Silkworm Silk

Jiang Yuan arrived at Ancestor Sui's place to find Ziyi and Youchao already there. They were holding up a piece of crystal-clear silk cloth, examining it repeatedly with looks of amazement.

"Yuan, you've arrived at the perfect time! I was just about to look for you. Look, Ziyi has made the silk cloth you mentioned. It's so much better than animal hides or leaves," Ancestor Sui called out happily upon seeing Jiang Yuan.

He was incredibly excited. Silk cloth was truly a marvelous thing. Though it felt exceptionally soft to the touch, its texture was comparable to metal and stone. If made into clothing, it would be like an added protective layer for the human race, effectively warding off external harm.

Don't even think about the innate human race being impervious to the elements and not needing to ward off the cold; that's nonsense. This is the Primordial World, and the winds that blow here are no ordinary winds. The wind is an Innate Divine Wind, and when it strikes a person, it's like being sliced by a thousand knives. The cold is an Innate Coldness that seeps into the bones and pierces the soul. Combined, their might is terrifying. Humans below the Void Refinement Realm, if they didn't find a safe place to hide, would not only freeze to death instantly but wouldn't even leave behind a complete corpse, their bodies and souls shattering in the cold wind. And this is just ordinary cold wind. When a cold disaster strikes, even Heavenly Immortals dare not venture outside.

The world says the Primordial World is abundant in resources, but they forget that the rules of heaven and earth are incomplete at this time, leading to frequent extreme disasters and a harsh living environment where even Heavenly Immortals struggle to survive. Things like the Innate Cold Wind are already the least powerful. If you encounter more terrifying phenomena like Chaos Storms, Primordial Magnetic Tides, Undying Volcano eruptions, or Starfalls... those can threaten Zenith Heaven Golden Immortals! Many minor races in the Primordial World, through sheer bad luck, encountered these great disasters and were wiped out without a trace, leaving nothing behind. The human race is considered lucky, protected by Lady Nuwa, so they don't encounter these heavenly disasters, not even minor ones.

However, the Innate Cold Wind is not a disaster; it's just the most ordinary wind in winter. The myriad races of the Primordial World are already accustomed to it and are completely unaffected. But humans are different. Even this ordinary Innate Cold Wind is too much for those with weak physiques among the human race, and they would freeze to death instantly. To combat this, the Three Ancestors of the Human Race devised many methods. Ancestor Sui used fire for warmth, Ziyi used animal skins for clothing to ward off the cold, and Youchao built houses to resist the chill. But these were merely treating the symptoms, not the root cause. It was only with the appearance of silk cloth that the three ancestors saw hope for a permanent solution.

Why aren't other races afraid of the Innate Cold Wind? It's not just because they are stronger than humans, but more so because they possess innate advantages that humans lack. Other races either have hard scales, thick fur, or beautiful feathers. These cover their bodies like a natural protective layer, shielding them from all sorts of harm and allowing them to adapt to various harsh environments. These are advantages the human race does not possess. But the appearance of silk cloth compensates for this. When made into clothing, humans would be like beasts with scales and fur, having an external protective layer to better withstand various harsh environments and climates. Thus, the survival rate of future generations of humans would undoubtedly increase significantly. How could Ancestor Sui not be pleased? How could he not be excited?

The human race is still too weak to adapt to the environment of the Primordial World, so humans can only seek change and rely on external forces to improve their situation. This is why humans are so enthusiastic about invention and creation. It's not that humans are the smartest or most creative, but they are forced by their circumstances. Other races can live well without inventing and creating. But if humans don't, they will truly die. It is precisely under the pressure of this life-or-death crisis that so many outstanding individuals have emerged in human history, constantly innovating and greatly advancing the development of the era. If other races were in the human race's predicament, they would have no choice but to do the same if they didn't want to be wiped out. Crisis is the greatest driving force!

"Silk cloth has been made?" Jiang Yuan asked, his face lighting up. He deeply missed the clothes of later generations; the clothing of this era was unbearable. Comfort was secondary; the main issue was shame. He, who came from a civilized society, could not adapt to many of the customs of the primitive era. When he innovated, he never thought about merit; his sole focus was on advancing civilization. He wanted to propel the human race from the primitive to the civilized era in a short period. Merit was merely a byproduct, an appendage.

"Look!" Ancestor Sui smiled and handed the silk cloth to Jiang Yuan. The silk cloth was crystal clear, emitting a jade-like luster, and felt exceptionally soft and smooth to the touch. Jiang Yuan instinctively squeezed it hard, only to find that his strength, which could crack stone slabs, couldn't damage the silk cloth in the slightest.

"This is a good thing. If all our tribesmen can wear clothes made from this material, the dangers they face will undoubtedly be greatly reduced," Jiang Yuan could only sigh. As expected of the Primordial World, even ordinary things become extraordinary here. In later generations, silk cloth was just silk cloth, at most prettier and with more styles. But the silk cloth of the Primordial World, the moment it was made, was a magical treasure, capable of resisting water and fire, and impervious to blades and spears.

"Silk cloth has been made, but its widespread adoption still presents some difficulties, mainly because the yield of silk is too low," Ziyi said with a headache. "There is only one type of silkworm nearby, called the Jade Silkworm, which takes a hundred years to spin its cocoon. Although the silk spun by a single silkworm is enough to weave clothes for ten tribesmen, the total number of Jade Silkworms is only about ten thousand. But our human race has tens of millions, even countless more tribesmen." Inventing silk cloth was a good thing, but the limited amount of silk made this good deed somewhat imperfect.

"That is indeed troublesome!" Jiang Yuan frowned and asked, "Can the Jade Silkworm tribe be tamed and raised artificially?" If there is human intervention, they can be made to reproduce freely. This way, the amount of silk will skyrocket. Even if it cannot meet the needs of all tribesmen, it can satisfy some."

To obtain enough silkworm silk, artificial silkworm farming was essential. Otherwise, relying solely on wild silkworms would never be enough, even if they caught every single one.

"I'm afraid that won't work. Jade Silkworms aren't ferocious beasts, they're spirit beasts with intelligence comparable to ours. Forget taming them; even getting silk from them would require bartering."

Ziyi shook her head, explaining the situation of the Jade Silkworm clan. They weren't a variant species or ferocious beasts, but a higher race possessing intelligence.

This meant many methods couldn't be used against them.

"Are there no silkworms that lack intelligence?"

Jiang Yuan was flustered. He hadn't considered this. Indeed, his thinking had been too narrow, assuming that current silkworms, even with differences, wouldn't be too dissimilar from those of later generations.

He hadn't expected them to have gained sentience.