CHAPTER 83: CHAPTER 82: THREADS OF TIME, DIVINE SUNLIGHT TECHNIQUE

This light rain seems somewhat familiar.

Li Ye’s heart stirred.

Its color is a golden hue threaded with a deep light, exuding a feeling of "luxury" that is both noble and understated.

"Merit?"

For some reason, this thought popped into Li Ye’s mind.

He had previously seen this glow on a beaver and speculated about it; now that it appeared on him too, it must undoubtedly be the power of merit.

"So, can merit help the Jianmu seeds grow?"

The light rain was clearly nourishing the Jianmu seeds. Normally, for this seed to break through the "soil" of the Dantian and sprout tender shoots, it would require years of slow cultivation.

After all, in the future, it could grow into a realm, so it’s understandable for it to sprout slowly.

Yet under the nourishment of this light rain, there were faint signs of it breaking through the ground.

"Then."

"To make this seed sprout faster, I need to earn more merit."

"Work hard on purification!"

He glanced at the miner ghosts in the distance. After making this decision, he was filled with motivation, eagerly anticipating the moment when the Jianmu seed would sprout.

This led to him spending the next few days, apart from meditating, resting, and handling necessary eating and drinking, dealing with the miner ghosts within the lotus.

He swiftly cleared Earth Demon Ginseng from five mines in succession, demonstrating remarkable efficiency.

Even the Zhou Family had to send some less precious ores to other families, as the fungal mycelium was relentlessly converting resentment qi, like a machine running at full speed.

This endurance was also thanks to his prior experiences with the tug-of-war against the Hungry Ghost Evil Bone. Now, his tolerance for such things was strong, almost to the point of being able to ignore them.

Plus, due to the Jianmu seed, he felt increasingly energetic.

Qian Fang visited him several times, holding back from disturbing him upon seeing his concentration, until Zhao He cautiously approached him to announce that the silkworm had hatched, finally alerting Li Ye.

"Junior Brother Li!"

"Hmm? What happened?" Li Ye opened his eyes.

"Your Qingsui Silkworm has hatched."

"And Uncle Spiritual Mechanism Vine asked me to tell you that this matter cannot be rushed, Senior Brother Shu has some news." Qian Fang said.

"Is that so."

"I really should take a break."

Upon hearing this, Li Ye stepped out of the lotus, stretched his limbs under the sunlight, and let out a comfortable sigh.

Sunlight shone on his still spotless Taoist robe, and his arms and cheeks seemed to be gilded, causing Qian Fang to squint slightly.

After pondering briefly, he reminded, "I feel that your spiritual power seems a bit unusual, and the sunlight around you is exceptionally bright. Has any of your magic changed?"

"Magic?" Li Ye immediately thought of the Xiguang Seed Nurturing Technique, and his heart suddenly skipped a beat—could Jianmu seeds also be considered seeds? Could this Dharma Method work on Jianmu seeds?

This stirring made him eager to try, but he knew he couldn’t try it out here, so he knowingly nodded, "It should be so."

"Then you’d better hurry back."

"You can’t waste such a rare magical insight. Get going!" Qian Fang made a gesture as if to drive him away, "Rest a couple more days before coming back, even we cultivators shouldn’t be so exhausted."

"Got it."

Of course, Li Ye did not refuse this kind gesture.

After saying goodbye, he immediately left and soon returned to his home, where the first thing he saw was Zhao He sweeping the courtyard.

"You are back, Immortal Li." Zhao He was delighted to see Li Ye, put down the broom, and respectfully said, "Earlier, your Immortal Bird informed me that the immortal silkworm had hatched, so I went to find Immortal Qian."

"Hmm, you did very well."

"In a few days, I’ll have you take some things back to Heavenly River City."

After casually drawing a picture of a pancake, he hurried into the inner courtyard, where the beaver eagerly greeted him, quickly calming down his previously anxious mood.

"Haven’t seen me for a few days and already missing me?"

He petted them one by one, watching as they closed their eyes and lifted their heads in enjoyment; he couldn’t help but laugh out loud.

"Looking at you like this, where did the dignified look you had before go?"

The increasingly spiritual beavers chirped a few dissatisfied sounds under the leadership of their leader, jumping down one after another to swim with the Golden Red Dragon Carp.

Seeing this, Li Ye couldn’t help but chuckle again, glancing about the courtyard; everything was as it was, the familiar scenery bringing his heart complete peace.

"Home is still the best."

"When I join the sect, I must take everything here with me."

Drinking a sip of the honey water handed to him by the Transporting Locust Spirit, he returned to his usual leisurely state, slowly walking into the room where the silkworm eggs were kept.

The room was dark, almost without any light.

He approached the table.

In the jade box on top of it, some plump silkworms had already hatched.

Their bodies, like white jade, carried patterns that seemed as if randomly splashed with dye yet miraculously formed beautiful designs.

This is actually a characteristic of the Qingsui Silkworm; their mood is directly reflected in the patterns on their bodies—the more beautiful and magnificent the pattern, the better their mood and condition.

"Not bad."

"This batch of silkworm eggs is excellent."

