New concept of the mysterious way to ascend to immortality

Chapter 106: Holy Cough!

After spending half a day in the underground caverns and engaging in lengthy conversations with the two siblings, Yuan Zhu not only gained a wealth of intelligence about the underground world but also gained a preliminary understanding of the sphere of influence and governance of [Cicada City]. The [Great Wilderness Immortal Scripture] also collected language data, allowing him to passively master a new language, finally allowing him to embark on exploration mode.

At this point, he decided to take the initiative and explore the city from the perspective of an outside investor. However, simply learning the language was useless; he still lacked a sense of place.

According to the siblings, each Dao Seed carries a unique pheromone, allowing indigenous people to identify each other without even saying hello. Furthermore, they can leave traces of themselves on objects. This method of contact is more convenient and less prone to errors than "name + fingerprint + ID number."

Yuan Zhu possessed no Dao Seeds, didn't practice Qi Refining Techniques, and possessed a clean appearance. He possessed neither this aura nor the ability to discern other pheromones. He couldn't even pass the account registration process. He had no ID and couldn't see anyone else's. He was so out of place, unable to even maintain the most basic disguise.

Once they infiltrated [Cicada City], their progress would be difficult and they would be immediately exposed. So he had to observe a moment of silence for his teammates. At least he still had the 'Shadow Mode' to conceal himself and stealthily move, which was a bit of a joke for the others.

……

On the outskirts of the upper contaminated area of another [Centipede City] in the distant underground world, the taciturn black butcher has now transformed his uniform into a [slaughterhouse apron form]. Green bloody lines spread across the apron, extending into strands of silk threads that pierce into the flesh.

He was holding a bone-chopping knife, his eyes were bloodshot and red, and he was surrounded by five Qi-refining practitioners.

The leader, holding a mantis blade that reflected a metallic luster, pointed at the huge black butcher and said, "Invader, give up resistance and surrender!"

"This guy looks so weird and smells so strange, I've never heard of him before!"

"Is it a newly born monster on the surface? Why does it look like a living creature? Why is its armor like this?"

"It's not a polluter. It has no corrupting miasma, no iron poison, and no immortal zombie whiskers. It's a very pure monster. Is it a 'meat-like Ganoderma lucidum incarnation' from the immortal world? Perhaps it can be used to cultivate food."

"Catch this 'Black Meat Ganoderma' and sell it to the Immortal Sect for a fortune!"

Being watched by those fiery gazes, Huotuo Luo also scanned the five monks with the same eyes as if he were sizing up his prey, and whispered to himself, "Die, die, die!"

Then he rushed forward.

...

[Grasswing City], Meng Xiyue held up a male head with closed eyes and a face covered with cartoon stickers. She erected a thick layer of protective force field around her and used a sound amplification technique to shout at the native in front of her, who was wearing exoskeleton armor and looked like a Kamen Rider:
"Oi, handsome and cool armored friend across from me, I come from the outer world, an envoy of the great [Furry King]. Bringing advanced scientific knowledge, friendship, and large orders, I come to visit you and revitalize the alien economy. Give me some face and exchange some words first. It's not too late to start a fight later, don't you think?"

...

In the upper area of [Firefly City], in a passage where a giant demonized insect was running out of control, Zhou Chu was holding a chain that stretched over 20 meters in one hand, and controlling a red hollow armor at the other end. He was holding a spear and fighting fiercely with a mole cricket that was a full meter tall and had sharp sickle legs.

The young lady's face was firm as she manipulated the red armor coldly: "Don't be afraid, I will protect you!"

Behind her were three little girls, dirty and ragged, looking terrified. However, the look they gave Zhou Chu was even more terrifying and desperate than the one they gave the demonized giant insect.

He was obviously frightened by this big sister who suddenly appeared.

The youngest among them whispered tremblingly, "Iron, iron... um."

Before she could finish, the oldest girl beside her covered her mouth with her hand. The three children huddled together, staring at Zhou Chu's back, trembling with fear, tears welling up in their eyes, but they dared not let them fall for fear of angering him.

...

On the other side, in [Chan City], Yuan Zhu was also in a cave, threatening and intimidating the two siblings.

In order to prevent his identity from being revealed, he gave each of the two siblings a "Holy Cough" as a greeting gift, warning them not to act rashly and to wait for his return at home.

As a result, a burning sensation spread and burned in the chest and lungs. My face turned red and I felt a line of fire running from my lungs straight to my throat, connecting my throat, mouth, and nasal cavity, causing suffocation and burning pain.

The 'breathing method' that had been integrated into his daily breathing was completely disrupted, and even the 'qi threads' in his body were about to be burned away. His eyes were bloodshot from the pain, and his veins were throbbing all over his body. He was almost unable to breathe...

