Immortality and Cultivation: Starting with Harvesting the Talents of Demonic Beasts

Chapter 297 First Acquisition of the Strange Insect, Embryo Formation

Lin Changheng naturally wouldn't rent the Waihu Cave again.

The cultivator next to him had already been figured out by Lin Changheng using the "Divine Light" that combined three techniques.

He is a late-stage demonic cultivator who has concealed his cultivation level to the mid-Foundation Establishment stage.

Demonic cultivators are rare, and now that I think about it, it might be related to the dark hand that planted the mark on me.

However, Lin Changheng did not act rashly, not because he was afraid of anything, but because he did not want to make any rash moves and alert the enemy.

Most importantly, it is not advisable to engage in magical combat in the Immortal City. Openly violating the prohibition is a slap in the face to the Immortal City. Even if there is a connection, it is impossible to turn a big problem into a small one or a small problem into nothing under the watchful eyes of everyone.

Therefore, we might as well just rent a cave dwelling in the inner city.

Safety and peace of mind are important, as it avoids the constant worry of being surrounded by predatory wolves, which is not a good thing.

Moreover, he has been mainly refining magical artifact embryos during this period, so his need for spiritual veins and spiritual energy is not very high.

As it happened, there was a spot available at Yun Jian Que, so they decided to stay there again.

……

Cui Yinshi's plaque with the inscription "Qingyin Yunju" was also removed.

However, there were few changes inside the courtyard.

Lin Changheng could vaguely make out the appearance and layout of the courtyard in the past, and his eyes seemed to be filled with the voices and smiles of the deceased.

Then he recalled the strange rumors spread by cultivators outside.

"That sounds quite convincing. Even Foundation Establishment cultivators can't avoid it; it's filled with evil energy, and touching it brings endless bad luck..."

"I'd like to see what's so strange about it."

Lin Changheng immediately activated the [Demon Insight Technique], and then combined it with the perfected [Spirit Observation] and [Aura Observation] techniques. The light gold, clear, and gray light in his eyes intertwined and spun, like two dim lamps. The condensed divine light instantly swept slowly across the pavilions, plants, rockeries, and even the depths of the ground in the courtyard.

Extremely meticulous!

All strange occurrences will be exposed under this triple detection technique!

At first glance, although the distribution of spiritual energy in the courtyard was somewhat obstructed, there was nothing particularly unusual about it, let alone the resentment or ghostly energy that the cultivators outside had mentioned.

In this bizarre and wondrous world of cultivation, there are also techniques for refining ghosts and borrowing resentment, especially in demonic cultivation methods, which are used extensively to target human souls and corpses, as well as to manipulate yin energy and resentment to fight enemies and refine magical artifacts.

If such traces truly exist, they would be difficult to escape Lin Changheng's [Insight into Demonic Arts] detection.

“Strange… Rumors are never entirely baseless.” Lin Changheng frowned slightly, his divine light sweeping across every inch of land and every piece of rubble with even greater detail, like mercury spilling onto the ground.

Just when he thought he was about to gain nothing.

His gaze swept over a seemingly withered old willow tree in the corner of the courtyard, and the seemingly ordinary soil beneath it, when he received a clear and unusual response!

"what?"

His gaze sharpened, his divine light focusing on this point.

Within the vision formed by the three techniques of [Insight into Demonic Arts], deep within the roots of the old willow tree, there was not some cursed aura, but rather a cluster of tiny, flickering points of light, seemingly wriggling.

"what is this?"

Lin Changheng's curiosity was immediately piqued.

The divine light could see the greenish-blue wood spirit flowing between the willow roots, but those points of light were completely different and were not inanimate objects.

At this moment, the light spot and the willow tree roots were almost integrated, and it was vibrating slightly at a unique frequency, emitting a kind of invisible and intangible "special fluctuation" that could interfere with divine consciousness and arouse inner demons!
Without further thought, Lin Changheng manipulated the Azure Gold Flying Sword, slashing wildly at the ground near the roots of the willow tree.

Dust flew everywhere, the pit deepened, and the roots of the willow tree were exposed.

