giant insect lowered its abdomen.
Then a strange liquid slowly emerged.
The liquid possessed exactly the same color as the crystal it had just consumed.
Yellow.
Red.
Glowing faintly.
Almost beautiful.
The droplet slowly fell.
Then landed on the egg sac.
The reaction was immediate.
The entire sac trembled.
Not violently.
Not painfully.
The movement looked almost happy.
Almost eager.
Almost excited.
Like a starving creature finally receiving food.
Like a child receiving a favorite treat.
Clayne blinked several times.
Then the ground itself began releasing traces of red mist.
The familiar red mist drifted upward from cracks, from ruins, from every direction around the area.
The moment the red mist touched the egg sac, it was immediately absorbed.
The sac trembled again.
Then again.
Then again.
Each reaction appeared even more excited than before.
The thing inside the sac seemed absolutely delighted.
The Mother Mantis remained motionless as it watched.
Then, after confirming the sac had absorbed everything, it left again.
Moments later it arrived beside another corpse.
Another crystal disappeared.
Then it returned.
Another droplet fell.
Another feeding occurred.
Then another corpse.
Another crystal.
Another feeding.
Then another.
And another.
And another.
The process repeated continuously.
The Mother Mantis moved tirelessly throughout the battlefield.
Every powerful creature that had died during the previous battles was searched.
Every crystal was collected.
Every crystal was transformed into that strange glowing liquid.
Every drop was fed into the egg sac.
Meanwhile, the sac continued becoming increasingly active.
The trembling became stronger.
The vitality became more obvious.
The presence inside became more distinct.
Even from a distance, Clayne could feel something growing.
Something evolving.
Something dangerous.
At first he merely watched.
Then he continued watching.
Then suddenly he realized something.
If this continued, the thing inside that sac might become something he could no longer control.
The realization immediately snapped him out of his daze.
He slapped his forehead.
His eyes brightened.
A new idea appeared.
Without hesitation, he immediately rushed back toward the building.
His footsteps echoed throughout the hallways.
He quickly arrived at the formation room.
Then he opened the Spiritual Vault.
The tiny vault floated inside his hand.
Its interior still contained a considerable amount of supplies.
There were apples.
There were chocolates.
There were bottled drinks.
There were preserved foods.
There were snacks.
Clayne inspected everything rapidly.
Unfortunately, the two resources he wanted most were already gone.
The chips had been consumed.
The dried mango fruit had been exhausted too in this stuff.
However, after several moments of searching, he found something else.
Dried strawberries.
His eyes immediately lit up.
Without hesitation, he grabbed several pieces.
Then he threw them into the Tiny World.
The reaction began almost immediately.
Dark clouds gathered.
Thunder rumbled.
Lightning appeared.
Heavenly tribulation descended.
The dried strawberries rapidly absorbed enormous amounts of spiritual energy.
The process took some time.
Yet Clayne waited patiently.
The moment the tribulation completed, he immediately retrieved them.
The dried strawberries now emitted a faint spiritual glow.
Each piece contained astonishing amounts of spiritual energy.
Then Clayne returned to the formation.
One piece.
Two pieces.
Three pieces.
Four pieces.
Five pieces.
He placed them around the formation center.
The array immediately reacted.
Spiritual runes illuminated.
The mist thickened.
The formation expanded.
Then Clayne took direct control.
His consciousness merged with the formation.
His target was obvious.
The egg sac.
He intended to conceal it.
Then take it.
Simple.
Efficient.
Unfortunately, before he could proceed, the Mother Mantis returned once more.
Another crystal vanished.
Another feeding occurred.
Then, for the first time, the Mother Mantis remained beside the egg.
It did not leave.
It simply stood there.
Guarding.
Watching.
Protecting.
Clayne frowned.
That complicated things considerably.
However, after observing for several moments, another idea emerged.
His gaze shifted toward the heavenly tribulation tempered dried strawberries.
Then toward the Mother Mantis.
Then toward the egg.
A smile slowly appeared on his face.
Soon, a single piece of strawberry landed nearby.
Not too close.
Not too far.
Just enough to attract attention.
The effect was immediate.
The Mother Mantis reacted.
Its head snapped toward the strawberry.
Its body stiffened.
Then it moved.
Exactly as Clayne predicted.
The giant insect rushed toward the spiritual treasure.
The moment it arrived—
The formation activated.
The mist surged outward.
The surrounding environment became distorted.
Direction became confused.
Vision became unreliable.
Perception became twisted.
The Mother Mantis swallowed the strawberry.
Then immediately attempted to return.
Unfortunately for it, the egg was already hidden.
The giant insect froze.
Then looked around.
Then around again.
Then around once more.
The Mother Mantis searched frantically.
It ran from one location to another.
It returned repeatedly to the original spot.
Again.
And again.
And again.
Yet no matter how hard it searched, it could not locate the egg.
Meanwhile, Clayne carefully retrieved the sac.
The object felt warm.
Almost alive.
Almost breathing.
Yet he paid little attention to that.
His plan had succeeded.
That was all that mattered.
Immediately he retreated.
The formation shifted.
The mist withdrew.
The protected area shrank back toward the school grounds.
Far away, the Mother Mantis continued searching desperately.
Its movements became increasingly frantic.
Increasingly unstable.
Increasingly desperate.
Yet Clayne ignored it completely.
His attention remained focused on the egg sac.
This was the true prize.
The true treasure.
The thing growing inside was obviously extraordinary.
Perhaps even more extraordinary than the Mother Mantis itself.
Slowly, Clayne sat down.
The egg rested before him.
Then he recalled the Beast Enslavement Spell.
The technique inherited from Ling Taiyin.
A genuine cultivation technique refined through countless years of experience.
Not some incomplete fragment.
Not some half-finished inheritance.
A true spell.
Immediately he began forming hand seals.
One after another.
Then another.
Then another.
Spiritual energy began flowing.
Soon a complex circular formation appeared beneath him.
Runes glowed.
Symbols illuminated.
Lines connected.
Then a second formation appeared beneath the egg sac.
The two formations looked different.
One shone silver.
The other shone crimson.
Yet they resonated with each other.
Their energies intertwined.
Their lights merged.
Clayne continued the process.
His concentration reached its peak.
Finally, he bit his finger.
A droplet of blood emerged.
The blood fell onto the egg sac.
The moment it landed, the formations activated completely.
The blood disappeared.
The runes brightened.
The room became illuminated.
Then Clayne felt it.
A connection.
Tiny.
Faint.
Yet undeniably real.
Something existed inside the sac.
Something sleeping.
Something alive.
Something waiting.
The connection continued growing stronger.
The resonance intensified.
The two formations glowed brighter and brighter.
At first, their colors remained different.
One silver.
One crimson.
Yet slowly, both colors began changing.
Silver transformed into blue.
Crimson transformed into blue.
Eventually, the two formations possessed exactly the same color.
The exact same light.
The exact same energy.
The exact same resonance.
At that exact moment, Clayne opened his eyes.
Then a wide smile appeared on his face.
A genuine smile.
A victorious smile.
A satisfied smile.
Because he could clearly feel it now.
The bond.
The connection.
The link.
The Beast Enslavement Spell had succeeded.
A true cultivation technique refined and improved by a Soul Transformation expert had finally worked.
And now, whatever terrifying creature was growing inside that egg sac...
Belonged to him.
