The Immortal Moth

When Yang Si'an heard that this trip wasn't to teach children to read and write, but to handle such a national matter as the railway, he was deeply moved. He wore an expression that screamed, "A scholar will die for his confidant, a woman will adorn herself for her lover; only Qingyue knows my heart. From this day forward, Yang Sheng belongs to you, my divine lord, and may you serve me at will!"

Li Fan said, "Don't misunderstand. It's not just about railway matters; you also need to take care of children's education and writing. Teaching and guiding—a poor scholar is always more reliable than a vixen..."

In short, Yang Sheng, Yang Sheng Divine Transformation in his previous life and is now living on Yuntai Peak, is learned in both Legalism, Confucianism, and Daoism, and has a special affinity with magical treasures and spirits. He can be considered a top-tier talent in the world. Li Fan thinks that it shouldn't be too difficult for him to manage the railway affairs and compete with the bureaucrats of Changsi City Liqiu Palace, and the banks of Ink Bamboo Mountain. After all, it's everyone's first time, and they'll get used to each other after some time.

After all, everyone needs to be tempered. Although Yang Sheng lacks experience now, he is still a guy who has experienced ups and downs and knows the hardships of ordinary people. Moreover, he has the protection of a prime minister for thirty years. He can barely be considered a UR. In any case, since we have met, let's give him a chance to start by building railways and see how he does.

However, on the other hand, there seem to be quite a few people in the Li Country the talent of a prime minister. Although the Four Young Masters have varying abilities and methods, they are all equally capable and can certainly be used. If Wen Sili hadn't died, he wouldn't be far behind. And the Li family father and son are no ordinary people either. If all the talents in the world could be used by Li Fan...

Then I can outsource all the messy sect construction work I'm doing! I can finally relax and cultivate immortality! Yay! Ahem...

Of course, don't mistakenly think that Li Fan is slacking off. In addition to his Dao power increasing rapidly with every breath, he is also very diligent in studying the basic courses of Lou Guan arithmetic and Emei talismans.

Back when he was in the Golden Core Nascent Soul Stage and Nascent Soul stages, he thought he had mastered great skills and was invincible, so he could be arrogant.

But now that he has reached the Tribulation Stage, and the more he cultivates, the more Li Fan recalls Chen Jinu's combat prowess back then, and the more he feels that the other party is unfathomable, even terrifying. The higher his cultivation level, the less he has the audacity he once had when he was unaware of the immensity of the world.

Yes, perhaps due to the psychological trauma from their meeting years ago, Li Fan was genuinely wary of Chen Jinu.

Although the system said that the opponent had been injured by him, judging from the current subdued state of the Nangong Family, it seems that Chen the Sword Immortal had indeed suffered a serious injury and was hiding in some remote mountain valley, recuperating.

But honestly, what does the system know about cultivation? They've been unreliable more than once or twice, and this is a matter of life and death for Li Fan.

Last time, he was almost killed by Beichen's sword intent breaking through his core. It's no exaggeration to say that every time Li Fan recalls how his opponent's sword intent almost pierced through him, he feels genuinely terrified.

So comforting him was useless. After thinking it over, Li Fan realized that Chen Jinu had only recently broken through from the Divine Transformation to the Enlightenment stage, and his combat power had not yet reached its peak. The terrifying power of the Enlightenment Stage Li Fan could sense was something that Chen Jinu himself had not been able to unleash. That was why neither of them could defeat the other in their previous battle.

But the opponent is, after all, a realm higher than Li Fan, and has many more years of experience and accumulation. If he can stabilize his cultivation before Li Fan, or gain new insights, who knows if he will be able to withstand the sword strike when they meet again...

The feeling of having the Sword of Damocles hanging over one's head and piercing one's internal organs was truly unbearable, but it also spurred Li Fan to cultivate diligently, daring not to slacken in the slightest.

But Li Fan also knew that this gap couldn't be bridged by hard work alone.

