New concept of the mysterious way to ascend to immortality

Chapter 139 Crystal Cocoon
After [Mengxi Broadcast] entered its second loop, Yuan Zhu turned off the encrypted call mode of 'Mechanical Mouse'.

After removing self-aggrandizement, meaningless nonsense, and exaggerated claims, the information provided by Mengxi was quite valuable, filling in many gaps in our own intelligence and giving us a better understanding of other insect cities in the underground world.

Compared to the Kusanagi Castle, where the other side is 'settled (imprisoned)', the Cicada Castle is undoubtedly an extremely powerful dungeon.

According to intelligence analysis provided by the other party, Grasshopper City is jointly governed by three different insectoid races. There are seven Celestial Rank cultivators, and the city lord is rotated. Therefore, the insectoid city is relatively united and stable internally, but it is weaker compared to the surrounding insectoid cities, and thus places particular emphasis on 'alien black technology'.

Despite knowing that Meng Xiyue's behavior was not quite right, he still gritted his teeth and provided raw materials to support her research.

In comparison, the Heavenly Rank of [Cicada City] is almost double that of [Grasshopper City], and its core clan is solely the [Cicada Clan]. [Dream Hole] has established 13 such clans over the past century. While there are other clans within the Heavenly Rank, there are three [Secondary Cities] near [Cicada City], whose main lineage remains the Cicada Clan. This level of power is already capable of challenging any [Technician Family].

In addition, Meng Xiyue's encrypted intelligence contained a large amount of daily life information that Yuan Zhu had not had time to pay attention to.

After all, he took a different route: he got the highest achievement [Dream Hole] right from the start, then controlled a high-ranking spy (Left Commander), and then used black technology to create [Shadow Domain].

He completely deviated from the local civilization and the basic route. Now, relying on information from his teammates, he's piecing together a small piece of the puzzle and discovered that undermining [Cicada City] is indeed the key!
...

After turning off the mouse, Yuan Zhu continued to wait in the same spot.

The team members below controlled the 'Shadow Demon Insects' to dig a hole along the base of the giant dead tree, creating a shelter and using the residual spiritual energy field of the 'dead tree' for protection.

Seeing that the group was temporarily safe, Yuan Zhu, driven by curiosity, began to climb upwards from the 'giant tree'. A layer of [Holy Light Force Field Barrier] rose around his body to resist the pollution and invasion from the surface world. He gazed at the boundless distance.

If the underground world evoked feelings of oppression and suffocation, then the surface world presented a different kind of despair and lifelessness. The entire world was a desert, devoid of any sign of life; the sky was shattered, with daily gales and, during dangerous periods, black storms that were catastrophic disasters.

Faced with the invitation from the world's will, he could only say one thing: "It's hopeless, farewell!"

According to the guide, this trip was the luckiest he'd had in years; there was no Black Storm, and no Undead Knights appeared nearby. They only encountered a brief shower of Corrupted Iron while waiting for nightfall.

The air contains highly toxic metal particles (iron poison), which condense into corrosive acid rain that falls from the sky. Some raindrops are rust-red, some are copper-green, some are orange-yellow... When they fall to the ground, they present a strange, corrosive effect.

For over a century, this "decaying cloud" has never stopped moving through the atmosphere, killing plants that could have taken root on the ground, corroding and poisoning insects with tenacious vitality, and ultimately selecting out the polluting insects that coexist with iron poison.

Faced with this poisonous rain that came and went quickly, Yuan Zhu's team used a type of [insect wax umbrella] to resist it. More 'corrosive iron rain' gathered together, seeped into the ground, polluted the groundwater, corroded the root network, and finally spread in the underground world in the form of 'iron poison'.

Aside from the colorful, metallic rain, Yuan Zhu didn't encounter the infamous [Black Storm]. After waiting for nearly five hours, the cracks in the sky were completely filled with [Starry Sky], and the originally dark red sky quickly transformed into a shattered 'Starry Sky' pattern.

Like a TV show with a shattered screen, it suddenly switched channels to a scene of starry sky. A pale blue moon that looked somewhat familiar to Yuan Zhu appeared in a corner of the cracked sky.

Yuan Zhu: "Hey, Snake. What color is the moon?"

Snake: "It's a pale yellow color, warm and cozy, like a pancake..."

The moon displays different colors depending on the viewer's mood, personality, values, spiritual attributes, and soul. This moon belongs to the one associated with the spirit, that's settled.

"I never expected that I could actually see the Moon of the Spirits in the Nightmare Foam Layer. The Moon's status is indeed very high."

The Bubble World is clearly the inner world that collapses inward from the [Real Planet (Spiritual Being)]; while the [Moon] is a supernatural celestial body outside of reality and belongs to the outer world.

