New concept of the mysterious way to ascend to immortality

Chapter 105: Little devil, raise bugs for me!
After some questioning, Yuan Zhu had a preliminary understanding of his current situation.

The current Bubble World timeline differs by at least 80 years from the intelligence provided by the Captain. This world remains in a brutal apocalyptic state, with the surface ecosystem completely destroyed, the environment inhospitable and uninhabitable. Simultaneously, numerous demonic disasters wreak havoc, forcing all life to retreat underground, relying on the roots of the Immortal Tree for survival.

However, the remaining indigenous people also burst out with a tenacious vitality that surpassed that of cockroaches. Not only did they survive, they also reshaped a new underground social form, rebuilt civilization, and had the ambition to counterattack the surface and reshape the world.

He was currently in a slum area about 20 kilometers underground. The deeper one went into the underground world, the richer and cleaner it became. Because the closer one got to the surface, the stronger the "pollution penetration" from the outside world became, and the wider the impact of the demonic disaster became.

The former 'Fairyland Tree Root Network' was the largest and most powerful [filter + protective shield], extending more than 20 kilometers from the surface, resisting the pollution that continued to penetrate the surface, but it also mutated the most seriously, breeding many forbidden disasters.

The civilian areas below 20km underground have been almost completely filtered out of pollution and are quite safe.

Therefore, lower-level residents like the cicada siblings will live at this level, acting as [human environmental purifiers] to further decompose and purify the pollution at the end of the root network and repair the ecosystem.

The lower you go, the better the living environment, the richer the resources, and the more powerful people there are. And they continue to act as a [secondary human filter], purifying the pollution for the nobles and adults at the bottom.

Indeed, the reason [Source Qi Breathing Method] became so widespread and accessible to everyone wasn't because they had won freedom by rebelling against the Immortal Sect, achieving universal peace, equality for all, and dragon-like status for all. Rather, it was the "Ecological Purification Manual" that had to be promoted out of necessity.

The infiltration of pollution from the surface is endless. If nothing is done, the "Immortal Tree Roots" will eventually be completely corroded. Only by the indigenous people's unbridled reproduction and the practice of [Qi Refining Technique] can they activate the Dao Seed in their Dantian, actively digesting and absorbing the messy waste of "Immortal Zombie Roots, heavy metal pollution, corrupted spiritual energy..." and extracting valuable [Qi Silk]. Then, through the production of insects, they consume their own combat potential and continuously produce valuable cultivation materials for the lower-level rulers in exchange for clean food.

Therefore, each of the insect cultivators in the slums is a self-sustaining human filter, a new layer of human firewall beyond the 'Immortal Tree Roots'. Masters of pollution purification and environmental restoration, they work alongside the insects they painstakingly raise to prevent the spread of pollution and improve the underground ecosystem.

At the same time, they work part-time as producers of "basic cultivation supplies" and continuously improve the value of their bodies through practice. After death, they are recovered by the lower-level nobles, used to grow and cultivate more advanced spiritual herbs, and traded with the Immortal Sect.

If there are outstanding people who stand out from the bottom, they can join the [Insect City] or [Technician Alliance] and become a more advanced monk to defend their homeland, fight against the out-of-control demonized giant insects, and sacrifice their precious lives; or become a high-level worker, such as an insect alchemist or weapon refiner... and contribute to higher-level productivity.

The brother and sister were very satisfied with their lives and did not feel exploited at all. They only felt gratitude and pride in their hearts, and were determined to work harder to become better monks, achieve class transition, and live in a lower class.

After figuring out the situation in the new world, Yuan Zhu relaxed. It seemed the surface wasn't an option anymore, and he'd have to find a way down. As for how to deal with the higher-ups in Chan City, he hadn't figured it out yet. The two siblings only had limited information, so he had to think long and hard.

"By the way, I still don't know your names. How old are you? Tell me."

The little girl looked at Yuan Zhu and said honestly, "My name is Chi Shiyi, and I'm 12 years old. My brother is Chi Erer, and he's eight years old."

