New concept of the mysterious way to ascend to immortality

Chapter 342 Man-Eating A, Insect Hatching and Breeding
"Success? It doesn't look like it to me."

Yuan Zhu glanced at Yuan Tiao, who had been stripped down to only her underwear, and then looked at the armor that had been repaired and was no longer tattered.

Clearly, this dormant armor was awakened and activated after taking a bite of 'noodles'.

As for the idea of ​​'feeding uniforms,' it was a complete failure. The uniforms simply couldn't be swallowed or digested; they choked the user and were spectacularly outmaneuvered.

Yuan Tiao shook his head and retorted, "The uniform was devoured by the armor, but I completed the connection with the armor through the sacrifice of the uniform. It was the uniform that sacrificed itself and became the medium to connect me with it."

Hearing this, Yuan Zhu was somewhat surprised: "This armor has recognized its master?"

Yuan Tiao looked confused: "It's not exactly a recognition of mastery, but I can feel the call from the [Armor]. It needs a wielder to provide energy to nurture it; at the same time, I also have the desire and urge to wear it. Also, I don't think the [Uniform] has failed; it's not even completely dead."

As he spoke, he directly patted the black [Knight Armor].

Upon being stimulated, the armor suddenly began to tremble violently. Then, like a ghost waking from a hangover, it raised its empty arm guards, making a gesture to support its body, and slowly tried to stand up from the table.

At the same time, clumps of familiar black threads emerged from the large hole in the 'neck' of the armor, like drifting seaweed.

"what?"

Yuan Zhu looked on curiously and discovered that there was a new lining inside the knight's armor, which was the uniform that had been absorbed into it.

After the [uniform] failed to devour the [armor], it was instead refined into the lining, injecting a life force into the parched and dying [armor]. Now, it has set its sights on Yuan Tiao, wanting to merge with him.

Yuan Zhu: "Is it dangerous? Do you want to try it on?"

Younger brother: "I didn't feel any danger. I still think it's a uniform."

Encouraged by Yuan Zhu, Yuan Tiao, who was also filled with curiosity and longing, silently recited "wear armor" in his heart.

Suddenly, the knight's armor disintegrated out of thin air, and countless black threads burst forth from the lining, wrapping around his arms, chest, waist, abdomen, and legs... Then the threads contracted, putting the disassembled armor back on his body. By adjusting the thickness of the lining, comfort and fit were increased.

In the blink of an eye, a well-fitting 'Shadow Armor' appeared on Yuan Tiao's body, his left hand and helmet missing. A restrained yet unfamiliar aura was gradually spreading from him.

At this moment, Yuan Tiao also curiously raised her hands and kicked her legs, moving her limbs without feeling any discomfort.

Yuan Tang asked with concern, "How are you feeling? Are you feeling unwell?"

Younger brother: "It feels great. It fits perfectly, doesn't affect my flexibility, makes me feel very safe, and I can feel a power within the armor."

He tried to swing his sword at the air in front of him and channeled the power within his armor. Then, with a loud 'boom,' he unleashed a high-speed air blast, but he clearly didn't have much strength.

Yuan Zhu asked curiously, "You've inherited the abilities of this [Knight's Armor]? Are you now considered a 'knight'? Can you form a [Knight Order]?"

The latter shook his head: "No, I'm not a knight at all, nor did I inherit its power. I can only use it as a piece of equipment or a tool. It enters my body through the 'threads' that split off from the lining, connects with the meridian system, and extracts a small amount of 'true qi' to power it."

At this moment, the [Knight Armor] is not the core of the [Knight System]. It's more like an ordinary piece of equipment, absorbing true qi through the [uniform lining] to provide the most basic functions.

Yuan Tiao carefully sensed and explored it, and commented, "Even so, it is very powerful, amplifying my punch several times over. I think it is a very powerful weapon."

Yuan Zhu was somewhat dissatisfied: "When you Qi Refiners advance to the Heavenly Rank, there's a simulated knightly armor-forging process. This armor symbolizes the cocoon of 'breaking out of the cocoon and becoming a butterfly, ascending to immortality.' A cultivator's armor-forging is like a caterpillar spinning its cocoon. A person completes a qualitative transformation within the armor, becoming an 'Ascension Immortal.' Do you now think this ready-made knight's armor can help you complete your 'Ascension Immortal' transformation?"

"This... is completely different." Yuan Tiao said helplessly. These are not the same thing at all.

"This armor has nothing to do with the [Insect Armor]. I can't provide the 'nutrients' it wants. It can only draw a little true qi from the 'lining' to barely keep it running. I can only wear and use it simply, all thanks to the [Uniform]. This armor is somewhat repulsed by me and even wanted to draw my blood, which I refused."

