Witchcraft Silkworm

As they chatted, Li Qi finally arrived at the Liu family's residence.

Li Qi gazed at the Liu family's residence.

It looks like... uh...

It's just ordinary.

Plain and unremarkable, with nothing particularly impressive about the scenery.

It was an ordinary room with ordinary decor, but it occupied an area about ten times larger than Li Qi's small courtyard. It looked like one of those... small courtyards with a wooden house inside.

Seemingly noticing Li Qi's subtle expression, Liu Junyi immediately said, "Uncle adheres to frugality and simplicity, and dislikes luxury and enjoyment; this is precisely the conduct of a gentleman."

Li Qi nodded. "That's exactly right."

But Liu Shenzhi didn't seem to like it. He pouted and said, "That's why I said there's no need to pretend. To be honest, the difference in renovation costs isn't that big. Just don't use high-grade Law Treasure. Why make it look like this? Dad must be a little—"

He stopped talking abruptly and looked around.

Li Qi blinked, knowing it wasn't the right time for him to speak.

Although what Liu Shenzhi said was pretty much correct.

In modern society, which is more expensive: an ornately decorated glass or a medieval wooden beer mug?

The answer is no difference. As long as they come from an assembly line, the price difference won't be too big. It just depends on which assembly line has lower costs.

The same applies here.

Whether you make it look magnificent or simple, the cost is actually the same. As long as you don't use a lot of high-grade Law Treasure, it doesn't matter at all.

Decorating like this is purely a matter of aesthetics.

Besides, Li Qi felt that although the courtyard was simple and elegant, it was still quite unique.

Li Qi followed the two into the courtyard, where he saw artificial mountains, trinkets, crowns, and other objects arranged in front of him. Some were fine wood carvings, while others were piled up with stones. Although they were not valuable, they were made with great care.

It's clear that although the owner doesn't use any valuable items, they still take good care of the place.

As Liu Junyi walked, he introduced, "Brother Li, don't be fooled by the simplicity of this place. As the wise man said, 'Immerse it in harmony, cover it with morality, and show it simplicity.' Although there are no heavenly steeds or dragons, no saddles or precious bridles, no seven treasures or colorful flags and drums, it has its own unique charm. Staying here can purify people's hearts."

Li Qi knew that the other party was using the opportunity of introducing him to Liu Shenzhi, so he echoed, "Steamed Bone Powder and silk, carved pavilions and decorated with pearls and jade, look extremely exquisite, and a plate of them can be worth hundreds of thousands, but they are all frivolous and useless things, just for fun. It's not as good as the ones here."

"To be free from desires is called simplicity, and to be pure is called sincerity. This is your uncle's teaching, and you must never forget it," Liu Junyi said to Liu Shenzhi.

Liu Shenzhi looked somewhat impatient. He replied, "Plain things are unadorned, while ornate things are colorful. I like colorful things, and I particularly enjoy singing, dancing, and music, as well as gold-embroidered silks. It's just a matter of style, and I'm not extravagant. What's wrong with that?"

Li Qi nodded, which was a form of agreement but not support, just to express his own attitude.

Actually, it's not a big deal. As things stand now, as long as we don't bring out rare and exotic beasts or high-grade Law Treasure to play with, we can do whatever we want with our decorating style and personal fashion preferences.

But he also realized that no matter what the children of the Liu family were like, they always quoted classical texts and spoke with reason and evidence. In addition, they were all students of the Imperial Academy, which already demonstrated their level of knowledge.

This old man Liu is really good at teaching children; he's got some real skills.

I wonder how he compares to the chief priest, and how he compares to my own teacher...

Forget it, there's no need to compare with this one.

Liu Junyi continued, "It's not that you're wrong, but that you shouldn't be so fond of such extravagance. Your temperament is naturally turbulent. Simplicity calms the mind, while colorful decorations make it restless. You're too impulsive; you should cultivate your temperament."

"Alright, I know. I haven't moved out recently, have I? I even entertain friends here, so I'm quite at peace." Liu Shenzhi waved his hand impatiently, then walked to Li Qi's side. "Brother Li, let's not talk about this anymore. After you come in, come with me to a place, and I'll show you my results."

Li Qi naturally didn't want to get involved in other people's education issues, so he immediately changed the subject, asking, "What results?"

"You'll see when you get here. My father and the others are probably still working. Let my elder brother go in and inform them first, so as not to disturb our elders," Liu Shenzhi said.

