Chapter 943: Divine Silkworm, A Benefactor’s Aid

“Hm? There’s a hint of life?”

As the stone shell peeled away, Lu Changsheng used the Taiyi Spirit to sense a faint breath of life inside.

It was terribly weak, like a candle flickering in the wind.

“It’s actually alive?”

Hong Lian’s flawless face showed a flash of surprise.

She had used a secret art to judge that a rare-blooded beast was sealed inside this Spirit Source Stone.

But with this kind of sealing, the odds of it still being alive were almost nil.

She channeled her power and kept stripping the Spirit Source Stone away.

A moment later the three of them finally saw the creature within.

It was a tiny snake wrapped in a pearly white cocoon.

As the stone opened and its aura leaked out, the little snake slowly revived. A heartbeat followed.

Yet its life force was so faint it could snuff out at any time.

“What kind of snake is that?”

Lu Changsheng could tell it wasn’t ordinary. It reminded him of the Abyssal Sea Dragon Whale before it crossed its True Spirit Tribulation.

“It looks like a Divine Silkworm that failed its metamorphosis,” Xu Ruoyin said after a closer look.

“Divine Silkworm?” Lu Changsheng arched a brow. It looked like a snake. How was it a silkworm?

“Divine Silkworms are peculiar. Their first form is a silkworm, and upon a breakthrough they shed their bloodline and transform into a snake.”

Hong Lian explained, “This little snake is a Divine Silkworm mid bloodline molt. It failed, cocooned itself, and ended up sealed into a Spirit Source Stone.”

“There’s a beast like that? If it succeeds this time and molts again later, what does it become? A flood dragon?” Lu Changsheng asked with interest.

“Some do become flood dragons, some revert to a silkworm form. It depends on its growth path.”

Hong Lian’s voice softened. Divine Silkworms were strange, full of potential, and a pain to raise.

Every breakthrough and bloodline molt devoured resources.

Fail once, and all that investment goes up in smoke.

“Can this Divine Silkworm still be saved?”

From Hong Lian’s explanation, Lu Changsheng knew it was exceptional, with the potential for constant evolution.

If they saved it and bound it to his son Lu Chensha, it would be a huge boon for his future.

“Its bloodline advancement failed and its source vitality ran dry. Cocooning and being sealed in spirit source kept it barely alive. Now that the stone is open and life is returning, it could die at any moment.”

Hong Lian shook her head.

This Divine Silkworm had reached the end of its life. Even a beast-taming grandmaster like her could do nothing.

“Husband, I can try,” Xu Ruoyin said.

“Oh?” Lu Changsheng raised a brow. If Hong Lian had no way, Xu Ruoyin actually did?

“The Beast Taming Ancient Rune can seize the life essence and source from other beasts to nurture and raise one. With it, we might extend this silkworm’s life.”

She produced the rune. “But this Divine Silkworm is at late third rank. Reviving it will burn a massive amount of essence. The rune doesn’t hold nearly enough right now.”

“That’s easy.”

Lu Changsheng smiled. A yin-yang sphere flew from his sleeve.

It spun, yin-yang mist swirling, and within loomed the ferocious Two-Headed Earth Dragon.

It was Ro Fuzish’s spirit pet, the Two-Headed Earth Dragon.

The dragon was dead. Its spirit had been enslaved by the Hunting God Chariot’s whale, and its demon core had been gifted by Lu Changsheng to Lu Lingjing.

But a fourth-rank demon king was treasure head to toe. Flesh, bone, even the heart brimmed with vitality.

“Go on and drain it with the rune,” Lu Changsheng told Xu Ruoyin.

“A fourth-rank demon king?!”

Although Lu Changsheng had confined the Earth Dragon with a divine ability, turning it into a yin-yang sphere,

Xu Ruoyin could still feel the pressure of a fourth-rank demon king rolling off its corpse.

Not just her. The Phantom Mink that had just bonded with Lu Chensha trembled on the spot.

Lu Chensha opened his eyes and glanced at the scene.

The newly revived Divine Silkworm stayed still.

It wasn’t that it wasn’t afraid.

It was simply too close to death.

“Yes.” The rune in Xu Ruoyin’s hand flared. She bathed the dying silkworm in light, poured in vitality to stabilize it, then siphoned the Earth Dragon’s blood essence.

In an instant the rune became a relay, pulling life source from the dragon and channeling it into the silkworm.

Before their eyes the silkworm’s candle-in-the-wind life slowly steadied.

“Heaven cherishes life. Reaching this point hasn’t been easy for you. Form a contract with my son and become his spirit pet, and I’ll save you and help you reach True Spirit. How about it?”