As he continued to delve deeper, his extended spiritual sense also received feedback.

"Buzz!"

As he was about to retrieve his flying sword, what caught his eye startled Lin Changheng.

Dozens of strange, almost invisible, transparent insects, with only a single, shimmering blue spot on their abdomens, were clinging to the willow roots.

"It's an insect?"

Lin Changheng immediately took out the "Ancient Scroll of the Insect Emperor" given to him by Mo Zhaoli and searched for the corresponding insect based on its shape and characteristics.

"This is... the Soul-Eating Miasma?"

Upon examining the attached "Insect Emperor List," a matching record was finally found at the position of "361."

This insect is not a man-made curse, but an extremely rare "heavenly wonder insect" that is usually born in places of yin energy or where the resentment of living beings converges.

They feed on the resentment of lingering souls and the yin energy of the earth's veins. The special fluctuations they emit can subtly influence the souls of nearby creatures, causing hallucinations and restlessness.

The "evil aura" and "bad luck" that the cultivators felt before were caused by this insect! Foundation Establishment cultivators have stronger spiritual senses and are therefore less affected, but the old monster Yin mentioned by the cultivators may be more susceptible to having his inner demons stirred up by this insect because of his old age, rampant distracting thoughts, and weakened spirit.

This led to a series of bizarre and strange events.

"So the so-called 'haunting' and 'evil spirits' were actually caused by these little creatures." Lin Changheng suddenly realized, and at the same time, a hint of interest arose. Although these [Soul-Eating Miasma Worms] are harmful to cultivators, they are also a rare kind of spiritual insect. If they could be tamed, they might have some wonderful uses.

With a thought, he did not directly use the domineering [Dark Flame] to incinerate it, but carefully activated his magic power, drawing upon the sharp metal energy of the [Limb Hardening Demon Technique], transforming it into an invisible net that slowly enveloped the swarm of miasma insects.

Of the five elements, only metal can subdue this insect!
The Ancient Scroll of the Insect Emperor explains it very clearly.

Sensing this sharp metallic aura, the Soul-Eating Miasma Worms immediately became violently agitated, their eerie blue lights flickering erratically, and the disruptive fluctuations they emitted becoming chaotic. Under the suppression of the metallic power, they instinctively felt fear.

"Buzz~"

Its wings were trembling violently, and it couldn't fly away at all.

With his powerful divine sense, Lin Changheng precisely controlled the aura net, separating the miasma from the willow tree roots they were parasitizing. He then quickly took out a captured golden bottle and absorbed them all.

There are approximately thirty of them.

"According to the records, this thing usually comes from places of yin energy or where the resentment of living beings converges... Could there be some yin energy or resentment here?"

Looking at the strange insect he had captured, Lin Changheng was also puzzled. This was the Floating Life Immortal City, and the earth's veins should have been sorted out when the city was first built. It was unlikely that there would be any Yin Sha here unless it was formed later.

Moreover, this insect doesn't appear out of thin air; it most likely came from outside for some reason.

Lin Changheng continued digging, wanting to find out more. This time, he was unrestrained and worked even faster.

The flying sword transformed into a streak of light, easily severing the remaining roots and digging through the soil below. However, after digging down about ten feet, the tip of the sword touched a hard, foreign object.

He waved his hand to brush away the loose soil, and when he saw what was below, his pupils suddenly contracted!
Beneath the soil, instead of rocks, lay five twisted, tangled, and decayed skeletons!
These corpses were placed at an extremely bizarre angle, with their limbs forcibly broken and their heads facing the center, forming a broken circle.

Their skins are covered with strange runes that are not complicated but exude an ominous black aura!
What's even more chilling is that in the center of these five corpses is a palm-sized, pitch-black "banner" that seems to absorb all light!
The banner moved without wind, emanating an intense and pervasive aura of resentment and malevolent energy. It was precisely this negative energy that nourished the Soul-Eating Miasma!
This is hardly a naturally formed place of malevolent energy! It is clearly an evil formation artificially created, constructed from the corpses and souls of living beings!
Judging from the degree of decay of the corpses and the intensity of the resentment, the formation must have taken a long time to set up!