Chen Jinu possesses the true teachings of the Beichen, Hengshan, and Taisu schools. As one of the three officially recognized disciples of Xuantian, his path to Feather Transformation Immortal is undoubtedly Daotong and without any problems.

But Li Fan was taking a completely new path, unlike anything he had ever done before. After the True Yang Heart and the Sword Embryo merged into a Star Core, he had no idea how to proceed to the Great Ascension stage.

Although Li Fan currently possesses the <Xuantian Void Star Great Slaughter Sword Scripture> that he and Xuan Tian were working on together, it is an experimental Cultivation Method that is too profound and mysterious. Even Li Fan and Xuan Tian themselves don't know if it's feasible. They would need the assistance of the system's computing power. Li Fan has no idea whether he can even use it to fight Chen Jinu.

However, after Li Fan obtained the Blood God Child, he could deduce the true method of the Blood God's Great Dao Body based on the Blood Demon Great Path Body Dao Body and the Blood Record Sword Scripture. The Divine Sect and the Sword Sect are sworn enemies who restrain each other, so perhaps their battle would have a surprising effect.

So now Li Fan is diligently studying and improving his foundation, trying his best to experiment and deduce the <Great Slaughter Sword Scripture>, while also manipulating and cultivating that Blood God Child clone, trying to increase his chances of winning in the deadly battle that may break out at any time.

Another one is the Tai Su Qiankun method deduced by the Emei sect.

Li Fan now uses the Tai Su Qiankun method in combination with the Tai Su Transformation method, transforming and shaping, imitating the Qi of Qian and Kun, creating from nothingness, and giving birth to demons from emptiness. It is also the move that Li Fan uses the most and is most proficient in.

However, the problem is that Li Fan knows the Tai Su method he deduced very well. He knows that the problem with this method is that it is good at crushing weak opponents, but its upper limit is not high. The strength of the Dharma body has a limit, and it mainly depends on the individual's skill and micro-management.

If it were someone else, even if they learned this method, they would probably only be at the strength of an ordinary demon god. But if it were Li Fan, defeating a Nascent Divine Transformation would be as easy as playing around. However, while it's useful for beating weaker opponents of the same level, it's definitely not enough to kill monsters of a higher level, or to take on beings like Chen Jinu, Manifestation, or the Three Elders and Four Ancestors who are at the Enlightenment Stage.

When the fight breaks out, I'm afraid I won't even be able to withstand a graze from the Northern Star Sword Qi, let alone sword intent. I might as well save my energy.

Therefore, when Li Fan was cultivating recently, he put the Tai Su Method aside a bit and even pushed it to the back of the priority list after the Blood God Child. After all, if the Great Slaughter Sword Scripture couldn't beat the Bei Chen Sword Scripture and lost, the Blood God Child could still run away, right?

But that night, something happened that surprised Li Fan.

Qin Nanxin has completed the first stage of the Heavenly Silkworm Skill and broken free from his cocoon to transcend the tribulation.

Qin Nanxin was attempting to break through to the Nascent Soul Realm, undergoing a tribulation along with the lightning. Li Fan, naturally understanding her intent, anticipated the approaching heavenly lightning and went to help her early on.

Then Li Fan took a closer look at the 'moth' that Qin Nanxin had transformed into inside the cocoon.

To put it another way, this is definitely not a moth. The Xie Family's moths are flying around nearby, can't you see that...?

This is a ten-legged insect... Well, whether it can still be called an insect with ten legs is debatable. Its semi-circular, strong wings are covered with triangular scales, and its three-lobed mouthparts contain coiled, needle-like proboscis. Its densely packed compound eyes are covered by a thin, black, glass-like membrane. Its abdomen is covered with fine white hairs, and its curved antennae resemble the eyebrows of a moth.

If you don't look closely, at first glance it does indeed resemble a large, white, and plump moth.

But this thing is definitely not a 'moth'.

