Volume One: The Emperor's Sword Chapter 129: The Birth of the Silkworm King

For Lando, a princess of the Chuyue tribe, the Prophet Hesa was a benevolent figure. But for Yun Que, the barbarian Hesa was a mortal enemy.

Yet, Yun Que remained deeply puzzled as to why the barbarian Hesa had changed, and why it happened precisely at the ten-year mark.

"Does Wuda come from the Zhuye tribe?" Yun Que asked. Wuda was the name of the barbarian prophet, Hesa.

"Hesa does not hail from the Zhuye tribe, but from the smaller Man-Gu tribe. Later, for reasons unknown, he moved to the Zhuye tribe. The barbarian king of the Zhuye tribe has since boasted of being the orthodox leader and refuses to acknowledge our own king in the Chuyue tribe. My father gets furious every time he mentions it," Lando answered truthfully.

"Where is your brother? When did he see Hesa?" Yun Que pressed.

"During the great drought last year, all the pastures of our Chuyue tribe withered. The livestock died of hunger, and we were forced to survive by hunting demonic beasts. My brother went to Hesa to pray for rain. When he returned, he was like a different person, constantly muttering to himself that Hesa had changed, that Hesa had changed."

Lando’s expression turned sorrowful. "When I asked him what was wrong with Hesa, he would only shake his head and say nothing. Later, my brother went to the Land of Buried Swords and never returned. I came here this year to find him."

Realizing the purpose of her journey, Yun Que said, "When you were communicating with the ant queen earlier, you were searching for your brother’s trail."

Lando nodded. "Have you seen him? He is two heads taller than me and very, very strong! He has long hair that is quite striking. My brother is an expert at hunting demonic beasts; every time he kills one, he cuts out its heart and hangs it from his waist."

"Cuts out the heart?" Yun Que frowned.

"Yes! Cutting out the hearts of our prey is a tradition of our Blood Barbarians. During every hunt, we compete. Whoever collects the most hearts is worthy of becoming the barbarian king!" Lando said proudly.

Yun Que pondered in silence. He had indeed encountered a creature that cut out hearts not long ago, but it did not look human—it seemed like a demon, and it bore no resemblance to the brother Lando described. Was it merely a coincidence?

Yun Que inquired further about the barbarians, but the information he gathered was of little value, mostly trivial matters regarding the Chuyue tribe. Lando had rarely visited the Zhuye tribe, was unfamiliar with the current barbarian king, and knew nothing of the barbarians' current movements. Since she was no longer of any use, Yun Que decided to let her go. Though she was a barbarian, the Chuyue tribe had not participated in the Cold Water Battle five years ago, so they were not his enemies. His true enemies were the Zhuye tribe and Hesa Wuda.

"You may go." Yun Que tossed her a set of clothes and turned to leave.

"Give me back my bow! I’ve told you so many secrets; you can’t be this... this heartless!" Lando had wanted to call him shameless, but remembering his cold-blooded methods, she changed it to heartless.

He ignored her entirely. As Lando changed her clothes, she followed closely behind Yun Que, showing no signs of shame.

"I know a place with treasures! Lots of them! Just over there!" Lando pointed in a direction, appearing casual.

"I don't believe you."

"The ant queen told me!"

"What kind of treasures?"

"I don't know, but there are many people gathered in that direction. The ants have a wide range of activity and can sense changes in the surrounding aura. The queen says there are at least a hundred people gathered there!"

A gathering of over a hundred people in the Transformation Realm meant only one thing: a significant treasure had emerged.

Yun Que pondered for a moment. "Lead the way." A free animal-spirit root was not something to be wasted.

Along the way, Lando stopped frequently to find ant nests and communicate with new queens. The initial queen had only provided a general direction; to find the exact location, they had to constantly refine their course. They walked and stopped until, half an hour later, they finally reached their destination.

***

Pushing aside grass that stood taller than a man, a stream appeared before them. A two-zhang-wide brook wound around a towering tree, creating a unique geographical feature—a small island in the center. The clearing beneath the tree was five zhang square, paved with gravel, flat and solid.

The most peculiar thing was not the terrain, but the tree itself. It was a Sword-Bone Tree, over ten zhang tall, its canopy like a giant umbrella, lush with blue leaves. Hanging from the trunk were dense clusters of cocoons of varying sizes—some the size of fists, others like balls, and some as large as bamboo baskets. At the very top of the tree, a giant cocoon larger than a cabinet swayed gently in the breeze, looking like a pendulum from afar.

Around the giant tree, three or four hundred people were gathered, divided into four factions, standing in a tense, confrontational standoff. Yun Que did not approach rashly, instead stopping in the wild woods. He saw many familiar faces: Mu Qingyao, Zhou Yuanliang, Han Jiao, and Yi Hongwen were all there. Yan Xu, the top sword-disciple of the Eastern Academy, was also present, though the Western Academy had few people, and Chu Hu was nowhere to be seen.

The other three factions were strangers. Judging by their attire, one could roughly distinguish their origins: those adorned with animal skins were likely from the Barbarian Sword Palace; those with crimson flying clouds embroidered on their shoulders were from the Chixia Sword Palace; and those in darker, understated, and simple robes were likely disciples of the Shaowu Sword Palace.

Yun Que was somewhat surprised. Several hundred disciples from the four sword palaces were gathered here, and it seemed there were many elite sword-disciples among them. With all four sword palaces assembled, it could only mean one thing: a major treasure was here.

