Gou Dao and Cultivation of Immortals, Start from Farming

"Jiji! Master, what is this, I hate it!"

Xiaobai stared at the "Insect Book" with his black eyes and expressed his disgust in a weak voice.

Hearing this, Li Mu came to his senses and was a little surprised.

Xiaobai is a sixth-level poisonous insect spirit. After passing the transformation thunder tribulation, it still did not reveal its human form and usually did not talk much. However, today, because of the Taoist inheritance "Insect Sutra", it showed obvious disgust, which made Li Mu curious.

Thinking of the scene when he was reading the "Insect Classic" just now, his consciousness was attacked by the residual spirits of the "Insect Classic" and thousands of insects devoured his soul, Li Mu suddenly understood a little bit.

Li Mu gently touched Xiao Bai's head and tried to comfort him, "Xiao Bai, I was negligent. Although this "Insect Scripture" is a Dao-level inheritance, it contains endless mysteries and power of the insect way, but because of its age, it also contains the residual spirit of the previous owner..."

"No! It's not because it hurts its master, but because this thing devours billions of insect souls. I hate it by nature. I'm going to destroy it."

Xiaobai stared at Li Mu with his dark eyes, his voice carrying an unprecedented determination, and his eyes flashing with deep hatred for the "Insect Classic", which made his soul tremble.

Li Mu looked at Xiaobai in surprise. Normally, it was fearless, but at this moment it was so nervous. Its disgust for the "Insect Book" was so strong that it even demanded its destruction.

"This book of insects is related to whether you can survive the true spirit thunder tribulation. I need to find a way to help you from it." Li Mu frowned slightly and explained patiently, trying to guide Xiaobai to see the other side of the matter.

Hearing this, a hint of hesitation flashed in Xiaobai's eyes. It's not that he didn't know what was important, but his innate disgust made it difficult for him to let go.

Seeing this, Li Mu put away the "Insect Sutra" first. To inherit this incomplete sutra, there should be a prerequisite, that is, to understand the language of insect souls first, and then to protect the soul from the backlash of the soul power of thousands of insects.

If Xiaobai is willing to assist him in learning the inheritance of the "Insect Sutra", it will be a very good choice. With its innate ability to restrain souls and bodies and its ability to speak insect language, it is undoubtedly the best choice. However, Xiaobai's effects are simple and his hatred is clear, so it is not easy to persuade him.

After putting away the "Insect Classic", Xiaobai's mood immediately improved. He restrained his hostility, lay on Li Mu's shoulder, and regained his calm.

Seeing this, Li Mu smiled bitterly, reached out and gently stroked Xiaobai's tender body, thinking secretly in his heart how to persuade it in the most appropriate way. Direct forcing is not a good idea. Only emotion and understanding can be used as a bridge to help Xiaobai overcome the hurdle in his heart.

"Xiaobai, I know you have a natural aversion to the "Insect Sutra", but it is not only a legacy of the insect way, but also the key to helping you fight against the true spirit thunder tribulation. The fate of you and me may be closely linked on this line." Li Mu's voice was gentle but firm. He tried his best to make his words convincing, while also not forgetting to take Xiaobai's feelings into consideration.

"Master, don't learn it. Don't learn it!" Xiaobai retorted stubbornly.

There was a hint of anxiety and worry in Xiaobai's words, and complex emotions flashed in his eyes. He tried hard to convey more information beyond words and tell Li Mu what the bad things were. However, since it involved the secrets of Dao-level inheritance, he didn't understand it very well.

Seeing this, Li Mu was slightly stunned, not understanding why Xiaobai was so resistant to this insect way technique.

"Xiaobai, you seem to know something about the secret of the "Insect Classic", right? Tell me, why are you so opposed to it?" Li Mu's voice became softer, trying to calm Xiaobai's emotions, while also hoping to get more clues from it.

"Woo, woo, I don't know! It's very dangerous, don't learn it!" Xiaobai's eyes turned red with anxiety, but he could only make intermittent whimpering sounds. He shook his head desperately, as if he wanted to use this method to stop Li Mu's decision.

Seeing Xiaobai's emotions so intense again, Li Mu sighed and gave up the idea of ​​practicing the "Insect Sutra" through Xiaobai.

"Okay, okay, Xiaobai, I won't learn anymore." Li Mu comforted him softly, gently taking Xiaobai off his shoulders and letting it sit on his knees so that he could communicate with it better. "Although you don't know the specific danger, your intuition tells me that this "Insect Scripture" is indeed not simple. I won't take risks easily."

Hearing this, Xiaobai's tense body couldn't help but relax, and she took the initiative to touch Li Mu's palm to show her affection.