"Such means..."

Lin Changheng could tell that the remaining cultivation levels of these corpses were only at the Qi Refining stage, with none of them reaching the Foundation Establishment stage. This meant that it was highly likely that this was arranged by Cui Yinshi's Daoist partner, the bronze-masked cultivator. This person's cultivation was at the peak of the Qi Refining stage, which was sufficient to accomplish this.

Based on this reasoning, Lin Changheng could deduce the following: the bronze-masked cultivator obtained the Soul-Eating Miasma Worm by chance, recognized its wonders, and painstakingly searched for it, set up an array to accelerate its hatching and cultivation.

Indeed, this is true. Another key point is that the most dangerous place is the safest place.

In a peaceful and tranquil immortal city, bringing in corpses from outside to set up an array is safe enough, without worrying about being discovered or interrupted.

Indeed, fifty years later, the formation still exists, and the insects are thriving and multiplying.

As expected.

The problem is, the things are still there, but the people are long gone.

……

Looking at the five twisted skeletons whose flesh and blood had long since withered, Lin Changheng knew that the formation had run out of nutrients, which explained why the swarm of insects had not continued to expand.

"Then let you rest in peace."

Lin Changheng's eyes dimmed, and he put away the small banner. He memorized the formation's structure and nodes, then shook his head and sighed. He flicked his finger, sending out a wisp of flame to release the corpses.

This magic array, which was only at the first-order level, was extremely simple in his eyes. It was useless to him and provided no nourishment.

Even if Lin Changheng were to set up an array, with his current second-tier low-grade array master skills, he would definitely set up an array of second-tier or higher, but he would just not use innocent human corpses.

The pit under the willow tree was filled back in, and this strange and dangerous situation has been completely resolved and eliminated by Lin Changheng.

Then Lin Changheng stepped directly into the quiet room inside the house, and with a wave of his hand, he set up several layers of isolation and protective restrictions, and began to refine the embryo of his long-awaited natal magic weapon.

He took out all the necessary spiritual materials, opened the box, broke the seal, and neatly arranged them in front of him. Instantly, they shone with a myriad of colors, filled with spiritual energy, and illuminated the entire quiet room with dazzling brilliance...

A fragment of the Primordial Wood, as thick as an infant's arm, dark blue in color and exuding ancient Daoist charm; a piece of 150-year-old Warm Jade, warm and smooth as jade, containing ethereal beauty; the essence of Bin Iron gleaming with metallic coldness; the sharp and piercing essence of Geng Metal; the Five Elements Spiritual Essence, harmonizing the five elements and displaying a variety of colors; and the Xun Wind Thunder Liquid, shimmering with lightning and shimmering with wind and thunder…

Each of these items, if taken out, would be enough to tempt a pseudo-core cultivator and cause a fight, but now they are all casually placed in front of Lin Changheng, waiting for him to refine them.

He took a deep breath, suppressing his excitement and a hint of nervousness. He carefully checked the quality and condition of all the materials again with his divine sense. After confirming that everything was correct, he went through the refining steps recorded in the method for refining magical artifact embryos, as well as the details he had deduced, in his mind to ensure that nothing was missed.

"let's start!"

Lin Changheng's eyes narrowed, and he no longer hesitated.

With a thought, the cluster of Dark Blazing Flames deep within his dantian was activated, slowly rising from his palm.

At first, it was just a tiny, golden flame the size of a bean, but as Lin Changheng continued to pour his magic into it, the flame quickly grew and transformed into a fireball the size of a human head, burning quietly but radiating terrifying heat.

The core of the flame was as deep as the night sky, but its edges distorted space, scorching the surrounding spiritual energy with crackling sounds.

He first extracted the most solid essence of [Geng Metal] and threw it into the fireball.

"laugh--!"

The essence of [Geng Metal] initially remained largely still under terrifying high temperatures, demonstrating its hardness and solidity.

But Lin Changheng was more patient, maintaining the firepower unchanged. After an unknown amount of time, the surface of the spiritual material began to soften and melt, eventually turning into a pool of flowing, shimmering, blindingly white liquid metal.

