Blackgold Silkworm

Biodata

Background / History

Blackgold Silkworms were developed by powerful predecessors of the Golden Wing Sect. Unlike other spirit silkworms known to Lin Ke’s original body, they could produce silk while remaining larvae rather than spinning it only into cocoons. Despite this unusual trait, the sect paid little attention to them because their silk was initially described as ordinary material below the spirit-material threshold 4 15.

When Lin Ke took charge of Green Mulberry Garden, its primitive rearing methods produced almost no saleable surplus. Li Le’s persecution doubled his monthly assignment from one jin of silk to two. Lin Ke therefore investigated the breed’s needs, interviewing three workers separately and checking their accounts before planning improvements 1 4.

Their breeding compatibility also gave Lin Ke a reason to remain at the garden after becoming an inner disciple. He suspected that their creator had intended them as breeding stock for more useful silkworm varieties, though the predecessor’s actual intentions and reason for abandoning the research remained unknown 4 15.

Appearance

• Larvae: Small white silkworms that feed on mulberry leaves 7 18.
• Adult moths: Dark-gold bodies with plump abdomens and wings too short for flight 2.
• Later farm stock: Under Lin Ke’s improved conditions, the silkworms became fatter and the moths grew larger 47.

Life Cycle

Blackgold Silkworms spend most of their lives as larvae; the egg, cocoon, and moth stages occupy a smaller portion of their lifespan 2.

Abilities & Skills

Cocoon-Free Silk Production

• Spins silk daily onto specially made sect shuttles, allowing collection while the silkworm remains alive and in larval form 1 4.
• Does not require cocoons to be boiled for routine silk reeling 4 15.
• Its ordinary activity cycle consists of eating, spinning silk, and sleeping 24.
• Has virtually no combat strength; even mortals can handle it freely 22.

Spirit-Insect Breeding

Blackgold Moths serve as spirit-grade parents in Lin Ke’s Niwan Palace fusion experiments. Their documented successes occur through that palace’s special abilities, not through ordinary husbandry 2 15 16.

• Lin Ke cannot control which parental traits offspring inherit, so fusion does not guarantee a stronger or more productive breed 2.
• Successful combinations are rare; further experiments exhausted his available breeding moths without yielding additional spirit-insect types 18 25.
• At one point, the garden had only sixteen Blackgold Moths. Ten were reserved as five breeding pairs, leaving six for experiments 17.
• Lin Can could reproduce spirit insects derived from Niwan Palace creations, but could not simply mass-produce the original Blackgold Silkworm stock 17.

Husbandry

Environmental and Dietary Requirements

Golden Silkworm Peak Improvements

Lin Ke combined agricultural knowledge with formations to create a warmer, sheltered production environment. Consolidating the stock on one mountain also allowed the farmers to replace scattered, all-day supervision with rotating shifts 5 7 9.

Products and Uses

Blackgold Silkworm Silk

• Collection: Workers remove silk-covered shuttles, strip and process the silk, and store it in fine sandalwood boxes for monthly inspection 4.
• Material quality: Initially described as ordinary silk below spirit-material grade; later passages call it low-grade spirit silk, while market buyers note that it contains only a trace of spiritual energy 4 23 48.
• Crafting: Suitable for spirit garments, gloves, underclothes, and inner armor. Silk protective clothing is lighter and thinner than metal equivalents while offering strong defense 23 48.
• Estimated value: Lin Ke estimated a market price of about 200 Spirit Stones per jin 23.
• Documented sale: He later sold a quantity for fifty Spirit Stones and used the proceeds to buy a breeding pair of Blood Sandalwood Frogs 48.
• Trade risk: Lin Ke feared that the silk’s distinctive source would identify him to hostile buyers or observers 23.

Silkworm Sand

• The silkworms’ droppings, called silkworm sand, are identified by Lin Ke as a medicinal ingredient 18.
• He instructed Fang Tong to collect and retain them; no specific medicinal preparation is documented 18.

Relationships

• Lin Ke — Overseer and researcher who improved their rearing conditions and used their moths as the foundation of his fusion experiments 4 7 15.
• Fang Tong — Leads the male farmers responsible for tending the stock. His family had raised Blackgold Silkworms for generations 12 19.
• Li Yanhua — Supervises the women processing the silk and brings each day’s output to Lin Ke for inspection 12.
• Zong Ya — Warned Lin Ke that sect-issued silkworms could not be sold through the Spirit Insect Cave and advised him to conceal their connection to his new spirit insects 15.
• Lin Can — Broodmother born from the Blackgold Moth–bee hybrid egg after it bonded with the Mysterious Seed; subsequently produced Stinger Hawk Moths 3 6 9 10.
• Amethyst Longhorn Beetle — A second-generation spirit insect bred using a female Blackgold Moth; unlike its parent stock, it possesses an innate defensive skill 18 22.