Liu Junyi shook his head with a wry smile. Although he knew that Liu Shenzhi just wanted to get Li Qi out of there as soon as possible and didn't want to listen to his nagging anymore, it was indeed important to inform his uncle in advance...

There were no servants in the house, since the uncle didn't want to, but it would be impolite to bring guests directly to visit the host's house.

If the uncle were doing something private and the guests happened to see him, that would be bad, as it would make things awkward for both sides.

Although the chances of such a thing happening are very low, the existence of etiquette is precisely for this kind of thing, so Liu Junyi naturally wouldn't refute it.

So he nodded and said to Liu Shenzhi, "Then you take Li Qi to your room to rest for a while, and I will go and inform my uncle."

"Alright, Brother Li, let's go." Liu Shenzhi, who couldn't wait, hurriedly led Li Qi to see his masterpiece.

Li Qi was also curious about what it was that made Liu Shenzhi so concerned, so he said goodbye to Liu Junyi and followed along.

Passing through the small courtyard, it wasn't actually that far, only a few dozen steps. Although the courtyard wasn't large and didn't use any heavenly materials and earthly treasures, it was arranged in a way that created a sense of changing scenery with every step.

Li Qi was led around in circles, only a few dozen steps, but it felt like he had been transported to a different place. The scenery around him changed drastically as the caves and ravines twisted and turned.

Li Qi looked around at the changing scenery with some surprise.

Even... True Knowledge didn't react.

Moreover, it wasn't because of its high grade; Li Qi was well aware that everything around him was ordinary, and even those with grades were rare, just like what he displayed—very simple things.

Without any supernatural power or Technique Method, this was accomplished simply by arranging the stones and the road.

That's truly... incredible skill.

Seeing Li Qi's expression, Liu Shenzhi said smugly, "My father said that this is called the 'one leaf blocking the view' method. As the saying goes, 'one leaf blocking the view means one cannot see Mount Tai.' Even Perfected Person will lose his sight if his eyes are covered. Although he has other senses, if he can't see, he can't see."

"So, as long as you cover your eyes with a leaf, you can openly block out Mount Tai. Using this method to arrange a garden, you can simply block out the light, but it can give people the feeling of a completely different world. To put it bluntly, it's just that the stone over there is blocking out the path." Liu Shenzhi said, pointing to the other side.

Li Qi saw a rockery, and curiously walked over, adjusted his vision, and then jumped up.

With that jump, his field of vision expanded, and suddenly everything before him became clear, revealing all the scenes that had disappeared before.

It turns out it was just hidden behind this artificial hill.

There's really nothing special about it; it's just that the view is blocked, preventing you from seeing the previous scenery, thus creating the illusion of a changing view as you move around.

"I cannot see the true face of Mount Lu, because I am in the mountain myself."

But this still Celestial Person Li Qi.

Such skill is simple to describe, but incredibly difficult to achieve.

"Your father's skill is truly astounding." Li Qi exclaimed in admiration, feeling a great interest and awe in this elder whom he had never met.

Because Li Qi knew that this arrangement... demonstrated the opponent's skill level in formation.

With just a few stones and nothing else, this level of skill can be achieved simply by their placement. If the opponent had used heavenly materials and earthly treasures, or even array flags, array plates, or many other Divergent Method to form the array's core, then they probably would never be able to escape in this lifetime.

"Alright, forget about these. They're just a pile of stones. They're interesting at first glance, but after walking through them a couple of times, you could walk out with your eyes closed. There's no need to bother. Let's hurry to my courtyard. I'll show you some of the good stuff I've made recently." After introducing the place, Liu Shenzhi didn't seem to care much about the courtyard and pulled Li Qi towards his backyard.

Indeed, as he said, no matter how well the courtyard is arranged, it ultimately has no supernatural power and will not change.

If something doesn't change, no amount of magic will help. If you walk the route a couple of times and memorize it, you can indeed find your way out with your eyes closed.

Liu Shenzhi has lived here for many years and is probably used to it.

But Li Qi was an inexperienced man who had never seen the world. He marveled at it and took a few more glances, trying to remember the layout and arrangement so he could learn something from it.

Learning had become an unconscious habit for Li Qi. Even when he was drinking sugar water, he would use his knowledge to analyze the proportions and see if he could reproduce it.

It might sound a bit obsessive, but that's just how it is.