Yuan Tiao described his experience after wearing the armor. The armor required a pilot who had practiced the 'Steel Breathing Technique' to receive nourishment, repair, and strengthening from the 'Steel Spirit Light (Force Field)' within the pilot's body.

Non-knightly beings cannot provide this "biofield," so they can only fill it with blood through sacrifice. The knights' daily battles and bloodshed are a means of maintaining and preserving their armor.

This metal can maintain its health by absorbing blood and flesh.

After realizing the truth, Yuan Tiao's expression darkened, and he forcefully ripped the [Knight Armor] off his body. This wasn't wearing equipment; it was like a lamb entering a tiger's den, throwing himself to the armor as food.

Fortunately, the other party didn't like his smell, and he didn't want to cut off his flesh to feed the eagle. Instead, the [uniform lining] clung tightly to his body, and he used his strength to tear it off piece by piece and throw it far away.

Yuan Zhu, always eager for a good show, said, "Don't throw it away! It took so much effort to wake it up. I think this armor still has some affection for you."

"It wants to eat me."

"But your [inner lining] has stopped it and is still trying to coordinate, drawing 'true qi' to replace it. Maybe after a while, this 'armor' will change its taste?"

Yuan Tiao shook her head firmly: "One wants to devour it directly, while the other wants to slowly suck its blood."

Yuan Zhu observed his changes through the [Anti-Law] and continued, "You have now established a connection with it, and the [Anti-Law] considers this 'armor' one of your treasures. Since you don't want to wear it, and it 'eats people,' why don't you use it as an 'investment' and give it to the remaining four Holy Knights!" As the leader of the [Anti-Law Group], Yuan Zhu was qualified to invest in his group members.

Yuan Zhu: "The [Feathered World] is ultimately too small. The [Qi Refining System] summarized by [Insect City] only has three realms (Heaven, Earth, and Man) to its limit. The so-called 'feathered ascension to immortality' is nothing more than escaping into the [Nightmare Layer] to seek a glimmer of hope; or worshipping the moon to ascend to the [Star Realm Layer] to seek an unknown way out."

"Now that you've come to the mortal world, the world is vast and you're free, but you also no longer have the 'Qi Refining Environment.' You don't need to cling to this already flawed path. I think you should gradually integrate the 'Qi Refining Technique' into the 'Holy Light Breathing Method.' The original 'Armor Forging Technique' should also be modified to fit this 'Knight's Armor.'"

“I suspect that the initial armor-making of [Insect City] was modeled after [Knight Armor]. Now that you have this ‘man-eating armor,’ you can be bolder and use it on ‘Holy Knight Spirits.’ Even if the investment fails and you lose money, I won’t hold you responsible for their debts to the law. On the contrary, you can explore a new path of cultivation through the wonderful reaction of ‘Holy Light Breathing Technique + Knight Armor + Goblin.’”

"Finally, even if this path is blocked, don't worry, I will teach you the [Three Phases Secret Ritual]. If this path leads to a dead end, you can always find a new one! So go ahead and try it, I'll cover for you."

The younger brother nodded helplessly, looking at his shabby undergarments: "Thank you, big brother. Um, could you find me a coat?"

Yuan Zhu took out a set of spare clothes from his soul space to prevent exposure during the [Tiger Demon Stance (after debunking)] and handed them to him: "You're only eight years old, what's there to be shy about? I was tall and proud back then, and I was never afraid."

After his younger brother's "uniform" upgrade failed, Yuan Zhu looked at Yuan Tang beside him.

The little girl's face stiffened when she thought about how comfortable the uniform would be against her skin, unlike her younger brother who also had a habit of wearing close-fitting clothes. "Uh... well, I'm not ready yet. I feel that the 'Reverse Mulberry Tree' is destined for me, and I want to awaken the 'Golden Cicada' that is buried in the 'Frog Factory' and take it to the mountains to cultivate and continue my unfinished work."

She chose the [Insect Alchemist] path, and her primary task was to feed the [Golden Cicada Cauldron] to its limit and then refine it into a [Metal Insect Cauldron].

Now that there is a suitable environment for the growth of the Golden Cicada, she naturally wants to refine the cauldron while growing medicinal herbs.

Yuan Zhu: "Then what about your [uniform], your [anti-law]?"

Yuan Tang: "How about I sign [Golden Cicada] into [Anti-Law] to accelerate her development?"

"Forget about your matter for now; 'planting the medicine and raising the insects' is the most important thing. What about you?"

Yuan Zhu glanced at Nie Yin one last time, then used the [Sword Dao Talisman], which had returned to his hand, to transfer it back to Nie Yin via [Anti-Law]. It felt somewhat like burning paper money for a dead person face-to-face.

Nie Yin carefully put the sword talisman away and said in a low voice, "Like Xiao Tang, it's not convenient for me to try right now. I'll try it after I get back to my dorm."

