A Pawn's Passage

The ancients were right in saying that the Golden Elixir could be achieved instantaneously with the right conditions.

In Daoist terminology, the Golden Elixir Path meant ascending to immortality, or attaining the Dao. As Tantai Ying had said, the Golden Elixir, also known as the Golden Core, was an abstract concept, not a tangible object.

Although long ago, the Holy Xuan once sought truth through falsehood and used an internal alchemy method to condense a false core, he ultimately failed to complete it. Elder Xu destroyed the false core entirely, and in the end, the Holy Xuan returned to the orthodox path.

According to Madam Wu, the concept of forming a core actually originated from this incident of cultivating falsehood. Cultivation was supposed to be the pursuit of truth. Eating insects as a means of cultivation was completely contrary to the orthodox path, so it naturally fell into the category of cultivating falsehood.

However, that term was somewhat cumbersome, so most people preferred to call it insect cultivation, giving rise to Insect Immortals.

Since the concept was too horrifying, both the Daoist Order and the Western Daoist Order kept the cultivation of Insect Immortals under strict secrecy and destroyed most traces of it. As a result, by Qi Xuansu’s generation, almost nobody had heard of an Insect Immortal. Unless someone deliberately investigated the matter, they would never come into contact with it. Even Qi Xuansu, who stood only one step away from the core leadership of the Daoist Order, had remained unaware.

Madam Wu was clearly an exception. Having lived for so long, she was not merely aware of these old stories but had even personally experienced them.

Madam Wu said, “These Insect Immortals once established their own sects and became quite active. Of course, they called themselves sects, but the Daoist Order classified them as illegal secret societies. The Insect Immortal Sect recruited disciples on a large scale. Since the insect eggs disguised as Foundation Building Elixirs were extremely precious, these sects forced their disciples to fight one another. They regularly held tournaments, treasure-grabbing competitions, and similar events. Only the strongest and most outstanding disciples could obtain a Foundation Building Elixir, which was an insect egg. The competition was extraordinarily brutal, bordering on demonic, because it was neither civilized nor progressive. It was nothing more than the law of the jungle.”

Qi Xuansu nodded in agreement. “It really is brutal.”

The Daoist Order certainly did not select talent through martial tournaments. Instead, it used examinations.

Qi Xuansu himself had passed two rigorous official examinations just to become a ninth-rank Daoist priest. Those who failed the examinations simply became ordinary Daoist believers.

Examinations were a civilized method. Though Qi Xuansu nearly died during the Dragon-Tiger Camp in the Wanxiang Daoist Palace, that was considered an accident, a malicious loss of control that was not something encouraged by the Daoist Order.

As a result, Qi Xuansu often brought up the incident and criticized the Wanxiang Daoist Palace for never giving him a proper explanation. Even Great Sage Shi had never argued against him on that point because the Daoist Palace had indeed been in the wrong.

If the Daoist Order had actually encouraged such mutual slaughter, then Qi Xuansu’s death would simply have been considered his own fault. If so, he would not have been able to use his experience as a victim to criticize others. He would also probably even be mocked for being weak, so he should train harder. If he could not handle it, then he should be content with being an ordinary Daoist believer.

Madam Wu continued, “Every medicine carries some degree of poison. Even genuine medicinal pills can overwhelm and kill a person, let alone insect eggs. So, even after taking this Foundation Building Elixir, not everyone could successfully establish their foundation. A considerable number of people died on the spot.

“For those who successfully established a foundation, the insect egg would take root inside the body. It would then hatch into a larva, which gradually altered the host’s body from within. The host would gain various special abilities and a greatly strengthened physique. To those unaware of the truth, this appeared to be a tremendous increase in cultivation and power.

“As the larva gradually grew, the host’s abilities would continue to strengthen as well, creating the illusion that their cultivation was steadily advancing. During this process, the larva further influenced and transformed the host, causing drastic changes in personality. They became cruel, bloodthirsty, arrogant, and unruly, readily wiping out entire families at the slightest provocation. They also became highly lustful, developing an overwhelming urge to reproduce.

“Most importantly, the host gradually ceased to regard themselves as human. Instead, they came to see themselves as a superior lifeform, viewing ordinary people as beneath them. They became conceited, lawless, and highly destructive.

“The larva’s next stage was cocooning. This process required an enormous amount of energy, and the best as well as fastest way to obtain it was by devouring other larvae. As a result, hosts frequently slaughtered one another, killing for treasure. The so-called ‘treasure’ was actually the larva inside an opposing host. Through constant elimination of the weak and growth through devouring, an extraordinary Insect King was created. Each one could fight above its cultivation, and ordinary people were no match for them.”

Upon hearing this, Tantai Ying could not help but ask, “If these insect-like creatures were so formidable, how were they ultimately eliminated?”

Madam Wu explained, “A host like this is certainly powerful, like a lone wolf. However, against highly organized institutions such as the Daoist Order and the Holy Court, that amounts to very little. Organized institutions are most efficient in killing on a large scale because they function like a machine, with clear divisions of labor and everyone fulfilling their assigned role. Only then can maximum power be achieved. Take the Westerners’ slaughter of the Northern Continent as an example. It was so efficient and thorough that the natives of the Northern Continent have been driven nearly to extinction.

