Unparalleled Double Harmony

Chapter 595 Extraordinary Talent (Part 1)

If Murong Shu could respond promptly to an avalanche, then dealing with this situation would naturally be no problem for him either.

Even though he couldn't open his eyes for the time being, he could still "quickly find the entrance to the secret room and retreat by relying on his visual memory and sense of distance before closing his eyes".

However, this time... he seemed to be overthinking things again.

Because he had just touched the entrance with his eyes closed, and before he could even step out, the bright light that filled the entire secret room gradually dimmed.

It seems that the unique angle of illumination created by the "blood sun" and the gaps in the wall can only last for a few dozen seconds in total.

So Murong Shu stopped and looked back, only to see that the huge blood cocoon that had been intact just moments before had now burst open like a giant pimple and was drooping on the ground.

But what comes out of this thing is not the sebum or pus from pimples, but... a whole bunch of "blood silkworms" that are almost as long as a human finger.

These blood silkworms seemed to dislike sunlight, so as soon as they landed, they all crawled towards the place away from the light source, namely the entrance to the secret room where Murong Shu was, although... they crawled very slowly.

Murong Shu hesitated for a moment, then stepped forward and picked up a silkworm with her left hand to examine it.

He soon discovered that the blood on the surface of these "blood silkworms" could actually be wiped off, and that they were actually white silkworms. Furthermore, these silkworms did not seem aggressive; they simply crawled and wriggled like ordinary silkworms.

Next, Murong Shu raised his right hand again, wanting to see what would happen when the silkworm approached the Silkworm-Seeking Ring.

As a result, the silkworm only stayed near the silkworm-finding ring for a few seconds before ceasing all activity, presumably dying.

Murong Shu then threw away the dead silkworm in his hand and turned his gaze back to the huge blood cocoon; at this moment, because the outer layer of the blood cocoon had "bursted," the strange half-human, half-insect shadow inside was clearly exposed.

When viewed from outside the cocoon, the strange figure was covered with a dense layer of "giant blood vessels," but now these substances are gone. It seems that the true nature of this substance is the "blood silkworms" scattered all over the ground.

After a short while, Murong Shu had come to understand: this scene must have played out every year when the "blood sun" shone in.

In other words, every year a batch of blood-red silkworms "burst out" of their cocoons and slowly crawl out of this secret chamber; of course, by the time they crawl out, the blood on their bodies has already mostly evaporated, and then they crawl as far as they can, making silk everywhere, and after they die, their bodies will gradually turn into silk.

As for why they didn't climb out of the cave, it's obviously because they dislike sunlight, so they stopped when they reached the narrow passage near the cave entrance.

"Whether it's 'Blood-Illuminated Heavenly Silkworm Technique Covering the Sky' or 'Blood Sun Heavenly Technique Departing' after Xiao'er deciphered it, they both undoubtedly point to this cocoon illuminated by the blood sun." Murong Shu approached the blood cocoon and murmured, "Could it be... that the Heavenly Silkworm Technique is hidden in this strange corpse..."

Thinking this, he tentatively stretched out the silkworm-finding ring and brought it closer to the corpse, which was somewhere between an animal and a plant.

hiss--

The next second, a strange noise was heard, and then cracks appeared on the surface of both the Silkworm Searching Ring and the corpse, and then they both shattered.

At this moment, Murong Shu was unaware that he was actually using the "only correct" method to gain merit.

If he didn't have the Silkworm-Seeking Ring, he wouldn't be able to destroy the corpse using this "resonance" method. Forcibly destroying it in other ways might also damage the contents inside the corpse.

If he hadn't approached the corpse just after it had been exposed to the bloody sunlight, he might have encountered a situation similar to "facehuggers riding on his face"...

Yes, you read that right. That complete blood cocoon could "capture" people, or any kind of creature. If a person or a relatively large animal came here at a time when there was no sunlight and got close enough to the cocoon, they could be "arrested on the spot" by the half-human, half-insect thing inside the cocoon and absorbed as new nutrients and parasites.

Fortunately... over the years, only small animals like bats, birds, snakes, insects, and rodents have been "swallowed" by this cocoon; not even slightly larger animals have been consumed. Otherwise, the blood silkworms that would have burst out from it might not be the size and number they are now...

"Hmm?" Speaking of Murong Shu, when he saw the ring on his hand shatter along with the corpse, he was also panicked for a moment. However, when he saw a metal key exposed inside the shattered corpse, he immediately turned his surprise into joy.

Moreover, as the corpse shattered, he also saw clearly... that there was also a mechanism hidden in the huge ice rock below that was originally covered by the cocoon and the corpse.

So, Murong Shu first picked up the key, then swept away some impurities remaining on the surface of the ice rock, and then observed the intricate texture inside the ice rock. In less than a minute, he found a tiny keyhole on its surface.

At this point, Murong Shu was no longer in a hurry. He simply took the key in his hand, weighed it in his hand, and examined it carefully.