Seeing Xiaobai like this, Li Mu became more and more curious about what kind of horror the "Insect Classic" contained that made Xiaobai lose his composure like this. However, with Xiaobai's reaction, Li Mu gave up the idea of ​​continuing to study the "Insect Classic".

I plan to collect some ancient books about practicing "Insect Dao" first, and then study the inherited skills.

Li Mu took out a soul-collecting bottle containing the spirit of a sixth-level monster from the Jiuzang Lingzhu and prepared to feed it to Xiaobai.

When Xiaobai saw the Soul-Gathering Bottle, his eyes lit up and his body floated in the air. He was obviously looking forward to the upcoming delicacy, and his clear eyes were full of joy and gratitude.

Li Mu smiled slightly and opened the soul-collecting bottle casually. A wisp of black demonic soul quickly flew out of the bottle, filled with a sinister aura.

A white shadow flew over, blocked the bottle mouth with its small mouth, and sucked hard. Under the fierce suction force, the black demon soul was quickly sucked into the small mouth as if being pulled by an invisible hand.

Xiaobai closed his eyes tightly, his body slightly bulging, as if he was trying his best to digest this powerful demon soul power. Powerful soul power emanated from his body, forming a strange picture.

Seeing this, Li Mu's eyes flashed with approval. Xiaobai looks tender and cute, but actually possesses extraordinary swallowing and digestion abilities. This is the terrifying part of the sixth-level poisonous insect spirit.

"Xiaobai, how do you feel?" Li Mu smiled and asked with concern.

Xiaobai looked back at Li Mu, his eyes full of excitement and satisfaction. He nodded slightly, then his body trembled slightly, and a more condensed soul power wave emanated from his body. It was obvious that this swallowing had increased his strength again.

The next moment, Xiaobai opened his mouth slightly and yawned.

Li Mu smiled and waved his hand, putting it into the Imperial Spirit Bracelet, letting it rest, and began to count other high-level spiritual objects. …

Time flies, half a month passed, Li Mu ended his retreat, came out of the training room, and went to the spiritual field first to inspect the two sixth-level spiritual plants.

The sunlight shines through the sparse clouds and onto the vibrant spiritual field in the sect’s back mountain. The golden light and the emerald green leaves complement each other, making it particularly dazzling.

Li Mu appeared beside the spiritual field. The six-armed demon ape guarding the spiritual field quickly revealed its transformed body and saluted: "Greetings, Master!"

"Get up!" Li Mu glanced at it and his eyes fell on the two spiritual fields, checking the growth of Yanyuan spiritual grass and Mouxing spiritual grass.

Li Mu walked slowly along the path between the spiritual fields, carefully observing each spiritual plant to ensure that there were no pests or abnormalities.

The Yanyuan Spiritual Grass swayed gently in the breeze, and the veins on its leaves seemed to contain the secrets of life, emitting a faint fragrance that was refreshing. The Mouxing Spiritual Grass was even more dazzling, with the surface of its fruit gleaming with star-like light, as if it had absorbed the essence of the night sky, and each one contained a huge amount of spiritual power.

Li Mu's lips curled up into a satisfied smile, and he felt relieved after confirming that they were growing well.

"It seems that you have taken good care of the child during this period." Li Mu praised the six-armed demon ape, his tone revealing a bit of satisfaction and trust.

Hearing this, the six-armed demon ape smiled on his honest face and responded faithfully: "Thank you for the compliment, Master. This is what I should do."

Li Mu smiled and waved his hand, calling for a spiritual rain to irrigate the spiritual field.

The spiritual rain fell densely and gently on the spiritual field. Every drop contained rich spiritual energy of heaven and earth, nourishing this vibrant top-grade spiritual field. Under the nourishment of the spiritual rain, the Yanyuan spiritual grass and Mouxing spiritual grass were full of vitality. Their leaves became more emerald and the starlight on their fruits became more dazzling.

Li Mu stood aside, watching the scene quietly, with a deep light flashing in his eyes, as if he was thinking about something.

Now that the Huajie Treasure Mansion has expanded successfully, Li Mu hesitated whether to transplant them into the Treasure Mansion space to avoid accidents.

The Xuantian Sword Sect is not peaceful now, and many sects are eyeing him. Li Mu weighed the pros and cons in his mind, looking at the spiritual fields that were becoming more luxuriant after being bathed in spiritual rain. Although transplanting these two precious sixth-level spiritual plants into the treasure house space could protect them from external intrusion to the greatest extent, it also meant giving up this carefully cultivated high-quality spiritual field and the natural growth advantages it brought.

"Although the space of the treasure house is good, it is not a long-term solution." Li Mu thought to himself: "The growth of spiritual plants cannot be separated from the nourishment of heaven and earth. If they rely solely on the power of space, it may affect their quality and potential."