Upon hearing Eleven's age, Yuan Zhu frowned at first, feeling that this Chaihuoniao looked like a malnourished six-year-old child who hadn't grown up yet, and yet she was twice as old. Then, upon hearing that her brother was only eight, he couldn't help himself.

"What? He's eight fucking years old?!"

Your eight-year-old child looks about the same as 15 or 6, and he can even fight with me? Yuan Zhu couldn't accept it at all. In the field of pure fighting, he actually lost to the eight-year-old child by half a move, relying on the shadow to subdue him to cheat and win.

Shiyi said seriously, "Really? My brother is only eight years old. He's the most talented kid in our neighborhood and can already go out herding with adults."

Yuan Zhu: "Aren't you siblings? Why do you have different last names? Your names are weird too."

"We don't have surnames. Both 螗 and 蜩 are types of cicadas. Eleven and twenty-two are just numbers. In fact, we rarely use names, because everyone's [Tao Seed] carries a unique aura. As long as we perceive it up close, we can tell one from another. But you, my dear, are strange. You don't have the aura of a 'Tao Seed'."

In the Zerg's concept, each Dao Seed is like an "ID number + fingerprint," clearly distinguishable and memorized upon sensing. Therefore, no name is needed for accurate identification. Yuan Zhu, on the other hand, is peculiar, lacking both Dao Seed and Qi within him, and doesn't resemble a legitimate immortal.

It gave the brother and sister a sense of incongruity, as if they were aliens in human skin.

"I'm not a resident of your world. I come from another world. I'm a wandering traveler and businessman. An alien, an alien, a visitor from outer space... Do you understand?"

Shiyi shook his head. "I don't quite understand, but I've heard legends about immortals from other realms descending upon the Immortal Realm Tree, bringing elixirs of immortality for trade. There are also tales of immortals ascending to heaven, but since the destruction of the Immortal Realm Tree, no more immortals have descended. Are you from another realm?"

Yuan Zhu: "More or less. I come from another world similar to the 'Immortal Realm'. But I don't practice immortality or cultivate Qi."

After confirming that Yuan Zhu was not an immortal, her sister breathed a sigh of relief and asked, "What is your purpose? Do you need me to introduce you to the headman of our district? He has a wider range of knowledge and knows more. He goes to [Chan City] every week to trade for daily necessities."

"No, I plan to stay at your house for a few days to learn your language and adapt to your living habits."

Language communication was definitely a major issue for integrating into the "bubble world." Although he could communicate normally with the other party thanks to the passive buff of [Languages], Yuan Zhu clearly couldn't understand the other party's language. The siblings also realized that he was talking nonsense, but they just understood the other party's meaning accurately and suppressed the discomfort.

He didn't know if his other teammates had the same solution, but he was equipped with the spy software [Dahuang Xianjing], which allowed him to learn languages efficiently and let Xiao Latiao take over his speaking system and speak the local dialect directly.

As long as he continues to communicate with the siblings, chat and record them constantly, he can rely on [knowledge of language] to quickly understand and master it without thinking.

Xiao La Tiao: "Leave it to me. Just talk for another six hours, ask some weird questions, and let me collect enough vocabulary and pronunciations, and we'll be fluent in this language. This [Language Mastery] is incredible, it's a pity they're illiterate, otherwise I could handle it too!"

My younger brother, Cicada Er'er, suddenly objected: "You can't stay at our house. We have limited food, not enough for you!"

Sister Yu quickly said, "It's enough, it's enough. You can eat as much as you want. But the food is not of high quality and contains a small amount of toxins. I wonder if you can refine it?"

After learning that Yuan Zhu didn't have a Dao Seed, Sister began to wonder if the guest had been poisoned by the food. If he were truly dead, would she hide this seemingly pure corpse and sell it for money, feed it to insects, or even use it to practice gardening?
Looking at the so-called "sweet fart bugs, dung beetles, stinky bosses, and mouthfuls of fragrance" on the plate, Yuan Zhu really had no appetite and quickly declined the offer: "No need, I have my own food, I don't need you to provide it. I just want to learn your language and learn more about and observe your daily life."

My sister agreed decisively: "That's no problem. You can stay as long as you want. We will do our best to meet any requirements."