Enjoying the many changing and wonderful sights along the way, Li Qi was soon brought to the small courtyard where Liu Shenzhi lived.

However, before they arrived, Li Qi heard a chirping sound like birds.

It seemed as if he kept many birds; their voices were clear and pleasant to hear.

Li Qi was curious about what it was.

But once inside, Li Qi saw the source of the sound.

It wasn't some kind of bird, but countless... insects.

The small bamboo cage, about a foot in size, contained hundreds of insects, shaped like large flies, with their hindquarters resembling large maggots writhing and chirping incessantly, like the sound of a magpie.

Those chirping sounds just now were made by these insects!

However, Li Qi didn't find it disgusting. Instead, he stepped forward with some curiosity, examined it, and said, "This is... a Gu worm? But I've never seen one before. Is this the research result you mentioned?"

"That's right! This is it. Don't let its disgusting appearance fool you. I call this thing the Witchcraft Silkworm. Just look at what it can do." Liu Shenzhi picked up a piece of armor from the miscellaneous items piled up nearby, like a child showing off a toy.

Li Qi could tell that this was a Law Treasure, a ninth-grade item, and it was probably handmade. It looked... somewhat like something Liu Shenzhi had made himself.

The quality is quite good among the ninth grade, but it's clear that there are still many flaws. It was probably made in a hurry, without time to refine and fix these minor imperfections.

Then Liu Shenzhi lifted the armor and threw it into the bamboo cage where the Witchcraft Silkworm were kept.

The moment the armor landed inside, the previously lazy, chirping Witchcraft Silkworm suddenly went berserk, quickly clinging to the armor and beginning to gnaw at it!

Even though the armor was made of metal, and it made a screeching sound when bitten, it couldn't stop these Witchcraft Silkworm silkworms from gnawing at it!

Although it was invisible to the naked eye, the armor was indeed being gnawed at by these Witchcraft Silkworm.

The runes and the constructed energy along with them were all consumed, with only a few missing.

"This thing will probably take about 15 minutes to eat, Brother Li, please wait a bit. You'll see how amazing it is soon enough. As for my father, there's no rush. He's probably still busy with his own affairs. Even my eldest brother won't be here for at least 15 minutes. Let's rest here." Liu Shenzhi said, gesturing for Li Qi to carefully observe this extraordinary sight.

Li Qi was also curious about what scene Liu Shenzhi valued so much, so he stayed behind to see what these so-called Witchcraft Silkworm were capable of.

After all, these are Gu worms! How did Liu Shenzhi learn to cultivate Gu worms?

Was it the Law Treasure he gave Shaman Path that inspired him? It sounds plausible, but how did he reverse engineer them? And these Gu worms don't even have the characteristics of the Gu worms Li Qi is familiar with...

Rather than calling it a Gu worm, it's more like... another type of Law Treasure?

Unlike life forms cultivated by Shaman, which are more like machines, these insects are indeed alive, capable of movement, and even reproduction.

It's just... all very mechanized.

It's as if someone has dictated that they must reproduce and eat, rather than allowing living beings to make choices with self-awareness.

This difference may not be very obvious in insects, since insects don't have much of a brain and their instincts are enough.

However, if the number is increased, it will be found that some of the Gu worms cultivated by Shaman Path can Demon Transformation. Those with extremely high talent can get rid of their animal nature, make choices with self-awareness, and eventually Demon Transformation and enter the realm of immortality.

However, no matter how many of Liu Shenzhi's so-called Gu worms there are, they cannot Demon Transformation. They cannot do anything 'outside the established rules' and can only act according to the predetermined logic.

This gap is enormous, equivalent to the difference between weak AI and strong AI, representing a fundamental difference.

Time passed quickly, Li Qi noticed that these Witchcraft Silkworm had slowly eaten up a third of the armor, and seemed to be getting tired, with their efficiency starting to decrease rapidly.

Seeing this, Liu Shenzhi took out some broken demon souls and threw them among the Gu worms.

He looked heartbroken when he lost it, so it must have been expensive.

These Gu worms absorbed the demon soul and quickly regained their energy, accelerating their devouring speed.

Seeing this, Li Qi guessed that these shattered demon souls... were the energy source for these Gu worms?

After a while, the armor had all been eaten.

After eating, these Witchcraft Silkworm began to spin silk.

It doesn't just spit out silk randomly, but rather it follows a certain pattern, spitting out silk in specific places.

The silk threads that were spun out were combined to form the shape of a garment.