Therefore, Li Mu made a decision to maintain the status quo first. These sixth-level spiritual plants continued to grow naturally in this unique spiritual field. With the rich spiritual energy and the blessings of nature in the sect's back mountain, the Yanyuan spiritual grass and Mouxing spiritual grass would surely thrive.

In the following days, Li Mu's life became more regular and fulfilling. He studied ancient books, learned about insect ways, refined weapons, made elixirs, and occasionally took care of spiritual plants... and lived a plain and quiet life.

Time flies, and three years have passed in the blink of an eye.

With the reputation as a weapon-refining master, Li Mu's network of contacts became extremely broad. The Xuantian Sword Sect was always willing to respond to his requests. They knew that Li Mu liked to study some unconventional skills, and now he was even studying the way of insects.

Therefore, he took the initiative to collect rare books and secret maps related to the insect way for Li Mu, and even exchanged rare insect eggs and strange insects from various forces at all costs, just to win a little friendship from Li Mu, at all costs.

With the help of various ancient books on insects, such as: "Summary of Ten Thousand Insects", "The Secret of Parasitism of Spiritual Insects", "Illustrated Record of Insect Formations", and so on, Li Mu gradually figured out some mysteries related to the insect way.

He probably also understood why Xiaobai had resisted his practice of "The Insect Sutra" so fiercely before.

Li Mu also gradually realized why the way of insect cultivation was despised and regarded as unorthodox by other cultivators, because this way of cultivation was extremely difficult, and behind it were many disadvantages that could not be ignored and many potential negative effects on cultivators.

First of all, the cultivation process of insect cultivators is often accompanied by a huge mental burden. Establishing a spiritual connection with insects, or even symbiosis, requires cultivators to have extremely high mental control and endurance. Sharing emotions and thoughts with insects for a long time can easily cause the cultivator's spiritual world to be disturbed, causing confusion and division. If it is not properly controlled, it may even cause serious mental problems, such as hallucinations, mania, and even loss of self.

Secondly, insect cultivators are highly dependent on insects. Once they lose the assistance of insects, their combat effectiveness will be greatly reduced. This over-dependence not only limits the overall development of the cultivators' own abilities, but also makes them particularly vulnerable when facing specific environments or enemies. For example, if insects are eliminated on a large scale or restricted by special means, insect cultivators may instantly lose their combat effectiveness and fall into a desperate situation.

Furthermore, insect cultivation techniques are often accompanied by certain moral controversies. In order to cultivate powerful insects, cultivators may need to collect rare resources and capture other creatures as food or sacrifices. Over time, this can easily lead to conflicts and struggles within the cultivators, affecting their character and cultivation.

Finally, the path of insect cultivation is full of unknowns and dangers. There are many types of insects with different habits, and some of them are highly toxic and aggressive. In the process of cultivating and controlling these insects, the cultivators may suffer backlash if they are not careful, which may cause minor injuries or even death. In addition, the natural laws of insect growth cycles, reproductive habits, etc. are often difficult to predict, which brings many uncertainties to the cultivators' cultivation plans.

Xiaobai's fierce resistance to Li Mu's practice of "Insect Sutra" before might be due to his partial knowledge of these disadvantages and negative effects. However, it was more likely due to the materials used in refining the "Insect Sutra" heritage and its unique spirituality.

The spiritual materials used to refine the "Insect Sutra", if I'm not mistaken, its birth and inheritance revolve around an extremely rare and mysterious spiritual material - "Soul Cocoon".

Soul cocoon, as the name implies, is a cocoon-like object formed by some ancient insects under specific conditions, which contains powerful soul power and life essence. This kind of spiritual material is extremely rare, and can only be formed in the purest natural environment after hundreds or even thousands of years of gestation. The refining of the "Insect Sutra" is based on this soul cocoon as the core, supplemented by the essence and blood of countless spiritual insects, and is integrated through complex rituals and spells to carry the law of the Tao level.

The soul cocoon is extremely spiritual. It is not only conducive to the transmission of Dharma and the establishment of a deep spiritual connection with monks, but also can invisibly influence the monks' mind and will. If the monk's mind is not strong, it is easy to lose oneself in the pursuit of power and be devoured by the desires and instincts of the insect.

Li Mu has realized that his previous understanding of insect cultivation was too one-sided. He only saw its powerful strength and potential, but ignored the risks and costs behind it. Therefore, he decided to put aside learning this method for the time being.

However, after years of studying the insect path, Li Mu became more pessimistic about Xiaobai's future ability to survive the True Spirit Thunder Tribulation. (End of this chapter)