Lu Changsheng spoke as he looked at the pearly-white little snake tinged with pale gold.

Lu Chensha, who had just contracted the Phantom Mink and was steeped in Heavenly Dao Core Formation fortune while Beast Art washed through him, froze.

He hadn’t expected Father to save the Divine Silkworm for him.

He didn’t know what a Divine Silkworm was, but he’d heard the talk between his father and Senior Hong Lian.

He knew it was late third rank and had failed a True Spirit bloodline molt.

At that level, how could he possibly form a contract?

Even with the domineering Beast Art that could forcibly enslave beasts, taking on another third-rank silkworm was pushing it.

Xu Ruoyin was surprised too.

She hadn’t thought Lu Changsheng would be so generous with his son.

The silkworm, snake-shaped as it was, glanced at Lu Chensha with clear displeasure.

A mere Foundation Establishment brat had no right to be its master.

Lu Changsheng himself would be acceptable.

“Forget it. If it’s unwilling, stop.”

Seeing its reluctance, Lu Changsheng gestured to Xu Ruoyin to halt.

Lu Ancestor had always preferred persuasion over force.

The newly revived silkworm felt the influx of life stop and hissed loudly, twisting its body to show it agreed.

It still looked down on Lu Chensha.

But after years half-dead, it wouldn’t let go of a lifeline.

So long as it survived, a weakling like Lu Chensha could never truly enslave it.

“Father, even this weakened, I can’t form a contract with something this strong.”

Lu Chensha spoke awkwardly.

“It’s fine. Its spirit cultivation is too high. We’ll cut some away,” Lu Changsheng said lightly.

He knew his son’s newly formed core couldn’t handle a late third-rank silkworm.

He wouldn’t have said it without a solution.

“Cut away?”

Not just Lu Chensha.

Hong Lian and Xu Ruoyin both stared in shock.

There were methods in the cultivation world to cut away another’s cultivation.

Most were brutal and left crippling damage.

And beasts weren’t like human cultivators.

Body, demon power and spirit were almost one. You couldn’t target the spirit alone.

“Since you’ve agreed, I’ll shave off some cultivation and spirit. Grow with my son.”

Lu Changsheng valued its potential to evolve, nothing more.

He wanted to raise it to True Spirit and see how far Lu Chensha’s Beast Art could go.

Resources weren’t an issue. He was willing to splurge on his children.

As he spoke he ran the Yin-Yang Creation Sutra. Black and white light bloomed at his fingertip, spinning into a top-shaped millstone.

The Yin-Yang Chaos Grinding Mill!

This divine ability could invert yin and yang, upend heaven and earth, and erase all arts.

It could grind away another’s cultivation.

Against a fourth-rank demon king, fine control would be difficult. He might not spare the body.

On a third-rank silkworm though, it was far simpler.

Even so, Lu Changsheng was careful.

One slip and he’d grind it to death.

The snake-like silkworm hissed, full of unwillingness.

It had spent a century on this cultivation, now shaved away bit by bit.

But under the mill’s aura it didn’t dare move, afraid he’d crush it.

After a long while Lu Changsheng cut it down from late to early third rank.

It shrank and withered, like a true silkworm now, unmoving as the rune fed it life.

At this moment it no longer knew whether submitting to Lu Chensha was wise.

With a father like Lu Changsheng behind him, resistance was pointless.

The Phantom Mink watched and shivered. This was too ruthless.

“Come, Chensha.” Lu Changsheng called to his son, signaling him to bind the silkworm.

“Thank you, Father.” Looking at the silkworm, Lu Chensha felt like he was dreaming.

Xu Ruoyin watched, emotions a jumble.

Years ago when Lu Changsheng named his son Chensha, she’d thought he treated the boy like dust, indifferent.

But as time passed she found he cared, gifting him a heaven-grade rare bug.

Now he’d helped tame and contract a third-rank demon king, the Phantom Mink.

He was even burning a fourth-rank demon king’s life source to save a third-rank silkworm, then using great power to cut its realm so his son could bond it and raise his Beast Art.

It was an extravagant move.

It nearly paved his Nascent Soul path.

She wasn’t the only one thinking that.

Even Hong Lian, once a Nascent Soul True Lord, couldn’t help but marvel at his largesse.

Still, she wondered if his attention to Lu Chensha had anything to do with Xu girl.

After all, Xu Ruoyin now was no ordinary person.

A reborn great cultivator who fully controlled the Beast Taming Ancient Rune—her Nascent Soul future was all but certain.