Yun Que looked at the cocoons on the tree trunk. He couldn't tell what was inside, but based on their appearance, they were likely Green-Silk Silkworms. There were hundreds of them! Green-Silk Silkworms were one of the three treasures of the Land of Buried Swords. They were exotic insects, not demonic beasts, and were simple to capture—even a sword-servant could easily catch them. They were just adept at hiding and difficult to find, making them one of the most favored prey for sword-palace disciples. A single Green-Silk Silkworm could be traded for five sword-tassels; finding one was like picking up money.

It was said that among the Green-Silk Silkworms existed a "Silkworm King." One might not appear in ten years; they were extremely rare. The Silkworm King was precious and full of value. Although it reached the strength of a Tier 1 demonic beast, for an elite sword-disciple, capturing one was not overly difficult. Whenever a Silkworm King appeared in the Land of Buried Swords, it inevitably became the target of competition among experts, because a single Silkworm King could be traded for three hundred sword-tassels!

Three hundred sword-tassels were enough to drive any sword-disciple mad. Setting aside the honor and title, the benefits three hundred sword-tassels could command at the sword palace were staggering. No wonder it had attracted so many people—a Silkworm King had emerged!

Yun Que glanced at the giant cocoon at the top, a flicker of heat rising in his heart. The allure of three hundred sword-tassels was significant to anyone.

Just then, a woman stepped out from the Chixia Sword Palace faction. She was tall, with an oval face, fair skin, and refined features. Her demeanor, however, was haughty, giving off a sense of cold indifference.

"Dragging this out is not a solution. Since the sword palaces of all nations have arrived, it is time we divided these treasures," the tall woman declared, introducing herself. "I am Xiu Xue, the chief sword-disciple of the Chixia Sword Palace. I will set the rules: we shall duel in pairs. The first to step onto the clearing under the tree goes first. The winner gets priority to choose two cocoons, while the loser gets none. Each duel is limited to the time it takes to burn a cup of tea; if no winner is decided by then, both are declared losers."

After she stated the simple rules, a wave of discussion broke out.

"Simple and direct. Using victory to gain cocoons—a good method."

"It tests not only strength but speed. Only two people duel at a time; the third person to arrive at the clearing won't even get a chance."

"If you can't even beat others in speed, it shows your strength is lacking, and you can't blame anyone else."

"Agreed! Otherwise, in a chaotic brawl, we wouldn't know how many cocoons would be destroyed, and people would surely die. This method is fine."

Most agreed with a nod.

Someone from the Barbarian Sword Palace shouted, "How do we contest the Silkworm King? I have no interest in ordinary Green-Silk Silkworms." The speaker was a burly man, tall and imposing, with two streaks of oil paint on his forehead.

"Who is that?" Yun Que asked in a low voice.

"Tie Ye! The eldest son of the Zhuye tribe's barbarian king and the chief sword-disciple of the Barbarian Sword Palace. He is very powerful—stronger than my brother," Lando said, her tone tinged with apprehension.

Since this was an enemy, a cold glint appeared in Yun Que's eyes.

Before Xiu Xue could respond, a refined young man stepped out from the Shaowu Sword Palace faction.

"Simple. When only the Silkworm King remains, our four sword palaces can hold a contest of chief sword-disciples. We each pick our strongest to duel in pairs, and the final victor claims the Silkworm King." The man smiled, looking incredibly arrogant. "I am Hao Ziliang, chief sword-disciple of the Shaowu Sword Palace. I claim one spot in the final showdown."

Such a tone sounded incredibly reckless. After all, each sword palace had more than one chief sword-disciple—the Yan Sword Palace, for instance, had three. Yet, after Hao Ziliang spoke, no one from the Shaowu Sword Palace opposed him, tacitly accepting him as their strongest.

"Very well!" Yan Xu of the Yan Sword Palace spoke coldly. "Let us fight to the end; whoever has the strength left shall contest for the Silkworm King!" He glanced at Mu Qingyao. The Yan Sword Palace currently only had two chief sword-disciples present; it was unclear which of them would fight in the end. Mu Qingyao nodded in agreement.

With no further objections, the rules for the Silkworm King contest were set.

"No time to lose. Let us stop the chatter and win the cocoons with our strength. The duels begin now!"

As Xiu Xue uttered the word "begin," over a dozen figures leaped up, rushing toward the clearing under the tree. Two people landed first—both women—while the others returned in disappointment. One of them was Mu Qingyao, and the other was a disciple from the Chixia Sword Palace.

The first duel was between two women, and the crowd’s eyes lit up. Duels between female disciples were rare. Everyone wanted to see who was more skilled: the Yan Sword Palace or the Chixia Sword Palace.

"Duan Wan, fifth sword-disciple of the Chixia Sword Palace!" The sword-disciple summoned three flying swords, her aura imposing.

"Mu Qingyao, of the Yan Sword Palace." Mu Qingyao’s expression remained calm. After stating her name, her Flower-Spirit Sword appeared.

Sword light erupted beneath the tree!

In less than ten breaths—let alone the time it takes to burn a cup of tea—Duan Wan was blasted off the clearing, flying across the stream and crashing into the crowd of the Chixia Sword Palace.

Mu Qingyao had won easily! She rose gracefully, plucked two cocoons with a flick of her wrist, stepped onto her flying sword, and drifted to the edge of the stream. The transition from combat to victory was fluid and elegant, as if a celestial being had descended to earth. With her striking figure and beauty, she left many in the crowd stunned.

"So strong! So beautiful!" Lando whispered. It was her first time seeing such a beautiful and powerful sword-disciple. Seeing Yun Que watching her with interest, Lando curled her lip and muttered, "You can look, but you can't touch. Men are all lechers!"

"Who says I can't touch? The feel is quite good," Yun Que laughed, his demeanor carefree.