Thinking about his mission, Yuan Zhu got to the point: "Your way of survival is to raise insects, produce materials, and trade them, right?"

Eleven nodded. "Yes, there are two kinds of insects in the underground world. There are clean, domesticated spirit insects, and wild, highly poisonous demonic insects. Demonic insects gnaw on the roots of immortal trees, poisonous mushrooms, and mosses, breathing in corrupted spiritual energy... while decomposing and purifying the miasma, they gradually transform and become uncontrollable demons, eventually gathering into small demonic waves, which are then hunted down and eliminated by powerful warriors. These insects are often highly toxic and inedible. Their only value is to reproduce wildly, and then be sent to the furnaces of [Insect City] to be burned and refined into 'Insect Gold'."

Yuan Zhu could understand this behavior, considering the siblings in front of him were also higher-level "bugs," responsible for purifying the underground world from pollution and erosion. But he still had a puzzlement: "Won't these demonic insects release new "toxic waste gas" after being burned?"

My sister shook her head. "No, there are Dream Holes in [Insect City], [Technician Alliance], and the Immortal Sect's headquarters. Although I haven't seen one, I've heard from the elders that the poisonous smoke from the incinerator is absorbed by the Dream Hole. The deadly toxins that threaten the underground world are thus cleared away."

Yuan Zhu suddenly realized that in addition to the bubble world, there was also an even more mysterious Nightmare Layer. So, the rulers of the underground world had found a way to excrete "pollution and toxic smoke" into the Nightmare Layer - the Dream Hole?
No wonder the senior once said that the Nightmare School of [Yuyuan] is very dangerous and weird. When exploring dreams, one will always encounter various incomprehensible dangers and attacks.

If every bubble world had something like the Dream Hole, and they kept discharging wastewater into the Nightmare Layer, then the Nightmare World would be a massively polluted landfill.

The little girl continued, "Unlike wild insects, domesticated spirit insects are distributed uniformly by [Chancheng]. You'll receive the corresponding insect eggs for your Dao Seed, and as many 'Qi Silk' as you cultivate within your body, you'll receive as many. 'Spirit Insects' are nurtured and hatched from Qi Silk, requiring cultivators to nurture and nourish them with Qi Silk, helping them digest the 'Immortal Zombie Whiskers,' highly toxic, and corrupted spiritual energy in their food, allowing them to continue growing. As they grow, the spirit insects produce various 'cultivation materials,' which we collect and hand in in exchange for food. When the 'spiritual insects' are cultivated to their full potential, they become treasures in their own right, capable of being exchanged for even more supplies. Furthermore, spirit insects that match your Dao Seed can also accumulate different 'life information' through feeding, imprinting it into the 'Qi Silk,' granting it additional attributes and information, allowing us to advance in our realm. Raising insects not only generates income and exchanges for cultivation resources, but is also a means of cultivation in itself!"

Although he felt that the silly child was deceived, Yuan Zhu also understood the purpose of the [Mao Mao King]. By handing the caterpillar eggs to these low-level insect cultivators and letting them incubate and nurture them with "Qi Silk", they could continuously produce materials for cultivation and "silk threads" for luxury children's clothing, which could then be handed over to the [Mao Mao King] to sell for money.

Therefore, every [Insect City] is a natural supplier of raw materials.

If you don't understand, ask. Yuan Zhu then asked, "Why can one strand of Qi only support one spirit insect?"

"Because the 'Qi Silk' will bind to the spirit insects, allowing them to recognize their master. This way, the insects will become obedient and will eat whatever I feed them. They can eat non-stop, grow continuously, and then obediently produce materials."

Yuan Zhu: "What if I use the Qi silk that binds and recognizes its master to infiltrate and control other insects?"

"It won't react, and it won't pay any attention to you. Your 'Qi silk' can't obtain useful life information from other spirit insects. But if you're just using it to raise insects, you can raise a few more. But the length of Qi silk we cultivate every day is limited, and we can't supply a second spirit insect."

"Do you use up all the Qi silk you cultivate and then breathe it in and out to condense it again?"