“Both the Daoist Order and the Holy Court will never support this kind of cultivation method. Instead, they classify people according to their talents, teach them appropriately, assign them to suitable positions, emphasize obedience, encourage cooperation, and strengthen organizational discipline.”

Qi Xuansu clicked his tongue in admiration. “Madam Wu, I didn’t expect you to know about machines and organizational efficiency.”

Madam Wu rolled her eyes at him. “Don’t you dare look down on me. I’m not some stubborn old fossil. Of course I understand the importance of keeping up with the times.”

Qi Xuansu coughed lightly. “That makes sense. Even independent Immortals can’t cause much trouble in front of the Daoist Order. It’s not merely a matter of numbers. The real reason is that the Daoist Order operates according to rules. Without rules, nothing can be accomplished properly. Once rules exist and people act according to established procedures, even if the execution is imperfect, it will still outperform those who act without any structure or discipline.”

Madam Wu continued, “After devouring enough of its own kind, the larva would begin to spin a cocoon. This is called the Golden Core stage. Many people outside the Daoist Order have never studied Daoist terminology in depth. They simply assume that a Golden Core means refining an actual golden pill inside the body, so they readily believe such claims.

“During the cocooning process, the cocoon continuously extends its silken strands throughout the host’s body. You’ve all seen spider webs in the corners of rooms before, right? It’s much like that. These threads become tightly connected to the host’s internal organs, supporting the cocoon. Once the cocoon fully matures, the confined larva transforms into an unborn adult insect.

“At this stage, the connection between the adult insect and its host deepens even further. However, the mortality rate remains extremely high. After all, the insect and the human body are not truly one. Rejection and incompatibilities are inevitable. Some hosts even regain their senses and attempt to resist the insect. To those who do not know the truth, these cases appear to be failed core formation attempts or cultivation deviation.

“When the adult insect finally breaks out of its cocoon, the starving insect immediately begins devouring the host’s internal organs. Afterward, the insect travels upward along the spine to the brain. That marks the host’s death. At this point, all that remains of the host is an undying shell. The insect proceeds to consume the remaining brain matter as well.

“The adult insect then occupies the Niwan Palace, allowing it to control the host’s remaining body. It can even break through the crown of the skull and enter the outside world, similar to soul traveling in the Nascent Soul Stage. The adult insect itself is the Nascent Soul.

“Once an Insect Immortal reaches this Nascent Soul Stage, it can begin laying insect eggs, which are the so-called ‘Foundation Building Elixir.’ The strength of an insect sect is determined primarily by how many Nascent Soul-stage old monsters are overseeing it. They truly are old monsters in every sense of the term. These sects also attack one another because they belong to different species and lineages.

“Back then, the Insect Immortals had truly grown into a significant force. They flourished for a time, with sects of all sizes appearing everywhere. Mixed among ordinary people, their numbers were at least in the hundreds of thousands.

“Some Insect Immortal Sects looked no different from ordinary sects or gangs, making them extremely difficult to distinguish. Among all the campaigns to cleanse hidden corruption and eradicate various monsters and evil entities, the extermination of the insects lasted the longest and covered the widest area.

“In truth, killing the insects themselves was not difficult. The real problem was that they hid extraordinarily well during the early stages, making them difficult to identify and root out.

“After the extermination campaign ended, the Daoist Order and the Western Daoist Order sealed all related records in order to prevent public panic. As far as I know, the Daoist Order suspected that behind the Insect Immortal was an existence similar to a giant insect hive, originating somewhere in Nanyang or the Southern Continent.

“One faction within the Daoist leadership believed that the Buddhist Sect had secretly supported branches of the Shamanistic Sect and Nanyang Wuist Sect in carrying out these activities. Another faction believed the incident was the result of a secret experiment conducted by the Holy Court that had spiraled out of control. The possibility that it had been a deliberately engineered plague was not ruled out either.

“In the end, however, no definitive conclusion was reached, and no conclusive evidence was found. The matter was never truly resolved and ultimately faded away without closure.”

Qi Xuansu raised a question. “Madam Wu, what does all of this have to do with the situation we’re facing right now?”

“Of course it has something to do with it,” Madam Wu replied. “These Insect Immortals also command other insects to serve them, much like how the Ancient Wuist Great Witches controlled primordial beasts. The insects they command are often enormous. Now that we’ve encountered a gigantic slug, I suspect it may be connected to the Insect Immortals of the past. I only hope the Insect Immortals haven’t reappeared in the world. Getting rid of those things would be extremely troublesome.”

Hearing this, Qi Xuansu almost wanted to imitate the protagonists from Western adventure novels by clutching his forehead and groaning dramatically.

“We haven’t even sorted out the ancient gods yet, and we still don’t understand the true meaning of the black sun. We haven’t even begun investigating the Heron Society, yet now, we have to deal with a suspected Insect Immortal. The situation is becoming more complicated by the day, and increasingly chaotic.”

Madam Wu said, “Then investigate it piece by piece. Eventually, you’ll be able to draw out the threads and unravel the cocoon.”

Qi Xuansu immediately thought of the silken strands Madam Wu had just mentioned, so he asked, “How do you distinguish between an insect host and a normal person?”

Madam Wu replied, “The simplest method is to cut them open and see whether there’s an insect inside.”