If Li Fan couldn't see it before, how could Li Fan forget this feeling of 'seeing but not understanding' now that he has come into contact with the eleventh-dimensional observation point through the Gu Guan Method?

This is definitely not a life form within four dimensions, Li Fan was certain of it. His mood was absolutely shattered; how could it possibly be a mere moth?

Sure enough, when lightning struck that day, the 'moth' flapped its wings and jumped into a strange dimension, thus avoiding the immense power of the lightning.

Then the 'moth' flapped its wings, shimmering in the moonlight, absorbing the essence of the False Moon and the malevolent energy emanating from the sea of epiphyllum flowers. Its wings, like a fairy robe and a rosy veil, emitted a silvery glow, as if the morning star were shining brightly as it roamed through the flower field. Meanwhile, a swarm of moths fluttered up from the flower field and gathered behind the star's tail, flying around the flower field as if chasing a queen, stirring up storms of insect scales and pollen.

After venting her excitement and joy at breaking through to the Nascent Soul Stage, Qin Ezi flew down, and then the remaining silkworm silk and silkworm shells on the ground gathered together, enveloping the 'moth' and transforming into Qin Nanxin's 'human-shaped body'.

"Thank you for protecting me, Qingyue. I'm fine. I'll do some more breathing exercises for a few more days, and then I'll be fine once the form stabilizes."

Qin Nanxin said somewhat embarrassedly, raising her sleeve to cover the moth antennae on her head with the fairy robe transformed from silkworm clothing.

Li Fan hesitated for a moment, but still couldn't help asking,

"Nanxin, I wonder who created this Heavenly Silkworm Skill Technique, and what kind of celestial insect it involves?"

"No wonder you're curious, Qingyue; this insect is the Wanyu."

Li Fan was shocked. "This is the famous Wanyu Moth raised by the Three Enclosures of the Immortal Palace!? But aren't insects supposed to have six legs? Your abdomen seems to have ten legs, right?"

Qin Nanxin blushed and said, "Why are you looking so closely? Really... But Wanyu wasn't actually raised by the Immortal Palace. I heard from the Ancestor that when the Immortal Venerable's army conquered the Demon Race's royal city, they found these insect eggs. According to the Demon Race's records, these seem to be a race of spirit insects that ruled the world in the ancient times."

Many of the extraterrestrial artifacts and ancient relics that remain today were created by spirit insects. Even the five earthly insects are said to have been created, controlled, and subordinate to these spirit insects. However, for some unknown reason, these spirit insects suddenly perished overnight, and the survivors lost their intelligence and degenerated into ordinary creatures. On the contrary, the Demon Race, which was created, inherited the civilization of the spirit insect race and called themselves the Spirit Race. The Human Race appeared on the earth much later.

However, now that the Demon Race has been exterminated, no one knows anything about the spirit insect race. Currently, only in the Ziwei Yuan can a small number of these Wanyu be hatched to produce immortal silk.

The predecessors of the Xuanmen sect were unable to follow the Profound Maiden in attaining enlightenment, but by observing the metamorphosis of these spiritual insects, they discovered that once they reached adulthood, they could freely traverse the vast world and fly to the Beyond Heavens.

Breaking through the void is extremely difficult, therefore, apart from the Three Venerables, most Feather Transformation Immortal ascend to heaven do so through visualization of Wanyu.

Good heavens... what kind of high-dimensional insects are these? Were there insect-like civilizations on Earth before? Insect creationism? And what could possibly wipe out such a high-dimensional insect civilization overnight? Was it the corporate civilization that destroyed it?

Li Fan was completely stunned by this huge bombshell.

A perfectly normal girl turned into a moth, isn't that amazing? Although we're all two-faced characters, don't laugh at me, but between an insect and a black hole... I think the black hole is cuter... right?

Qin Nanxin is still unsettled. Once his body is more stable, he can spar with her and test the wonders of the Heavenly Silkworm Skill. However, judging from a rough estimate, its strength is definitely not bad. Physical ascension? Are you kidding me?