"No, once the Qi threads are cultivated, they will exist forever. However, after excessive use, they will deplete the source Qi, shrink into a small dot, and return to the 'Tao Seed', waiting to be nourished and strengthened again. The twelve Qi threads can travel inwardly through the twelve meridians, stimulating the 'Tao Seed' to grow more complete meridians; externally, they can enter the bodies of spirit insects, nourishing and controlling them, and also collecting life information from the spirit insects, allowing the Qi threads to gain spirituality. The predecessors of [Insect City] called this 'Spiritual Rhythm'. Extracting the spiritual rhyme from the spirit insects allows the Qi threads to gain spirituality."

Yuan Zhu glanced at the giant golden beetle lying in the grass cage and made a mental calculation: "You two, brother and sister, both have twelve Qi threads, right?"

"Yes."

"So, you've already bound these spirit insects, but you can still raise more?"

Chi Shiyi nodded, "Of course I can. I also want to raise more spirit insects. But each insect consumes a huge amount of energy. If we feed them, our own meridian cultivation will be largely stagnant."

Yuan Zhu thought about it and decided the best approach was to kidnap a group of goblins, implant them with Dao seeds, and have them raise caterpillars. But were they smart enough? Without any spiritual root contamination in their bodies, could they condense the meridians?
He pulled out a metal bottle from his backpack, and under the curious gaze of the siblings, he unscrewed it, pulled out a metal plate, carefully broke off a corner, and put it away again.

Then, Yuan Zhu picked up the piece of metal and handed it to Xi Shiyi: "Take a look at the insect eggs on this metal plate. Can they be hatched using Qi silk? You don't need to bind and control them. Just feed them food. Can you raise them like ordinary insects?"

The little girl took the metal fragment, and then saw the dozen or so insect eggs arranged in an orderly manner on both sides. She saw strands of silver silk threads emerging from them, gently brushing past them, and began to sense them carefully.

Then he said in surprise: "Huh? What strange insect eggs, they feel different from spiritual insects, and they don't look like wild insects either. They are actively absorbing my 'Qi'."

"How? Can you hatch?"

Chi Eleven nodded: "Sure, they've actively absorbed the Qi and become active. I can try to hatch them. But how do we get them fed? I feel like they're very weak. If I feed them moss and mushrooms from the underworld, they'll quickly die of poisoning."

"If I provide you with enough food, can you use Qi silk to clean up the pollution and save their lives?"

"Food? Are they full?" the little girl pondered. "That requires very delicate manipulation. I can give it a try. Protecting them during the initial hatching phase should be no problem."

Yuan Zhu asked again, "If we provide them with enough clean food, can we also reduce the risk of demonization and death?"

"Yes, but even the cleanest food in the underground world is poisonous. These insect eggs are too weak."

Yuan Zhu asked again: "Do you know how to grow spiritual herbs? I have some seeds here, can you cultivate them?"

The little girl's eyes turned, and she replied, "I think I can give it a try. I've secretly observed others growing spiritual herbs, but we're too poor and lack the necessary equipment."

Yuan Zhu also understood the other party's little thoughts, but this kind of low-level siblings are easier to control and have the lowest requirements: "Whatever you need, I'll take care of it."

"High-level tubeworms, large worm corpses full of spiritual energy, spiritual herb seeds."

Yuan Zhu: "What are tube worms, and how do you get giant worms?"

He pointed to a tube-like creature hanging from the roof of his house, resembling a shrunken umbilical cord. "This is a [Tube Worm], the lowest level. High-level Tube Worms are products of the Technician family. They can parasitize the 'Immortal Tree Roots', extracting and filtering corrupted spiritual energy, exhaling clean spiritual energy, and creating an environment for spiritual herbs to grow. Large Worms are another type of spiritual insect, similar to the 'Golden Cicadas' we raise. However, after a large worm matures and dies, its corpse becomes a natural nutrient base for [Corpse Seeding]. As long as I obtain the secret method of [Corpse Seeding], I can cultivate spiritual herbs for you!"

Yuan Zhu narrowed his eyes and said, "These three things can all be bought in [Chancheng], right?"

"Yes!"

"Okay, I agree."

"Thank you for your trust, sir. I will definitely work hard for you."

(End of this chapter)