Unorthodox Wuxia: While Others Practice Martial Arts, I Cultivate Immortality - Chapter 40

Chapter 40: White Snake—Ice Silkworm (Part 2)

After more than half a day of climbing, the cliff finally disappeared. There was no longer any need to leap from rock to rock—she could walk on solid ground again.

In the blink of an eye, evening arrived once more. Yuan Zhao stopped traveling and found a mountain hollow sheltered from wind and snow, planning to spend the night there.

She had happened to catch a snow rabbit along the way, perfect for a proper meal.

After eating and drinking her fill, she sat cross-legged as usual and began cultivating.

Late into the night, she suddenly felt all the hairs on her body stand on end—an all-too-familiar sensation. She jolted out of her meditative state, and the moment she opened her eyes, she saw the white snake standing before her once again, its pair of turquoise-blue pupils staring straight at her.

“Uh… hello,” Yuan Zhao greeted it nervously.

The white snake flicked its tongue lightly, then used its tail to place something in front of Yuan Zhao.

When she saw what it was, her eyes widened in disbelief.

A thousand-year snow ginseng?

She rubbed her eyes, only to find she wasn’t imagining things. The white, plump object before her truly was a thousand-year snow ginseng!

Snow ginseng was a supreme healing treasure to begin with—let alone one that was a thousand years old.

This one had already begun to resemble a human form, looking like a chubby, pale little child.

This was nothing short of a priceless treasure!

“You… you’re giving this to me?” Yuan Zhao asked, looking at the white snake in disbelief.

“Hiss~”

The white snake nodded lightly, then began urging Yuan Zhao to hurry up and cultivate.

After putting away the thousand-year snow ginseng, Yuan Zhao followed the white snake’s wishes and quickly entered a cultivation state.

The night passed in the blink of an eye. When Yuan Zhao opened her eyes, the white snake had once again vanished without a sound.

Several days flew by in the blink of an eye.

During these days, the white snake would come to find Yuan Zhao every night to cultivate together, then quietly disappear again before dawn.

Gradually, Yuan Zhao grew accustomed to its presence.

At the same time, after several days of climbing, she had finally drawn close to the summit of the Grand Peak. According to legend, the Purity Grass was located right at the peak.

With her destination in sight, Yuan Zhao couldn’t help but quicken her pace.

Suddenly, a gigantic pine tree with a crown covered in ice and snow appeared in her field of vision, and at the same time, a sharp hissing cry came from that direction.

Curious, she quietly moved toward the pine tree.

When she got close, Yuan Zhao hid behind a large rock and looked toward the tree, only to be surprised to discover that the white snake was there as well.

It was facing off against a huge moth, white all over.

The moth was as large as a washbasin, and that piercing hiss had come from it.

One insect and one snake stood locked in a standoff.

In addition, Yuan Zhao noticed that the massive pine tree was covered with white cocoons, each about the size of a fist.

At that moment, the giant moth launched an attack on the white snake. From its face, a long proboscis shot out, aiming at the snake, spewing a mass of sticky silk laced with dense cold energy.

However, the white snake was even faster—it vanished from its spot almost in the blink of an eye.

Before the giant moth could even react, it was already clamped in the white snake’s jaws. Without the slightest chance to struggle, it was swallowed whole.

After finishing off the giant moth, the white snake looked toward the place where Yuan Zhao was hiding, clearly having already sensed her presence.

Seeing this, Yuan Zhao had no choice but to step out from behind the rock.

“We meet again—what a coincidence!”

The white snake slowly slithered over to Yuan Zhao, then suddenly spat out a sticky mass at her feet before leisurely slithering away.

So disgusting!

Yuan Zhao thought as she looked at that lump.

But then it occurred to her that the white snake wouldn’t leave something behind for no reason. Suppressing her disgust, she used a long, narrow stone to poke at it.

To her surprise, she discovered that inside the sticky fluid was actually a bundle of silk threads.

After Yuan Zhao condensed some water and rinsed the bundle clean, what remained was a cluster of icy-cool, incredibly smooth white silk.

The silk was fine, long, and resilient—one look was enough to tell it was a treasure.

After putting away the white silk, Yuan Zhao turned her gaze to the tree full of white cocoons.

She walked to the base of the tree and was astonished to find it crawling with plump, white larvae.

These were… ice silkworms?

Ice silkworms were a special kind of insect that lived in snow mountains and fed on cold energy.

The ice silkworm silk they produced was the finest of all silks. It was said that garments made from it not only had a certain defensive capability, but could also prevent cultivation from going awry.

Then that giant moth just now must have been the legendary Nine-Cycle Cold Moth.

This creature was also recorded in Doctor Hu’s medical texts.

It was said that among tens of thousands of ice silkworms, one mutant would be born. This aberrant silkworm was naturally the king of all ice silkworms. Unlike ordinary ice silkworms, which would cocoon, metamorphose, lay eggs, and then die, this mutant would undergo nine molts, nine cycles of cocooning and breaking free, and finally emerge as a Nine-Cycle Cold Moth.

The Nine-Cycle Cold Moth did not have the fleeting lifespan of ordinary moths—its life could last a full jiazi (sixty years).

During the time it lived, it would nurture within its body a bundle of Nine-Cycle Cold Silkworm Silk. This silk could not be melted by fire, could not be cut by blades, and possessed toughness far beyond that of ordinary ice silkworm silk. It was an excellent material for crafting armor.

So the white silk the snake had just given her was Nine-Cycle Cold Silkworm Silk?

Realizing this, Yuan Zhao was ecstatic.

The white snake was practically her star of wealth!

At that moment, Yuan Zhao discovered something else in the snow piled around the base of the pine tree.

They were tiny objects, white as jade, each only about half the size of a fingernail. If one didn’t look carefully, they would easily be missed.

These were… ice silkworm eggs?

Yuan Zhao’s eyes lit up. Could she take these ice silkworm eggs back and raise them?

Ice silkworms fed on cold energy. Others couldn’t raise them—but she could! She could condense water into ice and generate cold energy herself.

If she managed to cultivate them successfully, wouldn’t that give her another way to earn money?

With this thought in mind, Yuan Zhao quickly condensed an ice box and began placing the eggs inside one by one. Since the eggs were so small, she could fit many in at once.

Before long, all the eggs had been collected. What had once been a small pack was now stuffed to the brim.

It was just a pity… she couldn’t take the cocoons with her. Those were all precious ice silkworm silk!

Yuan Zhao gazed at the tree full of white cocoons and sighed regretfully.