After Li Ye inspected them one by one, indeed, all fifty Qingsui Silkworms were in good condition. The next step would be to have them spin silk, form cocoons, and transform into nests.

The term "Qingsui" actually means pouring time; the rotation of days and nights is time.

Because they need to condense the brilliance of sun and moon into silk, they are named "Qingsui."

Of course, "light and shadow" is just a beautiful appellation. What they actually require is different types of light, particularly sunlight and moonlight through the leaves of the Bright Shining Mulberry Tree, which is their favorite material.

Li Ye carried the jade box full of Qingsui Silkworms into the courtyard, carefully shielding them from any sliver of light until he reached the Bright Shining Mulberry Tree, where he opened the box.

This is because after the silkworms hatch, they start consuming light, and the silk produced from the first light they consume is the most abundant.

The wriggling silkworms immediately raised their bodies, their mouthparts moving, directly swallowing the light that filtered through the heart-shaped transparent leaves of the mulberry tree.

They truly swallowed the light, which visibly disappeared.

The fifty silkworms, devouring the light in this manner, formed a small area of darkness around the jade box.

During this time, Li Ye maintained his posture, waiting until they were full and no longer moving before promptly returning to the house with the box.

He had just transferred these silkworms to a larger jade box when the Qingsui Silkworms began to spray a large amount of golden liquid from their silk glands, rapidly solidifying in the air, and with their head movements, transforming into threads.

Somehow the threads managed to adhere in the air, forming a web where the silkworms settled and remained still.

"Are these the threads of the Qingsui Silkworms? They are quite beautiful."

Li Ye curiously stared at the jade box.

In the dim room, the network of threads woven by the Qingsui Silkworms inside the jade box shimmered brightly, with rays of light flashing across it, indeed giving off a mysterious sense of time flowing.

However, this is just sunlight. When the moonlight becomes bright, they need to consume some to strengthen this network of threads. The rotation of solar and lunar beams is the true Qingsui Silk.

After admiring for a while, Li Ye got up to prepare suitable mulberry leaves for them.

These mulberry leaves all needed to be washed with rootless water, and each leaf had to be exposed to sunlight or moonlight in the water.

Additionally, they needed to be smeared with powder from the stones they like. The processing is quite complex, with each silkworm requiring about ten leaves a day, totaling five hundred leaves for fifty silkworms.

To ensure the mulberry tree continuously produced enough leaves, he needed to provide sufficient spiritual power and light to the tree, which was quite complex overall.

"Watch carefully. These tasks will eventually be handed over to you."

While preparing mulberry leaves, he instructed the Transporting Locust Spirit beside him, guiding it on how to prepare them.

The poor Transporting Locust Spirit nodded repeatedly, obviously almost trained into a qualified servant.

After preparing the mulberry leaves, which took a full two-hour, he watched as the silkworms ravenously ate the leaves he prepared, carefully checking the situation on the panel.

Only after confirming no changes, did he finally breathe a sigh of relief.

"This might be the most troublesome Spirit Beast and Spirit Plant I’ve ever raised." He rubbed his brow, finally feeling a bit fatigued, deciding to take a rest.

Thus, he instructed the Transporting Locust Spirit to fetch pastries and tea, then lay down on the reclining chair in the courtyard.

The familiar wind, flower fragrance, and sunshine made him feel as though the events of these past few days were a dream.

Not only did he thwart the plan of a powerful fox, but he also apprenticed with Nascent Soul True Man Suoxing and even received the blessing of Jianmu.

At this moment, there was a seed in his Dantian.

"But this counts as a dream come true."

"So what’s the change in you? Let me see." Li Ye stretched his hand and summoned the Xiguang Bell, flicking his fingers at the white little bell.

"Jingle~"

The light emitted by the Xiguang Bell attracted the surrounding sunlight, condensed and not dispersed, resembling a small sun.

"Hmm, it didn’t seem to have the ability to gather sunlight before."

"Moreover..."

Li Ye suddenly realized that the seed within him, upon sensing the sound of the bell, was transmitting power to him—a trace of warmth with a hint of scorching light.

This is an advancement in his Magic.

With this power, he could use the Xiguang Bell to gather sunlight for attacks or transform sunlight into Light Technique stored in a place.

It effectively altered the nature of two of his Magics.

More fascinating is that because the Light Technique had previously received modification from Silver Moon Grass, this Magic could now accommodate both sunlight and moonlight!

Even able to blend sunlight and moonlight together.

These were the messages transmitted by the seed of Jianmu.

This abrupt change felt strange to him; the Jianmu seed clearly lacked consciousness.

Jianmu had explicitly stated this, and he could feel it. After all, no one would want a foreign object in their Dantian, especially one with self-awareness.

So it’s inconceivable why it could send messages in this manner?

—Moreover, previously, due to excitement, he completely overlooked that the Xiguang Seed Nurturing Technique was meant to soothe the seed’s spirituality.

But the Jianmu seed clearly lacked spirituality, merely a shell for Divine Techniques, why would this Magic still be effective?

Was it soothing...?

"Myself?"

Li Ye, blessed with a good heart, suddenly had this peculiar thought.