So Li Fan asked Qin Nanxin for some Heavenly Silkworm Skill Technique materials, then studied the remaining cicada shells and molted silk. He also took out some immortal silk he had collected and compared and calculated the two.

The insect shell that Qin Nanxin conjured using the Heavenly Silkworm Skill was ultimately different from genuine immortal silk. However, this difference was not a distinction between Dao Breath and malevolent energy, but rather a subdivision of different directions of change within the same broad category of matter, like malevolent ice and malevolent fire.

Li Fan estimated that these spirit insects were not simply the result of genetic mutation, but rather the product of a civilization that had mastered higher-dimensional knowledge. It was a kind of biotechnology that could modify such supernatural, high-dimensional bodies. This might be even more advanced than what the company had done, at least in that it had already achieved the widespread adoption of individual organisms leaping from lower to higher dimensions.

The fact that immortal silk is far more precious than ordinary silk shows that the material of the immortal insect itself can withstand higher levels of energy and impact; in a sense, it is a projection of a higher dimension onto a lower dimension. However, it is also clear that the concentration of Dao Breath in this immortal silk is countless times more refined than the insect armor Qin Nanxin is currently wearing. Obviously, this material itself is based on a high concentration of Dao Breath.

The Emei Sect's Microcosmic Elixir Breath and the Heavenly Silkworm Skill Technique are likely attempts to transform the human body into a spiritual insect race through methods of Qi cultivation, body refinement, and elixir refining, mimicking the Wanyu Body, in order to achieve an active mutation that allows for ascension to immortality.

Although it's very difficult—there have been very few Feather Transformation Immortal throughout history—there have indeed been a few who have. In other words, the Xuanmen (mystical sect) has indeed opened up this path from lower dimensions to higher dimensions.

Now, Li Fan's method of transforming into a human from the Tai Su is essentially the same, but in terms of materials, it is only "seeing a part" rather than "seeing the whole leopard," and it cannot truly reach the level of a higher-dimensional being.

But if one day Li Fan can refine the essence and eliminate the dross, not only mimicking the projection of these materials in three dimensions and finding the correct material ratio, but also incorporating the evil energy and transforming the 'moth's' skin into the 'human's' skin, then the Tai Su Transformation into Human Technique will be considered a great success.

Perhaps by then, the humans of this world will be able to cultivate to the point of breaking through the void and ascending to higher dimensions, just like the Wanyu insect race, and even achieve physical ascension...

Of course, this is just a wishful thinking about the future. Even Li Fan himself has only just broken out of the low-dimensional carbon-based human framework. He has no clue how to become a higher-dimensional life form and can only feel his way across the river, trying and failing in various ways.

However, as a first step, Li Fan also tried to imitate the Heavenly Silkworm Skill and improve the body formed by the transformation of Tai Su Qiankun. Like the layered scales and feathers, he imitated insect wings and immortal silk, and further strengthened the Tai Su Qiankun Dharma Body from a microscopic perspective. Like the hinge of mountain pattern armor, he tightly hinged the dust and evil energy together. It felt like the body was a little stronger, but he didn't know how much it had improved.

After all, at this point, those who can fight Li Fan are basically all superhumans—it's either me or them who can kill me instantly. There aren't even any suitable sparring partners left...

Then, Li Fan had a sudden thought and sensed immense pressure coming from the Qiongqi clone's side!

It's been so long since I've felt this way. Being locked onto by Divine Sense and scanned from head to toe felt like being roasted on an electric grid. The stimulation was so intense that even Qiongqi was trembling like a leaf from the sting! The information has now returned to my body!

A master! A master has arrived at the headquarters of the Divine Cult!

Almost at the same time, news also came from the Guiche's side.

The Sect Leader the Divine Cult requests an audience with the Saintess and the Qingyang Altar Master!