Soon, with Xu Ruoyin’s help, Lu Chensha successfully formed a contract with the silkworm.

“Boom!”

After contracting the Phantom Mink, Heavenly Dao Core Formation fortune had already descended on him, pushing his cultivation to its current limit.

Now with the silkworm added, the Heavenly Beast Dao Foundation surged. Basked in boundless radiance, he pushed past that limit.

Power roared through his body and mana. He felt better than ever, confident he could crush his prior self.

“Ruoyin, the Two-Headed Earth Dragon is yours. Once the silkworm is fully healed, see if it can complete its bloodline molt.”

Lu Changsheng spoke to Xu Ruoyin.

Then to his son, “Chensha, stabilize your realm these days. See if it completes its molt before attempting Core Formation. Don’t rush just for that Heavenly Dao window.”

Most cultivators saw a Heavenly Dao Core Formation window as a rare top-tier chance.

Following that hidden current could raise success by thirty percent.

For Lu Ancestor, it was routine.

Not worth fussing over.

If the silkworm completed its molt and reached True Spirit,

even at the lowest rung it would push Lu Chensha’s foundation to a ridiculous level.

“Thank you, Father!” Lu Chensha bowed, moved beyond words.

If the silkworm truly became a True Spirit, his talent and foundation would soar to frightening heights.

He could even cultivate at home to late Core Formation without a single bottleneck.

Lu Changsheng waved it off and went to the Puppet Hall to see Qian Zhuyan.

From Ro Fuzish, True Lord Qingcang and the others’ storage rings, he’d taken one fourth-rank puppet and eleven top-tier third-rank puppets.

He handed them to Qian Zhuyan to process and fold into her Puppet Battle Formation.

“My thanks, Master.”

Qian Zhuyan didn’t look particularly happy with the haul.

All she felt was that time was nowhere near enough.

To integrate these puppets into her formation she had to refit and rework them. That took time.

Her existing battle puppets had been badly damaged by Mo Luo and weren’t fully repaired. That took time.

Lu Changsheng had also given her piles of materials over the years.

Upgrading, crafting, research—they all needed time.

Right now she felt utterly swamped.

“It’s fine, no rush.”

Seeing her anxiety, Lu Changsheng smiled and reassured her.

He didn’t need her combat power urgently.

He wanted her focused on research, recreating and forging things like the Faceless Homunculus or the Thousand-Faced Fox Puppet.

In time, she could help raise a few third and fourth-rank puppet masters for the family.

With time to spare, Lu Changsheng also visited his children in the Immortal City of Damengze and around Da Mengze.

Ever since he shifted his focus there, many Lu Family disciples had settled in, and he’d barely seen some of the third and fourth generation.

Seven days later, Bai Zhaozhao visited again.

With her help, Lu Changsheng divined his daughter Mu Que’s situation.

Even using their blood as a medium, his daughter’s heavenly secrets were profound and masked by some power.

With Bai Zhaozhao’s boon of fate, he pierced the fog and glimpsed her along the River of Fate.

“Mu Que is in the Central Region of the Southern Desolation. She’s received a benefactor’s aid.”

After lengthy divination he confirmed her location.

Her bloodline advancement was thanks to that benefactor.

He couldn’t divine who it was.

He only knew the person wasn’t ordinary, at least a Nascent Soul cultivator.

Most likely mid Nascent Soul.

Late Nascent Soul seemed unlikely.

Late-stage cultivators were top tier in the Central Domain with lofty status.

He didn’t rule it out.

“Why would this benefactor help Mu Que? Does it have to do with Qingluan True Lord?”

Lu Changsheng frowned. He couldn’t glean a thing about them.

After a long while he ended the divination and let out a tired breath.

“You’ve worked hard, Daoist Bai.”

Seeing the fatigue on Bai Zhaozhao’s face, he knew he’d pushed the divination too far and drained her.

We’ll have to wait for Qingluan True Lord to return and ask about this benefactor and why Mu Que is in the Central Domain, he thought.

“You’re too polite, True Lord.”

From the interwoven threads of fate, Bai Zhaozhao had confirmed it—Yangming True Lord before her was an Anomaly.

She valued such anomalies greatly.

“You said you had many matters and no time for the coming demonic calamity. Is there anything I can help with?”

Bai Zhaozhao didn’t know what exactly he divined but could sense the gist.

When he’d divined Qingluan True Lord, she’d sensed it was a woman bound to him by karma.

Just now with Mu Que, she’d felt him using blood as a medium.

It had to be his elder or his child.