Lin Changheng concentrated his mind and carefully manipulated the flames, removing the most minute impurities.

Seven days later, Lin Changheng was finally fully recovered.

Next, auxiliary materials such as [Iron], [Five Elements Spiritual Fat], and [Wind and Thunder Liquid] were added in turn. Under the melting of the Dark Flame, they were transformed into liquids or energy streams of different colors and attributes, which were suspended separately.

"call!"

A look of exhaustion appeared on Lin Changheng's face.

Two whole months had passed by then!

While maintaining the flames, Lin Changheng was also rapidly absorbing mid-grade spirit stones to restore his mana.

That completes this step.

……

He then acquired the section of the Primordial Tree.

This thing is the "bone" of the embryo, the core framework that bears many forces.

Lin Changheng had previously worried that the material dimension of the [Primordial Wood] was too high, and the third-tier [Dark Flame] might not be able to be melted down.

Later, a method was found: carefully imprinting magical marks onto the fragments of the Primordial Tree to achieve the desired result. This is how some people obtained the top-tier Seven Divine Trees.

Fortunately, Lin Changheng was unharmed beforehand, so he imprinted a lot of magical marks on the wood, which took effect. Under Lin Changheng's control, the extremely hard wood actually showed signs of loosening.

The fragments of Jianmu wood gradually softened in the flames, and Lin Che used his divine sense as a guide to slowly shape them into the form of a sword embryo.

With his powerful divine sense, Lin Changheng, like the most skilled craftsman, guided these different liquid materials to slowly merge and permeate each other, initially outlining the matrix of the magical artifact's embryo.

The entire process was extremely mentally and physically demanding, and Lin Changheng's forehead was already covered in sweat, but his eyes remained focused.

After he finished doing all this, he felt a sharp pain in his head and realized that half a year had passed!
Finally, there's that piece of century-old warm jade!
This thing is the "soul," the foundation of stability, used to balance and stabilize all violent energies, and to allow the embryo to finally take shape.

Lin Changheng threw the warm jade into the fire. It did not melt, but became extremely soft under the high temperature, like the best adhesive and shaping agent. Under Lin Changheng's exquisite control, it evenly wrapped and penetrated into every minute part of the sword-shaped blank, harmonizing the essence of Jianmu wood, the sharpness of metal, the speed of wind and thunder, and the flow of the five elements...

All the precious light and spiritual energy seemed to be absorbed and contained by the warm and smooth jade at this moment.

The fireball formed by the Dark Flame gradually shrank, and its temperature slowly decreased.

After an unknown amount of time, when the flames completely dissipated, a sword embryo, about three inches long, with a dark blue jade-like body, a faint halo of the five elements flowing around its blade, and the sound of wind and thunder seemingly emanating from within, yet giving people a sense of balance, peace, and natural perfection, was quietly floating above Lin Changheng's palm.

The embryo of the magical artifact—complete!

Although it is still just an embryo, without any divine consciousness imprinted on it or any nurturing process, the spiritual pressure and potential it exudes already far surpass those of ordinary high-grade spiritual artifacts!

Looking at the small sword that embodied countless efforts and precious materials, Lin Changheng finally revealed a relieved yet expectant smile on his pale face.

His most precious treasure has finally taken its first solid step!
And at this moment,
"Come!"

Lin Changheng used the [Spirit-Nourishing Demon Technique], which he had obtained by chance from a pill seeker and had replenished his essence and blood. He opened his mouth and spat out a ball of azure light, releasing the [Half-finished Treasure Talisman], which he then used to envelop the embryonic magic weapon in his hand.

He had completed a transaction with Master He last time and received three more precious talismans from her, making a total of eight.

Six of them were nurtured by the [Spirit-Nourishing Demonic Technique], while two were given to Xiaobai to manage.

Now, the [semi-finished treasure talisman] has to give way, making room for the nurturing of the magic treasure embryo.

Then the magical artifact embryo suddenly shrank and was absorbed into the abdomen, sinking down into the dantian.

The third-tier fire seed, which had long occupied the central position and was used to being domineering, also moved aside and gave up its place, seemingly intimidated by its power.

(End of this chapter)