Even the strong brother was like this, and the malnourished sister curled up in pain, coughing violently. The coughs became more and more rapid and louder, as if she was going to cough out her lungs.

Seeing this scene, Yuan Zhu was also dumbfounded: "Wait, don't try to touch me! It's just a little bit of [Holy Cough], is it that serious?"

He'd only used a Holy Cough, barely enough to cover a fingernail; even a rat in the sewer would have ignored it. And yet, you two, grown men, reacted so violently to a simple mark and a threat? You looked like you were about to die, the poison taking effect.

"Could it be that they've lived in a highly polluted environment for so long that their bodies are filled with 'spiritual pollution, insect pollution, and root pollution'? So just a little bit of Holy Cough can detonate the explosives? Just like when you cast 'Illumination' in the underground passage earlier."

Yuan Zhu shook his head. "That doesn't make sense. The Holy Light's reaction to them was very ordinary, and they were judged as neutral targets. I've checked this crypt, and there's no poisonous spiritual energy spreading, nor are there any contaminated slime molds or mosses. Forget it, saving people is more important."

Just when Yuan Zhu was about to take back the [Holy Cough], his sister Shiyi suddenly spat out a mouthful of sticky blood with a "wow", and her breath became much weaker.

"sister!"

Her brother, who was still struggling, didn't care about anything else and rushed over quickly, trying to pick up his weak and dying sister.

Yuan Zhu, the Great Holy Light Lord, also stepped forward: "Let me save her!"

The younger brother glared at Yuan Zhu, his eyes full of hatred: "Don't... cough cough cough."

"Wait a minute, I'm fine, I feel fine."

While spurting blood, he spoke weakly, trying to dissuade his brother from being impulsive. Even Yuan Zhu couldn't stand it: "I'm sorry, I really didn't know you were so allergic to the Holy Light. I'll take it back now."

"Don't do that! My dear, I'm not lying. I feel really good. My chest is very warm, but it hurts a little. Brother, don't be patient. Cough out everything in your lungs!"

The older sister's words became smoother and her breathing steadier. As she spoke, she actually stood up and began patting her brother's chest, fueling his coughing.

Seeing his sister's last breath, Chi finally calmed down from his nervous, anxious, and angry state and regained awareness of his own physical condition. Then, his eyes lit up, and he also began to cough violently, while his fingertips entwined with 'Qi silk' energy, repeatedly striking his chest.

With a groan, he spat out two large blood clots. After another series of rapid coughs, spewing out mouthfuls of blood, his breathing began to weaken, then slowly regained its composure.

Seeing her brother spurting blood crazily, the nervous sister finally smiled. If Yuan Zhu hadn't realized there was a hidden reason behind this, he would have thought that these two people had practiced the "Sword Immortal Method" and that their power had increased greatly after coughing up blood and self-torturing, revealing a strange smile.

"Thank you for saving my life."

Jun, his younger brother, whose breathing had calmed down again, looked at Yuan Zhu guiltily and said with his head down, "I was wrong about you."

Yuan Zhu felt the [Holy Cough] in their chests almost extinguished, and was a little confused: "What's wrong with you? Are you really okay?"

Sister: "Not only am I fine, I feel really good. The power you just sent into our lungs killed the parasitic worms there. Not only that, it also cleared out a lot of the 'Immortal Zombie Whiskers' and 'Iron Poison' that remained in our chests. If we were to use 'Qi Silk' instead, it would take at least a month. Even if it was cleared out, it would be replenished with breathing and eating."

"Baby worm? What is that thing? Is it similar to 'Immortal Zombie Whiskers'? Is it a parasite hidden in your daily diet?"

He looked at the blood clots that looked like blood tofu, but couldn't see how they looked like worms.
"The baby worms are a means for [Insect City] to control us civilians. They are implanted in the lungs, the most important part of [Qi Refining Technique]. They grow and nourish along with the breathing method, devouring the true Qi and integrating an invisible substance into the Qi threads. If we fail to pay tribute and taxes on time, the adults in Insect City will trigger the baby worms, causing the Qi threads throughout our bodies to run wild. At the very least, we will suffer severe pain from being cut all over our bodies, and at the worst, our meridians will be destroyed and our cultivation will be ruined." Yuan Zhu: "So cruel?"

The little girl pointed to her head and added, "There are 'singing insects' above, 'infant insects' in the lungs, and 'singing contracts' below. The city lord has planted 'singing insects' in everyone's brain, allowing them to issue commands remotely. They can emit chirping sounds to attack the soul, or roar violently to shatter the skull. 'Singing insects' are planted in the dantian, which devour the true qi and secrete a deadly poison. If anyone secretly escapes the control range of [Chan City], hides tribute, or steals food from the Nisheng Garden...then they will suffer the pain of the dantian insects. Only by completing the tasks every month can they receive the molting pill to temporarily alleviate the attacks."

