Unparalleled Double Harmony

Chapter 594 The Mystery of the Heavenly Silkworm (Part 2)

The sticky, chewy texture of the silk was truly disgusting, and even Murong Shu couldn't help but frown at the lump of stuff on his hand.

But just a few seconds later, he suddenly thought of something, and this thought made him forget about his nausea. He quickly turned his head and backed away.

Within five steps, he retreated to the narrow passage behind him, holding the torch as far back as possible to get away from the large area covered by silkworm silk in front of him.

By now you should understand—he was afraid of accidentally causing a fire.

However, he was overthinking it... Although silk can be ignited, it has a high ignition point and is prone to moisture absorption, so it is considered a difficult-to-ignite material.

Moreover, this is not ordinary silk, but "heavenly silk" that is impervious to water and fire. Don't even mention burning it with a torch, even if you use a flamethrower to burn it... well, it can still be burned, after all, the flamethrower has its own fuel.

In short, people of Murong Shu's background usually don't know much about farming and weaving. He wouldn't be so idle as to burn the silk quilts at home for fun. So, he thought that silk was as easy to burn as cotton and linen, and out of caution, he scared himself.

Fortunately, he quickly calmed down and removed the small clump of silk from his hand. He then tested it at his feet and found that it couldn't be lit at all.

He breathed a sigh of relief; otherwise, he would have had to figure out how to explore the cave without a light.

However, as he raised his torch again and continued forward, he immediately encountered a new problem, and this time the problem was the opposite of what he had worried about—the entrance to the only passage ahead was blocked by a large amount of silkworm silk.

Not to mention that Murong Shu didn't bring any bladed weapons on this trip, even if he did, he probably lost them when he encountered the avalanche. So now he can only stare helplessly at the silk net barrier that even fire can't burn.

At this point, some people might say, "It's just a bunch of silk threads, why doesn't he just use his hands to separate them?"

Ladies and gentlemen, the kind of spider web you mentioned that can be easily spread apart with your hands or a broom is just an ordinary spider web. But what Murong Shu is facing now is "heavenly silkworm silk," which is comparable to... the kind of spider web that Spider-Man throws out, capable of covering an entire living person to the ceiling. If you rush up and try to pull it apart with brute force, you might end up getting tangled up and trapped yourself.

Murong Shu is all alone right now. If he gets trapped and can't escape on his own, it's no different from being dead. In fact, dying like this is even worse than dying quickly.

Therefore, he must be extremely cautious before taking action to avoid making a mistake in such an inconspicuous place.

But what could he do when he had no weapons, fire was ineffective, and digging didn't work?

The answer is actually quite simple: use "palm wind".

Although Murong Shu cannot freely release his internal energy like a top-tier master, or perform actions like "force tearing" (such as Gu Qiying using internal energy to throw the artificial mountain), he can still unleash a few palm strikes that can injure people from a distance, provided he is well-prepared.

Therefore, he believed that as long as he spent more time, fighting and resting, and continuously expanding the hole created by the palm strikes, he would eventually be able to open up a path.

Having made up his mind, he temporarily placed the torch aside, then walked to the silk net blocking the road, assumed a full stance, and began to spread his arms and prepare... wait? Why did the silk net melt by itself?
It took Murong Shu a while to realize that it was his hand that had been holding the torch, the one wearing the silkworm-finding ring, that had inadvertently come close to the silk net while he was swinging it, causing the net to "disintegrate".

Having figured out this trick, his subsequent actions became much easier. He only needed to hold a torch in one hand for illumination and use the other hand, wearing a thumb ring, to "scan" ahead, and he could proceed safely.

After walking for a while longer, a ray of sunlight finally illuminated his path and led him to a secret chamber at the deepest part of the cave.

The secret chamber is quite large. There are several gaps in the ceiling of one side of the wall, beyond which is a sheer cliff with no place to stand. However, some sunlight can still shine in from there.

With the help of the good light, Murong Shu quickly saw and understood... what "the body was buried in the cave with silk" and "the body was covered in blood" meant.

In the center of this secret chamber, an enormous, crystal-clear blood cocoon lay diagonally on a piece of ice rock.

Inside the cocoon, a strange shadowy figure, half-human and half-insect, with a dense ring of "giant blood vessels" wrapped around its body, was emitting a faint glow.

In one corner of the secret room, there was a skeleton, its clothes almost completely weathered away, sitting cross-legged in meditation.

Behind the skeleton was a stone tablet with an inscription.

"Brother Yun was a chivalrous and benevolent man throughout his life, but unfortunately he was possessed by demonic powers, and it was difficult for him to die a peaceful death."

"Although I do not understand the meaning of his passing on his skills, I will keep my promise to fulfill my friendship and leave behind a poem as a precept."

"I hope that whoever finds this place and obtains this demonic power in the future will treat it with utmost care."

The inscription on this stone tablet was written by directly rubbing the stone with powerful fingers in one go, a feat that is truly astonishing.

Moreover, judging from this, the person who wrote this inscription was not Master Yun, but one of his close friends.

This senior must have returned here after helping Master Yun fulfill his last wish of "creating the Silkworm-Seeking Ring and releasing that poem," then inscribed the stone tablet and passed away here.

This sentiment of being willing to die for a close friend moved Murong Shu to tears.

But while he was moved, some doubts also arose in his mind...

According to the information known to the Murong family, the great hero Yun practiced the "Heavenly Silkworm Divine Skill" back then, not a demonic skill. So why does the stone tablet here say that he practiced a demonic skill and therefore met a tragic end?
Murong Shu hadn't figured this out yet, but after he brought the technique home and showed it to A Xiao, A Xiao deciphered it in no time.

To put it bluntly, the "Heavenly Silkworm Skill" is inherently flawed.

As we discussed in the previous book, this martial art originated from "about two-thirds of the Heavenly Demon Art", combined with an even more incomplete "nameless martial art that absorbs people's internal energy", and further combined with "Miao Jiang Gu Techniques".

Later, Wudang improved upon this "Heavenly Silkworm Demon Skill," which led to the version of "Heavenly Silkworm Divine Skill" practiced by Hero Yun.

In theory, once one has mastered a divine skill, it can rival demonic skills, and divine skills do not have the side effect of "continuously increasing one's demonic nature."

However... judging from the ending of Master Yun, this "divine" version of the Heavenly Silkworm Skill actually has side effects, but these side effects will not appear until many years later.

Of course, the side effect isn't becoming possessed by a demon, but rather—"returning to the cocoon."

To put it simply, it's like a human... transforming into a silkworm, and gradually cocooning itself during this process, eventually becoming something that's half animal and half plant.

This was undoubtedly a very long, terrifying, and despairing process.

It's clear that Master Yun didn't complete the process. Instead, he had already made arrangements for his affairs when the signs appeared, and came here to end his own life. That's why Murong Shu saw a "half-human, half-insect" shadow inside the cocoon.

This is why... Yun Daxia's friend repeatedly referred to this martial art as a "demonic art" in the comments, and also reminded those who would obtain this martial art in the future to "handle it with caution".

Of course, at this moment, Murong Shu, who was still in this secret room, was completely unaware of all of this.

After reading the stone tablet, he was sighing and puzzled when suddenly...

The setting sun outside the cave, about to completely sink below the horizon, now displayed an extremely dazzling orange-red hue, and through the gaps in the walls of the secret chamber, it shone at a perfect angle, directly onto the enormous cocoon.

In an instant, the reflected light engulfed the entire secret room, blinding Murong Shu.

As he covered his eyes, he heard... something sticky explode around him.

(End of this chapter)