"I've invested so much in you, I haven't hidden it from either [Frog Factory] or [Law Domain], I hope you can produce results soon and not disappoint me."

Nie Yin quickly changed the subject: "I have a question. If we want to enter this [Divine Realm] in the future, but you're not by our side to protect us, how do we determine our direction and ensure we don't get lost in the [Misty Mountains]? And how do we avoid being attacked by unknown forces and arrive safely?"

Yuan Zhu thought for a moment: "You can use [Anti-Law] to sense the direction of the [Law Domain] so you won't get lost. But if you want to safely traverse the mountains without relying on my power, you can only rely on your own strength. That's why I urged you to strengthen your [Uniforms], as this is the fastest way to gain the power to protect yourselves."

"Besides training [uniforms], we also use your respective [anti-laws] to train, modify, restrain, and control 'lower-level users' to act as bodyguards across the mountains. Fortunately, this [law domain] is close to the outer edge of the mountains and is within the sphere of influence of Running City, so there are no particularly strong monsters here."

Nie Yin curled his lip upon hearing this. In the end, isn't this just an implication that we should join the [Anti-Law.Shadow]?
Seeing that things had been mostly explained, and that the "Uniform Enhancement Tea Party" risked being taken down (due to clothing damage), Yuan Zhu relaxed and asked, "Now, do you want to stay in [Yinshan] to explore freely, familiarize yourselves with the environment, and enjoy the scenery? Or do you want to come back to [Frog Factory] with me?"

The little girl, unsatisfied with both the enchanting scenery of the Misty Mountains and her curiosity about the Mountain Lord's Domain, complained, "Why do we have to go back after only a short while? I want to wander around and see more. I also want to try creating a spiritual greenhouse to see if I can hatch insect eggs and grow living spiritual herbs. If possible, I'd also like to obtain a few corpses and try planting corpses in this spiritual environment."

Yuan Zhu felt that her request was not unreasonable, so he nodded in agreement: "Okay, then you can stay in the [Law Domain] and don't wander around. If you want to conduct experiments, just choose any node around [Yin Mountain]. There are stone steps here, making it easier to go up and down. The other two mountains are currently being excavated... The right to use [Eggplant Ghost and Eggplant Spirit] has been transferred to you. As for the corpses, I will ask Bai Lu to hunt them for you."

After Yuan Zhu finished speaking, the white deer that had received the [Anti-Law Order] on the other end raised its head and let out a long howl, indicating that it had received the mission.

He then leaped off the mountaintop. Instead of jumping towards the [Cold Pool], he charged rapidly towards the outer edge of the [Yinshan Dharma Domain] and plummeted off the cliff.

Inside the 'Land of Yin and Sha,' the deathly aura is so thick that there are no signs of animal activity. To hunt animals, one must search outside. Currently, the entire [Mountain Lord's Domain] only has one living creature, the 'White Deer,' which is able to roam freely.

The other shadow demons and eggplant-headed ghosts are all [Chang Gui] entities that exist within the magic domain. The eggplant spirit is a living creature, but it is fused with the shadow vines and rooted within the magic domain, like a dog on a chain, unable to escape.

Nie Yin: "We'll stay, what about you?"

Yuan Zhu pointed to the dark and empty cave: "I have to go back to the Frog Factory to drive the 'Hundred-Ton King' to haul furniture and daily necessities for you! When you come into the mountains, you'll need food, clothing, shelter, and transportation. A-Tiao, come with me and be in charge of moving things."

After changing into Yuan Zhu's coat, the younger brother nodded and pointed to the reassembled armor sitting on the ground: "What should we do with this?"

“I’ll take it back to the Frog Factory first, and you can pick one of the ‘Holy Essence’ to experiment on.”

After Yuan Zhu summoned the [Gate] and led Yuan Tiao away, Nie Yin urged Yuan Tiao to get moving, while constantly asking questions and subtly trying to find out everything about the [Feathered World] and the [Shadow Domain].

The little girl is even more shrewd; she easily fooled the frog-killing girl, who has limited emotional intelligence, with just a few words.

Then Yuan Tang selected a batch of familiar insect eggs, cicada eggs, and cockroach sheaths from his cave, and also chose several kinds of easy-to-grow medicinal herb seeds. He then went down the mountain, chose a flat piece of land, and summoned Eggplant No. 1, ordering it to create a 'spiritual energy greenhouse'.

To expedite the hatching of the insect eggs, she reduced the size of the [Spiritual Energy Greenhouse] to a mere 2 meters. The smaller the space, the faster and more concentrated the spiritual energy would gather.

After completing everything, she hung the paper covered with insect eggs on the mulberry tree branch and used her internal energy to purify it. Then she dug up the soil, nurtured several seeds with her internal energy, buried them one by one, and marked them.

(End of this chapter)