It's his familiar style. I was wondering why you two, with such a hard life, didn't you run away and instead worked so hard? Turns out you can't escape! The slacking management in [Cicada City] is already way ahead of Earth. Even I, the Great Shadow System, need to learn from their advanced experience.

"If you were given a chance to escape from the control of [Cicada City], would you flee?"

He shook his head. "No, without the protection of [Cicada City], we will only die faster. But removing the 'Infant Worm' will reduce a lot of pain and suffering, and the efficiency of the breathing method will also be increased a little."

Yuan Zhu looked at the two siblings again and suddenly asked, "How did you feel when I implanted the Holy Light into you just now?"

"The infant insect suffered a devastating blow and fought back fiercely, igniting the Qi silk in my chest. It was excruciatingly painful, but it lasted only briefly. After the intense pain, I felt a faint warmth, but also the burning pain in my meridians, which was bearable. Finally, I used the remaining 'Qi silk' to examine my body and found that much of the immortal zombie whiskers and iron poison in my chest had been cleared. Overall, the benefits outweighed the disadvantages."

Hearing his sister's response, Yuan Zhu thought to himself that these indigenous people were indeed different from wild insects and mosses! He had released Holy Light indiscriminately in the tunnels of the polluted area, causing the pollution to spread. But when he used Holy Cough on the two siblings, it only caused a crazy spurt of blood. It seemed no different?
The holy light indiscriminately repelled and killed [infant insects, immortal zombie whiskers, metal pollution, and insect-type true qi], and even purified (damaged) the "true qi" and even the "meridians" they cultivated, but the final result made them healthier, which was a kind of radiation therapy.

Yuan Zhu, now in high spirits, used the two siblings as guinea pigs, soliciting their opinions. "Would you like to experience the holy light all over your body again? While it would be harmful to you, it would deeply purify the remaining pollution in your bodies. Perhaps with a bit of luck, it could even clear out the 'singing insects and mantises'?"

Although he didn't even know what "蛉契" and "梦虫" were, he dared to make the promise!
My sister hesitated and thought: "This..."

But the younger brother stepped forward and said, "I'll do it!" He planned to try it out on himself, and if it worked, he would let his sister try it too.

Yuan Zhu observed the underground cave and thought to himself that if things got out of hand, he was fully confident that he could switch to the Tiger Demon and drag the two siblings away together.

So he took decisive action and raised his hand to cast a [Shelter Force Field Barrier] to imprison his younger brother Jun inside, just like he was burning and refining the flowers and plants in the garden.

As the holy light field appeared, the brother and sister's hair stood on end, their faces filled with fear and mortal threat. Simultaneously, the two firefly torches in the room began to flicker frantically, as if sounding an alarm. The large insects in the straw cage scrambled restlessly, trying to escape. The tube worms dangling from the roof like rotten umbilical cords also twitched and contracted.

Although there was no "pollution riot," everything in the room was resisting the "sanctuary barrier." Everything here was naturally incompatible with the Holy Light, unlike the "shadows," where they could coexist harmoniously without interfering with each other.

"Light!"

Yuan Zhu controlled the strength of the 'force field barrier' and did not treat the cicada as pollution and refine it into ashes. Instead, he activated the low-light radiation mode, cleverly preventing the holy light from spreading outwards, and only shining it inwards on his younger brother Jun, disinfecting him with light pollution.

The cicada in the barrier had a painful expression on its face, its teeth clenched, its fingers clenched, and its muscles tensed, trying to withstand the erosion and distortion of radiation from light pollution.

After feeling that it was almost done, Yuan Zhu decisively removed the barrier. Cicada fell to the ground, leaning over to support himself with his arms, panting rapidly: "Hu...Hu...Hu...!"

He came forward and asked with concern, "Brother, how are you?"

"I... I feel so strange. My body is weak and powerless, less than 30% of the Qi has evaporated, and I feel a burning pain all over my body. But my breathing has become smoother, and my body feels as if it has been cleansed, as if I have been reborn, my hair and marrow have been purged and cleansed. An inexplicable urge is emerging from both my Dao Seed and True Qi, wanting to throw myself into that light and destroy myself?"

Meanwhile, Yuan Zhu also received a tiny amount of 'ashes' from Cicada's body. These were the ashes from burning away the pollution within him, encompassing various types of contamination and possessing little value.

However, one thing is certain, for pure [true qi] or [spiritual energy], the cleansing sequence of holy light is extremely low.

If "holy light" is compared to flame, then spiritual energy and true qi are similar to incombustible substances. Or heavy oil like "diesel" will not easily burn when exposed to open flames. Conversely, pollutants such as corrupted spiritual energy, demonized insects, and wild mushrooms will explode when they come into contact with "holy light."