Snake: "Last time in Little Red Realm, didn't I... well, I think I only saw stars last time. But the [Astral Realm] to which the stars belong is on the same level as the [Moon]. The spatial structure of this world doesn't seem very scientific."

As the starry sky spread out beyond the heavens, Yuan Zhu quickly returned to the ground and stood on the periphery to observe the team's moon-worshiping ceremony.

With Yuan Zhu protecting them, the entire process was undisturbed by external forces. Occasionally, a few giant demonic insects were attracted, but they were secretly swallowed into the [Tiger Demon]'s [Inner Universe].

The ceremony on the other side was even simpler and more brutal. The guide led a group of lower-class residents to arrange several pre-made 'magic circle props' in a circle in order, and then used some refined roots and tube worms to connect this simple magic circle to the huge dead tree.

Afterward, they arranged the offerings of little value. Then, they all knelt facing the moon, placing the 'spirit insects and caterpillars' they carried with them in containers in front of them.

The moon-worshiping ceremony proceeded quietly and slowly...

Yuan Zhu, who had been observing the entire process, gradually figured out the core elements of this 'ritual'. It had little to do with the indigenous people's worship; it was entirely due to the fact that these giant tree remains of the 'celestial trees' naturally possessed the instinct to absorb the essence of moonlight during the full moon.

Before the 'Celestial Tree' was destroyed, on the full moon day in the Bubble World, perhaps countless giant trees growing from the 'root network' plundered the essence of moonlight under the night sky, gathering it to nourish and strengthen themselves.

Today, in the desolate Gobi Desert, the broken giant trees, some long and some short, still manage to draw a small amount of moonlight onto their surfaces. But that's all; they no longer flourish, no longer bear fruit, and even the root network beneath them has lost its activity, no longer absorbing moonlight.

When dawn breaks, will the moonlight drawn by the dead tree dissipate again?

The indigenous people use a simple 'magic circle' to connect with the dead wood to perform a moon-worshiping ceremony. In reality, they absorb moonlight through the 'Source Qi Breathing Method' and mix it into the 'Qi Silk' to increase their own and the spirit insects' spiritual essence.

Seeing this, Yuan Zhu suddenly understood, grasping all the key points: "Insect-type spiritual essence is the essence of spirit, energy, and vitality, the core of Qi threads, and the nourishment for the [Primordial Spirit]. The [Moon] is the carrier of the Sea of ​​Consciousness. The Moon Worship Ritual, absorbing moonlight... this is nourishing the soul! No wonder Moon Worship can shorten cultivation time and accelerate growth; its essence is absorbing the 'soul essence' projected by the moon to strengthen the Primordial Spirit?" Thinking this, he stretched out his palm, touching the withered tree, attempting to draw in a sliver of moonlight. The 'moonlight' landed in his palm, but neither the [Shadow] nor the [Holy Light] reacted; it couldn't be absorbed as nourishment.

"?? Even [Holy Light] doesn't work?"

His "Holy Light" is clearly something inclined towards the spirit and will, capable of changing with cognition and belief, similar to the idealistic power of a Zanpakuto. Yet, it's completely incompatible with "Moonlight"?
Spicy Strip: "How about trying the [breathing technique]?"

With the rapid progress of the [Imprinting] process, Yuan Zhu's [Holy Seal], after absorbing a large amount of 'Shadow Demon Ashes', finally gave birth to its second exclusive 'Holy Light Skill: Breathing Technique'.

Originally, [Insect Ash] could have generated many related abilities, but due to the influence of [Holy Cough], an upper respiratory tract disease, it was ultimately locked into [Breathing Technique], which has linked abilities.

Insect-type cultivators use the 'Dao Seed (hardware)' as their foundation. Through the [Breathing Technique (System Software)], they can inhale and exhale polluted spiritual energy, refine it into 'True Qi' to nourish the Dao Seed, shape the meridians, transform the body's strength, and drive true qi energy.

However, Yuan Zhu's [Breathing Technique] is relatively useless. First, he does not have a 'Dao Seed' in his body. Second, [Holy Light] is a product released all at once after burning life; it is completely different from 'True Qi', which can be stored in the body for a long time to nourish and strengthen the body and can be shaped at will.

After obtaining the [Breathing Technique], Yuan Zhu tried it, but to no avail. This was because he lacked the necessary physical support of 'meridians and Dao Seed' within his body.

This skill is an attack method that uses holy light (the medium) to load information about the [Breathing Technique], then shines (attacks) it on other 'Insect City Residents', forcibly baptizing them and injecting 'evil knowledge' into their souls, thus forcibly giving them the junk information of the [Holy Cough Breathing Technique].

In other words, all indigenous people with a 'Tao Seed' within their bodies, after being exposed to the [Holy Light of Breathing Method], are passively preached, gaining additional forbidden knowledge. Combined with [Holy Cough Particle Infection], this can rapidly develop potential 'Holy True Qi' users.

