Cultivating the Dao, Starting with Farming

"Ji! Master, what is this? I hate it!"

Xiaobai's dark eyes stared at the Insect Scripture, and expressed his disgust in a delicate voice.

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

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

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

Li Mu gently touched Xiaobai's head and tried to comfort him: "Xiaobai, I was negligent. Although this "Insect Scripture" is a Taoist inheritance, it contains endless insect mysteries and power, but it is also old and contains the residual spirits of the previous owner,..."

"No! It's not because it hurts the owner, but because this thing devours billions of insect souls. I hate it by nature. Destroy it quickly."

Xiaobai stared at Li Mu with his dark eyes, and his voice was unprecedentedly resolute. His eyes flashed with deep hatred for the "Insect Scripture", which made his soul tremble.

Li Mu looked at Xiaobai in surprise. He was usually fearless, but he was so nervous at this moment, and his disgust for the "Insect Scripture" was so strong that he even asked to destroy it.

"This Insect Scripture 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 trace of hesitation flashed in Xiaobai's eyes. It was not that he did not know the priorities, but that his natural disgust made it difficult to let go.

Seeing this, Li Mu put away the "Insect Scripture" first. To inherit this incomplete scripture, there should be a prerequisite, that is, to first understand the language of insect souls, and then avoid the soul protection method of being attacked by the soul power of thousands of insects.

If Xiaobai is willing to assist him in learning the inheritance of this "Insect Scripture", it will be a good choice. With its innate control of souls and its ability to speak insect language, it is undoubtedly the best choice. However, Xiaobai's effect is simple and his hatred is clear. It is really not easy to persuade him.

After putting away the "Insect Scripture", Xiaobai's mood immediately improved, restrained his hostility, and lay on Li Mu's shoulder and returned to peace.

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

"Xiaobai, I know you have a natural aversion to the "Insect Scripture", but it is not only a legacy of the Insect Way, but also the key to help you fight against the True Spirit Thunder Tribulation. The fate of you and me may be closely connected between this line." Li Mu's voice was gentle and firm, trying to make his words persuasive, while not forgetting to take care of Xiaobai's feelings.

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

There was a hint of urgency and worry in Xiaobai's words, and complex emotions flashed in his eyes. He tried to convey more information beyond words and tell Li Mu what the disadvantages were, but it involved the secret of the Dao level inheritance, which he didn't understand very well.

Seeing this, Li Mu was slightly startled, and didn't understand why Xiaobai was so resistant to this Insect Way technique.

"Xiaobai, you seem to know something about the secret of this "Insect Scripture", right? Tell me, why are you so opposed?" Li Mu's voice became softer, trying to comfort Xiaobai's emotions, and at the same time hoping to get more clues from it.

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

Seeing that Xiaobai's emotions were so intense again, Li Mu sighed and stopped the idea of ​​practicing this "Insect Scripture" through Xiaobai.

"Okay, okay, Xiaobai, I won't learn it." Li Mu comforted softly, gently took Xiaobai down from his shoulders, and let it sit on his knees to communicate with it better. "Although you don't know the specific danger, your intuition tells me that this "Insect Scripture" is indeed not simple, and I won't take risks easily."

Hearing this, Xiaobai's tense body couldn't help but relax, and took the initiative to stick to Li Mu's palm to show intimacy.

Seeing Xiaobai like this, Li Mu became more and more curious. What kind of horror did the "Insect Scripture" contain 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 Scripture".

He planned to collect some ancient books about practicing the "Insect Way" first, and then study the inheritance method.

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

Seeing the soul-collecting bottle, Xiaobai's 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 monster soul quickly flew out of the bottle, filled with a sinister aura.

A white shadow flew over, blocked the mouth of the bottle with its small mouth, and sucked hard. Under the fierce suction, the black monster 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 praise. Xiaobai looked tender and cute, but in fact, he had extraordinary swallowing and digestion abilities. This was the terrifying part of the sixth-level Gu worm 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 gently, then his body trembled slightly, and a more condensed soul power wave emanated from his body. Obviously, this swallowing made his strength increase again.

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

Li Mu smiled, waved his hand, put it into the Yuling treasure bracelet, let it rest well, and began to count other high-level spiritual objects.

...

Time passed in a flash, half a month passed, Li Mu ended his retreat, came out of the practice room, and went to the spiritual field as soon as possible to inspect two sixth-level spiritual plants.

The sun shines through the sparse clouds and sprinkles on the vibrant spiritual field in the back mountain of the sect. The golden light and the emerald green leaves complement each other, making it particularly dazzling.