He might not know much about agriculture, but he knew quite a bit about antiques and jewelry. So he could tell whether this metal key was an ordinary item just by touching and looking at it. The fact that the material could remain intact for so many years in a corpse was quite remarkable.

After looking at it, he turned the key around, held it firmly, and inserted it into the keyhole.

Then, the huge, thick ice rock slowly "opened," revealing a secret manual hidden inside.

Most people would be incredibly excited at this moment, wishing they could immediately reach out and firmly grasp this coveted treasure.

But... Murong Shu became even calmer and more hesitant at this moment.

It can only be said that these casino owners play too much psychological warfare on a daily basis, and they've developed occupational diseases. Just look at how many times he's "overthinking" and "hunting enemies out of thin air" since he entered the cave.

Right now, Murong Shu is pondering: people are most vulnerable to being plotted against when they are blinded by greed and joy. I need to be careful that this thing doesn't trigger any hidden weapons or traps when it's "taken out".

So this cautious man, who was "half-handed in defeating heaven," went to the side and picked up a stone that was about the same size as the manual. He then performed a "quick swap" to retrieve the manual.

Once he finally got his hands on the manual, Murong Shu suddenly realized that it wasn't a bamboo scroll, but an "iron scroll," and the words on it didn't seem to have been carved with common tools. He couldn't explain how they were written on it.

Of course, Murong Xiao later solved the mystery—it was probably carved by Master Yun using the "Cicada Wing Blade".

As for what "cicada wing knife," "heavenly silkworm silk," and "blood cocoon" are, we can discuss them in detail later in the book.

In short, with the manual in hand, Murong Shu had achieved his goal. We won't go into details about how he left the cave, walked out of the mountains, and returned home. All you need to know is that for a martial arts master of his level, enduring natural disasters is impossible, but simply surviving in the wilderness is far too easy. Just the fact that he can "eat and sleep less, or even go without eating or sleeping, by adjusting his breathing" is something that ordinary people can't match.

To make a long story short, Murong Shu returned home a month later.

The rest of the family didn't notice anything amiss. After all, he was the head of the household, and he didn't need to report back to anyone when he went out to run some errands or travel around.

After settling in at home and resting for a few days, one afternoon, Murong Shu, just as he usually did when he wanted to play chess and chat with his son, temporarily dismissed the servants...

Then, he took out the "Heavenly Silkworm Divine Skill" left behind by the great hero Yun and began to study it with Ah Xiao.

At this point in time, Ah Xiao was naturally still a "zero-based" student, but Murong Shu had obviously already read the manual on his way home.

In fact, just to be on the safe side, Murong Shu had already memorized the entire manual on his way home; this is the advantage of having a sharp mind—when necessary, one's own brain is the safest vault.

Seeing this, some people might ask, "He's memorized all the secrets, so why didn't he try to practice them?"

Then we have to say something on behalf of Murong Shu: it's not that he didn't want to practice, but the beginning of the manual clearly states that... only people without martial arts skills, or those without any internal energy, can practice it, otherwise they will either suffer from qi deviation or die from body explosion.

So even if he wanted to abandon his martial arts and start from scratch, he had to wait until he got home, right? Otherwise, what if he encountered something on the way? Wouldn't he end up suffering a setback and doing all the work for someone else?

Besides, isn't there a son at home who has absolutely no martial arts skills? If anyone should practice, it should be Ah Xiao first. Once it's confirmed to be truly useful, he can then abandon his martial arts skills.

However, after Murong Shu and Murong Xiao sat down for a long talk and he discussed with Xiao how he found the secret manual, a new problem arose.

Ah Xiao deduced that this "Heavenly Silkworm Divine Skill" might also have side effects, namely that those who practice it would, like Master Yun, be unable to escape the fate of "returning to the cocoon" after many years.

At this point in the conversation, Murong Shu naturally began to feel conflicted.

He wasn't agonizing over it for himself, but for Ah-Xiao...

To be fair, Murong Shu himself didn't necessarily have to learn this martial art. After all, he didn't have any major crisis or ambition that required him to force himself to learn it even if it meant dying a terrible death.

But what about Ah Xiao... Murong Shu understands his son. He knows that for Ah Xiao, the significance of martial arts is not primarily about power, but about enabling him to regain his dignity as a human being.

If you had never found it, it would have remained just a legend, a vain hope, which wouldn't have been so bad. But now that the thing is right in front of you, and you realize that the price of this hope might be unbearable, that's even more heartbreaking than never having found it at all.

"Dad, don't worry, I'll find a way." Ah-Xiao saw his father's worry, so he made this promise in a very firm and confident tone.

This promise means that I, Murong Xiao, a "cripple" who has never practiced any martial arts, intend to use my intelligence and martial arts talent to break the curse of the Heavenly Silkworm Skill—I will practice the skill, but I will not pay the price.

Murong Shu also believed Ah Xiao's words.

Whether as a father or as an objective observer, he made the judgment that Ah-hsiao's statement was achievable.

Unfortunately, at that moment, this seemingly loving father and son could never have imagined that this would be a promise they would both regret for the rest of their lives...