Xiao La Tiao: "It's simple. This shows that the backers behind [Spiritual Energy] (Kunlun System) are strong, and [Holy Light] doesn't want to confront them head-on, so it chooses to ignore it."

Yuan Zhu: That makes sense!

"How are the crickets and mantises on you?" He was still somewhat confident in his own holy light. If it could burn the baby worms to death, then the others would be the same!
Cicada: "They all still exist, but they are suppressed and have fallen into a deep sleep." Having said that, he looked at Yuan Zhu in surprise. This weirdo is so powerful.

He looked at Yuan Zhu expectantly, "Sir, can I try it too? Once I get rid of the immortal zombie whiskers and the iron poison, I'll be able to save more Qi to raise insects for you. Without having to endure the 'brain ringing' and 'Dantian poison', I can focus more on my cultivation and improve my insect breeding efficiency."

Yuan Zhu looked at her with suspicion: "It's possible, but I'm afraid you can't bear it. Die under my holy light."

"Yes, sister. Being illuminated by that light was extremely painful. It felt like my whole body was burning, especially my meridians, which were extremely painful."

Recalling the Holy Cough just now, his face pale, he dug his nails into his palms. He was extremely afraid, but he still gritted his teeth and insisted, "Don't be afraid! This light can clear the immortal zombie whiskers in the body, which is equivalent to saving a lot of Qi. We can save a lot of food and even provide for the noble."

Yuan Zhu waved his hands repeatedly: "No, no, no, I don't want to eat it, I'll leave it all for you!"

Damn the sweet fart bugs, the stinky boss, and the dung beetles, they are all left to you two!
The same operation was repeated again. The weak holy light was even dimmed, but it still made the little girl writhe and twitch in agony. Yuan Zhu looked like he was abusing a child, and he felt a pang of guilt. However, his younger brother Jun, who had always hated him, had a clearer and more grateful look in his eyes.

This mentally retarded little brother is so much worse than my own! Oh, he's only 8 years old? That's not surprising.

"Cough cough..."

He coughed up another mouthful of blood, sweat pouring down his forehead, his body twitching and shaking as he lay on the ground, looking as weak as a skinny dog that couldn't hold on to push-ups in the gym and began to flutter its wings like a butterfly...

However, the skinny little girl's big, bulging eyes were particularly bright: "I, I... heard it, I heard it!"

Seeing her enthusiastic expression, Yuan Zhu's heart skipped a beat, thinking to himself, "This is bad!" Could it be that the Holy Light had burned her brain, her San value had returned to zero, and she was hallucinating?
The tall brother quickly stepped forward, helped his sister up like a chicken, and asked with concern: "Sister, are you okay? What did you hear?"

The little girl's eyes flashed with enthusiasm. She looked at Yuan Zhu and said, "Metamorphosis!"

"[ヘ?]?" Yuan Zhu: "Why are you looking at me?"

"Your light ignites my Qi, burning my meridians and Dao seeds... and allows me to hear the voice of 'transformation' deep in my heart!"

Yuan Zhu: "So what?" You want to scam me?

"This light can guide us onto the correct path of cultivation and lead us to the ultimate enlightenment and ascension!"

Yuan Zhu: "(°ヘ°)
"Can you once again imprint that method of control on our lungs?" The little girl began to actively ask Yuan Zhu for the [Holy Cough].

Yuan Zhu:? (．ヘ°)
"The Holy Cough is not a good thing for you. It is a pollution, a means for me to control your life and death. It will slowly erode and burn your vitality, polluting your true energy system. If I wish, I can instantly detonate the Holy Cough and burn your life and soul."

Qi looked at Yuan Zhu with a fiery gaze, "We already have 'Singing Insects, Infant Insects, and Mantis Insects' on our bodies, so we're not afraid of the [Holy Cough]. And it's not pollution at all, it's salvation! We're already suffering from multiple erosions such as 'corrupted spiritual energy, immortal zombie whiskers, iron poison...'. With the [Holy Cough], we can suppress and burn these pollutants, saving a lot of Qi for cultivation. Don't other pollutants harm and consume life?"

The more the little girl thought about it, the more she felt it was plausible. How could this [Holy Cough] be contaminated? It was simply a life-saving skill!

Yuan Zhu: "Huh? But [Holy Light] will trigger pollution riots in the underground world..."

"But the [Holy Cough] is inside the body, right? In the lungs. As long as you endure the pain of the Holy Light burning your veins, it will purify the polluted spiritual energy in your breath and bless your breathing method! The baby worm will parasitize the lungs, integrating into the breathing method and the true qi. Switching to the [Holy Cough] makes no difference; it actually enhances your practice!

Cicada also took a step forward and looked at Yuan Zhu with pleading and expectation: "I want one too!!!"

(End of this chapter)