This kind of attack can't even be considered preaching. It merely infects the 'True Qi System' with the [Holy Light] attribute, which is a far cry from actually embracing the [Holy Light] and joining the [Holy Temple].

Therefore, Yuan Zhu was quite surprised that the [Holy Seal] had given birth to this skill, and felt a strong sense of disappointment, like opening a blind box and getting junk.

Fortunately, the Holy Light is extremely idealistic, and with dedicated research and development, it may be possible to turn something rotten into something miraculous.

After several attempts, Yuan Zhu actually came up with something new. He started from his lungs and, following the structure of the meridian system, began to reshape the viscous 'Holy Light (Holy Cough)' within his body...

Ignite the "Holy Cough" with a part of your life, imagine it as a ball of hot, sticky candy, stretching through your body to reveal the highly intricate twelve meridians that spread throughout your entire body.

In this way, the temporary 【Holy Cough-Meridian】can be used to forcibly operate the 【Breathing Method】, allowing more 'Holy Light' released by burning life to circulate in the 【Holy Cough-Disease Meridian Channel】, and then the 【Breathing Method】can be used to transform the Holy Light into True Qi.

The originally crudely released 'holy light', after being transformed by the [breathing technique], possesses the dual nature of 'true qi/holy light', and can be used to unleash various 'holy light martial arts'.

This change reminded him of the [Holy Seal. Yellow Heaven Register]. Once one is granted the register, one can unleash a series of holy light spells with a [Holy Seal], which is equivalent to gaining several holy light skills.

Conversely, other [Seals] only have one basic function. To unlock more abilities, you must forge a second seal and a third seal, eventually triggering the 'set effect'.

However, the [Holy Cough - Breathing Method] also has a huge flaw, which is the unprecedented 'precision control'. First, one must maintain a one-time 'Holy Cough' to construct a precise meridian structure; then, on this basis, continue to burn life to release one-time holy light, and use the breathing method to stably create 'Holy Light True Qi'; finally, based on the second stage of precision operation, continue to operate and release 'True Qi Martial Arts', a third stage of precision operation.

After all this was over, the holy light completely dissipated, leaving no trace of any 'meridian' structure or any strengthening effect on the body.

After all, it's just a temporary 'True Qi effect' created using 'Holy Light', and it has absolutely nothing to do with the real 'Tao Seed, Meridians, Acupoints, True Qi, and Primordial Spirit'.

Now, Spicy Strips started urging Yuan Zhu to use twice the holy light while maintaining the [Holy Cough + Breathing Technique], a thankless simulation of 'Qi Refining Technique' to absorb moonlight.

So he believed the spicy snack's nonsense, and immersed himself in it, performing the high-difficulty manipulation of the "Holy Light" that shouldn't be done like this, simulating breathing to absorb moonlight.

As a result, the 'moonlight' seemed to have become some kind of 'soul replenishment'? After being integrated into the holy light, it circulated within the [holy seal] and was then released all at once... without flowing into its own soul at all.

Spicy Strip asked curiously, "Did it work?"

"My spirit and soul did not benefit at all; on the contrary, the consumption and output were extremely intense. However... the moonlight seems to have been decomposed into something similar to 'soul ash,' which optimized the [Holy Seal], but the effect is very weak."

It was yet another pointless attempt, much like trying to simulate "true qi" with "holy light"—a waste of effort.

While he was tirelessly tinkering with the [Holy Light], the moon-worshiping ceremony on the other side was also making progress. Those spirit insects that were slowly accumulating spiritual energy and building up their potential for transformation through 'Qi threads' seemed to have a more profound foundation in their senses?
He looks somewhat like Gohan after being blessed and strengthened by King Kai. Has he become stronger? Yes! Has he really become stronger? Yes! Has his appearance changed noticeably? Yes!
However, the translucent crystal silkworm babies provided by [Mao Mao Wang] are different. After these crystal silkworms come into contact with and absorb the energy of 'moonlight', they quickly transform, and their bodies are covered with dense starlight spots.

Then, from these spots of light, thread-like crystal lines are released, intertwining with each other on the body's surface and eventually coalescing into a beautiful gemstone cocoon.

Under Yuan Zhu's command, these ordinary cultivators continuously absorbed and refined the 'moonlight,' injecting their true qi into the qi threads and transmitting it into the bodies of the 'crystal worms.' After absorbing enough spiritual energy, one crystal worm after another sprayed out solid crystal threads, wrapping themselves into 'crystal cocoons.'

"Is this the raw material that the [Furry King] needs?"

Yuan Zhu picked one up and examined it closely. Unlike the rapidly dissipating "shadow threads" of his own "Shadow Caterpillar," this crystal silk was a solid substance that would not dissipate, was stable, and remained indefinitely. Moreover, it inherited the "spiritual/soul attributes" of moonlight.

(End of this chapter)