Li Mu appeared next to the spiritual field. The six-armed demon ape guarding the spiritual field quickly showed his transformed body and saluted forward: "Meet the master!"

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

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

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

Li Mu raised a satisfied smile at the corner of his mouth, confirming that they were growing well, and his heart was slightly relieved.

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

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, waved his hand, and summoned a spiritual rain to irrigate the spiritual field.

The spiritual rain fell on the spiritual field densely and gently. Every drop contained rich spiritual energy of heaven and earth, nourishing this vibrant and top-grade spiritual field. Yanyuan Spiritual Grass and Mouxing Spiritual Grass were even more vibrant under the nourishment of the spiritual rain. The leaves were more emerald and dripping, and the starlight on the fruit became more dazzling.

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

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

Xuantian Sword Sect is not peaceful now, and many sect forces are eyeing him. Li Mu weighed the pros and cons in his heart. Looking at the spiritual field that was bathed in spiritual rain and became more luxuriant, transplanting these two precious sixth-level spiritual plants to the treasure house space can protect them from external disturbances to the greatest extent, but it also means giving up this carefully cultivated high-quality spiritual field and the natural growth advantages it brings.

"Although the treasure house space 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, their quality and potential may be affected."

So, 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 natural blessings of the back mountain of the sect, Yanyuan Spirit Grass and Mouxing Spirit Grass will surely thrive.

In the following days, Li Mu's life became more regular and fulfilling. He studied ancient books, understood the insect path, refined instruments, and made pills. He occasionally took care of spiritual plants... and lived a plain and quiet life.

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

With the reputation of a weapon refining master, Li Mu's network of contacts has become extremely broad. The Xuantian Sword Sect is willing to respond to his requests. Knowing that Li Mu likes to study some unconventional skills, and now he is studying the insect path.

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

With the help of various ancient books and secret books on the insect path, such as: "The Summary of Ten Thousand Insects", "The Parasitic Secret of Spiritual Insects", "The Insect Array Atlas", ..., and so on, Li Mu gradually figured out some mysteries related to the insect path.

Probably also understand why Xiaobai resisted him so fiercely from practicing the "Insect Sutra" before.

Li Mu also gradually realized why the way of insect cultivation was despised and regarded as a left path by all the cultivators, because this way of cultivation is extremely difficult, and behind it are many disadvantages that cannot be ignored and many potential negative effects on the cultivators.

First of all, the process of insect cultivation 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 lead to the spiritual world of the cultivator being 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 cultivation is highly dependent. Once the assistance of insects is lost, the combat effectiveness of the monks will be greatly reduced. This over-dependence not only limits the comprehensive development of the monks' 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, the insect cultivators may lose their combat effectiveness in an instant and fall into despair.

Furthermore, insect cultivation techniques are often accompanied by certain moral disputes. In order to cultivate powerful insects, monks may need to collect rare resources and capture other creatures as food or sacrifices. In the long run, it is easy to cause conflicts and struggles in the monks' hearts and affect their cultivation.

Finally, the path of insect cultivation is full of unknowns and dangers. There are many kinds of insects with different habits, including some with strong toxicity and strong aggressiveness. In the process of cultivating and manipulating these insects, monks may suffer backlash if they are not careful, which may cause injuries or even death. In addition, the natural laws such as the growth cycle and reproduction habits of insects are often difficult to predict, which brings many uncertainties to the monks' cultivation plans.

Xiaobai's fierce resistance to Li Mu's practice of the Insect Scripture before may be due to some knowledge of these disadvantages and negative effects. However, it is more likely that it is the materials used in the refining of the inheritance of the Insect Scripture and its unique spirituality.

If I guess correctly, the spiritual materials used in the refining of the Insect Scripture are born and inherited around an extremely rare and mysterious spiritual material - "Soul Cocoon".

As the name suggests, the Soul Cocoon 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 Scripture is based on this Soul Cocoon, supplemented by countless kinds of spiritual insects, and is integrated through complex rituals and spells to carry the Dao level method.

The soul cocoon is very spiritual. It is not only conducive to the transmission of the law and the establishment of a deep spiritual connection with the cultivators, but also can invisibly influence the cultivators' character and will. If the cultivators' character is not strong, it is easy to lose themselves in the process of pursuing power and be swallowed by the desires and instincts of insects.

Li Mu has realized that his previous understanding of insect cultivation was too one-sided. He only saw its powerful power 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 these years of studying the way of insects, Li Mu has become more pessimistic about Xiaobai's future survival of the true spirit thunder tribulation. (End of this chapter)